Short & Sweet

Acharei Mos: Tainted Ideals*

On יום הכיפורים the Kohen Gadol brings three different korbanos: one for his own personal sins, one for the sins of the entire nation, and one specifically for the sin of טומאת מקדש, allowing the בית המקדש to become impure, a sin which is attributed to the Kohanim. What is it that makes this particular sin so severe that it needs its own special atonement on יום הכיפורים?

R’ Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that the בית המקדש is symbolic of the highest ideals of the Jewish people, of perfection itself. And so by having a מקדש in their midst, the Jewish nation proclaimed both its loyalty to pure Jewish ideals and its desire to draw closer to perfection. Despite whatever shortcomings we may have had, the ideals remained intact.

However, once we allow the בית המקדש to become defiled, we show that we do not cherish and look up to the Jewish ideals in their purest form. We have allowed the actual way that we live our lives to water down our ideals. And once that happens, we have no ideals left to guide us and urge us to be better. We have nothing left to go back to. This is is why such a dramatic rectification is required specifically for this sin.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Bechukosai: Just Do It

In the middle of the frightening
קללות that we are told will befall us if we stray from the path of Torah and mitzvos, the Parsha tells us of a positive development: וְהִתְוַדּ֤וּ אֶת־עֲוֺנָם֙, Klal Yisroel will admit to their sins. And yet, the קללות continue on after that pasuk. If we admit to the mistakes we’ve made, why don’t our troubles end there?

The Vilna Gaon explains that admitting what you’re doing is wrong is only half the battle. Realizing your mistakes is only helpful if you correct them afterwards. It is not enough to find where we’ve fallen short of living up to our ideals; we must fix the issue if we want anything to change.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Bamidbar: Free For All

The Medrash tells us that Torah is compared to a desert; just as a desert is הפקר לכל, free to all, so too the Torah is only given to one who makes themselves available to all, מי שמפקיר עצמו לכל.

Perhaps we can suggest that this why our Parsha, which is focused on counting all of the Jews, begins with mentioning the midbar. Just like the desert is accessible to all, only somebody who is there for every single Jew can become a teacher and leader of the people.

The Torah is not given to any one individual; Hashem promised it to the nation as a whole. The best way to ensure that Hashem gives you access to the light of the Torah is to approach learning Torah not for your individual satisfaction, but as a representative of the people.

וכמש״כ המהר״ל באבות: ולפיכך אמר “מי שלמד על מנת ללמד, מספיקין בידו ללמוד וללמד”. כי כאשר כונתו שתהיה התורה בעולם, כאשר ראוי לפי האמת שתהיה התורה בעולם, מספיקין בידו ללמוד וללמד כפי כונתו שרצה.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Bahaloscha: Souls on Fire

We know that when Ahron HaKohen lit the menorah, he had to light each flame until it was עולה מעלה, strong enough to rise on its own.

R’ Moshe Feinstein points out that Kohanim were the teachers of the nation, as it says יורו משפטך ליעקב, and Ahron was the leader of the Kohanim. He suggests that we therefore learn a lesson about how to inspire the next generation from this particular halacha.

It is not enough to educate our children to just do what they are told; one day, nobody will telling them what to do. We must inspire our children to the point that they want to what is right by themselves. We need to instill in them a passion for yiddishkeit that will continue to burn within them for their entire lives. Only when that flame is burning on its own can it continue on without us.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Korach: Keeping the Balance

When discussing the Terumah that must always be given to the Kohanim, the Torah refers to it as ברית מלח עולם. Why is salt used as a metaphor for the everlasting?

Rabeinu Bachya has a fascinating explanation. He says that since salt is produced by cooking water, salt is a mixture of water and fire. So too, Hashem’s promises are eternal because they are composed of both מידת הרחמים (represented by water) and מידת הדין (fire).

R’ Aaron Lopiansky explains that if Hashem only gave us exactly what we deserve (דין), we couldn’t survive. But if Hashem gave us everything without our deserving it, we would become spoiled instead of productive. The balance is crucial.

A similar idea applies in our own lives. If we do what is right only out of a sense of obligation, we will eventually run out of willpower. If we do it only out of idealism and inspiration, we will eventually get disheartened. There needs to be a balance of different motivations, יראה and אהבה, for us to keep at it.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Chukas: Just Part of the Plan

Moshe Rabbeinu had spent the last forty years trying to lead Bnei Yisroel into Eretz Yisroel. He tried to direct them to do what was right, and was the one who dealt with the fallout when they didn’t listen. But in this parsha, Moshe gets the bad news. He will not be entering Eretz Yisroel. He will die in the desert like the rest of his generation did.

But Moshe didn’t focus on his own disappointment at his life’s dream slipping away. The very next pasuk has Moshe back in action, trying to convince Edom to let Bnei Yisroel pass through so they could get to Eretz Yisroel without him. The plan must go on, with me or without me. My job is to do what Hashem says; what part I have to play is up to Him, not me.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Mattos: Learn From All

When Bnei Gad and Reuven asked Moshe if they could live on the other side of the Yarden, outside of Eretz Yisroel proper, Moshe wasn’t very happy. How can you abandon your brothers, he asked them? Bnei Gad and Reuven answered that they would stay with the rest of the nation until the entire Eretz Yisroel was conquered, and each Shevet settled their specific portion of it. We can easily understand why they were needed during the war, but what was the point of watching everyone else split up the land?

Perhaps we can suggest that Moshe was not only worried whether the Shevatim would not help each other during war and hardship. He wanted them to be together as one people in times of peace as well. Each Shevet is a piece of the greater whole, and each has a lesson to teach the others. Only when we spend time seeing how others go about living their lives can we learn from them what we might be able to do better.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Eikev: Do It Right

Rashi famously writes that the Brachos in this week’s parsha are destined for those who keep מצוות קלות אשר דש בעקביו, the mitzvos that a person step on with his heel. This is generally understood to be referring to “small” mitzvos that some people ignore.

However, R’ Moshe Feinstein writes that this is referring to the big mitzvos as well. He points out that Klal Yisroel were praised for accepting the Torah and mitzvos unconditionally when they said נעשה ונשמע, since they were willing to put aside their own opinions about right and wrong and completely obey Hashem’s Torah and mitzvos.

And yet, says R’ Moshe, when it comes to the biggest mitzvos, such as learning Torah and giving Tzedaka, many people just do whatever they feel is right, without ever asking a shayla about what they should be doing or how they should be doing it.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Shoftim: Monkey See, Monkey Do

There is a mitzva in this weeks parsha to appoint a Jewish King. And yet, when Bnei Yisroel approached Shmuel HaNavi about doing just that, they were rebuked for it. How can that be?

The Ohr HaChaim explains that although the Jews of that generation were trying to do the right thing, they were doing it for the wrong reason. They didn’t want a king to fulfill the mitzva of Hashem: they just wanted to be like the nations around them, which all had kings. (This is supported by the observation of the Tur that Bnei Yisroel only asked for king in days of Shmuel, since that is when the Pilishtim began to have kings.)

Don’t live your life as a copy of somebody else, even if that person is doing everything right. You have to figure out what’s right for you, and do it for the right reasons.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

<strong>Ki Seitzi: In Gods Hands

Rashi at the end of this weeks Parsha explains that the mitzva of remembering what Amalek did to us is placed right after the the issur of cheating in business, to teach us that this type of dishonesty will be punished by enemies attacking us.

However, Rashi parshas Beshalach writes that Amalek attacked Bnei Yisroel because they said היש ה׳ בקרבנו, questioning if Hashem was really with them. Which one was it?

R’ Moshe explains that in truth, these are not two different issues. One who thinks that they can get ahead in this world by dishonesty is actually denying that Hashem controls the world. One who believes that Hashem is with us and controls everything knows that only Hashem decides how much money he will end up with – he has no incentive to lie.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Sukkos: What’s the Shake all About?

Although m’ikkar ha’din one can fulfill the mitzva of lulav and esrog by merely picking them up, the משנה tells us to shake them during הלל when saying הודו לה׳ כי טוב and אנא ה׳ הושיעה נא.

Based on medrashim, the תפארת ישראל explains that shaking the four species symbolizes shaking of every part of our body and soul in fervent prayer to Hashem, to both thank Him for all He’s given us and to request that His kindness continue to surround us.

‎לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
‎לע”נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום