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oh! you’re in yerushalayim? sorry, i forgot it’s different for you!
what a zchus to live in yerushalayim!! a freilichen purim to all.
OK mod 39 and moish, I did my job! 🙂
V’es sheva hanaros hariuyos (bais:tes)
along with the seven appropriate servants
The gemarah explains Esther had seven servants, and set up a system where each one would serve her on a certain day of the week so she would know when shabbos was.
why would Esther, a niviah, need to set up a system to know when shabbos was?
she kept her jewishness hidden, and she was afraid the maids would see her not working on shabbos, and realize that she was jewish, and keeping in mind “batala maviah lidei sh’imos” (laziness leads to indolence) she kept herself busy throughout the week. she set up a system so that the maids who served her during the week, didnt see her rest on shabbos, and the ones who saw her on shabbos, thought she didnt work the entire week. (Yaaros Devash)
taken from the artscroll megillah
moish, time for yours… 🙂
Nice kapusta. Looking forward to more from you in the future You too Moish!!
nice, kapusta. i thought the maids were jewish, though.
and i did mine already so i’m done. no more!
moish yes more!
moish I’ll make a deal with you you do one more, and I’ll do one more 🙂
no deal
of course, 72.
we will, 72!
~a~
mod 72: hopefully i’ll be able to.
can i have a turn sometime?
hey 72 forgot to clear the schedule from last week. there’s no way i’m doing another one so get me off that list!
yes you are, I did mine now you do another one
how did jaymatt get 3 days?
Freiliche Pirim 72 un alle chevra!!
very nice, mod 72.
can i do tuesday, maybe?
Thank you, mod72. I especially like that you gave us a practical way to apply this to our lives.
~a~
very nice mod 72 thank you 🙂
Not exactly related but this just made me think of something that I heard someone say. “We cannot control circumstances in our lives. We can control how we allow those circumstances to affect us.” (I believe this is a direct quote.)
~a~
The Nishama should have an aliya
Here is my Tuesday d’var torah (from R’ Shimon Schwab):
In Al HaNissim, we close by saying that Haman and his sons were hung by the tree. In the megilla, we also find mention of this very same tree numerous times. What is the significance of this tree?
In fact, Haman was the only one who dies via hanging (approx. 16th of Nissan). The 10 sons were killed by sword on the 13th of Adar. On the 14th of Nissan, as per the request of Esther HaMalka, the bodies of the 10 sons were hung on the tree. Chazal make a point to tell us that their dead bodies were hanged on the same tree, one underneath the other, together with the body of Haman (despite the fact that Haman was dead for 11 months!). Additionally, in Maoz Tzur we sing that Haman and his sons were hung via tree.
What is this tree? R’ Schwab wants to suggest that it has its origin from the Gemarra in Chullun, which asks “Where is the source for Haman in the Torah?” (Ha-min Ha-etz) referring to the Eitz HaDaas.
The worst crime one can do is genocide. The destruction of an entire race of people, men, women and children included. And the worst genocide is when it is practiced on Klal Yisroel.
The smallest Aveira, was probably the aveira committed by Adam and Chava. They did it because they thought they would “become like G-d”. They did it because they thought it would uplift their level of spirituality, however, Hashem told them not to, and therefore, it was wrong. Rather than do what they knew to be right, the succumbed to the appeal of the fruit (albeit an altruistic appeal).
The yetzer hara, in the form of the nachash, wanted to entice Adam and Chava to “become like G-d”. And when they succumbed to this desire, the committed the 1st aveira. All other aveiros of the human race are a result of this aveira, because once one violated the will of G-d and experiences the “sweet taste” of sin, he has the desire to continue to do so. Consequently, Adam and Chava after the cheit, had the continued desire for aveiros, and this was inherited by the human race.
The desire for the most idealistic aveira – to become like HaKadosh Baruch Hu – which was committed by Adam and Chava, escalated in their offspring, step by step, until it eventually reached the worst of all sins (the wiping out of the Jewish People). This is what chazal say when they say “Where is Haman” Ha-min HaEitz
Therefore, one could say that the wickedness of Haman is attributed to the tree. With this thought we can readily understand the importance of the “tree” which is mentioned so often in the Purim story.
My own psaht now: We can even see this “snowball” effect by just looking at the story of Purim. Just like Adam and Chava ate the fruit with the purest of intentions. Only to push aside the fact that Hashem told them not to. Likewise Mordechai told the Jews not to partake in the seuda of Achashveirosh. Nevertheless, the Yidden went, not to enjoy the gashmius, but because they thought it would be a chillul hashem. They too had justification for going, nevertheless, they were forbidden to go since they were told by gedolim not to.
This seemingly ‘innocent’ aveira was the main aveira which led to the potential destruction of Klal Yisroel.
JM19,
Extending your pshat, consider the original aveirah of Shaul HaMelech (that is, not killing Agag immediately and leaving the animals alive, despite Shmuel HaNavi’s commandment to the contrary). This aveirah also came from good intentions–misplaced rashmanus–yet it led to the birth of Haman HaRasha.
anon, wonderful chap
thanks JM
Jmatt said he wouldn’t, or was it couldn’t give a D.T. tonight. For some reason, he is still on the main page. So since nobody is going to give, I’ll give it a go.
#1:Why is this week’s parsha so disproportionate? The 1st two aliyos are huge, and the final five are tiny? The answer is that since shevet levi did not sin by the eygel, it will not be an embarrassment for them to get these aliyos. For the rest of klal yisroel, however, it would be better to pack the entire chayt of the eygel into 2 aliyos, and we’d avoid more embarrassment.
#2: We are now in the “pesach period”, so here is a hagadda piece.
The torah is “like 4 sons” What does that mean? It means the same Breishis which is learned in 1st grade, is the same Breishis learned in high schools, and the same Breishis learned by the gedolim. We don’t need to change it for others. Each person can learn it in accordance to their level of understanding. And the Rasha will find justification for his evil behaviour in Breishis as well.
very nice mod 39 🙂
I guess I’ll fill in again.
The following is from R’ Moshe Sternbuch from his sefer Ta’am Vada’as:
??? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????. When Moshe is davening for the Yidden to be spared, he asks Hashem to remember our z’chus avos.
There is an interesting Rashi on this p’suk. Rashi says that if the Yidden are deserving of the punishment of sreifa (burning) remember Avraham who went into the Kivshon HaAish. If the Yidden are deserving of the punishment of Hereg, remember Yitzchak who went onto the Akeda. And if galus is the punishment, remember Yaakov who needed to flee to the house of Lavan.
R’ Sternbuch says it is interesting that among all the things the Avos did, this is what Moshe chose to mention as the z’chusim to Hashem. Moshe only chose to mention the mesiras nefesh the avos went through as well as the yissurin (difficulties) for the sake of Hashem.
Moshe chose to mention these aspect of their avoda since this is truly the optimum way to serve Hashem. ??????????? ??? ?’ ???????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ????????? ??????? ???????: This is personified by the avoda of our avos in their avodas Hashem
D’Var Torah on Parsha Ki Tisa:
In biblical times, the Jewish army would receive words of
inspiration from the kohain before going to battle. Before the kohain sent the troops into battle he gave them four ways to back out:
1. If you were faint hearted you could leave.
2. If you just got married you could leave.
3. If you just built a house you could leave.
4. If you just planted a vineyard you could leave.
Rashi teaches us that the only valid reason to excuse someone was the first reason. If he was scared. He might be scared of battle or he might be scared that he had so many avairos that he would not merit Hashem’s special protection. The other three reasons are not valid excuses. Although having a new wife, house or vineyard can certainly distract a man, it is still possible for him to focus on the job at hand and be a
good soldier.
If this is the case, why does the Torah excuse three types of men who really should not be excused?
The answer teaches us a great lesson about how to treat people. Rashi explains that the other three categories are included because otherwise if someone got up to leave after the kohain excused him, it would be obvious that that man was either a sinner or a faint heart. By creating these other categories it is no longer obvious why a particular person is leaving. Maybe he is from one of these other categories.
What is most remarkable here is that the Torah cares about the feelings of someone who went and violated the Torah. We might say, “This guy is a sinner, let him be embarrassed! Why should I care? Serves him right.”
Instead, we see that the Torah cares about everyone, even someone who is
a sinner.
We find this concept by the korbonos. The korbon chatas (Sin Offering) is brought if one did a sin. The Torah tells us that the korbon chatas is brought in the same place as the korbon oleh (Elevation Offering). The reason is that when someone brings a korbon to that spot, it will not be obvious that that person had committed a sin,
because one could assume that he is bringing an oleh.
The Gemora Sotah teaches us that the Shmoneh Esrei (Amidah) is said
silently for this same reason. That no one should hear us confess our
sins, hence we will be spared any embarrassment.
The Torah unconditionally cares about all people – so should we.
hey i actually remember something form this week’s parsha (ki sisa, right?) but i can’t post it
nice, Jax. thanks.
The following piece is from the Netziv:
????? ????? ????????? ?????? ??? ????????. ?????????????? ???? ?????????? ??????????. ?????? ???????????.
Each and every morning, what is going to happen on that day (throughout the world) has been “nigzar” (sentenced, or more precisely, predetermined) by Hashem. We see this from the words in Eicha ????? ??????.
For this reason, that passuk in Eicha continues with the words ?????? ???????????. It is incumbent on us to have Emuna and Bitachon that our “sentences” will be for the good.
Therefore, at this point, when we say ????? ?????. It is the ideal time for prayer. As the Mechilta says “The prayer of Tzaddikim are heard (and answered) in the morning. For at the same time these “sentences” are being given out, that is the IDEAL time to pray.
May we all be zoche to having proper kavana from the very beginning part of davening to the very last word (and all those words in between). And may HaKadosh Baruch Hu be mekabel the tfillos of all of Klal Yisroel.
Sorry this is a little late.
Mussar HaTorah – Ki Sisa
[to Aharon]
mod72: i’ll take tuesday!!!
Give ’em an inch and they’ll take a mile.
I’ll see if I can find something
There is a famous gemarra in Ta’anis: ?????? ??? ????? ????? Rashi says something very interesting on this phrase “The days of Purim and Pesach”.
This means the Simcha of Adar continues to, and through Pesach.
The reason Purim is in Adar Beis in a leap year is so it can be closer to Pesach. R’ Chaim Friedlander (in the Sifsei Chaim) says that we should try to see the parallelisms between the geula of Purim and Geulas Mitzraim.
1. When one learns the Megilla, one can see that Esther acted in a special way, in order to show future generations that the Yeshuah truly came from HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Firstly, she decreed days of fasting and prayer. Then she went into the kings room without permission (remember, it took 30 days to get permission. This was Nissan, and the Jews were sentenced to die 11 months later, nevertheless, she risked her life). Then, she asked for a party. Since she did not see a sign from Hashem yet, she asked for another party. Prior to the second party, Mordecahi was paraded around on the horse. That was her sign from Hashem. This was all done lest one say it was “happenstance”
Additionally, We see from Makas Bechoros that it was only from Hashem. (Obviously this was on a much greater scale).
2. In both cases, that got Klal Yisroel in trouble was assimilation, and the Yeshuah came through a ma’aseh which showed separation.
During the time of Achashverosh, the Yidden went to his seudah, for they were worried that not going would we an insult to the king, and would strain relations. The 3 days of fasting was a kapara for that.
The Beis HaLevy says that after Yosef died, Klal Yisroel stopped doing bris mila (once again, a larger scale than Purim) since they wanted to gain favor in the eyes of the Egyptians. Remember, relations were good. Yaakov avinu caused the famine to stop and Yosef made them into a world superpower. But since Klal Yisroel went out of their way to assimilate, therefore Hashem sent them a ???? ???-???, ??-?????, ??? ??-???, ??-????. The result of assimilation will be hatred.
What was the teshuva Klal Yisroel needed to do? Look at the Midrash about the Korban Pesach. They needed to shecht the god of the Egyptians and eat it. This was especially difficult since as the midrash states, many homes were forced to house Egyptian firstborns (as there were G-d fearing Egyptians who thought their kid would be saved if in a Jewish home [it did not save them]).
May we all be zoche to carrying over our Simcha form Purim into Pesach.
72, not bad for short notice, eh?
JayMatt19: well done, especially for short notice!!!
72, I’m not going to even wait for you to ask. Please just don’t assign me another this week. If I do one, I do one. If not, please volunteer someone else. I think you’ll find a capable person if you look in the mirror.
The following dvar torah is from R’ Moshe Sternbuch’s sefer “Ta’am V’daas”
The 1st rashi on Va’Yahkhel tells us that this took place the day after Yom Kippos (11th of Tishrei).
It was purposely done on this date because it would be ideal (and even easier) to start the Mishkan and all the halachos of Shabbos after receiving the Kapara of Yom Kippor.
Additionally, there is the famous question as to why we finish the Torah on Shmini Atzeres, why not on Shavuous? The answer is that after Hoshana Raba, the Mechilla and Slicha process are completed. That is when all of Klal Yisroel are free from their blemishes and thus, we can truly have a “Simchas Torah” as we are free from our avonos. However, we cannot properly have a “Simchas Torah” is we possess the “stains” of averos for violating the same Torah we are trying to rejoice with.
I just realized I typed a dvar torah in another thread. Feel free to have a look
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/carrots-eggs-and-coffee/page/3#post-56274
anyone have a dvar torah from the noam elimelech for his yahrtzeit?
~a~
anonymisss: a here’s a story about the Noam Elimelech!
An unusual guest for Tea:
this one’s an extra one!!! my d’var torah for tuesday will be up later on!!!
D’Var Torah – Parsha Vayakel/Pekuday:
The Torah describes in great detail the building of the Mishkan. It was an impressive work with stunning beauty. It had fine detailed gold, jewels and intricate tapestries. When the Jews donated building materials to the Mishkan it was important that they did so with the proper intent. The Mishkan was not just a cold lifeless edifice; rather, it was the living house of Hashem. The dedication and love for Hashem were as vital to the construction as the actual wood and stone. Then intention makes the gift, as the following anecdote illustrates:
The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 5-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became even more upset when the child pasted the gold paper so as to decorate a gift box.
Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her father the next day and said, “This is for you, Daddy.” The father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the box was empty. He spoke to her in a harsh manner:
“Don’t you know, young lady, when you give someone a present there’s supposed to be something inside the package?”
The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said: “Daddy, it’s not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was full.”
The father was crushed. He fell on his knees and put his arms around his little girl, and he begged her to forgive him for his unnecessary anger, and thanked her for her precious gift.
Only a short time later, a tragic accident took the life of that child. The father kept that gold box by his bed for all the years of his life. And whenever he was discouraged or faced difficult problems he would open the box and take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
I found this online:
“Each person who passes to be numbered, from age twenty, shall give a half-shekel, from a shekel of the Temple,… a donation to HaShem.” [30:13]
The Medrash says, “Rabbi Meir said, the Holy One, Blessed be He, brought out from beneath his throne of Glory a coin of fire, and showed it to Moshe, and said to him, like this shall they give.”
The Noam Elimelech explains why HaShem showed Moshe a coin of fire. When handling money, he explains, one should remember that a coin is very much like fire. Just as fire can burn and destroy, but can also warm, and cook, and serve in other valuable ways, so too a coin. If one gives a coin for a good purpose, for charity or kindness, then it is very valuable and helpful to a person; but if a person uses his money improperly, then the same coin can burn and cause serious harm.
Well done Jax, as usual. Proud Tatty, welcome to the club. I hope you’ll continue to give here.
72, I have yartzheit tonight and tomorrow. So please sign me up for Wednesday.
from Rabbi Frand on the Parashah
“?????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????”
And they brought the Mishkan to Moshe, and the Tent and all its vessels. (39:33)
According to the Midrash, the boards of the Mishkan were so heavy that the people could not hold them up erect next to each other long enough for them to assemble the Mishkan. They kept toppling over. In frustration, the people brought all the boards and poles to Moshe, and he assembled it with the miraculous strength that Hashem granted him especially for this purpose.
The Torah, however, states that the Jewish people “brought the Mishkan to Moshe.” This would seem to imply that they brought him a completely assembled Mishkan. How can the Midrash be reconciled with these words?
Regarding this same verse, the Midrash quotes from Mishlei (31:25), “Might and splendor are her garments, and she will rejoice on the final day.” The Midrash goes on to illustrate this idea with a story concerning Rabbi Abahu’s departure from this world. On the threshold, he was shown all the reward that awaited him in the World to Come, and he remarked with astonishment, “All of this is for Abahu? I thought I had been toiling in vain, and now I see I have a great portion in the World to Come!”
What point is the Midrash making by bringing this story in connection to the erection of the Mishkan? And how do we understand Rabbi Abahu’s surprise? Did he really expect that having spent his life learning Torah and doing mitzvos he would not be rewarded in the World to Come? Did he really think he was laboring in vain?
Rav Shlomo Breuer explains that Judaism is a deed-oriented religion. It is not enough to say, “I am a Jew at heart.” Deeds are what count, learning Torah, performing mitzvos, doing chessed. Being a Jew is about doing, from the moment we arise until the moment we go to bed. Our religion is not one of sentiment, it is one of deed.
At the same time, however, intent also plays a great role in Judaism. If someone is prevented by circumstances beyond his control from doing a mitzvah, the Torah considers it as if he had done the mitzvah (maaleh alav hakasuv k’ilu asahu). Judaism demands deeds but not necessarily results. As long as a Jew puts in the honest and sincere effort, he is rewarded even if he is not successful. Hashem considers his intentions as deeds.
This is what Rabbi Abahu was saying, “There were so many times in my life when I tried, I made the effort, but I was not successful. I had assumed that on these occasions my efforts had been in vain. Now I see that I have been rewarded even for my intentions, for my efforts, even when they were unsuccessful.” Therefore, Rabbi Abahu “rejoiced on the final day.”
When the time came to assemble the Mishkan, the Jewish people made every effort to do it by themselves. Sweat pouring from their brows, veins bulging on their foreheads, they strained and they pushed those heavy boards with all their might, but they could not erect the Mishkan. It was simply beyond them, and they had no choice but to turn to Moshe for help.
Nonetheless, the Torah reports that they “brought the Mishkan to Moshe,” because that is what they intended to do and what they tried to do with all their hearts. Hashem considered it as if they had erected the Mishkan themselves, and He rewarded them. Therefore, they “rejoiced on the final day.”
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