Elul
Part 3
Last
week, my spelling and grammar check caught something that I did not see.
Everybody HAS a great Shabbos even though my intent was plural. OK a little
mistake. But then again, aren’t all our sins and intentions little one.
Somebody
I know in his youth was sent to Russia to try to get youths around his age to
become seriously religious. He certainly prays with Kavannah and is very learned
but not a Gaon in Torah. Yet, he told me rather than go into details. “There
isn’t any guardian against immodesty”! What happened to the poor fellow who had
finished his army service and his secular learning and Yeshiva? He unfortunately
let himself be in a situation which a normal red blooded America or Israeli male
could not stand by. That is why the Sages put a fence around the Torah with
Halachos Yechud. (Being alone with a member of the opposite sex.) One former
Minister in Israel was set up. The powers that be did not like him as Justice
Minister for he was ruining the elites there. A soldier girl stood outside of
the Cabinet Meeting and asked to speak to him. Everybody around him suddenly
disappeared and she accused him of tongue-kissing her by force. It was a he-said
she said situation. He got off the hook but lost his Ministry Post which was the
goal of the whole sting.
We
have to be careful in our behavior and put safeguards on ourselves. There are
three stealing offenses in the Torah. One is a hold-up type or robbery, another
is thieving by embezzlement or a break-in and the third which carries the death
penalty is stealing a Jew and selling him as a slave. Can it happen did it
happen – I can assume that it was so as we see the story of Yosef but that was
before Matan Torah. Not much of an excuse but I guess better than murdering
him.
There
are three or more main Yetzer HaRa components that all of us have. The first one
hits both male and female as Puberty occurs. In ancient times, females were
married off young and Abaye, the writer/compiler of the Talmud said two things.
“I am glad that I was an Orphan so that I never had the problem of honoring my
father and my mother improperly” and “If I had married at the age of 14 instead
of 16, I would have destroyed my Yetzer completely!” I don’t think any serious
person today would want to marry their daughters at the age of 12 or their sons
at the age of 13,14 with the education requirements in the modern world.
However, our Parsha speaks specifically against one’s daughter doing harlotry.
Most Beis Yacov or other Seminary girls and Yeshiva Boys are pure until
marriage. However, our world is full of problematic situations for our children.
Just like the Yeshiva fellow in his 20’s on assignment to the former atheistic
Russia to help youths, these pure children/young adults can fall into a
trap.
The
second main branch of the Yetzer HaRa is money and finance. I heard stories of
two men who were honest but had to feed their families (similar to the pious
thief story). One came to Israel from Germany in the 1930’s he was smart enough
to get out but had a family and could not earn a living wage. He would feed his
family and then sneak into a Kibbutz Grove and eat oranges. A similar story I
heard from the second man. He came in 1949 or 1950 and he gave good food to his
child and wife less but for himself despite him being the first to the Synagogue
and the last to leave, a Daf Yomi, Mishnah Yomi person had to take oranges to
survive. However, most of the thievery occurs with money left around, break-ins,
pick-pockets and embezzlement. Part of this is laziness and not willing to work
hard and the other part is feeling treated unfairly. These get rich quick or
Ponzi Schemes most of the time end up with somebody in
jail.
Finally,
we have two more based on laziness and gluttony. It is easier for most of us to
want to rest and relax or sleep. Being an over-eater of good food may or may not
be our fault. My mother went through the great-depression and after world war II
people were starving in Europe. She made us clean our plates or no desserts. To
be honest, I am far from skinny and my brother makes me look thin. I have three
children two I did not make them clean their plates and they are thin. The third
took my bad example in my eating habits. So when we eat and pray we have to be
diligent to set a proper example. (More on Pray below)
My
father was a workaholic and I took from his example and I work until I am too
tired to continue. I cannot stay up like the Vilna Gaon or Rav Ovadia Yosef but
I can try things. I have my own Yetzer and my problem is wasting Torah Time. The
problem arises among some Frum Jews who are more interested in watching champion
sports and arguing about a bad referee call or if this play would have been so
and so. I do sports to my ability at my age which is the elliptical as my feet
can’t really take a treadmill. My weight lifting has gone down over the years
but I try to keep my muscles in shape. But I use my time for my health and then
my learning or teaching.
Prayer.
I used to pray all the time with Kavannah. When did I lose it? I lost it perhaps
the day the Rabbis told me to pray in Hebrew. My problem was that I did not
learn prayers in the Talmud Torah or Religious Schools like the Rabbis. I
started at zero at the age of 20 plus and prayed slowly and with feeling in
English. Perhaps the SOMECH NOFLIM became “when my foot slips your loving
kindness upholds me” instead of support the falling but I had feeling. The
Hebrew which was still long out of my grasp some 49 years ago was too much. The
speed of the working-man Minyan was different from the Baalei Teshuva Yeshiva
Minyan. Ha-ha I learned how to Daven the speed of the Minyan or catch-up and I
mouthed words for many years. It is a habit that with my schedule I cannot
break. I was told by Rabbi Edward Davis Shlita in a lecture and a friend of mine
who is a Kabbalist that I should try to concentrate on a sentence or two and
pray in Hebrew. It is not quite the same but I do speak Hebrew. One part of the
prayer which I do say fast but semi-understand is the sacrifices. How is this? I
started saying them after I spoke Hebrew for 25 to 30 years so I knew what I was
saying. ANYBODY WHO TELLS YOU TO SAY TEHILLIM IN HEBREW WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING …
maybe I will keep my feelings to myself as I have nothing nice to say. My
great-great grandfather Zev or Wolf Paschales had the right idea, he was the
first to translate Tehillim into German during the Plague in the 1800’s and
published Psalms for women and not Hebrew versed men in German.
The
conclusion from all my ranting and raving above is to put limits on yourself. I
have seen too many married women who dress and behave immodestly. I don’t even
want to talk about low grade men with or without Yarmulkes. Earn your money
honestly and don’t give into your Yetzer for a higher standard of living. Eat
and sleep in moderation and put borders on your indulgence. I make it my
business if I drink a Le Chaim at a wedding to do so at the start of the night
so I only drive a few hours later and just in case have a back-up driver. The
same with eating in moderation. Try to pray with as much intent as you can. I
know that only Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur when the prayers are long, do I
actually at least say the Amidah with as much Kavannah as I can my Hebrew is
better but my concentration is worse so what used to be 45 minutes for Mussaf
have become 25 or less minutes on Rosh Hashanah.
Do
you want to know what is going on during Elul and the High Holidays in English
and Hebrew: Chapter 128 through 138: http://yonanewman.org/kizzur/kiz-index2.html
Ki
Teitzei
Last
week we had a Parsha with 41 Mitzvos and have gotten up to Mitzvah 531 which
ended the Parsha Mitzvah wise. This week we 74 Mitzvos ending up with
605.
Last
we discussed the excuses for not going into battle. (I forgot to mention last
week that in 1982 I had just remarried 3 months prior to my call-up but almost
all the wars we fight today are Mitzvah Wars in such everybody should go and no
excuses). This week, we will discuss what happens if one sees a beautiful
captive woman.
21:10
When thou go forth to battle against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God
delivers them into thy hands, and thou carry them away captive,
This
week I will discuss a hidden parable on this going to war as it is Elul and the
war is with the Yetzer.
11
and see among the captives a woman of goodly form, and thou hast a desire unto
her, and would take her to thee to wife; 12 then thou shalt bring her home to
thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; 13 and she shall
put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thy house,
and bewail her father and her mother a full month; and after that thou may go in
unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.
The
Torah makes a great concession to the soldier who captures a surface beauty in
the heat of a battle. The Physical Pshat is as written. The Parable is that your
Yetzer HaRa is like a beautiful woman. It comes to you in whatever form it can
attack you. If you imagine sleeping, eating or a beautiful woman it will come
after you. The only way to calm yourself is to remove the garments of the Yetzer
whether it be a cake with cream and a cherry and make the cake plain without
sugar and no cream and cherry for you shaved the Yetzer. Then you pare the nails
with a smaller size bite. You have to put on a new garment which is more modest
that cat is gluten and fattening. Waiting a month for you will either make the
woman desire you or you will get sick of her nagging. If you have conquered your
Yetzer and you are a good person in control of yourself with the woman, cake or
sleep then you will be able to go into the cake, rest period and sleep, or the
woman. For this is what is required of you in order to avoid gluttony, sloth
like traits and lewdness. For even a thief is like a sloth in that he is too
lazy to work to earn what he is stealing and not like the pious thief of our
story last week.
14
And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shall let her go
whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not
deal with her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.
That
is the Yetzer you saw somebody that you considered beautiful for everything is
relative. You capture and conquer this woman, bake-shop or mattress and now you
have had your fill either she is yapping at you like a dog, you have a
stomachache from the cakes or you lose out on something from over-sleeping so
you remove the Yetzer now from you.
15
If a man has two wives, the one beloved, and the other hated, and they have
borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the first-born son be
hers that was hated;
This
does not have to be the case but often is because they are rivals for his
affection. However, if he has a fair turn system it might work out. I try to
treat all my children and grandchildren equal but some give me back more love
than the others which does make for a bit more favoritism of one over the other.
16
then it shall be, in the day that he causes his sons to inherit that which he
has, that he may not make the son of the beloved the first-born before the son
of the hated, who is the first-born;
The
Torah recognizes the pain of the wife and therefore gives her first-born the
reward and by that the mother regains her pride. We might say that in the case
of Yacov Avinu, he had no intention of marrying Leah at all! He contracted for
Rachel and was deceived and Leah came in her place so it was like instead of the
soldier raping the captive, Yacov was captured by Leah and deceived into being
her husband. As she walked around him seven times she was not humbling herself
but tying him up. To see such a veil I posted this photo on Facebook of one
wedding that I took. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154445091706894&set=a.10150319248341894.390669.534626893&type=3&theater The
difference in my photo is that the mother of the groom is with the bride and no
switch can take place. Rivka was in Eretz Yisrael and the wedding was in Padan
Aram.
17
but he shall acknowledge the first-born, the son of the hated, by giving him a
double portion of all that he has; for he is the first-fruits of his strength,
the right of the first-born is his. 18 If a man has a stubborn and rebellious
son, that will not hearken to the voice of his father, or the voice of his
mother, and though they chasten him, will not hearken unto them; 19 then shall
his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of
his city, and unto the gate of his place;
In
Tractate Sanhedrin the conditions for this to happen are that the son is from
the age of thirteen years and one day until thirteen and a half years. The voice
of the mother and the father must be similar in tone, volume and bass-treble.
The Talmud says what is the reason and answers it is because if he becomes a
stubborn glutton and drunkard he will resort to stealing and perhaps murder.
Today we have seen this with various drugs on people.
20
and they shall say unto the elders of his city: 'This our son is stubborn and
rebellious, he doth not hearken to our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.'
21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he dies; so
shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee; and all Israel shall hear,
and fear. 22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to
death, and thou hang him on a tree; 23 his body shall not remain all night upon
the tree, but thou shalt surely bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is
a reproach unto God; that thou defile not thy land which the LORD thy God giveth
thee for an inheritance.
The
Talmud says there never was one and on the other hand says that Avshalom the son
of Chaggit became one and rebelled against King David as Chaggit was a captive
thus the putting one close to the other captive-hated wife-rebellious son
combination.
22:1
Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep driven away, and hide thyself
from them; thou shalt surely bring them back unto thy brother. 2 And if thy
brother be not nigh unto thee, and thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it
home to thy house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother require it, and
thou shalt restore it to him. …
This
goes for any Jew even those that we don’t get along with.
5
A woman shall not wear that which pertains unto a man, neither shall a man put
on a woman's garment; for whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto
the LORD thy God.
The
word abomination is used in the case of idol worship, homosexuality and now
cross dressing. This is not for those who dress funny once a year on Purim or
recently there was a story about “women in full Burkas” that were really men and
assassinating ISIS leaders. Obviously such action would be permitted but not for
a fetish.
6
If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way, in any tree or on the
ground, with young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the
eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young; 7 thou shalt in any wise let
the dam go, but the young thou may take unto thyself; that it may be well with
thee, and that thou may prolong thy days.
The
Talmud goes on to state that the honoring of parents and bird’s nest is only for
long life in the next world. For what happened to Elisha, the teacher of Rebbe
Meir, who saw a father send his son to fetch eggs and the son fell out of the
tree and died. He did not get a long life in this world so Elisha forsook
everything.
8
When thou build a new house, then thou shalt make a parapet for thy roof, that
thou bring not blood upon thy house, if any man fall from thence.
A
person is required to have safety features on his home so that if somebody
walked on his flat roof he should be protected from
falling.
13
If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, 14 and lay wanton
charges against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say: 'I took this
woman, and when I came nigh to her, I found not in her the tokens of virginity';
15 then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the
tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate.
This
was even in Talmudic times up to a certain age group after which the damsel is
no longer considered a virgin.
…
22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall
both of them die, the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so shalt thou
put away the evil from Israel. 23 If there be a damsel that is a virgin
betrothed unto a man, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; 24 then
ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them
with stones that they die: the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city;
and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor’s wife; so thou shalt put away
the evil from the midst of thee.
Today
under the Chupah we do two of the three methods of acquiring a wife. In olden
times, an engagement was one or two of the three acquiring methods and she was
betrothed and would need a Ketuba payment and a Get to release the woman. The
idea here is that if she was a city, a blood curling scream would get the men
out to find out what was going on. This might not work in Chicago or the inner
cities today.
25
But if the man finds the damsel that is betrothed in the field, and the man take
hold of her, and lie with her; then the man only that lay with her shall die. 26
But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy
of death; for as when a man rises against his neighbor, and slays him, even so
is this matter. 27 For he found her in the field; the betrothed damsel cried,
and there was none to save her.
This
seems to be Chicago today as “there was none to save
her”.
28
If a man finds a damsel that is a virgin, that is not betrothed, and lay hold on
her, and lie with her, and they be found; 29 then the man that lay with her
shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be
his wife, because he hath humbled her; he may not put her away all his
days.
This
is good for lovers, seducers, etc. but rapist is sentence to life with a woman
who hates him.
23:
… 2 He that is crushed or maimed in his privy parts shall not enter into the
assembly of the LORD. 3 A Maumzer not enter into the assembly of the LORD; even
to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the assembly of the LORD. 4
An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the LORD; even to
the tenth generation shall none of them enter into the assembly of the LORD
forever;
The
showed non-merciful conduct towards you when you left
Egypt.
5
because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came
forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor
from Pethor of Aram-naharaim, to curse thee. …
…
16 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master a bondman that is escaped from his
master unto thee; 17 he shall dwell with thee, in the midst of thee, in the
place which he shall choose within one of thy gates, where it likes him best;
thou shalt not wrong him.
This
is a Canaanite Slave sold for money if it is a Jew sold for thievery he is not
returned but we don’t want him stealing things so Beis Din should get
involved.
Rashi
brings down another idea for Pasuk 16: You
shall not deliver a slave: As the Targum [Onkelos aka Achilles] renders it
[עֲבַד עַמְמִין, a Jewish servant who
had been sold to a gentile] (Gittin 45a). Another explanation: even a Canaanite
servant of an Israelite who fled from outside the land to the Land of Israel. —
[Gittin 45a
18
There shall be no harlot of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a
sodomite of the sons of Israel.
Shouldn’t
this be naturally so? What do we need this for? For what father would want this
for his daughter or a gigolo or man for hire by other men for his
son?
There
shall not be a prostitute: Heb.
קְדֵשָׁה, one who is unbridled,
prepared (מְקֻדֶּשֶׁת), and ready for
prostitution. And
there shall not be a male prostitute: Heb.
קָדֵשׁ, one [i.e., a male]
ready for homosexual relations. - [Kid. 68b] Onkelos , however, renders: “A
woman of the daughters of Israel shall not become a wife to a slave.”
[Nevertheless, Onkelos 's explanation does not contradict that given above, for]
such [a woman] is also susceptible to illicit relations, since this sort of
marriage [between a Jewess and a slave] is not legally binding. For [slaves] are
compared to donkeys, as it says, “Stay here with the donkey (עִם-הַחֲמוֹר)” (Gen. 22:5).
[The choice of the word] עִם
[rather אֶת [denotes] those
compared to a donkey. - [Kid. 68a] [Abraham said this to his lads when he left
them to take Isaac to offer him as a sacrifice. The lads were both slaves, both
Eliezer and Ishmael, the son of his handmaid, Hagar. Similarly, the second half
of the verse is rendered by Onkelos as follows:]“And no Israelite man shall take
a maidservant as a wife,” since he too, becomes a קָדֵשׁ [“one reserved for illicit relations”]
through her, because every time he cohabits with her, it is considered
prostitution, since his marriage to her is not binding. — [See Pes.
88b]
19
Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, or the price of a dog, into the house
of the LORD thy God for any vow; for even both these are an abomination unto the
LORD thy God.
She
did prostitution and now wants to become a big donator for the Mikdash equals
nothing doing. The same goes for money earned by breeding dogs (cats)
etc.
A prostitute’s
fee: [For example,] if one gave her a lamb as her fee, it is unfit to be offered
up as a sacrifice. — [Sifrei 23:127] The price of a dog: If one exchanged a dog
for a lamb [this lamb is unfit for a sacrifice]. — [Sifrei 23:127; Temurah 29a]
Because both of them [are an abomination to the Lord, your God]: Heb. גַּם הֵם. [The extra word גַּם, lit.“also,” comes] to include [a
prostitute’s fee or the price of a dog, which has been] converted [to another
form]. For example, wheat, which he (sic) made into flour. — [Temurah 30b]
[Sefer Yereim ch. 207 reads: which she made into flour.]
20
Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother: interest of money, interest of
victuals, interest of anything that is lent upon interest. 21 Unto a foreigner
thou may lend upon interest; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon
interest; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou put thy hand
unto, in the land whither thou go in to possess it.
This
precludes business loans. Our Sages say that interest bites the borrower and the
lender is bit in the next world.
22
When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay
it; for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it will be sin in
thee. … 25 When thou come into thy neighbor's vineyard, then thou may eat grapes
until thou have enough at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy
vessel.
This
is talking about the worker and not the poor man’s tithe or during Shmita but
there too not too much.
…
24:1 When a man taketh a wife, and marries her, then it cometh to pass, if she
find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some unseemly thing in her,
that he writes her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sends
her out of his house,
If
she becomes somebody else’s wife, she can never return to the husband. It is
also a Mitzvah to divorce if there is no Shalom Beis in the house or she has
misconducted herself with other men.
…
4 her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife,
after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD; and thou
shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an
inheritance. ... 6 No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone to pledge;
for he taketh a man's life to pledge. 7 If a man be found stealing any of his
brethren of the children of Israel, and he deal with him as a slave, and sell
him; then that thief shall die; so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst
of thee.
There
shall be no human trafficking and certainly not capturing free men to enslave
them.
… One of the six
remembrances: 9 Remember what the LORD thy God did unto Miriam, by the
way as ye came forth out of Egypt. … 14 Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant
that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that
are in thy land within thy gates. 15 In the same day thou shalt give him his
hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and sets his heart
upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD and it be sin in thee. … 17 Thou
shalt not pervert the justice due to the stranger, or to the fatherless; nor
take the widow's raiment to pledge. 18 But thou shalt remember that thou were a
bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence; therefore, I
command thee to do this thing.
Now
we see the source of the Mitzvah that Boaz did with his field and the extra
charity above this to Ruth and Naomi.
19
When thou reap thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field,
thou shalt not go back to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the
fatherless, and for the widow; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the
work of thy hands. 20 When thou beat thine olive-tree, thou shalt not go over
the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the
widow. 21 When thou gather the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it
after thee; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
22 And thou shalt remember that thou were a bondman in the land of Egypt;
therefore I command thee to do this thing.
25:1
If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, and the
judges judge them, by justifying the righteous, and condemning the wicked, 2
then it shall be, if the wicked man deserve to be beaten, that the judge shall
cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to the
measure of his wickedness, by number. 3 Forty stripes he may give him, he shall
not exceed; lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many
stripes, then thy brother should be dishonored before thine eyes.
For
too many will loosen a man’s bowls or the man will start wining and crying like
a child for being so embarrassed his public but up to 39 lashes our Sages say a
he-man can withstand. After every three a doctor would look him over (nowadays,
pulse and blood pressure) this is a punishment not a death
penalty.
4
Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treads out the grain. 5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them
die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not be married abroad unto
one not of his kin; her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to
him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her. 6 And it
shall be, that the first-born that she bears shall succeed in the name of his
brother that is dead, that his name be not blotted out of Israel.
Today
we perform the shoe removal ceremony. However, if after 90 days from the time
the brother departed, he and she are permitted to live together because of the
dead man’s Kesubah {in spoken Hebrew today Ketuba}.
7
And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife
shall go up to the gate unto the elders, and say: 'My husband's brother refuses
to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a
husband's brother unto me.' 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and
speak unto him; and if he stand, and say: 'I like not to take her'; 9 then shall
his brother's wife draw nigh unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose
his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face; and she shall answer and say:
'So shall it be done unto the man that doth not build up his brother's house.'
10 And his name shall be called in Israel the house of him that had his shoe
loosed.
Today
there is a once size fits all roman sandal type that the sister-in-law removes.
It is a special sandal and not a normal shoe. However, the Pshat does not appear
to be this way but only instituted by the Rabbis.
11
When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draw near to
deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smites him, and puts forth her
hand, and taketh him by the secrets; 12 then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine
eye shall have no pity.
We
give her a stiff fine today. It is not normal for a woman to go around squeezing
other men’s private parts even to save her husband from being struck. The Torah
wants to insure this.
13
Thou shalt not have in thy bag diverse weights, a great and a small. 14 Thou
shalt not have in thy house diverse measures, a great and a small. 15 A perfect
and just weight shalt thou have; a perfect and just measure shalt thou have;
that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 16
For all that do such things, even all that do unrighteously, are an abomination
unto the LORD thy God.
This
is the standardization of weights and measures. One cannot have one weight for a
silver shekel and another and another weight by somebody else but a standard.
The
following is more than a remembrance but a Mitzvah to destroy Amalek.
17
Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way as ye came forth out of Egypt; 18
how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, all that were
enfeebled in thy rear, when thou were faint and weary; and he feared not God. 19
Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine
enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an
inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek
from under heaven; thou shalt not forget.
Part
9 My Return to Judaism by Rabbi Rachamim Pauli
(A
subtheme the power of one or two people)
Aish
HaTorah in Yerushalayim looked perhaps slightly promising but I was married and
my wife was expecting. I did not know how I could be in their Kollel. Some of
the folks there in my day looked a bit Hippie-types. For one of my friends who
was like this was almost persuaded by the late Rabbi Noach Weinberg to join
Aish. Rabbi Nightingale in FL is a graduate of Aish and their teachers are very
good but back then, I was at a cross-road between Kollel and work and I chose
work.
I
did spend some time at the Shalom Hartman Institute which was related to Yeshiva
ITRI. It was for somebody I believe with a little background like myself and had
a very intense and serious study program. They had very good learning and a
dormitory but nothing really back in 1970 for a fellow married and a Kollel. The
food there was quite good I remember. To be honest if I were not married and my
wife expecting, I probably would have liked staying there.
So
if I can’t go to a Baalei Teshuva Yeshiva in English I would find another way to
learn. I could not get a place to live without a job from the Israeli Government
and I would have to pay a lot more money on the private market. Once I got a job
which only lasted 3 months, I was able to move into Kiriat Ponovez also known as
Shikun Pittsburgh for the Rebbe there. I learned a little Rambam with an older
Kollel fellow from the Grodno Yeshiva and later found a Chavrutha Shlomo Angel
to learn in English. I was progressing. I also learned the set of Medrash Rabbah
in English that I had and many other books in English. I was moving up. Later I
contacted Rabbi Yerachmiel Kram Shlita for help and as I started work at an
Electronics Plant in Ashdod. I worked 13 hours a day and then an hour Daf Yomi
at night and six hours on Fridays. Somehow I had the energy for that and by that
time two children.
Eventually,
one of my Chavrutha and co-worker and I were disappointed with the caliber of
the religious education in Ashdod and we moved to Rehovot. I would go to the Daf
Yomi after work and eventually, I paid Rabbi Shlomo Issacovitch Shlita as a
private Rebbe a small fee for a 5 day a week Shuir. He told me that if he did
not need the money he would have taught me for free so it was mutually agreeable
for the both of us for a number of years. I also attended Shuirim and I
single-handed organized the Kollel for workers on Fridays. I had the privilege
of learning with Dr. Stuart Weissrose and a Shuir from a Rosh Kollel Rabbi
Avraham Riesman Shlita. I sold the idea to Rabbi Simcha HaCohain Kuk Shlita and
the Rabbinute established a Kollel for the city. A professor or two from Bar
Ilan University joined in and one Chavrutha was Dr. Lee Specter of the Weitzman
Institute who wrote about HASHEM and Biology. I also learned with Rabbi Tuvia
Wein Zal uncle of the famed Rabbi Beryl Wein Shlita. Rabbi Tuvia brought in a
Baal Teshuva from the Weitzman Institute and he taught us both.
When
I remarried and moved to Petach Tikva, most of my learning was in a Daf Yomi
although a friend of mine Avi (his brother is the Rabbi of the Netzach Yisrael
Synagogue in Petach Tikva) invited me to the Friday Kollel. You see the little 2
man Kollel took off. From Rehovot it spread to Petach Tikva, Chashmonayim, Rabbi
Kram heard from me and opened in the electronics plant in Ashdod. I am sure that
other cities got the idea. One idea of one fellow with a desire to learn spread
out.
I
went to work when I lived in Petach Tikva to a company closer to home than
Ashdod. It was near what today is Airport City. There a fellow named Baruch Dim
Shlita brought in Rabbi Yerachmiel Boyer Shlita and at one time we had 90
fellows learning twice a week. Unfortunately, our main project was cancelled and
many including Baruch opted for early pension or compensation. However, before
that, I learned with Baruch another three days a week to make it into a five-day
evening Kollel and was successful in doing so. It was again one man with an idea
and a Rabbi backing him. The five day Kollel still exists and every Monday Rabbi
Boyer gives his Shuir to this day.
My
learning did not stop there and for years Jack Winnett Shlita opened up a Beis
Medrash and Schul in his basement and under the guidance of the Surgeon Rabbi
and Dr. Shalom Friedman Shlita we had a Daf Yomi every day. Prior to that I
tried learning nightly with Alan Farber PhD but it was too much for me to come
in cold into a Gemara Daf each Night. I was so happy that everything thing fell
into place between Jack and Dr. Friedman. Both Jack and Dr. Friedman have moved
to Yerushalayim but the Daf in the evening and one in the morning continues
where I live.
Ending
up with the power of one or two people to move things. Rabbi Mimran Shlita and I
started learning years ago as I was about to go to early pension. The building
of the Kollel where were learned was built by a retired staff sergeant Reuven
Yonati of pious memory. We began learning for ordination and after a year or two
(after Rabbi Mimran had passed his Dayan Exam, he got Smicha to be a regular
Rabbi. It took me another year or so in Hebrew and some English from the Chief
Rabbinute to be tested by Rabbi Mimran – all in all three years of learning
before I too became a full Rabbi). About fifteen years ago we discussed opening
a night Kollel and it has been running since. One of the fellows has written a
few books while learning in the Kollel. About 12 years ago, Rabbi Mimran opened
up a day Kollel and we learned for a number of years full time. However, the
time came that I decided that I had to take care of my physical health and
started working out in the gym. At the same time, after being on Mail-Jewish for
a number of years, I began to write and participate in the Torah Forum.
Eventually, I started a weekly story and eventually Parsha. It was in the
beginning among about 400 friends and a few groups. With the help of a lady on
Skype in Canada named Mrs. Tsila Kahane until 120 years, helped me open up a
blogspot. I began with 23 readers. I now B”H have a couple of thousand readers.
With vacations I have seen readership drop and gain according to seasons and
when a war breaks out with the Inyanay Diyoma, the readership climbs.
I
want to end with one thought. I am sure that if one person wants with a good
idea and energy, he can do a lot. The Lubavitcher Rebbe succeeded with an
Organization and sending messengers around to world to build a Torah System in
almost any place Jews are in the world.
MONEY
BLINDS JUDGES and Rabbis – corruption: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/217872
World’s
oldest man celebrates Bar Mitzvah 100 years late. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4855338,00.html
Inyanay
Diyoma
Like
a Biblical Plague: http://www.aol.com/article/2016/09/07/river-turns-red-in-russia-just-like-in-your-worst-biblical-night/21467452/
He
called Yudenrein Ethnic Cleansings and POTUS Osama gets angry: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4852660,00.html
Please
click both articles: I wrote to Dr. Martin Sherman that a two State solution
would not be good because it goes against the Torah and a one State solution
with Arabs here would be thorns in our sides: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/19466
He
wrote me back with this article that he wrote in 2011: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Into-the-Fray-Palestine-What-Sherlock-Holmes-would-say
In
fact about 8 articles more. I am about to read them and analyze and may reply
further.
Obama
decides to do something like Trump wanted but no guarantees for Israel as Iran
pushes forward: http://debka.com/article/25656/Obama-hands-Syria-over-to-Putin-
Presidential
Candidate’s Advisor what the PLO wants is ethnic cleansing: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/217645
Light
Rail would have passed over the parking lot that collapsed:
Kwai???
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4853184,00.html
From
Arthur: Disturbing information about a Federal Judge Candidate: http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2016/09/11/uh-oh-obamas-1st-muslim-judge-nominee-caught-hiding-something-quite-disturbing.html
Clinton
suffers dehydration and Pneumonia
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4853552,00.html
This
is the Clinton Statement: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/09/12/clinton-cancels-west-coast-visit-to-rest-after-health-episode.html
Two
Ministers meet with Facebook heads to discuss removal of incitement posts:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4853594,00.html
What
Hillary said on 9/11 that is more than pneumonia and Bill said she had Vertigo a
number of times. Deep Vein Thrombosis which she had three times usually repeats
itself and can be life threatening. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbAJsFc_d_A&feature=youtu.be
I
noticed this too: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202076552513177&set=a.1542172772090.46226.1768101453&type=3&theater
take
a look at this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7AS3_AUN5o
I
CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT ONE OR BOTH WERE PHOTOSHOPPED BUT SHE LOOKED TOO HEALTHY
AND A BIT DIFFERENT.
After
a fourth shell in one week fell yesterday and a plane attack, 3 mortars fall on
the Golan today closing down road 98: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/217744
Another
Russian power grab in the Middle East. http://debka.com/article/25658/Russia-Dissolve-US-Arab-Israeli-Syria-war-room
Keeping
an eye out for this:
Gaza
car thieving ring caught with Israeli Arabs: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/217788
Besides
attacking Syrian Positions, Israel warned the rebels not to go overboard that
shells land by us:
http://debka.com/article/25660/Failed-Syrian-rebel-drive-spills-shells-on-Golan-
On
Tuesday this coming week, a homeland defense drill will occur:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4855393,00.html
Ofek
11 Satellite unknown if it failed or can be reprogrammed: http://debka.com/article/25668/Ofek-11’s-failure-would-hamper-Israel’s-intel-ops
Jewish
woman raised as a Muslim escapes ISIS: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/217895
Have
a wonderful Shabbos,
Rachamim
Pauli
