The Reward

Art: Boris Dubrov

''And you shall take for yourselves on the first day, the fruit of the hadar tree...'' [Emor 23:40]

The Vilna Gaon had a great love for the mitzvah of the four species.  Year after year, Vilna's vendors streamed to the Gaon's house with choice etrogim, and he would select the one he thought was the nicest.

One year, a vendor showed the Gaon an exquisite etrog.   The Gaon was very impressed and was willing to pay its full price.

''I do not wish to sell the etrog for money''  responded the vendor.  ''Rather, I desire the reward that you will garner for performing the mitzvah of the four species.''

''I readily agree'' said the Gaon.  ''I will take the etrog, and you will receive my reward.''

All those who visited the Gaon that Sukkot saw him savoring his beautiful etrog to a far greater degree than in previous years.

To calm their curiousity, the Gaon explained: '''Throughout my entire life, I have yearned to fulfill the words of our Sages [Pirkei Avot 1:3] ''Be like servants who serve their master, not for the sake of receiving a reward.''  A person must not serve Hashem simply in order to receive a reward.  This is extremely difficult, however, as we are constantly aware that we will receive a reward each time we perform a mitzvah,  But this year I was given the opportunity to perform a mitzvah with the knowledge that I would not be receiving any reward for doing so!''

''I am so fortunate to have merited such an opportunity.  This is why you find me so overjoyed.''

Source: Rabbi Yisroel Bronstein

Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of Komarna

 

Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Yehudah Yechiel Michel Safrin of Komarna was born on the 25th of Shevat 5566 (1806). His father passed away when he was 12 years old, and he was raised by his uncle, Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch of Ziditchov. After he married, he moved to Pintchov, his father-in-law’s town, and became a rebbe. Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac also served as a dayan (judge) in Ziditchov. Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac suffered disdain and poverty. Later, he said that he achieved his lofty spiritual level in the merit of the persecution, which he suffered with love and joy. Later, he moved back to Komarna and remained there until the end of his life. 

Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac was the first and most important rebbe of the Komarna Chassidut and had thousands of chassidim. He was a prolific writer on an array of Torah topics, particularly on Kabbalah, in which he was an expert and a great innovator. He delved into the writings of the Ba’al Shem Tov and into the stories about him and his disciples. Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac passed away on the 10th of Iyar, 5634 (1874), at the age of 68.

There are many stories of Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac and the books that he wrote. Once, he was a guest in someone’s home, and he slept in the study. On Shabbat night, he saw that one of the books on the shelves was shining. At first, he thought that he was imagining things, but when he saw that the book was indeed shining, he got up to see which book it was. It was none other than his own book, Netiv Mitzvotecha. The next day, on his way to the mikveh, Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac slipped and broke his leg. He later said that he deserved this, for he felt a bit of pride over the fact that the book he had authored was shining.

On a different occasion, he couldn’t fall asleep because his book, Notzer Chesed, was shining from the shelves. 

In the introduction to Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac’s commentary on the Zohar, Zohar Chai, his son describes the long process of writing it: The tzaddik began writing after Pesach 5617 (1857). After writing four pages on the two opening lines of the Zohar, he saw that it was an “endless fountain,” and he decided to stop writing. At that time, some people came to ask him to pray for an ill Jew, and when the tzaddik said that he would gift him his innovations on the Zohar, the Jew recovered). 

Ten years later, a ninety-year-old Jew who looked young and healthy came to visit Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac. Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac decided that if a person could live to such a ripe old age in good health in his generation, then he may be able to complete a book on the Zohar despite his relatively advanced age (59). That night, he saw the Ba’al Shem Tov, who approved his commentary, and Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac began to write again. 

He wrote continuously for several weeks, without speaking to anyone. He would eat and drink only at nightfall. He continued with this practice until he finished the introduction to the Zohar. When Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac saw that his health was suffering, he set aside specific times for writing. He continued with this writing schedule until the last Pesach of his life. 

The last section upon which Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac wrote commentary was the Zohar on God’s words to Moses, “Enough. Do not continue to speak to Me of this matter” (Deuteronomy 3:26). The Zohar writes, “‘Enough’ – with the light of the sun that you had – ‘do not continue’ – for the time of the moon has come, and the moon cannot illuminate until the sun sets. Instead, [the Torah continues], ‘Command Joshua and strengthen him and encourage him’ (Deuteronomy 3:28). You, who are the sun, must shine for the moon, who is Joshua.” 

After Pesach, Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac became ill. He asked for his manuscript to be brought to him so that he could continue writing and not stop at this section. It did not transpire, however, and he passed away.  

Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac lived for 68 years, the numerical value of “life” (חַיִּים). He passed away on the 10th day of Iyar, the day of netzach (victory) within netzach in the Counting of the Omer. In this story, we see how much the triumph of life was necessary to enable him to write his overflowing Torah commentary.

Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac’s commentary on the Zohar can be considered the pinnacle of his Torah works. How does one merit such a length of days? From the verse “Length of days in her right hand” (Proverbs 3:16), we can learn that Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac merited length of life in netzach due to his “right hand” of love and kindness. He radiated this love and kindness to the world through his books, in order to bring his fellow Jews close to their Father in heaven. (Interestingly, writing with the intent of bringing others close to God is generally done with the right hand). 

Besides writing many books, Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac also liked gematria and “numbers” (מִסְפָּרִים), which in Hebrew shares a root with “books” (סְפָרִים). Interestingly, his last name, Safrin (סָאפְרִין), shares the same root and is cognate to the word sofer (סוֹפֵר), meaning a scribe. The light that shines from his books is reminiscent of the shining light of the sappir (סַפִּיר), or sapphire. Thus, the words for number, story and sapphire all stem from the same three-letter root ס.פ.ר. and, in Kabbalah, they correspond to the three aspects of every vessel. 

Of the many beautiful descriptions of writing in the Bible, the one that seems to best describe Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac is, “[My tongue is] the pen of a quick writer”[1] ( עֵט סוֹפֵר מָהִיר[לְשׁוֹנִי]). This description is also numerically related to him since its value is 680 and it consists of 10 letters, which means that the average value of each letter is 68, Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac’s lifespan. The reduced value of these words is 50, the age at which Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac began writing his commentary on the Zohar. The word for “pen” (עֵט) is the initials for “good advice” (עֵצָה טוֹבָה). Thus, with the pen that he holds in his right hand when writing, he is giving others good advice through his books. Indeed, the sages say[2] that age 50 is the age at which one is best suited to start giving advice. The word “pen” can also be seen as the initials for “important and unimportant” (עִקָּר טָפֵל); knowing the difference between the two is vital to good writing and authoring books that are illuminating. 

The age at which Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac began writing his commentary on the Zohar is connected to how the writing ended—his passing in the middle of sefirat ha’omer (the Counting of the Omer) on the day of netzach in netzach, the attribute of Moses, while writing about the passing of Moses. Moses attained the 50th gate of understanding and gave the Torah on the 50th day of the Counting of the Omer. 

The parallel between Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac and Moses is apparent in this story and is expressed in many places in his books. It would be interesting to guess the identity of Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac’s Joshua, the “face of the moon” that he illuminated. 

Moses was the great scribe of Israel[3] as well as its faithful shepherd.[4] For Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac, leadership and teaching Torah did not come together easily. The Yeitiv Lev[5] once remarked that the Komarna Rebbe had many chassidim, and then their number dwindled. But uncharacteristically, when he would go on a journey, the crowds would flock to him. He explained that in heaven, there was great satisfaction from his writings. Thus, heaven ensured that chassidim would not come to him when he was at home, which would have distracted him from his writing. But, when he was out on a journey, and could not write anyway, the crowds returned.

[1]. Psalms 45:2. [2]. Avot 5:22. [3]. Sotah 13b. [4]. Moses’ connotation in the Zohar, רָעֲיָא מְהֵימְנָא. [5]. Rabbi Yekuthiel Yehudah Teitelbaum (1808 to 1883), grandson of the Yismach Moshe.

Source

Genetically Modified Organisms

by Rabbi Benjy Simons 

A customer asks the shopkeeper, ‘Are these strawberries genetically modified’? 

The shopkeeper responds, ‘of course not’. 

The strawberries say, ‘oh yes we are’. 

In this week’s Parsha we are commanded against crossbreeding across different species, such as interbreeding livestock or mixing seeds (Kilayim) or certain clothing fibres (Shatnez). Rashi explains that these are super-rational laws which cannot be understood, though other commentators try to give partial reasons for avoiding these mixtures. The Ibn Ezra suggests that we are commanded to not alter the work of G-d and thus we are commanded to preserve the species and not interbreed them. The Ramban echoes this idea in that one who grafts two species undermines the work of creation, as if to say that Hashem did not complete the needs of this world and that we can further perfect what G-d already created. 

Yet at the same time we find the Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 11:6) mentions that everything Hashem created during the six days of creation require further processing to bring them to their ultimate state, such as mustard seeds which require sweetening or wheat requiring grinding. Similarly, we find in the Talmud (Pesachim 54a) that Adam after the first Shabbos created fire and mated a donkey and horse to produce a mule, symbolic of man’s creative abilities in enhancing creation. 

The above concepts are often a starting point for the important discussion of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) which refers to an organism that has had its DNA altered or modified through genetic engineering. The OU has given its stamp of approval to salmon that were genetically altered with the DNA of eels (which are non-kosher) to enable them to grow twice as fast as they still contain fins and scales. In 2012 spider genes were added to goats, so their milk contained gossamer to produce silk and the goat milk was still deemed kosher. Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach permitted this is it didn’t fall under the category of crossbreeding which the Torah prohibits and the Aruch HaShulchan similarly allowed the idea, as since such actions can’t be seen by the naked eye, Halachically it is deemed insignificant. 

Could one genetically modify a pig to make it Halachically acceptable were it to chew its cud? 

The Mishna (Bechoros 1:2) mentions that the offspring of kosher animals are deemed kosher, even when they lack kosher signs. Similarly, the offspring of non-kosher animals are forbidden, even were they to exhibit kosher signs. This idea may even be extended to surrogacy in that the surrogate mother is considered the mother of the child in a Halachic sense, even when they are not connected to the biological material (see Targum Yonasan to Bereishis 30:21). Therefore, perhaps it is possible that if the foetus of a modified pig was to be placed into a kosher animal artificially, it would be deemed acceptable. As discussed previously, the concept of the pig becoming kosher will usher a return to Zion and the Messianic age. May our efforts in making this a reality bring us closer to that goal.

Sefira and the Redemption Pt 1

 Rabbi Mendel Kessin audio, shiur given 4/19/21

and this one given last week

The Third Temple

Motivation

Text by Rabbi Yisroel Bronstein

''Hashem spoke to Moshe after the death of Aharon's two sons'' [Acharei 1:1]

Why, asks Rashi, does the verse state ''Hashem spoke to Moshe after the death of Aharon's two sons''? Why not simply say ''Hashem spoke to Moshe''?

To answer the question, Rashi quotes R' Elazar ben Azaryah's parable:  A sick man called for a doctor.  The doctor instructed him ''Do not eat cold food, and do not lie in a damp chilly place.''

Then a second doctor came and told the man ''Do not eat cold food, and do not lie in a damp chilly place, so that you will not die like so-and-so did.''

By alluding to somebody who died as a result of not taking these precautions, the second doctor was more successful than the first in rousing the man to take care of himself.

This is why, explains Rashi, the verse states ''after the death of Aharon's two sons''.  It was in order to give Aharon an extra measure of motivation to keep the laws enumerated in this portion.

Messianic Consciousness

 

The Essence of Pesach Part 2 - Audio

Rabbi Mendel Kessin

Part 1 can be found here

Forgetfulness and its Connection to Moshiach

 

by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh

In his commentary on Sefer Hapelee’ah, Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli continues that there is an evil angel designated over forgetfulness. If he meets you, he causes you to forget everything you know. The name of this angel is Reev, which literally means “dispute” (רִיב). Recall (remember!) that the mitzvah of Purim is to remember; to remember what Amalek did to us and to not forget. 

Why is forgetfulness so prevalent today? Because the angel Reev is making us forget what we should remember. In other words, every time we get into an argument or a dispute, we are “meeting” the angel Reev and the result is that we forget things. Rabbi Shimshon does not write this, but the first conclusion that we can draw is that arguing is not worthwhile because the person who starts a dispute is destined to forget. Politics is all about dispute and therefore it is no wonder that politicians cannot remember any of the promises they made. 

There is another synonym in Hebrew for “dispute”: matzah (מַצָּה). According to some grammarians, the matzah that we eat on Passover is actually the same word as this word that means “dispute.” Rabbi Shimshon Rephael Hirsch (another Shimshon!) writes that the process that causes dough to leaven is called matzah, because it is as if the water and the flour are fighting, and from their fight, energy is created that causes the dough to rise. The matzah that we eat on Pesach is the opposing force to the Biblical term for “dispute” (מַצָּה וּמְרִיבָה). Eating matzah on Pesach is our first antidote against being argumentative and a remedy for our forgetfulness. 

Can a sage forget? 

The Talmud brings a truly wondrous story about one of the greatest Mishnaic sages, Rabbi Elazar ben Arach. According to Abba Shaul, Rabbi Elazar ben Arach was the greatest of Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai’s disciples. So great, that, “If all the sages of Israel were on one side of a scale, even with Eliezer Ben Horkanus on their side, and Elazar Ben Arach was on the other side, he would outweigh them all.”[1]  

The Talmud relates[2] that Rabbi Elazar Ben Arach went to rest at a healing resort. This resort had special, fine wine and unique, healing bathing waters—even better than the Dead Sea waters. Rabbi Elazar Ben Arach became immersed in those two pleasures. The sages say that the Ten Tribes were exiled because they sank into the pleasures of this world, the peak of which were that fine wine and bathing waters. They are not in agreement as to whether they will ever return.[3]  

The same thing happened to the great tzaddik, Rabbi Elazar Ben Arach, who went to that same healing site and sank into the pleasures of the finest wine and the healing waters. Over time, he forgot all that he had learned. When he returned to the sages, they honored him with reading from the Torah. The Torah portion of that week was Parashat Hachodesh—the special reading for the Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh Nissan. Instead of reading, “This month is for you…” (הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם), Rabbi Elazar mistakenly read: “Was their heart deaf?” (הַחֵרֵשׁ הָיָה לִבָּם). 

Rabbi Shimshon explains that this entire story is connected to numbers. According to Sefer Hapelee’ah, the angel designated over forgetting, Reev, has 605 soldiers. When Rabbi Elazar Ben Arach forgot and mistakenly read, “Was their heart deaf?” the words he confused were הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם. The letters he replaced them with were, הַחֵרֵשׁ הָיָה לִבָּם, and they spell רִיב, the name of the angel of forgetfulness, who caused Rabbi Elazar Ben Arach to forget everything he had learned! The greatest sage of Israel went up to read the Torah, and instead of saying, “This month is for you…” (הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם), he read: “Was their heart deaf?” (הַחֵרֵשׁ הָיָה לִבָּם), whose value is exactly 605—the 605 soldiers of Reev, according to Sefer Hapelee’ah. 

Remedy for Reev 

How else can we rectify Reev? Rearranging the letters of Reev (רִיב), we get Rebbe (רַבִּי)! Instead of engaging in dispute, we should be engaging with our Rebbe. Some people do have a rebbe, which causes them to argue with everyone else. This is not a genuine connection to a rebbe. We must connect with a rebbe who teaches us not to fight with anyone. The Rebbe the Rashab (the fifth Rebbe of Chabad) related that the Alter Rebbe of Chabad had chassidim who negated other chassidim and tzaddikim. Due to that, they did not manage to truly embrace the teachings of Chassidut and its lifestyle. The angel Reev made them forget the Chassidut and inner service of God that they had learned—just like Rabbi Elazar Ben Arach. Those who did not have disputes with others were able to embrace the teachings of Chassidut.  

In the previous chapter of this article, we mentioned that the word meaning “according to the law” (כַּדָּת)—an important word in the Scroll of Esther—is written on the Mashiach’s forehead. The numerical value of this word, כַּדָּת, equals twice the value of Reev (רִיב). Amazingly, the numerical value of the phrase from the Torah that Rabbi Elazar Ben Arach read incorrectly, “This month is for you…” (הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם), is exactly the same as the numerical value of this word, “according to the law” (כַּדָּת)! We mentioned that this is also the value of “Mashiach Ben David” (מָשִׁיחַ בֶּן דָּוִד)! 

In the phrase, “This month is for you…” (הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם), the word for “month” (הַחֹדֶשׁ) can also be pronounced, with a change of vowels, as “new” (הֶחָדָשׁ). Mashiach Ben David is the energy of renewal and innovation; innovations in Torah, innovations in reality, and renewal of love for one another. Everything must be renewed—in a way that is all according to the law. This is the energy and power of Mashiach Ben David, the power that is inscribed on his forehead.

To read Part 1 of this article click here

Before Redemption, A Great Roaring of Water

Looking at the east coast of Australia right now.....it reminded me of this blog post about a great roaring of water.

Last year it was fire, this year it's water.  The great floods of 2021, which you can read about here

I'm not in a flood zone, but I feel the pain of those who are.

****************************

[originally published at Yiddishkeit.org by R. Yaakov Nathan]

The prophectic words of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, from the newsletter HaKria V’HaKedusha [Tammuz, 5704/1944]

Translation from Shmais.com

Psalm 93

The Lord is King; He has garbed Himself with grandeur;

the Lord has robed Himself, He has girded Himself with strength;

He has also established the world firmly that it shall not falter.
Your throne stands firm from of old; You have existed forever.
The rivers have raised, O Lord, the rivers have raised their voice; the rivers raise their raging waves.
More than the sound of many waters, than the mighty breakers of the sea, is the Lord mighty on High.
Your testimonies are most trustworthy; Your House will be resplendent in holiness, O Lord, forever.

This chapter of Tehillim was composed by the G-dly poet regarding Yemos Ha’Moshiach (the Messianic days). He hints briefly at the events which will take place before the geula (redemption). The central theme of the chapter is that the Jews living at that time will understand by means of these events, that the galus (exile) is over and geula (redemption) has begun.

Hashem will be king by wearing greatness! We generally think the world is run by nature and we forget entirely that there is a G-d who rules over nature. It’s only when an unnatural occurrence takes place such as a flood, earthquake, and other terrible upheavals–that we remember that there’s a ruler of the world who rules over nature; Then all will say that G-d is king! He put nature aside and showed his absolute sovereignty over nature.

The poet goes on to speak about the time when Hashem will be revealed in clothes of gevura (judgement) and the world will recognize and acknowledge that He is king. He explains that this will happen during Yemos Ha’Moshiach before the geula because "Hashem wore the gevura" which he girded Himself with in the past. Gevura refers to Torah, and Hashem girded Himself with its strength at the time of the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people at Sinai. At that time there were such strong thunder and lightning that the nations of the world thought the world was coming to an end. Bilaam explained to them that Hashem is giving might to His people–that Hashem was giving his strong Torah to His people, and it has the power to build worlds or destroy them.

Regarding this the poet says that in Yemos Ha’Moshiach, when Hashem will be king by wearing gevura, he won’t do this by wearing a new garment of gevura which is designated for a new purpose. It will be the old garment of Mattan Torah (the giving of the Torah), of Hashem's giving might to His people. Hashem will rise to fortify the Torah in the world, and just as when it was given the first time it ws accompanied with proof that He is the ruler over nature, so too the second time. The process of kabbolas ha’Torah (receiving the Torah) will include displays of gevura whose purpose is that the entire world accepts the Torah. But, continues the poet, He has also established the world firmly that it shall not falter.: many will err and think that Hashem is destroying the world. That’s why the poet writes that the world will remain fortified and it will not falter. It will only be the Jewish people and the Torah which will be elevated once again: Hashem is giving might to His people!

Your throne stands firm from of old; You have existed forever: already before the creation of the world when Hashem was alone You have existed forever – You prepared Your throne of Your kingdom. The purpose of the creation is in order to strengthen Torah and the Jewish people; the Torah –  as the Sages say: "for the sake of Torah which is called 'first,' the world was created". Already back then it was established that Hashem would come enclothed in gevura in order to fortify a place for Torah. This time it won’t be in order to destroy the world, but in order to fortify the Torah, and to bring about the realization of the promise "and Hashem will be king over all the world" through this – that the world will gain knowledge of Torah (and accept it) through the Jewish people.

The rivers have raised, O Lord, the rivers have raised their voice; the rivers raise their raging waves: the literal meaning of the verse is that the rivers will lift up Hashem; the rivers will raise their voice, the rivers will make a lot of noise! This means that the roaring and raging of the rivers will elevate Hashem. The only meaning in this is that Hashem will be uplifted by His making the oceans roar before the geula. Through this noise everybody will understand that Hashem is elevated.

The practical conclusion is that the roaring rivers will bring great changes to the world; for example: they will drown an entire nation or at least a great portion, and this natural disaster will cause a revolution in man’s perspective. They will see this as a G-dly punishment. It’s also possible that this natural disaster will change the world political map by a chain of events which will begin with that nation that drowns.

In summary: before the geula there will be a great roaring of water which will shake the world with its intensity, to the point that the world will return to elevate Hashem. That’s how we can understand the verse–that the waters will elevate Hashem by means of their noise and rage.

More than the sound of many waters, than the mighty breakers of the sea, is the Lord mighty on High: the sound of the many waters will cause the powerful ones to break, and then Hashem will be the powerful One. This means that as a result of the crashing waters, the mighty ones of the earth will be wiped out. World empires will collapse in the face of the water’s strength and then people will acknowledge and agree that Hashem is the only mighty One in heaven.

Your testimonies are most trustworthy; Your House will be resplendent in holiness, O Lord, forever: The ones who relate your testimony are very loyal; holiness suits Your house; G-d–will be forever! The G-dly poet concludes the chapter with a description of the world after all of humanity will acknowledge Hashem’s kingdom. The world will say that the prophecies about Hashem and the geula of the Jewish people were absolutely true. This means that at the time of the complete geula it will be obvious–Jews will return to Eretz Yisrael and the Beis Hamikdash (Holy Temple) will be rebuilt, and all the nations of the world will be drawn there in order to learn G-d’s ways from up close.

The nations will also say–Your House will be resplendent in holiness–holiness suits the Beis Hamikdash; i.e. holiness will return and rest in the Beis Hamikdash as in the past, and the nations will acknowledge this. You have to say that this is the intention of the poet because these promises were not fulfilled yet. Nobody can say "Your testimonies are most trustworthy", that all the prophecies have come true. And nobody can say "Your House will be resplendent in holiness" without it being actually so.

The nations will ask Hashem to continue to have His Presence rest in the Beis Hamikdash forever. This indicates the perfection of the geula of the Jewish people–that the nations won’t bother them at all, to the point that the nations themselves will ask Hashem to continue to have His Presence rest in the Beis Hamikdash.

The poet, as is his way, is brief but that leaves us with little in quantity but a lot in quality. This psalm contains everything about geula, including the eve of geula and the "end of days." The central motif of the chapter are the roaring waters which will demonstrate Hashem’s might and transform humanity entirely in a spiritual way. These roaring waters will be the sign of the beginning of the complete geula. Following it, the glory of Hashem, the Torah and the Jewish people will be elevated in the world until true peace will reign and all the prophecies will be realized in their entirety.

We can only wait for those great stormy waters which will force the nations to admit that Hashem is king–all will have to concede that this is not a natural disaster but an act of G-d.

Note: In the "HaKri’a V’hakedusha" of Tammuz 5704 (1944) which was edited under the Previous Rebbe’s supervision, this article appears under the name G. Zarchi about chapter 93 in Tehillim, based on Midrash and words of the Sages.

The Essence of Pesach Part 1 - Audio

 Rabbi Mendel Kessin

Shiur given 3/15/21

A Flawless Mitzvah

"Every generous person shall bring it" [Vayakhel 35:5]

A benefactor donated a large plot of land for R' Meir Shapiro's yeshivah, Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin.  At the ceremony for the laying of the cornerstone of the building, the benefactor was accorded great honor and seated at the head table reserved for the distinguished guests.

Sitting next to the man was R' Yisrael of Chortkov, who turned to him and said "I do not envy you over this mitzvah because it will lead to great honor.  I do envy you, however, for the mitzvah that you performed secretly, the one that lead to this one [see Avot 4:2].  For that must have been a flawless mitzvah if it was capable of leading to a mitzvah as great as this one."

Source: Rabbi Y. Bronstein

 

Moshiach's Current Struggle

Three new lectures by Rabbi Mendel Kessin have been uploaded, here they are: 

Moshiach's Current Struggle - given 2/8/21

The 8 Phases of Geula - given 1/8/21

The Erev Rav and the Satan's Fight for Survival - given 2/1/21

No Worries

 

Adversity is the Clue to Your Mission

Rabbi Y. Y. Jacobson - a one minute video

The Rebbe of Rebbes - Yarzheit 21 Adar

"Today, in our bitter exile, there are people who receive ruach hakodesh more easily than in the time of the prophets." [Noam Elimelech]

Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk was the student of Dov Ber of Mezerich, the brother of Meshulam Zushia of Anipoli. He was born in 1717, and died on 21 Adar in 1786  [ this year - Friday 4 March]

During the lifetime of Dov Ber of Mezerich he traveled widely with his brother all over Poland to spread Hassidism. After Dov Ber's death, Rebbe Elimelech settled in Lizhensk and attained great fame, thanks to his lofty life. During his lifetime, Lizhensk was turned into a center of Polish-Galician Hassidism. There, many famous Tzadikim and Hassidic activists of Galicia were educated and obtained their inspiration during the 18th century.

Rebbe Elimelech is the author of “Noam Elimelech” [Lvov 1798], a book of commentaries on the Pentateuch. In that book, the role of a Tzadik is set out and explained, and the doctrine of Hassidism is explained in greater detail. This book was subject to an intense investigation by the opponents of Hassidism. Many of his expositions are published in his work “Darche Tzedek”, and other works.

The Melitzer Rebbe shlit'a, a direct descendant of the "Noam Elimelech", stated that Rebbe Yisroel of Ruzhin said that 500 years before Rebbe Elimelech was born, the world received abundance in his merit. Now, after his death, even more so!

It is said that Rabbi Elimelech promised anyone who would visit his grave that they would not leave this world without teshuva.



Kever of Rabbi Elimelech in Lizensk, Poland [Photo: יהונתן וואקסמאן]

Ohel of Rebbe Elimelech, Lizensk Poland [Photo: יהונתן וואקסמאן]

After Rebbe Elimelech passed away, Rebbe Reb Zisha of Hanipoli was approached by his brother’s students to be their new leader. Rabbi Zisha declined and explained his reason with a parable. “The possuk in Bereshis 2:10 states “And a river went forth from Eden to water the garden and from there it split into four paths.”

The Torah is eternal and alludes to all events above and below for all generations. Eden alludes to our holy master the Baal Shem Tov. The river was his student the holy Mezitcher Maggid. The garden refers to my brother the Rebbe Elimelech.

This then is the meaning: a river flows from Eden to water the garden, the Torah flows as water from the Baal Shem Tov by way of the Mezritcher Maggid to the Rebbe Elimelech. From there it separates into four paths: they are :

1.The Holy Rebbe the Chozeh or Seer of Lublin;

2.The Holy Rebbe Avodas Yisrael the Koznitzer Maggid;

3. The Holy Rebbe Mendel Rimanover; and

4.The Holy Ohev Yisrael the Apta Rav.

Stories of Noam Elimelech

The Light of The Rebbe’s Prayer Sash

related by the Rabbi of Madin, grandson of the Ropshitzer

Rebbe Elimelech had a custom that after the afternoon Mincha service he would converse with his close followers. He would then proceed to a special private room to pray the evening Maariv service alone in seclusion, purity and sanctity.

Rabbi Naftali Ropshitzer, a student of the Rebbe always yearned to also be in that room. He constantly wished to see the deeds of his Rebbe and how he prayed at that time. Once he stole into the room unnoticed and hid beneath the bed. The holy Rebbe entered and closed the door behind him. He took his “gartel,” the traditional sash or belt used by Hassidim for prayer and preceded to fasten it about himself.

The first time he wound the sash about his waist the whole house was filled with an awesome unbelievable light. The second time he tied the gartel winding it around, the light grew in intensity until the Ropshitzer could no longer endure it. He grew weak and found himself fainting. He called out in a loud voice.

Rebbe Elimelech heard the cries of distress coming from his student and recognized their source. “Naftali my son are you here?” the Rebbe asked. “Fortunately, you did not remain here for the third and final time I wound the gartel. If you had remained your soul would have surely left your body from the intensity of the great light. Therefore leave now.”

An unusual guest for Tea

related in the name of The Shinover Rebbe

The author of the Hasidic work Maor va’Shemesh was a student of the Rebbe Elimelech. Once he asked the Rebbe Elimelech to be allowed to serve him, thereby learning directly from his Rebbe. Rebbe Elimelech conceded and asked him for a cup of tea. After preparing the tea, the student entered the room to give it to the Rebbe. Inside he saw the awesome figure of an old man sitting beside Rebbe Elimelech. He was overcome by fear, trembling and shaking so much so that he dropped the cup spilling the tea on the floor and ran out.

Later Rebbe Elimelech saw his student and asked him why he hadn’t given him the tea he requested. He answered that he had brought it but when he saw the figure of the old man he was so frightened he spilled the tea. The Rebbe then said to him in Yiddish “Oy vey iz das kind voos ken nisht kiken dem taten in poonim arayn: Woe is to the child who cannot look his own father in the face.” That old man you saw was none other than our forefather Avraham peace be upon him!

More information can be found at : JewishGen

Holiness Flew Away

 

by Rabbi David Hanania Pinto Shlita

"He shattered them at the foot of the mountain" [Ki Tisa 32:19]

Rabbi Avraham Chizkuni in his sefer 'Shtei Yadot', explains how Moshe could break the Luchot, even though one is forbidden to break vessels out of anger. He quotes the Maharsha in his commentary on Masechet Shabbat (105b), who says that there is no prohibition to tear something insignificant and not substantial. 

The Yerushalmi in Masechet Shekalim brings that when Am Yisrael made the Golden Calf, the letters flew from the Luchot. It follows then that when Moshe broke the Luchot they were already considered as 'insignificant' and not a substantial object, so there was no prohibition of shattering them in his anger.

Not Accountable

Someone close to someone close to me committed suicide last week.  I was searching on the internet for something sensible to say to one of the relatives, and to be honest, I couldn't find much there that felt right.

Until I read this:

Jewish law forbids the taking of one’s own life. It is considered a grave sin. And yet, in most cases of suicide, the law assumes a suicide victim to have been severely ill, to the point that he or she cannot be held accountable. The understanding is that if these people were healthy, if they were cognizant of the gravity of what taking their lives would mean, they would never have willingly chosen to carry out the horrific act. In cases of impaired mental health, a suicide victim is exactly that. A victim. A victim of a terrible, horrible, devastating illness that needs to be addressed head-on, without embarrassment or reprisals or stigma.  Source

That is why a ''suicide'' is always given the benefit of the doubt and permitted to be buried in a Jewish cemetary, and not on the outskirts of the cemetery.  We do not know the state of mind of the suicide, even if we may think we do.  We always say that the person was ''out of their mind''.

I think this is a very comforting thing to think, whether or not it is true, that is something we will never know.  But most of the time, it probably is true.

The Purim Codes

I used to blog this every year on Purim, here it is again after a few missing years, for those who have never seen it. It never gets old.  

Chag sameach !

[adapted from Keeping Posted with NCSY, Fall 1999 edition and also from Torah.org article by Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld]

There is a famous "code" in Megillat Esther :- towards the end of the story, King Ahashveirosh allows the Jews to avenge themselves of their enemies on the 13th day of Adar. In Shushan, the capital, the Jews kill 500 men and hang Haman's ten sons on a gallows. Queen Esther then approaches the King with an additional request: "...allow the Jews who are in Shushan to do tomorrow as they did today, and let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows" [Esther 9:13]. It's curious that she would request the hanging of Haman's already slain sons. Nevertheless, the King complies.

The Hebrew word for "tomorrow" ["machar"] occasionally refers to the distant future. Further, the Sages tell us that whenever the word "king" appears in the Megillah it alludes to the King of kings as well. Thus, the verse could be understood as a request by Esther to G-d to again hang the ten sons of Haman at some point in the distant future. Now, when the Megillah lists the ten sons of Haman during their hanging [Esther 9:7-9] there are a number of unusually-sized letters. [There is a tradition to write certain letters in the Torah larger or smaller than the standard size.]

According to the most accepted tradition, there is a large 'vav' [numerical value = 6] and a small 'tav' [400], 'shin' [300] and 'zayin' [7]. The following suggestion has been made: The large vav refers to the sixth millennium [of the Hebrew calendar]; the small letters refer to year 707 of that millennium. The meaning, then, is that G-d agreed to hang Haman's ten sons again in the year 5707 = 1946-7.

When listing the ten sons of Haman who were hanged [Esther 9:6-10], three letters, namely Taf, Shin, and Zayin, are written smaller than the rest [most printed texts reflect this; if yours doesn’t, look in another]. The commentaries offer no explanation for this other than that it is a prophecy. The letters "Taf-Shin-Zayin" represent the Hebrew year 5707, corresponding to the secular year 1946-47.

On October 16, 1946 (21 Tishrei, 5707) ten convicted Nazi war criminals were hanged in Nuremberg. (An eleventh, Hermann Goering, a transvestite, committed suicide in his cell. The Midrash tells us that Haman also had a daughter who committed suicide.) As if the parallel were not obvious enough without further corroboration, Nazi Julius Streicher’s last words were: "PURIM FEST 1946!". [In case you question the accuracy of Streicher’s last words, they are are well-documented; they appeared in Newsweek, October 28, 1946]


It is fairly safe to assume that (a) Streicher did not know about the three small letters in the Megilla, (b) he did not know that these letters corresponded to the year in which he was being hanged, and (c) even had he known, he would have had no motivation to reinforce the validity of Jewish texts, traditions, or prophecies. One could not ask for a more independent confirmation of the all encompassing knowledge to be found in the Sifrei Tanach.

Rabbi Weissmandl - a great Hungararian scholar and holocaust survivor - made a number of findings concerning Megillat Esther using skip distances of 12,111 letters - the exact number of letters in Megillat Esther. If one starts with the first regular mem [as opposed to the "final mem"] in Bereishis 4:14, where the name Esther [vocalized differently] appears for the only time in the Torah, and count at intervals of 12,111 letters, one finds spelled out the phrase "Megillat Esther." Coincidence? I think not.

A Mysterious Guest's Purim Secret

Rav Chaim Volozhin's Purim Secret From A Mysterious Guest

One Purim an old man appeared at Rav Chaim Volozhin's Purim seuda. Rav Chaim gave him a coin for tzedaka. The old man then said that if he gives him another coin, he will tell him a Chiddush in the Megila. Rav Chaim agreed and the old man asked a question.

The Medrash says that after the gezeira of Haman, Moshe Rabbeinu told Eliyahu HaNavi to go tell Mordechai to daven on earth while they will daven in Shamayim. Eliyahu told Moshe that he already saw that the gezeira was signed and sealed in Shamayim so there was no chance of salvation. Moshe asked, was the seal made out of earth or blood. Eliyahu said it was out of earth. In that case said Moshe Rabbeinu there is still hope.

Where, asked the old man, do we see in the Megila that the seal was not from blood? Rav Chaim didn't answer and the old man continued. The Megila says that Haman plotted to destroy the Yehudim, "U'Liabdam". If you break the word U'Liabdam into two words it says "V'Lo B'Dam", the decree was not sealed in blood.

Rav Chaim was so excited about this answer that when he went to visit his Rebbi the Vilna Gaon, he repeated it to him. The Vilna Gaon also became emotional upon hearing this and told Rav Chaim that the "old man" was none other than the old man who revealed this secret over 2,000 years ago during the story of Purim. It was Eliyahu HaNavi himself.

Source: Revach L'Neshama

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