Chag Kasher v'Sameach

Chag Kasher v'Sameach everyone!

Shkoyach to everyone who went to vatikin this morning (or even if you didn't) and said Birkat HaChamah at the beautiful sunrise. It's amazing to thing about what has happened since the last Birkat HaChamah and to think about what may happen until the next one. Iy"H I hope to see many of the same people in 28 years to make the brachah with again.

Quick Pesach Thought

The Ramban writes in Parshat Bo 13:16 that the ikar of Yetziat Mitzraim  were the nisim nistarim that Hashem did, so that we should recognize his hashgachah in everything. The same is true of Birkat HaChamah. It is not something which is discernible to our eyes. But the mah norah v'ayom everything involved in the cycle of the sun leading up to this morning! We should realize the awesomeness of Hashem's hashgachah.

Rav Yonatan Sacks said an intersting dvar Torah that you may want to mention at the seder: 

We know the famous question, brought down by the Rambam in Hilchot Teshuvah, that if Yetziat Mitzraim was already planned by Hashem, how could he then punish the Mitzrim? Were they not His tools? The Raavad & Ramban say that there was a gezeirah for slavery, but the actions of the Mitzrim were not part of that. They added to it of their own accord and intensified the situation without need. We see this from the fact that the shibud began with Yitzchak according to the 400 year calculation. And the Jews then certainly didn't suffer back-breaking work!

Why did Moshe and Aharon bring the mateh (staff) before Paroh just to turn it into a snake?Sure it swallowed the Mitzrim's staffs, but they were showing a "magic trick" in the black magic center of the world! R' Yosef Salant answers, we know that if a person injures another with something like a stick, he cannot blame the injury on the stick; it does not act of its own accord. However, l'halachah if you were to put a snake next to someone and the snake attacked him, the snake is liable and you are not since the snake acts by itself. Moshe and Aharon were telling Paroh that he was no longer the "staff" of Hashem, acting as a tool of HaKadosh boruch Hu's gezeirah. He was now a snake, acting on his own and therefore liable for his actions! 

Shabbos HaGadol: The Power of Shabbos

The Shabbos before Pesach is known as "Shabbat HaGadol" because of the miracle which occured on it. -Shulchan Aruch 430 

The Mishnah Berura explains that the miracle which took place was that on the 10th of Nissan, all of Bnei Yisrael took a lamb for the Korban Pesach and tied it to their beds. When the Mitzrim saw this and inquired about it, only to realize that their gods were going to be slaughtered, they were not able to say anything. Since that day was on a Shabbos, it was established to call the Shabbos before Pesach, "Shabbat HaGadol." 

 

Rav Gedalyah Schor brings down the question of the meforshim, why did Chazal connect the miracle to Shabbos and not to the 1oth of Nissan? Rather, we see from this that Shabbos itself was a necessary aid to Bnei Yisrael. 

 

In Parshat Pinchas, where the Moadim and their mitzvot are listed, the Torah talks about Shabbos before all of them as a sort of introduction. Why? The kedushah of Shabbos is established and upheld within Creation itself. The Yamim Tovim are called "Shabbaton" in the Torah because they are a continuation of the kedushah of Shabbos. It is first through the existence of Kedushat Shabbat that we have the other days. This is why Shabbos is mentioned first in the Torah. 

 

We learn in the Mechilta, "If you keep Shabbos, HaKadosh Boruch Hu will give you the 3 Moadim: Pesach, Atzeret (Shavuos), and Sukkot." This is because the Kedushat Shabbat includes within it the kedushah of these 3 chagim. Through guarding the sanctity of Shabbos, we come to their holiness as well. Shabbos is like a beam of light, which when shined through a glass prism, can be seen to break up into the 7 different lights that comprise it and are included in it (the Moadim).

 

We learn that the Shabbos before a chag includes within the Kedushat HaChag, and that besides for this, Shabbos gives strength to the upcoming days of the week. As such, it is only through the power of Shabbos Kodesh that Bnei Yisrael could then be prepared to receive the Moadim. This is why Bnei yisrael needed Shabbos in order to do the korban Pesach and recieve the Kedushat HaChag of Pesach. 

 

The power of Shabbos is so incredible that it encompasses everything! It affects the days of the year, the Moadim and regular days. We know that Shabbos is the culmination of Creation and that it was planned before everything else as well- "Sof ma'aseh b'machshava t'chilah." Hakadosh Boruch gave it influence over the week, and over us too. The midrash tells that Shabbos went before Hashem and sadly remarked how the other days of teh week had partners but Shabbos was left alone. Hashem replied that Bnei yisrael is Shabbos' partner. A miracle didn't occur on the 10th of Nissan which hapened to be a Shabbos in the year of Yetziat Mitrziam, Shabbos before Pesach that year happened to be the 10th of Nissan! Especially right before Pesach, Zman Cheiruteinu, it is important to remember the power of essence of Shabbos and what it is- "Beini u'vein Bnei Yisrael ot hee l'olam." Shabbos reminds us that we are connected to Hashem as we prepare to retell how he redeemed us to be His and recieve His Torah.     

Trumah: Internal Value vs External Beauty

דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה מֵאֵת כָּל אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִדְּבֶנּוּ לִבּוֹ תִּקְחוּ אֶת תְּרוּמָתִי: וְזֹאת הַתְּרוּמָה אֲשֶׁר תִּקְחוּ מֵאִתָּם זָהָב וָכֶסֶף וּנְחֹשֶׁת: וּתְכֵלֶת וְאַרְגָּמָן וְתוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי וְשֵׁשׁ וְעִזִּים: וְעֹרֹת אֵילִם מְאָדָּמִים וְעֹרֹת תְּחָשִׁים וַעֲצֵי שִׁטִּים: שֶׁמֶן לַמָּאֹר בְּשָׂמִים לְשֶׁמֶן הַמִּשְׁחָה וְלִקְטֹרֶת הַסַּמִּים: אַבְנֵי שֹׁהַם וְאַבְנֵי מִלֻּאִים לָאֵפֹד וְלַחֹשֶׁן: 

(תרומה כה:ב-ז)

After reading the text, it would seem evident from the order of items donated to the Mishkan that they are listed from most valuable (gold, silver, copper) to least valuable (oil, spices). The Or HaChaim HaKadosh asks, that it seems odd then, that very last on the list of contributions are the avnei shoham and avnei miluim. These were precious gems used in the clothing of the Kohen Gadol! Why would the Torah put these valuable and important items last when they should have been first?

The Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 33:8) teaches that beautiful stones and gems fell with the mann to Bnei Yisrael. The Nesiim gathered them and later gave them to the Mishkan (The Maharzu comments that there were only twelve stones in the urim v’tumim so they must have been given by the twelve Nesiim. The two avnei shoham, however, are still in question as to who brought them.). Similarly, the Gemara in Yoma (75a) says that the Ananei HaKavod brought the avnei shoham and the avnei miluim. If this is the case, then that would mean that they were brought without any exertion or chisaron kis; after all, they literally fell from the heavens. Therefore it makes sense that they were listed after those things which were given from by the exertion and expense of the contributor. The Or HaChaim HaKadosh teaches us an amazing thing here; these precious gems, components of the Bigdei Kehuna, may have seemed externally valuable, but lost their intrinsic value when they did not come from a tircha, from an effort.

Rashi on the pasuk, “V’yikchu Li Trumah,” says that trumah is a hafrashah- that Bnei Yisrael should set aside some money as a contribution. R’ Shlomo Yosef Zevin writes that there are three types of separation. Firstly, there is separating without intent to make a distinction of importance. An example of this would be making sure that the letters in a sefer Torah are separate from each other, which is not because one letter is holier and distinct from the other. Secondly, there is separating that which is holier from that which is not as holy. An example of this is Shabbos, which is intrinsically holier and distinct from the rest of the week, and we therefore separate it. The third type of separation is when the act of separation makes the object ditinct and thereby infuses it with kedushah. By trumot and maasrot, before separation the whole thing is tevel. But once part of it separated, it becomes special and is sanctified as trumah. This 3rd type of separation is the category of the contributions Bnei Yisrael gave to the Mishkan. It was through the act of separating that which they gave which made it special and holy. It wasn’t just a matter of taking objects which are already considered nice and beautiful and giving those; but rather the exertion of setting it aside and giving it made it intrinsically holy.

A lesson to take from this can be to realize the difference between a superficial serving of G-d, and a heartfelt, meaningful avodah of HaKadosh Boruch. Upholding the mitzvot is not just about doing the things which come easily. We are required to have some tircha, some ameilut- toil and sweat! Sometimes it can seem so nice and easy to just take out one the gems we have and give it to the Mishkan. But we need to ask ourselves whether that gem came from exertion on our part, or whether we just found it conveniently lying around and simply picked it up in order to give it. The sincerity and effort that go into performing a mitzvah makes all the difference and can easily outweigh the external beauty and value of that which has little intrinsic value.

Mishpatim: Kabbalat HaTorah & Talmud Torah

In Parshat Mishpatim, the Torah tells us that Moshe called out the Torah to Bnei Yisrael, to which they famously replied, “na’aseh v’nishmah.” – Vayomru kol asher diber Hashem naaseh v’nishmah. The Gemara in Shabbos (88a) says that at the time that when Bnei yisrael said this, “b’sha’ah she’hikdimu,” 600,000 angels came down and placed two crowns on every person; one for “na’aseh” and one for “nishmah.” The Beit HaLevi writes that it was only through the hakdama of “na’aseh” to “nishmah” that Bnei Yisrael were worthy of all of this. Why is this so? Furthermore, why did Bnei yisrael not say “nishmah v’na’aseh?

The Zohar HaKodesh teaches that “na’aseh” was a kabbalah for Kiyum HaMitzvot, while “nishmah” was a kabbalah for Limud HaTorah.  We know that there are two levels to learning Torah. The first is learning in order to know the mitzvot and how to perform them; this is relevant to everyone. After that, men have a mitzvat aseh to learn Torah for the sake of learning, not simply as means to Kiyum HaMitzvot. Had B”Y replied to Moshe with “nishmah v’na’aseh,” it would have seems like they were accepting the mitzvot, but that they were simply forced to learn Torah in order to know how to perform them; nishmah would merely be a means to na’aseh and it would be only one kabbalah. In replying the way they did, they said that first of all “na’aseh,” we will do the mitzvot, including necessary learning of the Torah, and then “nishmah,” we will learn the words of Torah for the sake of Talmud Torah. It is now clear that as a result of this hakdama, Bnei yisrael actually created two kabbalot and thus merited the adornment of two crowns.    

Today, we still carry the Kabbalat HaTorah that we accepted thousands of years ago. Every morning we recite the Birchot HaTorah and say “asher kidishanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu la’asok b’divrei Torah,” and “asher bachar banu mikol ha’amim v’natan lanu et Torato.” An inherent part of this is to realize the two factors in this. We accept upon ourselves to learn in order to fulfill the mitzvot properly and to learn Torah for the sake of learning. However, this requires us to properly devote ourselves, not simply to superficial learning, but to a Limud HaTorah through which we understand the word and will of Hashem. As Rashi writes in the beginning of the Parshah, “V’eileh hamishpatim asher tasim lif’neihem”- Moshe did not simply teach the Torah two or three times so that Bnei Yisrael were familiar with it, but many times that it was set before them with proper understanding “like a table prepared to be eaten from.” Through proper ameilut and dedication to our kabbalah, we can attain the highest level of na’aseh v’nishmah and bring ourselves closer to HaKadosh Boruch Hu. 

The Slonimer Rebbe writes that a person constantly has times of aliyah and yeridah throughout his life; there is rising followed by falling, followed by yet another rising. But a Jew must keep himself clinging to Hashem even when he is in a state of yeridah. This was the main part of Kabbalat HaTorah; that Bnei Yisrael would remain attached to Hashem even when they were in a lowly state. They therefore preceded “na’aseh” to “nishmah” to say that even when they didn’t understand and were in a lowly state, they would remain close to HaKadosh Boruch Hu. After this, when Bnei Yisrael have a time of aliyah, they reach the level of “nishmah” and attain the highest level cleaving to Hashem. 

Waking Up: Modeh Ani

I gratefully thank You, O living and eternal King, for You have returned my soul within me with compassion- abudnant is Your faithfulness! (Artscroll Siddur)

Every morning we wake up and thank the Ribbono shel Olam for restoring our neshamot to our bodies with the tfillah of Modeh Ani. Of course, like anything else, this can unfortunately develop over time into a habitual act. When we take the time to think about it, we should really be wondering what to have in mind while saying it. 

The Shulchan Aruch writes that one should arise in the morning like a lion to serve Hashem (1:1).  The Rama (ibid) also writes that immediately upon awaking, a person should get up with zrizut to serve Hashem. The Mishnah Berurah comments that as he gets up, it is good to say: "Modeh ani lifanecha, Melech Chai v'Kayam, she'hechezarta bi nishmati b'chemela, Rabbah Emunatecha." He quotes the Yad Efraim that one should pronounce "b'chemla" with an etnachta (as the end of the sentence or phrase), and then say the words "Rabbah Emunatecha" together. It's not problematic to say this tfillah before netilat yadayim since there is no mention of Hashem's name. Interestingly, R' Yaakov Emden tz"l disagrees and maintains that one should not even say this before washing his hands, but should rather contemplate the words and this is sufficient (Siddur Beit Yaakov). 

The Gemara in Brachot (60b) actually lists the brachot one should make upon waking up; the first being "Elokai Neshama" to thank Hashem for returning our neshamot. Rabbeinu Yonah has a problem with this, that Chazal set up to say berachot like this in the Gemara becasue they were so holy and made sure to get up and wash their hands in a careful way so as to be able to say the berachot then. But for us today, we are not on such a level and therefore can't say brachot until after netilat yadayim. So the Seder HaYom writes that today, we say Modeh Ani first. 

"Modeh Ani Lifanecha"- Wefulfill that which the Rama writes to uphold the pasuk "Shiviti Hashem L'negdi Tamid."  We must make sure to realize what we say as we say it. We thank Hashem because He is before us and is the source of everything. "Melech Chai V'Kayam"- Just as we thank Hashem, our Melech, the Melech Malchei HaMelachim, for returning our neshamah, we must remember that we are his servants, and use our returned neshamot for His avodah! When one says "b'chemla," he should have in mind that it refers to compassion over something that it was not lost. How fortunate are we that HaKadosh Boruch returns our neshamot to our bodies every morning! "Rabbah Emunatecha"- The way of man is that when one gives his a freind something new to watch, he will get it back tattered & dirty. But when we give our neshamot to Hashem every night, dirty and worn out, He returns them as if they were new! Furthermore, this does not necessarily pertain only to the neshamah, but to the entire world. At night, the world is as if it is not there but in the hand of Hashem, and He renews it every day. (Siddur Maharal M'Prauge) Hodu La'Hashem Ki Tov Ki L'Olam Chasdo!  

 

(Picture from www.Judaica18.com)

Parshat Va'era

Some Torah shared at the table on Shabbos:

וַיַּעַשׂ יְדֹוָד אֶת הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה מִמָּחֳרָת וַיָּמָת כֹּל מִקְנֵה מִצְרָיִם וּמִמִּקְנֵה בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא מֵת אֶחָד: וַיִּשְׁלַח פַּרְעֹה וְהִנֵּה לֹא מֵת מִמִּקְנֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד אֶחָד וַיִּכְבַּד לֵב פַּרְעֹה וְלֹא שִׁלַּח אֶת הָעָם:

וארא ט:ו-ז

Hashem sent the plague of pestilence which wiped out the livestock of Mitzraim while leaving the animals of Bnei Yisrael untouched. It seems odd then, that the Torah should tell us that Paroh sent out his ervants to see what had happened, and upon hearing that none were killed from among the livestock of Bnei Yisrael, his heart was hardened. Wouldn't hearing that such a thing happened cause the opposite to occur?

This can be explained according to the Malbim who writes that when it says here לא מת ממקנה ישראל עד אחד, it is like when the Torah says of the Mitzrim by the Yam Suf, לא נשאר בהם עד אחד. Chazal explain that Paroh alone survived, meaning that this phrase means "up to but not including this one that survived." Similar language is used in Sefer Shoftim by the battle of Devorah, where we know that Sisra did survive. He writes that here by the Makkah of Dever, if we read it properly according to this understanding, one animal from Bnei Yisrael was killed. It was an animal belonging to the son of a Jewish mother and a Mitzri father. According to Jewish law he was considered a Mitzri in regards to his property. However, when Paroh heard of this he considered the man to be Jewish like his mother. Therefore, in his eyes an animal had died from Bnei Yisrael and Moshe's words had not been fulfilled. According to this is we can better understand why Paroh's heart then hardened.