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