Nahar U'Pashtei Parshas T'Zaveh/Purim 5781

The Power of Purim

As we fly through this whirlwind of a day, let us take a moment to focus on the true meaning and purpose of Hashem’s Hester Panim, His hidden face. The story of Purim is the quintessential example of Hester Panim. This, despite the fact that it led to one of the greatest salvations of our history! This is because when Hashem hides His face from us, He does so with the goal of the salvation that will follow! Many are of the notion that when we go through tazros and things seem dark, it is because Hashem has left us. Because of our sins, or for some other reason we cannot fathom, Hashem removes His presence from us and allows punishment and evil to reign free. This is not the case. The true meaning of Hester Panim is when Hashem hides Himself from our view so that we will work to repair that connection, and bring it back to the forefront once more. He has not left us, but merely hidden from us to bring out our inner strengths and to solidify our faith. The story of Purim is thus actually the greatest way to show the potential madreigah that can come from Hester Panim. In Parshas Tetzaveh we learn of the stones that would adorn the shoulders of the Kohen Gadol to be present before Hashem always. As the Torah states, …shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Yisroel; encircled with settings of gold shall you make them. The Torah requires the names of the twelve sons of Yaakov specifically on these stones. One may ask, were there no greater people in history? Perhaps the Avos should be the ones remembered on these stones for our merit? I would like to suggest that perhaps there was one key element that the Shivtei Ka demonstrated which stands as a merit for us; one that was unique to them. The mistakes of these great men were well documented, which served to display their humanity, and at the same time, the dangers presented by the evil inclination. And then, then came roaring back. They would not let their mistakes define them, but rather they pushed past these pitfalls and became among the greatest of men! It is specifically these people that Hashem wants to always remember, and whose remembrance stands as an eternal merit before him. People who are forever loyal, and do not give up or despair, but continue to yearn for righteousness and growth; these people represent the greatness of Klal Yisroel. And perhaps we can now blend the lessons of Purim and Parshas Tetzaveh together. Purim shows us that Hashem is here with us in the tzarah wishing for us to come back, and Tetzaveh shows us the unbelievably high regard Hashem has for the attitude of perseverance and repentance. We live now in a period of great Hester Panim. But Hashem has not left us; rather, He is right here with us, bringing the tzarah! Do you know why? So that we will raise our voices up to Him, and believe in Him. He wants us to daven to Him to stop the pain, because we believe that only He can bring pain and only He can heal us from it! Hashem wants us not to despair, and not to be tied down by our mistakes, but to push onward and bring the yeshuah. It is all in our hands, all in how we daven and in how we believe. Let us try and use this day of Purim to reveal the presence of Hashem once and for all!  A gut Shabbos! A Project of the YSI Alumni Association Written by R’ Moshe Weiss

Nahar U_Pashtei Parshas T'Zaveh-purim 57

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Nahar U'Pashtei Parshas Terumah

Amalek and Mesorah

One interesting thing about Parshas Zachor is that it can fall out any number of weeks, and thus coincide with many different Torah readings. This is because the lesson we must learn from Amalek and their evil is constant and presents itself throughout the Torah. Amalek lived a life of evil governed by their own laws and morals. This was rooted in the fact that they believed that Hashem’s power was limited to creation, but that He possessed no power further than that. It was therefore up to man to survive, and to live as he saw fit. Their whole lifestyle was therefore skewed, based on motives other than the spiritual growth and connection to Hashem that we strive for. This idea sounds like it is quite far from our own beliefs; but is it really? The ideology of Amalek has creeped into our lives in more ways than we would like to admit. When a person lives his life with little to no thought of Hashem or what He wants from us, this is because the person has come to believe that Hashem is not really in charge. Hashem only comes into this person’s focus at times of panic and need, and this is due to Amalek’s influence. When people have no goals and no feeling of spiritual purpose, it is because they have lost focus on the mission of Hashem’s treasured nation. When people wander this earth without a spiritual authority to guide and direct them, this is because they actually feel as though there really are no consequences to their actions! In Parshas Terumah we find a list of all the materials that Hashem requested for building the Mishkan. The list contains such items as cedar wood and beautiful dyed wool, all used at least in part for the structure of the Mishkan. What I note as puzzling, however, is that the precious stones used for the stones of the Ephod and the Choshen are also part of this list. Why are these stones grouped together with other materials if their sole purpose was to adorn the clothing of the Kohen Gadol, and not for building the Mishkan itself? The answer is because the Torah wants to tell us that there can be no Mishkan without the spiritual leader of the Jews, the Kohen Gadol. The Mishkan represented our connection with Hashem, and the pasuk is saying that this can only happen if there is a leader and a guide. So integral is the Kohen Gadol to our growth that the stones of his adornments are deemed part of the Mishkan itself! And we must realize that this is the lesson of Amalek. The reason a person refrains from having Torah guidance can be either because he thinks he knows better, or because deep down he doesn’t really care to know what Hashem has to tell him! We must look deep inside ourselves and examine if this applies to us. Amalek is the example of what can happen to a person who wanders the path of life on his own. The Torah is teaching us here that there can be no spiritual growth without guidance from a leader such as the Kohen Gadol. The desire to seek and adhere to Torah guidance comes when a person rids himself of the influence of Amalek and focuses on living a life of fulfilling Hashem’s will. A gut Shabbos! A Project of the YSI Alumni Association Written by R’ Moshe Weiss

Nahar U_Pashtei Parshas Terumah

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Nahar U’Pashtei Parshas Mishpatim

Everyone Can Be Great

It must be constantly reiterated that the mishpatim that are listed by the Torah are not abstract laws, but rather are intended to teach us the way Hashem wants us to live and think. Unlike other codes of law, the Torah’s mitzvos are brimming with guidance and direction, and we must look beneath the surface of the commandments to gain this knowledge. The Torah mentions here the mitzvah of the olas re’iyah, the burnt offering each person must bring upon his appearance before Hashem three times a year, when he is oleh regel. Now, to understand the concept of korbanos, let us understand that the purpose of korbanos is to encourage a person to elevate his connection and closeness with Hashem to a higher level. The root of the word korban is karav, to draw close. How is a person drawing close to Hashem by offering a korban? When one offers an olah, he must bring his animal and have it burned entirely on the Mizbei’ach, seemingly wasting its entire value. Only the skin is permitted for benefit - the rest of the animal is burned. What is he to make of this mitzvah? How does this serve to bring one closer to Hashem’s service? The answer is that Hashem is the One who gives us everything. This animal that is being used for the olah can be replaced by Hashem in a moment, aside form the fact that it was all a gift from above in the first place. The olah is meant to teach a person how to properly perceive his worldly possessions. This new attitude will manifest itself in many areas, including generosity in giving others who need it, as well as living his own life without worries. When the person brings the olah, he must reach a level where he watches the animal being used for the mitzvah and feels no monetary loss! Truly an amazing level. Now the olas re’iyah is somewhat different than a classic, voluntary olah, in that everyone must appear before Hashem and must offer this korban. This imparts to Klal Yisroel a slightly different lesson. This olah was meant to ensure that when the masses visited the Beis HaMikdashon the Regalim there would always be a Mizbei’ach humming with activity. On the surface, this was a kiddush Shem Shamayim, but from our vantage point, we can perhaps understand something deeper to it. On each of the Regalim we find large mussaf offerings, also containing many olos. What is the message of these required communal offerings? They teach us that there is a madreigah of an olah, and we as a nation aspire to that end. We must not shy away from these levels, but rather work toward achieving them. And this message is hidden beneath the surface of the olas re’iyah as well. When a person comes to appear before Hashem, it should not be without proper focus. Each and every person can reach the level of the olah, and our offering represents that fact. Accordingly, what better way to honor Hashem than to have his Mizbei’ach in constant use, representing Klal Yisroel’s constant yearning for growth and closeness to Hashem.. This is the lesson we are to learn from the mitzvah of the olas re’iyah. Each one of us can, and should, aspire for greatness. These levels of Emunah and Bitachon are open to all, and are in fact intended for all of us. Never should one feel that it is above his or her level, or beyond his or her abilities to achieve this close relationship with Hashem. We are told to present with an olah. Hashem wants us to strive ever higher. A gut Shabbos! A Project of the YSI Alumni Association Written by R’ Moshe Weiss

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