Parshas Bechukosai

You Don’t Have to Do It!

“If you will walk in my statutes….” (Vayikra 26:3)

There was a group of people who were travelling by boat to America, with a stopover in France. One of the members of the group felt that it was important that he learn the French language to be prepared for his stay in France. He spent much of his time before the trip and while he was on the boat, learning French. When the boat docked in France, this fellow was able to converse in a fluent French. He felt good about himself, and all the other travelers were very impressed. However, the boat was only in France for a few days. When the boat left France, his knowledge of the French language was useless. He did not have enough time to learn the English language with the time that he had left on the boat. He had spent all his time and energy on what he felt was important. Unfortunately, he did not realize until too late that he had used his time poorly. He should have spent all his time learning the English language which was needed for his ultimate destination. (based on a story by Rabbi Peysach Krohn)

The Midrash Rabba (Vayikra 35:1) quotes a pasuk in Tehillim, “I considered my ways, and I turned my feet to your testimonies.” (Tehillim 119:59). King David was saying to Hashem that every day he would consider his daily schedule. He decided where he had to go and what he had to do. He would think that “To place ‘x’ and to the home of ‘y’ am I walking”. He would start going to those places, but, instead, his feet would bring him to the synagogues and to the Houses of Study, to learn Torah.

The Midrash is not telling us that King David had planned “fun” outings every day, just to find that his feet “had other ideas” and led him to the beis medrash to learn Torah. Rather, King David had planned urgent matters that a king had to be involved with. However, instead of taking care of those matters, he went to learn Torah.

Why did King David praise himself for ignoring important government matters to learn Torah? After all, the halacha is that you are permitted to stop learning to perform a mitzvah that only you can do! Furthermore, the Chofetz Chaim zt”l gives the definition of  a masmid, one who immersed in learning Torah. The Chofetz Chaim zt”l says that he is one who learns when he is supposed to and stops learning when he is supposed to do other things.

Obviously, King David was a responsible king who knew the halacha that there were times that he was obligated to stop learning. Of course, he fulfilled all his necessary obligations. However, it is not always easy to distinguish between what is absolutely necessary and what is not. It is not always easy to discern what you must do yourself and what you can confidently delegate to someone else. The yetzer hara always tries to make you feel that you must do more and spend less time in the beis medrash. This was King David’s challenge every day. He had to determine what he had to do and what could be pushed off, what needed more of his time and what did not, and what could be done by someone else, and what he had to do.

It was King David’s overwhelming love for Torah, that helped him solve his dilemma as to when to learn and when to stop, to accomplish other tasks that only he could do. His thirst for Torah helped him determine how to spend his time. Without his overwhelming love for Torah, he would have spent less time learning and more time taking care of matters that he had initially thought were incumbent upon him.

King David’s challenge is our challenge. There are so many activities throughout the day that we feel we must do. And they are all important! However, if we will develop a thirst for Torah, we will be able to remove our blinders and realize that we do not have to do all those things. Or we will realize that we can accomplish those tasks in much less time than we had planned. Then we will discover more free time than we thought we had. We will then have more time to learn Torah, which is what Hashem created us to do.

Based on a dvar Torah by Rabbi Henach Leibowitz zt”l.

Parshas Behar

Take a Deep Breath, Relax, & Be Happy!

“The land shall not be sold in perpetuity [forever], for the land is Mine; you are but strangers and residents with Me.” (Vayikra 25:23)

Shimon owned a clothing store. One day, a competitor opened a clothing store across the street. Shimon went across to see the owner of the new store. People watching thought that he was going to complain that the new store was going to affect his business. Instead, Shimon offered the competitor business advice and wished him much success. The competitor was in shock! Shimon explained that Hashem was able to provide for both of their needs. Shimon’s faith in Hashem freed him from anger & anxiety. (Wings of Faith Rabbi Asher Rubenstein zt”l on Shaar HaBitachon, written by Rabbi Yosef Tropper)

One aspect of the mitzvah of Shmita is that every seventh year, farmers in the land of Israel are commanded not to work their land. After 7 Shmita cycles, the 50^th year is called Yovel. Farmers are commanded not to work their land for both the 49^th and 50^th years. During the Yovel year, all Jewish slaves are freed even if they served less than the 6-year minimum. Additionally, all ancestral land that previously had been sold is returned to its original owners.

It is normal for one to feel warm ties to his house and his property. Imagine if you were living in your home for most of your life. You worked hard every year in your garden, beautifying it, by planting beautiful flowers. You had a small orchard and after years of hard work, the orchard was finally producing delicious fruit. You were noticing that your efforts were paying dividends. You were feeling fulfilled and satisfied, seeing the results of your hard work. One day, you received a notice in the mail from the city government. They were planning to build a highway through your property. You were going to have to leave all your good memories and hard work behind. When the day finally arrived, you felt sad and dejected.

This is how the farmer could feel. After 50 years, he was obligated to return the ancestral land that he had bought years ago. He may feel that he is giving away a part of himself. It was his land and now he must return it! Rashi explains, to console him the Torah adds, “the land is Mine”. Hashem is telling the person that he isn’t selling his own land that he lived on for 50 years. The land never belonged to him in the first place! It was Hashem’s land! Hashem was nice enough to permit him to stay on the land for the past 50 years.

Rabbeinu Bachya in his sefer Chovos HaLevavos (Sha’ar Cheshbon HaNefesh 3:30) describes how this pasuk expects the farmer to understand his situation. He should consider himself a stranger in a strange land. He doesn’t know anyone, and no one knows him. The king has pity on him and is kind enough to allow him to stay. The king sustains him and tells him to abide by certain rules. The king tells him to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

As mentioned earlier, Rashi explains that the reason the Torah said, “the land is Mine” was to make the buyer feel better when he had to give back the land to its original owner. According to the explanation of the Chovos HaLevavos, how is the pasuk making the person feel better? If anything, it seems to make him feel worse! It seems to make him feel lonely and alone. It seems to make him feel that he does not belong, and that his stay is temporary.

Rabbi Henach Leibowitz zt”l explains that this knowledge will make the person feel better. It will help him to realize that he is totally in Hashem’s hands and that Hashem is the only One upon whom he can rely. Knowing that Hashem can help him, and that Hashem only wants the best for him, will be the source of his feeling peace and tranquility. His total reliance on Hashem will bring him true joy and inner peace. He can then feel good about giving away the land, because Hashem, who only wants the best for him, is telling him to return it.

A young dove was dragging his feet through life, feeling bad about himself and his problems. One day, he shared his woes with an older bird. The older bird asked, “Why don’t you just fly?” “How”, asked the younger bird? “Use your wings!” exclaimed the older bird. “Haven’t you noticed those feathers and bones attached to your body?! Just flap them and you will soar above it all!”

When we go through life feeling bad about our challenges, we must remember that we have powerful wings. We have Wings of Faith that will carry us wherever we need to go! (Wings of Faith Rabbi Asher Rubenstein zt”l on Shaar HaBitachon, written by Rabbi Yosef Tropper)

There are events in life that feel upsetting, frustrating, and stressful. We can remain calm and feel at peace. The trick is to keep telling ourselves that Hashem is running the world and Hashem knows what is truly best for us, in the “big picture”. Hashem cares about us more than we can imagine.

Hashem knows better than we do, what we truly need at each step of the way and in the “long-run”.

Parshas Emor

You can be a Super-Hero!

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall completely remove the corners of your field, and you shall not gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger, I am Hashem your G-D.” (Vayikra 23:22)

Your friend, Shimon, called you to tell you an amazing story. He received a phone call from a long-lost uncle. His uncle told him that he was giving him one million dollars! Shimon was ecstatic! His uncle then said that Shimon should give $20,000 of that money to a specific cousin.

If you were Shimon, how would YOU feel about that condition? Would you be upset that you were asked to give away the $20,000? Would you ignore the request, do it begrudgingly, or be happy to do it, considering all the other money that you had received?

The Talmud (Bava Basra 10A) brings a conversation between the evil Roman governor, Turnus Rufus, and the great sage, Rabbi Akiva. Turnus Rufus asked Rabbi Akiva: If your G-d loves the poor, why does He not support them Himself? Rabbi Akiva said to him: He commands us to sustain the poor, so that we will be saved from the judgment of Gehinom through the charity that we give them.

Rabbi Yocḥanan ben Zakkai once dreamt that his nephews were destined to lose seven hundred dinars over the course of the year. He did not tell his nephews about the dream but encouraged them to give a lot of money to tzedakah. They ended up giving the full seven hundred dinars less seventeen. On Yom Kippur eve, the government sent messengers who took seventeen dinars from them. Rabbi Yocḥanan ben Zakkai told them not to worry, since the government would not take any more money from them. The money that they had given to tzedakah was in lieu of the other 683 dinars that the government would have taken.

It says in Mishlei (Proverbs 19:17), “He who graciously gives to the poor, makes a loan to Hashem. That which he has given, Hashem will pay him back.” Giving to the poor is considered as if one had granted a loan to Hashem! Rashi says that the charity that one gives, defends him before the Divine strict standard of justice. The Midrash Tanchuma says, “In the future, when your son or daughter becomes deathly ill, I will recall in their behalf the good deed that you had performed for the poor man, and I will save them from death. I will repay you soul for soul”.

It says in our Parsha (Vayikra 23:22), “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger, I am Hashem your G-D.”

A farmer, more than any other person, has the best opportunity to develop a belief in Hashem and a realization that Hashem controls the World. A farmer cannot help but notice that Hashem constantly determines the success of his crop. Will there be enough rain to help his crops grow? Will there be an infestation of insects that will destroy his crop? Will the climate be too harsh, either intensely hot or intensely cold, thus destroying his crops? When the farmer sees a successful crop, he should clearly understand that it is a blessing from Hashem. If Hashem would ask him to leave part of his harvest for the poor, it should not be a problem. The farmer is similar, to the man who had received 1 million dollars from his uncle and was then asked to give a small percentage of it to another cousin. He should be happy to follow Hashem’s directive and share a portion of his bounty with the poor.

All that we have are a gift from Hashem. If Hashem wants us to share our wealth with those Jews who are less fortunate, of course we should do so.

The extent to which Hashem values the actions of the farmer, or anyone who helps the poor, goes even further!

Rashi quotes a Sifra (Emor, Chapter 13 11): Rav Avdima the son of Rav Yosef asked why the Torah places the law concerning the corner of the field, in the middle of the group of psukim that discuss the various Holidays. First, the Torah discusses the sacrifices given on Pesach and Succos. Next, it discusses the mitzvah of leaving a corner of one’s field for the poor. Then, the Torah discusses the sacrifices brought on Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Succos. Rashi answers that it teaches us that one who leaves his gleanings, his forgotten sheaves, and the corner of his field to the poor, is regarded as though he had built the Beis Hamikdash and had offered his sacrifices there. Astounding! All that the farmer has, is from Hashem. Yet, if he leaves part of it for the poor, he is considered a hero! It is as if he, alone, caused the Third Beis Hamikdash to be built and then offered sacrifices therein!

Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l (sefer Derash Moshe)- asks why the act of leaving these parts of the field to the poor is considered as if one had built the Beis Hamikdash and had brought korbanos there. Rav Moshe zt”l answers that in the merit of tzedakah, the Jews will be redeemed quickly and the Beis Hamikdash will be built. If most Jews would copy the actions of the farmer and give their proper share of tzedakah then Mashiach would come, the Beis Hamikdash would be rebuilt, and korbanos would again be sacrificed. Since this farmer did all that he, personally, could, he gets full credit and reward as if the Beis Hamikdash was built!

All that we have is a gift from Hashem. Yet, Hashem considers us and our actions to be special
when we follow Hashem’s directive to share what He gave us with those in need.
We even receive the reward of one who is responsible for the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash!

Parshas Kedoshim

Don’t Give Up!

“And you should love your friend as yourself, I am Hashem.” (19:18)

Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam (January 10, 1905 – June 18, 1994) was the founding Rebbe of the Sanz-Klausenburg Chasidic dynasty. He led thousands of followers in the town of Klausenburg, Romania, before World War II. His wife, eleven children and most of his followers were murdered by the Nazis. Nonetheless, he did not lose faith or hope. He did NOT give up! After the war, he continued to serve as an inspirational leader for the Jews in the Displaced Persons camps where he ran soup kitchens, cared for countless orphans, and opened a yeshivah and a Bais Yaakov school.

After the war, he moved to New York, got remarried, and had seven more children. Later, he moved to Israel. He re-established his dynasty in the United States and Israel. He opened numerous yeshivos, established the town of Kiryat Sanz and founded the Sanz Medical Center/Ladiano Hospital.

During the time between Pesach and Shavuos, Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 students died! Rabbi Akiva could have wallowed in depression and despair from the tragedy of the deaths of his multitude of students. Yet he did not! He accepted the challenge that he was given and persevered, going forward. Rashi (Yevamos 62B) says that because of the deaths, Torah was forgotten. The Talmud says that Rabbi Akiva started all over again and taught Torah to Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yossi, Rabbi Shimon, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua. He went from teaching 24,000 students to teaching only 5. Yet, those five students upheld the study of Torah at that time and transmitted the Torah to future generations.

Despite the enormity of the challenges, both Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Halberstam persevered.

Their actions changed the future path for the Jewish People.

The way we respond to challenges impacts our future path and can also impact the future path for the Jewish People.

The question remains, why did Rabbi Akiva’s students perish?  They were great people! The Talmud (Yevamos 62B) says that they did not show the proper level of respect to each other. Since they were great, more was expected of them, and Hashem judged them very stringently. We can learn from what happened to them how important it is to show respect to one another. Rabbi Yaakov Neiman in his sefer, Darchei Mussar (as quoted by Rabbi Yisroel Beifus in Yalkut Lekach Tov), posits that a lack of respect to one another stems from a lack of faith in Hashem. If one truly believes that Hashem created the world and the focal point of creation is man, who is created in the image of Hashem, then it is impossible not to honor man. One must especially honor a fellow Jew who is considered Hashem’s child. How can one not honor the child of a king? This could be the explanation of the pasuk, “And you should love your friend as yourself, I am Hashem.”  “I am Hashem” is the reason for loving your friend as yourself. That is, since everyone is created in the image of Hashem, when you honor someone, it is as if you are honoring Hashem.

The true test of love for another is if you only notice their positive qualities and not their faults. As it says in Mishlei (10:12) that “love covers up all faults”.

Rabbi Akiva was one who only noticed the positive. The Talmud (Makkos 24A) relates that Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, Rabbi Yehoshua, and Rabbi Akiva were walking by the Temple Mount. When they saw a fox emerge from the ruins of the Holy of Holies, they began crying. Rabbi Akiva began laughing. The Sages were surprised at Rabbi Akiva’s reaction. He explained that there were two prophecies that were linked. The first prophecy was that Jerusalem will become a rubble and that foxes will emerge from the Holy of Holies. When Rabbi Akiva saw the foxes emerging from the Holy of Holies, he saw that the first prophecy was fulfilled. That meant that the second prophecy which was dependent on the first, would also be fulfilled. That filled him with hope since the second prophecy was that the Jewish People will return to Jerusalem. “The old men and women will be in the squares of Jerusalem.” “And the squares of the city shall be crowded with boys and girls playing.” (Zecharya 8:4-5)

During this time between Pesach and Shavuos, we should try to imbibe this lesson.

Let us try to honor Hashem by honoring His children and only noticing their positive attributes.
Imagine how much happier we will be!
It will also save us from feeling jealous and from fighting.
It will increase love for our fellow Jew, bringing peace and happiness,
helping to rebuild the Beis HaMikdash speedily, in our day.