Achieving Great Heights

by Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein


וַיִּקְרָא  "Vayikra - He called" [Vayikra 1:1]

Why is the word "Vayikra" written with a small alef? asked R' Simchah Bunim of P'shischa.

The verse comes to teach us, answered the rebbe, about the extraordinary humility of Moshe Rabbeinu. Even when he was engaged in conversation with Hashem, the King of the entire world, Moshe remained the most humble of men.

To what can this be compared? asked the rebbe.  To a man who had scaled an enormous mountain and looking about, he could get the impression that he towers over all those around him.  However, if he is a wise man, he will realize that he is not tall at all, nor does his elevated position point to any personal greatness.  For it is the mountain upon which he is standing that is tall. He knows that he has not grown any taller and that he is still small compared to all the mountains around him.

This is the secret to Moshe Rabbeinu's humility, explained the rebbe. For even though he had achieved great heights, so much so that Hashem was calling him in order to speak with him, he nonetheless remained humble, as he did not attribute any of his greatness to his own personal strengths.

There is a commonly asked question regarding the word וַיִּקְרָא in this parshah: Why is it spelled with a small alef?

The word Vayikra begins the sefer that deals with sacrificial offerings. The main purpose of bringing sacrifices is to bring atonement to a person who sinned. But that is only accomplished if the person regrets his previous misdeeds and repents wholeheartedly for what he has done.

The mussar masters have taught us that the trait of haughtiness lies at the root of all sin. A humble and subdued person does not sin easily, but one whose heart is filled with pride and arrogance pays little heed to rebuke, so he will inevitably succumb to sin.

The letter alef stands for the word ani - I. "Vayikra" is spelled here with a small alef to teach us that if we make our ani small - if we make ourselves small and act with humility - then we will avoid sins and we will have no need to bring sacrificial offerings.

Divorced, but still Married

Please forward this blog post to anyone you know who is in this situation. It could literally save their life !

There are, unfortunately, a lot of Jews out there who have divorced under the civil law, but not according to Jewish law - that is, with the husband writing out a  gett [Jewish bill of divorce] for his wife.  Actually, he doesn't write it, the rabbi does, but he has to hand the document to her.  The original ketubah [marriage certificate] is then torn up, and the couple are formally divorced.  If this hasn't happened... then they are still married, both according to Jewish law and according to Heaven, and all the laws of a married couple are still applicable. 

Jews who divorce without a gett cause themselves a multitude of problems: not the least of which can be a rapid descent into poverty for them both or singly, or even severe illness. This is because they are still married under Heaven's eyes, and their living arrangements as "divorcees" are not in accordance with their halachically "married" status.  Every day they continue in this manner, they are bringing more and more judgments upon themselves.

The following is written by Rabbi J. Forsythe (c) 2002

When a Jewish married couple decides that they are no longer able to live together as husband and wife, Jewish law requires that they separate from each other promptly and, in a reasonable period of time, terminate the marriage with a document of divorce, called in Hebrew, a "get." This applies whenever a Jewish man and Jewish woman have entered into marriage with each other.

Some people do not realize that their marriage remains fully intact as long as there is no get. A get is mandatory and inescapable to end a Jewish marriage. The Torah makes very clear that once a Jewish marriage has been created, only a kosher get, executed by a kosher bais din [Torah court], can undo it. The Torah refers to the get as the husband giving a "document of cutting off." The choice of words teaches 1. that the marriage is not at all terminated until this document is given by the man to the woman as the conclusion of the divorce procedure and 2. by the Torah's not using the literal name of the document ["get"], we should strive to refrain from ending a marriage [i.e. avoid coming to a get, just as the Torah avoids saying the word "get"] and we should consider it painfully sad when a marriage has to die and divorce has to come.

This is something which is not affected at all by a person's religious affiliation, philosophy, observance-level or marital-strife level. A civil divorce or agreement to be unmarried is not enough. Without a kosher get, executed by an authorized bais din, there has been no removal at all of the marriage status.

If a woman is separated from her husband, or has a secularly legal divorce, she might MISTAKENLY consider herself free to have a relationship with a man other than the husband with whom she had a Jewish marriage. However, THIS WOMAN IS NO DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER WOMAN MARRIED UNDER JEWISH LAW and her involvement on any level with any other man is adulterous. She may not be alone with another man, may not have physical contact with him, may not be without her body covered thoroughly by modest clothing or without her hair covered when in his presence, and she certainly may NOT have any intimate relations. A child born from such a union is a "momzer" which is an uncorrectable taint and distortion (on the soul of the child born from this union), which will be continued and passed on in all offspring through all generations. A "momzer" may not marry a "regular Jew," and his or her descendants will never be able to marry a "regular Jew" till the end of time.

If you know someone whose religious commitment is not strong, or who is not religious; whose marriage is essentially over but the couple is without a get, it is crucial that you bring to bear any influence or assistance to have the couple execute a KOSHER GET FROM AN AUTHORIZED ORTHODOX BAIS DIN WHICH IS UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED BY TORAH LAW AUTHORITIES. Generations are at stake - not just the couple. A Jewish marriage is holy and is in "rumos shel olam (the heights of creation)." Its violation; no matter how antagonistic or alienated the relationship is; is serious and treasonous trampling on the sacrosanct, is punished by premature death and is, in many ways, "playing with fire."

This is just a small extract; the entire article can be found here: Shalom Bayis Issues

More information can be found at Kol-Isha

Incredible Story of Divine Providence

For more info see:  The Untold Story of an Empty Wedding Hall

The Poor Man's Offering

Art: Roxana Muchnik

And if a [poor] person brings a meal offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil over it and place frankincense upon it. Vayikra 2:1

Unlike a wealthy person, who is able to give voluntary offerings in the Temple from expensive animals and birds, the poor man is only able to offer flour. Nevertheless, the Torah attributes more significance to the poor man's offering, as Rashi writes "I consider it as if he has sacrificed his very soul!"

This is because the wealthy man's offering is inevitably connected with a certain amount of self-satisfaction, at the thought of bringing one of the most expensive and impressive sacrifices. The poor man, however, could not possibly be proud of his meagre offering, so his is the most genuine offering of all, dedicated to G-d amidst feelings of humility. Thus, to him, G-d says ''It is as if he has sacrificed his very soul!"

Source: Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe

The Journey of the Soul: from beginning to end

We all want to know where we came from and where we're going to end... This lecture covers the general idea of the journey of the soul

Rabbi Alon Anava

Parts 1, 2 and 3

Purim 2016

Just uploaded, a new shiur from Rabbi Mizrachi.

The Secrets of The World

Art by Mel

The Mishkan is called the Mishkan HaEidus, the residence of testimony. The Medrash says that the Mishkan is testimony to the fact that Hashem created Heaven and Earth. 

The Sfas Emes [Rebbe Yehudah Leib Alter] explains that in this world Hashem is hidden. We cannot see Him or His greatness in every part of creation. We don't know why things were created or their connection to Hashem.

The Mishkan is the link between Shamayim and Aretz [Heaven and Earth]. Each part of the building of the Mishkan and its Keilim [vessels] represent things in this world and reflect the face of Hashem hidden behind them. 

Therefore seeing the Mishkan and understanding the purpose of it, is the greatest testimony to the fact that Hashem created a very spiritual world hidden behind seemingly mundane objects of nature.

Source: Revach.net

The Misplaced Anger of Israelis

by Dr Rivkah Lambert Adler

Five terrorist attacks in one bloody day. My Facebook newsfeed is full of anger.

Demand the world take action against Palestinian terror!

Expel the Arabs!

What is wrong with our government?! We’re getting slaughtered in the streets.

Joe Biden, go back. We don’t want you here!

I get it. Really I do.

At the same time, looking at the big picture, I’m convinced that, spiritually, this anger, while understandable, is woefully misplaced.

We are in the period of Jewish history known as the End of Days. We can feel the breath of Moshiach (the Jewish redeemer) on the back of our necks. This time, immediately before our final redemption, is referred to as the Ishmaelite Exile by our Sages. It’s the last exile of the Jewish people, and it has a very specific purpose.

The Hebrew expression kochi v’otzem yadi means “my strength and the power of my hands”. It comes from the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy 8:17).

As a nation, we’re still stuck in the illusion of kochi v’otzem yadi. We still believe that human efforts are sufficient to solve the problem of Muslim terror. As long as we think there is a diplomatic, military, economic or political solution, we have failed to learn the lesson this stage of history is trying to teach us.

We haven’t learned to turn to God.

We still believe in and rely upon our human prowess too much. So God sent us the problem of Muslim terror, exactly because the kind of terrorism that Israel suffers from is a problem we will never be able to solve on our own.

Anger at the government, anger at the Arabs, is missing the point. God is running the world. And He’s turning up the heat, so to speak, pleading with us to recognize that we need Him. To save precious lives, to prepare us for Moshiach, we need, very quickly, to come to the understanding that Ain Od Milvado – there is truly nothing besides God.

Everything we are living through is intended to increase our faith, to prepare us for the final redemption. We are being called upon to recognize that we are absolutely helpless. Only God can destroy this enemy.

We need to take reasonable security precautions on a human level. Of course we do. But we must open our eyes and understand that the most crucial task before us is a spiritual one.

We must learn to recognize the limits of our capabilities. We must learn that it is time to live our lives according to the last Mishna in Tractate Sotah which teaches, “We have no one upon whom to rely, except our Father in heaven.”

Source:  Israel NewsTalk Radio