לזכות רפואת רות ויקטוריה בת תהילה רובידה וחיה חנה בת אורנה אדל בתוך שח"י
Binyamin Franklin
ישב ישראל בשטים. Israel abode in Shittim, etc. What need was there for the Torah to write this introduction? Tanchuma on our verse explains that the location was a cause for the seduction to succeed as it inclined them towards immoral behavior. As long as the Israelites had dwelled in the desert instead of in or near populated areas there had not been a single incidence of unchaste behavior. The Torah may have indicated that this place was singularly apt to arouse the animalistic instincts in man. The immediate cause may have been that the Israelites took leisurely strolls in the neighborhood of their camp and encountered Moabite women. The root of the word שטים occurs where the Torah describes the daily stroll to pick up the manna with the words שטו העם ולקטו and Rashi explains that שייט means "טיול". So the reason they strayed was b/c they were in this place.
SHALLOMMMMMMMMM SWEEEETEST FRIENDSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tonight and tomorrow is the yahrtzeit of my erstwhile "neighbor", the OHR HACHAIM HAKADOSH!!! I have very few merits in this world but one thing I cherish is that I lived for 18 years on Ohr Hachaim street in the Old City opposite the shul where Rav Chaim ben Attar was Rav [and earlier the Arizal was born!!!!]. So a Torah from the Holy Rav!!!
In this weeks Parsha it says:
ויֵּ֥שֶׁב יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בַּשִּׁטִּ֑ים וַיָּ֣חֶל הָעָ֔ם לִזְנ֖וֹת אֶל־בְּנ֥וֹת מוֹאָֽב.
Israel dwelled in Shittim; and the people began to engage in forbidden relations with the daughters of Moav.
OYYYYYYYYYYYYY VEYYYYYYYYY!!!!! BAAAAAAAAAADDDDDD NEWWWSSSSSS!!!!
How did this happen that Jewish boys went after these non-Jewish girls??
First - a story...
A young man is standing at a train station and sees an older man and asks him what time it is. The man ignores him. This happened a second and third time. Finally. the exasperated young man asked why the man is ignoring him.
The man explained: If I would answer you, that would lead to a conversation. Then when the train comes, you would sit next to me. Then you would discover that I live in the town you are going to and you would ask me if you could stay over for a few days. I would agree. Then in my house you would meet my attractive young daughter and you would take a liking to each other and decide to marry. And frankly, I don't want a son in law who doesn't even own a watch!!!!😂😃
The moral of the story [from Rav Bleich Shlita]: You have to have foresight [if you have glasses then you have foursight]. If you want to prevent a mixed marriage, the time is NOT after a boy is on a secular college campus and falls for a Gentile girl. The right time is when the children are young and we give them a solid Jewish education and teach them the importance of perpetuating the Jewish people.
In order for the Jews to fall for these Moabite girls - something had to happen first. What was that?
Says Rabbeinu ztz'l:
וישב ישראל בשטים וגו׳ – צריך לדעת מה צורך בהודעת מאמר זה, ורז״ל (מד״ר ותנחומא) העירו בזה ואמרו כי להודיעך בא כי זה סיבה לזנות וכו׳ לפי שהמקום מטבעו לעורר טבע התאוה הבהמית, ונראה לפרש שהכתוב יעיד סיבת הזנות שהיתה לפי שיצאו העם לטייל חוץ למחנה ישראל ושם נמצאו בנות מואב, והוא אומרו וישב ישראל בשטים פירוש במקום שהיו מטיילים בו חוץ למחניהם, ושטים הוא לשון טיולים כדרך אומרו (יא ח) שטו העם ופירש״י שם וזה לשונו אין שייט אלא לשון טיול, וזה סיבת ויחל העם לזנות.
ישב ישראל בשטים. Israel abode in Shittim, etc. What need was there for the Torah to write this introduction? Tanchuma on our verse explains that the location was a cause for the seduction to succeed as it inclined them towards immoral behavior. As long as the Israelites had dwelled in the desert instead of in or near populated areas there had not been a single incidence of unchaste behavior. The Torah may have indicated that this place was singularly apt to arouse the animalistic instincts in man. The immediate cause may have been that the Israelites took leisurely strolls in the neighborhood of their camp and encountered Moabite women. The root of the word שטים occurs where the Torah describes the daily stroll to pick up the manna with the words שטו העם ולקטו and Rashi explains that שייט means "טיול". So the reason they strayed was b/c they were in this place.
AHHHHHH - so it was the place!! Dey was in de wrooooooong place at de wroooong time!!!!! Had they not been in this place and taken leisurely strolls around, they never would have gotten into trouble! 😕
Then what happened? The Gemara [Sanhedrin 106a] relates:
Bilaam said to them: The God of these Jewish people despises lewdness, and they desire linen garments, as they have no new garments; come, and I will give you advice. Make for them enclosures using wall hangings and seat prostitutes in them, with an old woman outside the enclosure and a young woman inside, and have the women sell them linen garments. Balak made for them enclosures using wall hangings from the snow mountain, the Ḥermon, until Beit HaYeshimot, and he sat prostitutes in them, with an old woman outside and a young woman on the inside. And at the time when Jewish people were eating and drinking and were glad and going out to stroll in the marketplace, the old woman would say to a Jew: Aren’t you seeking linen garments? He would enter the enclosure and ask the price, the old woman would quote him a price equal to its value, and the young woman would quote him a price less than its value. That scenario would repeat itself two or three times. And thereafter she would say to him: You are like a member of our household, sit and choose for yourself the merchandise that you want. And a jug of Ammonite wine was placed near her, and neither Ammonite wine nor gentile wine had been prohibited yet for Jews. She said to him: Is it your wish to drink a cup of wine? Once he drank the wine, his evil inclination burned within him.
He then said to her: Submit to me and engage in intercourse with me. She then removed the idol that she worshipped from her lap and said to him: Worship this. He said to her: Am I not Jewish? I am therefore forbidden from engaging in idol worship. She said to him: And what is your concern? We are asking you to do nothing more than defecate in its presence. But he does not know that its worship is conducted in that manner. Once he did so, she said to him: Moreover, I will not leave you until you deny the Torah of Moses your teacher, as it is stated: “But when they came to Ba’al-Peor they separated themselves to the shameful item; and they became detestable like that which they loved” (Hosea 9:10). They devoted themselves to the disgrace of defecation, and detested the name of God.
It started out SOOOOOOO innocently!!! Jews looking for a metzia in textiles. Like - so US! My maternal grandfather was a fine Yid in the textile business and so Jews have been from time immemorial. So the unattractive old Gentile bubbe offers a higher price - the Jew doesn't like the bubbe and he doesn't like the price - and the young pretty one inside offers him a bahhhgain!!!!! What Jew can refuse aza metzia???
Then she invites him in, he gets comfortable, a glass of wine and ......... DISASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Read every Sunday Times:
"This Sunday, Joshua Aaron Cohen will wed Patricia Hyper Goyisha. The groom is a partner at Goldberg, Steinberg, and Weisberg Hedge fund. He is pulling in big bucks. Farshtaytzach. The bride is an associate lawyer at the Fine, Feldblum and Friedman [they chose their partners mainly for alliteration purposes] law firm [she is their token Gentile]. They met at Cornell University and dated for 11 years before Joshua [couldn't take the pressure Patricia was putting on him to get married and she even threatened to dump him] romantically proposed on the Central Park lawn on Valentine's Day.
The wedding will be performed at St. Patrick's Cathedral by Father Harry O'Reilly assisted by Rabbi Sally Schnitzelover [reminding us of the epic flick "When Harry Met Sally"😂😉 ].
The groom's parents are Dr. Daniel Cohen, head of the geriatric department at Mount Sinai Hospital and Judith Cohen, a psychologist in private practice. The bride's parents are Carl Goyisha, who works as an assistant to Mayor DeBlasio [if not the least popular mayor in NYC history then at least the most despised mayor in NYC history] and [his ex and despised wife] Jill McColdweatherspoon who is the head nursery teacher at Mother Mary Parochial school [and always telling the children to wear sweaters and warm coats].
The bride will be keeping her maiden name as "Patricia Hyper Goyisha Cohen" is too weird. And just calling herself Patricia Cohen is too patriarchal. They will live on Manhattan's Upper West Side b/c Boro Park is just not their speed."
There is about 70 percent intermarriage in the US and it is b/c children aren't probably raised as Jews so when the time comes to get married, they have no problem marrying out of the faith - b/c they lack faith.... SOOOOOOOOOOOO SAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The message from this Parsha for us!!!!!:
Most of us have potentially all of the sins of Moav and much much more in our hands and pockets at all times. We have to be awfullllllyyyyy careful where we go. So many fine Jews have fallen so low. So many marriages have broken apart. So many people have strayed from the holy path - all b/c people were in the "wrong place at the wrong time".
This applies not only to technology but in general. We have to be VERRRRRYYYY careful not to put ourselves in situations where we could G-d forbid fall into the depths of gehenom on earth. Once we are in a situation, we have almost no chance. We have to look ahead and avoid any dangerous encounters. As we pray daily "ואל תביאנו לא לידי ניסיון"!!!
A Sweet Shabbos of chizzuk-in-avoiding-nisyonos-and-strengthened-kedusha-and-tahara-in-what-we-see-say-and-think!!
LOVE AND BLESSINGS TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!😀😄😘
