Parsha
Eikev
Moshe is now stating important Halachos for the Bnei
Yisrael and things about Eretz Yisrael such as it is a land flowing with milk
and honey and the oil of olives.
7:12 And it shall come to pass, because ye hearken to these
ordinances, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep with thee
the covenant and the mercy which He swore unto thy fathers, 13 and He will love
thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee; He will also bless the fruit of thy
body and the fruit of thy land, thy corn and thy wine and thine oil, the
increase of thy kine and the young of thy flock, in the land which He swore
unto thy fathers to give thee. 14 Thou shalt be blessed above all peoples;
there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle. 15
And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness; and He will put none of the
evil diseases of Egypt, which thou know, upon thee, but will lay them upon all
them that hate thee. 16 And thou shalt consume all the peoples that the LORD
thy God shall deliver unto thee; thine eye shall not pity them; neither shalt
thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee.
If you truly love HASHEM and follow the commandments,
then you will succeed and be in good health. Good and prosperous you will be
over all the peoples of the world. However, if you leave people in the land
that are horrible to mercy and justice they will snare you either by idol
worship or physically.
If you are afraid of the numbers of the nations in the
land don’t worry: … 21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them; for the LORD thy God is
in the midst of thee, a God great and awful. 22 And the LORD thy God will cast
out those nations before thee by little and little; thou may not consume them
quickly, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee. 23 But the LORD thy
God shall deliver them up before thee, and shall discomfit them with a great
discomfiture, until they be destroyed. 24 And He shall deliver their kings into
thy hand, and thou shalt make their name to perish from under heaven; there
shall no man be able to stand against thee, until thou have destroyed them.
Observe the Mitzvos and you will succeed.
In Perkei Avos = Ayn Kemach, Ayn Torah and Ayn Torah, Ayn Kemach. Meaning if there is no flour aka bread there is no Torah but if there is no Torah there will be no flour. It is a From here we can see that the more Torah learning, the more prosperity in the world. The height was the two brothers Yissachar and Zevulun. Zevulun was busy in commerce and would support their brother tribe learning and teaching Torah. As a result, both prospered.
It should be noted that the Christians are big on this Pasuk as Yeshu was a Torah Teacher and he preached this often and the saying was credited to him and not the Torah.
… 7 For the LORD thy God brings thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, springing forth in valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey; 9 a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou may dig brass. 10 And thou shalt eat and be satisfied, and bless the LORD thy God for the good land which He hath given thee.
Eretz Yisrael will provide you with plenty of food and natural resources.
11 Beware lest thou forget the LORD thy God, … 17 and thou say in thy heart: 'My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth.'
This is not for everything comes from HASHEM alone.
18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God, for it is He that gives thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day. 19 And it shall be, if thou shalt forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I forewarn you this day that ye shall surely perish. 20 As the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so shall ye perish; because ye would not hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God.
Each coin has two sides. Do good and observe and be blessed. Don’t observe and be punished.
9: 1 Hear, O Israel: thou art to pass over the Jordan this day, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, 2 a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom thou know, and of whom thou hast heard say: 'Who can stand before the sons of Anak?' 3 Know therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is He who goes over before thee as a devouring fire; He will destroy them, and He will bring them down before thee; so shalt thou drive them out, and make them to perish quickly, as the LORD hath spoken unto thee.
You will see with your own eyes what will be done to these nations and their cities. I remember a time when 3,000,000 Israelis in 1967 defeated 150,000,000 Arabs and their armies. I remember in 1973 in a surprise attack that Arab armies stopped advancing when the road to Afula and Tel Aviv was open. It is only through observance or the covenant between the Avos and HASHEM that we are here in Israel today and not so much on our observance but on Chessed HASHEM.
4 Speak not thou in thy heart, after that the LORD thy God hath thrust them out from before thee, saying: 'For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land'; whereas for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.
Let not your heart be troubled, fear not the nations for their wickedness cannot support them in a holy land.
5 Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thy heart, dost thou go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that He may establish the word which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 6 Know therefore that it is not for thy righteousness that the LORD thy God gives thee this good land to possess it; for thou art a stiffnecked people.
Only though HIS Chessed and the merits of your forefathers will you be able to live in the land.
At this point Moshe reminds them of the sin of the Egel HaZahav and the Spies to shame them and remind them of the Chessed from HASHEM.
… 10: 1 At that time the LORD said unto me: 'Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto Me into the mount; and make thee an ark of wood. 2 And I will write on the tables the words that were on the first tables which thou didst break, and thou shalt put them in the ark.' … 10 Now I stayed in the mount, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened unto me that time also; the LORD would not destroy thee. 11 And the LORD said unto me: 'Arise, go before the people, causing them to set forward, that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore unto their fathers to give unto them.'
So now the time has come to possess the land. Now let me suggest to you what HASHEM wants from you to inherit the land.
12
And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the
LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD
thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul;
HASHEM require both fear and love as a husband is afraid to lose
his wife or vice versa. One must work at this. It is constant review and
renewal. One must not take love for granted. Serving HASHEM has to be whole
hearted and with one’s will.
13
to keep for thy good the commandments of the LORD, and His statutes, which I
command thee this day?
In order to do what HASHEM wants from you, you have whole
heartedly keep and observe the commandments. These are not things that are back
burner items but always priority before you so that HASHEM is before you/us
always.
… 22
Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the
LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
The conclusion is:
11: 1 Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep His
charge, and His statutes, and His ordinances, and His commandments, always. 2
And know ye this day; for I speak not with your children that have not known,
and that have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, His greatness,
His mighty hand, and His outstretched arm,
I am not speaking to a generation who has not seen firsthand
the miracles of Egypt, receiving the Decalogue, the Korach Rebellion and other
miracles but:
7 but your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD which He
did. 8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandment which I command thee this
day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go over
to possess it; 9 and that ye may prolong your days upon the land, which the
LORD swore unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land
flowing with milk and honey.
Remember your history and miracles. Keep and preserve
through observance of the Mitzvos. Then you and your children will have a land
flowing with milk and honey.
10 For the land, whither thou go in to possess it, is not as the
land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou didst sow thy seed, and
didst water it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs; 11 but the land, whither ye
go over to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drink water as the
rain of heaven comes down;
It is unlike the irrigation of the land from the Nile.
You will have to store rain water or gather from springs and wells.
12 a land which the LORD thy God cares for; the eyes of the LORD
thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of
the year.
Each year the land is judged by your actions on Rosh
Hashanah. Observe and a good judgement. Don’t observe and you are in trouble.
13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto
My commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to
serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 that I will give the
rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou
may gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. 15 And I will give grass
in thy fields for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be satisfied.
This is the middle blessing of the Shema. Observe and
you will receive proper rains and substance.
16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye
turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; 17 and the anger of the
LORD be kindled against you, and He shut up the heaven, so that there shall be
no rain, and the ground shall not yield her fruit; and ye perish quickly from
off the good land which the LORD gives you.
Disobedience and non-compliance with the commandments
ends up with a horrible punishment. Therefore the words shall be bound upon
your soul and impressed upon you by wearing Tephillin and having a Mezuzah on
the door.
18 Therefore shall ye lay up these My words in your heart and in
your soul; and ye shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be
for frontlets between your eyes. 19 And ye shall teach them your children,
talking of them, when thou sit in thy house, and when thou walk by the way, and
when thou lie down, and when thou rise up. 20 And thou shalt write them upon
the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates; 21 that your days may be
multiplied, and the days of your children, upon the land which the LORD swore
unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens above the earth.
Your actions affect your children therefore educate
them to follow the commandments.
… 24 Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be
yours: from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates,
even unto the hinder sea shall be your border.
The borders of the land are as far as your armies and
people walk between the Euphrates, western sea aka Mediterrean. From the tip of
Lebanon until the river in Sinai.
25 There shall no man be able to stand against you: the LORD your
God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye
shall tread upon, as He hath spoken unto you.
All in the family by
Rabbi Y. Tilles
One day in the years
between WWI and WWII, a chasid visited his Rebbe, the Imrei Emmes of
Gur, to consult about his financial worries. He said, "For years, I've
been buying merchandise at a good price from a Jewish corporation in Berlin,
which I then sold for a nice profit. But I recently received a letter from
them, stating that they won't be selling to me anymore. Now I don't know how I
will earn a living.…"
The Imrei
Emmes asked, "What can I do to help?" and the man had to
admit that he didn't know what the Rebbe could do.
The Imrei
Emmes was pensive for a few moments, and then he said, "Soon, I
will be traveling with my brother-in-law, the Rav of Bendin, to the resort in
Marienbad. En route, we will pass Berlin. Ask my brother-in-law whether he is
willing to make a stop in Berlin, to visit this company. If my brother-in-law
agrees to take this detour, I also agree. We will speak with the heads of the
company. Perhaps that will help you."
The man thanked
the Imrei Emmes, and went to the Rav of Bendin. His response was,
"If this is what the Gerer Rebbe desires, of course I concur."
So the Imrei
Emmes and his brother-in-law stopped in Berlin, and went to the
company. The proprietor didn't recognize them, but was impressed by their
scholarly and rabbinic appearance. The Imrei Emmes introduced
himself, "My name is Avraham Mordechai Alter. In Poland people call me the
Gerrer Rebbe. And this is my brother-in-law, Hanoch-Zvi HaKohen Levin, the Rav
of Bendin. We are also mechutanim ("relatives through
marriage"-the daughter of one is married to the son of the other).
The owner jumped
from excitement. "Can you repeat what you just said?"
The rebbe repeated,
"I am the rebbe of Gur, and this is my brother-in-law and mechutan,
the rabbi of Bendin."
For some reason,
these words made him very happy. His partner was upstairs. He called him down.
The partner came down, and the proprietor asked the Imrei Emmes to
repeat what he said a third time.
The Imrei
Emmes obliged: "I am the rebbe of Gur," he said, "and
this is my brother-in-law [husband of my sister] and mechutan, the
rabbi of Bendin."
The two business
partners looked at each other, smiled broadly, and began to dance
energetically. The Imrei Emmes and his brother-in-law stood
there astounded, wondering what this was all about.
Finally, one of the
partners explained: "We are also brothers-in-law. I have a daughter, he
has a son, and we thought that it would be nice if the children marry each
other. But on second thought, we were concerned that perhaps it isn't proper
for cousins to marry each other. So we pushed away the idea to the back of our
minds. But this caused a problem, because to run our busy business, we need to
speak with each other often. Due to our indecision, an uncomfortable tension rose
between us and we hardly spoke. We weren't able to run a business successfully
this way, and contemplated closing it.
But now you come to
our store and tell us that you are brothers-in-law and also mechutanim.
That means our children can marry one another--if you did it, so can we! Our
dancing was kind of an advance engagement celebration, because we are so happy.
In addition, we won't lose our livelihood either. We will be able to speak
normally with each other, and remain in business. It is like a miracle!"
When the partners
calmed down, the first businessman said, "I'm sorry for carrying on. I
didn't even give you a chance to tell me why you came."
The Imrei
Emmes explained that he came to help one of his chasidim. "He
used to buy from you, but he received a letter stating that you won't be
selling to him anymore."
The proprietor
replied, "There is nothing to worry about. I will write another letter,
stating that he is welcome to do business with us as before, and you can bring
it to him. We only sent that last letter because we thought we were closing
shop. But now that we know that our children can marry, our business can
continue."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Adapted and supplemented by Yerachmiel Tilles from Torah Wellsprings: "Collected Thoughts from Rabbi Elimelech Biderman," as compiled and translated by Rabbi Boruch Twersky.
Source: Adapted and supplemented by Yerachmiel Tilles from Torah Wellsprings: "Collected Thoughts from Rabbi Elimelech Biderman," as compiled and translated by Rabbi Boruch Twersky.
Biographical notes:
Rabbi Avraham-Mordechai Alter (1866 - 6 Sivan 1948), the son of the Sfas Emmes, was the third Rebbe in the Gur dynasty. Known as the Imrei Emmes after the title of his major book, he was the spiritual leader of over 250,000 Chassidim in pre-WW II Poland. In 1940, he managed to escape with three of his sons to Israel (then Palestine), although the vast majority of his followers did not survive. He began to rebuild the Gerrer community in Jerusalem, but he died there during the siege of Jerusalem on Shavuos, 1948.
Rabbi Hanoch-Zvi HaKohen Levin [1870 - Shabbat, 6 Adar A,1935], a chasid and major Torah scholar in Poland, was the chief rabbi of Bendin before World War II. He was the grandson of Rebbe Hanoch of Alexander and a son-in-law of the second Gerer Rebbe, Rabbi Yehuda-Aryeh- Leib Alter, the "Sfat Emet," who said about him that "the Rav of Bendin is a complete person."
Rabbi Avraham-Mordechai Alter (1866 - 6 Sivan 1948), the son of the Sfas Emmes, was the third Rebbe in the Gur dynasty. Known as the Imrei Emmes after the title of his major book, he was the spiritual leader of over 250,000 Chassidim in pre-WW II Poland. In 1940, he managed to escape with three of his sons to Israel (then Palestine), although the vast majority of his followers did not survive. He began to rebuild the Gerrer community in Jerusalem, but he died there during the siege of Jerusalem on Shavuos, 1948.
Rabbi Hanoch-Zvi HaKohen Levin [1870 - Shabbat, 6 Adar A,1935], a chasid and major Torah scholar in Poland, was the chief rabbi of Bendin before World War II. He was the grandson of Rebbe Hanoch of Alexander and a son-in-law of the second Gerer Rebbe, Rabbi Yehuda-Aryeh- Leib Alter, the "Sfat Emet," who said about him that "the Rav of Bendin is a complete person."
Police probe of Netanyahu widens with second State Witness. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4999183,00.html
From Gary
- Ray Allen visits Auschwitz. https://theplayerstribune.com/ray-allen-why-i-went-to-auschwitz/
Ed-Op Fishman – Dialogues about Jewish – Muslim interaction going
down the drain as the Mufti – Fatach fight us. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4997621,00.html
Great granddaughter of righteous gentile wants join the IDF: https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/08/06/great-granddaughter-of-righteous-gentiles-seeking-to-join-israeli-army/
Although the Torah permits a 12 year old female to marry a 13 year
old male in this case the court had to permit 16 yrs & 11mos. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233714
Inyanay
Diyoma
New UN sanctions on K. Korea: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/08/05/un-slaps-new-sanctions-on-north-korea-following-missile-tests.html
How to stop leaks in the White House: http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/08/04/leon-panetta-on-how-john-kelly-can-stop-white-house-leaks.html
Jordan moving away from the peace accord with the King’s action. http://debka.com/article/26172/Abdullah-in-Ramallah-will-strike-anti-Israel-stance
Hezballah boosts role in Lebanon despite the claim given to Trump. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4999225,00.html
Lieberman weak on security more stones from Arabs. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233461
From Gary. I might not be happy with Pamela Geller 100% and she
does things that I would not do. The problem is that Google deleted 40,000
references from her. Facebook is censoring her. Big brother is here now. https://www.facebook.com/JewishPatriots/videos/1915843792067989/
The McMaster Danger to Israel and the USA. http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2017/08/06/mcmaster-worked-think-tank-backed-soros-funded-group-helped-obama-sell-iran-nuclear-deal/
Downfall of ISIS may lead to Jihad Empire: https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/08/04/kissinger-warns-iranian-radical-empire-could-emerge-in-a-post-isis-middle-east/
Just because you are black does not give you a license to call
everyone racist says left-wing Jew. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233605
Trump talks tough but Mathis warns the N. Koreans that the regime
will end. http://debka.com/article/26176/Mattis-warns-NKorea-to-stop-before-it-is-destroyed
Rocket fired at Ashkelon: http://www.timesofisrael.com/rocket-alert-siren-blares-south-of-ashkelon-army-investigating/
The rise and decline of Benjamin Netanyahu Ed- Op Ben Dror Yemeni. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5000120,00.html
Kushner to visit Israel. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233758
Visiting Israel this week, House
Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer
insisted that his party remains “overwhelmingly” pro-Israel. If only that were
so... Sadly, the party’s rising stars are on the other side.
...The White House hopefuls [Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillbrand] may
be responding to the shift by the party’s base against Israel. After all, they
heard all the booing at the 2012 Democratic Convention when the chair rammed
through platform language recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Then again, Schumer is 66 and Hoyer 78, while Booker’s 48 and Gillibrand 50. In the
Democratic Party, reliable support for Israel looks to be a thing of the past.
Last week, Booker was one of four Democrat votes against the
Taylor Force Act in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Booker and
Gillibrand have joined liberal Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren and the
ACLU in opposing the Israel Anti-Boycott Act.
A good Shabbos all NEXT WEEK MAY BE A DOUBLE PARSHA AND
THEN A BREAK FOR ONE WEEK AS I OBSERSE THE ECLIPSE WITH THE HELP OF HASHEM AND
THEN TRAVEL BACK TO ISRAEL.
Rachamim Pauli
