Shemini

As many of you might have heard, one of the greatest scholars of the generation, Rav Chaim Kanievsky, passed away late last week.  His funeral, attended by around (I heard) 500-600,000 people, was held in Bnei Brak on Sunday.  My 13-year-old son went to participate, while I stayed home nursing a stomach virus.

While he was there, he saw a lot of people going around collecting tzedakah, either for themselves or others, and of course, being an Israeli thought, "Hey!  What a great idea."  So, he took some change in his hand and walked around with his hand open shaking the change.  He didn't say he was collecting tzedakah, he simply walked around like this.  He proudly collected four whole shekels.

When he told me the story, I laughed and told him how proud I was at his quick-thinking, but then I had to break it to him, that he has to give it to tzedakah, or he just did a big aveirah of stealing from other people.  His eyes went wide on that, clearly not realizing what he did wrong.  When I explained the issue, he realized the situation and immediately gave it to the shul.

I must admit, I was impressed with him, on both his great idea on making money and his ability to understand and correct what he did wrong.

This Shabbos represents the beginning of preparations for Pesach and a new year of opportunities.  As we know, this Shabbos, the one before the month of Nissan begins, is called Parshas Parah (or "Parshas Cow").  After the regular Torah reading, we read the parsha dealing with the famed "Red Heifer" or "Red Cow," which, when slaughtered and burned complete, the ashes, mixed with water will purify anybody who has been (spiritually) contaminated by being with a corpse.  Now, if you are thinking, "that makes no sense," don't worry, others greater than we, such as Shlomo HaMelech could not understand it either.  It's one of those things we simply cannot understand, but something that the Torah says explicitly.

While we don't understand how it works, we do know it DOES work, and we still have an obligation to learn from it.

As mentioned, we are about to embark on a new year of growth, which officially starts with Pesach and will end next Purim.  But before that, we need some preparation.  Just as in the time of the Beis HaMikdash we needed to purify ourselves with the ashes of this Red Heifer in order to enter the Beis HaMikdash to bring our Korbon Pesach, so too, today we need to purify ourselves before Pesach.

So, how do we do this?

Rav Shimshon Pincus provides an excellent idea.  And I would like to take this moment to thank the Seif family.  It was they who gave me this book as a parting gift when I moved from Chicago many moons ago, and every year, I get to use it at this time.

When a glass object breaks, but not completely, let's say it somehow developed a hole in it (Anybody who has kids knows that if anybody can find a way of doing something like that, they could.), we have two options to fix it.  One, we melt another piece of glass on that hole to cover it up.  Therefore, the glass object is now "workable."  Not the prettiest, but it's workable.  Or, we can completely melt down the object and rebuild it from scratch.  Not only is it workable, but it will be better than if it was simply "patched up."

In fact, we see this concept with Adam.  When he sinned, he was punished with death.  Why?  Hashem was worried he would eat from the Tree of Life and live forever.  So what if he lives forever?  What is Hashem worried about?  Obviously, nothing.  But, death, when our bodies return to ashes, is a way of rebuilding ourselves from new.  Because when there is a resurrection of the dead, those same ashes will be used to build the person anew.  If we were to live forever, we would simply be filled with spiritual "patches."

When a person wants a fresh start in life, he tends not to keep to the same habits he had before.  He wants to turn over a new leaf and start anew.  With Pesach, and a new year, around the corner, we too want to start anew.  Therefore, like this cow, we need to take stock in our lives and see which areas need to be burned, not simply patched.  We want to look at Pesach as a new morning where the previous "I" no longer exists. Rather, a new one has come into the world, ready to build a new creation over the next year.

Have a wonderful Shabbos! 

A very important lesson was learned this Purim--always have an extra bottle of wine on hand.  When you’ve completed two bottles and your Russian friend comes over and you think, “This vodka LOOKS like wine, it should be okay”… well… it’s not.  Also, drinking with Russians is simply not a good idea.  Definitely Ukrainians, I hear they’re are the worst.  Well, lessons learned, and will certainly be remembered.

“Moshe and Aaron came to the Tent of Meeting, and they went out and they blessed the people – and the glory of Hashem appeared to the entire people” (Vayikra 23:9). 

“Once Aaron saw that all offerings had been brought, and all the acts (of the Mishkan) had been performed, but the Shechinah had not descended to Israel, he was distressed, and said, ‘I know that Hashem has become angry with me and because of me, the Shechinah did not descend to Israel…’ Thereupon, Moshe entered with him and they prayed for mercy and the Shechinah descended to Israel” (Rashi). 

Throughout the Torah, we do not find any offerings brought for those who sinned on purpose.  Only, when a person sinned by accident did he have the ability to bring an offering to atone for himself.  In fact, Rabbeinu Yona (Avos 1:2) explains that today our davening is in place of offerings, and davening itself has the ability to help atone for not only accidental sin, but also sin done on purpose.  When Dovid HaMelech wrote (Tehillim 51) “Hashem, open my lips” (what we say as we begin Shemoneh Esrei) he was writing in regard to the sin with Batsheva (which was done on purpose, not by accident).  He explains that when a person wished to do teshuva, he should not only daven for it, but he should ask Hashem to help him daven for it (“Hashem, open my lips”). Thus is the power of davening over offerings.

In regard to the above pasuk, Aaron had the special opportunity to help atone for the sin of the Golden Calf, which, although he participated with good intentions, was done on purpose.  Yet we see that even here, with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Aaron’s offering was only accepted when accompanied by a request for mercy.

It’s unfortunate that we have at least three opportunities a day to speak to Hashem, with a power that even offerings in the Beis HaMikdash did not have, yet focus on other things during that whole time.  This Rashi is an important reminder to us on what type of opportunity we have every time we say, “Hashem, open my lips…”

Have a great Shabbos!

I hope everybody enjoyed their Pesach.



I think this year was the best Seder night that we had so far, with everybody enjoying it. We also got to spend 24 hours in Jerusalem, and I was able to wake up at 4:30am to daven at the Kosel at the earliest minyan possible. When we arrived there, it was amazing to see the entire place packed! That took me by surprise. However, there is nothing like the few minutes leading up to sunrise there. All you hear is the noise of thousands of people davening at once, and then slowly but surely, as the sun rises and people begin their Shemoneh Esrei, you hear nothing but silence. Then, after a few minutes, you hear the first minyan to finish, begin again, and slowly things pick up with different tunes to Hallel. It’s something I highly recommend.



What I don’t recommend, is taking your nearly 3 year old son to Akko. He gets a kick out of hitting people who he likes and saying “I pautch (hit) you!” I don’t know why… too much testosterone maybe. Either way, as we were walking back to the bus station, we passed an Arab man which a rather large gut… and… well… you can guess what he did. WHACK! Right in the stomach; followed with his traditional, “I pautch you!” Needless to say, my wife and I were standing there with our eyes wide open, apologizing to him left, right, and center. He laughs it off, smiles and says, “He’s a cute kid!”… Thankfully, another Intifada was averted.



“And Moshe said to Aharon: Go close to the altar” (Vayikra 9:7)



Rashi cites the Toras Kohanim that Aharon was afraid to go close to the altar out of embarrassment. Moshe then said to him, “Why are you embarrassed? For this reason you were chosen!”



Rav Yitzchok of Volizhin explained that, Aharon, in his humility felt that he was not worthy of being the Kohen Gadol. It took Moshe to explain to him that it was because of this humility that he was chosen to be the Kohen Gadol. While, Moshe understood Aharon’s reluctance, he had to explain to Aharon that as long as he is sincere in his efforts, and he continues to do what he does, he will be successful. After all, this is his job in the world.



Over Pesach, there was a knock on the door, and somebody in English asked my son if she could speak to his father or mother. So… off to the door I went, where I met two women. One of them handed me a pamphlet and said something like, “This is something that contains versus of your scriptures to help you in times of need”. It was all in Hebrew with standard questions like “Do you feel like G-d doesn’t care about you?”, with verses from different areas of the Torah, and of course an address in the States who will be more than happy to send you more information. By default, if a person is nice to me, I’m nice to them, and since I wasn’t expecting this, I took the pamphlet, said ‘thank you’, closed the door, and called Yad L’Achim which monitors and tries to stop missionary activity. Somebody else in the community told me that his sister-in-law, who speaks a little English, answered the door when they visited. She heard their shpiel, read the questions, and (being so Israeli) said, “So… you have questions. What do you want? Do you need answers? We have answers…”



Anyhow, it quickly became the topic of conversation over breakfast, and I had to give a brief history of Christianity to my children, who know nothing of it. I’m thankful for the missionaries, because they gave me an opening to discuss this with the kids, who already think its pure nonsense.



Where was I?



Right. Forgot.



As we were discussing them, I told the kids that we do have what to learn from them. Being that when we truly believe in what we are doing, we should never feel embarrassed about it. When it comes down to doing Torah and mitzvos, we should never try to hide it and feel ‘humble’ about it. We are to do what we are supposed to do, and do it as best as we can and if other people don’t like it… well… that’s their problem, not ours.



Have a great Shabbos

I hope everybody had an enjoyable Pesach.

We probably had the best Yom Tov in a few years.  In general, the children behaved well, we did two day trips, and every morning we sat outside and ate my wife’s traditional “Intercontinental Ballistic Breakfast.”  At the end, I asked my children what their favorite part of Pesach was, and they agreed it was the Seder, which not only surprised me, but gave me hope.

Before Pesach, somebody asked me if I do a serious Seder or a fun one.  I told him that I do a serious one (he replied that it’s to give another reason for the kids to ask “Mah Nishtana”).  Pesach is a serious time and is one of the most important times to pass on certain values to one’s children.  Yes, we have fun and some laughs, but all in all, we keep the levity to a certain level, and we try to focus on the important things.  I’m glad to see that the children can appreciate that.

Okay, let’s move on to this week’s dvar Torah.

“Wine and other intoxicating beverages you shall not drink” (Vayikra 10:9).

The Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 12:1) warns us of the danger of alcoholism: “If a person drinks too much wine, he will end up selling all that he owns to keep up his addiction to drinking.”

It continues and relates a story of a man who spent too much of his money on his drinking, to the point that his children were worried that he was going to leave them penniless.  One night when he was drunk, they tied him up and took him to the local cemetery, hoping that when he sobered up he would be shocked to find himself in a cemetery and perhaps he would make some change in his life.

That day, a caravan carrying vats of wine passed near the cemetery.  The caravan was attacked and traveled as fast as it could.  One of the large barrels it was carrying fell off and landed right next to the head of the drunk man.  When he awoke from his drunken sleep, he was surprised to find the faucet of the barrel right next to his face and kept drinking right there in the cemetery.

In a letter to his father, Rav Eliyahu Dessler commented that we see from this story that Hashem leads a person in the way he wants to go.  The events that occurred to this man were so out of the ordinary, it was miraculous.  “If this is so when a person wants to do something that is improper, all the more so is it true when a person has a strong will to do what is good.”

My Rosh Yeshivah, Rav Asher Rubenstein, told over of how when he was single, learning in Ponevezh Yeshivah in Bnei Brak, he was once partnered to learn with somebody named Chaim.  This particular Chaim, was not the brightest in the yeshivah, and was known to go very slowly in his learning.  He had a nickname, “Eitz Chaim” (“Eitz Chaim” means “Tree of Life,” but “eitz” also means “wood”), because it seemed as though his head was made of wood.  After a few months, he could not continue learning with Chaim, because the speed was driving him crazy.  He acknowledged that this was one of his biggest mistakes he made… but, he was young, and what did he know?  He continued and explained that today “Eitz Chaim” has finished all of Shas (the entire Talmud) and people come to him from all over asking him questions.  In short, today he’s a very well-known talmid chacham.

When a person actually desires something, for good or bad, Hashem helps him on his quest.  No matter what his situation is, he has “Somebody” helping him along.  But before one receives such help, he needs to first have an honest desire and drive to attain his goal himself. 

Have a great Shabbos!

My wife and I got in a very heated fight over Shabbos. The result of said fight would have had no bearing on our lives whatsoever, and it really had no point except that I thought that I was right and she thought that she was right. So, we were fighting and yelling (it was really fun), each trying to convince the other side of their rightness, until my oldest daughter actually started to get worried that we were REALLY fighting. So we had to call a truce and told her not to worry.

We got a sigh of relief and a chuckle over the fact that she started getting emotional over our "fight." Thankfully, we never fight like that. Usually, if we get into an argument, I refuse to speak to my wife and tell my daughter to tell my wife, that I’m not speaking to her and that she smells, but she’s never seen us actually raise our voices against each other and FIGHTING. On the other hand, it makes you think about all the other kids who see their parents doing that on a regular basis . . .

Always something to keep in mind . . . especially with Pesach cleaning around the corner.
“Aaron’s sons brought forth the blood, and dipping his finger in the blood, Aaron placed some on the altar’s protrusions . . .” (Vayikra 9:9)

The Gemara in Moed Katton (25b) writes that when the children of Rebbe Yishmael died, four rabbeim came to console him. Rebbe Tarfon (who the Winner family visits once a year, since he’s buried nearby) said [when Aarons two sons were killed for bringing a non-authorized offering], Moshe said to Aaron, "As far as your brothers are concerned, let the entire family of Israel mourn for the ones whom G-d burned" (Vayikra 10:6). We learn from here that Aaron’s sons were mourned by the one mitzvah that they did properly (bringing forth the blood for the legitimate offering), so much so, your children, Rebbe Yishmoel, should be mourned by all of the nation for all of the mitzvos that they did.”

We see from this Gemara the importance of even one mitzvah done properly. One of the reasons given (forgot where, sorry) for so many mitzvos given to us, is that hopefully, we will be able to do at least one 100% correctly, both in action and intent. Of course, it’s our job to try to do our best to do each mitzvah properly, but don’t get distressed if you fall short here and there.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

Michael Winner

I hope everybody had an enjoyable Pesach.

Thankfully, the kids took their naps and everybody behaved well at the Seder. Tova ended staying up until 10:30pm, a record for her, and the Rochel Leah and Chaim stayed up until midnight, a record for them as well. What was a nice was Rochel Leah’s ability to read. Because of that, we were able to have her read parts of the Hagaddah, which kept her fully involved with the Seder. Chaim’s timeline of how the Exodus took place needs a little work still, and Tova… well… she repeated words well.

With the kids growing up, it’s hard to predict exactly what the Seder will be like every year. It’s really, “playing it by ear”, since you’re never too sure what they comprehend, what they know, and more importantly, what their behaviour is going to be like. But thankfully, we have had only enjoyable Sedarim over the years, and each one is better than the last.

Okay, on to Torah!
“For Hashem is holy” (Vayikra 11:44)

Rav Shimshon Pincus asks, when we say a bracha on a mitzvah, we say, “asher kedishanu b’mitzvosav…”, “Who sanctified us with His mitzvos”; why do we say HIS mitzvos? Why not OUR mitzvos? After all, WE are the ones doing the physical mitzvos; we are the ones earning the reward, so why is it considered His?

The Medresh quotes a conversation between Hashem and Moshe when Moshe was receiving instructions on how to build the Mishkan. Moshe was worried about all the details and making sure that it’s all done correct, and he asked, “Hashem, How am I supposed to do all of this?” and Hashem replied, “You do what you can do, I will do the rest”

One of the reasons that we were given so many mitzvos to do, is to give us an opportunity, in our lifetimes, to do at least ONE mitzvah correctly as a merit for the next world. That being said, we see the difficulty of doing mitzvos properly 100%, with all the correct intentions and details. However, Hashem is telling us not to get bogged down with that fact. We put in our 100%, and Hashem will “top it off”; so we start with the mitzvah, and Hashem will finish it off for us. Yes, we’ll get the reward, but ultimately, we are always partnered with Hashem in doing the mitzvos.

Have a great Shabbos!

I hope everybody had an enjoyable Pesach!

Ours was very nice. The Seder went until 1:30 am, and was a bit of a challenge this year with Rochel Leah and Chaim both being there. Now, each year, I have to adapt the Seder to fit both children’s needs, and in another two years, will have to adapt even more so with Tova. Chaim did the “Mah Nishtana”… or sort of; and Rochel Leah had an extensive “Plague Kit” that she made in school. I offered to hit them both, so they can feel the pain of Egypt, but for some strange reason they declined.

Over Chol HaMoed, we went to a local park for a picnic. The park is very well done with a small pool of water, man-made waterfall, complete with fish and frogs. Plus, lots of grass.

The next day, we took a small hike in one of the valleys near the home, where we saw a cow, a turtle, a snake, and a herd (?) of hyrax. Following that, my wife’s cousin and her husband and son came to spend the last days. We went to Kiryat Motzkin, where there is a nice zoo, and Acco to take a boat ride around the old city (if you like sleazy Arabs, go to Acco… if not… stick with the zoo).

Every morning, we had a nice sized breakfast outside and I got to go learn in the mornings before our afternoon activity. All in all, a really relaxing and enjoyable Pesach.

Okay, on to Torah!
I’m really enjoying the sefer, Aleinu L’Shabeach (please don’t get it, it’s a good source for me)…

“You are to sanctify yourselves” (Vayikra 11:44)

Rav Moshe Feinstein was once asked to come and test a class of children who finished learning a chapter of Gemara (I assume their first). When Rav Feinstein entered the room, the first thing he asked was, “My dear children, when you go home after a whole day of learning, what do you do?”

One child responded, “We play ball.”

“Very good”, responded Rav Feinstein, “You have to play ball. But you should remember that when you are playing, you should play like Yiddishe kinderlach, not like wild animals!”

The lesson here is clear. Everything we do, we need to do in a proper way. We cannot ‘let our hair down’ too much when relaxing, and must always remember that we are striving to be Bnei Torah. All the more so, when we are in active spiritual pursuits, such as davening and learning.

Have a great Shabbos!

With the slaughter of an innocent family two weeks ago, the bombing in Jerusalem, rockets landing in and around Sderot, Ashdod, and just south of Tel Aviv, coupled with tensions in the Arab world, most notably Syria who could use a distraction around now, you begin to wonder if things are heating up again.

What’s really weird was looking through the photos of the bus bombings seeing if I knew anybody, since I know people who take that line regularly. One boy in our yeshiva had his father on the bus; thank G-d he came out okay.

Well… this is life here. Take it or leave it… and I don’t plan on leaving it.
At the end of this week’s parsha, the Torah begins to discuss the laws of Kashrus. It warns us that eating any non-kosher animal will make us impure. The Gemara (Yoma 39b) teaches us that this impurity is in reference to timtum halev, impurity of one’s heart.

The Ibn Ezra explains that timtum halev is more likely to affect us via the food we eat. When we digest food, it becomes part of us. If we it something impure, our bodies become impure.

The Ramchal in Mesillas Yesharim warns us greatly about the importance of having high standards in kashrus by staying away from anything remotely non-kosher. Just as we would refuse food that has a small amount of poison or even having a small chance of having poison in it, so too must we be as careful with our kashrus.

The more non-kosher food we eat, whether on purpose or by accident, the more impurity enters our bodies, and the more dull we become spiritually. So too is the opposite true. The more pure our foods our spiritually, the more pure and spiritually sensitive our bodies will become.

With that, I wish you all a great Shabbos!

Last week, I praised my wife for being one of the greatest wives around.

I want to amend that.

On the first morning of chol hamoed, I told my wife, “Woman!” (I might have said, ‘pleeeaaaassse let me’, but for arguments sake…), “I am taking a nap and you can’t do anything about it!” So, I laid down on the couch and slept for twenty minutes while she packed up some things to take on our trip to the park in Ramat Shlomo (yay). The next morning, as my kids were having breakfast and we were packing up for another small trip, Rochel Leah said, “Abba… why don’t you go lay down and Mommy will pack up everything”.

She is DEFINATLY going to have a very lucky husband.
“And the sons of Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, took each of them his censer, and put inside incense, and offered them before Hashem, strange fire, which He had not commanded them” (Vayikra 10:1)

In Toras Kohanim, it is stated that Aharon’s sons erred in two ways: 1) they did not consult Moshe and 2) they did not consult each other.

When we have an idea, especially spiritually-related, it’s also best to discuss it with people on a higher level then we. Being who they are and what they have accomplished, they can see things from their heights, that we probably cannot. While our intentions might truly be righteous, having a clear mind of somebody who is spiritually sensitive to go over our ideas, can prove to be a worthwhile investment. Often those people can point out things that we would have never thought of or realized before.

Concerning Nadav and Avihu not consulting each other, this at first seems puzzling, since they both did the same act. However, had they sat down and together gone over what their plans were, they could have reached the conclusion that their idea was not such a good one.

Often we see people who decide that it’s not important to have a rav or peers in their lives. They think that they can figure it out all by themselves. More often than not, we see such people failing miserably. By having a rav and peers to turn to, and by actually using them, we can slowly move up in the right direction.

I think I'm about to become a grandparent.

A friend of ours recently had a baby boy. When she began her 21 hours of labour at four in the morning, they dropped off their one and a half year old for us to look after.

Needless to say, Aunt Devorah's delivery was a big topic in the Winner house.

When my wife picked up my daughter from her preschool, Rochel Leah asked her, "Aunt Devorah have baby?"

"No, not yet. She's still in the hospital. The baby is in her belly and they have to take it out"

Startled by this news, Rochel Leah said, "Baby in belly?"

"Yeah... that's where the baby is"

She smiled, patted her belly and responded, "Rochel Leah have baby in belly".

Just this morning, she was walking around the apartment with a toy baby under her shirt.

Great.

I'm not ready for this.
Okay, on to Torah!

"Wine and other intoxicating beverages you shall not drink" (Vayikra 10:9)

The Midrash (Vayikra Rabba 12:1) warns against the harm of alcoholism, "If a person drinks too much wine, he will end up selling all that he owns to keep up his addiction to drinking"

The Midrash continues with a story of a man who spent so much money on his habit of drinking that his children were worried they would soon be penniless. When he was drunk, they tied him up and took him out to a cemetery. They hoped that when he became sober he would be shocked to find himself in the cemetery and would be aware of the dangers of drinking to excess.

That day a caravan carrying vats of wine passed near the cemetery. The caravan was attacked and traveled as fast as it could. One of the large barrels it was carrying fell off and landed right next to the head of the drunken man. When he awoke from his drunken sleep, he was surprised to find the faucet of the barrel right next to his face and kept drinking right there in the cemetery.

In a letter to his father, Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler commented that we see from this principle that Hashem leads a person on the way he wants to go.

If Hashem was willing to help this person when his actions are not right, imagine the help he gets when he wants to follow Hashem's will!

I've seen it time and time again here in Eretz Yisroel concerning people who wish to sit and learn Torah. Their financial situation is not good. They have little or no support. Yet the desire of both husband and wife is to learn and grow. At certain points it seems as if it's all over, then suddenly out of nowhere, help arrives.

A friend of mine told me a story that happened to his neighbor.

The family was in such a dire financial situation that the phone company was about to cut out all service.

"Enough of this", said the husband, as he put on his hat and jacket, "I'm going to pay the phone bill".

His wife was a tad confused since they did not have the money to do so.

"I'm doing my best to sit and learn Torah. If Hashem wants me to continue, He'll give me the money to do so. So, I'm now going to pay the bill. He can give me the money on the way."

He went and opened the door to see his neighbor standing there about to knock. His neighbor starts off with, "Do you have any bills you need paid?"

A little stunned, he asked, "What?"

"Do you need any bills to be paid? I have to spend some more money on my credit card to get some more points. If you have any bills, you can let me pay for them, and you can pay me at a later date!"

Yes, this was a true story and things like that happen here all the time.

If a person wants to strive spiritually, he can be rest assured that Hashem in some way or another will help him out according to the energy and faith he puts in.

It's a real shame, when people come to learn in Israel, and based off of a fear of their long range financial future, decide to pack up and go back to America. They had Torah in Eretz Yisroel in their fingertips but did not have the faith in Hashem to grasp it.

It can get very difficult at some points, but if a person strengthens himself in his trust in Hashem, he can overcome that fear and move to spiritual heights he could never had attained.

With that, I wish you all an excellent Shabbos!

I hope everybody has been enjoying their Pesach!

We had our Seder by our neighbor’s home. Being that they have two young children, the Seder was directed to them and given on a level for them to understand. As guests, we were obligated to help out, and were told that we need to act out a few of the plagues that hit Egypt. We were given a choice on which plagues to do, but I was NOT allowed to do Death of the Firstborn for some strange reason.

I DID do three plagues, however. First, I was the Wild Beasts, where I picked up the three year old and began to chew on his stomach. Then I was Pestilence, where on my wife’s ‘suggestion’, I walked on my hands and knees ‘mooing’ away nice and happy, until I developed a terrible cough, keeled over, and ended up on my back with all four ‘hooves’ in the air. Finally, my wife and I were the little-known Eleventh Plague: The Winner Family. The Winners being in attendance was a plague unto itself.

Okay, on to Torah!


“These shall you abominate from among the birds, they may not be eaten – they are an abomination… the chasidah.” (Vayikra 11:13,19)

The chasidah, according to the translation I found, is a type of non-kosher stork. The name chasidah comes from the word chesed, kindness. Why would a bird with the name ‘kindness’ be listed amongst the non-kosher birds?

Rashi, commenting in the Gemara (Chullin 63a), attributes the name chasidah to the kindness it displays to other members of its species, by giving them food. This attribute of the chassidah certainly adds more weight to the question on why it’s not kosher! If anything, one would think this is the most kosher bird around!

The Chidushei HaRim explains that the chasidah displays its kindness only to others of its kind, not anybody else.

When the Torah commands us to do chesed to one another, it did not tell us to chesed only to those of our ‘group’. Yes, there ARE priorities on who to give tzedakkah to, however, dealing with chesed in general, there is no such limit. When a person needs help from you, whether they wear a shtrimal with payas, a black hat, a knitted-kipa, or no kipa at all, you have an obligation to help them! Nowhere does the Torah tell us to help only those from their own ‘species’. When chesed needs to be done, we are obligated to help out whoever is in need.

A second lesson is to be learned from the chasidah. Doing acts of kindness is not a sign of being kosher. A question was once asked to a rabbi I know, by a wealthy person, “Yes, I don’t keep Torah and mitzvos, BUT I DO give a lot of tzedakkah. Does that not make me a good Jew?” The Rav, being a very straight forward person replied, “No, it does not. A good person: yes. A good Jew: no.”

Tzedakkah and other forms of chesed are certainly worthy endeavors, but they are not a sign of kashrus. The Torah has given us a whole list of mitzvos and we are obligated to do our best to keep EVERY one of them! Yes, one will receive reward for the chesed he or she does, however they will also be held accountable for all the other mitzvos they ignored.

From the chasidah we see these two remarkable lessons on chesed: Firstly, we need to keep in mind that chesed is only one of MANY mitzvos that we are commanded and obligated to do. Secondly, we must remind ourselves that our obligation to do chesed is obligatory concerning all Jews. May we merit to be conduits of chesed for all of Bnei Yisroel.

Have a great Shabbos!

Well, the City of Jerusalem has finally recovered from Purim. Boy. What a fun and holy time that was. It's amazing how despite the fact it was a clear day; visibility for me was around 3 feet :) For those who have never been here at this time, I highly recommend that you make the trip next year. Then stay for Pesach. And while you're at it, stay for Shavous. Then recognize that you love it over here and simply never return. :) Okay, on to Torah!


"And Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon, took each of them his censor, and put fire in it... which He commanded them not. And there went out fire from Hashem, and devoured them, and they died before Hashem...And Aharon fell silent" (Vayikra 10:1-3)

"'And Aharon fell silent'. He received reward for his silence. What reward did he receive? That the speech of G-d was directed to him alone, when it was said to him the section of the Torah that deals with those intoxicated with wine" (Rashi)

Aharon's sons, Nadav and Avihu, for whatever reasons they had decided to bring an 'unauthorized' korbon (offering). For reasons that He had, Hashem was not so pleased with this, so they died. The reasons that Aharon’s sons acted this way and why Hashem acted this way are not within the scope of the dvar torah, so we'll skip over that. Our focus, is on Aharon's reaction and the reward he was given.

When Moshe spoke to Aharon on the death of this son's, Aharon remained silent. He did not complain against Hashem nor did he turn against Moshe. Undoubtedly, like any parent who has lost children, he felt the horrific loss. However, his faith in G-d, allowed him to understand what transpired, and to remain silent.

Rashi, quoting a Medrash, writes that he was rewarded by being able to speak to Hashem Himself, one-on-one, without Moshe or any other intermediary. What was he spoken to about? The law that any Kohen who is intoxicated, cannot serve in the Mishkan. So, here's the obvious question: Why was this specific law taught to Aharon?

Intoxication causes a person to lose some or full control of his senses. Yet, according to Rav Mordechai Rogov, there is another situation that causes one to control of his senses. Extremity. When a person is rich or poor, he might stop seeing the hand of Hashem in his life. If he is poor, he blames G-d for his situation. If he is rich, he congratulates himself for his brilliant mind. Nonetheless, the Torah commands us, that when we are experiencing times of extremity, we must always look towards 'the middle'. Shlomo HaMelech (King Solomon) once said, "Lest I be full, and deny You, and say, 'Who is Hashem?' or lest I be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God" (Mishle 30:9)

The prophet Micha said, "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does Hashem require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your G-d?" (Micha 6:8). The Gemara (Makkos 24a) explains the words, "to walk humbly with your G-d", to mean that a person should assist in the burial of the dead and to help to arrange the wedding of a bride.

So, why does the Gemara bring in such extremes? On one hand we're dealing with death and on the other hand, we're dealing with marriage. I know...had I still been single, I would have said something like, 'What's the question? They're both the same!' But I would NEVER write something like that...as long as the Mrs. has access to my site...

The lesson to be learned is simple. Even when your emotions are on the extreme, you still have an obligation to fulfill all the mitzvos in the best way possible. For example, when a person who is, G-d forbid, having problems trying to find their spouse, goes to a wedding, they need to try their best to fulfill the mitzvah of bring simcha to the new husband and wife. This is despite the personal problems that they are facing.

This is why Aharon was taught the laws of intoxication by Hashem. Despite the emotional turmoil that he was experiencing, he always kept his senses. He understood that everything that happens is the will of Hashem, and that he needed to 'keep his cool'. Aharon personified this trait. May we be strong enough in our lives to remain level-headed through everything that is thrown at us in life. Have a great Shabbos!