Parsha Nitzavim
It is
sort of unfair that we had Matos-Massei together and the two shortest Parshiyos
Nitzavim and Vayelech are separate this year. But the first two we have always
Devarim before Tisha B’Av and our Pasha is flexible. On the other hand the
short Parshiyos before the Holidays are a relief for Rabbis that write Drashos
and answer questions.
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, 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;
The day was the 7th of Adar in the 40th
year after Yitzias Mitzrayim. This Drasha of Moshe Rabbaynu starts now and ends
with the Brachos in Parsha Zos HaBracha. Hewers of wood and drawers of water
were considered the lowest of jobs. Something like a coal miner 80 or more
years ago. These two jobs were offered to the people of Giveon aka Nitanim as
Yoshua spared their lives through their deception. Actually it was a very wise
move of repentance on their part. They not only had their lives spared in this
world but by observing the 613 Mitzvos they were guaranteed a place in the
next.
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!
This is not something made at the Bris between the pieces
some 470 years ago or at the birth of Yitzchak some 440 years ago nor with
Yacov or Yosef but you and HASHEM.
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;
Hearing these words of fire and brimstone are not what most
Rabbis teach or spout most of the year. The Devil and Hell are more a Christian
Preacher thing. Our striving 99.9% of the time is for a nice big portion in
Olam HaBa upon us and all of Am Yisrael. But brimstone before Rosh Hashanah, the
Day of Judgement has a sobering effect of the lull of dreams of Olam HaBa.
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';
This sort of teenager delusion of ‘Who me?’ and ‘Not I!” is
not so each year we do things what we should not do.
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;
This is specific to idol worship or going into strange
worship. A Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, etc. can have their place in the
next world if they follow the good of their religion but not a Jew. Being born
a Jew your soul must try to do the Mitzvos that are available of the 613 ones.
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
beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and
Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger, and in His
wrath; 23 even all the nations shall say 'Wherefore hath the LORD
done thus unto this land? what means the heat of this great anger?'
One can read of Samuel Clemen’s trip to Israel and the
description of the land. Or visit me and look over the ‘green line’ and see the
barreness of the hills of Benyamin and Yehuda towards Yerushalayim. I came a
bare Yeshuv 37years ago and started building on some srubs that lay in the
area. Scorpions, rats, snakes and a slew of wild animals including deer
occupied the area. Slowly the Yeshuv turned green with trees and flowers.
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'.
Having seen the desolation of the curses, I hope that Bnei
Yisrael will repent and we shall see the Brachos.
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.
The secret things are sometimes given over to the G-D Fearing
people.
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, 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; 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. 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.
At first is was a few Jews from Arab Lands, he students of
the Gaon from Vilna and some Yemenites about 130years ago. Gradually as more
Jews came the land filled upl
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. 7 And
the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that
hate thee, that persecuted thee.
Despite wanted to give them anti-Covid injections and to
fight their mafia, they begin to weed themselves off the land.
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.
Then you shall inherit the land.
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
shouldest 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.
We have the Torah
and the Oral Torah (Halacha) and have to observe it.
15 See,
I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil, 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.
So choose life and
good then go and possess the land.
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. 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;
Just observe. As
Rabbi London used to close a conversation: You should live and be well, only be
well.
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.
Follow
the Torah and you will live and prosper in the land of Eretz Yisrael.
WTC Arieh and
Victoria story
This week on Thursday, aka
Caf-Hay Elul, was the Hebrew date for the creation of the world and the attack
on the World Trade Center.
Like many people coming to
work, Arieh and Victoria were a few minutes early to the office. The elevator
in the twin towers went up either to the 58th or 78th
floor and one had to switch to another elevator to get to a higher floor.
Arieh and Victoria were on
their way to the first available elevator but the doors shut on them. The next
elevator started to open just as the plane hit the building. Victoria received
3rd degree burns. She called out to Arieh to take her down to safety
and not leave her as she was in pain and needed his help. He agreed and a few
people tried to pry the other elevator open but with no success the doors were
shut and with all the pushing they could not get them open.
Arieh went down to the
garage with Victoria and she insisted that the ambulance that had six other
people also take Arieh. He reluctantly agreed to go with her as when a sick
person asks for your help you do your best to try to help them. That was the
last ambulance out. As they pulled out, the building shook and fell. Had Arieh remained
at the bottom only Victoria could have told the tale.
Arieh recovered with other
workers and the bosses set up an alternative work site in NJ. By being
charitable to others, charity can save you from certain death.
Larry Silverstein Story.
Larry
owned the WTC that he bought in July. Read the story how he was miraculously
saved because he had twice put off the dermatologist.
Not in
the story but the TV interview was how his daughter who worked on the 88th
floor was saved. She always took a taxi to work. For some reason, the taxi came
45 minutes late.
I
believe that his some was out of town or something that he too was saved.
Since I
wrote down a number of stories 20 years ago, I hope that I still have them
readily available in my achieves that I can copy and paste them in the course
of the next few weeks.
The Firefighter who was not meant to die.
An
Irish Firefighter and his brother John worked for the NYFD. He had taken the
day off because it was either the first day of school or some similar reason.
His brother John was on truck number so and so.
He
heard the news what was going on and called the station and the precinct but
there was no answer so he remained home. A day later, he returned to the
station and he was given the day off because there was a search for John.
On the
following day he returned and with others went to dig where John’s Engine was.
They found the fire engine and one of the last things recovered from the
wreckage was some remains and John’s wedding ring nothing else from John’s Department
was recovered.
The TV had a story of widow who
had just given birth and her husband kissed her and the one month old and never
came back.
There
was also a story of a woman who owned a shoe store 200 meters from the Towers
and she watched in horror as people jumped and the buildings fall. The air
blast of the building falling pushed her into her store and shut the door tight
behind her. She essentially was saved from all the dust and chaff that
destroyed lungs.
Who will
live and who will die who will be lifted up. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312951
Milestone Ed
Asher, 91 actor Mary Tyler Moore the loveable Lou Grant. https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-actor-ed-asner-tvs-blustery-but-lovable-lou-grant-dies-at-91/
Milestone Yael Man,
85, Mossad Heroine. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312635
Rabbi Avraham Dov
Auerbach, 86, passes away. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/311410
Milestone Jack Hirschman, 87, SF Jewish Street
Poet. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312716
Inyanay Diyoma
If diplomacy fails there are other ways https://www.debka.com/biden-if-diplomacy-with-iran-fails-there-are-other-options/
Last plane leaves Kabul. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312724
Ben and Jerry's CEO self service the PLO. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ben-jerrys-board-chair-accused-of-self-dealing-to-fund-think-tank-report/
Ed Op Yemeni What the west must learn from Kabul. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b1ddc60011f
Ed Op Israel and the secret Iranian Oil Fleet. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hju0u00zwf
Barel succumbs to his wounds. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312699
Unvaccinated teachers, MD's etc to be banned
from work place. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ministers-vote-to-bar-unvaccinated-or-untested-teachers-doctors-from-workplaces/
Arab stabber to give birth in prison. https://www.timesofisrael.com/alleged-palestinian-stabber-to-give-birth-in-prison-while-awaiting-trial/
PM term limits bill. https://www.timesofisrael.com/saar-orders-work-begin-on-bill-on-prime-minister-term-limits/
Not what the IDF wants but due to the
holidays Israel wants to gain time. https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-chief-threatens-response-as-gazans-riot-on-border-for-3rd-night/
When Netanyahu froze settlements he wasn't
worried. hmmm https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312732
Ida's rain causes MS Highway collapse. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312822
17 year vet relieved of duty after blasting
senior staff. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312848
Visa waver for Israelis doubtful. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312815
Bomb ladened drone crashes into Saudi Airport. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312806
US opening consulate in E. Yerushalayim could
hurt coalition. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312852
Bennett appoints R as head of Shin Bet it is
not Rabbi Rachamim. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312843
Netanyahu will be around for another 9 years. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312810
A government with two heads. https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-government-with-2-heads-bennett-and-gantz-lead-coordinated-opposing-policies/
IDA levels home of Jewish Family where Louis
Armstrong found inspiration. https://www.timesofisrael.com/hurricane-ida-levels-jewish-family-home-where-louis-armstrong-found-inspiration/
Israeli AI Company trying to save world bee
populations. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-ai-startup-bets-on-robotic-beehives-to-save-global-bee-populations/
It pays to kill a soldier now construction matl
goes into Gaza. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312789
Soldiers want to defend themselves. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312715
Leaving more than 100 perhaps up to 1000 US
Citizens as hostages behind. https://www.debka.com/last-us-military-planes-fly-out-of-afghanistan-ending-americas-longest-war/
Chassidic Groups ban unvaccinated or un
recovered from Schuls. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312695
Did Joe Biden go to sleep during Bennett's
speech. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312700
Taliban declares independence. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312727
French woman who yelled Heil Hitler and Jews
arrested. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312708
3 arrested for Ohio antisemitic incident. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312709
150 sexual abuse lawsuits against Jewish
Instittutions https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312735
RFK jr. angry about parole for his father's a
Assassin. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312731
Bennett's goals is Israel's goals. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312657
Israel attacks targets in Syria, missile sent
over Israel as a reply. https://www.debka.com/israel-air-strike-reported-near-damascus-syrian-air-defense-missile-explodes-in-sea-off-tel-aviv/
Fragments of Syrian Rocket found. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312986
Israel budget approved on first call. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/0LZY8NP0D
Former Head of Mossad speaks out on Afghanistan.
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/byy5da2bt
Head of Sharei Tzedek Hospital cries shame. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b13fuzr11y
Mega attacks in TA foiled after 9/11. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312983
Unlike politicians the IDF learns. Barel’s death
– forces should have been deployed differently. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312984
Iranian progress towards wiping Israel off the
map. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312949
Jean Marie Le Pen faces trial for antisemitism. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/312957
Good Shabbos and healthy, happy,
wonderful, successful, prosperous, fruitful, beautiful, bountiful, joyous and
Torah filled New Year,
Rachamim Pauli
