Link

Some thoughts on א-להי נשמה שנתת בי טהורה היא from the sfarim! 

Staring Reality In The Face And Remaining Happy

Koheles teaches that this world is הבל הבלים. The word הבל means [among other things] hot air. Everything in life eventually just dissipates - like hot air.  

Think of all of the friendships you have had in your life, from nursery and on. School, shul, summer camp, neighborhood etc. etc. How many of those people are still your friends? VERY few. Like הבל. Gone into thin air [if the air was thick it wouldn't help]. 

You raise children - they grow up and move out. Gone. It is never the same. Just the pleasure of holding a newborn baby is so fleeting because he is a newborn for such a short period of time.

You are enjoying a few days in a nice hotel. It's AWESOME. But then it is checkout time and the experience is over - FOREVER. You can go to the same hotel again next year [if you have the mean$] but it won't be the same. It is never the same.  

You are eating a meal in a fancy restaurant with someone you love. You are savoring every second.  Then the meal is over, you pay the bill - and that's IT. FINISHED. FINITO.

You have a job. You like the job [together with parts of the job you don't like]. But then the ax is grinded and you are told that you are unwanted and unnecessary. Bye-bye. Sad - but so it goes for so many of us.   

Parents die. Relatives die. Friends die. Every newborn baby is destined to die. The biggest and most shocking news is that YOU are going to die. As I write my body is slowly but surely aging. I am 20 years into the process of old age [it starts at 26]. We don't go towards life but rather steadily towards death.   

Sweet friends - my challenge to you is to think about how we can stare reality right in the face and still be FILLED  with simcha [after all - we read Koheles at זמן שמחתינו]. Because we CAN and we MUST.  

Bitachon Vs. Hishtadlus

I am copying an old post about hishtadlus and bitachon because today I saw the Ralbag who also holds that you should do the maximum hishtadlus [as Rav Kook held] when explaining why Dovid had to wear so much protection before he battled Golyas and why Michal had to go to such great lengths to hide from Shaul that Dovid had escaped. I also read that in a certain case someone came to Rav Meir Chodosh to ask how much hishtadlus vs. bitachon and he responded "100 percent bitachon and 100 percent hishtadlus". 

We all do hishtadlus

One of the issues many Torah Jews grapple with is the question of השתדלות vs. ביטחון, effort vs. trust in Hashem. On one hand, one cannot sit with his arms folded and expect to have everything he needs. EVERYBODY, even the biggest, greatest, holiest Tzadikim, does some amount of השתדלות. Nobody expect to digest food unless he first puts the food in his mouth and chews it. That is self understood as a minimal level of השתדלות. NOBODY wakes up in the morning and says “I have ביטחון that Hashem will dress me.” Try it tomorrow morning and see what happens… Hashem created the world in such a way that requires human input and effort. No question. It is a Chazal. Bracha comes when you DO:

וברכך ה’ אלוקיך בכל אשר תעשה (טו,יח)

יכול אפילו יהא יושב ובטל? תלמוד-לומר, בכל אשר תעשה (ספרי).

We all need bitachon

On the other hand there are countless sources exhorting us to trust in Hashem. So where do we draw the line between personal effort and trust? On a practical level – How many hours a day should we work? How many doctors should we see about a problem? How many shadchanim should we meet to help us find a match? How many emails should we send out with our resume? The questions are endless and come up daily.

Our Avos did a lot of hishtadlus

If we look at Tanach and Chazal we don’t see this question addressed specifically. We DO see two things – We see that they did a LOT of השתדלות and also had a LOT of בטחון. Yaakov before he met Eisav didn’t say “Hey, G-d has my back. I will do the minimum of השתדלות and leave the rest up to Him”. No. He had complete trust in Hashem but nevertheless prepared for war, gave expensive gifts and davened. We see all throughout Tanach that we didn’t deal with our enemies by getting a bracha from a Tzadik, doing a segulah or two and then leaving it up tp the Man Upstairs. No sir. They fought LOOOONG AND HAAAARD.

Hishtadlus is a tax 

The standard approach in the later sefarim is that it all depends. The more בטחון one has – the less השתדלות he must do. The less בטחון – the more השתדלות. The need to do השתדלות Is like a tax and who likes to pay taxes? Pay the minimum. According to some ראשונים, ideally one shouldn’t go to doctors. Trust in Hashem. He is the only True Healer. We only go to doctors because our בטחון is so weak.

Let us see a sample of quotes on the topic.

וכבר היה האדם יכול להיות יושב ובטל והגזירה היתה מתקיימת, אם לא שקדם הקנס לכל אדם, (בראשית ג’) “בזעת אפיך תאכל לחם”, אשר על כן חייב אדם להשתדל איזה השתדלות לצורך פרנסתו, שכן גזר המלך העליון, והרי זה כמס שפורע כל המין האנושי אשר אין להמלט ממנו. על כן אמר בספרי, יכול אפילו יושב ובטל, תלמוד לומר “בכל משלח ידך אשר תעשה”. אבל לא שההשתדלות מועילה, אלא שההשתדלות מוכרחת, וכיון שהשתדל הרי יצא ידי חובתו, וכבר יש מקום לברכת שמים שתחול עליו, ואינו צריך לבלות ימיו בחריצות ובהשתדלות, הוא מה שאמר דוד המלך ע”ה (תהלים פ”ה) “כי לא ממוצא וממערב וגו’ כי אלקים שופט”. ושלמה המלך אמר (משלי כ”ג) “אל תיגע להעשיר מבינתך חדל”… (מסילת ישרים פרק כא)

כל הצורך להשתדל בענינים הגשמיים על פי מהלך הטבע, בא מתולדות חטא אדם הראשון, שנאמר בקללתו “בזיעת אפיך תאכל לחם”, והיינו מפני שבחטאו ירד למדרגה גשמית כזו, אבל קודם החטא כשהיה במדרגה רוחנית עליונה, היו כל צרכי גופו המזוכך באים אליו ממילא… וכן אמרו חז”ל מלאכים צולין לו בשר ומוזגין לו יין. וכיוון שכל ענין ההשתדלות אינו אלא עונש וקללה, ולא נתנה בו התורה שיעור, אם כן הלא טוב לאדם שיפחית לעצמו מהקללה עד כמה שאפשר… וכמה הוא הפחות שבהשתדלות אשר הוכרחו לעשותו? כך אמר רבינו זונדל מסלנט זצ”ל, הלא צריכים אנו לעסוק בהשתדלות רק מפני שאין אנו ראויים לנסים גלויים, ועל כן אנו מחוייבים לעשות באופן אשר ההשפעה היורדת אלינו יהיה אפשר לתלותה באיזו סבה, אם כן בזה נגמר השיעור, אם על ידי ההשתדלות אף היותר קטנה, יהיה מקום לתלות בסבות טבעיות. ועל עצמו אמר, אני קונה שטר הגרלה, ובזה אני יוצא חובת ההשתדלות.

אמנם רוב בני האדם, וגם אשר יחשבו מאמינים ובעלי בטחון אינם עושים כן, אלא עוסקים בהשתדלותם הטבעית בכל יכולתם, ומעיינים בכל שכלם ומדייקים וגם ילחמו בחבריהם בכל עוז, וכששואלים אותם למה תרבו כל כך בהשתדלות, הלא מאמינים אתם, תשובתם מוכנה, הלא מצוה היא – ששת ימים תעבוד, וכדומה. אך יעיינו נא במסילת ישרים פרק כ”א, או יחפשו בכל מנין המצות כי לא ימצאו שם מצותם זו… ואשר יחשבו כי כל אשר ירבו להשתדל כמעט כל ימיהם הוא לשם שמים באמת, יבדקו נא את עצמם, אם מחשבה רוחנית באה להם באמצע טרדתם בעסקיהם, או להיפך מחשבת עסקיהם באה להם באמצע שמונה עשרה?

…משני צדדים אורב עליו היצר, אם ירבה בהשתדלותו מכפי ערך אמונתו – הרי יכפור, ואם ימעט מכפי ערכו, יבא לתהות על הראשונות וגם לכפור אחר כך (אם תמעט פרנסתו)… והמשקל בזה הוא דק מאד, ותלוי בבחירת האדם ואי אפשר לבא בו אל הנקודה האמיתית, אם לא מתוך יראת שמים טהורה המצלת מנגיעות. דבר זה מפורש בתורה, ואפילו משה רבינו ע”ה לא נתגלה לו איה הנקודה האמיתית בכל ענין בין הבטחון וההשתדלות… ( מכתב מאליהו חלק א עמוד קפז, וראה עוד ערך בטחון)

Klal Yisrael works hard for their money and health etc. 

I am not one to argue with the Ramchal or Rav Dessler [whom I just quoted]. I am also not arguing with the other sefarim that take this approach including the Chovos Halevavos. What troubles me is that it doesn’t seem that almost anyone lives the way the Chovos Halevavos describes in his שער הביטחון. For example – He says that it is FOOLISH to take business trips overseas because just as Hashem can bring you parnassa over there, he can bring you parnassa here too. So why trouble yourself? Yet, even wonderful Tzadikim go on business trips. Just about every Rosh Yeshiva and Rosh Kollel from Eretz Yisrael goes overseas to collect money. Why? Can’t the money get here with their trouble? One click on a computer screen and the money is sent. Do they lack בטחון? Did they never hear of paypal? All of them? Klal Yisrael doesn’t seem to have paskened according to this teaching of the Chovos Halevavos but rather followed the approach that if the money is overseas, he has to go get it. We don’t just go to doctors to be “yoztei”. The FRUMMEST Jews find the BEST doctors. Why? Any doctor will do! Hashem heals anyway. The doctor is just a smokescreen for the Real Healer.

The notion of doing as little as possible for work and trusting in Hashem also seems to have been rejected. We know of many great Tzadikim throughout the generation who worked very hard to make a living and didn’t do the bare minimum, just to fulfill the השתדלות curse. There have been exceptions like the Chofetz Chaim, who earned his keep for the day and went home. He didn’t even have to make enough money for tomorrow.

Like I mentioned, we see in Tanach that our guides and heroes did a lot of השתדלות. Why did Avraham send Eliezer to get Yitzchak a wife in חרן? Why not trust in Hashem that He will send the girl to him?? We see that despite his INCREDIBLE level of בטחון, he did a lot of השתדלות [through the proxy of his עבד].

It all depends on your madreiga

Again, most sefarim say that it is proportional: The more בטחון you have, the less השתדלות you need. The lower you are on the ladder of בטחון – the more השתדלות. [There is an entire sefer on the topic called השתדלות ובטחון, written by R’ Avi Veinrot, who is a top lawyer here in Israel and also a prolific author of Torah works.] I am not disputing that. I am just thiking out loud: Does Klal Yisrael as a whole really live that way? Does anybody become really successful in any field by putting in the minimal amount of effort? Does working hard beyond the minimum really reveal a lack of בטחון? I await sources and insight from my readers.

Rav Kook – Maximum hishtadlus-Maximum bitachon 

Rav Kook presents a seemingly novel approach. He finds no contradiction between השתדלות and בטחון. Hashem wants you to do the maximum השתדלות. Not to be crazy about it, not to think for a second that your success depends solely on your efforts, but to work very hard because the law of nature with which Hashem created the world requires that.

The gemara says that one makes the bracha for a miracle when sees the stones that lingered in midair in the time of Moshe [when Makas Barad stopped] and fell in the time of Yehoshua [on their enemies]. The gemara darshens the word אלגביש to mean that they stood because of a MAN and fell because of a MAN. What is the emphasis on איש – a MAN? This teaches that part of waging war requires that we be MEN with great power and force. Together with our tremendous בטחון in Hashem we ALSO need great military prowess. Both are necessary and not only don’t they contradict each other but actually complement each other. He quotes from Rav Saadiah Gaon that just like in ruchniyus we invest great effort to succeed [try learning all of Shas with little effort…], so too in gashmiyus. Read this passage, especially what I bolded:

“ואבני אלגביש, מאי אבני אלגביש תנא אבנים שעמדו על גב איש וירדו על גב איש, עמדו על גב איש זה משה, דכתיב והאיש משה, וירדו על גב איש זה יהושע, דכתיב איש אשר רוח בו”.

המלחמה דרושה לפי מעמד האנושיות שלא נגמר עדיין בהשלמתו, וצריכה ביותר לצורך הגנה לאומית או תקומתה. והנה לפי הרגיל תלוי’ הצלחת כל אומה בהתגבר רוח האמץ בלב אנשיה, והאומץ מתגבר במה שהידיעה מתבררת להם שעזרתם תלוי’ בעצמם בכחם ועז גבורתם. ע”כ יוכל הטוען לטעון כי מושגי דעת יראת אלהים יחלישו את אומץ העם באשר לפי האמת מתבאר “כי לד’ המלחמה”י, ולולא עזרת ד’ שוא זרע אדם. אבל זו טעות מוחלטת, כי אין גדר הבטחון וההתלות אל ישועת ד’ בא למעט את כל כחות הגבורה האפשריים, כ”א להשכיל את העם שלא בכח הגבורה הבשרית לבדה ישיגו מאויים, כ”א צריך לזה גם הגבורה המוסרית שהיא ההליכה בדרכי ד’, שאז העם זכאי שתעמוד לו גבורתו ושיצליח בה, מאחר שיש להצלחתו תכלית במציאות האנושיות. אבל כשישים רק אל הגבורה הגשמית פניו וע”ד הכשרון הרוחני לא יביט ולא יתבונן, הלא ירד במעלות רוחו ואין תועלת נמצא בהצלחתו, ודאי לא יצליח כי אין ד’ עמו. נמצא שיסוד הבטחון ותכלית ההוראה שהראה השם יתברך ע”י ההנהגה הניסיית עם ישראל, כי לד’ המלחמה, היתה לא להחליש את הציור שצריך התאמצות האדם להקמתו הכללית והפרטית, כ”א לשכללה שתהי’ שלמה מכל צדדי’ היינו שלא תסתפק רק בגבורה פשוטה, כ”א תפנה על כל הצדדים של שלימות הפרטי והכללי. וזהו יסוד הדקדוק המוסרי שהיו צריכים להתנהג במלחמותינו לפי הדרכתה של תורת ד’ תמימה. והנה אין לך מלחמה מורגשת שבאה מן השמים, כנפילת אבנים מן השמים, שאין בה שיתוף כח אנושי כלל, וניכר לכל שמן השמים נלחמים באויבי עם ד’, לא תאמר שבזה יש הוראה שצד הבטחון מרשל את ההשתדלות האנושית. לא כן כ”א אותן אבנים הם באו על ידי שעמדו על גב איש, וירדו על גב איש, שע”י שנמצא איש שכבר התאמץ להשלים עצמו בכל ארחות הצדק עד שעליו יאמר ״ותגזר אומר ויקם לך״ באו אלה האבנים. א”כ מורים הם צורך החריצות לכל כשרון שאך בידינו הוא, ובכללם ג”כ ההתגברות לחוזק האומה וכל צרכיה שהם מתנאי החובות המוסריות והתוריות, שהשקפת הבטחון תזרז להם ותאמצם. שהרי למדנו שאפילו כל הדברים הניסיים שאנו רואים שאין בהם שום צד השתדלות אנושי, מ”מ הם ג”כ תלויים בכשרון האדם וחריצותו המוסרית, א”כ מזה נלמד כמה גדולה היא ערכה של ההשתדלות בכל ההשתלמות שבעולם. וכאשר למד לנו רב סעדיה גאון ז”ל בס’ האמונות , שכיון שאנו רואים שלצורך ההשלמה הרוחנית הנצחית אנו צריכים ודאי להשתדלות של תורה ומע”ט, א”כ ראינו שכך היא מדתו של מקום ב”ה להנחיל לאדם טובו ע”י ההשתדלות מצדו. מזה נבין שגם הטוב הגשמי לא נשיג כ”א ע”י השתדלותינו, והבטחון מועיל רק למלא את כח החריצות מכל צדדיו, שלא יכשל בהתמלאו רק מצדדים הגשמיים לבדם. ע”כ לעתיד לבא שתהי’ מלחמת גוג ומגוג בסוף וגמר תשלום עמדתם של ישראל, בתור עם גדול ועצום, קדוש וחכם, ירדו אלו האבנים אבני האלגביש לנצח מלחמתם, להישיר דרכי השתדלותם שתהי’ מכוללת בהשתדלות רוחנית בדעת אלהים וכל דרכי היושר שהם דרכי ד’ ביחד עם עזם וגבורתם, ולא יטעו לא בטעות של שכחת ד’ לאמר “כחי ועצם ידי עשה לי את החיל הזה””ולא ד’ פעל כל זאת” שגורם נפילה רוחנית שגוררת אחריה תקלות רבות, ומונעת ג”כ מטעות אפשרי לבא מקוצר דעת שיסוד הבטחון יגרום התרשלות ומיעוט חריצות. ע”כ יבאו לעזרה אלה האבנים שכבר נקרא להם שם אבני אלגביש. ונרמז בהם שהם באו על גב איש. הרי שכל עזרת ד’ תבא על גב איש, באשר זאת היא הטובה האמתית, ועיקר החיים שיגיע האדם לטובתו הכללית והפרטית בהשתדלותו ועמל נפשו.

No conclusion – yet:-)

My conclusion is that EVERYBODY holds that we need to have super-duper בטחון that Hashem runs the show. I just see to different approaches as to how much השתדלות to engage in. The prevalent opinion is the barest minimum and what Rav Kook writes and the way most people seem to live is to do the maximum השתדלות within reason [and at the same time have the maximum amount of ביטחון]. Every [even frum] person who makes it big in the corporate world worked hard. I am not sure that this is because they all lack ביטחון. We also go to the BEST doctors when we need them and it is the Gedolim who send to these doctors. I don’t know if the idea is that we all lack ביטון so we need the top doctors. So lack ביטחון while others have it. But every Gadol tells everybody who needs a doctor to go to the best.

Please share

This is a sensitive issue because these are foundations of belief so I invite anyone to correct me. I will continue trying to get to the bottom of this and hope to share my conclusions.

So my conclusion is – no conclusions yet:-).

Josh And His Jag

About ten years ago a young and very successful executive named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was traveling a bit fast in his sleek, black, sixteen- cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old. He watched for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. 

As his car passed, no child darted out, but a brick sailed and— whump—smashed into the Jag’s shiny side door. SCREECH! Brakes slammed. Gears pounded into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick was thrown. Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, “Just what was that about? Who do you think you are?” Building up a head of steam he continued, “That’s my new Jag; that brick is going to cost you plenty. Why did you throw it?” 

“Please . . . please, mister, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do,” pleaded the youngster. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop.” Tears were dripping down the boy’s chin as he pointed around the parked car. “It’s my brother, mister,” he said. “He fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.” Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, “Would you please help him back into his wheelchair? He’s too heavy for me.”

 Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He helped the youngster upright the wheelchair, and the two of them lift- ed his brother back into the chair. It was a long, long walk back to the sleek, black, sixteen- cylinder Jaguar XKE—a long and slow walk. Now, Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. It reminded him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. 

[A 5th Portion Of Chicken Soup]

Words Have Many Meanings

"The surest way of misunderstanding revelation is to take it literally, to imagine that God spoke to the prophet on a long-distance telephone. Yet most of us succumb to such fancy, forgetting that the cardinal sin in thinking about ultimate issues is literal-mindedness. The error of literal-mindedness is in assuming that things and words have only one meaning. The truth is that things and words stand for different meanings in different situations. Gold means wealth to the merchant, a means of adornment to the jeweler, “a non-rusting malleable ductile metal of high specific gravity” to the engineer, and kindness to the rhetorician (“a golden heart”). Light is a form of energy to the physicist, a medium of loveliness to the artist, an expression of grandeur in the first chapter of the Bible. Ruah, the Hebrew word for spirit, signifies also breath, wind, direction. And he who thinks only of breath, forfeits the deeper meaning of the term. God is called father, but he who takes this name physiologically distorts the meaning of God. 

The language of faith employs only a few words coined in its own spirit; most of its terms are borrowed from the general sphere of human experience and endowed with new meaning. Consequently, in taking these terms literally we miss the unique connotations which they assumed in the religious usage. The meaning of words in scientific language must be clear, distinct, unam- biguous, conveying the same concept to all people. In poetry, however, words that have only one meaning are considered flat. The right word is often one that evokes a plurality of meanings and one that must be understood on more than one level. What is a virtue in scientific language is a failure in poetic expression. Is it correct to insist that Biblical words must be understood exclusively accord- ing to one literal meaning? It often seems as if the intention of the prophets was to be understood not in one way, on one level, but in many ways, on many levels, ac- cording to the situation in which we find ourselves. And if such was their intention, we must not restrict our understanding to one meaning."

Internet And Cheyt Adam Ha-rishon

How many sites get you soooo innocently. They promise you things for free. Then you click here or there and they tell that that for only $8.95 cents a month..... Or they get your email address and then flood your email box with promotional material i.e. try to get your money. Free is no longer free.

So was the serpent in Gan Eden. He started out "innocently" - "G-d told you not to eat from all of the trees" [see Rashi 3/1]. What's wrong with that [except that it was a lie]? But in the end he got both Chava and Adam to eat from the tree. He was indeed very sneaky. 

That is also our yeter hara. It starts out telling us to do innocent things but in the end try to destroy us whether it is physically, emotionally or spiritually. 

Beware. 

ואכמ"ל.     

Elchonon Ehrman - Shabbos And The Luchos

The Necessity Of Kavod

If we want to fix society the secret is - KAVOD [respect]. The foundation of an honest, upright, generous and civil society is respect for G-d, the Torah, leaders, parents, teachers, elders etc. etc. A society that lacks this critical ingredient called KAVOD is doomed to failure.

כבוד שם שמים הוא השורש והעיקר ועמוד כל הבריאה וכל התורה כולה.. כאשר נתבונן על הנהגת העולם כולו נראה, כי הסיבה העיקרית לתיקון האמיתי והסדר הנכון שבבני אדם, אינו כי אם נתינת הכבוד למי שראוי לכבדו. מכבוד החכמים - מסתעף אהבת תורה וחכמה, ומידות טובות ויראת השם. מכבוד הורים – מסתעף חנוך ישר.. מכבוד מלכים – מסתעף כללות התיקון האמתי בחיי האדם המדיני. נמצא, כי רגש הכבוד פועל לקיום העולם בכלל.. נדע ברור.. כל מה שיתרבה כבוד שמים כן ירבו ברכות ושפע טוב וכבוד בעולם, ויחולו על ראש המכבדים שמו יתברך, ומברכתם יבורכו כל באי עולם... (חבש פאר פרק א).

Elchonon Ehrman: Simchas Beis Hashoeva Teshuva And Dance

Elchonon Ehrman - The Simcha Of Simchas Beis Hashoeva

The Tikkun Of Simchas Beis Hashoeva

Elchonon Ehrman - Bein Hashmashos And Succos

Elchonon Ehrman - The Time Of The Shechitas Korban Tomid: Part 2

Elchonon Ehrman - Ushpizin Of Yaakov: Middas Emes Li yaakov

Tribute to Ari Fuld - by Simcha Leiner

Elchonon Ehrman: The Time Of The Shechting Of The Morning Korban Tomid

The Status Of Islamic Women

A large-scale survey of views in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Israel has reported extensive anti-women views and widespread tolerance of domestic violence.

The three countries and Israel were selected to be broadly representative and “to reflect the diversity of the region”….

The report, produced by International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES) found that “The majority of Egyptian men consider it their duty to protect the honor of women and girls in their family, and nearly three-fifths agree with honor killing in some circumstances. More than 90 per cent of men saw male honor as directly contingent on their female relatives’ dress and behavior”.

Just 45% of Egyptian men believed there should be laws “criminalizing domestic violence, including marital rape.” And only 70% of Egyptian women agreed with this statement.

43% of Egyptian Muslim men said they would approve of their son having multiple wives, though just 9.5% said they would approve of their daughter marrying a man who already had other wives.

Only 6.6% of unmarried men said they “have no problem with marrying someone of a different religion”, and a tiny 2.3% of unmarried Egyptian women said the same.

62% of Moroccan men said “a woman should tolerate violence to keep the family together”, and 38% agreed “there are times when a woman deserves to be beaten”. Shockingly, 20% of Moroccan women agreed with this.

The report collected anecdotes and accounts from men and women across the four countries surveyed, including many accounts of domestic violence….

Elchonon Ehrman - Shechitah Bi-zar And Shihui Mitzva Part 2

Middah Ki-neged Middah

R' Ari Fuld loved Klal Yisrael - so Klal Yisrael reciprocates and expresses their love and deep feelings for him. And I am not talking only about the over 8,000 people who already donated over $840,000 to his family -  but also the countless expression of love for him, sadness over his loss and for his family, appreciation for his heroism both in life and death etc. etc. from all over the world.

Give, give and give. Eventually, Hashem [and his people] will repay you with interest many times over. Be selfish - and be forgotten. It is not all or nothing. It is proportional, the more you give, the more you will receive - in both worlds.    

Elchonon Ehrman - Shechitah Bi-zar And Shihui Mitzva

Elchonon Ehrman: Kinyan Arba Minim - Part 2

Elchonon Ehrman - Kinyan Arba Minim

PLEASE HELP!! - Won't Cost Ya A Penny!

Dear Editor,

I am a Lakewood yungerman with a mishpacha. Many of your readers have been davening for me, and the tefillos of so many people surely played a big part in the success of my surgery and will be”h continue supporting me through the ongoing treatments.

With the encouragement of leading gedolim, I have been trying to create an awareness of the importance and power of saying the Shem Hashem with the proper kavana. We say the Shem Hashem hundreds of times every day. The halacha is clear that it is assur to say the Shem Hashem without at least the bare minimum kavana of adon hakol - that Hashem is the Master of all. According to the psak of R’ Moshe Feinstein ZT”L (Ig”m O”Ch 5:5:2), being aware that you are saying the Shem Hashem may be enough to avoid the issur.


The Rishonim and Acharonim (see Ohr Zorua 103, Levush 98:2, Peleh Yoetz - kavana) say that although it may be beyond our capabilities to have full kavana 100% of the time, this does not absolve us from putting forth the effort to be mechaven as much as we are able. The gedolim that I asked agreed that any small improvement in saying shem shamayim bikavana, even if only once a day, is significant and a reason for great zechuyos.

This relatively easy undertaking is powerful for many reasons:

1. First and foremost, the fact that this is a serious issur that is so often overlooked, gives greater value to any improvement in this area.


2. When yidden need something, they turn to the koach hatefilla. Being mechaven in the Shem Hashem during tefillah gives it power; without kavana, it can’t accomplish. As a bonus, the Yesod V’shoresh Ho’avodah says that experience shows that if someone focuses on not missing shem shamayim b’kavana, he doesn’t let his mind wander, and without effort, he ends up concentrating on the entire tefillah. Anyone can try this and see this himself.



3. When a yid is in a difficult situation, he works on strengthening his emunah and bitachon. Saying shem shamayim b’kavana; thinking adon hakol, is an exercise in emunah and bitachon.



4. The Nefesh Hachaim writes that by focusing on the concept of ein od milvado, one merits tremendous protection; and that in essence is the kavana of adon hakol.



5. To top this all off, Hashem promises in the pasuk (Shemos 20:21) : “bechol hamakom asher azkir es shemi, avo eilecha uveirachticha”; like the Ra”n explains in Nedarim (7b): mentioning the name of Hashem appropriately, brings bracha and wealth.



By living with the awareness that Hashem is adon hakol, that Hashem runs the world, we are better able to deal with the various “crises”, whether in shidduchim, parnassah, health, or chinuch habonim, etc.; and at the same time deserve siyata d’shmaya to resolve these issues.



As a practical eitzah, I suggest that a person accept upon himself to have kavana when he says the Shem Hashem a specific number of times a day, whatever is realistic and sustainable for him, whether it’s 100, 10, or even just one.



Since I began spreading this message in various forums, thousands of people have transformed their tefillos and their lives, and many have reported special siyata d’shmaya. My hope is that readers of this letter will take on a kaballah in this area (possibly as a zechus for a friend or relative in need of a yeshua). Recordings of drashos that I and others delivered on this topic can be heard on the Choshvei Sh’mo hotline: 718-682-2922 x6x6. Feedback, suggestions, as well as actual kabbalos, can be left also, and would be appreciated.



May this chizuk bring brachos and yeshuos to all of Klal Yisroel.



Signed,



Mordechai Dovid ben Leah



Lakewood, NJ

Make Yourself A Kli For Hashem's Light!

There is no difference in Hashem's Light. He never changes, as the pasuk says אני השם לא שניתי -  I Hashem never change. The only difference is in the מקבלים. The bigger a כלי we create within ourselves to contain Hashem's Light, the more we will absorb.  

How do increase the size of your כלים? 

By thanking Hashem for having brought you as close as you are now and to think about how important that is!! The more you value your קשר with Hashem, the more light you will absorb.   

וצריכים לדעת שאין הבדל בין הארה קטנה לגדולה במה שהאדם משיג היות שבאור אין שום שינוי אלא כל השינויים הם בכלים המקבלים את השפע כמ"ש אני הוי"ה לא שניתי, לכן אם הוא מסוגל להגדיל את הכלים בשיעור זה הוא מגדיל את ההארה. אולם השאלה היא במה יכול האדם להגדיל את הכלים התשובה היא בשיעור שנותן שבח והודיה לה' על זה שה' קירב אותו אליו שירגיש אותו קצת ויחשוב על החשיבות שבדבר היינו שהוא זכה שיהיה לו קצת קשר עם הבורא, וכפי שיעור ההשיבות שיצייר לעצמו בשיעור זה תגדל אצלו ההארה. 

והאדם צריך לדעת שאף פעם הוא לא יבוא לדעת את שיעורה האמיתי של החשיבות של הקשר בין האדם לבורא כי אין ביד האדם להעריך את מדת ערכה האמיתי אלא כפי השיעור שהאדם מעריך אותה בשיעור זה הוא משיג את מעלתה וחשיבותה. ויש כזה סגולה שעל ידי זה הוא יכול לזכות שההארה הזו תשאר אצלו בקביעות. 

[הרב ברוך אשלג זצ"ל] 

Elchonon Ehrman - Who Was Yitzchak's Father?

Elchonon Ehrman - The Middas Ha-Chesed Of Avraham

Why Is The Avoda Of Bittul So Heavy?

לרפואת ר' דוד העניך מרדכי בן פרידה שמחה

רפאל חיים דב בן ריסה שושנה 

בתוך שח"י 

Why is it so hard to just nullify oneself to Hashem? A person who is trying to get stronger in his [or her] avoda feels that the whole world is moving forward, while he has left his family and friends in order to become בטל to Hashem? The answer very often is a lack of Emunah! Meaning, he doesn't see to Whom he is being מבטל himself and doesn't feel the reality of Hashem's presence. That is why the avodah is so HEAVY! 

The moment a person FEELS the מציאות השם his heart and soul strive very powerfully to cling to and nullify himself to Hashem. 

This means that the Avoda of a person is to FEEL THE מציאות of Hashem and that the earth is FILLED with his presence. It has to be a single minded journey. He can't think about what people are saying and the like. just the goal of feeling מציאות השם.  

צריכים לדעת כי סיבת הכבדות שמרגישים בזמן שהאדם רוצה לעבוד בביטול עצמותו לה', ולא לדאוג לתועלת עצמו, שהאדם בא לידי מצב כאילו כל העולם נשאר לעמוד על עמדו ורק הוא כאילו נעדר עכשיו מהעולם הזה ועוזב את משפחתו וחבריו למען התבטלות לה', היא רק סיבה פשוטה והיא נקראת "חסרון האמונה". זאת אומרת שהוא לא רואה אל מי הוא מתבטל היינו שאינו מרגיש את מציאות ה' זה גורם לו את הכבדות משא"כ בזמן שהוא מתחיל להרגיש את מציאות ה' תכף נפשו כוספת להבטל ולהתחבר לשורש ולהכלל בו כנר בפני האבוקה בלי שום דעת ושכל אלא שזה בא לו מצד הטבע כמו נר שהוא בטל בפני אבוקה. 

לפי זה יוצא שעיקר עבודת האדם היא רק לבוא לידי הרגשת מציאות ה' היינו שירגיש את מציאות ה' שמלא כל הארץ כבודו וזו תהיה כל עבודתו היינו שכל המרץ שהוא נותן בעבודה הוא בכדי להגיע לזה ולא לשום דברים אחרים ולא יתבלבל שהוא צריך להשיג משהו אלא רק דבר אחד חסר לאדם היינו בחינת אמונה בה' ולא לחשוב על שום דבר, כלומר שכל השכר שהוא רוצה תמורת עבודתו שיהיה שיזכה לאמונת ה'. [הרב ברוך אשלג זצ"ל]

Social Media

After all is said and done - there is a lot of negative to be said about social media. 

But since the beginning of time we have never had a situation that within minutes virtually everybody on earth [except for the billion or so that don't have internet] knows about a tragedy and can help lighten the pain. 

I refer to the fact that R' Ari Fuld was murdered yesterday morning and in under 36 hours about $360,000 [and counting] has been raised for his family. That is a lot of money. When I was working it would have taken me about 30 years of working to earn that amount. And here it came in over the course of a day and a half. That is thanks to the warm hearts of Jews and the power of social media. If the money is invested well then Miriam Fuld [Ari's grieving widow] will never have to worry about money again. It won't bring her husband back but will make life much easier. 

So thank you Hashem for gofundme and for kind people who care.    

Elchonon Ehrman - The Secret Of Life

R' Ari Fuld z"l Hy"d

Says Rashi at the beginning of Chumash:

In the beginning: Said Rabbi Isaac: It was not necessary to begin the Torah except from “This month is to you,” (Exod. 12:2) which is the first commandment that the Israelites were commanded, (for the main purpose of the Torah is its commandments, and although several commandments are found in Genesis, e.g., circumcision and the prohibition of eating the thigh sinew, they could have been included together with the other commandments). Now for what reason did He commence with “In the beginning?” Because of [the verse] “The strength of His works He related to His people, to give them the inheritance of the nations” (Ps. 111:6). For if the nations of the world should say to Israel, “You are robbers, for you conquered by force the lands of the seven nations [of Canaan],” they will reply, "The entire earth belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He; He created it (this we learn from the story of the Creation) and gave it to whomever He deemed proper When He wished, He gave it to them, and when He wished, He took it away from them and gave it to us.

In the beginning of God’s creation of:  [God created the world] for the sake of the Torah, which is called (Prov. 8:22): “the beginning of His way,” and for the sake of Israel, who are called (Jer. 2:3) “the first of His grain.”

These Rashi's could have been the motto of R' Ari - Eretz Yisrael, Am Yisrael and Toras Yisrael. 

A few memories of R' Ari Fuld z"l Hy"d. 

I first met him when he came to Yeshivat Hakotel about 27 years ago. It was flat out strange. It was the beginning of his shana aleph and he was already learning INTENSELY. [Ari was intense - but in a very kind and congenial way. He was unfailingly friendly and an engaging conversationalist]. That almost never happened. Like, at that point many of the boys don't believe in G-d yet. But R' Ari - he was "pounding" the Gemara. At one point, he asked me a question on the sugya at the beginning of Brachos [:ב]  that discusses the various opinions as to when Shema may be read at night. I didn't know the answer to his question and felt really badly about that because he really seemed to care very much that he understand the gemara properly. 

Some time later he married my wife's good friend from high school, Miriam [Loecher]. We attended each other's weddings. At weddings, he was the guy doing the shtick in the middle that only really really strong and athletic guys can do. Like push-ups while lifting himself off the ground in between while the tied together napkins passed under his body [like a jump rope]. ONE-TWO-THREE-TEN-ELEVEN etc. and Ari is still going. Or breaking a cement brick - with his bare hands....  [he was a karate master] and the like.

Before my wedding, I practiced the dance steps to the song "Yidden", but when they played it, I wasn't able to do the steps. He saw this and lifted me on his shoulders where he proceeded to do the dance with me on top. That was Ari - he saw a problem and he took it on his shoulders to solve. 

When my son Shmuli was six weeks old, he became ill with viral meningitis. My wife stayed with him in the hospital and I took care of our one year old, Gila [at the rate my wife and I were going, we could have had 25 kids. We ended up with six]. I wanted to be near the hospital for Shabbos and he lent me his apartment in Givat Mordechai. I remember that Shabbos well. [Baruch Hashem, Gila is married and Shmuli is alive and well].

Over the years I would see him and always enjoyed talking to him. Except for one thing: He was such an incredibly courageous, strong, almost fearless person who was so passionate about everything he believed in - I felt small in his presence. Not that he did anything to make me feel that way. On the contrary - he was very respectful toward me even though I didn't necessarily share all of his hashkafos. We never argued and had great mutual affinity. But I knew what he had accomplished, how many times he risked his life to protect Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael, how much he had sacrificed for our people - that I felt inferior. Sometimes, one doesn't have an inferiority "complex" - he is actually inferior... But again - not because of the way he acted but because of who he was. He was a tremendously devoted servant of Hashem, Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael. As Rav Kook would sign his correspondence "עבד לעם קודש על אדמת קודש". Now that he died as a קדוש, a holy martyr killed because he was a Jew - his level is incomprehensible [as Chazal tell us - see Bava Basra 10b]. He LIVED על קידוש השם  and died על קידוש השם.  

Years back, I met his father Rabbi Fuld at a simcha [I believe]. He related to me that Ari had made a siyum mesechta from what he learned WHILE TRAVELLING TO WORK. What made it more impressive was that he told me that R' Ari CRIED [this was NOT a cry baby - trust me. More masculine and tough you won't find] that he had to work and that he couldn't learn more Torah. At one point he stopped working and came to yeshiva to learn and teach but I guess that financially he couldn't hold up anymore. 

On one hand - tough as nails. Like a super hero. On the other - he laughed easily, was everyone's friend and LOVED to learn Torah. Rare is it that the Karate Man, the Army Hero, Mr. Macho who "packs heat" [carried a pistol which he used to shoot the terrorist as he was pursuing him and dying at the same time!!] is also a gentle, caring, friendly person, who gets a super geshmak from learning Torah. That was R' Ari. 

On one hand, he was passionate about his beliefs that one should live in Israel and serve in her army. On the other - he wasn't condescending towards those who didn't share his passion. He didn't hate Charedim [as some do] who didn't serve in the army or [in some cases] live in Israel. He spoke out for what he believed in without being hostile or acerbic his philosophical opponents.

I remember one Thursday night in yeshiva, I was supposed to give my weekly mussar talk to the student body. R' Ari was asked to speak first [I believe it was Yom Hazikaron]. He spoke with such fire [about, among other things, how he almost died from the shrapnel lodged in his back], I was almost ready to take off my suit right then and there and put on the green army uniform. His דברים were יוצאים מן הלב so they were נכנסים אל הלב. 

Over the years we weren't in touch very much and that is my loss.

Let us all learn from R' Ari Yoel ben R' Yonah, to put our ideals first and our material comforts a distant, not second but eleventh. To be dedicated to our families, our Land, our Torah and above all - Hashem. Not to be afraid to speak out for what is right. To be moser nefesh and guf, body and soul, for what really matters.

May Hashem give his family the courage to go on with simcha.      

יהי זכרו ברוך!!   

Helping The Family Of Our Fallen Hero

For all those who want to help R' Ari's wife Miriam and their four orphans, you can do so here. 

Testing A Navi - Part 3

לע"נ ידי"נ הקדוש ר' ארי פולד ז"ל הי"ד

The resolution is as follows [based on HaGaon HaGadol Rav Dovid Yitzchak Mann ztz"l]: 

Rav Saadiah Gaon proves from the story of Gideon that there is no איסור unless one tests Hashem Himself but there is no איסור to test if a person is worthy of Hashem's reward for performing his mitzvos [which is what Gideon was doing]. Indeed, the pasuk seems to bear out this understanding. All it says is "לא תנסו את השם" - don't test Hashem. It mentions nothing about testing Him to see if He will reward mitzva performance [as many of the Rishonim hold]. Why would one think that it is forbidden to test Hashem to see if one is worthy of reward?? That would be less a test of Hashem and more a test of oneself??!    

The explanation is that something can only be considered a test if it is supposed to happen. But if something is not expected to happen, why would checking if it happens be considered a test?? Therefore it was a test in the desert to see if Hashem would provide the Jews with water, because after taking us out into the barren desert, Hashem is expected to provide water. That is the meaning of the pasuk לא תנסו את ה' א-להיכם כאשר ניסיתם במסה - Don't test Hashem you G-d as you did in מסה [to see if He will give you water]. He was expected to give us water and were "checking Him out" to see if He would make good on the unspoken deal. Otherwise, it is only considered a test in a case where one fulfilled a mitzva, where a reward is expected, and the person waited to see if Hashem would follow through. That is where we see in the pasuk that the איסור is testing Hashem to see if he will reward us. It says "don't test Him as you did in מסה with the water", meaning that just like there you were expecting water which qualifies as waiting for the water as a test, so too, when you do mitzvos don't test Hashem to see if He will reward you. [This explains the opinion of the סמ"ג, יראים and טור that we mentioned in the previous post that the איסור is testing Hashem to see if He will reward mitzvos]. 

Now we can explain the view of the Rambam: He holds that there is no reward for mitzvos in this world [as we will see בל"נ], so for him the only way we can test Hashem and expect Him to "pass the test" is with respect to verifying the validity of a Navi. Now, once a Navi attained the status of a bona fide Navi, it is no longer necessary to test him. If one does, even though the test is superfluous, there is still an expectation that Hashem will provide the sign and He will pass the test. So according to the Rambam, the היכי תמצי [instance] of testing Hashem when there is an expectation that the test will be passed is with respect to the validity of a Navi. 

It emerges that even though practically speaking the person is testing the Navi, at the root the intention is to test Hashem, as the pasuk says "לא תנסו את ה' אלקיכם". This would explain why the same Rambam who wrote in Hilchos Yesodei Hatorah [10-5] that the איסור is testing a Navi himself to see if he is a נביא אמת, wrote in his preface to the Sefer Hamitzvos [ל"ת ס"ד] that the איסור is to test the word of Hashem ["שלא לנסות דבר ה' שנאמר לא תנסו את ה' א-להיכם"]. How do we reconcile this contradiction? Now we know! The external manifestation of the איסור is testing an already proven Navi [or if He will provide water in the desert], but at the root one is testing Hashem, seeing if He is going to provide the expected sign that this person/prophet is the "real deal" [or provide the expected water]. 

So now the pasuk reads beautifully according to the Rambam: 

לא תנסו את ה' א-להיכם - Don't test Hashem, כאשר ניסיתם במסה - as you did in מסה when you waited for and expected water, so too you shouldn't test an already proven Navi, expecting Hashem to give you another sign of his validity.   

       

R' Ari Fuld הי"ד

Li-ilui nishmas my beloved friend R' Ari Fuld who was murdered today by an Arab in Gush Etzion. He was a hero in life and a kadosh in his death. I knew him for about 25 years and was in awe of his idealism and passion for the Land of Israel, the Torah and the Jewish people.  

 

Ari Fuld wasn't surprised when he got his draft call last summer during the Lebanon war. "For me, serving in the Israeli Defense Forces is another puzzle piece in a Jewish person's life." He says. "I literally smile when I get my draft in the mail." He had 12 hours to say good-bye to his wife and four children, including his newborn son. Within eight hours after that he was at the Lebanese border. After one day of intensive training, his unit was going into Lebanon to dismantle a faceless terrorist infrastructure.

"The night before we went in, I wrote out the Torah portions about going out to war. I needed to instill myself with confidence. I couldn't even tell my wife where I was going as the calls were being intercepted by Hizbullah. I told her I was going to France."

On his first day in Lebanon, he walked seven kilometers over craggy mountains into Lebanon carrying all of his gear, as well as a hundred pound guided missile on his back. There he encountered his first fire-fight. "Terrifying is the only word I can use to describe it," he says "Everywhere we walked there were eyes on our backs. We were the underdogs. We didn't know the terrain."

Secular, religious, it didn't matter. They were all Jews standing raw and exposed before God.

Every day before setting out to battle, Ari and his platoon would recite the Vidui prayer, a prayer of confession usually reserved for Yom Kippur or before one dies. Secular, religious, it didn't matter. They were all Jews standing raw and exposed before God; they literally felt their lives were in the balance.

The Hizbulla guerilla fighters were lying in wait. The next day the Israeli soldiers were moving in deeper.

"We walked 28 kilometers deep into Lebanon," Ari says. "We finally got to the Litani river. It was absolutely beautiful."

Low on food and water, Ari's elite paratrooper unit hid out in an apple orchard for cover and sustenance. It was then that they received warnings that there was a terrorist hotbed of activity around them. They were ordered to go in and clean up the area.

"Our highest commanding officer led off with five soldiers," said Ari. "He said – 'Acharai', you come after me." This legendary characteristic of the Israeli army is no myth. The highest ranking officers stake things out for the underlings, jeopardizing their own safety. "I think the Israeli army is the only army in the world that operates this way," says Ari.

70 yards from where Ari was waiting, his commanding officer was hit in the neck by sniper fire, and missiles were falling all around him and his men.

"We can't let this turn into a kidnapping," said the next-in-command. They sent out a group of evacuation soldiers to try and help the first group, and they were hit by a missile as well. The highest ranking officer who remained turned to Ari.

"Grab four men," he ordered him. "We have to go collect as many bodies as we can. We're not leaving them out there alone."

Ari grabbed four of his comrades. They dropped their gear on the floor and grabbed stretchers. He knew what he was doing. He had made a choice. In moving forward into the inferno of injury and death that lay ahead, he may as well have been walking his own plank. But he wouldn't abandon his comrades.

"We left most of our protection behind, and all of our gear. All I had on me were my Tefillin, a book of Psalms, and some other holy writings. Oh -- and bullets. A whole lot of bullets."

They took only ten steps out of the orchard when they heard the whistle.

Three missiles had landed exactly where the five soldiers had been sitting only moments earlier.

"You hear a whistle and then three seconds later the missile hits," says Ari. "The scary thing is that it gives you no hint as to where it's going to land." Looking behind them, they saw where the missiles had fallen. Three missiles had landed exactly where the five soldiers had been sitting only moments earlier. The gear that they had hastily dropped was decimated.

Missiles were falling behind and in front of the group. It seemed like God was clearing a space for Ari.

They started dragging back wounded officers. Ari called a medic who tried unsuccessfully to stop the bleeding on his commanding officer. That's when Ari felt something trickling down his back. Blood and water were coming out of him.

"I knew that I had been hit by a piece of shrapnel. I also knew that if shrapnel had entered my bloodstream, I would die in a few minutes. My legs buckled."

The medic came and took off Ari's vest. The piece of shrapnel had penetrated his vest, but had gone no further. All he needed was bandaging.

"There was no reason for that piece of shrapnel to stop," Ari says. "It was a piece of Iranian mortar shell." Those things don't stop. But Ari knew that there was someone higher than him calling the shots.

Ari and the remaining members of his unit plodded on in Lebanon a few more days. While he had passed through the real thickets, he still had to deal with gathering food and water in hostile territory that was booby trapped in every corner.

Finally, his beleaguered brigade was ordered home.

When his unit crossed the threshold into Israel, all of the soldiers spontaneously knelt and kissed the holy ground of Israel with palpable emotion. It was more than good to be home.

Ari felt that the man who had entered Lebanon was not the same man who was exiting.

But Ari felt that the man who had entered Lebanon was not the same man who was exiting.

"It was like birth," he said. "It was more powerful than anything I had ever done. Like your wedding day and the birth of your child and more -- all wrapped up into one."

He made a feast of thanksgiving to God. But that was not enough. Ari had encountered miracles. He had been given immeasurable gifts. And now it was payback time.

"I sat with myself first and then I sat with my wife, and I said, ‘Something has got to change. I don't want to go through life as a cycle. If (my life) would have ended right there, there would have been something missing.'"

He took an accounting of his hours each day and realized that only a small minority of his day was involved in pursuit of the spiritual. His religious study had been on a "low flame." He wanted to turn it up to high. And he did, taking a year off from his professional pursuits in order to strengthen himself in his service of God.

"It was financially hard, but I had to do it. I'm happy that I did. In the end, it (being in Lebanon) was nothing less than a blessing for me."

Sometimes the impressions made upon us by inspiration can be fleeting. That's how the term "New Year's resolution" came to be coined. Every year we try to clean the slate and begin again. It is part of the human condition. But Ari will never forget his pledge to repay his gifts. He had said the Vidui confession prayer of Yom Kippur, and he had been granted life. His appreciation is unbridled. And that is where Ari's experience differs from most people. His experience in Lebanon continues to mold his life today.

When his year of study was up he turned down hefty financial incentives and instead joined the staff at Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh, where he could continuously immerse himself in cultivating his spiritual side.

And what about us? During this High Holiday season, we can also file through the list of gifts that God has bestowed upon us and make our own New Year's resolutions to give back for what we have received. Maybe this year we can devote just a little bit more time to the spiritual? Open up a prayer book even after the high holidays have passed? Commit to taking that next step that we think about every year?

In Ari's breakfront, he proudly exhibits the piece of Iranian mortar shrapnel that nearly cost him his life, its serial number still intact. Some people find it strange, seeing it displayed so prominently next to his Kiddush cup and his silver Menorah.

He doesn't find it odd at all. "That warped piece of iron that you're looking at... it looks like a piece of garbage – but that's my miracle."

[aish.com]

Testing A Navi - Part 2

 לע"נ הקדוש ר' ארי פולד ז"ל הי"ד 

The סמ"ג, the יראים, the טור and other ruled that the איסור of לא תנסו is not to test Hashem to see if He will reward us for mitzvos. This opinion is difficult to understand because where do we see in the pasuk that the Jews had done a mitzva and were waiting to see if Hashem would reward them? 

In Sefer Shoftim [6, 39] it says: Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—  look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.”  And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.  Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.”  That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

How was it permitted for Gideon to test Hashem when the pasuk says לא תנסו את השם - DON'T test Hashem? 

The Chinuch [מצוה תכ"ד] first rules like the Rambam that one must not test a Navi. Then he continues and says that this איסור also includes testing Hashem to see if He will reward us for the mitzvos we perform. The Ramban says the same. 

How are these two seemingly unrelated mitzvos included in the same pasuk?  

Testing A Navi

לע"נ הקדוש ר' ארי פולד ז"ל הי"ד 

The Rambam says [Yesodei Hatorah 10-5]: 

נביא שהעיד לו נביא אחר שהוא נביא הרי הוא בחזקת נביא ואין זה השני צריך חקירה שהרי משה רבינו העיד ליהושע והאמינו בו כל ישראל קודם שיעשה אות וכן לדורות נביא שנודעה נבואתו והאמינו בדבריו פעם אחר פעם או שהעיד לו נביא והיה הולך בדרכי הנבואה אסור לחשב אחריו ולהרהר בנבואתו שמא אינה אמת ואסור לנסותו יותר מדאי ולא נהיה הולכים ומנסים לעולם שנאמר לא תנסו את ה' אלהיכם כאשר נסיתם במסה שאמרו היש ה' בקרבנו אם אין אלא מאחר שנודע שזה נביא יאמינו וידעו כי ה' בקרבם ולא יהרהרו ולא יחשבו אחריו כענין שנאמר וידעו כי נביא היה בתוכם:

When a prophet proclaims that another individual is [also] a prophet, we accept the latter as a prophet without requiring [any further] investigation. Thus, after Moses, our teacher, proclaimed that Joshua [was a prophet], all the Jews believed in him before he performed any wonders. The same holds true for subsequent generations.

Once a prophet has made known his prophecy, and his words have proven true time after time, or another prophet has proclaimed him a prophet, if he continues in the path of prophecy, it is forbidden to doubt him or to question the truth of his prophecy.

[When establishing the authenticity of a prophet,] it is forbidden to test him more than necessary. We may not continue to test him forever, as [Deuteronomy 6:15] states: "Do not test God, your Lord, as you tested him in Marah," when [the Jews] said [Exodus 17:7]: "Is God in our midst or not?" Rather, once an individual is established as a prophet, we should believe in him and know that God is in our midst. We should not doubt or question him, as implied by [Ezekiel 2:5]: "They shall know that a prophet was in their midst."

We see from the Rambam that the איסור from the pasuk "לא תנסו" is to test a Navi. Once he has been established as a Navi we must accept him. 

There are a number of problems with this. 

1] The Gemara in Taanis [9a] says as follows:

עשר תעשר עשר בשביל שתתעשר

“A tithe shall you tithe [te’aser]” (Deuteronomy 14:22)? This phrase can be interpreted homiletically: Take a tithe [asser] so that you will become wealthy [titasher], in the merit of the mitzva.

אשכחיה ר' יוחנן לינוקא דריש לקיש אמר ליה אימא לי פסוקיך א"ל עשר תעשר א"ל ומאי עשר תעשר א"ל עשר בשביל שתתעשר אמר ליה מנא לך א"ל זיל נסי

Rabbi Yoḥanan found the young son of Reish Lakish. He said to the boy: Recite to me your verse, i.e., the verse you studied today in school. The boy said to him: “A tithe shall you tithe.” The boy further said to Rabbi Yoḥanan: But what is the meaning of this phrase: “A tithe shall you tithe”?Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: The verse means: Take a tithe so that you will become wealthy. The boy said to Rabbi Yoḥanan: From where do you derive that this is so? Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: Go and test it.

אמר ליה ומי שרי לנסוייה להקב"ה והכתיב (דברים ו, טז) לא תנסו את ה' א"ל הכי אמר רבי הושעיא חוץ מזו שנאמר (מלאכי ג, י) הביאו את כל המעשר אל בית האוצר ויהי טרף בביתי ובחנוני נא בזאת אמר ה' צבאות אם לא אפתח לכם את ארובות השמים והריקותי לכם ברכה עד בלי די

The boy said to him: And is it permitted to test the Holy One, Blessed be He? But isn’t it written: “You shall not test the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:16)? Rabbi Yoḥanan said to the boy that Rabbi Hoshaya said as follows: It is prohibited to test God in any way, except in this case of tithes, as it is stated: “Bring the whole tithe into the storeroom, that there may be food in My house, and test Me now by this, said the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing that there shall be more than sufficiency” (Malachi 3:10).

So we see that from the pasuk of לא תנסון it is forbidden to test Hashem if He will reward us when we do mitzvos - and has nothing to do with a Navi, as the Rambam claims?! 

2] Also, the Rambam quotes the pasuk of לא תנסו את השם כאשר ניסיתם במסה and explains that the test was היש ה' בקרבנו - Is Hashem among us. But this seems to be ALL WRONG. The Rambam, לשיטתו, SHOULD have said that you are not allowed to test MOSHE because the issue here is testing a Navi and is not testing Hashem. So why the pasuk about testing HASHEM? 

3] After the Torah says לא תנסו  it goes on and says

שָׁמוֹר תִּשְׁמְרוּן, אֶת-מִצְוֺת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, וְעֵדֹתָיו וְחֻקָּיו, אֲשֶׁר צִוָּךְ.  וְעָשִׂיתָ הַיָּשָׁר וְהַטּוֹב, בְּעֵינֵי יְ-ה-וָ-ה לְמַעַן, יִיטַב לָךְ, וּבָאתָ וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֶת-הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה, אֲשֶׁר-נִשְׁבַּע יְ-ה-וָ-ה לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ.

"Diligently keep the commandments of the Lord, your God, and His testimonies. and His statutes, which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is proper and good in the eyes of the Lord, in order that it may be well with you, and that you may come and possess the good land which the Lord swore to your forefathers." How does that connect to the previous pasuk about not testing a Navi??

Meilah On Bigdei Kehuna

לזכות ר' שמואל בנימין בן תשנה רחל לאה וכל ב"ב היקרים

The Rambam writes [Meilah 5-14] that there is מעילה on the בגדי כהונה that wore out.

"כתנות כהונה שבלו מועלין בהן כשאר קדשים. והחדשים הואיל וניתנו ליהנות בהן אין מועלין בהן".

The משנה למלך asks that we have a rule that whenever a mitzva was already performed - נעשית מצותן - then there is no longer מעילה. So how is there מעילה on the used בגדי כהונה after they were already used for their mitzva??

He then suggests that since we have the pasuk of "והניחם שם" that tells us to store away the used בגדי כהן גדול [Yoma 12], we learn that there is an איסור מעילה and from there we can extract that there is also an איסור מעילה on the בגדי כהן הדיוט. But this answer doesn't hold water because the Rambam paskens that we may use the used בגדי כהן הדיוט as wicks for the שמחת בית השואבה and if he equated בגדי כהן גדול to בגדי כהן הדיוט then he would have permitted the בגדי כהן גדול to be used as well - and he doesn't. [Only the Yerushalmi equates the two but the Rambam doesn't pasken that way].

Here are the words of the משנה למלך:

בגדי כהונה שבלו מועלין בהם כשאר קדשים. אני תמיה בדין זה טובא דהא קי"ל 

דכל דבר שנעשה בו מצותו שוב אין מועלין בו וכדאיתא בפ' כל שעה (דף כ"ו) ובכמה דוכתי, וכי תימא שאני בגדי כהונה דכיון דרחמנא אמר בבגדי כ"ג והניחם שם ואמרינן בפ' קמא דיומא (דף י"ב) דטעונים גניזה וכיון דאשמעינן קרא בבגדי כ"ג דאף שנעשה בהם מצותם שיש בהם מעילה מינה ילפינן נמי לבגדי כהן הדיוט שאף שנעשה בהם מצותם שיש בהם מעילה, הא ליתא דא"כ יהיו טעונים בגדי כהן הדיוט גניזה דומיא דבגדי כ"ג שטעונים גניזה ואילו בפרק החליל (דף נ"א) תנן מבלאי מכנסי כהנים ומהמייניהם מהן היו מפקיעין ובהן היו מדליקין, וכי תימא דלעולם דטעונים גניזה לפי שיש בהם דין מעילה אף שנעשו בהם מצותם אלא דשאני שמחת בית השואבה דלכבוד הקרבן היו עושין וכצורך קרבן חשיב וכמ"ש התוס' בפ"ב דשבת (דף כ"א) ד"ה שמחת, הא ליתא דא"כ גם מבלאי בגדי כ"ג יעשו פתילות לקודש ולשמחת בית השואבה ואילו מדברי רבינו פ"ח מהל' כלי המקדש הל' ה' והל' ו' נראה דס"ל דלא היו עושין פתילות כי אם מבגדי כהן הדיוט אבל מבגדי כ"ג לא והטעם ע"כ הוא משום דרחמנא אמר והניחם שם שיהיו טעונים גניזה ואפי' למנורה לא היו עושין מהם פתילות ואע"ג דהאי קרא בבגדי לבן משתעי קרא מ"מ ס"ל דכל בגדי כ"ג דין אחד יש להם אבל בגדי כהן הדיוט לא ילפינן מיניה וא"כ כיון דלא ילפינן בגדי כהן הדיוט מבגדי כ"ג מנא לן דבגדי כהן הדיוט יהיה בהם מעילה מאחר שנעשה בהם מצותן. הן אמת דבירושלמי פ' החליל הלכה ג' מצאתי תני מבלאי מכנסי כ"ג היו מדליקין את הנרות שבפנים ומבלאי מכנסי כהן הדיוט היו מדליקין את הנרות שבחוץ. וכפי דברי הירושלמי הללו ניחא דלעולם דין בגדי כהן הדיוט ובגדי כ"ג שוין הם בדינם וטעונים גניזה אלא דלצורך מצוה התירו אלא דבגדי כ"ג שקדושתם יתירא יחדו אותם למנורה ובגדי כהן הדיוט יחדו לשמחת בית השואבה אך לרבינו דס"ל דמבגדי כ"ג לא היו עושין פתילות קשה מה שהקשיתי והדבר אצלי צריך תלמוד:

Maybe the following approach can work to answer this question:

Tosfos in Kiddushin [נ"ד. ד"ה בכתונת] write that even though בגדי כהונה have the קדושה of כלי שרת which means that they don't become חולין after מעילה and thus one can be מועל repeatedly [יש מועל אחר מועל], nevertheless as long as they have not been inaugurated for עבודה, they still don't have קדושת כלי שרת and merely have קדושת בדק הבית [see there].

According to this, even AFTER the inauguration of the בגדי כהונה they will have a dual קדושה a] קדושת כלי שרת which is a קדושת הגוף and b] קדושת בדק הבית which makes them ממון הקדש. That would mean that as far as מעילה is concerned there are also two types of מעילה when benefiting from בגדי כהונה - One, they are קדשי מזבח because that category includes כלי שרת and two, they are קדשי בדק הבית. The Mishna in Meilah [15] says that if one is מועל less that a שוה פרוטה on both קדשי מזבח and קדשי בדק הבית they combine to constitute an איסור. This is because there are two separate sources in the Medrash for the two types of מעילה, so the Mishna has to teach that they combine to form a shiur.

According to the foregoing, we can say that the דין that there is no מעילה if נעשית מצותן applies only to the קדושה of כלי שרת. But as far as the קדושה of ממון הקדש is concerned there is no דין of נעשית מצותן אין בהן מעילה because after all is said and done - it remains ממון הקדש so how does נעשית מצותן remove the איסור מעילה??!

Continuing with this line of thought it would appear that even if we say that there is a דין of נעשית מצותו and there is no longer a דין מעילה on the קדושת כלי שרת nevertheless there will be a דין מעילה due to the דין of קדושת בדק הבית as there was before these בגדים were inaugurated for the עבודה [as the Tosfos in Kiddushin said]. So that is what the Rambam meant when he said that there is מעילה for the בגדי כהונה. According to this, after מעילה the בגדי כהונה become חולין as קדשי בדק הבית even though they had a דין of קדושת כלי שרת where they don't become חולין [because יש מועל אחר מועל] but since נעשית מצוותן they no longer have קדושת כלי שרת and are only left with קדושת בדק הבית where they do become חולין after מעילה. 

Now we can understand why we only used the בגדי כהן הדיוט as wicks for the שמחת בית השואבה and not the בגדי כהן גדול. The בגדי כהן הדיוט still had קדושת בדק הבית which may be used לצורך הקדש such as to light a fire for the שמחת בית השואבה. But the בגדי כהן גדול retained their קדשות כלי שרת as evidenced by the לימוד of והניחם שם which teaches us that they must be respectfully stored away. Since they still have קדושת כלי שרת we may not use them for another purpose such as wicks. But the בגדי כהן הדיוט don't retain their קדושת כלי שרת after נעשית מצותן as we see from the fact that there is no לימוד of והניחם שם so we are free to use them for wicks. 

[עפ"ד הגאון ר' בערל פוברסקי שליט"א]  

ועי' עוד בשער המלך, משנת יעקב עבודה עמ' שנ"ד, ספר זכרון עץ ארז מ' רט"ז, שארית יוסף ח"ב סי' י"א.  

2 Approaches To Mitzvos

Says the Gemara [Brachos 35b]: 

ואמר רבה בר בר חנה אמר רבי יוחנן משום רבי יהודה ברבי אלעאי בא וראה שלא כדורות הראשונים דורות האחרונים דורות הראשונים היו מכניסין פירותיהן דרך טרקסמון כדי לחייבן במעשר דורות האחרונים מכניסין פירותיהן דרך גגות דרך חצרות דרך קרפיפות כדי לפטרן מן המעשר דאמר רבי ינאי אין הטבל מתחייב במעשר עד שיראה פני הבית שנאמר בערתי הקדש מן הבית

Along these lines, Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda, son of Rabbi El’ai: Come and see that the latter generations are not like the earlier generations. In the earlier generations, people would bring their fruits into their courtyards through the main gate in order to obligate them in tithes. However, the latter generations bring their fruits through roofs, through courtyards and through enclosed courtyards, avoiding the main gate in order to exempt them from the mitzva of tithing. As Rabbi Yannai said: Untithed produce is not obligated in the mitzva of tithing until it sees the front of the house through which people enter and exit, and it is brought into the house that way as it is stated in the formula of the confession of the tithes: “I have removed the consecrated from the house” (Deuteronomy 26:13), as the obligation to tithe produce whose purpose has not yet been designated takes effect only when it is brought into the house.

Why is there an "escape clause" in the mitzva of taking maaser specifically? 

There are two reasons people keep mitzvos - 1] Because they have to but would really prefer not to. Such people perform the mitzvos by rote. 2] Because they really want to keep the mitzvos and value them greatly. 

By offering an escape clause, we are tested to see if we are doing the mitzva out of true desire or just because we are obligated, for here we have the opportunity to avoid the mitzva in a halachically prescribed manner. 

The mitzva of maaser is unique in that it represents the covenant between the kohanim who dedicate themselves completely to service of Hashem and the masses who also must involve themselves in physical activities. By not taking the easy way out and causing themselves to be obligated in the mitzva of giving maaser, we are showing that what really matters to us is what the kohanim represent - a complete immersion in spirituality.

This should be a paradigm for all of our mitzvos - we do them not out of compulsion but with good will.


ההבדל שיש בין המכיר ערך המצות ותכליתן הנשגבה וחפץ בהן באמת ובין מי שעבודתו היא רק מצות אנשים מלומדה הוכן להיות יוצא אל הפועל בהרבה מצות מן התורה, שנמצאו בהם דרכים ע"פ דין תורה להפקיע החיוב מעצמו. אמנם רק בזה יוודע שלימות העובד מאהבה, בהיות לאל ידו לפטור עצמו ובהיותו מכיר את ערך המצוה וקדושתה הוא נכנס להתחייב בה. ע"כ במצות מעשרות, שהיא המצוה הראשית המחזקת את כל אושר הכלל כולו, בהיותה לברית בין המיוחדים לעבודת ד' שבט הלוי ובין כל העם כולו, דאגה החכמה האלהית ביותר שתהי' נעשית ע"פ רוח נדיבה המכרת את ערכה הגדול. ע"כ נתנה מקום להחלץ ממנה על [ידי] הכנסה דרך גגות חצירו' וקרפיפות, למען שתגיע הרגשת העושה לעשות המצוה מיקרת רוח ונפש נדיבה, שבזה תצא אל הפועל תכליתה להשלים את הכלל כולו כחפץ האדון השם יתברך.

[עי"א]