They Can Assure a Cure

Parshas Devarim

The Three Weeks

Posted on July 12, 2013 (5773) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah | Level: Beginner

While we are sitting low and feeling low on Tisha B’Av we might want to figure out how we got to this point. After all, that’s the refrain of Eicha- “How did it happen?”- echoing in our ears. How did it happen?

Our sages tell us that what brought about the destruction of the 2nd Temple was something called “Sinas Chinam” -baseless hatred! I can still recall the feeling of helplessness when I was yet a young Yeshiva student and ever since, sitting there on Tisha B”Av and not knowing exactly what to feel guilty about. How to I find that hidden hatred and how do I practically uproot it? Where is the class on psychoanalysis or the workbook that comes along with the diagnosis?

Well, now I have a new problem. The origins of Tisha B’Av do begin when the 1st of the 2nd Temple were destroyed. The first “Tisha B’Av” was when the spies in the dessert came back with a discouraging report the congregation “gave their voices crying and the nation cried on that night” (Bamidbar 14:1). The Talmud (Taanis 29) quotes Rabbi Yochonon, “That night was Tisha B’Av. The Holy One, blessed is He said to them, “You are crying a cry for nothing (Bechia shel chinam- a baseless cry)? I will fix for you a crying for generations!”” Now I have to figure out what a baseless cry is all about also!

Rabbi Matisyahu Solomon offers a blunt and sobering explanation of the phenomenon of “baseless hatred” which our sages tell us is the underlying reason for the destruction of the 2nd Temple and the length of the subsequent exile. Imagine a teacher is trying to gain the attention of a student in his class. The child is playing with some toy inside his desk and he is warned time and again. Eventually the teacher cuts off the arm of the student. The parents and the principal are mortified. The teacher explains that he was playing with things inside his desk during class time. Everyone would agree in this absurd case that the teacher stepped over all bounds of acceptability, no matter how he may try to explain his behavior. Sure the kid was not innocent but he didn’t deserve to lose a limb.

So says Rabbi Solomon that sometimes a person has a real claim against another. He was slighted or cheated or damaged in some way but that does not justify hating him in his entirety or frowning at and complaining about his family and wishing them ill. All that would be overkill. It requires a sophisticated and surgical approach not to condemn the whole of a person or his clan because a single albeit legitimate point of contention. That’s the definition and the dynamic of the debilitating disease called “baseless hatred”. Not that it is entirely unwarranted but that that the limited license to complain spills over and floods the arena of the “unwarranted”.

Perhaps we can apply the same working definition and standard to help us to understand the “baseless crying” -“bechia shel chinam” which was the real root of our downfall of Tisha B’Av. Sure the people felt justified in their crying because the news was disappointing as interpreted. However, the extra moaning and complaining, and the indulging in feelings of being defeated, and the accompanying anger and resentment in crying- is what spills over for generations. Tears too need to be surgical so they can assure a cure!

The Human Ingredient

Parshas Matos

Posted on July 19, 2011 (5771) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: Legacy | Level: Beginner

Oaths and vows are very sacred things, so sacred that it is unthinkable that someone would violate them. In fact, no matter how skeptical and distrustful we may generally be, if we hear someone, anyone, make a solemn vow by all that is holy, we tend to believe it.

But what if the one making the vow could rescind it at will? Would a vow still have the same credibility? Obviously not. The force of a vow derives from its permanence and inviolability. And yet, the Torah laws regarding vows, about which we read in this week’s Torah portion, feature a mechanism by which one can be released from a vow. Surely then, this mechanism reveals a very fundamental flaw in the vow. What is the mechanism? And what is the flaw?

They are as follows. If the one making the vow encounters an unexpected situation in which the vow creates complications, it may be possible to obtain a release. For instance, a person vows not to eat a certain type of food and afterwards he discovers that just this food will be served at his son’s wedding. In retrospect, had he known he would not be able to eat at his own son’s wedding he would never have made that vow in the first place. In this case, he must present his argument to a rabbinical court, and if it is meets the specific criteria, the court can release him from his vow.

What is the basis for this release mechanism? The Talmud derives it from the verse, “Everything a person expresses in an oath.” It would have been sufficient to say, “Everything expressed in an oath.” Why the inclusion of the words “a person”? This seems to indicate that only someone considered “a person” can make binding oaths and vows. Oaths and vows that do not take future developments into consideration are not valid. Why? Because they were made without the human ingredient.

Let us reflect for a moment. What are we accustomed to thinking of as the human ingredient? In what way does our society consider human beings superior to animals? It is in our creativity, our intelligence, our ability to think and reason. Homo sapiens. Thinking man. But the Torah uses an altogether different criterion. “A person,” according to the Torah, is someone who has foresight, who considers not only the instant gratification of the here and now like an animal but also the future ramifications of all his actions.

Why is this the ultimate human ingredient? Because what truly sets a human being apart from an animal is his soul, the indestructible spark of the divine that will continue to exist after the body perishes, that draws its sustenance from the spiritual world rather than the physical.. A person with foresight, therefore, realizes he cannot allow himself to be distracted by the immediate gratification of his physical impulses. He knows that he must use the short time allotted to him in this world to accumulate merit which will stand him in eternal good stead in the next world. This is the mark of a true human being.

A father was sitting on a park bench watching his young sons at play. Nearby sat an old man.

The boys were exceedingly rough in their play, pushing and grabbing things from each other, and the father looked on with concern.

“Are you worried about them?” asked the old man.

“A little,” replied the father. “But I have foresight. I came prepared with paraphernalia from my medicine cabinet in case they get hurt.”

The old man laughed. “That’s foresight? Thinking of bringing paraphernalia when you’re already standing at the door? If you really had foresight you would have started years ago by bringing them up to be more courteous and considerate of each other.”

In our own lives, we are all aware of the importance of preparing for the future. But for which future are we preparing, the temporary future we will encounter in a few years or the eternal future of our indestructible souls? It is all good and well to make financial investments that will secure our physical well-being when we grow old, but it’s even more important to make spiritual investments that will secure the well-being of our souls for all eternity.

Text Copyright © 2011 by Rabbi Naftali Reich and Torah.org.

Rabbi Reich is on the faculty of the Ohr Somayach Tanenbaum Education Center.

The Age Of Experience

Parshas Matos Masei

Posted on July 1, 2013 (5773) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: Legacy | Level: Beginner

“Man was born to toil,” said Iyov, and indeed, how we toil! We seem to be under constant pressure, ever working to provide for ourselves and our families while trying to find time to enjoy the fruits of our labors. But did you ever notice that when we attempt to relax, it sometimes can be difficult to apply the parking break? While attempting to unwind, we tend to become restless, straining to return to the world of activity and achievement. And this makes us ask why we are so compelled to always occupy ourselves. Why, when we finally do have a chance to relax, do we find it so difficult to detach ourselves from the throb and hum of our daily lives?

At least part of the answer lies in the fact that “life” and “activity” are really synonymous. Creative activity is the ultimate expression of human life. Inanimate matter is fixed in its place, and even animals can do little more than move from one place to another. Only we humans are endowed with the innate ability to channel our talents toward meaningful growth and advancement. By creating us in this fashion, HaShem gifted us with the capacity to emulate Him, to become partners in the creation and development of His universe. As we move along the road of life we are naturally growing, developing, blossoming and maturing. At times it may not appear as if we are realizing any major accomplishments. Nevertheless, we can be assured that core values and morals are continually refining themselves as we learn from our past mistakes and move towards a better tomorrow.

This concept is beautifully reflected in the opening words of this week’s Torah portion, “These are the journeys of the children of Israel who left the land of Egypt . . .” . The Torah continues to devote many lines to detailing each of the forty-two locations where the Jews encamped during their forty years of wandering in the Sinai wilderness. The questions are obvious: why does the Torah devote so much space to delineating the precise places that the people traveled from and to which they arrived? Furthermore, it was only the very first journey, from Ramses to Succos, which took them out of the land of Egypt. Why then does the Torah associate all of their journeys with their Exodus from Egypt by telling us with each segment “they traveled from . . . and they encamped at”? Would it not have sufficed to simply record the historical location of each stop that they made in the wilderness? It is also interesting to note that the Shabbat Torah reading this week is recited in a melodious tone that is also used the recital of the other ‘songs’ in the Torah. Why is this historical narrative to be sung and celebrated?

The commentaries explain that the forty-two journeys enumerated here represent the many journeys, wanderings, and seemingly fragmented episodes that occur to all of us during our own lives. Just as the Children of Israel were distancing themselves from the ancient land of Egypt, so we, during each of our own stages of growth, are attempting to remove ourselves from our own mini-Egypt. The Hebrew word for Egypt-Mitzrayim is rooted in the word for boundary and constraint. “Egypt” expresses much more than the place of our physical slavery: it symbolizes the daily constraints and limitations imposed upon us by the terms of our very existence.

Throughout our life’s journey, the physical body constantly moves forward, serving as the vehicle of our growth, while our soul and conscience take the role of an internal compass that steadily guides us across the wilderness, prodding us to leave our ‘little Egypt’ while drawing us ever closer to our very own promised land. Each stage and phase of our lives represent essential chapters in our personal life documentary. Each stage and phase has a celebratory note, for at each station on our journey we glean invaluable insights and pointers that bring us one step closer to our ultimate destination.

This important concept is reinforced with a Torah commandment that obliges us to honor and stand up before an elderly person. Why is it so important to venerate a senior fellow? Many older people do not seem to have accomplished that much in their lives, so why do we confer upon them so much esteem and reverence?

The commentaries explains that our esteem for the elderly is grounded in our appreciation for the reservoir of experience that they have inevitably garnered as they charted and navigated their passageway through life. The insight and understanding that they have gained with the passage of time are the ‘goods’ that we pay deference to and stand up for ! Thus, even if the older person may not have any groundbreaking accomplishments in their life’s portfolio there is much that still deserves our respect.

This explains the Torah’s lengthy description of the people’s journey through the wilderness. Each stage of their journey was enriching. It enabled them to distance themselves from the constraining influences of Egypt and drew them one step closer to their destination. In our lives too each chapter invariably will leave us with valuable insights and lessons that guide us forward towards a more meaningful tomorrow.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Shabbas

Rabbi Naftali Reich

Text Copyright © 2013 by Rabbi Naftali Reich and Torah.org.

Rabbi Reich is on the faculty of the Ohr Somayach Tanenbaum Education Center.

Role Model

Parshas Pinchas

Posted on July 12, 2017 (5777) By Rabbi Raymond Beyda | Series: Table Talk | Level: Beginner

20 TAMUZ 5764 //JULY 10 2004

” And the name of Israelite man who was struck with the Midianite woman was Zimri the son of Salu the Chief of a family of the tribe of Shimon” Bemidbar 25:14]

Bilaam, the wicked gentile prophet, failed to curse the Jewish people — to the contrary — he blessed them. Before leaving Balak, the King of Moab, he suggested a ploy that could bring death and destruction to the Jews. “The G-d of these people despises immorality and these people love the fineries of this world — therefore, I suggest that you set up a bazaar on the outskirts of their camp and have old women with inferior merchandise at the counter. When they ask to see better merchandise, the women should direct them into the tents where attractive young women will await to seduce them to immorality and idol worship.”

The plan, unfortunately, was successfully executed and a plague struck the people. The head of the tribe of Shimon went so far as to bring the princess of Midian into the camp, publicly flaunted her before Moshe and ridiculed our great prophet. He then secluded himself with her in his tent. Pinhas, who saw this scene, reacted by taking a spear and killing the two together and bravely carried the head of the tribe and his mistress throughout the camp, whereby the plague ceased. Pinhas received eternal reward for his zealous behavior.

The Torah then opens a new Parasha and this time reveals the names of the head of the tribe and the woman. The verse quoted above identifies the man. The Midrash comments: Just as Hashem is involved in the praises of the righteous to publicize them to the world, so too he is involved in the derision of the wicked to publicize them in the world. Pinhas was publicized with praise and Zimri was publicized negatively. About them it is said: The memory of the righteous one for blessing and the name of the wicked should rot. [Bemidbar Rabbah, 21:4]

The words of the Midrash may be understood with a parable. An elderly merchant decided to cut down on his business travel and appointed his son to go in his stead. The young man’s mother prepared a travel bag full of the boy’s favorite meals and snacks to take on his first journey. She also packed an emergency kit of bitter medicines should her dear son have one of the attacks that he was wont to get from time to time. Before his departure the concerned parent pointed out her packing system. “On this side, my dearest, are all the delicious treats that I prepared — eat and enjoy to your heart’s content”. Then she sighed and warned, “Watch yourself and avoid all of those things that the doctors say can bring on an attack. I truly hope that you will not need these bitter medicines but take note of where I have packed them just in case you do need them.”

Hashem prepared us for our journeys through life with many delicacies. We learn about the successes of our Patriarchs in their encounters with Pharoah, Abimelekh, and of the rise of Yosef after he withstood the test of the seductive wife of his Egyptian master. These are the delicacies. We also learn of the affliction brought upon the wicked like the swallowing of Korah and the death of Zimri. These are the bitter pills.

Hashem tells us of the deeds of the righteous with a postscript of — the mention of the righteous one for blessing — in order to teach us that good deeds are rewarded. However, he mentions the wicked with a postscript of the name of the wicked will rot — in order to deter us from behavior negative to his will. The desire of G-d is that we all earn success and blessing and avoid affliction and curse. Therefore– the Midrash points out– the Torah mentions the names of good characters and bad ones also to contrast their behavior and the results of their life’s choices. The mention of the righteous one is for blessing and the name of the wicked will rot –everyone is accountable and everyone has opportunity to earn success. The choice is yours. Who do you make your role model?

Shabbat Shalom

Raymond J Beyda
www.raymondbeyda.com Text Copyright &copy 2004 by Rabbi Raymond Beyda and Torah.org.

 

Tying Generations Together

Parshas Pinchas

Posted on July 13, 2011 (5771) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

The Torah records for us the genealogy of Pinchas, the true and justified zealot of Jewish history. There are many reasons advanced as to why the Torah felt impelled to tell us of the names of his father and grandfather. Many commentators saw in this an explanation to justify Pinchas’ behavior while others emphasized that it was an explanation for Pinchas’ reward and G-d granting him the blessing of peace.

But aside from these insights there is another more general message that the Torah is recording for us. And that is that a person’s behavior affects all of one’s family members, even those of previous generations who may no longer be currently numbered among the living.

A great act of sanctification of G-d’s name such as the one performed by Pinchas enhances the reputations and stature of previous generations as well. My rebbe in the yeshiva summed this lesson up in his usual concise and pithy manner: “If both your grandparents and your grandchildren are proud of you and your achievements then you are probably alright in Heaven’s judgment as well.”

Our idea of immortality is based upon generations of our families, both previous generations and later ones. We find vindication of our lives and efforts in the accomplishments of those that come after us and continue our values and faith. We cannot control what children and grandchildren will do, whom they will marry and what type of life they will lead. But innately, we feel that we have a connection to the development of their lives and the actions that they will take.

The Torah emphasizes for us that Pinchas’ zealotry did not come to him in a vacuum. The Torah allows everyone freedom of will and behavior. Neither good behavior nor evil behavior is ever predestined. Yet as medicine has shown us, in the physical world there is an element of physical predestination in our DNA. And this DNA affects our moral behavior as well.

Judaism always envisioned itself not only as a universal faith but as a particular family as well. In our daily prayer service we constantly recall who our founding ancestors were. We name our children in memory of those who have preceded us. We extol a sense of family and a loyalty to the values that our families represent.

One of the most destructive trends in modern society has been the erosion of the sense of family in the world and amongst Jews particularly. Assimilation means abandoning family and abandoning family certainly contributes to intensified assimilation and loss of Jewish feelings and identity. It is ironic that in a time such as now when most children can be privileged to know grandparents and even great grandparents the relationship between generations in many Jewish families is frayed and weak.

Pinchas comes therefore to reinforce this concept of tying generations – past, present and future – together. It is imperative for us to know Pinchas’ genealogy for otherwise we have no clue as to who Pinchas was and why he behaved as he did in those given circumstances.

Shabat shalom,
Rabbi Berel Wein

It Takes a Family…

Parshas Pinchas

Posted on July 14, 2017 (5777) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah | Level: Beginner

These were the numbers of the Levites according to their families: the family of the Gershonites from Gershon, the family of the Kohathites from Kohath, the family of the Merarites from Merari. These were the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites and Kehat begot Amram. (Bamidbar 26:57-58)

I think I detect a theme. In these two verses the word or some derivative of this word is used 10 times, “MISHPACHA”- “family”. The Nation of Israel is built almost entirely on this single organizational principle; family. Therefore it might prove worthwhile to gain an appreciation of the meaning of that one Hebrew word, “MISHPACHA”.

The word MISHPACHA is related to the word SHIFCHA which oddly means a maidservant. How does that help define a family?

A senior colleague told me that that when he was a young man pursuing his doctorate in philosophy a professor made the bold declaration; “The Jewish Bible is the source of human rights in the world!” All of the students diligently wrote it down in their notebooks but this curious fellow who was the only Jew in the class, promptly approached the teacher and challenged him, “Where is it written in the Jewish Bible any verse that promises human rights?” The professor wondered if he in fact agreed with his claim that the Jewish Bible is the source of human rights in the world. The student agreed wholeheartedly. He was merely curious as to what the source might be.

This was a case of the student giving the teacher a homework assignment. A week later he came back to class and admitted that he could not find a single verse that supported his statement. He was mystified. Everybody in the history department agreed. The literature department, and the sociology department agreed too. So he fed the question back to his student, “Maybe you have the answer!”

This budding young scholar answered as follows: “Let’s take for example one verse, that great-general principle in the Torah “And you should love your neighbor as your-self!” The implication of that statement is that everyone has a right to be loved. When I walk into a room, since you are all obligated to love me, I have a right to be loved! The only difference is that the Torah never came as a “bill of rights” but rather as a “bill of responsibilities””.

Imagine how much more love exists in a relationship when both parties know what they owe in love as opposed to when each demands that their rights be met. How much more love is in the room when every member of a family knows that they are duty bound to love and happily contribute. How much greater is an entire community or a nation when it is composed of individuals who live up to this universal notion and categorical imperative to “love your neighbor as your-self”!

A family is a place where people learn to serve each other. On any given Erev Shabbos someone is sweeping and someone else is polishing shoes, while another person is peeling potatoes. Everyone contributes! A family is a microcosm of a whole world and is its most fundamental building block. How so? It is the training ground that prepares people for life in the greater community. Each home has its own signature style, and cultural flavor, but this quality of serving others is an immutable standard.

How important is a family? When my wife and I were just beginning to look for a match for our oldest son, we decided to call my Rebbe for guidelines. He is a huge Talmud scholar and he had already married off 13 children. We were ready for a long list. He answered the phone and we explained the reason for our call. He said without hesitation and emphatically, “Look for a family! A girl comes from a family!” I asked, “Is there anything else?” He said, “No! That’s it! Good night!” We were stunned. Some have said “it takes a village to raise a child” but I think we can declare with certainty and appreciate the simple fact it takes a family…

Wrinkles!

Parshas Balak

Posted on July 7, 2011 (5771) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah | Level: Beginner

“Behold! a people has come out of Egypt. Behold it has covered the eye of the land and it rests opposite me. So now come and invoke a curse upon this people for me, for it is more powerful than me; perhaps I will succeed, we will strike at it and I will drive it away from the land, for I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.” (Bamidbar 22:5-6)

In this moment of desperation Balak appeals to the lone prophet of the gentiles, Bilaam to work the wonders of his craft upon the Jewish People. With which instrument is he to attack? His mouth! He is to launch words! He has no atomic bomb or standing army or secret weapon except for his power of speech. Isn’t that odd? The entire threat of against the Nation of Israel, ready to enter the promised- land, is in the form of a few dangerously distributed daggers of the tongue. How can that possibly spell a credible peril?

Words are not benign items like decorative furniture that they exist for our convenience or beauty alone. King Solomon had acknowledged that “Life and death are in the hands of the tongue!” The famous British poet Rudyard Kipling expressed it this way, “Words are the most intoxicating drug known to man!” Isn’t it so!? Lives rise and fall on a single word! People get courage to carry on or so discouraged to end it all, based on the slight turn of a phrase. It makes a world of difference if the message says, “I love you!” or “I hate you!” Feelings rush and roar and rage in one direction or another depending on whether “You’re hired!” or “You’re fired!” How many professions are built on the artful science of combining letters and mixing words? Psychologists and writers and lawyers and teachers and statesmen and salesmen and many more are all earning their worth almost entirely by merely fashioning phrases.

Why is it, that words are so central to our existence? Is it only because we need to share practical information? I don’t think so! The entire world was created by G-d with words! We say every day in our liturgy, “Blessed is He Who spoke and the world came to be!” That G-d said, “Let there be light! And it was so… so light continues to run at 186,000 mile per second to this very day! That heavenly mandate still reverberates through the cosmos! Since humanity was created in the image of G-d, with a breath of life, our ability to speak is unique and a feature we share with the Divine! We can create or utterly crush worlds with mere utterances of the tongue! Those articulate sounds are not just waves that temporarily tickle our ears! Words are forever!

Bilaam had a terrific talent for words! He painted the ultimate portrait of positivity about our ancient people with his few well-chosen words. We live on them till today, even though it was not his original intent. “How goodly are your tents Yaakov…” Had he been allowed to push his wicked agenda and say anything other than the truth who knows how he would have distorted our image as the Merchant of Venice or some other libelous lie that taints our legacy and haunts us now for thousands of years! The Bilaam’s of the world are still on the prowl and we are frequently torpedoed with titles we don’t deserve like “racist” for just daring to exist?

On the local level though, we can all appreciate how people are broken or built by just a very few words! An elderly woman and her little grandson, whose face was sprinkled with bright freckles, spent the day at the zoo. Lots of children were waiting in line to get their cheeks painted by a resident artist who was decorating them with tiger paws.. “You’ve got so many freckles, there’s no place to paint!” a girl in the line said to the little boy. Embarrassed, the little guy dropped his head. His grandmother knelt down next to him. “I love your freckles. When I was a little girl I always wanted freckles,” she said, while tracing her finger across the child’s cheek. “Freckles are beautiful!” The boy looked up, “Really?” “Of course,” said the grandmother. “Why just name me one thing that’s more beautiful than freckles.” The little boy thought for a moment, peered intensely into his grandmother’s face, and softly whispered, “Wrinkles!”

DvarTorah, Copyright © 2007 by Rabbi Label Lam and Torah.org.

Leadership Qualities

Parshas Chukas

Posted on June 15, 2010 (5770) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: Legacy | Level: Beginner

He brought down the wrath of Heaven on Egypt until Pharaoh agreed to let the Jewish people go. He led them out to freedom. He parted the sea and led them through. He brought them to the foot of Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. He guided them through the desert for forty years. But at the last moment, when they stood poised on the threshold of the Promised Land, his leadership came to an end. Moses passed away without stepping a foot into the Promised Land.

Why wasn’t Moses granted the privilege of entering the Promised Land to which he had labored so diligently to bring the people?

We find the answer in this week’s Torah portion. After Miriam died, the miraculous well from which the people had slaked their thirst in the desert vanished, and they were left without water. They maligned Moses for taking them from the gardens of Egypt into an arid wasteland. Hashem told Moses to assemble the people and speak to the rock, which would then give forth water. Moses called the people together. “Listen, you rebels,” he declared angrily. “Can water come out of this rock?” Then he struck the rock with his staff and water flowed. But Moses had erred. Instead of speaking to the rock, he had struck it. And for this, Hashem decreed that Moses would not enter the Promised Land.

Let us now look for a moment at the Torah reading of Devarim, where Moses is reviewing the events of the previous forty years in his parting words to the Jewish people. He reminds them of how the people had responded to the slanders spread by the spies upon their return from the land of Canaan, and how Hashem had decreed that the entire generation would die in the desert and only their children would enter the Promised Land. “Hashem was also infuriated with me because of you,” Moses concluded, “saying, `You too will not arrive there.'” It would seem, therefore, that Moses was barred from entering the Promised Land because of the sin of the spies, not because of the sin of striking the rock. How do we account for this apparent contradiction?

The commentators explain that Moses had originally been exempt from the decree barring the Jewish people from entering the Promised Land because of the sins of the spies. As a leader of the Jewish people, he was in a class by himself. He was not integrated into the body of the common people. He was not driven by their motivations or influenced by their social currents. Although he was always sensitive to their needs, his thoughts, convictions and motivations were never controlled by the ebb and flow of public opinion. Therefore, since he was not really one of them, he did not have to share the unfortunate fate of the people when they erred and sinned.

But at the incident of the rock, Moses lost his imperviousness to public opinion. No longer aloof and remote in his decision making, he flared at the Jewish people. “Listen, you rebels!” he cried in anger. He allowed the people to get to him, and as a result, he struck the rock instead of speaking to it, in disobedience of Hashem’s command. Therefore, he no longer deserved to be considered in a class by himself, and he shared the fate of the people who were barred from the Promised land because of the sin of the spies.

A man once asked a great sage for his opinion of some popular political leaders.

“They are like dogs,” he replied.

The man was puzzled. “Like dogs? Why?”

“Very simple,” said the great sage. “When a man walks down the street with his dog, the dog always runs ahead, yapping excitedly. But when he gets to the corner, he doesn’t know which way to turn. So he stands and waits for his master to catch up. Once his master chooses the new direction, the dogs is off and running once again. These leaders you mentioned have no opinions or convictions of their own. They sniff the air to discover in which direction the wind is blowing, and then they are off and running. Some leaders!”

In our own lives, we are called upon to act as leaders, whether in the broader community, our immediate circles or simply in our own families for our children. Everything we do sets an example for others and influences them at least to some extent. But in order to be true leaders, we must have the courage and integrity to follow our own convictions. We must have the fortitude to live spiritually rather than cave in to the pressure of the fashionable materialistic trends. Despite the decadence of our society, or perhaps because of it, there is a latent thirst for spirituality among the people around us. If we live by our convictions, we can have a part in bringing that thirst into the open and literally change the world. Text Copyright © 2010 by Rabbi Naftali Reich and Torah.org.

Utter Honesty

Parshas Chukas

Posted on June 28, 2012 (5772) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah | Level: Beginner

HASHEM spoke to Moshe saying, “Take the staff and gather the assembly, you and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes that it shall give its waters. You shall bring forth for them water from the rock and give drink to the assembly and to their animals.” Moshe took the staff from before HASHEM, as He had commanded him. Moshe and Aaron gathered the congregation before the rock and he said to them, “Listen now O rebels, shall we bring forth water for you from this rock?” Then Moshe raised his arm and struck the rock with his staff twice. Abundant water came forth and the assembly and their animals drank. HASHEM said to Moshe, “Because you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the Children of Israel, therefore you will not bring this congregation into the Land that I will give them.” (Bamidbar 20:7-12)

…The testimonies of HASHEM are reliable they make wise the simple! (Tehillim 19:8)

Here we have on open display one of many clear demonstrations of the veracity of the Torah. Moshe’s faultiness is exposed in living color for the world to see for all time. He is accused by The Almighty of “not believing in HASHEM”! Even a momentary lapse, in a situation of extreme pressure and desperation is not excusable. It must be spelled out for all future generations how he had erred in his career as a servant of G-d! Usually the writer of history has his turn to revise things, consciously or sub-consciously, and sanitize the reputation of the heroes it wishes to promote. What does the Torah consistently do? It points out the subtle and overt errors of all our ancestors. No one is so sacred to avoid criticism!

Avraham is faulted for allowing water to be fetched by an agent rather than going to get it himself when he was visited by three heat stricken wayfarers on the hottest day ever just three days after his circumcision at the age of 99. The strict eye of justice did not spare or excuse him even as his greatness was on parade. Then Sara chuckled inwardly, and probably undetectable, by human hearing, and yet she was held accountable for a slight lack of belief in HASHEM’s ability to grant her a child in her old age.

Yaakov is punished for his response to Rochel when she demanded a child after her sister had already given birth multiple times. “Am I in place of G-d!?” he responded bluntly. He was evidently not the one with a fertility issue but that was not the way to respond to a woman in emotional pain. Ouch!

That a golden calf was built just 40 days after the Nation of Israel all heard the HASHEM declare, “You shall have no other gods before Me…” and the Torah records G-d’s wish to destroy the entire nation and rebuild it with Moshe is brutally truthful and revealing. That Aaron albeit unwillingly played a direct role in its construction is even more startling because later he would become the highest of high priests. That ugly fact could easily have been swept under the historical rug and no one would be the wiser.

We find that even Miriam’s slight-slight of her brother Moshe whom she loved and which resulted in her public disgrace as she was afflicted with Tzaraas, could also have avoided headlines, but no! It is one of the six daily remembrances and one of the 613 Mitzvos to remember what HASHEM did to Miriam, when she spoke to Aaron and out of for concern for Moshe! Ouch again!

The rebellion of Korach also would have been better to be hushed and whisked away. Why would Moshe want people to know that in his lifetime there were dissenting opinions and mutinous machinations at play!? Does that add or detract from the credibility you would expect Moshe to be seeking?

The answer is that Moshe did not write anything from his own mind. He was not more than a compatible printer of The Almighty penning with perfect precision like any other scribe only what he was bidden to and not more or less.

The cases are just too many to list! Even a few examples though serve as strong evidence that the testimonies of our Holy Torah are dripping with utter honesty!

DvarTorah, Copyright © 2007 by Rabbi Label Lam and Torah.org.