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RABBI WAGENSBERG
PARSHAS TOLDOS
A Cup Full of Warmth

In this week’s parsha it says, “And Yitzchak loved Eisav Ki Tzayid Bifiv (because game was in his mouth), but Rivka loved Ya’akov” (Parshas Toldos, 25:28). Every year we wonder how Yitzchak could have loved Eisav given that Eisav was guilty of murder, rape, and thievery. It is difficult to suggest that Yitzchak had no idea that Eisav was such a rasha. Although it is true that Yitzchak was blind, that was only at the end of his life. Besides, Yitzchak was a navi (prophet), and a navi can see more with his eyes closed that the average person can see with their eyes wide open.

Was Yitzchak so disconnected from his family that he had no clue as to what was going on? Was Yitzchak so distant from his wife and children that he had no idea what was happening right under his nose? It is hard to suggest that Yitzchak was simply living in the dark.

But if we go with the approach that Yitzchak was well aware of Eisav’s involvement in evil, how could he have loved him? Eisav was a criminal. Eisav should have been locked up and the key should have been thrown away. By contrast, once Avraham found out that Yishmael had committed the same type of crimes as Eisav did, Avraham hated him and sent him away (see Rashi, Parshas Vayeira, 21:14, citing Tanchuma Parshas Shemos, #1). If so, how could Yitzchak have loved Eisav?

Rabbi Meir of Premishlan (1703-1773, Ukraine; a disciple of the Ba’al Shem Tov) addresses this question based on a fascinating Gemara in Meseches Shabbos.

In Meseches Shabbos (chap. 9, “Amar Rebbi Akiva”, pg. 89b) Rav Shmuel bar Nachmeini in the name of Rebbi Yonasan explored the meaning of a verse which says, “For You are our Father because Avraham did not know us, and Yisrael did not recognize us, You Hashem are our Father, ‘our Eternal Redeemer’ is Your Name” (Yeshaya, 63:16). Rav Shmuel says that this pasuk is pointing to an event which has not yet happened.

In the future, Hashem will say to Avraham, “Your children have sinned against me.” Avraham will respond, “Master of the Universe, if they have sinned against You, wipe them out and sanctify Your Name.”

Hashem said to Himself that He had better bring His complaints against the Jewish people to Ya’akov Avinu because he had tza’ar giddul banim (pain of raising a huge family). The more a person invests into his family, the more it generates compassion from the parent for his family. As such, maybe Ya’akov would ask Hashem to be merciful on his family, the Jewish people.

Hashem will say to Ya’akov, “Your children sinned against Me.” Ya’akov will respond, “Master of the Universe, if they sinned against You wipe them out and sanctify Your Name.”

Hashem said, “There is no reasoning by the grandfather (Avraham), and there is no council by the grandson (Ya’akov).” With no other choice, Hashem will turn to Yitzchak Avinu.

Hashem will say to Yitzchak, “Your children have sinned against Me.” Yitzchak will respond, “Are they my children and not Your children? When the Jewish people said, ‘We will do and we will obey’ (Parshas Mishpatim, 24:7), You called them Your “Firstborn Child” (Parshas Shemos, 4:22). And now they are my children and not Your children?”

Yitzchak will continue to say, “Besides, how much did they sin anyway? The average life-span of a person is seventy years (Tehillim, 90:10). We must subtract twenty years from the seventy because a person is not held responsible for his actions until he reaches the age of twenty (see Rashi, Parshas Chayei Sarah, 23:1, citing Bereishis Rabba, Parshas Chayei Sarah, 58:1). That leaves us with fifty years.

We must subtract twenty-five years from the fifty because half of that time is night when people are sleeping. When they are sleeping, they are not sinning. Now we are left with twenty-five years.

Now we must subtract twelve and a half years from the twenty-five because people are preoccupied half of that time with praying, eating, drinking, and going to the bathroom. When they are taking care of their basic necessities, they are not sinning. So, even if they spend every other possible moment sinning, we are only left with just twelve and a half years of sin.

So, if You can handle twelve and a half years of sin, do so and forgive them. If that is asking too much, then let’s go fifty-fifty. You carry the burden of six and a quarter years and I will carry the burden of six and a quarter years.

But if You want to place all twelve and a half years on me, then go right ahead because I can handle it on account of the fact that I allowed myself to be sacrificed on the altar as an offering to God.” Hashem will accept Yitzchak’s plea.

When the Jewish people will hear about Yitzchak’s pleading and bargaining on their behalf, they will say, “You (Yitzchak) are our father” (Yeshaya, 63:16). Yitzchak will say to the Jewish people, “Before you praise me, praise Hashem.”

Yitzchak will show them a vision of Hashem. They will lift their eyes on high and say, “You Hashem are our Father, ‘our Eternal Redeemer’ is Your Name” (Yeshaya, 63:16).

This captivating Gemara leaves us with some questions. For example, how could it be that the only one who was able to defend the Jewish people was Yitzchak? Yitzchak’s middah (characteristic) was gevura (strength, might, power, and discipline). The verse even refers to him as, “Pachad Yitzchak” (the trepidation of Yitzchak; Parshas Vayeitzei, 31:42). It seems so out of character for Yitzchak to become the defending attorney.

How could it be that Avraham suggested that the Jews should be wiped out? Of all people, Avraham would be the last person we would expect to express such harsh criticism laced into the Jewish people. Avraham was all about chesed and kindness. Why couldn’t Avraham defend us?

How could it be that Ya’akov suggested that we all be killed out? How could Ya’akov, the compassionate one, come out so strongly against the Jewish people? What happened to his sympathy and empathy for his children which was cultivated by his tza’ar giddul banim?

Rebbi Meir of Premishlan answers all of this by pointing out that Yitzchak found himself in a very unique position. Yitzchak had a wicked son called Eisav. But Yitzchak loved him anyway.

You see, when Avraham had a wicked son, he (Avraham) kicked him (Yishmael) out of the house. Therefore, Avraham could not have expected that Hashem keep His wicked son, Israel. That is why Avraham had to tell Hashem to get rid of them (the Jews) because that is how he treated his own son.

Regarding Ya’akov, he never had a wicked son. Although some of Ya’akov’s children sinned, they were not wicked. Rather, they were righteous people who made a few mistakes. As such, Ya’akov never had the opportunity to demonstrate that he would have loved even a wicked son. Therefore, Ya’akov also had no other choice other than to tell Hashem to destroy the Jewish people.

Yitzchak, however, was the only one of the Avos who had a rasha for a son whom he loved anyway. Only Yitzchak could say to Hashem, “Master of the Universe, I am just a person of flesh and blood. It was difficult for me to love my wicked son, Eisav, but I did so anyway. You, however, are the Almighty Kind and Compassionate One (Parshas Ki Sisa, 34:6). Therefore, You must certainly be able to forgive Your children, and love them anyway.”

This is the meaning of our verse which says that Yitzchak loved Eisav, “Ki Tzayid Bifiv” (because game was in his mouth; Parshas Toldos, 25:28). The expression “Tzayid Bifiv” does not only mean that Eisav had trapped his father Yitzchak with his (Eisav’s) mouth. Rather, the expression, “Ki Tzayid Bifiv” also means that Yitzchak was able to trap Hashem with his (Yitzchak’s) mouth. This is because Yitzchak worked on himself to love Eisav unconditionally. In this way, he would be able to trap (tzayid) Hashem with his (Yitzchak’s) mouth (fiv) with a defense on behalf of the Jewish people.

One lesson that we can learn from this approach is that showing love even to a rasha has positive effects, either on him (the rasha) or on the entire world.

This could also be the interpretation of a pasuk which we recite on Leil Haseder (Passover night) which says, “Shfoch Chamascha Al Hagoyim Asher Lo Yida-uchah” (pour forth Your wrath upon the nations that do not recognize you; Tehillim, 79:6). An alternative translation of these words could be, “Pour forth Your warmth (Chamascha, from the word Chome, warm) upon the nations that do not recognize You.”

If the wicked would only know about how much warmth Hashem has for them in His heart, they would stop their wickedness. If the reshaim would only know how much Hashem loves them, they would instantly make positive changes in their behavior.

One practical application of this teaching would be to cultivate even more love in our hearts even for people who may have drifted to the farthest, darkest, and lowest of places. That love and affection is extremely powerful and can heal a lot of pain that these people may be going through.

So, may we all be blessed to ignite a new flame of spirituality within us, no matter what our backgrounds are, and may we use that flame to share light, warmth, comfort, and love to everyone that we meet.

RABBI WAGENSBERG
PARSHAS TOLDOS
To be Righteous or not to be Righteous, that is the Question

This week’s parsha opens with Yitzchak and Rivka davening (praying) to Hashem for children. The pasuk (verse) says, “And Hashem allowed Himself to be entreated by him” (Parshas Toldos, 25:21). Rashi (based on a Gemara in Meseches Yevamos chap. 6, “Haba Al Yevimto”, pg. 64a, Rebbi Yitzchak) points out that the verse emphasizes that Hashem listened to his prayers, indicating that Hashem did not listen to her prayers. The reason for this is because there is no comparison between the prayers of a tzaddik (righteous person) who is the son of a tzaddik to the prayers of a tzaddik (or in this case, a tzaddeikes) who is the son (or daughter) of a rasha (wicked person). Therefore, Hashem listened to him (Yitzchak, a tzaddik ben tzaddik) and not to her (Rivka, a tzaddeikes bas rasha).

This passage seems difficult to understand, because, apparently, a tzaddik ben rasha is greater than a tzaddik ben tzaddik because a tzaddik ben rasha finds himself in an environment which is not conducive to spirituality, to say that least. The hometown of a rasha is often antagonistic towards religion. For a person to become righteous in such an atmosphere requires a tremendous amount of effort to swim against the tide. This is a challenge which the tzaddik ben tzaddik is not faced with.

To strengthen this question, a famous Gemara in Meseches Berachos (chap. 5, “Ein Omdin”, pg. 34b) cites Rebbi Avahu who said that righteous people who have never sinned (tzaddikim gemurim; who are presumably coming from very religious families) will not be able to stand in the place of those who have returned to a life of observance (ba’alei teshuva). Meaning, people who were raised as not religious, but who chose a life of observance, are greater than those who were raised observant to begin with.

Therefore, Rivka should have been considered greater than Yitzchak. As such, it should have been Rivka’s prayers that Hashem heeded, not Yitzchak’s. Why, then, did Hashem specifically accept the tefillos (prayers) of Yitzchak?

In his sefer Ta’am Vada’as, Rav Moshe Shternbuch says that although Yitzchak grew up in an observant setting, he was not satisfied to serve Hashem by rote. A verse in Yeshaya (29:13) says, “Their fear of Me is like rote learning of human commands (mitzvas anashim milumada).” When a person grows up religious, it is possible that the performance of mitzvos becomes habitual. After all, mitzva practice is what this person has been doing ever since he was young. Doing mitzvos from such a young age can become second nature where there is not much thought, emotion, excitement or enthusiasm invested into them.

Conversely, geirim (converts) and ba’alei teshuva tend to bring excitement, enthusiasm, fervor, and passion to mitzva performance because Torah and mitzvos are new and fresh to them.

Although Yitzchak was raised with Torah and mitzvos from the time that he was a baby, he worked on himself not to take them for granted. Rather, he worked on himself to strive for higher and higher spiritual levels to such a degree that the mitzvos became like fresh and new ways to serve Hashem. Yitzchak’s mitzva performance today was a whole new experience than it was with respect to yesterday’s service of God.

Yitzchak kept raising the bar to such a degree that every mitzva took on new dimensions. Yitzchak invested so much energy into the study of the mitzvos that when he performed them, it was like an entirely new mitzva that he had never done before. In other words, Yitzchak was not just an FFB (frum from birth), rather, he was also a BT (ba’al teshuva).

The Ta’am Vada’as posits that for a veteran to maintain freshness in old mitzvos is a greater feat and a greater level than a newly initiated person who feels the freshness in Avodas Hashem because the mitzvos are actually new to him (the ba’al teshuva). Sometimes, it is more natural for a BT to feel the excitement. However, sometimes it may be more difficult for an FFB to experience that enthusiasm because of his familiarity with the mitzvos. Since Yitzchak constantly worked on making the Torah and mitzvos fresh, new, and exciting, Yitzchak was on an even higher level than Rivka.

Additionally, Rivka’s decision to turn toward a life of observance may have been spurred on by the lowliness and decadence of her family. Her family’s corruption may have turned her off. When Rivka witnessed the dishonesty of her family, she decided not to following in their ways. Taking on a life of observance may have been more of a natural move for her.

Yitzchak, however, did not turn to a life of observance because he witnessed the shallowness of his family. On the contrary, Yitzchak was brought up in an extremely religious environment which added meaning and purpose to his life. But instead of just coasting along maintaining the status quo, Yitzchak worked on himself each and every day to grown to new vistas in Torah and mitzvos observance. Yitzchak would push himself to learn more and more about the mitzvos until they became like a whole new set of mitzvos that he had never done before.

The take away message of this teaching is to realize the great responsibility placed upon us to not become complacent with our current level of observance. Rather, we are being called upon to stretch ourselves even more so to the point that we all become like ba’alei teshuva with respect to how we served Hashem yesterday.

There are two more approaches which could be added in order to describe how Yitzchak was even greater than Rivka, which led to the acceptance of his tefillos.

When a person’s father is an accomplished Rav, there is a certain amount of pressure which is placed upon the child. There is some kind of expectation that the son should grow up to be a Rav just like his father is. Sometimes, the child does not even have his own identity. Rather, he is referred to as, “The Rabbi’s son.”

For such a child, this a goal may seem insurmountable. Such a child may think to himself that he will never be able to fill his father’s shoes. As a result, such a child may try to make a name for himself in other ways, some of which are not commendable.

Although Yitzchak was the son of the great Avraham Avinu, Yitzchak “went for the gold” and strove to be a great tzaddik like his father was. By doing so, Yitzchak had to rise above the pressure and fight against thoughts which may have told him that he would never be as great as Avraham.

Rivka, on the other hand, had no such pressure. Her father was the head of the mafia. There was no pressure on Rivka to become righteous because nobody expected her to amount to anything of significance. Rivka did not suffer from thoughts that told her that she could never be as great as her parents because it was obvious that she could become better than them. Therefore, it was easier for Rivka to become a tzaddeikes.

In this way, Yitzchak was greater than Rivka. This is why Hashem accepted specifically Yitzchak’s prayers.

The message for us is that no matter what type of home we come from, and no matter what type of family we have, we can all improve upon ourselves and become spiritually successful.

One final approach, for now, which demonstrates how Yitzchak was even greater than Rivka is that when a person is the child of a great Rabbi, the easy path for the child would be to follow his father’s derech (way) in Avodas Hashem (service to God).

Yitzchak, however, did not take the easy path. Yitzchak did not copy his father’s derech. Yitzchak did not allow himself to become the product of a cookie cutter. Rather, Yitzchak chose the more difficult path and forged his own way to connect with God. In this way, Yitzchak expressed his own individuality.

Rivka, however, did not have this challenge because it was obvious to her that she had to forge a new path if she wanted to live a life filled with meaning and purpose. Any path she would have taken would have been be sufficient.

Since Yitzchak’s path was more difficult than Rivka’s, Hashem accepted specifically Yitzchak’s prayers because they were on an even higher level than Rivka’s.

The lesson for us is that although we must follow tradition, we must also search for ways to express our individuality in Avodas Hashem. Forging a “new” path in serving God must exist within the framework of Torah and Halacha (Jewish law), but we must try to personalize our approach to God. Remember, there is enough flexibility within the framework of Torah and Halacha for us to express individuality.

RABBI WAGENSBERG
PARSHAS VAYEITZEI
“When Faced with Darkness, Choose Light”

Another verse in this week’s parsha says, “Vayifga (and he encountered) the place and spent the night there because the sun had set” (Parshas Vayeitzei, 28:11). Rashi on the spot makes a comment based upon a Gemara in Meseches Brachos (chap. 4, “Tefillas Hashachar”, pg. 26b) which tells us that Ya’akov instituted Tefillas Arvis (Ma’ariv, the evening service) at that place. This idea is extrapolated from the word Vayifga. This word is also related to prayer, as it says, “Al Tifga Bi” (do not pray to Me; Yirmiya, 7:16). Therefore, when it says, “Vayifga Bamakom,” it does not only mean, “And he encountered the place,” but it also means, “And he prayed in the place.”

We find an interesting thing about Ma’ariv. According to the way the Gemara concludes, davening Ma’ariv is only a reshus (optional). However, the other two prayers, Shacharis and Mincha are chova (obligatory). Let us explore these sources right now.

In Meseches Brachos (chap. 4, “Tefillas Hashachar”, pg. 26b) there is a machlokes (debate) concerning the source of davening altogether. According to Rebbi Yosi b’Rebbi Chanina, the three daily prayers were instituted by the three Avos (Patriarchs).

There are a variety of verses which support this opinion. For example, Avraham instituted Shacharis as it says, “And Avraham rose early in the morning to the place where he had stood (Amad) before Hashem” (Parshas Vayeira, 19:27). The word “Amad” often refers to prayer as it says, “Vaya’amod Pinchas (and Pinchas stood) and prayed” (Tehillim, 106:30).

Yitzchak instituted Mincha as it says, And Yitzchak went out Lasuach (to speak) in the field” (Parshas Chayei Sarah, 24:63). The word Lasuach or Sicha often refers to prayer as it says, “A prayer of the afflicted man when he wraps himself and pours forth Sicho (his supplication) before Hashem (Tehillim, 102:1).

Ya’akov instituted Ma’ariv as we mentioned above.

However, according to Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi, the three daily prayers were instituted by the Anshei Knesses Hagedola (Men of the Great Assembly) to correspond to the three daily offerings in the Beis Hamikdash (Temple).

The Gemara in Brachos (one page later, on pg. 27b) goes on to mention another machlokes regarding the mandate to daven Ma’ariv. According to Rabban Gamliel, davening Ma’ariv is a chova (obligation). However, according to Rebbi Yehoshua, davening Ma’ariv is only a reshus (optional). Rava (ibid) paskins like Rebbi Yehoshua that davening Ma’ariv is optional.

Therefore, the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, 1138 Cordova Spain-1204 Fustat Egypt; Hilchos Tefillah 9:9) paskins that davening Ma’ariv is only a reshus. However, it is important to mention Rav Yitzchak Alfasi (1013 Algeria-1103 Spain) who says that although we paskin that Ma’ariv is only a reshus, nevertheless, davening Ma’ariv has been adopted, by men, as a regular practice. Therefore, the minhag (custom) is that we daven Ma’ariv, and the minhag is binding.

From this Gemara it turns out that davening Shacharis and Mincha is a chova, whereas davening Ma’ariv [before the minhag was established] is a reshus. One difficulty with this is that Ya’akov Avinu was considered to be the greatest of the Avos. Although we could never judge and make such a claim, Chaza”l (Chachameini Zichronam Livracha, our Sages of blessed memory) did. In Bereishis Rabba Parshas Vayishlach (76:1), Reb Pinchas in the name of Reb Reuvein said that Ya’akov was the choicest of the Avos, as it says, “For God Bachar (chose; selected) Ya’akov for His own” (Tehillim, 135:4).

Therefore, the question is, how could it be that the prayer which the greatest Patriarch, Ya’akov, instituted (Ma’ariv) is only optional, whereas the prayers which Avraham and Yitzchak instituted (Shacharis and Mincha) are mandatory, given that they (Avraham and Yitzchak) were not as great as Ya’akov was? If Shacharis and Mincha are mandatory, then Ma’ariv should certainly be mandatory. Why isn’t it?

There are several answers to this question. Let us explore some of those answers right now.

ANSWER NUMBER ONE:

The Ein Ya’akov (written by Rabbi Ya’akov Ibn Chaviv, 1460 Spain-1516 Greece) is a compilation of the Aggadic sections from the Talmud. In today’s set of Ein Ya’akov, there are other commentaries printed there who expound on those Aggadic passages. One of those commentaries is the Rif, written by Rav Yehoshua Pinto (1565-1648, Syria), not to be confused with the other Rif, Rav Yitzchak Alfasi.

The Rif in the Ein Ya’akov (Berachos, 27b) answers our question as follows. He says that the opinion who maintains that it was the Avos who instituted the three daily prayers (Rebbi Yosi b’Rebbi Chanina), does indeed hold like the opinion who says that davening Ma’ariv is obligatory (Rabban Gamliel). This is because Ya’akov was the greatest of the Avos. Therefore, Ya’akov’s tefillah could not be less than the tefillos of the other Avos.

The Rif in Ein Ya’akov goes on to say that the opinion who maintains that it was the Anshei Knesses Hagedola who instituted the three daily prayers to correspond to the three daily offerings in the Beis Hamikdash (Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi), holds like the opinion who maintains that davening Ma’ariv is optional (Rebbi Yehoshua).

This is because the first two daily offerings in the Beis Hamikdash were the Tamid (continual) offerings brought in the morning and in the afternoon. Since those two sacrifices were obligatory, the tefillos instituted to substitute their absence are also obligatory. However, the third daily offering in the Temple was the burning of the animal limbs on the Altar during the night. Since that service was not mandatory, the tefillah instituted in its absence (Ma’ariv) also remains optional.

ANSWER NUMBER TWO:

The P’nei Yehoshua (Rabbi Yehoshua Falk, 1680-1756, Cracow Poland; Meseches Berachos, pg. 26b) answers our question differently. He says that even according to the opinion who maintains that the Avos instituted the prayers (Rebbi Yosi b’Rebbi Chanina), Ma’ariv still remains optional. This is because when Ya’akov began to pray, he was not trying to institute a new prayer. Rather, he was davening his father’s tefilla, Mincha.

But what happened was that Hashem caused the sun to set abruptly in order that Ya’akov would be forced to spend the night on what would later be known as The Temple Mount (Chullin, chap. 7, “Gid Hanasheh”, pg. 91b). Ya’akov may have begun with the intention of davening Mincha, but by default, he wound up davening Ma’ariv because it became dark suddenly. Since Ya’akov never intended on establishing a new tefillah, Ma’ariv remained optional.

ANSWER NUMBER THREE:

When Ya’akov davened, he was in a makom sakana (dangerous place). Proof of this is that Ya’akov placed stones around his head to protect him from wild beasts (Rashi, Parshas Vayeitzei, 28:11, citing Bereishis Rabba, Parshas Vayeitzei, 68:11, Reb Levi and Reb Elazar, in the name of Reb Yosi bar Zimra).

When a person is found in a makom sakana, he is exempt from davening. Instead of davening the regular Shmoneh Esrie, one recites a tefillah ketzara (abridged prayer; Meseches Berachos, chap. 4, “Tefillas Hashachar”, pg. 29b).

It turns out that at the very moment that Ya’akov instituted Tefillas Ma’ariv, he was essentially patur (exempt) from davening. Since the creation of Ma’ariv was established under circumstances that rendered Ma’ariv optional, Ma’ariv remained optional for all generations to come (Torah Lada’as, Rabbi Matisyahu Blum, vol. 1, Parshas Vayeitzei, pg. 99).

ANSWER NUMBER FOUR:

In his sefer Torah Temima, Rabbi Baruch Halevi Epstien (1860-1941, Nevardok, Belarus) addresses our question based on a Gemara in Meseches Eiruvin (chap. 6, “Hadar”, pg. 65a) where Rebbi Elazar says that a person who arrives at his destination after traveling a long distance, is exempt from davening for three days because he cannot concentrate properly until then. This is most certainly the law for a person while he is still traveling.

Therefore, since Ya’akov was traveling a long distance when he instituted Ma’ariv, he was halachically exempt from davening altogether. Therefore, Ya’akov’s tefillah was essentially a reshus. Therefore, since tefillas Ma’ariv was created as a reshus, it remains a reshus until today.

IN CONCLUSION:

In his sefer Ta’am Vada’as, Rav Moshe Shternbuch quotes a Zohar which says that the dark forces of destruction have power at nighttime. This is why Ya’akov attempted to daven his father’s tefillah, Mincha, as we mentioned above from the P’nei Yehoshua. It is because Ya’akov wanted to daven during the daytime when the forces of evil are not in power. In this way, Ya’akov felt that his prayers would reach the Kisei Hakavod (Throne of Glory) and be accepted by God.

Ya’akov tried to avoid davening at night because he was concerned that the powers of evil, which have authority at night, would prevent his prayers from ascending to the Kisei Hakavod. Ya’akov was worried that his prayers would not be accepted by God at night.

However, Hashem caused the sun to set suddenly, as we mentioned above from the Gemara in Chullin (pg. 91b). In this way, Hashem forced Ya’akov to daven at night. Perhaps we could suggest that Hashem was sending a powerful message to Ya’akov. That message was that tefillos have the power to connect to God even at night. This means to say that our prayers are so powerful that they can break through any barriers. Our davening is so strong that it can rip through any type of iron curtain.

The message that the Torah is conveying to us is that we can connect with Hashem even in the darkness of the night. On a deeper level this means to say that we can connect to Hashem even from the darkest moments in our lives. Even when we feel that we have drifted far away from Hashem to the lowest of places, we can still call out to Him from those places because He is there with us in the darkness. He is waiting to hear from us.

Hashem will give us the strength to get through those tough situations of life. He will energize us to grow, not only in spite of the challenges, but as a result of them. Hashem is teaching us that no matter what we have done, no matter what we have not done, and no matter where we are, we are always close to Hashem and we can call out to Him and connect with Him.

One practical application of this teaching would be to improve a little bit more in davening Ma’ariv. Let us realize that when we daven Ma’ariv, it is dark outside. Let us be reminded that the darkness outside represents darkness within our lives. Let us be encouraged with the knowledge that although we may find ourselves in dark places, Hashem is there and we can connect with Him. Let us never forget that we can have a connection with God no matter how far we may have drifted, and no matter how low we may have fallen.

So, may we all be blessed to avoid challenges in life, but, when they do present themselves to us, may we all be blessed with the awareness and with the strength to call out to Hashem and connect with Him. May we grow even more from those difficult situations, and as a result, may we merit to witness the day when Hashem will reveal the light which will dispel the darkness when we will enjoy basking in His Presence forever.

RABBI WAGESNBERG
PARSHAS VAYEITZEI
"Making a Difference"


Our parsha begins with the words, “And Ya’akov departed from Be’er Sheva and went toward Charan” (Parshas Vayeitzei, 28:10). Rashi on the spot cites a Bereishis Rabba (Parshas Vayeitzei, 68:6) which quotes Rebbi Azaria in the name of Rav Yehuda bar Simon, and Rav Chanin in the name of Reb Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak who points out that the verse only needed to say, “And Ya’akov went toward Charan.” The verse did not need to add, “And Ya’akov departed from Be’er Sheva,” because we already knew where Ya’akov was. If so, why did the pasuk find it necessary to mention Ya’akov’s departure?

The Midrash that Rashi cites answers this question by saying that the seemingly extra words, “And Ya’akov departed from Be’er Sheva,” comes to teach us that when a righteous person leaves a place, it has an impact on that place and upon the people of that place. As long as a tzaddik is in a city, he is its glory, splendor, and crown. When the tzaddik leaves that city, its glory, splendor, and crown depart with him.

This concept was not mentioned when Avraham or Yitzchak traveled to a new place. This idea is only emphasized with respect to Ya’akov when he journeyed to a new destination. Why is that?

One answer is that when Avraham and Yitzchak traveled to new places, they did not leave any tzaddikim behind. Therefore, their absence was really felt by everyone else. When Avraham and Yitzchak departed from any given place, they left a huge vacuum which was felt by everybody there. However, when Ya’akov departed, he left behind tzaddikim such as Yitzchak and Rivka. Therefore, one would think that the splendor, glory and crown did not disappear in Ya’akov’s absence because Yitzchak and Rivka were still there. One would think that on account of Yitzchak and Rivka, the glory, splendor, and crown still remained in the city.

This is precisely what Chaza”l (Chachameinu Zichronam Livracha; our Sages of blessed memory) are coming to teach us. Even when tzaddikim are left behind, the departure of a tzaddik from a place still has an effect, and an emptiness has still been created.

In his sefer, Ta’am Vada’as, Rav Moshe Shterbuch adds another explanation to address this question as to why this idea about a tzaddik leaving a place is only mentioned with respect to Ya’akov Avinu. He says that Avraham and Yitzchak were already spiritual leaders when they left from place to place. Therefore, when they departed from any given place, it is obvious that their absence was felt by all. Therefore, there was no need for the Torah to emphasize the obvious.

However, when Ya’akov left Eretz Yisrael, he was not yet a leader. Rather, he was still a student who studied in the yeshivos of Shem and Eiver (Rashi, Parshas Toldos, 25:27; based on Bereishis Rabba, Parshas Toldos, 63:10). Nevertheless, the Torah is teaching us that so long as Ya’akov was within the city he was its jewel, and with his departure from that city, that city lost its jewel.

This teaches us a novel idea about Talmidei Chachamim (Torah scholars). That is, a Talmud Chacham is the city’s glory, splendor, and crown even if he spends all of his time within the dalet amos shel Torah (four cubits of Torah). This means to say that even if he is not actively involved with the people of the city by teaching them or by taking a position of authority and leadership, his contribution of Torah learning is still priceless.

Maybe he is not yet ready to lead or paskin. Maybe he does not possess the personality to become a classroom teacher. Even so, his efforts of delving into the holy Torah are of great benefit to the city and its people. Learning Torah alone infuses the entire area with sanctity and purity.

One take-away message of this teaching would be to appreciate, even more so, Torah learners in our cities because they are the crowning jewels of the city and they bring glory and splendor to it.

Another lesson that could be gleaned from this teaching would be to realize, even more so, that every mitzva that we do and every single word of Torah that we utter is having a tremendous impact on us, on our city, and upon the entire world. Even if a person is not the president of a chesed organization, and even if a person is not a Rav or Rebbetzin of a shul, every single mitzva that we do and every word of Torah that we study is injecting holiness into ourselves, into our neighborhoods, and ultimately into the entire world.

Sometimes it may seem to some people that the mitzvos we do and the Torah we study are insignificant and inconsequential. But the truth is that we are having a huge impact upon ourselves and on society at large. This thought alone could increase the amount of effort, time, and concentration that we invest in our Torah and mitzvos.

Just by knowing that we can make such a huge difference can make us feel an even greater sense of responsibility which could propel us to push ourselves a little bit more, which ultimately makes our world an even better place to live in.

RABBI WAGENSBERG
PARSHAS LECH LECHA
“Taking the ‘El’ Out of Yishma-‘El’”



We find that Avraham prayed on behalf of Yishmael in this week’s parsha, as it says, “And Avraham said to God, ‘O’ that Yishmael might live before You” (Lech Lecha, 17:18). Some of us might cringe when reading about this prayer that Avraham offered on behalf of Yishmael because we might be asking ourselves, “How could Avraham pray on behalf of Yishmael if Avraham saw with Divine inspiration that Yishmael would not follow his [Avraham’s] holy ways? Moreover, how could Avraham pray on behalf of someone whose descendants would cause so much pain and suffering to the Jewish people?”

Speaking of Yishmael, we find another difficulty. There were many great Torah scholars whose names were Yishmael. For instance, the Gemara in Meseches Berachos (chap. 1, “M’eimasai”, pg. 7a) tells us about Rebbi Yishmael ben Elisha who was a Kohen Gadol. Once, on Yom Kippur, when Rebbi Yishmael ben Elisha entered into the Kodesh Hakadashim (Holy of Holies), he had a vision of God sitting upon His high and exalted throne. God asked him [Rebbi Yishmael] to bless Him [God], and he did.

Another example of a Torah great who was named Yishmael is found in the preface to the Safra which we say every morning prior to Pesukei d’Zimra. This paragraph is called, “The Breisa of Rebbi Yishmael.” It begins by saying, “Rebbi Yishmael said that through thirteen rules the Torah is elucidated.” He goes on to list the thirteen rules by name.

In fact, throughout the Mishna and Talmud, whether in Halachic discussions or in Aggadic passages, we find Rebbi Yishmael quoted repeatedly. Often times, Rebbi Yishmael argues with Rebbi Akiva.

This brings us to another question. How could all of these tzaddikim bear the name Yishmael if this name originated from Yishmael the son of Avraham Avinu who was considered to be a rasha (wicked person) who was guilty of transgressing all three cardinal sins: idolatry, immorality, and murder (see Rashi, Parshas Vayeira, 21:9, based upon Parshas Ki Sisa, 32:6; Parshas Vayeishev, 39:17; and Shmuel Beis, 2:14)?

To strengthen this question, we find a verse in Mishlei (10:7) which says, “Remembrance of a righteous one brings blessing, but the name of the wicked one will rot.” The Gemara in Meseches Yoma (chap. 3, “Amar Lahem Hamemuneh”, pg. 38b) quotes Rebbi Elazar who says that this verse means that rottenness enters into the names of wicked people. Therefore, we do not engage in using those names to name our children after them (see Rashi ibid).

There have been several answers offered to address this last question. For example, some say that since Yishmael did teshuva (see Rashi, Parshas Chayei Sara, 25:9, quoting Bereishis Rabba, Parshas Noach, 38:12, and Parshas Lech Lecha, 15:15), it is permissible to be named after him because it is like being named after a tzaddik (Tosafos Yeshanim, written by Tosafists from France between the years 1200 and 1400, Yoma pg. 38b).

Tosafos Yeshanim quotes Reb Yochanan who says that even according to the opinion that says that Yishmael was a rasha his entire life (Sanhedrin, chap. 11, “Cheilek”, pg. 104a), it is still permissible to name a child after him because Hashem Himself named Hagar’s son Yishmael (see Parshas Lech Lecha, 16:11), and a name given by Hashem is automatically holy.

As we proceed, we will see another answer to this question. In the meantime, let us ask another question. Why would Hashem call him by the name Yishmael if Hashem already knew that he would not be considered Avraham’s seed (see Parshas Vayeira, 21:12)? What purpose did the name Yishmael serve?

A few verses in this week’s parsha, together with Rashi, will lead to a chiddush (novelle idea) that will begin to address an approach that will answer all of these questions.

The first verse that we will focus on tells us that Hashem told Avraham that He would establish a covenant with Yitzchak and his offspring after him (Parshas Lech Lecha, 17:19).

The second verse under discussion tells us that Hashem told Avraham that He has heard Avraham’s prayers on behalf of Yishmael. Therefore, Hashem promised Avraham to bless Yishmael and make him into a great nation (Parshas Lech Lecha, 17:20).

The third verse under discussion tells us that Hashem told Avraham that He would maintain a covenant with Yitzchak (Parshas Lech Lecha, 17:21).

Rashi (Parshas Lech Lecha, 17:19) asks why it was necessary to promise Avraham in the third verse (verse 21) that He would make a covenant with Yitzchak, if Hashem had already told Avraham that He would make a covenant with Yitzchak earlier in the first verse (verse 19)?

Rashi cites the Bereishis Rabba (Parshas Lech Lecha, 47:5) which quotes Rebbi Aba bar Kahana in the name of Rebbi Biri who answers this question by saying that we learn a Kal Va’chomer from here. Before we continue with Rebbi Aba’s answer, we must define what a Kal Va’chomer is.

A Kal (light) Va’chomer (heavy) means that if a lenient case has a stringency, then logic dictates that the same stringency must apply to a stricter case. Now that we have defined what a Kal Va’chomer is, we can return to the Midrash which Rashi cites.

Rebbi Aba said that these three verses teach us a Kal Va’chomer from the son (Yishmael) of the maidservant (Hagar) to the son (Yitzchak) of the princess (Sarah). This means to say that since Hashem blessed Yishmael in the second verse (verse 20), Hashem repeated His blessing to Yitzchak in the third verse (verse 21), even though Hashem had already blessed Yitzchak in the first verse (verse 19), so that we learn a Kal Va’chomer from Yishmael to Yitzchak.

That Kal Va’chomer is, “If Hashem blessed Yishmael (the son of a maidservant), then He must certainly bless Yitzchak (the son of the princess).

The B’nei Yissaschar (Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov, Poland, 1783-1841; Tishrei, 12:4) explains that we need this Kal Va’chomer for a time when the Jewish people are not deserving to receive blessings. Even so, we apply this Kal Va’chomer to them by saying “If You [Hashem] blessed Yishmael who was undeserving and who was the son of a maidservant, then You [Hashem] must certainly bless Yitzchak and his descendants because, although they are also undeserving, nevertheless, they are the descendants of the princess.

According to this, the first verse (verse 19) was God’s promise to bless Yitzchak and his descendants when they are deserving. However, when God repeated His blessing about Yitzchak in the third verse (verse 21), it meant that He would bless Yitzchak even if he was undeserving. All of this is because in the second verse (verse 20) Hashem blessed Yishmael who was undeserving and who was the son of a mere maidservant. If such a person would be blessed, then Yitzchak, the son of the princess, should surely be blessed, even if he is undeserving.

The B’nei Yissaschar adds that this explains why his name was “Yishmael” (God will listen) in future tense and not “Shamael” (God has already heard) in past tense if the verse says explicitly that this name was because Hashem had already heard, as it says, “You will name him Yishmael for Hashem has heard your prayer” (Parshas Lech Lecha, 16:11). The reason for a future tense name is because every time the Jewish people will require salvation in the future, even if they will be undeserving, Hashem will still listen to their prayers on account of the Kal Va’chomer from the son of a slave woman to the son of the princess.

Moreover, if Hashem listened to the prayers of a sinner such as Yishmael, then He would most certainly listen to the prayers of the Jewish people who are comprised of Jews where each and every one of them is filled with mitzvos like a pomegranate is filled with seeds (Berachos, chap. 9, “Haroeh”, pg. 57a).

Besides, the last two letters of the Name Yishmael spells the Name of God, “Keil,” (spelled aleph lamed). This means that there is something about Yishmael which awakens the Name of God, “Keil.” The Name Keil incorporates all of the thirteen attributes of Hashem’s mercy. Let us explore this point a little bit further.

The Maggid of Mezritch (Rabbi Dov Ber, 1704-1772, Poland) teaches that the Yud Gimmel Middos Shehatorah Nidreshes Bahen (Thirteen rules through which the Torah is expounded upon) corresponds to the Yud Gimmel Middos Shel Rachamim (Thirteen Attributes of Hashem’s Mercy).

In addition, the Arizal (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, 1534 Jerusalem – 1572 Tzfas; Eitz Chaim, Sha’ar 13, chap. 11) says that the names “Hashem Hashem” which are mentioned at the beginning of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are considered to be the roots of the thirteen. Only after those Names of God do the actual Thirteen Attributes begin; Keil Rachum Vichanun, Erech Apayim, Virav Chesed Ve’emes etc. (Almighty, Compassionate, Gracious, Slow to Anger, Abundant in Kindness, and Truth, etc. Parshas Ki Sisa, 34:6-7).

According to this, it turns out that the first attribute of mercy is the Name “Keil,” which corresponds to the first way of elucidating upon the Torah which is “Kal Va’chomer.”

By the way, I find it interesting how “Keil” is phonetically related to “Kal Va’chomer.” We pronounce Hashem’s Name as Keil (as if there is a letter Kuf in the word instead of a letter aleph) so as not to say His Name unnecessarily. But by doing so, we have a word “Keil” which is spelled with the very same letters as the word “Kal” in “Kal Vachomer.”

The Ropshitzer Rebbe (Rabbi Naftali Tzvi, 1760-1827, Poland; Parshas Lech Lecha, divrei hamaschil “Vayateik”) adds that the first Name of God in the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, “Keil,” incorporates all of the thirteen attributes of mercy (see Tehillim, 52:3).

Therefore, when we use Kal Va’chomer to awaken the Name Keil, we are actually awakening all of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy.

The Shvilei Pinchas says that this approach will help us answer the question about how there were great tzaddikim who came to have the name Yishmael, given that the first Yishmael was a rasha for most of his life. The answer is as follows.

In Yalkut Shimoni (Yeshaya, Remez 449) it tells us that a name contains the essence of a person’s nature and personality. Moreover, the Gemara in Berachos (chap. 1, M’eimasai” pg. 7b, Rebbi Elazar, based upon Tehillim, 46:9) tells us that a person’s name can even cause things to happen.

Therefore, the Jewish parents of all those Jewish babies out there who named their children Yishmael, saw with Divine inspiration that the souls of their children were connected to the name Yishmael. They knew that the souls were not connected to the wickedness of Yishmael, but rather they saw that their souls were connected to the Kal Va’chomer which stems from Yishmael.

In other words, those parents saw that their son’s souls were connected to the idea of “Yishma – Keil” (God would listen) to the prayers of the Jewish people, by means of a Kal Va’chomer from Yishmael ben Avraham. They saw that their sons’ souls were connected to the Name “Keil” of the Thirteen Attributes of God’s Mercy. They saw that their sons had the power of awakening the Thirteen Attributes of God’s Mercy on behalf of the Jewish people.

By giving their sons the name Yishmael, they were trying to concretize within them the power of awakening the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy on behalf of the Jewish people.

This is why it was specifically Rebbi Yishmael who taught us that the first of the ways to elucidate upon the Torah is Kal Va’chomer. It is because his Name [Yishmael] can cause there to be a Kal Va’chomer from Yishmael ben Avraham [the son of a slave woman] to Yitzchak [the son of a spiritual princess] which gets the Jewish people’s prayers answered even if they are engaged in sinful activities.

This is why Hashem named Hagar’s son Yishmael. It is because Hashem wanted to awaken the Kal Va’chomer on behalf of the Jewish people, and Hashem wanted to awaken the Name Keil found at the end of Yishmael so that the prayers of the Jews would always be listened to by Hashem, bringing about their salvation.

This is what Hashem wanted from Rebbi Yishmael ben Elisha when He [Hashem] asked him [Rebbi Yishmael] to “bless Him [Hashem].” Hashem was asking that Rebbi Yishmael awaken the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy which would enable Hashem [so to speak] to shower the Jewish people with many blessings, even if they were undeserving (GR”A , Reb Eliyahu, 1720-1797; Biur HaGR”A). Rebbi Yishmael ben Elisha did just that when he said, “May Your mercy prevail over Your other attributes.” This was a prayer requesting that Hashem allow His Thirteen Attributes of Mercy to prevail over Him so that the Jewish people would be the recipients of abundant good, no matter what.

Furthermore, It was precisely Rebbi Yishmael, whose name evokes the Kal Va’chomer, who could awaken the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. It is the name Yishmael, in future tense, which teaches us that God would always listen to the prayers of the Jewish people throughout the ages, even if they would be involved in sinful activities. It is the Name “Keil” at the end of the name Yishmael which activated the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy that are contained within the Name Keil.

The Shvilei Pinchas concludes by saying that now we can understand how Avraham could daven on behalf of Yishmael, even though he knew that Yishmael was no tzaddik, and even though he knew that Yishmael would be a source of so much pain and suffering to the Jewish people throughout the ages.

The answer is that when Avraham heard that an angel, who spoke in the Name of God, instructed Hagar to name her son Yishmael, Avraham recognized that there was a spark of holiness contained within that name which would serve to bring salvation to the Jewish people. That holy spark stemmed from the Name Keil at the end of the name Yishmael.

Avraham realized that the Name Keil was the Name of God which encompassed all of the Yud Gimmel Middos of Rachamim. Avraham also realized that the Name Keil, which is the first of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, corresponds to Kal Va’chomer, the first of the Yud Gimmel Middos that the Torah is elucidated with.

As such, Avraham realized that his son Yishmael had the capacity of awakening compassion on behalf of his brother’s [Yitzchak’s] descendants. But since Yishmael ben Avraham Avinu would never do anything to help the Jewish people, Hashem bestowed the name Yishmael to a number of Tanaim and to quite a few tzaddikim, including a Kohein Gadol, so that they would be empowered to awaken the Yud Gimmel Middos of Rachamim on behalf of the Jewish people.

This is why Avraham prayed on behalf of Yishmael. It is because Avraham was trying to say that if Hashem would spare an empty rasha like Yishmael who was the son of the slave woman, Hagar, then Hashem would most certainly spare mitzva filled Jews who are the descendants of the spiritual princess, Sarah.

It turns out that Avraham’s whole prayer on behalf of Yishmael was for the benefit of the Jewish people so that their prayers would be answered even if they would be undeserving.

For this week’s practical application, let us try to say the Breisa of Rebbi Yishmael every morning [at least the first opening sentence]. When we say the words, “Rebbi Yishmael,” let us pause and remember that if Hashem listened to Yishmael ben Avraham Avinu’s prayers, then Hashem will certainly listen to our prayers, by means of the Kal Va’chomer.

Additionally, when we mention the first of the Yud Gimmel Middos Shehatorah Nidreshes Bahen, which is Kal Va’chomer, let us be further reminded that it is by means of a Kal Va’chomer that Hashem will listen to our prayers.

Let us also be reminded of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy contained within the Name Keil which appears at the end of the name Yishmael, so that Hashem will be moved to utilize the Yud Gimmel Middos of Rachamim to save us from all sorts of tragedies, even if we are not deserving.

When we finish the recitation of this Breisa of Rebbi Yishmael, let us offer the following prayer:

“Dear God, even if we are undeserving, please use the Thirteen Middos of Rachamim to rescue us because they correspond to the Thirteen Middos of how the Torah is elucidated, and since Rebbi Yishmael taught them to us, may You be moved to utilize the Thirteen Middos of Rachamim for us by means of a Kal Va’chomer – from Yishmael the son of a slave woman to Yitzchak the son of the princess – which awakens the Name Keil which will protect us – B’nei Yisra-el.”

Perhaps we could suggest that it is for this very reason that we say the Rebbi Yishmael paragraph prior to davening. It is because, once the Kal Va’chomer has been invoked by the recitation of this Breisa of Rebbi Yishmael, we can proceed to pray because we are guaranteed that our prayers will also be answered.

So, may we Bnei Yisra-el be blessed by means of a Kal Va’chomer from Yishma-el which will trigger the Thirteen Middos of Rachamim that are wrapped up in the Name Keil – even if we are undeserving – as Rebbi Yishmael Kohein Gadol put it, “And May Your mercy prevail over Your other attributes,” and therefore, may our prayers always be accepted by God.

RABBI WAGENSBERG
PARSHAS BEREISHIS
The Branch doesn’t Fall Far from the Root

In this week’s parsha it states “And Hashem God said, ‘It is not good that man be alone, I will make for him an Eizer K’negdo (a helper corresponding to him)” (2:18). On the words “Eizer K’negdo,” Rashi quotes Rebbi Elazar in a Gemara in Meseches Yivamos (chap. 6, “Haba Al Yevimto”, pg. 63a) who comments on the seemingly contradictory words “eizer” (helper) and “k’negdo” (opposite him). He says that this phrase means to say that if man is deserving, then his wife will be an “eizer,” however if man is undeserving, then his wife will be “k’negdo” to wage war against him.

The implication of this explanation is that the spiritual level of a woman, with respect to her relationship with her husband, is dependent on her husband’s actions. It sounds like it is saying that if the husband is involved in doing good deeds, his wife will be his helper, but if the husband is not involved in doing good deeds, his wife will become his opponent and try to tear him down.

We must ask ourselves why Hashem would create such a reality? Why is a woman’s spiritual level (with respect to her relationship with her husband) dependent on her husband’s spiritual level? How does this even work? What are the mechanics?

To address this difficulty, let us explore what Hashem asked Adam Harishon after he sinned with the Eitz Hada’as (forbidden Tree of Knowledge). Hashem said, “Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” Adam’s response was, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate.” (Parshas Bereishis, 3:11-12).

Regarding Adam’s response, Rashi cites a Gemara in Meseches Avoda Zara (chap. 1, “Lifnei Eideihen”, pg. 5b) which says that Adam had denied the goodness that Hashem had provided for him. Meaning that Adam was ungrateful for the wife that Hashem had given to him.

This comment raises another question. How was Adam ungrateful for Chava? Adam merely stated the truth. It was Chava who gave Adam to eat from the Eitz Hada’as (Parshas Bereishis, 3:6). Why was Adam criticized for speaking the truth?

In order to tackle these difficult questions, let us share another Talmudic passage which discusses how soul-mates are matched up.

The Gemara in Sota (chap. 1, “Hamekaneh”, pg. 2a) quotes Rav Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak who said that when Reish Lakish would begin teaching about a sota (a wife who was suspected of being unfaithful to her husband), he would say that Hashem only matches a person up with a wife in accordance with his deeds. This means to say that a modest woman is given to a righteous man. Whereas an immodest woman is given to a wicked man.

Reish Lakish quotes a verse in Tehillim (125:3) which supports this idea because it says there, “The rod of wickedness will not rest upon the lot of the righteous.” This verse indicates that when God pairs a woman with a man, it is done in accordance with the spiritual level of the man.

Rabba bar bar Chana went on to quote Rebbi Yochanan who said that it is as difficult to pair such a couple as was the division of the sea where the laws of nature had to be altered.

The Gemara continues by asking how Reish Lakish can suggest that a woman is paired with a man according to his deeds when we have a teaching from Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav who said that forty days before the creation of a child, a heavenly voice proclaims, “The daughter of so and so will be married to so and so?” This teaching indicates that matches are made in heaven, and they are not determined based on the man’s actions.

The Gemara answers this question by saying that there is no contradiction whatsoever. When Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav that wives are matched up with husbands forty days before the creation of a child, he was referring to Zivvug Rishon (a man’s first wife). However, when Reish Lakish said that a woman is paired up with a man according to his deeds, he was referring to Zivvug Sheini (a man’s second wife).

This shocking Gemara begs us to ask, “Why should there be a difference between Zivvug Rishon and Zivvug Sheini? Either both wives should depend on his deeds, or both wives should be decreed upon him from heaven regardless of his deeds. What is the logic behind this distinction?”

These questions will be addressed by a teaching from the Ba’al Ha’akeida (Rabbi Yitzchak Arama, 1420-1494, Spain). He says that “Zivvug Rishon” does not refer to the first woman whom a man marries. Rather, “Zivvug Rishon” refers to the match that Hashem had made between a person’s body and his soul. A verse in Parshas Bereishis (2:7) teaches us that man is made up of body and soul. The soul of a person is likened to a “man,” whereas the body of a person is likened to a “woman.”

When the body helps the soul carry out the will of God, she (the body) is called a “kosher wife” who fulfills her husband’s (soul’s) wishes. However, if the body goes against the wishes of the soul by running after the pleasures of this world, then the she (the body) is called a “foreign wife” who tries to pull the soul down to engage in sinful activities.

So, it turns out that “Zivvug Rishon” is referring to the match made between a body and a soul. However, “Zivvug Sheini” is referring to the woman whom a man marries.

Now we can understand the Gemara’s answer when it made a distinction between Zivvug Rishon and Zivvug Sheini. Zivvug Rishon refers to the body and soul. That Zivvug Rishon was decreed upon a person forty days prior to his creation.

Before he was an embryo, Hashem already chose which type of body he would have in order to facilitate the type of soul he would be given. There are different types of bodies and there are different types of souls. Each soul requires a certain type of body to help it carry out its mission on Earth. Forty days before the formation of the embryo, this match between body and soul was decided upon by God.

After all, the Gemara in Meseches Niddah (chap. 2, “Kol Hayad”, pg. 16b) quotes Reb Chanina bar Papa who said that Hashem decrees if the body will be strong or weak, or wise or dumb. However, he will still be able to choose to be a righteous person or a wicked person because everything comes from heaven except for the fear of heaven. Therefore, Zivvug Rishon refers to the pairing of body and soul.

But Zivvug Sheini refers to the woman whom a man marries. It is about this Zivvug Sheini that Reish Lakish said, “They are matched up according to his deeds.” Meaning, if the person serves Hashem properly where the body helps the soul do God’s will, then he will be given a wife who will compliment that. In other words, if a person’s Zivvug Rishon (between body and soul) are working together well, then he will be given a wife (Zivvug Sheini) who will work together with him also.

This also explains why there is a difference between Zivvug Rishon and Zivvug Sheini to begin with. Above, we asked “let both zivvugim be decreed upon by God, or let both zivvugim be dependent on man’s actions. Why the distinction?” The answer is that Zivvug Rishon does not refer to a husband and wife. Rather, Zivvug Rishon refers to the match between the body and soul. Regarding this Zivvug Rishon between body and soul, Hashem decrees which type of body should be matched up with that type of soul.

However, concerning Zivvug Sheini between husband and wife, the woman will behave in accordance with the husband’s spiritual level.

The Shvilei Pinchas adds that a verse in Parshas Bereishis (2:21-22) tells us that Hashem took one of Adam’s sides and fashioned it into a woman. So, it turns out that women (Zivvug Sheini) are fashioned from the body of men. It is the body which is the Zivvug Rishon to man’s soul.

Therefore, the body incorporates both zivvugim. The body is a Zivvug Rishon to its soul, and the body is the source of the Zivvug Sheini which is a woman who becomes her husband’s wife.

It turns out that the body is the root of the woman, and the woman is a like a branch which grew out of that root. Now, a branch will be drawn after its root. A good root produces good branches, but bad roots produce bad branches.

Therefore, if man purifies his root, his body, his Zivvug Rishon to assist his soul to do God’s will, then his wife, the branch of his root, his Zivvug Sheini will follow the root and also assist her husband in doing God’s will.

However, if man ruins his root, his body, his Zivvug Rishon by allowing the body to pursue the lustful passions of this world, then his branch, his wife, his Zivvvug Sheini will follow the root and also not assist her husband in carrying out his mission that Hashem sent him on Earth to do.

The Shvilei Pinchas adds that this explains why Hashem said that it was not good for man to be alone (Parshas Bereishis 2:18). It means that it was not good for man to be left alone just with his Zivvug Rishon between body and soul because there would be no way in telling if that Zivvug Rishon was truly doing Avodas Hashem properly. Man could have easily fooled himself into thinking that he was doing God’s will when in fact he could have been the furthest thing from doing Hashem’s will in this world.

Therefore, Hashem said that He would make man an Eizer K’negdo which is his wife, his Zivvug Sheini who would be created from man’s body. Now there would be a way of finding out whether or not man was doing God’s will. If man would be doing ok with his Zivvug Rishon by forcing his body to serve his soul, then his wife, his Zivvug Sheini, the branch of his body would follow suit and help him do what he is supposed to do in this world.

But if man would damage his body by having it rebel against what the needs of the soul are, then his wife would also rebel against him. Wives are like acid tests. The way a wife treats her husband serves as a barometer to identify how man causes his body to treat his soul.

Now we can understand the mechanics as to why a woman’s spiritual level is dependent on her husband’s spiritual level. It is because the wife is the branch of her husband’s body, the root, and branches follow their roots. A good root produces a good branch whereas a bad root produces a bad branch.

It is important to point out that when we say that a woman’s spiritual level is dependent upon her husband’s actions, this is only true with respect to their marriage. This formula only applies concerning their relationship to each other. However, when it comes to behavior which is outside of their relationship to each other, a woman’s spiritual level depends upon her own choices because she also has her own free will.

In any case, the Shvilei Pinchas explains why we criticize Adam for blaming his wife for giving him the fruit of the Eitz Hada’as to eat, even though Adam spoke the truth. It is because if Chava gave the fruit of the Eitz Hada’as to her husband it is a sign that, deep down, Adam himself wanted to eat the fruit of the Eitz Hada’as. Since Adam’s own body, his root, was being drawn to the Eitz Hada’as, Adam’s wife, his branch, was equally drawn to the Eitz Hada’as.

Chava’s sin of eating the Eitz Hada’as was actually Adam’s fault. If Adam would have controlled his body from lusting the fruits of the Eitz Hada’as, then Chava would have never even entered into a negotiation with the serpent about the possibility of eating from that tree. She would have flatly rejected it.

So, if Chava did eat from the Eitz Hada’as, it was proof that Adam did not purify his body sufficiently. Adam’s failure had an impact on his wife and she also failed. Therefore, since Adam placed the blame on his wife, he denied the goodness which Hashem had provided for him. Hashem had created his wife from his own body in order that she should be of service to him. Hashem gave Adam a gift which would serve as an acid test to see where he himself was holding.

But Adam did not appreciate that gift. Instead, Adam abused that gift by blaming the gift for his own failures.

For this teaching, we have a one practical application for women and one practical application for men.

For women:

Women, please realize that one of your jobs is to help your husbands serve Hashem even better. Know that they (the men) cannot do it without you.

However, I was bothered by a question regarding women who are not currently married, for whatever reason. I do not have a good answer for this question, but maybe we can make a few suggestions.

First of all, women can always support other men in their Avodas Hashem. For example, by financially supporting men learning Torah.

Alternatively, women can tutor young boys in Limudei Kodesh or they can mentor young women by inspiring them to be the types of wives who will support their husbands.

For men:

Men, appreciate your wives even more so. Never let a day go by without a thank You to Hashem for them. Similarly, never let a day go by without a thank you to them for who they are.

If your wife ever insults you or hurts your feelings, think that maybe, just maybe, it is a sign that there is a flaw in your own personality which made her behave that way. So, if it does happen, sit down, say some Tehillim, do teshuva, and apologize to your wife for making her misbehave. B’ezras Hashem, things will improve.

Note:

I must mention that we are not talking about cases of mental illness, and we are not discussing cases of abuse. Those issues must be brought to a competent Rav and to competent professionals.

Rather, we are talking about healthy normal situations, and the message is as we stated above.

So, may we all be blessed to appreciate our spouses even more so, and may we have the strength to improve upon ourselves which will thereby have a positive impact on our zivvugim, whether we are talking about the zivvug between body and soul or the match between husband and wife, as these two sets are intertwined with each other, and may we thus experience Techiyas Hameisim when we will be reunited with our loved ones and return to Gan Eden Mikedem.

RABBI WAGENSBERG
PARSHAS NOACH
“Holy Smokes”

In this article, we are going to discuss Hashem’s choice to change the way He guides the world by creating a new phenomenon known as “the rainbow” which serves as a sign to guarantee that He will never again destroy the entire world with a flood of water (Parshas Noach, 9:12-17). Apparently, it was not sufficient for Hashem to just promise that he would never bring such a catastrophe to the world, but rather, He had to produce a rainbow as a sign to back up His promise.

This indicates that there must be some message buried within the rainbow which moved Hashem to make such a decision about never wreaking havoc on the world again in such a manner. This begs us to ask, “What was the message that was contained within the rainbow that caused Hashem to make such a decision?”

We will begin to address this question based upon a teaching from the sefer Nachalas Ya’akov (Parshas Noach) which was written by Rabbi Ya’akov Lorberbaum from Lissa, Poland (1760-1832), more famously known as Reb Ya’akov m’Lissa. Reb Ya’akov m’Lissa also authored the Chavas Da’as on Yora Deah, and the Nesivos Hamishpat (widely referred to just as “The Nesivos”) on Choshen Mishpat.

The Nachalas Ya’akov makes an observation between how Dovid Hamelech and Yechezkel Hanavi referred to the Divine light that God causes to shine down to Earth. Dovid Hamelech compared God’s Divine light shining down upon us to the light of the sun (Tehillim, 84:12), whereas Yechezkel Hanavi compared God’s Divine light shining down upon us to the light of a rainbow (Yechezkel, 1:28).

The reason why there are these two categories [sun and rainbow] is to teach us that when the Jewish people are doing God’s will by engaging in Torah study and mitzva performance, the atmosphere is spiritually pure and clean. Therefore, when Hashem shines His Divine light upon us, we receive it in full measure because there are no blockages obstructing the light from reaching us.

In the days of Dovid Hamelech, the Jews were doing God’s will. As such, the air was spiritually pure. This is why Dovid compared God’s light to the sun’s light which comes down unincumbered, without any interference. It is because that was Dovid’s experience with the light.

However, when the Jews are involved in sinful activities, they create spiritual clouds of impurity which serve as a partition dividing between God and the people, as it says, “Because your iniquities have separated between you and your God” (Yeshaya, 59:2), and like it says, “You wrapped yourself in a cloud that prayer cannot pierce” (Eicha, 3:44).

In spite of those spiritually pollutant clouds, Hashem still causes His Divine light to shine down upon us, but we do not receive the full measure of that light because of the spiritually polluted clouds which get in the way. In the days of Yechezkel, the Jews were engaged in sinful activities which wound up destroying the first Beis Hamikdash. Therefore, when Yechezkel described God’s Divine light, he compared it to the light of a rainbow, which is surrounded by clouds, because Yechezkel’s experience was that God’s Divine light was partially blocked by spiritual clouds of sin.

The Nachalas Ya’akov goes on to say that this will help us understand the difference between the generation before the flood occurred and the generation after the flood happened. Before the flood transpired, that generation sinned so much that they created so many spiritually polluted clouds that no Divine light was capable of reaching the inhabitants of earth whatsoever.

Yet, after the flood, Hashem forged a covenant with the inhabitants of Earth that even if they sinned as much as the generation which lived prior to the flood, Hashem would still shine His light upon them penetrating the spiritually polluted clouds. This was the sign of the rainbow. The rainbow is seen amidst clouds. Those clouds represent clouds of sin. However, the rainbow can still be seen because the light from the sun penetrates those clouds, bouncing off of the moisture in the atmosphere, creating the formation of the rainbow. Therefore, the very essence of the rainbow demonstrates that God will still shine His light upon us even through spiritually polluted clouds of sin.

This is the message buried within the rainbow. The very existence of the rainbow teaches us that Hashem decided to shine His light upon us even though we may be sinners. This means to say that God will not settle for a situation of distance between Himself and the people, but rather, there will always be a connection between us.

One could still ask why there was a change before the flood and after it? Why was it that before the flood, Hashem destroyed the world, whereas after the flood, God decided that even if people would misbehave like the generation of the flood, they would not be destroyed?

The Shvilei Pinchas says that the difference was korbanos (offerings). After the flood, Noach brought korbanos to Hashem. That practice was later adopted by the Jewish people in the Mishkan and in the Beis Hamikdash. Since korbanos to Hashem would become the accepted practice, Hashem decided never to destroy the world again. The reason why korbanos has this effect is as follows.

The Mishna in Pirkei Avos (5:5 or 7) talks about the ten miracles which occurred in the Beis Hamikdash. The sixth miracle was that the ruach (wind) did not disperse the vertical column of ashan (smoke) from the mizbeach (altar).” This means that the vertical column of smoke went straight up to heaven without any interruption.

From the way this Mishna expressed itself, it seems as though there was some sort of “wrestling match” between the ruach (wind) and the amud ha’ashan (vertical pillar of smoke), but the ruach did not succeed in overcoming the amud ha’ashan. What was the nature of that wrestling match between the two?

The Shvilei Pinchas addresses this question by citing a Zohar Chadash (Parshas Teruma, pg. 43) which says that when the Jewish people were deserving, the amud ha’ashan would ascend straight up to heaven without bending to any side. When that occurred, the Jewish people knew that it was a favorable time for their prayers to be answered.

However, if the amud ha’ashan would begin to sway or bend to the sides, the Jewish people knew that it was not a favorable time for their prayers to be answered. In his sefer Sha’arei Orah, the great kabbalist, Reb Yosef Gikatilla (1248-1305, Spain) expounds upon this passage from the Zohar. He says that the Zohar can be understood in light of a verse which says, “Guard your foot when you go to the House of God” (Koheles, 4:17).

This means that when a person wants to go to the house of God to pray, he should check if there are any spiritual prosecuting attorneys who were created by his sins which would prevent his prayers from reaching their desired destination. This is because the airspace between Earth and heaven is not empty. Rather, it is filled with all sorts of angels. Some of them are good because they were created from our mitzvos, and some of them are bad because they were created from our aveiros (sins).

When a person prays, the good angels try to help his prayers reach the Throne of Glory, whereas the bad angels try to prevent his prayers from reaching that place.

This is why King David instituted the recitation of zemiros (songs). It is because zemiros have the power to cut through a spiritually polluted atmosphere. We can see this from the word zemiros which does not only mean songs. The word “zemiros” is related to the word “mizamer” which means “to prune”, as it says, “He will cut down the young branches ‘bamazmeiros’” (with pruning hooks; Yeshaya, 18:5).

The Shvilei Pinchas says that this explains what the wrestling match was between the ruach and the amud ha’ashan. The “ruach” refers to the “ruchos raos” (spirits of impurity) created by those bad angels. Those “ruchos raos” (evil spirits) want to prevent the ashan of the korbanos from reaching Hashem’s Kisei Hakavod (Throne of Glory). This is what it meant when we said that there was a spiritual wrestling match going on between the ruach and the amud ha’ashan.

Now we can understand why korbanos cause Hashem to send His light through those spiritual clouds of pollution. It is because the ashan (smoke) of the korbanos is ashan d’kedusha (holy smoke) and the holy smoke has the ability to pave a path through the polluted clouds of sin. Once the smoke of the offerings paves that path, our prayers and teshuva can also travel to the Kisei Hakavod through that path. Once a path has been cleared by the korbanos, God’s Divine light can travel to us through that same path.

This explains the Zohar mentioned above. When the ashan went straight up, it was a sign that the ruchos raos could not interfere. That meant that there was a clear path leading up to the Kesei Hakavod. That served as a sign that it was a favorable time for their prayers to be answered. However, if the amud ha’ashan would bend to any side, it was a sign that the ruchos raos were interfering with the amud ha’ashan’s ascent. That meant that there was no clear path leading to the Kisei Hakavod. That was a sign to the people that it was not a favorable time for their prayers to be answered.

Although we have been speaking about ashan d’kedusha (holy smoke) from the korbanos, there was also an ashan d’tuma (unholy smoke) from the forces of evil. This unholy smoke is hinted to in the pasuk which says that the Jews in the wilderness passed through places filled with snakes, fiery serpents, and scorpions. In Hebrew, these three dangerous creatures are called, “Nachash, Saraf, and Akrav,” whose acronym spells “Ashan” (ayin, shin, and nun; smoke).

This means that the holy smoke of the korbanos had the power to vanquish the unholy smoke of the evil forces. This is because the unholy smoke is comprised of three parts (nachash, saraf, and akrav), and the holy smoke of the korbanos is also comprised of three parts: Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov who are connected to the korbanos by having instituted the three tefillos which filled the gap in the absence of the three daily korbanos (Brachos, chap. 4, “Tefillas Hashachar”, pg. 26b; Rebbi Yosi b’Rebbi Chanina and Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi).

The rainbow itself supports this idea that the korbanos have the power to pave a path through any polluted clouds of sin. This is because the Zohar (Parshas Pinchas, pg. 215a) says that there are three primary colors of the rainbow. They are: white, red, and green. This means that the other colors of the rainbow: orange, yellow, blue, indigo, and violet, are off-shoots of the three primary colors.

The three primary colors of the rainbow correspond to the three Patriarchs. White is connected to chesed which corresponds to Avraham Avinu, red is connected to din which corresponds to Yitzchak Avinu, and green is connected to tiferes which corresponds to Ya’akov Avinu.

The Shvilei Pinchas says that this explains the reason why Hashem brought the sign of the rainbow into the picture. It is because the three primary colors of the rainbow, which represent the three Avos, teaches us that, in the merits of the three Avos, a path will be paved through polluted clouds of sin which stem from the three forces of evil.

We know that Hashem accepts our offerings in the merit of the Avos (Rashi Parshas Naso, 7:21, citing Bamidbar Rabba, Parshas Naso, 14:5). Therefore, if the amud ha’ashan of the korbanos can pierce a hole through clouds of pollution, then the merits of the Avos can most certainly pave a path through those clouds.

This also teaches us that our prayers can break through the clouds of sin because it was the Avos who instituted the three daily prayers. Therefore, in the merit of the Patriarchs, our tefillos can break through to the Kisei Hakavod.

Additionally, we know that our prayers substitute the absence of the korbanos. Therefore, if the ashan of the korbanos can break through the clouds of sin, so can our prayers. After all, the korbanos had ashan (smoke), and our prayers have the hevel (breath) which emanates out of our mouths. If the sacrificial smoke could pave a path, then so can the breath of our prayers.

This is why prayer is compared to swords and bows (as in bows and arrows; Onkelos, Parshas Vayechi, 48:22). It is because our prayers have the power to cut through our enemies, physical and spiritual.

One practical take-away from this teaching would be to try and improve a little bit more on our prayers by realizing that our tefillos have incredible power, so much so that they can cut right through any spiritual pollution.

In order to drive this point home, perhaps we could recite one sentence from the Arizal’s preparatory prayer which he suggested should be said prior to davening. That sentence reads, “[Please Hashem], do not allow our sins to separate between us and You, and give us the strength through our prayers to cut down the klipos (dark and evil forces), and to purify the worlds, and elevate them [our prayers] from world to world.”

So, may we all be blessed with the strength to belt-out our zemiros and tefillos in just such a way that they become like swords and arrows which will cut through all of the spiritual pollution in the atmosphere – like the ashan of the korbanos did – paving a direct path straight to the Kisei Hakavod, and thus receive God’s Divine light which will surround us with protection, love, warmth, and sustenance, represented by the rainbow.

RABBI WAGENSBERG
PARSHAS DEVARIM
“How”

Every year we read Parshas Devarim before Tisha B’Av (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim, 428:4). This year we read Parshas Devarim on Tisha B’Av itself. Rebbi Shimon ben Elazar (Meseches Megillah chap. 4 “Bnei Ha-ir” pg. 31b) tells us that it was Ezra Hasofer (the scribe) who arranged that the various Torah portions should be read at specific times on the Jewish calendar because the themes of the various parshiyos are somehow connected to that specific time of year.

This begs us to ask why Ezra arranged for Parshas Devarim to be read before Tisha B’Av? What is the connection between the two?

The Levush (Orach Chaim, 428; Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe, 1530 Prague – 1612 Poland) answers this question by saying that we read Parshas Devarim before TishaB’Av because Parshas Devarim contains the tochacha (admonishment) of Moshe Rabbenu. The tochachos of Moshe prepare us for Tisha B’Av because through the reproofs of Moshe we can improve upon ourselves a little bit more and fix the sins which brought about the churbanos (destructions) of the Batei Mikdash (Temples) to begin with.

Furthermore, the rebukes of Moshe Rabbenu in Parshas Devarim fit in with the tochacha of Yeshaya Hanavi which is read in this week’s Haftara (Yeshaya, 1-27). Both sets of tochachos prepare us for Tisha B’Av because if we improve upon ourselves as a result of these words of reproof, the Redemption will come.

This point is made even stronger in Eicha Rabbasi (preface, #11) where it basically says that Moshe Rabbenu’s tochacha was administered before any churban ever happened. As such, the purpose of Moshe Rabbenu’s tochacha was so that we should improve upon our ways in order to prevent a churban from occurring.

However, Yeshaya’s tochacha was administered after the churban. As such, the purpose of Yeshaya’s tochacha was so that we should improve upon ourselves in order that a new Beis Hamikdash would be built.

In other words, had we listened sufficiently to the admonishment of Moshe Rabbenu, we would not have to listen to the admonishment of Yeshaya Hanavi. But now that we did not sufficiently listen to the rebuke of Moshe Rabbenu, we must listen to the rebuke of Yeshaya Hanavi.

At this point, we are going to share another connection between Moshe Rabbenu and Yeshaya Hanavi, besides the fact that both of them reprimanded us.

The Ohr HaNer (Kitzur Gilgulei Neshamos from the Arizal) and the Medrash Talpios (#10, anaf Yeshaya, quoting the Sefer Hagilgulim) say that Yashaya Hanavi was a gilgul (reincarnation) of Moshe Rabbenu. Therefore, we find similarities between them.

For example, Moshe is described in the Torah as having a “heavy mouth” (Parshas Shemos, 4:10), meaning that he had a speech impediment, and Yeshaya also suffered from a speech impediment. A source which supports this is found when Hashem told Yashaya to share his prophecy with the Jewish people. At first, Yeshaya refused to be God’s agent, just as Moshe refused to be Hashem’s agent, at first (Parshas Shemos, 4:10-13).

Then the verse says “Then I (Yeshaya) said, ‘Woe to me for I am doomed, for I am a man of impure lips, and I dwell among a people of impure lips’” (Yeshaya, 6:5). The next pasuk says, “And one of the Serafim flew to me (Yeshaya) and in his hand was a ritzpa (coal) which he had taken with tongs from atop the Alter” (Yeshaya, 6:6). The next verse continues, “And he (the angel) touched it to my mouth and he (the angel) said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips, your iniquity has gone away and your sin will be atoned for” (Yeshaya, 6:7).

Rashi (Sefer Yeshaya, 6:6; based upon Shir Hashirim Rabba, 1:38) says that a ritzpa is a hot coal, and the angel placed this hot coal on Yeshaya’s lips because he had spoken evil about the Jewish people when he said that they were a people of impure lips. Rashi continues to say that the word ritzpa is a contracted word which can be broken into two words which are ratzutz peh (a broken mouth). Hashem said to the angel, “Break that mouth of Yeshaya because he spoke Lashon H ara about my children.”

We see from this that Yeshaya also had a speech impediment just as Moshe had a speech impediment. This similarity between the two supports the notion that Yeshaya was a gilgul of Moshe.

Therefore, Ezra Hasofer arranged for Parshas Devarim to be read before Tisha B’Av so that the rebukes of Moshe Rabbenu in Parshas Devarim would compliment the reproofs of Yeshaya Hanavi in the Haftara read in conjunction with Parshas Devarim, because they were connected through gilgul, and they both intended to prepare us for Tisha B’Av so that the Beis Hamikdash would be built.

The Shvilei Pinchas adds that although Yeshaya made a mistake by calling the Jews a people of impure lips, he did teshuva and became a defending attorney on behalf of the Jewish people (see Yalkut Shimoni, Yeshaya, remez 406, based on Yeshaya 6:7-8; 50:4-5).

The Shvilei Pinchas points out that not only was there a similarity between Moshe and Yeshaya with respect to them both having a speech problem, but they both got their speech impediment from a hot coal. The story with Yeshaya was already mentioned above. The story regarding Moshe is a famous one.

In Shemos Rabba (Parshas Shemos, 1:26; based on Parshas Shemos, 2:10) it tells us that Batya treated Moshe as if he was her own baby. She would kiss him, hug him, and pamper him constantly. Batya would not allow Moshe to leave the royal palace. Even Pharaoh hugged and kissed baby Moshe frequently. When Pharaoh would do that, baby Moshe would take Pharaoh’s royal crown off of his (Pharaoh’s) head and place it upon his own head.

Some of Pharaoh’s magicians were suspicious about this behavior of baby Moshe and suggested that this child might just be the one they read about in the stars who would one day dethrone Pharaoh and become a king in his own right. Some of Pharaoh’s advisors suggested to cut the baby’s neck off while other advisors suggested to burn him alive.

At that time, Yisro was one of Pharaoh’s advisors. Yisro said that the baby should be put to a test. A plate with gold on one side of it and hot coals on the other side of it should be brought into the room and placed in front of baby Moshe. If the child goes after the hot coals it would serve as a sign that this is a kid who does not know what is going on and therefore, he may be allowed to live because he poses no threat to Pharaoh.

However, if the child reaches for the gold, it would be a sign that the kid does understand what is happening which would mean that it is a sign that one day he would overthrow Pharaoh’s sovereignty. As such, he should be put to death now.

They brought the plate with gold and hot coals before baby Moshe and he began to stretch out his hand for the gold, when suddenly the angel, Gavriel, pushed his hand to the hot coals. When Moshe felt the burning of the coals on his hand, he put his hand in his mouth to cool it down and stop the pain, but the hot coal burnt his tongue, thus leaving him with a speech impediment.

We see from all of this that just as Yeshaya became heavy of mouth due to a hot coal, so did Moshe become heavy of mouth on account of a hot coal. Just as Yeshaya was healed from his speech impediment, so was Moshe healed from his speech problem once the Torah was given (Devarim Rabba, Parshas Devarim, 1:1, Reish Lakish, based on Parshas Devarim, 1:1 and on Parshas Shemos, 4:10).

Once again this explains why Ezra orchestrated to read Parshas Devarim before Tisha B’Av. It was to juxtapose the tochacha of Moshe Rabbenu with the tochacha of Yeshaya, who was a gilgul of Moshe, because the purpose of their rebukes was to awaken the Jewish people to teshuva which would either prevent the churban to begin with or it would serve as an impetus to rebuild after the churban.

There are several other Midrashim which show other similarities between Moshe and Yeshaya. For example, the only two prophets who truly understood their prophecies clearly were Moshe and Yeshaya (Medrash Shocher Tov, Tehillim, chap. 90). Another Midrash (Devarim Rabba, Parshas Vaeschanan, 2:4) says that the two greatest prophets were Moshe and Yeshaya.

In Yalkut Shimoni (Yeshaya chap. 1, remez 385), it says that Yeshaya lived to be 120 years old. The Shvilei Pinchas says that the reason why Yeshaya deserved to live to 120 years was in the merit of being a gilgul of Moshe Rabbenu who lived to be 120 years old (Parshas V’Zos Habracha, 34:7).

In Medrash Talpios it quotes a verse in which Moshe says to the Jewish people, “A Navi (prophet) from your midst from your brethren kamoni (like me) will Hashem your God establish for you, you must listen to him” (Parshas Shoftim, 18:15). When Moshe said this verse, he hinted that Yeshaya Hanavi would be like him (Moshe). This is hinted to in the pasuk’s word “Navi” which is spelled with four Hebrew letters which are: nun, beis, yud and aleph. These four letters serve as the acronym for the four words, “Nishmas Yeshaya Ben Amotz” (the soul of Yeshaya the son of Amotz).

Moshe said that that Navi would be “Kamoni” (like me). Since this word (Kamoni) in this verse is spelled without a letter vov, it has the gematria (numerical value) of 120, hinting to the fact that Yeshaya would live to be 120 years old just as Moshe did.

Moreover, the Yerushalmi in Meseches Sanhedrin (!0:2) equates Yeshaya with Moshe suggesting that they were equals.

In Eicha Rabba (1:1) it points out that there were three Neviim who prophesied with the word “Eicha” (how). One was Moshe Rabbenu when he said “Eicha Esa Levadi Torchachem” (how can I carry your argumentativeness; Parshas Devarim, 1:12). The second was Yeshaya who said, “Eicha Huysa Lizona Kirya Ne’emana” (how the faithful city has become a harlot; Yashaya, 1:21). The third was Yirmiya who said “Eicha Yushvuh Budud” (how did she come to sit alone; Eicha 1:1).

The Shvilei Pinchas explains that this Midrash comes to teach us that if we would have listened to Moshe Rabbenu’s tochacha sufficiently, we would not have had to hear Yeshaya’s tochacha. Since we did not pay enough attention to Moshe’s tochacha, we had to hear Yeshaya’s tochacha. Had we heeded Yeshaya’s reproof we would not have had to listen to Yirmiya’s rebuke. But since we did not pay enough attention to Yeshaya’s tochacha, we had to hear Yirmiya’s rebuke.

The Shvilei Pinchas says that this adds to our answer as to why Parshas Devarim is read before Tisha B’Av. It is because this comes to teach us that if we would have listened to one, we would not have had to listen to the other because we would have fixed whatever flaws we may have had in our personalities and the Geula (Redemption) would have come.

Before we conclude, we must share one more source from the Psikta d’Rav Kahana (13:6) which cites Rebbi Yudan in the name of Rebbi Simon who expounded upon the verse that tells us that Hashem said to Moshe, “I will establish a prophet for them from among your brethren like you” (Parshas Shoftim, 18:18). The Psikta asks how it could say that this anonymous prophet will be like you (Moshe) if another verse says, “Never again will there be in Israel a prophet like Moshe” (Parshas v’Zos Habracha, 34:10)?

The Psikta answers this question by saying that Yirmiya was only equated with Moshe regarding giving tochacha. In fact, we find several similarities between Moshe and Yirmiya.

For example, Moshe prophesied for forty years and Yirmiya prophesied for forty years. Moreover, people from Moshe’s own tribe (Sheivet Levi), such as Korach and his followers from the tribe of Levi (Parshas Korach, 1:5), rose up to oppose him (Moshe), and people from Yirmiya’s own tribe (Sheivet Levi), such as Pashchur ben Imer (who was a Kohein from Sheivet Levi) rose up to oppose Yirmiya by imprisoning him (Yirmiya) because of his prophesies, (Yirmiya 1:1 and 20:1).

Additionally, Moshe was cast into a river (Parshas Shemos, 2:3) and Yirmiya was thrown into a pit (Yirmiya 18:22). Moshe was rescued from the river by a handmaid (Parshas Shemos 2:5), and Yirmiya was rescued from the pit by a slave (Psikta Rabbasi, 26:51).

The Megaleh Amukos (Rabbi Nasan Nata Shapira, 1585 – 1633, Cracow, Poland; Parshas Vaeschanan, 84) comments that we see from all of this that there were many similarities between Yirmiya and Moshe. The Megaleh Amukos adds yet another similarity between them. He says that just as Moshe wrote the Five Books of the Torah, so did Yirmiya write the Book of Eicha which consists of five chapters which correspond to the Five Books of the Torah.

Therefore, the Megaleh Amukos says that when the above verse said, “I will establish a Navi from among their brethren like you,” it refers to Yirmiya. If one were to ask how Yirmiya could ever be like Moshe if Moshe was the greatest prophet of all time, the answer is that Yirmiya was a gilgul of Moshe. Therefore, Yirmiya could like Moshe and yet that would not contradict the verse which says that Moshe was the greatest prophet because Moshe and Yirmiya were one and the same. It turns out that not only was Yeshaya a gilgul of Moshe, but so was Yirmiya.

The Shvilei Pinchas says that this comes to teach us that had we listened to the words of Moshe Rabbenu, he would not have had to return to this world as Yeshaya and as Yirmiya in order to reprimand us.

This also explains why Ezra Hasofer arranged for Parshas Devarim to be read before Tisha B’Av. It was so that there would be a “chut hameshulash” (a three-ply cord which is not easily severed; Koheles, 4:12), consisting of three Neviim: 1) Moshe Rabbenu in Parshas Devarim, 2) Yeshaya Hanavi in the Haftara of Parshas Devarim, and 3) Yirmiya Hanavi in the Book of Eicha.

In the merit of the tochacha given by these three prophets, who were connected by gilgulim, we will be more inclined to do teshuva and draw the Geula close.

One practical application of this teaching would be that when we read Parshas Devarim, the Haftara from Yeshaya, and the Book of Eicha, let us make a resolution to take on one small area of Avodas Hashem that we are going to try and improve on a little bit more. Preferably, it would be wise to choose something in the realm of Bein Adam Lachaveiro (interpersonal relationships) as that will serve as a way of rectifying the primary sin which caused the Temples’ destruction to begin with.

So, may we all be blessed with the strength and humility to accept words of tochacha we hear, even if they are as hot as fiery coals, and do teshuva in order that we, the children of Israel, merit to experience the Final Geula, way before we reach the age of 120 years old.

RABBI WAGENSBERG
PARSHAS MASEI
“The Phase of 21 Days”

Parshas Masei falls out during this period of time known as the “Bein Hametzarim” (between the straits, referring to the Three Weeks, Eicha, 1:3). Ezra the Scribe was responsible for arranging the weekly Torah portions to be read at specific times during the year on the Jewish calendar (Megillah, chap. 4, “B’nei Ha-ir”, pg. 31b, Rebbi Shimon ben Elazar).

This begs us to ask, “What is the connection between Parshas Masei and the Three Weeks?” We will share one approach to answer this question right now.

In his Avodas Yisrael, the Maggid of Kohznitz (Rabbi Yisrael Hopstien, 1737-1814, Poland) says that the connection between Parshas Masei and the Three Weeks is as follows.

Parshas Masei begins with the words, “These are the journeys of the Children of Israel” (33:1). Rashi (quoting a Midrash Aggadah and Rebbi Moshe Hadarshan – 11th cent. France) says that when you count how many places the Jewish people encamped, there are 42 stations in all. The number 42 is very much connected to this time of year, as we will see right now.

There are 21 days during the Bein Hametzarim. We know this from a Rashi in Sefer Yirmiya (1:11) where it says, “The word of Hashem came to me (Yirmiya) saying, ‘What do you see Yirmiyahu?’ And I said, ‘I see a staff of an almond tree.’”

Rashi there cites a Medrash Aggadah and a Yerushalmi in Meseches Ta’anis (pg. 23a) who says that it takes 21 days from the time an almond blossoms until it ripens. Those 21 days correspond to the 21 days that there are between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av (which are the Three Weeks).

The coded message which Hashem showed to Yirmiya was that there would be 21 days of destruction beginning with Jerusalem’s walls being breached on the 17th of Tammuz culminating with the Temple which would be destroyed on the 9th of Av. It is clear from this source that the Bein Hametzarim consists of 21 days.

In Sha’ar Hakavanos, the Arizal (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, 1534 Jerusalem- 1572 Tzfas) says the same thing, that there are 21 days during the Three Weeks.

You might be wondering why we need Rashi and the Arizal to tell us that there are 21 days during the Three Weeks, because if you would ask just about anybody how many days there are in three weeks, the answer would be 21 days because each week has 7 days in it, and 7x3=21. In a few moments we are going to offset this question with a different question. But in the meantime, we are going to see what the Maggid of Kohznitz does with this information.

Says the Maggid of Kohznitz that once we have established that there are 21 days during the Three Weeks, these 21 days can be split into two parts. One part is the 21 daylight hours of the 21 days, and second part is the 21 nighttime hours of the 21 days. When you divide these 21 days into these two parts, it turns out that there are really 42 periods of time during the Three Weeks (21 + 21 = 42).

These 42 chunks of time of the Bein Hametzarim correspond to the 42 stations of the Jewish people in the Midbar (wilderness) that are recorded in Parshas Masei. This teaches us that we have a responsibility to fix the 42 stations during these 42 periods of time.

This means to say that during these 42 chunks of time of the Bein Hametzarim, we are supposed to serve Hashem with Torah, Tefillah, and, believe it or not, with simcha (happiness and joy). When we do, we wind up repairing the 42 stations of the Jewish people in the Midbar.

You see, we are not very proud of the 42 stations because they represent the sins of the Jews in the midbar. It was because of those sins that they had to wander about 42 stations to begin with.
Similarly, we are not very proud of these 42 periods of time because they also represent our sins. Therefore, these 42 chunks of time correspond to the 42 stations in the wilderness. If we fill the 42 chunks of time with Avodas Hashem (service of God), we will be metaken (fix) the 42 stations of the Jews.

Again, this explains why Parshas Masei falls out during the Three Weeks. It is because it comes to teach us that these 42 periods of time can fix the 42 stations.

Now let us address another question. Earlier we mentioned that some might question why we need a Rashi and an Arizal to tell us that there are 21 days in three weeks. However, we are going to ask a slightly different question which will offset this one.

That question is, “How can Rashi, the Arizal, and the Maggid of Kohznitz say that there are 21 days during the Three weeks? Although we would be quick to say that there are obviously 21 days in three weeks, when you open a calendar and actually count the number of days from the 17th of Tammuz, including the 17th of Tammuz, until the 9th of Av, including the 9th of Av, there are actually 22 days, not 21!

In his sefer, Machazeh Avraham, the Rebbe of Butchach (Rabbi Avraham Dovid Wahrman, 1770-1840, Romania; Chazon Lamoed Bein Hametzarim) says that Rashi and the Arizal got to the number 21 because they did not include the day of Tisha b’Av itself as part of the Three Weeks.

This is because Tisha b’Av itself is referred to as a holiday (Eicha, 1:15). We even treat Tisha b’Av as a holiday because we do not say Tachanun during the Mincha service on Erev Tisha b’Av (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, 552:12, and we do not say Tachanun on Tisha b’Av itself (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, 559:4), just like we practice when it comes to other holidays such as Pesach, Sukkos, and Shavuos.

In his sefer, Imrei Pinchas, (Rabbi Pinchas Shapiro of Koretz, 1726-1791, Ukraine) he adds why we treat Tisha b’Av as a holiday. It is because the Yerushalmi in Berachos (pg. 17b) says that Moshiach ben Dovid was, is, will be born on Tisha b’Av. Therefore, the 9th of Av is celebrated as a holiday.

The Machazeh Avraham continues to say that since Tisha b’Av is treated like a holiday, it is not included as part of the Three Weeks of the Bein Hametzarim. This is because the Bein Hametzarim are days of mourning, whereas the 9th of Av itself is a day of celebration.

Therefore, we need Rashi and the Arizal to teach us that there are 21 days during the Three Weeks because they were aware of the fact that a person might open a calendar and count and come up with the mistaken number of 22 days.

In order that nobody makes that mistake, they had to teach us that there are really only 21 days during the Bein Hametzarim. But I repeat, during the 21 days, there are actually 42 chunks of time (21 daylight hours and 21 nighttime hours), and those 42 periods of time are meant to atone for the 42 stations in the Midbar, as we mentioned above.

In his sefer, Ohev Yisrael, (Likkutim Chadashim, divrei hamaschil “l’Yamim Noraim”) the Apter Rebbi (Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apt, 1748-1825, Poland) says that although the month of Elul has been set aside as a month of teshuvah, nevertheless, we must already start the teshuvah process from the 17th of Tammuz.

A hint which supports this idea is found in the word “Tammuz” because the word “Tammuz” is spelled with four Hebrew letters which are: taf, mem, vov, and zayin. These four letters serve as the acronym of, “Zemanei Teshuvah Mimashmishim Ubaim” (the time for repentance is approaching).

The letters in the word “Tammuz” also serves as the acronym for, “Zerizim Makdimim V’osim Teshuvah” (people who do things with alacrity already start doing teshuvah). These hints support the idea that we should start doing teshuvah already in the month of Tammuz. This idea leads right into another time period during which we should do teshuvah.

The Maharsha (Rabbi Shmuel Eidels, 1555-1631, Poland; Chiddushei Aggados, Berachos, chap. 1, “M’eimasai”, pg. 8b) adds that besides the 21 days between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av, there is another set of 21 days which are from Rosh Hashanah, including Rosh Hashanah, until Hoshanah Rabbah, including Hoshanah Rabbah.

These two sets of 21 days atone for our sins. However, there is a distinction between them.

The 21 days of Bein Hametzarim are days of pain and mourning. Therefore, the teshuvah (repentance) that we do at this time of year is motivated by pain and suffering.

However, the 21 days between Rosh Hashanah and Hoshanah Rabbah are Yomim Tovim (holidays). Therefore, the teshuvah that we do at that time is motivated by happiness and joy.

The Shvilei Pinchas adds that if we merit to do teshuvah from a place of love during the 21 days between Rosh Hashanah and Hoshanah Rabbah, we will not need the other set of 21 days between Shiva Asar b’Tammuz and Tisha b’Av to motivate us to do teshuvah from fear, because we already did teshuvah from love.

However, if we do not seize the 21 days between Rosh Hashanah and Hoshanah Rabbah to utilize them as days of teshuvah from happiness, then we will need the 21 days of the Bein Hametzrim to encourage us to do teshuvah from fear.

This insight will bring us to a deeper understanding of dividing the 21 days into two parts: daylight hours and nighttime hours.

The Degel Machaneh Ephraim (Rabbi Chaim Ephraim of Sudilkov, 1748-1800, Ukraine; Parshas Masei) quotes his grandfather, the Ba’al Shem Tov, who said that the Torah went out of its way to enumerate the 42 stations of the Jews in the Midbar, even though it may seem to be superfluous. The reason why the Torah took out the time and space to mention every single encampment was to teach us that every single Jew has 42 stages in his or her life.

The Shvilei Pinchas adds that we are supposed to repent every single day we are alive (Avos, chap. 2, “Rebbi Omer”, Mishna 15, Rebbi Eliezer). However, there are certain stations or stages in life which bring us to teshuvah from a place of happiness, joy, and love. On the other hand, there are other stations or stages in life which force us to do teshuvah from a place of tragedy, sadness, pain, and suffering.

The teshuvah we do from love is represented by the 21 days between Rosh Hashana and Hoshanah Rabbah, and the teshuvah we do from fear is represented by the 21 days between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av.

Or, we could put it this way. The teshuvah that we are encouraged to do from love is represented by the 21 days of daylight hours of the Bein Hametzarim, whereas the teshuvah we are awakened to do from fear is represented by the 21 days of nighttime hours of the Bein Hametzrim.

The Shvilei Pinchas concludes by saying that the two sets of 21 days of the Bein Hametzarim (days and nights) equal 42, which correspond to the 42 stations of the Jews in the Midbar, and the 42 stations represent the 42 stages in every person’s life. There are some stages in life which bring us to teshuvah from love, represented by the 21 daylight hours of the Bein Hametzrim, and there are other stages in life which bring us to teshuvah from fear, represented by the 21 nighttime hours of the Bein Hametzrim.

As a means of a practical application of this teaching, let us start the teshuvah process today. Even if one may not feel in the mood of doing teshuvah at this time of year, we can jump-start the process with an easy verbal declaration.

Staring today, until the remainder of the Three Weeks, let us say the following prayer:

“Dear God, please forgive me for my sins. Please forgive me for not taking full advantage of this past year’s 21 days from Rosh Hashanah until Hoshanah Rabbah by not returning to You from a place of love. Please forgive me for making You punish me with these 21 days from the 17th of Tammuz until the 9th of Av.”

In this way, we will be able to transform these 21 days of the Bein Hametzarim into days of joyous celebration with the building of the Beis Hamikdash.

So, may we all be blessed to take full advantage of these 21 days of the Bein Hametzarim by doing a teshuvah shileima, and may we continue on this path during the 21 days from Rosh Hashanah until Hoshanah Rabbah, and may we continue on this path during the 42 stages of our lives, by day and by night, and thus deserve to belong to the generation who will merit to build the Beis Hamikdash.

Rabbi Wagensberg
Parshas Matos
On First Thought

During this period of time known as The Three Weeks, we read from four Torah portions. They are: Pinchas, Matos, Masai, and Devarim. Based on the teaching that Ezra the Scribe intentionally arranged the Torah readings to coincide with specific dates on the Jewish calendar (Megillah, chap. 4, "B’Nei Ha-ir", pg. 31b, Rebbi Shimon ben Elazar), there must be a reason why these four portions were selected to correspond to this time of year.

The B’Nei Yissaschar (Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech, 1841-1783, Dinov, Poland; Tammuz-Av, 2:2) says that the connection between these four Torah portions and The Three Weeks is based on the thematic idea that runs through all four of these portions. All four of these portions deal with conquering, dividing, inheriting, and possessing the Land of Israel (see Pinchas 26:53; Matos 32:22; Masei 34:2; and Devarim 1:8).

As our mourning over our Temples' destructions and subsequent exiles increases at this time of year, these four Torah portions serve to strengthen us with the hope that one day Hashem will fulfil His promise to redeem us, return us all to our land, and divide it amongst our tribes once again.

This explains why this time of year is referred to as the "Bein Hamitzarim" (lit. "in dire straits", Eicha, 1:3). The simple understanding of this title is that at this time of year we are "constricted" and "distressed" which fits into the definition of the word "Meitzarim."

However, on a deeper level, the name "Bein Hamitzarim" takes on new meaning. This is because in Parshas Masei, the Biblical borders of Eretz Yisrael are delineated. Another translation of "Meitzarim" is "borders." Since we read about the borders of Eretz Yisrael during The Three Weeks, we call this period of time "Bein Hamitzarim" (between the borders), to strengthen our hopes that one day soon the Biblical boarders of Eretz Yisrael will be returned to us. (See Ta'amei Haminhagim, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Sperling, Likutim, Inyanim Shonim, #176, pg. 548, citing an anonymous source).

Perhaps we could suggest that when you put the simple understanding of "Bein Hamitzarim" together with its deeper meaning, they compliment each other, teaching us that although we are distressed about our exile at this time of year; nevertheless, we are guaranteed that the Biblical borders of the land will be returned to us, as Hashem has promised.

There is another connection between these portions and the Three Weeks. In Parshas Masei, Hashem told Moshe that He had already cast down the angels who govern the seven Canaanite nations, and bound them up at Moshe's feet. Once the spiritual guardian angels of those seven Canaanite nations had been subdued, those physical nations were weakened and ready to be conquered easily (Rashi Masei, 34:2, citing Tanchumah 4).

When we pay attention to this during the Torah reading, we are being urged to beg Hashem to do the same thing today with the guardian angels of all seventy nations, so that we can finally be redeemed (Shvilei Pinchas).

This yearning, pining, and longing for the Redemption can make it become a reality. This is because the Talmud says that anybody who mourns over Jerusalem's destruction, will merit to witness and participate in its joy (Ta'anis, chap. 4, "Bishloshah Perakim", pg. 30b, Isa. 66:10). One way of showing that we do indeed mourn over Jerusalem is by being disappointed in the current state of affairs.

So long as we accept the status quo, we show that we are satisfied with things just as they are. However, when we are not complacent, and when we can no longer tolerate the current situation, that demonstrates that we do want a change. Our frustration over the current situation exhibits that we do mourn our exile.

To be frank, many of us struggle with feeling pain over the destructions of the Temples. Many of us find it difficult to relate. One of the ways to feel the agony of exile is by focusing on current events. Stop for a moment and think about terrorism, inflation, polarization, extremism, mental illnesses, and more. Think about how the world has become a dangerous place, and think about how chaotic society is. It's frightening.

These thoughts alone should motivate us to want a positive change in our world. When we yearn for a better world, it is one way of showing that we mourn the existing condition.

Speaking of yearning, let us share a story from which we will learn a lesson about improving our service to God.

Shlomo Hamelech (King Solomon) built the First Temple. When it came time for him to bring the Holy Ark into the Holy of Holies, the gates of the Holy of Holies locked and Shlomo could not get them to open. Understanding that this was not a mechanical malfunction, Shlomo began to sing twenty-four songs of praise to God, hoping to deserve entry. But it was to no avail.

Finally, in a last-ditch effort, Shlomo begged God to remember the kindness of Dovid Hamelech (King David). Once Shlomo mentioned Dovid, the gates opened like a charm. In this way, God proved to all of Dovid's detractors that Dovid was a righteous man and that Dovid had been forgiven for his sin with Bat Sheva (Shabbos, chap. 2, "Bameh Madlikin", pg. 30b, Rav Yehudah in the name of Rav; Tehillim, 86:17; and 24:7-10).

One question that comes to mind is why would God specifically choose that moment to prove Dovid's innocence? Shlomo was at the height of his greatness. Shlomo was the King of Israel and he had just built the First Temple. This was Shlomo's day in the sun. Why not let Shlomo enjoy it? After all, he was a righteous person. He was a prophet. Why would Hashem choose that moment over all other moments to demonstrate Dovid's greatness? It may have brought a measure of embarrassment to Shlomo that he did not possess the merit with which to bring the Holy Ark into the Holy of Holies. Why ruin Shlomo's time in the lime light?

Moreover, in Shlomo's speech to the people on the day he built the Temple, he said that since Dovid, his father, had in his heart the desire to build the Temple for the sake of God that is why he was prevented from building the Temple. Instead, his son Shlomo built it (Melachim Aleph, 8:18-19).

This does not seem to make much sense. On the contrary, since Dovid wanted to build the Temple for God's sake, he should have been the one to build it. Why did Dovid's thoughts of doing it for the sake of God disqualify him from building it?

The Yitav Panim (Rabbi Yekusiel Yehuda Teittlebaum, 1808-1883, Hungary) says that the reason why Dovid was withheld from building the Temple was because his original thought of building the Beis Hamikdash was so pure, that God wanted to preserve it. Had God allowed Dovid to bring his thought to fruition, other thoughts of ulterior motives may have crept in. Along the way, Dovid may have wanted recognition for being the first one to build the permanent home of God. Dovid may have entertained other thoughts of personal gain, such as self-glory, had he been allowed to carry out his intention.

In order to preserve the pristine thought that David had, God froze it by stopping Dovid from taking action.

The Tefillah L'Moshe (Rabbi Moshe Eichenstien of Sambor, Poland, 1765-1840) tows the line by saying that, in general, any original thought to do a mitzvah (good deed) can easily be altruistic. Nobody knows what we are thinking. There is nobody to impress at that stage. Therefore, the positive thought can very well be a sincere innocent desire to do God's will.

However, often, when we act upon those thoughts, it is likely that ulterior motives will creep in. Since others can see, there may be thoughts about being honored for our righteousness.

If this is so, what about Shlomo? Shlomo actually built the Temple. Are we to assume that it was done at least partially for ulterior motives?

Perhaps we could suggest that when God orchestrated that Shlomo could not enter the Holy of Holies until he mentions the merit of Dovid, Hashem robbed Shlomo from any feelings of arrogance. Hashem did not let the celebration get to Shlomo's head. Shlomo had to publicly admit that everything happening was in Dovid's merit. This allowed Shlomo to do it for the sake of Heaven.

This could be why God chose specifically that moment to prove Dovid's holiness. It was in order to allow Shlomo to do it for the right reason.

It turns out that from the beginning (Dovid's thought) until the end (Shlomo's action), the Temple was done completely for the sake of Heaven.

We could suggest that there is also another reason why the gates only opened in the merit of Dovid.

The Zohar (Shelach, pg. 161b) teaches that just as the heart is at the center of the body, so is the Holy of Holies at the center of the world. Moreover, just as the heart pumps blood throughout the entire body, so does the Holy of Holies pump spiritual energy throughout the entire world (Also see Nefesh Hachaim, 1:4, commenting on Mishnah Berachos 4:5, pg. 28b, "Tefillas Hashachar").

Therefore, the Holy of Holies (the heart) would only open for Dovid who had the purest of thoughts in his heart. This teaches us that only a pure heart can open the heart of the world.

When we have holy thoughts of yearning for the Third and final Temple, we create the spiritual manifestation of the Third Temple in Heaven. When God imbues the physical Temple below with its soul from Above, we will be there to witness it and participate in its joy. After all, we were instrumental in creating the Temple's soul. Therefore, it is only fitting that we be there to witness its completion.

Reading these four portions at this time of year is meant to awaken our yearning for something better. The longing itself will make it into a reality.

Practically speaking, deep down we all want to sincerely do God's will. However, we also struggle with ulterior motives when we put our thoughts into action. Therefore, this week's suggestion would be to say the prayer of Rebbi Alaxandary which says, "Master of the Worlds, it is revealed and known to You that our will is to do Your will. So, who prevents us from doing only Your will? The yeast in the dough (the Evil Inclination), and being subjugated in our exile by the various kingdoms. May it be Your will that we are saved from their hands, and may we return to do the statutes of Your will with a complete heart" (See Berachos, chap. 2, "Haya Korei", pg. 17a).

So, may we all be blessed with holy thoughts in our hearts directed to do God's will, which includes a deep desire to be redeemed and thereby fulfil all of the mitzvos connected to The Land, and thus merit to see the joy of Jerusalem, when God will imbue the physical Temple with its soul, a time when the heart of the world will pump spirituality into the rest of the universe.

RABBI WAGENSBERG
PARSHAS PINCHAS
“Eliya-Who?”

The Yalkut Shimoni (Parshas Pinchas, Remez 771) cites Reish Lakish who says that Pinchas was the same person as Eliyahu Hanavi (Elijah the Prophet). In Targum Yonasan (Parshas Pinchas, 25:12) it says that Hashem promised that Pinchas would live forever and bring us the news about the Redemption in the End of Days.

We must wonder what merit Pinchas had to deserve all of these blessings. What was the measure for measure? What did Pinchas do to deserve these specific blessings?

The Kabbalist, Rebbi Nasan Shapiro, tells us that Eliyahu Hatishbi will answer all questions and doubts in the future. Pinchas/Eliyahu deserves this position because he reminded Moshe about a matter of Jewish law which Moshe had forgotten.

When Zimri, the leader of Sheivet Shimon, took Kozbi, the Midianite Princess, to Moshe, Zimri asked Moshe if she was permitted to him or not. Zimri said that if she is prohibited to him, who allowed Moshe to marry Tzippora, his wife, who was a Midianite woman as well. Zimri went on to have relations with Kozbi in a public fashion, but Moshe had forgotten the law regarding what to do in such a scenario.

Pinchas said to Moshe that when he came down from Mount Sinai, he (Moshe) had taught him (Pinchas) that under these circumstances a zealot may punish the perpetrator. Moshe responded, “Let the reader of the letter be the agent to carry out its deed” (Sanhedrin, chap. 9, “Hanisrafin”, pg. 82a). Therefore, Pinchas eliminated Zimri and Kozbi.

Since Pinchas clarified the halacha to Moshe and the Jews, he will merit to clarify unresolved questions in the future as Eliyahu. There is a hint in the Talmud that Pinchas/Eliyahu will indeed clarify unanswered questions.

Whenever a Gemara cannot answer a question, it concludes its give and take with the word, “Teiku.” The Tosafos Yom Tov (Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman Heller, 1579 Germany-1654 Cracow, Poland) in Meseches Ediyos (chap. 8, “Hei-id Rebbi Yehoshua”, Mishna 7) says that the word “Teiku” (spelled: taf, yud, kuf, and vov) serves as the acronym for, “Tishbi Yetaretz Kushyos Va’abayos” (The Toshabite [Eliyahu] will answer questions and problems).

Moreover, the Zohar (Parshas Tzav, pg. 27b) says that just as Moshe had an assistant to help him speak when he went to Pharaoh, so will Moshe need an assistant to help him speak to the Jewish people in the future. Aharon was Moshe’s assistant when they went to Pharaoh, and Aharon’s grandson, Pinchas/Eliyahu, will be Moshe’s assistant at the time of esurrection.

However, Moshe’s need for assistance was different in each situation. When he went to Pharaoh, Moshe had a physical speech impediment and required Aharon to speak for him. But in the Messianic Era, Moshe will be healed from his physical speech impediment, just as all people will be healed from their illnesses at that time.

However, Moshe will still need an assistant to help him teach the Jewish people because although Moshe will speak eloquently, he will be teaching on such a high spiritual level that the Jewish people will not know what he is talking about. Therefore, he will need Eliyahu/Pinchas to explain to the Jewish people what it was that he trying to convey.

Once again, since it was Pinchas who clarified what the halacha was in the days of Moshe in the Midbar (that a zealot may take action), he (Pinchas/Eliyahu) will also be given the privilege of explaining the halacha to the Jewish people when Moshe will teach us Torah in the Messianic Era.

Another point worth mentioning is that, when Eliyahu comes, the letters which make up the Hebrew word, “Hu” (hey, vov, and aleph) will be returned to their places. The explanation of this statement is dependent upon the verse that says, “For the hand is on the ‘Kes Kah’ (Throne of God), Hashem maintains a war
against Amalek from generation to generation” (Parshas Beshalach, 17:16).

Rashi (ibid) cites a Tanchuma at the end of Parshas Ki Seitzei which explains this verse to mean that Hashem swore that neither His Name nor His Throne would be complete until Amalek would be completely eradicated. This is why the word for Throne in this verse is “Kes” (spelled: chuf samech) instead of “Kisei” (spelled: chuf, samech, aleph), and this is why the Name of God in this verse is “Kah” (spelled: Yud Hey) instead of “Havaya” (spelled: Yud – Hey – Vov – Hey).

In other words, the letter aleph is missing from the word “Kesei,” and the letters Vov Hey are missing from the Name “Havaya.” When you put the three letters, which are missing, together, you get the word “Hu” (spelled: hey, vov, and aleph).

When Eliyahu comes, those three letters will be returned to their rightful places. The letter aleph will be returned to “Kes” making it “Kisei,” and the letters Vov Hey will be returned to “Kah” making it “Havaya.”
The Rebbi of Rozhin (Rabbi Yisrael Freedman, 1796-1850, Ukraine) says that this is why the name of the person who will bring the tidings about the Final Redemption is “Eliyahu.” This is because the name “Eliyahu” is spelled: aleph, lamed, yud, hey, and vov. When you take those letters apart and put them back together again, they spell the words, “Li Hu,” which means, To Me (God) the Hu will return.

Meaning, when Eliyahu comes, he will bring us good news about the redemption at which time Amalek will be destroyed thereby bringing the letters Hey, Vov, and Aleph back to God’s Name and to God’s Throne, making them complete and whole.

Let us now explore which Torah teachings Eliyahu will have to explain to us, and let us also see why it will be Moshe Rabbenu teaching us that Torah in the future.

In Yeshaya (51:4) it says, “Torah will come forth from Me.” This sounds strange because Yeshaya lived after Mount Sinai and yet he says that there will still be Torah coming from God. What Torah could Yeshaya be referring to?

The Midrash in Vayikra Rabba (Parshas Shmini, 13:3) makes things much worse when it quotes Rav Avin bar Kahana who said, “Hakadosh Baruch Hu said, ‘A new Torah will come forth from Me.’” It is passages like these which get Christian Missionaries excited because they sound like they are saying that there will be a New Testament.

The Jewish response to such claims is based on our tradition, because there is a Gemara in Meseches Rosh Hashana (chap. 1, “Arba’a Roshei Shanim”, pg. 21b; Rav or Shmuel) which says that God created fifty levels of Torah understanding in the world, and all of them were given to Moshe except for one (the fiftieth level), as it says, “But You have made him [Moshe] only slightly wanting in [understanding] Divinity” (Tehillim, 8:6).

However, the Arizal (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, 1534 Jerusalem-1572 Tzfas; Pri Eitz Chaim, chap. 2) says that when Moshiach comes, he will reveal the fiftieth gate of Torah understanding to the Jewish people. It is that fiftieth gate of Torah understanding which the verse in Yeshaya and the Midrash were referring to.
In other words, there is a “New Torah” coming to us. However, that “New Torah” is not a “New Testament,” rather, it is referring to a new level of Torah understanding from our already existing Torah Hakedosha that we have not yet been exposed to. That new level of Torah comes from the fiftieth level of understanding.
That fiftieth gate of Torah understanding is the same thing as the famous Ohr Ganuz (hidden spiritual light) that Hashem stashed away for the righteous in the future (Chagiga, chap. 2, “Ein Dorshin”, pg. 12a, Rebbi Elazar, based on Parshas Bereishis, 1:4).

Hashem will teach us that dimension of Torah from the fiftieth gate through His agent, Moshiach (Yalkut Shimoni, Yeshaya, chap. 26, Remez 429).

The Shvilei Pinchas says that there is even a hint in the word “Moshiach” that tells us that Moshiach will teach us Torah from the fiftieth level. The word “Moshiach is spelled: mem, shin, yud, and ches. When you rearrange those letters slightly, they serve as the acronym for, “Moshiach Yigaleh Sha’ar Chamishim” (Moshiach will reveal the fiftieth gate).

At this point, we must drop the bomb. Everybody wants to know who Moshiach is going to be. There have been many different beliefs about Moshiach’s identity over the ages and there have been debates about this in the Talmud (see for example Meseches Sanhedrin, chap. 11, “Cheilek”, pg. 98b). However, we are going to share the position of the Zohar.

In Parshas Vayechi (49:10), Ya’akov Avinu blesses his fourth son Yehuda with the words, “The scepter will not depart from Yehuda nor a scholar from among his descendants, until Shilo comes.” This means that Yehuda will be the progenitor of kings until Shilo comes. Who is Shilo?

The Zohar (Parshas Bereishis, pg. 25b) says that Shilo is none other than Moshe Rabbenu himself. Support of this notion is that “Shilo” and “Moshe” share the same numerical value, 345 each. This means that Ya’akov prophesied that sovereignty will remain in Sheivet Yehuda until Moshe comes along, because when Moshe returns at the End of Days, he (Moshe) will be Moshiach.

There is another Zohar which concurs with the one we just mentioned. There is a verse in Koheles (1:9) which says, “Mah Shehaya Hu Sheyihiyeh” (whatever has been is what will be). The Zohar (Parshas Mishpatim, pg. 120a) says that when you take the first three words of this verse (Mah Shehaya Hu) and look at the acronym; it spells, “Moshe.”

Based on this verse in Koheles, let us ask, “What was?” Meaning, who was the Goel Rishon (first redeemer) from the first exile in Egypt? It was Moshe. This is what Koheles was referring to when it said, “Mah Shehaya.” Therefore, the verse in Koheles continues, “Shiyihiyeh,” meaning, so it will be in the future. In other words, Moshe will also be the Goel Acharon (last redeemer) from the last exile.

One question could be raised attacking the Zohar’s position. How could Moshe possibly be Moshiach if it says in Yeshaya (11:1) that Moshiach must come from Dovid Hamelech who came from Sheivet Yehuda? Moshe came from Sheivet Levi which is the wrong tribe for Messianism.

The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh (Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar, 1696 Morocco-1743 Jerusalem; Parshas Vayechi, 49:11) raises this very question and provides the following answer. He says that we’ve got it all wrong. It’s not pshat that Moshe must come from Dovid and Sheivet Yehuda, but rather, Dovid and Sheivet Yehuda come from Moshe. What this means is as follows.

We must look at the situation from the world of souls. Moshe Rabbenu’s neshama (soul) was an all-encompassing soul, meaning that all Jewish souls were off-shoots of Moshe’s grand neshama. The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh compares Moshe’s soul to the trunk of a tree, out of which grows twelve branches, out of whom grows six hundred thousand twigs.

This means to say that Moshe’s soul was like the trunk of such a tree. The twelve branches that grow from this tree represent the twelve tribes of Israel. This means that the souls of all twelve tribes stem from Moshe. The six hundred thousand twigs represent the six hundred thousand primary Jewish souls, which all stem, ultimately, from the trunk, Moshe.

This is how Moshe held every possible position in the Midbar. Moshe was a temporary Kohen Gadol when he inaugurated Aharon to be the permanent Kohein Gadol. Once Aharon became Kohen Gadol, Moshe went back to being a Levi. Moshe was also a Melech (king) and a Navi (prophet). Moshe was wealthy and strong. Moshe was a worrier and a general.

In other words, Moshe can be anybody you want him (or need him) to be. All Moshe has to do is tap into that aspect of himself which is needed at that time. If you need Moshe to be a Kohen, Moshe simply clicks onto that channel of Kehuna which stems from him and becomes a Kohen.

So, it is not pshat that Moshe must come from Dovid. On the contrary, Dovid comes from Moshe, and Sheivet Yehuda stems from Moshe. Therefore, when we need Moshe to be Moshiach, he will simply click onto that channel of sovereignty which stems from him and he will become Melech Hamoshiach.

Therefore, since Moshe will be Moshiach, he will teach us from the fiftieth level of Torah understanding in the future. However, that Torah is on such a high spiritual frequency that most of the Jewish people will not know what Moshe is talking about. This is where Eliyahu Hanavi comes in. Eliyahu will explain Moshe’s words to the people. Eliyahu will bring those teaching down to a level that the rest of us will be able to relate to.

Eliyahu merited to be Moshe’s mouthpiece in the future because when he (Eliyahu) was Pinchas, he reminded Moshe of a halacha that Moshe had forgotten. Since Pinchas clarified the halacha to Moshe in the past, he will be able to clarify the halacha in the future as Eliyahu.

The Zohar (Parshas Tzav, pg. 27b) says that this leads us to a deeper understanding of the word “Teiku” which we mentioned above. The word “Teiku” is actually supposed to be the word “Tikkun” with the letter nun at the end of it. However, the word “Teiku” is missing the letter nun at the end of it. This is because when there is a doubt or an unanswered question, there is no “tikkun” (fixing, mending, repairing).

The reason why specifically the letter nun is missing from “Teiku” is because those doubts and questions come from the fiftieth level of Torah understanding that we have no access to right now in our galus (exile). Therefore, it is specifically the letter nun which is absent from the word “Teiku” because the letter nun is numericaaly 50. This teaches us that the reason why we do not understand the answer to such questions is because those questions stem from Sha’ar HaNun” (the fiftieth gate of Torah understanding), to which we have no connection with in our galus.

But in the future, Hashem will reveal to us a “Torah Chadashah” (a new Torah) which are the teachings from the Sha’ar HaNun. At that time, all of our unanswered questions (which stem from Sha’ar HaNun) will be resolved.

When Moshiach will teach us the Torah from Sha’ar HaNun, the “Teiku” will become “Tikkun” (repaired) because all will be “Metukan” (fixed).

The Arizal (Hagaddah Shel Pesach, expounding upon Parshas Bo, 12:39, “They could no longer delay”) says that the Jews in Mitzrayim fell to the 49th level of impurity. Therefore, Moshe was able to rescue them. However, if they would have fallen to the 50th level of impurity, Moshe would not have been able to rescue them.

The Shela Hakadosh (Rabbi Yeshaya Horowitz, 1555 Prague-1630 Tzfas; Meseches Pesachim, Matzah Ashira, 1:33) explains this Arizal by citing a verse in Koheles (7:14) which says that God created a world of opposites so that if there is an energy of good on one side, there would have to be an equal amount of energy of bad on the dark side so that we can make fair choices between good and evil throughout our lives.

Therefore, since back in Mitzrayim Moshe had only reached the 49th level of Torah understanding, he only had the power to rescue Jews who had fallen to the 49th level of impurity. However, if they would have fallen to minus 50, Moshe would not have been able to rescue them because they would have been beyond his reach.

But the Midrash in Vayikra Rabba (Parshas Emor, 32:5) says that the Jews in Mitzrayim built a fence around themselves to protect themselves from immorality. This is why we do not find assimilation and intermarriage between Jews and Egyptians in Mitzrayim.

Rebbi Chiya bar Aba (ibid) says that this fence (which they built around themselves) alone was enough of a merit which made them deserving of redemption.

It turns out that immorality is the 50th level of impurity. We know this because the Jews were on minus 49, but they stayed away from immorality. So, it must be that immorality sinks a person into the 50th level of impurity.

When Pinchas reminded Moshe of the halacha that a zealot may put a stop to a public act of immorality, Pinchas saved the Jewish people from immorality and thereby save the Jewish people from sinking into the fiftieth level of impurity. Therefore, measure for measure, Pinchas will be the one to explain Toras Moshe to the Jewish people which stems from the fiftieth level of understanding.
Perhaps we can add that since Moshe will have access even to the fiftieth level of Torah understanding in the future, he (Moshe) will have the power to rescue even the Jews who have fallen to the fiftieth level of impurity.

Practically speaking, let us try to keep as far away from immorality as we possibly can because this alone will give us the merit to be redeemed from our exile.

So, may we all be blessed with the willingness and strength to be like Pinchas for ourselves by keeping ourselves far away from inappropriate activities, thereby saving ourselves from the 50th level of impurity, in order that one day soon we will merit to hear the mouth of Eliyahu Hanavi explain Moshe HaMoshiach’s teachings to us which stem from the 50th Level of Understanding, clarifying every Teiku, thus bringing the world to its Tikkun.

RABBI WAGENSBERG
PARSHAS BALAK
“I Want You; Enlist Now”

Parshas Balak discusses the story of Balak, the Moabite King, who hired Bila’am, a wicked gentile prophet, to curse the Jewish people. Rashi (Parshas Balak, 22:2) quotes the Tanchuma (#2) who explains why Balak engaged in a preemptive strike against the Jewish people to begin with.

He says that it is because Balak witnessed how the Jewish people destroyed the Amorite kingdoms of Sichon and Og (Parshas Chukas, 21:24 & 35). Balak was frightened that the Jews would do the same thing to Moav. Therefore, he hired Bila’am to annihilate the Jewish people by cursing them.

This raises a question. If Balak already saw how victorious the Jews were against Sichon and Og, which were arguably stronger than Moav, how could he (Balak) think that he would overpower the Jewish people?

There is another strange idea about Parshas Balak that we are going to explore right now.

In Meseches Berachos, (chap. 1, “M’aimasai”, pg. 12b) it cites Rav Yehuda bar Zevida who said that the Sages wanted to institute the recitation of Parshas Balak together with the daily Shema. The only reason why they voted against it was because davening would take too long for the average person to bear.

This begs us to ask another question. What is it about Parshas Balak that the sages wanted it read with the Shema on a daily basis?

Let us explore some other fascinating material regarding Parshas Balak. The Rambam in his Pirush Hamishnayos to Meseches Sanhedrin (chap. 11, “Cheilek”) lays down the Thirteen Principals of Faith that every Jew must believe in. The twelfth tenet states that we believe in and anticipate the coming of Moshiach.

The Rambam in Hilchos Melachim (11:1) goes on to tell us that the source in the Torah concerning the coming of Moshiach to redeem us is found in Parshas Balak. When Bila’am said, “I will see him but not now” (Parshas Balak, 24:17), he was referring to Dovid Hamelech. When Bila’am went on to say, “I will look at him but it is not clear” (ibid), he was referring to Melech HaMoshiach.

The Rambam continues when Bila’am said, “A star has issued from Ya’akov” (Parshas Balak, 24:17), he was referring to Dovid. When Bila’am went on to say, “And a scepter has risen from Israel (ibid)”, he was referring to Moshiach. When Bila’am said, “And he will pierce the nobles of Moav (Parshas Balak, 24:17), he was referring to Dovid, and when Bila’am went on to say, “And undermine the Children of Seth” (ibid), he was referring to Moshiach.

The Rambam continues when Bila’am said, “Edom will be a conquest” (Parshas Balak, 24:18), he was referring to Dovid, and when he went on to say, “And it will be a conquest,” he was referring to Moshiach.

We see from the Rambam that the source of Moshiach is found in Parshas Balak. This brings us to another question. Why would Hashem place the faith that we are supposed to have in Moshiach’s arrival in Parshas Balak?

The Shvilei Pinchas answers this question in a simplistic way. He says that it is because Rus was a Moabite (Rus, 1:4), and Dovid was a descendent of Rus (Rus, 4:18:24), which means that Moshiach is also a descendent of Rus. Therefore, it is fitting to mention Moshiach in Parshas Balak, who was the King of Moav, because the origins of Moshiach began from Moav (see Baba Kamma, chap. 4, “Shor Shenagach Dalet v’Hey”, pg. 38b, Parshas Devarim, 2:9. Also see Meseches Nazir, chap. 4, “Mi She’amar”, pg. 23b).

As we proceed, we will see a deeper reason as to why Hashem revealed Moshiach specifically in Parshas Balak. We are going to see why Hashem arranged that this prophecy concerning Moshiach would come about through such a contaminated man like Bila’am. To do so, let us share some fascinating information about Bila’am himself.

In Parshas Mattos (31:8) it says that Bila’am was slain with the sword. Targum Yonasan (ibid) shares some of the historical backdrop surrounding Bila’am’s death. He says that when Bila’am saw Pinchas running after him, he (Bila’am) performed a certain magical spell and began to fly in the air to escape.

Immediately, Pinchas uttered God’s Great Name and began flying after him. Pinchas overtook Bila’am, grabbed him by his head, and brought him back down to earth. Pinchas drew his sword in order to kill Bila’am when Bila’am began to speak words of supplication.
Bila’am said that if Pinchas were to spare his life, he promises never to curse the Jewish people ever again. Pinchas responded, “Aren’t you Lavan the trickster who wanted to destroy Ya’akov Avinu? When that did not work, you descended down to Egypt with Ya’akov’s offspring in order to destroy them.”

This idea fits into the Gemara in Meseches Sota (chap. 1, “Hamekaneh”, pg. 11a) where Rav Chiya bar Aba said in the name of Rav Simai that Bila’am (Lavan) was one of Pharaoh’s advisors who advised Pharaoh to murder the Jewish people.

Pinchas continued, “When the Jewish people left Egypt, it was you who instigated Amalek to attack them. Then you incited the Jewish people by trying to curse them. When you saw that all of your efforts failed, you advised wicked King Balak to send his daughters out by the crossroads to cause the Jewish people to sin with harlotry. Because of that sin of prostitution, 24,000 Jewish people died. Because of this, you no longer deserve to have your life spared.” Targum Yonasan concludes by saying that Pinchas drew his sword from its sheath and killed Bila’am.

One difficulty which this Targum Yonosan this raises is that, according to this report, Lavan would have to be hundreds of years old. This is because Lavan makes his first appearance in the Torah when Avraham had sent Eliezer to find a wife for Yitzchak (Parshas Chayei Sara, 24:29). In addition, the Jews spent two hundred and ten years in Egyptian bondage (Rashi Parshas Miketz, 42:2, citing Bereishis Rabba, Parshas Miketz, 91:2, Rav Aba bar Kahana). This would indicate that Lavan was hundreds of years old.

Although technically there is nothing surprising about living so long in light of other Biblical personalities who have lived even longer periods of time; nevertheless, there is a source which tells us that Bila’am was killed at a relatively young age.

In Meseches Sanhedrin (chap. 11, “Cheilek”, pg. 106b) it relates that a certain heretic once asked Rebbi Chanina how old Bila’am was when he was killed. Rebbi Chanina responded that this information is not written down anywhere explicitly; however, there is a verse which says, “Men of blood and deceit will not live out half of their days” (Tehillim, 55:24).

Rebbi Chanina concluded by saying that since the average lifespan of a person is seventy years (Tehillim, 90:10), it must be that Bila’am was killed when he was either thirty-three or thirty-four because then he would not have lived out even half of his days.

The heretic was impressed with this response and told Rebbi Chanina that he had spoken correctly because he (the heretic) had come across a document that was called, “Bila’am’s Chronical” in which it said explicitly, “Bila’am the lame was killed by Pinchas when he (Bila’am) was thirty-three years old.”

Now we are faced with a contradiction because according to Targum Yonasan, Bila’am was hundreds of years old when he died, whereas according to the Gemara in Sanhedrin, Bila’am was only thirty-three years old when he died.

The Arizal (Eitz Chaim, sha’ar 38, chap. 3) reconciles this apparent contradiction by stating that Targum Yonasan never meant to say that Bila’am was literally the same person as Lavan, but rather Targum Yonasan meant to say that Bila’am was a gilgul (reincarnation) of Lavan.

Once we have established that Bila’am was a gilgul of Lavan, we will be able to understand the reason why Bila’am’s leg got crushed on a wall of stones. In our parsha it reports that when Bila’am was riding on his donkey through a vineyard to go and curse the Jewish people, an angel of God stood in the path of the vineyard, where there was a fence on one side and on the other side (22:24). The verse goes on to say that the donkey saw the angel of God and pressed itself against the wall which crushed Bila’am’s leg (Parshas Balak, 22:25).

Targum Yonasan (22:24) says that this was the very same place in which Ya’akov and Lavan had erected a pile of stones as a monument. Back in Parshas Vayeitzei it says that Ya’akov and Lavan made a peace-treaty with each other and they erected a “gal shel avanim” (pile of stones) which served as a sign and as a witness testifying to this truce between them. They vowed not to cross that pile of stones for the purpose of harming each other or each other’s descendants.

The Midrash Tanchuma (Vayeitzei, 13) adds that this explains the reason why Bila’am got his leg crushed specifically on that gal shel avanim. It is because Bila’am transgressed the oath which he himself had made when he was Lavan in that very spot. Therefore, Bila’am, alias Lavan, was punished by that pile of stones because that pile served as a witness to their treaty, as the pasuk says, “The hand of the witnesses will be upon him first” (Parshas Shoftim, 17:7). This means that when witnesses testify against someone, they (the witnesses) are the ones who carry out the sentence issued by the court. Therefore, the gal shel avanim, who were the witnesses to the treaty that Lavan made with Ya’akov, carried out the sentence issued by God and crushed Bila’am’s/Lavan’s leg.

The Arizal (Sha’ar Hapesukim; Likkutei Torah) adds that this explains why Bila’am was killed when he was specifically thirty-three years old. It is because Bila’am was a reincarnation of Lavan, and Lavan swore to Ya’akov that he would not pass by that pile of stones [which was called, “gal-eid,” meaning “pile” (gal) of stones which serves as “witnesses” (Eid)] to harm Ya’akov or his descendants. Since Bila’am/Lavan did pass by that pile of stones to harm the Children of Israel (Ya’akov), he was punished with death at the age thirty-three because the number thirty-three is the numerical value of the word, “gal” (spelled gimmel Lamed). The age thirty-three demonstrates that he deserved to die on account of transgressing the oath he made at the “gal” (numerically 33) of stones.

The Shvilei Pinchas adds that this is why Ya’akov chose a pile of stones to begin with to be used as the sign between them. It is because a “pile” is a “gal,” and the word gal is spelled gimmel lamed, and gimmel lamed is the acronym for “Gilgul Lavan” (the reincarnation of Lavan). This teaches us that Ya’akov did not just forge a covenant with Lavan himself, but Ya’akov also made this treaty with Gilgul Lavan (Lavan’s reincarnation) who was Bila’am. Therefore, when Bila’am/Lavan transgressed his oath by passing by the gal to harm Ya’akov’s descendants, Bila’am was killed at the age of thirty-three, which is the numerical value of the word “gal.”

The Shvilei Pinchas says that this explains why Balak specifically chose Bila’am to curse the Jewish people. It is because Balak, through his own magical powers, knew that Bila’am was a gilgul of Lavan. Therefore, Balak lodged a complaint against Bila’am. Balak said that it was Bila’am who brought Ya’akov into his home when he (Bila’am) was Lavan (Parshas Vayeitzei, 29:13). It was Bila’am/Lavan who gave his daughter’s hands (Rochel and Leah) in marriage to Ya’akov when he (Bila’am) was Lavan.

As a result of those weddings, the Shevatim (tribes of Israel) were born (Parshas Vayeitzei, 29:32-30:25). Therefore, Balak claimed that it was Bila’am’s/Lavan’s fault that there were Jewish people to begin with. Since Bila’am built the Jewish people, he would have the responsibility of destroying the Jewish people.

Perhaps this answers the question about how Balak thought that he would be victorious over the Jewish people even after witnessing how they (the Jews) just destroyed the Amorite kingdoms of Sichon and Og. It is because Balak thought to himself that if Lavan built the Jewish people, he (Bila’am/Lavan) would know how to take them apart. Just as a mechanic knows how disassemble his own creation, so would Bila’am/Lavan know how to obliterate his own creation.

Speaking of Lavan building the Jewish people, imagine how happy Lavan was when he married off his daughter, Leah, to Ya’akov instead of Rochel. After that wedding, when Ya’akov took Leah to his home, Lavan must have gone out drinking at the local bar with his buddies. After a few shots and some smokes, they must have been laughing at how they had just tricked Ya’akov into marrying Leah.

As Lavan laughed below, Hashem must have been laughing Above because from this union between Ya’akov and Leah would come a son called Levi from which all Kohanim and Leviim would stem. Ya’akov and Leah would also produce a son named Yehuda who would be the progenitor of kings including Dovid Hamelech and, eventually, Melech HaMoshiach. They would also give birth to Yissachar and Zevulun thereby creating the tribe of Torah learners and their supporters. How is that for turning a curse into a blessing?

Now we are going to see why Hashem chose to build the Jewish people from Lavan. The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabba, Parshas Chukas, 19:1) expounds upon the verse in Parshas Chukas (19:2) which says, “This is the chok (decree) of the Torah.” The Midrash says that this verse is reminiscent of another verse which says, “Who can produce purity from impurity, Lo Echad.”

The simplistic translation of those last two words, “Lo Echad,” is “no one.” Meaning, no one can produce purity from impurity. However, the Midrash offers an alternative translation to those words (Lo Echad) which is, “Is it not the Only One?” Meaning, only Hashem could bring purity from impurity. The Midrash provides several illustrations to support this idea. For example, Avraham (the pure one) came from Terach (an impure one). Olam Haba (the coming world; pure) comes from Olam Hazeh (this world; impure).

The Midrash concludes, “Who did this, Who commanded this, Who decreed this? Is it not the Only One, the Unique One of the world?”

The Avnei Neizer (Rabbi Avraham Bornstien, 1838-1910, Poland, the first Sochotchover Rebbe; Naos Desheh, vol. 1) explains this Midrash as follows. He says that the Sitra d’Achara (evil forces from the dark side) are called “Elohim Acheirim” (other gods; Parshas Yisro, 20:3). This is because they try to make themselves out to be gods so that people will think that they possess independent powers.

However, we believe that there is no power in the world which does not receive its energy from Hashem. Meaning, everything in this world must receive its life force from Hashem. This is because Hashem created everything, including good and evil as it says, “Who forms light and creates darkness, Who makes peace and creates evil” (Yeshaya, 45:7).

The reason why Hashem created evil was so that we could exercise our free will to choose good over evil and life over death (Parshas Netzavim, 30:19). In fact, this is the message of the Shema in which we conclude with the words, “Hashem Echad” (God is One; Parshas Vaeschanan, 6:4). This means to say that Hashem is the Only Power Who has complete control over all forces, including the dark forces of evil.

The Avnei Neizer goes on to say that this is why Hashem uses wicked people to build the Jewish people. It is so that the entire world will come to recognize that the forces of evil have no independent power of their own. Hashem wants the entire world to realize that the life-support system of the dark side comes from Hashem.

This is why Hashem orchestrates that purity comes from impurity. It is to show that Hashem Echad (Hashem is One)! Hashem demonstrates this by forcing wicked people to build the Jewish people. Hashem displayed this when He had Lavan build the Jewish enterprise, and Hashem proved this again when He forced Bila’am to assist the Jewish people by blessing them.

Rashi (Parshas Vaeschanan, 6:4) elaborates on this when he explains the words, “Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad” (Hear O’ Israel, Hashem is our God, Hashem is One). He says that this means that Hashem, Who is our God now but not yet [recognized as] the God of the idol worshippers, will one day be recognized even by them (the idolaters) as the One and Only true God, as it says, “For then I will change the nations to speak a pure language so that they will all proclaim the Name of Hashem” (Tzafania, 3:9).

Rashi goes on to quote another verse, “On that day Hashem will be (recognized as) One and His Name will be (recognized as) One” (Zecharia, 14:9). This means to say that even the nations of the world will recognize the Unity of Hashem. This complete power of Hashem is manifested when He manipulates wicked people to build and assist the Jews, as He did with Lavan and Bila’am.

The Shvilei Pinchas says that now we can understand why the sages wanted to institute the recitation of Parshas Balak together with Keriyas Shema. It is because in Parshas Balak we see how Hashem manipulated wicked people to help the Jewish people. This shows us the Oneness of Hashem because even the forces of evil are subservient to Hashem.

This is precisely the message of Shema; namely, that God is One! Therefore, since we see Hashem’s Echad’ness from Parshas Balak, the Sages wanted us to read Parshas Balak together with Keriyas Shema because they share the same theme; demonstrating the Unity of God.

The Shvilei Pinchas says that this will also offer a deeper reason as to why Hashem placed the source of Moshiach in Parshas Balak. It is because when Moshiach comes, he is going to reveal to us how Hashem manipulated even wicked people to assist the Jewish people. At that time, the whole world will recognize that Hashem and His Name are One (Zecharia, 14:9).

Since Moshiach will teach us about this total control of Hashem, Hashem placed the source of Moshiach specifically in Parshas Balak because it is in this parsha where we see this total dominion of Hashem.

As a means of a practical application of this teaching, when we recite the Shema, let us keep in mind that even the forces of evil in this world have been enlisted by God in Hashem’s army to carry out that which is beneficial for the Jewish people. This thought alone can help strengthen our Emunah that Hashem is indeed Echad.

So, may we, B’nei Ya’akov, all be blessed with such success that even the nations will participate in assisting us further in our Torahdika way of life, and may the entire world recite the verse of Shema Yisrael, testifying to God’s unity, when Moshiach ben Dovid arrives and “gals” (reveals; spelled gimmel lamed) to us all that everything they did was ultimately for the Jews.