Be Happy for Others

The Orchot Tzaddikim has a chapter all about קנאה, jealousy. It speaks about how detrimental it is for an individual who possesses this horrible negative character trait.

A person who becomes obsessed with another, and wishes negative things will happen to them. The jealous person becomes a miserable person. He knows no happiness, because he does not know how to appreciate what he has.

There is an element of lack of faith with such a person. It’s as if he is telling Hashem that He made a mistake with how He has taken care of him. If he would have received more wealth and success, like the person he is obsessed with, he would not need to be jealous.

The remedy to overcome jealousy is to truly learn how to feel happy with what he has. He should feel humbled by G-d’s generosity in giving him all that he needs.

An even more effective remedy is to learn how to genuinely be happy at another person’s good fortune. When something good happens to a friend, or he celebrates a family Simcha, learn how to be sincerely happy for them. This is greatly lacking in the world today.

Only a person who is not jealous and feels good about himself, is able to feel another’s joy, and really feel what he is feeling. One who can do this will find great peace of mind. This shows good character.

This needs to be shouted out. Be genuinely happy at someone else’s good fortune, and most importantly, stop being jealous!

Respecting the Property of Others

The laws in the Torah related to damages, are discussed in great details in the Talmud. Specifically, the Tractate Baba Kama focuses on the precautions residents must take in avoiding harming their neighbors.

There are discussions as to the primary causes of damages. They relate to such matters as the care that one must take if he digs a pit. He must make sure that it does not create an obstacle where one could fall in and get hurt.

Similarly, when one lights a fire in his own domain, care must be taken that it does not go out of control, and ignite a neighbor’s property.

There are many laws involving proper guarding of our animals. The period of the Talmud was very much rural, and people used animals such as oxen for work. The amount of guarding of potentially violent animals, depended on whether there was reason to believe they were likely to injure. First and second time offenders paid half damage, as there was no reason to assume greater restraint was necessary. Only after the third offense, the animal’s owner needed to pay full damages.

In the case of man causing damage to the property of another individual, there is a concept of אדם מועד לעולם, that a human is alway responsible for the damage that he causes. This applies whether this was done intentionally, or unintentionally.

The Torah ultimately covers every aspect of every day life. The more it is studied in depth, the greater is the appreciation of the Divine wisdom, contained in it. The difficulty arises when one looks at isolated laws, that may not seem to make sense. One must look at the whole picture, to get an understanding as to why the Torah must be the guide to teach man how to properly conduct himself in this world.

Punitive System of the Torah

The punitive system of the Torah was arranged in such a manner, that only a violation of negative commandments, carried with it a punishment. The only exceptions were the non-fulfillment of circumcision as well as not offering the Pesach sacrifice. These two instances were dealt with in the Heavenly court where כרת, or being cut off from the Jewish people, was administered.

Of the 365 negative commandments, 207 are punishable with lashes. The remaining violations are either so severe that capital punishment is administered, or lesser violations that require the payment of a penalty. For example, the thief will pay double what he stole.

There is also a concept called, קים ליה בדרבה מימיה. This means that if one does two infractions at the same time, he is punished for the more severe infraction.

The classic example would be one who stole on Shabbat, and carried the stolen object from a private to a public domain. Shabbat violation is more strict, as the Torah punishes with death by stoning for Shabbat desecration. Therefore, our principle exempts the thief from paying for his theft, since he must deal with the more severe violation.

Principles such as these must be studied thoroughly in the Talmud, to fully appreciate the wisdom behind it.

The Suspected Watchman

Parshat Mishpatim discusses the liability of various watchmen over other people’s property. They are known as the four שומרים, or guards.

Each one has a different level of responsibility. The borrower and renter have the most obligations to the owner of the object they are using. There is the paid watchman, שומר שכר, who must reimburse in the event of theft.

The שומר with the least liability is the שומר חינם, the one who guards for free. He only pays for negligence and does not pay in the event of theft.

The Baal Haturim comments that the Gematria, numerical value of the words, אם לא ימצא הגנב, “If the thief will not be found,” is equal to the words, הוא עצמו הגנב, “He, himself, is the thief!”

This is truly amazing how the Baal Haturim figured this out. If an article was stolen, as the שומר חינם claims, he becomes the prime suspect. The remedy of the Torah to get to the truth, is to demand a biblical oath, known as שבועה.

The suspect must swear using G-d’s name, while holding on to a Torah scroll, that he is innocent.

The hope was that the oath taken in such a manner, will impress the need to tell the truth. There is no better system of civil law than that provided by the Torah.

Jews Defend Yourselves

The Torah discusses various types of thieves. There is the thief who steals in a sneaky and cunning fashion. And there are also the armed robbers that steal with force. The first is called a גנב, and the second, a גזלן.

The Torah also describes the thief who with his audacity, robs knowing that the residents are home, during his break-in. The assumption is that he is armed and will kill the residents if they pose a threat to him.

From this incident, we learn an important principle of self defense. The homeowner has the right to preempt the potential attacker, and kill him first. This is the source for, “If one comes to slay you, slay him first.”

This is the way that Jews are meant to conduct themselves for their survival. When one’s life is threatened, he must not take chances with his life. He must protect himself in any way that he can.

It is absurd to think that we receive some kind of Divine reward, for allowing ourselves to put our lives in danger, when we could have eliminated our attacker.

Hopefully, we are waking up and realizing that the Torah’s rule for self defense, is the correct one. We should see an end to Jews needlessly giving their lives, when they could have fought back.

We must remember this simple rule, that if one comes to slay us, we must slay him first.

Hebrew Slave

The story of the אמה עבריה, and עבד עברי,the Hebrew male and female slave, is very much misunderstood. Using the term, “slave,” is also very misleading.

In the case of the male, he was more of a hired hand, living with a respectable family. He was working to pay off his debts, or it was a form of rehabilitation to wean him away from his life of thievery.

The female was actually a young girl of six, that had a tragic side to it. The girl’s father was so poor that he was unable to provide her basic needs. Left with no other options, he allows a family of means to take care of her, in return for some basic work around the house.

There is a contractual agreement made between the father and her adopted family. At age twelve, she will marry the son of the head of the household. She will be given all rights of every Jewish woman.

We must remember that in earlier times, young ladies routinely married at a very young age. The Torah also provides remedies in the event that the master reneges on his commitment, and how she must be treated with great respect.

In today’s world, we must be extra careful with our terminology. While on the surface, anything involving servitude, is frowned upon, and rightfully so. But the Torah’s intent does not involve servitude to the male or female slave. It is a compassionate remedy to overcome poverty, and ultimately allow them to become respected members of society.

To paraphrase a well known slogan: Torah is perfect. Those who practice it, and interpret it, are not.

True Freedom

Parshat Mishpatim is filled with numerous civil laws. They demonstrate how the Torah teaches proper ethics and morality.

The initial emphasis of the Parsha, is that it is absolutely necessary for us to become free men. This is learned from the incident of the Hebrew slave that refuses to go free after paying off his debt.

The individual who insists that he loves his master, and likes his slave status, must have his ear pierced. The ear that heard at Mount Sinai that we were taken out of Egypt in order to end our slavery, is not listening.

Our society imprisons us to many different things. We can be imprisoned by our desire to amass a fortune, where we cannot break free from working. We neglect things that are important, such as our families, in our quest for money.

We can simply be imprisoned by the various lusts that are around us. This might be our desire for honor, or instant self gratification, not to mention the various addictions that are out there.

The Rabbis have taught us that one cannot be considered free, unless he is involved in Torah. When his connection to G-d and the study of Torah, is his main priority, he is truly free. He is able to prioritize and know what is truly important and what is not. It is not a given that we are free men. It is something that we must work hard to be free.

Study Mussar Books

Rabbi Avraham Twerski, of blessed memory, was a strong believer in the importance of studying books of Mussar. Books such as, “The path of the just,” and “The ways of the righteous,” should be on every table and studied repeatedly.

The word, “Mussar” means discipline. Books such as these taught and reminded people how to work on their character development.

Rabbi Twerski went as far as saying that if one cannot control his anger, for example, and is in a constant state of rage, all of his Mitzva observances are meaningless. If one’s religious observances do not make him a kinder and better person, there is a blatant flaw there, that must be repaired.

Studying Mussar helps us cope with life and deal with it’s challenges. There are constant reminders as to how we must be aware of the “evil inclination” and its tricks to get us off track and confused.

There are two words in Hebrew that we must know, as they play right into the hands of the evil inclination. They are רגש, meaning, emotions, and מצפון, meaning, conscience.

When one acts solely based on his emotions, he is being guided in the wrong direction. He must allow his שכל, or intellect, to rule over often impulsive emotions.

When people says that their conscience is bothering them, and they feel bad or guilty about something they have done, they are very likely, being led to a bad place.

This is another trick of the Yeitzer Hara, that causes confusion. We must have presence of mind, to properly analyze every situation, so that we do not draw the conclusions that we will later regret.

Life is a battle, and the study of Mussar books, gives us a good shot at winning that battle.

Man Needs Torah

There is a well known Midrash that describes a discussion between the angels and Hashem. They protested the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people.

Moshe Rabbeinu is asked by G-d to justify their receiving the Torah. He begins listing the Ten Commandments and asks the angels if they have the same challenges as man.

He asks if they were slaves in Egypt. Do they have parents that they need to respect? Do they have the temptations of coveting that which belongs to others?

It is very interesting how Moshe presents, not taking Hashem’s name in vain. He asks the angels whether they have tough business negotiations that they need to deal with. Moshe understood that often during such intense negotiations, people tend to use profanity and take the name of the L-rd in vain. The angels do not have such problems.

Clearly, Moshe won the argument and the angels conceded that the Torah does belong to the Jewish people. It is now our task to study it, and live by its principles.

G-d Fearing Judges

It is very timely that our weekly Torah portion discusses the qualifications to be a judge in Israel. Surprisingly, it was Yitro, Moshe’s father in-law, who listed these qualifications.

The primary prerequisite to be a judge in Israel, is that he must be a trustworthy, G-d fearing person. He should be a man of truth, and independently wealthy, so that he will not be able to be bribed.

It would seem to be a given that in our holy State of Israel, that there should be a prerequisite that in order to be a judge, one must fear G-d. Sadly, we have numerous judges that are not only secular, but openly admit to being atheists. This would be an obvious absurdity.

If we look into our holy writings, such as the Minchat Chinuch, we learn more about the huge task placed on one who judges in Israel. If he gets the decision correct, he becomes a partner with Hashem in creation.

The Minchat Chinuch claims that if one does not have Divine wisdom, inspired by his deep faith in G-d, he is likely to get it wrong.

He goes on to explain that this judge might be a very good person, but without this connection to the Al-mighty, he must not judge.

In every field, we must realize that our success depends on our convictions to the Creator. But this is especially true, in becoming a judge in Israel.

The Yeshiva of the Desert

We learn in the Parsha how Yitro gave his son in-law advice about delegating some of his duties. The burden on Moshe was too great in deciding the various cases brought before him.

Thanks to Yitro, Moshe devised a system of judges to deal with possible disputes that needed to be decided.

Rav Avigdor Miller made an interesting claim about this whole episode. He wondered what kind of cases could possibly come before a court in the desert. Everyone lived in tents and all of their needs were provided for them. The Manna gave them all of the food needed, that came with no effort. And the Clouds of Glory offered protection, and even cleaned and pressed their clothes.

Rabbi Miller felt that the desert was one big Yeshiva. There was very little traveling after the first year. The questions asked before Moshe and his assistants, was to explain the various nuances of the Torah. This was the time when the Oral Law became significant.

The Jews learned then how the Torah cannot possibly be understood without the Oral Law. There are four words that most Jews know their meaning, but they do not appear in the Torah. Our knowledge of them comes from the Oral Law known as “Torah Shbeal Peh.”

The four words are: Tefillin, Get, Etrog, and Shechita, meaning ritual slaughter. Even the Mitzva of lighting Shabbat candles, is based on the Oral Law, and not the Written.

So when we think of the Jews wandering in the desert for forty years, they spent most of that time learning Torah.

Preparations for the Great Day

The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat, gives a detailed description of the preparations for the great day of G-d’s Revelation to His people.

It should be noted that the souls of every Jew, were also at Sinai. Therefore, there is a subconscious connection to that great event at Mount Sinai.

We are told that the Jewish people arrived at the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the month of Sivan. There is some debate as to whether this fell on a Sunday or Monday. All agree that the Ten Commandments were given that following Shabbat.

During that week, Moshe Rabbeinu was ascending and descending Mount Sinai three times. Each time, he brought a special message to the people.

The first message was meant to be an acceptance by the people, of their special role of being, “A nation of priests and a holy nation.”

After their acceptance, their second message was a warning that they must distance themselves from the mountain. Anyone who came to close and touched the mountain, would die.

And the final message was the need for everyone to purify themselves, who had come in contact with impurities.

The Jewish nation was extremely unified and elevated at that time. They were on the level of Adam before his sin. Had they not worshipped the Golden Calf, death would have been abolished forever.

It is important to study all of these details, and appreciate the gift of receiving the Torah.

We believe that if we collectively work at purifying ourselves, and growing spiritually, we can once again return to that state of holiness that our ancestors and our souls, experienced at Sinai.

Greatest Day Ever

The Revelation at Mount Sinai is clearly the greatest day in human history. This was the day when the few million Jews actually heard G-d speak.

This also represented the beginning of the Jewish people,in their fulfillment of their unique role in the world. They were to teach and set the example of all that was right and moral in the world. They were receiving the Torah directly from G-d.

No religion in human history ever began in such an outward manner. There could be no doubt as to the truth of Judaism, as there was no doubt that they were hearing the word of Hashem, directly from Him.

It is critical for all Jews to accept the concept of “Torah from Sinai,” and believe that this event actually took place. We are also to reinforce the idea that both the Written and Oral Law were given on that incredible day.

If we accept this, we also accept the Divine aspect of our religion. All of our laws that were handed down from generation to generation, have a Divine stamp connected to them. We follow its dictates, because we believe that this is the fulfillment of G-d’s will.

Those who do not believe accept that this great event happened, turn Judaism into a man made religion, rather than G-d given. We must remember that all began at Sinai!

Faith and Money

The chapter on “Worry” in Orchot Tzaddikim speaks about how worry takes away one’s happiness. The basic idea of that chapter is that worry about material things in this world is counterproductive and even destructive. Good worry is when we are concerned about spiritual worry.

One of the greatest concerns people have, is about their livelihood. They would like to make ends meet and be able to feed their families. Some get too obsessed about this, and are never happy with what they have, and always want more.

The description of the Manna has a very important message. The Jewish people in the desert needed to have the faith that there would continue to be this “food from Heaven” every single day. This is why a larger quantity than one day’s worth did not fall.

The Midrash tells us that those who had strong faith, had the Manna appear right outside their tent. Those who doubted, needed to travel further to find their sustenance.

The Talmud tells us that we are to learn from the animals who do not seem worried about where their next meal will be. Somehow, G-d always provides.

One of our greatest tests of faith, is how we handle money in an honest way, and the faith in our Creator. It is so important to create this faith. If we don’t, we will be depriving ourselves of real happiness and joy.

Permission to Heal

There is a promise given in the Torah for proper observance of the commandments. If we fulfill everything we are expected to do, then all of the sickness that we witnessed in Egypt, shall not come upon us.

The reason why we will not

experience such sickness is because of the words, אני ה׳ רופאך, “I am your G-d that heals you.” The greatest doctor is none other than G-d, Himself.

There is another verse in the Torah that speaks of one who injures his friend in a fist fight. In that case he must pay for his friend’s disability from injury, as well as doctor bills. The exact wording of the text is, ורפא ירפא, “And he shall surely heal him.”

The Talmud in Baba Kama, says that from these two words, we learn that permission is granted to doctors to heal.

There seems to be an apparent contradiction. Is it Hashem that heals, or is it the doctor? In ancient times, if someone suffered an illness, he would go to a prophet, or spiritual leader, to find out what sin he had committed. He would repent for that sin, and he would be cured.

The healing that takes place nowadays, is on a lower level. We do not get to the cause of sickness, but treat the symptoms. It is heartwarming to see the numerous doctors that post in their offices, a doctor’s prayer. They ask that they be guided by Hashem to be proper messengers of healing.

In this way, there is a combination of the two types of healing. When doctors have the humility to realize that they are merely messengers, they become partners with Hashem, in the healing process. In every aspect of life, we are at G-d’s mercy. We must never forget this.

Beautifying Mitzvot

The experience of the splitting of the Red Sea was miraculous on many levels. Every Jew that was there, experienced a certain level of prophecy.

The Midrash tells us that even nursing babies, were able to sing praises to G-d. They, too, were able to utter the words, זה א-לי ואנונו, “This is my G-d, and I will glorify Him.”

Aside from these words expressing great affection for the Creator, there is another message learned from this. This refers to the manner in which we are meant to “glorify G-d.”

These words are the source to beautify the Mitzvot that we observe. The analogy here is similar to one who receives a gift from a loved one. If the gift is generous, and it is clear that a great deal of thought went into choosing this gift, it is most appreciated. On the other hand, if the gift received is cheap, and poorly wrapped, the recipient will only feel that person was “only going through the motions.”

The same idea applies to how we serve G-d. Do we do everything in the minimum, just to get it done? Or do we perform each Mitzva generously. Do we give the maximum when it comes to charity, and other acts of kindness? If certain religious items cost money, such as Succa, Lulav, Mezuza, Tefillin, etc., do we try to beautify these Mitzvot, or just get by?

This is what is meant by הידור מצוה, beautifying the Mitzvot. Because this is my G-d, and I will glorify Him.

Four Kinds of Jews

The Talmud Yerushalmi describes the scene when it looked like the Jewish people had nowhere to go. They saw the Egyptians approaching from behind, and the sea was in front of them.

The people were divided into four groups at that time. One group had given up and suggested a collective suicide, by jumping into the sea. Another group thought of surrender and going back to Egypt. The third group wanted to make war, and fight the Egyptians. And the fourth, simply suggested screaming, as it might frighten their enemy.

From the text of the Torah, we see how Moshe Rabbeinu responded to each group. He said, “Stand as you are and see G-d’s salvation,” to the group that wanted suicide.

He continued, “You will never see Egypt again,” as a response to those who wanted to return there.

He then said, “Hashem will fight for you, and you shall stay silent.” This was his response to those who wished to fight, and make a lot of noise.

Some say these four groups still exist today. There are Jews who choose suicide by distancing themselves from Judaism via assimilation. Others want to go back to the behavior of the Galut, by denying the miracle of a Jewish army, and Jewish State. There are those who live by fighting and tearing down progress. They lack Jewish pride and fear what the Gentile will say. And there are certainly a number of Jews that make noise, and never achieve anything. They want to give the impression of achievements, but it’s only noise.

To all of these groups, we remind them to turn to Hashem for salvation. And they must never forget that Hashem is with us and helps us fight our battles.

Proper Reward

The Gemara in Masechet Sota discusses many of the details involving the exodus from Egypt. There is an interesting observation made in connection with Moshe Rabbeinu, and how he personally dealt with bringing the remains of Yosef to Israel.

It took an effort on Moshe’s part to locate these bones, that the Egyptians attempted to hide. It was clearly an act of love and sincerity, with no expectation of reward.

The point of the Gemara is that every meritorious act is rewarded by G-d. The reward is according to the stature of that individual, that clearly shows he is being compensated for his good deed.

In Moshe’s case, there was nobody who existed that was on his level. He was the greatest man alive, and whoever lived.

For this reason, we are told that only Hashem, Himself, could give Moshe his just reward for caring for Yosef. He did this when Moshe passed away. The Torah tells that it was G-d, Who buried him, as nobody knows the exact burial spot of Moshe Rabbeinu.

This little episode is a reminder of the ultimate justice that exists in the world. Every good deed will be rewarded according to the level of that person. We are not supposed to look for the reward when we do something nice for someone. But we are supposed to realize that it is duly recorded in Heaven, and justice will prevail.

Belief in G-d and Moses

This week’s Parsha, Beshalach, gives a description of the actual exodus from Egypt. All of the drama of the Egyptians chasing after the Jews, and the ultimate splitting of the Red Sea, is described in vivid detail.

Clearly, this was one of the greatest miracles in human history. Believing that this actually happened, as well as the Revelation on Mount Sinai, is critical to Jewish belief. This is what makes Judaism a religion from G-d. All of the commandments of the Torah, come from Him. And because they are G-d given, we observe them, whether we understand them or not.

We also have an important verse that is recited in our morning prayers. After the defeat of the Egyptians, the Pasuk reads, ויאמינו בה׳ ובמשה עבדו, “And they believed in Hashem, and Moshe, His servant.” The commentary of the Baal Haturim is most interesting.

He writes that we learn from here that one who argues in disrespect to his rabbi, is as if he is arguing with the Divine Presence. And one who believes and trusts the teachings of his rabbi, shows he also believes in G-d.

This is a reminder that the Written Torah, and Oral Torah, go hand in hand. The teachings of the Rabbis, and the power given to them by the Al-mighty to interpret His laws are of similar importance. This idea is alluded to, when we are told that they believed in Hashem and Moshe, His servant. Just like we are to have belief in Hashem, we are also commanded to have אמונת חכמים, faith in our sages.

Redemption of First Born Donkey

There is an unusual ceremony mentioned in the Torah, known as פדיון פטר חמור. It refers to the redemption of a first born male donkey.

If someone owned a female donkey and its first offspring was a male, this first born animal is holy, and must be redeemed, if it is to be used in any way.

The ceremony, which can also be performed outside of Israel, is done with a Kohein. It is very similar to the Pidyon Haben, where a first born baby is redeemed by way of five silver coins. The donkey is redeemed by giving the Kohein a goat or a lamb, and a blessing is recited, just as it is done by Pidyon Haben. If it is not redeemed, the neck of the donkey, is broken.

This is a very strange ceremony, and difficult to understand. The traditional explanation is that all first born must acknowledge that they were miraculously saved in Egypt, during the Tenth Plague.

It is strange that only the donkey was chosen of all of the non-kosher animals. Rashi points out that donkeys were unique as beasts of burden that helped carry out the wealth of Egypt. He also said that the Egyptians behaved like donkeys with their decadent behavior.

The פטר חמור instructions are followed by the commandment to tell our children the story of the exodus. This would indicate the further emphasis that we understand the significance of how Egypt was an outward proof of the truth of the Torah and Judaism.