Sefiras HaOmer

You know, the world out there continues to amaze me.  They no longer shock me, but they amaze me.

As we speak, the European Union (otherwise known as "The Euro Weenies"), are lifting sanctions from Syria and welcoming the new unelected president who just happens to be a jihadist who is still attacking minorities in Syria, to their countries.  And yet, in the same breath, they are beginning to sanction Israel and have promised to arrest the duly elected leader if he dares step foot in their countries.  Why?  Because they literally want Israel to surrender to the Palestinians, even if it means that Israel does not get all their hostages back and Hamas remains in power.

Talk about moral bankruptcy.

Add to that, the rumours that Trump is pushing Israel to do the same.  Which to my wife and me, is no surprise, but should serve as a lesson to all those who thought he was some Messianic figure of some sort.

And while we're at it, let's not forget some local politicians like Golan and Olmert, with their gems of wisdom, publicly accusing Israel of "killing babies as a hobby" and "being very close to war crimes."  From these folks, we can learn the power of loshon horah, because we know that they will be quoted extensively by our "friends" around the world, to prove that Israel is in the wrong, which in turn, strengthens Hamas, which only harms the hostages, soldiers, and eventually Israeli civilians.

This week, I ran into a well-known Gemara in Gitten (13b) about how Hashem raised Nebuchadnezzar to great prominence before he destroyed the first Beis HaMikdash.  Why?  As a consolation to Israel, that it was THE super-power of the time that destroyed the Beis HaMikdash and exiled the nation, and not some lowly nation.  And we've actually seen this trend continue over the past 2000 years.  It hasn't been the lowly nations that have attacked us, but nations that were great in their times.  Which raises a question/worry: who are the ones defeating us?  A nation that never was a nation, and even lower than them (if such thing is possible): the French.

THAT makes me worry.  What exactly is Hashem trying to tell us?

Sigh … let's move on to happier topics, shall we?

Many years ago, my wife was listening to an educational expert (Israeli) speak.  She asked her audience (mainly Americans), "Why do you think customer service here is so bad?  And why do you think small businesses go out of business so quickly due to the lack of customer service?  And why do you think these people haven't made the connection in their heads, that if they provide good service, they will make a bigger profit and keep their businesses open?"

To that, she replied, "Because many of those people open businesses, not to make money, but rather, simply to have a business to operate.  Whether it does well or not is not their concern, they just want to have a business to be in charge of."

Pretty silly, no?

Well, I thought of that when I saw a parable that Rav Shimshon Pinkus gives about life.

Let's say somebody decides to open a business.  However, like many businesses, the one he wants to go into already has plenty of other companies in that field.  So, what does he do?  He goes to his bank, takes out a loan, buys a large amount of merchandise, and begins to sell it at a lower price than his competitors.

So, what happens?  Somebody else, with more capital comes along and undercuts HIM.  And he still has to pay back the bank with interest!  So, he carries on at this rate, until he is forced to go out of business.

His friend asks him, "What happened?"

If he replied, "I made some accounting mistakes, and I did not realize that I could hold out so long at such a rate," we can understand.  He made a mistake.

If he replied, "I lost money, because I sold at a loss.  I forgot that I was trying to make a profit.  I thought I was running a business in order to distribute products to the public…"  Well, we would have pity on him, not because he made a mistake, but rather because we would think that he has the brain of a chickpea.

So too is this applicable in life.

When we enter life, we enter life with a mission: to use this life that Hashem gave us for Torah and mitzvos and to use those tools to become close to Him.  If we make mistakes along with way, okay, we make mistakes.  But if we completely forget why we are here and get distracted by "tactical" choices that we make "in order to make profit" … well … we'd be considered fools.

Obviously, when reading this, some of us will immediately think, "Well, I keep Shabbos and Kosher, and I learn, and I do mitzvos, so, I'm on track.  Really, it's those who don’t do anything that this applies to."

Well, we would be only half correct.

True, this story is applicable to those who chase after other things in the world and leave the ultimate goal in life in the dust.  But, even amongst the religious, there are those who forget the end game.

One example would be people like our friends in the Neturei Karta.  Here you have a group of very "pious" people, who keep Shabbos, Kashrus, etc.  They are frum in every way, and they will even agree with you that Hashem runs the world, but … they have one small problem.  They are so focused on anti-Zionism, they took concepts, twisted them around, and now only openly support those who wish to kill Jews around the world!  Why? Because instead of Torah, they made this hatred for Zionism their raison d'etre in life!

Take Satmar Chassidim in contrast.  They too are anti-Zionist.  But their focus is still on Hashem and the Torah, and anybody, Zionist or not, who has been at the receiving end of their well-known chesed, can testify to this.

My friend read an article many years ago about a secular Israeli journalist, no friend of the religious, whose wife needed major surgery, but he did not have the money for it.  Long story short: He eventually went to the Satmar Rav, who gave him the money and gave him and his wife brachos for success.  After the surgery, this journalist returned to the Rav to thank him, and the Satmar Rav "gave it to him" for the harm he was causing the Jewish people.  When writing this story, the journalist wrote that his respect for the Satmar Rav only increased.  The Rav knew that he had an obligation to help a fellow Jew and he did with nothing but love.  He also knew that he had an obligation to reprove a fellow Jew, which he also did with love.  And this journalist recognized that this was a Jew who knew what his mission was in life.

Obviously, I'm not picking out Neturei Karta to focus on just them, but rather to point out how sometimes we can all forget about our real goals in life.

The secular Jew in America might be so focused on "rights" that they put Torah to the side and adopt political platforms as central to their lives and call THAT Torah.

Even the religious can forget their goal in life.  By hyper-focusing on one thing, and it could be even mitzvos like learning Torah, modesty, kashrus, etc., a person can forget that THAT mitzvah is not the FOCUS in life!  It is only PART of a greater Torah.

With this in mind, we can hopefully use our remaining time before Shavuous, to refocus our attention and know where our goals lie.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

As we were getting ready for Shabbos last week, my wife was on the US phone with her mother and a warning "beep" went off on her regular phone.  My son picked it up, checked it and calmly said, "There's a ballistic missile heading towards our location.  We might have sirens in another six minutes."  My wife relayed the message to her mother, and we went back to getting ready.

Six minutes later, sirens a little south of us went off, and the missile was intercepted.

I was thinking: If you told me 25 years ago that I would be living a life where it is considered normal to be fired upon with ballistic missiles, and we would be relaxed and calm...I would have thought you were crazy.

It turns out that I was the crazy one.

A friend, though, did point out after the attack on Ben Gurion Airport, "We are so used to living with miracles, sometimes Hashem needs to point it out to us."  And, quite frankly, he's right.

With Lag B'Omer and more importantly, Shavuous, around the corner, I thought it would be important to discuss some aspects of the attainment of Torah.

"He gives wisdom to the wise" (Daniel 2:21).

We have an interesting problem with this pasuk.  On one hand, a person can only become wise if Hashem gives him wisdom.  Yet, this pasuk tells us that Hashem gives wisdom only to the wise.

There's a famous Midrash which answers this problem:

A Roman noblewoman asked Rebbe Yosi bar Chlafta, "Why does it say, 'He gives wisdom to the wise'?  It should have said, 'He gives wisdom to those who are not wise, and knowledge to those who do not know understanding!'"

He answered her with an allegory: "If two people come to you in order to borrow money, one of them rich and the other poor, to whom will you lend?  The rich one or the poor one?"

She answered, "The rich one."

He asked her, "For what reason?"

She replied, "Because if a rich man loses my money, he has somewhere to take from in order to pay me back.  But if a poor man loses my money, from where will he take to pay me back?"

He said to her, "Don't your ears hear what your mouth is saying? If Hashem would give wisdom to stupid people, they would go and speak of it while they are in the lavatory and the theater and the bathhouses.  Hashem rather gave wisdom to the wise; they got and speak of it while they are in the synagogue and the study houses."

The first step in the acquisition of Torah is "simply" to have the wisdom to understand the importance of Torah and the power of learning of Torah.  Without that understanding, a person can never take the first step in growing in Torah.

For those wondering, yes, I was in Meron on Thursday night.  We decided to take the entire family, a first, since when one of us goes, it's usually with the oldest two.  However, we have a rule, we go early close to sundown or early close to sunrise, but we don't go there in the middle of the night when the entire world is there.  I'm quite thankful for that rule this year, since we got home an hour before the incident occurred.  Of course, like everything in Israel, everybody is connected to everything.  Somebody I know lost a cousin.  My son's teacher was there and is a volunteer paramedic.  It seems that he attempted to save a few people and was unsuccessful … he has yet to return to class.  A boy learning in the local yeshiva was killed.  Frum.org’s proofreader in Haifa (yes, we have one) was at the shiva for one of the boys who lives nearby.  All in all, it's been one of those darker times, and I'm thankful that I was not directly affected.

I'm sure there are many people who feel that they can explain what happened in Meron this past week as if they were prophets.  Very few people are big enough to make such statements.  So, we're really left with each person learning from the situation and trying to grow from it.  If you don't mind, I'd like to say over my thought, not WHY it happened, but something that I think that can be learned from it.

I'm very fortunate to have "been raised" with a Rosh Yeshiva who was very much against going to Meron.  He had his reasons, which were all valid and sound.  He used to say (and I forgot his sources) that Meron on Lag B'Omer could be a very dangerous place for somebody who does not try to live up to the high standards of Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai.  How those words rang through my head throughout last Shabbos.  So, for me, if going means taking out time from Kollel or missing Kollel the next day, I simply don't go.  However, this year, being that Lag B'Omer is on Friday, I was only missing work if I went on Thursday night.

The last time I was there was several years ago.  I went with a friend, got to the building where Rebbe Shimon is buried, davened, and returned home.  I found it spiritually uplifting and it helped to daven there at that particular time.  This year was different, since I had a wife and kids in tow.  Spiritually speaking, it wasn't the greatest, since I had to constantly make sure we were together and all right.  However, my Ahavas Yisroel was helped greatly.  In Meron on Lag B'Omer you see all sorts of Jews together.  No fights.  No issues.  Everybody is there for their reasons.  There are tons of organizations volunteering time and money to make sure everybody is safe and taken care of.  It's truly a remarkable thing to see, and I hope to see it again.

After thinking about the tragedy, I asked my kids why they wanted to go.  They gave me the three answers that I was expecting: "Kef" (fun), "Chavaya" ("party"), and "Ax-shun" (yeah… "action").

If you look carefully in the Torah, you will not find any of those words.  You will find something similar, called "Simcha."  But simcha is different then kef.  "Fun" is caused by something outside the Torah, while "Simcha" is caused by something from within the Torah.

Unfortunately, we have gotten these things confused.  In order to "assure" that our children remain loyal to the Torah, we mistakenly think that we need to make things (i.e. Torah) "fun."  Instead of teaching our children (and even ourselves) that we can have simcha THROUGH Torah, we try to ADD "fun" to the Torah, to make it exciting and refreshing.

Meron on Lag B'Omer is a giant party.  A kosher one.  Nothing forbidden going on.  But a party nonetheless. Yes, there were thousands of people there who were saying Tehillim and davening and singing and getting a real "lift" from the atmosphere.  But … how many of us who go there, or who celebrate it throughout the world, give any thought to WHY we are celebrating.  Who was Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai?  What did he stand for?  What are we doing to move ourselves closer to his view in life that we would WANT to celebrate his life?

When we have these big events or make big deals about mitzvos, do we give thought to what we are doing? Or do we focus on enjoyment of the moment.  Yes, a person can feel uplifted in Meron on Lag B'Omer.  But, if he or she does not think about what they were celebrating, they will return home the next day the same person they were when they arrived.  That's what happens when we focus on the "fun" or the "action." 

But if a person can focus on the reason of the mitzvah or the celebration or whatnot, and have an uplifting experience, well, that person can truly enjoy the simcha of Torah, because he will leave a different person.

Again, this is not just about Lag B'Omer.  It could be anything in life.  We're supposed to have simcha in our lives.  But that simcha cannot come through external "fun," only through Torah and growth.

Have a great Shabbos!

I don't know why, but over the past few weeks I was thinking of where we are in the course of Jewish history. In terms of physical comfort, we are living in unparalleled times. While there is plenty of financial hardship, in terms of real poverty? Even poor people have smartphones. Our bar/bat mitzvos, weddings, and other simchos are all nice and fine, each according to the standards of living of the community. We have food on our table. We have medical care. We have schools to send our children to, and for many, even summer camps. Regarding our spiritual lives, anybody and everybody who wants to can learn Torah on whatever level they are at. Thanks to technology there is a plethora of platforms that one can use to learn. There are kollelim and yehivos in most Jewish centers, where people can walk in to learn. It's truly amazing the potential that is out there for all who want to take. Yet, at the same time, there are issues. Unfortunately, the non-religious world is dying out thanks to a high intermarriage rate. I wouldn't be surprised if in two more generations the only non-religious Jews will not be Jewish according to the Torah. The religious world, while certainly growing, also has its own issues on different levels. Okay, Moshiach isn't here, we're in exile, this is what it is. So, I asked myself, what does Hashem want from us? He's given us plenty of our physical needs, more than we really need, and He's given us plenty of opportunity to learn Torah. Next Thursday night/Friday day, we celebrate the yartzeit of Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai. As we know, he and his son, Elazar, were forced to go into hiding when the Roman government wanted to kill them. For years, they hid in a cave in northern Israel and it was there, they sat and learned becoming bigger than who they were going in. Rebbe Shimon's "mantra" was "Learn Torah," and that's it. For him, it was even forbidden to work for a living, for how can one give up his eternal world for something in the fleeting world? Turn yourself away from the world, sit and learn, and Hashem will take care of it all. Now, the Jewish law does not take Rebbe Shimon's view. However, it does not go against his view either, leaving it open to those who believe that they can live in that manner. I have a friend whom I met when I first came to yeshiva in Israel many moons ago. We both came from a similar background. We are both a tad … strange, and both went in with the same level of observance. After a year, I went back to the United States, went to university, got a job, etc. Thankfully, I was able to return and live my life as I am doing so now. Him? He stayed in yeshivah in Israel, and since then, he has never left. He's an accomplished talmid chacham whom people go to with questions. How he is supported, I still don't know. I do know however, he has a golden plaque on his door that says, "This apartment has been sponsored by Hashem" (I told you he's weird). He explained that when he got married he had no money whatsoever to buy an apartment. He davened to Hashem and "explained" his situation. He promised that if he were to get the money for a down-payment, he would put up this plaque. The next day, the money started to roll in with a few phone calls coming from distant relatives. There are still some people out there like Rebbe Shimon! Not many, but there are. But what does this have to do with us? Perhaps, while we cannot live on such a level, we can still take something from Rebbe Shimon's life. While we have plenty of physical bounty at our disposal, perhaps we can be a bit more careful to use them as tools in life, rather than as our goals in life. Perhaps, but cutting out some of the social media or news and focusing our thoughts to "the cave" where the Torah resides, our minds will be a bit more pure and focused to make real strides in our learning. Instead of focusing on what more we can eat at the kiddush after Shabbos davening, we can take five or ten minutes to learn. We don't need to get rid of the physical world from our lives, but perhaps we can limit it just a bit. The cave is a wonderful place to grow. And by making our homes little "caves" and our shuls little "caves" we can take more and more time away from the nonsense of the world, and use it properly for spiritual growth. Have a wonderful Shabbos!

Right before Shabbos, my children found a whole bag of … I don't know what.  Little figurines and whatnot.

As they were going through the toys, my wife, who was in the middle of davening, heard my 10-year-old daughter say, "Oh!  I think I know who this is!  I think he's called 'Man Bat.'"

Man Bat?!  Israelis….

Yet another reminder of the joys of having kids who are so "out of it."

The Chofetz Chaim once asked, why is it that there are some big rabbanim making errors in their judgements about certain outlooks in life? (For those who know what he's referring to, good for you.  For those who do not know, well, it's too much of a subject to get into at this point, but it's not important for this Dvar Torah.)

To answer his question, he gave an example of a woodworker who needed to glue two beams of wood together.  He had a problem though.  One beam of wood had a piece of wood sticking out, making it impossible to glue to the second beam.  So, he has two choices.  One, he shaves off the piece of wood, making the beam smooth.  The second option is that he creates a hole in the second beam of wood, to match the piece, so it will slide perfectly in.

There are times that we get "shtuyot" (stupid things) in our heads.  And I don't mean an annoying song.  I mean ideas that are not Torah-based, but we really believe in.  One example that popped up in my head is the notion of love and romance which is portrayed in movies and television.  We have no idea how many millions of homes have been ruined or affected by it.  They portray love in one way, people expect their lives and their spouses to be like that, and since it does not match with real life, relationships are destroyed.

These ideas are the pieces of wood sticking out.  When we see these ideas and like them, we dig a hole in our heads to make room for them, and try to fit it into our outlook in life, when really, we should be cutting them off from the start.

Rav Pincus adds to this, that sometimes we see people, who we hold in high regard, say or do silly things, and we wonder about it.  Is it them? Is it me?  Of course, you need to go to somebody bigger to know, because, maybe it is you!  But if it really is them, now what?  Are they no longer as big as we thought they were?  Rav Pincus answers, no.  They could still be big.  They could still be talmidei chachamim or tzaddikim, just with a few "holes" in their outlook.

I was very happy when I read this, because it helps give a better outlook on how to judge people fairly.  According to this, a person can be a tzaddik, and even if he has a few "holes," it doesn't mean he's not a tzaddik.

Rav Pincus continues and suggests that it is during this time of Sefiras HaOmer that we have a special opportunity to "fill up" those holes in our spiritual lives.  Of course, this first requires identifying what they are (preferably with somebody who has a solid Torah outlook and who knows you well) and making a plan of action to fix them up.  By filling up one or two holes this year, and one or two the next, we can slowly pull out all the shtuyot from our minds and continue to grow upwards as a complete and solid person.

Have a great Shabbos!

It's amazing how kids pick things up.

One of my favorite mitzvos is getting rid of chametz.  To be more specific, "to get rid of" all the chametz being "eating everything that we collected on Purim".  It's not a matter of "favorite" I guess, more like a matter of survival during that stressful time.  Of course, this leads to something called "weight gain."  On Pesach, I "vowed" to go on some sort of diet to lose some of that weight. The main problem is the wife who believes in losing weight in a healthy manner, not in a manner that actually WORKS (like starving yourself).  Women…

Anyhow, this morning my six-year-old was walking around, rubbing his non-existent stomach, saying, "I'm soooo fat … I have a baby inside."  Hopefully, he will not do that in his pre-school.

Yeah, I've got to be careful about what I say…

There is a very famous question regarding Sefiras HaOmer that we count from Pesach until Shavous.  We always count upwards, this is Day One, this is Day Two.  If anything, we should be counting downwards, 49 more days, 48 more days, etc.  I've heard many explanations for this over the years, and I saw an explanation by Rav Shimshon Pincus that I liked the most.

He asks a similar question regarding Yaakov and Rochel.  Yaakov agreed to work for Lavan for seven years in order to marry Rochel.  And the Torah testifies that because of his love for her, the seven years went quickly.  This is a bit strange, since if anything, human nature would dictate that it would be the opposite and that it would feel like a lifetime.

He answers by comparing this to two people.  Both were told on the same day that they won one million dollars.  Person A was told that he would receive the full amount in 100 days.  Person B was told that starting today, he would receive ten thousand dollars every day for 100 days.

Person A would undoubtably be counting DOWN.  The 100 days is simply a barrier of time that is in between himself and being a millionaire.  He wants them out of the way as soon as possible so he can get his money.  Therefore, he will count down and that countdown will feel very long.

Person B would be counting UP.  Each day, he is accumulating more and more money.  "Today I have $10,000." "Today I have $20,000."  Each day is new and exciting.  In fact, in the end, the time will seem "too short" and he would be more than happy to have more!

Hence, we have two ways of looking at Sefiras HaOmer.  The first way is viewing this time as simply that: time.  We want to move on to Shavous and whatever is in between is simply a waste of time.

The correct manner is the second way.  Each day is an opportunity for growth in Torah and mitzvos that we do not have during the year.  Each day is worth 10,000 Spiritual Dollars.  If we understood this and did something meaningful for this time, we would appreciate more and more each and every day of Sefira.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

Shortly before his death, David Ben Gurion had a dream where two angels visited him. They told him that he had only a few more days to live and it was up to him where he wanted to go afterwards. Naturally, he had two choices: Heaven or Gehenom.

“Well… can I see them both to get an idea?” asked Ben Gurion.

“Sure, no problem” they responded, and within a flash they were transported to a giant beis medresh, where millions of Torah scholars were learning.

“Who’s that guy in front?” asked Ben Gurion.

“That’s Moshe”, replied the angels.

“Uh-huh… looks pretty boring. What’s Gehenom like?”

Within a flash, they were transported to a beach party, with millions of people playing volleyball, listening to music, surrounded by BBQs with racks full of meat, etc, etc..

“And this is…?”

“Gehenom”, replied the angels.

“Really? WOW! I LOVE it here! THIS is where I want to go when I die!”

After filling out all the appropriate documents, he was returned to this world to live out the next few days.

Shortly after, David Ben Gurion died.

His soul, happy with his choice, was taken down to Gehenom where he was subjected to the most brutal torture that could possibly be afflicted on somebody. He cried out, “WHERE’S THE BEACH PARTY? WHERE’S THE BBQ? WHERE’S ALL THE FUN THAT I SAW ONLY A FEW DAYS AGO!?!?!?”

The angels answered him: “Oh THAT? No, no, no… that’s for when you’re a tourist, NOW you’re an oleh chadash (new immigrant)”

Anybody who’s made aliyah can appreciate this joke.

Just this past week, I was informed that I owe the National Insurance Agency 13,000 shekels. It seems that Betuach Leumi (the national insurance agency) is actually protected BY LAW that they do NOT have to tell you that you owe them any money. In my particular case, I never received anything in the mail from them stating that I had to pay them. I thought that it was coming out of my wife’s pay along with her payment to them. I had no reason to think otherwise.

A few years ago, I heard that this is one of the many scams that Betuach Leumi pulls on people and I really need to look into it. . (Another great thing they do, which we got caught in, is they can take the payments directly from your bank account, automatically. However, they schedule it for the day AFTER the payment is due, and then CHARGE you for late payments). So, I immediately went to the local office and asked them to check my account. “Clear”, they said, I don’t owe them any money. They even gave me a username and password to check my account on-line, which also said I’m clear.

Okay, I guess my wife is covering for both of us, after all.

Then, last week when I went to get a letter from them, they informed me that I owe 7 years of backpay, interest, and a penalty. I told them the situation and even made some phone calls and used some protexia, but to no avail. They’re being “nice” by knocking off the penalty and the interest that has quietly been accumulating against me, but I need to pay off the whole sum. So, I’m hoping they will allow me to pay it off over five years, which will cost me an additional 260 shekels every month.

So typical.

Okay, on to Torah!
From Pesach until Shavous, we “count the Omer”, and prepare ourselves for Shavous. It’s a time for teshuvah and building. With teshuvah and building, comes the danger of slipping, falling, or more seriously depression and/or giving up.

My Rosh Yeshiva spoke about this idea a few weeks ago. He pointed out that as high as 90% of the Jewish people were killed in Egypt during the plague of darkness, because they did not really want to leave Egypt. Only a minority of the nation actually left Egypt and made it to Mount Sinai. Quoting the Medresh, he noted that there were very few differences between the Jews that were killed in the plagues and those that survived to leave. What was the main difference between the two? One had a desire to leave and one didn’t.

This is something that is important to keep in mind during these days. Yes, any time we push ourselves to improve, we will slip or have thoughts of doubts on if we are “worthy” of receiving the Torah. We are reminded about our past sins, some in the far past, some from as recent from today. However, the key to keep in mind is, “I WANT to improve”. If we have that in mind and we seriously believe it, than no matter how many times we fall or how deep we fall, there is ALWAYS hope and you are ALWAYS worthy of receiving the Torah.

Have a great Shabbos!

Today, Pesach Sheini, marks the first yartzeit of Rabbi Chaim Flom, whom my son was named after. Thousands around the world, every week, would receive his very short and very sharp, words of Torah via email every Erev Shabbos. For his yartzeit, Yeshivas Ohr Dovid, which he helped found, published a small booklet containing these dvrei torah.

I thought it would be appropriate to share one tonight in honour of Rav Chaim Moshe Flom.
“Wow! I can’t wait for Monday. It will be 20 years since I opened my retirement plan!!”

“It’s amazing that you’ve put money in every month!”

“Well, ummm, I haven’t actually invested as much as I was supposed to…”

When we “count the Omer”, we do so in the ascending order (one day, two days, etc…). Why isn’t this countdown to Shavous, when we received the Torah, done in descending order like other countdowns (i.e. 5,4,3,2,1, blastoff)?

The lesson to be learned is that our being worthy of receiving and appreciating the great figt of the Torah is based on our continuous build-up of spiritual growth.

Are you making your regular deposits?

I’m growing more and more attached to the concept of Chol HaMoed (the ‘intermediate days’ of Pesach and Sukkos).

We don’t have Sundays here, and for my wife and I, our work week begins right after Havdalah. My wife has only Chol Hamoed off and can take a few days a year off. Me… well, technically I can take off whenever I want, but I have clients to keep happy thankfully. So Chol HaMoed comes along and what happens?

My wife and I are beside ourselves on what to do after Yom Tov and Shabbos! We actually could clean up in a nice fashion, relax and not worry about work. Every morning, I’ve awoken for the 5:45 am minyan, came home after davening, had a relaxing breakfast with my family, went to learn for a few hours, went out with the family for a trip, came home, made dinner, davened, and went to bed early (i.e. before 12 am). It’s relaxing, you spend time with your family, don’t even think about work or finances, and go to sleep early.

Anybody out there interested in turning my entire life into a Chol HaMoed?

Didn’t think so… okay, on to Torah!
I’ve been going through “49 Steps to Greatness” by Rabbi Ephraim Nisenbaum over Sefiras HaOmer. He takes each of the 49 qualities, listed in Pirkei Avos that a person needs to acquire Torah and deals with them one day at a time.

Day Four is An Understanding Heart and in it he relates a story from Rav Shach which was very to the point and very important to internalize. I thought I would share it with you:

Rav Shach was once speaking to a group of yeshivah students. “If you were ninety-nine years old, had just endured a painful circumcision, and now saw three dusty idolaters traveling in the wilderness, it’s very possible you would run towards them and offer them a place to rest and a meal. After all, that is exactly what we learn about our ancestor Avraham. Then how is it that yeshivah students sit at the table when a new student appears, and they don’t run to greet him with offers to sit down and to bring him food? Students understand what a kal v’chomer (tough to translate… a type of logical deduction) is, yet they don’t see that if a ninety-nine year old invalid runs to help three idolaters, certainly young and healthy students should help another Jew! That is only because they learn the Torah’s account with their mind and not their heart”

A very powerful statement. The Torah isn’t some secular study where you simply try to memorize the correct answers. It’s there to take every lesson you can find and apply it to your life, changing who you are, and making you a better person.

Have a great Yom Tov and Shabbos!

We spent our second Shabbos in America with another family who used to be our neighbors before they moved back to the States. He's continuing to learn in kollel and thank G-d is doing very well.

The kollel that he is in is funded by one individual who owns the homes that the families are living in. The one that our friends are living in, is brand new, three floors, six bedrooms, a very nice kitchen, etc... This, for a six person family who used to live in a small 3 bedroom apartment in Jerusalem.

Do you want to know what proper Jewish education is?

The eldest daughter, age seven, happens to be a very intelligent and talkative little one. Over Shabbos, she was speaking to my wife and asked, "How many rooms are in your apartment?"

"We have two bedrooms", replied my wife.

She went silent for a moment then sagely responded, "You know... that's all you really need. All of this? It's not really needed"

It's amazing. Thank G-d, this family has good financial backing and has never lacked anything, even while living in Israel. Yet, my wife and I could never 'smell' the money in their behaviour. To be able to have children to say such things shows you a lot.

Okay, on to Torah!
Considering that Lag B'Omer falls out right after Shabbos this year, I thought it would be nice to go over a nice Gemara on Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai, who's yartzeit (day of death) we commemorate.

The Gemara is located in Brachos 35b. At this point, the Gemara is covering several apparent contradictions in verses in the Torah. One such case is that of, "You will gather your grain" (Dvarim 11, also found in the Shema) and "This sefer Torah will never leave your mouth; rather you should contemplate it day at you observe to do according to all that is written in it..." (Yehoshua 1:8).

The Gemara asks, is this to be read literally? If so, how can one collect his grain, when Hashem commanded him that Torah should never leave his mouth day and night? If he's busy learning Torah day and night, when will he have time to collect his grain? Two answers are given, which have interesting halachic ramifications (see last year's dvar torah).

Rebbe Yishmael says that it's not literal. A person must do work to feed his family IN ORDER to learn Torah (side note: not work for the sake of working, rather work IN ORDER to learn Torah).

Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai says, NO! It's to be taken literally! If you plow the field in the time of plowing, and seed the field in the time of planting, and cut the grain in the time of cutting, etc..., what will ever happen to Torah?

Rather, when the Torah says, 'You shall gather your grain', it is speaking of times when the Jewish nation is not learning and fulfilling the Torah, and is being punished to work! What happens when the Jewish nation does what it's supposed to do? "Foreigners will stand and tend your flocks and the sons of the stranger will be your plowmen... and you will be called 'Priests of Hashem'" (Isaiah 61:5)

Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai would be considered an extremist by today's standards. He held, and the Rambam says that the halacha is like him for those who volunteer for this lifestyle, that if a person dedicates is entire life, 100%, to serving Hashem; Hashem will take care of all his needs. Again, see last year’s dvar torah for more detail.

Unfortunately, many people celebrate Lag b’Omer with bonfires, music, BBQs, and other festive events, and completely lose track on whose yartzeit they are commemorating.

Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai was about learning Torah. No interruptions, no working for a living, no taking part in the physical world more than necessary. He was about learning and acting according to the dictates of the Gemara. He went so far to rule that a person is obligated to learn and allow Hashem to care for all of his needs.

I think it behooves us all to take some time out this Lag B'Omer and dedicate it solely for learning in the zchus of Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai.

Tonight, we commemorate the passing of Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai, one of Rebbe Akiva's five main disciples. It is interesting to note, that the only commemoration of a great Sage’s death that is noted throughout the Jewish world, is that of Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai. Not even for Moshe himself, do we recognize in such a public manner!

Now, there are many deep reasons that we mark the yartzeit of Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai, most of them are well above everybody's intellectual and spiritual level (except mine of course). However I think it behooves us to have some idea who Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai and equally important, Rebbe Akiva was.

As many people know, Rebbe Akiva started his learning at the age of forty. Until then, he was simply "Akiva"; an ignoramus. In fact, the Gemara quotes his testimony saying that when he was younger he hated Torah scholars more than ever. However, at the age of forty he did tshuvah and began learning Torah from the beginning: with the aleph beis.

Naturally, the beginning was difficult. The Gemara relates how difficult it was and how Rebbe Akiva's wife played such a crucial role.

Being that he was learning from the beginning, he was sharing classes with those who were much younger than he was. Being immature, the kids mocked and ridiculed the forty year old sitting in their midst.

It came to a point where Akiva was about to give up. His wife heard nothing of the sort. So, she decided to use unconventional means to bring her husband around.

She bought a donkey with a wound on its side and planting a plant called Shakkaliyim, which used the liquid from the open wound to grow. A few days later, she took Akiva to the market place and called out, "Shakkaliyim! Who wants fresh Shakkaliyim?" Seeing the spectacle of a woman with a donkey with Shakkaliyim growing from it put people in tears. They mocked and teased, but she didn't flinch. The next day, she repeated the call and again, she was teased. Day after day she continued this, yet day after day, the jeers calmed down. The marketplace got used to this spectacle, and considered her to be part of everyday life.

Learning this lesson, Akiva went back to the yeshiva and became the great Rebbe Akiva. It was this same Rebbe Akiva whose five main disciples carried the banner of Torah and enabled Judaism to survive throughout the dark Roman times. Not only do we have Rebbe Akiva to thank, but we have his wife, who was responsible for him following his destiny.

So, the question remains: We can understand why Rebbe Akiva would have his yartzeit commemorated, but why his student Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai?

Again, I will only speak only of one of many reasons.

Rebbe Akiva saved Torah. Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai lived it to the maximum.

After being informed on the Roman government, Rebbe Shimon and his son had to flee. So, as the story from the Gemara goes, they fled to a cave. From there, they spent twelve years learning Torah in a cave living off of a Carob tree and a spring of water, which Hashem created. After twelve years of uninterrupted study reaching “the highest of highs”, they emerged from the cave.

One of the first things Rebbe Shimon saw were frum people working and planting the land. What did Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai do? He sentenced them to death. Why? Because they were 'wasting' their time working the land. According to Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai, we are put on earth for one thing; the learning and fulfillment of the Torah. Income? Hashem will provide. Just as He did for them inside the cave.

What did Hashem do to Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai and his son? He told them to return to the cave for another year and learn to be a little more tolerant. He did NOT say that they were wrong; but that he simply needed to understand that not everybody is on his level and can live like that..

There is a question in the Gemara on what perspective a person should view making a living. Rebbe Yishmael holds that a person should work ONLY to support himself in learning Torah. Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai holds that a person should NEVER leave full time learning, and trust that Hashem will take care of him. Note, that these are the only two options. Getting rich or making money for the sake of having nice things is not one of them.

So, what is the halacha for today? The Rambam and Shulchan Oruch hold that the halacha is NOT like Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai. A person can work, but only to support Torah. They are to work for three hours during the day and learn for nine hours.

However, the Rambam writes at the end of Hilchos Shmittah V'Yovel that those who are on the level and wish to live their life like Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai, MAY do so and Hashem WILL take care of them.

What does that constitute? It constitutes living like Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai: No outside world and nothing but Torah and trust in Hashem. That's it! (like it's so easy).

It's Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai and those few who follow in his way who have been in the forefront of the survival of the transmission of Torah. This is just one reason we look towards Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai. He was the epitome of the "Only Torah" approach. The total and complete immersion in Torah.

Perhaps many of us cannot live up to such high standards. However, we should look at Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai and his lifestyle and at least appreciate and understand the greatness of such people and the important role they have played in the history of our nation.

Have a meaningful Lag B'Omer!

I just received an email from somebody today (a woman...go figure) asking me to possible share my "feelings" that I am going through living here in Israel. Thankfully, she correctly surmised that as a guy, I don't do "feelings". However, throughout the course of this site, I will of course share THOUGHTS and INSIGHTS as I see fit. Chances are, a lot of my introductions will be revolving around life here, and thankfully, very little around politics and other things, for reasons to be mentioned later. Don't worry, I'll try my best to continue to publically embarress my father!

I think this week, I'll give you a basis on where I am. I'm currently living/learning at Yeshivat Toras Simcha, located on Sorotzkin Street in the neighborhood of Mattersdorf in Jerusalem. Anybody who has been to Jerusalem probably knows of this area. This neighborhood is 100% frum. It's more black and white then the Amish could possibly be. Every Shabbos the streets close down completely. For 25 hours, they are no longer occupied by cars and buses, but rather couples and children, walking or playing ball or jump-rope. I'll write more on that later.

My yeshiva is home to approximatly forty single guys (average age: 20), and has 20 or so kollel members (married guys; average age: 26). As a single guy, I have the privalege of living in the building. I share a small room with three others, one who is currently engaged (to a friend of yours, Shoshana...ps. nice pictures), and a Brit from Manchester. We occupy the "Executive Suite". We only have three people in the room, with our own washroom and shower, compared to everybody else who has four people, and have to share four showers and toilets down the hall. G-d has been good to me. :)

The official day starts at 7:15 am and ends at 10:30 pm. We have just over two hours for a lunch break, and fifty minutes for a dinner break. With those exceptions we are learning full-time. For those who haven't tried it...it's no simple feat. I think that lays a nice basis for future dvrei torah. This Saturday night/Sunday day, we will be celebrating Lag B'Omer. It's traditional to hold bonfires on this night. In fact, here in Israel, starting right after Pesach, you see children collecting anything that is not held down and preparing their own bonfires. I've seen them working on some two stories high. Unfortunately for them, they don't have what we have. Combat engineers (ie Professional Yeshiva Pyromaniacs). I believe we have 40 crate boxes locked up, ready to go. Needless to say, pictures will be put up as soon as possible. Speaking of...I've already put some up on the website. In the mean time...on to Torah!


This coming Saturday night/Sunday we celebrate Lag B'Omer. Now, I'm sure we're all wondering exactly what Lag B'Omer is, and why we are celebrating it.

As we know, from Pesach until Shavous, we count each night of the Omer. Lag B'Omer falls on the thirty-third night of the Omer ("Lag", consists of the letters "lamed" and "gimel", whose numerically value equals thirty-three).

"Rabbi Akiva had twenty-four thousand students, and all of them died at the same time of the year during the omer, because they failed to give honour to each other" (Yevamos 62b)

There are varying opinions as of which days Rabbi Akiva's students died, but the most prevalent opinion is that they began to die right after Pesach and the "plague" ended on Lag B'Omer. Hence, during those days, we are in a semi-state of mourning (i.e. no music, men cannot shave or get haircuts). On Lag B'Omer, however, we leave our state of mourning, and celebrate.

So, what exactly is going on concerning the death of Rabbi Akiva's students? Especially considering that there were twenty-four thousand of them.

Now, we have to understand something. Rabbi Akiva wasn't just some everyday rabbi. He was one of the greatest leaders of his generation. His students weren't just everyday students either. They too were the top of their generation. So, what exactly happened to cause all of their deaths? The Gemara makes note that did not give honour to each other. Again, what exactly does that mean? Unlike the university systems, we do not call a person 'great' based solely on their brain. We also consider their character. In order to be a student of Rabbi Akiva, you not only had to have a great mind, but a good character.

How exactly does giving honour work? When one person gives another one honour, he is in fact recognizing that somehow, that other person is superior to himself in someway. Says the Shem MiShmuel, this only works when people view each other as individual people, with individual personalities. After all, if people viewed themselves, not as individuals, but as just one cog in the system, no different from the next, then his friend is no better or worse then he is. Hence, we have the plague called Communism. And from Communism, you have hippies. Boy, do I hate hippies... I'm sorry, where was I? One of the reasons communism failed, is that individual talents were not recognized. Everybody was the same, working for the 'greater good of the people'. Blach...

When everybody is the same then there is no way of giving honour to others. After all, how can I recognize the greatness of somebody, if they're not so great after all? This is the trap that the students of Rabbi Akiva fell into.

Judaism clearly holds that we are a community that consists of individuals. We do not identify ourselves only as a community or only as individuals. We are both. We cannot look at other people and wonder why they do not live up to our 'high' standards. Each person was put on earth for a different mission. Some follow chassidus, some are more into mussar. Some have this custom, some have that custom. Some are to be rabbis, teachers, tailors, computer nerds, and doctors. And no, Ira Piltz. Nobody was destined to be a lawyer. That is a direct result of the Yetzer Horah.

The father of the Shem MiShmuel suggests that Rabbi Akiva's students viewed themselves only as a community. Accordingly, they did not recognize each others individual strengths, failing to show each other the proper respect due.

Additionally, the father of the Shem MiShmuel had another small insight concerning this.

The period of the Omer takes place during the months of Nissan, Iyar, and Sivan. The astronomical sign for Nissan is the sheep. How appropriate is it that sheep should be the sign during the month of our redemption when we, as a people, were born. Just as sheep always travel together, so too did the Jewish people.

The sign for the month of Iyar is the bull. Bulls tend not to move together, unless herded down thin streets in Spain, being chased and trampling a slew of silly Spaniards. During this time of the Omer, we look at ourselves as individuals seeing how we can improve ourselves.

Then comes the month of Sivan, containing Shavous. Here the astronomical sign is Gemini The Twins. Here, we have two different individuals, working together as one. This is the ideal form of service to Hashem. Individuals using their strengths and weaknesses as a community to serve Hashem.

Have a great Shabbos and Lag B'Omer!