Nahar U’Pashtei Parshas Behar Bechukosai

Make Sure You Care

The mitzvos of shemittah and yovel discussed in Parshas Behar are treated by the Torah with more gravity than many other mitzvos. The pasuk states that the punishment for disregarding theses laws is nothing short of Exile; Then, the land will be appeased of its shemittos, all the days of the destruction, and you will be in the land of your enemies; then the Land will rest etc. Indeed, Galus Bavel lasted exactly seventy years, equal to the amount of shemittos and yovelos that were not properly observed during the times of the first Beis HaMikdash. Rashi tallies these years as follows: There were 436 years that Klal Yisroel were in Eretz Yisrael and did not keep these mitzvos properly. For every hundred years, there are fourteen shemittos and two yovel years. So, in four hundred years, there were sixty-four years when the laws were not kept. In the remaining 36 years there are five shemittos, bringing the total to 69 years that were “owed”. Because the nation had begun the next seven-year cycle without intent to keep shemittah, when the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash interrupted their count, they were punished for this last year as well. This brought the total to the 70 years of exile. What we must take note of here is that all eight yovel years of the 436-year period are counted. But the laws of yovel are different than those of shemittah in that while shemittah takes place in the Land no matter what the circumstances, yovel has certain conditions that must be met in order for the year to be sanctified as yovel. If any one of the three laws of abolishment of outstanding loans, the return of ancestral land, or the emancipation of Jewish slaves will not take place, yovel is not declared! Thus, while mathematically speaking the calculation Rashi presents is sound, who is to say that yovel was actually declared in some of those later yovels? During the First Temple era there were times were Klal Yisrael were led by wicked kings who served idols, and some who dragged the nation along with them in their sinful ways. There were many people who did not observe the Torah, and the laws of yovel would likely. have been among the first to go! Why then is it so simple that the yovel years should be counted in calculating the exile. The answer is that Klal Yisroel were punished for yovel regardless because they were so indifferent to Hashem’s will that they never bothered to investigate if yovel should be declared or not. If they would have cared to look into it, perhaps they would have seen that yovel should be skipped for one reason or another, but they didn’t care that much. They were so far from the dedication one needs to live as a Torah Jew that it made no difference to them to take the time to check if yovel should be declared or not. And this indifference ended up costing them years in a dark and terrible Exile! This lesson lives on for us today as well. Do we take the time needed to learn how to grow and overcome obstacles in our avodah? Do we push ourselves to become better people whenever possible; to perfect our observance and fulfill the mitzvosproperly? There are many things a person can hide behind that will quiet his conscience and allow him to continue on with his life as usual. But not to care; not to want to be better and to grow, is unacceptable. When a person has this attitude, growth in Torah and mitzvos is almost impossible. Hashem exiled his nation because they didn’t care. Let us make sure to remain cognizant of what Hashem wants us to do. A Project of the YSI Alumni Association Written by R’ Moshe Weiss

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Nahar U'Pashtei Parshas Emor

Living Bitachon

In Parshas Emor we find a lengthy passage that details the korbanos of the various moadim throughout the year. Just after discussing the offerings and Yom Tov of Shavuos and before it introduces the offerings of Rosh HaShannah, the Torah places a seemingly unrelated verse. The pasuk tells us of the commandments of leket, shikchah, and pe’ah. These are various categories of grain from the harvest that the owner of the field must leave for the poor as a gift. What do these unique forms of charity have to do with the holidays, that the Torah would place them here? Rashi provides the answer, citing Chazal: This is to teach that anyone who gives leket, shikchah, and pe’ah to the poor in the proper way, it is considered as if he built the Beis HaMikdash, and sacrificed korbanos therein! Let us examine, then, what this correlation between gifts of the poor and Festival offerings is. Is this just a great mitzvah, and therefore the reward is great, or is there is a deeper meaning in giving these gifts to the poor that is tantamount to offering korbanos in the Beis HaMikdash? The answer is that by placing this directive to give freely and generously to the poor in the context of korbanos, the Torah is teaching us what it means to make a korban part of our lives. As we discussed in the past, when one brings a korban, for example an olah, the point of the offering is to demonstrate with an action the belief (or the striving toward the belief) of a deeper understanding of Hashem and his sovereignty. We live mired in the pursuit of parnassah, many times losing sight of the fact that everything is from Hashem and nothing we can do can directly affect money. Ultimately Hashem provides for a person as He sees to be good, and our entire arena of the quest for parnassah is only hishtadlus. When a person brings his animal for a korban, thereby “wasting” it in the service of Hashem, he is forced, and in fact is meant, to feel that his loss is of no consequence. Hashem is the true Giver and can replace the monetary aspect of this animal in an instant. This is the level that Hashem desires of one who comes forth with an olah. And then, Hashem wants this new attitude of bitachon to spill over to all of our actions. When we are approached by a person in need, we should not be burdened by him or be worried that if we provide his needs ours will remain lacking! Hashem is sending this poor man, and asking us to trust that He will provide! We should give charity freely and generously, for we should truly feel that Hashem can replace our money in an instant! This is the message of leket, shikchah, and pe’ah in our parshah. When one finally reaps his crop, and is ready to celebrate the work of his hands, this is a prime time for a person to perhaps lose focus, and believe that money comes to a person by his own means. The Torah is telling us; give the gifts to the poor properly. Do not be miserly or bitter. For when you succeed in withstanding the trials of the harvest with true bitachon, it is as if you have brought a korban. You will have brought the message of the korbanos into reality, and have reached these lofty madreigos! A Project of the YSI Alumni Association Written by R’ Moshe Weiss

Nahar U_Pashtei Parshas Emor 5781

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Nahar U'Pashtei Parshas Acharei Mos-Kiddoshim

Frum-style

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In Parshas Acharei Mos we learn of the prohibitions of neveilah, an animal that did not have proper ritual slaughter, and treifah, an animal that was not healthy enough to live out the year, even if it did undergo proper shechitah. These laws represent qualifications that are necessary for kashrus even if the animal is of a permitted species. The issue of a cow being a treifah will render it forbidden like pig and camel. This brings to mind a phenomenon quite commonly found among semi-observant Jews known as kosher-style. Non-religious folks invented this set of kosher rules to create a sort of feel-good approach to kosher. They will not eat pig and shellfish, and will not eat milk and meat together, but proper slaughter and the laws of tereifos are brushed over. Fish and meat are eaten together, and most do not have separate sets of utensils for meat and dairy. Vegetables are not checked for insects, and chometz is not sold. A frum Jew might wonder what the point of such a system is, if kosher-style seem to be missing the boat entirely. Chometz presents a major major kashrus issue, possibly even more than pork! Not paying attention to slaughtering an animal properly is tantamount to eating pork! What are these people doing? What does their system accomplish? The answer is truly harrowing. What are these people after in life? They do not subjugate themselves to Hashem and His Torah even one iota. They live lives run by their own base desires, governed by whatever strikes their fancy. The only reason they restrict themselves to kosher-style is to quiet their consciouses and allow themselves to truly indulge in this world without guilt! Hence the shallowness and absurdity of the concept. All kosher-style needs to be is enough for the person to convince himself that he is eating kosher, and to feel as though he is doing a good thing, and all is well. They would eat pig as well, if only there was a way to make it feel kosher to them. What does this have to do with us? The answer is that it has much more to do with us than we would care to admit. We are presented with a conflict between the true will of Hashem vs. our own wants on an almost daily basis, in many different areas. It is truly virtuous for a person to put aside his own ideals, and what he feels he needs, to bend to the Torah’s perspective. But many times, due to peer pressure, or the pull of temptation itself, we stumble. Then, the attitude of kosher-style comes into play. The yetzer hara shields the absurdity and downright contradictory nature of the values we sometimes represent with the façade of looking and acting like everyone else. A person can easily think everything is fine, so long as he blends into the whirlwind of society. The danger is real. We must take an honest look at what motives push our decisions and guide our lives. What is hidden under our “frum-style”, and what are we in truth? May we be zoche to make our service of Hashem really reflect Hashem’s will. A Project of the YSI Alumni Association Written by R’ Moshe Weiss