torahnet in french torahnet in english torahnet in hebrew about torahnet ask the rabbi whats new at torahnet other jewish related links members at torahnet the torahnet forum halachic times kids corner the weekly parsha contact torahnet the torahnet site the torahnet site
Home

About

HaRav

News

Links

Sites

Forum

Calendar

Children

Parsha

Mail

THE WEEKLY PARSHA

MAS'AEY

[ Dvar Torah ] [ Passages on Prayer ]
[ Stories of the Sages ] [ Education ]

(Taken from a weekly publication of Hammaayan Institutes.
Translated by Rabbi Shabtai Teicher)

THE WEEKLY PARSHA
Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai said, "G-d gave to Israel three good gifts, and each of them was not given except through the hands of suffering. The three are: Torah, the Land of Israel and the world to come" (Berachot 5).

Sufferings are a refinement. They burn away the wastes. They cleanse and purify the material in order that a person may asscend to a level where he will be fit to receive the gift destined for him.

The world to come is certainly a spiritual environment. As long as a person exists on a physical plane he definitely has no place in the wondrous world to come.

Torah is also a spiritual entity. Anyone who does not possess a refined character also does not possess Torah. He may be smart, but it is not Torah. That is why Chazal said that if someone tells you that there exists wisdom among the gentiles, believe him; but if he tells you that there is Torah among them, do not believe him.

A person cannot acquire Torah unless he suppresses and disgorges the materialism of his nature. That is what Chazal explained concerning the verse, "This is the Torah if a man dies in the tent..." (Numbers 19:14). Until a person kills himself in the "tent" of Torah, he cannot merit to possess it; and the meaning of this statement of Chazal that a person must kill himself is that he must kill the materialistic aspect of himself. The soul is built, it has ben said, when the body is destroyed. Therefore, the Torah is acquired through suffering.

In this week's parsha the Torah extensively describes the mitzvah of establishing cities of refuge, and this is to be done as soon as Israel enters into the Land. One of the aspects of the mitzvah is the obligation to prepare broad roads leading to the cities of refuge. These roads may have no obstructions or difficulties. The Rambam writes in Mishnah Torah that the width of these roads may not be less than 32 amot (approximately 16 meters or 5 feet). Signs must be clearly posted at all the intersections along the road in order to provide unmistakable directions to the cities of refuge. And that is not all. At least once a year the court must make sure that these roads are in excellent condition. In short, there must be no obstacles in the way of those seeking to approach one of the cities of refuge.

The reason for the severe precautions regarding the cities of refuge is stated in the parsha: to ensure that "You shall not defile the Land that you are dwelling within it, since I am dwelling within it..." (Numbers 35:34). All these precautions are prescribed in order to prevent spilling blood in the Land. The Ramban, moreover, expands the bounds of this warning to include all the cardinal sins, the grossest abuses of the material world. In the section which we read on the Day of Atonement it is written, "The Land was defiled..., and the Land spit forth her inhabitants" (Leviticus 18:25). The Ramban writes there that the Land of Israel is the Land of G-d. It spits forth all those who defile her. The Land cannot bear idolators, adulterers, those who perform incest and sexual perversions. It is not even a Divinely ordained punishment. It is simply the nature of the Land. She cannot bear iniquitous people like those who perform such deeds.

Nevertheless, how can we live in the Land despite the spilling of blood and all the other severe transgressions taking place on our Land? The answer to this question can be understood by an explanation which was given to the text of our prayer, "And because of our sins we were exiled from our Land and we were distanced from our soil." The explanation for the repetitive language in this text is the following. "We were exiled from our Land" to the land of strangers. And even when we are upon our Land we are distanced from her, from her true nature and holiness.

Are there any among us who appreciate the kedushah and spirituality of the Land, or even one who might merit to its special qualities as our forefathers did when they lived upon her? Is there even one among us who is sensitive to the uniqueness of the Land like the poet, Rebbe Yehudah Halevi, who yearned for it from a far away exile? All this has been lost to us because of our sins. We are like people who are sitting on a mountain of gold deriving pleasure from the mountain because it is higher than the surrounding terrain and completely unaware of the gold that we are sitting upon.

The Land of Israel, therefore, is a spiritual entity just like the Torah and the world to come. Without the purification of suffering, while a person is still sunk in the material world, he cannot merit to the real quality of the Land. He may be dwelling upon her, but he has not yet reached her. That is why we still pray, even though we are living here on the Land, "Bring us to Zion, Your city, with song, and to Yerushalayim, Your Holy House, with eternal joy...." We want to be planted and rooted within the Land, not just to dwell upon her, but planted and rooted within her, and merited to experience her spirituality and kedushah.

THE PRAYERS OF OUR MOUTH

Let us return to first things, my precious children. A person must be diligent and practice constant concentration during the times of prayer and thanksgiving when he utters any of the holy Names of our Creator, may His Name be blessed and exalted. Any of the Names should not come from his mouth when he is not aware of them and concentrating his heart upon them.

Furthermore, it seems to me, my beloved children, that this sin is included in the warning of Chazal who said in the mishnah of Tractate Chagigah, "Anyone who does not forbear over the honor of G-d -- it were better that he never came into the world." May G-d have mercy upon us!

In my book (Yesod Veshoresh Ha'avodah) I copied an important story about this, and I also wrote there, in the name of the Rokeach, concerning this terrible sin and one who utters from his mouth the Holy Names without intense kavvannah.

If a person feels that he uttered from his mouth a Holy Name without concentration, then that day he should take upon himself mortifications, such as not eating meat the entire day, etc. He should give something to charity, and if he could fast, then happy is his portion.

A person must be especially cautious about this matter in a place where there are many Holy Names appearing in close clusters, such as at the end of "Hodu Lehashem Ki Tov...," "Yehi Kavod...," and the kedushah at the end of the morning prayer.

Therefore, my beloved children, be very careful about this. See what I did, and act accordingly, to make all kinds of strategems in the war against the evil inclination. I counted the Holy Names on the pages of my prayer book and made signs to highlight them. I resolved to be very careful to utter them from my mouth with kavvannah, and after a while this practice became natural. Before every section of the prayer or thanksgiving I thought to be careful about the number of Holy Names mentioned in that section.

With G-d's help, in this way, as a matter of course, all the words of the prayer or thanksgiving were also pronounced from my mouth with concentration and kavvannah and without unawareness.

(An excerpt from the will of the author of Yesod Veshoresh Ha'avodah)

STORIES OF THE SAGES

In the Haftorah of Parshat Mas'aey it is written (Jeremiah 2:21), "I planted you to be a noble vine, entirely a seed of truth, but how you have turned upon Me...."

There was a foolish man who was descended from a family of tzadikim and sages. It happened that he was in the court of Rebbe Meier of Primishlan z"l. Although he was nothing more than "vinegar the son of wine," he was glorifying himself and boasting about his ancestry. Rebbe Meier heard his vain bragging and said to him, "Come. I will tell you a nice story.

"In the stable of a nobleman there was horse who had served his master and his master's family well and faithfully for many years. However, when the animal became old and weak, he was no longer of any benefit to the master. The nobleman decided to send the horse to the forest, but since he remembered how well the horse had served him, he felt pity for it. Maybe the wild beasts of the forest would rend to pieces this old animal without any means of protecting itself.

"What did he do? The nobleman wrapped the horse in skins of a lion, a bear and a wolf with the hope that they might frighten away the wild beasts, and in this way he sent the horse into the forest.

"Now, in the forest news travels in a way which is very similar to the way it travels among people. Very quickly it became known to the lion, the `king of the beasts,' that a strange creature was wandering around in his realm. Maybe it was a lion, maybe it was a bear, and maybe it was a wolf.

"The lion ordered that the mysterious creature should be brought to him. When he came, the lion wondered at the strange sight, and he said, `Who are you?'

"The strange creature answered proudly, `I lived in the house of the nobleman.'

"The lion repeated his question. `I asked, Who are you?'

"The horse answered, `I served the nobleman very faithfully.'

"`That is very nice,' the lion said, `But who are you?'

"`I was in the house of kings many times,' the strange creature said.

"However, the lion would not desist. `Nevertheless, who are you?'

"Finally, the strange creature lowered his head, embarrassed and confused. `I, I am just a horse!'"

EDUCATING OUR CHILDREN

When many students leave the framework of regular school to go to summer vacation, the dangers lying in wait on the streets are numerous and severe. Places of vacation and entertainment do not usually meet the criteria required for people who observe Torah and mitzvot. This is a serious spiritual danger to those who have been educated in institutions of Torah. Therefore, our rabbinical leaders have called upon the public, parents and offspring, to take special care to guard the fences of modesty.

The following is the text of their announcement.

The days of summer are difficult, both physically and spiritually, especially the days of vacation which are susceptible to spiritual dissolution. We are turning to the educators and parents, the sons and the daughters. Do not be tempted by places of vacation, tours, bathing places and various vacation packages, even if they are organized by religious people, unless a careful examination of the conditions of modesty and the people visiting in these places has been made first.

Certainly, a person should not stroll the streets of the city or visit restaurants or coffee houses where the salespeople and the customers are usually people of questionable character. In these things the obstacles are very great, and the results can be very painful. It is best to minimize these things as much as possible.

The place of a ben Torah is in the bet midrash where the environment is Torah and fear of Heaven, and the honor of the king's daughter is within.... For this King David has prayed: "That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones polished in the likeness of a palace" (Psalms 144:12).

Parents must pay attention, especially during these days, that their children should find their physical and spiritual pleasures in the house, or together with the parents and educators.

[ Home ] [ About ] [ HaRav ] [ News ] [ Links ] [ Sites ] [ Forum ]
[ Calendar ] [ Children ] [ Parsha ] [ Mail ]

Choose a Language:
English  עברית  French