Nahar U'Pashtei Parshas Tazria-Metzora

נהר ופשטיה Nahar U’Pashtei A Weekly Insight From מרן הרה״ג ר׳ שלו׳ ראובן פיינשטיין שליט״א לע״נ משה בן צבי אלטע שרה חנה בת אליהו מירל בת משה Issue #119 פרשת תזריעמצורע/ספירה

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Kavod HaTorah

Starting from the second day of Pesach, we begin counting the Omer. This is the beginning of the period known as the Yemei Hasefirah, which serve as a step-by-step preparation for kabbalas haTorah. Indeed, many people choose a middah to work on each day, or perhaps they study the forty-eight kinyani Torah, all in the quest of readying themselves to connect to Torah and its greatness. There are Kabalistic implications to these days as well, again, striving to reach Shavuous on a level of greatness. But then, later in our history, the same time period was when R’ Akiva’s 24,000 students died. Thousands upon thousands of Torah scholars died during this period of Sefirah, and so much potential Torah was lost forever. This tragedy prompted Chazal to enact a period of mourning during the Yemei Hasefirah for future generations. And so, we are now presented each year with these precious days leading up to mattan Torah, but they are steeped in sadness as well. Was it just happenstance that brought these two goals together; to mourn, and to prepare ourselves? Or did Chazal intend for us to utilize both attitudes together? The answer lies in uncovering why it was that so many of the great R’ Akiva’s disciples were killed. Chazal tell us that it was because they did not act with honor toward each other. Now, of course this does not mean that they engaged in petty fights and the like. These were extremely pious individuals, as great as Tanaim! Rather, it means that because they grew up together and knew each other from a young age, they did not properly revere one another for their Torah accomplishments. They were friendly with one another, and did not recognize and respect the honor of Torah that was really due their fellows to the utmost degree as they should have. Now, although this was indeed a small infraction even for men of their stature, the mesorah of Torah handed down through the generations could not pass through them. The chain of mesorah needed to pure and intact with kavod HaTorah to the fullest. Because these students failed to see past their friendship, and notice the grandeur of Torah, they were deemed unfit to carry the Torah forward. We have now, then, the reason we mourn these great men during Sefirah. As we get closer to Shavuous, we try and improve ourselves, and see what we can do better. What was I lacking in the past, and what can I do to make myself able to accept more of the Torah and its guidance? And perhaps we have this challenge as well! Is kavod HaTorah on the mantle it belongs in our lives and priorities? Or do we use it only when it comes in handy, and pay no real heed to those who embody it? Are we ready to accept and carry on the mesorah to the next generation, complete with the total reverence and acceptance of Torah? As the opportunity of kabalas HaTorah draws near, we should take a moment to mourn these great men, and realize that if we treat the talmidei chachomim we know with the right degree of honor that is due them, we too can have a chance to become part of the mesorah. A Project of the YSI Alumni Association Written by R’ Moshe Weiss

Nahar U_Pashtei Tazria Metzora

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Nahar U’Pashtei Parshas Shemini

Mesorah is the Key

Parshas Shemini tells of the eighth day, the day where at last Aharon HaKohen and his sons were to perform the avodah in the Mishkan. So much work and planning had led up to this moment, and Klal Yisroel would now finally be able to connect with Hashem through this most awesome avenue. But then something went horribly wrong. Nadav and Avihu, the two elder sons of Aharon, lost their lives. There are many opinions brought as to why exactly these great men were killed. Perhaps it was because they thought themselves greater than, and looked to replace, Moshe and Aharon; or perhaps they had drunk some wine before entering to serve before Hashem at this most awesome time. A third opinion is that they had benefited improperly from the visage of Hashem at Har Sinai, and a fourth explains that they made a conscious decision to remain unmarried. Now, according to all of these opinions, it can be understood why specifically these two sons of Aharon were killed. Rashi to Devarim 9:20, however, seems to indicate that Aaron’s sons died now as a punishment for his sin at the Eigel. Moshe prayed on his behalf, and was able to save half of Aharon’s sons. Now, if in reality Aharon deserved to lose all four of his children, why were Nadav and Avihu chosen? I believe that the answer lies in another interpretation cited by Chazal, which is that Nadav and Avihu had sinned by issuing a halachic ruling in front of their Rebbi, Moshe Rabbeinu. The fact that they could act on their own opinion despite the presence of Moshe showed their lack of total adherence to the mesorah; of cleaving to one’s Rebbi and following his direction whether one can make sense of it or not. If they had asked if they may bring a new fire before Hashem, they would of course have been instructed not to do so. Nadav and Avihu had reasoned that although Hashem had commanded that a fire from Heaven be used, there was more than one way to achieve the pleasantness of a korban before Hashem. We will bring our own fire and please Him as well. And in a way, the entire mistake that Aharon made by the Eigel was that he made his own calculations, and allowed the nation opportunity to sin. He reasoned that if they were to kill him as they had Chur, slaying both the Kohen and the Navi on one day, there would be no teshuvah possible. He therefore did whatever he could to keep them from committing this sin, and the result was the Eigel. When Moshe davened to save Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu could not be saved, for they still retained this tiny flaw that would affect the mesorah of the nation. Another unrelated sin might have made Nadav and Avihu liable to be punished, but Aharon’s merit would have protected them. The reason they were liable to be punished on account of Aharon’s sin was because they were found lacking of the same of the issue that had affected Aharon at that time. And this weakness of our mesorah is something that plagues us today. How many of us can say that we follow daas Torah in all that we strive for? Many people unfortunately only seek the Torah’s direction when they cannot think of another solution! We must find a Rebbi who can guide us constantly, and teach us how to live the way the Torah wants us to. To state this point further; when one’s decisions are clouded by ulterior motives, his actions are not based exclusively in the mesorah. When one is controlled by peer pressure or his policies shaped by fear or need; this is not acting based on the mesorah. Mesorah means that one listens to one voice, and is not moved by anything else. A Project of the YSI Alumni Association Written by R’ Moshe Weiss

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Nahar U'Pashtei Pesach 3

Preparing For Redemption

As we sit on the precipice of this most unusual Erev Pesach Ha”l, the celebration of our cheirus, let us contemplate the purpose, and therefore the import, of Galus. Avraham Avinu was told by Hashem that his beloved children would be strangers in a foreign land, and they would suffer. Not only that, but they would endure this exile for four hundred years! On the surface it would definitely seem that Avraham was being punished, and indeed there are those who interpret the pesukim as such. But I believe that there is something much deeper here, and I would learn that there was no punishment here at all. Avraham had been alive to watch the previous fathers of religion fail, as their ideas and movements had died with them. Both Adam and Noach were not successful in creating a lasting movement that would carry Yiras Shamayim through the trials of time. For this reason, Avraham beseeched Hashem for his own children; he begged for Hashem to give him offspring, direct descendants that he could teach, and who continue his derech. Hashem responded with a promise that not only would Avraham have these children, but that they would grow in spirituality, and would flourish to inheret Eretz Yisrael! It was here that the narrative of bameh aidah began. Avraham wanted to know how he would know that his children would indeed continue and march on in the ways of Hashem. How could he be sure that their conviction would be strong; that their faith would remain intact? To this, Hashem replied that our offerings would be our strength. This alluded not only to actual korbanos, but also to the levels of Emunah and Bitachon that accompany Klal Yisroel, which could be “offered” at any time or place. Klal Yisroel would endure by utilizing Bitachon in the face of their trials, thus cementing their relationship with Hashem. Tefillah too, is an expression of the belief that Hashem can do everything, and that He has the power to change things in the blink of an eye. When a nation is living with Hashem, no amount of suffering can deter them. They will always seek through the darkness and find the light of Hashem’s smiling face. The decree of our suffering in Mitzrayim for four hundred years was not meant to punish us, but rather was intended to build our faith into something resilient and impenetrable, that would stand the rest of millennia. Avraham took this in stride, and it would indeed be counted among his ten tests; all of which, to one degree or another, were designed by Hashem to test Abraham’s commitment to Hashem’s mastery. Now, throughout our sometimes-bitter history, we have endured so many Mitzrayims. As we live through the latest chapter in our Galus, let us focus on what makes us strong, and allows us to beat all odds. It is the collective power of all of our Bitachon; when we raise our eyes to Heaven in desperate tefillah, when we manage to remain calm, when we remain besimchah, when we learn with ameilus in these trying times, and when we think and contemplate our relationship with Hashem through it all. These things are the strength of our nation and bind us together to Hashem. The entire point of Galus Mitzrayim was to change us into the great nation that could be Hashem’s people forever more. As we sit apart this Yom Tov, let us storm the heavens together with expressions of our Bitachon in Hashem, and may we be zoche to eat the Korban Pesach together very soon in Yerushalayim. A gut Yom Tov! A Project of the YSI Alumni Association Written by R’ Moshe Weiss

Nahar U_Pashtei Pesach 3

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