A Taste of Torah

Teruma 5774 February 1, 2014 A Taste of Torah Stories For The Soul A Penny Worth Millions By Rabbi Yossi Kaplan Fortress of Faith The vaunted Nazi general Erwin Rommel, What could you buy with a listed in the Torah. The precious known as the Desert Fox, was advancing steadily penny? stones brought by these princes through Egypt, and it seemed that the Nazi takeover were listed last! Can there be of Eretz Yisroel was imminent. By order of the court of Mayor and something more precious than their The year was 1941, the Jewish Nation was in Alderman of the city of London, the size contribution? the throes of the Holocaust, and it was at this time of a penny loaf was set forth by the Lord that Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman (1886-1969), Mayor at six ounces. So reported the Go to your local Denver the Ponovezher Rav, borrowed some money to buy London Evening Post, March 14, supermarket and you will see a parcel of land in Bnei Brak upon which to build 1758. “Colorado Proud” items advertised a yeshiva. throughout local supermarkets. People thought he had lost his mind. What By contrast, today, in 2014, a Why? Because there is a special would be the point of buying land now, when it penny can hardly buy half a candy preference people have for their own would fall shortly to the Germans, who would at the corner drug store. But have home-grown produce. The Talmud undoubtedly proceed to exterminate all of the Jews you ever heard of a penny worth points out that people prefer to in Eretz Yisrael as they did in Europe? millions? have less if they’ve put effort into The Ponovezher Rov replied that we find that as producing it rather than more of Eretz Yisroel was being destroyed by the Babylonian G-d waited over two thousand something attained by other means. Army and the fall of the First Temple was on the years – as it were – for a place of And the same held true with the horizon, Hashem instructed the prophet Yirmiyahu His own in this world. And now, Jews in the desert all those years (Jeremiah) (32:9-10) to purchase land and save the the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was soon ago, says Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz deed in a safe place. The Ponovezher Rav explained to be erected. But something was (1902-1979). that not every prophecy was recorded; only those missing – the stones for the choshen that had some message for the future were included (breastplate) of the Kohein Gadol Yes, indeed, the precious stones in the Books of the Prophets. In that case, he said, (high priest). were a princely contribution on the the prophecy in which Hashem tells Yirmiyahu to part of the nesi’im – but they didn’t buy land when the destruction of the country is Hashem didn’t disappoint toil for them! The contributions of imminent holds true throughout the generations; it His people. Clouds of Glory bore the rest of the nation came from is never too bleak to look to the future. precious stones to the doorsteps their own possessions, not from The rest is history. British Field Marshal of the nesi’im (princes) of the Jews. something miraculously deposited at Bernard Montgomery defeated Rommel at El Indeed, Hashem Himself provided their doorsteps. And that made their Alamein, effectively halting the Nazi advance in the missing stones for His Mishkan. contribution much more precious, the Middle East. The Ponovezher Rov built the though the items donated may not Ponovezh Yeshiva, today one of the most prestigious Now, imagine how exalted these have had as much significance. Torah institutions in the world, on the land he had princes must have been. Clouds purchased. of Glory don’t appear every day at We’d be wise to realize this when In this week’s parsha, Hashem commands doorsteps, and, from the millions presented with a contribution, Moshe to instruct the Jewish people to build a of Jews in the desert, Hashem chose paltry as it may seem; it may be far Tabernacle. The Jewish people had no formal none other than these twelve princes more precious than a much larger training in such craftsmanship, but they complied, to bring the stones to the Mishkan. donation. Be it an idea, project or and Hashem provided them with the inspiration culinary creation, by employee, co- and knowledge needed to complete its construction. But there’s something puzzling worker or spouse – yes, it may be a Despite challenges and obstacles, a Jew must always about the order of the contributions penny, but it’s worth millions. make an effort to move forward. Kollel Happenings Interpersonal Issues The Laws of Lashon Hara (Slander) IS FOOTBALL KOSHER? AT FEB If one believes that by sharing will not merely take steps to protect 5TH T4T pertinent information with one himself or herself as dictated by party about another with whom a halacha, but will instigate a dispute Join longtime Denver sportscaster Marc Soicher business or marriage agreement has with the other party, it is forbidden and Kollel Dean Rabbi Aron already been reached, that party to share the information. Yehuda Schwab as they tackle the issues of football and other contact sports. Feb 5th Ask the Rabbi at the East Side Kosher Deli Erasing Torah from Computer Software or Screens from 1-2 pm. Cost: $20. RSVP: [email protected] Yoel Strimling of St. Louis wrote: zt”’l, regarding erasing blessings and Torah from audio cassettes. PARSHA ON THE MALL Dear Rabbi, He wrote that since the words are not stored in the form of ‘letters’, Wish you could learn more about the weekly parsha? Is one allowed halachically to he can find no clear prohibition Looking to add some Torah delete e-mail that includes Divrei against ‘erasing’ them. One might study and inspiration to your Torah [Words of Torah]? Can one reason, however, that ‘letters’ are busy day? Then here’s an rely on the fact that since it has no in fact present on a computer opportunity you won’t want physical being, it is not the same monitor. to miss! Rabbi Mordechai as a piece of paper that has [Words Fleisher explores several of] Torah written on it? On the other hand, the letters parts of the weekly parsha at are not directly written by human this exciting and intriguing Also, Shammai Linsky of hand, and in fact are not written class. The class takes place Brooklyn wrote: at all in the conventional sense. Thursdays from 12:30-1:30 They are not a continuous form; pm in downtown Denver Dear Rabbi, at 910 16th St., 2nd floor. rather they are comprised of Refreshments are served. To flashing pixels of light as the have your name added to the What is the halacha concerning screen is “refreshed” many times email notification list (as the Torah which is stored on devices per second. class doesn’t take place every such as disk drives, etc.? Is it Thursday), please contact permissible to erase at will? We presented these questions Rabbi Fleisher at rmf@ about erasing and deleting Divrei denverkollel.org. Dear Yoel and Shammai, Torah from computer screens and software to Rabbi Chaim Pinchas INSIDE THE ALEPH-BAIS The Talmud lists seven names Scheinberg, shlita. He ruled it is of G-d that may not, under any permitted to erase them and delete There is a unique fascination circumstances be erased - even if a them in the normal manner. with the Hebrew language scribe makes an error when writing and the aleph-bet. Mystical sources explain that the a Sefer Torah. The Shulchan Sources: letters of the aleph-bet are the Aruch states that even ‘one letter’ building blocks of the whole from these names may not be Talmud - Tractate Shavuot, page 35a. world. Discover the world erased. Other Kisvei Kodesh [Holy Shulchan Aruch - Yoreh Deah 276:9. of the aleph-bet with Rabbi Writings] have less stringent rules, Pitchei Teshuva - Yoreh Deah 283, Heyman in this informative, but are generally forbidden to note Beis. dynamic class. For time and erase. location, contact rmh@ Reprinted with permission from Ohr denverkollel.org. An apparently similar question was Somayach, Jerusalem, www.ohr.edu posed to Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, The Torah Weekly is made possible through a generous grant from the Harry H. Beren Foundation of Lakewood, NJ, in memory of Harry H. Beren, z”l. Denver Community Kollel: 1516 Xavier Street, Denver, CO 80204 Tel: 303-820-2855 Fax: 303-820-2806 Email: [email protected] Web: www.denverkollel.org To receive Torah Weekly by email, send an email to [email protected].

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