Accepting the Torah Out of Love

The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat gives vivid details of the awesome scene that took place on Mount Sinai when the Torah was given.

There was thunder and lightning, and the continuous sound of the Shofar. The mountain shook and the people trembled when they heard the voice of G-d.

It was no wonder that the nation accepted the observance of the Mitzvot. The mountain was placed upon them, so to speak. It was clear that there was no way they would refuse the offer to be a “kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.” Their acceptance of their special role was mainly out of fear.

The story of Purim was directly connected to the events of Mount Sinai. The name of G-d is not found anywhere in Megillat Esther. Yet, the people were united in their collective effort to repent, and reaffirm their acceptance of the Torah.

The Megillah uses the words, קימו וקיבלו, “they accepted and fulfilled.” The explanation of these two words, is that they now accepted out of love, what they had previously accepted out of fear.

This was what was missing for nearly a thousand years. There needed to be a higher level of observance than doing things out of fear. We are commanded to both fear Hashem, and to love him. Observance out of love, is a higher level of connection.

Ideally, in our personal worship of G-d, it should contain both of these elements. Hashem is the Awesome King, and we are to fear Him and the punishments described in the Torah for non-observance. But we also must see Hashem as the Benevolent Father, who deeply cares about us, and feels our pain. These two elements are what truly bring us close to Him.

We should see Purim as the holiday that opened the channels of observance of Mitzvot through love. It is a reminder that we are to be passionate in such observance. When we have both fear and love of Hashem, we are then fully equipped to fulfill our role in the world as Jews.

True Leadership

The Haftarah for Parshat Zachor is very tragic. It speaks of the fall of King Saul, and how he lost his kingdom.

Although the theme is the destroying of Amalek, if we look carefully at the text, we see a message for leaders. Shaul’s excuse for not fulfilling the Divine command to destroy Amalek, is that he was afraid of the nation. He didn’t want to go against public opinion. He gave into their wishes, rather than follow the word of G-d.

Contrast Shaul’s behavior with that of King David, who was a real leader. David was reprimanded by his wife, Michal, the daughter of Shaul.

She felt that he had made a spectacle of himself, when he danced wildly when the Holy Ark was returned to Jerusalem .

David told Michal that her father lost his kingdom because he cared about what the people thought. He was chosen to succeed him, because he only cared about the word of Hashem.

If only we had leaders today who would truly lead. And how successful they would be, if they only cared about doing that which was right in the eyes of G-d.

Priestly Garments

The priestly garments of the Kohanim, have a mystical and mysterious side to them. The four garments of the regular Kohein (pants, belt, shirt, and hat), were not nearly as impressive as the eight garments of the Kohein Hagadol.

It can be said, that there was a dramatic change in history, because of these sacred garments. It is told that Alexander the Great had a dream that he would meet the High Priest in his eight garments. The dream actually came true when Alexander met the Kohein Hagadol, known as Shimon Hatzaddik.

To paraphrase a famous movie, this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Alexander became a faithful friend to the Jews, as he went about conquering the world.

To this day, many Jews name their children, “Alexander or Alexandra,” as a tribute to this friendship.

The mystical aspect of these garments is that they served as atonement for various. Just looking at them, had an effect on that individual.

The חושן משפט, or the breastplate served to atone for injustices in the courts. It also atoned for impure thoughts in the heart.

The מעיל, or outer garment, atoned for Lashon Hara, improper speech. The מכנסי בד, the linen trousers, atoned for sexual immorality.

In general, the establishment of these garments, was meant to help overcome the stubbornness of the Jewish people. It was mainly to emphasize the importance of humility, and serving G-d humbly.

Shabbat Candles

The structure of the various commandments of the Torah, contains 613 Mitzvot, where 248 are positive and 365 negative. In addition, there is a separate category of Rabbinic Law, that is known as, “The seven positive Rabbinic Mitzvot.”

These seven laws have a different standing, than other rabbinic law. They are on a level slightly below Torah Law as these were established and accepted in ancient times.

Aside from having the stamp of the Sanhedrin, some go back to the time of King Solomon. The celebration of Purim and Chanukah, are among these laws, as is the commandment to wash before eating a meal, and making 100 blessings each day. Shlomo Hamelech instituted “Eiruv,” and it was also ordained to recite full Hallel, eighteen times a year in Israel.

The seventh rabbinic commandment was for women to light Shabbat candles every Friday night, as well as before various festivals. There is a hint to this from Parshat Tetzaveh.

The beginning of the Parsha instructs Aharon, the Kohein Hagadol to light the Menorah, so that there be a “Ner Tamid,” an eternal light in the Temple.

The Baal Haturim noted that the word, תצוה, “to command,” is equal in Gematria to, נשים צוה, “that women were commanded.” This is a hint to candle lighting on Shabbat. The Baal Haturim even recommends that just as olive oil was used to light the Temple Menorah, it is the choicest way to light Shabbat candles.

For many Jews, their Shabbat observance only consists of lighting Shabbat candles. Although, ideally, Shabbat should be fully observed by all Jews. But, nevertheless, these candles represent a connection with our traditions that began thousands of years ago, that has allowed us to continue as a people during our long and bitter exile.

Amalek- Removing Doubt

This coming Shabbat, we read Parshat Zachor. It is a Torah obligation to hear the reading that commands us to remember Amalek.

This reading always falls on the Shabbat before Purim. The connection is that the evil, Haman, was a descendant of Amalek. And the Amalekites were considered the bitter enemy of the Jewish people.

Amalek is synonymous with everything evil. Satan, the Yeitzer Hara, Ayin Hara, and even the Angel of Death, are all connected to Amalek. When we successfully erase the memory of Amalek, we are, in essence, removing evil from the world.

It is interesting to note that the Gematria, or numerical value of עמלק, equals the word, ספק, meaning, “doubt.”

We must not minimize how an individual can be tormented by his doubts. He wonders if he is healthy, or has enough money. His doubts make him concerned about his relationship with those who are dear to him. Being in this state of uncertainty, gives him no peace of mind.

This state of being is brought about by these negative forces. When one is able to remove doubts, and faces the world with optimism, and a clear path of what he must do, he is at peace. He is truly able to be happy with his life.

Perhaps this year when we read Parshat Zachor, we should focus in our prayers that we be able to remove all doubts, which means, removing the Amalek that may be inside of us.

Laziness

There is a book called, “Sefer Hayashar,” that deals with motivating people to serve Hashem in the best manner possible. In one chapter, there is a list of fifteen items, that prevent an individual from being closer to G-d.

One of these items that harm a person, is עצלות, or laziness. The explanation here is that even where there is a desire to do good, he is unable to do so, simply because he is plagued by laziness.

He allows himself to get into a horrible rut. Any time a good idea pops into his head of doing something positive, his addiction to laziness causes him to find numerous reasons why he can’t do it.

This is a perfect example of the nature of books of Mussar. They may not contain information that is so profound, but they say the things that need to be said. One must come to grips with the fact that he has this problem of laziness. This is holding him back on many levels.

This awareness is the beginning of fixing the problem. As is true with what might be seen as more serious addictions, recognizing the problem is essential to fixing the problem.

The opposite of laziness is זריזות, alacrity. There are many suggestions as to how to fix the problem. The cure must begin with a strong resolve to change. One must constantly remind himself that he must not be lazy. This will help to overcome, and great things will now be able to be achieved.

Alacrity

The many books that attempt to teach proper ethics and morality, use the word, זריזות, “alacrity,” as an important concept to incorporate into our personality. This refers to the enthusiasm we are supposed to adopt in the performance of Mitzvot.

The Torah is divided into 365 negative commandments and 248 positive commandments. The Messillat Yesharim writes that we use זהירות, taking precautions, in order not to violate these negative commandments. But we must use זריזות in the fulfillment of the positive commandments.

Often we find people who feel satisfied that they don’t hurt anyone, and they do not actively violate that which the Torah forbids. They can sit back and relax, and not do much at all. Their lives are boring and lacking motivation.

The Book of Psalms recommends that we, “turn away from evil, and do good.” The “do good” is a reference to our actively and enthusiastically do the positive Mitzvot. But it is more than this. This should also reflect how we approach life. We are to treat every day as special. And we need to see what good we might accomplish each day.

The Rabbis speak of individuals who at age twenty-five, act like they are eighty-five. And there are eighty-five year olds that have the excitement and vitality of a twenty-five year old.

Observing the Torah is extremely important. But “how” we observe it, might even be more important. Enthusiasm, alacrity, and זריזות, are the recommended method in fulfilling G-d’s word.

Solomon’s Temple

The Haftarah for Parshat Teruma, describes the construction and dedication of the Beit Hamikdash of King Solomon. There are some interesting facts regarding Solomon’s Temple.

First of all, it’s size was fifty times larger than that of the Mishkan of the desert. It took seven years to build. Incredibly, there were 150,000 workers used in its construction. There were 70,000 workers used for transporting and carrying, and 80,000 workers to chisel into the mountains. They formed massive stones that can be still be seen today.

The dedication of the Temple is also described in great detail. That great day took place 480 years after the exodus from Egypt. It was surrounded by the magnificent kingdom of Solomon that was the marvel of the world. There was peace, prosperity, and spirituality, all at the same time.

The dream of King David, Solomon’s father, had become a reality. Finally, there was a home for G-d, where the Divine Presence could rest. The nation would be able to feel Hashem’s protection on a daily basis.

King Solomon was visited with prophecy on that great day. He was told that if he would lead the people to follow the commandments of the Torah, Hashem will fulfill all that He promised. “I will dwell in the midst of the Children of Israel, and I will never abandon My people, Israel.

How we long for those days. We must fervently pray that these days return speedily in our days.

Holiness and Profane

The placement of the כרובים, or Cherubs, on top of the Holy Ark, is very mysterious. It seems strange that images of any kind would be permitted. And it is even more puzzling when these images are placed on the holiest object in the Temple.

One explanation is that these images do not represent anything human or physical. They represent the higher world of angels. They are meant to epitomize absolute purity and innocence.

This is reflected by their child-like faces, as children are also the symbol of purity and innocence. Great care must be taken by their parents to preserve this holiness. This is especially true today when children are exposed to so much, at such a young age, to the pollution of society.

These Keruvim face one another like beloved friends. Some say that they are like partners in their study of Torah. The Gematria of שני כרובים, is equal to אברהם, יצחק, and יעקב, our three Patriarchs, who served Hashem in innocence and purity.

The moment that Israel demonstrated a distancing from that which was sacred, miraculously, the two Keruvim could no longer face each other. Their faces turned away and their wings separated. This was a clear sign from above, that G-d was not pleased with us.

The Keruvim are a reminder that we need to return to an innocent, child-like worship of our Creator. It is needed that we learn to place our absolute trust in Him. It is clear that the world is crumbling, where morality is lost. And if we watch television, go to movies, or listen to the lyrics of today’s songs, we see the deterioration, where nothing is sacred.

This is clearly part of the ultimate plan, where the world will realize that we have no one to turn to, but the Al-mighty. Studying the Keruvim, should serve as an eye opener, that we once again clearly see and appreciate that which is holy, and reject that which is not.

No Hypocrisy

The various objects that were used in the Mishkan and Beit Hamikdash have their own special symbolism. The holiest of all of these objects is the ארון קודש, the Holy Ark.

If we look closely at the construction of the Ark, we will notice that it wasn’t very large. It only needed to hold the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, as well as the broken tables, as well as the Torah written by Moshe Rabbeinu. That original Aron Kodesh is hidden somewhere near the Temple until today. It is questionable the state of the jar of Manna will be, which is also in the Ark.

It is also interesting to note that there were three boxes that made up this sacred utensil. Both the inner and outer box were laden with gold. This was the source of its main message. There was really no reason for this inner box to be golden, when nobody could see it.

The lesson was to teach that one must not be a hypocrite and must be totally honest. The way this is worded is that one must not be אחד בלב, one way in your heart, and אחד בפה, and one way in your mouth.

An observant Jew should stand out for his integrity. He should be known for his truthfulness and dependability . It becomes almost impossible for a true Torah Jew, to ever tell a lie, or be insincere.

This is what the holiest object of the Tempe is teaching us. If Judaism and its observance is not based on truth and total honesty, then there is something terribly wrong.

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.