One Hundred Words on the Parshah
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One Hundred Words on the Parshah
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Normally an army is made up of tough people. Someone who is mean and aggressive, violent and bloody is the best candidate for the army. He would be good at fighting and killing. The תורה mandates the services of a different type of soldier. Only someone who is free of עבירות can participate in the army. Even minor עבירות disqualify. And the soldier, himself, is the arbiter of his standing. An honor system.
The reason for this is that the Yidden’s wars were holy wars, known as מלחמת מצוה. They were won by having the ארון from the בית המקדש or משכן go before the army. It was a spiritually based war and the ארון would help the צדיקים win.
“Gather the people. The men, the women and the children”
The מצוה of הקהל includes bringing the children; according to some opinions, even those too young to understand. This leads us to wonder what the purpose is of bringing children who can’t comprehend the proceedings.
One possible way of understanding this is that bringing the children helps the adults to appreciate the magnitude of the occasion. When even the youngest must be present, the awesome obligation of hearing and obeying the Torah is firmly impressed upon everyone.
“Keep the תורה because it is your wisdom in the eyes of the nations”
רבינו בחיי explains that all תורה wisdom, such as רפואות (medicine) is included in the תורה and can be derived from the תורה. Similarly, we learn in פרקי אבות "הפך בה והפך בה דכולה בה"
“Turn over” the תורה to find everything in it.
On the other hand, through the advancement of science, we can understand תורה, because תורה includes those truths. Science can enlighten us to truths about the תורה that we didn’t previously perceive. In the Talmudic expression “אי לאו דדלאי לך חספא מי משכחת מרגניתא תותא”. “If I hadn’t lifted the earthenware, would you have found the precious stone underneath it?!”
Fortunate are youישראל who is like you? A people saved by ה' the shield of your help.
The words of this פסוק are similar to those of the first ברכה of :שמונה עשרה "מלך עוזר ומושיע ומגן". חזל tells us that on ראש השנה we are confident that ה' will perform miracles for us and give us a favorable judgement; and on סוכות we are given the לולב and אתרוג as a symbol of our having emerged worthy from the ימים נוראים. The פסוק in וזאת הברכה, therefore can be understood as refuting our accusers and telling them that ה' helps, saves and protects us.
As an aside, I remember going to Yeshiva Chaim Berlin as a child and the beginning of this פסוק was sung at the beginning of each עליה on שמחת תורה.
“גוים should be happy for His nation because Hashem took נקמה against those who caused the Yidden pain”
There are many גוים who are opposed to those who cause pain to the Yidden and they are happy that Hashem is avenging the Yidden. Why did these גוים not defend the Yidden when other גוים were hurting them?
Perhaps they felt powerless, but are nonetheless happy that Hashem interferes to protect the Yidden.
May we always feel protected.
“Hashem came from סיני and shined through עשו”
In the זכות of the enormous amount of לימוד התורה of our times, Hashem shines a tremendous light through עשו onto ארץ ישראל. President Trump has been amazing toward Israel, climaxing with the current peace deals between Israel and U.A.E. and Bahrain. May our לימוד התורה continue and may the goodness of שעיר continue.
“Cursed is he who does not uphold the words of this Torah…” (Devarim 27:26)
Chazal explain this verse as teaching us that learning and keeping the Torah is not enough. One must also support the study of Torah.
R’ Shlomo Chaim Gruskin of Detroit used to help many Roshei Yeshiva and Rabbis who came to Detroit to raise money for their yeshivos. One of his biggest donors was a local metal vendor named Moshe Zaks. One day, Mr. Zaks offered R’ Gruskin a job as a salesman with a yearly salary of $50,000. At the time, right after World War II, this was a fortune of money, and R’ Gruskin couldn’t understand why Mr. Zaks was making such an offer.
Mr. Zaks explained that many times he had not wanted to donate but R’ Gruskin had always succeeded in convincing him to do so. He therefore believed that R’ Gruskin would be a great salesman. R’ Gruskin turned down the offer, saying that when it comes to Torah, he felt passionately that everyone has to have a part in supporting it, but he did not feel that way about metal.
“Since you didn’t serve ה out of [having] great abundance”
The רמבם derives the מצוה of celebratingימים טובים with happiness from this פסוק. He cautions, however, against overdoing the manifestations of שמחה which would lead to frivolity and light headedness ( (הוללת וקלות ראש Theלחם הפנים , a commentary on the קצור שלחן ערוך, interprets the פסוק of ושמחת בחגך וה יית אך שמח" “and you should rejoice on your holy days and be only happy” in a similar manner. Why does the פסוק enjoins us to be happy twice? His answer is that אך שמח - be only happy, is telling us not to get carried away, so that the happiness does not descend into הוללת (frivolity).
הר חרמון is a special mountain in ארץ ישראל. It has four names given to it by different nations. It has a uniqueness in ארץ ישראל that is has snow. Nowadays, the mountain even has skiing, contrary to the rest of ארץ ישראל which actually includes a lot of desert land.
The הר הבית, the mountain of the בית המקדש, also has many names, including הר ציון and הר המוריה. אברהם called it הר, prior to the עקידה. Afterwards, he called it יראה, the place which will be seen and the place where people will be seen. יצחק called it שדה and יעקב called it בית. In this week’s Parsha, משה רבינו called it ההר הטוב.
In the times of the בית שלישי, it says “ונראהו עין בעין”, we will see ה' “eye to eye” on the הר הבית.
This story was heard from R’ Eli Roberts. A young man who had been a student at Rabbi Roberts’ yeshiva called him before קול נדרי imploring him for a son. Rabbi Roberts told him, :the ball is in your court” so to speak. You must give up the Apps on your phone. After סוכות, the man called back and said that he had deleted his Apps and had not yet merited good news. Rabbi Roberts asked if he had given up all the Apps. The man said that he only kept one: President Trump’s daily tweets that he felt he needed to see. Rabbi Roberts said, “nothing doing”, and hung up the phone. The man called back and said that he was giving up that App as well. A few weeks later he called with the good news.
In the words of Rabbi Roberts: we need to remove the חרון אפ Charon App (a play on the words חרון אף - Hashem’s anger)
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