Pinchas

Welcome back everybody.

Hopefully, we’re back into business. Given the situation, things have been a bit hectic and busy, but thankfully everything is in relative order and we’re back to a relative schedule. Sort of.

I guess one of the most memorable points over the last month is when the day before the bris, my son asked me, where exactly they do the bris. I replied, “Take a guess.” He thought for a moment, his eyes opened wide, and he said, “Noooooo…. Not THERE!! Can’t they do it on the finger instead????”

Classic reaction.

Okay, on to Torah!
“Take for yourself Yehoshua bin Nun, a man which there is spirit” (Bamidbar 27:18)

Hashem told Moshe, “Your sons sat back and did not study, while Yehoshua served and honored you. He would arrive early to the study hall and remain there late. He would arrange the benches and spread out the mats. Since he served you with all his might, he is worthy of serving Israel.”

It is told that Rav Shach, despite being the Rosh Yeshivah, would be in the yeshivah early to put back the books from the tables onto the shelves where they belonged. Once, somebody asked him why he uses his time in such a manner when there is somebody hired to do so. Rav Shach replied, “Leave me be. If only I was worthy of having such a job!”

On the flip side, I once saw that Rav Chaim Kanievsky wrote that a person who does not return the books he used back to the shelf where it belongs is guilty of “bittel Torah” (wasting time from learning Torah). For when a person fails to return the book, and somebody else needs it, that second person needs to waste time trying to find it!

From these two small pieces, we see the importance of returning books that belong to the shul, yeshivah, or kollel to their place. On one hand, failure to do so will result in a person’s becoming guilty of bittel Torah, yet on the other hand, when a person does so, he is given great reward.

Have a great Shabbos!

Michael Winner

I received an email from a friend of mine in Jerusalem with a chart on the ranges of Hamas’ weapons. I was relieved to see that we are just outside of their range. So, naturally, I responded with, “PHEW… At least WE’RE safe!” A few hours later, rockets started landing in the north… figures (though I’m sure in general the north is going to be pretty quiet).
This week’s parsha begins where last week’s left off. In response to some very immoral behavior between the women of Midian and the Jewish nation, Pincus takes a spear to one of the tribal leaders involved, and puts an end to it. As a reward, Hashem gives him a “covenant of Peace”. Rav Yaakov Meir Shechter writes that in order to understand how such a terrible thing could happen, you need to look at the beginning of the story, where the Torah writes, “And Israel sat in Shitim, and the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moav” (Numbers 25:1)

The Gemara comments that “Whenever the Torah uses the phrase ‘he sat’ it always signals the beginning of a problem”

What’s wrong with “sitting”? Sitting represents a break from spiritual labor. When a person is working, he is kept busy and out of trouble. When people have too much time on their hands, and waste it away doing nothing constructive, then they turn to other things to keep them occupied.

In the non-Jewish world, the goal is to “pursue happiness.” Interesting to note: It’s to “pursue,” not to actually “reach.” His goal is to work in order to take vacations.

A Ben Torah takes vacations so they will have strength to work. When our goals are to have fun, we end up falling down a very slippery slope. However, when our goals are to work hard on a constant basis, we will naturally have more protection.

Have a great Shabbos!

Michael Winner

My wife (and I, it turns out) needed to take a “mental health day”. So, for the first time in who knows how many years, we did so. We made after-school arrangements for all the kids (the baby stayed with us) and decided to take a morning trip. Being that most of the north is accessible by car within a 1 hour driving range, we had plenty of options. In the end, I rented a friend’s B-52 bomber (he has a large family, and his van is very old and very … interesting… to drive) and headed to the Lebanese border on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to a place called Rosh HaNikra.

Rosh HaNikra is literally on the border (don’t get too close to the gate, we got yelled at for that) and is on a cliff overlooking the ocean. There, you can take a 30 second cable-card ride down to the ocean and tour the tunnel that runs underneath the cliff, where the sea flows in.

Afterwards, we drove to the nearby beach for 15 minutes, followed up by lunch in a park in the town of Shelomi. Since, it was only 45 minutes away from home, we took all the time we wanted, and made it back by 2 pm. It was nice to have a morning off, not discussing anything stressful, and FINALLY able to go and drive around and see Eretz Yisroel.

The funny part? I didn’t feel like a tourist. I remember visiting here when I was younger, always wondering what it would be like to actually LIVE here and drive the roads. Now I am. My Hebrew is passable, I know my way around, I feel comfortable dealing with “the locals” and with the terrain, and I don’t stand out in my dress or manners. My wife and I agreed to make it a point to do this three times a year to different places in the north, just to get away from everything and recharge our batteries.

For those who are interested, photos can be downloaded here:

https://www.yousendit.com/download/WFJXcXlvQTZlM1JESjlVag

Okay, on to Torah!
“To Yashuv, the family of Yashuvi” (Bamidbar 26:24)

The Ohr HaChaiyim noted that the tribe of Yissochor (which Yashuv belonged to) was dedicated to Torah study. Therefore, from the family names, you can learn hints into learning Torah.

The word, yishuv, comes from yoshev, to sit. It refers to the need to sit patiently in ones learning and not to rush ahead. One must sit and concentrate and understand what he his learning before moving on. By racing through it, one does not only not understand what he is learning, or at most, he understands on a superficial level, but he will certainly not retain it. By sitting and reviewing over and over again, until the material is clear, one can have a better appreciation for his learning.

I recently learned this lesson personally. Up until a month ago, I was learning in the mornings with a friend of mine. Thank G-d, he has a very good head for learning and gets a good night sleep. I, on the other hand, don’t… on both counts. Therefore, he understands things much quicker and can move on faster than I. However, he had to change his schedule around, since he’s learning how to be a sofer (somebody who writes Torahs, mezuzos, etc…), and needs to morning to do his writing. So, that left me to learn by myself every morning for four hours.

It turned out to be a big brachah. I’m able to now sit, go at a pace that I’m feel comfortable with, and when I have questions or ideas, I can easily walk over to other people and discuss it with them. I believe that I have a much better grasp on my learning and feel much less stressed. We still learn in the afternoons together (it IS important to learn with others), but the time I have to myself is very precious.

Have a great Shabbos!

My wife went to do some shopping in Jerusalem this week. She caught the 7am bus out and made it home by 5pm. It’s the first time she did such a run, thankfully, but there are some things in life you need to get, and you can’t get them here.

One of the first things she noticed when she was there was: “I really don’t miss this place”.

Jerusalem finally completed their light rail, which it’s hailing as a huge success, despite the facts her citizens disagree with that fact. Everything is torn up, traffic is terrible. People are all in a rush. You are in a rush. Etc, etc…

Finally, she gets back up north. There is no traffic. The construction by our house is complete in good time. Nobody’s rushing around. It would make a good scientific study to test people’s blood pressure between those that live in the center of the country and those that live in the north.

Interesting observations.

Anyhow, on to more important things!

“Therefore say: I give unto him My covenant of peace.” (Bamidbar 25:12)

This parsha is probably very difficult for people of the more liberal persuasion to swallow. Here you have a man, publically committing a perverse act, followed by Pinchas ramming a spear through him. Naturally, the press & blogs caught on with headlines “Evil Hareidi Man Slays Innocent Bystander” along with calls to “Draft all Hareidim into the army” and “Cut off the funding for all Hareidi schools, since they’re all like this!”

Yet… no surprise… Hashem says differently. “Make him a Kohen! He’s a man of peace!” says Hashem.

Rav Chaim Brisker explains that Pinchas’ act of zealousness was in reality an act of peace, since it was done for the sake of Heaven. It was his act of pureness that stopped Hashem from punishing the nation for allowing such a thing to happen. Because he saved the nation from a path of destruction, and he reconciled Hashem and His people, he is considered a man of peace.

Rav Chaim Brisker made a comparison between a real zealot and a fake:

The situation can be compared to a case in which one purchases a cat to rid his home of mice. Undoubtedly, the owner of the house and the cat both dislike mice and want them destroyed. There is a difference, however, between the home-owner and the cat: The owner would rather no mouse disturb his home at all, while the cat is pleased to encounter and kill as many mice as he can.

The same idea may be applied to the zealot. He who puts on a show of zealousness is nothing more than a charlatan who always seems to get involved when there is a scandal or conflict in a community. The real zealot, on the other hand, would be satisfied if he had no battles to fight.

Have a great Shabbos!

This past Shabbos, we had a couple of boys over from my former yeshiva for a meal.

Chaim, currently two and a half, is slowly but surely working on his toilet training. Being that, he's wearing his fancy new underwear that my mother-in-law bought. His standard dress code over Shabbos was socks, underwear, and a white button-down shirt (it's Shabbos after all).

In the middle of the meal, he shows up missing his underwear and diaper, simply wearing his shirt and socks.

"Ummm… Chaim?" asks my wife. "Why aren't you wearing any underwear?"

"I'm an Abba!" he replies.

All heads silently and slowly turned in my direction.

"THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME!!!"

Needless to say, the story made it back to the yeshiva. The next day, I received two messages from two separate rabbis of mine asking what type of example am I setting for in my children? I could hear them holding back their snickers…

Okay, on to Torah!
In this week's parsha the nation is told that Eretz Yisroel will be divided between the tribes according to a lottery system. Rabbeinu Bachya (Bamidbar 26:56) explains that the dividing of the land via lottery was done in order to make it clear to everybody the hashgachas Hashem (Hashem's "hand") and everybody will recognize that they received their portion directly from Hashem and will not feel jealous towards other people.

Rabbi Areyh Brueckhemier asks, "In general, life is full of events that can lead us to feeling jealous of others, and we must constantly be on guard against this tendency. Whey then did Hashem specifically want Eretz Yisroel to be divided in such a way that would preclude the possibility of one tribe becoming jealous of another?"

He answers that with specific items or events that occur in a person’s life, it's easier for other people to overcome their jealousy. It's a one-time event, nothing TOO exciting. However, Hashem wanted everybody to understand that they were given their particular lot in life by Hashem for a very specific reason that only they can fulfill.

Hashem chooses a person's parents, children, wealth, health, etc...

Our general lot in life has been given to us by Hashem, so we can fulfill whatever mission we were given in this world. There is no need to be jealous of the richer, wiser, or healthier friend. They were given their mission and the tools necessary to complete it, and we were given ours.

Focus on what you have and what you must do, and you'll succeed in the end.

Have a great Shabbos!

I was surprised with the instant response I received from last week's dvar torah. I believe it was a record amount. Surprisingly, it was all positive, since I was expecting some to accuse me of being a hidden racist.

It seems to pay to write about controversial topics. However, I put a lot of energy and time into that one (most of it being after midnight), so I can't write on such a level every week.

I’ll try to have another good one for Parshas Shoftim, which I hope will upset some people. :)

In the meantime, on to Torah!
"These are the children of Dan, cording to their families... sixty four thousand and four hundred" (Bamidbar 26:42,43)

The Chofetz Chaim noted that the total population of Binyamin was 45,600, while Dan's was 64,400. He tells us to take note of each tribe's beginnings. Binyamin himself started off with ten sons, while Dan had only one... and he was deaf (not exactly a good quality back then for a shidduch). Although, Binyamin had a 10 to 1 "lead" over Dan, Dan in the end had nearly 9000 more descendants.

The Chofetz Chaim uses this as a lesson to us. If Hashem wants us to succeed in something, we will succeed. No matter what disadvantages we think we have compared to others, it means nothing in the Almighty's eyes.

My wife and I constantly have pondered this point in our lives. Many couples come here for a year or two... at most five or six, and are supported in their learning. Their wives may work a bit and maybe they do some tutoring, but for the most part, they have many of their needs taken care of. No complaints, of course. If they’re sitting and learning, I think that's amazing and should continue. However, after a time, the money runs down, and they have to move on.

We on the other hand, do not get financial support. Yes, we both work hard to make ends meet, but we're five and a half years and two kids later, and still learning in kollel.

If you asked us in the beginning what are chances would be to continue this life, we would have said that it would be nice, but not very probable. But, thankfully, Hashem believes differently and has kept us going.

Whether we are looking for financial or spiritual success, we must always put aside the "but... he has... and we don't" attitude. That makes no difference. If Hashem desires that you should succeed, you will succeed and be happy with your lot.

The key is to daven and to show Him that you desire to succeed in order to properly grow as a Jew.

Have a great Shabbos!

A lot of people like to call their children "mitzvah boy" or "mitzvah girl" when they do something good.

A friend of mine is very integrated with Israeli society and even married an Israeli whose parents are American.

The other day his son did some mitzvah that he was proud of. So my friend told him that he was a "Yeled Mitzvah" (Mitzvah Boy). His wife gave him this look and explained to him that there is no "Yeled Mitzvah" in Israeli society and that Americans are the only people who use the term. The only "Yeled Mitzvah" that is found in the Israeli lexicon is referring to a child born from Yibum (a marriage between a man and his sister-in-law who did not have any children from her now dead husband).

Just another lesson to be learned. No matter how integrated you are in Israeli society, you're still going to be out of the loop in certain areas.
"To Yashuv the family of Yashivi" (Bamidbar 26 24)

This week’s parsha goes through another census taken of the Jewish nation, tribe by tribe, family by family. While many people find this tedious and boring, those of us with lofty souls are able to see beyond the simple words.

The Ohr HaChaim commented that the tribe of Yisachar (which Yashuvi belonged to), was the tribe that was known for their devotion to the study of Torah.

The word Yishuv (settled), says the Ohr HaChaim, refers to the quality of their learning. They sat and patiently learned the Torah in depth, without rushing and skipping any parts.

The goal of Torah study is to understand what one learns, not to 'gain ground' without truly understanding what one is reading.

My chavrusa and I learn Nefesh HaChaim over Shabbos for an hour. We've been learning the section dealing with the importance of Torah study and it was going through the damage done to the world when a person is no longer 'osek' in Torah.

I found it interesting to note that the author spoke of being 'osek' (heavily involved) with learning. It didn't use the term 'learning'. It used something much heavier. Lots of not so good things come as a result, not just from people not learning Torah, but from soimply not being osek in Torah.

There's nothing wrong with going slow in your learning, as long as you are learning, understanding, and incorporating that understanding in your life.

Have a great Shabbos!

For those of you that are trying to get off of your addiction to your morning coffee, I recommend the daily “5:30 am, 3 inch, Israeli Cockroach (complete with fangs and saliva”) to start your day.

It happened last week when I woke up and saw something big and black on the wall of my bedroom. To be nice to my wife, I decided to get a plastic cup, quietly capture the creature of evil, and let it learn how to fly out the window.

Foolishly, I didn’t consider that the cockroach was bigger than the diameter of the cup. Needless to say, when that thing started to move, I leaped back with an “AHHHHHH!!!!” (I can handle all sorts of things, including the time a tarantula found it’s way on my shoulder during davening… don’t ask). However, Giant Israeli Cockroaches are much different. This caused us to move around all the furniture at breakneck speed with an even bigger cup to catch it, all while making sure it didn’t bite us or something.

At first, we tried spraying it with Raid, hoping to slow it down. The response: “Mwahahahaha!!!” Thankfully, after five traumatic minutes, I caught the beast and released it outdoors (I didn’t want to kill it, since a cockroach of that size would have taken a while to clean).

The result: Over the past two months, I’ve stood throughout all of davening in the morning in order to keep myself awake (that’s WITH a coffee). For the first time, I was able to sit and stay awake.

Okay, on to Torah!
"And let the assembly of Hashem not be like sheep that have no shepherd" (Bamidbar 27:17)

I'll give a warning: if you sit on a shul board, you're not going to like this. (Snicker)

In this week's parsha, Moshe asks that Hashem should choose his successor to lead the nation into Eretz Yisroel. Moshe compares the nation to a flock of sheep, and without a leader, they would be without a shepherd.

A question can be raised on this. While Moshe was certainly on the highest level attainable, he was not the only person who had shown leadership qualities. There was Yehoshua, who served as Moshe's attendant, who stood up against the spies when they spoke loshon horah against Eretz Yisroel. You have Pinchas, who stood up against Zimri when he went against Moshe in last week's parsha. You had Elazar, Aharon's son, serving as Cohen Gadol. And of course, there was the Sanhedrin, consisting of seventy sages. There was certainly no lack of leadership potential.

Rav Elchanan Wasserman maintains that a team, or committee (read: board), of leaders is not equal to that of solo leadership.

A single leader, who has true leadership qualities, will have more of an affect on their constituents than a committee. A single leader is more likely to get things done, while a board is more likely to squabble amongst themselves. A single leader is forced to take responsibility for his or her actions, and will not be able to blame somebody else.

I have often found that the communities that grow the most, spiritually, are those that have a G-d fearing Rav, with a board that is subservient to him. When he is in charge, the community follows, and reaches higher levels with him.

With that, I wish you a great Shabbos!

This week, I had the honour of meeting Big Mike (tm). Big Mike seems to be more famous then I originally thought, since I've heard about him from so many different types of people. Who is this Big Mike? Well, he's a former college football player, who became frum, married with a child, and living and learning in Israel. Oh yes, he's also approximately HUGE and eats two bus loads of children for breakfast everyday. When I mean HUGE, I mean he makes Andre The Giant, look like a mouse. Of course, due to the fact he looks scary as anything, he happens to be one of the nicest people around. I met him at a sheva brochos that I went to, and had the opportunity of sitting near him. For a little fun, he took the umbrella from the fruit cocktail, and placed it in his hair next to the ear. He chuckled and said in a mega-bass voice, "You know...the greatest thing about being a person of my size, is that you get to do whatever you want". We all got a good laugh at that; but I gave it a little more thought. Not only is it true on the physical level, it's also true on the spiritual level. The more a person grows, the less he can care about how others below him think. Interesting theory, no? Okay, on to Torah!

Over the past few weeks, I've received a few complaints from people that I haven't sent out anything too fanatical to get them thinking. So, I figured this week was a good week to do so. So, if you have a weak stomach or don't like hearing pieces of Torah that might make you re-examine what your original concept of Judaism might be, this is my official warning. This week’s dvar torah is based off of a schmooze, given by my Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Asher Rubenstein. Okay, let's get to it.

"Pinchus son of Elazar son of Aharon the Kohen, was the one who zealously took up My cause among the Jewish people and turned My anger away from them, so that I did not destroy them.... Therefore, tell him that I have given him My covenant of peace..." (Numbers 25:11-12)

At the end of last week's parsha, a prominent Jew named Zimri, in public and in complete defiance to the Torah, had relations with a Midianite woman named, Cozbi. At the time, nobody did anything, until Pinchas took a sword and killed them both. This weeks parsha is named "Pinchas" and begins with Hashem rewarding Pinchas for his zealousness. Rashi writes, that the Jewish people immediately started to wonder about Pinchas and attacking him for his zealousness. One of his grandfathers, was Aharon. The other grandfather was Yisro, a convert who used to worship idols.

Who was Aharon, besides Moshe's brother and Kohen Gadol? Aharon's number one characteristic was peace and love for his fellow Jew. It was known that Aharon would go out of his way to see that two enemies became friends. If he saw somebody who didn't keep Shabbos or kosher, he would go up to him and give him the biggest Shalom Aleichem. He would not condone the person's behaviour, but he would still treat him as a human being deserved to be treated. The Jewish people loved Aharon greatly, because of this love that he showed them.

Given this background, we can understand why the people would be clamoring against Pinchas. It's obvious to everybody that Pinchas' "zealousness", came from the side of his idol-worshipping grandfather. Hence, his "zealousness" was not zealousness at all, but rather a cover for a hot temper! It's impossible that he could have received such an attitude from Aharon's side, since Aharon would never have done such a thing!

So, in order to find the truth, we look into the Torah; and what does the Torah say? "Pinchas son of Elazar son of Aharon the Kohen..."

That's right. Hashem is re-affirming that the action of Pinchas did in fact come from his grandfather, Aharon! But how could that be?!?! Aharon was known for his love for PEACE!!! How can anything like killing two people come from him???

Well, let's continue with the pasuk, "...was the one who zealously took up My cause among the Jewish people and turned My anger away from them, so that I did not destroy them"

Well, according to G-d, Pinchas' act was not only accepted by Hashem, but also saved the Jewish people from being destroyed! Why were the Jewish people set for destruction? Because a desecration of Hashem was being done in public and nobody did a thing. They sat back and watched. For allowing such a thing to take place, they forfeited their lives. It was only the act of Pinchas, who took a stand that atoned for the nation. The Torah spells out Pinchas' lineage to show one thing: that he was acting just as Aharon, the lover of peace, would have acted.

What is Shalom (peace)? Unfortunately, today the word has been twisted around. People love to use the words "peace", "compromise", and "tolerant" to describe themselves and their goals. Many groups who wish to change around the Torah often say that they only want "peace" and that those "right-wing fanatics", need to learn about compromise and being tolerant.

Aharon actually made that mistake once before. When the Jewish people were building the golden calf, they came to Aharon and asked him to build it for them. Knowing that if he refused they would kill him, and they in turn would be killed by Hashem, Aharon compromised and said 'yes', hoping to stall them enough for Moshe to return. What happened? Hashem told Moshe that He planned to wipe out the Jewish people! What helped avert this massacre? Moshe and the tribe of Levi, took their swords, and killed all those who were guilty!

Aharon was willing to compromise on the Torah. For this one action, he helped set the Jewish people up for destruction. Obviously, Aharon learned his lesson and repented.

So again. What is Shalom? Shalom is peace between G-d and the Jewish nation. This is accomplished in two ways, both being as essential as the other. Between G-d and man, peace is achieved through the uncompromising acceptance of the Torah. Between man and man, peace is achieved through love and compromise between Jews on a personal level. Aharon was the epitome of shalom between man and man. Pinchas was the epitome of shalom between G-d and man. Both are equally important.

But the lesson of this week's parsha, is a very simple fact. There is no compromise when it comes down to Torah. If one truly wants Shalom to exist, instead of waving the word around mindlessly, they need to understand this important point. In order for Shalom to exist, we cannot 'reform-ize', 'conservitize', 'modernize', or any other '-ize', that which Hashem gave us. When we sit back and allow such compromises, we see through the Torah that every time we do so, we are putting our very lives in danger. It took a "right-wing fanatic" to bring us back on track.

Now we have one small question. Pinchas took a sword and killed the two people committing a sin. Does that mean every time we see some sin we are obligated to take such a strong action. The answer is obviously no. Why? Because the Torah states, "the one who zealously took up My cause". Being that, the intention the Pinchas had was 100% for Hashem, not 99%, but 100%. In order to take up any 'zealousness' against others, one needs to have 100% pure Hashem intention!!! That means none of us, can do such a thing, since none of us can have such intention! This rule also explains why Moshe did not do anything.

When Zimri approached Moshe wish Cozbi in tow, he asked Moshe, "Am I allowed to take this woman from Midian?"

Moshe replied, "No"

"Then, how do you explain your behaviour for taking a non-Jewish woman as your wife?", Zimri asked (yes, Moshe's wife, did convert)

Zimri didn't simply attack the Torah, but he also personally attacked Moshe. Meaning, it was very possible that if Moshe DID take some action, he might have had some personal motive involved. So, if Moshe could not muster up 100% Hashem-orientation, we certainly cannot. So action is out of the picture completely.

When do we compromise for peace? When we have personal differences. We see a modern day example of the willingness to compromise for peace concerning Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky.

There are two traditions at a Jewish wedding on how the bride and groom are brought to the chuppah. One tradition is for each set of parents to bring up their children. Another tradition is for the groom to be brought up by both fathers, and the bride to be brought up by both mothers. When Rav Kaminetsky was asked what tradition he followed, he replied "Both". In order to alleviate any trouble, he left the decision to his children's future in-laws. This is when you compromise for peace.

When do you not compromise for peace? When people attack the Torah, offering 'upgrades' and changes to make it friendlier to the 'modern man'. When the Torah is being publicly shamed, that is when we do not make compromises! That is when we become a "stiff-necked" people! How do we take a stand? Not by violence, but by becoming "right-wing fanatics" and clinging stronger to Torah and mitzvos, and by making sure that we do not contaminate our beliefs with the non-Jewish beliefs mentioned above.

It is the job of the Torah-loyal man and woman to show love to their fellow Jew of all stripes, but show a firm hand against the desecration of the Torah. It is his or her obligation to continue to learn and grow according to G-d's ways that were given to us 3300 years ago. May we all have to strength to fulfill our obligations. With that, I wish you all a great Shabbos!

The human mind is an amazing thing. I was driving home last night in the middle of one of Chicago's finest storms. Thunder, lightening, rain...the usual. My route happens to take me past a public swimming pool. As I past the pool, it brought me back to the days of lifeguarding. When the rain started coming in and there was no lightening, a couple of us would sit quietly at the bottom of pool, and listen to the raindrops hit twelve feet up. That got me thinking of people who are stupid enough to swim during storms when there IS lightening about. And THAT got me thinking of a GI Joe episode. You know how every episode would end off with some moral or safety lesson, and a member of GI Joe would finish with '...and knowing is half the battle'? Well, there was a particular 'lesson', when two boys were swimming in a lake during a thunderstorm. Out of nowhere emerges the GI Joe character in a full underwater battle uniform, telling the boys that it's unsafe to swim during thunderstorms. That lesson is all nice and pretty, but eighteen years later, driving south on Crawford it finally hit me...WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS HE DOING IN THE LAKE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! This guy is giving advice to kids on the dangers of swimming in water during a thunderstorm, while HE is doing the EXACT same thing; except for HE happens to be wearing a METAL swimsuit! Now, I'm not a professional weatherman or anything, but I DO know, that wearing a metal suit, in a pool of water, during a thunderstorm, isn't the brightest (get it?) thing on earth to do! And knowing is half the battle...sheesh...

Oh yes, an apology for all the folks from Eur*pe and Israel for getting this out late.

"May Hashem...appoint a man over the assembly, who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall take them out and bring them in" (27:16)

This week Moshe asks Hashem to appoint a worthy leader over the Jewish people since he will not be able to bring them into Eretz Yisroel. The qualifications that he is asking for are worthy to note: "who shall go out before them and come in before them...". Any leader needs to have two main qualifications. He must be able to understand the group he leads. He must be able to 'come in before them', to understand their needs and wants. He must be able to recognize and understand the individuals and groups that he is leading so he can lead them each in their own way. He must be a part of the group. On the other hand, a leader must be able to lead that group. He must be able to make the correct decision, stand by that decision, take the initiative, and lead the people, whether or not they agree with that stand.

The Talmud (Moed Katan 25b) tells us that when Rebbe Yaakov passed away, the stars shown even during the day. Rav Mordechai Rogov explains that this was a sign that Rebbe Yaakov was not just an ordinary leader. He was the type of person who, if everybody thought everything was okay (spiritually speaking), would be able to see through the false feeling, and cry out, "It is night! The light you see is not that of the sun, but of the stars! We are about to fall into an abyss of darkness!" Many people like to cover up either personal or community problems, sweep it under the rug, and say, "See...everything is okay". Not Rebbe Yaakov. He would be able to recognize the truth and make a stand based off of that recognition. That is why the stars shown during the day. Hashem was showing honour to those who are able to see the source of the light, and lead others to it.

This is what Moshe was asking for. A leader who could not only feel for his people, but also one who would lead them, not follow them. A true leader is somebody who is able to see what others cannot and properly rally his people to that cause. Have a great Shabbos!

Many people believe that when a Computer Nerd goes to college, he spends his time learning engineering, programming, what causes the "Blue Screen of Death", and other deep and interesting things. That's not entirely true. The fact is, we spend more time learning how to BE a Computer Nerd then how to do the things Computer Nerds do. For example, we have classes on: "How to Put on A Lot of Weight in a Short Amount of Time" (The bigger you are the more you get paid, since chances are you have less of a life and spend all your time on your computer), "How to Run Away from Girls if They Show an Interest in You", "How to Answer the Famous Who's Better, Captain Picard or Captain Kirk?" question, or "If It was Starfleet vs the Empire, Who Would Win?" question...All of these are very important, and can easily hurt the brain of a person with an IQ less than 120. But the hardest final is "How to Program for 3 Weeks While Living Off of Pizza, Popcorn, and Coca-Cola". It's a very difficult test, but...we ARE professionals...and every Computer Nerd out there has passed all of these qualifications...It was the last one that led me to my mistake yesterday. My stomachs (got the second one installed a few weeks ago) can take nearly anything thrown at them, and yesterday morning I put that to the test. My conclusion: NEVER eat a Burger Buddy at 3:30 am right before a fast day begins, ESPECIALLY after eating one only a few hours earlier for dinner....okay, on to Torah!!

At the end of last weeks parsha, a plague was killing off quite a few people for acting immorally, Zimri was having not so appropriate relations with a Moabite woman, Pinchas took a spear and ended that little episode, which also ended the plague. Hashem than praised Pinchas for taking the initiative and avenging G-d's honour (Public Service Announcement: Before Stabbing Anybody with a spear for immoral relationships, please contact your local orthodox rabbi).

In this week's episode, Moshe realizes that the end is near, and asks Hashem to pick a new leader for the Jewish people before he dies. Hashem says, "No problem...take Yehoshua (Moshe's main disciple) to become the new leader". Moshe offers command to Yehoshua and Yehoshua accepts. So...a question is asked: Wouldn't it seem logical that Pinchas should have been chosen the new leader? Was it not him who showed leadership material by standing up against the people to do what was right? Didn't he deserve leadership?

Luckily, Rav Eliyahu Schlesinger has answers to such questions. He says that this question and answer show something important about Jewish leadership. Throughout the time the Jews left Egypt, all Moshe got was trouble and rebellion from them, which resulted in a lot of bad things, like plagues for example. They complained a lot, and challenged Moshe's authority several times. Looking back on it, we can honestly say that his tenure as a leader was rather rocky. One would naturally think that it's time for a change, a new leader with fresh ideas on how to run the Jewish nation. So, whom does he pick? Yehoshua. And as cited by the Yalkut Shimoni, the first words of his first nationwide dvar torah were, "Bless Hashem that gave the Torah to Yisroel through Moshe Rabbeinu!"

Mmmmm...doesn't seem like Yehoshua is much different than Moshe or interested in change. It is at this point the people realized that Yehoshua was NOT going to bring in fresh new ideas. Instead he represented continuity. His "new" teachings were rather simple: Keep the laws the Moshe taught us. What Pinchas did was correct, but he represented "newness". During all the rebellions, Moshe never outright killed anybody, rather he prayed to Hashem to help them. Pinchas, on the other hand, spearheaded (get it?...sorry) a new way of taking care of problems.

American politics can basically be summed up quite easily: Democrats get elected, things don't work out. Then Republicans get elected, things still don't work out. Democrats are elected again, still things aren't working out. Independent parties run...people laugh at them, and things don't work out. Republicans have a new idea, get elected, and things don't work out. Democrats condemn the Republican's new idea, and come out with a newer idea...things still don't work out....okay, I think we get the point. No matter how much newness one introduces, it doesn't always mean it's going to help. Especially in Judaism. Throughout Jewish history, groups have tried to "reform" or "modernize" the Jewish religion, which ends with absolute failure. Is it no surprise that the only "group" of Jews that have survived throughout the ages have been those who advocate "continuity" over "newness"? (Oh, yeah...one quick thing...in the end, the Republicans come up with a brilliant idea and bring the country to a level of holiness never seen before :) )

Now, many people may correctly question this by saying, "Look throughout the Talmud, and you'll see plenty of additional rules and laws that the Rabbis have put into effect, isn't that newness?" Great question! The first mishna in Pirkei Avos states that one needs to add "fences" to the Torah. The "new" things introduced by the Rabbis, weren't changes in the halacha or belief, they were additional fences played around the Torah so one does not come to accidentally sin. One quick example can be found in Mesechta Brachos. According to the Torah, one can say the Shema of the night, anytime at night until the beginning of dawn. The Rabbis, afraid that people who stay up late might forget to say Shema, enacted a decree that one should say Shema before midnight. They're not contradicting the Torah; they're adding fences to them.

This is the lesson to be learned through the choosing of Yehoshua as the new leader of B'nei Yisroel. When a leader's (and a people's) view on life is to be consistent in their spiritual growth, then will their children and grandchildren follow their footsteps. Have a great Shabbos!