Parsha Ki Savo
This
is still the speech that started in Parsha Re’eh when the blessing and curse
was mentioned. Now the blessing and the curse are specified. In fact, there are
too many curses in this Parsha if a person strays from the Torah path. Perhaps
the worse curse is that the children or a few generations further disappear
either altogether or from Judaism.
26:1 And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy
God give thee for an inheritance, and do possess it, and dwell therein; 2 that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of
the ground, which thou shalt bring in from thy land that the LORD thy God giveth
thee; and thou shalt put it in a basket and shalt go unto the place which the
LORD thy God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there.
HASHEM has given you the land and privilege to
raise fruit of grain of the 7 species now it is time to take a basket of the
first fruits, Bikurim, to HASHEM in the Mishkan or Mikdash.
3 And thou shalt come unto the
priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him: 'I profess this day unto
the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the land which the LORD swore unto our
fathers to give us.'
What happens to a Ger Tzeddek? He says “our
fathers” for the Rabbis state that Avraham was the father of many nations and
spiritually the Ger is now a follower of the religion of Avraham.
4 And the priest shall take the
basket out of thy hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.
It is set before the Mizbayach. Unlike other
religions of the time or some Hindu worship today, G-D is not being fed this
food but it goes to the Cohanim. It is a thanks for the goodness in bounty that
HASHEM has given to the farmer.
5 And thou shalt speak and say
before the LORD thy God: 'A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down
into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation,
great, mighty, and populous.
We start bringing the Bikurim on Shavuos but it
has another name as the Atzeres of Pesach and on the night of the Seder in the
Chagadah we have started off with this story after the 4 questions.
6 And the Egyptians dealt ill with
us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. 7 And we cried unto the LORD, the God of our fathers,
and the LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our
oppression. 8 And the LORD brought us
forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with
great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders.
When we bring the Bikurim we are praising heaven.
By saying this we are making a Kiddush HASHEM.
9 And He hath brought us into this
place, and hath given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
We are in this land flowing with milk and honey.
10 And now, behold, I have brought
the first of the fruit of the land, which Thou, O LORD, hast given me.' And
thou shalt set it down before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy
God. 11 And thou shalt rejoice in all the
good which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thy house, thou, and
the Levite, and the stranger that is in the midst of thee.
This is the end of the formal confession. We are
also asked if our Bikurim is not suckling off of our neighbor’s land and that
the land belongs to us – Mishnayos Bikurim.
12 When thou hast made an end of
tithing all the tithe of thine increase in the third year, which is the year of
tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, to the stranger, to the fatherless,
and to the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be satisfied, 13 then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God: 'I have
put away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them unto the
Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according
to all Thy commandment which Thou hast commanded me; I have not transgressed
any of Thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.
The orphan and the widow are mentioned time and
time again. If we do not take care of them, there is a chance that our own
wives and children will become orphans and widows.
14 I have not eaten thereof in my
mourning, neither have I put away thereof, being unclean, nor given thereof for
the dead; I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, I have done
according to all that Thou hast commanded me. 15 Look forth from Thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Thy people
Israel, and the land which Thou hast given us, as Thou didst swear unto our
fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.'
I have not eaten Maaseh Sheni while I have ritual
impurity. I have done my honest best to follow the Mitzvos and to deserve the
land that was sworn to my forefathers.
16 This day the LORD thy God
commands thee to do these statutes and ordinances; thou shalt therefore observe
and do them with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.
Realistically, perhaps we cannot pray and do all
the statutes and commandments with all our heart and soul but we should try.
17 Thou have avouched the LORD this
day to be thy God, and that thou would walk in His ways, and keep His statutes,
and His commandments, and His ordinances, and hearken unto His voice. 18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be His own
treasure, as He hath promised thee, and that thou should keep all His
commandments; 19 and to make thee high
above all nations that He hath made, in praise, and in name, and in glory; and
that thou may be a holy people unto the LORD thy God, as He hath spoken.
We are holy and must try our utmost to
be holy and a holy people.
27: 1 And Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the
people, saying: 'Keep all the commandment which I command you this day. 2 And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over
the Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God gives thee, that thou shalt set
thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster. 3 And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this
law, when thou art passed over; that thou may go in unto the land which the
LORD thy God giveth thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the
God of thy fathers, hath promised thee.
In the times of the Gemara, only two out of the
twelve stones still stood in the Yarden River. I assume that by now they all toppled
are covered over with silt and rocks.
4 And it shall be when ye are
passed over the Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you
this day, in mount Eval, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster.
The Mizbayach of Yehoshua Bin Nun was found
through digging but the 12 stones not.
One can assume that they are under a lot of dirt
and perhaps rocks too.
5 And there shalt thou build an
altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones; thou shalt lift up no iron
tool upon them. 6 Thou shalt build the
altar of the LORD thy God of unhewn stones; and thou shalt offer
burnt-offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God. 7 And thou shalt sacrifice peace-offerings, and shalt eat there; and thou
shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God. 8
And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.'
Iron cannot smooth the rocks but some substance
called the Shamir could do so. Today lasers and chemicals could do the trick.
9 And Moses and the priests the
Levites spoke unto all Israel, saying: 'Keep silence, and hear, O Israel; this
day thou art become a people unto the LORD thy God.
Pay close attention you are the people of G-D and
his representatives in this world. Therefore act and behave in private and
especially publically as such.
10 Thou shalt therefore hearken to
the voice of the LORD thy God, and do His commandments and His statutes, which
I command thee this day.'
Observe productively and do the commandments.
11 And Moses charged the people the
same day, saying: 12 'These shall stand
upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are passed over the Jordan:
Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin; 13 and these shall stand upon mount Eval for the curse:
Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men
of Israel with a loud voice:
Yacov wanted to separate Shimon and Levi because
of Dina; however, because they remove the faulty blood from Israel, HASHEM called them to stand together for the Bracha.
15 Cursed be the man that makes a
graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of
the craftsman, and sets it up in secret. And all the people shall answer and
say: Amen.
The power of 600,000 warriors saying such an Amen
would make one think twice before going astray and the same for the rest of the
blessings or curses.
16 Cursed be he that dishonors his
father or his mother. And all the people shall say: Amen.
I guess the best example of this is Esav who would act super in
honoring his father to his face and go out and rape or seduce a betrothed
woman, steal, murder, eat a limb from a living animal and do idol worship. What
the son of the Korban Le HASHEM does these things! That is the dishonor.
17 Cursed be he that removes his
neighbor's landmark. And all the people shall say: Amen.
In an orderly society, people respect boundaries and as they
respect their property, they respect the property of others. Not so in a
society run by the mafia or socialists who take what they want from simple law
abiding citizens.
18 Cursed be he that makes the
blind to go astray in the way. And all the people shall say: Amen.
Instead of helping the blind, deaf and disabled one hinders them
this is wicked. As the years progress one’s sight and hearing goes down and one
walks often with more of a waddle as it becomes harder and harder to keep one’s
balance. My personal trainer is working each session from 10 to 15 minutes of
the hour only on me strengthening my balance. When people reach close to 60
they start falling down and having accidents. Balance training is important.
Too many elderly people break their hips and end up quickly in the next world.
19 Cursed be he that perverts the
justice due to the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall
say: Amen.
This is similar to the leading astray the blind
as it takes advantage of the weakness of others.
20 Cursed be he that lies with his
father's wife; because he hath uncovered his father's skirt. And all the people
shall say: Amen.
This woman is not his mother and may be very
beautiful but once she has been married to his father, she is a step-mother.
This then becomes a very wicked deed.
21 Cursed be he that lies with any
manner of beast. And all the people shall say: Amen.
This is depravity. One should go and find a wife
or return home rather than do this disgusting deed. It is not primitive peoples
or puberty shepherds that do these things but I have heard of astronomers in
remote places of the world doing these things.
22 Cursed be he that lies with his
sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the
people shall say: Amen. 23 Cursed be he
that lies with his mother-in-law. And all the people shall say: Amen.
Close family is easier to access and commit such
acts. Criminals are generally lazy and they take advantages of others even
mutual consent to such things is disgusting.
24 Cursed be he that smites his
neighbor in secret. And all the people shall say: Amen.
This is an ambush so that no one can come to the
aid of the second party. It is such that he might be masked and then the
neighbor will come to the culprit like this. “Timothy watch out. I was jumped
by some character on the path.”
25 Cursed be he that taketh a bribe
to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say: Amen.
This is pure mafia style murder.
26 Cursed be he that confirms not
the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say: Amen.'
The law here is Torah. And anybody who
mocks or purposely ignores the words and commands of Torah is not only a fool
as it is a guide for a good life and he is also cursed.
28:1 And it shall come to
pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to
observe to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD
thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all
these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken
unto the voice of the LORD thy God. Observe and honor the words of Torah and you will be over-come by blessings.
3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the young of thy flock. 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough. 6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou come in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou go out. 7 The LORD will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee; they shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee seven ways.
Proper and faithful observance shall lead to blessings above and beyond what one can believe.
8 The LORD will command the blessing with thee in thy barns, and in all that thou put thy hand unto; and He will bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Observe the Mitzvos in deeds and be blessed
9 The LORD will establish thee for a holy people unto Himself, as He hath sworn unto thee; if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in His ways. 10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the LORD is called upon thee; and they shall be afraid of thee.
The nations will see that you are blessed and G-D is an active participant in your welfare and therefore will not try to dominate you.
11 And the LORD will make thee over-abundant for good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers to give thee. 12 The LORD will open unto thee His good treasure the heaven to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand; and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow. 13 And the LORD will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them;
Am Yisrael shall be of major importance to the world in a positive way.
14 and shalt not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
The Torah and Mitzvos shall be your central theme. When this is the case and you stay away from false or no gods at all the blessings will continue.
15 But
it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy
God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command
thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.
Hidden
in these Pasukim of warnings and curses is the word Nazi in Hebrew in the Bible
Code. I covered these a year or two ago and prefer blessings and observance to
non-compliance, non-observance and curses.
… 69
These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with
the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which He made
with them in Horev.
29:1 And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them: Ye have seen all
that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto
all his servants, and unto all his land; 2
the great trials which thine eyes saw, the signs and those great wonders; 3 but the LORD hath not given you a heart to know, and
eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. 4 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes are not
waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.
Realize that not having shoes wear out or
clothing wear out in 40 years is a miracle.
5 Ye have not eaten bread, neither
have ye drunk wine or strong drink; that ye might know that I am the LORD your God.
You have been dependent on food and drink from
heaven so that everything that entered you came from a heavenly source.
6 And when ye came unto this place,
Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto
battle, and we smote them. 7 And we took
their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the
Gadites, and to the half-tribe of the Manassites. 8 Observe therefore the words of this covenant, and do
them, that ye may make all that ye do to prosper.
This is a command in one way but if one
thinks deeper one sees wise advice. This is the key to success not pursuing
riches with schemes and dreams.
Parsha Nitzavim
29:9 Ye are standing this day all of you before the LORD your God: your
heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel,
These are the important officials acknowledged by
a leader in a speech.
10 your little ones, your wives,
and thy stranger that is in the midst of thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood
unto the drawer of thy water;
Children, wood hewers and drawers of water weren’t
usually acknowledged by any speaker but these are the common men and women.
11 that thou should enter into the
covenant of the LORD thy God--and into His oath--which the LORD thy God makes
with thee this day; 12 that He may
establish thee this day unto Himself for a people, and that He may be unto thee
a God, as He spoke unto thee, and as He swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to
Isaac, and to Jacob. 13 Neither with you
only do I make this covenant and this oath; 14 but with him that stands here with us this day before the LORD our God,
and also with him that is not here with us this day—
You are standing with us today and stay with us,
Torah and Mitzvos.
15 for ye know how we dwelt in the
land of Egypt; and how we came through the midst of the nations through which
ye passed; 16 and ye have seen their detestable
things, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were with
them-- 17 lest there should be among you
man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turns away this day from the
LORD our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there should be
among you a root that bears gall and wormwood;
Your G-D is a living G-D and idolatry is
impotent.
18 and it come to pass, when he
hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying: 'I
shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart--that the
watered be swept away with the dry'; 19
the LORD will not be willing to pardon him, but then the anger of the LORD and
His jealousy shall be kindled against that man, and all the curse that is
written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name
from under heaven;
My own family has
an example of this. My father had an uncle who married a non-Jewish woman with
a Jewish father. In order to teach in an Austrian University, he converted to
Catholicism. He raised his son atheistic and he became a very famous physicist
and his daughter an author in German and English. Both had to flee the Nazis
and he lived long enough to know that he would never have any grandchildren.
Contrary to this his Jewish Traditional Swiss brother who saved him would go on
to see grandchildren and his other brother had one son who married a Jewish
woman who had my brother and I.
20 and the LORD shall separate him
unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the
covenant that is written in this book of the law. 21 And the generation to come, your children that shall
rise up after you, and the foreigner that shall come from a far land, shall
say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses wherewith the
LORD hath made it sick; 22 and that the
whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and a burning, that it is not sown,
nor bears, nor any grass grows therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and
Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger, and in His
wrath;
When I first looked at the land in the area where
I live it was beyond the last vestige of trees on the green line. It was barren
with mostly rocks and weeds and the same goes for all the hills on the way to
Beit Horon or north for the area of Yehuda and the area of the tribe of
Benyamin. Where there are Jews there are trees and flowers and the rest of the
land is barren except for some olive trees that might have been planted after
1967C.E.
23 even all the nations shall say
'Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what means the heat of this
great anger?' 24 then men shall say:
'Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which
He made with them when He brought them forth out of the land of Egypt; 25 and went and served other gods, and worshipped them,
gods that they knew not, and that He had not allotted unto them; 26 therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against
this land, to bring upon it all the curse that is written in this book; 27 and the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger,
and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it
is this day'.
The Romans followed by the Byzantines and Arabs
had no connection with the land. I am not a Kabbalist that I understand the
relationship of the inanimate world with that of the plant kingdom, that of
animals of the land and those who speak the name of the L-RD but obviously
those three kingdoms were impotent to the holiness of the land.
28 The secret things belong unto
the LORD our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our
children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Whatever the secret of the land is, it is fact
that the land and people of it are one.
30:1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee,
the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt
bethink thyself among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven
thee,
This appears to be a continuation of the speech
started in Re’eh as the reference to the blessing and the curse continues.
2 and shalt return unto the LORD
thy God, and hearken to His voice according to all that I command thee this
day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul;
Isn’t it wonderful that this Parsha appears just
around Rosh Hashanah during the days of Selichos (forgiveness prayers) it is an
aid in getting us to do Teshuva and completely and wholesomely return unto G-D.
3 that then the LORD thy God will
turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather
thee from all the peoples, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
After the destruction of the first Mikdash, the
people were only scattered to Bavel and the 10 tribes a bit further away in
Afghanistan and perhaps other countries in the area. But after the destruction
of the second Mikdash the people were scattered all over the far places of the
earth even down to the south pole.
4 If any of thine that are
dispersed be in the uttermost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy
God gather thee, and from thence will He fetch thee.
Seeing is believing and I have met Jews who grew
up in China, Burma, a man from the Baltic sent to Siberia, Sweden, Hawaii, most
anywhere in Europe, Asia and Africa. They all ended up in Eretz Yisrael
including a mainland USA gal who helped Chabad Hawaii then met an Israeli and
they live in Israel with their children.
5 And the LORD thy God will bring
thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and
He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. 6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thy heart, and
the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, that thou may live.
When the time of return comes, one can be far
away and HASHEM will bring him back to the land and the Mitzvos.
7 And the LORD thy God will put all
these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, that persecuted
thee. 8 And thou shalt return and hearken
to the voice of the LORD, and do all His commandments which I command thee this
day. 9 And the LORD thy God will make
thee over-abundant in all the work of thy hand, in the fruit of thy body, and
in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good; for the
LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as He rejoiced over thy fathers; 10 if thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy
God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book
of the law; if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul.
You must take the first step to return but then
HASHEM will back you up and give you great goodness for returning.
11 For this commandment which I
command thee this day, it is not too hard for thee, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that thou should say: 'Who shall
go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we
may do it?' 13 Neither is it beyond the
sea, that thou should say: 'Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto
us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it?' 14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth,
and in thy heart, that thou may do it.
The Torah is right here and now so do it, observe
it.
15 See, I have set before thee this
day life and good, and death and evil,
It is up to you to choose and observe one or the
other.
16 in that I command thee this day
to love the LORD thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and
His statutes and His ordinances; then thou shalt live and multiply, and the
LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou go in to possess it.
Observe and honor the commandments and it will be
good for you.
17 But if thy heart turn away, and
thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve
them; 18 I declare unto you this day,
that ye shall surely perish; ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou pass over the Jordan
to go in to possess it.
The L-RD has snakes, diseases, accidents,
terrorists and other ways to make one perish.
19 I call heaven and earth to
witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the
blessing and the curse; therefore, choose life, that thou may live, thou and
thy seed;
People are called upon to obey and after death,
inanimate objects through the vibration of their molecules can testify. So that
Shemayim and Aretz can be witnesses. There was the story of the two butchers
that Rabbi Yehuda Yosefi brought down where one butcher heard in the Beis Din
in heaven call upon the walls of the house to testify against or for a person.
You might think that your actions are in private but the walls have ears and
eyes.
20 to love the LORD thy God, to
hearken to His voice, and to cleave unto Him; for that is thy life, and the
length of thy days; that thou may dwell in the land which the LORD swore unto
thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Worrying more about our souls than our bodies.
This ruling is somewhat anomalous. Which way is it? If pas akum is forbidden, it should be prohibited the whole year and if it is not forbidden, it should be permissible the whole year!
The Tolner Rebbe tries to explain this strange halacha in Shulchan Aruch.
Many times, the Shulchan Aruch uses the terminology “A baal nefesh (e.g. – a person concerned for his soul) should be strict in the matter.” This means that something can be perfectly permissible, but there exist certain spiritually sensitive souls who should shun any practice that is in any way questionable.
The term baal nefesh is not synonymous with “Chassid” or “tzaddik“, both of which are terms that express righteousness and piety beyond the norm. What exactly is a “baal nefesh“? Where does it come from?
Rashi (Niddah 16b) defines a baal nefesh as someone who is “fearful and abstains from even a question of transgression.” It is the type of person who is diligent when it comes to avoiding even a doubt of prohibition, even though according to the bottom line halacha, the action is 100% permissible.
The Sefer HaManhig defines a baal nefesh as “one who rules over his soul.”
In short, a baal nefesh is a person who is worried about his soul. There is constant tension between a person’s body (guf) and soul (nefesh). Most people worry about their bodies more than their souls. Regarding ruchniyus (spirituality), we say, “Nu, I have bitachon (confidence).” Regarding gashmiyus (materialistic matters) – we are not so religious that we always say, “I have confidence.” We are worried more about our materialistic needs than our spiritual needs. A baal nefesh is a person who is concerned about his nefesh, concerned about his soul.
The Rambam writes in Hilchos Teshuva 7:6 as follows, “How exalted is Repentance. Yesterday he was separated from Hashem, the G-d of Israel… he cries out and is not answered…and today he clings to the Divine Presence… he cries out and is immediately answered.”
When a person repents, he becomes a different person. Just yesterday, he was distant from the Ribono shel Olam and today he is close to Him. That is why the Shulchan Aruch says that during the Ten Days of Repentance, we should be particular about eating only pas Yisrael. During these holy days following Rosh Hashanah, we become different people – baalei nefesh. At least during these 10 days, we are worried about our souls. Let our bodies take care of themselves – we will worry about that later. Our main concern during this period of time is “What is going to be with our souls?” A baal nefesh is a person who is worried about his ruchniyus (spirituality).
Therefore, once a person experiences Rosh Hashanah and is transformed into this different person, an entire new set of halachos in Shulchan Aruch apply. The rest of the year, kosher “Pas Akum” is perfectly permissible. However, for a “baal nefesh,” throughout the year and for every one of us during the spiritually auspicious time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur when we become “baalei nefesh,” the Shulchan Aruch provides us with a more demanding standard.
The www.torah.org part of project Genesis
From Miriam Esther E. the story of a politically
incorrect Jew during the FDR era in Hollywood. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/11/03/the-courageous-unpopular-activism-of-ben-hecht/
The
purpose of gold: The power of Tanya by R’ Y. Tilles
In the year 5650 (1890), his learned and well-known grandfather, Rabbi Avraham-David Levitt, passed away, leaving behind a letter addressed to the heads of the Jewish community in Nikolayev in which he requested that they appoint Rabbi Meir Shlomo as his successor, whom he had raised in his home after he was orphaned at a young age, and educated like his own son. The heads of the community were quick to fulfill their deceased Rabbi's wish, and Rabbi Meir Shlomo was appointed Rabbi of Nikolayev.
Rabbi Meir Shlomo was noted for his great knowledge of Talmud and of Chasidut, his piety and his lofty character; like his illustrious grandfather, he was devoted to peace and shunned all honors. In addition, Rabbi Meir Shlomo had an excellent ear for music and was a talented singer of Chasidic tunes.
Rabbi Meir Shlomo and his wife Rebbetzin Rachel had four children, three daughters and a son: 1) Chana, 2) Gittel, 3) Ethel, and 4) Yisrael-Leib, who died of typhus at the age of fifteen.
The oldest daughter, Rebbetzin Chana, married the eminent scholar and kabbalist, Rabbi Levi-Yitzchak Schneerson. The second daughter, Rebbetzin Gittel, married Rabbi Shmuel Schneerson, brother of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak. This match was made with the approval of the fifth rebbe in the Chabad dynasty, the Rebbe Rashab, who stipulated that the two couples live in different cities.
Rabbi Shmuel eventually succeeded his father-in-law as the Rabbi of Nikolayev. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak and Rebbetzin Chana, moved to Yekatrinoslav (today Dnipropetrovsk) where he was appointed Chief Rabbi. Shortly thereafter, their first child was born, Menachem Mendel, who, after the passing of his father-in-law, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef-Yitzchak Schneersohn (the Rebbe Rayatz), became the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe and the greatest leader of the Jewish people in the second half of the 20th century.
* * *
In one of his talks, the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of blessed memory, related a famous utterance of his grandfather's. "My maternal grandfather, of blessed memory, was appointed to be Rabbi of Nikolayev after spending several years at the court of the Rebbe Maharash in Lubavitch. Shortly after he had assumed the position, he described to his congregation, not all of whom were chasidim, the Rebbe's aristocratic conduct and opulent life style - for instance, his clothing was made of the richest material, he had two gold watches, and many of his personal accessories were also made of gold.
One of the listeners voiced the doubt, "How is it that a Jew can permit himself such luxury; are we not still in exile? Surely it would be better for him to give his excess money to tzedakah, and live a frugal and austere life."
To this my grandfather replied, "Fool! Do you think that gold was created for the gentiles, or for ordinary folk like you and me? No! Gold was created only for use in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. With the Temple destroyed gold exists solely for the sake of the righteous, such as him".
The following two episodes illustrate the exceptional character of Rabbi Meir Shlomo.
Rebbetzin Chana told the following story about her father. "In addition to his brilliance in the study of Torah and Chasidut, my father was extremely pious and honest.
"Every year, before the festival of Sukkot, my father sold etrogim, to supplement the meager salary that he received as Rabbi. Whenever a customer would choose an etrog, my father would advise him to examine it carefully to make sure that is was hadar (beautiful, exemplary) that the top protuberance, the 'pitom,' was whole, etc. As a result, many of his etrogim remained unsold."
Rabbi Meir Shlomo was once informed that his son-in-law, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, who was already living in Yekatrinoslav at the time, was confined to bed with a serious lung disease. Upon hearing the news, his face reddened and, standing with his right foot on a chair, he began to sing in a soft and extraordinarily sweet voice one of the wordless "Vallach" shepherds' melodies, known today as "Reb Meir Shlomo's Niggun." Afterwards, he earnestly exclaimed, "If, G-d forbid, an evil decree has been passed upon him, I wish to exchange places with him."
* * *
Rabbi Mendel Futerfas, one of the dominant chasidim of the 20th century, occasionally told the following extraordinary story about the two good friends, Rabbi Meir Shlomo and Rabbi Asher Grossman, the shochet of Nikolayev.
The feast celebrating the circumcision of the Rebbe took place on a Monday, the fourth day of Passover, in the house of his grandfather. Reb Asher refused to eat any of the food that was set out on the table, because during Passover he never ate food that had not been prepared in his own home. Rabbi Meir Shlomo was upset by this and said to the shochet, "Asher! Truly, you deserve to be reprimanded. After all, in my house it is certainly permissible for you to eat. But what can I do? I cannot allow myself to rebuke you, since you saved my life once."
Rabbi Meir Shlomo was referring to the period in his life when he had contracted typhus. At that time, there was no known cure for this disease. The customary procedure was to quarantine the victims in a sealed area outside of the city in order to prevent contagion. Except for a doctor who came once a day to dispense medicine, no one was permitted to enter the camp. Overwhelmed by suffering, abandoned and lonely, the sick lay on their beds and expired in droves.
When Rabbi Meir Shlomo was stricken with the dread disease, he too was taken away to this distant and forbidding place. There, he languished on a cot, helpless and virtually without hope.
When Reb Asher learned of his friend's desperate situation, he took a copy of Tanya (the primary text of Chabad chasidut) and went to his building in the quarantined area. Forbidden to enter the sick man's room, he stood outside as close to Meir Shlomo's room as possible and read aloud to him the eleventh chapter of Iggeret HaKodesh (Tanya, book 4), in which it is explained: "…No evil descends from above, and everything is good. And when man will contemplate his continually coming to exist truly every moment and absorbs this, how can he possibly think he has ever suffered, or had any afflictions relating to children, life and sustenance, or any other kind of worldly sufferings."
Upon concluding his reading of the chapter, he closed the book and departed.
Reb Asher continued this routine every day for an entire month, despite not knowing if Meir Shlomo heard him or not; he just hoped. He would appear at the quarantine camp with the Tanya, read the chapter in a loud voice, and then go home.
This daily "injection" had its effect; Rabbi Meir Shlomo's health gradually improved until he recovered completely. He later reported that each day after the Tanya reading, he felt himself becoming stronger and healthier.
Subsequently, when he was able to meet with Reb Asher, he called to him excitedly. "You saved my life! The reading of those holy words gave me the strength to overcome all the pain and depression, and I was able to overcome the illness!"
~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Compiled and adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles mainly from A Mother in Israel, with supplementary information from The WeeklyFarbrengen.com and Days in Chabad.
Connection: Seasonal - yahrzeits (2)
23 Elul 5779, 82nd yahrzeit of Rabbi Meir-Shlomo Yanovsky, maternal grandfather of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe.
6 Tishrei 5780, 45th yahrzeit of Rebbetzin Chana Shneerson, mother of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Biographical note:
Rabbi Meir-Shlomo Yanovsky [circa. 5620 - 24 Elul 5697 (circa. 1860 - Sept. 1937)] was the maternal grandson of Rabbi Avraham-David Levitt [5575 - 18 Adar 5650 (1815 -March 1890)], an illustrious Talmudic scholar and Chabad chasid, and maternal grandfather of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi M. M. Shneerson, n'd. An excellent scholar of Talmud and Chasidut, he succeeded his grandfather as chief rabbi in Nikolayev in 1890.
Interview
with former UK Chief Rabbi. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269534
Note
this is hard to hear and you may need an external speaker.
Man
tries to stab Rabbi in N. Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269222
National
Religious Party barely won. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/24480
BDE
Austrian Holocaust Survivor at 106. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269207
Segregated
Kindergarten closed. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269339
Two
new Synagogues in Budapest. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269339
Elbit
wins contract with US Navy. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269504
Leaves OK in Israel
controlled in EU. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269512
Inyanay Diyoma
Israeli-Saudi
planes raid Iranian base in Syria. https://www.debka.com/first-israeli-saudi-air-force-collaboration-for-demolishing-irans-abu-kamal-complex/
Iran
saw the firing of Bolton as weakness. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/24460
Gaza
weekly protest 76 injured. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269202
IDF
Officer injured by stones. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269204
Burglar
dies in fall. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269210
Will
the Arabs support Ganz? https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269209
Netanyahu
need not fear Likud knives yet. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5592518,00.html
Iranians
get Visas to UN. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269168
Rabbi
Lau appeals to Italian PM over Cemetery destruction. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269161
LA
Synagogue vandalized. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269163
Bus
in Charedi Neighbor antisemtic sign. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5592847,00.html
Iranian
War bluster. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5592726,00.html
Syria
downs Iranian Drone? https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269217
Ed-Op
Barry Shaw the fall of Netanyahu. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/24480
Iranian
Shiite forces threaten Saudis, Yarden and Yisrael. https://www.debka.com/pro-iran-pmu-forces-take-over-iraqs-saudi-jordanian-borders-threaten-israel-from-the-east/
Iranian
cells in the Shomron. https://www.debka.com/iran-sets-up-islamic-jihad-cells-in-judea-and-samaria-for-rocket-attacks-on-israel/
Day
in court for fire balloonists. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269313
Ganz
continues boycotting religious. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269324
Redemolition
after terror den rebuilt. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269343
Attack
at Maccabee Junction: https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5596984,00.html
Israel-Hamas
agreement = field hospital. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5596804,00.html
Gandhi’s
letter from 80 years ago. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5596127,00.html
Female
IAF squadron leader. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269402
Antisemitic
Malaysian PM Columbia U. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269403
Swastika
and Jude at WI Schul. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269375
Pelosi
joins Impeach 45. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269389
President
to name first candidate. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269438
US-Iranian
summit??? https://www.debka.com/enhanced-prospect-of-a-trump-rouhani-summit-on-un-sidelines/
Netanyahu
gets chance to form govt. https://www.debka.com/president-gives-netanyahu-mission-impossible-forming-new-government-amid-post-election-deadlock/
Fishman
on Gaza: https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5596924,00.html
Iran
one blunder and the whole region goes up. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5597114,00.html
Trump
meets with Katz. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269462
Biden
opened up his mouth on the Council of Foreign Relations a supporter of either
Warren or another blew the whistle. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269447
The
election law should be updated. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269440
Final
election tallies. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269426
Israeli
Arab arrested with 8 firebombs. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269424
Impeachment
obsessive compulsion disorder. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269421
Giuliani
the Democrats are way over their head. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269420
Batzion
Susskind Sachs hit the political nail on the head by saying that Ganz’s refusal
to join the government is all a matter of personality. Actually I believe it is
not the personality of Ganz but of Lapid with Lieberman not far behind and all
of this to topple Netanyahu.
Iran
views weak Trump: Will Israel make a pre-emptive strike? https://www.debka.com/the-idf-mulls-pre-emptive-strike-to-ward-off-planned-iranian-attacks-on-the-uae-and-israel/
Terror
in the old city. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269486
Smear
campaign. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/adam-schiff-and-democrats-are-twisting-words-to-smear-trump/ar-AAHTFKU?ocid=spartandhp
Former
French President passes away. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5597690,00.html
Dr. Martin
Sherman left-right struggle. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/24479
Antisemitic
Campus Harassment. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/24507
It
is a good idea for Jewish Millionaires to only marry a Jew. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269532
Most
Israelis do not want an anti-religious government. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269530
Good
Shabbos and a healthy, happy, wonderful, beautiful, bountiful, successful,
marvelous, joyous, fruitful and Torah filled New Year,
Rachamim
Pauli and family
