CANDLELIGHTING: 8:41 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 15 ו' אב תשע"ג SHABBOS ENDS: AFTER 9:44 72 MIN 10:11 JULY 31, 2013

PARSHAS DEVARIM THE REST OF THE

By R’ Adam Teitelbaum STORY: For the endless good that Moshe contributed to Bnei Yirsael, it is a wonder that he was denied entry into the Promised Land for the By R’ Yosef Dovid Rothbart ויאמר ה'?passuk אלי theאל תירא אותו behind )דברים ג:ב(seemingly small error of striking the rock instead of speaking to it. R’ What’s Shlomi Schwartz has developed a unique approach to the problem Moshe relates the terror he had when he saw Og. Hashem had to which reverberates with relevance to this week’s parsha. encourage him not to be scared. Why was Moshe more concerned The theme of Miriam’s role is as a sister – in relation to her brothers – about fighting Og than any other nation? The Medrash tell us that and as a master of the word – be it in the context of convincing her Sichon and Og were brothers. They were both sons of Shamchazai, father to continue having children, persuading Pharoah’s daughter to one of the angels who descended to the earth and had children from accept a Hebrew nursemaid, organizing the women in song at the Sea of mortal women. Why was Moshe not afraid of Sichon but afraid of Reeds, or being judged strictly in the case of Loshan Hara. Miriam gets Og? things done with the power of her own words in stark contrast to her There was no one as mighty as Og. When the Jewish army came to brother Moshe, who described himself as not being a man of words. Edre’i and Og came out to fight against them, the sun was beginning Interestingly then, the first thing Hashem tells Moshe to do after her to set. Moshe told the army not to attack. Rather, they were to spend death is to “speak to the rock.” Additionally, recall that Miriam’s merit the night encamped and the next morning they would attack. brought the well of water and now Moshe is being told to use Miriam’s The next morning before daybreak, the Jewish army prepared to strength to bring the water back! Moshe is put into a situation where he attack. The sun had not yet risen and it was still dark. Moshe looked must acutely sense the lack of her presence noting the importance of her verbal strength, perhaps as a way to instruct him as to the value of using up and saw Og sitting on the wall surrounding the city, with his legs one’s voice. It appears that although Moshe has spoken the word of touching the ground. Moshe thought at first that the inhabitants of the Hashem to the best of human ability, his own voice still needs to be city had added to the wall at night. However, Hashem told him, developed. “What you are seeing is not an extension to the wall, rather it is Og, Moshe not finding his voice at the rock has numerous ramifications. king of Bashan. One clear outcome is that as a direct result of the decree not to enter the Og’s feet were 38 Amos (about 64 feet) long. When Moshe saw this Promised Land, Moshe exercises his voice, composing 515 prayers to giant sitting on the wall awaiting the Jewish army, Moshe began to rescind the decree. Intermingled with the loss of going into Eretz feel frightened. Hashem had to comfort Moshe telling him, “Do not Yisrael is the loss of his sister and her example of having a strong inner fear Og. I have already given him into your hands.” voice. When Moshe approached Og, the giant began uprooting mountains The metaphor at the rock is striking. In a way Hashem is telling Moshe and throwing them at the Jewish army. Moshe took egg yolk and and perhaps all generations that, in the end, it is one’s own voice that wrote upon it the Ineffable Name. This prevented the mountains, will quench the thirst of Bnei Yisrael. It is one’s own voice that will which were thrown at the Jewish people, from reaching them. keep Torah alive both in times of settlement and throughout the years of However, this did not discourage Og. Realizing that his plan to use exile. It is the human voice, walking humbly with Hashem, that will mountains as missiles was ineffective, he tried a new strategy. He give them the hope they need to seek Me. uprooted a mountain in Seir that was large enough to crush the Jewish Perhaps only after Moshe is forced to practise his voice, and only after encampment. But this plan also failed. As Og held the mountain over having taken to heart so intimately the importance of using his own his head, ants dug holes in it, until it split and fell on his neck. He words is he ready and able to compose the final book of the Torah. Almost the entire Sefer Dvarim, one fifth of the Chumash, is tried to lift the mountain off his neck, but his teeth grew making it composed of Moshe’s own words, spoken from his own depths first, impossible to remove it. While he was in this vulnerable state, Moshe and only later given the imprimatur of Hashem Himself. This is the was able to take his staff and hit Og, killing him. highest form of G-dliness that Man has ever reached. Indeed it is (Based on Yalkut Shimoni and Rabbeinu Bachya) Moshe’s voice.

corresponds ”את גיד הנשה“ Each of the 365 negative commandments corresponds to a specific day of the year. The Mitzvah not to eat (Zohar) .תשעה באב The letters correspond to the first letters of .את to the day of Tisha B’Av. This is hinted to in the word

HALACHA REFLECTIONS Hilchos Av BY R’ MEIR HILLEL GREEN

Waiting for Moshiach Who is eligible to join aSubtitle Siyum and thus eat meat and drink Chazal tell us that after a person dies, he will have to give an wine during the Nine Days? accounting of his entire life. One of the questions he will be ?Did you hope and yearn for the Yeshuah -צפית לישועה“ ,The restriction against eating meat and drinking wine is lifted asked is when a Seudas Mitzvah takes place. This includes a Siyum, a Did you, every day, look forward to the coming of Moshiach?” Bris or a Pidyon HaBen. The Yad Efrayim (551:31) adds a Bar However, the Gemara also tells us that “Ben Dovid (Moshiach) Mitzvah dinner which takes place on the day the boy becomes will not come until the Jewish people have given up hope for the Bar Mitzvah. Geulah - the redemption”. How can we understand this Gemara The Nitei Gavriel (18:7), quoting Harav M. Feinstein and Harav in light of the previous Gemara mentioned? If we are not S.Z. Auerbach, says that one may invite to the Seudas Mitzvah supposed to give up hope for the coming of Moshiach, how can any man or woman who would normally be invited at any other it be that Moshiach will only come after everyone has given up time of the year. This would include any friends or relatives. hope? Even campers and staff of a summer camp, both men and women, Rav Yosef Leib Bloch, the Rav and Rosh HaYeshiva of Telshe, may join in a public Siyum because of this explains that these two Gemaras are reason. However, the Mishnah Berurah not contradictory at all. Giving up (551:77) writes that, during the week in When the Jewish people hope for the Geulah means that the which Tishah B'Av occurs, only a Minyan Jews will give up hope of bringing of people plus close relatives may partake were in Egypt, they did not the Geulah by themselves. From the of meat and wine at a Seudas Mitzvah. period of Bar Kochva until the time The Mishnah Berurah (470:10) writes that dream that their Moshiach of Shabsai Tzvi, there were constant L'chatchilah, all the participants should attempts to bring Moshiach through listen to and understand the Siyum of the was living in the palace of all kinds of Kabbalistic text as it is being read. B'diavad, some Paraoh. manipulations. When the Jewish poskim permit even those who were not nation will give up hope and realize present at the Siyum to eat meat and drink wine at the Siyum that Moshiach cannot be brought through their own means, then meal. The Teshuvos V'Hanhagos 1:300, quoting Harav Yaakov he will suddenly come. Yisroel Kanievsky, writes that it is customary to be lenient in this The Gemara says there are three things that happen matter, provided that the participant is sincerely "happy" with the unexpectedly. The first thing is the finding of a lost object. A Siyum taking place. person cannot plan to find 100 dollars. Rather, it is an unplanned The Mishnah Berurah (551:73) writes that one should not make a event. He walks down the street and unexpectedly he comes Siyum specifically in order to partake of meat and wine. across a pile of money. The second thing that comes without However, others argue (cf. Aruch ha-Shulchan 551:28 and Kaf one’s planning is a scorpion. When a person is stung by a ha-Chayim 551:161). While it is preferable to be stringent, one scorpion, it is because he did not realize that the path he was should follow the custom and the directives of his rabbi. walking on was dangerous. Had he known, he certainly would On which text may one make a Siyum? have chosen a different path. The Halachically preferred option is that one only make a Siyum This will be true with the third thing as well. The arrival of on a tractate of the , either Bavli or Yerushalmi. But there Moshiach will be sudden. When the Jewish people were in are Poskim who allow a Siyum to be made upon completing an in Egypt, they did not dream that their Moshiach was living in the depth study of either an entire Seder of Mishnayos or on an entire palace of Paraoh. But all of a sudden he came. After being away book of Tanach. Some allow a Siyum even on three tractates of for 60 years he suddenly returned to Egypt and announced his Mishnayos, while others allow it even on one (cf. Igros Moshe arrival. This will be true of the Moshiach who will redeem us as O.C. 157 and O.C. 2:12, Yabia Omer 1:26). well. We will have no foreknowledge, but all of a sudden he will As always, if one is unsure what to do, he should speak to his be here. May we merit seeing him speedily in our days. Rav.

Shabbos table discussions by R’ Eliyahu Goldwasser  Two brilliant, world famous doctors differed regarding a diagnosis. Dr. Green was older and more experienced, with thousands of case histories to his credit, while Dr. Black, although younger and less experienced, was incredibly keen and insightful. Who should the patient listen to?

 Congregation Beis Teffilah hired Chaim Goldberg to read the Torah for them on Shabbos. After he finished reading and everyone had gone home, he realized that he had made an error with the result that the Tzibbur did not fulfill its obligation. Does Chaim have to refuse to accept payment?

By R’ Yossi Bergman The Lion’s Temptation consideration earlier?” Rav Hai Gaon Rav Hai Gaon concludes, “There is a profound lesson to The Gaonim were the heads of the Jewish academies of Sura and be learned from this parable.” Pumbedisa in Babylonia following the period of the Saboraim until the Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler suggests that this parable middle of the 11th century. Rav Hai Gaon (939-1083), leader of the conveys a crucial message: Lustful desires drive even wise Yeshivah of Pumbedisa, was the last and one of the greatest of the men, men who should know better, to abandon their faith. Gaonim. He was an illustrious sage and a revered Halachic authority. Rather than utilize their common sense to travel down the Countless questions in Torah law were sent to him from Jews in various right path in life, they use their intellect to justify to countries, eagerly awaiting his opinions and rulings. Many of his themselves, as well as to convince others, that their responsa are gathered in an important work, Teshuvos L’Rav Hai Gaon. heretical approach is correct. The reason they fall into this While most of the matters he deals with in his writings are of a legal trap of blasphemy is that their craving for hedonistic nature, in the following letter he discusses an issue of Aggadah, Torah pursuits blinds their judgment. This is the lesson drawn lore. from the parable. The lion was captured because he was In Mesechtes Sanhedrin (38b) we are taught that Rabbi Meir had 300 fox seduced by the fox’s promise of a little more flesh. The parables, but, as Rabbi Yochanan said, we only know three of them. The lion, being an intelligent being, could have logically Talmud doesn’t tell us the actual parables but instead quotes three reasoned that if his grandchildren would suffer for his verses. The first verse is from Ezekiel (18:2), which states: “The fathers crime, he, too, might suffer for a crime of his grandfather. have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” Rav Nonetheless, his hunger clouded his judgement. Only after Hai Gaon was asked to clarify the cryptic Talmudic passage regarding he fell into the pit was he able to realize how his desires the parable of the fox. This was his explanation: had lured him toward his tragic fate.

In a fable, a fox encountered a lion that was about to devour him. The fox said to the lion, “I am not substantial enough to fill you up. Come, I will show you a heavy man, whom you can eat and thereby satisfy your appetite!” There was a covered pit, beyond which stood the marked man. RIDDLE Once the lion saw him, he told the fox, “I fear that this pious man’s prayers will cause me to be trapped.” The fox replied, “The concern you By R’ Naftali Spiegel have will not affect you or your children; perhaps it will affect your grandchildren. Regardless, you are famished now, and it will be a long List five situations where a person can only eat time until your grandchildren are born!” Parve, not Milchigs or Fleishigs. The lion was convinced. As he advanced toward his prey, he fell into the camouflaged pit. The fox came to the edge of the pit and peered down Please send your answers to inside. The lion looked up and asked, “Didn’t you assure me that, as a [email protected]. result of my offense, neither I nor my children, but only my Please include your name and age. grandchildren, would suffer this fate?” To which the clever fox All those who submit a correct answer will be responded, “Yes, and what I said was true. This misfortune occurred to entered into a raffle to a free meal at Pizza Café. you not because of your misdeed, but rather as a result of a misdeed Sponsored by: Pizza Café committed by your grandfather!” The lion protested, “That is not fair! (416) 633-5678 The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?” The fox smiled and said, “Why did you not make that

SHIURIM AND EVENTS IN OHR YOSEF THORNHILL COMMUNITY KOLLEL

Special Presentation Come to the Kollel at 6:15 pm, the afternoon of Tisha B'Av, for a special interactive power-point presentation by Yisroel Idels: The Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This presentation will help familiarize us with the Beis HaMikdash and the Temple Mount, through learning the history and archeology of the site. This will give more meaning to our mourning. Men & Women are invited to attend

In one of the last years of the Chofetz Chaim’s life, the Polish As he was still pondering what to do and say, the President of government decreed that every Rav was required to learn the arose and said to him, “You can sit down. You don’t need Polish language. In light of the decree, the Chofetz Chaim to translate a word. Just tell me in essence what he wants.” called for a meeting of Poland’s eminent Rabannim. At the The translator hurried to say that the Chofetz Chaim is requesting meeting, the Chofetz Chaim declared that this decree could to annul the decree on the Rabannim to learn Polish. The President cause the Churban of Torah. The Rabannim decided that it was answered, “There are many languages in the world, and one who necessary to arrange a meeting with the President of Poland to speaks Polish may not know English, and one who speaks English attempt to annul the decree. The Chofetz Chaim let it be may not know Polish, but there is one language which everybody known that he himself would travel to meet with the President, understands, and that is the language of the heart. The Rav spoke and several Rabbanim agreed to accompany him. Rav Leib, with the language of the heart. There is no need to translate, I the Chofetz Chaim’s attendant, accompanied him to the understood everything.” meeting in Warsaw, and later told over the story of what had He immediately sat down and signed a paper canceling the decree. occurred there. The Rabbanim traveled to Warsaw for the meeting, and the To contribute to this section and be featured in this Chofetz Chaim was presented as the Chief Rabbi. The newsletter, email your D’var Torah to members of the Polish government were astounded that that [email protected] or drop off it at Kollel Ohr such a feeble man, who was almost unable to walk, was the Yosef 613 Clark Avenue West. Chief Rabbi. The Chofetz Chaim began to speak in Yiddish. “Our Torah says to daven for the welfare of the kingdom. . We’re living now in Galus under the rule of Poland, and every day after davening, I daven for the welfare of the Polish government. We came here now to discuss the decree that every Rav must know Polish. We are sure that this will be the Churban of . If the government of Poland does not interfere with our religious practices, we submit completely to your rule, and will pay all your taxes. But we are obligated to guard our religion as we see fit. If you interfere with our religion, you’ll experience a downfall like all our enemies How tall was Og as a baby? suffered in all the generations, beginning from Pharaoh the Rasha.” Please send your answers to [email protected]. The Chofetz Chaim finished speaking, and the translator’s face Please include your name and age. paled. How could he possibly translate what the Chofetz All those who submit a correct answer will be entered Chaim said? On the other hand, he was afraid to change the into a raffle to a free meal at Pizza Café. Sponsored by: words of the Chofetz Chaim, because he knew that the Chofetz Pizza Café Chaim would surely realize that his words were not translated (416) 633-5678 accurately. But if he would translate exactly what the Chofetz Chaim said, he could not imagine the repercussions!

TO SPONSOR An Anonymous Donor a week of Ohr Shabbos as a l’iluy nishmas zechus, or l’iluy nishmas a loved Yizchok ben Yechiel Moshe one, contact R’ Chaim Leib and Devora bas Yehoshua Rephael Gross at (905)764-1100 or email [email protected]