Short & Sweet

Ki Savo: Don’t Deny It

When one brings his ביכורים to the Beis HaMikdosh, one is required to recite a long list of all the good that Hashem has done for us as a nation. Rashi explains that this is so we shouldn’t be כפוי טובה, deniers of the good that Hashem has given us. But why does Rashi say this as a double negative, don’t deny, instead of just saying the simpler phrase הכרת הטוב, recognize the good?

Many suggest that in truth, we can never fully acknowledge everything Hashem has done for us. Literally everything we have is a gift from Hashem: we could never make a list of His gifts that is close to complete. All we can do is not deny how much Hashem has given us.

As we approach Rosh Hashanah, we should be careful not to think only of the all the things that we’d like to ask of Hashem. We must also recognize, or at least not deny, how much Hashem has given to us, and how much we really owe Him.

לעילוי נשמת ר׳ חיים דוב בן בןציון שלום

Chayei Sarah: Look Behind & Look Ahead

The acceptable methods of קנין that can begin a marriage are learnt from a surprising place; from Avraham buying a plot to bury his wife. Why does the Torah teach us how to start a marriage from such a morbid place?

On a philosophical note, R’ Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that in order to go into the future, one needs to first look back into the past. To be successful, every Jewish home must view itself as a continuation of the mission of our ancestors, as a link in the chain going back to this cave in Chevron where the Avos and Imahos lie.

On a psychological note, we can suggest that this is meant to remind us that nothing lasts forever, and we should never take our most cherished relationships for granted.

לעילו נשמת ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Vayakhel/Pikudei: Just Do It

Most of the Parsha can be summed up in three words: they did it. After giving us a detailed list of what had to be done to build the Mishkan, the Torah repeats it all when Bnei Yisroel followed the instructions. Why is there such a focus on people just following instructions?

Much of our learning focuses on ideals and theories. But all that learning is useless if we fail when it comes time to bring it into practice. Don’t just ponder your ideals – live them.

Nobody will deny the value of life. But now it’s time to put that ideal into practice by sacrificing some of our comforts (and sanity) in order to avoid putting others in danger.

It’s easy to talk about the beauty of teffilah. But with the Shuls closed, will we still use some of the extra time we have on our hands to Daven more instead of less?

Family is always a priority. But now that we’re all cooped up together, will we make sure to use the time to grow closer instead of just getting on each other’s nerves?

לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום
לרפ״ש דוד חיים בן עטל

Acharei Mos: Fork in the Road

At the height of the עבודה של יום הכיפורים, the Kohen Gadol takes two goats that are almost exactly alike and randomly selects one to be a Korban whose blood is sprinkled in the קודש הקדשים, and one to “bear the aveiros of the people” to the desert.

R’ Samson Raphael Hirsch writes that this is symbolic of the overarching life choice we all make. Standing in front of the Torah, represented by the קודש הקדשים, there are two paths to choose from. Will we sacrifice our personal desires (represented by שחיטה) in order to be able to enter into Hashem’s Presence? Or will we remain in our raw and unrefined state (יעמד חי), and let our desires lead us into the wilderness, to eventually tear us apart?

By so graphically illustrating the difference between the two choices, hopefully we can incentivize ourselves to take the right path.

‎לע״נ דוד חיים בו ישראל דוב הכהן
‎לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בו ר׳ בןציון שלום

Naso: It’s Personal

Parshas Naso is the longest single parsha in the Torah, due in no small part to the fact that it spells out the details of the Korban of each Nasi, despite them all being exactly the same. If each letter in the Torah is there to teach us something, approximately 50 extra פסוקים must be really trying to drive home a point. What is this lesson that the Torah considers so important?

It is easy to feel like our actions don’t really matter. What are, the six millionth and some odd person to keep Torah and mitzvos?

This parsha teaches is that that’s not the way Hashem sees it. To Him, each Nasi wasn’t just one of twelve people bringing an identical Korban. It was his beloved son נחשון bringing a special Korban. The next day it was His beloved son נתנאל, bringing a special Korban.

Hashem doesn’t see it as numbers, He sees each individual person; His beloved child coming to develop a relationship with Him. Never think your actions don’t personally matter to Hashem.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Shelach: Implicit Bias

One of the biggest mistakes in Jewish history was made by the Meraglim. The Meraglim tried to convince the people not to enter Eretz Yisroel, eventually even denying Hashem’s ability to conquer the land in their efforts. Thanks to this, the entire generation died in the desert and the Churban of Tisha b’Av was decreed. How did they sink so low?

The Shelah explains, based on the Zohar, that the Meraglim were concerned that when the nation would enter Eretz Yisroel, they would lose their position of authority that they currently held. Therefore, they had their own personal interest in trying to convince the people to stay in the desert, despite the disastrous results that this would have.

The Baalei Mussar point out that each of has our own personal נגיעות that may cause us to make illogical decisions. But often we aren’t even aware of this conflict of interest. Only by searching out what is truly driving us to make our choices can we manage to improve them.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Chukas: Do You Exist?

The Gemora famously tells us, based on the the Pasuk in this week’s parsha זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל, that the Torah is only מתקיים by a person who “kills” himself for it. What exactly is that supposed to mean?

Perhaps we can explain this with the attitude of Rebbi Akiva. When asked why he was teaching Torah despite the danger involved, he compared leaving the Torah to a fish leaving the water – certain death. He recognized that for a Jew to exist without Torah is simply not possible. כי הם חיינו ואורך ימינו, the Torah is our very existence and identity. When we truly feel that we cannot be without it, that is when we become one with Hashem’s Torah.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Massei: Moving On

R’ Asher Areilli expressed a beautiful thought on the passuk
‎וַיִּסְע֖וּ מֵרְפִידִ֑ם וַֽיַּחֲנ֖וּ בְּמִדְבַּ֥ר סִינָֽי
We know that רפידים is so named because it was there that the Jews were רפו ידיהם מן התורה, weakened their commitment to the Torah. And yet, pointed out R’ Asher, they were still able to move on to Har Sinai.

Everybody has bad days. But you can’t let the inevitable bumps in the road make you forget your goal. Yes, you fell short. But you can still pick yourself up and keep going. Don’t let your failures define you.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Devarim: Words Matter

Rashi famously explains that the names of all of the places that Moshe went out of his way to list were gentle reminders of all the aveiros that the nation had committed in those places.

R’ Chaim Shmuelevitz points out although Moshe felt it was necessary to rebuke the nation for what they had done wrong, he still managed to do it in a tactful way. How much more so should those of who don’t always have such noble intentions be careful that our words do not cause any hurt.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Veschanan: Guided Good

On the Passuk of ואהבת את ה׳ אלוקיך בכל לבבך, Rashi quotes the famous Maamar Chazal that one is supposed to serve Hashem with both the Yetzer Tov and the Yetzer Hara. Much ink has been spilled explaining how one can serve Hashem with their Yetzer Hara, but R’ Moshe Feinstein asks a more basic question: why do we need to be instructed to serve Hashem with our Yetzer Tov, what else would we be doing with it?

R’ Moshe explains that even good intentions, if not properly channeled, can lead to bad actions. As the Chazal taught us, those who are kind to the cruel will eventually be cruel to the kind. It is not enough just to mean well; one’s good intentions must be channeled into actions explicitly endorsed by the Torah, as interpreted by Chazal and Halacha.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Ki Savo: Work Hard

The Meforshim are bothered by several questions on the Pasuk of אֲרַמִּי֙ אֹבֵ֣ד אָבִ֔י וַיֵּ֣רֶד מִצְרַ֔יְמָה: First of all, what does Lavan bothering Yaakov have to do with going down to Mitrayim? Secondly, why does the Pasuk seem to imply that Lavan did destroy Yaakov if he was ultimately unsuccessful in doing so?

The Kli Yakar has a fascinating explanation. He writes that on some level, Lavan did destroy Yaakov. From the time they spent together, Yaakov was affected by Lavan’s attitude towards this world. This why Yaakov was ביקש לישב בשלוה, slightly too concerned with his comfort in this world. And that is why Klal Yisroel had to go down to Mitzrayim; by experiencing being forced into backbreaking labor, they were able to internalize that אדם לעמל יולד.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל גוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Vayelech: Reconnecting

Hashem tells Moshe some bad news in this weeks Parsha: after Moshe dies, the people will stray from the path, no longer doing what they are supposed to do and being who they are supposed to be. The consequences will be dire, mostly along the theme of: והסתרתי פני מהם, I will hide my face from them. If they turn their backs on me, I will turn my back them. There is no greater punishment than this. If you don’t want to develop a relationship with your Father in heaven, then you just won’t have one.

The מבי״ט writes in בית אלוקים that although חרטה and עזיבת החטא are necessary components of Teshuva, they are not the actual essence of Teshuva. Teshuva literally means to return. If someone gets into a fight with a loved one, it is not enough to merely say sorry; they have to rebuild the relationship in order for it to go back to being what it used to be. Teshuva is that process of making it up to Hashem, of fixing what we broke, of coming back to once again be with Him.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

Sukkos: What’s the Shake all About?

Although m’ikkar ha’din one can fulfill the mitzva of lulav and esrog by merely picking them up, the משנה tells us to shake them during הלל when saying הודו לה׳ כי טוב and אנא ה׳ הושיעה נא.

Based on medrashim, the תפארת ישראל explains that shaking the four species symbolizes shaking of every part of our body and soul in fervent prayer to Hashem, to both thank Him for all He’s given us and to request that His kindness continue to surround us.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע”נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום