Close To Torah

This Week’s Question

Who is the only person whose date of death (Yahrtziet) is mentioned explicitly in the Torah? Why is this so?

Last Week’s Question: Bris Trivia

How is it possible to have two brothers who were born on THE SAME DAY and were both healthy, yet they had their Bris, circumcision, on two different days as dictated by Torah law?

Our Answer:

They were both born on Shabbos and one was born by cesarean. Therefore, their Bris on the eighth day falls out on Shabbos. However, the one that was born by way of c-section does not allow for a circumcision on Shabbos and is instead performed on Sunday, unlike the natural born one whose Bris is on Shabbos. Hence, two healthy twin brothers have different Bris days.

The word זג, pair, is the expression of marriage. In Hebrew, the two letters that follow these in the alphabet are חד, one. This is the goal of the “zug”, to become one!

May they merit this!

ועתה ישראל מה ה’ אלקיך שואל מעמך… (י:יב).

“Behold Israel, what does Hashem requests from you…” (10:12).

This verse is the scriptural hint to the rabbinical Mitzvah of pronouncing Me’ah Berachos, one hundred blessings a day! Let us understand what this is all about.

Originally, this precept was enacted by Moshe Rabbeinu. After time, it was partially forgotten and neglected. King David came along and reinstated it as a protection against a terrible plague that was killing one hundred men every day! [See Tur (OC 46) and Kad HaKemach (Erech Berachah)]. The Gemara Menachos (43b) tells us that a play on words spells out this obligation. Read the verse replacing the word מה with מאה. “Hashem requests one hundred (blessings) from you!” The Commentators struggle with the strength of this hint and offer many other hints found in the verse.

The Baal HaTurim adds two other points here. Firstly, the verse itself contains a total of one hundred letters! Additionally, the word ממך has the numerical value of one hundred. Hinting to the fact that Hashem desires one hundred Blessings, ממך, from you! What is the understanding of all three of these hints?

In a relationship, we have the opportunity to develop closeness by expressing gratitude and thanks. This is the way that people grow dearer, by recognizing and appreciating what the other provides for them and expressing thanks! Hence, in our relationship with Hashem we make Berachos! Berachos are a vehicle through which we acknowledge all that Hashem so generously provides us with! There are three requirements for this. The best thank you is expressed with the following three characteristics:

1- It is well thought out.

2- It is stated articulately and not mumbled.

3- It emanates from our own heart, and is not forced.

I believe that this is what the three hints found in the verse express!

1- מה and מאה: The Berachos should be thought out, otherwise they are מה, not worth too much (Based on Sefer HaChaim)!

2- 100 Letters: This shows that it should be expressed clearly and not just sped through sloppily, just as every letter in the verse is important and expressed!

3- ממך: Hints to the idea that it must come from you!

These are the keys to the best blessing and thanks to Hashem!

In the building of the Mishkan, we find the appearance of the number one hundred in a unique place. There were one hundred sockets that held up the walls of the Mishkan. They were the foundation and ground support for the entire building. (The reason that there were two sockets per each of the fifty wall beams, though intriguing, is beyond the scope of this essay.) The purpose of the Mishkan was to provide a dwelling place for Hashem in this world. Our job is to bring Hashem into our lives as well. Hence, Chazal established for us guidelines as to how to accomplish this bond. They gave us Me’ah Berachos which are the foundation for getting close to Hashem! When we make a Berachah, we are thanking Hashem and bringing down many more blessings in return for our gratitude! Just as the sockets were the support and foundation of the Mishkan, so too Me’ah Berachos are the foundation of gratitude and support of our relationship with Hashem.

May we all merit that Hashem should bestow His blessings upon us in return for our proper adherence and care in making Berachos properly for Him!

Many people think that Judaism purports the superiority of one gender over the other. This is absolutely false. We believe that each gender has their role and specialization. Just as some people are born with natural talents, the male and female respectively have their specific abilities.

It is only in the union of the two that the home becomes complete.

This idea is expressed by an amazing Gematria. The inner letters of both the word אשה, woman, and איש, man, are the same. They equal 180. This is to show that Judaism doesn’t favor one. Rather, on the outside each has different capabilities and missions, but as far as achieving the essence of our mission here of getting close to Hashem, they are both equal!

ואתחנן אל ה’ בעת ההיא לאמר (ג:כג).

“I (Moshe) supplicated before Hashem…” (3:23).

The Midrash (Rabbah and Yalkut Shimoni) on this verse states that there are thirteen types of prayers which people can utilize when davening to Hashem. I would like to briefly explain them and then answer a noteworthy question. Considering all of his choices, what is the reason that Moshe begged Hashem to allow him to enter Eretz Yisrael specifically utilizing the tactic of ואתחנן, supplication? Anyone wishing to get a fuller understanding of any of these beautiful prayer-styles is referred to the Sefer She’arim B’Tefillah by Rabbi Shimshon Pincus zt”l which is the basis for the following list of explanations.

The thirteen types are found throughout Tanach and are in no specific order. Different ones are appreciated and utilized by different people, with varied situations and emotions. Many of them can be used together as well. As one reads through the outline, one will see how these thirteen general categories cover all types of prayers and express many deep emotional chords of Tefillah in one’s heart. Here they are in a nutshell:

1 בִיצוֹר – Bitzor: To call to Hashem when in need.

2 שַעַוָה – Shaavah: A hysterical yet verbally expressed cry to Hashem.

3 צְעָקָה – Zaakah: A hysterical cry to Hashem without words.

4 נַאַקָה – Naakah: A feeling of pain transformed into a vehicle to cry to Hashem.

5 רִינָה – Rinah: Happiness and praise that we have Hashem to call to!

6 פְגִיעָה – Pigiyah: A strong yet respectful demanding of one’s needs.

7 קְרִיאָה – K’riyah: A full recognition that Hashem is listening to me.

8 נִיפוּל – Nipul: A cognizance that only Hashem can help me!

9 פִילוּל – Pilul: A moment of true accounting and bond with Hashem.

10 תַחָנוּנִים – Tachnunim: A reliance only on Hashem’s mercy and not on personal merit.

11 חִילוּי – Chiloy: An emotional plea reminding Hashem of the merits of our forefathers.

12 עַמִידָה – Amidah: To wholeheartedly accept to follow whatever Hashem’s will dictates.

13 עִיתוּר – I’tur: To daven again and never give up!

This list is by no means a complete explanation, but I hope that it provided a general picture or reminder for those already familiar with these ever beautiful feelings and expressions.

What remains is an explanation as to why Moshe chose type ten (תחנונים) as his mode of prayer to gain entrance into Eretz Yisrael. Additionally, why did the Midrash wait to bring down these thirteen categories only now, these words of prayer appear numerous times before the word ואתחנן which is at the end of the Torah?! I believe that one answer explains it all!

Moshe was a great man who certainly had many merits of his own. Yet, when he came before Hashem to plead for mercy, he never mentioned his own merits! Rather, he begged Hashem to have mercy upon him as a free gift of kindness which Hashem gives to those in need! This is the greatness and modesty of Moshe Rabbeinu!

The Midrash waited for this verse to lay out all of the prayer options in order to stress that Moshe had many choices. He could have focused on his pain or made strong demands. But he didn’t! Why did he choose the expression which he used? Because of his great humility. (This explanation is almost explicit in the words of the Midrash.) This is the foundation of all prayer, to stand before Hashem in humility. May Hashem answer all of our prayers for the best!

There is a fascinating historical observation to be made. I believe that this point brings out one of the most powerful themes of the day. Let us examine it and see what we can learn as we struggle to find hope and inspiration on this nationally sad day.

We fast for the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash on Tisha B’Av, the 9th of Av. However, this is difficult to understand. The Gemara in Taanis (29a) states that the enemy only began the fire upon the Mikdash at late evening of the 9th of Av. The fire caught on and burned down the holy site throughout the entire 10th of Av, night and day. In fact, Rebbe Yochanan says that had the decision been his, he would have made the 10th of Av the day of mourning and not the 9th! Why was this not followed? The Rabbis answered him, that although the majority of the destruction took place on the 10th, we must note the beginning of the trouble and mourn starting from then. This explanation is very significant.

The Gemara (Sukka 52a) tells us that when Moshiach will come, Hashem will slaughter the Yetzer Hara, Evil Inclination. The Tzaddikim and Risha’im will watch and each will cry. The righteous people will perceive the Yetzer Hara as a mountain. They will cry in disbelief that they were able to overcome such a great challenge. The evil people will perceive him as a small hair. They will weep in retrospect that such a small thing distracted them from living their lives productively.

The question is, whose perspective is correct? Is the Yetzer Hara a mountain or is he a hair? The answer is that the sinners are correct. In truth, he really is a small and worthless creature. So what is the mountain? The answer is that it refers to foresight. The Yetzer Hara tries to get us by means of a gradual buildup. He doesn’t come to tempt us with the greatest sins first. We would never listen. Rather, he begins his lure with small things, gradually expanding the victim’s horizon. Slowly but surely he gets one to sin until one day he is able to escalate the gravity of the sins and persuade one to indulge in something that in the past he would have never dared to commit (based on Nidda 13b).

A fool does not think ahead. He justifies his actions by stating that, “it’s not a big deal”. Slowly and daily he gets more deeply sucked into the clutches of failure. The wise man understands the ramifications of his actions and knows that if he gives in to one temptation, the next time it will only be harder. The Yetzer Hara will keep building from today’s small hair, to his ultimate large mountain!

Hence, the Risha’im are correct in seeing him only as a small hair. Sins are worthless and begin small. However, the Tzaddikim have the wisdom and foresight to realize that small sins only lead to a large mountain of destruction.

This is the foresight of life. In order to succeed we must train ourselves to think ahead. We should not make light of our choices before us. We must see that the actions we take have significant ramifications.

Before Hashem sent us into exile, he sent prophet after prophet to warn us to mend our ways. The Jews were too stubborn to listen; they hid behind the fact that that their actions were only insignificant “hairs”, small sins. However, their permissiveness build up to the point that they began committing “mountainous” sins of murder, adultery, Avoda Zara and destructive speech. They were out of control. Hashem now had to put them in their place and stir them from their illusion.

If we go back to the original sin that happened on the first Tisha B’Av ever, we will find the same concept. Hashem told the Jews that He would bring them into Eretz Yisrael and take care of them. They however, did not trust Him and insisted on sending spies to check out the land. The spies came back with their slanderous report and the Jews spent the night crying. Hashem was enraged and decreed that because of their distrust He would now give them something to cry for. A “small” act that had terrible ramifications.

The Rabbis specifically instruct us to fast on the 9th of Av. This is to show us the significance of foresight. They are training us to see a small fire and the end result of destruction that it could bring. The entire day begs us to accept the message of effective thought. We are taught to see the ramifications of our actions. May we all use the day to its fullest.

Yes I will put this up and am risking the feedback that I will get for it! (Collected from too many sources to recount.)

-A husband said to his wife, “No, I don’t hate your relatives. In fact, I like your mother-in-law better than I like mine”.

-A man said his credit card was stolen but he decided not to report it because the thief was spending less than his wife did.

-“I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,
A hall filled with family and friends.
I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,
He said, one that would make me his wife”.

-Married for many years, Jack had been ignored by his wife, Liz, for a while, and so he eventually confronted her with what he perceived as the problem.

“Come on Liz, admit it”, he ranted, “you only married me because my granddad left me $6 million, didn’t you?”

“You really are silly, Jack,” retorted Liz loudly, “I couldn’t care less who left it to you”.

-“Dear, don’t expect the first few meals to be great. It takes time to find the right restaurant.”

-To be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot and love him a little.

To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and try not tounderstand her at all.

-Marriage is not a word. It is a sentence… a life sentence.

-God told Adam about the greatness of the woman he was to present him with. “Wow”, said Adam, “she sounds like she will cost me an arm and a leg, what can I get for a rib…?”

-A big-game hunter went on a safari with his new wife and mother-in-law. One evening, while still deep in the jungle, the wife awoke to find her mother gone. Rushing to her husband, she insisted on them both trying to find her mother.

The hunter picked up his rifle and began the search. In a clearing not far from the camp, they came upon a chilling sight. The mother-in-law was backed up against a thick, impenetrable bush, and a large male lion stood facing her.

The wife cried, “What are we going to do?”

“Nothing,” said the hunter husband. “The lion got himself into this mess, let him get himself out of it!”

-The child was a typical young boy, inquisitive, and bright. When he expressed difficulty in grasping the concept of marriage, his father decided to pull out his wedding photo album, thinking that visual images would help.

One page after another, he pointed out the groom and bride, the wedding ceremony, the dancing, etc.

“Now do you understand, son?” he asked. “Yes,” he said. “That was the day that mommy came to work for us!”

-A woman was telling her friend , “It was I who made my husband a millionaire.”
“And what was he before you married him?” asked the friend.
The woman replied, “A multi-millionaire”.

-At breakfast one morning, a woman said to her husband, “I bet you don’t even know what today is”. “Of course I do,” he indignantly answered, going out the door on his way to the office.

At 10 a.m., the doorbell rang, and when the woman opened the door, she was handed a box containing a dozen long-stemmed red roses. At 1 p.m., a foil-wrapped, two pound box of her favorite chocolates arrived. Later, a boutique delivered a designer dress.

The woman couldn’t wait for her husband to come home. “First the flowers, then the candy, and then the dress!” she exclaimed. “I’ve never had a more wonderful Groundhog Day in my whole life!”

-A woman was cleaning out her husband’s drawers when suddenly in the back she found a small carton containing 4 eggs and $3000.

She called her husband to ask him about the box and its strange contents. Embarrassed, he admitted having hidden the box for their entire 25 years of marriage. “But why?”, she asked.

He knew that he had to tell her. The husband replied that he didn’t wanted to hurt her feelings. Every time that she hurt or upset him he would put one egg in the carton and forgive her. She replied, “that’s amazing that there are only four eggs there. So what’s the cash from?” He replied, “every time that I filled the carton up with eggs I would sell it for a dollar!”

אלה הדברים אשר דיבר משה אל כל ישראל… (א:א).

“These are the words that Moshe spoke to all of the Jews” (1:1).

The Sefer of Devarim contains the recounting of all the events which the Jews experienced throughout their forty years in the wilderness. Moshe’s life was drawing to an end and he wished to instill in them a passionate desire to continue on their journey of true service of Hashem. Let us focus on the first verse which opens this communication and draw from it Moshe’s lesson for a lifetime!

Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai (Chid”a, 1724 -1807, a great Talmudist and Kabbalist) points out that there are two concepts being hinted from this verse. The word “אלה, these”, stands for אבק לשון הרע, borderline evil slander. The Gemara (Bava Basrah 165a) states that everyone commits this sin! The next words in the verse, “אשר דיבר משה, which Moshe spoke”, hints to the greatest words taught by him, the holy Torah. Hence, the verse is hinting to two areas which need constant care. They are how one speaks about others and the importance of  Torah learning and application!

I would like to point out one more hint found in the verse and then show a common theme present here. The next three words are, “אל כל ישראל, to every Jew”. This hints to the goal of Achdus, unity, that the people should all be together! Let us develop this.

The first woman that Hashem created was named ‘Chava’. This name stems from the word L’Chavos, to verbalize, hence, her name means ‘talkative’! Additionally, Chazal in Kedushin (49b) tell us that women possess nine out of ten measures of chatter in the world! Before anyone takes offense, please let me explain this beautiful concept which the Torah is expressing with these two facts.

Humans are superior to animals. They have intelligence, freewill and the ability to talk! They are termed “Midaber, speaker”. What does this mean? Speech is the greatest tool of connection and communication. When two people speak, they are able to connect to each other. Even alone, when one speaks out his ideas, he connects to them better. In fact, Chazal summarize man’s job in this world as, “to speak before Hashem in words of Torah and prayer!” Hence, we see the power of talking! When we speak in Torah and when we daven to our Master for His assistance and care, our speech is the conduit which bridges the gap between us and builds true bonds.

Now I ask you, who more than women understand this ability to connect emotionally and deeply through the medium of speech?! This is their greatness when used in the right context. To be able to talk signifies the focus on building a deep relationship and bond with other people and with Hashem. When a woman talks with love to her baby, or chats with her friend in need of an ear, or converses with her husband or family member seeking her counsel, she is forging a deep union and connection!

With the great potential and power of words comes great danger as well. Improperly used words can cause great harm, Hashem-forbid! Moshe wanted to stress to the Jews the importance of properly used speech. Hence, the entire Sefer is called, Devarim, words! He opens his lesson with three hints which are one. Please speak carefully, do not speak borderline slander. This consideration will help build unity. Please use your speech for Torah, the ultimate connector to Hashem.

Indeed, in the rebuke that follows, Moshe lists off all of their sins that revolve around improper speech. They are shown how their words were misused for expressing complaints and questioning Hashem, the Spies slanderous report, Korach’s negative words, and the Golden Calf where blasphemous words of the idol-worshipers persuaded many to sin! Thus, Moshe stressed to them the proper usage of words and its great benefit in building their relationship with Hashem and their fellow people.

“Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will….. emotionally scar me for life!” This is the Torah perspective. Words are powerful! Moshe begged the Jewish people to dedicate themselves to utilize their words for the great task of positive construction and harmony! Words connect us to Hashem and to each other.

This Week’s Question: Bris Trivia

How is it possible to have two twin brothers who were born on THE SAME DAY and were both healthy, yet they had their Bris, circumcision, on two different days as dictated by Torah law?

Last Week’s Question: Timely Delivery

In the Shlah HaKadosh’s prayer for finding a mate, he states that we pray that our match should come, “b’ito u’vzmano”. What is the difference between the two words, ase and zman?

Our Answer:

See Koheles (3:1). “There is a time for everything, and a time for everything wanted under the sun”. This is the source for the usage of these two words.

The word “zman” means set allotted time. The word “ase” comes from the word, “atah, now”. It refers to an earlier time. Hence, this is hinted on the verse itself which says that there is an “ase lchol chaifetz”. It stresses that the word “ase” refers to something that is desired and longed for. Everyone wants good things as fast as possible. May Hashem answer all of us!