Nitzavim

With possible chemical attacks in the horizon, my wife and I did our inventory of gas masks and discussed the idea of making sure the kids are comfortable in them. We saw a video on the Homefront Command on how to unpack and put them on. However, two things really bothered me about it: 1) It told us that we are NOT to open up our kits unless needed and 2) Given our location to the launch sites, we have 30 seconds from the launch time (or detection time, I’m not clear on that) to unpack, put together, and put on all the masks for the entire family.

That didn’t make me feel good.

I’m also wondering how the mask will work with my beard?

Oh well… I hope not to have to find out.

Okay, on to Torah!
“And all the nations will say, ‘Why did Hashem do this to this land?’” (Devarim 29:23)

I saw an interesting quote from Rav Schach concerning this pasuk, which is extremely relevant to the current military and political situation in Israel.

Moshe warned us that even the non-Jews, after seeing the destruction of Eretz Yisroel, are going to wonder how is it that the Jewish nation deserved such a level of destruction. The next pasuk answers such a question: “Because they abandoned the covenant of Hashem, G-d of their fathers that He made with them when He took them out of the land of Egypt”.

No other nation in the world has ever enjoyed a covenant with G-d, Himself. History has proven the existence of this covenant over and over again. It’s bad enough when a person breaks his covenant with another person, but do so, with Hashem?

In our world, when a person, as an individual sins, he is listening to his Yetzer Horah, and the result is between himself and Hashem. However, when a community as a whole, decides to work against Hashem, THAT is a break in the covenant.

There is a man in charge of his country’s military assets only 60km from where I live (17 km, if you count Lebanon), who has shown the world that he has no problems using chemical weapons. He’s threatening to use these weapons on us if he himself is attacked by the United States (makes sense, no?). All this is coming on the heel of a major blow that this current government has given the Torah world in terms of budget cuts (up to 66% cuts, and yes… we’re certainly feeling it), forcing yeshivos of all stripes (Chareidi or Religious Zionists) to close, all in order that the government should gain control over them or to shut them down completely.

Should we not be a bit worried when a country that calls itself the “Jewish homeland”, makes such an attack on Torah institutions? It’s easy to say, “Ah… nothing will come of it!” However, the Torah continues:

“Perhaps there is among you a man or woman, or a family or tribe, whose hear turns away today from being with Hashem, our G-d, to go and serve the gods of those nations; perhaps there is among you a root growing. And it will be that when he hears the words of this oath, he will bless himself in his heart, saying, ‘I will have peace, though I go as my heart sees fit’ – there by adding the drunk with the thirsty” (Devarim 17-18)

Do we not have what to worry about? When a person (and his party), who wears a kippah, openly declares war on Torah, abandons those who supported him, and sides with another anti-Jewish party… should this not be a sign that PERHAPS something is not good here?

Continues Rav Schach: “This is why it is such a serious matter when Jews organize themselves into a secular political entity and declare secular law to be above that of the Torah. WHEN THIS HAPPENS WE MUST BE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR INFIDELITY. As Torah Jews, we must recognize our responsibility to protect the entire nation from harm. Therefore, we must try to balance the scales on behalf of non-religious Jews, by learning more, increasing our awe of Heaven and improving our fulfillment of the commandments.”

The safety of the citizens of Israel, does not rest in the hands of Washington or Jerusalem, nor the American or Israeli military: It rests in those who keep Torah and mitzvos.

With Rosh HaShanah around the corner and an evil man in control of chemical weapons only 60 km away from major Jewish population centers, we should truly be fearful for our future and should use whatever time we have now to see to it that the future is a bright one.

Have a wonderful and meaningful Shabbos!

My wife and I had another... discussion the other week.

I recently purchased a new suit for Shabbos, since a gift certificate fell into my hand.

My wife wants me to finally retire my weekday jacket and use my old Shabbos jacket as the new weekday jacket. I replied that I don't like throwing out clothes that are still usable. She pointed out that my jacket is falling apart, graying, and fraying at the seams, and that I have to listen to her.

I, using my vast Talmudic knowledge, quoted the Gemara in Brachos which talks about the fact that everybody is surrounded by demons that are obviously invisible. The Gemara goes ahead and gives examples of where you can see evidence of these demons. One of the results of these demons is that they fray the garments of Torah Scholars. Obviously it’s clear that I’m a Torah Scholar then and even if I got a new jacket, it will only fray shortly after. Makes sense?

She didn't buy it.
"The matter is very close to you in your mouth and heart to do it" (Devarim 30 14)

Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz notes on this pasuk, that regardless of how far a person is, if he resolves to change, he can have an immediate effect on himself from that one resolution.

When a person makes a verbal commitment to change for the positive, that commitment will have a major impact in his personal growth. We're not talking about a mental note. We're talking about saying out loud, "I am going to control my anger", "I am going to say the first bracha in the Amidah with concentration".

The actual act of saying it out loud will have an effect on you. Certainly repeating it will help you internalize that message. All the more so when you are at that “crossroad of temptation”. By closing your eyes and verbalizing your commitment, it will work wonders towards overcoming your yetzer horah.

Once you begin to internalize the message, you will find it easier to initiate the change in action as well. This is an important lesson to keep in mind with Rosh Hashanah just around the corner.

With Shmittah beginning this week, my wife and I have to make a decision.

There are two minhagim ('traditions') in Israel, which differ on one small point, yet have profound consequences.

There are three main ways to get produce during Shmittah:

1. Through Otzer Beis Din. The farmer, as per halacha, does not work his land, declares the produce ownerless, and Beis Din (Jewish court) comes, harvests it, and brings it to the store. Since, the produce was ownerless; the fruits are cheaper than ever. You just pay for the 'travel' expense.

2. From produce outside of Israel. Since it's not from Israel, it has no holiness.

3. Arab produce (from Israel), which we get during the other six years as well.

The question is: what is the status of Arab produce in Israel? Does it contain holiness or not?

Minhag Yerushaliyim (Jerusalem) says 'no'. It's like produce from outside of Israel and can be treated in any way.

Minhag Bnei Brak says 'yes', and each vegetable must be treated properly, and cannot be thrown away in a normal manner.

Both are completely acceptable and both have very big people keeping it. However, if you hold Minhag Bnei Brak, you will be running your kitchen and shopping in a more careful way for the next year and a half.

With Shmittah produce, you have a mitzvah to 'guard' it , by treating it with respect. If you don't, you do an aveirah (sin).

So, if you keep Minhag Yerushaliyim, there's no risk, since it has no holiness, yet at the same time, you're not performing the mitzvah.

However, with Minhag Bnei Brak, every time you treat it properly and 'guard' its holiness, it's a mitzvah, AND the food you are eating contains holiness. However, you get a black mark if you treat it improperly.

Right now, since we've been brushing up on our Shmittah education and asking questions, we're leaning towards Bnei Brak. This happens only in Israel and only once in seven years. It's too hard to pass up on this opportunity.

Okay, on to more Torah!
"And you will hear these words and bless yourself in your heart saying, "I will have peace, I will go with the whim of my heart..." Devarim (29:18)

A few years ago we spoke of this pasuk and said that this can refer those that change around the Torah to fit their desires. After "correcting" what they believe Hashem somehow made wrong, they will be able to live their lives in a happy, "Jewish" manner.

This pasuk can refer to another type of personality that we all contain a little of.

The more time I spend learning, the more time I realize what little we know. In the mornings, we learn halacha. We start with the Gemara, move to the Rif, Rabbenu Yona, the Rosh, the Rambam, the Tur, Beis Yosef, and finally the Shulchan Oruch and Mishnah Brurah.

Unfortunately, most Jews have no idea who these names are.

Simply put, they are the basic “founding fathers” of Jewish law. In order to know, understand, and render halacha, you need these as a mere beginning.

However, most people are satisfied with their lot. They have no need to know who these great rabbeim are or what they have to say. They can read about Jewish law in a Jewish paper, internet, or an Artscroll book. Suddenly we know all the important things, we know the halacha, and we are free to render judgment. We pat ourselves on the back when we 'know' what we're talking about, and we feel free to argue in halacha with others.

We live in true ignorance, and thinking we know it all, we live in bliss.

Hashem gave us the Torah to learn, understand, and integrate into our lives. When we have a question, whether in halacha or in Jewish outlook, we have two options:

1. We can say, "Well, I believe..."
2. We can sit, learn, ask questions, and understand.

If we walk around thinking that we have all the Torah we need, we will continue to fool ourselves for the rest of our lives. With our lack of knowledge, we will only continue to fall in our growth.

Or, we can learn and strive to understand the Torah the way it is meant to be. We can sit and toil for hours and days to find out the underlying reasons for halachos or beliefs, and truly know Torah. It might not be as 'quick and painless' as the first option, but it will lead us to live a proper life as the Torah wanted us to.

With that, I wish you all an excellent Shabbos!

I learned a very important marriage lesson this week.

Whenever my Rosh Yeshiva or his sons or brothers has any computer issues, he comes to me thinking that I actually know what I’m doing. On several occasions this past month, he has had some issues and questions in which I helped him out with.

Earlier this week, he gave a shmooze for all the Kollel wives concerning Rosh Hashanah. Thankfully, my wife was able to attend. Afterward the shmooze, my wife approached the Rebbetzin Rosh Yeshiva and re-introduced herself, since they do not see each other so much. After the Rebbetzin heard my wife’s last name, she told her how much she and the Rosh Yeshiva appreciate all the help I gave them.

Let’s be clear on something, folks. My Rosh Yeshiva is a very busy person. He’s constantly on the move with people to see, places to go, and Torah to learn. Yet, nonetheless, he finds time in his day to speak to his wife about such ‘mundane’ things as who helped him with his computer problem. Nothing deep, nothing big, just sitting and keeping her up to date with everything in his life.

Okay, on to Torah!


"You are all standing today, all of you, before Hashem" (Devarim 29:9)

This week's parsha is always read the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah (by the way, next Shabbos is Rosh Hashanah for those of us who haven’t realized it). It serves as a reminder on what Rosh Hashanah is about: Standing before Hashem.

Rav Avigdor Miller says that the above pasuk serves as a positive-mitzvah (compared to a negative - "don't do this" mitzvah). How is this so?

Mesillas Yesharim says, "Man is veritably placed in the midst of a raging battle. For all the affairs of the world, whether for good or bad, are a trial for a man".

The Chovos Halvavos says that at first glance it seems that all the actions of man can be broken down into three categories:

1. Mitzvah
2. Aveirah (sin)
3. Rshus (something that is permitted to do, but is not a mitzvah)

After close examination, he realized that really there are only two categories: Mitzvah and Aveirah.

What is Mesillas Yesharim and Chovos Halvavos trying to say?

Every action that a person takes is a mitzvah or aveirah. How is this possible? Is playing tennis a mitzvah or an aveirah? How about brushing one's teeth? Or going on vacation? Aren't these examples of "rshus", things that are neutral?

They answer, "No". These acts can be a performed as a mitzvah or an aveirah.

The Shulchan Oruch states, "All one's deeds should be for the sake of Heaven". As Rav Miller said, "When a person eats breakfast, he should think, 'I am eating breakfast to have the strength to serve Hashem'. How long does that take- three seconds?"

"I have placed life and death before you; blessing and curse, and you shall choose life so that you will live" (Devarim 30:19)

Unfortunately, a person usually comes to realize how much of his life he misused when he is much older. Every second can be used earning reward. How? By "choosing life". What is considered "choosing life"? Is it sitting and learning all day? Is it doing acts of kindness? Is it davening? Is it raising your children properly? Yes and no. The answer is dependent on whether or not you are transforming that action into a mitzvah.

When we exercise, we should have in mind that we are doing so in order to keep ourselves healthy to serve Hashem. When we take a vacation, we should do so in order to relax ourselves physically and mentally in order to better serve Hashem. This is true in all actions. You could be cleaning your washroom, and with the proper mentality (i.e. cleaning for Shabbos), it can be counted as "choosing life".

With Rosh Hashanah quickly approaching, it behooves us to try to implement this mentality. By beginning now, we can transform so many mundane activities into mitzvos. We can easily 'rack up' more mitzvos in the next week then we did in the past month!

With this, I wish you all a great Shabbos!

My apologies for not getting a dvar torah out last week; I was down with something that's been going around here. During my sickness, I was giving some thought into a new halachic insight. As we all know, since I keep bringing it up, people outside of Israel keep two days for Yom Tov on Pesach, Shavous, and Succos, while those living in Israel keep only one. Now, Rosh Hashanah is a bit different. Everybody keeps two days. Okay, fine, I can deal with it. However, since people outside of Israel keep one day of Yom Kippur, perhaps people living in Israel should only keep a half a day? Just a thought... on to Torah!

"For this mitzvah that I command you today is not hidden from you and it is not distant... It is not in heaven... Nor is it across the sea... Rather, the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and your heart to perform it" (Devarim 30:11-14)

The Ramban (30:11) writes that based off of the previous pasuk, "this mitzvah" refers to the mitzvah of tshuva (repentance). About tshuva, the Torah continues and says, "it is very near to you, in your mouth and your heart to perform it".

Rav Avraham Pam asks, "Is this really so?"

Anybody who has learned even a little bit of writings on tshuva, such as Shaarei Tshuva or Rambam's Hilchos Tshuva, knows that tshuva is a very difficult process. A person is considered as if he did tshuva if Hashem can 'testify' that he will never return to his past deeds. His tshuva has to be so complete, that it seems as it's extremely difficult to do.

Rav Pam notes that many people are "cold" during the period of Elul and the Yomim Nora'im (Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur). They believe that changing themselves around so much is too difficult a task to accomplish. They put their heads down, go through the motions, eat their honey and apples, say slichos, fast on Yom Kippur, and hope it all passes by as quick as possible so they can return to their "regularly scheduled program".

Says, Rav Pam, this is a tragic mistake. Elul is the time when "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine" (Shir Hashirim 6:3. In Hebrew the first letter of each word of this verse spells out 'Elul'). This is THE time of the year, where Hashem is "closest" to His creations. Being that He IS G-d, Hashem understands the situation down here on earth, and understands that we will slip and sin. However, this period of time has been created specifically to rectify our behaviour and mode of conduct so it matches that which Hashem wants from us. So, what can we do?

Take a businessman as an example. Here he is, burdened by a failing business. He has no money, yet tons of debt to pay off. At this point, the only option he has is to declare bankruptcy. While according to civil law, he would be under no obligation to continue to pay off his debts, the Torah does not allow it.

What would an honest businessman do? He would speak to his debtors and plead for more time. On top of this, he would gather together some form of token payment to give to them, showing that he will do his best to pay them back, despite his current situation. As things begin to improve, he will continue to pay off his debts little by little.

This is applicable to every Jew during this time. We have all sorts of faults and sins, but nonetheless, during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we beg for more time. While we cannot possible fix everything all at once, we give a 'token gift' to Hashem. We take on one small thing to work on to show that we are serious. From there, we can and will slowly pay off our 'debts', as the Talmud (Yoma 39a) says, "if a person sanctifies himself a little, he is sanctified greatly (by Heaven)".

So, how does a person figure out what they should work on? Rav Pam gives an answer based off of the above pasuk, "The matter is very close to you". A person should choose to work on something that he feels is close to him and can achieve success in.

The Netziv writes a similar suggestion based on the pasuk, "Follow the path of your heart" Koheles (11:9). There are different paths to serve Hashem. Some people put a bigger focus on prayer, some on charity, some on learning Torah, etc... (while obviously not ignoring the other paths). Some people simply feel more of a connection to some types of mitzvahs. The Netziv suggests that a person should "follow the path of your heart". Take what has more meaning to you and put more of a focus on it. Instead of running around trying to perfect everything, find something close to you and work on perfecting that. Obviously this needs to be done in conjunction with a rav who knows you and can help guide you.

With all this in mind, we can see how tshuva IS "very near to you". By finding the right mitzvah to work on, we can show Hashem that we really DO wish to change this year, that this 'down payment' is just that: a down payment. Hopefully, the rest of the year can be used to pay back the rest. On that note, have a great Shabbos!

My most humble apologies for getting this out late. I've been working through lunch this week, trying to convert a program from Active Server Pages to Java, all without having an ounce of knowledge in Java. The cool thing about it is, I got to set up a separate server to run it, and now I have three monitors in my workspace, bringing my Nerd Value up several points. Okay, let's move on to Torah!


"And he will bless himself in his heart saying, 'Peace will be with me, though I walk as my heart sees fit'" (29:18)

Just a warning. Figuring that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are just around the corner, and it's always good to get cold water splashed on your face around now, this dvar torah will be a little more straightforward than others in the past. Obviously, this is only to serve every one of us as a wakeup call.

The pasuk in the Torah warns us of a psychological thing that occurs in people. Despite hearing warnings of what will happen if we don't obey the Torah, we like to say to ourselves, "It's all right, I'm okay, it'll be the guy next door who gets it, since he's really deserving of it". This is a giant no-no.

Rav Zvi Pesach Frank offers some insight into this pasuk. He believes that it's directed particularly to those who believe that walking around doing 'good deeds', will automatically put you into the category of a "good Jew". He believes it is his good heart ("...as my heart sees fit...") that will ultimately save him. "So what, if I don't do other mitzvos...at least I have a good heart", he will say to himself. According to Rav Frank, this is exactly the person who the Torah is speaking to. While having a good heart is imperative in Judaism, it is not the sum of all things. Just as the heart is one of the central organs of the body, and a person cannot survive without it; no matter how healthy that heart is, if the liver or brain dies, so does the body. I believe it was Rav Zev Cohen, who was once asked, "If I give money to charity, and help the homeless, yet I don't do other mitzvos, does that make me a good Jew?". His response, "No...A good person? Absolutely. But to be a good Jew, you must do your best to improve in EVERY mitzvah that you can do."

The Chofetz Chaim (who lived earlier this century) writes that this pasuk refers to groups of Jews who "translate" the Torah differently. They have bold "new" approaches, in keeping Judaism alive. In their minds, they do not sin, since they "walk as my heart sees fit". Instead of meeting head on in battle with the Yetzer Horah, they give up more and more, all the while convincing themselves, that their "interpretations" are correct.

Both of these lessons apply to both those who are religious, and those who are not. It is human nature to not look in the mirror and look at ones ways, in an honest and truthful manner, and that is something we need to overcome during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We must take note of which mitzvos we are doing well, which ones we have improved on since last year, which ones we need to improve, and which ones we have not touched, yet we know in our hearts, we should try to do. We are not obligated to reach super-lofty levels in merely a few weeks, but we are obligated, as the pasuk says, to take a hard look at ourselves, and see where we can truly improve ourselves.

Have a great Shabbos!

"I call the heaven and the earth today to bear witness against you" (30:19)

Like many of you, I'm sure, I've always wondered why Hashem has chosen the heaven and earth to be witnesses to his declarations. Well, Rashi and Rav Moshe Feinstein "tag up" to give us some insight into this manner.

Rashi comments that if heaven and earth, which are not subject to reward and punishment, do not go against Hashem's will, how much more so should we, who ARE subject to reward and punishment, be careful to do His will.

Well, everything seems nice and pretty with this Rashi, but Rav Moshe Feinstein has a problem. How could we compare the heaven and earth, which are inanimate objects with no free will, to mankind (or womankind if you prefer) who do possess free will, and CAN go against Hashem's wishes, if he (or she) so feels. One way to look at this problem is based on the Rambam, who holds that the angels (who "control" heaven and earth, basically the heavenly version of middle-management) actually DO have the freedom of choice to do what they want. So why is it that Saturn doesn't break off its orbit, head straight to earth, and use its rings to slice this planet in half to raise itself as the new super-power of the Solar System? Simple! Because the rings are made of giant ice-chunks and won't be able to cut through the earth's crust...that's why! Duh! But, I guess there's another more "spiritual" reason that it doesn't happen. Even though these angels have freedom of choice, they are so aware of Hashem's presence that they would never even think of not following His orders.

Your average human being is not going to stand on the railroad tracks while a train is coming at him at Mach 2, even though he has free choice. Why? Because he is acutely aware of his situation. If he stands on the tracks, the train will hit him. If the train hits him, he will feel much pain and anguish. No. He won't feel anything, since his head was disconnected from his body a split second beforehand. Did I make my point clear enough? Just as this person is not going to stand on the train tracks since he knows exactly what is going to happen, the angel is not going to disobey Hashem, since He is right there in front of him.

So what does that leave us with? Simple. We should strive to constantly have in mind that Hashem is a reality who is constantly, "standing in front of us." We will always have the freedom of choice, but when we "see" Him in front of us every minute, we would be foolish to do anything against His will. Have a great Shabbos!

"Then Hashem, your G-d, will bring back your captivity and have mercy upon you, and He will gather you in." (30:13)

The Rambam learns from this pasuk that we have an obligation to believe in the coming of Moshiach who will finally bring us back to Israel in the final redemption. In fact the Brisker Rav says that it is not sufficient to believe in the concept of Moshiach, but we are obligated to look forward to his coming each and every day. Hence we say in our davening, "For we hope for Your salvation every day." Rav Schwab writes that we have unfortunately become impatient. "We want him NOW. We don't want to wait!" We forget that we cannot bring Moshiach down to our level, rather we must raise ourselves to his. Moshiach will arrive when we do tshuva (repent) and are worthy of his coming.

What does it mean to wait for Moshiach everyday? To expect that he might arrive any moment? If we truly believed that Moshiach could arrive any moment, would we build such fancy homes and live expensive lifestyles? Why should we bother if Moshiach could show up any moment?

Rav Nachum Zev Ziv makes an analogy. Imagine a house where a member of the family is very ill. They know the doctor is coming, and they all sit around and wait for the doctor to arrive. A knock at the door! They all immediately rush to open the door...only to find the next-door neighbor. The return to the living room, shortly after another knock on the door! ...This time it's the mailman...again and again this is repeated, but nonetheless the family members get excited each and every time there is a knock at the door, without losing faith in the doctor, since they KNOW he will be there shortly. Finally, after the long wait, the doctor arrives and cures his patient. No matter how many false alarms there were, the family's hopes did not dim. This is how we should wait for Moshiach!

Three days ago we heard a very big knock at the door. For decades now, the leaders of the Jewish people have all said that we are in the days of Moshiach's coming. Even this week, we are told that things are moving at even a faster pace. Moshiach can easily be waiting at the other side of the door. The question is: are we really ready for him?