Short & Sweet

Shelach: Your Tears Define You

After they received the negative report of the Meraglim, Bnei Yisroel cried. The Gemora famously tells us Hashem’s response: הן בכו בכיה של חינם, ואני אקבע להם בכיה לדורות – they cried for no reason, now they will cry for generations to come.

But why do Chazal stress the crying? Wasn’t the issue that Bnei Yisroel believed the Meraglim and doubted that Hashem could conquer Eretz Yisroel?

R’ Aron Lopiansky explains that one only cries about things that are core to their very selves. You can have many things, and you can lose many things. But you will cry if you lose something that is integral to who you are.

The fact that Bnei Yisroel cried over something meaningless (חינם) was a big problem. It showed that they thought of things that were meaningless as being integral to who they were. They missed the “free food” that they got in Mitzrayim, when they were חינם מן המצות. This was what mattered to them.

This problem had no easy fix. To redefine oneself takes time, for an individual and even more so for an entire nation. It will take generations for us to lose the nonsense that we too often identify ourselves with. That difficult separation from things that we used to see as integral will be the resultant בכיה לדורות.

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

Chukas: Wellspring of Torah

In the middle of the Shira that Bnei Yisroel sung about the miraculous באר מרים, Chazal find a surprising series of allusions. From the words ממדבר מתנה, we darshan: if one makes themselves הפקר כמדבר, then Hashem will give them Torah as gift. But what does this have to do with the well of Miriam?

R’ Aaron Lopiansky explains that the Torah is actually very similar to a well. One needs to work hard to dig a well. But once they have the well, they still do not think they have created the water. Rather, they have worked to uncover what was always there beneath the surface.

This needs to be our attitude towards Torah. We cannot just wait for Hashem to give us understanding; we need to work for it. But after we do understand, we still must think of the Torah as a gift from Hashem. The truths we see in the Torah are ideas we have uncovered, not created.

A well serves as a portal. From within a very small hole, one can extract a nearly endless amount of liquid. So too with Torah. Torah is not a finite pool of wisdom, it is a portal from which we can draw endless amount of Divine wisdom and inspiration.

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לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Devarim: Old Mistakes Die Hard

Devarim begins with Moshe hinting to all the mistakes the Jewish nation had made during their stay in the desert, including the עגל and the מרגלים.

But the Sfas Emes points out that the people Moshe was talking to hadn’t participated in those events. Those who were responsible had already died over the past forty years. Why was Moshe rehashing the mistakes of the parents to their children?

The Sfas Emes explains that each generation inherits both good and bad traits from the previous generations. Our job is not only to build on the good, but to identify and to fix the errors of the past. If we do not, we will simply repeat the same mistakes over and over throughout history.

This is is why Chazal tell us כל דור שלא נבנה בימיו, כאילו נחרב בימיו any generation in which the Beis HaMikdosh is not built, it is as if the Beis HaMikdosh was destroyed. It is up to us to identify and fix the mistakes of the past, both those that are בין אדם לחברו and בין אדם למקום.

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

Vaeschanan/Tisha B’Av: How Much Do You Want It?

The Parsha tells us just how much Moshe yearned to enter Eretz Yisroel, and how many hundreds of times he begged Hashem to let him in.

We all know that the Rambam list thirteen עיקרים. Twelve of the ikarim are things that we need to believe. Once we are certain of them, we have fulfilled our obligation.

But when it comes to the coming of Moshiach, it is not enough to just believe. The Rambam writes that part of the 12th ikar is to be מחכה, to yearn for the coming of Moshiach. The source for this may be the Gemora that says after a person passing, they are asked: צפית לישעיה, did you yearn for the redemption?

The good news is, we already mention the Geulah in six of the brachos of a weekday שמונה עשרה – in the brachos beginning ראה בענינו, תקע בשופר, השיבה שופטינו, ולירושלים, את צמח דוד, רצה. If we would think about the Geulah even one time per each שמונה עשרה, we would be Davening for the Geulah over 1,200 each year.

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לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Re’ah: See For Yourself

The opening passuk of this weeks Parsha seems to contain a discrepancy. ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם, see what I have placed before you. But while ראה is lashon yachid, seemingly addressing an individual person, לפניכם is lashon rabbim, addressing everyone at once. Why is that?

The Kotzker explains that the Torah is given to every Jew, and every one of us has an equal claim to it. However, each person sees the Torah differently. The more time, effort, and energy a person puts into to pursuing the Torah, the greater the depths of wisdom that they will see in it.

The Ramchal makes a similar point. Based on a passuk in Mishlei, he says that Torah is like a coal. The more you stoke and blow on a coal, the more light and warmth you will get from it. So too with Torah; the more effort you put into it, the brighter you will see it shine.

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לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Ki Seitzi: Undying Gratitude

Mitzrayim was the first enemy we faced as a nation. We were enslaved by them for hundreds of years, forced to endure backbreaking labor and torture.

And yet, the Torah clearly instructs us: לא תתעב מצרי, do not hate an Egyptian. Why not? כי גר היית בארצו, because when Yaakov and his sons needed a place to live, Mitzrayim let them in.

The Gemora points out that Mitzrayim did not take in Yaakov and his sons with any noble intentions. Rather, they did it for purely selfish reasons: they thought that Yosef’s brothers would be likely to make great governmental officers.

Human nature is that when someone has wronged us, that is all that we tend to remember about them. But we see from here how different the attitude is that the Torah wants us to take. We must forever remember the one favor Mitzrayim did for us, even if they did it for selfish reasons, and despite their making our lives hell for hundreds of years afterwards.

Never forget the good that others have done for you.

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

Ki Savo: When the Going gets Tough

When we would bring Bikkurim to the Beis HaMikdosh, we list all that we are thankful for. We are thankful not only for a successful crop, but for all Hashem has done for us: from when He rescued Yaakov from Lavan, to when He he took us out of Mitzrayim, and everything else He’s done for us until today.

And yet, we also discuss some less pleasant things in the Parsha of Bikkurim. We talk about the bitterness of Galus in Mitzrayim, and how Lavan tried to destroy us. If we’re meant to be giving thanks for the good, why do we also focus on the bad?

R’ Chaim Mintz explains that the hardship that we had to endure was no accident. The Gemora says that there are three gifts that Hashem gives that only come through יסורים: Torah, Eretz Yisroel, and Olam Haba.

Tough times are not fun, but they are necessary. They push us to work harder, and show us just how much we can accomplish if we have our backs to the wall. Without difficulties, we could never become the best version of ourselves, and never be deserving of all the good that Hashem wants to give us.

We must thank Hashem not only for the good, but also for the tough times that make us who we are.

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לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Nitzavim: Talk to Yourself

When exhorting us to do Teshuva and keep the entirety of the Torah, Moshe says the following stirring statement: כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאוד, בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו – for this matter is very close to you, in your mouths and in your hearts to do it.

R’ Aaron Lopiansky points out that it is interesting that the mouth is listed before the heart. Doesn’t everything that comes out of the mouth first originate in the heart?

R’ Aaron Lopiansky sees in this Passuk a source for one of the primary teachings of R’ Yisroel Salanter: that the path to the heart is through the mouth.

The point of Mussar is to make the heart feel what the mind already knows. R’ Yisroel Salanter taught that the way to bridge that gap was for one to repeat to themselves passages from Chazal that deal with Yiras Hashem. But it is not enough to merely mouth it. It must be with שפתים דולקות, with a burning fervor. By doing so, one will make what they know intellectually feel real to them on an emotional level.

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לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Haazinu: Unstoppable

Rashi points out that in this Parsha is one of three times that the Torah uses the phrase בעצם היום הזה. Quoting the Sifri, Rashi explains that each time this phrase is used, there were people who had announced their intentions to thwart the plans of Hashem.

In the times of Noach, the people had said that if there was a מבול, they would stop Noach from entering the תיבה. The Mitzriyim had made clear that they would never let the Jews leave their land. And in our Parsha, the Jews had said they wouldn’t let Moshe leave them.

In each case, Hashem made a point of acting בעצם היום, publicly and in the middle of the day. You think you can stop the Divine plan? Go ahead and try.

But there is another time when this phrase is used: וכל מלאכה לא תעשו עד *עצם היום* הזה, כי יום כפורים הוא לכפר עליכם.

The Ramchal and many others go on at great length to explain the effects of our aveiros. Every mistake we make has ruinous consequences, both in the heavens above and deep within ourselves. We can sometimes feel that since our mistakes are so serious, they can never be undone.

But the Divine plan cannot be stopped. When Hashem says כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם לטהר אתכם מכל חטאתיכם, He means it. As long as we regret our mistakes and pledge to do better, He will erase the past as if it never was, and absolutely nothing can stop Him.

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לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Vzos HaBracha: Birkas HaTorah

The Beis HaLevi asks an intriguing question. When we leave the Sukkah, we need to make a new Bracha when we re-enter it. Yet when it comes to Birkas HaTorah, even when we close a Sefer and walk away, we do not make a new Bracha when we pick it up again. Why is that?

The Beis HaLevi answers by pointing to a different halacha from hilchos Brachos. If a bunch of people are eating together and only some of them leave, the ones who leave do not need to make a new Bracha when they return. Since they left their friends still busy with the meal they do not consider themselves to be done eating, they are not מסיח דעת.

Says the Beis HaLevi, the same is true when it comes to learning Torah. Even when one stops learning, if he is leaving his friends busy with their learning, he is not מסיח דעת from returning.

The Beis HaLevi sees an allusion to this idea in this weeks Parsha. שמח זבולון בצאתך, Zevulon rejoices when he leaves on a business trip. Why? ויששכר באהלך, because he is leaving his friend and partner still toiling in Torah, and therefore neither of them is מסיח דעת from Torah.

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

Bereishis: From Darkness, Light

One of the interesting things about the Jewish calendar is what time one day starts and the next day begins. Rather than begin at midnight or even at dawn, in Judaism each day is considered to began at nightfall. We see this from the Parsha’s constant repetition of ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר, it was night and then it was day.

R’ Eliezer HaKalir sees an allusion in these words to all of the darkness that has befallen our people. In his Kinnos for Tisha B’Av, he writes that this night alludes to all of the horrors that will occur to our people in the dark and bitter time of Galus. But from that darkness comes the light of the a new day, of the ultimate redemption.

We as a people have just witnessed a horror we had hoped we would only see in history books. But we as a people have responded with so much light. We as a people are there for each other in a way that cannot be described in words.

No Jew has gone unmoved by the events of this past week. We have seen what unspeakable horrors humanity is capable of, and we have seen how much love we can all have for each other. Let us hope that we can all come this dark period all the more determined to do what is right, to make the world a better place.

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

Lech Lecha: Inspired by the Emptiness

The Parsha begins with Hashem’s first command to Avram: לך לך מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך, go from your land, your birthplace, and your father’s house, אל הארץ אשר אראך, to the land that I will show you.

R’ Aaron Lopiansky asks, why do we need the whole first half of the command? Wouldn’t it be enough to tell Avram where to go to? Why did Hashem go into so much detail about the place Avram was leaving from?

He answers that the place Avram was leaving was actually the impetus for his journey. Avram grew up under Nimrod, in a land of idolatry. But because he grew up with it, he appreciated just how empty it was. His exposure to an ideology that he knew to be false was what inspired him to seek the truth.

Sometimes, we are drawn to do the right thing by an appreciation for what is good. But sometimes, we are drawn to what is right because we are repulsed by the evil of what is wrong. The very emptiness of the world around us can be what inspires us to seek out something more.

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לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

*Vayeira: A Shining Example*

How did Yerushalayim get its name? Rashi quotes a Medrash that Shem called the city שלם, while Avraham called it יראה immediately after the Akeida when he said בהר ה׳ יראה. Hashem combined both of these names into ירושלם.

Based on the writing of the Gra, R’ Aaron Lopiansky explains the meaning of this. Shem brought שלימות into the world – he was the last remaining link to Noach and Adam, and he bore the idea that there is one Hashem.

But Avraham was more than that. Avraham made the world see what it could be. At the time of the Akeida, Avraham’s actions showed the world what Avodas Hashem looks like in its most pristine form, how a human being could reach the level where all he cares about is doing what Hashem wants him to do.

R’ Aaron Lopiansky compares this to a mirror. The first thing you want in a mirror is for it to be complete – if it is broken or cracked, it will not function. But a mirror’s purpose is not just to be whole. It exists to reflect light – if it cannot do that, it is useless.

This is what Yerushalyim stands for: we must have not only a complete set of beliefs, but also shining ideals that guide us in all that we do.

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לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Chayei Sarah: יפה שיחתן

The Torah is usually very sparing with its words; there are entire Mitzvos described only in a few short Pesukim. And yet, the Parsha repeats the instructions Avraham gave Eliezer on how to find Rivka once when Avraham told them to Eliezer, and then gives another equally detailed account of Eliezer repeating his instructions to Lavan and Besual. What is this supposed to teach us?

Perhaps we can explain this with a mashal. Imagine somebody attempting to explain the power of a nuclear bomb:

One way to try to explain it could be by pointing out that the core of the explosion is about a hundred million degrees Celsius. But that’s very hard for anybody to relate to – nobody can possibly imagine how hot that it.

A far more accessible explanation is that an atom bomb can immediately vaporize a person standing miles away from the epicenter. By describing things that we can relate to that happen at the periphery of the blast zone, we can get some appreciation for how powerful the explosion must be at its core.

It’s very difficult for us to relate to the strength of Abraham’s convictions. So instead, we focus on the conversation that Eliezer has with Lavan. At the end of that conversation, Lavan responds: מה׳ יצא הדבר, לא נוכל דבר עליו רע או טוב.

Just having a conversation with Eliezer made such an impact on Lavan that his only response was “Everything is up to Hashem, I have no power to affect anything”. From the fact that Avraham’s servant’s convictions were strong enough to have such an effect on the wicked Lavan , we can have some appreciation for the strength of Avraham’s convictions.

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

Toldos: Don’t Denigrate

Chazal tell us that Eisav was quite busy on the day of his Bar Mitzva. He committed murder, adultery, and was כופר בעיקר. And yet, the Torah explicitly tells us only one thing that Eisav did wrong: ויבז עשו את הבכורה, Eisav denigrated his original position as the Bechor. Of all things to focus on, why does the Torah pick that?

Based on the writings of R’ Shimon Schwab, this becomes clear. No matter what one does wrong, Teshuva is always an option – it’s never too late to come back. However, somebody who denigrates their very connection to Hashem, who constantly reinforces to themselves that religion is something they want to stay away from, will be extremely unlikely to ever come back.

After Eisav gave away his birthright to bring Korbanos for nothing but a bowl of soup, he doubled down on his decision. He went around actively denigrating his connection to Hashem as being worthless, as being something he had no interest in. Once he crossed that line, it would be very unlikely for him to come back.

We all make mistakes. But at the very least, we should make sure not to burn our bridges back home.

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

Vayishlach: Till Dawn

A famous passuk in this week’s Parsha tells us: ויותר יעקב לבדו ויאבק איש עמו עד עלות השחר, Yaakov was left alone, and an individual struggled with him till dawn. Chazal see this as being symbolic of the the Jewish people, left all alone, having to fight the nations of the world through the dark and terrifying “night” of Galus.

But R’ Shamshon Raphael Hirsch points out that Yaakov does not win this war at the end. Instead, at dawn, the struggle just stops. Why is that?

R’ Hirsch explains that the purpose of history will not be accomplished by the descendants of Yaakov forcing the nations of the world to do what is right. Rather, at the end of time, the truth will dawn on them. They will suddenly see the light, and realize that the very Jewish ideals and principles that they have fought so hard against are what will bring happiness, security, and fulfillment to all of the nations of the world.

The nations of the world will not give up their fight against us because we beat them. Rather, they will eventually come to the realization that we were right all along.

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לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Mikeitz: Who’s Serving Who?

The Medrash in this week’s Parsha makes a fascinating comparison. In Paroh’s dream, he saw himself standing over his god – ופרעה חולם והמה עומד על היאור. But when Yaakov dreamed, he saw God standing over him – והנה ה׳ נצב עליו. What is this Medrash trying to tell us?

R’ Simcha Wasserman explains that these dreams show how each person saw themselves in relationship to what they considered to be Divine.

Paroh worshiped the Nile in an attempt to get it to irrigate his crops. He saw himself standing over his god, because he wanted it to serve his needs.

This is also why Paroh practiced polytheism. He would “worship” any power that he thought might be able to help him. In reality, all he cared about was himself.

Yaakov was the opposite. He saw God standing over him. He viewed religion as being about us serving God, rather than God serving us. Everything he did was to come closer to and to develop a relationship with the one and only God.

In Judaism, we serve God, not the other way around. We do not keep the Torah and Mitzvos as a way of trying to get Hashem to do what we want Him to do. We do it because it is what He wants, and it is how we develop a relationship with Him.

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לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Vayigash: Seeing the Hidden

The Parsha tells us that seventy members of Yaakov’s family went down to Mitzrayim. But as Rashi famously points out, only 69 names are mentioned. Quoting the Medrash, Rashi writes that the missing name is Yocheved, who was born “between the walls” en route to Mitzrayim.

R’ Aaron Lopainsky explains that this hints to an important role that Yocheved played in bridging two worlds. Yocheved grew up seeing Yaakov and the Shevatim, seeing the Jewish nation at its best. She then lived through Galus Mitzrayim, seeing the nation at its darkest and most difficult moments.

But as bad as things got, Yocheved never let go of that vision of what the Jewish people could be. That is why Yocheved is the one to compete the count, even though her name is hidden; she was the one who could see the complete picture of her people, even when nobody else could.

Since Yocheved retained that vision of what was possible, she was able to raise a son that made that vision a reality.

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לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Shemos: The Advantage of the Bitterness

The Parsha tells us that the Egyptians made our lives miserable: וימררו את חייהם. But what is interesting is that from this Passuk, we learn out the mitzva of having Marror. What lesson is there to learned from remembering how bitter Galus was after it’s already ended?

R’ Matisyahu Salomon has a beautiful explanation, based on writings of R’ Yisroel Salanter. We know that how much reward a person gets for doing a mitzva depends on how much effort they put in to it – לפום צרעא, אגרא. Therefore, those few Mitzvos that one manages to accomplish when things are very difficult can count for many times more than Mitzvos that came to one easily.

The fact that life was so difficult in Mitzrayim gave every action that Klal Yisroel did special meaning. Every word of Tefillah that they uttered in those trying times pierced the heavens – ותעל שועתם אל אלקים מן העבודה. The very bitterness of the exile was what gave Klal Yisroel’s Teffilos the power to set them free.

This lesson is important for all generations. When things seem so difficult, we must remember that every Mitzva we do and every Teffilah we utter is now all the more precious to Hashem. We can never know just how much our “small” things can accomplish precisely when the going gets tough.

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לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

The Necessity of Destruction

Moshe had previously complained to Hashem; למה הרעותה לעם הזה, למה זה שלחתני – why did you send me to Pharoh, he only made things worse for the people?

Hashem answers by saying that now He will reveal His true middos. But why was it necessary for the situation to get worse before it could get better?

Based on the מהר״ל, R’ Lopainsky explains that to make something truly new, a fresh start is required.

If Klal Yisroel had attempted to become the עם ה׳ without first shaking off the dust they had accumulated in Mitzrayim, they couldn’t have succeeded. Any Egyptian identity and outlook that Klal Yisroel had picked up in the past two hundred and ten years needed to be destroyed.

This phase of destruction that Moshe was aghast about was wiping the slate clean, getting the nation ready for a new beginning. As is so often the case, the destruction was setting up an opportunity to create something even better.

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