Vei>1WtA Bam Ant> You Stall SpcAk ofTTicw A compilation of selected Toral) insists, thought-provoking ideas, homilies and explanations of Torah passages Volume V — Devarim הועתק והוכנס אינטרנט www.lii1irewbooks.org ע״י היים תשם״ז מי] Rabbi Moshe Bogomilsky New Expanded Edition 5766.2006 ! • ו VEDIBARTA BAM—AND YOU SHALL SPEAK OF THEM VOLUME V — DEVARIM Published and Copyrighted © by Rabbi Moshe Bogomilsky 1382 President Street Brooklyn, New York 11213 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including photo-copying, without permission in writing from the copyright holder or the publisher. First Impression — 5757-1997 Second Impression — 5760-2000 Third Impression — 5761-2001 Fourth Impression — Sivan 5763-June 2003 Fifth Impression — Adar II 5765-March 2005 Sixth Impression — Elul 5766-September 2006 ISBN 1-8808-8021-0 ISBN 1-8808-8022-9 (set) iii Table of Contents Foreword v Note on Transliteration and Format vii Devarim 1 Va'etchanan 15 Eikev 46 Re'eih 61 Shoftim 86 Ki Teitzei 107 Ki Tavo 140 Nitzavim 163 Vayeilech 171 Rosh Hashanah 181 Ha'azinu 204 Yom Kippur 210 Succot 223 Simchat Beit Hasho'eivah 225 Shemini Atzeret 228 Simchat Torah 230 Berachah 232 Appendix — Index to Derush material 246 לזכך כשמת, — Dedicated In loving memory of רח^^ר׳טשהעי׳ה — Rose Luxenberg On the occasion of her yahrtzeit — 23 Tevet — which coincides with the commencement of the reading of the Book of Shemot. Chumash Shemot starts with the founding of the Jewish nation which was preceded by the Egyptian bondage, afterwards the giving of the Torah and concludes with the construction of the Mishkan — Tabernacle. In all these, the Jewish women played a very significant role. The sages declare that in merit of the righteous women our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt and praise the women for rearing a generation worthy to be the recipients of Torah under the most difficult conditions. Prior to the giving of the Torah, Hashem instructed Moshe to speak to the women first and in the construction of the Mishkan the Torah records that the women contributed generously with their resources and dexterity. As the Book of Shemot — names, details the foundation of the Jewish nation, so too, does Grandma Rose represent our matriarch — the cornerstone and foundation of our family. Rose Luxenberg was an American-born true Aishet Chayil — woman of valor. Together with her husband she lived a simple but satisfying life. The real extent of their wealth was that they were samei'ach bechelkam — happy with whatever Hashem gave them. While working with her husband in their store on the Lower East Side, simultaneously she succeeded in rearing a family which brought them much-deserved nachat. Grandma Rose together with Grandpa Abe, was a woman, whose soul was wrapped up in love for her children and grandchildren, and no limitations of time or resources could hinder her dedication. Words are really meager to portray her, but those who merited to have such a mother or grandmother and witness their nobility, to enjoy their warmth, and to benefit from their love and concern, consider themselves blessed. Rose Luxenberg belonged to this class of women. Like her namesake, Rachel our matriarch, Grandma Rose was a tzadeikit, a very righteous woman. She lived here life like that of an angel, foregoing materialism and self servitude, to serve for her Creator, her husband and her family. Through her sweet and gentle ways, she was able to instill in those around her a sense of tranquillity and faith in G-d — an attitude which seemingly helped clear away one's most troubling problems. As a modest and humble woman, Grandma Rose used the simplest of worldly means to convey the lessons in life she knew were important — lessons which have had a great impact on, among others, her grandchildren. A walk with Grandma Rose on the boardwalk, replete with the sounds and sights of G-d's earth and ocean was just the right touch to make one feel satisfied and appreciative of all of life's gifts. Sharing a chocolate bar, an ice cream cone or a trip to the candy cabinet with Grandma Rose somehow provided all the sweetness one would need until one saw her the next time. And the dollar bills she insisted on giving each grandchild at the end of every visit represented her blessing for spiritual wealth and contentness. She is a credit to her Creator, her nation and her family, and her memory to this day, inspires those who knew her to emulate her righteous ways. Undoubtedly, like her namesake, the matriarch Rachel, she will intercede with Hashem from her heavenly abode in Gan Edenon behalf of her family, who lovingly recall and cherish her comforting love and kindness. Special thanks to our brother Michael who assisted in the preparation of the loving dedication. Randi & Arthur Luxenberg Elizabeth Jewel and Jacqueline Paige Motzoei Shabbos, 5th of Tevet, 5758 — The Rebbe declared the month of Tevet as an auspicious time to publish and disseminate Seforim, celebrating the successful conclusion of litigation and the return of the Sefcnm to the Chabad library v ב״ה Foreword This volume, Vedibarta Bam—Devarim, completes the series on Torah. Upon reaching this milestone, I humbly proclaim, "Mah ashiv laHashem kal tagmulohi alai" — "How can I repay Hashem for all the kindness bestowed upon me" (Psalms 116:12). At the outset, I stated that this was not a book of sermons. However, in response to requests from many readers, I have included a number of sermons in this volume that I delivered in past years in my shul during the High Holiday season. Additionally, in each volume there is an index of derush — sermon material — for various occasions, enabling the reader to find more thoughts to develop for High Holiday sermons. Over the past two years I have learned a great deal about writing, editing, publishing, and distributing. I have found that to succeed in all these areas, assistance is imperative. I am greatly indebted to my editor, Binyomin Kaplan of Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana. His scholarly and professional input, advice, and comments enhanced this work immensely. May he enjoy much success in all his pursuits. This project became a reality thanks to the secretarial skills of my daughter, Yehudis Leiter. Demonstrating great love for Torah and devotion to her father, she assisted me in the development of Vedibarta Bam while simultaneously dexterously attending to the needs of her family. May she and her husband Shimon merit to enjoy good health, and much Yiddish and Chassidish nachas from their family. Through the efforts of Rabbi Yonah Avtzon of Sichos in English, this work was published and disseminated to the public. The patience and talent of his assistant, Yosef Yitzchok vi Turner, made the design and layout of Vedibarta Bam aesthetically pleasing. May their endeavors for Torah and Yiddishkeit be blessed with success. On Simchat Torah, when the reading of Devarim is concluded, everyone blesses the one called up, "Chazak! Chazak! Venitchazeik!" — "Be strong! Be strong! And may we be strengthened!" (See Orach Chaim 139:11.) The Chabad custom is that the one called up to the Torah for the reading of the concluding verses also makes this declaration (see Hayom Yom, 18 Tevet). Hence, at this juncture I pray that Hashem grant me — incidentally, three times "chazak" has the numerical value of 345, which is the numerical value of "Moshe" [see Ma'or Veshemesh, end of Bereishit] — and my wife Bracha longevity, good health, and strength to enjoy an abundance of Yiddish and Chassidish nachas from our family. May they be a dor yesharim yevorach — a generation of the upright who shall be blessed (Psalms 112:2). Vedibarta Bam was compiled as a gift to our family with the intention of linking together our family members, past and present, through Torah. May this wish be realized in the fullest. Rabbi Moshe Bogomilsky 3 Tammuz, 5757 vii Note on Transliteration and Format Transliteration generally employs the Sephardi accent, with the following usages: 1. Words with a final hei are spelled with a final "h." 2. "Ei" (the vowel-sound in "freight") is used for a tzere. 3. "Ai" is used for the vowel-sound in the word "tide." 4. An apostrophe is used between distinct consecutive vowels, as in "Ba'al." 5. An "e" is used for a vocalized sheva, i.e. "bemeizid," not "b'meizid." 6. "F" is preferred to "ph." 7. "O" is used for cholem. 8. Doubling of consonants is generally avoided. Use of Italics: Transliterated Hebrew words are generally given in italics without capitalization, except for proper nouns, which are capitalized and, in the case of names, not italicized. Some exceptions are made for very familiar Hebrew words, such as "Torah." English and Hebrew: Names of Biblical persons and names of the books of the Pentateuch are given in Hebrew, but other books of Tanach are given in English; thus "Moshe" is preferred to "Moses," "Bereishit" to "Genesis," and "Proverbs" to "Mishlei." Generally English words are preferred to Hebrew ones, but often the content requires the use of the Hebrew. Exceptions: Exceptions to these rules most often involve forms already familiar to the English reader, forms that would otherwise be awkward, and ones likely to be mispronounced. DEVARIM 1 דברים ־ DEVARIM ״אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל״ "These are the words that Moshe spoke to all Israel." (1:1) QUESTION: What is the Torah emphasizing by beginning the Book of Devarim with the word "Eileh" — "these are"? ANSWER: Moshe started delivering his legacy speech to Klal Yisrael on Rosh Chodesh Shevat, and he passed away thirty- (אלה) "six days later on the seventh day of Adar.