Just Believe (Parashat Shelach)

I am a big fan of Disney's "Prince of Egypt."  Though growing up my brother loved and was able to quote "The Ten Commandments", I personally never really cared for it.  "Prince of Egypt", on the other hand - I enjoyed greatly!

I recall a very powerful scene in the movie:  B'nei Yisrael had reached the Yam Suf with nowhere else to go, the Egyptians are closing in on them from behind and everyone is overcome with fear.  The character of Miriam begins to sing a song about the ability to achieve miracles.  The final line of the song before she actually switches to the Hebrew words of "Az Yashir" are (this part is particularly powerful) "You will when you believe..."

In this weeks parasha, Moshe sends a representative from each tribe to inspect the land and return with feedback for the rest of the nation.  They do so and, upon their return, they acknowledge that the land contains everything Moshe had promised - yet they insist that its inhabitants are too strong for them.  Instantly, Klal Yisrael begins shouting out in unison their standard complaint "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt, or would that we had died in this wilderness!  Why is Hashem bringing us to this land to fall by the sword?  Our wives and young children will be taken captive!  Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?".

Hashem becomes infuriated and asks Moshe "To what point will this people anger Me, and how long will they not have faith in Me, despite all the signs that I have performed in its Midst?".  Rashi explains the statement "despite all the signs" to mean "because of all the miracles that I did for them, they should have believed that in My hand is the wherewithal to fulfill my promise."

Often, students insist to me that "If Hashem showed me a miracle today, I'd become religious!"  I insist in return that they would not.  Perhaps the miracle would provide them with temporary inspiration, but ultimately that inspiration would run out and, like B'nei Yisrael in the desert, they would stop believing until another miracle was performed.

How is it possible that Klal Yisrael kept doubting Hashem despite the many miracles He performed for them?  The answer is that their belief in His ability to sustain them was based on the miracles He was performing.  They saw miracles, and so they believed.  Miriam's character sings in the movie : when you believe, you can achieve miracles.

If one is to truly build a partnership with HaKadosh Baruch Hu (the Holy One, Blessed is He), they cannot seek out miracles and then believe in Him based on that.  Rather, they must believe in Him first - and once they do so, they will see miracles in every aspect of their life.

May we all be zoche to strengthen our Emunah - our belief - in Hashem and to believe in Him not because of the miracles we have seen, but to see the miracles because we believe in Him.  In doing so, may we see the coming of Mashiach speedily in our days.

Shabbat Shalom!

Knowing Your Limits (Parashat Beha'alotcha)

"Miriam and Aaron spoke about Moshe regarding the Cushite woman he hadmarried, for he had married a Cushite woman.  They said, 'Was it with Moshe only that Hashem spoke?  Did He not speak with us, as well?'  And Hashem heard.

Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth!"

I remember when I first started as a Rebbe in Yeshiva.  We were praying shacharit and duirng the amidah I looked around the room and noticed that the boys had finished, but the Chazzan did not begin his repetition yet.  Immediately, I understood that he was waiting for me to finish.  I must admit, when this happened, I felt a sense of pride.  After all, I'm only human!

We are currently in the midst of the fourth book of the Torah.  Ever since the first mentioning of Moshe Rabbeinu, we haven't stopped hearing what a wonderful, glorious leader he was.  The praises that have been sung for him are never-ending.  If that is the case, how could he possibly be so humble?  Why is it that I feel pride when my talmidim wait for me to finish praying, but Moshe Rabbeinu felt nothing when G-d Himself was praising him?  The answer to this question can be found almost an entire chapter before being titled "more humble than any person on the face of the earth."

Exhausted and frustrated, B'nei Yisrael began complaining to Moshe that they were tired of the manna they had been receiving - they longed for meat!  Hashem's anger flared up and, unable to handle it anymore, Moshe makes the following plea to Hashem:

"Why have You done evil to your servant; why have I not found favor in Your eyes, that You place the burden of this entire people upon me?  Did I conceive this entire people or did I give birth to it, that You say to me, 'Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a suckling, to the Land that You swore to its forefathers?  Where shall I get meat to give to this entire people when they weep to me, saying, 'Give us meat that we may eat'?  I alone cannot carry this entire nation, for it is too heavy for me!  And if this is how You deal with me, then kill me now, if I have found favor in Your eyes, and let me not see my evil!"

Within this statement, Moshe expressed two great attributes that afforded him the title which he received...

Imagine you were the starting quarterback for one of the teams playing at the Superbowl.  Your team is down by two points with just enough time left for one play - the coach tells you to throw it deep.  Clearly, the pressure is all on you.  If you didn't feel confident in your ability to make the play - perhaps you feel too exhausted from the rest of the game - would you have the courage to tell your coach to pick someone else?  While I cannot speak for others, I know that I would not have that courage.  Many of us strive in life for the leadership role and, once we have it, we do not want to give it up - even if we know we aren't right for it.  Moshe, however, possessed that courage.  He acknowledged that he could not do the job alone - and he expressed that to Hashem.  This is one of the things that made him so humble.

Moshe's second attribute is illustrated by Rashi.  In the end of the above mentioned pasuk, Moshe states "let me not see my evil" - but what evil did Moshe commit?  Rather, Rashi explains that the evil Moshe was referring to was that of B'ne Yisrael.  Being the humble man that he was, Moshe did not wish to point fingers at anyone else.  For this reason, he called the evil his.

May we all learn from this two amazing traits of Moshe Rabbeinu and may we, too, train ourselves to be as humble as he was.  In doing so, may we merit to see the coming of Mashiach speedily in our days!

Shabbat Shalom!! 

Insider Trading (Parashat Naso)

This week's D'var Torah is l'iluy nishmat my Grandmother - Malka bat Yehuda HaCohen, a"h

"Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying, 'Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying: So shall you bless the Children of Israel, say to them: "May Hashem bless you and guard you.  May Hashem illuminate His countenance toward you and endow you with grace.  May Hashem lift His countenance to you and establish peace for you."  They shall place My Name upon the Children of Israel, and I shall bless them.'"

Last year, a gentleman came to my Yeshiva offering me "investment packages" for my staff.  I'm certainly no scholar when it comes to finance, but the gist of the idea is that my staff would take money out of their bi-weekly paychecks pre-tax and the money would then be invested.  This is done frequently in businesses as a means of long-term savings accounts or retirement plans.

I recall that one of the selling points this gentleman mentioned to me was that his company would keep a close, watchful eye over the money being invested and that - periodically - the money would be moved and invested in different areas.  Their reason for doing this was to ensure that our money was constantly being invested in the areas with the highest return - so we could get the biggest "bang for our buck."

Rashi comments on the first of the three-part beracha being given to us by the Kohanim - "May Hashem bless you and guard you."  He points out that in any other instance where one would be given a gift, the responsibility of the "giver" for that gift ends once it is received.  If it would subsequently be stolen, that would be the problem of the recipient - certainly not the giver!  In the case of Hashem, Rashi says - He is both the giver and the guard.  Not only does He give us blessings, but He watches over us and the blessings being given to ensure that all goes well.

This gentleman who came to my office last year wanted to convince me to allow his company to invest my money - promising they would watch over it for me and ensure it was being invested well.  Little did he know, I have the greatest "Investment Banker" of all watching over my money, my home, my family and everything else I could possibly care about - and He watches over them constantly, not periodically!

May we all be more cognizant of the profound depth that Birkat Kohanim carries and may we grow to appreciate this beracha even more than we already do.  In this zechut, may Hashem shower us with berachot, and may He guard them as well!

Shavuah Tov!! 

Knowing What A Good Thing We Have (Shavuot 5773)

Shavuot, as we are told, is the day on which we received the Torah.  Simchat Torah, which comes four months later, is the time we celebrate receiving the Torah.  Why such a long gap in between??

There was once a King who decided it was time to marry off his daughter, the Princess.  The one condition - whoever was to marry her could not see her until the chupah (the wedding canopy).  Naturally, no Prince around was running to accept this intimidating offer.

Eventually, a Prince from a nearby town stepped up to the plate and agreed to the terms thinking "how bad could it be?".  As the wedding drew nearer, the Prince began to realize just how bad it could be and started getting nervous.  "What if she's ugly?  What if she's mean?  What if her breath smells?  How do I know if she can cook?" he wondered (along with many other concerns).

Finally, the day had arrived.  As the Prince stood at the chupah watching the Princess approach him, he could feel the sweat pouring down his head.  When she reached him, he worriedly looked through her veil - she wasn't ugly!!  Slightly relieved, he still worried about his other concerns...

After the chupah, they went to the customary "Yichud Room."  The began to speak and he noticed that the scent emanating from her mouth was not horific - two concerns down!!  As they spoke more, he realized that not only wasn't she mean - she was actually pretty nice!!

As the weeks passed after their wedding, the Princess greeted her Prince every morning with a home-cooked breakfast - and it was delicious.  She could cook!!  With each day, the Prince so that all of his concerns were being disproved.

With their 6-month anniversary approaching, the Prince went to his father-in-law and requested a second wedding celebration.  "A second celebration"  screamed the King, "do you know how much the first cost me, why on earth do you need a second?!?"

"Well, your heinous", replied the Prince.  "The condition you had set on my marriage to your daughter was that I could not meet her until the wedding.  As such, I really didn't know what I had gotten myself into and so I couldn't truly celebrate at our first wedding.  Now that 6 months have passed, I know what a wonderful woman I married and can actually celebrate having gotten her."

The King agreed and a second celebration was held that was ten times as big as the first!!

When the Jewish people accepted the Torah, they accepted it נעשה ונשמה.  While they were eager to accept Hashem's Torah, they didn't know what they had gotten themselves into and so they could not really celebrate it. Four months later, when they had experienced the glory that is the Torah, they were prepared to celebrate it!

Luckily for us, as we "accept" the Torah tomorrow, we do it  knowing fully what a treasure our ancestors received.  With this in mind, I invite each of you to accept it with simcha and to celebrate it with joy!!

Chag Shavuot Sameach!



*A Special thank you to Rebbetzin Nalini Ibragimov for sharing this story with me years ago*

What's Mine Is Yours (Parashat Behar-Behukotai)

"The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is Mine; for you are sojourners and residents with Me"

We have a policy in our Yeshiva that students are not allowed to have their cell phones out during the day.  Occasionally (ok - often), students violate this policy and their phones are taken away for varying amounts of time.  I pointed out the following irony to my students which they all agreed to and laughed at:

If I take away Jake's phone and tell him that I will give it back to him the next day, he will (literally) cry and beg me to give it back to him that day - insisting he cannot survive with out it.  Ironically, if I take away Jake's friend's phone and say that I will give it back to him the next day, when Jake's friend begins to beg and cry - Jake will have the clarity of mind to tell his friend to "relax, it's no big deal - you'll get it back tomorrow."

Why is it that Jake has clarity of mind with his friend's phone but not with his own?  The answer is that when something is not ours, we don't have an emotional attachment to it - this enables us to not get upset as easily.

In the above mentioned pasuk, Hashem gives us a very strong lesson.  Regarding our fields he tells us that we cannot sell them for eternity (only for the duration of a jubilee) because the land is His - we are simply visitors or guests.

WOW!!

If we could go through life with true understanding of this pasuk, then - like Jake - we would never get upset!!  If we truly appreciated the fact that our possessions - homes, cars, money - are not actually ours but merely on loan to us from Hashem, we wouldn't feel that they are being "taken" from us when they are lost.  In reaching this level of understanding, we would achieve true happiness.

May we all be zoche to understand and appreciate that everything belongs to Hashem and we are simply his guests.  In doing so, may we lead more happy, spiritual lives and merit to see the coming of Mashiach speedily in our days.

Shabbat Shalom!