Parshiyos Behar – Bechukosai
Last week, our Parsha ended with gleamings or Maaser Ani that occurred in the 3rd and 6th year. Our Parsha starts out with Shmita Year and Yovel Year, redemption of Hebrew Slaves and returning of the fields to the original owners and evaluation of people and houses. The Second Parsha is on observance and non-observance of Mitzvahs and the rewards and punishments thereof.
5:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying: 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a Sabbath unto the LORD.
Last week we ended the Parsha with the regular laws of Shabbos Kodesh, Yomim Tovim and Yom Kippur. Now it is time for Shabbos of the Land or the Shmita Year.
3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the produce thereof.
The Kabbalah is clear about spiritual life in animals, plants and in animate objects. It is not surprising to a string theory physicist of various energy and matter transformation in every inanimate proton, neutrino or electron. The land of Eretz Yisrael has a special holiness above other lands. Just like Am Yisrael must rest weekly on the holy Shabbos, The Kedusha of the land makes it so that it must rest on Shmita and Yovel. The land demands so and if one does not observe the Mitzvos or violates the Shmita, the land itself has the property of vomiting out the people and even plants as Samuel Clemens found when he traveled the land in the late 1800’s.
4 But in the seventh year shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath unto the LORD; thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
Just as the Ben Yisrael must ‘Shabbos v’ yeNafash’ (rest his Neshama) so too the land as a spiritual connection with the Creator and must rest. Not so the land of the Nations for the holiness cannot be found in the United Kingdom, Russia, China, North or South America or Australia. Holiness is concentrated in one land and one people. The holy of holies are the Cohanim followed by the Leviim but the Nations of the world do have holiness that can be brought out as the Buddhists and others try to seek their oneness with the creator or Elokim that has the same Gematria as Teva.
5 That which grows of itself of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, and the grapes of thy undressed vine thou shalt not gather; it shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. 6 And the Sabbath-produce of the land shall be for food for you: for thee, and for thy servant and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant and for the settler by thy side that sojourn with thee; 7 and for thy cattle, and for the beasts that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be for food.
I usually tell my Kollel that my grapes are Hefker come and pick but end up giving them some.
8 And thou shalt number seven Sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and there shall be unto thee the days of seven Sabbaths of years, even forty and nine years. 9 Then shalt thou make proclamation with the blast of the horn on the tenth day of the seventh month; in the day of atonement shall ye make proclamation with the horn throughout all your land.
All the Hebrew ‘slaves’ were to go free and the fields returned to their original owners.
10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
We return to the story of five daughters
inheriting their father marrying within their tribe for their portion. The
whole neighborhood was related whether third, fourth or fifth cousins.
Everybody was from the same tribe.
11 A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you; ye shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of the undressed vines. 12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy unto you; ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
You cannot harvest the grapes. You may make grape juice or wine for personal use, raisins and grapes for eating but only personal use or give the grapes away to the poor or the Kollel like I do. To date, I have not found time to make wine.
13 In this year of jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession. 14 And if thou sell aught unto thy neighbor, or buy of thy neighbor's hand, ye shall not wrong one another.
Rabbi Y. Frand put it so well this week, that I wanted to bring down three paragraphs. All can be found at the Torah.org Parshas Behar contains the Torah’s prohibition against cheating: “When you make a sale to your fellow or when you buy from the hand of your fellow, do not victimize one another (Al tonu ish es achiv).” [Vayikra 25:14] Rashi explains that “Al To’nu” refers to deception regarding monetary matters.
It is not a coincidence that this prohibition against cheating immediately follows the section of the Sabbatical year requirements. If there is one lesson that emerges from the parsha of Shemitah, it is that the Ribono shel Olam provides man with his livelihood needs. In the seventh year, farmers (and in Biblical times the economy was almost totally agrarian) were asked to stop working for an entire year, and they were somehow supposed to survive. How can they do that?
The answer is that the Ribono shel Olam promises that He will take care of them. The takeaway lesson of the parsha of Shmittah is that the Almighty provides our parnassa, and in the seventh year a person can in fact not work, not plant, not harvest, and yet survive – and according to the Torah he will do even more than survive.
15 According to the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy of thy neighbor, and according unto the number of years of the crops he shall sell unto thee.
You can buy or long term rent land between the Yovel.
16 According to the multitude of the years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of the years thou shalt diminish the price of it; for the number of crops doth he sell unto thee. 17 And ye shall not wrong one another; but thou shalt fear thy God; for I am the LORD your God.
The land shall return to the original owner or his children.
18 Wherefore ye shall do My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety. 19 And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat until ye have enough, and dwell therein in safety.
Not working or sowing the field is an act of faith.
20 And if ye shall say: 'What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we may not sow, nor gather in our increase'; 21 then I will command My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth produce for the three years.
If the Yom Kippur siren that came after the Shmita year is anything, then 2023 CE aka 5783 is 50 years from that time and would be the Yovel.
22 And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat of the produce, the old store; until the ninth year, until her produce come in, ye shall eat the old store.
The land shall produce enough crops for income and food for up to the 9th year.
23 And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is Mine; for ye are strangers and settlers with Me. 24 And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.
This parcel is your land and it shall return to you and your family.
25 If thy brother be waxen poor, and sell some of his possession, then shall his kinsman that is next unto him come, and shall redeem that which his brother hath sold. 26 And if a man have no one to redeem it, and he be waxen rich and find sufficient means to redeem it; 27 then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the over plus unto the man to whom he sold it; and he shall return unto his possession.
28 But if he have not sufficient means to get it back for himself, then that which he hath sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubilee; and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.
The sale is actually what we call a long term rental until the Yovel year. A wise man gets his rental yearly otherwise with one lump sum, it is hard to get such money and not over spend the money.
29 And if a man sell a dwelling-house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; for a full year shall he have the right of redemption. 30 And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be made sure in perpetuity to him that bought it, throughout his generations; it shall not go out in the jubilee.
Only the houses of a walled city are good sales forever. Otherwise, in a field they return to the original owner like the field.
31 But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be reckoned with the fields of the country; they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubilee. 32 But as for the cities of the Levites, the houses of the cities of their possession, the Levites shall have a perpetual right of redemption. 33 And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold in the city of his possession, shall go out in the jubilee; for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. 34 But the fields of the open land about their cities may not be sold; for that is their perpetual possession.
Leviim had 24 cities and fields and perhaps the portion of Cohanim of the 24 section one per certain families of Leviim for the their shift.
35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and his means fail with thee; then thou shalt uphold him: as a stranger and a settler shall he live with thee. 36 Take thou no interest of him or increase; but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. 37 Thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest, nor give him thy victuals for increase. 38 I am the LORD your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.
A Jew cannot loan to his fellow Jew on interest, unless it is a loan for a business. As that is a risky and larger loan. But for a short term it is an interest free loan that should be returned.
39 And if thy brother be waxen poor with thee, and sell himself unto thee, thou shalt not make him to serve as a bondservant. 40 As a hired servant, and as a settler, he shall be with thee; he shall serve with thee unto the year of jubilee.
And according to the Talmud, he gets an accumulated amount of worker’s compensation for a retirement fund.
41 Then shall he go out from thee, he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return. 42 For they are My servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as bondmen. 43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor; but shalt fear thy God.
Be a boss, expect the servant to rise and shine and give an honest day’s work and perhaps work with zeal but do not squeeze work out of him.
44 And as for thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, whom thou may have: of the nations that are round about you, of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. 45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them may ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they have begotten in your land; and they may be your possession. 46 And ye may make them an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession: of them may ye take your bondmen forever; but over your brethren the children of Israel ye shall not rule, one over another, with rigor.
The non-Jewish Bondmen and Bondmaids were possessions of the owner but dipped in the Mikvah for Conversion if freed. Jewish Bondmen and Bondmaids were kept up to the Yovel or reaching maturity for the maiden. The maiden was ‘bought’ from a poor but G-D fearing family for the purpose of getting married either to the master or his son upon maturity. The mother of man or his son would break her in as a future daughter-in-law. Sometimes, things don’t work out so she is freed with compensation upon mature. Other times, the Jewish Bondmaid becomes the mistress of the house or the Bondman even marries the Master’s Daughter as in general he was sold for being a thief or apprenticeship. He was not sold to be a Shidduch like the maiden.
47 And if a stranger who is a settler with thee be waxen rich, and thy brother be waxen poor beside him, and sell himself unto the stranger who is a settler with thee, or to the offshoot of a stranger's family, 48 after that he is sold he may be redeemed; one of his brethren may redeem him; 49 or his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be waxen rich, he may redeem himself. 50 And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he sold himself to him unto the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years; according to the time of a hired servant shall he be with him. 51 If there be yet many years, according unto them he shall give back the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. 52 And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall reckon with him; according unto his years shall he give back the price of his redemption.
This is all good if the man needs redemption once or twice for being a spend thrift. However, there comes a point that the man becomes too impossible for words that he is not redeemed by the family any more.
53 As a servant hired year by year shall he be with him; he shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight. 54 And if he be not redeemed by any of these means, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, he, and his children with him. 55 For unto Me the children of Israel are servants; they are My servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
This goes on up to the Yovel year when he is freed.
26:1 Ye shall make you no idols, neither shall ye rear you up a graven image, or a pillar, neither shall ye place any figured stone in your land, to bow down unto it; for I am the LORD your God.
Because of the juxtaposition, one can compare idol worship with the violation of the holy Shabbos.
2 Ye shall keep My Sabbaths, and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD.
As with the ending of Parsha Emor,
Parsha Behar ends with the requirement of observing Shabbos Kodesh. Shabbos is
compared the holy of holies in the Mishkan.
3 If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them;
If you observe my ordinances, commandments and statutes then look what I shall give you and the land. This Parsha always appears around the time when the Six Day War was fought.
4 then I will give your rains in their season, and the land shall yield her produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5 And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time; and ye shall eat your bread until ye have enough, and dwell in your land safely. 6 And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; and I will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
During the Six Day War almost no shells fell in the land. One feel near a gas tank in Kiriat Sands in Yerushalayim and did not explode. Another time a shell was in a mortar and it was too dangerous not to shoot it and the soldier shot after a ‘cease-fire’ causing a Jordanian Ammunition Depot to explode.
7 And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. 8 And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
More or less this occurred in the Six Day War. Perhaps the quietest battle in the 6
Day War was fought by Rabbi Shlomo Goren Zal. After General Uzi Narkiss and the Paratroopers conquered the Kotel, they had orders to take Chevron. After a bunch of photos on the Temple Mount with his Sefer Torah and blowing the Shofar, Rabbi Goren ordered his driver to race to Chevron. Seeing Derek Chevron empty, they speed down the road. When they arrived, the Arabs fearing vengeance for the 1929 massacre were with white flags and the keys to the Machpelah which they handed to Rabbi Goren. About a half hour later Rabbi Goren and his driver were joined by the Paratroopers.
9 And I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you; and will establish My covenant with you. 10 And ye shall eat old store long kept, and ye shall bring forth the old from before the new. 11 And I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.
Just obey the 613 Mitzvos and follow the Halachos and you will get all this and more.
12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be My people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bars of your yoke, and made you go upright.
You are my soldiers in the army of HASHEM. There are 613 Commands that turn into perhaps 17,000 plus Halachos. If you honestly try to do them but by accident fail aka turning on or off a light on Shabbos or breaking a twig on a walk, I will not punish you as long as you are faithful in your guard duty of the Mitzvos and Maasim Tovim. (good deeds).
14 But if ye will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments; 15 and if ye shall reject My statutes, and if your soul abhor Mine ordinances, so that ye will not do all My commandments, but break My covenant; 16 I also will do this unto you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that shall make the eyes to fail, and the soul to languish; and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Just as in the regular army, a soldier can have his leaves cancelled, pay docked or put in the brig. So with HASHEM there are a million combinations to punish somebody who violates the Mitzvos and Halachos.
17 And I will set My face against you, and ye shall be smitten before your enemies; they that hate you shall rule over you; and ye shall flee when none pursues you. 18 And if ye will not yet for these things hearken unto Me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins. 19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass. 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield her produce, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.
I started out this Parsha how the inanimate land has special properties. You and I don’t have the interdimensional sensors that detect observance and violations of the Mitzvos, but the land and the plants are influenced by this.
21 And if ye walk contrary unto Me, and will not hearken unto Me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. 22 And I will send the beast of the field among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your ways shall become desolate.
What might start out as an enemy burning your wagon or car becomes worse and worse into rustling your crops and cattle abusing your children. But this is only the beginning of the violations for you have free will to walk away from observance and behave contrary to the Torah then things get worse and worse.
23 And if in spite of these things ye will not be corrected unto Me, but will walk contrary unto Me; 24 then will I also walk contrary unto you; and I will smite you, even I, seven times for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute the vengeance of the covenant; and ye shall be gathered together within your cities; and I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 26 When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread again by weight; and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. 27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto Me, but walk contrary unto Me; 28 then I will walk contrary unto you in fury; and I also will chastise you seven times for your sins. 29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. …
Finally, somebody will read the Chumash and remind the remaining people of what is written and what has to atoned for. Finally they will be humbled.
39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. 40 And they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their treachery which they committed against Me, and also that they have walked contrary unto Me. 41 I also will walk contrary unto them, and bring them into the land of their enemies; if then perchance their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and they then be paid the punishment of their iniquity; 42 then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
After the bold ones have been humbled and the pride knocked out of them, the L-RD will remember them but the inanimate land must be paid with rest for Shmita and the weekly Shabbos.
43 For the land shall lie forsaken without them, and shall be paid her Sabbaths, while she lies desolate without them; and they shall be paid the punishment of their iniquity; because, even because they rejected Mine ordinances, and their soul abhorred My statutes.
Once the land had had a Tikkun and lied fallow then I will remember the people from the merits of their fathers and a combination of their being humbled and observant.
44 And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. 45 But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD. 46 These are the statutes and ordinances and laws, which the LORD made between Him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
Another reminder that the Mitzvos came directly from HASHEM on Har Sinai.
27:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When a man shall clearly utter a vow of persons unto the LORD, according to thy valuation,
The value of the person goes according to their age at the time of the vow.
3 then thy valuation shall be for the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
People used to sell their value as a slave to the Mikdash and redeem it. The price was given here for male, female, elder and child as if one or the family was to be ‘slaves’ for the Mikdash.
4 And if it be a female, then thy valuation shall be thirty shekels. 5 And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy valuation shall be for the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 6 And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy valuation shall be for the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy valuation shall be three shekels of silver. 7 And if it be from sixty years old and upward: if it be a male, then thy valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 8 But if he be too poor for thy valuation, then he shall be set before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to the means of him that vowed shall the priest value him.
The same valuation can be for one’s field until the Yovel, his house, his animal, or in modern terms his car.
9 And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy. … then he shall set the beast before the priest. 12 And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad; as thou the priest value it, so shall it be. … 14 And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the LORD, then the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad; as the priest shall value it, so shall it stand. 15 And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy valuation unto it, and it shall be his. 16 And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD part of the field of his possession, then thy valuation shall be according to the sowing thereof; the sowing of a homer of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he sanctify his field from the year of jubilee, according to thy valuation it shall stand. ... 24 In the year of jubilee the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land belongs. 25 And all thy valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary; twenty gerahs shall be the shekel. 26 Howbeit the firstling among beasts, which is born as a firstling to the LORD, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox or sheep, it is the LORD'S.
This is the law of the dedication of the Bechor of a clean or unclean beast.
27 And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall ransom it according to thy valuation, and shall add unto it the fifth part thereof; or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy valuation. 28 Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a man may devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, whether of man or beast, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD.
The Bechor is holy unless it is a donkey that has to be redeemed.
29 None devoted, that may be devoted of men, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.
For stealing from the Mikdash/Mizbayach or the Cohain, he deserves the death penalty for violation of the order of holiness.
30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S; it is holy unto the LORD. 31 And if a man will redeem aught of his tithe, he shall add unto it the fifth part thereof. 32 And all the tithe of the herd or the flock, whatsoever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
Every Elul we do Maaser of kosher animals and 10% goes to the Cohain.
33 He shall not inquire whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it; and if he change it at all, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
The tenth cow or sheep etc. shall be holy and no other one whether it be skinny or fat it does not matter it is the tenth!
34 These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
Chazak – Chazak v’ nit Chazak
Facing Goliath by Malka as told by Leah Berger
https://www.aish.com/sp/so/Facing-Goliath.html
After the Holocaust, I was an emaciated girl, spent physically, emotionally and mentally, facing a robust and cruel Russian soldier with no conscience. What chance did I have?
The following true story happened to my grandmother.
The year was 1945. We knew the war was coming to an end based on all the bombings, and because our guards were getting jittery. Little did we know that we would need miracles to survive liberation itself.
We were nearing the end of our misery. We were forced to walk for days on the death march and given just a few minutes once a day for personal needs. We had no idea what was the day of the week; we just kept on walking and walking.
One day we were in middle of a field and the next thing we knew the guards disappeared, fearing the aggressive Russians.
Just like that we were free. The inhabitants of the houses dotting the fields had all fled the approaching Russian armies. We piled into those homes and began settling in. Gunshots startled us and I ran out hysterically. Alas, it was the incoming Russian soldiers, celebrating by shooting in the air. Since I spoke Russian, I was tasked with communicating with the Russian soldiers on behalf of my fellow survivors.
We reentered the houses, randomly choosing beds in what was to be our new lodgings. Nobody wanted to sleep with one girl whose state of mind was greatly affected by all the traumas we had experienced. I volunteered to be her roommate.
We were young girls on the cusp of adulthood, fifteen, sixteen and seventeen. Alone and bereft, we tried to make sense of our new reality.
One night around midnight, a burly Russian soldier burst into my room. He had a dangerous air about him and a wild look in his eyes. My blood froze. My heart started pounding so loud; every fiber of my being filled with horror. He closed the door behind him and I started screaming.
“Be quiet or I’ll shoot,” the soldier commanded, stepping closer to me menacingly.
“Shoot,” I replied.
I stood there, a young teenager all alone, alone in the world and alone in the room. The troubled girl was there with me, but in her state, she could be no help at all.
There I was, a weak, emaciated girl, with not an ounce of strength left in my skeletal body, totally spent physically, emotionally and mentally, facing a robust and cruel Russian soldier, with no conscience. What chance did I have?
I felt like David, the young shepherd facing off against the mighty giant Goliath. Goliath was a fierce and massive warrior, armed with a heavy and expensive body armor of solid brass, and an enormous iron spear. All David had was a modest staff, a slingshot and five pebbles.
What chance did David have?
Yet David bravely proclaimed, “You come to me with your sword and weapons, and I come to you with the Name of God!” In a ringing voice, he called out to Goliath, “You will soon lie defeated at my feet, and all the world will know that there is a God!"
David's words rang through the valley, while both opposing armies held their breath. When Goliath moved forward to kill David, he found himself stuck, as if he were nailed to the ground. He wanted to raise his spear but his arm would not obey him. At that very moment, David let a stone fly from his sling. The next moment, the giant's huge body lay upon the ground, his forehead crushed by the sharp little stone that struck it and pierced his head.
David ran up to the giant and stood on his body. Having no sword of his own, David drew the giant's sword and cut his head off.
David did not win with armory or muscles, but only with his faith in God.
Facing this Russian brute, what did I have? Just like David, I had only my faith in God. I was not alone. I had lost my parents, my family, everything dear to me. I was broken and withered, a shell of myself. I had suffered and starved under the Nazis, but my faith was intact.
In those few horrific seconds I beseeched God, begging him to save me. At that moment, time stood still and seconds after I defiantly answered, “Shoot,” the soldier suddenly slipped and fell.
Just like that he lay on the floor, still like a corpse.
I bolted from the room and ran. I hurried out of the house, joining a milling crowd outside so he wouldn’t be able to find me.
I don’t know what happened to the soldier. Did he slip and get hurt badly, laying there dumbfounded, unable to move? All I know is that when I came back to the room hours later he wasn't there, and I never saw him again.
For many years, I didn’t share this story with anyone as I was too traumatized to talk about it.
Over eighty years later, the time has come to publicize this miracle, one in a string of many.
A Son for a Son by Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles.
http://ascentofsafed.com/Stories/Stories/5781/pdf/s1221EfratIDF_s596%20revised%20(1).pdf
[Editor’s note: This story is based on #596 in this series from 12 years ago, but the writing has been extensively revised and, more importantly, much detail has been added (see Source note at end) – names instead of pseudonyms, etc.] This story was in the Blogspot years ago probably without names.
In the early 2000’s, Gadi Rimon, an Israeli Defense Force soldier stationed outside of Ramallah, was shot by an Arab terrorist. It happened very early in the morning, and no one else was awake to hear it. Gadi passed out and was bleeding steadily, his life heading toward a silent end.
However, another soldier, Shlomo Bergman, who was stationed nearby, heard the shot and went to investigate. He found a fellow Israeli soldier bleeding to death. He tried the best he could to stop the bleeding and called for help. While waiting, he kept applying pressure to the wound--literally holding Gadi's life in his hands.
Gadi was taken to the nearest Israeli hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. Gadi's parents were notified and they rushed to the hospital. Imagine the fear of the parents who were only told, "Your son has been injured and is in the hospital undergoing surgery."
When they arrived the doctor, Rafi Beket, told them that Gadi was shot and had needed many units of blood, but will recover and be alright. However, had it not been for the immediate actions of the other soldier, their son would have bled to death.
It was a miracle that the other soldier heard what no one else heard, and managed to locate Gadi as quickly as he did. The parents wanted to thank that soldier, but he had just left the hospital after hearing that the soldier he helped would survive.
While recuperating at home, Gadi and his parents called the army to find out the name of the other soldier so they could thank him personally. Unfortunately, that soldier's name was not recorded and although they tried other paths of enquiry, they were unable to track down who that other soldier was.
Gadi's mother, Tamar Rimon, knew that the important thing of course is that Gadi is well, yet she could not help feeling that as long as she couldn’t meet and thank the solider who bravely saved her son’s life--the entire frightening episode would not be fully over. Not being able to express gratitude to the soldier continued to give her an empty feeling. But then she had an idea.
The couple owned a grocery store in Ashdod, so they decided to put up a sign in the store, describing what happened, figuring that Israel is a small country and eventually they might find out who the mystery soldier was.
Nearly a year passed with no response. Finally, one morning about a year later, a woman customer from out of town noticed, upon exiting, the sign hanging by the door of the store. Anat Bergman recalled how happy her son Shlomo was when he came home one Friday night and told them how he heard a shot and was able to save another soldier’s life. She went back and told her son’s story to Tamar Rimon, who was behind the counter that morning. The two stories matched and the two women fell into each other’s arms.
After a few emotional minutes, they decided to try to reach their sons on cell phones and see if they could meet at the store. Fortunately, it turned out that both the young men and even the fathers were able to all meet there that afternoon.
The families gathered for an emotional ’rendezvous’. The soldiers recounted army experiences and finally after all this time Tamar Rimon could stand up and thank Shlomo Bergman for saving her son Gadi’s life. Or, as she put it, “You saved my world”. She looked forward to feeling “completion” after all this time by thanking the soldier. Little did she know that the story was hardly complete.
After the tearful thank you, Anat privately asked Tamar to speak with her outside. The two women went out alone, whereupon Shlomo’s mother startled Gadi’s mother by asking her, “Look at me -- don’t you remember me?”
“No, I’m sorry. Did we meet before? When? Where?”
"Yes, we did,” Anat replied. “You see there is a particular reason I came into your store today. I used to live here, and this time although I was just passing by, I wanted to give you my business, even though I was only buying a few things. I just can’t believe you are the mother of the boy whose life my son saved.”
“What are you talking about?” Gadi’s mother exclaimed.
The other woman answered, “Twenty-two years ago I used to live around here and came all the time to buy milk and bread. One day you noticed that I looked really down and you were very nice and asked me why I seemed so down and I confided in you. I said that I was going through a very difficult time, and on top of that I was pregnant and planning on having an abortion.
“As soon as I said “abortion” you called your husband over and the two of you seemed to forget about your own store and business. You just sat down and patiently listened to me.
I still remember clearly what you said. “You told me that it is true that I was going through a hard time but sometimes the good things in life come through difficulty, and the best things come through the biggest difficulties. You spoke of the joy of being a mother and that the most beautiful word to hear in the Hebrew language is “Ima” (Mommy) when spoken by one’s child. You both spoke and spoke until I was convinced that I really should have this baby. So you see, G-d paid you back!”
Tamar’s eyes opened wide. Anat continued. “I had a boy twenty-one years ago that you saved by telling me to think twice before doing the abortion.” With happy tears she declared, "My beloved Shlomo wouldn’t have been alive if not for you. And lo, he was the one who grew up to save your precious Gadi’s life!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from friendsofefrat.org,* the website of a wonderful organization, EFRAT, that dedicatedly (and non-violently!) works to prevent abortions by Jewish mothers in Israel, through counseling and financial incentives. Updated this week with the actual names and a few more facts from a clip sent to me of a television news report at the time of the episode,
* This site is no longer functional. The new, much more professional, site, has 16 very short but worthy stories, but no longer includes the above long one.
Connection -- Weekly reading, which includes a detailed section on the relative evaluations of Jewish lives (young vs. old, etc) when a pledge is made to the Holy Temple do donate someone’s economic worth. APPENDIX "Heavenly supervision strikes again! I just received this striking example with the same theme as the above story.
The story ends with a photo that indicates Mida Knegged Mida aka Measure for Measure.
In 1981 a pediatrician saved the life of a 3.2 lb. premature baby by working around the clock and beating the odds to stabilize him. In 2011 the Pediatrician was pinned in a burning vehicle after a car collision, but was saved by a paramedic who turned out to be the premature baby that he had save 30 years before.
Rabbi Pinchas Winston Shlita on Meron a few thoughts.
ON ONE HAND I’d rather not talk about it, especially so soon after it happened. I do not know all the facts, nor can we know all of them. Our insatiable need for meaning, especially when it comes to tragedy, compels us to look for it everywhere we can. But without prophecy, who can really know why God does what He does, and why one person is saved when another is not?
On the other hand, it doesn’t seem right not to say something, and act as if it is business as usual when it clearly is not. It is like what happened when Nadav and Avihu died, when the Jewish people went from the heights of spiritual celebration to the depths of tragic mourning. The video clip taken right before the catastrophe in Meron shows an area packed with Jews feeling tremendous achdus and singing heartfully for the coming of Moshiach. It makes this even more painful.
Some would argue that this was an accident waiting to happen, that the potential for it to occur has been there every year. The safety conditions were not great, especially during the time of Corona and at a time that mutations are making rounds. It’s as if the miracle simply ran out.
The Gemara says that during the years of Rebbe Elazar ben Shimon’s suffering, no one died prematurely (Bava Metzia 85a). But how does the Talmud even know this, when it says that one’s day of death is a secret not shared with man (Shabbos 153a)? It also says that Moshe died earlier than he should have though he lived exactly 120 years, something that was decreed back in Noach’s time (Sha’ar Hapesukim, Noach).
In Sha’ar Hagilgulim it says that people die “young” because their soul has finished its rectification for that lifetime. Since it cannot get its next level without first dying and reincarnating, they are taken “early” for their own benefit, so they can get on with their overall Tikkun.
But their family does not know this. As far as parents are concerned, their child is destined to live a full lifetime, to grow up, mature, marry, and have a family of their own. We always worry about the safety of our loved ones, but do not anticipate those concerns coming true. Certainly not when those loved ones go to a Lag B’omer gathering at the kever of one of the greatest tzaddikim to have ever lived, on his very yahrzeit…on a day that also marks the time Rebi Akiva’s talmidim stopped dying. May God comfort all of them.
I once spoke to someone who told me that he adds to the list of his daily prayers that when his time comes, God should take him while in the middle of doing a mitzvah. He said that he hoped it would be while in the middle of the Shemonah Esrai, while praying with a lot intention, and ideally, during the blessing that praises God. One of his greatest fears is not dying, but breathing his final breath while doing something meaningless.
Even the evil Bilaam came to appreciate this idea, with the help of prophecy, saying:
“May my soul die the death of the upright and let my end be like his.” (Bamidbar 23:110)
Maybe the miracle simply ran out. Or maybe God has something else in mind yet to unfold, and it just cost us the lives of these elevated 45 souls. “Eretz Yisroel,” it has been said, “was built on the ashes of the Holocaust.” There will be discussions about safety. There will be finger pointing to distribute the blame. There will be criticism about the behavior of those involved directly and indirectly. But how many people will rise above all of it, and accept that the cheshbonos of God are beyond us?
Inyanay Diyoma
46th Victim? An epileptic is missing. Images of some of the 45: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rJ1Dfaovd
My grandson went to the funeral of his friend Menachem HaCohain Zakbach, 24 who left a pregnant widow and a son. The widow was in the graduating class of Seminary where my granddaughter learned. Photo: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Hk3117wtPd
More photos, names: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305332
Chassidic Singer from Montreal died. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305334 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GB9QoGQ_0s
Attempted stabbing. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/attempted-stabbing-attack-at-gush-etzion-junction-report-666949
Antisemitism in Oregon Univ. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305315
No State Inquiry needed. https://www.debka.com/no-state-inquiry-needed-for-the-meron-tragedy-the-site-was-historically-prone-to-disaster/
Border Patrol nabs gangs. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/border-patrol-nabs-gang-members-ms-13
60 Russian Aircraft tried to penetrate. https://www.foxnews.com/world/air-force-intercepting-record-number-russian-aircraft
US expecting Taliban Attacks. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305346
4 Nightmare years on a Cargo Ship in the Suez Canal. https://www.foxnews.com/world/sailor-four-years-trapped-egyptian-cargo-ship
No Statehood w/o Amendment. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/manchin-pans-dc-statehood-bill-break-dems
Seattle to be a city w/o police? https://www.foxnews.com/us/seattle-police-department-exodus-record-pace-political-support
850% increase in KY antisemitism. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305339
Dr. Martin Sherman when Generals stray into Politics. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305316
Chelsea Fan banned for antisemitism. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305341
Romney booed off stage in UT. https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/mitt-romney-booed-off-the-stage-at-utah-gop-convention/
3 injured in Shomron Shooting. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305420
Who was Rebbe Shimon by Barry Shaw. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305372
US gives 7Billion & Prisoners for what? https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305415
IDF increases forces as manhunt for shooters continue. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ByIl511aPd
Deri could be targeted over Meron. https://www.debka.com/shock-of-meron-disaster-may-impact-shape-of-next-government/
Report Bennett – Shaked have all but given up on anti-Netanyahu Gov’t. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305453
Reported by Daniel Greenfield and Pamela Geller. https://gellerreport.com/2021/05/rape-the-white-girls-rape-their-fathers-cut-the-mothers-throats-biden-nominee-kirsten-clarke-promoted-work-of-racist-anti-semitic-black-supremacist.html/
Hannity demands an apology for calling him an antisemite. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305453
Polish Min. we will not ban Kosher Slaughter. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305454
IDF soldier wounded in training. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305445
H&M hacked by Iranians. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305446
Leaked Kerry blabbermouth tapes. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305428
From the days of Olmert, the government did nothing. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305412
2021 is the realization of 1984. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305416
The Bad Hombres throw the women and children into the river. https://dailycaller.com/2021/05/02/fox-news-maria-bartiromo-border-crisis/
IDF experimenting working in closed spaces without masks. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305516
Clashes with Arabs from suspect’s town. https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/05/03/clashes-reported-between-idf-soldiers-and-residents-of-west-bank-town-where-tapuah-junction-terrorists-car-found/
Israel arrests several who aided drive-by shooter. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305518
Corona cases continue to drop. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305521
Arabs set at least one home on fire. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305485
Israel sends equipment to India. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305485
Meron Tragedy cutting corners the norm. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Hk6Nhxnvu
Jew beaten in Brooklyn. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305500
Riverdale vandal released. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305475
Leaked recording ‘Netanyahu and his wife are like dictators’. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305498
Sefer Torah in honor of the 45 victims. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305464
Hadar Goldin’s ex-fiancée marries. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305504
Abbas declares a state of emergency. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305503
TAU Genetic Research. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305501
Biden-Israel on Iran with bureaucrats. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305428
Kevin McCarthy lives in the same apt with Frank Luntz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wpd82iBnjg
FL now has a law that if politicians are banned by social media the fine is $250,000 per day. https://www.aol.com/news/former-obama-tech-adviser-says-201915055.html
Syrian plastics factory and more attacked. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rk86IK100d
Pressure mounts on wife and son of terrorist. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rJNbJsyud
Who will get the mandate? https://www.ynetnews.com/article/BJ2bM2ydu
IRGC to protect Iran’s Nukes. https://www.debka.com/security-at-irans-nuclear-sites-passes-from-military-to-rev-guards/
Antisemitic murderer dies of natural causes. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305579
Luck Lamp from second Temple era found. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305594
IDF female soldiers dance inspiring Egypt. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305584
Children of WWII hero condemn new Polish Nationalists at Auschwitz. https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/05/04/children-of-polish-ww2-hero-capt-witold-pilecki-condemn-appointment-of-hardline-nationalist-to-auschwitz-museum-council/
Doral Renewable Energy. https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/05/04/israeli-insurance-giant-migdal-to-invest-over-355-million-in-renewable-energy-company-doral/
Israel to help India. https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/05/04/israeli-ngo-brings-emergency-medical-support-to-rural-india-in-fight-against-overwhelming-covid-19-crisis/
Israel attacks Hezballah targets near border. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305654
Sunday’s attack victim dies. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305652
Terrorist captured. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305653
Ephraim Gordon a murder for being Jewish. https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/society/1620235524-family-of-slain-israeli-in-us-claims-antisemitism-as-motive-not-robbery
CA hate group targets Jews in FL. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305647
Covid cases drop. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305673
Space X Star Ship lands successfully. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305656
Netanyahu is still dangerous – Yemeni. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/BJUyBAkO00
Vaccination Green Pass extended. https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/rkUbWXgdd
Bennett will lead new Gov. https://www.debka.com/exclusive-bennett-will-lead-first-lapid-government-the-duo-will-move-fast-to-strip-netanyahu-of-immunity/
Political implications of Meron Stampede. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rJYkO2qP00
Delayed elections shows Abbas weak. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/S11100411Ju00
France rebukes Lebanese Politicians. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rJky00wguO
Facebook bans Trump but will face FL law. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305625
Biden Admin. Funding murderer of Jews. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305612
Fauci praises Israel’s example. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305636
American Jewish Univ. reopens Mikvah. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305655
3 Shachidim attacked Israeli base in Shomron. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305744
Coward Killer raised hands –confessed. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305713
Arab riots in Yerushalayim a mortal danger. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305737
Cancer the biggest killer as we live longer dementia. https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/HyFUExuP00
Spymaster visits Bahrain. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/HkbU1TWOO
Israeli technologies to be tested in space. https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/05/05/which-israeli-technologies-will-soon-be-going-to-space/
Dr. Sherman Something to worry about. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305718
Have a healthy and peaceful Shabbos,
Rachamim Pauli
