Vayikra

We know somebody who was driving the other day and came under a rocket attack from our friends up north.  They were not in any position to suddenly stop and pull over, since it was so quick.  As they were driving though, a rocket hit right behind their car, blowing away the windows, yet somehow, leaving them intact.  They didn't understand how, but their clothes had burn marks and holes on them even though they were completely unharmed.   Even though they are completely secular (it happened on Shabbos), the husband went to a shul the next day to say a special bracha for surviving that.

Last night, our town had a pretty heavy barrage.  Unfortunately, there was one direct hit on a home, but thankfully, nobody was home at the time.  However, somebody who learns at the kollel came in this morning, saying "That was only a couple hundred meters from my home!"

These are one of those "Only in Israel" moments, where things like this … "just happen."  

When Hashem first spoke to Moshe and told him to go to Egypt to demand Pharoah to release the Jewish nation, Moshe was very hesitant.  He argued that the Jews will not believe in him, so why would Pharoah?  To which Hashem told him not to worry, the Jews will believe in him, and quite frankly, he has no choice but to go.

So, Moshe headed down, confronted Pharoah, was rebuffed by Pharoah, and when Pharoah increased the labor, the Jews began to have not-so-nice feelings toward Moshe.

The Ramban explains that on one hand, they believed in Moshe and they believed that there will be a redemption, but because of their hard labor, they couldn't bring themselves to actualize that belief.  They were a broken people.

Rav Reuven Leuchter helps us understand what is going on.

Most of us think that in order to connect to something, we need some inspiration to get us to begin.  Once we begin with this inspiration, this boost, we can move forward.

However, we learn in Mishlei (1: 7) that fear of Hashem is the beginning of wisdom.  The Vilna Gaon explains that before one can grow in wisdom, he needs to first know what to stay away from (hence fear of Hashem).  Therefore, it's not the inspiration that helps us grow, but it's knowing what to stay away from and what does not work, that helps us grow and move toward a path that will work.

At this point, when the redemption was in its infancy, the nation needed a new identity.  They had been slaves for hundreds of years, and they knew nothing but slavery.  But, if they were to become a full-fledged nation, they would have to have a new identity.  You can't be a Nation of Slaves, after all.

Most of Israeli society, is based on the British system.  Why? Because that's what was here beforehand, and it worked.  So, when Israel was formed, they simply built themselves on what they knew worked.

Therefore, it's natural that this new Jewish nation would build itself based on the Egyptian system that they knew for so long, and they knew worked for so long.

Yet, Hashem said, "No."  That's not going to work.  Fear of Hashem is the foundation.  Knowing what to stay away from, is the first step.  And if Hashem was to create a nation based on the Torah, He will have to devastate everything that the Jews knew beforehand.  Including Egypt.

Once the Egyptian world was destroyed, the Jews knew two things: 1. the redemption is here, and 2. we have no idea how to move forward.

Nothing in their lives had prepared them to move into this new and unknown domain.

On one hand, they had no idea how things were going to turn out.  They had no foundation to build anything with.  Yet, on the other hand, they had emunah, faith, that Hashem was moving things for them.  It was with this mix of "knowing" and "not knowing" that the Jewish nation was formed.

It's clear that this lesson is applicable today, on a national, and individual level, as it was 3300 years ago.

Some Israeli woman made a cute clip recently that's been going around.  It was showing what the past several years in Israel would have looked like if it had been a television series.  One woman asked the other, "Where are you holding?" To which the second replied, "Season One still … unbelievable what Hamas did …."  "Oh, wait till you get to Season Two with the beepers!"  "What?  What beepers? Wait, don't tell me…"

It was an excellent take on life.  Every year … heck, every few months, seems to be something different.  And every time there is some break, it's one of those "To be continued…."

We are in a very hot war right now, and for the first time, it seems that both sides are going for complete victory, rather than some limited strike.  Of course this could easily change tomorrow.  Who knows?  But as of now, the hatred of the Jewish people is continuing to rise, along with violent speech and violence itself.  Both from the left and from the right.  Both from within Europe (no surprise) and from the United States.  Things seems to be moving faster and faster and quite frankly, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.

It's as if "somebody" is saying, "Everything you knew … is no longer.  What you thought you were … you aren't.  What you believed worked to help you … doesn't."

And this is just as true in Israel as it is in the Diaspora.

What will be tomorrow or next year? Nobody knows.  But that's just part of the plan.  We have no idea what will be, but we must continue to have emunah, that Somebody is running things and knows where He's taking us.  And hopefully, that same merit that served as so well 3300 years ago, will serve us well today.

Have a wonderful (and quiet) Shabbos.    

A good friend of my wife's went to visit her parents in the States recently.  Her family is from the Midwest and are frum, but would not call themselves "Ultra-Orthodox."  When she was with her father, somebody who he knows asked him, "You consider yourself Orthodox, don't you?"  "Yeah, of course, why?" "Then why don't you dress like those guys you see on the news, only black and white with those side-curl things?"  Without giving much thought he replied, "You know how Homer Simpson and Flanders both go to the same church?  Well… I'm Homer"

What a great line!

Okay, on to more important things.

I ran into an interesting Gemara (Chagigah 5a) this week.  In the very last line of Koheles, Shlomo HaMelech writes "For G-d will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil."

The Gemara asks, what exactly is "every hidden thing"?  My first reaction would be something a person did against another without his knowing, or something he did thinking "Hashem won't see it."  Something along those lines.

Rav replies "somebody who kills a louse in front of his friend and disgusts him," while Shmuel replies, "somebody who spits in front of his friend and disgusts him."

The M'harsha adds that Rav was saying that by not thinking of others, even in such a way that he is merely disgusting another, a person will be held accountable.  Shmuel adds that regarding a louse, it's possible to simply flick it away, however even spit, which a person has no control over, he could still cover it up instead of leaving it exposed.

From here we see a very clear lesson, which is something we don't normally think about.  Usually, when we think of interpersonal relationships, we think of bigger things, such as not hurting others financially, physically, or emotionally.  However, even something as "small" as not disgusting others, needs to be considered in all our actions.

Which of course means, every time I find a slug sliming its way in our home, I shouldn't pick it up and bring it to my daughters… dang … why did I have to learn this Gemara??

Have a wonderful Shabbos and may all wives have mercy on their husbands over the next week.

Every year there's a new reason that they think Moshiach is coming this Pesach.  While I never put any weight into any of them, I myself have personally witnessed something that has never in history been said, and never will be repeated: A woman saying, "We're not doing any extra cleaning this year.  We're cleaning according to halacha and that's it".

Thankfully, life has been busy and the Tiny Tornado™ has been doing her job very well.  We simply haven't had time to start.  Hopefully we'll be ready by then….

Korbanos (sacrifices) are one of those things that is hard for us to understand.  Many of us grew up with this concept as something special we bring to please the gods, so they will give us their blessings and bounty.  Yet, we are fully aware that Hashem has no needs from us, and everything that we do is not so much for his sake, but is for our sake, and to bring us closer to Him.

The Ramban (Vayikdra 1: 9) famously explains that when a person brings a korban, he needs to think and feel as if this animal that is being killed, is him.  For when a person sins, for example, in essence, he deserves to be killed, for he went against the King of Kings.  So, when he brings this sacrifice, he should think, "this should really be me," and through that thought, he will come to an understanding of the gravity of what he did.

Just as a person would go through fire and brimstone to be close to his wife and children, so too does a person's neshama wish to "sacrifice" itself to be close to it's Creator.  And when a person sees himself in that korban, he reignites that desire for such a relationship.

This is just one such explanation out of many.  Yet, all of them show us that these korbanos are to bring us to a closer relationship with Hashem, in one way or another.

And as we know, since we no longer have korbanos today, tefillah, or prayer, has taken its place.

Imagine a person, who accidently committed a sin, during the times of the Beis HaMikdash.  He travels to Yerushaliyim, he buys a nice korban, he rushes to the Beis HaMikdash itself, quickly does everything he needs to do without much thought, runs out, and goes back to his business without a second thought.

What would we say of such a person?  What would Hashem think about his "teshuva"?

Yet, how many times do we all treat davening in such a way?  How many times do we have a nice meal, and quickly rush through "Grace after Meals," maybe saying every other word, at most?

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that I'm not the only one out there. 😊

Yet, when we treat such special times in the same way this above-mentioned person treated his korban … no wonder we feel that we're lacking a connection when we daven!

Just as a person prepares himself before going into the Beis HaMikdash, and brings his korban in an orderly fashion, so too should we treat davening and "bentching" in the same way.

Coming to shul in the morning ten minutes early might cost you a whole ten minutes of sleep, but your entire davening will be changed.  Instead of zipping through the prayers, you can actually say them and have some connection to what you are saying.

If prayer has replaced korbanos, then there is little reason to treat prayer in a lesser way than we would if we had the Beis HaMikdash in our times.  And who knows?  Perhaps if Hashem sees us treating prayer properly, He will consider us worthy of getting back the Beis HaMikdash.

With that thought, I wish you all a wonderful Shabbos!

The war in the Ukraine is bringing interesting questions to Israel.  So far, Israel has accepted several thousand Ukrainians and are expected to bring in a few more.  A vast majority of those are not Jewish and don't consider themselves Jewish.  My wife also saw this past week, that according to the Israeli government, 42% of those who made Aliyah in the past year were not Jewish.  So, this raises a big question in how Israel defines itself as a "Jewish" country, and will continue to stoke the flames of the famous non-Jewish question: Who is Jewish? (The Torah gives us this definition, but, alas...)

As mentioned before, the city that I live in has a very large Russian/Ukrainian population.  Given that at least 50% of Russian/Ukrainians are not Jewish, country wide, I assume, we have a larger non-Jewish population.  And every frum, Russian speaker who I know here has said to me: "You have no idea what these people are saying about you as you walk pass them.  They have no idea I speak Russian, and the lowliness of their language and hatred that they have for you…".  I've heard this from every Russian speaker that I know.

While nobody supports Putin in this war, I've heard from several frum Ukrainians that they fear that there will be a growth in the non-Jewish Ukrainian population.  Based off what they went through while living in the Ukraine, and what they have seen (and heard) while living amongst them in Israel, they have no interest in seeing more come in.

For the frum world, we know what makes a person a Jew and what makes something Jewish.  But for the State of Israel who does not look to the Torah for the definition of Jewish… they are going to have an interesting time figuring that out.   Unfortunately, it will have a huge affect on all Jews around the world.

"Any individual (nefesh) that brings a mincha (flour) offering to Hashem" (Vayikra 2: 1)

On this pasuk, Rashi notes that regarding any other 'donation offerings', only by the one who brings a mincha (flour) offering, is referred to as a 'nefesh' (compared to somebody who brings an animal).  And as we know, a 'nefesh' is more of a spiritual name, referring to the soul.

Why is he called 'nefesh'?  Well… who brings a mere flour offering?  Somebody who cannot afford to bring an animal.  And which type of offering are we speaking about?  A donation offering, something that somebody brings willingly on his own.

A rich man can come to the Beis HaMikdash, bring a nice, plumb cow, donate a few extra shekels to the Beis HaMikdash, and in the end, he won't "feel" anything.  Not "feel" as in spiritually, but physically… he doesn’t give anything of himself, since he can afford what he brings.

A poor man on the other hand, can't afford anything, yet he wants to bring something.  So, he brings what he can barely afford, flour.  He's taking something which is very dear to him and offering it as a 'gift' to Hashem.  Since he is 'sacrificing' himself for Hashem, Hashem looks at this person as one who is literally sacrificing himself.  Therefore, he gets the 'spiritual name' of nefesh.

Nowadays, obviously, we don't have a Beis HaMikdash.  However, the concepts still apply to our every day life.  We can approach our Judaism as a rich man gives away a cow… "Here's your cow, Hashem", "Here's your Torah, Hashem".  He's giving something, but… it's still missing his nefesh.  Or, we can approach Judaism as a poor man does, "I don't have much (time, money, etc…), but whatever I can give, wherever I can push myself, I'll do"

A person who comes home after a long day of work, and still goes for thirty or sixty minutes to learn, each and every day, come what may… he is offering a part of himself.  A person who learns in kollel, but not giving in and speaking to friends and taking many "much-needed" coffee breaks, is offering a part of himself.  A mother, who finds time to daven a little, despite everything going on at home, is offering a part of herself.

When we give something of ourselves, Hashem looks as if we gave our entire lives.

With that, I leave you wish a wonderful Shabbos!

I was sitting on the couch today, taking a small break from the Great Chometz War.  Suddenly my soon-to-be two-year-old marches inside and disappears.  A few minutes later, he’s marching out with his toy drill in hand, and gives some manly laugh as he goes back outside.  It’s amazing how . . . boy . . . a boy can be.

“Every meal offering that you offer to the Almighty do not make it chometz; for you shall burn neither yeast, nor any honey, in any offering of the Almighty made by fire.  With all your offerings you shall offer salt” (Vayikra 2:11-13).

There are three additives mentioned in this pasuk: yeast and honey, which were not allowed to be added to any of the offerings, and salt, which not only was allowed, but was also obligated.

Rav Mordecai Gifter relates that honey and yeast are external ingredients, which add taste to food that they are added to.  Salt is different.  It does not add its own taste, but rather, brings out the natural flavor of the food.

“When serving the Almighty, you should follow the model of salt.  That is, utilize all the abilities and talents that you have to serve Him.  Do not be like yeast that causes distortion of what is there.  Do not be like honey that is very sweet but is something borrowed from the outside.  Be yourself, but make every effort to be all that you can be.”

All individuals have their own sets of traits and talents.  Instead of trying to be something that we aren’t, we should focus on our own unique attributes and bring them to the forefront in our relationship with Hashem.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

Michael Winner

This week we had our elections, as I’m sure you all know.

Thank G-d it’s all over!

The good news: Bayit HaYehudi and Yeish Atid (the spiritual enemies of the Jewish people) lost seats and their power.

Here in Israel, the results of elections are felt on the personal level. For example, the local Cheder needed a new building several years ago since theirs was very small for the growing population. For two years a secular school that was right nearby was sitting empty, and the city refused to give it to them (I know of two other cases like this). Only when the UTJ (the Ultra-Orthodox party) gained some power, were they able to muscle the city to finally hand it over. Another example: over the past two years, religious education financials and kollel stipends were cut dramatically (I receive $60/month from the government, yet they spend far more doing checks making sure I’m in kollel). So, if a family had both parents as teachers, they started to fall into financial distress. The schools themselves also suffered from financial loss and, needless to say, things like this affect the entire community.

Let us not forget there are issues dealing with the strength of the Rabbinate in terms of conversions, which these parties wish to "secularize," which will cause all sorts of “Who is a Jew?” problems, which has already been going on here.

Either way, it’s a bit of fresh air now that at least Yeish Atid is out and Bayit HaYehudi is closer to being neutralized. Hopefully, we’ll start seeing improvements in these important areas.

On to more important things!
I saw the following from Rav Moshe Aharon Stern:

“A couple once complained of their shalom bayis problems (peace in the house) to Rav Chaim Mordechai Katz. The wife mentioned that her husband refused to take out the garbage, claiming that as a ben Torah it was not fitting. The rav ruled that this was correct. But the very next morning, the Rav Katz came to their house and said, ‘you probably have garbage to take out. I am not a ben Torah, so I’ll do it for you.’

“The Chasam Sofer points out that throughout Parshas Vayikra, we hear of ‘bnei Aharon’ (the children of Aharon) concerning the work in the Mishkan. However, by Trumos HaDeshem (the removal of the ashes from the altar), is the command directed to Aharon (the Kohen Gadol) himself. Therefore, says the Chasam Sofer, the Torah stresses that any work done because of Hashem’s command is important no matter what, and precisely this ‘lowly’ task should be done by Aharon himself.”

Having humility and realizing where you are “holding” in life is an important key to shalom bayis and spiritual success.

Have a great Shabbos!

Michael Winner

As you might have seen, this “Atzeres Tefillah”, or the “Gathering for Prayer”, that took place in Jerusalem this past week has been in the Jewish news quite a bit. For those, who haven’t seen, basically somewhere around 600,000 Jews, compromising (mainly the) Ultra-Orthodox, Ashkanazim, Chassidim & Sfardim, and many within the National Religious camp, men, women, and children, came to Jerusalem to pray that somehow Hashem should overturn the law that will throw people into prison if they refuse to stop learning in yeshivos and kollels to join the army (something I don’t think even non-Jewish governments have… at least the non-evil ones). Unfortunately, I was unable to go, but nearly the entire kollel, along with others from the local Hesder Yeshiva (Religious Zionist) and working men, went. I was told, and one could see from the photos, that it was a sight to behold. What was most important is that it wasn’t a protest, as reported in the press. Everybody came, davened Mincha, said certain Psalms, and that was that. No protest against the government. No protest against individuals. No violence broke out. Just davening.

Just as in Purim, when we had nobody to turn to but Hashem, the community has acknowledged that even the religious MKs in the Knesset are powerless, and there is only one direction to channel our hopes towards.

I was discussing this with a friend of mine, and I mentioned that we both know that many people who keep Shabbos and Kashrus still don’t understand what this is all about. They think it’s politics; they think that everybody doesn’t want to work, or that they wish to see the State of Israel destroyed… they cannot grasp the concept that the Torah is very clear that we have been put on this world to be osek in Torah (“osek” can be translated as “delve”or “learning”… but it’s more than just “learning,” it’s putting all your effort and time into that learning), and to fulfill the mitzvos. Why can’t even THEY understand this basic and fundamental belief in Judaism (please see Nefesh HaChaim, Gate 4… it’s even published in English, for more details on this concept).

My friend explained that the difference between such people and ourselves is simple. We believe that and they don’t. We believe that Torah is the center of our lives and the key to success in this world and the next, while they believe in living their lives as much as they can as long as it’s not explicitly forbidden by the Torah.

It reminded me of an email somebody sent me. He told me that somebody whom he knows made mention about his upcoming vacation. He was proud of himself for learning Daf Yomi (where you learn one page of Gemara a day) ahead of time, so he will be “free” to enjoy his vacation to the fullest.

That is an idea which the Torah does not encourage.

We don’t view learning Torah as something you pick up, learn a little, and put down. We believe in being “osek” in Torah, that is putting our full energies into it, to delve into it, and to understand it as much as possible. This obligation is upon every Jewish man, whether he is working or learning full-time. Obviously, it is best to be able to sit and learn and devote as much time as one can to his learning. Each person needs to make a schedule according to his life, but nonetheless, it should be the main part of his life.

This week we begin Sefer Vayikra, the third in the five books of the Torah. Throughout most of the next few parshiyos, the Torah goes into detail about all the different types of korbonos, sacrifices.

One of the points of these korbonos (depending which ones), is that one should feel that he is “sacrificing” himself by giving all his energies to Hashem and developing his relationship with Him. THIS is one of fundamental beliefs that Jews have.

This “Atzeres Tefillah” is not about working vs. not working (most men after several years of kollel DO go out to work in some capacity, contrary to popular belief). This is not about pro- vs. anti-army. This is about the ability to leave this community to be osek in Torah and to allow young men, especially in the beginning years of marriage, to build themselves in Torah while they still have the opportunity to, before they have to start to work more to support a larger family.

I would like to end off with a story I saw printed that was said over by Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein, one of the leading rabbeim of our generation:

“After the group tefillah (prayer), the masses dispersed in an orderly fashion to their homes and cities. I sat in a car as we tried to navigate our way through the crowds streaming toward the entrance of the city. It was hard to move because of the mass of people. Suddenly, I noticed a policeman approaching the car, trying to open a path to us. He saw that I have a white beard, and thinking perhaps that I was a Rav asked to talk to me.

“This is what he said, which moved everyone around us: ‘I have to tell the Rav that I’ve been here since the beginning of the day, but I had nothing to do the whole time because everyone behaved so decorously. I really identify with you, and wondered what I could do to fill the time. And when I saw this crowd of quality people, each holding a pamphlet and praying from it, I asked someone if they had one for me, and I recited the entire prayer from the paper.

“Then I spoke to the Creator in my own language and I told Him, “G-d in Heaven, I see a huge crowd of quality people, and all they want is to be able to continue learning Torah,” and I asked that He should fulfill the wishes of the Chareidim (Ultra-Orthodox), and added that although there are people in this country who don’t want to allow them this, and even persecute them, “You, G-d, know better than anyone how to manage with them; please arrange that they should allow this sector to continue doing the only thing they yearn to do.’”

Have a great Shabbos

Michael Winner

We have a small makolet (food store) in the area. It’s run by a frum man by the name of Yoel. Hailing from Mexico, Yoel has been here for 20-some years. He tries to carry many Mehadrin (higher-level kashrus) products and if you’re Ultra-Orthodox and try to check out with a non-Mehadrin product, he’ll stop to warn you first, despite the loss of sale. As I mentioned a few months ago, finding Mehadrin butter here is very difficult. Once, I heard that he received a shipment and I went to look. Nothing but regular butter. So, I asked him when he’s going to get another shipment in. “How many do you need? I can give you ten or twenty right now!” “Yoel”, I replied, “there’s only regular butter.”

He takes me by the sleeve to the freezer… “Look BEHIND the regular butter”, he says with a smile. He explained that he didn’t want customers who could care less, taking the Mehadrin butter, so he put it in back for those who are careful about it.

Just last week, I bought two challahs for him. Instead of charging me, he hands me a piece of paper with his mother’s name (who passed away a month earlier) on it. “Instead of paying, can you please make the bracha on the challah in her merit this Shabbos?”

It’s good to be around such people.
“There are four new years: The first of (the month of) Nissan is the Rosh Hashanah for kings and for holidays…” (first Mishnah of Tractate Rosh Hashanah)

Nissan is considered the first month of the year and Pesach is considered the first holiday of the year. We just finished one cycle with Purim, and in two more weeks, we will begin a new cycle with Pesach.

The Mishnah states that Nissan is the Rosh Hashanah for kings and for holidays. We just explained the holidays, but what’s this about the kings? The Gemara goes through and explains that the kings would count their reigns according to the first of Nissan (which was important to know, since this was used in dating contracts). So, if a king began his reign on Purim, two weeks later, on the Rosh Chodesh Nissan, he will begin the second year of his reign.

Fine.

I would like to humbly suggest an alternative way of understanding the Rosh Hashanah for kings. As we know, Hashem is THE king, and being that, we are the children of the King… or “mini-kings” if you will. What is Pesach? Pesach is the birth of the Jewish nation. It was when Hashem took us out of Egypt and formed an official bond with the entire nation (compared to individual people as was done earlier). It was at this point we officially became a people and began our relationship with Hashem. Rosh Chodesh Nissan is the beginning of this tekufah, or season, of Pesach. It is a time where we begin to not only physically prepare of Pesach, but also spiritually prepare. NOT ONLY that… but since Nissan is a beginning of a new time cycle and a new spiritual cycle, it is also an opportune time of teshuvah and turning one’s life around. Perhaps, this is another meaning of the Mishnah… Rosh Chodesh Nissan is the Rosh Hashanah for kings… the Jewish nation.

Tonight we begin a very special day. It’s not only Shabbos, but it’s also Rosh Chodesh Nissan. The kedusha that enters the world at this time is more than that of a regular Shabbos. If we can begin a “new leaf” this Shabbos, we would be making the optimal use of the double-kedusha of Shabbos/Rosh Chodesh Nissan, and we will certainly be worthy of the title of kings.

Have a great Shabbos!

Eisav hates Yisroel.

Ramat Shlomo is situated in northern Jerusalem. It has a population of 20,000, all religious. While technically, it’s considered “East Jerusalem”, because it’s over the green line, its well west of where we live, which also is strongly Jewish. In between us and Ramat Shlomo is the Shuafat “Refugee Camp”. I quote that, because the media uses the term whenever it can to invoke sympathy for the poor Arabs that live there. After all, when you hear “Refugee Camp”, you think lack of food, lack of medicine, ghettos, etc… The truth of the matter is, Shuafat is home to a whole slew of Arabs with lots o’ money, who own beautiful homes, cars (which is a luxury here), don’t pay taxes, and have the ability to go in and out whenever they want.

Suddenly, when it’s announced that Ramat Shlomo will be expanding (most of the permits are permits to build on to existing apartments, an extra room here, and extra porch there), the world erupts with indignation. After all, what of the poor Arabs?

One can get really upset about this. After all, we’re living in a world where we should be well informed and see such things for what they are. Plus, the Messiah himself sits in the White House, yet him and his administration is acting no differently than previous administrations.

Me? I get a good laugh off of the whole thing. Eisav hates Yisroel. It’s that simple. And until we improve ourselves and bring Moshiach, it will only continue. So, in reality, it’s all up to us.

“And if you bring near a flour offering baked in an oven… and if your offering is a flour offering baked in the pan, and if your offering is a flour offering baked in a pot…” (Vayikra 2:4-7)

Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch explained that the Korban Mincha (flour offering) expresses our acknowledgement to Hashem visa-vie our physical comforts in which Hashem has given us.

The offering baked in the oven is bread, in the pan, is a cake, and in a pot is ‘marcheshes’, a dish prepared for a special occasion.
Bread is ordinary food, a staple in our lives. It represents the basic necessities that we receive everyday to live. The cake represents additional enjoyment, the extra, more luxurious things, in the life, that we don’t really need, but we really enjoy having. The ‘marcheshes’ is something that is for a special occasion, something that happens once in a while, and is only temporary.

By bringing all three types of flour offerings, we are acknowledging the different degrees in which Hashem cares for us. That is why, even today, we should try our best to recognize all the different levels of goodness that we are given every, single, day.

Have a great Shabbos!

One of the lessons of Pesach is that we are not to let our mitzvos become “chametz” or stale. It is to remind us that our mitzvos should be performed with alacrity and energy as if it was the first time you have ever done it in your life.

There is an older man in our minyan in the morning. I don’t know his age, but I do know he learned with Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky. He’s an excellent example of what a frum “working man” is. He used to work full-time for a living, but his learning was his priority, hence his ability to learn every night with Rav Kaminetsky, and his current chavrusa Rav Barcley (author of the Guideline Series).

Unfortunately, he is suffering with cancer. When his doctors heard that he was planning to move to Eretz Yisroel, they warned him that he will never be able to return to America again since he will be too weak to fly back. Despite the fact that most of his family is there, him and his wife picked up and has never left Eretz Yisroel since.
Officially, the minyan starts at 6:30 am. With the exception of two days a week, when he is physically unable to come to shul due to his treatments from the previous day, he is the first one to come at 5:50 am every morning. I have NEVER seen him show up late. Here we have a man, in physical pain, making a slow 15-20 minute walk to shul every morning, to show up 40 minutes before davening, so he can begin early and daven properly.

All I can think of every day when I see him is, “And what excuse do I have for not showing alacrity?”

Okay, on to more Torah!
“And if any person will sin and violate one of the commandments of the Almighty which he should not have done, and he did not know, he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity” (Vayikra 5:17)

Rav Eliyahu Dessler notes how the Torah obligates a person to bring a korban (offering) as a punishment when a person does an aveirah, even if he did it without any intent of doing wrong. Why is this?

Rav Dessler answers that a person will not forget or make mistakes concerning matters that are an integral part of his life. If you make a mistake, that is a sign that that issue is not fully part of your being.

This lesson is brought forth through the following incident related in the “Geonai Polin Hoachronim”:

A person came to the Chiddushei HaRim and complained that he continuously forgets the Torah that he studied.

“Do you also forget to eat?” the Rebbe asked him

When the person replied, “No”, the Rebbe asked him, “Why not?”

“My life is dependent on my eating,” the man replied.

“Your life is also dependent on that Torah that you study,” said the Chiddushei HaRim.

Our job is not to simply learn Torah as if it were some intellectual exercise. It’s to incorporate its lessons and teachings into our lives to the point that it is as important to us as eating or sleeping. To successfully accomplish this, a person needs to maximize his time, speech and behaviour for Torah, and minimize his time, speech and behaviour for non-Torah subjects. The soon-to-be doctor sits day and night over his medical books. That’s his life. To understand the subject well, he uses all his time and energy into learning and reviewing. Is Torah any less important to us than medicine is to a medical student? Rav Dessler continues, “By brining a sacrifice, a person reminds himself to integrate Torah values until they become so much a part of our personality that we will always remember them”

Have a great Shabbos!

I received some interesting parenting insight last week.

My daughter took a spill which resulted in two bleeding kneecaps. That night, before going to maariv, I was changing her into her pajamas when she asked me to daven to Hashem to give her "boo-boos" a "shleyma" (short for "refuah shleyma" or "to get healthy")

Also, when we informed her that a mother of a good friend of hers had a baby boy, she turned to my wife and said excitingly, "Rochel Leah and Mommy go to bris?!"

Several years ago, I got into a debate with a proud reform Jew. He was pleased to announce that his son, who is turning bar mitzvah, will be doing a "mitzvah project", by actually building a sukkah.

He believed that his child will turn out to be a better Jew because I'm keeping my kids from seeing the greatness of the world, such as TV, college, etc... while his child will be open-minded and will be better able to understand his Judaism. He believes that you can be open about everything and STILL be a very active Jew! After all... his child is doing a mitzvah project!

My daughter at the age of two and a half, has a concept of Hashem, knows we go to a kiddush for the birth of a daughter and a bris for the birth of a son, knows all of the holidays and what we do on them, and knows about Shabbos and the all the special things we do on it. She knows about davening, bentching, and how to wash her hands before eating bread. Last year, we had a secular Israeli woman over for a meal, and she had no idea that you were supposed to wash before eating bread. Yet, my daughter takes this fact as granted!

It's clear proof that if you want your children to internalize Judaism, you have to make Torah THE focus in your life, each and every moment.

Of course, I won't bring up the fact that on Pesach, I showed her a picture of an Egyptian beating a Jew, pointed to the Egyptian, and asked her who he was, and she replied "Mordechai!"

Okay... she was correct in a way. I wouldn’t be surprised if in some parallel universe Mordechai had an evil twin brother. And if he did, he probably would have looked like that…

Okay, on to Torah!
"And with you shall be one man from each tribe, each man should be the head of his family" (Bamidbar 1:4)

A simpleminded person from an illustrious lineage was arguing with a scholar from a lineage that he couldn't boast about.

"I am a scion of great people. Your ancestors are nothing compared to mine", he said.

"True, you come from a long line of great people. But unfortunately the line ends with you. My family tree begins with me"

This is the idea of the above pasuk, says Rabbi Moshe Chaifetz. Each person should look at himself of the head of his family. Even with his parents still alive, he should consider himself as the beginning of the family tree, and that the "branches" are dependent on the root: his spiritual growth.

Instead of focusing on one's lineage, he should focus on the tree which will grow from him.

Have a great Shabbos!

I’m adding a long introduction this week which is a must read. It’s from Rav Brody concerning one of the young men who were killed in the terrorist attack in Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav. I believe everybody is obligated to read it at the Shabbos table and take something from it.

The original printing can be fount at: http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/lazer_beams/2008/03/doron-story-of.html

Doron Mahareta of blessed and saintly memory HY"D was one of the eight Yeshiva students that were massacred last week in Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav in Jerusalem.

Last night, I paid a shiva (condolence) call to Doron's family. Every single type of Jew was sitting together, from Ethiopians to Polish Chassidim, from knit kippot to Yerushalmi white kippot, from jeans and sandals to long black frocks. Too bad that it takes a martyr of Doron's magnitude to unite everyone.

One of the rabbis from Mercaz HaRav told me the most amazing story you'll ever hear about Doron's dedication to learning Torah, a story that competes with the Gemara's account of Hillel's near freezing on the roof of Shmaya and Avtalion's Yeshiva (see tractate Yoma, 35b).

Doron wanted to learn Torah in Mercaz HaRav, one of the best of Israel's yeshivas. But, since his early schooling was in Ethiopia, he lacked a strong background in Gemara. The Yeshiva rejected him. He wasn't discouraged. He asked, "If you won't let me learn Torah, will you let me wash the dishes in the mess hall?" For a year and a half, Doron washed dishes. But, he spent every spare minute in the study hall. He inquired what the yeshiva boys were learning, and spent most of the nights and all of his Shabbatot with his head in the Gemara learning what they learned. One day, the "dish washer" asked the Rosh Yeshiva to test him. The Rosh Yeshiva politely smiled and tried to gently dismiss Doron, but Doron wouldn't budge. He forced the Rosh Yeshiva into a Torah discussion; the next day, he was no longer a dish washer but a full-fledged "yeshiva bachur".

On weekends, when Doron would come home to visit his family in Ashdod, he'd spend the entire Shabbat either in the Melitzer Shul or the neighboring Gerrer shtiebel learning Shulchan Aruch and its commentaries. Three weeks ago, he finished the entire Shulchan Aruch and principle commentaries. Doron achieved in his tender 26 years what others don't attain in 88 years. He truly was an unblemished sacrifice, who gave his life for all of us.

The next time you want to close the Gemara to watch TV, think of Doron. The next time your son doesn't want to do his Torah homework, tell him about the price that tzaddikim like Hillel the Elder and Doron Mahareta paid to learn Torah. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Doron wasn't a reincarnation of Hillel. May his holy soul beg mercy for the grieving nation he left behind, amen.
Okay, on to more Torah!

"Every meal offering that you offer to the Almighty do make it chometz for you shall burn no yeast, no any honey, in any offering of the Almighty made by fire. With all your offerings you shall offer salt" (Vayikra 2, 11 13)

The pasuk mentions that there are two things that are not allowed to be brought with any meal (flour) offerings: yeast and honey. Yet we are supposed to add salt, nonetheless.

The first two are external items not found in dough. Yeast makes the dough rise and honey makes it sweet. While both add to the dough to make it better, both are additives.

While salt is an additive it does not add a new taste as much as it brings out the natural flavour of the food.

Rav Mordechai Gifter says this symbolizes a principle in spiritual matters. We don't want to be like the yeast that distorts the dough to make it larger than it naturally is. Honey too gives a false taste to the dough making it sweeter than it is. Salt, on the other hand, brings out the natural taste of the dough.

From this we see the importance of serving Hashem with our natural talents and personalities. Of course we must refocus our talents to serve Hashem and we must change certain aspects of our personalities that run contrary to the Torah. However, our core personalities and talents we do not need to change to serve Hashem.

We have one rav in the yeshiva who is very quiet and never raises his voice. We also have another who is on a constant caffeine high, hits his students in the back of the head for no reason, and yells “NOOOOOOO!!!!” when somebody answers one of his questions incorrectly.

Both are extremely knowledgeable in Torah and are serving Hashem with their own personalities in their own ways. If they tried to act like one another they would both fail.

Serving Hashem does not mean be a robot. It means use your skills, talents, and personalities to better yourself and those around you.

Have a great Shabbos!