Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem, R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben R' Zev Yehuda, Zev Yehuda ben R' Shmuel Mordechai, Avraham ben R' Yitzchak Zev, R' Dovid Meer ben Harav Shmuel. . .
In perek zayin posuk chaf ches, Hashem told Moshe to tell Pharaoh that if he does not free Klal Yisroel, "V'sharatz hayior tzifardim, v'alu u'vau bi'veisecha u'bichadar mishkavcha v'al mitasecha ubi'veis avodecha uvi'amecha uvi'tanurecha uvi'misharosecha." "The river shall swarm with frogs and they shall ascend and come into your palace and your bedroom and your bed, and into the house of your servants and of your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls."
Rav Yaakov Aryeh Neiman Ztl explains that this is where Chananya Mishoel and Azariah figured out that the correct thing for them to do was jump into the fire to die "al kiddush Hashem." They said, "If the frogs gave up their lives and jumped into the ovens, then kal v'chomer we should."
However, Rav Neiman asks that this kal v'chomer seems a little puzzling since the frogs were commanded to go into the ovens but Chananya Mishoel and Azariah were not. He explains that although the frogs were commanded to go into the ovens, each one could have stayed far away from the ovens and said, "I'm not going in there! I'll go somewhere else and I'll let the other frogs go into the burning ovens." They could have said this but they didn't and that is why Chananya Mishoel and Azariah were able to make the Kal V'chomer because the frogs did not look for a way out the jumped into the flames to do what Hashem commanded.
We can learn from here how important it is to take advantage of situations where we can do a mitzva or do a chessed. Many times its so much simpler just to pass it on and say "Let someone else do it", but if we work on ourselves we can be michazek ourselves in this inyan and take advantage of opportunities that come our way.
Good Shabbos
Friday, December 31, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Parshas Sh'mos
Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem, R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben R' Zev Yehuda, Zev Yehuda ben R' Shmuel Mordechai, Avraham ben R' Yitzchak Zev, R' Dovid Meir ben Harav Shmuel.
In Perek beis posuk alef the posuk says "Vayeilech ish mibeis levi vayikach es bas levi" "A man from Levi (Amram) went and married the daughter of Levi (Yocheved)."
The Medrash Tanchuma in Parshas Bahaloscha says that Shevet Levi "nasnu nafsham", they gave their lives, to be mikadiesh the name of Hashem, and to make sure that Torah was not lost. At the time when Klal Yisrael was in Mitzrayim, they turned away from Torah and Mila, and served idols. Shevet Levi, however, were all Tzadikim and they kept the Torah.
The Rosh Yeshiva ztl asks, from where do we see that the Leviim gave their lives for Torah? All we see from here is that they were great tzadikim even in a time where most of Klal Yisroel were rishaim. That is a great thing, but we don't see anything in the Medrash that shows that the Leviim were willing to give up their lives to be mikadesh shem shomayim.
The Rosh Yeshiva explains that the Medrash must be saying that their ability to keep the Torah and to be Tzadikim when the rest of Klal Yisroel is not doing the right thing proves that they would be willing to give up their lives to be mikayem shem shomayim. Our natural tendency is to follow what the people around us do. To be able to go against the tide and do what is correct is extremely difficult. People who have the power to go against the tide prove by their actions that they would give up their lives to be mikayem shem shomayim. Shevet Levi was holding on that level and therefore they are credited with the tremendous mitzva of giving their lives al kiddush Hashem.
We are all going against the tide, fighting to do what's right in a society where anything and everything goes. It's not just "ok we are doing what we feel is right even though it's difficult", We are all credited with the unbelievable level of "nosen nefesh al kiddush Hashem".
Good Shabbos
In Perek beis posuk alef the posuk says "Vayeilech ish mibeis levi vayikach es bas levi" "A man from Levi (Amram) went and married the daughter of Levi (Yocheved)."
The Medrash Tanchuma in Parshas Bahaloscha says that Shevet Levi "nasnu nafsham", they gave their lives, to be mikadiesh the name of Hashem, and to make sure that Torah was not lost. At the time when Klal Yisrael was in Mitzrayim, they turned away from Torah and Mila, and served idols. Shevet Levi, however, were all Tzadikim and they kept the Torah.
The Rosh Yeshiva ztl asks, from where do we see that the Leviim gave their lives for Torah? All we see from here is that they were great tzadikim even in a time where most of Klal Yisroel were rishaim. That is a great thing, but we don't see anything in the Medrash that shows that the Leviim were willing to give up their lives to be mikadesh shem shomayim.
The Rosh Yeshiva explains that the Medrash must be saying that their ability to keep the Torah and to be Tzadikim when the rest of Klal Yisroel is not doing the right thing proves that they would be willing to give up their lives to be mikayem shem shomayim. Our natural tendency is to follow what the people around us do. To be able to go against the tide and do what is correct is extremely difficult. People who have the power to go against the tide prove by their actions that they would give up their lives to be mikayem shem shomayim. Shevet Levi was holding on that level and therefore they are credited with the tremendous mitzva of giving their lives al kiddush Hashem.
We are all going against the tide, fighting to do what's right in a society where anything and everything goes. It's not just "ok we are doing what we feel is right even though it's difficult", We are all credited with the unbelievable level of "nosen nefesh al kiddush Hashem".
Good Shabbos
Friday, December 17, 2010
Parshas Vayichi
Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem, Zev Yehuda ben R' shmuel Mordechai, R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben R' Zev Yehuda, R' Dovid Meir ben Harav Shmuel, Avrohom ben Yitzchok Zev.. In Perek mem zayin posuk lamud alef the posuk speaks of the conversation between Yaakov and Yosef and says "Vayomer hishava li, vayishava lo, vayishtachavu Yisroel al rosh hamita." "And he said to him swear to me (that you will bury me in Eretz Yisroel) and he swore to him, and Yisroel bowed at the head of the bed."
The Ramban explains that Yaakov was not afraid that Yosef would not want to fulfill his father's wishes, after all Yosef had already responded "anochi e'eseh kidvarecha," "I will do as you said." Yaakov made him swear in order to strengthen the matter in the eyes of Pharaoh, because he would agree that it is incorrect to go against a promise. (Especially since Yosef had promised Pharaoh that he would never tell that he knew more languages than Pharaoh.) Furthermore, Yaakov knew that having Yosef swear would cause him to work harder to fulfill his father's wishes.
According to the end of the Ramban, a big part of Yaakov making Yosef swear is to cause him to work harder to fulfill his fathers wishes, it would crank up his "hishtadlus". It sounds like that without the "Shvua", Yosef wouldn't have worked so hard to bring his father's body to Eretz Yisroel.
The Rosh Yeshiva ztl asks that without the "shvua" Yosef would have been lazy about his fathers wishes? He was the kid who put his life in danger to go find his brothers in order to fulfill his fathers desire, even going above and beyond what his father actually asked him. In this situation he would surely do all he could even if that meant putting his life in danger in order to get his father to Eretz Yisroel. This being the case, why did Yaakov need to make Yosef swear in order to make him try harder?
The Rosh Yeshiva explains that it must be had Yosef not sworn to his father he could have possibly been an "ones" and even with all his "mesiras nefesh" would not have been able to fulfill his fathers wishes. Therefore Yaakov made him swear, and that "shvua" gave him new powers that without the "shvua" he would not have had. Without the "shvua" he would have truly been an "ones" having done everything in his power, but swearing that he would do it caused his level of power to grow to levels that he would never have reached.
We see from here two tremendous "chidushim" in "Yesodei Hamussar". Firstly, we see how even when it seems that we peaked in our "hisorirus" and "zrizus" for a certain action, there is always more to grow. Secondly, "hisorirus" can bring us to new levels of strength that we didn't have in the first place, to allow us to achieve things we could never have achieved before. Good shabbos. . .
The Ramban explains that Yaakov was not afraid that Yosef would not want to fulfill his father's wishes, after all Yosef had already responded "anochi e'eseh kidvarecha," "I will do as you said." Yaakov made him swear in order to strengthen the matter in the eyes of Pharaoh, because he would agree that it is incorrect to go against a promise. (Especially since Yosef had promised Pharaoh that he would never tell that he knew more languages than Pharaoh.) Furthermore, Yaakov knew that having Yosef swear would cause him to work harder to fulfill his father's wishes.
According to the end of the Ramban, a big part of Yaakov making Yosef swear is to cause him to work harder to fulfill his fathers wishes, it would crank up his "hishtadlus". It sounds like that without the "Shvua", Yosef wouldn't have worked so hard to bring his father's body to Eretz Yisroel.
The Rosh Yeshiva ztl asks that without the "shvua" Yosef would have been lazy about his fathers wishes? He was the kid who put his life in danger to go find his brothers in order to fulfill his fathers desire, even going above and beyond what his father actually asked him. In this situation he would surely do all he could even if that meant putting his life in danger in order to get his father to Eretz Yisroel. This being the case, why did Yaakov need to make Yosef swear in order to make him try harder?
The Rosh Yeshiva explains that it must be had Yosef not sworn to his father he could have possibly been an "ones" and even with all his "mesiras nefesh" would not have been able to fulfill his fathers wishes. Therefore Yaakov made him swear, and that "shvua" gave him new powers that without the "shvua" he would not have had. Without the "shvua" he would have truly been an "ones" having done everything in his power, but swearing that he would do it caused his level of power to grow to levels that he would never have reached.
We see from here two tremendous "chidushim" in "Yesodei Hamussar". Firstly, we see how even when it seems that we peaked in our "hisorirus" and "zrizus" for a certain action, there is always more to grow. Secondly, "hisorirus" can bring us to new levels of strength that we didn't have in the first place, to allow us to achieve things we could never have achieved before. Good shabbos. . .
Friday, December 10, 2010
Fwd:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <3478602930@vzwpix.com>
Date: Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 12:30 AM
Subject:
To: Yonah Gewirtz <yonah927@gmail.com>
Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem, Zev Yehuda ben R' Shmuel Mordechai, R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben R' Zev Yehuda, Avraham ben R' Yitzchok Zev, R' Dovid Meer ben Harav Shmuel
In perek mem hei posuk gimmel it says, "Vayomer Yosef el echav ani Yosef ha'od avi chai, vlo yachlu echav la'anos oso ki nivhalu mipanav." " And Yosef said to his brothers, I am Yosef is my father still alive, but his brothers could not answer him because they were left disconcerted before him." Rashi explains that they were left disconcerted because of the shame. Chazal say in the name of both Aba Kohen Bardala and Rav Shimon ben Alazar, "Oy lanu miyom hatochacha, Oy lanu miyom hadin" Woe is to us when we will have to face Hashem after one hundred and twenty years. Yosef was the second to youngest of the shvatim and when he rebuked them they were left speechless, how much more so when Hashem rebukes each and every person.
Reb Chaim Shmulevitz ztl asks, where is the rebuke in Yosef's words? All he said was "I am Yosef is my father still alive" and immediately after it says the brothers were unable to respond.
Reb Chaim explains that from here we see what the "mahus" of tochacha is, its not showering the recipient with fiery words and giving it to them, as many think. Rather it is pointing out the persons mistake, and as soon as they recognize and accept that they made a mistake that is kabala of the tochacha. When Yosef said to his brothers "I am Yosef" what that meant to them was " I'm that little brother that you shipped down to Mitzrayim, I'm the Viceroy of Egypt. You sold me as a slave to distance me from those foolish dreams of mine but in truth you set the stage for me. See and understand that my words were not foolishness but rather Nevua." The brothers heard this and were unable to respond because of the shame. From here Rav Shimon ben Elazar (He's the one Reb Chaim brings down) says "Oy lanu miyom hadin Oy lanu miyom hatochacha" If the young brother of the shvatim caused them such
shame by opening their eyes, al achas kama v'kama when Hashem opens our eyes.
Although this is a frightening thought it is something that should sometimes be pulled out of the drawer to remind us that one day we will have to give a din v"cheshban, and hopefully it'll give us chizuk to come closer to Hashem. Good Shabbos
From: <3478602930@vzwpix.com>
Date: Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 12:30 AM
Subject:
To: Yonah Gewirtz <yonah927@gmail.com>
Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem, Zev Yehuda ben R' Shmuel Mordechai, R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben R' Zev Yehuda, Avraham ben R' Yitzchok Zev, R' Dovid Meer ben Harav Shmuel
In perek mem hei posuk gimmel it says, "Vayomer Yosef el echav ani Yosef ha'od avi chai, vlo yachlu echav la'anos oso ki nivhalu mipanav." " And Yosef said to his brothers, I am Yosef is my father still alive, but his brothers could not answer him because they were left disconcerted before him." Rashi explains that they were left disconcerted because of the shame. Chazal say in the name of both Aba Kohen Bardala and Rav Shimon ben Alazar, "Oy lanu miyom hatochacha, Oy lanu miyom hadin" Woe is to us when we will have to face Hashem after one hundred and twenty years. Yosef was the second to youngest of the shvatim and when he rebuked them they were left speechless, how much more so when Hashem rebukes each and every person.
Reb Chaim Shmulevitz ztl asks, where is the rebuke in Yosef's words? All he said was "I am Yosef is my father still alive" and immediately after it says the brothers were unable to respond.
Reb Chaim explains that from here we see what the "mahus" of tochacha is, its not showering the recipient with fiery words and giving it to them, as many think. Rather it is pointing out the persons mistake, and as soon as they recognize and accept that they made a mistake that is kabala of the tochacha. When Yosef said to his brothers "I am Yosef" what that meant to them was " I'm that little brother that you shipped down to Mitzrayim, I'm the Viceroy of Egypt. You sold me as a slave to distance me from those foolish dreams of mine but in truth you set the stage for me. See and understand that my words were not foolishness but rather Nevua." The brothers heard this and were unable to respond because of the shame. From here Rav Shimon ben Elazar (He's the one Reb Chaim brings down) says "Oy lanu miyom hadin Oy lanu miyom hatochacha" If the young brother of the shvatim caused them such
shame by opening their eyes, al achas kama v'kama when Hashem opens our eyes.
Although this is a frightening thought it is something that should sometimes be pulled out of the drawer to remind us that one day we will have to give a din v"cheshban, and hopefully it'll give us chizuk to come closer to Hashem. Good Shabbos
Friday, December 3, 2010
Parshas Mikeitz
Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem, Zev Yehuda ben R' Shmuel Mordechai, R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben R' Zev Yehuda, Avraham ben R' Yitzchok Zev, R' Dovid Meir ben Harav Shmuel
In perek mem beis posuk chaf dalid the posuk says, "Vayosov mei'aleihem vayeivch, vayashav aleihem vayidaber aleihem, vayikach mei'itam es Shimon vaye'esar oso l'eineihem." "He (Yosef) turned away from them and wept,he returned to them and spoke to them; he took Shimon from them and imprisoned him before their eyes." The Medrash Tanchuma gives two pirushim why Yosef imprisoned Shimon. The first Pirush is because he was the one that pushed Yosef into the pit. Another pshat is because he didnt wan't him to advise his brothers to kill him. The Medrash continues that as soon as Yosef took Shimon to imprison him, Shimon said to his brothers, "This is what you did to Yosef and now you're trying to do it to me too!" To which the brothers responded, "What do you want us to do? If we don't follow his orders our entire families will perish in this famine." Shimon believed that just as the brothers wanted to kill Yosef, they wanted to get rid of him. Even though he knew that Yosef was the one calling the shots, and they had no choice but to listen, he believed that somewhere in the hearts of his brothers they were happy to be rid of him. The brothers response to him is to remind him of the seemingly obvious and already known fact that they have no control over the situation, and that if they don't listen their families will perish. The Rosh Yeshiva ztl asks, how did the brothers response to Shimon remove his suspicions? He knew that the brothers had no control and still had his suspisions so what changed?
The Rosh Yeshiva explains, that when the brothers responded to Shimon, true it was something he already knew, but they said it whole heartedly, and truly meant it. Shimon was able to sense that and realized that they weren't looking to get rid of him. "Dvarim hayotzim min haleiv nichnasim el haleiv." "Words that come from the heart, enter into the heart." Shimon knew from the way their response struck him that they must have been telling the truth.
This is an important thing for everyone to remember, Parents, Rabbeim and even friends, "Words from the heart reach the heart", and the recipient always knows where the words are truly coming from.. Good Shabbos and Afreillechin Chanuka!!
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