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Why Jews Sing So Much

Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky

Parashas Ha’azinu is described in the Torah as a “shirah,” song, and is known as Shiras Ha’azinu (31:19, 32:44). Why did Hashem ordain that specifically this parashah, the parashah which promises us that no matter how  low  we  sink we  will always be redeemed (32:36; see Rashbam and Ohr HaChaim), should be a song?

Furthermore, Judaism puts a strong emphasis on singing in general. At the Shabbos table we sing zemiros. In shul, especially during the Yamim Nora’im, we spend much time singing. In fact, one of the services in the Beis HaMikdash was the Levi’im’s songs. Why is there such a value placed on song in Judaism? Wouldn’t it be better to remove the practice of singing at the Shabbos table, during davening, in the Beis HaMikdash, etc. and invest that time into studying Torah, saying Tehillim, or performing other mitzvos instead? There seems to be an intrinsic importance to singing to- gether. What is it?

Making a Lasting Impression

Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky

THREE DAYS AFTER Avraham performed his own bris milah, the op- portunity to do hachnasas orchim came knocking on his door. Despite being in pain and discomfort from his recent procedure, he literally ran to accommodate them. When it came to their meal, he went all out, slaughtering an entire cow for each guest and waiting attentively on their every need. It is interesting to note that Avraham was not the only person to run to take care of these guests. The Torah attests that Yishmael ran to do so as well. (See Rashi on 18:7.) Apparently, Avraham’s love for chessed made a strong impression even on someone like Yishmael. Lot too, was clearly influenced by Avraham’s dedication to kindness. When the angels visited Lot in Sedom, he risked his very life to welcome them into his home, all the while knowing that anyone in Sedom caught doing acts of kindness would be killed. Rashi explains that he had learned this devotion to kindness from the time that he spent with Avraham Avinu (19:1). It seems that the Torah is teaching us that a person’s values are always instilled within the other members of his or her household.

Even During Our Darkest Hours

Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky

In this week’s parashah, Hashem informs us that during exile we will ultimately sin and serve idols. As punishment, Hashem de- clares: “I will conceal My face from them” (31:17). The Torah then states that even after we acknowledge that our suffering is due to the fact that Hashem left our midst, and we regret our sins, He will still “surely” conceal His face from us (31:18; see Ohr HaChaim).

It makes sense that after we serve idols, Hashem will conceal His face from us. However, why is it that even after we recognize that our suffering is due to our own sins which drove G-d away from our midst, He will continue to hide His face from us? Additionally, why is it that after we acknowledge that Hashem left our midst, Hashem uses an even harsher expression of “surely”?

The following true story, related by Elan Perchik in the name of Rabbi Chaim Rosenfeld, will make everything clear:

The Gift of Teshuvah and Rosh Hashanah

Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky

With Rosh Hashana right around the corner, it comes as no surprise that this week’s parashah discusses the mitzvah of teshuvah.

Why does teshuvah work? Why is it that even if I sin severely, if I genuinely decide to improve, Hashem will accept that apology? This question becomes compounded when one realizes that  even when I do teshuvah with the highest level of sincerity, ultimately, I will probably sin and stumble again in the future, as no one is perfect. If so, why does Hashem accept such a temporary and fleeting teshuvah?

Additionally, even though we are judged with frightening scrutiny on Rosh Hashanah for our every deed, it is still known as a Yom Tov, as it is the day we crown our King — and by doing so, reconnect to Him in the strongest manner possible. However, haven’t we all sinned many times in this past year? At the very least, didn’t we promise last year to dramatically improve, yet stayed more or less the same? If so, why would Hashem accept such a coronation? Shouldn’t our coronation be severely tainted? Furthermore, if indeed we are not as virtuous as we should be, why are our actions on Rosh Hashanah still so beloved by Hashem? Why did He decree that it should be a Yom Tov, and that we should eat enjoyable meals with friends and family and wear our Shabbos clothing?

The danger of Jealousy

Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky

What caused korach to rebel, the sin which ultimately caused him to be punished with the horrific and public death of being swallowed alive by the ground? Jealousy. Korach was jealous of Aharon and desired to be the Kohen Gadol. The character flaw that fueled this jealousy and which ultimately brought about his utter destruction was his lack of appreciation for the gifts that Hashem had already given him.

Korach had a lot going for him. He was not only a tremendous and well-respected Torah scholar, he was also a Levi; he was from the Shevet that was destined to have the honor of working in the Beis HaMikdash. Furthermore, he and his descendants would have been privileged to enjoy financial security for the rest of their lives, as Levi’im are supported by the Jewish nation via their ma’aser. On top of that, he would have been privileged to have all the honor one could hope for, as the Levi’im would spend their days singing Hashem’s praises in front of all of those who visited the Beis HaMikdash each day. Regarding the Levi’im, Korach’s tribe, Hashem said (Bamidbar 3:12), “The Levi’im shall be mine.” (See also Bamidbar 8:14.) How privileged and honored was Korach! yet, that just wasn’t enough. As a result of Korach’s constant greed for more, he sacrificed it all, ultimately losing everything. What caused Korach to make such an eternally grave life-error?

a young man from a wealthy family was preparing to graduate college. Knowing there was nothing his dad couldn’t afford, the young man informed his father that an appropriate gift to mark the occasion would be a beautiful sports car that he had long admired. Graduation day approached, and with unconcealed enthusiasm, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, the day came. after a grand cere- mony, his father told him how much he loved him and handed him a beautifully wrapped gift box. The young man tore off the wrapping, opened the box, and found a leather-bound photo album containing pictures of him at every stage of his life. hardly taking the time to look through the album, the young man yelled, “With all your money, this is the best you could do?!” he stormed out of the house in a rage. he rarely called his father after that episode and never visited him again. Even after much time had passed, he refused to make peace with his disappoint- ment. The young man grew to become a parent. one day, before his own daughter’s eighth-grade graduation, she asked to visit her grandfather, whom she had never seen before. he began to make arrangements, but in the interim, he received a telegram informing him that his father had passed away and had willed him all his possessions. When he searched through his father’s important papers, he discovered the still-new photo album, as he turned the pages, his childhood passed before his eyes. When he came to the final page, he was shocked to find a sealed envelope nestled between the pages. he opened it up and two items dropped out: the car key to his dream car and a tag which read “Paid in Full,” marked with the date of his grad- uation.

Korach may not have had it all, but he certainly had been granted an incredible opportunity to serve in the capacity of a Levi. Had he accepted his role, he would have ranked among the leading families in the Jewish nation and enjoyed immense respect, financial security, and adulation. Instead, Korach completely lost sight of the gift that he had possessed all along — that was the source of his downfall. His legacy is that of a jealous rasha who, like the young man in the above-mentioned story, chose to focus on the packaging, never taking the time to examine his gifts. He did not realize that just because something is not packaged the way we expect it, does not mean that it is not a gift. (Heard from Rabbi elazar Meisels, Partnersintorah.org.)

Why is it that the commandment against jealousy is listed among the Ten Commandments — ten of the most fundamental aspects of Judaism? The answer is because we can only be jealous when we lack a fundamental principle of emunah: the understanding that Hashem runs every aspect of our lives and loves us even more than we love ourselves. Hashem gives us everything that is beneficial for us! Hence, there is no room for jealousy. The Chafetz Chaim once asked some- one how things were going. The man answered something we hear all too often: “Could be better.” The Chafetz Chaim corrected him and said, “No, they can’t be. If they could be any better, rest assured that your loving Father would have made it so.” Our life’s circumstances are always optimal and filled with blessing, whether we realize it or not. This understanding is so fundamental to our beliefs that it is included in the Ten Commandments.

We are all incredibly wealthy and privileged. May we always re- frain from focusing too much on the packaging, and put more focus into fully appreciating all of the many incredible gifts that Hashem has given us.

A Divine Track Record

Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky

The drama unfolded quickly. The meraglim came back from their expedition and reported that our enemies in eretz yisrael were giants and were much too powerful to overcome. Not only that, they claimed that the Land was a bad place to live in for it “eats its inhabitants.” With those few short sentences, the spies succeeded in creating a storm of panic, anxiety, and fear among the Jewish na- tion. In fact, the entire Jewish nation, en masse, was literally brought to tears, and cried, “It would have been better if we died in egypt or the wilderness! …Why is Hashem bringing us to this land to die by the sword?” (14:1-3)

At this point, it’s understandable that tensions were high, but did the Jews really believe that Hashem had taken such great care of them for so long just to abandon them now? This was the same Hashem Who had rescued them from slavery through open miracles, split the sea to save them from the egyptians, fed them mann which rained from the heavens, and took care of their every need in the barren des- ert through miraculous means. Could the nation who had witnessed all of this have really believed that the Promised Land was actually bad, and that Hashem lead them there as some sort of elaborate plan to execute them? How can we even begin to understand their reaction?

Furthermore, Rav Moshe Feinstein explains that whenever the Torah describes an episode of human behavior that seems unrelatable to us, it is in order to teach us that indeed if we are not careful, we too are at risk of following their example (Darash Moshe, Shemos). This makes it even more important to answer: how could the Jews have behaved in such a way, doubting Hashem’s perfect track record of performing countless miracles for them and only doing what was for the nation’s absolute benefit; and how could we possibly be at risk of following their irrational behavior?

a very wealthy man had a son who was deviating from the path of Torah. despite this, he loved his son unconditionally and gave him whatever his heart desired. although he encouraged his son to do his best to perform the mitzvos, he never forced it upon him nor did he hold back any love or gifts when his son did not do so. When his son turned sixteen, he told his father that he wanted to go to a distant, far less religious school. The father reluctantly agreed, but instructed his son, “at the very least, please make sure that you put on your tefillin every day so that you stay connected to hashem.” The boy agreed. a month later, the boy sent a letter to his father asking for more money to buy some basic necessities. Instead of his normal prac- tice of providing his son with as much money as he desired, the father sent him back a letter saying, “Pray to hashem, and he will give you what you need.” The boy was furious at his father’s response. Never before in his entire life had his father withheld money from him even when it came to luxuries, let alone for his basic needs. “how could he do this to me?!” he fumed. he waited a few days and wrote back, “I prayed to hashem, but he didn’t help. Please, send me more money.” The father again sent a letter saying, “Strengthen yourself, my son, and pray to hashem. he will help.” The boy was livid. after this exchange happened a third time, he had no choice but to return home. Storming into the house, he exclaimed, “dad, you don’t care about me! Why couldn’t you send me more money? You must hate me!” The father looked into his son’s eyes and asked gen- tly, “after taking such good care of you and only doing what’s in your best interest for all of these many years, don’t I have a good enough track record to earn your trust? I told you how to get more money. all you had to do was pray.” “I did pray, but it didn’t work!” the boy screamed. The father calmly walked over to his son’s suitcase and slowly opened his tefillin bag. The boy was shocked to see thousands of dollars folded up inside. (Based on a story told by rav Shalom Schwadron zt”l.)

Rav Shimshon Pincus (in Tiferes Shimshon) explains that as ridic- ulous as it seems, we are often guilty of doing the same thing that the Jewish nation, as well as the boy in the story, were guilty of: We often get so annoyed when something doesn’t go the way we want it to, that we completely disregard our Father’s incredible track record of be- stowing so much goodness upon us. When things seem to go horribly wrong, we are quick to feel that Hashem purposely let an evil befall us. Shouldn’t our reaction trigger the same incredulous question that rose to mind regarding the Jewish people’s reaction? When things seem to be bleak, why don’t we focus on Hashem’s incredible track record of bestowing so much goodness and blessing upon us, similar to the attitude we expected of the Jewish nation? A person can have it all: good health, no financial debt, family, friends, food, etc. yet, if one big thing goes wrong, we tend to say in frustration, “Hashem, why me?” Why do we feel so abandoned when something seems to go awry? How can we be such poor mathematicians? Hashem has already done millions of favors for us day after day, proving time and again that He loves us and is in control. If one thing seems to go horribly “wrong,” shouldn’t we realize that it was surely precisely calculated and for our absolute good?

The Jewish people’s reaction to the meraglim’s report, as well as that of the boy in the story, are unfortunately, typical human behavior and tendency, and not uncommon. Therefore, as Rav Moshe Feinstein explains, unless one proactively works on battling this behavior, he is destined to repeat it, as we have all experienced on some occasion or another.

The root of what caused the Jewish nation to panic and cry real tears over being “forced” to enter eretz yisrael stemmed from failing to ap- preciate all the good that Hashem did for them, thus causing them to feel that Hashem was leading them to a bad place. How do we rectify this sin? How can we conquer this human tendency to feel abandoned by Hashem when things appear to go wrong? How do we internalize Hashem’s love for us with every fiber of our being? We can start by internalizing all the millions of good things that Hashem does for us on a regular basis. Think about it: why does Hashem require us to make separate berachos over every little pleasure and benefit we experience throughout our day? Why must I make separate berachos over my breakfast, using the bathroom, taking a quick drink of water or coffee? Couldn’t I just make one berachah in the morning thank- ing Hashem in general for food and for taking care of my bodily needs? The answer is that the requirement to make berachos is not for Hashem’s benefit but for our own. By having to make so many be- rachos each and every day, we are “forced” to acknowledge how truly blessed and loved we are by Hashem. each and every snack or meal I eat and every pleasure I experience requires me to acknowledge that Hashem is intimately involved in my life and constantly giving so much to me.

The next time you make a berachah, take a moment to internalize that Hashem must really love you if He decided to provide you with this benefit. If you get into the habit of doing so, you will begin to feel more and more loved by Hashem with every berachah that you make. Then, when facing tough times, you will be able to view the situation differently. you’ll feel an inner peace born of the understanding that if the same loving and kind Hashem Who has taken such great care of you until now has brought you to this situation, it must be for the best. Nothing is more valuable than the inner serenity and happiness that this affords. May we all merit to internalize this by constantly recognizing all of the good that Hashem showers upon us.

A fresh perspective on Loshan Hara

Rabbi Moishy Pruzansky

This week’s ParaShah discusses tzara’as, a spiritually caused physical affliction that was primarily the result of lashon hara, gossiping, or speaking negatively about another (Arachin 15b). When one was afflicted with tzara’as, he was required to go to the Kohen who would verify the tzara’as and pronounce him impure. Interestingly, the severe status of impurity did not begin at the time that tzara’as appeared on the body. Rather, even if many Kohanim and experts verified that one had tzara’as for a long period of time, the impurity only began once the Kohen verbalized that the person was impure (Nega’im 3:1). His impurity relied so greatly on the Kohen’s verbalization, in fact, that if the person was in middle of his own sheva berachos, and the Kohen recognized tzara’as but delayed his verbal declaration out of respect for the sheva berachos, the impurity only took effect after the Kohen articulated that the man was impure, instead of from the time of the actual affliction (Nega’im 3:4).

When it comes to all other cases of impurity, one was considered impure from the moment that the cause of impurity occurred. Why did tzara’as, in particular, require the words of the Kohen in order for the impurity to commence?

Perhaps we can answer this by addressing another question: Hashem created this world with dibur, words (see Parashas Bereishis). Why did Hashem specifically do so with the spoken word, instead of through thought or some other means?

On July 1, 1846, the vienna General hospital in Europe hired Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis to work in the maternity ward. There were two maternity clinics in the hospital at the time. The first clinic had a maternal mortality rate of about 10%. The second clinic’s rate was considerably lower, averaging less than 4%. Inexplicably, even mothers who gave birth in their homes had a better survival rate than those who gave birth in the first clinic. Semmelweis was severely troubled by this, but he couldn’t figure out what the cause could be. The two clinics used practically identical techniques. The only major difference was the indi- viduals who worked there. The first clinic was run by medical students who came to deliver babies after their morning work dissecting cadavers, while the second clinic was exclusively run by midwives.

The breakthrough occurred in 1847. dr. Semmelweis con- cluded that the medical students carried “germs” from the cadavers in the autopsy room to the patients they examined in the first clinic. This explained why the student midwives in the second clinic, who were not engaged in autopsies and had no contact with corpses, saw a much lower mortality rate.

The germ theory of disease had not yet been developed. Thus, Semmelweis concluded some unknown “cadaverous ma- terial” caused childbed fever. he instituted a policy of using a solution of chlorinated lime for washing hands between autopsy work and the examination of patients. The results were simply incredible. The mortality rate in the first clinic dropped dramat- ically from 10% to 1.9%. In the year following his discovery, the death rate was 0%.

Unfortunately, dr. Semmelweis’s failure to convince his fel- low doctors of “invisible germs” led to a tragic conclusion. dr.

Semmelweis’s hypothesis — that there was only one cause of disease, that all that mattered was cleanliness — was extreme at the time and was largely ignored, rejected, or ridiculed. his practices of cleanliness and his belief in germs were completely disregarded by the other doctors, and many patients died as a result of their ignorance. Semmelweis was promptly dismissed from the hospital, harassed by the medical community, and was even committed to an asylum. Semmelweis’s practice earned widespread acceptance only years after his death, when Louis Pasteur developed the germ theory of disease, offering a theoret- ical explanation for Semmelweis’s findings.

Like germs, LaShoN hara is an invisible killer, one that can cause very real and devastating destruction if precautionary measures are not taken seriously. While its harm cannot be seen by the naked eye, it can cause severe destruction to our relationships with our fellow Jews and our own well-being both in this world, as well as in the World to Come.

Lashon hara is more severe than idolatry, adultery, and murder combined (Yerushalmi, Pe’ah 1), but its efforts are invisible, leaving the great risk it poses to be taken too lightly. Indeed, one could easily make the mistake of thinking that words are utterly harmless and that they have no real impact on the world or the people around them. In order to dispel this notion, and in order to demonstrate the power of speech, Hashem specifically created the entire universe with words. It is also for this reason that when it comes to tzara’as, the punishment for lashon hara, the Torah put so much power specifically in the words of the Kohen. This was intended to demonstrate just how real, potent, and concrete our words are. They have the ability to create worlds and nurture spiritual growth and, at the same time, they have the ability to utterly destroy them.

The Chafetz Chaim’s lifetime efforts to promote awareness of the incredible danger of lashon hara can, in a sense, be compared to Dr.Semmelweis’ efforts to make the world aware of germs.* Will we take to heart the Chafetz Chaim’s very strong warnings regarding the danger of lashon hara, thereby saving our nation from exile, not to mention preserving your own personal spirituality and relationships? Will we follow his paramount advice to study the laws of lashon hara daily? Or will we choose to disregard, ignore, and reject his advice, as Dr. Semmelweis’s peers did? This monumental life decision is ours.

True kindness

Rabbi Moishy Pruzansky

This week’s Parsha details which animals and fowl may or may not be eaten according to Torah Law. The Ramban explains that whatever you eat has an influence on your character, and the forbidden birds and animals possess negative character traits. Therefore, Hashem prohibited eating predators and other cruel an- imals lest we become influenced even slightly by their inherent bad behavior (11:13). Apparently, the expression “you are what you eat” is a Torah concept.

However, the “chassidah” bird seems to pose a complete contra- diction to this rule. The Torah states that the chassidah, which some Sages define as a stork, is not kosher. Rashi comments that the name for this bird is closely related to the Hebrew word chessed, kindness. Rashi continues to explain that the reason why it was given this par- ticular name is because the chassidah displays kindness by sharing its food with the other members of its species (11:19).

How can the Ramban’s opinion be reconciled with this fact? If the nature of this bird is to kindly share its food with all the birds of its species, why is it not kosher?

Rabbi Yissocher Frand relates a true story (The Power of a vort, pp. 288–289, artScroll), which he heard from rabbi Yaakov Luban.

A young man with severe learning disabilities lived with his family in Yerushalayim. For years, his family cared for him at home, but as time went on and the family grew, it became increasingly difficult to do so. Someone recommended a specific school for disabled adults. The school had a housing program and students lived there long-term. The parents struggled with the idea of sending their son to such an institution, but after some time, they finally decided that they had no other choice. Before taking the step, they arranged a meeting with rav Shlomo zalman auer- bach zt”l for guidance. “did you discuss this decision with your son yet?” rav Shlomo zalman asked.“discuss it with him?” they asked in surprise. “he’s mentally challenged.” “Well,” replied rav Shlomo zalman, “you can’t just drop him off there without speaking to him about it first. It wouldn’t be right. Please bring him to me and I will discuss the matter with him.” When the parents brought their son to rav Shlomo zalman, he lovingly asked the young man, “What is your name?”

The young man responded with his name.

“My name is rav Shlomo zalman auerbach and I am the gadol hador.” [rabbi Yissocher Frand points out that rav Shlomo zalman was world-renowned for his extreme humility and must have felt extremely uncomfortable voicing that sentence out loud — he had never been heard making such statements in the past. Yet, in order to comfort this mentally challenged individual, he made a statement that was completely out of character.] “I have a problem that I need your help with. There is a school that has no mashgiach to ensure that everything is being run properly. as the gadol hador, it’s my job to make sure that every- thing is being run there as well as possible. Unfortunately, I can’t be there regularly. Can I ask you a favor? Would you be willing to go live in the school and serve as my representative to make sure that it’s being run properly? Tell everyone that rav Shlomo zalman auerbach, the gadol hador, sent you as his personal emissary to supervise.”

The boy “accepted” his position excitedly. he took his mission so seriously that a few weeks after being placed in the institu- tion, when his parents wanted to bring him home for Shabbos, they had to work hard convincing him — as he insisted that he couldn’t take the Shabbos off. “rav Shlomo zalman told me that I am responsible for this school,” he protested. “I have to be here to supervise.”

Rav Shlomo zalman auerbach exemplified true kindness. Kindness does not mean being compassionate exclusively to people similar to you but to go out of your way to shower kind- ness upon all people, no matter how different you and they may be.*

The first Gerrer Rebbe, the Chiddushei Harim (Rabbi yitzchak Meir Alter), explains that the reason why the chassidah bird is not kosher is because it only does kindness with its own species. It never displays kindness toward anyone that looks, acts, or feels differently than itself — and this is why it’s rendered non-kosher. The Torah thus teaches us that “kindness” that is limited exclu- sively to others who act, dress, or think just like you, is not kindness but mere socializing or an expression of self-interest. As such, the chassidah bird — which shows generosity only to its own species — is rightfully designated as a non-kosher bird, for the Torah does not want us to follow its terrible example. When we Think of “kindness” we tend to think of “charity.” However, the Gemara states that greeting others warmly and with a bright smile (and by logical extension, offering your friendship to a stranger) — are even greater acts of kindness than monetary favors (Kesuvos 111b). Such gestures are things that every human being needs, rich and poor alike, in order to have a bright and enjoyable day.

The lesson from this week’s parashah is undeniable: kindness is only complete if you direct it toward everyone. Often we find it easier to be kind and warm toward people in our own social circles, toward those who share our nuances of Judaism, or toward people who dress, think, and talk just like us. However, we should learn from the ac- tions of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and the chassidah bird’s non- kosher status that a Jew must offer his warmth and kindness to everyone, including to Jews who are different than himself. If you do so, you are guaranteed to become a truly kind person. And what could be more kosher than that?

Eternal Dividends

Rabbi Moishy Pruzansky

“T hese are the accountings of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of testimony, which were accounted at Moshe’s bidding.” (ShemoS 38:21)

The construction of the Mishkan and all of its holy vessels were completed. Moshe gave the Jewish people a calculation of how he had used every single ounce of gold, silver, and copper that had been contributed. The Ohr HaChaim points out that the verse opens, “These are the accountings…” — which implies that specifically this is considered a meaningful and everlasting counting, as opposed to a different instance of reckoning which is not. What is this reckoning coming to reject?

The Ohr HaChaim offers an answer that can better be understood through the following story:

A powerful king once approached the famous Baron rothschild and candidly asked him what he was worth. The Baron is reputed to have answered that he was worth some fifty million francs. The king felt that the answer somehow understated his true hold- ings and did some investigation. When he discovered that Baron rothschild was really worth 500 million francs, he felt betrayed and confronted the Baron. “Why have you misled me and violated our trusting relationship? I am aware that your assets exceed 500 million francs!” The Baron humbly replied that true, his holdings were some 500 million francs — but the king had asked, “how much are you worth?” To that, the Baron was compelled to tell the truth. “What I gave to charity approaches fifty million francs. only this is actually accounted to my real ‘worth,’ and worthy of accounting. This is what I carry with me and is something that I will never lose. It is locked in a vault of good deeds forever and no world event or calamity can ever diminish it. as to what will happen to the remainder of my wealth, I am always uncertain. Therefore, I do not count it as my personal worth.”

The Ohr HaChaim explains that our verse is teaching us the les- son illustrated by this true story. Only money used for the building of Hashem’s sanctuaries — or for other spiritual goals — is genuinely meaningful and everlasting. Only “these” are considered true “ac- countings,” for only they are truly eternal.*

A final story about the great Baron Rothschild, which further embodies this crucial life lesson:

Before passing away, Baron rothschild handed his children two letters. he instructed them to open one immediately following his death, and the second a month later. They opened the first letter and discovered the following message: “My last request is that I should be buried wearing my socks.” Even though his chil- dren were perplexed by such a request, they still tried to honor it. They fought hard, but the rabbis would not allow it. Their father was buried without his socks. after the month had passed, his children anxiously opened up the second letter to discover another message: “I know that you did not bury me wearing my socks as I had requested, since it is against halachah. You are most probably wondering why, then, did I request it in the first place. My answer to you, my dear children, is to teach you an eternal lesson: a person can spend his life amassing a great amount of possessions and money, but no matter how hard he tries, he cannot even take his socks with him to the Next World! his physical possessions are entirely temporary! only the money that he used for Torah and mitzvos will accompany him; those are the only possessions worthy of his full time and attention.”

Recognizing the eternal significance of spiritual “accounting” — and internalizing the fact that our spirituality deserves our primary focus and attention — is vital to leading a successful life. Consider the fol- lowing: anyone who runs a business knows that you must put a lot of effort into accounting for every penny, being on top of all of your numbers, and charting your profits and losses, if you want it to suc- ceed. Doing so ensures that your business is succeeding and staying in line with its full potential. If one fails to be on top of his num- bers and to perform regular accountings, the whole endeavor will be destined for failure! If this is important for something as relatively fleeting as our wealth, how much more so regarding our spirituality? Chazal state that the yetzer hara desperately tries to convince us to do just that and ignore all reckoning when it comes to our spirituality. When asked whether or not it is important to be a good person, vir- tually everyone will nod in the affirmative. Most people would also agree that to be a truly good person one should not be satisfied and complacent with one’s current “level of goodness” — it’s important to continue to grow and improve. yet, one finds very few people actually keeping track or periodically doing any “accounting” of their spiritual growth and character development. We tend to just hope things are going well, instead of setting goals, evaluating our progress and mak- ing sure that we are actually succeeding in our 120-year investment called “life.”

For example: have you ever thought about what spiritual and character improvements you would like to have achieved within the next ten years? If you feel that there is no room to improve and you are happy with your current character traits, then there really is no reason for you to still be alive in this world, is there? (Scary, but true.) After all, the purpose of our lives is to grow.

We can all gain from growing in some area or another. In or- der to do so, it is imperative that we all do a spiritual “accounting” from time to time, and take this Ohr HaChaim, which discusses the eternal value of doing so, to heart. Think deeply and honestly about the character improvements important to you and those that you would like to acquire during this month, year, or decade. Then, take a few moments every week or month to give some thought about how you’re progressing. If you do so, you can be sure that your life will be full of accomplishments and that you’re effectively actualizing your life’s full potential.

Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky

How To Avoid Sin

The names of the twelve Shevatim were engraved on the avnei shoham, the stones on the shoulder straps of the Kohen Gadol’s ephod. Rashi (28:12) explains that one of the reasons for this was to “remind” Hashem of our forefathers’ merits. Interestingly, the shoham stones were mentioned earlier in the Torah as well. When yosef was tempted to sin with Potiphar’s wife, the image of his fa- ther, yaakov, appeared to him and convinced him not to sin. yaakov showed yosef the stone with his name on it that was destined to be on the Kohen Gadol’s garment forever. If yosef would sin, yaakov explained, he would forfeit this great honor and merit that he was on track to accomplishing.

Why did yaakov specifically use this information to persuade yosef? Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate to remind him that this was a married woman and that being with her would mean transgressing one of the three cardinal sins? Shouldn’t yaakov have pointed out to him that transgressing such a severe sin would earn him the worst place in Gehinnom?

Menachem Mendel, the Tzemach Tzeddek, was the grandson of the first Lubavitcher rebbe. When he was in elementary school he was among the smallest boys in the class. one day at recess, Menachem Mendel and his classmates decided to have a contest to see who could climb to the top of the highest tree in the school yard. Menachem Mendel, who made it considerably higher up the tree than everyone else, won. his grandfather witnessed the contest and asked him how he had pulled off such a feat. after all, Menachem Mendel was relatively weak and feeble compared to his stronger classmates. Menachem Mendel answered with a message that would shape his life’s direction: “My trick was simple. all the other boys were constantly looking down while they climbed, but I knew better. You can’t reach great heights if you are always looking down, at the consequences of failing. rather, I only looked upwards at the heights I could achieve if I continued trying.” Indeed, Menachem Mendel utilized his strategy of constantly striving to reach greater heights and of focusing on growth and positivity, to become the third leader of the Lubavitch dynasty; and he inspired thousands to follow his example of always reaching higher.

Instead of reminding yosef about what he would lose if he failed, yaakov taught him to fight his yetzer hara through positivity and re- minded him about the incredible heights that he would achieve if he kept on trying. He taught yosef, and us, that you should not avoid sin only by focusing on the potential for punishment, but by also focus- ing on your potential for greatness that will be compromised if you succumb to sin.

Yaakov’s lesson To his son yosef is a shining example of how to in- still the will to avoid sinning within our own children as well. Instead of scaring our children with the doom and gloom of punishment, it would be so much more effective to raise our children with a fo- cus on the positivity of fulfilling the mitzvos, showing them all of the greatness that they are capable of and the beauty of being all that they can be. Additionally, this focus should be used to motivate ourselves in our battle against our own yetzer hara. Just like yosef, we too have an incredible mission to serve our Creator and, if we succeed, our merits will stand for ourselves and our children forever as well. This mission comes into play every single time we are tempted to sin, for Chazal teach us that our life’s mission is to demonstrate Hashem’s rulership to the world and that we fulfill this paramount mission each and every time we refrain from sinning.

The next time that we are tempted to sin, let us focus on who we are and the greatness that we are all capable of attaining. Let us focus on our innate desire to retain the spiritual wholesomeness that Hashem has invested within us and the feeling of meaning, purpose, and accomplishment that we attain when we do so. Being a member of the Jewish nation affords us the opportunity for an infinite poten- tial for growth, accomplishment, and meaning that we will forever be proud of. Deep down, we all desire to achieve this greatness. May we internalize yaakov’s lesson to focus on these aspirations in order to overcome our yetzer hara, and always focus on the heights that we can accomplish if we continue to reach higher.

What’s so Bad about nominal interest?

Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky

In this week’s parashah the Torah teaches us about the prohibition of charging another Jew interest (for a loan). The intricacies of this law encompass a myriad of scenarios and prohibit benefiting from even a few cents of interest. In fact, even if the borrower states explicitly and sincerely that he doesn’t mind being charged interest, it is still prohibited. This demonstrates the severity of this prohibition. Furthermore, at least six mitzvos are violated if one transgresses this single prohibition.

This begs the question: why is charging interest such a severe sin? Why is it that even if the amount of interest is trivial and the bor- rower doesn’t mind, it remains strictly prohibited? Interest doesn’t seem to be a cruelty. On the contrary; in today’s society, charging interest is normal and even beneficial. Ask anyone who recently got approved for a mortgage and they will express their happiness that a bank agreed to supply the full amount of cash necessary to pur- chase their home in exchange for monthly payments with nominal interest that can be paid over the course of many years. Additionally, if charging interest is indeed unfair or cruel, why is it that we are allowed to charge non-Jews interest? We are supposed to be a light unto the nations and surely we may not act unfairly or cruelly to any other human being.

Consider the following true story:

Mrs. rice was driving through Toowoomba, australia, on Monday to buy her children school uniforms during a terrible storm. With her two sons, Jordan (thirteen years old) and Blake (ten years old), in the car, their white Mercedes suddenly broke down in shallow flood water. as she tried in vain to restart it, the flood waters quickly rose. desperately, the mother of four called emergency services and was told to remain where she was. however, as the water continued to rise, Mrs. rice and her sons were forced to actually clamber onto the roof of their stranded vehicle.

It was then that passerby Warren McErlean and another man set out to rescue them, tying ropes around themselves. however, as the storm worsened, the water turned into a torrent and the rescuers themselves ran into trouble. Time was running out. The men quickly reached for one of the boys, Jordan, in order to save him. Jordan’s father later explained to reporters that Jordan could not swim and was terrified of water. however, Jordan turned down the rescuers and told them to save his brother, Blake, first. They explained that this was life and death, but he was adamant.

They carried Blake from the waters, but then, Jordan and his 43-year-old mother were swept off the roof by a sudden current and were carried away to their deaths. Jordan’s last action was to sacrifice his own life to save his little brother from certain death.*

A final true story:

About fifteen hours after a 4.7-magnitude earthquake struck the town of ascoli Piceno, in central Italy, firefighters were desper- ately searching for survivors among the ruins. Suddenly, a rescue dog signaled that he smelled something. Rescuers soon found a doll… and two young sisters caught in a life-saving embrace. Bishop Giovanni d’Ercole shared the story of Giulia and Giorgia during a funeral Mass for 35 of the 290 people killed in the earthquake.

“The older one, Giulia, was sprawled over and protecting her younger sister, Giorgia. Giulia, dead, Giorgia, alive. They were in an embrace,” d’Ercole said, according to news reports. Giulia was only nine years old when she gave her life to save her four-year-old sister.*

With this, we can understand a beautiful answer provided by Rav Shimon Schwab (Parashas Behar): In reality, charging nominal interest is neither cruel nor unfair. Why then is it so severely prohib- ited? This prohibition is not intended to forbid a particular action as much as it is intended to prohibit a particular mentality. Family will do just about anything to help family. Imagine that you have a sister with whom you are very close. Unfortunately, this sister is strug- gling financially, while you have plenty of money in the bank. When she approaches you and requests a loan to help her get through her tough situation, who in the world would even consider allowing her to pay back the loan with interest? even though it is normal to charge reasonable interest to a stranger, you would never consider doing so to a struggling family member. It is for this reason that the Torah prohibits charging one’s fellow Jew interest. These laws are intended to instill within us one crucial and vital understanding: all Jews are family. Not just “distant relative” family; rather, loyal and immediate family. It is for this reason that even the most nominal amount of interest is prohibited, regardless of whether or not the borrower minds — because family never charges family interest. Ever. It is also for this reason that it’s only prohibited to charge a Jew interest, for while we must always be kind and fair to non-Jews, we do not share a familial relationship with them.

The myriad of sensitive laws that prohibit charging a fellow Jew in- terest are intended to teach you just how far you must go to regard every Jew as your sibling and not just as a stranger who lives down the block. In fact, every interpersonal commandment is intended to drive this single lesson home. Indeed, when Hillel was asked to sum up the entire Torah in one sentence he answered: “That which you hate, don’t do to others,” an Aramaic paraphrase of the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Shabbos 31a and Maharsha ad loc.). Although how this command encapsulates the mitzvos between man and G-d requires an explanation, one thing is clear: the purpose of all interpersonal mitzvos is not simply to do kind acts for our fellow Jew. Rather, as demonstrated by Hillel’s words and the prohibition of charging interest, it is to strengthen and encourage genuine emo- tions of love and care for every Jew.

If we spend our lifetimes being scrupulous with interpersonal mitzvos in a passive manner, and never put effort into acquiring a true sense of love for every Jew, we have arguably not yet fulfilled even a single interpersonal mitzvah. Learning to relate to every Jew with the same non-judgmental, accepting, and caring manner as one does for a close sibling isn’t simply an “extra-credit” pursuit. Rather, it is the sole litmus test of whether or not you are succeed- ing in fulfilling the interpersonal mitzvos. While it may take a life- time to master, it is well worth the commitment of spending one’s lifetime to doing so. In the words of Hillel, someone who succeeds in this area has succeeded in fulfilling the entire Torah. This is no simple praise and is one that should earn our unwavering commitment to accomplish.

The need for a chosen nation

Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky

In this week’s parashah Hashem gave us the Torah, thereby setting us aside as His chosen nation, one that would be required to keep His Torah forever. Before this point in time there was no concept of a Jew. Adam and Chavah were not Jewish. Noach was not Jewish. In fact, even Avraham, yitzchak, and yaakov were not “Jewish,” in the same sense as after the giving of the Torah. (According to most Sages, they kept the mitzvos although they were not required to do so.*) Only now, with the giving of the Torah, did Hashem officially choose us as His special nation who would be required to keep the Torah forever and ever and thereby always represent Him.

Why was it necessary to have a “chosen nation” that would forever be required to keep the Torah? Also, if it was so important, why didn’t Hashem choose one sooner?

*Da’as Zekeinim, Bereishis 37:35, Shut Rama, Siman 10. Also, see Ramban, Bereishis 26:5, where he explains that in a few select instances the Avos did not keep the Torah outside of eretz yisrael. See Rambam, Hilchos Melachim 9:1. See Maharal, Gur Aryeh, Bereishis 46:10).

Let us explain with a powerful parable told by Rabbi Benzion Klatzko:

There once lived a kind and benevolent king who only wanted the best for his kingdom. Unfortunately, his kingdom was filled with crime and corruption. This bothered the king tremendously. one day he gave his subjects the following ultimatum: act with morality and kindness toward each other, or else I will leave. Nobody believed the king would ever leave. after all, who ever heard of a king leaving his kingdom? however, after many weeks of no improvement, the king indeed left. he was independently wealthy, and he brought all of his money with him. He decided to start over. he bought a huge plot of land, and built from scratch the most beautiful city imaginable. all of the residents from the nearby villages approached the king with the desire to live there. The king welcomed them, with one simple rule: You may live here in happiness, and I will take care of your every need as long as you promise to be kind and moral. The offer was pleasing in everyone’s eyes, and the new kingdom quickly filled to capacity. Everyone lived in harmony, which brought the king immense joy. After a couple of months however, things began to deterio- rate. one day the news of a shoplifting hit the streets. a couple of days later there was a mugging. Before the king knew it, crime started to take root in his brand-new kingdom.

The king was distraught. he called in his top advisor, desper- ately seeking advice. “I can’t make a new kingdom every time an issue arises. What should I do? Why won’t my citizens behave justly and morally?” The advisor responded, “My king, you are moral and kind, and simply want everyone to follow in your ways. The problem is that the public never see you, because you live in your castle on top of a tall mountain, and rarely go out in public. This makes it difficult for your subjects to learn from your shining example.

My advice is as follows: Find the most moral of men in your kingdom, and train them in how to represent your ways. Give them royal purple jackets to wear so that your subjects will know that they represent you. If the people have living role models of your will spread out throughout the kingdom, you can effectively direct them in how to be moral and kind just like yourself.”

We are The “Purple Jacket People.” When Hashem first created the world, the inhabitants became so corrupt that Hashem had to give them the following ultimatum: repent, or I will have to start over. They didn’t believe He would follow through on His threat. After many years, Hashem had to bring the mabul and start over. When Noach and his children left the teivah, they followed in Hashem’s ways. It looked as though the world was finally headed in the right di- rection. But yet again, it was not long before corruption was rampant. Hashem decided that the most effective way to direct His world to follow in His proper ways was to handpick the “Purple Jacket People.” We should represent His will in every aspect of life, and serve as role models to all of the world regarding proper morality, honesty, and conduct. The world is supposed to be able to look at us and say, “That must be the way G-d wants me to act.” every mitzvah that we per- form is supposed to display Hashem’s model of perfection, and to augment and strengthen every positive character trait that we possess. May we all live up to our tremendous privilege and responsibility of representing Hashem’s will and truly be a light unto the nations.

Mountain Climbing

Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky

This week’s ParaShah discusses the very first mitzvah given to the Jewish nation: Kiddush HaChodesh, the Sanctification of the New Month (12:2). This mitzvah involves the Jewish court identifying the new moon via witnesses and consequently declaring exactly when the new month will commence.

What lesson is Hashem conveying to us by making this the very first mitzvah given to us as a nation? It must contain a very powerful message! Additionally, why was it given now, while the Jews were still in egypt, and not at Har Sinai with the rest of the 613 mitzvos?

Mike was a world-famous mountain climber. he had climbed the tallest mountains in the world, including the world’s tallest mountain — Mount Everest. Mike’s close friend once asked him, “Mike, what is your secret to braving the mountain? after all, the mountains that you climb are thousands of feet tall, are on dangerous terrain, and even their appearance is incredibly intimidating. What gives you the confidence that you can do it?” Mike looked his friend in the eye, and answered with a thought- provoking explanation. “When you face a mountain, you have the choice to focus on one of two things — the mountain or the man. If you focus solely on the sheer size of the mountain and ignore the power of the man, then you are doomed to failure. however, if you look solely inwards and focus on the strength and courage that man possesses and ignore the mountain, you can do anything! I apply this practice of mine to life in general as well. In life, you can choose to focus solely on the size of the challenges that you’re faced with and be intimidated, or you can choose to focus solely on the strength of the man and realize that you can do anything. If you focus on the latter, you will find that while no challenge can overcome you — you can overcome every challenge!”

Before we could take on the monumental task of accomplishing all 613 mitzvos, Hashem had to first teach us the power that He invested within each and every one of us, which He did via this first mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh. How? Consider the following: the Gemara (Chullin 101b, as per the explanation of the Ritva) re- lates that one year the Gentile authorities forbade the Jews to fast on yom Kippur and it was impossible for them to get around the decree. What did they do? When the time for Rosh Chodesh came, the Sages simply didn’t declare the new month. Since they didn’t produce the kedushah (sanctity) of the new month, that year there was no Rosh Hashanah. Neither was there yom Kippur. We see from here that the mitzvah to sanctify the new month is not merely to announce when the sanctity of the new month — as well as all of the yamim Tovim — will be. Rather, the mitzvah is for the Jewish people to create the sanctity of the new month, as well as the in- credible sanctity that permeates all of the yamim Tovim. (See Rosh Hashanah 24b-25a.)

Additionally, the Midrash relates that when the angels ask Hashem, “When will you judge the fate of the entire universe for Rosh Hashanah?” He answers them, “Why are you asking Me?! Let us ask the Jewish court, for that decision is solely within their hands” (Yalkut Shimoni, Tehillim). We learn from here that the mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh is distinct from the other mitzvos. While all the other mitzvos entail us obeying Hashem’s instructions, with Kiddush HaChodesh, Hashem, as it were, molds reality according to our in- structions.

By giving us Kiddush HaChodesh, Hashem was revealing to us that the sanctity of even the holiest holidays will be produced solely by the actions of the Jewish people (Seforno). Only once we understood the incredible “power of the man” were we properly prepared to leave egypt and accomplish all 613 mitzvos!

It is much easier to sin or to forgo pursuing your spiritual goals when you feel that you aren’t in a position to achieve spiritual greatness or that your actions don’t make much of a difference. To dispel this no- tion, Hashem specifically gave the mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh — the mitzvah which represents our indescribable potential for spiritual greatness — to the Jewish nation while they were still in egypt, serv- ing idols and on the lowest level of impurity in history! By doing so, Hashem was demonstrating that no matter how low we fall or how ordinary we think we are, He has and will continue to invest uncon- ditional potential for greatness within us. He never gives up on our incredible potential to accomplish, and neither should we.*

This is one of the many messages of Kiddush HaChodesh. even if you find yourself in the most challenging of circumstances, never allow yourself to be overwhelmed or intimidated by the size of the mountain. Instead, always focus solely on the power of the man! This understanding is so critical to being a successful Jew that, arguably, one of the reasons why we still sanctify the month in shul even today

*In fact, Rav Tzaddok Hakohen states that just as we have a mitzvah mi- d’Oraisa to believe in the power of Hashem, we have a mitzvah mi-d’Oraisa to believe in the power of man and what he is capable of accomplishing (Tzidkas HaTzaddik 154).

Staying Inspired

Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky

Va’eira

After the plagues of frogs, beasts, and hail, respectively, Pharaoh begged Moshe to daven for his salvation in exchange for the emancipation of the Jewish nation. Moshe complied each time, but immediately afterward, Pharaoh hardened his own heart and continued to refuse to allow the Jewish nation to leave. This happened multiple times.

What was Pharaoh thinking? Were his intentions to dare to toy with Moshe Rabbeinu and Hashem Himself? Was Pharaoh, a hard- ened and experienced king, childishly feigning remorse? Furthermore, if indeed Pharaoh was insincere and he never really intended to let the Jews leave, why did Moshe heed Pharaoh’s pleas? Why did he take Pharaoh’s promise to let the Jews leave seriously?

A man was driving to an important meeting in Manhattan, one that would decide his financial future. To his horror he hit terrible traffic. By the time he pulled up to the building where his meet- ing would be taking place, there were barely a few minutes left before it would begin. To top it off, there was no parking spot in sight. The man, feeling a surge of desperation, turned his eyes heavenward and said, “hashem, I know that I haven’t been tak- ing my responsibilities to You seriously enough. hashem, if you help me find a parking spot I promise that I will change my entire life around. I will serve You with all my heart and soul. Please, oh please, hear my cry!” Miraculously, at that exact moment, a car pulled out of the perfect parking spot… right in front of the building! Without skipping a beat, the man quickly turned heavenwards and said, “Never mind, hashem; I just found a spot.”

Rav Avraham Pam explains that each and every time Pharaoh admitted to his sin of enslaving the Jews and promised to let them free, he indeed did so sincerely! In his moment of pain he genuinely felt a humble recognition of Hashem’s power. As a result of this sin- cere repentance, Moshe agreed to daven on his behalf. However, the instant the affliction ended, Pharaoh lost his brief moment of clarity and understanding that Hashem runs the world, and he reneged on his promise.

Rav Pam also states that although Pharaoh’s actions (and the above parable) are a bit extreme, we can all relate to this experience to some degree. Often, when we are going through a tough situation, it suddenly becomes so clear to us how small and powerless we are and how dependent we are on Hashem. Our suffering inspires us to daven like never before and to perform incredible acts. However, im- mediately after we are saved, it becomes very difficult to retain that inspiration.

How many Times have you gone to an inspiring speech or experienced an inspiring event, felt like you would turn your life around, and found that feeling completely dissipate after a few days or even a few hours? everyone experiences this. Inspiration is like a bolt of light- ning in a dark forest: it affords a moment of brilliant illumination and clarity but then disappears. This begs the question: How does one keep his inspiration alive? Chazal recommend to immediately adopt an easy practice that you can do consistently, no matter how “small.”

If you do so each time you’re inspired, you are guaranteed to achieve genuine greatness. Now, in case you feel that “small” positive actions are insignificant and not worth your attention, consider the following case in point. Shifra and Puah, discussed in last week’s parashah, were yocheved and Miriam. Why did the Torah refer to two of the holiest women in history by the way they coddled babies?* Rav yerucham Levovitz explains that Hashem did so to teach us that contrary to popular belief, it’s not the big things that make great people. Rather, the Torah is teaching us that it’s the small and constant gestures that do so. Relatively “small” kabbalos like deciding to say Tehillim for one minute a day, daily study of a few sentences of shemiras halashon, mussar, and the like are the keys to achieving and retaining greatness, when done on a consistent basis.

We all have moments in our lives — an uplifting Torah class, a great yom Kippur davening, or a miraculous “sign” from Heaven — when we see, hear, or experience something that gives us a tremen- dous flash of inspiration and excitement to change. yet, so often, the passage of time wears away at that enthusiasm and we are left with nothing. The Torah is teaching us that the best way to seize such mo- ments is to immediately make concrete, practical, and consistent resolu- tions to apply the inspiration, so that we may keep it with us forever.

Why Today’s Mitzvos are Priceless

Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky

In this week’s parashah, yaakov gives ephraim and Menashe the following blessing: all future generations will bless their sons that they should be just like you (48:20). Indeed, it is still the custom of every Jewish family to do so until this very day.

What made yaakov specifically choose ephraim and Menashe (his grandsons) to be the role models for all future generations? What made them unique? Furthermore, why didn’t he choose one of his own children instead? We can answer these questions through the following lesson from the Chafetz Chaim:

One day, as the Chafetz Chaim was walking down the street in radin, he met one of the town’s bakers. The baker looked sad and depressed. When the Chafetz Chaim asked him what was trou- bling him, he replied that his business was doing terribly. “Nobody likes my products. They complain that my goods are ‘too burnt, too underdone, or not shaped in an appealing fashion.’” a couple of months later, a ravaging war broke out. The Chafetz Chaim saw the baker again, but this time, he was grinning from ear to ear. The Chafetz Chaim asked him how business was going. he answered with a proud smile, “Business is fantastic! due to the war, there’s a shortage of food. People don’t care anymore about the condition of my products. In fact, food is so scarce that even my crumbs are valued like rare diamonds!”

The Chafetz Chaim explains that the same is true regarding our spiritual accomplishments in exile. Everything is relative. In previous generations when Torah giants were in abundance, it took tremendous accomplishment to be considered special. “Just” keeping all of the mitzvos was not noteworthy because everyone did it. These days, however, there is such a shortage of religious Jews and so few who are even aware of what a mitzvah is. Therefore, if one keeps even a “regular” level of Jewish obser- vance in today’s generation, it is valued like rare diamonds in the eyes of hashem. Similarly, rav Yeruchom Levovitz* said that these days one who even tries to understand a rishon’s explana- tion on a Gemara has the potential to receive even more reward than the rishon who actually wrote it!

We can learn from the fact that yaakov specifically chose ephraim and Menashe to be the role models for our children, that he con- sidered their spiritual accomplishments to be even greater than those of his own sons, the perfect Shevatim. The reason for this is because each of the Shevatim’s mitzvos were performed in the close proximity of yaakov Avinu, as well as in close proximity to ten of the greatest spiritual giants in our national history (the other Shevatim), and were performed in the holy land of eretz yisrael. ephraim and Menashe (yosef’s sons), on the other hand, grew up far from yaakov and the Shevatim’s spiritual influence and proximity. To make matters worse, they grew up in egypt, which was spiritually desolate and a place where impurity was especially rampant (see Rashi Lech Lecha 12:19).

Furthermore, they grew up in a palace with all of the money, secular education, and temptations imaginable at their disposal. Their sur- roundings were a spiritual wasteland. This made their mitzvos all the more of a rare commodity and were therefore even more precious to Hashem than those of the Shevatim.*

The reason why yaakov specifically chose ephraim and Menashe to be our role models, and why we bless our children to be like them, is because they embodied this important concept that a mitzvah is of infinitely greater value when performed in a setting where mitzvah observance is a rarity. yaakov knew that future generations would go through years and years of exile, and that each generation would be a little less perfect than the generation before it (yeridas hadoros). He also understood that this decrease in spiritual vibrancy may leave later generations feeling discouraged and feeling that their “small” spiritual accomplishments wouldn’t make much of a difference any- more. By instructing us to bless our children to be like ephraim and Menashe, yaakov intended to remind us that the reality is quite to the contrary. In fact, the less vibrant Jewish practice becomes, and the more temptations and distractions we are surrounded by, the more precious even our smallest mitzvos become to Hashem.

The rarer a valuable commodity is, the greater its value becomes. A recent study conducted by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs concluded that out of the approximately 7.5 billion people in the world, there are only 14.5 million people alive today who are Jewish. However, an even more staggering statistic is that of the 14.5 million Jews, they found that only 850,000 people in our entire nation consider them- selves Torah observant!* Jews like you and I who are even aware of Hashem’s will, let alone trying to follow it, are such a rarity! Therefore, in a very real sense, our mitzvos count more now than ever before.

May we always be consciously aware of the tremendous opportu- nity that we have by being Torah Jews in this generation, and always realize how proud Hashem is of even our smallest mitzvos that we do in today’s world.

Our sages Teach us that there is an intricate correlation be- tween two parshiyos that are in sequence in the Torah. This also applies to one sefer of Chumash that is juxtaposed to an- other; by placing them next to each other, Hashem is communicating to us a deep message, one that can teach a profound lesson. (See the first Ramban in Parashas Shemos and the first and last Baal HaTurim in Parashas Chayei Sarah.)

What, then, is the connection between this week’s parashah (Vayechi), the final parashah in Sefer Bereishis, and the parashah/ Sefer Shemos?

We can answer this by first addresing another question: As the Romans were executing Rabbi Akiva — who was one of the asarah harugei malchus — even the angels themselves questioned Hashem.

Hashem responded by saying that if they persisted in questioning Him, He would bring the world back to nothingness and to the very state that it had been in before the first day of creation! The Vilna Gaon asks: Was this intended to be an answer to their question? If yes, how did Hashem answer it? Additionally, was it really necessary for Hashem to threaten to bring the world back to nothingness? He answers that Hashem’s response was indeed a holistic answer and explains with a parable:

A king wanted a new royal robe. he searched the globe for the most expensive and exquisite material that could be found. he located a merchant who carried just the right material, but due to the material’s rareness, he charged a large fortune. Unper- turbed, the king purchased all of the extremely rare material in the merchant’s possession. The king then gave this extremely expensive material to his tailor to create a royal robe. The tailor worked tirelessly, and after weeks of meticulous work, he pre- sented it to the king. The robe was simply marvelous and the tailor was very proud of his achievement. When the king asked the tailor for the leftover fabric, the tailor explained that he had used every bit of it to make the royal robe; there was no leftover material. The queen was not convinced and accused him of hav- ing kept some for himself. after all, the material was priceless, and even a tiny amount of it was worth a small fortune. Despite the tailor’s cries, the king consequently ordered him to prove his innocence or else he would be put to death. The tailor explained that because there were so many badges and metals on the robe, there was only one way to do this. Slowly, the tailor began unraveling the entire robe, taking off the many accessories that were sewn into it, until only thread remained. at that point, the material was weighed and it was confirmed that indeed every ounce of fabric given to the tailor had been used for the robe.

Similarly, hashem explained to the angels, everything he did from the very first day of creation was vital for trillions of other acts of kindness in his Master Plan to come to fruition. Throughout history, even the most minute occurrence was care- fully orchestrated by him for an infinitely significant purpose that would sometimes not bear results until hundreds or even thousands of years later. Indeed, all events are intertwined in his Master Plan. Therefore, if hashem would want to explain to the angels the beneficial reasons behind the murder of rabbi akiva and the other great Sages, it would require “unraveling” all of history and explaining every moment of creation from the very beginning of time. This, however, was something that they were not entitled to be privy to. although it is sometimes hard to see it in our short 120 years of life, everything hashem does is for our benefit and is the result of infinite foresight. one day, hashem will unravel all the events of history for us to see so for ourselves.

Yaakov worked seven long years to earn Rachel’s hand in mar- riage. When Lavan tricked yaakov on his wedding day and had the audacity to switch his intended wife Rachel for Leah, yaakov could have been crushed. He justifiably could have felt that Hashem allowed an evil act to befall him and that there couldn’t possibly have been Divine Providence in such a heinous crime.

Yet, in this week’s parashah, we are granted a rare glimpse of Hashem’s Master Plan and after the events become “unraveled,” it instantly becomes clear that every single “mishap” was really orches- trated by Hashem all along. Indeed, each event was not only necessary, but even extremely beneficial. In this week’s parashah it all became clear that the act of Rachel being switched for Leah was really for the very best and orchestrated by Hashem’s kindness all along. For, in our parashah, yaakov explained to yosef that he knew through prophecy that one day the Jews would sin so terribly that they would have the audacity to bring an idol into the Beis HaMikdash! At that point, Hashem would consider utterly destroying them. All of the Avos and Imahos would try to dissuade Hashem, but to no avail. Finally, Rachel Imeinu would come before Hashem and present the following powerful plea: “Hashem, I had mercy on my sister and allowed her to become a rival wife in the home that I was destined for. If I could have mercy and allow a rival to enter my home, how could you not have mercy on your children despite the fact that they allowed a rival into your home?” It was only after Hashem heard this winning plea that He promised Rachel that the Jewish nation would be saved. In our parashah, yaakov concluded that in the end, the “evil” act of Lavan had been orchestrated by Hashem all along in order to afford the Jewish na- tion one of the most incredible eternal merits of their national history. (see Rashi 48:7 and Be’er Yosef on Parashas Vayeitzei.)

One can only imagine the feeling of despair that yaakov must have felt after working seven long years for Rachel’s hand in marriage, only to be tricked by his evil father-in-law. It must have seemed like Hashem wasn’t involved and appeared to yaakov that, at least occa- sionally, evil triumphs. After all, how could Hashem allow him to be cheated in such a terrible way and allow Lavan to win? But then, in our parashah, it became clear that that hardship was really the greatest gift and cause for the greatest merit in history. It is for this reason that Hashem purposefully placed our parashah before the parashah/ Sefer of Shemos, which discusses and represents Jewish exile. By con- necting our parashah — which reveals that even what looks bad is really for our good and was all orchestrated by Hashem — to the next parashah, which discusses exile, Hashem is sending us a message: the very nature of exile is to be extremely challenging and difficult. When in exile, we will have challenges, and ultimately some may question Hashem. We might wonder whether He is involved in every challenge and hardship that we face and how it could possibly be beneficial. Sometimes we will think it is simply impossible for every difficulty to be for our best.

Each time this happens though, we should utilize this week’s parashah and recognize that yaakov could have felt the same way.

Yet, as we read our parashah — which unravels the mysteries — and are afforded a rare glimpse of the “big picture,” let us take to heart how suddenly it becomes clear that Hashem was guiding every single detail all along, all to ensure our nation’s greatest benefits and accom- plishments.* So too, within each and every circumstance, there is a similarly intricate spiderweb of details and history connecting it all.

May we utilize the juxtaposition of this week’s parashah and Parashas Shemos for its intended purpose: to supply us with the knowledge that even during the darkest periods of exile Hashem is intimately orchestrating every detail solely for our benefit — and one day all will become clear as Hashem unravels history for us.