Bamidbar/Shavuot

Parasha Tefilah MAY 15, 2021 Daily Bitachon 4TH OF SIVAN, 5781 Embrace Shabbat Living Emunah Halachot BAMIDBAR/SHAVUOT Visit iTorah.com for: More than 20,000 shiurim given by our Community’s leading Rabbanim; Daf Yomi program; Tehillim; Tefilot; and much more. Manage subscriptions to receive daily Halachot, weekly Parasha insights, Tehillim and Levaya notifications. In loving memory of Stanley Chera A"h - Shlomo Ben Shoshana Please treat this newsletter as you would any holy book. Discard only via Genizah IN MEMORY OF THE KEDOSHIM OF MERON ELIYAHU BEN RACHMON • MOSHE BEN SUZAN • TALIA BAT HADASSA IN HONOR OF RABBI ELI J MANSOUR BY TOMER AND TZVIYA NAFTALI Avraham Naftali - לעילוי נשמת אברהם שאול נפתלי הלוי בן שולמית ע״ה Every Jew is a Letter Jewish tradition views each Jew as a letter of the Torah. Each and every Jew, regardless of his background and cur- Rabbi Eli Mansour rent standing, has a sacred, precious soul. The Book of Bamidbar begins with a This is why, as the Torah tells in Parashat Bamidbar, God record of the census that God ordered instructed Moshe himself to personally count the nation. Moshe to take after the Mishkan’s This “counting” involved more than determining a number. construction. The census found that there were just over It entailed identifying the spiritual source of every Jew, find- 600,000 males aged twenty and over among Beneh Yisrael. ing to which “letter,” or aspect, of Torah each Jewish soul The Sages comment that the 600,000 people in Beneh Yis- corresponded. This undertaking required the involvement rael correspond to the 600,000 letters in the Torah. of a prophet of Moshe Rabenu’s stature, who was capable of identifying the special, sacred quality of every member of Beneh Yisrael. Anyone who counts the letters in the Torah will find that there are much fewer than 600,000 letters. What the Sages meant by their statement is that each Jewish soul has an in- The notion of each Jewish soul corresponding to a “letter” of herent connection to the Torah; it originates from the same the Torah conveys a number of important practical lessons. spiritual source as the Torah. Each letter of the Torah is First, it teaches about the respect we must show toward sacred, filled with meaning and significance. The Rabbis of our fellow Jews. If the soul of every Jew is sacred like a the Talmud were known as “Soferim,” which literally means Sefer Torah, then we must treat all Jews with the respect “counters.” They had achieved the level of scholarship and reverence we afford a Sefer Torah. In our dealings with where they could “count” – reveal the full meaning of – each any Jew, on any level, we must bear in mind the inestimable and every letter in the Torah. In fact, it is told that Rabbi spiritual value of that person’s soul. Akiva was capable of determining Halachot based on the decorative crowns affixed to the letters of the Torah. Under- lying each letter – and even the shape of each letter – is a Additionally, this concept must affect the way we view vast treasure of information and profundity. and conduct ourselves. We must carry ourselves with the self-respect and dignity that is appropriate for an object of 1 sanctity. Before performing any action or going to any lo- The answer, the Netivot Shalom explains, is that this Mish- cation, we must honestly ask ourselves, is this appropriate na seeks to bolster our self-esteem, and reassure us that for a Sefer Torah? Is this place somewhere that I would feel we are “precious” in the eyes of G-d. One of the common comfortable bringing a Torah scroll? If not, then how can a obstacles to religious commitment is shame and a lack of person bring himself, his sacred soul, to that place? self-worth. Many people look at themselves, their behav- ior and their lives and conclude that G-d has no interest in them, that the sanctity of the Torah has no relevance to In particular, the Jew’s stature as a letter of the Sefer Torah them. The Mishna therefore comes along and assures us must impact upon the way he or she dresses. The sacred that no matter who we are and what we have done, we are status of a Torah scroll requires that it remain closed and “Habib” – “precious,” both because we are human beings concealed at all times, except when it is read. It is deemed endowed with the divine image, and because we, as Jews, disrespectful to leave a Torah exposed and open for all to are princes, the children of the King of the world. see at all times. We must look at ourselves the same. Fail- The Netivot Shalom explains on this basis why the Mishna ing to cover ourselves properly infringes upon the holiness chose specifically the three verses it cited. and sanctity of the soul within us. It reflects a lack of appre- ciation for who we really are, for the spiritual quality that we The verse, “for He made man in the image of G-d” actually each possess. We must recognize the sacred soul within appears in the context of the prohibition of murder. G-d us and treat it with the utmost dignity, reverence and re- warns that one who murders another person will himself be spect. Even – and perhaps especially – during the summer killed, because every person is endowed with the image months, we may not compromise our dignity and violating of G-d. The Mishna chose this verse, the Netivot Shalom the sanctity of our souls through inappropriate dress and explains, because this verse makes it absolutely clear that conduct. H every human being, for all time, has the image of G-d within him, and it can never be lost. If a person murders somebody else, he is liable to the death penalty regardless of who the victim was – because all people have a sacred spark within Yes, the Torah is For Us their souls, no matter what mistakes they have made. Rabbi Eli Mansour The second verse cited by the Mishna – “You are children of Hashem your G-d” – introduces the prohibition against The Mishna in Pirkeh Abot (3:14) teaches, “Man is precious, self-mutilation in response to personal tragedy (“Lo Titgode- in that he was created in the image [of G-d]… Yisrael are du”). The Mishna could have cited an earlier verse to prove precious, in that they were called children of the Almighty… that Am Yisrael are Hashem’s children – G-d’s message Yisrael are precious in that they were given a beloved ves- to Pharaoh, “Yisrael is My firstborn son” (Shemot 4:22). It sel [the Torah]…” didn’t cite that verse, the Netivot Shalom writes, because one might have then assumed that only in those times, For each of these three statements, the Mishna brings a when G-d brought Beneh Yisrael from Egypt, we had the verse to prove the point being made. The statement that status of His beloved children. And so the Mishna cited the people are created in G-d’s image is supported by the verse, verse, “You are children of Hashem your G-d” which intro- “for He made man in the image of G-d” (Bereshit 9:6). The duces a command which is eternally binding. This verse statement that Am Yisrael are G-d’s children is supported demonstrates that for all time, and under all circumstances, from the verse, “You are children of Hashem your G-d” (De- we are the Almighty’s beloved children. varim 14:1). And the statement that we have been given a “beloved utensil” is supported with the verse in Mishleh Finally, the Mishna proves that we are precious by virtue (4:2), “For I have given you good teaching; do not abandon of our having been given the priceless gift of the Torah, cit- My Torah.” ing the verse, “For I have given you good teaching; do not abandon My Torah.” This verse speaks to each and every The Netivot Shalom (Rav Shalom Noach Berezovsky of person, in each and every era, assuring him that the Torah Slonim, 1911-2000) raised the simple question of why this has been given to him, it is relevant to him, and it is binding Mishna is included in Pirkeh Avot, which is a collection of upon him. practical ethical and religious teachings. The Mishnayot in Pirkeh Abot give us instructions and guidance for living our Each morning, we recite a special Beracha – “Birkat Ha’To- lives as Torah Jews. For what purpose are we told in Pirkeh rah” – thanking Hashem for giving us the Torah. This Be- Avot that we are “precious” both because we are human racha concludes, “Baruch Ata Hashem Noten He’Torah” beings and because we are members of Am Yisrael? – “Blessed are You, Hashem, who gives the Torah.” This Beracha is formulated in the present tense – “who gives the Torah” – because the Torah is given to us anew, each and 2 every day, no matter what situation we are in, and no matter The Arizal explained that every Shabbat, Moshe Rabbenu what spiritual level we are on. gives us a special gift – he returns to us these crowns This is something to reflect upon as we prepare for Shabuot, which we had to relinquish to him as a result of the grave when we celebrate Matan Torah. It is a mistake to think sin of the egel ha’zahav (golden calf).

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