Friday, July 21, 2017

Parshiyos Matos-Massei, Story and news


Please add Chana Tzipporah bas Elka Breindel. Miriam Liba bas Devorah.


Tisha B’Av is approaching remember from Rosh Chodesh eating meat is forbidden except Shabbos for Ashkenazim and for the Sephardim the week in which Tisha B’Av falls. So fish or vegetable substitutes are the order of the Day. We must put the Temple above our chief joy. From Sunday evening Rosh Chodesh Av unless there is a Mitzvah Meal, Ashkenazim are forbidden to eat meat.


Parshiyos Matos - Massei


It was the custom at the time of Moshe for people to make vows. If so and so then HASHEM will be my G-D. This is pretty faulty logic. For what happens if HASHEM does not want so and so or such and so to happen? Our Rabbis discouraged oaths and vows. Still until this day women often make vows in an emotional outburst so the husband or father could disapprove of the vow.



30:2 And Moses spoke unto the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying: This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded. 3 When a man vows a vow unto the LORD, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.


A G-D fearing Jew should be more cautious with what he says than a politician.


4 Also when a woman vows a vow unto the LORD, and binds herself by a bond, being in her father's house, in her youth, 5 and her father hears her vow, or her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father holds his peace at her, then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. 6 But if her father disallows her in the day that he hears, none of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand; and the LORD will forgive her, because her father disallowed her.


This is until the age of 12.5 years of age when she is fully mature. It was assumed that she would marry. Nowadays, I fully believe that the Rabbis should make a Gezaira that until the maiden moves out of her father’s for we no longer marry off the daughter off. Once she is mature and have moved out of the house for 30 days, only a Chacham or Beis Din can allow the vow. Today a maiden is dependent on her father.


7 And if she be married to a husband, while her vows are upon her, or the clear utterance of her lips, wherewith she has bound her soul; 8 and her husband hear it, whatsoever day it be that he hears it, and hold his peace at her; then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. 9 But if her husband disallows her in the day that he hears it, then he shall make void her vow which is upon her, and the clear utterance of her lips, wherewith she hath bound her soul; and the LORD will forgive her.


This is for Shalom Beis. For nowadays a couple are equal but since the woman may get angry at her mother-in-law, the vow can be nullified.


10 But the vow of a widow, or of her that is divorced, even everything wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand against her. 11 And if a woman vowed in her husband's house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath,

She is an adult not dependent upon others. She will have a problem if she has left her father’s house or wants to remarry. I already wrote about my boss’s secretary where I convened a Beis Din of three Shomer Shabbos Males to nullify her vow. In the end HASHEM had Chessed upon her and she had twin boys so she gave the name that her husband wanted to one twin and the one that she wanted to the other. Chassdei HASHEM Yisborach!
  

… 17 These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter, being in her youth, in her father's house.


Moshe knows that this is the last war of his life and he is going to be gathered in after the victory. Does he dawdle? No he executes it with diligence immediately!



31:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 'Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites; afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.'


This is the last war to be waged under the leadership of Moshe. From here on it will be under the rule of Yehoshua and those who come after him.


3 And Moses spoke unto the people, saying: 'Arm ye men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the LORD'S vengeance on Midian.


After 24,000 died from the plague caused by the idolatry of Midian, now they were going to pay the price.


4 Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.' 5 So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.


Actually there were 36,000 according tradition. These are the people 1000 from each tribe for war, 1000 from each tribe for supplies and 1000 from each tribe for prayer.


6 And Moses sent them, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7 And they warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew every male. 8 And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian; Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.


At the end of Parsha Balak, we are told that Bilaam went home. So what is he doing here? He came to collect his reward after 24,000 from Israel died. Now he got his reward from heaven.


9 And the children of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took for a prey. … 13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.


All the spoils they brought before Moshe and Eleazar.


14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war. 15 And Moses said unto them: 'Have ye saved all the women alive? 16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to revolt so as to break faith with the LORD in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD. 17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.


Any female above three years old might have been used for Baal Peor and every male to stop the progeneration of the tribe.


18 But all the women children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. 19 And encamp ye without the camp seven days; whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, ye and your captives. 20 And as to every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood, ye shall purify.'


This is the purification of both man and garment.


21 And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war that went to the battle: 'This is the statute of the law which the LORD hath commanded Moses: 22 Howbeit the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 everything that may abide the fire, ye shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless, it shall be purified with the water of sprinkling; and all that abides not the fire ye shall make to go through the water.


Similar to how we kosher pots, pans and silverware for Pessach by boiling those used with only warm food or pots and pans by fire or a blow torch.


24 And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye may come into the camp.'


This was for the impurity by contact with a dead body.


25 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 26 'Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the congregation;


27 and divide the prey into two parts: between the men skilled in war, that went out to battle, and all the congregation; 28 and levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the flocks; 29 take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, as a portion set apart for the LORD.


Of the spoils, 1/500th shall go to Eleazar.


30 And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, even of all the cattle, and give them unto the Levites, that keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.'


This is spoils for the tribes that go to the Leviim.


31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. 32 Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep, 33 and threescore and twelve thousand beeves, 34 and threescore and one thousand asses, 35 and thirty and two thousand persons in all, of the women that had not known man by lying with him. …


This was after they removed all males and the females above the age of three.


41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was set apart for the LORD, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.


You might want to ask what did Eleazar due with 16,000 non-Jewish females under the age of three? He sold them to come families. The people could marry off the girls to their sons or use them for servants for years.


42 And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided off from the men that warred-- 43 now the congregation's half was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep, 44 and thirty and six thousand beeves, 45 and thirty thousand and five hundred asses, 46 and sixteen thousand persons. … 53 For the men of war had taken booty, every man for himself. 54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.


Quite a bit of loot for the people.

32:1 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle; and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle,  … 6 And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: 'Shall your brethren go to the war, and shall ye sit here? 7 And wherefore will ye turn away the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them? 8 Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9 For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they turned away the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.  … 12 save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; because they have wholly followed the LORD. 13 And the LORD'S anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander to and fro in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.

Moshe is worried about another 40 years or more delay in the conquest or the anger of the L-RD. They answer appropriately and Moshe accepts their answer below.

17 but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place; and our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan, and forward, because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side of the Jordan eastward.' 20 And Moses said unto them: 'If ye will do this thing: if ye will arm yourselves to go before the LORD to the war, … then ye shall be clear before the LORD, and before Israel, and this land shall be unto you for a possession before the LORD. 23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD; and know ye your sin which will find you. … ' 28 So Moses gave charge concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel. 29 And Moses said unto them: 'If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, every man that is armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you, then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession; 30 but if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.'

Now these are the journeys and many of the names are associated with incident. Di-Zahav hints about the golden calf and Kiriat Hataava on the lust for meat with the quail.


33:1 These are the stages of the children of Israel, by which they went forth out of the land of Egypt by their hosts under the hand of Moses and Aaron. 2 And Moses wrote their goings forth, stage by stage, by the commandment of the LORD; and these are their stages at their goings forth. 3 And they journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the Passover the children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians, … 14 And they journeyed from Alush, and pitched in Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink. 15 And they journeyed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai.


There was no water and the thirst made them lose faith. Because they were loose in their faith Amalek came.


16 And they journeyed from the wilderness of Sinai, and pitched in Kibroth-hattaavah. … 38 And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month. 39 And Aaron was a hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor.


This coming week. The Parshiyos were divided up almost 3000 years after Aaron passed on but the Parsha always falls around Rosh Chodesh Av or at least more than a week to Tisha B’Av.


… 47 And they journeyed from Almon-diblathaim, and pitched in the mountains of Abarim, in front of Nebo. 48 And they journeyed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 49 And they pitched by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth even unto Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.


They will encamp here now for the next 40 days until Moshe goes up the Nevo Range. After this they will mourn him for 30 days and pass over the Yarden just before Pessach.


50 And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying: 51 'Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places. 53 And ye shall drive out the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein; for unto you have I given the land to possess it.


All idols must be destroyed. Perhaps if for no other reason than HASHEM being jealous and it is in the interest of stopping the nonsense.


54 And ye shall inherit the land by lot according to your families--to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer thou shalt give the less inheritance; wheresoever the lot fallen to any man, that shall be his; according to the tribes of your fathers shall ye inherit. 55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye let remain of them be as thorns in your eyes, and as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell. 56 And it shall come to pass, that as I thought to do unto them, so will I do unto you.


Moshe Dayan prevent the Arabs fleeing in 1967 and look at all the thorns in our sides today.

After mentioning the boundaries of the land, it is now the second time that Moshe publically announces the leadership.

… 16 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 17 'These are the names of the men that shall take possession of the land for you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. 18 And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to take possession of the land. 19 And these are the names of the men: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Yephunneh. … 29 These are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.'

Each leader of the tribe was equal but I only took one example from Yehuda.


35:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying: 2 'Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and open land round about the cities shall ye give unto the Levites. 3 And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and their open land shall be for their cattle, and for their substance, and for all their beasts. 4 And the open land about the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.

Each city of the Leviim was outside the wall of the main city and for their crops and animals the rest of their Panosa (income) came from Maaser and they were teachers of the people and took shifts working in the Mikdash or Mishkan until the time of Shlomo.


5 And ye shall measure without the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the midst. This shall be to them the open land about the cities.

From here we learn the borders of a Shabbos walk from the town.

6 And the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which ye shall give for the manslayer to flee thither; and beside them ye shall give forty and two cities.

This section deals with the setting up of the cities of refuge for the manslaughterer.

7 All the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall ye give with the open land about them. ... 9 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 10 'Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer that kills any person through error may flee thither.

The cities of refuge were for the manslaughterer only and not a murderer. This is accidental. For example: one uses an axe or pickaxe and it breaks and flies into a man killing him. He flees to the city of refuge and is basically under city arrest until the Cohain Gadol dies. The avenger of blood that existed at that time (Shimon and Levy about Dina) could not touch him. It was punishment for not praying and for the Cohain Gadol not praying against accidental homicide.

27 and the avenger of blood find him without the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood slay the manslayer; there shall be no bloodguiltiness for him; 28 because he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest; but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return into the land of his possession. 29 And these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.


30 Whoso kills any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify against any person that he die.

This is the murderer and here is the hint that the land detests sin which will lead to individual or public exile.

… 33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are; for blood, it polluteth the land; and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. 34 And thou shalt not defile the land which ye inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.'

36:1 And the heads of the fathers' houses of the family of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spoke before Moses, and before the princes, the heads of the fathers' houses of the children of Israel; 2 and they said: 'The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel; and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters. 3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong; so will it be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.


To keep the tribal inheritance with the males from the tribe. For there should not be any switching out of the area a member of another tribe.



4 And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then will their inheritance be added unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong; so will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.' … 13 These are the commandments and the ordinances, which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.


Chazak – Chazak v’ nit Chazak


Nursemaid’s Kaddish by Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles


Kaddish is not a sad prayer. If you would study the meaning of this prayer that is recited for (usually) almost a year after someone passes away, you would discover that its theme is to sanctify the name of G-d, as the first sentence says, "May His great name be exalted and sanctified." As Jewish people, we yearn to praise and make holy His great name, and it is an honor and a privilege to be designated to say this prayer.
Great is the importance of saying kaddish for the soul of the departed, especially during the first year after passing. And not only in the minyan for prayers, but also after the public study of Torah, for this kaddish has special power to elevate the soul of the departed. The Ridbaz (a great Torah authority of the 16th century) and the Arizal (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, leader of the Tsfat kabbalists) both state that the kaddish after learning has special potency and gives tremendous pleasure to the departed.
In relationship to the importance of kaddish in the first year, and especially in the first month, let's share a story of the Seer of Lublin, who gave instructions to his attendant that he shouldn't be disturbed during his set times dedicated to Torah study. Nevertheless, one day the attendant came in during one of those sessions to say that a woman in the outer room is crying profusely and insists on seeing him.
The Seer said to bring her in. As soon as she entered, she asked if he recognized her. He answered that he didn't. She smiled and told him that she had been his nursemaid, as his mother was unable. His father chose her because he wanted someone who was careful with the blessings on foods, since the foods one eats turns into milk. He wanted everything to be kosher and pure in order that the child should become a great tzadik.
Clearly, the father's desire came true, the former nursemaid declared, and now she had come with a request. All of her children had passed away, she was not at all well, and she felt that her time was coming soon. She was despairing because she had nobody to say kaddish for her. Would he [the Seer] say kaddish for her after she passes away?
The tzadik promised he would do it.
A few days later she went to her Heavenly reward, and the Seer started saying kaddish for her.
For thirty days the Seer did not take his mind off of her. On the thirty-first day, the nursemaid came to him in a dream. Her face was aglow like the sun and her garments sparkled like a night sky full of stars. She said, "You can stop saying kaddish! I don't want you to say it for me anymore!"
"Is my kaddish not good?" questioned the Seer.
Her answer astounded. "On the contrary. It's too good. Every time you say kaddish, I am raised to another exalted level. Now I sit amongst very righteous women. I don't understand what they say, but it is good for me to be there. But if you say kaddish for me tomorrow, they will take me to another place, which will surely be too high for me. Thank you very much, but please stop saying the kaddish!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Adapted and expanded by Yerachmiel Tilles from the rendition of Rabbi Reuven Semah in "Shabbos Stories for the Parsha" (keren18@juno.com - Behar-Bechukosai 5775)

Biographical note:
Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Horowitz [of blessed memory: 5505 - 9 Av 5575 (1745 - Aug. 1815 C.E.)], known as 'the Chozeh (Seer) of Lublin', was one of the four major successors to the Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk (1717-1787), and the leader of the spread of chasidism in Poland. Many great Rebbes of the next generation emerged from his followers, including: "the Yid HaKodesh", Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, Rabbi Naftali of Ropshitz, the "Maor v'Shemesh", Rabbi David of Lelov, "the Yismach Moshe", "the Benei Yissachar", Rabbi Sar-Shalom of Belz, and many others. Many of his insights were published posthumously in Divrei Emmes, Zichron Zos, and Zos Zichron.


I received two film clips from the artist so enjoy you may want to silent the music before Tisha B’Av https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2XYTsuLPAQ&feature=youtu.be


Ed- Op Ben Dror Yemeni. An ex-Likudnik is what Labor really needs. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4988186,00.html


Ben Gurion Airport ranks 8th in the world. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4989509,00.html


Finally allowed home since Kangaroo Court put him in detention. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4989920,00.html


Proof that the soldier is innocent from Temple Mount video how injured terrorist get up to attack. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232727


National Geographic Documentary on Chassidim (all types): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMoFQhOG_Ok




Helping Cuban Jews landed him in prison now he helps himself. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4991049,00.html



Inyanay Diyoma


The two Druze Border Policemen pass away from their wounds. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232468


Grand Mufti questioned after attack. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4989311,00.html


House approves more missile defense for Israel (total of $705,000,000 above the $3.8 billion aid packages). http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232498


US killed the Amir of ISIS in Afghanistan and another senior leader: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232496




Two female tourists in Egypt stabbed to death. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232495




Har HaBeis to be reopened with airport like security: http://debka.com/article/26147/Temple-Mt-opens-in-stages-amid-terror-probe




Iraqi soldiers from the religion of peace to ISIS “Name’s cliff drop over any time.” http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4989557,00.html


Resisting arrest with a rifle can be dangerous to your health another Shachid. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4989721,00.html


Magnetometers needed for security but will Netanyahu risk lives because of Arab Demands. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232542












Both Russia and the US will discuss Syria with Israel. Iranian bases are unacceptable. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232620








ISIS in Sinai looking to11 attack us. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4990556,00.html












Netanyahu tells Eastern European Leaders that the PC Western Europeans are out of their minds. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232698


Friday is deemed Muslim Day of Rage. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4991752,00.html


Greek refugee camps. Christians face prosecution by Muslims. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232704






Jobs in America is more Jobs in Israel: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4992300,00.html








Ed-Op Yemeni Soros = Hungarian Nazis: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4990347,00.html




Good Shabbos all,
Rachamim Pauli