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PARSHA INSIGHTS by Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair

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PARSHA INSIGHTS by Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair SHABBAT PARSHAT HA’AZINU – SUCCOT – BEREISHET – NOACH . 13 CHESHVAN 5780– OCTOBER 12 2019 • VOL. 27 NO. 2 PARSHA INSIGHTS by Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair Ha’azinu A Copper Penny "For G-d’s portion is His people; Yaakov is the measure of His heritage.” (32:9) nce there was a young boy standing in the here in the courtyard of the shul?" came the startled courtyard of the shul in Vilna. He was bent reply. "Because the street is all muddy and dirty and I O over, his eyes scouring the pavement, didn't want to soil my shoes." searching intently for something. He looked here and there. Occasionally he would stoop lower and The mystical sources teach us that there are many worlds examine the ground to see if he could find what he above this one. Compared to those worlds, the world in was searching for. In frustration, tears began to well in which we live is a very dark dank place. A place of messy his eyes. physicality. A place of concealment. If "G-d’s portion is His people; Yaakov is the measure of His heritage," then The time came for mincha, the afternoon prayer, and why did G-d put us in this lowly world? Why didn't He the courtyard began to fill with people. They all put us in a higher, more spiritual world? noticed the little boy crying and searching. "What are you looking for?" they asked him. "My mother gave me The Torah is the essence of the whole creation. If it were a copper penny and I lost it on my way to cheder not for the Torah, the physical world and all its myriad (school)," was the tearful reply. Everyone started to laws would never have come into being. The Torah does help him look for the copper penny. They scoured the not exist for the benefit of the incorporeal spiritual courtyard. Not a single square inch was left beings who inhabit the upper worlds. G-d wanted the unexamined. Torah to be in this lowest of the worlds. Therefore, G-d also put us into this world so that we should involve It was not to be found. ourselves with His Torah, day and night. Someone said to the little boy, "Show me exactly When a jewel is buried in the mud, there's no alternative where you were when you lost it." In all innocence, but to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty. If we the little boy replied: "Actually I didn't lose it here. I search for riches where there are none, even if we lost it in the street." "So why are you looking for it conduct the search in climate-controlled, air-conditioned luxury, we won't even end up with a copper penny. www.ohr.edu 1 Bereishet De-Construction "In the beginning of G-d's creating the heavens and the earth..." (1:1) ou drive up to your dream home. It's been house before a single bulldozer raises its claws in two years in the planning, and three to build earnest; just as he measures and calculates and Y it. You usher your guests up to the top of the evaluates, slide-rule and calculator at the ready, so west wing and proudly fling open the doors to the too G-d creates the world from His blueprint — the guest suite. The doors bang against their stops. Then Torah. a small shudder shakes the house. What sounds like a distant groan starts to get louder and louder and Therefore, it stands to reason that a Sefer Torah that then, before your eyes, the entire west wing parts lacks even one letter is pasul — invalid. For just as company with the house and falls away, crashing to one missing line in the plans of a building may lead the ground like some slow-motion movie. You and to the west wing crashing into ruins in front of your your guests are left wide-eyed in horror and disbelief, eyes, so too one letter missing from a Sefer Torah is gazing into fifty feet of nothingness two inches from as though vast tracts of the universe have been the ends of your toes. erased. The Torah is the blueprint of the world. Just as a • Source: based on the Chafetz Chaim builder takes great pains to study the blueprint of a Noach Of Men and Mice "Behold I am about to bring the flood waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which there is a breath of life under the heavens." (6:17) he prophet Yeshayahu (Isaiah) refers to the pandemonium as the cats, forgetting all their hours flood as the "waters of Noach," implying that of training, let their trays crash to the ground, T Noach bears at least partial responsibility for rushing about on all fours after the mouse. the flood. For, if Noach had taught his generation to know G-d by instructing them to Without training, a person's baser instincts and emulate G-d's midot (character traits), they surely desires will drag him onto all fours. However, a would have repented. human being is different from the animals because he can perfect his character so that it controls his A story is told about a rabbi who had a dispute with baser instincts. One who has not yet worked on a philosopher as to whether instinct or behavioral perfecting his character will, like the trained cat, be training governs the behavior of an animal. The able to put on a show of discipline for a time, but philosopher held that an animal can be trained so only so long as no "mice" are released in his path. completely that it can be made to do almost anything. To prove his point he painstakingly Only after a person has anchored good character trained a number of cats to stand upright, balance traits in himself will the Torah reside in him. Only trays on their paws and serve as waiters. He dressed the Torah can bring one's character to ultimate them for the part in white shirts with little black ties, perfection, but where there is no foundation of and conducted a banquet with the cats as the proper midot, the acquisition of Torah is impossible. waiters. As these feline waiters were serving the soup, the rabbi, who had been invited to the banquet, released a mouse. The banquet room was turned to www.ohr.edu 2 TALMUD TIPS by Rabbi Moshe Newman Me’ila 16-22 When in Rome Rabbi Elazar the son of Rabbi Yossi said, "In Rome I saw the parochet of the Beit Hamikdash, and there were drops of blood on it." he wicked kingdom of ancient Rome issued presumably there — but also that the Shulchan T severe decrees against the religious practices (Table), Menorah, the special vessel used for of the Jewish People in order that they preparing the Ketoret (Incense) and the Tzitz (the assimilate. For example, the Romans banned Headband, one of the eight garments of the Kohen keeping Shabbat and doing circumcision. At first, Gadol), were all kept in storage in Rome. Does this one of the Rabbis tried to blend in to the royal remind anyone of The Arch of Titus? (Avot d’Rabbi council and convinced the king that it was in the Natan §41) best interest of the Roman Empire to revoke the decrees. He argued that the decrees were contrary Some years ago, a Rabbi I had the merit to study to the interest of Rome: “By keeping Shabbat the with each morning before dawn told me about an Jews will be poorer, and by doing circumcision they event related to the current state of storage of the will be weaker. Wouldn’t it be better for the king if holy articles from the Beit Hamikdash that were his enemies were poorer and weaker?” Although captured by the ancient Romans and taken into his advice was initially accepted and the bans were exile with them to Rome. He told me about a lifted, eventually, when he was discovered to be relative of his who was a professor of history, Jewish the bans were reinstated. specializing in the Roman Empire. She had received great recognition and a special award and Following this, our Sages decided to send Rabbi was invited to an official visit to the Vatican. She Elazar the son of Rabbi Yossi and Rabbi Shimon was given a special tour of the normally secret and bar Yochai to Rome to seek annulment of their hidden treasures that ancient Rome had accrued, anti-religious decrees. When these Sages saved the and, among them, she identified many vessels that king’s daughter from the attack of a demon, the were clearly from the Second Beit Hamikdash. She king rewarded them with an invitation to take any wasn’t permitted to film them, but the leaders told wealth or item they desired from the royal treasury. her they were authentic, and from her vast studies What transpired is that when they were looking and experience she was certain that this was the through the royal treasures, they saw the document case. Her relative, the Rabbi I studied Torah with, with the terrible anti-religious decrees. They took it concluded that it was probably better that these and destroyed it. Also, while they were checking holy items remain where they are, for now, instead out the contents of the royal treasures, Rabbi of trying to bring them back to Israel.
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