Artscroll-Shabbos-Newsletter Haazinu-Spreads.Pdf

A PROJECT OF THE פרשת האזינו שבת שובה י׳ תשרי תשפ״א At the 5781 SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 ISSUE #10 ShabbosTable RABBI YITZCHOK WEEKLY INSPIRATION AND INSIGHT ADAPTED FROM CLASSIC ARTSCROLL TITLES HISIGER, EDITOR DESIGN & LAYOUT: AVIVA KOHN Shabbos SHORT PERIODS OF TIME Shuvah A Vort from Rav Pam by Rabbi Sholom Smith ׁשּובָה ִ י ׂשְ רָ אֵ ל עַ ד ה´ אֱֹלהֶיָך ּכִ י ׁשַכָ לְ ּתָ עֲּבַ ו נֶ ָך. Return, Yisrael, to Hashem, your G-d, for you have stumbled in your iniquity (Hoshea 14:2). The Shabbos between Rosh Hashanah and Yom be wasted. Many people do Kippur is called Shabbos Shuvah because of the not know how to properly uti- lize 10 or 15 minutes (or even ׁש ּו בָ ה special haftarah beginning with the words Return, Yisrael, the navi Hoshea’s ringing longer). People come to shul a , ִ י ׂשְ רָ אֵ ל call to his people to do teshuvah and return to short while before the beginning of davening and Hashem. merely pass the time until the tefillah begins. The This haftarah is unique in that, according to same can occur when there is a short break between Minchah and Maariv. People think to themselves: What can be accomplished in a few minutes? This is an unfortunate error, because little pockets of time, besides being significant in themselves, eventually add up to large periods of time. ONE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO SEE HOW MUCH TIME GETS WASTED ON A DAILY BASIS WAITING FOR Rav Nesanel Quinn Rav Avrohom Pam SOMETHING OR SOMEONE. most Ashkenazic traditions, it is composed of read- Rav Nesanel Quinn zt”l, the beloved menahel ings from three different prophets, Hoshea, Yoel, of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath for half a century and and Michah, all of which are part of Trei Asar, the lifelong friend and colleague of Rav Pam, would Twelve Prophets. Trei Asar, as its name implies, is often recount an incident from his younger years. a collection of prophecies of 12 great nevi’im whose He had a chavrusah (study partner) who, due to lives, dedicated to chastising the Jewish nation, train schedules, would come 15 to 20 minutes late spanned a period of about three-and-a-half centu- every day to the yeshiva. The young Nesanel start- ries. Most of these prophecies were relatively brief; ed and eventually completed the entire Maseches Ovadiah has one chapter, Chaggai has two, and Na- Beitzah over the school year while waiting for his chum, Chabakuk, Tzephaniah and Malachi each have chavrusah to arrive. Those 15 minutes a day added three. The Gemara (Bava Basra 14b) says that the up to almost 40 blatt Gemara! sages decided to combine all 12 of them into one While not everybody is able to do this, one can book “so that they not be lost due to their brevity.” train himself to use small pockets of time. Even if One can extrapolate a practical lesson from this all he has at hand is a siddur, a person with a few Gemara which is especially relevant during the pe- minutes available can easily do one or more of the riod of Aseres Yemei Teshuvah. Small things tend to following: Recite chapters of Tehillim, learn a few ARTSCROLL MESORAH ARTSCROLL get lost and small periods of available time tend to Mishnayos of Pirkei Avos, continued on page 3 PUBLICATIONS 1 NOT YOTZEH TZU ZEIN Inspiration Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz by Rabbi Yisroel Besser The Kopyzcynitzer Rebbe, Rav headquarters to be tortured by the rebbe circulat- Avrohom Yehoshua Heschel, lived Nazis, yemach shemam. The rebbe ed among the on the Lower East Side, but as more accepted the will of Heaven, and workers at the and more young families were painful as it was, he was serene and matzah bakery, choosing to settle in Boro Park, the at peace, since this was the Ribbo- thanking each rebbe’s son, Rav Moshe Mordechai, no Shel Olam’s decree. But then, the one for their had opened a shtiebel there as well, rebbe continued, he heard the cries devoted work. The rebbe noticed a on 55th Street between 14th Avenue of other Jews who were being beat- chassidishe young man who worked and 15th Avenue. At his son’s urging, en, and that was too much to bear as a kneader. The rebbe handed him the rebbe would come to Boro Park — so much harder than having en- several bills, a tip in honor of the for Shabbos and lead the shtiebel. approaching Yom Tov. The worker The rebbe had only one condition gratefully accepted the money. A as to who could daven in the shtieb- few days later, the rebbe announced el: he wouldn’t accept any member who was already a steady mispallel "THE PAIN WAS in another shul. That rule resulted MUCH MORE in the shul attracting a young crowd, INTENSE — BECAUSE newcomers to the neighborhood — among them Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz IT WAS THE PAIN OF zt”l, founder of ArtScroll. Kopyzcynitz The Kapytshnitzer Rebbe, Rav Avrohom Yehoshua Heshel ANOTHER!” took some getting used to for Reb Meir, who had grown up in his fa- dured a beating of his own. that he was going back to the matzah ther’s shul, which reflected the glory “When the decree was on Avra- bakery to bake “Erev Pesach matzos” of Lita and its yeshivos. A chassidishe ham Avinu,” said the rebbe, “of in accordance with his custom, and shtiebel was a new experience for him, course he rose up to the situation they joined him once again. but at the same time, he felt an instant and accepted the will of Heaven. At After they finished baking, the bond with the rebbe. The fact that the the Akeidah, however, he was asked rebbe again sought out the young rebbe had a close relationship with to give over his son Yitzchak for kneader and approached him with Reb Meir’s rebbi, Rav Moshe Fein- slaughter, and then the pain was a wad of bills. “Here, l’kavod Yom stein, made Reb Meir feel at home. much more intense — because it Tov,” the rebbe said. The Kopyzcynitzer Rebbe didn’t was the pain of another!” This time, the gentleman pro- often speak formally, but there was a There were many memorable tested. “Der Rebbe hut shoin yotzeh vort he shared on Rosh Hashanah that moments in the presence of the geven, the rebbe has already ful- the young mispallelim saw as a mission Kopyzcynitzer Rebbe, but one re- filled his obligation,” he said. statement. The rebbe discussed the mark made by the rebbe would il- The Kopyzcynitzer Rebbe looked day’s Torah reading — the parashah luminate Rabbi Zlotowitz’s own at him. “Ich bin nisht gekummen oif of Akeidas Yitzchak — and the merits path and life’s work. The rebbe in- di velt, I didn’t come down to this accrued by Avraham Avinu for this troduced this group of young Amer- world,” the rebbe said, “yotzeh tzu zein, act of supreme self-sacrifice. ican yeshivah graduates to the joy just to fulfill my obligations.” “Wouldn’t any intelligent hu- in the performance of mitzvos, the The rebbe was niftar in 1967, just man being heed a command that experience of shaking daled minim a few short years after establish- they hear directly from the Master or blowing the shofar. They would ing his little shul, but his words of the Universe?” the rebbe won- join him each year as he went to and message would reverberate dered. “How come the zechus of the bake matzos, each of them assuming throughout the years, the families Akeidah gives us such merit that we a specific task as part of the rebbe’s he inspired going forward, each in still rely on it after all these years?” chaburah and observing his sublime their own way, to live lives of gen- The rebbe shared a memory. delight in the mitzvah. One year, af- uine accomplishment — never just He recalled being led to Gestapo ter they finished baking matzos, the “yotzeh tzu zein.” 2 OUT OF LOVE Haftarah Zera Shimshon 2 by Rabbi Nachman Seltzer הׁשּובָ יִׂשְרָ אֵל עַ ד ה אֱֹלהֶיָך ּכִי´ כָׁשַ לְּתָ ּבַעֲ ונֶָך. קְחּו עִּמָכֶם ּדְבָרִ ים וְ ׁשּובּו אֶ ל ה´. אִמְרּואֵ לָיו ּכָל אּתִּׂשָ עָ וןוְקַ ח טֹוב ּונְׁשַ ּלְמָהפָרִ ים ׂשְ פָתֵ ינּו. Return, Yisrael, to Hashem, your G-d, for you have stumbled in your iniquity. Take words with you and return to Hashem. Say to Him, “May you forgive all iniquity and accept good [intentions] and let our lips substitute for bulls” (Hoshea 14:2-3). We read these pesukim in the haftarah of Haazinu, question that he would do his best to help others repent the parashah that is usually read around Yom Kippur, as well. The reason for this is because if he’s repenting when we are focused on teshuvah and atonement of out of love, he’s doing it all for Hashem, and there is no our sins. Why do these pesukim begin with the word question that Hashem wants as many people as possible shuvah, “return,” in the singular form, yet continue to repent. The pasuk therefore states, “Return Yisrael, to with the words kechu imachem devarim, “take words Hashem, your G-d,” in the singular and using the word Since you are only a single individual, and you are . עַ ד ?with you,” which are written in plural form Also, what are these “words” that Klal Yisrael has repenting out of fear, your repentance will only reach to take with them, and how exactly are they meant to “until” Hashem, but not as far as it could have gone.

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