Parshas Re'eh

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisrael Menachem, Zekaini Moiri R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben Harav Zev Yehuda, my cousin Zev Yehuda ben Rav Shmuel Mordechai, Avraham ben R' Yizchok Zev, R' Dovid Meir ben Rav Shmuel.....

 In perek yud beis posuk chaf gimmel the posuk says "Rak chazak l'vilti achal  ha'dam ki ha'dam hu hanafesh, v'lo sochal hanefesh im ha;basar". "Only, exercise strength in not eating blood, for the blood is the life, and do not eat the spirit with the meat". Rashi brings down Rav shimon ben Azai who says, the Torah is teaching Klal Yisroel the extent that one must go to strengthen their keeping of the mitzvos. If blood which is easily avoided because man has no craving for it still requires strengthening oneself from eating it, then kal v'chomer other more difficult mitzvos.

The Sifsei Chachamim brings down in the name of the Mahari, that R' Shimon ben Azai was explaining that the yetzer hara of a person is constantly trying to overpower him,and therefore one must be careful in the seemingly easy mitzvos and Kal V'chomer in the mitzvos that people have a taayva to go against.

The Rosh Yeshiva ztl explained that we can see that according to R' Shimon ben Azai Klal Yisroel had zero taayva to eat blood, because its just miusdik. Yet after Hashem commanded against it one must be michazek themselves not to do it.The reason for this is that even though eating blood may seem nasty, once Hashem commanded against it, the Yetzer Hara is working on all cylinders to make people eat it. If the yetzer Hara can turn something uninticing intosomething that needs strength to stay away from, then imagine the things that started off enticing in the first place.

Rav Yisroel Salanter  ztl in the Igeres Hamussar explains that there are really two types of Yetzet hara's. One that plays to peoples desires and tries to cause them to fall, and a second that speaks to the tuuma of a person and tries to convince him to sin in order to go against Hashem. Therefore it is very possible to do things that one may not even want just because the yetzer hara is trying to get them to go against Hashem.

Its scary to see that not only do we have to be careful not to fall into the trap of doing things wrong that we desire, but even of things we have no interest in.
"V'haseir satan milfaneinu u'meiachreinu", hes coming from all over the place. Hopefully if we know that he's coming on so strong we can better equip ourselves for battle.
  Good Shabbos

Parshas Eikev

 Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem, Zekaini Moiri R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben Harav Zev Yehuda, my cousin Zev Yehuda ben Rav Shmuel Mordechai, Avraham ben R' Yitzchok Zev, R' Dovid Meir ben Rav Shmuel..

In perek ches posuk gimmel the posuk says "Vayochlacha es ha'man asher lo yadaata v'lo yadun avosecha" "I fed you the maan that you did not know about and your forefathers did not know about".
 The Medrash Raba says, R Ilai asked in the name of R' Yosi ben Zimra, why didn't Hashem tell Avraham avinu about the maan? Rav Abba says becasue its the way of Tzadikim to say a little and do a lot so Hashem didn't tell him. Davar acheir is, had Hashem told Avraham and klal Yisroel knew about it, Klal Yisroel would have said "we already ate maan when we were in Mitzrayim." Just as Klal Yisroel remembered eating fish in Mitzrayim that chazal say they never got any of it, they just saw Mitzriim eating it.

The Rosh Yeshiva ztl asks the following, Klal Yisroel then wasn't a group of people that would just complain about having something random b'meizid that was so far fetched. They weren't just out to complain and they weren't crazy so how could they complain about something that wasn't even there in Mitzrayim with them.

The Rosh Yeshiva explains that the wa people work is when they know they are going to have something they begin to have the hana'a from it as soon as they know its coming. I heard from a Rav in a Shabbos Drasha the same idea. Someone is bidding for something at an auction for example a nice watch. He bids high and it seems that the watch is his they start counting down until the watch is his. The bidder begins to picture the watch on his arm shining in the sunlight completing his image. His nice suit and tie, his stylish shoes and his new beautiful watch. Suddnely someone from the crowd jumps up and raises the bid and wins the watch. In the first bidders mind, the second bidder has just stolen his watch. If you don't believe it think of your own scenario and you'll come to realize that this is in fact the way it works.

Klal Yisroel would have been so used to knowing the Man was coming that over the years they would have begun to believe it was theirs already way before they actually began getting it, and would have lost appreciation for it.

This is the way we are. It takes effort to realize what we take for granted. We get so used to things that we lose our appreciation but it doesn't have to be that way. We can try to stay focused on it and realize the things we do and don't have and appreciate them in turn.

Good Shabbos
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Parshas Vaes'chanan

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem, Zekaini Moiri R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben Harav Zev Yehuda, my cousin Zev Yehuda ben Rav Shmuel Mrdechai, Avraham ben R' Yitzchok Zev, R' Dovid Meir ben Rav Shmuel......

In perek dalid posuk beis "Lo sosifu al hadavar asher anochi mitzave eschem v'lo sigriu mimenu lishmor es mitzvas Hashem elokeichem asher anochi mitzave eshchem." "You shall not add to the word that I command you , nor shall you subtract from it to keep the commandments of Hashem your God that I command you"

Many mefarshim ask the seemingly obvious question. It is understandable why the Torah says one should not subtract from the Mitzvos Hashem commanded, but what is wrong with adding onto the Torah? Perhaps by adding on one can be mikayim the Torah on an even more chumradik level.

Rav Yaakov Neiman ztl explains, that every single person in Klal Yisroel has to understand that the Torah was giving to us straight from Hakadosh Baruch Hu. He is the one who wrote it and gave the mitzvos, mishpatim, and chukim. That being said and understood everyone is obligated to believe that it was given b'shleimus, perfect and complete. "Toras Hashem Temima". The Torah is complete without even one tiny minuscule mistake. If one were to add on to the Torah and try to be more "machmir" and more holy then what he is in fact showing is that he does not believe that the Torah was given from Hashem. If someone tries to be "frummer" than the Ribono shel olam they are actually being "koifer b'ikar".

Don't be frummer than the Ribono Shel Olam. My grandfather Harav Abba Zalka Gewirtz shlita always says these words and follows with the following Chazal. In the maaseh of Nadav and Avihu and the aish zara the Ohr Hachaim is mashma that what Nadav and Avihu did wrong was that they brought a Karbon that Hashem had not told them to bring. They did what Hashem asked and then some and that is why they were chayiv misa.

 Its important to keep the Torah and follow all that Hashem commands, but that's is where it ends, all that Hashem commands. When people start trying to be holier than that and more machmir, its not chasidus or ultra orthodox, its kfira, it's its own religion. The Torah was given to us straight from Hashem complete and perfect and that is how we are expected to keep it and follow it.
 Good Shabbos

parshas Devarim

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem, Zekaini Moiri R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben Harav Zev Yehuda, my cousin Zev Yehuda ben Rav Shmuel Mordechai, Avraham ben R' Yitzchak Zev, R' Dovid Meir ben R' Shmuel

In perek alef posuk zayin Moshe delivers the following message from Hashem to  Klal Yisroel "Pnu u'siu lachem uvou har ha'Emori v'el kal shcheinav ba'arava bahar uvashfeila uvanegev uvichof hayam eretz ha'canani v'halvanon ad hanahar hagadol nahar pras" "Turn Yourselves and journey, and come to Mountain of the Emori and all its neighbors, in the plain, on the mountain, and in the lowland, and in the south, and at the seacoast. The land of the Cannanite and the Lebanon, until the great river the Euphrates river."

 Rashi explains, that because Nahar Pras is mentioned with Eretz Yisroel it is call "Nahar Gadol". The slave of a king is considered a king to the common folk. Chazal say that in actuality the Nahar Hagadol is the smallest from all the rivers, but its association with Eretz Yisroel makes it great.

Reb Chaim Shmulevitz Ztl explains, that if that is the Kedusha of things associated with Eretz Yisroel, Kal V'chomer Eretz Yisroel itself. Ein Torah K'Toras Eretz Yisroel.

 Reb Chaim Explains that people don't understand and utilize the greatness of Eretz Yisroel. Moshe Rabeinu came to Hashem with a taayna "The Atzmos Yosef are entering Eretz Yisroel, and I can't?" Hashem explained to him that Yosef acknowledged and appreciated that Eretz Yisrael was his land he was called an Ivri by the Mitzriim, and even called himself "gunov gonavti mei'eretz Ha'Ivrim" He on the other hand was called an Ish Mitzri by Yisro's family and was quiet. We don't find there being a  taayna on him for not correcting them from believing he was a non jew. Perhaps it would have been a sakana. However, because he was not "hoda ba'aretz" he was not buried in Eretz Yisroel.
 Good Shabbos