The Bechora And The Splitting Of The Sea

From the Virtual Beit Medrash    לזכות רבי משה גבריאל בן יהודית ורבי צבי משה בן שרה לאה   The Gemara’s comments in Masekhet Bava Batra (16b) stating that Esav was guilty of heresy.  The Gemara reached this conclusion on the basis of Esav’s reaction to Yaakov’s request of the birthright: “Lama zeh li bekhora” – “What do I need the birthright for?” (25:32).  The word “zeh,” the Gemara posits, refers to the belief in God, as indicated in Benei Yisrael’s song of praise sung  after the miracle of the sea, in which they exclaimed, “Zeh Keli” – “This is my God” (Shemot 15:2).  It stands to reason that Chazal here seek to draw an association of sorts between Esav’s disinterest in the birthright and the miracle of the sea, and the question naturally arises as to the nature of this connection.                          The Tolna Rebbe Shlita suggested that the point of connection can be found in the well-known comment of the Midrash (cited by Rashi there in Shemot) concerning the revelation beheld by Benei Yisrael at the time of the miracle of the sea.  The Midrash comments that even the simplest, lowliest members of Benei Yisrael beheld a prophetic vision that surpassed the visions seen by Yeshayahu and Yechezkel.  Benei Yisrael – the entire nation – was elevated at that moment to the stature of prophets.  This was possible despite the fact that, as numerous sources indicate, Benei Yisrael at the time of the Exodus were idolaters, and Kabbalistic tradition describes how they were submerged in the “forty-nine gates of impurity.”  Their low spiritual stature at the time they left Egypt did not preclude the possibility of their becoming prophets less than a week later.  Even though they had been worshipping idols for decades, they were nevertheless capable of raising themselves to the point where they were deemed worthy of a prophetic vision.                 This was Esav’s “kefira” (“heresy”).  The Gemara there in Bava Batra relates that on the day Esav sold the birthright, he had committed the most grievous sins – murder and adultery. In response to Yaakov’s request of the birthright, Esav reflected upon his prospects of fulfilling the duties of the firstborn, which would entail tending to the sacrifices and the service in the Beit Ha-mikdash.  He immediately concluded that “lama zeh li bekhora” – it wasn’t for him.  There was no possibility that he, after the crimes he had committed, could ever become worthy of such a lofty position or capable of tending to such important responsibilities.  Esav denied the message of “Zeh Keli,” that God endows us with the ability to draw close to and communicate with God despite our past mistakes and failures.                   We must never think “lama zeh li bekhora,” that we are unworthy of serving the Almighty because of our shortcomings.  Chazal remind us that we are all able, and expected, to work toward improving ourselves and elevate ourselves, regardless of what we have done or not done in the past.  Just as Esav could have still become worthy of the birthright after the offenses he committed, we, too, are able to rise to greatness regardless of our past failures.    Rav David Silverberg

What It Feels Like

Couldn't resist one more....

Miriam Epstein is making scrambled eggs when her husband Moishe bursts into the kitchen.
"Careful," Moishe cries. "Careful! You’re cooking too many at once. Too many! Scramble them! Now! We need more butter. They’re going to stick! Careful! Now scramble them again! Hurry up! Are you crazy? Don’t forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. Use the salt! The salt!"
Miriam turns to Moishe and asks, "What is wrong with you?"
Moishe calmly replies, "I wanted to show you what it feels like when I’m driving."

Kiddush Club

David Goldberg had never celebrated Shabbos before but he was invited by his observant friend Moishe to shul for the Shabbos Project. Moishe took him to the “Kiddush Club” where they proceeded to have a number of l’chaims – scotch, bourbon, wine – you name it.

Moishe was trying to explain to David some of the many laws relating to Shabbat when David said, “I’ll admit – I don’t fully understand all of the laws of Shabbos yet, but there’s one law that makes perfect sense.”

“What’s that,” asked Moishe.

“No driving on Shabbos!”

Transparent

Sarah was getting ready to go out on a shidduch date. She called her friend Rachel.

“Hi Rachel, I’m about to get picked up for my date, can you call me in a half hour just in case it’s going bad? If you hear in my voice that it’s not going well, tell me my grandmother is not feeling well. Thanks.”

David picked Sarah up and sure enough, the date wasn’t going well. Half an hour into the date, Sarah’s phone rang.

“I’m sorry David, but my grandmother’s not feeling well and she’s asked me to go home and check on her.”

“No problem!” said David with a big grin. “In a few more minutes I was going to have a leak in my apartment!”

Back!

After a lengthy hiatus from posting audio shiurim - we have returned!!

Here is a sweet explanation of a song we sing every shabbos and [probably] never knew what it meant [or even thought about it].

Here is a deep explanation of Yitzchaks special connection to the bris.

Both are based on the Toirrahhhh of Rebbe Leibele Eiger!:-) Tune in....

The Tragic Life Of Michoel Peschkowsky

This essay and any mitzvos or positive thoughts that result, should be a zchus for the speedy refua shleima of a sweet little girl whom I love very much, Eliyana Naomi bat Ayelet Yocheved who has yet another surgery for a lymph node biopsy coming up. PLEASE DAVEN!! Bi-toch shear cholei yisrael.

Mike Nichols just died in his Manhattan home and that is a tragedy. Possibly, in some weird way, a greater tragedy than what just happened in Har Nof. Let me explain, but first some background.

Mr. Nichols was an American film, theatre and television director, producer and comedian. To commemorate his loss, the marquee lights at Broadway shows will be dimmed for one minute.

He was not born a "Mike Nichols"-  he was actually born a Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky on November 6, 1931 in Berlin, Germany, the son of Brigitte (née Landauer) and Paul Peschkowsky, a physician. His father was born in Vienna, Austria, to a Russian Jewish immigrant family. Nichols' father's family had been wealthy and lived in Siberia, leaving after the Russian Revolution, and settling in Germany around 1920. Nichols' mother's family were German Jews. In April 1939, when the Nazis were arresting Jews in Berlin, seven-year-old Mikhail and his three-year-old brother Robert were sent alone to the United States to meet up with their father, who had fled months earlier. His mother eventually joined the family, escaping through Italy in 1940.

Nichols became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1944 and attended public elementary school in Manhattan (PS 87). After graduating from the Walden School, a private progressive school on Central Park West, Nichols briefly attended New York University before dropping out.

Nichols was married four times. His first wife was Patricia Scott; they were married from 1957 to 1960. He was married to Margo Callas from 1963 to 1974, producing a daughter, Daisy Nichols. His third marriage, to Annabel Davis-Goff, produced two children, Max Nichols and Jenny Nichols. They were divorced in 1986. He married ABC World News anchor Diane Sawyer on April 29, 1988.

Among Nichols' personal pursuits was a lifelong interest in Arabian horses. From 1968 to 2004, he owned a farm in Connecticut and was a noted horse breeder. Over the years, he also imported quality Arabian horses from Poland, some of which later resold for record-setting prices.

In his career he was involved in many many incredibly successful film and show productions. I will not bore you or me with the details.

Herein lies the tragedy. This Jew, just barely saved from the claws of the Satan [Hitler yimach shmo] and his aides lived his life in the make believe world of entertainment, being around fake, addicted [drugs, alcohol, you name it], egomaniacal people. He had the standard, show business [at least] four wives [some or all not Jewish] but no real meaning. Unless you consider Arabian horses "real meaning".

Then he dies and to remember him, the lights will be dimmed at Broadway shows for a minute.

How deep....

The people who were murdered in Har Nof lived every second of their lives with tremendous spiritual depth. They all married only one woman each [to the best of my knowledge] within our faith and had stable families. These people were heroes in their lives and in their deaths.   מי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ !!

What is being done in THEIR memory? Here is a translation of a letter [posted on cross-currents - and thanks to D.R. for the link] that is being posted around Yerushalayim, signed by the widows:

We turn to acheinu Bnei Yisrael wherever they may be. Let us all come together to increase the rachamei Shomayim shown to us! Let us all accept upon ourselves that we will increase love and brotherhood – between each person and his fellow, between community and community, between major group and major group.

Our request is that every individual should see to it to accept upon himself on Erev Shabbos Parshas Toldos, to sanctify this coming Shabbos as a day of ahavas chinam. It should be a day that we refrain from all kinds of divisive conversation, lashon hora, and rechilus.

This will be a great uplift to the souls of the heads of our families who were slaughtered for the holiness of His Holy Name.

May Hashem look from above, see our affliction, wipe away our tears, and say, “Enough!” to our sorrow.
May we merit to see the arrival of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days – Amen, Amen.

Signed with a broken and crushed heart:
Chayah Levine and family
Breina Goldberg and family
Yaakovah Kupinsky and family
Bashi Twersky and family

I believe that their loss should be mourned but their lives should be celebrated. The legacy they left will continue forever to bring more Light into all of the Olamos.

As for the tortured soul of Michoel Peschkowsky-  may Hashem have mercy.... His life and legacy were great tragedies. Who will say kaddish for him? Who will learn mishnayos? Or start a chesed fund?

Bilam cried תמות נפשי מות ישרים - Let me die the death of the righteous, the Avos. One cannot die the death of the righteous if he lives the life of a Bilaam. But if one lives the lives of Rabbis Levine, Goldberg, Kupinsky and Twersky then he can truly die a מות ישרים

זכותם יגן עלינו.

A Eulogy For HaGaon HaKadosh R' Moshe Twersky ztz"l

This is a hesped delivered by HaRav HaGaon R' Zev Klein Shlita who has been a Rebbi in Toras Moshe [where HaRav HaGaon R' Moshe Twersky ztz"l Hy"d also taught] for about 20 years and before that taught me quite a bit and I was a ben bayis in his home before I got married when we were both living in Maalot Daphna.

Divrei hisororos in light of the tragedy

It’s not my place to be maspid the choshever niftar, but I would like to share some of my hergeshim that I have been having these past couple of days.

The truth is this is a tragedy almost beyond comprehension. Here in yeshiva we are feeling the loss of an unbelievable person our rebbi and colleague Harav Hagoan Reb Moshe Twersky zatzal zichron tsaddik v’kodosh livrochoh, not everyone deserves the title of Kodosh, but as it has been said he was a kodosh already m’chayim.

In har nof we are experiencing a multiple tragedy, besides Reb Moshe there are three others, Reb Kalmen Levine who is actually a former talmid of the yeshiva, who the Rosh Hayeshiva told me that when he was in L.A. he was instrumental in taking him from Kansas city with a traditional background, into becoming a true ben Torah in the fullest sense of the word, a baal yiras shamayim, his tefilos on a regular day where like those we experience during the yomim noraim, his hasmada and bakoshas hoemes where almost unparalleled, and he was always happy. Reb Aryeh Kopinsky was a tremendous baal chesed, we just made a ouf-ruf he offered to put out all the yerushalmi kugel and stam help out with all the serving, which he did graciously, he had a freezer gemach and did all the schlepping by himself. Reb avrohom Goldberg was a baal habos but a Toradike baal habos, who was makdish most of his time to learning, he had a seder every afternoon in our shul learning meseches menachos.

The question is how do we deal with a tragedy of this magnitude, how do we come to terms with it. The idea has been expressed that apparently there was a need for korbonos tzibbur and we all know that a korbon cannot have a “mum”, a blemish. So therefore Hashem took those without “mumim”. But what does it mean that they were “korbonos tzibbur”, one idea might be that their p’tirah is a kaporoh for the tzibbur, and who knows what terrible gezeirah might have been averted. When I was sitting shiva for my daughter Sara a.h. someone mentioned a story from the Chafetz Chaim, his beloved son-in- law Reb Hirsh Levenson was niftar at a very young age, the Chafetz Chaim’s daughter was inconsolable, ”why my husband”? she asked, the Chafetz Chaim told her “If I would say that because of your husband’s death a third of klal yisroel was saved would that console you? She was consoled. We don’t know Hashem’s cheshbonos, but who knows how many lives were saved.

There is perhaps another nekudah, people are nisorer only when something totally out of the ordinary occurs. Hashem wants us to wake up!!!!!!! Do teshuva!!!!! I once heard b’shem Moron Hgoan Rav Elyashev z’tzal that there doesn’t have to be just one message, everyone knows what he has to do.  Unfortunately sometimes we are sleeping so heavily thet we need a very loud alarm clock in order to wake up.      

 When I was sitting shiva, my sister said over a story heard from “Doc.” Greenwald from Monsey. When Rav Shneir Kotler zatzal was sick the family was very disturbed, so they sent Doctor Greenwald to eretz yisroel to ask the Harav Yisroel Abuchatzera, otherwise known as the “Baba Sali” what is really going on, why is this happening? He was maskim to reveal it with one condition, that he repeats it to no one, he protested “they sent me to find out”, he answered  “I guess you are not maskim, have a nice day”, b’dless breirah he was maskim. He said afterwards that after what he was told there were absolutely no questions!!!! And he felt bad that he promised not to reveal what he heard, because it would have helped so many people that have to deal with a tragedy.

Haran Shmuel Yaakov Burnstain spoke today in Har Nof, he mentioned the Gaon’s pshat in the medrash by the עשרה הרוגי מלכות when the malachim cried “זו תורה וזו שכרה” Hashem said that he will return the world to תוהו ובוהו, the Gaon explains that Hashem was saying that it was all “oisgecheshbent” from the time of brias haolom, moshol with the tailor that the only way to prove that he didn’t steal material was to undo the whole garment. 

There are a few nekudos that I saw in my dear friend Reb Moshe that I would like to share with you. I once heard a story that Harav Ruderman said about Reb Aron Kotler, that every time he met him (I think they would meet once a year by the Aguda convention) he saw that Reb Aron he has shteiged since the last time that they met. That is an awesome statement, people have a tendacy to plateau, they will work to get to a certain madreigah and that’s it, for some who reached the dargos of Reb Aron, to be able to noticeably shteig is unbelievable. I think we can say the same about Reb Moshe, he never “sat on his laurels” always looking to shteig. I think his brother-in-law Reb Eliyahu Feldman once told me that every tekufah Reb Moshe would be working on some other aspect of avodas Hashem.

It was mentioned by the levaya that he went to Manchester for the yomim noraim to be with the Manchester Rosh Hayeshiva Harav Segal. I remember that around 27 years ago when I was learning by Reb Aba’s, there was a tekufah that I learnt with Reb Moshe 2 sedorim a day (plus daf yomi before or after vasikin), during ellul Rebetzin Twersky called me begging me to let her husband go to Manchester for the yomim noraim, she said that when he came back the year before he was on such a madreiga that you “poshut” couldn’t talk to him “b’mili d’almah”.

When Hashem rebukes Miriam for The possuk says:

לא כן עבדי משה בכל ביתי נאמן הוא פה אל פה אדבר בו ומראה ולא בחידת ותמנת ה' יביט ומדוע לא יראתם לדבר בעבדי במשה:  

I think that the Ran in Droshos Haran explains that when it says meaning of “neeman” is what the possuk says afterwards, במראה ולא בחידה” the idea that Moshe Rabeinu had nevuah “b’aspaklaryah hameirah” as opposed to the other Nevi’im that their nevuah had to be interpreted. That’s what it means “neeman” that there was no misinterpretation of the rotzon Hashem. I think the same could be said about our Reb Moshe, his avodas Hashem was crystal clear, no personal negias guiding him or misguiding him, just pure “rotzon Hashem”. The way to get to that is maybe explained at the end of the possuk, “"בעבדי במשה that Moshe Rabeinu what the quintessential “eved Hashem”, the definition of an eved is that everything he does is for his master, that’s his whole existence, one who exists for his master has that quality of communication. That was Reb Moshe totally dedicated to avodas Hashem לית מגרמי כלום

He was never in a rush, never did things with “beholoh” “bilbul hadas”, especially when it came to mili d’shmaya, everything was done deliberately. If he ever came late to the minyan I never saw him rushing with hanachas tefilin, rushing thru p’sukei d’zimra in order to make tefilah b’tzibbur, he just davvened like he always did, deliberately. I used to wonder why he wasn’t makpid to start shemoneh esrei with the tzibbur so that even if he finished after the “shatz” got to kedushah it wouldn’t be a problem that he started knowing that he will miss kedushah, than I noticed that when he davvened downstairs by the first minyan he would come upstairs for kedushah, so than there is no problem starting late.  

Some would say that Reb Moshe was unemotional, I would say he was in control of his emotions. At my son’s chasuna last week we danced together in the middle with tremendous hislavus and simchah, the guys couldn’t believe it, but the truth is that it wasn’t shver at all, that is what had to be done at that time. The day after the chasuna he came over and gave me “ah breitah” mazal tov with a huge smile, wishing me all the good things.        

Shlomo Hamelech says in koheles טוב ללכת אל בית אבל מלכת אל בית משתה באשר הוא סוף כל האדם והחי יתן אל לבו: we have to realize that we don’t live forever, it could happen to anyone any time.

The gemara in Maseches Shabbos says as follows:

תנן התם רבי אליעזר אומר שוב יום אחד לפני מיתתך, שאלו תלמידיו את רבי אליעזר וכי אדם יודע איזהו יום ימות’ אמר להן וכל שכן ישוב היום שמא ימות למחר, ונמצא כל ימיו בתשובה. ואף שלמה אמר בחכמתו "בכל עת יהיו בגדיך לבנים ושמן על ראשך אל יחסר". אמר רבן יוחנן בן זכאי משל למלך שזימן את עבדיו לסעודה ולא קבע להם זמן, פיקחין שבהן קישטו את עצמן וישבו על פתח בית המלך אמרו כלום חסר לבית המלך, טיפשין שבהן הלכו למלאכתן אמרו כלום יש סעודה בלא טורח, בפתאום ביקש המלך את עבדיו פיקחין שבהן נכנסו לפניו כשהן מקושטין והטיפשים נכנסו לפניו כשהן מלוכלכין, שמח המלך לקראת פיקחים וכעס לקראת טיפשים, אמר הללו שקישטו את עצמן לסעודה ישבו ויאכלו וישתו הללו שלא קישטו עצמן לסעודה יעמדו ויראו. חתנו של רבי מאיר משום רבי מאיר אמר אף הן נראין כמשמשין, אלא אלו ואלו יושבין הללו אוכלין והללו רעבין הללו שותין והללו צמאים, שנאמר כה אמר ה' הנה עבדי יאכלו ואתם תרעבו הנה עבדי ישתו ואתם תצמאו הנה עבדי ירנו מטוב לב ואתם תצעקו מכאב לב.

 I think Reb Moshe embodied this chazal, he wasn’t caught off guard, he was preparing for this moment every second of his life.

 If we try to take on some of these things that were mentioned here, it will be a tremendous zchus for the niftar, and more important it will be a zchus for us.

Reb Moshe should be a meilitz yosher for his wonderful family, for his talmidim, for the yeshiva and for the whole .עולם התורה