Abridged Parshas Chukas • Vol
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Abridged Parshas Chukas • Vol. 26, Issue No. 25 • June 27, 2014 • 29 Sivan 5774 שובה ה‘ את שביתנו AFP/GETTY IMAGES FEATURES Editor’s View Do You Like What You Read By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz .................................... Page 3 In ‘Yated Ne’eman’? Readers Write .................................................................. Page 6 Lessons From a Poem Do you realize this is an abridged version of the Yated Ne’eman Newspaper? By Rabbi Yitzchok Tzvi Schwarz .............................. Page 9 Vol. 25, No. 46 26 Kislev 5774 | November 29, 2013 | Parshas Mikeitz - Shabbos Chanukah The Emunah, Nobility, and Dignity of Jewish Mothers and Fathers To subscribe to the Yated via snail mail Price: NYC Regional Area $2.00 OVER 370 PAGES OF QUALITY CONTENT Yom Tov Inspiration • Fascinating Interviews • Chol Hamoed Trip Guide • Family Magazine • News • And More Price: NYC Regional Area $2.00 for only $55 per year in the US 14 Tishrei 5774 | September 18, 2013 | SPECIAL SUKKOS EDITION By Rabbi Avrohom Birnbaum ................................ Page 11 Vol. 25, No. 36-37 The Kingdom of Lawyers fill out the form below and send it in with your payment to: SEE CENTERFOLD ADOPT-A-KOLLEL By Yonason Rosenblum .......................................... Page 13 Yated Ne’eman • 53 Olympia Lane fidelitypayment.com 1-888-VISA-MAS >AUTO >HOME >COMMERCIAL >HEALTH >LIFE Sender Lerner P R E S I D E N T 326 Third Street THINGS CAN HAPPEN... IDEAL . INSURANCE 732.363 8300 Lakewood,NJ 08701 . .5656 [email protected] WE’RE HERE FOR YOU. Chinuch Roundtable Monsey, NY 10952 AGENCY,INC. FAX 732 363 fidelitypayment.com INSURANCEIDEAL Sender Lerner AGENCY, P R E S I D E N T 1-888-VISA-MAS 732 > AUTO > HOME > COMMERC IAL > HEALTH > LIFE INC .363 . FAX .8300 732.363 326 Third Street .5656 Lakewood,NJ 08701 Phone: 845.369.1600 • Fax: 845.369.NEWS [email protected] THINGS CAN HAPPEN... Moderated by Rabbi Yisroel Besser ....................... Page 15 WE’RE HERE FOR YOU. Chinuch Live E-mail: [email protected] By Rabbi Dov Brezak ............................................. Page 17 Name __________________________________________ Noted and Quoted ......................................................... Page 19 Address ________________________________________ City __________________ State _____ Zip ___________ BIOGRAPHY Rav Zev Nochum Schlesinger z”l Phone ___________________ By Rabbi Avrohom Birnbaum ................................ 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Page 42 Toward a Meaningful The Good-News Days Racheli Frenkel Speaks to UN ...................................... Page 44 Shabbos Netanyahu Condemns the Hamas ‘War on Israel’ ........ Page 48 by Libby Lazewnik ..............82 by Rabbi Boruch Leff ..........69 Klal Yisroel Storms the Heavens for Second Week Musings Between Bubba & Baby By Dovid Hoffman ................................................. Page 49 by R. Rubenstein .................86 Bedouin Trackers Hunting for Clues to Kidnapped Boys by Chaim Bashevkin ...........71 By Jodi Rudoren ..................................................... Page 53 Strange Side of History The Purple Balloon A Bizarre Welcome - On Scene as Mike Huckabee is Held Up at by Dovid Hoffman ..............72 by M. D. Schonzeit ..............89 the Knesset By Tzvi Yaakovson ................................................. 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Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach zt”l people are consumed by concern, interrupting weddings, gradu- would often quote from the sefer Sheim Hagedolim, which says ations and gatherings to join in reciting Tehillim, embracing the that before Rashi set out to write his landmark peirush, he trav- Shabbos earlier and with more focus than usual, and continually eled extensively to ascertain whether a better peirush than he davening, the apathy of the wider public and the mainstream me- envisioned existed. It was only after he was unable to find an dia is a reminder of the eternal truth of the posuk which states, extant exposition explaining the Torah that he set out to write the “Hein am levodod yishkon.” We are alone. classic peirush that has endured until this day. Any student of history or intelligent observer of the world As Rashi wrote his work, he fasted hundreds of taaneisim to scene does not expect better and is not surprised when the na- ensure that his words would help propel people to the truth. tions of the world join to once again condemn us for having Rav Shach would weep when he would mention this about the temerity to be victims. Those experienced with global af- Rashi, because to him, this anecdote represented all that is right fairs don’t even react anymore when they read how the United and true about our mesorah. It underscores the fact that choch- Nations terms the kidnapping “alleged” and when Israel is con- mas haTorah isn’t about reason alone, but also about humility demned for showing single-minded dedication to bringing its coupled with commitment to the truth and mesorah. boys home. People in our day are led astray by those who claim to under- When such things occur, we should not be depressed. Instead, stand the reasoning for different halachos and temper them to we should be heartened by the lessons found in this week’s par- mesh with the times. Such thinking lies at the root of the fallacy sha. of the Conservative and Reform movements, which ultimately This world and its transitory values and flesh-and-blood lead- caused so many to deviate from halacha and mesorah, leading ers are temporary and will soon vanish from the scene, to be millions of Jews astray. It sounds funny to us that they maintain replaced with yet other transitory people. institutions they refer to as yeshivos and have halachic decisors We live with a higher ideal: “Zos chukas haTorah, adam ki who write so-called teshuvos in halacha. In their fanciful world, yomus ba’ohel.” The people whose souls are fused to the Torah they believe that they are legitimately following the Torah. throw off every physical mantle. They succeed by ignoring reali- Once you begin to rationalize the commandments and in- ties that do not contribute to spiritual existence, and concentrate ject human understanding of them and their concepts, you be- their lives on Torah. gin compromising them and sullying the holy with pedestrian To succeed in our goal of cleaving to Torah, we must dis- thought processes. regard the current thinking of those around us and stubbornly Their assumption that they have mastered the Torah is their persist with our Torah way of life, despite the many detractors. undoing. Critical thinking and analysis lacking yiras Shomayim, We are bound to the chok, the bond of Torah living, which a sense of mesorah and humility results in individuals who de- goes beyond reason and logic. To be attached to Hashem means stroy instead of build, obscure instead of reveal, and cause others to be detached from the world and to recognize that it neither to repel Torah instead of drawing closer to it. accepts nor values us. Our fellow Jews in the Open Orthodoxy movement, who fol- This is the explanation of the firstRashi in this week’s parsha. low in the path of the founders of the Conservatives, have fallen Rashi quotes a Medrash Tanchumah which says that the Soton into this trap. Insistent as they are on being termed Orthodox, we and the nations of the world mock us and ask us for the rationale must never stop denying their claim, because, in fact, they are of this mitzvah. Therefore, says Rashi, the Torah spells out that not Orthodox in thought, practice, attitude or approach. Parah Adumah is a chok, a gezeirah min haShomayim, and we A story is told about a poor couple about to celebrate their fif- are not permitted to question it. tieth wedding anniversary. The