Emor

This year, we had a very subdued Memorial Day and Independence Day, for obvious reasons.  There are still splits within Israeli society that were only "band-aided" on Simchas Torah, but have resurfaced over the past months.  I saw a very thought-provoking point somebody made.  "Liberal Western culture centers around the individual and views the state’s role as facilitating the individual’s well-being, the Jewish national one sees the individual as part of a people, whose vehicle for realizing a collective interest is the state.  Taken to its extreme, the collective approach leads to fascism, but the extreme individualistic attitude is also dangerous, certainly in our context. Ceding to Hamas will lead to thousands dying and terrible consequences for Judea and Samaria and vis-à-vis Hezbollah. Everyone knows this, but the extreme individualistic approach either ignores or accepts these prices.”

It's an interesting point to ponder and it's something Israeli society has always wrestled with and is currently wrestling with.

"You shall not profane My holy name, that I may be sanctified in the midst of the Israelite people, I Hashem who sanctifies you" (Vayikra 22: 32).

Rashi explains the concept of Kiddish Hashem (sanctifying Hashem's name) is when a person gives of himself for Hashem's name.

There's a famous Gemara (Pesachim 50a), which relates the story of the "Martyrs of Lod."  Two tzaddikim who gave their lives in order to save the city of Lod.  What they did was so great, the Gemara relates that nobody could stand where they stand.

Rav Shimshon Pincus explains that a person can only give as much to another person as he, the first person can give, and the second person is able to receive. 

Regarding the giver, for example, as much as I would love to buy a car for my wife, at this point, I cannot afford one.  So, I am unable to do such a chesed, even though she would be more than happy, and able, to receive it.

In terms of the receiver, however, an example is, if I were to buy both my wife and my son a pair of tefillin.  To my wife, I didn't do anything.  I didn't do any chesed for her since she does not need tefillin.  Yet, to my son, who needs them, it's a very big chesed.

However, regarding Hashem, there is only one "limit."  He can give whatever He wants.  That's not an issue.  The only question is, can the receiver receive such a thing?

When a person gives of himself fully, he is breaking all personal boundaries.  When the two tzaddikim of Lod gave their lives, they gave everything they had in order that the entire city should receive life.  When a person is able to "give it his all," he is no longer within the bounds of nature, and therefore, nobody can stand in his place.

I guess this is apropos, considering Israeli Memorial Day was this week.  Somebody asked me what Memorial Day in America is like, to which I responded, "shopping sales."  Here, to their credit, they take it very seriously.  And how can you not?  So many people know people who have fallen.  I have two neighbors, who live right next to me, who lost first cousins in this war, for example.

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach told somebody that if he wants to daven at the grave of a tzaddik, go to the grave of a soldier who fell in battle, since he died al Kiddush Hashem.  He gave everything to give everything.

Of course, we should also know that this status is not just conferred on those who gave their physical lives.  But this title is also conferred on those who worked on and broke their own personal, natural, barriers for the sake of Hashem.  When a person "gives it his all" in order to do mitzvos, he too is breaking barriers and he too is creating a Kiddush Hashem, whether or not others are around to see.

With that, I wish you all a wonderful and quiet Shabbos.

Very few people know this, but Frum.org has a secret editor working for it over the past several years.  It seems Ms. X, currently living in northern Israel (no, not my wife, she would never edit for me for free), was tired of my grammatical errors and volunteered herself to lookover all the Dvrei Torah before being sent out.

Unfortunately, she has hit a rough patch which has lasted longer than expected and she’s now in a situation where she is in critical need of more work.  In addition to editing, and teaching English, she has experience in writing and is very familiar with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.  She’s even worked as a math tutor (which, between you and me is strange, since usually language people aren’t so go with math and visa-versa).

If anybody might have any need, or knows somebody with a need, for an employee in this area, for example, a remote secretary, online teacher, editor, writer, etc… well… I have somebody available!  The work could be full-time, part-time, or project-based.  Right now, any work would be greatly appreciated and would help her situation out.

If anybody has any leads, they can contact me and I can put them in contact with her.

"When you sacrifice a thanksgiving offering to Hashem, sacrifice it so that it may be acceptable in your favor" (Vayikra 22: 29).

The "Korban Todah," the "Thanksgiving Offering," is the only one that the Torah uses the language "acceptable in YOUR favor," compared to the standard language "His favor."  To understand this, we first need to explain a famous pasuk from Tehillim that is used in Hallel.

"O L-RD, I am Your servant, Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have undone the cords that bound me. I will sacrifice a Thanksgiving Offering to You and invoke the name of the L-RD" (Tehillim 116:17).

The Maharit explains it as follows:

"O L-RD, I am Your servant, Your servant, the son of Your maidservant" – I am a mere human.  Son of a mere human.  I am also Your servant.  A servant who is completely dependent on you for everything in life, including life itself.  How can I possibly do anything against Your will?

"You have undone the cords that bound me" – Yet … You have given me free choice.  I can either do Your will or go against it.

"I will sacrifice a Thanksgiving Offering to You" – The word "Todah" is related to the word "Hodah," to agree or to acknowledge. And there is no concept of "Hodah" unless there is the ability to not agree or acknowledge (for example, we don't acknowledge the sun or air, since it's there and there's no room to disagree on that point).  Therefore, Dovid HaMelech is saying, "Even with my free choice to not acknowledge Your presence in this world, I WILL acknowledge it! And I will call out Your name!"

With that, explains Rav Yom Tov Lipman Halprin, is the key to the Korban Todah.  A person does not bring a Korban Torah to thank Hashem for the bounty of the physical world (for Hashem's favor). Rather he brings it to thank Hashem for the ability to choose whatever he wants, and nevertheless he says, "I'm dedicating my 'choice' towards You and I'm acknowledging Your constant presence in my life.  He's, in essence, thanking Hashem for the ability to direct HIS "favor" in the way he sees fit.

We see how great the "power of choice" is.  Hashem did not create robots to serve Him, but created Man to choose to serve himself in Hashem's direction.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

My six year old is learning about Lavan and how he tried to kill Eliezer when Eliezer came to find a wife for Yitzchok.

So, he had a question: Why did Lavan try to kill Eliezer?  Good question.  So I gave him an answer.  So, next question: Why did he poison him?  He could have taken a sword and stabbed him! (complete with stabbing motions)  So, I gave him an answer for that as well.  Then he asked why didn't he do this or that in order to kill him?  So, I turned to him and said, "You seem to really know a lot about killing people."

He just laughed.

The Rambam (Hilchos Tshuva 1: 4) writes that when a person makes a chillul Hashem, desecrates Hashem's name (usually in public), even if he does tshuva, and receives pain in this world, and goes through Yom Kippur, his tshuva is not complete until he dies.

Uplifting, no?

Rabbeinu Yona in Shaarei Tshuva (4: 16) writes, "even if the sin of chillul Hashem can only be forgiven through death, nonetheless Torah can also forgive it"

Not bad!  So, according to Rabbeinu Yona, if I have such a serious sin on my head, all I need to do is learn a little Torah and I'm spared all sorts of grief and agony. Ahhh! Life is good!

Rav Shimshon Pincus brings in further proof.  On other holidays like Pesach, Sukkos, and Yom Kippur, they would bring a Sin Offering in the Beis HaMikdash, yet on Shavous, there was none.  The Gemara (Yerushalimi Rosh Hashanah 4:8) explains that since the Jewish nation accepts upon themselves the yoke of Torah, Hashem lifts them up to a level as if they never sinned.

Wait a second…

If we look at this carefully, we see that our "easy out" is not such an easy out.  The Gemara said that we accept upon ourselves the yoke of Torah.  It's clear here that simply learning a Mishnah or two is not going to wipe away our sins.  Rather, one has to take upon himself the yoke of Torah, something far more serious and intense.

In fact, we see a similar thing in a Mishnah in Avos (6:1), "Whoever is heavily involved in learning Torah for the sake of Heaven, he will be uplifted above all other creations."  Simply put, that person is brought to a newer and higher level of existence.  But again, it doesn't come from a person simply learning Torah.  It comes from somebody learning for the sake of Heaven.  It comes from somebody who takes his learning and changes himself so much, that he's no longer the same person who did the sin originally!

So, how do we do that?  My never-to-be-humble suggestion is simple.  When I learn something, I will try to make it a point to take action on what I learned.  If I learn a new halacha, I will do my best to put it into practice.  How many times do we learn Torah and never really "learn" from it?  But taking our learning and putting it into practice, we are allowing the Torah to change us.

And spiritually speaking, we are in a time period where such things are more possible than other times.  On Pesach, a Grain Offering, is brought.  What was this offering?  Simple: it was freshly cut grain.  On Shavous, what is brought?  A Bread Offering.  Two loaves of bread.  We start off with food fit for an animal and then on Shavous, we finish off with food fit for man.  During this time of Sefiras HaOmer, we have an easier time taking our "animal spirit" and changing it to that of man.

Only through such a change, can we rely on the words of Rabbeinu Yona that Torah can protect us from even the most severe of sins.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

Despite everything that has been going on, my wife and I have realized that for us, we received a bit of a gift from Hashem.  Yes, we’ve lost some income, several friends or acquaintances have been sick, whether at home or in the hospital, we even know of a few deaths, our kids have been at home, barely getting out for two months, no minyanim, no kollel, and more "family time." However, when looking over our personal situation, I feel that we’ve been given some time to make something of this period.

Now, we don’t live stressful lives like an emergency room doctor, special-forces operator, president of a company, etc., but, our time is full.  Between our commitment to kollel, work, raising a family, and all the appointments each child needs, along with the decision-making that goes on, like many families, we have little to no “downtime." But, that’s fine by me (not my wife, but me).  However, for us, the toughest things are dealing with people.  Specifically, dealing with people who we know are not being so honest with us, or being incompetent in their jobs, or dealing with bureaucracy which is everywhere (which combines dishonest, incompetent, people).  Even going to minyan, and having to wait for Mr. Eight, Nine, and Ten, who regularly show up late, puts wear and tear on me.

But now?  There is no minyan.  No kollel.  No appointments.  No chance of doing many things that needed to be done, but which cannot be done now.  A certain weight has been lifted off of us.

It goes even deeper than that.

How much of our lives, specifically our spiritual lives, are connected to the community around us?  How we dress, how we act, how we behave, when  and how we show up to minyan, how we daven, how we learn, what we do with our free time, etc. Many of those things are affected, both positively and negatively by the community around us.  Even the positive things, such as how we daven. For example, we might show up to minyan on time, only because it would be an embarrassment to show up late.  Maybe we daven well there, but that’s because there is an "atmosphere." Certainly, these are positive things, even if they are based on external factors.  And of course, there are negative things that affect us.  Sometimes the women of the community do not have high standards when it comes to modesty, which pressures other-wise modest women to "dress-down." If there is talking in shul, even those who are careful, will begin to slip.

But now…all that is gone or very limited.

Now, it’s just us and Hashem.

Some see this as a test, but I look at this as a gift.

For many of us, we now have more time to daven.  We can approach davening in a relaxed manner, rather than rushing to minyan.  We don’t have to show up at 1:30 p.m. for mincha, it can be 1:33 p.m.  An extra 3 minutes to take care of the kids and not rush to daven?  No big deal!

Our mode of conduct is no longer connected to the community-at-large.  Nor is it connected to our responsibility to the community-at-large.  Now, it’s all on how we relate to Hashem.

We have more time on our hands, we have fewer external stresses (not in some ways of course).  We don’t have to be put down by other people, nor do we have to be raised by them.

We have a limited (hopefully!) period of time where we can work on certain areas of life that will build our personal connection with Hashem, not out of communal responsibility, but rather one of true desire.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

As you know, every year I go to Yerushaliyim to make matzah.  And each year, it’s with the same group of people.  There have been certainly changes of membership, but there is still a core group of guys.  One of the people there is around my age, good sense of humour, nice guy… though, I don’t know much about him though, since I only see him once a year.

Well… I learned something this week about him.  No, he’s not a former criminal.  No, he’s not an undercover missionary.  No, he doesn’t have three wives that don’t know about each other.  I WISH it was one of those.  It would have been much easier for me to digest.

He turns out he’s a well-known dayan (rabbinic judge) in one of the most religious neighborhoods in Yerushaliyim.  Also, after reading something he wrote, it’s clear that he is highly knowledgeable in non-Torah manners, without a university education.  Did I mention he’s my age?  (Not a trace of white hair either).

I HATE people like that.  Why couldn’t he have been a hardened criminal or something…

“And you shall not profane My Holy Name” (Vayikra 25:32)

Rabbeinu Yona in his famous “Shaarei Tshuva” writes, “even though for the sin of Chillul Hashem (profaning Hashem’s name), there is no atonement, except through death, nonetheless, [the learning of] Torah also gains atonement.

For every holiday, the Torah lists, amongst the special korbonos brought, “one goat as a sin-offering”, yet on Shavous, no such thing is mentioned.  The Gemara (Yerushalmi, Rosh HaShanah 4:8) writes that the reason for this is as follows: “Hashem said to the Jewish people, ‘Since you accepted upon yourselves the yoke of Torah, I will consider it as if you never sinned all the days of your lives’”.

So, here we have the ultimate sin.  One whose atonement can be affected via death and … learning Torah?

Rav Pincus brings in the Mishna in Avos (6:1) to qualify what type of Torah has this amazing power, “somebody who is involved with Torah with pure intentions”.

So, what super-duper powers does learning Torah (purely) have to overrule death itself?

It’s rather simple, says Rav Pincus: When a person learns properly, and more importantly, he incorporates that learning into his life, he becomes a different person.  How many stories have we heard of criminals who took it upon themselves to change their lives and not only did so, but also changed the lives of others?  Those people are completely different than the people who they were before.  So too, when somebody learns properly and takes that learning and acts on it, he becomes a different person, who has no need for death to atone for them.  He’s a different being completely, with a whole new life awaiting him.

Have a great Shabbos!

My twelve year-old daughter told my wife that she did not want to eat eggs anymore.

A friend of hers told her how a bird came and laid two eggs on the window of their home.  One of those eggs brought forth a baby bird.  Given that, my daughter was quite disgusted to eat something that will eventually become a bird.

My wife explained that she has nothing to worry about, since, if there is no rooster, it’s impossible for the egg to become a chicken.

“So, the egg has an Abba?” she asked.  “Yes,” my wife replied.  After a few seconds of thought, she asked, clearly confused, “How do chickens get married?”

My wife began to look for the eject button, seeing exactly where the conversation was going.

The joys of raising religious children!

“And you shall count from the day after the day of rest from the day that you brought the waving omer, seven complete weeks they shall be” (Vayikra 23:15).

The Sefer HaChinuch writes that the essence of the Jewish people is the Torah, and for the Torah the entire world and Israel were created.  The Jews were redeemed from Egypt in order to accept the Torah at Sinai and to fulfill it.  The counting of the days from the Exodus from Egypt until the day of the accepting of the Torah is an expression of the importance of the Torah for the Jewish people.    Just as a person who is enslaved and knows that he will be liberated on a certain day will count each day until he finally gets his freedom, so too, we count the days until we receive the Torah.  Counting the days shows that our entire being has a strong desire to finally reach the end of the time we are counting.

The greater one’s appreciation of the Torah the more one finds time to study it.  Also true, is the more one enjoys his learning and feels that he is accomplishing, the more he will desire to learn it.

I saw that Rav Shimshon Pincus said that in order to “acquire” the Torah, one must “learn, learn, learn." The more he invests his time and thoughts into his learning, the more he will enjoy it. The more he enjoys it, the more he appreciates it.  The more he appreciates it, the more he wants to learn it.  Just like a groom circles his bride under the chuppah, as long as he doesn’t put the ring on her finger, he hasn’t done a thing.  He can circle as much as he likes, but he won’t make any "acquisition."  So, too, with learning, says Rav Pincus, a person can learn this gemara or that gemara and some chumash here and there, but it’s not the main part of his life; he’s simply circling around the Torah.  When a person actually focuses on what he’s learning and makes it an important piece of his day (and his life), THEN he will enjoy it, appreciate it, and acquire it.

With that, I wish you all a wonderful Shabbos!

Michael Winner

Last week, the country celebrated Yom Ha'atzmaut (Independence Day) and Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day), which generally give me mixed feelings.  On one hand, I must acknowledge that Israelis treat these days more properly than most Americans do on their days.  On Yom HaZikaron, they stop twice a day as a country, for a minute, to think about those who have been killed in wars and terror attacks.  I was told that there was a traffic jam just getting into the local cemetery, because so many people know somebody who has been affected.  Even my wife and I know several terror survivors personally.  Yom Ha'atzmaut, people get together with family and celebrate.  While in America, Memorial Day is an excuse to go shopping, and, from what I understand, if you are patriotic in today’s America, you are practically considered a Nazi; since it’s not "in" to like America.

On the other hand . . . most Israelis have no idea what Tisha B’Av is (the Jewish "Memorial Day"), and on Yom Ha'atzmaut, my son, and all other boys, are not allowed to wear a backpack to go learn Torah at their school, lest it causes trouble with secular Israelis.  Why?  Because they should be celebrating, not learning Torah! (Yes, it’s official school policy because of past issues.)

So, from the non-Torah, American point of view, I need to tip my hat to the Israelis for doing something that recognizes their losses and celebrates their gains.  However, from the Torah point of view, it’s quite sad the spiritual apathy that is taught in this country’s educational system.

Nu, nu . . . on to Torah!

In this week’s parsha, we learn about the honor we must give the Kohanim.  The Maharam teaches that the word “vekidashto,” “and you shall sanctify him,” is used in only two places in the entire Torah.  Once regarding the kohen (Vayikkra 21:1-9), and once at the giving of the Torah (Shemos 19:23), which the Maraham writes, hints to the honor we are to give Torah scholars.

He continues and notes that regarding the Kohen, the pasuk starts with the word “vekidashto” and regarding Torah, it’s at the end of the pasuk.  That is to show that the Kohen gets the “firsts,” such as the first Aliyah to the Torah, while the Torah scholar gets his honor at the end, such as hagbah (lifting of the Sefer Torah at the end of its reading).

The Kohen receives honor because he was “born into it.”  His honor is usually more public.  However, the Talmid Chacham receives his honor in a more hidden matter, since the honor is not given completely to him, but also to the Torah that he has learned.

Rav Aryeh Brueckheimer writes, “One of the greatest tests of our generation is a lack of modesty.  Whether in attire, lifestyle, or aspirations, there is a great desire to flaunt what we have and to be recognized for what we have accomplished.  Unfortunately, these feelings have entered the world of Torah learning as well, and people often want to receive personal honor for their Torah knowledge.  We must try to rise above this test and maintain the honor of the Torah for the Torah itself, in order to merit learning Torah that is truly for the sake of Heaven.”

Michael Winner

My daughter is currently in kindergarten and is born in a month which is on the border of moving to first grade vs. staying another year. The teacher wants her moved up yet the principal of the school doesn’t like taking girls that are born in that month, and wants her to stay another year. What they do to compromise is bring a psychologist to the kindergarten to see how the girls act and speak with them. There are several girls in her class that are in the same situation.

Last week my wife went to meet with the psychologist and the teacher to discuss her findings. In the end, she believes that she’s ready to move up. However, she wanted to go over some of the questions my daughter could not answer. One of them was, “Why do people go out to work?” My daughter had no clue. The teacher said that it was an unfair question: if money isn’t a value in the home, why would a child know about it? If anything, it might a bit worrisome if they know the answer. The psychologist thought about it and agreed with her. After the meeting one of them said to my wife that one of the girls answered, “TO MAKE LOTS OF MONEY!!!” and THAT worried the teacher.

I came home and asked my seven-year-old son the question. He didn’t know. I asked him in Hebrew, thinking he didn’t understand me clearly. He really didn’t know. I then asked my ten-year-old daughter. She answered, “To make money.” “And why does a person need to make money?” I asked. “To support himself," she answered.

It’s interesting how one’s values are passed on without realizing it. We teach them the importance of not wasting money, but we never discuss making or acquiring it. It’s just not what our life revolves around.

Interesting thought to ponder.

Okay, on to Torah!
“And the Almighty said to Moshe, ‘Speak to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon, and say to them, for a person shall not defile himself among his people’” (Vayikra 21:1).

The Chozeh of Lublin explains that Moshe was told that the kohanim need to be worthy of being descendants of Aharon. Just as Aharon’s main quality was pursuing love and kindness, so too, they should work hard in making this a priority in their lives.

However, the second part of the pasuk serves as a warning. “For a person shall not defile himself among his people.” True, the kohanim (and everybody in this regard) should strive for peace, but not when the cost is oneself. One should always distance himself from people who will defile him and bring him down. I remember when I was a lifeguard, the number one rule was: look out for yourself. If the victim was grabbing hold of you as you were trying to save them, and you could not control the situation, simply move away and let them drown. Hopefully, you can grab them immediately afterwards and save them, but to sacrifice your life as well is futile. So too with the spiritual world. Yes, go out and make peace! But, if you are going to start making friends or spending too much time with the wrong people . . . Therefore, the pasuk reminds him “not to defile himself among his people.”

Have a great Shabbos!

Michael Winner

Last Shabbos, my wife and I "stacked" the cards in our weekly Uno game. We made sure that Chaim and Rochel Leah (in separate rounds) got only the really good cards. Rochel Leah, when seeing her cards, was smiling but kept her excitement in. Chaim on the other hand, started jumping up and down and yelling about out imminent downfall. I decided at that moment, for his sake, I won’t be teaching him poker.

Okay, on to Torah!
“Say to the Kohanim . . . and tell them” (Vayikra 21:1)

Rashi quotes the Gemara (Yevamos 114a) that states the reason the Torah uses “say” and “tell,” instead of using the verb just once, is to “say” to the Kohanim, and to “tell them,” being to “warn” their children.

Adults are able to comprehend things that they see, due to their (hopefully) mature level. Children on the other hand, need to be warned of possible dangers, since they lack the maturity and experience to be able to “see ahead.”

Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein wrote a frightening story which he personally witnessed. I cannot say it over better than he, so excuse the lack of my personal wording.

“At 7p.m., in Bnei Brak, a group of boys were gathered at one of the park benches, some with their bags from school (being that they have not even been home yet) . . .

“The minutes tick by, until the clock reads 7:30. None of the boys is even thinking of going home. This is a winter night, and it had been dark for quite some time already. Why are these children still outside? Do they not have a home? Of course they have a home. But their parents don’t really pay attention to the fact that their sons have long finished learning in cheder and should have been home for some time already . . . . On this particular evening, one of the neighbors was learning with his son in his apartment, and without warning, the family hears a loud noise from the kitchen. A rock has hit the kitchen window, shattering it and almost breaking the window frame . . . . When the father goes downstairs, he is shocked to discover who this boy is. He is a child of an excellent family, definitely not the type of family that would condone this type of behavior. It IS an excellent family, except when it comes to education.

“The person whose apartment was hit by the rock told me that he went to the father of the boy who threw the rock and told him what his son had done. He warned him about the dangers of allowing a child to spend hours every night with his friends unsupervised in the local park. ‘Do you want your son to become a youth at risk?’ he asked the father.

“The father’s answer was unbelievable. ‘I agree with you,’ he said, ‘but I don’t have the energy to keep the kids at home for such a long time.’

“He doesn’t have the energy, so he prefers to leave his son out in the park and expose him to the terrible influences of the street . . .

“Why are the parents so blind to what is happening to their children? How do they ignore the terrible dangers of the street? The argument that ‘I don’t have the energy to keep the kid at home’ is so ludicrous that it does not even deserve an answer. All we can say is that if the parents would take their responsibility to care for their children seriously, they would find the energy to keep their children safely occupied . . .

“Sometimes I wonder: How is it that fathers do not fulfill their minimal responsibilities toward their children? For instance, during davening on Shabbos, many children go out to the hallways of the shul and play with their friends. These rowdy games not only disturb the people who are praying, they also train children to do the very opposite of davening. If a father feels that his son is not capable of sitting the entire time and pray, he should not send him outside; he should send him home! Let’s not fool ourselves, though. Many times the children who are playing outside are eminently capable of sitting inside the shul and daven. It’s just that the fathers are not doing what they are supposed to be doing: training their sons to sit in the shul and daven. One would almost think that these fathers do not care about their children. Is such a thing possible?”

Being a parent of small children is hard. Picking up the pieces later in life is even harder. Better to invest early.

Have a great Shabbos!

Michael Winner

This past Sunday, I left my wife and children.

It was really overdue. Things were getting too hectic for me.

The best part was returning home two days later to a family that missed me, and feeling refreshed from a break.

It’s been who-knows-how-long since I had some personal time off, so it was agreed that I would go to Yerushalayim by myself for two-and-a-half days. I did a lot of walking around, visiting friends and rabbis. I didn’t shop for my wife or even for myself. I just relaxed.

On one of those days, my hiking partner and I went to hike in Nachal Og in the Judean desert. It was a five-hour hike, and certainly our most dangerous and manly hike. We didn’t see any other people; we did not have cell phone reception most of the time, and we were smack in the middle of a desert. We were under the impression that the hike was going to take us through the nachal (a dried riverbed), so we did not expect that the hike included vertical climbs, and walking on the edge of cliffs OVERLOOKING the nachal. At a few points, had one slipped just a little bit, he would have fallen to his death, which made me wonder why it was part of the hike (which was rated "intermediate") and why were there no hand/foot handles (another good question: why didn't I turn around? Well, better to be manly and dead than wimpy and alive, perhaps?). I would have loved to take photos of those particular areas, however, I was too busy having a near-heart-attack from what we were doing.

After the hike, we celebrated by buying a pizza (my first store-bought pizza, in a year-and-a-half or so). Needless to say, I slept well after that.

Okay, on to Torah!
“And you shall count for yourselves” (Vayikra 23:15)

This week’s parsha contains the mitzvah to count the days between Pesach, our redemption from Egypt, and Shavous, our receiving of the Torah. It is known as a good time for teshuvah and growth. The pasuk says “you shall count for yourselves,”” yourselves” being written in the plural. I remember learning that when “yourself” is written in the singular, it’s speaking to the nation as a whole, and when it is written in the plural, it is speaking to each individual.

The Likutei Halachos writes that there is a very important lesson to be learned from here.

When one is working on purifying himself, it’s extremely important for him to focus only on himself and never to look at others. Many times, we fall into the bad habit of looking at other people and falling into despair at how far they seem to have grown, and how little we have seemed to have grown. We fail to understand that this might not be true at all, and we fail to realize that each individual has his own strengths and weaknesses.

I brought this up with my rav the other day. He said that we all know that the great Tzaddikim go "upstairs" and the great evil people go "downstairs." But, he asked, what happens to everybody in between? We always hear of the great or wicked, but we never hear of the “common,” yet great, man.

He told me that his grandmother remembers very little about HER grandfather. She knew that he worked as a carpenter and she never recalls seeing him without a sefer (Jewish book) in front of him. When he wasn’t working, he was engrossed in his learning.

So, what about people like that?

He concluded that you cannot compare yourself with other people in this world. It’s impossible. You simply don’t know everybody’s strengths and weaknesses to make a fair assessment.

Any “common” person who pushes himself to fulfill HIS potential, will earn the same reward as the greatest tzaddik who fulfilled his potential.

The Lekutei Halachos brings in a pasuk (though without a source, I believe it’s in Navi (the Prophets)) that says, “Avraham was one.” He explains that Avraham viewed himself as alone when it came to his personal spiritual work. He had no need to compare himself to anybody else, since such a comparison would be futile.

To succeed in personal growth, one most always look inward and never say, “Had I only been more like so-and-so…”

Have a great Shabbos!

This past Sunday, I left my wife and children.

It was really overdue. Things were getting too hectic for me.

The best part was returning home two days later to a family that missed me, and feeling refreshed from a break.

It’s been who-knows-how-long since I had some personal time off, so it was agreed that I would go to Yerushalayim by myself for two-and-a-half days. I did a lot of walking around, visiting friends and rabbis. I didn’t shop for my wife or even for myself. I just relaxed.

On one of those days, my hiking partner and I went to hike in Nachal Og in the Judean desert. It was a five-hour hike, and certainly our most dangerous and manly hike. We didn’t see any other people; we did not have cell phone reception most of the time, and we were smack in the middle of a desert. We were under the impression that the hike was going to take us through the nachal (a dried riverbed), so we did not expect that the hike included vertical climbs, and walking on the edge of cliffs OVERLOOKING the nachal. At a few points, had one slipped just a little bit, he would have fallen to his death, which made me wonder why it was part of the hike (which was rated "intermediate") and why were there no hand/foot handles (another good question: why didn't I turn around? Well, better to be manly and dead than wimpy and alive, perhaps?). I would have loved to take photos of those particular areas, however, I was too busy having a near-heart-attack from what we were doing.

After the hike, we celebrated by buying a pizza (my first store-bought pizza, in a year-and-a-half or so). Needless to say, I slept well after that.

Okay, on to Torah!
“And you shall count for yourselves” (Vayikra 23:15)

This week’s parsha contains the mitzvah to count the days between Pesach, our redemption from Egypt, and Shavous, our receiving of the Torah. It is known as a good time for teshuvah and growth. The pasuk says “you shall count for yourselves,”” yourselves” being written in the plural. I remember learning that when “yourself” is written in the singular, it’s speaking to the nation as a whole, and when it is written in the plural, it is speaking to each individual.

The Likutei Halachos writes that there is a very important lesson to be learned from here.

When one is working on purifying himself, it’s extremely important for him to focus only on himself and never to look at others. Many times, we fall into the bad habit of looking at other people and falling into despair at how far they seem to have grown, and how little we have seemed to have grown. We fail to understand that this might not be true at all, and we fail to realize that each individual has his own strengths and weaknesses.

I brought this up with my rav the other day. He said that we all know that the great Tzaddikim go "upstairs" and the great evil people go "downstairs." But, he asked, what happens to everybody in between? We always hear of the great or wicked, but we never hear of the “common,” yet great, man.

He told me that his grandmother remembers very little about HER grandfather. She knew that he worked as a carpenter and she never recalls seeing him without a sefer (Jewish book) in front of him. When he wasn’t working, he was engrossed in his learning.

So, what about people like that?

He concluded that you cannot compare yourself with other people in this world. It’s impossible. You simply don’t know everybody’s strengths and weaknesses to make a fair assessment.

Any “common” person who pushes himself to fulfill HIS potential, will earn the same reward as the greatest tzaddik who fulfilled his potential.

The Lekutei Halachos brings in a pasuk (though without a source, I believe it’s in Navi (the Prophets)) that says, “Avraham was one.” He explains that Avraham viewed himself as alone when it came to his personal spiritual work. He had no need to compare himself to anybody else, since such a comparison would be futile.

To succeed in personal growth, one most always look inward and never say, “Had I only been more like so-and-so…”

Have a great Shabbos!

One of the joys of living only 25 minutes away from Meron, the burial site of Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai, is that on the Shabbos right before Lag B’Omer, you realize how many friends you have in this world, as everybody calls you up asking if you “want” to have guests for Shabbos. It drives us a little crazy, especially when we receive calls from people, who know people, who know us. Thankfully, we were “reserved” a week beforehand by a couple who we are friends with. He lives in Jerusalem and we’ve been learning every morning on the phone for 5-10 minutes for years. Unfortunately, they have hit some hard times and were told to go to Meron on Lag B’Omer and daven there. So, thankfully, it’s not just a “fun time”, but rather helping people out.

Okay, on to Torah!
“He (the Kohen Gadol) shall not leave the Sanctuary” (Vayikra 21:12)

The Talmud (Brachos 29a) relates that Yochanan HaKohen Gadol served as the Kohen Gadol for 80 years, until he became a Sadducee (group of heretics). The Talmud (Yoma 38b) states that a person who has lived the majority of his life without sinning will sin no more.

Now we seemingly have a contradiction. If Yochanan served as the Kohen Gadol, the highest position (spiritually speaking) a person can serve, for a clear majority of his life; how did he end up becoming a Sedducee?

Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein answers with an analogy:

“Although there are vaccines and vitamins that can prevent a person from becoming ill, when an epidemic strikes and dangerous germs fill the air, even the healthiest individuals and those with the greatest immunity can be infected. The same is true for spiritual maladies. When strong winds of heresy fill the air, as they did in the days of Yochanan Kohen Gadol, even he was not immune.

”In our times, when dangerous spiritual diseases are rampant in the streets, the only way to remain immune is to stay within the walls of the beis medresh/shuls/yeshivas, as much as we can. When we wander outside needlessly, we expose ourselves to these spiritual hazards.”

From here we see the important lesson of spending as much times as possible in places with ENCOURAGE spirituality, than in places that do not (including “neutral” ground), and that we should never rely on our own strength against the yetzer horah.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!