4 Questions On The Parsha

Leah was SOOOOO happy that she had more than her portion of children [she was only supposed to have 3], so when number four was born, she called him Yehuda "הפעם אודה את השם" - This time I will thank Hashem. Then it says that she stopped having babies ותעמוד מלדת.

Four questions from the Rebbe Shlita:

1] Why didn't she call her son אודה. Why יהודה? I think that אודה is a really nice name. [I actually wanted to name one of my twin sons אודה. But I never had twins....]

2] Why does she only thank Hashem because she received MORE than her portion. Shouldn't she thank Hashem for EVERYTHING? Each child deserves special thanks, not just the extras.

3] Why does the Torah say ONLY ABOUT LEAH ותעמוד מלדת and not about any of the other imahos? Why? They also stopped giving birth at some point.

4] The gemara [Brachos 7] says that Leah was the first person to thank Hashem. Odd, as there are medrashim that Adam thanked Hashem, Noach thanked Hashem and Eliezer thanked Hashem. They were a bit before Leah? 

נופר בת אורית

A 17 year old girl was hit by an Arab driver on Sunday  She is from the Elazar community  She is hemorrhaging from her brain and they can't control it  Nofar Bat Orit  May she have a complete and speedy recovery and may she be the last and final victim in Klal Yisroel

What Might Happen When Someone Doesn't Have Torah

If the fetus does not have the same claim to life as a person, it appears that the newborn baby does not either, and the life of a newborn baby is of less value to it than the life of a pig, a dog, or a chimpanzee is to the nonhuman animal.
If we can put aside these emotionally moving but strictly irrelevant aspects of the killing of a baby we can see that the grounds for not killing persons do not apply to newborn infants. (Practical Ethics)

Who is the author of this statement? A Nazi perhaps??

No, actually a Jew, Ben Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. A son of refugees from Vienna before the war and world renowned professor [and, in theory, murderer].

I wonder what I missed out on by not attending university. On a purely moral level, I believe that I missed out on nothing of value [even though universities have turned into vocational schools but that is besides the point].

A talmid chochom brought a pasuk in Hoshea [13/2] to my attention: זבחי אדם עגלים ישקון - Slaughterers of man, kissers of calves.

This same professor thinks there is nothing morally wrong with a human being having relations with an animal. And how about this zinger: "In fact, an intelligent adult ape has more conscious interests than a newborn human infant. Therefore, faced with the choice of rescuing from a fire either a severely retarded infant, who is unlikely to develop many preferences in the future, and an ape, we should rescue the ape. To think otherwise is simple bigotry, an example of speciesism. We should no more be speciesists than racists or sexists."

All one has to do is reject the concept of tzelem Elokim and all human beings are just over-developed animals. My ninth grade biology teacher enjoyed reminding us that we are all just animals. I should have told him to speak for himself....

A young boy approached his mother and asked "Where do I come from?". His mother answered "From me and daddy." The child didn't relent. "And where do you and daddy come from?" The mother answered "From our parents." "And where do they come from?" "From their parents". "Yes, but where did the first parents come from?" The mother answered "Adam and Eve were created by G-d".

The child was a seeker so he asked his father the same series of questions and received the same answers until he asked him where the first people came from. The father, a tenured Professor at Yale, answered "The first people descended from monkeys".

The child, ever curious, returned to his mother and asked her "Daddy says that the first people came from monkeys but you told me that the first people came from G-d?"

The mother answered "Ahhhhhhh, we are both right. My side of the family came from G-d and your father's side of the family came from monkeys...."

What To Do When Waiting For Hashem's Help

A Jew had a lot of tzaros and went to see Rav Yisrael of Rizhin for a bracha and advice. When he left, the Rebbe's 11 year old son, Dovid [who later became the Heilige Chortkover Rebbe] asked what his father had said. The man said that the Rebbe told him that Hashem will help. The boy told the man to go back in and ask what will be until Hashem helps. The man went back in and told Dovid that the Rebbe said that until Hashem helps ..... Hashem will help:-).

Little Dovid said that this is the meaning of the pasuk in Parshas Vayeitzei "כי לא אעזבך עד אשר עשיתי את אשר דיברתי לך" - I will not abandon you until I do as I promised. Meaning, that until Hashem helps, He will help.

לזכות גיטל פייגע בת ביילא בלומא להצלחה  בכל העניינים

Misplaced Tears

There is an interesting letter from Rav Kook to his son [also known, oddly enough, as Rav Kook]. There was a period when his son was a vegetarian and his father asked that he not let it affect his health. He also told him not to be swayed by animal rights activists, many of whom HATE people and care only about animals.

This past Motzei Shabbos, at the melave malka tisch, the Rebbe Shlita related that when he was young he read the memoirs of a certain Nazi. This Nazi would write in his diary daily with satisfaction how many people he had sent to their deaths. 500, 1000, 2000 - Kol hamarbeh harei zeh meshubash [in his twisted, evil mind]. He never shed a tear or expressed guilt.

Then a "tragedy" befell him. His beloved dog was "niftar". It was extremely difficult for him to deal with the loss. Then he did something he never did for the thousands upon thousand of Jews he tortured and killed.

He cried.

Zachor eis asher asah licha Amalek. Yimach shmom vi-zichrom li-olmei ad!!!

Go To The Source

What does the pasuk in tehillim [and Hallel] mean when it says "Hashem li bozroi, vi-ani er-eh bi-sonai. Tov lachasos baShem mibtoach b'adam" - Hashem is with me with my helpers and I will see my enemies. It is better to take refuge in Hashem than in people [translation from "Allyscroll siddur" as of yet unpublished].

Moshol: A person has a court case so he gets anyone he can to speak to the judge to convince him to give a favorable judgement. In Israel this is called " ויטימן P" [Protektzia, which means inside connections]. But then he realizes that, Hey, he can speak to the judge himself.

"Hashem is with me with my helpers" - I know that all of my helpers are just messengers of Hashem to help me and have no independent power. "And I will see my enemies" - All of my enemies are ALSO just agents carrying out the Divine will.

But "Hey" - the " ה" stands for "Hashem", why don't I just turn directly to the Source. "It is better to take refuge in Hashem than in nobles". Forget the vitamin P and turn to the King of Kings!

Normal? GEVALLLDIK!

[From a letter of Rav Kook after the San Remo conference in 1920, printed in Igros Ri-iyah Vol.4 Page 56]

Lizchus Gittel Feiga bas Beila Bluma livracha vi-hatzlacha bichol ha-inyanim!

Makes You Wonder...

So weiiirrddd!

Rivka tells Yaakov 27/9] to take two goats for me. Rashi says that it was hers - קח לי - because her husband promised her in the ksuba two goats a day.

In the NEXT RASHI he asks does a person eat two goats a day [see there]? Of course not. So if people don't eat so much - why did Yitzchak promise it to Rivka?? Would I promise my wife six pizza pies a day?? A bit much. So why did Yitzchak promise Rivka so much more than she needed?

[Heard from the Rebbe Shlita]

Answers can be sent to me or my secretary.