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Vayeira: This is a Test

This week we read about the quintessential nisayon: When Hashem asked Avraham to sacrifice Yitzchok. Normally, we “test” somebody or something to find out what they’re capable of. But Hashem already know what we can or can’t do – why does He test us?

The Ramban answers that it’s true that Hashem knows what we can accomplish. But we may not. Until we face a situation that tests us, we may not be fully living up to our potential. The challenges in life give us opportunity to become all that we can be.

The Rambam has a seemingly different answer. He says that the word נסיון comes from the root of נס, a banner. Hashem already knows what we can do. But when we actually do it, we can inspire others to follow in our footsteps. Hashem gives us challenges He knows we can overcome so that others can be inspired to live up to their own challenges.

R’ Aaron Lopiansky points out that the Rambam is not that different from the Ramban. The Ramban sees tests as a means of living up to our own potential. The Rambam sees challenges as a means of helping others live up their full potential.

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

Noach: Building Upward

Noach was the first person to make a מזבח. But what is the point of a מזבח? Why can’t a Korban be brought on bare ground?

R’ Shamshon Rafael Hirsh has a fascinating explanation. Some people think that God can only be found in nature, and that they must retreat from society to connect to the divine.

But that is not what we believe. We believe that the best way to connect to Hashem is by building a society that reflects His will, by incorporating the divine into every aspect of our lives.

That idea, explains R’ Hirsh, is symbolized by a מזבח. A מזבח must be attached to the ground, but we need to make it by putting stones together. This represents using human activity to elevate the earth towards the divine.

After the world was destroyed in the Mabul, Noach built the first מזבח. This was an attempt to rededicate the world to its original mission – to be a place where people are constantly striving to build higher, to create an elevated society that connects us to our Creator.

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

Bereishis: What A Waste

The second passuk in the Torah tells us that at the beginning of creation, the world was “תהו ובהו”. Rashi explains that the בהו means empty, while the תהו means that a person is astonished by the emptiness.

R’ Moshe Feinstein asks, why is this second description necessary? Nobody was alive to be astonished by the emptiness – why does the Torah point it out?

R’ Moshe answers that since there is such an important message here, the Torah felt a need to teach this right at the beginning. If we see a vacuum, we see emptiness where we know something positive could exist, it should bother us. It should astound us. We should ask ourselves, how can this be? How can I fill the void?

The Ramchal writes in the Derech Hashem that Hashem “didn’t finish” creating the world. He could have made a perfect world, but He made an imperfect world instead.

The Ramchal explains why Hashem did this. If the world would be perfect, we’d have nothing to add. But the fact that some of the world’s potential has not yet been realized gives us an opportunity to be the ones to fill the void and fix the emptiness.

לע”נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע”נ ר’ חיים דוב בן ר’ בן ציון שלום

Haazinu: Torah is like 🌧️

As he gets ready to take his final leave of his people, Moshe compares the Torah he is about to teach Bnei Yisroel to rain watering plants. Aside from the obvious metaphor of Torah bringing life, perhaps there is a deeper message here as well.

Every patch of earth has its own unique qualities, and each area has plants that it is uniquely suited to providing for. And yet, the same rain nourishes each and every spot in the world, and allows it to produce its own crop.

Similarly, each and every one of has our unique characteristics and circumstances, abilities, and challenges. Each of is capable of producing a unique crop of achievements, things that nobody else can do instead of us.

Yet in order to make our unique contributions, we all need the same thing. Only through the Torah can we see how to use our unique talents in pursuit of the greater good, in the context of Hahsem’s grand plan. The Torah nurtures our uniques talents, and shows how to use them correctly.

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

Vayeilech: Finding the New in the Old

One of the final Mitzvos on the Torah is the mitzva of Hakhel – on the Sukkos of the year following Shemittah, the king read all of Sefer Devarim in the Beis HaMikdosh.

R’ Aaron Lopiansky sees a beautiful message in this mitzva. Devarim is the Sefer that was written by Moshe – but its content is not truly new. It is Moshe’s understanding of the things that Hashem had previously said, and his application of those Divine principles to the upcoming life of the nation in Ererz Yisroel.

Explains R’ Lopiansky, this is symbolic of the job of a Jewish king. He is not to make up new ideals, but he can’t just repeat old ideals either. Rather, his job is to see the new within the old, to find the application of the old ideals that his generation needs to hear.

R’ Lopiansky further explains that this is one of the messages that Chazal intended when they said that the reason that the children are brought to Hakhel is “to give reward to those who brought them”. This doesn’t just mean that shleping kids is a pain, so you get reward for it. It means that the truest success a parent can have is to impart to their children the ability to find the new messages within old wisdom.

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

Ki Savo: Being Uplifted<strong/>

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

Shoftim – Who Needs a King?

One of the Mitzvos recorded in this week’s Parsha is to appoint a Jewish king. And yet, when the nation requested a king from Shmuel HaNavi, they were punished. How can this be?

R’ Shamshon Raphael Hirsh explains that they asked for a king at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons. The goal of the ideal Jewish king is to guide the people by example, and to show them what true Avodas Hashem looks like. If that is why we seek a king, we’re doing the right thing.

But in the times of Shmuel HaNavi, the people wanted a king to help them win their wars and conquer the rest of Eretz Yisroel. But the Torah says that we should appoint a king only after we have conquered the land and divided it between the Shevatim, לאחר ירושה וישיבה. Explains R’ Hirsh, this is to drive home this point – a king’s job is not to fight wars and not to conquer territory. A king’s job is to guide the people to be the best that they can be, and to do so primarily by example.

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

Devarim: Channeling Tragedy

Rashi explains why it is that Moshe chose this moment to rebuke Bnei Yisroel for all the mistakes they had made over the past 40 years. Moshe knew that he was about to die, and that this was the most opportune time to correct all the mistakes of the past.

The Ksav Sofer further explains that when we are happily going about our regular lives, without any major challenges or issues, it can be very difficult for us to change ourselves. We feel comfortable, and we can feel complacent.

But when tragedy strikes, it tends to jolt us out of our regular routine. We suddenly realize how little in life is certain, and we can be far more open to changing our ways.

When Moshe was about to pass away, he knew that Bnei Yisroel would be uniquely attentive to what he had to say, and would be far more open to changing their ways.

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

Balak: Blame Game

Why did Hashem prevent Bilum from cursing Bnei Yisroel? Hashem controls the world, and nothing Bilum or anybody else says can force Hashem to do anything. Why didn’t Hashem let Bilum curse us, and just ignore him?

The Chida quotes R’ Shlomo Astruk as explaining what the problem would have been. If Bilum had cursed Bnei Yisroel, Bnei Yisroel would have blamed any suffering or misfortune that occurred to them as being the result of Bilum’s curse, without considering whether their suffering was actually caused by their own actions.

Pain is often Hashem’s way of sending us messages about what it is that we need to do better. If we blame others for the situation we find ourselves in instead of considering that what is happening to us is primarily the result of our own actions, we will never be able to fix the true root of the problem.

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

Korach: The Right Man for the Job

What reasons did Korach give for why he should be Kohen Gadol instead of Ahron? He complained that all the honor and glory was going to Moshe and his family, and that Korach’s family should have been in line for the next open position.

However, there is one point Korach did not address. He made no argument that Ahron wasn’t fit for the job, or why he would make a better Kohen Gadol. Korach was apparently not concerned with who the best man for the job was. He just wanted it for himself.

Contrast this with the attitude of Moshe. In last weeks Parsha, Moshe receives a Nevuah that he will die in the desert, having failed to bring Bnei Yisroel to their destination. But Moshe was not perturbed-מי יתן כל עם ה׳ נביאים. Moshe wanted the best man to get the job, regardless of that was him or not.

This is a pretty easy way to gauge whether we are looking out for the greater good, or just in it for ourselves. If we find ourselves asking “who would do the best job”, we’re asking the right question. But when that becomes “why not me?”, we should check our motives.

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

Bahaloscha: Finding the Light

There is a cryptic medrash that compares the lighting of the Menorah in the Mishkan to the passuk of יגדיל תורה ויאדיר, making the Torah great and glorified. But what does one have to do with the other?

Perhaps we can explain this based on the Chida, who writes that the Menorah symbolizes תורה שבעל פה.

When it comes to תורה שבכתב, one may never add to to the Torah. To do so would be in violation of בל תוסיף. Yet when it comes to תורה שבעל פה, new insights are always welcome.

This is hinted to in the lighting of the Menorah. The Menorah will never give any light unless somebody takes action and lights it. Similarly, תורה שבעל פה is left to us. It is our job to constantly plumb the depths and search for new insights. It is our chance to make continue to grow, to make even more great and glorified.

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

Naso: Listen Here

Rashi on the very last passuk of this weeks Parsha goes through great lengths to explain how Hashem spoke to Moshe. Moshe would only hear the voice of Hashem while he was standing in the Mishkan. But the reason for that was not because the voice of Hashem was feeble and hard to hear. The voice of Hashem was booming and powerful. Even so, it could only be heard within the Mishkan.

Perhaps we can take a message from here in our own lives. We may often feel like we don’t know what it is that Hashem wants from us, like the word of Hashem is muddled and unclear.

But we need to know that the voice of Hashem is powerful and always offering guidance. We just need to enter into the spaces that Hashem has set aside for communicating with us. When we put all of heart and soul into Davening and even more so, learning Hashem’s Torah, we too can hear the voice of Hashem speaking to us so powerfully. But if we do not get ourselves in to that place, we will not hear Hashem at all.

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

Naso: Admit It

The first step of Teshuva is taught to us in this weeks Parsha. When a person steals or does any other aveira, the first step is והתודו את חטאתם, Viduy on what they’ve done wrong. The Rambam in particular stresses how Viduy is the very essence of teshuva. But why is so much emphasis put on verbalizing our mistakes? Why can’t we just focus on fixing them?

Based on the Chinuch, R’ Aaron Lopiansky explains that often we like to brush our problems under the proverbial rug. Even if we acknowledge our shortcomings, it is often only in an abstract way. In order to motivaste ourselves to grow, we need to concretize exactly where the problems are that we need to fix.

Rav Huna famously tells us in יומא פו that once somebody is עבר ושנה, repeats their misdeeds, they tend to quickly forget that what they’re doing is wrong at all. The act of verbalizing our mistakes can help fix this. By admitting where we’ve fallen short, we keep our ideals from being watered down by our actions. Only when we acknowledge that there are higher ideals to live up to do we stand a chance of eventually living up to them.

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

Bamidbar: דגל התורה

The של״ה writes that the first three shevatim that traveled together, Reuven Yissachar and Zevulun, represented the Torah.

Perhaps we can suggest that the names of the נשיאם of each Shevet give us a clue as to their unique contribution to the study and the spread of Torah.

The נשיא of Reuven was נחשון בן עמינדב. Perhaps this shows that Nachshon and his shevet excelled in being שונה בנחת, teaching gently, the עם of Hashem (see שה״ש ז,ב where בנ״י are called בת נדיב). This can be seen in how Nachshon led by example, jumping into the ים סוף first.

The נשיא of Yissachar was נתנאל בן צוער. Perhaps this shows that the shevet of Yissachar would always toil in the Torah that Hashem gave (נתן קל) even when doing so entailed great sacrifice (צער).

The נשיא of Zevulun was אליאב בן חילון. Perhaps this shows that the shevet of Zevulun would always be focused on doing the will their Father in Heaven (אלי אב), even when they were doing things that were חול, seemingly mundane. Zevulun used their financial expertise to both support the Torah of Yissachar, and to show the nations of the world the beauty of Yiddishkeit.

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

Tazria: An Honest Eye

One of the cryptic rules of tzaras is that although even a small white spot can be considered tzaras, a person who turns entirety white without a single spot of healthy skin must be declared Tahor by the Kohen. It is also interesting to note that the Torah conveys this idea not by referring to a person who has become entirely white, but by saying that כל מראה עיני הכהן, “every [part of the person] that meets the Kohen’s eye” seems to be a problematic shade.

There is a fascinating rule that binds a Beis Din when deciding cases of capital punishment; if the accused is unanimously found to be guilty, he may not be put to death. If an opinion is unanimous, we are concerned that not enough effort has gone towards looking at the other side of things; we cannot kill the man.

Perhaps there is a similar lesson to learnt from the Kohen: if every single thing that somebody does seems problematic to our eyes, we cannot convict them. It is almost inconceivable that there can be nothing good about any individual or group. If the only thing we see are the problems, there’s a very good chance that the problem lies not with them, but with the way that we view them.

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

Vayikra: Control

Why does Hashem want us to bring Korbanos? There’s nothing we can give to God – what does killing a few animals do?

The Sefer HaChinuch explains that by “sacrificing” some of our livestock, we are acknowledging that nothing we have is truly ours to begin with. When we bring a Korban, we remind ourselves that everything is only from Hashem.

With this, R’ Aaron Lopiansky explains why Korbanos are compared to Tefilah. Why do we need to ask Hashem for anything?
Doesn’t He already know what we need?

The answer is that when we Daven to Hashem, we are acknowledging that only He has the power to help us. Everything belongs to Hashem, and only He can control His world.

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

Vayakhel: Foundations

The Torah repeatedly emphasizes that the foundations of the Mishkan itself were made out of silver, while the foundations of the חצר around the Mishkan were made out of copper. Why were they different?

R’ Aron Lopiansky explains that the word כסף is synonymous with desire through Tanach – for example, נכספה וגם כלתה נפשי. The foundation of all of the Avodah of the Mishkan was the desire to build a relationship with Hashem. And in our lives, the foundation of our Avodah must be that desire to come close to Hashem.

But the foundations of the חצר around the Mishkan were copper. Copper is a tough and impenetrable metal, and therefore used in Tanach as a metaphor for brazenness and stubbornness.

Around the Mishkan that we are to build in our hearts, there needs to be a protective חצר. The foundation of this protection must be being impenetrable to outside influences. We cannot allow the values of the society around us to seep in to our hearts and water down our ideals. We should not care what the outside world cares about, or we will quickly stop caring about what we should really care about – ס֥וֹף דָּבָ֖ר הַכֹּ֣ל נִשְׁמָ֑ע אֶת־הָאֱלֹקים יְרָא֙ וְאֶת־מִצְוֺתָ֣יו שְׁמ֔וֹר כִּי־זֶ֖ה כׇּל־הָאָדָֽם:

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

Tezaveh: Public Servant

The בגדי כהונה were fashioned out of a surprising material: Shatnez. That’s right, they had threads of wool and linen woven together. Why do the Kohanim wear Shatnez while doing the Avodah?

R’ Shamshon Raphael Hirsch explains that Shatnez is only forbidden when it is worn for personal pleasure. For instance, one is really allowed to wear Shatnez if they are only checking the size of merchandise. Similarly, the Kohanim are not doing the Avodah for themselves; they are representatives of the entire nation.

But the temptation certainly exists for the Kohanim to let their special status get to their heads, and to let their own Kavod motivate their actions. So the very clothes that the Kohanim wear warn them: if you are only in this for yourself, not only is what you’re doing not a mitzva, but instead it actually becomes an aveirah.

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

Yisro – Your Turn

Hashem tells us in this week’s Parsha: וָאֶשָּׂ֤א אֶתְכֶם֙ עַל־כַּנְפֵ֣י נְשָׁרִ֔ים וָאָבִ֥א אֶתְכֶ֖ם אֵלָֽי,
I brought you on eagle’s wings to Me. What is this referring to?

R’ Dovid Soloveitchik explains that Bnei Yisroel were on the 49th level of impurity in Mitzrayim, and yet 49 days later they were hearing Hashem at Har Sinai. How could they have changed so quickly?

This Passuk is the answer. Hashem lifted them up miraculously, not just physically, but spiritually as well. By showing us so many miracles in Mitzrayim and Yam Sof, Hashem left us with no choice but to believe in Him.

But as the next Passuk makes clear, after Kabbalas HaTorah the opposite is true. Now it’s all up to you: וְעַתָּ֗ה אִם־שָׁמ֤וֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ בְּקֹלִ֔י וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֑י וִהְיִ֨יתֶם לִ֤י סְגֻלָּה֙

Hashem lifted us to the heights of ruchniyus, so that we could see what it’s like. But now our job is to climb to those elevated heights ourselves.

From now on, only our choices and our actions will determine how close we are to Hashem.

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

Vaeira: The Forest and the Trees

A passuk appears for the first time in this weeks Parsha that we often just tune out: וידבר ה׳ אל לאמור. But let’s think about this a bit. Why does this frequent phrase switch from דיבור to אמירה?

R’ Aaron Lopiansky explains that וידבר comes from the root of דבר, a concrete thing. דיבור is used when conveying the halachos, the defined details of the mitzvos.

On the other hand, the softer phrase ויאמר is about conveying general ideas, not specific details.

Hashem speaks to Moshe in the form of דיבור, defined and detailed instructions. But we are not supposed to stop there. We are then supposed to search for the אמירה, the ideas that the mitzvos convey. Then we will be able to fulfill the רצון ה׳ even when there is no particular Halacha about what we should do.

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

Toldos: Forge Your Path

The Gemora tells us that Hashem listened to Yitzchak’s teffilos over Rivka’s since Yitzchak was a צדיק בן צדיק, while Rivka’s parents were not too righteous.

But why should that be? Shouldn’t a צדיק בן רשע be the more worthy of the two, since it was more difficult for him or her to break out of the negative mold they were born in?

Rav Dessler quotes a beautiful explanation from his Rebbi, the Alter of Kelm. He explains that since a צדיק בן רשע realizes that what his parents are doing is wrong, he has an easier time not following his parents lead.

But a צדיק בן צדיק what is in a way a deeper test. He may have good role models, but he must make sure not just to become a copycat. Every person is unique, and Hashem put each of us here to do something different. The צדיק who realizes that he is more than a copy of his parents, specifically when his parents are great people, is the most impressive.

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

Noach: The Beauty of the Rainbow 🌈

We know that seeing a rainbow is considered a bad sign: it means that Hashem is so angry that he would destroy the world, if not for the fact that He promised not to.

And yet, this can be hard to internalize. Rainbows are just beautiful and so nice to look at. Why is it that this sign of wrath is so pleasant?

Perhaps the beauty of the rainbow is supposed to remind us of the second half of Hashem’s statement. True, He is angry enough that He would destroy the world. But why doesn’t He? Because He loves us so much that He simply can’t do it, no matter how much we may deserve it.

The rainbow is the sign of Hashem’s promise never to turn His back on us. No matter how low we may sink, Hashem’s love for us is always there. And that’s beautiful indeed.

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

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

Nitzavim: One For All and All For One

Rashi famously writes that after Klal Yisroel heard all of the curses that would befall those who disregard the Torah, their faces turned green out of apprehension. Moshe then told them אתם נצבים היום כולכם, you’re all still here today; despite all the mistakes you’ve made, Hashem has not destroyed you.

The obvious question is asked, wasn’t the whole point of the curses to impress upon the nation how crucial keeping the Torah is? Didn’t Moshe just undo what he’d set out to accomplish?

R’ Betzalel Rudinsky points out that אתם נצבים היום כולכם is plural, referring to the whole nation. The Jewish people as a whole will never be destroyed, even if they may deserve it.

So how do we as individuals tap into this group guarantee? The answer is to be כולכם, all together. If we are together as one, connected to every Jew, we are a part of the klal, and the klal will always make it.

Heading into Rosh Hashanah, one way to merit a favorable judgement is to say בתוך עמי אנוכי ישוב, to be at peace with every Jew.

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