Simchas Torah

On the first night of Chanukah, my wife and I got “home sick” for Jerusalem. Every year, we would light our menorah in the window overlooking the street. At the same time, one of our neighbors would be out with his sons lighting theirs down below and singing ma’or zur. Within 30 minutes, the entire block was lit up with menorahs. Here? I saw three menorahs on the way to shul. There were more homes that had the glow of the television coming out than that of the menorah.

HOWEVER, we realized the extra bracha of being here. We lit our menorah in its glass case right outside our door way. The kitchen has a window overlooking said doorway. Later that night, my wife saw a father and daughter walk past the menorah and making note of its existence. After a few more seconds of walking, the daughter asked her father if they can see the menorah again.

The entire point of the menorah is to publicize the miracle. Perhaps in Jerusalem, it looks nicer to see everybody’s menorahs all lit together, but here, where it’s noticeable, you’re REALLY doing the mitzvah properly.

Okay, on to Torah!
A member of the kollel told me a nice thing he heard from Rav Shimshon Pincus directly, when he was younger….

We have a few questions on Chanukah. When the Gemara speaks about Chanukah, its primary focus is NOT the war, but rather the miracle of the oil. Why is that? Also, the Rambam at the end of Hilchos Chanukah seems to use an interesting language, saying that lighting the menorah is a “mitzvah chavivi ud meod”; it’s a very previous mitzvah. I’m not an expert on the Rambam, but it seems that there are many experts who are confused by his choice of words. It’s unlike him to talk about the “preciousness” of any mitzvah. He’s usually more cut and dry. Why is he getting all “warm and fuzzy” on us?

Rav Pincus answers with a parable.

There was once a rich man who wanted to get married. However, he did not want to marry a rich girl. Instead, he wanted somebody who was modest and nice, from a good, but non-wealthy background. Finally, after a while of searching, he found such a girl.

As the wedding day approached, he told her and her family, that they have nothing to worry about. He has a huge mansion with servants and maids to take care of them. She won’t have to lift a finger, and whenever her family would like to come and visit, they are more than welcome to enjoy the hospitality.

Her parents were somewhat surprised. Knowing that he lived so far away, they found some scrap word and made an extra wall in their one-room apartment for the couple to stay in. They were hoping that instead of moving away, they would come and join them.

Now… what is more chaviv (precious)? The couple living with the parents, or the parents coming to live by him? The answer is the couple living by the parents. By lowering his standards exponentially, he his showing how precious they are in his life.

So too with Chanukah, says Rav Pincus.

In the first Beis HaMikdash, there were ten noted miracles that occurred every day. One of them included the Menorah. Yet, the second Beis HaMikdash had none of them… in fact, the menorah that they used (for the first nights of Chanukah) was made of wood. On top of that, but the second Beis HaMikdash was also sitting in disarray, and up until recently had an idol set up inside.

In the first Beis HaMikdash, it was a given that you should have miracles seen by everybody on a daily basis. This is Hashem’s house after all! However, the second Beis HaMikdash? It was a poor man’s home in comparison. It needed cleaning, purifying, and a lot of “fixing up”. Yet, what happened? Hashem came to “our house” and performed a miracle using the oil, like He did in the first Beis HaMikdash. Not only did he save us in the war and secured our victory, but more importantly, he showed us that we were still chaviv, precious, to him.

This kollel member continued and explained. Since 1948, the Jews in Eretz Yisroel have been saved many times by Hashem in several wars. Each of these wars were expected to wipe Israel off the map. Yet, each time, somehow, we were victorious. Yet, we don’t have established holidays for each of these miracles. Why is that? He answers that while we were certainly saved through miracles, we never saw signs of Hashem showing us how precious and close to Him we were. Yes, He saved us, but He remained “distant”. We didn’t see something “extra” to show us that He was still close and chaviv to us, like He did during Chanukah. That is why we don’t celebrate the miracles of each war.

It’s interesting to note, that Chanukah was the last holiday and last “big miracle” that occurred to us before the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed and we were sent into our current exile. Perhaps it’s a sign that no matter how dark the times, as long as we try to invite Him into our “house”, he will always come.

Have a great Shabbos Chanukah!

For those of us that do not have the skills (yet) nor the time to be able to make a siyum (finishing an entire tractate of Gemara, a book of Naviim (Prophets), or finishing any other larger-scale ‘project’), we are given an opportunity nonetheless to make a siyum once every year with the rest of the Jewish people.

This Simchas Torah, we will finish reading the sefer Torah and immediately begin anew with “In the beginning…”

I thought I would use this opportunity to introduce a not-so-often-used halacha cited in the Shulchan Oruch and Gemara (Brachos 8a-b).
“Even though a person hears the Torah every Shabbos with the community, he is obligated to read the parsha himself every week, Shniyim Mikrah V’Echad Targum” (Shulchan Oruch 285).

What is Shniyim Mikrah V’Echad Targum
Shniyim Mikrah V’Echad Targum (hereby referred to as SMVT for simplicity sake) means: The writing (in the Torah) twice, and the Targum (literally: translation) once.

In English, SMVT means that every week a man (woman are not obligated) is obligated to read through the week’s parsha twice in Hebrew and once with the Targum. The Targum generally means the commentary of Onkolus who gives a simple explanation of the meaning of each pasuk.

The Mishnah Brurah writes that the Targum can also be Rashi or even the parsha translated to a person’s mother tongue. However, not all translations are good to be used as the Targum, so speak to your local rabbi. I happen to know Rav Dovid Zucker has said that Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan’s “The Living Torah” and the Metsuda Chumash are fine to use.

How to do Shniyim Mikrah V’Echad Targum
There are several ways of completing SMVT every week.

1.The Arizal would read each pasuk twice and then it’s Targum so he would understand each pasuk at a time.

2. Some read entire sections of the parsha twice and then the Targum

3.Some read the entire parsha twice and then the Targum.

The Mishnah Brurah also notes that one can read along with the Torah reading, in a whisper, and that would count for one reading of the parsha.

When can one do Shniyim Mikrah V’Echad Targum
The Mishnah Brurah writes that beginning from the mincha of Shabbos, one can begin doing SMVT for the next week, since we read from next week’s parsha at that mincha.

Preferably, one should complete SMVT by the meal on Shabbos day. If he is not finished by then, he can finish by Wednesday. If not by then, you can even do it by the next Simchas Torah. If a person misses a week, he should find time to make it up.

This year, Simchas Torah falls out on Thursday (for those living in Israel), and Friday (for those living outside of Israel). So, when can one begin parshas Bereishis? The answer: right after the shul reads Bereishis on Simchas Torah morning. That means most people will have 24 hours to read Bereishis twice in Hebrew and once in either English, Onkolus, or Rashi.

But don’t get despaired! After that, you have a week per parsha!

Conclusion
I’ve just listed a few very basic notes concerning this halacha. More information can be found in the Mishnah Brurah (285), or your local rav.

When I first learned that this was an actual halacha and not some nice thing to do, I asked where I would find the time each week to do this. The Gemara states:

“Anybody who completes each week’s parsha with the community [with Shniyim Mikrah V’Echad Targum], his days and years will be lengthened” (Brachos 8b)

One way of reading this, is that a person will live a long life. The rav who I asked answered that that this could be read that his days and years will be ‘stretched out’, so he can accomplish more within his lifetime. If I take the time to do SMVT every week, I will have time to accomplish my other learning as well. I was told this when I was working all day and learning at night. Now, I learn all day and work at night. I’m certainly not going to complain that that particular bracha came true.

This is an amazing opportunity to make at least one siyum a year by finishing the entire Torah, and Simchas Torah allows us to start anew from the beginning.

May we all have an amazing Simchas Torah, Shmini Atzeres, and Shabbos!

Over the past two weeks, I experienced three things that I haven’t experienced in a while:

1. Right after Rosh Hashanah, I ate my first orange since Purim time. The fruits and vegetables are seasonal, so I have not eaten an orange in quite some time. It was a still a little tart, because it’s still early, but boy was it good. Plus, I got to make the brachah “Shehecheyanu” on it.

2. Over Sukkos, I ate my first bagel in well over a year. Here, bagels are rather expensive for some. However, my wife found a place where they sell their day-old bagels for a cheaper price. That was our Sukkos treat.

3.Today, we had a 30 second sprinkle of rain. We haven’t had rain, or a cloudy day for that matter, since Pesach time. Rain too is very seasonal. Starting the day after Sukkos begins the rainy season that will last until Pesach. Life gets a little tougher now, since we, like most, use feet and busses to do everything. Nu, nu… no complaints though. Rain is one of the biggest brachos and I welcome it.

Okay, on to Torah!

“And by all the strong hand and awesome power that Moshe performed before the eyes of all of Israel” (Devarim 34:12)

Rashi explains that the “strong hand” refers to Moshe’s breaking of the Luchos (tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written), which were extremely heavy. The “awesome power” that was “performed before the eyes” is referring to Moshe’s strength and courage when he shattered them in front of the entire nation.

Rabbi Avraham Scheinbaum asks, why did Hashem choose to use this as the last pasuk in the entire Torah? Why also did Hashem choose to use the incident of the Luchos as the epitaph of Moshe? Out of all the examples of his greatness, why was this particular episode used?

Rav Mordechai Gifter, thankfully, gives us an answer to Rabbi Scheinbaum’s question.

After learning “one-on-one” with Hashem for forty days, Moshe reached the pinnacle of spirituality, all in order to give over the Torah to the nation. Yet, when he came down the mountain and saw those participating in idol-worship and the indifference by the onlookers, he destroyed the very Luchos he worked so hard to attain. The nation was not ready. Despite saying “We will do and we will listen”, their integrity was lacking.

The Torah demands complete integrity in all aspects in life. Whether in business, personal relationships, our relationship with Hashem, etc… we must have integrity according to the dictates of the Torah. When a person says, “I will do and I will listen” and then turns around to do something contrary to the will of Hashem, his integrity is lost and his “Luchos” are destroyed.

This lesson of integrity represents the general battle one must face with the Yetzer Horah every day. Moshe’s lesson to us is a principle lesson. Whether in public or in private, we are to try our best to maintain our integrity to Torah. We should learn from our teachers who learned from theirs instead of make things up as we go. We should practice our private life as we do our public. We should be true examples of Bnei Torah in every facet of life.

With that, I wish everybody a great Shabbos and an uplifting Simchas Torah.

I hope everybody's Sukkos is going well. Mine has gone quite well, thank you. Today, I woke up to an interesting sight. A cloudy day! This is the first time I've seen rain clouds since I've gotten here. On the last days of Sukkos, we begin asking for rain. In our daily Shemoneh Esrei, we change around some of the text to specifically ask for rain. In Israel we specifically ask for rain now, while outside of Israel, YOU PEOPLE begin December 6 or 7th. I'm not going into detail on why the dates are separate, since it's a long story. The point is, that from Pesach (when the rainy season ends) until now, there has yet to be a cloudy day here in Jerusalem. Now that we are about to finally ask for it, the clouds have moved in and 'taken position'. I love this country. Okay, on to Torah!

I've always had a question that has bugged me each and every year. On Thursday, we will be celebrating Simchas Torah. It's on this day, that we read the last parsha of the Torah, and once again beginning all over again at Bereishis. Naturally, it is a time of great joy and festivities. My question is simple. The last lines of the Torah describe Moshe's death. How is it that we can be celebrating at this time? Moshe died! Is it really appropriate to sing and dance now?

I finally found a nice answer I thought I would share.

"So, Moshe, servant of Hashem, died there...He buried him in the depression in the land of Moav...opposite Bais P'eor, and no one knows his burial place to this day" (34:5,6)

Rashi, on this pasuk, points out an apparent contradiction: If Moshe wrote the Torah, how is it that he wrote these last lines? Some answer that his chief student and successor, Yehoshua, wrote these last lines. Some answer that Moshe himself wrote it and died afterwards.

Rav Mordechai Rogov makes an interesting point. Rav Rogov holds that in reality Moshe did not die. Yet, the Torah says straight out that he died!? So, where did he die, according to Rav Rogov? He died "there", in "the land of Moav", opposite of the idol of Bais P'eor. He died where there was no Torah. Yet, his legacy and being, the Torah continues to live on today. When the Torah is being lived by, Moshe continues to live. Only in places where the Torah is treated as a relic, if as anything at all, THAT is where Moshe died.

The Shaar Bas Rabim offers an example to bring out the lesson. A small community in Europe was looking for a prominent rabbi to lead them. In order to attract such a scholar, the President of the shul set out memorial stones in the cemetery with the names of great tzaddikim on them. He hoped that when a possible Rav would come to see the community, he would notice these stones, and become impressed by the community for once having such great people in their midst. When one Rav came to visit, he was in fact impressed that such people as The Taz and Magen Avraham (great scholars of old) were 'buried' in the local cemetery. After seeing everything else, the Rav accepted the position.

Some time afterwards, the Rav learned that The Taz was really buried in Lemberg, and the Magen Avraham was really buried in Kalish. Naturally, the Rav was upset for being misled and demanded an explanation from the shul's President. The President replied, "In Lemberg, they study the Taz. In Kalish, they study the Magen Avraham. Hence, in those towns, these two great tzaddikim are still alive. Their words and thoughts are constantly in motion in these two towns. They are not dead, they are certainly alive. Yet here, in our community, nobody truly cares for studying Torah. Here, these two giants are truly buried."

This is the reason we celebrate and dance on Simchas Torah, despite the fact we read of Moshe's death. The fact that throughout the whole year, we read through the entire Torah, and are beginning anew right afterwards, proves that Moshe is not really dead. As long as we continue to learn from and act upon the Torah, we are keeping Moshe Rabbeinu alive. And for that reason, we have every right to celebrate. Have a great Shabbos, Shmini Atzeres, and Simchas Torah!

Shemini Azteret is the only festival for which the Torah does not give us a reason. In the Torah, we find no logical or historical reason for its existence. Other holidays have specific commandments and reasons, but Shemini Atzeret remains mysterious to us. In Vayikra (23:36) it says ".....On the eighth day, it shall be a holy day for you, and you shall bring a fire offering to G-d; it is a day of detention, a time of holy gathering, and you may not do any work." We can ask many questions about this verse. What is this holy day? Why is it a day of detention? What does that mean? What do we do on this eighth day?

In its formal structure, Sukkot most closely resembles Pesach. Both are seven days long, and both arrive on the 15th day of their respective months, exactly half a year apart. Yet, Pesach doesn't have a post-holiday gathering, while Sukkot has the 8th day, Shemini Atzeret, which is a distinct, separate festival. For the first time in a week, we stop "living" in the Sukkah and we put away our Lulav and Etrog. At night, when we make a bracha (blessing) on the candles and say Kiddush on the wine, we add the Shehechiyanu blessing, which is only said on the first day of a festival. So what is this "Eighth day holiday" really about?

Every year on Sukkot, we leave the comfort of our homes for seven days to live in temporary booths under an open sky. Sukkot is a holiday which has a unique relationship with nature and the nations of the world. Even the sacrifices which were brought on Sukkot in the time of the Temple add up to the number 70, which is the number of the nations of the world.

Immediately after Sukkot comes Shemini Atzeret. 'Atzeret' literally means assembly, but its root comes from the word 'Atzor' - to stop, to hold back, to restrain. What Shemini Atzeret does is stop the festival of Sukkot from ending. It is G-d taking a day which really should be a normal weekday, and making it into a day where G-d can say to us, "Stop! Let's have one day where we can concentrate on being together as a nation."

Rashi comments on the idea of "The day of detention" with a parable. He says that the idea of this day is that G-d has detained us, like a king who invited his children to a feast for a few days. When the time came for the children to depart, the king said to them, "Please children, I request that you stay with me for one more day, because it is very difficult for me to part with you." Rashi interprets Shemini Atzeret as G-d's way of saying, "Atzor!" "Stop!" "Stay with me one more day!"

Now that we know this, we can understand why Simchat Torah, the celebration of the Torah, is a holiday that occurs immediately after Shemini Atzeret. Not only because we have finished reading the Five Books of Moses, but because this is one of the best ways to express our relationship with G-d and the Torah he gave us. We recognize our special relationship with G-d, because we are the nation who He chose to entrust with his Torah, and we are the only people who call the language of the Torah, the Holy Language, our own.

The Targum has yet another translation for the word "Atzeret." The Targum says that it means "knishin," which is Aramaic for gathering. One major part of Sukkot is the necessity for the Jewish people to gather together as Jews. Shemini Atzeret is a festival which is dedicated to the Achdut, the unity, of the Jewish people. Although other holidays may also fulfill this same purpose, all other holidays also have their own explanations and purposes. Shemini Atzeret, a holiday with no distinct reason, is dedicated to the theme of Achdut, unifying all of the Jewish people.

Especially in these modern times, the Jewish people are desperate for unity. The issue of 'Who is a Jew' sometimes grows more important than 'What is a Jew'. The holidays give us a chance to say, "We are all Jews, let us resolve our differences." The holiday season allows us to say, "The fact that we are all Jews is stronger than our specific observance levels or practices." There is a Chassidic interpretation which explains this idea. There are certain laws which may apply to non-observant Jews on an everyday basis. But these laws are lifted on the holidays. After the holiday is over, barriers arise which may separate Jews by their level of observance. But on the holidays, none of these unfortunate barriers exist. In Gemara, Mesechet Shabbat 31a, a potential convert to Judaism approaches the great Rabbi Hillel, and says, "Teach me the entire Torah on one foot - (Al Regel Echad)." Hillel replies, "What is hateful to oneself shouldn't be done to others. This is the entire Torah, and the rest is just commentary....." Regel, foot, can also be translated to mean festival. A rebbe once interpreted this to mean that the convert's question was "Teach me about 'al regel echad' - teach me about the festival which stands alone, whose significance is not explicitly stated in the Torah." Hillel's answer to the question shows us the deeper meaning of Shemini Atzeret. It is a holiday to not do to others what is hateful to ourselves. It is a day to gather all the Jews in unity, and to express a feeling of love for Israel and a respect for all other human beings. It is a time where barriers between Jews of differing observance levels can be lifted and ignored.

As Rashi said, it is hard for G-d to part with us after a time period in which we were so close with him. Shemini Atzeret is a time where G-d tells us, "I don't want any Jews to become separated. I want all Jews to be unified, no matter what their level of observance. I want one more day where all Jews can be unified as one." By the time Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah arrive, many of us feel tired already from so many holidays in such a short period of time. Asking for Teshuva on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is a great emotional strain. Building a Sukkah and preparing for the holidays can tire a person out physically. We may feel relieved when all the holidays are done with and we can return to our normal routines. Shemini Atzeret shows us that we should feel exactly the opposite. We should say, "Please, stay one day longer. Don't be so eager to leave! Let us have one more day where all Jews can be unified and treat each other with the respect which every human being deserves."

Shoshana Friedman

Last parsha in the Torah folks...

Parshas V'zos HaBracha

"He (ie. G-d) became king over Yeshurun when the people/leaders of the nation gathered the tribes of Yisroel in unity" (33:5)

Rav Aharon Rotter, cites the "Eish Dos", who believes that it is impossible to have a unified nation unless the people follow the words of the gedolei ha'dor (the Torah leadership of that generation).

The Eish Dos cites an apparent contradiction in the Talmud. In one part, the Rabbis said that the destruction of the Bais Ha'Mikdash was due to a distorted sense of equality between different people. There was no distinction between those gedolim, who were the leaders, and your average everyday Jew. In another section, the Rabbis said the destruction was due to senseless hatred between people. Now on the outside these two beliefs look completely contradictory to each other. One would think with equality among the people, there would be harmony?

This is simply not true. In any society or organization, different people placed at different levels. There is a chain of command. When the chain of command is broken down, and there are many leaders running around, you end up with chaos. With chaos comes baseless hatred.

The spiritual leadership of the Jewish people functions as the head of the people. To try to "equalize" them, whether not heading to their words, treating their words with a scoff, treating them as if they were another person in the census, this will lead to an eventual collapse of society.

Have a great Shabbos!