Oct 4, 2019 | Torat Devorah
In Parshat Vayelech, Moses tells the Israelites that although he won’t be entering Israel with them, God will be with them and will triumph as long as they keep the covenant. Moses tells the people “I am no longer able to go out and come in…” (Deuteronomy 31:2). What this refers to is the fact that he will not lead them into the Promised Land and into war. The Or Hachayyim explains that Moses
wanted to explain to the people why he was convinced that he would die on that day. It is not in the nature of the religious to let onto their peers that they have some superior perceptions; this would be arrogant. This is why Moses cited two different reasons: 1) I am unable to lead you in war, i.e. I no longer have God’s permission to do so. This permission has now been given to Joshua. 2) God has told me: “you will not cross this river Jordan.” From these two indicators it was clear to Moses that he had outlived his usefulness and was about to die. The sequence of the words “and the Lord had said to me, etc…” which follow so closely on Moses’ statement: “ I
cannot go out, etc,” indicate his loyalty as a servant of the Creator. He suggested by this sequence that if, per chance, this same God would now give him instructions to cross the Jordan, he, Moses, would gird himself and be ready to lead the Israelites across though he did not feel capable of doing so at the moment. The only reason he did not insist on doing so was that God had told him not to.
Moses calls Joshua to command him to settle the people in the land. The Alshekh states that Joshua’s function is to be viewed NOT as THE CONQUEROR. The
Torah emphasizes that you will come with the people, instead of you will bring the people, as stated later in verse 23. Had Moses said to Joshua publicly in v.7, what he said to him privately in v.23, Joshua’s function could have been misunderstood. Since the statement in v.23 however, was not made ‘le’eynei bnai israel’ – in the presence of the Jewish people, no misunderstanding was likely. Joshua’s courage was needed, since, de facto, he was to be the leader. As long as the people view Joshua as one of them, they will be satisfied that God is doing the fighting for them. It states “The Lord will not let you weaken” (Deuteronomy 31:8). Joshua need not fear or be faint-hearted, because God will walk ahead of the nation.
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
Sep 27, 2019 | Torat Devorah
The parsha always shows us the way to realize the challenges of the moment, and this week’s parsha, Nitzavim is no exception. We learn how to prepare for the awesome days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The stirring opening words, “Atem Nitzavim HaYom” – “You are standing today” (Deuteronomy 29:9) – speaks volumes. In gematria – numerology – those words also mean “La’amod L’slichos” to stand in front of God and seek forgiveness. During the entire year we “run” from place to place, from activity to activity, and some of us run from relationship to relationship. But now, God’s Day of Judgment is upon us and we are commanded to stand still, probe our souls, examine our hearts, and give an accounting of our lives. The passage goes on to enumerate the various strata of the population: the leaders, the elders, the officers, the men, the women, the children, the proselytes, the hewer of wood, the drawer of water – and the question that arises is that since the Torah already mentioned that all of us are standing before God, what is the purpose of this enumeration which at first glance appears to be redundant?
Rabbi Osher Jungreis explains:The answer given is once again a prescription for this High Holiday season. We are all responsible one for the other. Our destiny is intertwined, so we must pray, not only for ourselves, but for K’lal Yisroel – all our people. This is especially relevant today when our brethren in Israel are in such a desperate state. We must bear in mind that when we study Torah and observe mitzvot, our entire nation is elevated and enriched. But tragically, the converse is also true; our abandonment of Torah and lack of observance diminishes the entire nation. There is a posuk – passage, in this week’s parsha that we repeat during the High Holiday services which truly teaches us our responsibilities: “The hidden matters are for God, but the revealed are for us” (Deut. 28:28), meaning that that which a person does privately and of which others have no knowledge, for that we cannot be held accountable – but that which is public and known, and is countenanced – for that we are held liable, and our silence testifies against us. We have a responsibility to remind one another of our G-d given destiny, of our Jewish heritage. So let’s approach Rosh Hashana with commitment to all our people Let us try to bring our brethren closer to Hashem. Let us unite in love and genuine concern, and in that merit, the Almighty will surely grant us a good, blessed New Year.
In his commentary Shem MiShmuel, the Chassidic commentator Rav Samuel Bornstein asks the question: What need is there to make a covenant before they entered the land; wasn’t the covenant made with them at Horeb (Sinai) enough? Said the Rabbi of Liadi (Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad), the author of the Tanya: the making of a covenant between two lovers is not for the present, at a time when their affection and love is strong. But there will be need for a covenant in the future, when over the passage of time, their love will be weakened. Therefore, they make a covenant that the affection might continue even once the causes that originally made them fall in love have ceased. During the lifetime of Moses, miracles were routine and whatever happened was supernatural. But there was anxiety, lest, when they entered the land and matters like plowing, planting, and harvesting had to happen according to natural laws, that their love for God might weaken. For this reason, a covenant was made, so that the love might never falter, enduring forever like a tent peg stuck deep in the earth.
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
Sep 20, 2019 | Torat Devorah
The first eleven verses of this parshah deal with the laws surrounding the first fruits and the acknowledgement of Divine Providence. It reminds the Israelites that God saved them and fed them in the desert, and they in turn have to be thankful, and donate the first fruits to God. With regard to what happened to the Israelites and the hands of the Egyptians, the Torah states
“And the Egyptians dealt ill with us and afflicted us” (Deuteronomy 26:6). The Or Hachayim says that what this verse describes is the utter inability of the victim (Israelites) to resist their attacker (Egyptians) anymore. Figuratively speaking, he sees this as an attack of the evil inclination on people. He relates an interesting story involving this point in Kiddushim 81, involving Rabbi Amram, who was well known as Rabbi Amram the Pious. Some female prisoners from the Rabbi’s town of Nephardes had been rescued from their captors by men of his town, and entrusted their care to Rabbi Amram. The Rabbi provided accommodations for them in second floor of his house, and removed the staircase leading to the upper floor as a precaution to protect the chastity of these girls or women. It happened that when of the girls passed the space near where the ladder used to stand, Rabbi Amram experienced a sudden shaft of light which he considered as due to the physical beauty of that girl. This caused the evil spirit within him to be aroused to the point where he tried to put the ladder back in place. Although the ladder was far too heavy for one man to carry, his urge was so strong that he managed it. At the last moment before completing the climbing of the ladder, he was able to shout for help exclaiming that there was a fire in the house, which needed to be extinguished. Naturally, the townspeople, including the local scholars, came to help, and when they became aware of the true state of affairs, they chided Rabbi Amram for embarrassing them in such a way. Rabbi Amram retorted that it was better both for them and himself to be embarrassed before their peers on earth rather than be embarrassed after his departure from earth in the celestial regions in front of all the righteous keeping company with God.
The Rabbi implored the evil urge to leave him, whereupon the latter departed in a column of fire. Thereupon Rabbi Amram said to the evil urge: “although you are a column of fire, and I am only flesh and blood, I am superior to you”.
At the conclusion of the parshah, we read what the tribulations of exile will be. It states: “And the Lord shall scatter thee among the people…thou shall serve other gods which thou has not known, thou nor their fathers, even wood and stone” (Deuteronomy 28:64). Abarbanel explains that this fate of the Jews is part of the retribution of the Jews for the sins- the “tochechah”. They would be forced to serve idols, not out of conviction, but against their will, knowing it to be false and foolish. This Nechama Leibowitz adds, is a terrible fate, and punishment for having worshipped idols of their own free will in their ancestral homeland. Issac Arama, a contemporary of Abarbanel (who also lived during the time of the Spanish expulsion) finds an illusion in the Torah to his troubling times. We may possibly find an allusion in this verse to the time when thousands of Jews would change their religion as a result of suffering and persecution .Regarding this the Torah states “and among these nations, thou shalt have no repose”. For although they would assimilate among the nations, they would not find relief, since the nations would still constantly revile and denounce them as relapsed converts. We have seen this in our day (i.e. Middle ages) when a part have perished in the flames of the Inquisition, a part has fled, and yet others continue to live in fear of their lives. Indeed, as is foretold in our Scriptures, we have no rest among the nations, and our lives stand in doubt before us. We have not been so fortunate as the ten tribes who, when they were exiled, were not scattered, but were subject to a foreign yoke, as one people in Assyria and Babylon
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
Sep 13, 2019 | Torat Devorah
In this week’s parshah, we learn about war, and the circumstances surrounding it. The parshah begins by stating: When you go to war against your enemies…” (Deuteronomy 21:10). The Or Hachayyim asks why the Torah needed to write this whole introduction when it would have sufficed to write: “when you see an attractive woman among the prisoners, etc…” The whole of verse one seems extraneous to the subject matter under discussion. Furthermore, seeing the Torah did decide to write: “when you go out to war against your enemies, etc.,” why did we need the words “against your enemies?” Against whom does one go to war if not against one’s enemies? He answers that perhaps the reason is to be found in halakhic relaxations that apply to troops in wartime. A woman such as the attractive woman prisoner mentioned here would be totally out of bounds if not for the fact that she was captured in war; the same applies to other relaxations of the halakhah such as the prohibition of eating the hind parts of the pig. This gave rise to the Torah using a different style in this instance. Seeing that the soldier was aware of the halakhic relaxations which are applicable even to Torah law under conditions of war, the Torah was concerned lest some of the soldiers would actually look forward to the battle in order to avail themselves of these relaxations of Torah law. The Torah was keenly aware of this and reminded the soldier that when he goes to war, his only purpose should be to avenge himself on the enemies of the Jewish people, not in order to have an excuse to indulge in things which are normally forbidden. The words “ki tetzeh”, “when you go out”, are a reminder that although you depart from the normal rules of halakhic restrictions when your life is at stake, your mind must concentrate only on the war, on the battle, not on what you consider as the fringe benefits. The reason that the Torah adds the words “against your enemies,”, is to remind you that your enemies are God’s enemies, as we have been told by David in Psalms 139:21: “ O Lord, You know I hate those who hate You, and I loathe your adversaries.” Your entire reason for going to war must be for this sole purpose. If that will be the case, the the Torah’s assurance: “and the Lord your God will deliver them into your hand” will be fulfilled. From verse 1, you may therefore deduce that unless your motivation is the one the Torah expects of you, your success will not be assured.
The Torah tells us to put up preventive safeguards against damage caused by one’s property, as it states in Deuteronomy 22:8: “ If you build a new house, you shall make a fence for your roof, so that you will not place blood in your house if a fallen one falls from it.” The Alshekh explains that the railing on your roof prevents you from becoming indirectly involved should someone fall from your roof. Even assuming that such a fall would not have occurred if the party falling were not in some way guilty, that person’s guilt might not have been sufficient to cause his death, had you not facilitated it by your negligence. Though both vineyard and fields are wholesome, and though you are to plan both, mixing species that do not belong together is something God knows more about than you do. Similarly, the degree of your contribution to someone falling off your roof due to the absence of a railing is beyond your ability to fathom.
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
Sep 6, 2019 | Torat Devorah
The parshah of Shoftim begins with the commandment that men of justice and enforcers should be placed in every locality which the tribes shall inherit. These judges are to ensure a righteous society, avoiding bribes and court favoritism in their steadfast pursuit of justice. Such behavior will enable the Jews to remain in their land. On the topic of being in the land, the parshah continues with the rules pertinent to planting trees of idol worship. Like such monuments, the trees are forbidden. On the topic of worship, the Torah reminds us that only
unblemished beasts could be used as korbanot, sacrifices. Additionally, anyone found guilty of idolatry is to be stoned at the gates of the city. It is from here that we learn that a Jewish court requires at least two witnesses, who themselves will lead the execution.
Judges could be appointed outside the land of Israel. For it is written in the Ethics of the Fathers, “Do not judge your fellow-man until you have stood in his place.” A court which sits in the land of Israel cannot know the trials and temptations which exist outside, or the difficulties of being loyal to one’s faith in a place of exile. The land of
Israel is a land where “the eyes of the L-rd your G-d are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.” It is a land of Divine grace. One cannot judge a man by its standards if that man lives outside its protection. So judges had to be drawn from the same environment as their defendants. They had not only to know what he had done; they had to experience for themselves the environment which brought him to it. Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch (the second Chabad Rebbe) was once giving private audiences, interrupted himself for some time . It transpired that a man who had had an audience wanted the Rebbe’s help in setting right a particularly degrading act he had done. The Rebbe later said to one of his close disciples that one must discover some analogous quality in oneself–on however refined a level–before one can help someone to remedy his sin. His interruption of the audiences had been to attempt to find in himself this point from which he could identify with the sinner. It was this principle that lay behind G-d’s command to Moses when the Israelites had made the golden calf: “Go, get thee down, for your people have dealt corruptly.” For at that moment, Moses was inhabiting the spiritual heights of Mt. Sinai, neither eating nor drinking, divorced from the world. The
Israelites were degraded through their sin. But by telling him to “go down” to “your people” G-d created a bond between Moses and the people, on the basis of which Moses was able to plead on their behalf.
The Torah states: “Neither shalt thou set thee up a pillar, which the Lord thy G-d hateth” (ch.16, v.22). Rabbi Hillel Geffen comments that our ancestors used pillars for the service of G-d, and he brings forth the following examples: When Jacob had slept in Beit-El on his way to Lavan, he “took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it” (Genesis 28,18). On his return from Padan-Aram, Jacob comes back to Beit-El and again – “Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He spoke with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink- offering thereon, and poured oil thereon” (Genesis 35, 14). In contrast to this, it is said at the beginning of our portion -“Neither shalt thou set thee up a pillar, which the Lord thy G-d hateth”. The Torah was not satisfied with only determining that making a pillar is forbidden, but also added that it is
hated by G-d! Rabbi Abraham Iben-Ezra explains that the prohibition mentioned here relates only to pillars
being made for idolatrous worship, but a pillar being made for the sanctification of G-d was not banned. Rashi, however, claims that this prohibition relates to every pillar whatsoever, even in order to sacrifice on it to Heaven. Therefore he explains that although “it was pleased to Him in the days of our ancestors, now He hates it”. Why? “Because they (the Canaanites) made it an ordinance of an idolatrous character”. Rashi also explains the
difference between a pillar and an altar: a pillar is one stone made for sacrifice, and this is forbidden, while an “altar of stones and an altar of land He has commanded you to make.”
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
Aug 30, 2019 | Torat Devorah
In this week’s parshah, Moses gives his second discourse. Instead of continuing to speak in general terms of the necessity to serve God and adhere to His commandments, Moses deals with laws that are to govern the Israelites when they arrive in the land of Canaan. These laws deal with religious institutions and worship, government,
criminal law, domestic life, and laws concerning the first fruits and tithes. We will focus on some of the laws outlined in this parshah.
Regarding idol worship, the Moses instructs the people: “You shall surely destroy all the places wherein the nations that you are to dispossess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and upon the high
mountains” (Deut. 12:2). In the Mishnah 7 chapter 3 in tractate of Avodah Zarah we are taught: “there are three categories of houses; 1) a house which was constructed in order to serve as a place of worship. Such a house is totally forbidden. 2) A house which originally was not used or intended for such worship but has been redecorated in order to serve as a house of worship. 3) The Gentile made an addition to the existing house, which was intended and used as a residence. In the latter two instances, the Jew has to demolish all the new decorations or additions and he may have use of the rest of such a house.” The Or Hachayim explains that the Talmud elaborates on this mishnah saying that if someone prostrates himself in front of any house (indicating that he worships it) he has thereby made it completely forbidden to every Jew. From this, we deduce that even if someone had only joined together individual stones and attached them to the ground, they are still considered as if they were separate and the house is not forbidden until it was used for the purpose for which it has been designated! The Talmud answers that the mishnah taught us the law that even if the house had only been built for a purpose for which it had not yet been used it is already totally forbidden. Maimonides accepts this ruling in his treatise Hilchot Avodah Zarah
chapter 8. This ruling is reflected in what our verse says: “all the sites where the Canaanites used to serve idols.” The meaning is that it is irrelevant if the place had originally been built for the purpose or not. If idolatrous practices had been performed there the Israelites must destroy if even if only an addition to such a house had been used for idolatry.
In chapter 12 verse 8, Moses prohibits altars of a private nature, and that the people must offer sacrifices only in the central place of worship. The Alshekh comments that the only reason private altars had been tolerated so far was due to the fact that Israel had not yet reached a final destination. The whole paragraph from v.8-14 seems full of repetition of laws which had been previously stated. Actually, Moses, in his prophetic vision, talks about different periods in Jewish history. The tabernacle in Shiloh which preceded the temple in Jerusalem, though its ceilings were portable coverings such as had been used in the desert for the first tabernacle, was nonetheless a structure with solid walls. It contained the 5 elements that were absent during the period of the second temple. Moses called Shiloh ‘menuchah’- rest, and the temple of Solomon ‘nachalah’ – inheritance. Since the site of the temple
corresponds to the throne of God in the higher world, he describes search for God as ‘leshichno tidre-shenu’.
Concerning the temple, Moses says ‘uvata shamah’ – you will get there (v.6). In case people would think that only THAT temple would be a central place of worship, Moses stresses that there is another temple which shares most of the holiness character of the temple Solomon was to build – namely, the one in Shiloh. This temple would be available immediately after crossing the Jordan. Since the site in Shiloh is NOT opposite the temple in the higher world, it says only “which the Lord will choose where his name will rest” (v.11). In order that the people do not belittle the sanctity of that temple, Moses gives even more details of all the sacrifices to be offered there (v.11-12).
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
