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A PROJECT OF THE פרשת וישב פרשת שבת בשלח-שירהחנוכה י״זכ״ו שבטכסלו תשפ״א At the 5781 DECEMBERJANUARY 12,30, 2020 2021 ISSUE #27 Shabbos RABBI YITZCHOK WEEKLY INSPIRATION AND INSIGHT ADAPTED FROMTable CLASSIC ARTSCROLL TITLES HISIGER, EDITOR DEDICATED BY MENACHEM AND BINAH BRAUNSTEIN AND FAMILY DESIGN & LAYOUT: L’ILLUI NISHMAS RAV MOSHE BEN RAV YISSOCHOR BERISH AND MARAS YENTA BAS ROCHEL LEAH AVIVA KOHN Parashah Tu B'Shevat CLOSE TO TORAH MAN AS Messages from Rav Pam by Rabbi Sholom Smith A TREE The Light and the Splendor by Rabbi Daniel Glatstein וַ יֹּאמֶ ר מֹשֶׁ ה אֶ ל אַהֲ רֹן קַ ח צִ נְצֶ נֶ ת אַחַ ת וְתֶ ן The Avnei Neizer, the great posek, rosh שָׁמָּ ה מְ לֹא הָ עֹמֶ ר מָ ן וְהַ נַּ ח אֹתוֹ לִפְ נֵי ה' לְמִשְׁמֶרֶ ת לְ דֹרֹתֵ יכֶ ם. Moshe said to Aharon, “Take one jar and put a full omer yeshivah, and first rebbe of the Socha- of mann into it; place it before Hashem for a safekeeping tchover Chassidic dynasty, would inter- for your generations” (16:33). pret the pasuk of “Ki ha’aretz eitz hasadeh Moshe instructed Aharon - Is the tree of the field a man” (Devarim to take one portion of mann 20:19) to mean that man is likened to a and place it in the Aron next to tree, and his peiros, fruits, are his chiddu- the Sefer Torah. This served as shei Torah, his original Torah ideas and an eternal reminder of Hash- teachings. Just as on Tu B’Shevat the sap em’s love for His people and rises up inside the tree, enabling a new how He sustained them in the crop of fruit, so too, there is a renewal Wilderness for forty years. in the chiddushei Torah, in the peiros of Rabbeinu Bachya (16:33) each and every Jew. deduces an additional insight On Tu B’Shevat, the Avnei Neizer from this pasuk. The mann was Rav Avrohom Pam felt that his chiddushei Torah were en- placed right next to the hanced; they Sefer Torah to symbol- A PERSON’S PLACE were on a loft- TU B’SHEVAT ize that when a person OF EMPLOYMENT ier and higher IS THE MOST chooses a profession OFTEN PUTS HIM IN level than they APPROPRIATE with which to support were during A SITUATION THAT TIME TO ASK himself and his family, the remainder IS ANTITHETICAL it should preferably be of the year. HASHEM TO TO TORAH. one that will keep him From Tu B’She- GRANT US close to Torah. vat onward, he SUCCESS IN A person’s place of employment, office surround- sensed enrich- OUR STUDIES. ings, and coworkers often put him in a situation that ment and ele- is antithetical to Torah. He feels he has no choice if he vation in his own Torah novellae. It was wants to advance in his career and earn a comfortable as if, somehow, Tu B’Shevat was the Rosh salary. Therefore, from the words of Rabbeinu Bachya Hashanah for original Torah thought. we can learn that it is worthwhile for a person to accept The Eretz Tzvi (written by Rav Tzvi a lower-paying job with less opportunity for profes- Frumer, the Kozhiglover Gaon) adds sional and financial advancement and remain in the that since “tree” is a reference to a per- wholesome, pristine atmosphere of Torah rather than son, as in the pasuk cited above, the “ik- a higher-paying one in the decadent atmosphere that kur Rosh Hashanah” — the main renewal

— on Tu B’Shevat is, in continued on page 3 MESORAH ARTSCROLL often permeates the “outside” world’s offices today. PUBLICATIONS 1 LEARNED IN ONE’S YOUTH Shabbos Rav Chaim Kanievsky on Zemiros by Rabbi Shai Graucher

וְתִ ינוק לְלַ ְ מדו סֵפֶ ר לַמְ נַצֵחַ בִ נְגִינות וְלַהֲ גות בְאִמְרֵ י ֶ שפֶ ר. To arrange for a child to be taught a text, to sing a song of praise, and to engage in beautiful words [of Torah]. (Mah Yedidus, Friday night zemiros Shabbos) Rav Chaim Kanievsky was once we began Maseches Chullin (which was said be- asked to explain the teaching of deals with the laws of slaughtering fore Abaye in the name of Rav the Ran (Nedarim 37b) that parents and preparing food to consume), Yirmiyah and Abaye did not accept must take time from their stud- my father brought me to a butcher that ruling. It was then repeated ies to interact with their children shop, so that I could become famil- before him in the name of Rav Yo- on Shabbos. Rav Chaim explained iar with the actual animal anatomy chanan and he accepted it. “Had that this means that they must test that this masechta discusses. I merited to,” Abaye lamented, “I them on their studies and would have ac- learn with them. cepted it origi- Rav Chaim related that he nally.” used to learn Mishnayos with What is the his children every day, since difference, asks Mishnayos are the foundation the Gemara, of the entire Torah. “I gen- whether he ac- erally did not need to help cepted it the first them with their cheder stud- time or the sec- ies,” he said, “since Rav Chaim Kanievsky ond? In the end, they knew them well he knew the cor- enough without my “THE MASECHTOS rect halachah! help.” I LEARNED The Gema- “When I was a ra answers that child of twelve,” Rav EARLIER IN LIFE I The Steipler Gaon the difference is Chaim said, “my fa- REMEMBER MORE “girsa deyanku- ther, the Steipler sa” — had he accepted it original- Gaon, would study CLEARLY THAN ly, it would have been “that which the second chapter of THOSE I LEARNED he learned in his youth,” and he Pesachim with me ev- would have remembered it better! ery Friday night. The LATER.” It seems from the Gemara, Rav Chazon Ish would sit Chaim said, that there was not a nearby and listen to what we were “The masechtos I learned earli- lengthy time between the first and learning, and often add his own er in life I remember more clearly second instances when they related insights. When we completed the than those I learned later. The last this ruling to Abaye. Nevertheless, perek, I knew it well enough to dis- masechta I learned was Bava Basra, we see that it would have made a cuss its content even with gedolim. and, to this day, I remember that difference if he had accepted it ear- “Before my bar mitzvah,” Rav masechta least clearly.” lier! Obviously, the benefits of girsa Chaim continued, “my father also Rav Chaim even brought a proof deyankusa are not limited to con- taught me several of the more dif- that what one learns when younger trasting that which he learned in ficult masechtos, such as Zevachim, is more clear in his mind, even if we his youth and that which he stud- Menachos, and Chullin. He said that are not speaking about a great time ies in his dotage; any precedence of I would be able to study the oth- differential. The Gemara (Shabbos time has a positive impact on one’s er masechtos on my own. Before 21b) relates that a certain halachah learning. 2 THE GREATER ZECHUS Kibbud Av V’eim Honor Them, Revere Them by Rabbi Shimon Finkelman and Rabbi Zechariah Wallerstein

During the first eleven months time to fulfill his request. When they following the passing of his father, After watching this for a arrived in front there was only one time when Rav few minutes, Rav Kowalsky ap- of the building, Shmuel Tzvi Kowalsky did not lead the elderly man the minyan as a zechus for his fa- thanked Rav ther’s neshamah. Kowalsky warmly, but Rav Kowal- It was at Shacharis at Bnei Brak’s sky was not finished. He wanted to Itzkowitz shul, where minyanim are complete the mitzvah, so he accom- held simultaneously in different panied the man up the stairs to the rooms and another minyan begins door of his apartment. as soon as one ends. When Rav Kowalsky returned Rav Kowalsky was standing to shul, the last minyan was already near the amud alongside the chaz- The Itzkowitz Shul in progress and he did not serve as zan so that he could lead the daven- chazzan. ing at the final minyan of the morn- proached the man and said in his That night, his father appeared ing. Out of the corner of his eye, he friendly way, “Come. I would be to him in a dream. “It is fine for you spotted an elderly man stopping happy to walk with you.” He took not to daven at the amud [i.e., serve people to ask if they could walk the man’s hand and they slowly as chazzan],” he told his son, “as him home. In a hurry to leave for made their way to the building long as instead you do such mitz- work, no one seemed to have the where he resided. vos!”

MAN AS A TREE continued from page 1 our own chiddushei Torah, our own peiros. fact, for chiddushei Torah, not for the fruit of actual trees. Rav Asher Weiss postulates that this may very well Having established that man is likened to a tree, and be the principle behind the custom in Vermaiza. Nor- Torah and mitzvos are considered peiros, we can identi- mally, the best use of time for the talmidim in the ye- fy the optimal date on the calendar on which to daven shivah was to learn from their rebbeim. Attending shiur, for hatzlachah and berachah in one’s Torah learning and conversing in learning with their rebbeim - this is how mitzvos. The day on which we mark the Rosh Hashanah yeshivah students grow. But there is one day a year that for the trees, the renewal of a new year for the eitz, is is uniquely suited and mesugal to bring hatzlachah in de- the most appropriate time to ask Hashem to grant us veloping one’s own Torah thoughts and ideas, and cul- success in our studies. Tu B’Shevat is the ideal time to tivating one’s own chiddushim: Tu B’Shevat. The students ask Hashem to afford us the ability, mental capacity, were therefore told, “Today, don’t go to the rebbi’s shiur. and clarity of understanding to reach new heights in Learn on your own and come up with your own novel our Torah study and to be able to develop and eluci- thoughts and ideas.” It was a day on which to learn inde- date original Torah thoughts and ideas. We ask Hash- pendently, allowing the students to harvest the special em to provide us with the necessary resources to create power of the day to create their own Torah insights.

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Kriyas Yam Suf / The Splitting of the Sea

s all the Jews watched, the greatest miracle they had ever seen happened before their eyes. The waters of the sea A split! With the Egyptian army chasing after them, wanting to capture or kill them, the Jews raced into the sea, which then became dry land! Many, many miracles happened on that night. Let’s remember some of them. Twelve Roads he sea didn’t just split in half. The raging sea split into T twelve separate paths. The waters of the sea rose up to become frozen solid walls. Each shevet passed through its own pathway. Why didn’t Hashem As the Jews walked on their tell Moshe to use his roads, Hashem made roofs over stick to split the sea? them. They didn’t have to step into Hashem didn’t want the the wet mud of the sea bed. Instead, Egyptians to think that there was a dry floor under their Moshe’s miracles happened because his stick had great feet. Not only was it dry, it was powers. So at Kriyas Yam Suf beautiful, since it dried like floor Hashem told Moshe to do tiles. And Hashem made a roof over this miracle without the stick, their heads. just by stretching his hand The walls were see-through. That over the water. way, people could see their friends Now everyone saw that Moshe himself performed the and relatives from different shevatim, miracles; it wasn’t his stick. walking safely across what had been the sea. Water Fountains and Fruit Trees magine: The Jews are walking through the dried sea, and a little child starts to cry. He’s thirsty! His mother touches the wall — and I out comes sweet water. And what about food? There’s plenty to When the waters of the eat. The Jews walking through the tunnels see fruit trees miraculously sea split, so did all the growing out of the ground. There’s even some grass growing for the waters all over the world. animals to munch on.