Torat Yisrael Issue 2

2

nd

Issue

The Blessings of Materialism Rabbi Chaim Brovender Shlit”a Rosh Yeshiva of WebYeshiva.org

For one thousand years our commentators have been vexed by the problem of why the brachot enumerated in parashat Bechukotai are all related to the physical world. Why doesn’t the Torah offer us spiritual advantages of one sort or another? Surely a possible blessing might be to enable us to study the Torah on a more significant level. Perhaps the ability to daven or face Hashem with a greater sense of intimacy? Why should all of the blessings be exclusively concerned with our physical good fortune exclusively? There have been many attempts to answer this question and I want to remind the reader of three of them.

Rambam in Hilkhot Teshuva and in his introduction to Perek Chelek (in his Mishnah commentary to Sanhedrin) insists that the physical advantages are not the true blessing. These advan-

The Ladder of Holiness

See Page 11

Tzvi Fishman Author of Lights on Orot

The holiday of Shavuot is just around the corner. For over a month now, we have been climbing steadily up the ladder of holiness via the Counting of the Omer. Looking back at Pesach, the Jews in Egypt were ensconced in the 49th level of impurity and would have been doomed if G-d had not miraculously delivered them from their physical and spiritual bondage. Throughout the Exodus, Hashem did the work, and we followed along. Our salvation came from Above. But from the beginning of the Counting of the Omer, Hashem steps back, and we are to do the work of personal spiritual cleansing in order to receive the Torah on Shavuot. The famous Hasidic master, the Baal Shem Tov, compares this process to parents who hold their child’s hand when they first teach him to walk. After a while, they step back and let the child walk on his own. This parallels the seven week period of Sefirat HaOmer. Hashem steps back and leaves us to purify ourselves by refining our character traits. Day after day, we climb up the 49 rungs of the ladder of holiSee

Shabbat Times

Jerusalem Modiin Bet Shemesh Gush Etzion Be’er Sheva

Page 13

7:04 / 8:21 7:19 / 8:22 7:19 / 8:22 7:18 / 8:21 7:17 / 8:21

Issue Dedicated L’Iluy Nishmat Yonah Goldman A”H

Guardians of The Walls

This week is Yom Yerushalayim. The awesome significance of this day is one which we must not overlook. It is very hard to describe the joy one should feel without resorting to tired and overused phrases. The same photographs and educational materials are always shown at celebratory events. How then can we make Yom Yerushalayim meaningful and fresh? I believe that the simplest way to reconnect to the holy city is simply to walk. One must go through the streets with an eye towards what we have gained by our return to Zion. Can anything in London or New York compare to the great Belzer synagogue with its many mikvaot and batei midrash? Can one really say that he finds the same spiritual high in Toronto as at the Kotel? Let one ascend to Har Habayit and feel the all pervasive holiness that exists nowhere else in creation.

We must become the guardians of the walls of Jerusalem. In these times it is so easy to become blase and cynical. We must each try to reconnect to what brought us here in the first place and become the guardian of the pure vision of Jerusalem which our forefathers passed down through the generations. No matter what political corruption, no matter which wars, Jerusalem remains unsullied and proud, awaiting the day that her children will appreciate the spiritual treasures she was meant to bestow upon them.

"I will remember My covenant with Jacob and even My covenant with Isaac, and even My covenant with Abraham will I remember, and I will remember the Land." (Vayikra 26;42)

In this week's parsha (Bechukotai) there is a long list of ultra-scary curses that G-d vows to bring upon us if we neglect His Torah. At the end of these awful passages promising exile comes a verse that is meant to give us solace. G-d promises to bring us back from the Exile in the merit of the forefathers and the merit of the Land. But why would G-d include in His list of the Patriarchs a special mention of the Land of Israel? Why did He not include other mitzvot He might remember, like: 'I will remember Jacob and his Tefillin, Issac and his Tzitit, and Abraham and his Etrog'? In this iPod generation it is easy to believe that the world is there for our convenience. Everything is quick, easy and on demand. Through this attitude we may come to the false conclusion that the Land of Israel is our own little iLand, a personalized tool for our use. We may begin to treat Land as merely a Cheftza, that is, a religious object like tefillin, tzitit, and etrog to be used and then put away when done, or even disposed of when it wears out.

some charity to the needy, and walk around Jerusalem like I own the place. When I'm satiated in my religious observance, I hit STOP on the iLand and I go back HOME."

These attitudes are reasonable symptoms of mistaken initial assumptions. In this week's Torah portion, Hashem tells us that the Land of Israel is not just a mitzvah or religious tool. The Torah equates the Land to the Forefathers and tells us that G-d's particular remembrance for the Land is amongst the merits that will yank us out of the Exile. But what is this merit? Why does G-d remember the Land?

When G-d created the world, he created the Land of Israel as a special entity – a land that has feelings and a personality, a land that is See sensitive to how she is treated, and Page 12

This utilitarian thinking is actually a wide reaching phenomenon. For Example: Secular Post-Zionism is the belief that a few years ago we needed a safe haven from persecution and therefore we created a Jewish state; but now that we are well-off and safe from persecution we can scrap the state, it's boring, and anyway we can simply live in peace and harmony in the US, a very nice place indeed. We have used up the Land of Israel and now it's time to move on, to SKIP to the next song, to throw away this paper cup.

Religious Post-Zionism is just as utilitarian. Says the religious post-Zionist: "Sure there are Mitzvot connected to the Land of Israel and that's why I come to Israel now and then. It's there for my religious convenience. Now I would like to hit a button on my iLand and play the Israel song for a tenday trip. On the trip I will pray at the Kotel, give

3

We all know the dangers of television. This has been pounded in our hands for many years by various sources. We are also quite familiar with the terms “idiot box”, “boob tube” and “electronic babysitter”. They were all true when we lived in Chuz La’Aretz and are still true today. Life is too short to waste it on watching TV all day (and into the night) and I am happy that - for many of us – those days are over.

The problem today, especially for Olim, is something far more clever. It’s called the computer. The “yetzer hara” of 5768 / 2008 has switched gears and is now hypnotizing millions of people with a cute device that connects you to that world you thought you left behind. Today’s modern “yetzer hara” entices you by saying, “Just because you live in Israel, doesn’t mean you still can’t know what’s going on in the world! Go ahead… surf the internet. Find out

what the weather is back in the old country, check out all the information about the USA presidential primaries, follow your sports team and read about the latest mental hospital Britney Spears checked in to. Make sure you also keep track of the Oscar nominations, changing financial trends around the globe and what’s been happening with Al Gore and global warming. When you are finished, make sure you email your third cousin in Greenland (who you have never seen) and update your Facebook page. After that, check out the latest recipes, read CNN, Fox News and the NY Times and do some online shopping for a new pair of Crocs.”

While I might have exaggerated a bit, I think you understand my point. The computer today is the source of a tremendous amount of wasted time. But there’s more than that. For years, I was amazed how my friends and family in the States Next knew more about what was happening in

Page

8IZ * T S BFM /BU J POBM /FXT D PN

 EPFT
U IF  * T S BFM J
NFEJ B
T FM FD U
BOU J  * T S BFM  J OU FS WJ FXFFT "

5IF
+ FXJ T I  4U BU F

T
1S P * T S BFM  /FXT
4J U F
BOE 5 BM L
3BEJ P /FXT
H  3BEJ P
H  57

#FD BVT F
U IFZ
U IFNT FM WFT  BS F
BOU J  * T S BFM BOE
EPO

U
FWFO
LOPX
J U  XXX * TS BFM /BU J POBM /FXT DPN 4

Last week, we saw that the Torah requires Jewish farmers in Eretz Yisra’el to perform biur ma’aser on Erev Pesach of the fourth and seventh years of the shemitta cycle: this requires one to clear out all of the terumot and ma’asrot of the previous three years, distributing some and destroying others. Why, then, is biur ma’aser not listed as one of the 613 mitzvot? The reason lies in the Torah’s phrasing: the Torah never commands us to do biur per se, but rather to make a declaration that we have done so. It is this declaration, known as viddui ma’aser, which is counted as a mitzva. So when does one recite viddui ma’aser?

not say viddui on the first Yom Tov of Pesach? So that he will have something to eat during the festival. Why not do viddui in the morning? Until this point, there is still a mitzva to eat.” In other words, very much reminiscent of what we did this year because of Erev Pesach being Shabbat, the biur would be performed early, with terumot, ma’aser rishon and ma’aser ani given to the proper recipients, but the owner would keep whatever ma’aser sheni he could eat over the course of Pesach, only destroying the surplus; then he would perform viddui during the final hours of Pesach.

The mishna in Ma’aser Sheni 5:10 says: “In the afternoon of the last Yom Tov, they would say viddui.” In other words, according to our mishna, there would be eight days between biur and viddui. The Talmud Yerushalmi (5:5) analyzes this: “Why

Surprisingly, the Halakha does not follow our version of the mishna! The Rambam (Hilkhot Ma’aser Sheni 11:7), following the Sifrei (Devarim 302), rules that “the last Erev Yom Tov is the time for biur, and the next day one says See

Israel than I did…. and I live here! “Are you OK?” said my friend on the other side of the phone. “Of course I am, why shouldn’t I be?” He then proceeded to tell me about a terrorist attack that had taken place somewhere in Israel. In most cases, I didn’t even know what he was talking about! Remember those days? Well lately, things have completely turned around. Now with our high-speed internet connections and our “gotta know what’s going on” attitude, we know about things happening around the world before they do!

make a difference. You walked away from a very nice life – and you’re proud you did - so why bother connecting to it five times a day? Leave it alone and don’t think about it. It doesn’t miss you. I watched Jay Leno every night for ten years and he never bothered to send me a birthday card. I followed the Yankees for thirty years yet never got any of Derek Jeter’s $170 million! They have no problem proceeding with their life. I suggest you do the same with yours.

What happened to us? Did we bring the whole world with us when we made Aliyah? Do we feel lost or left-out if we don’t know which states Barak Obama won and which ones Hillary won? Do we feel useless if the Yankees, Steelers or Blue Jays win without us? Do we feel ignorant if the price of oil goes up without our knowledge?

I urge you to leave that nonsense behind. It’s fine to read the news once a day to find out what’s happening but stop being addicted to the information frenzy that can drive you nuts. That’s not what you should be doing with your spare time! As stated in my previous column, you came here to

Pg. 9

In my next column I will give you real and concrete ideas what you should – and must – do to make the most of your Aliyah. In the meantime, start scaling back on the internet usage. Cut it down to 19, then 18, then 17 times a day. By the time my next article arrives, you will have a lot of time on your hands. That’s good… because I plan on keeping you very busy! Good luck!

Shmuel Sackett is the co-founder of both Zo Artzeinu and Manhigut Yehudit. Together with Moshe Feiglin, he is spearheading a campaign to rise to the leadership of Israel with an ideology based on Jewish identity and values. He has spoken in 500 USA cities and universities in the last 5 years. His website is: www.JewishIsrael.org His email is: [email protected]

5

These are the generations of Aharon and Moshe, on the day that Hashem spoke to Moshe at Mount Sinai. (Bamidbar 3:1)

Though it only mentions the sons of Aharon, they are called "the generations… of Moshe" because he taught them Torah. This teaches us that whoever teaches another's child Torah is considered like his parent. (Rashi, ad loc.)

understands the view of the afterlife in Kohelet 12:5, "For a man goes to the house of his world," as referring to the spiritual house of one's personal world, which he has created through his good acts during his life. Man is created with 248 limbs and 365 sinews, and he is given 248 positive commands—which parallel his physical limbs, with which he was born—in order to build his spiritual reality. This also explains Devarim 4:14: "Hashem commanded Me at that time to teach you rules and laws, for you yourselves to perform them in the land." The term "for you yourselves to perform" is unique; all it needed to write was: for you to perform them. This come to teach what we have said, that a person builds himself through the mitzvot.

The Torah commands us (Devarim 6:7) "And you shall teach them diligently to your children," and they explain “The essence of a in the Sifrei (ad loc., 34), "This Therefore, whoever teaches anman's world is his means: your students; so we find in other's child Torah is like his parent, spiritual dimension.” every place that students are called since through this, the child is built spir'children.'" By the same token, a itually. It may well be that this is the rebbe is called 'father,' as Elisha cries, when his explanation of why Moshe Rabbeinu spends on rebbe Eliyyahu ascends (II Melakhim 2:12): "My faMount Sinai forty days and forty nights in order to ther, my father, chariot and cavalry of Yisra'el!" receive the Torah. Forty days from conception is the time for the creation of an embryo; before that it The idea behind this is that the essence of is not alive, but mere water (Yevamot 69b). This is a man's world is his spiritual dimension. "The foal of why it says in our portion, "These are the generaa wild donkey will give birth to a man" (Iyyov 11:12) tions… on the day that Hashem spoke to Moshe on is explained by Rashi (Kohelet 4:14) in the following Mount Sinai"—it is the fact that Moshe studied way: each individual is born like a wild donkey, and Torah on Mount Sinai, which he then transmitted to from this he must develop his spiritual world until he Aharon's sons, that allows us to regard them as becomes a human being. Indeed, this is the meanMoshe's children too. Indeed, the Gur Aryeh asks: ing of Rashi's comment on the verse (Bereshit 6:9), why are only Aharon's sons considered Moshe's; "These are the generations of Noach; Noach was a did he not teach Torah to all of Am Yisra'el? He exrighteous man, perfect": plains this by saying that Moshe's teaching all Am Yisra'el was his obligation; however, he taught Why does it start with "the generations of Aharon's sons above and beyond his obligation, Noach," namely his children, but finish with Noach teaching them personally and reviewing with them, himself, "a righteous man, perfect"? This teaches so they were considered his sons. you that the true "generations" of the righteous are their good acts. In fact, this goes back to the dawn of Jewish history. When they first come to Eretz See Similarly, Reish Lakish (Bereshit Rabba 96) Yisra'el, Avraham and Sara bring "the Pg. 9

6

In the blessing of Parashat Bechukotai we find some peculiar promises. It says that “Hashem Rabbeinu Bachye’s conclusion shall turn to you”, and “Hashem shall walk amongst is that these promises never came into practice in you”. Rabbeinu Bachye explains that in this blessing ancient or modern times and is therefore a descripthe Torah includes spiritual reward as well as physition of future reward. They simply describe a reward cal reward. Our sages explained the passage saying that is very perfect. I want to explain that the physithat Hashem shall walk amongst us that in the future cal reward applies to the days of Messiah while the Hashem shall walk with the righteous in the Garden spiritual rewards pertain to the world to come. of Eden. They also said that in the future Hashem shall make a “dance” for the righteous in the world Rabbi Judah Halevi in the Kuzari says to come and every righteous person will point to something bold. He wants to say that the above Hashem with his finger and say: “This is my G-d and passages that promise that Hashem will dwell I will admire him. The explanation of these amongst us apply to this world! The phenomenon of Medrashim is that the existence of Hashem will be a prophet who converses with Hashem is the fulfillclear at that time as if he was ment of these passages! This “In the future Hashem shall actually there. Hashem will can explain the use of plural in make a ‘dance’ for the righteous all of these passages as the make a dance for the rightin the world to come” eous. The dance is called by whole nation feels this reward the Medrash “machol” beas the prophet influences cause it refers to a circle dance. In a circle dance all that meet him. However, Kli Yakar See Pg.10 there is no beginning and no end. This is because points out that there is no contrathe situation in the world to come will be such that there will be no end to the pleasure of the righteous. The Torah mixed these spiritual rewards amongst the physical ones so that only a scholar will be able to detect it. However, these passages are proof that the Torah already promises us a spiritual world in which we will be able to experience Hashem directly as Ramchal writes in “Mesilath Yesharim”: “Man was created to enjoy Hashem and to bask on the aura of his “Shechina”. Indeed, Rashi on the passage “I shall turn to you” explains that Hashem will leave all other business to attend to the reward of the righteous. He quotes from the Medrash the beginning of a parable about a King who hired workers. He doesn’t finish the quote.

The Sifsei Chachamim finishes it.The King hired workers to work for him. They all did a minimal job. One of them did a lot of work for the King. The King says to the loyal worker: “wait until I pay the others the little they deserve and then I will give you my undivided attention. Thus, here, Hashem pays off the few righteous deeds that the non-committed do – in this world.

7

The Door

I. Joy tempered by my tears, Heart, longing to be near. I fold the note, walk two steps more To kiss the cold stones which are the door To G-d's house. II. His home was twice destroyed And strangers fill the void. One wall remains of the original four This wall is holy, the stones of the door Of G-d's house. III. I know I won't enter The dome in the center. I pray for the day that the Temple's restored. For now, I take comfort in being by the door Of G-d's house.

IV. "The holiest place," They've made their case. The truth is below ground, the Ark at its core. His home is within; this wall, just the door To G-d's house. V. When our wish is fulfilled And G-d's house is rebuilt, The splendor will be there, the voices will soar And all of His people will knock on the door To G-d's house.

8

viddui.” In other words, biur and viddui should be close, as they are considered one mitzva, but Yom Tov is not a fitting day for clearing out ma’asrot, so we move it up to the last day of Chol Ha-mo’ed. Interestingly, the Yere’im (264) goes even further, ruling that both biur and viddui should be a week earlier, on Erev Pesach itself. The Shulchan Arukh (Yoreh De’a 331:144) follows the Rambam. According to all opinions, we see that Pesach is the time for this mitzva, but why is this? Why do we wait until almost seven (in a leap year like 5768, eight) full months have passed after the end of the ma’aser ani year? The Sifrei (ibid.) explains that we derive the time for viddui (and biur) ma’aser from an equation between the initial mitzva to give ma’aser ani (Devarim 14:28), which begins “Mi-ktzeh” and the mitzva of Hakhel (31:7), to read the Torah publicly during the Sukkot after shemitta, which begins with the word “Mi-ketz.” Once we know that the mitzva must be done on a

festival, it is clear that it must be Pesach, because we mark the end of the previous agricultural year by permitting the grain of the new crop (chadash) through the waving of the Omer.

Rashi makes an intriguing comment on the word “Mi-ktzeh”: “This comes to teach us that if one delays his tithes from the first and second year of shemitta, that he must consume it from his house in the third.” The implication seems to be that one should really be giving terumot and ma’asrot earlier, but biur is a last chance. In that case, we understand the mishna’s term for this declaration: “viddui,” which we usually translate “confession,” part of the repentance for a sin. However, we must ask: what did the farmer violate by “delaying”? Alternatively, if he is not guilty, then why call it viddui? We will, be”H, answer these questions in next issue’s shiur.

souls they made in Charan" (Bereshit 12:5), and Rashi explains, "These were those whom they had brought under the wings of the Shekhina, with Avraham converting the men and Sarah converting the women." So too here, we see that one who builds the spiritual structure of a person is considered to be his maker.

Taken from Sefer Dvar B’Ito on Chumash and translated from the Hebrew by Rav Yossie Bloch

9

Question: When are Chumrot good for Avodat Hashem and when do they become

detrimental? Likewise, when are kulos good and when do they become detrimental?

Answer: I once heard in the name of Rav Sim-

cha Waserman zt'l, that a chumra is to be compared to something that is large. If a person is big, then if he has a large arm, that is fine. However, if a person is small, then if he has a large arm it is not good at all. A person ought to know where he is "holding" when it comes to his Avodas HaShem. If he is on a high spiritual level and is very careful with every small detail of his Avodas HaShem, then accepting a chumra can be a very good thing for him. However, if he is not on a very high spiritual level, then accepting a chumra is not good for him at all.

If a person has a good reason to rely on a kula, then the kula is a very good idea. For example, one would normally not want to rely on Rav Moshe's heter in regard to Chalav Stam. However, let us suppose that someone is eating by his grandmother's house and she has prepared some cheese cake containing Chalav Stam. Not to eat would be very insulting to her. In this case, it would make sense to rely on the kula. However, if the reason that one wants to rely on a kula is because he is just lazy and doesn't want to make the effort to be machmir, then relying on the kula will be detrimental.

Question: I have heard that Rav Soloveitchik had said that since the Torah reading is a re-enactment of Matan Torah and given that the Baal Koreh is giving over the Torah to the Meturgaman who takes the place of Am Yisrael and who must therefore stand, we who do not use meturgamanim should stand during the entirety of the kriat haTorah. Should one do this?

Answer: I was not aware of this chiddush of the

Rav, however, the Shulchan Aruch and the Mishna Brura discuss this question. The Shulchan Aruch (siman 146, si'if #4) says that it is not necessary to stand during the reading of the Torah. The Rama there says that there are those who are machmir and stand during the reading. The Mishna Brura

diction between the words of the Kuzari and that of the Medrash. If Hashem can communicate with man when he is still locked in his physical body, certainly he can do so when the soul has separated from the body. Indeed, this means that the ultimate reward is the connection to Hashem and the ability to receive his light. Blessed is the person who merits attaining that!

10

(si'if katan #19) says that the Gra held like the Shulchan Aruch. So, if a person wants to sit during the reading of the Torah, he certainly can rely on the Gra. However, there is clearly an inyan to stand, since that is what the Rama quotes. In a shul where nobody stands, it would make more sense not to stand, but rather to rely on the Gra and to sit during the reading of the Torah.

tages merely enable us to gain more opportunity in our search for devekut – closeness to Hashem. For the Rambam the only true quest is knowledge of Hashem and the blessings mentioned in the Torah represent the easing of the physical limits that inhibit this quest. The Torah says that the “real” blessing is the opportunity to spend more time and effort in the understanding God more significantly.

(levush) of the Torah which reflects this world. This is the nature of the Torah. In the world in which it is placed, it adopts the garments that are appropriate for that world. Clearly, in the world of the spirit the rewards are entirely spiritual, just as in this world they will be physical. The connection between the rewards of the physical world and those of the spiritual world are found in the explanations of the Oral Torah (she-ba'al Peh).”

The Ramban, in our parashah, suggest that this-worldy brachot represent a deviation from The Torah she-ba'al Peh is not only the lethe natural order, giving us the opportunity to congitimate interpretation of the Written Torah but repsider Hashem’s hashgachah (concern and involveresents the spiritualized understanding of the ment) in the world with greater seriousness. The written word. Similarly, our reward in this world is brachot are not to be also spiritual, but it is seen as a reward per se, “Our reward in this world is also spiri- necessary for us, through but enable and teach us studying the oral, retual, but it is necessary for us, through ceived Torah, to uncover to consider Hashem’s restudying the oral, received Torah, to its spiritual nature. lationship to the world in uncover its spiritual nature.” which we live with greater insightfulness. A person R. Zadok offers us who keeps the Torah is rewarded – through the more than an explanation; he is also confronting us brachot – with greater understanding about the rewith a challenge. The Torah which insists that the lationship between Hashem and His world which reward in this world is physical is not suggesting we inhabit. that more spiritual components will be found in another world to come. Rather, we are called upon to Hundreds of years later, R Zadok HaKoreinterpret and to see the physical advantages ofhen, the great hassidic rebbe of Lublin, readfered as gateways to a more spiritual existence in dressed the question discussed by the Rishonim. our world. This is the challenge that all Jews R Zadok was of the school of Izbitch, where readshould accept and confront. We who live in Eretz dressing questions and giving new explanations Yisrael feel this challenge all the more. We are was not a foreign undertaking. In his Resisei Leila constantly dealing with reality – sometimes more (starting on p. 159), R Zadok says the following: successfully; other times less so. R Zadok wants us to see these challenges not only as an attempt “All the early teachers of Torah recognized to conquer the physical limitations of our existence, the following problem. Why doesn’t the Written but also to understand them as a clear victory in Torah give us any indication as to what the spiritual the spiritual realm as well, beyond any physical adreward of following God’s directives might be? In vantage. We are directed to make the Torah of refact this is not really a question, because it is clear ality and physicality into the Torah of the spirit and that the Written Torah is the physical outer garment of cleaving to Hashem.

Visit us online at www.TorahfromZion.com

11

sensitive to how her inhabitants behave!

that indeed it is time to bring us home.

Once we understand that the "And you, I will scatter among the nations, I will unsheathe the sword after you; your land will be Land has her own personality and that she has a relationship with Hashem, we become desolate and your cities will be a ruin. Then the much more careful as to how we treat her. We will land will be appeased for its sabbaticals during all the years of its desolanot litter our Land betion, while you are in the cause it offends her, we “Now I would like to hit a button on my do not speak ill of the land of your enemies; iLand and play the Israel song for a ten- Land because it hurts her then the land will rest feelings. Moreover, once and it will appease for its day trip.” we comprehend that our sabbaticals. All the years of its desolation it will rest, whatever it did not Land is our unique friend and partner, we stop treating the Land as some personal device that we rest during your sabbaticals when you dwelled turn on and off at our whim. Instead, we upon her." (Vayikra 26, 33-35) embrace her, we cultivate her, we protect her, and we honor her. Our Forefathers If we Jews are bad, the Land will knew that the Land of Israel is a gift; let us evict us, if we Jews don't keep the Sabalso not take her for granted. baths including the Shmittah year, the Land will vomit us out. However, when we call out to G-d from the Exile, the Yishai is the program director of Arutz Sheva merit of the Land, this entity which loves and hosts the show Yishai and Friends. the Jewish people, this special being that only flourishes when the Jewish people are with Her, helps convince G-d

12

ness, until we reach the supremely exalted 50th gate, when we immerse in the climatic purifying mikvah on the night of Shavuot, just before morning prayers.

leg Hod; the organ of the Brit the sefirah of Yesod, and the mouth Malchut. With every wrongdoing that we commit, we damage these channels of blessing. In correcting our character traits during the Omer period, we are concurrently rectifying all of the damage we caused in all of the spiritual worlds through our sins. For instance, if we stole something with our right hand, we should give charity with it during the first week of Chesed. If we unfairly pulled out our children's hair with our left hand while punishing them, then in the second week of the Omer, we should lovingly embrace them with our left hand to rectify the damaged we caused to the spiritual channel of Gevorah.

Like everything else in Judaism, our Sages have given us explicit directions on how to achieve this spiritual rehab. If you look in your prayer book, you will notice that in addition to the list of days and weeks of the Omer, you will see written in tiny letters the character traits that we are to work on each day. For instance, the first day is Chesed of Chesed; the second day is Gevorah of Chesed; the third day is Tiferet of Chesed, and so on. What does this mean? Chesed is related to kindness. Gevorah is related “Thus the 49 days of Sefirat HaOmer leading to judgment. Tiferet This week, we are to the holiday of Shavuot have not only indi- rectifying the Yesod. is related to splendor, representing a Because the sefirah vidual, but national significance as well.” balance between of Yesod is associated the two. Netzach is related to victory. Hod is related with the organ of the Brit, any sexual wrongdoing to praise. Yesod is related to sexual purity. Malchut damages the all-encompassing channel of Yesod. If is related to kingdom, representing the manifestayou will remember the example of the cups, the tion of all of these traits in the world. Thus the first blessings from all of the cups flow into the Yesod week of the seven-week rehab is devoted to kindbefore reaching our world of Malchut. The Yesod is ness, when we are called upon to rectify any blemlike the spout of a funnel. Therefore, when we damishes we have in the character trait of kindness. age the channel of Yesod through sexual wrongdoThe second week is devoted to rectifying the seven ing, we clog up the spout, cutting off the flow of different aspects of Gevorah. We continue in this blessing. The Zohar emphasizes that this stunting manner, seven weeks times seven traits, for a total of Hashem's benevolence leads to disastrous perof 49 days which serve as steps up the ladder of sonal consequences, including marriage problems, holiness in preparation for receiving the Torah. problems with children, health problems, livelihood problems, and the like. If sexual misbehavior These sefirot are the spiritual channels that reaches national proportions, with an outbreak of Hashem employs to bring His light and blessing promiscuity and immodesty in our work places, into the world. To illustrate, imagine a paper cup shopping malls, and streets, not only is the flow of with its bottom cut out. Let’s say this is a spiritual Divine blessing to the individual severed, Divine channel. If you put seven of these plastic cups, one blessing is also cut off from the nation, G-d forbid, inside the other, you have a representation of the resulting in economic hardship, traffic accidents, seven lower sefirot. (The three upper sefirot of terrorists bombings, and wars. This correlation beChochmah, Binah, and Daat are above our grasp tween sexual transgression and national catastroand not included in this counting). All of the spiritual phe is highlighted again and again in the writings of influx from all of these channels flows into the the masters of the secrets of Torah. Yesod in order to appear in the world, represented by the sefirah of Malchut, the only cup that has a Thus the 49 days of Sefirat HaOmer leadbottom to contain the blessings. ing to the holiday of Shavuot have not only individual, but national significance as well. Our Sages tell The Kabbalah teaches that because man is us that these days are the root of the year. Our bea microcosm of the universe, these Sefirot have a havior during this time determines what will be in parallel in each and every one of us. The right arm the months to come. Someone who improves his parallels the sefirah of Chesed; the left arm Gevocharacter traits now will breeze through Rosh rah; the body Tiferet; the right leg Netzach; the left HaShanah and Yom Kippur. See

Pg.15

13

"Hashem spoke to Moses saying, 'Take the Levites in place of every firstborn of the Children of Israel… and as for the redemptions of the 273 firstborn Israelites who are in excess of the Levites; you shall take five shekels from each one'" (Bamidbar 3:44-47)

frained from any involvement in the golden calf, they were perfect candidates to replace the first born of Israel. This was quite a tidy solution, especially since there were 22,273 firstborn Israelites of service age, and 22,000 corresponding Levites of service age. Moses was left with a problem: What’s to be done about the 273 Israelites that don't have a corresponding Levite to replace them?

Hashem gave Moses the solution – let each of the excess Israelites, who would be deterAt first, the holy service of the tabernacle mined by drawing lots, pay a 5-shekel pidyon, or reand the sacrifices was intended for the firstborn of demption. As such, they shall be fully absolved of Israel. Parshat Bo teaches (Shemot 13:2) that the tremendous spirievery firstborn is “ ...we learn that the pidyon has the power of tual debt they incurred sanctified. Hashem replacing a soul!” by being disqualified selectively and to perform their duties miraculously spared as the priests of Israel. the firstborn of Israel at the same time and place when He killed the firstborn of Egypt. Therefore, the In effect, the tradeoff of a Levite for an Isfirstborn were born into a special sanctified status raelite was a soul for soul. Since the 5-shekel with extra privileges and extra responsibilities, pidyon became – by Hashem's own command – an namely, completely dedicating their lives to Divine Israelite's acceptable substitute for a Levite, we service. learn that the pidyon has the power of replacing a soul! This has tremendous practical ramifications to Although a negligible number of Israelites this day, for a pidyon – given to a tzaddik - has the took active participation in the ignominy of the power of sweetening the severest of judgments that golden calf, collective responsibility rendered the may hang like a heavy hatchet over a person's firstborn Israelites unfit for service in the tabernacle head, heaven forbid. and other priestly duties. Insofar as the Levites re Reb Nosson of Breslov advises (Kitzur Likkutei Moharan I: 51.2), that a person shouldn't wait until encountering trouble; he or she should give a pidyon to a tzaddik even in good times, to cleanse their spiritual slate of any accrued severe judgments, to prevent future trouble. He also says that giving food and drink to Torah scholars also serves as a pidyon.

With Hashem's assistance, the following parable will help us understand how a pidyon - or redemption money to a tzaddik or Torah scholar – is so very effective in warding off calamity:

14

The hamlets of the Jewish Ukraine consisted of wooden houses with thatched roofs. If a fire broke out, heaven forbid, the entire shtetyl Next would be a pile of ashes by the time the

Page

With Matan Torah less than two weeks away, we still have time to do some serious t’shuva, to strive for added holiness, to sanctify ourselves even in things that are permitted, to dress and behave in a more modest fashion, to study secrets of Torah and the teachings of the holy Tzaddikim, to feel greater joy in the performance of the commandments and in our prayers, to guard over our eyes and our tongues, and to instill in our children the pride of being a part of Hashem's holy nation. By sanctifying ourselves in this fashion, we will truly be able to say at the end of our counting the Omer this Shabbat:

“May it be Your will, L-rd our G-d, and G-d of our fathers, that in the merit of the counting of the Omer that I counted today, the damage I caused to the channel of Yesod of Yesod will be rectified, and I will be purified and sanctified with a transcendental holiness. And that this in turn will cause a great influx of blessing in all of the worlds to rectify our beings, spirits, and souls from every impurity and blemish, to bring an exalted purity and holiness upon us, amen, selah.”

bucket brigade descended to the river and back.

was locked! They all yelled at each other, "Who's got the key?" Nobody had an answer, and meanwhile the fire from the Klebanoff house was spreading in the direction of the Turlitzky house.

The clever people of Podol learned their lesson after having witnessed their homes and possessions going up in smoke every other year. They took a unique initiative, and built a large shed. Inside the shed was a sturdy horse-drawn wagon, equipped with two tremendous barrels filled with water. Itche-Meir, the shtetyl genius and mechanical innovator, contrived a hand-drawn pump that would siphon the water from the barrel through a metal pipe that Honya the blacksmith made in his smithy. As a result, Podol's barrel brigade had ten times the water-power – in speed and in volume – as the best of the shtetyl bucket brigades.

After the local peasants stole Podol's horse and fire wagon for the second time, the people of Podol decide to build a big door to seal off the shed. Under Itche-Meir's careful direction, Honya built a massive lock for the heavy door. They had to protect the fire wagon at all costs, for it had already successfully extinguished half a dozen blazes that would have otherwise consumed the entire shtetyl. One hot summer day, a spark from Mrs. Klebanoff's oven set her house on fire. Everyone smelled the smoke, and the urchins of Podol were already running to and fro yelling "fire, fire!" The men of Podol raced to the fire shed, but the door

"Where's Itche-Meir?" someone yelled. "He's got the key!"

"Oy-vey!" exclaimed Chaimke the baker. "Itche-Meir's gone to his nephews wedding in Zhitomer. He won't be back until next week!" Just as the clouds of doom seemed to descend on Podol, Honya the blacksmith came running with the key to the fire shed, a spare that he had made for himself. The Klebanoff house was a total loss, but the rest of the shtetyl was saved after the firefighters of Podol and their trusty wagon overcame the blaze in the nick of time. *******

The shtetyl fire is symbolic of our troubles. The fire wagon represents chessed, the divine compassion that extinguishes din, or severe judgment. Just as the key in the blacksmith's hand unlocked the fire wagon, a pidyon in the hand of a tzaddik invokes the needed compassion to extinguish the fires of severe judgment. May Hashem sweeten all harsh judgments and redeem His people Israel, amen.

Torat Yisrael & TorahFromZion.com (c) 5768 (2008) Shmuel Sokol & Yechiel Stein

15