Parshas Mikeitz

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem..... In perek mem alef psukim lamud tes and mem it says, "Vayomer Pharaoh el Yosef, acharei hodia Elokim oscha es kol zos ein navon v'chacham kamocha.  Atah tihiyeh al beisi, v'al picha yishak kol ami, rak hakisei egdal mimeka."  Reb Chaim Shmulevitz ztl asks, how does this make any sense? How did Pharaoh just give over so much of his kingdom to some random eved who was young, a stranger, and to top it off an ivri! Very nice he interpreted a dream for him, but should that be something that causes Pharaoh to just sign off his whole country to Yosef?  Reb Chaim answers, bsheim the Alter of Kelm, ztl, that what Pharaoh saw was the Yiras Shomayim that Yosef had.  He saw how Yosef responded when he said, "Elokim ya'aneh es shilom Pharaoh."  "I don't have any powers to interpret your dream, Hashem will.  That is why Pharaoh answered, "Acharei hodia Elokim."  He saw that the wisdom that Yosef had was straight from Hkbh and therefore knew that he deserved to be and would do wonders as a leader.  Everyone is mivatel themselves in front of a true Yiras Shomayim.... Good Shabbos and Afreilichin Chanuka

Parshas Vayeishev

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem.......In Perek Kuf Yud Dalid Kapital Gimmel in Tehillim it says "Ha'yam Ra'ah Va'yanas" Chazal discuss that what the sea saw that caused it to split was the aron of Yosef that was coming toward the sea. Hashem told the sea "Yanus Mipnei Hanas" as it says in Perek Lamud Tes Posuk Yud Beis "Va'yanas Va'yeitzei Hachutzah"..Yosef fled and ran outside (away from eishes Potiphar).Rav Chaim Shmulevitz ztl is troubled by why running out was singled out from all the other things that he did - For stopping himself from the etzem aveira he got tremendous schar. Not only that, Chazal go through each limb of his and the schar that he got for not doing an aveira with that limb.Obviously there is  something extra special and extra hard about his running outside above all the other restraints,that caused him to get the greatest reward of all, having the Yam Suf split to save all of Klal Yisroel,.Reb Chaim explains,that this teaches us a tremendous yesod in the avoda of man. We all think that we will work on ourselves for years and then we'll go out out and fight our yetzer harah! We think that after preparing for the fight, we have a chance against him! How foolish can we be?! From Yosef we see the way to win is to run, get out of the ring.He knew that sticking around for even one more second would just increase his chances of losing the battle. He understood the power of the yetzer harah and therefore ran for his life not even taking a second to grab his beged (which ended up costing him jail time).Its not easy,in fact its extremely difficult,and that is why Yosef got the most schar for that action. However,it is vital for us to take this to heart. It is almost impossible to beat the yetzer harah, no matter how great we think we are. Don't make it into a boxing match,its not worth it. Sometimes it's good to look like a chicken, sometimes that's the only way to win..Good Shabbos and A Freilichin Chanuka

Parshas Va'yeitzei

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem.....In perek Chaf ches posuk tes zayin it says "Vayikatz Yaakov mi'shnaso vayomer, achein yeish Hashem ba'makom hazeh v'anochi lo yadati." Rashi says that Yaakov was saying, "had I known I would not have slept here."  However the Sapurnu says that Yaakov was saying, "Had I known, I would have prepared myself for navuah, and now I was not able to prepare."  My grandfather, Harav Abba Zalka Gewirtz, shlita, explains a tremendous yesod from this Sapurnu.  Where was Yaakov avinu for the last fourteen years?!  What had he been doing?  Was he out partying, was he just clowning around?!  For the last fourteen years he had been learning yomam va'layla, day in day out, not even pausing to sleep.  As we know from Rashi, "Vayishkav Bamakom hahuh," until this point he had not slept!  Furthermore, what did he think he would have gained by preparing himself?  Did he think he
 would get more?  Hashem had just promised him Eretz Yisroel and that his children would be Oka'afar Ha'aretz."  He got so much, what more did he want?  This Sapurnu is teaching us that when it comes to growth in Yiddishkeit one should never be satiated.  The thirst for growth was so strong in Yaakov that, yes, he had been promised so much, and, yes, he had been learning fourteen years and was obviously in a very good position to accept a nevua.  He felt that had he known, he could have done so much more preparation, and been that much greater.  I noticed, in next weeks Parsha Yaakov told Esav "Yesh li kol."  I have it all while Eisav said "Yesh li rav."  I have alot.  Yaakov felt he had all he needed and therefore Eisav should accept his gift while Eisav had a lot but still desired more.  When it came to Gashmius, Yaakov did not have this drive to have more, while Eisav still felt that there was more to get.  This is
 a tremendous lesson for all of us.  We should be zoche to be staisfied with whatever amount of gashmius we are granted like Yaakov Avinu, and we should never quench our thirst for growth in ruchniyus..Good Shabbos

Parshas Toldos

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem......In perek chaf zayin
posuk lamud dalid it says "K'shmoa Eisav es divrei aviv,Vayitzak tzi'aka
gedolah umarah ad miod,va'yomer l'aviv barcheini gam anochi avi"The Medrash
Rabah says,that Yaakov caused Esav to cry out one great and bitter cry,and
therefore he was paid back that his children in Shushan Habira were caused
to cry out a bitter cry as it says "Vayizaak Zi'aka gedola,umarah ad miod"
The Rosh Yeshiva ztl asks,what did Yaakov do wrong by taking the
brachos?Yaakov bought the bechoros from Esav,and it was daad Torah for him
to take the brachos.Furthermore,what choice did he have,his mother Rivka
forced him?He answers this in the name of his father Hagoan Rav Dovid
Liebowitz ztl.Rav Dovid says that of course Yaakov wasn't punished for the
tzaar that he caused Esav,he was an ones and was mechuyav to take
them,however his
 shortcoming was that he didn't feel bad enough for what he did.He didn't
have the right amount of tzaar for having caused another person pain.True he
had to do it but he should have felt worse for causin Esav so much pain.We
see the same idea from the Medrash Rabah that says that the reason why
Shchem was mi'anes Dinah,was because Yaakov held himself back from doing

chesed with Esav. Many Baalei Mussar answer,of course Yaakov should not have married his daughter off
to Esav,but he shouldn't have realized that she could have affected Esav and
brought him back and felt bad that he would not allow her to marry him.There
are times that we are forced into situations that we may have to cause
people pain,or just times that we are unable to come through for people,we
should be zoche to at least realize what we are unable to do and at least
feel bad for not coming through.As strange as it may seem,that could really
be
 the difference between doing the right and the wrong thing....Good Shabbos

Parshas Vayeira

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem.......In perek chaf alef posuk tes zayin when the posuk is discussing the tzaar that Hagar was in when she was in the wilderness and her son Yishmael was dying of thirst, it says "Vatisa es kolah vateivch" She raised her voice and cried.  In tehillim Dovid says to Hkbh "Shimah tefillosi Hashem, v'shavasi haazinu, el dimaasi al techerash, ki ger anochi imach, toshav ki'chol avosai" The Medrash Rabah says that Dovid was saying to Hashem.  "Hagars tefillos you don't ignore but me you will ignore?  And if you want to answer that she was a giyores so she was more chaviv to you, ger anochi imach toshav kichol avosai!  I'm a settler like all my fathers!  The Rosh Yeshivah Ztl asks, how can Dovid compare himself to Hagar?  Hagar was just thrown out of her husbands house, she's alone with her son in the midbar with no water and her son is dying of thirst.  Dovid on the otherhand,is sitting in his palace, in his own kingdom.  These are obvious differences, how is he comparing himself to her.  The Rosh Yeshivah answers that Dovid recognized that everything that was his did not actually belong to him.  They were straight from Hashem, and he felt that Hkbh did not want him to have them anymore and therefore felt like he was in the exact sacana as Hagar had been.  True it seemed he had so much more but he realized that things aren't always what they seem.  He was coming to Hashem with just as little as Hagar was.  The Granat Ztl says, that this explains what we say during yomim noraim, "Ki'dalim U'kirashim dafaknu dalasecha" No matter how wealthy a person is, he has no more than the poor person.  Although he may seem to have it all, he must realize that things are not as they seem, and that everything is a gift from Hashem.  Keeping this in mind we should be zoche to
 strengthen our kavana in tefilla and have Hkbh answer all of our bakashos.  Good Shabbos

Parshas Lech Lecha

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem....In the first posuk in this weeks parsha Hashem says to Avraham (Avram) Avinu "Lech Lecha Mei'artzecha u'mimoliditicha umibeis avicha el ha'aretz asher arecha" Rav Akiva Mibartenura al Ha'Torah says the reason why Hashem meintioned these three was to explain the reason why Hashem was giving Avraham this mitzvah to leave.  All three of these were filled with rishaim,and your land,your house and your family are the places you learn your derech in life from.The Rosh Yeshivah Ztl says that we see from the Bartenura,a tremendous yesod.  Avraham Avinu, the person who recognized Hashem at three years old, broke his own fathers idols, and was moser nefesh for Yidishkeit by being thrown into a kivshan Ha'eish, still could have been mushpaah from the hashpaah of his surrounding and the hashpaah of his family,and therefore had to leave.If our father, Avram Avinu, can be mushpaah from his surrounding, imagine us.We think we have ourselves set in who we are and we are good enough to withstand hashpaah, but this is obviously not true.  We have to do whatever we can to remove ourselves from things that can influence us in a negative way.. Good Shabbos

Parshas Haazinu

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem.......In perek lamud beis posuk dalid Moshe says "Hatzur Tamim pa'alo ki chol dirachav mishpat Kel emunah v'ain avel tzaddik v'yashar hu" "The rock, perfect in his work,for all his ways are justice,a G-d faithful,without iniquity." Rav Yaakov Aryeh Neiman ztl in the Darchei Mussar writes,  In parshas Bereishis and Yisro that we are supposed to believe that Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world.However this level that Moshe is speaking about here is a greater level of emunah.At times when things are k'neged our sechel,when they are difficult for us to understand the way of Hashem and it just seems that everything is all wrong,that is when we need to remember "kel emunah v'ain avel"Even though to our eyes things may make no sense we must remember that "kal mah d'avid rachmana l'tav avid".He brings down that he heard from the Chazon Ish
 ztl that if a regular person walked by a tailor and saw him ripping up a beautiful suit,the mans initial reaction would be "He's destroying something so beautiful!",but that thought will be pushed aside by the obvious that if the tailor,the expert, is ripping it up it is to use it to make something more beautiful.Realizing that Hkbh is in the process of making a "beautiful beged" and in the process may be "cutting" beautiful "begadim" is extremely difficult.It was Avraham's greatest of his ten nisyonos,to go against sechel and shecht Yitzchak, especially when Hashem told him that Yitzchak would be the origin of the nation that will come from Avraham.It is extremely difficult but we must work on understanding that no matter what it seems Hashem is a "Kel emunah v'ain avel",Vkal d'avid Rachman L'tav avid.. Good Shabbos

Rosh Hashana

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem...........Reb Chaim Shmulevitz ztl brings an eitzah on something to work on approaching Yom Hadin.The gemorah in shabbos brings down the posuk in Re'eh that says "V'nasan Licha Rachamim V'rachamecha" "And he will give you mercy and be merciful to you",and says on that,anyone who has rachamim for the bri'os will have rachamim from shomayim,and anyone who does not have rachamim will not have rachamim from shomayim.The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh says on the posuk,that as long as someone has the teva achzari (genetic makeup of being cruel),Hashem will mirror that teva towards him,because Hashem is only merachem a rachman.As we know the yesod of all our tefillos is the bakasha of rachamim from HKBH as we say "Rachmeinu k'rachem av al banim" Even Moshe Rabeinu only davened blashon tachanunim as oppose to the other nine lashonos of tefilla, so kal
 v'chomer that's all we can bring to the table.If that is what we need to beseech Hashem then we must make sure that we are not lacking when we approach him to beg for his rachamim,we have to make sure to be mirachem on our chaveirim.We have to work on ourselves to act in the proper way towards people and to all the bri'os,and to find in our hearts the rachamim to be mochel everyone for what they may have done wrong to us,and only then will Hashem be mirachem on us like the father we know he is.Rachameinu Krachem Av Al Banim!!!!!! Ksiva V'chasima Tova,a Gut G'benched Yur.I hope everyone is mochel me for anything I may have said or done to them.Good Shabbos.

Nitzavim-Vayeilech

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <3478602930@vzwpix.com>
Date: Fri, Sep 11, 2009 at 1:09 PM
Subject: Nitzavim-Vayeilech
To: yonah927@gmail.com


Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem......In perek lamud posuk beis it says "V'shavta ad Hashem Elokecha v'shamata b'kolo kichol asher anochi mitzavcha hayom,atah ivincha b'chol l'vavacha u'vchol nafshecha" The Ramban explains that the way this teshuvah works is that you have to do teshuvah for yourself and to be mekabel on yourself and on your children that you will do all that Hashem commanded.The Rosh Yeshivah ztl explains that the Ramban is saying that you need more than just what we generally assume is necessary for teshuvah.Its not enough to have charata for what you did,decide you will never do it again,and do viduy.Its not enough to be mikabel the mitzvos on yourself!You must be mikabel it for your children and grandchildren for all the generations to come.If you are just mikabel it for yourself,then it shows that you don't recognize the severity of aveiros and
 the chashivus of mitzvos.True its impossible to to make sure that ever dor down the line stays true to yidishkeit,but you must do everything in your power to make sure that they do.If you do not accept this upon yourself,then your teshuvah Is not complete and your aveiros are not fully michaper.We see how important it is to realize the chashivus of the Torah and how important it is to do everything in our power to make sure that our families follow in the ways of Hakadosh Baruch Hu..... Good Shabbos

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime® 6.5 or higher is required.

Parshas Ki Savo

 Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem.......In perek Chaf vav pasuk beis it speaks about the bikurim and it says "vlakachta mei'reishis kal pri ha'adama asher tavi meiartzicha asher Hashem Elokecha nosein lach v'samta batne....."In mesechtas bava kama daf tazdik beis amud aluf the gemorah shows that poverty follows after the poor by bringing down what happens by bikurim.The rich people would bring their vast amounts of fruits in gold and silver baskets,and the kohen would take out the fruits and give the baskets back to the owner.However,the poor people would bring a small amount of not as nice fruit in wicker baskets and the kohen would not give them back their baskets.Rav Ahron Bakst Ztl says that the reason why the kohen did not return the basket to the aniim is because we are being careful with his kavod.The rich people have lots of beautiful fruits and therefore when
 the kohen takes them out it doest bother them.The poor person has very little and not nice fruits,if the kohen would take out the fruits in front of the ani and give them back the basket,the ani would be embarassed by his bikurim. Rav Yaakov Aryeh Neiman Ztl author of the Darchei Mussar,suggests a different answer.The reason why the kohen gives the rich guy back his basket is because when he comes with his fruits in this gold basket,he's misgaeh and feels like he is so great.Therefore we are saying to him "keep your gaivah,we don't need your money.Hashem despises gaivah. However the ani,when he comes with his wicker basket,he comes with anavah without any feelings of haughtiness,and therefore Hashem takes the basket too because the basket is also chaviv to  Hashem and part of the ani's gift to HKBH.This is the main inyun to being mikabel oil malchus shamayim during elul,for Rosh
 Hashana.We need to come to Hashem "b'shafal ruach"and be mikabel oil malchus shamayim fully.With gaivah in our hearts it is impossible to fully be mikabel,as we see from the Ramban.May we all be zoiche to have all of our tefillos accepted by HKBH just like the ani and his wicker basket... Good Shabbos

Parshas Ki Saitzai

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem.....In perek Chaf Alef Posuk Yud Alef says "V'raisa Bashivyah aishes yifas toar v'chashakta bah v'lakachta lecha l'isha" Rashi says that the words "vlakachta lecha l'isha" are telling us that marrying this captive is not the words of the Torah rather it is allowed because if Hkbh would have not made it muttar,the yetzer Harah would cause people to marry her anyway.However,the Torah teaches us that if you do marry her you will end up hating her,and if you have a son he will  end up being a ben sorer umoreh.The Rosh Yeshivah Ztl explains that we see from chazal that the whole reason why Hashem made it muttar to marry the yifas toar,is because some people would not be able to control themselves and would marry her anyway.Even though not everyone would end up sucumbing to their taivah,still just for the people that wouldn't be able to
 control themselves,and even though the outcome will be disastrous, still Hashem made it muttar.As we see in kidushin that its better to eat properly shected meat that can have diseases rather than an animal that is healthy but was not properly shected such as a nevailah.Harav Issac Sheer Ztl says,that we see from here a remarkable thing.Many times we look at certain things in the Torah,and think that it is impossible for us to do.There are so many nisyonos, so many things that whet our taivos that we think we can never stay away from.This is not the case,anything that is in the Torah is possible because if it were not,even for a select few,Hashem would have permitted it like yifas toar.This is a tremendous lesson for all of us,especially now in Elul.We all want to grow and be better people but we look at some mitzvos and think that they are impossible,dont let your yetzer harah fool
 you.We all have the koach to be as great as we truly desire.. Good Shabbos

Dvar Torah Parshas Shoftim

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem......
In perek yud zayin posuk alef it says "Lo sasur min hadavar asher yagidu licha yamin us'mol"  The Lekach Tov brings down, that the Chinuch writes that everyone has their own oppinion,an opinion that is different from the next guys.Hashem knew that if the Torah was given to each and every person to decide how to learn it and keep the mitzvos,then there would be tremendous machlokes and different explanations of the entire Torah.Therefore HKBH designed the remedy to this issue by telling us to rely on our Chachamim.Even when the Chachamim make a mistake,or u assume that the Chacham makes a mistake you are supposed to listen."Lo sasur","Afilu yomru lecha al yamin she'hu s'mol lo sasur mimitzvosam".The lesson from here is tremendous.sometimes people don't realize how important it is to have a "Rebbe" or "Rav" that they are shaul
 eitzah from,they don't realize that its a part of life,a part of the Torah.Even when we are shaul eitzah,how often do we push the psak to the side because "the Rav must have not understood me".We see how important emunas chachamim is,how vital it is to going in the ways of the Torah..
 Good Shabbos

Dvar Torah Parshas Re'ah

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Meanachem........
In the first posuk in the parsha it says "R'aih anochi nosein lifneichem hayom bracha uklala" in the Medrash Rabah it says that the Rabanan say that Hashem was saying "i did not give you the brachos and klalos to harm you and to make things bad for you,rather I gave them to let you know the right way to act so you should choose that way,in order to receive schar" the Rabanan know this from the lashon of "R'aih anochi nosein lifneichem" The Rosh Yeshivah ztl asks that according to this medrash since the whole reason for the brachos and klalos is to tell you right from wrong,why is it necessary?Klal Yisroel already knows the right and wrong way to act because of all the mitzvos and aveiros in the Torah,so what are the brachos and klalos adding?He answers that without the brachos and klalos,klal yisroel would have made a mistake
 based on their negios and would end up mixing up right and wrong.Even when the Torah says straight out the mitzvos and aveiros,if Hashem hadn't mamash said what's right and wrong in the brachos and klalos,klal yisroel would have ended up doing the wrong things.The koach of negias are so strong,that someone can go so far as to thinkin that the aveiros that he is doin are really mitzvos!We ourselves have to work on ourselves to realize how negios affect us. We should try to look at things that we may be nogea to from more of an outside point of view in order to do what's right as appose to only what we'd like.
Good Shabbos!

Dvar Torah Prshas Va'eschanan

Liyluy nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem.........In perek Heh pesukim yud daled and tes vav it says "V'yom Hashvii shabbos la'Hashem Elokecha lo sa'aseh kol melachah atah uvincha uvitecha v'avdicha v'amascha... L'maan Yanuach avdicha v'amascha kamocha..Vzacharta ki eved hayissa b'eretz mitzrayim vayotziacha Hashem Elokecha misham b'yad chazaka u'bezroah netuya al ken tzivcha Hashem Elokecha la'asos es yom Hashabbos" The Ramban says that the reason that you should allow your eved to rest is so that you will remember that you were an eved and Hashem took you out of mitzrayim. Through doing a maaseh of allowing your avadim to rest,it you will be reminded of another time when you as an eved were given rest,and that is when HKBH took you out of mitzrayim. The Rosh Yeshivah Ztl explains, that it comes out based on this that allowing your eved to rest on Shabbos is a ben adam
 la'makom like eatin matzah or sitting in the sukkah.Which means that you have to be thinking when you allow him to rest that you are doing it to remember what Hashem did for you and not because its nice for the eved. However,it's mashma from the Ramban that there is another factor in the mitzvah of allowing your eved to work,and that is, for the good of your eved  because he writes that since you were an eved and Hashem freed you you have to allow your eved to rest.Meaning, since Hashem was nice to you,you should be nice to your eved. This would mean that you have to allow your eved to rest as a favor to him,but if the reason you allow him to rest is to remember what Hashem did for you then why do you need to have in mind the good of the eved? He answers,that the Ramban is not saying that the mitzvah in the Torah to allow your eved to rest is just going to somehow remind you that
 Hashem took you out of mitzrayim. Rather that through doing chesed to other people,you are margish (you feel)more the greatness of chesed,of being nice to people. By realizing the greatness of chesed,you me'mailah get a new understanding of what Hashem did for you by taking you out of mitzrayim.You come to recognize the true chesed that Hashem did for us.It comes out that you should allow your eved to rest as a favor to him,because through the chesed you do,your appreciation for chesed will be strengthened and your gratitude to Hashem as well. Sometimes people do so much for us,and we never realize it until much later when we do that same favor for somebody else and see what it entails. We should work on ourselves to give to others which will me'mailah cause us to have the correct hakaras hatov for the people that are there for us....... Good Shabbos

Tisha B'av

Dvar Torah Parshas Pinchas

 Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel menachem..........
In perek chaf zayin posuk gimmel the bnos Tzlafchad come to Moshe and say "Avinu mes bamidbar v'hu lo hayah bsoch ha'eidah hanoadim al Hashem ba'adas Korach ki b'cheto mes ubanim lo hayu lo" The Ramban explains that the reason why the bnos Tzlafchad didn't just say our father died in the midbar without sons,but rather they added that he wasn't part of Korachs group, was because they thought that Moshe hated Korach and his followers more than any of the other sinners that died in the midbar because they were going directly against him. They were afraid that if Moshe thought that their father was a follower of Korach he would say that Hashem should not do chesed with them and not have compassion.Therefore,they told him that their father was not a follower of Korach.The Rosh Yeshivah Ztl asks,how could the bnos Tzlafchad think

 that someone as great as Moshe Rabeinu would change and pervert the ruling of their case because he hated their father?He answers that the bnos Tzlafchad didn't think that Moshe would do it b'meizid,however,they thought that because of Moshe's hatred roward their father,hed change the ruling without realizing it. Even though Moshe probably had very little sinaah against Korach and his followers,because after all he was great,and he was a tremendous anav,and it had been forty years since the uprising,still the bnos Tzlafchad knew that deep in his heart he may have a nagea against them that will cause him to change the din.Furthermore,there were more people who died for other reasons in the midbar than for the reason of Korach,yet the bnos Tzlafchad knew,that even just having a safek that their father was a follower of Korach could have caused Moshe to accidently pervert the din. If
 Moshe Rabeinu can be mushpa from nageas,kal v'chomer us. Many times we can decide something or act in a certain way purely because of a nagea that we have,even though its the wrong thing. We have to work on ourselves to know and understand ourself and our nageas and to remove them from our heart so that we can be in control of the decisions that we make.......
.Good Shabbos!

dvar torah parshas chukas-balak

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem........In mishlei perek chaf gimmel posuk yud tes it says "mochiach adam acharoy chein yimtzah mimachalik lashon" if you give someone tochacha he will like you more than someone who butters him up and talks smoothly and gives him compliments.The medrash rabah says that the example of a machlik lashon is bilaam.He spoke about how great klal yisroel was and it got to their head and therefore they were nichshal in shitim.Chazal say that Bilaam's shvachos brought klal yisroel to gaivah and because of the gaivah they were nichshal in terrible avairos including arayos. The Rosh Yeshivah ztl asks,how did the shvachos of Bilaam cause klal yisroel to be nichshal?He praised their madreiga in ruchniyus, tznius and kedusha,shouldn't that have been michazek them in their kedusha,or at least not cause them to be nichshal! He answers that because his praise lead to gaivah it didn't matter that he was talking about kedusha, l'maaseh it causes gaivah and gaivah leads to taivah,because a baal gaivah thinks that everything in the world should belong to him.Therefore even though Bilaam praised them in ruchniyus,the gaivah caused them to have a drastic downfall.We see how powerful and destructive gaivah is,we must work on ourselves to not be misgaeh so that we can be in control of ourselves... Good Shabbos            

Mazal Tov R' Muskat !!

Mazal tov to R' Muskat on the wedding of his daughther

Interview w/ R' Mordechai Cohen (talmid of R' Dopvid Leibowitz Zt"l

View all

Get your own

Dvar Torah Parshas Korach

 Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem......
In perek tes zayin posuk yud zayin Moshe tells Korach and his followers ''Utnu bahain aish vsimu aleihen ketores lifnai Hashem machar v'hayah ha'ish asher yivchar Hashem huh hakadosh" Rashi says that Moshe was telling them that in the non jewish world there are many  religious observances and many priests that all join together in one temple, but we klal yisroel have only one G-d, one ark,one Torah,one altar and one kohein gadol, and all you two dundred and fifty men want to be the kohen gadol. The Rosh Yeshivah ztl asks, why did Moshe tell them ''We have only one G-d,one ark,and one torah, they were only arguing with Moshe regarding the kehuna gedola, however they too agreed that there is only one Hashem and one Torah? He answers that if these two hundred and fifty people truly believed one hundred percent,Hashem echod vetoroso
 achas,they would have pushed aside their desires and daas and would have been mekabel Aharon as the kohen gadol,because it was the will of Hashem.Their main aveira was their lack of emunah in Hashem and his Torah. Even though they were there by Har Sinai and heard "Anochi Hashem Elokecha'' and ''Lo Yehiyeh l'cha" mamash from HKBH's mouth,still they weren't margish one hundred percent b'emunah shleima Hashem echod v'toraso achas.Although they heard Hashem and knew that he was one,still they didn't believe a hundred percent,because  the heart and mind are two very different things. You can know something but still in the depths of your heart,not fully believe it.. We see how important it is to strengthen our emunah in HKBH so that we believe in both our heads and hearts that Hashem is the one and his Torah is one...
Good Shabbos

Seniors '09

Congratulations to the seniors on their gradulation, and wish them lots of hatzlacha in the future wherever they might be!!

Dvar Torah Parshas Shlach

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem......

.In perek yud gimmel posuk gimmel it says ''Vayishlach osam Moshe mimidbar pa'aran al pi Hashem kulam anashim rashei bnei yisroel heima'' rashi says that any time the torah uses the word ''anashim'' it's a loshan of chashivus, and at this time they were all kasher. Furthermore the Ramban says that the order of the meraglim was based on their greatness and Kaleiv was third and Yehoshua was fifth. We are dealing with tremendous gedolim,the greatest people in the greatest dor, the dor dai'ah, the dor that was mekabel the Torah. Yet in so short a time they stooped down to such a low level to be koifer b'ikur. As it says in posuk lamed alef ''lo nuchal la'alos el ha'am  ki chuzuk hu mimenu'' and Rashi in Sota says that they were sayin ''chuzuk hu mimenu'' klapei (against) HKBH. That Hkbh wud not be able to defeat them. Reb Chaim
 Shmulevitz ztl asks, In just forty days these great people stooped down to such a low level,how was it possible for them to fall so far so fast? He explains, that the mesilos yesharim when discussing kavod explains how many great people are lost from the world because of kavod. And he says that is the kavod that the chazal talk about that caused the meraglim to give the negative report they did. They were afraid that once they entered eretz yisroel,their high status in klal yisroel would be removed because the need for nesiim would be terminated,and other people would take their place. We see from chazal that that the ikar reason for the miraglim doing wat they did was because of ridifas hakavod. Although they were tremendous gedolim,kavod is a sam hamaves,a poison, and anyone who chases it no matter how great,can be destroyed by it. We see the negaitve affect of chasing after kavod,
 if it was able to affect such great people, kal vachomer how much more so we can be affected if we don't work on ourselves to run from kavod instead of running towards it.

Good Shabbos

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime® 6.5 or higher is required.

Hachnosas Sefer Torah.

View all

Get your own

Mazal tov Ari Elbogen!!

Mazal tov to Ari Elbogen on his engagement (and vort)!!

D'var Torah- Parshas Behalocha

vzwpix.com to me 
Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem.....

The first Rashi in this weeks Parsha asks why the parsha of lighting the menorah is put right after the parsha of the contribution of the nesiim at the inauguration of the mishkan. He answers that when Aharon saw the other nesiim giving their contributions and he and his shevet were not asked to contribute,he felt badly about it,and therefore HKBH told him that his role is greater than theirs because he gets to light the menorah. The Ramban asks,why would the job of lighting the menorah comfort Aharon more than all the other jobs that he had acquired as the kohen? It must be that there is something extra in lighting the menorah that is not in all the other things,but what is it? Reb Chaim Shmulevitz Ztl explains the difference as follows. The Medrash Rabah gives a mashal to explain what the goal of lighting a menorah for Hkbh is,
 when he is the light of the whole world. A pikaiach (person who can see) and a suma  (blind person) are walking together, as they approach a house the pikaiach said to the suma "when we get inside light me a candle so I could see'' he answers back ''Up until now I was completely relying on you and you were helping me ,and now in the house you need my help to help you see? What do you need me for?'' The pikaiach responds ''I didn't want you to feel so overly indebted to me for all that I did for you and therefore I wanted you to feel like I needed you to help me too!'' Hkbh is the pikaiach and we are the sumah,by lighting the menorah we are paying HKBH back ,(at least a little bit in our minds),for being mai'ir the world.That is the gadlus of lighting the menorah it is a way to express our hakaras hatov that we owe Hashem for lighting up the entire world for us. That is why it was the
 greatest comfort to Aharon Hakohen.. We see how important it is to be makir tov,to people when they do things for us. Of course it makes them feel good, but it has a tremendous affect on us also,so much so that Aharon only by doing a maaseh that showed his hakaras hatov was  able to be comforted for not bringing a contribution by the chanukas hamishkan...

Good Shabbos

Dvar Torah Parshas Nasso

 Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi Ben R'Yisroel Menachem........

In perek heh posuk tes vav the posuk speaks about the karbon that a sotah brings and it says ''vlo yitein alav lvona'' and he(her husband who brings the karbon for her) shall not put frankincense upon it. Rashi says the reason for not putting frankincense on the karbon is because the imahos are called ''frankincense'' and she was poiresh from their ways. Its mashma from Rashi that the tvia on the sotah was that she was poiresh from the derech of the imahos and did not act in their ways. The Rosh Yeshiva ztl asks even tremendous women who were extremely great didn't reach the level of the imahos so what type of tvia is that on the sotah? If anything the tvia should be,that she very possibly didn't one of the three aveiros that are ye'harag val ya'avor? He answers that the tvia on the sotah is not that she did not reach the level of the imahos rather the taayna on her is that she did not
 aspire to be like them. As we see from the lashon of Rashi ''V'hi Pirsha Midarcheihen" that she separated from their ways and did not aspire to be like them,and the Torah had a taayna on her for that because that was the beginning of the chet. Had she aspired and pushed herself to be like the imahos,granted she would not have become as great,but she cause herself to be on a high enough level to stay away from falling into such an aveira. This is a tremendous lesson for us. We have to always aspire to be like our forefathers "masai yegiyoi maaisei lmaaisei avosi'' Although we can not reach their level it will cause us to grow in the way that we can and keep us away from doing things beneath us. Reach for the stars, you WILL get rim!!!!!! Good Shabbos

Mazal Tov R' Turk

on the bar mitzvah of Moshe Turk!!

It's a Girl

Mazal Tov Binnie Stirewalt on the birth of a girl!!

Check out this link!!

share

Posted using ShareThis

Dvar Torah- Parshas Bamidbar

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem....
.In perek alef posuk yud ches it says ''V'es Kol ha'eidah hikhilu b'echad lachodesh hasheini vayisyaldu al mishpichosam l'beis avosam b'mispar sheimos miben esrim shanah vamalah l'gulgilosam'' The Ramban says that each person would bring their shekel before Moshe and the Nesiim and would say, their name,their parents,their family,and their shevet. On posuk mem heh the Ramban says that he saw in the Medrash Rabah speaking on the words ''B'mispar sheimos l'gulgilosam'' That Hashem told them to count klal yisroel with kovod and gedulah,each one seperately and not just ask every patriarch how many people there were in his family. The Rosh Yeshivah ztl asks, Moshe Rabeinu was the gadol Hador who probably was busy all day learning and being marbitz Torah and doing many other tzrichim for klal yisroel what wouldve been the problem with
 just asking each family how many people there were in them?It would have been so much simpler. He explains,that being mechabed klal Yisroel at this time then any learning or tzrichim that Moshe Rabeinu wouldve been doing. Even with all his greatness,this was more important.He explains further,that the reason why it was more important lchoira was because that the hashpaah that this would have on klal yisroel would have more of an effect than if klal yisroel would have seen Moshe learning. By counting each person seperately it made each person understand just how important he is,it made him realize that yes, he can make a difference! By understanding our own selfworth we can and iyh will go very very far!
 Good Shabbos!

Dvar Torah Parshas Behar Bechukosai

 Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi Ben R'Yisroel Menachem......In perek chaf vav posuk gimmel it says ''Im Bichukosai tailaichu'' Rashi says in the name of the Toras Kohanim that these words of going in Hashem's Chukim,  are referring to being Ameil Ba'Torah. The word ''Tailaichu'' sounds like there is movement from place to place and therefore there are different pshatim (such as the Gur Aryeh) on how exactly ameilus Ba'Torah fits in to these words. However,Rav Yaakov Aryeh Neiman ztl R'Y of Yeshivas Ohr Yisroel, and author of the darkei mussar brings down a mashal from the son of the Alter of Kelm Rav Nachum Zev ztl. There once was a group of friends who sat down to eat together,while they were sitting together eating,there was no recognizable difference between any man and his friend,The meal ends and slowly they all get up to leave. One man stays where he is,and it is not apparent why he

 has not gotten up from the table.However,when you look under the table you'll see that this man has no legs.When everyone was sitting there together it was not recognizeable that this guy had no legs,only after it came time to go did it become apparent.There are times when bochurim are learning in yeshivah,and they all look the same.Only after they leave yeshivah is a difference shown,only then is it obvious who has ''legs'' and who does not. This is what the Torah means by ''Im Bichukosai Tailaichu'' that you should go with the Torah, you should use the Torah as your ''legs'' to go through life,to make you do the right things and stand up up for the truth. Az ka'namer la'asos ritzon avicha she'bashamayim'' Good Shabbos

Happy Lag B'omer

Dvar Torah Parshas Emor

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem.....

In perek chaf dalid posuk yud beis it says regarding the mekalel ''Vayanichuhu bamishmar lifrosh lahem al pi Hashem'' Rashi explains that the word 'livado' is telling us that he was put alone,and not with the mikosheish eitzim,because the mikosheish was vadai chayav misa and they were unsure of whether the mikalel was chayav misa or not. The sifsei Chachamim explains Rashi , that had they been put together the mikalel woud've assumed that he was chayav misa just like the mikosheish and therefore they were not put together because maybe the mikalel will end up not being chayav misa and will have been put through unecessary tzaar and fear based on his assumptions that he too was going to be killed.
The Rosh Yeshivah Ztl asks,why didn't they  put them together and just tell the mekalel that they weren't sure yet if he was chayav misa or not?He answers that you have to say that they were afraid that maybe he wouldn't believe them completely and would still have the fear of death that may end up being unnecessary. We see a tremendous chidush from here,how far not causing someone tzaar goes.The mekalel was a rasha gamur and as the Daas Zekainim explains that the only reason they weren't sure if he was chayav misa is because misa may not have been able to be mechaper.Furthermore,it wasn't a vadai that there would be unecessary tzaar because maybe he will be chayav misa,and even if he isn't maybe he would believe them when they told him that they were unsure of his din. Still they kept them seperate. We see how much we have to worry about the tzaar of someone and make sure that we don't
 cause him to be hurt in any way, for our friends and family deserve at least as much as the mekalel! 

Good Shabbos!

Mazal Tov R' Ritterman!!

Mazal tov to R' Fromowitz on the engagement of his daughter.

Dvar Torah Parshas Acharei Mos/Kedoshim

 Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem.......In perek tes zayin posuk alef it says ''Vayidaber Hashem el Moshe acharei mos shnei bnei Aharon'' This is read on Yom Kippur and it is said  bsheim the Zohar and the Arizal that anyone who is pained by the death of the sons of Aharon and sheds tears over them on Yom Kippur, are zoiche to certain segulahs. Reb Chaim Shmulevitz ztl asks,how is it possible to be pained and cry over something that happened so many years ago? In meseches Chullin ayin alef amud alef the gemoroh says ''Chaval al Ben Azzai shlo shimush es Rabbi Yishmael, rashi says that the loss Ben Azzai endured was not just a loss to him,but a loss to the whole world. When someone has something that he could have gained and does not,its a loss to the whole world not just to him because an adam gadol is the channel of Hashpa'ah from shomayim and even the people as great as him draw some of their greatness from him, and when an oppurtunity is lost the channel is closed up and the dor can not gain what they would have. It is lost forever. Understanding this, R' Chaim explains, will help us understand why it should be easy for us to be mitztaer over the loss of Nadav and Avihu.Had they not died when they did they would have added so much more to the world. With their death the channel of Hashpa'ah from shomayim was closed and lost to the world forever. If you understand the loss that we have endured,the loss that can never be replaced,it should be easy to cry over the misas bnei Aharon.... Good Shabbos

d'var torah

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem...

In Tazria's Haftorah it says ''Vayomer chay Hashem asher amadity lifanav I'm ekach ,vaiftzar bo lakachas vayimaein'' After Naaman (the general of Aram) was cured of his tzaraas by listening to the instructions that Elisha gave him (bathing in the yardein seven times) he wanted to pay back Elisha and he refused. The Ralbag says that this teaches us that a navi can not take payment for any moifsim that he does because it will cause the recipient to believe that the moifes came from the navi and not from HKBH. We see from the Ralbag that Naaman realized that there is not other gd besides HKBH once he saw that Elisha refused the payment.However it is pashut that the ikur reason for Naaman recognizing Hashem is because he saw that he was cured from his tzaraas and he knew Elisha didn't use kishuf. If that's the case,what's the Ralbag's
pshat that only after Elisha refused payment did Naaman fully recognize that it was Hashem who healed him? The Rosh Yeshivah Ztl explains that the derech of the world is to pay someone who helped them and therefore if Naaman would have paid Elisha,it would seem as if Elisha himself was really the one who cured Naaman,and Naaman himself would feel as if Elisha was his healer. Even though Naaman knew bsichloi that Elisha himself was not capable of healin him and Elisha did not ask to be paid,still had Elisha accepted the matanah, Naaman would've felt that Elisha was taking it as payment. The reason for this would be because he would see himself paying Elisha and Elisha accepting it and it would have an affect on him even though in his mind he knew that Elisha didn't cure him. From this we can see the strength of Maraas Ayin and how important it is to make sure that we don't do things
that may look wrong,even if in truth they are not and if someone would stop and think about it may even realize that it was not wrong still what people see makes a difference..

Good Shabbos

Congradulations!!!

The blog has now 15 authors.
If you know someone who isn't on the blog yet, please contact me so I can send him an invitation.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009, is hereby designated "Avrohom Vegh Appreciation Day." We will express our appreciation for his continuing efforts on behalf of the tzibur in the form of pats on the back and verbal thanks. Your participation is appreciated in advance.

Birkas Ha'Chamah by the Kosel

50,000 people!!

Dvar Torah Parshas Tzav

Liyluy Nishmas Elchono Tzvi ben R'Yisroel Menachem and my cousin Zev Yehuda ben Reb Shmuel Mordechai(Yahrtzeit today).... In perek vav pasuk beis it says "Tzav es Aharon V'es banav leimor,zos Toras Ha'olah" Rashi says that the lashon of Tzav means to be mezareiz and also to make sure that it is continued throughout the generations.Chazal ask why davka by the olah does the Torah use a lashon of "Tzav" as oppose to "Daber" or "Omar" like all the other karbanos? Reb Shimon explains that the lashon of tzav is used in a case where there is a monetary loss that will occur by fulfilling the mitzvah.(What that loss is varies according to the Gur Aryeh,Ramban Ohr Hachaim,and others)The Rosh Yeshivah Ztl explains, that from here we can see the power money has on a person and how much people are machshiv it.Aharon Hakohen the Kohen Gadol of Klal Yisrael,a leader of the generation,the man who had chalishas hadaas at the chanukas Hamishkan because he and his sheivet didnt bring a karbon,could have caused Aharon to be a a tiny bit lazy when it came to bringing the karbon olah. Aharon with all his greatness could have on the smallest level lost love for a mitzvah because of a taayvah for money.We have to work on ourselves to make sure that we can control ourselves and not let money hold us back from doing the right thing and chas v'shalom bring us to do the wrong thing.Good Shabbos   

Happy Pesach

Please Note: Feeding your gorilla matzah could be extremily dangerous (even if it's shmurah), please check with your vetranarian before using.

The new building (and other random stuff)

Re: D'var Torah Parshas Vayikra

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem....In Perek Daled Posuk chaf beis it says ''Asher Nasi Yechetah v'asah achas mikal mitzvos Hashem eloikav asher lo sa'asena b'shgagah v'asheim'' Rashi explains that 'Asher' is from the lashon of 'Ashrei',fortunate is the generation that has a ruler that sets his heart to bring atonement for his sins.The Gur Aryeh explains that what the dor is fortunate for is that their ruler is not embarrassed to admit that he made a mistake,he doesn't say to himself ''im so great and chashuv,i can't admit I was wrong'' Because he is humble enough to admit his wrongdoing, his generation is fortunate,and because of this he will keep his kingdom. The Rosh Yeshivah Ztl says, that you would think that this special 'Ashrei' would only be in a generation such as ours which is further away from Har Sinai, and on a lower level, because the rulers are not as great as back then either,and therefore its a special zechus to have a leader who is enough of an anav to admit his wrongdoing.But back in the times of the Chumash of course the leaders would admit,because they're so great..However,Rashi makes it quiet apparent that even the rulers then who were tremendous yirei shomayim,anavim,chasidim,and talmidei chachamim would be embarrassed to admit that they did something wrong and repent.Even then it was a big zechus to admit your wrongdoing.. If even then it was hard to have the right anava to admit wrongdoing,how much more so now on the level that we are on.We should all be zoche to work on ourselves enough that we too can be on the madreiga to admit when we are wrong,we too can not allow gayvah to hold us back from becoming a dor that is taakah fortunate.... Good Shabbos

BORUCH DAYAN EMMES - MARAN HAGON RAV ELYA SVEI ZATZAL
March 26, 2009

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of Maran Hagon Rav Elya Svei ZATZAL, the Philadelphia Rosh Yeshiva.

Rav Elya Svei was the Rosh Yeshiva of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, and was internationally known for his incisive, brilliant and clear shiurim, and his ability to offer sage advice to thousands of Jews worldwide. He was a primary student of Hagon Rav Aharon Kotler.

Until his recent illness, he was regarded as one of the foremost leaders of Charedi Jewry, and was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah.

Rabbi Svei is a son-in-law of Rabbi Avraham Kalmanovitz, the founder of the Brooklyn branch of the Mir Yeshiva, and a brother-in-law of Maran Hagon Rav Shmuel Berenbaum ZATZAL.

The Levaya is scheduled for today, 12:15PM EST at the Philadelphia Yeshiva. The Aron will then be brought to JFK Airport for a 5:00PM Levaya, and will then be flown to Eretz Yisroel for Kevurah.

JFK LEVAYA INFO: Cargo area B, Building 208

[Take the Van Wick Expressway South, take Exit B, bear hard to the right to 130th Place. Make a left turn on to East Hanger Road. Building 208 Parking Lot is at the end of the road on the right.]

Boruch Dayan Emmes…

D'var Torah Parshas Vayakhel Pekudei

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R 'Yisroel Menachem..... In perek Lamed Heh
posuk Lamed the posuk says ''vayomer Moshe el bnei yisrael r'ooh karah
Hashem bsheim Betzalel ben Oori Ben Chur Lemateih Yehudah'' The Daas
Zekainim says from the baalei tosafos that Moshe himself thought that when
Hashem said ''V'asisa'', Hashem wanted him to make the whole thing,so Hashem
told him,no its not like you thought,rather the tzaddik who was killed
through the maaseh of the eigel,Chur,his grandson should do it.. And that's
why Hashem said ''Raah Kiraasi'' From Chazal it's mashma that Betzalel was
chosen to build the mishkan,because the mishkan was built because of the
eigel.. And since Chur was killed fighting against the eigel it's raauy for
his grandson to build it.. The Rosh Hayeshivah Ztl asked that lchoira it
should be the opposite,gufah because of this Betzalel should not build the
mishkan,because the mishkan was coming as a kaparah for the eigel, and he
probably had anger and hatred toward klal yisroel for killing his
grandfather and would not fully want them to have a kaparah... He answers
that we see from here how Betzalel was able to work on his natural feeling
of anger and was able to completely overcome that natural feeling in order
to build the mishkan bleiv shaleim with the full simcha to be mechaper on
klal yisroel... We see from here a tremendous yesoid, Betzalel was mamash
able to remove the anger completely... He worked on himself until he had
totally eradicated any negative feelings...wow!!! The lesson we can learn
from this is unimaginable,we have to work on ourselves,so that even if
someone wrongs us we can still feel the same ahavah towards them as we would
had they never done something wrong... It may seem impossible,but believe it
or not you can achieve just as much as Betzalel,because you have the maasim
of your fathers, you are riding on giants shoulders!!! Good shabbos!

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

Mazal Tov to the Birnbaum Family!!!

Mazal tov Yosef Birnbaum on the birth of a nephew.

There will be a Shalom Zachor aka Bru Party at his house Friday Night.

Avraham your doing a great job!! Keep up the good work!

Photo Credits: Avrumi Jaffe

Purim in yeshiva!!

Happy

Purim

2009!!

Mazal Tov R' Muskat !!

Mazal tov to R' Muskat on the engagement of his daughther

Elchonon's shloshim

Tonight was Elchonon's Shloshim.
Mishnayus was completed by Yitzi.
Hespedim were given by R' Leibowitz, followed by R' Turk and R' Jacobson.
They were concluded by R' Tzvi Kramer (uncle), and Yitzchak Shlishal.
The family should be consoled on this tremendous loss.

Elchonon Kramer, z'l (1988-2009) By Meir Fenster Published on Thursday, March 05, 2009

Family, friends, rebbeim, neighbors, colleagues, acquaintances, Yeshiva Tiferes Yisroel, and the Flatbush community as a whole are mired in intense sorrow and mourning over the jarring loss of our 21-year-old dear friend, Elchonon Kramer, z’l. The quintessential mentsch, Elchonon was loved and cherished by everyone he met—even those with whom he had very limited interaction. Never satisfied with his naturally kind disposition, he was a paradigmatic ba’al mussar, always striving to improve his already charismatic personality. His chashivus haTorah and tremendous hasmadah were legendary as well; his tireless toiling on every step of shiur and shmuessen gradually propelled him to his rank as the top bachur in yeshiva. Because he was such a superior oveid Hashem, it is important and highly beneficial to reflect upon the factors that led to his success and the fine attributes that he possessed and constantly honed.

When thinking about Elchonon, the first thing that comes to mind is the way he exemplified the midah of sensitivity to others. Although he was clearly genetically predisposed to being a “nice guy,” he achieved levels in the area of bein adam lachaveiro that were only attainable via rigorous study of mussar concepts and the internalization thereof. Many people spoke of how their days were often brightened by an upbeat “good morning” or “hello” from Elchonon; even one of the yeshiva’s custodians paid a shivah visit to the Kramer family and vividly recounted how Elchonon greeted him warmly several times a day. A neighbor reported that one time, upon returning from a shopping spree with a car full of bags and a crying baby, she stepped out of the car as Elchonon happened to be passing by. Unprompted, Elchonon graciously brought in all her bags with a smile and even offered to put away the goods in their proper places, so that she could tend to her child.

Always looking to capitalize on an opportunity to be mashpia on a mesivta bachur, Elchonon had numerous Gemara and mussar sedarim with several high-school boys. His kesher with them extended far beyond the limud in which he and they were engaged, though; he took a genuine interest in each boy’s personal life and problems, and, on many occasions, even notified their rebbeim of pertinent issues that he felt the bachurim would feel uncomfortable disclosing on their own, but would want their rebbeim to know.

After a recent ski trip taken by a group of beis midrash and mesivta bachurim, a high-school talmid reported that he was duly impressed by how Elchonon said “thank you” to the lift operator every time up the mountain. Constant beneficiaries of Elchonon’s ceaseless kindness were his good friends and peers in the shiur. Whenever someone had difficulties grasping a step of shiur, Elchonon would graciously volunteer his time to help out his friend, never giving the person the impression that the person was imposing upon him. Elchonon’s tremendous chesed will be greatly missed.

Elchonon excelled in his shemiras ha’sedorim and seriousness toward davening and learning. Every day without fail, he was among the first talmidim to arrive at yeshiva for Shacharis, usually coming 10–15 minutes before minyan so that he could chap a brief seder and put on his tefillin before Pesukei D’zimra commenced. Watching him daven every tefillah with such immense kavanah was a special experience. When people commented to his mother at the shivah house on how unfortunate it was that she did not have the privilege to see him daven, she replied, “Yeah, but I saw him bentsch.”

Although Elchonon was very attentive to his physical fitness and he jogged daily, he did not allow his exercise regimen to interfere with the sedorim at yeshiva. His parents noted how he had his morning routine—eating breakfast, coming home, running on the treadmill, showering, and returning to yeshiva five minutes before morning seder—planned out to the minute. When recently given the choice between two dental procedures, he asked the dentist which one could be performed between 1:30 and 2:45, Elchonon’s midday break. Furthermore, notwithstanding his athletic prowess and enjoyment of playing basketball, he always left the Tuesday-night beis midrash basketball games early (despite pressure from the guys to stay), because he wanted to get to sleep on time and be alert the next day in shiur.

During seder, his time was well utilized; he scrutinized every point made in shiur and the shmuessen until he felt that he had clarity. A week and a half before his petirah, he passed up what would have been his last opportunity to hang out with a close friend—he opted to chazer the shmuess instead of going out for chulent with this friend at 11:30 on Thursday night.

The atmosphere in the beis midrash will never be the same without Elchonon.

Elchonon had the admirable ability to put his ego aside in his quest for emes. He was not at all reluctant to retract his p’shat in whatever he was learning when he felt that a friend had presented a compelling argument to the contrary. Furthermore, he happily accepted and acknowledged that his younger brother, Yitzy, was able to learn Gemara on a level comparable to his own, and he became Yitzy’s bekius chavrusa. Rabbi Sender Strassfeld, the assistant menahel in Mesivta Tiferes Yisroel and Elchonon’s ninth-grade rebbi, fondly remembered how “[Elchonon] wasn’t looking for recognition. He didn’t have to be the smartest guy in the class.” In a similar vein, Elchonon sometimes divulged to his close friends personal information concerning nisyonos with which he was presented, when he knew that the friend in whom he confided had experienced or was experiencing a similar situation and could be of assistance in Elchonon’s overcoming the nisayon. The extent of his t’shukas ha’emes was incredible and rare, and will undoubtedly live on in our memories forever.

The noble manner in which Elchonon handled his secular, post-high-school schooling was a testament to his extraordinary commitment to harbatzas haTorah and kibud av va’eim. After attending Touro College two nights a week for a few months, Elchonon assessed that his commitment to learning Torah was strong enough to warrant his dropping out of college in order to learn full-time in yeshiva and devote all his efforts toward his eventual goal of becoming a marbitz Torah.

Although his parents were satisfied with his preferred “career choice,” they initially had reservations about him stopping college, citing concerns that he have a feasible backup plan. However, when they saw his conviction—at the levayah, Yitzy quoted him as firmly asserting, “So, I won’t have a car”—and met with his rebbi, Rabbi Zvi Turk, their worries were assuaged and they acquiesced to Elchonon’s plans. Nevertheless, Elchonon sensed that his parents still might not have been completely comfortable with his decision, and therefore assured them that he would return to college at a moment’s notice if they were still troubled or would change their minds at any time in the future.

During shivah, after hearing all of the stories about Elchonon’s hasmadah rabbah and powerful hashpa’ah on so many of the talmidei ha’yeshiva, his parents said that in retrospect, they had absolutely nothing about which to be nervous; Elchonon definitely would have been a stellar marbitz Torah, and was already well on his way to becoming one.

His parents also regaled visitors at the shivah house with stories that demonstrated other ways in which Elchonon’s kibud av va’eim manifested itself. When Elchonon had vacation from yeshiva, he would often join his family on trips even if his friends were doing other activities that he enjoyed more, because he knew that his parents loved his company. For the aforementioned reason, he also regularly came home briefly for meals just to say “hello” to his parents and two younger sisters, Chani and Devori, and inquire about their daily lives. On erev Shabbos, although he would leave his house as early as possible to do extra learning in yeshiva before Minchah, he would always wait at home until his father arrived from work, so that Elchonon could say “hello” and wish his father a good Shabbos. Surely, all those who knew Elchonon took chizuk from observing his amazing kibud av va’eim and thirst for learning Torah and disseminating it.

Throughout his years in yeshiva, Elchonon cherished the kesharim he formed with many rebbeim. He was especially proud of his close rapport with Rabbi Turk, one of the roshei ha’yeshiva and Elchonon’s rebbi for the past two and a half years. Rabbi Turk spoke of how Elchonon discussed with him every important issue in Elchonon’s life. After davening on Shabbos mornings, Elchonon could always be seen asking Rabbi Turk questions on topics ranging from shiur to hashkafah. Although Rabbi Turk would purposely stay in yeshiva a few extra minutes while he conversed with Elchonon so as not to impose on Elchonon to walk Rabbi Turk home, inevitably Elchonon would happily escort him the six blocks between yeshiva and Rabbi Turk’s house before returning to yeshiva.

Elchonon would regularly ask Rabbi Turk questions on shiur and reflect on Rabbi Turk’s responses for hours, thoroughly dissecting the sugya. However, if before shiur Elchonon would approach Rabbi Turk to relate the product of Elchonon’s extensive thoughts, and Rabbi Turk would apologize to Elchonon and explain that other bachurim in the shiur needed help understanding more basic concepts, Elchonon, without a hint of resentment, would smile and return to his seat to resume learning. Furthermore, Elchonon would often take as a chavrusah a weaker bachur in need of help; in fact, Elchonon was so concerned with helping others that Rabbi Turk had to regularly urge him to learn with better chavrusas in order to boost Elchonon’s own growth.

Finally, Rabbi Turk exceedingly praised Elchonon’s healthy growth as a ben Torah: “Everything was a reflection of the Torah that he gained. Everything was so genuine…it was so real.” Elchonon’s refraining from jumping to levels of avodas Hashem for which he was not yet ready was a true rarity.

Other rebbeim also made laudatory remarks concerning Elchonon. Rabbi Hershel Welcher, Elchonon’s tenth-grade rebbi, complimented Elchonon’s midos: “The pervasive ne’imus, the finekeit, the eidelkeit, the ameilus baTorah.” In a va’ad at yeshiva, Rabbi Shalom Muskat, Elchonon’s eleventh-grade rebbi, implored the crowd to “remember [Elchonon’s] zeeseh countenance, his ehrlechkeit, his sweetness, his hasmadah, his dogged attempts to work on a shiur.” Rabbi Ben-Zion Krumbein, Elchonon’s Chumash rebbi in ninth and tenth grades, eloquently stated at the shivah house, “A good rebbi is conscious that his bachurim should feel good. It’s echad minei elef a bachur that’s trying to make a rebbi feel good.” When, in his hesped, Rabbi Yehuda Jacobson, the other rosh ha’yeshiva and Elchonon’s twelfth-grade rebbi, wailed, “Kashe alai p’reidaschem,” he was definitely speaking on behalf of everyone in the audience.

Obviously, Elchonon’s family played an integral role in Elchonon’s growth in ruchniyus. His parents, Sruli and Karen Kramer, instilled in Elchonon important values, such as becoming a ba’al derech eretz and eschewing overindulgence in materialistic pursuits, and they created an environment in their home that was perfectly suited for the upbringing of an adam ha’shaleim. Interestingly, Elchonon’s great-grandparents, Chaim and Miriam Braverman, were instrumental in raising funds for Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim in its formative years, when it was based in Williamsburg. Perhaps it was in their z’chus that Elchonon had the opportunity to learn for seventeen and a half years at Chofetz Chaim’s Brooklyn affiliate.

A little over three years ago, the yeshiva brought in Rabbi Yerachmiel Milstein as a guest speaker for a high-school and beis midrash Shabbaton. Among the pieces of sage advice on how to be happy that Rabbi Milstein imparted to the b’nei ha’yeshiva was to make a list of things for which to be thankful to Hashem and view it daily. Although most bachurim probably did not heed this ingenious suggestion, Elchonon, who already had enormous simchas ha’chayim, made the list, which his father found in Elchonon’s wallet after Elchonon’s passing. It was a typical example of how Elchonon was a remarkable ba’al aliyah.

I did not compile a list after that Shabbaton; however, if I were to form one today, an entry near the top of my list would be “The chance to have known Elchonon Kramer.”

R' Shafier

Tonight R' Shafier spoke in Brooklyn Li"N Elchonon. The topic was "They don't make anti-Semites like they used to". Special thanks to Ezra Sitt for taking care of it.
There was a free CD of Shmuz #44- Being a Nice Guy available, sponsored by Anonymous. If you would like one please speak to me or s/o else (you fill in the blank).

Mazal Tov R' Fromowitz!!

Mazal to R' Fromowitz, on the marriage of his daughther. (I'm sorry I don't have any pix, bec the one's I took didn't come out good, so I deleted them.)

Rosh Chodesh Masiba

This year there will not be the usual concert on Rosh Chodesh Adar due to the recent events; instead there will be a kumzits.

Elchonon's Speech #2

Elchonon's Speech

Elchonon

Please post any thoughts, srories, pictures, videos etc. that you have about Elchonon.

Elchonon z''l (from Yeshiva World News)

Sudden Petira of 21-Year-Old Elchonon Tzvi Kramer Z”LFebruary 8, 2009
YWN regrets to inform you of the sudden & tragic Petira of HaBochur Elchonon Tzvi Kramer Z”L on Motzei Shabbos.
Sources tell to YWN that 21-year-old Elchonon was doing his daily exercise on a treadmill in his Flatbush home, when he suddenly collapsed. Family members called Hatzolah who arrived on the scene instantly.
Hatzolah Paramedics tried frantically to save his life, but he was R”L pronounced dead upon their arrival at Kings Highway Hospital.
Family and friends are left in shock and disbelief, as their family member and Chaver was suddenly plucked from amongst them without any warning.
Misaskim officials worked with the NYC Medical Examiner to ensure that no autopsy would be done, and a Levaya is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, 12:00PM, at Yeshiva Tiferes Yisroel (Chofetz Chaim), East 35th Street between Avenues K & L.
Elchonon is the son of R’ Yisroel & Karen Kramer (from New York Avenue) and is a Talmid at the Bais Medrash of Yeshiva Tiferes Yisroel.
Boruch Dayan Emmes…

New Building

This is the new building.