Divrei Torah Tamuz / Av
Divrei Torah Tamuz / Av
Torah Table of Contents
United We Stand Higher, Alei Deshe, Parshas Devarim He is "It" - Really?, Yisa Bracha Parshas Dvarim Cities of Refuge" for the Three Weeks, Imrei Aish, in Alei Deshe To Forgive, but NOT to Forget, Tiferes Yisrael The Consolation and Goodness of the Three Weeks, Ma'amarei Oraysoh and Yisa Bracha A Dvar torah from Reb Motti Rosen z"l, Chodesh Tamuz.based on and excerpted from Alei Deshe, Parshas Devarim.
Rashi comments on this verse, "because these were words of rebuke, they were said to the whole Jewish nation. Because if only part of the Jewish nation had been there, non-attendees would have said, 'You didn't answer the son of Amram? Had we been there, we would have.' Therefore Moshe had all of the Jewish nation attend, saying that whoever wanted to answer him should do so."
The Imrei Aish asks, why did Moshe use the appellation of Yisrael (when rebuking the Jewish nation) - which represents a higher level - rather than Yaakov, which represents a lower level - (the name) Yaakov comes from (the Hebrew word for) heel. If Moshe is rebuking them, why does he address them on the highest level, as if they are all righteous?
The Imrei Aish answers that when the Jewish nation is united as one, they are automatically righteous and important, on the level of Yisrael - the praised ones. This is because each individual member of the Jewish nation makes up for the deficiencies of the other individual members. Thus, when they were all together they were on the highest level. But at the same time, if someone felt that he still had a sin for which he needed to repent (the words 'answer' and 'repent' are both 'Teshuva' in Hebrew), he now had the chance to repent - as the time was auspicious for repentance.
Translated by Reb Yehuda Nathan of Brooklyn, a Modzitzer Chassid
He is "It" - Really?
based on a ma'amar on Tisha B'Av in Yisa Bracha, Parshas Devarim
"Mi zeh amar vatehi, Hashem lo tziva - Who is it that says and it comes to pass, when Hashem does not command it?" [Eicha, 3:37]
The Divrei Yisrael in Parshas Mishpatim explains the verse [Shemos , 22:8], "Al kol dvar pesha...asher yomar ki hu zeh - For any matter of sin...of which he says, 'this [or he] is it'," in a very interesting way. Our holy sefarim relate that ga'ava [excessive pride] is the source of all sin. So the verse can mean, "Above all matters of sin...is when one says [of himself] that he is it."
With this, Reb Shaul understands our verse in a similar manner. "Mi zeh amar" -
who is the one who says about himself that "he is it"? He thinks that he is so important and
indispensable. But is this really so? Hashem commanded, "lo" - "no", to be as naught,
filled with humbleness. As our Sages instruct us [Pirkei Avos, 4:4] that one should be very,
very lowly of spirit. So how can one boast and say of himself that he is "it"???
Translated by Reb Yitzchak Dorfman of Yerushalayim, a Modzitzer Chassid
Cities of Refuge" for the Three Weeks
based on a ma'amar by the Imrei Aish, found in Alei Deshe, Parshas Masei
It is well known that the Parshios of Pinchas, Matos, and Masei, are always read during the Three Weeks. It is important to understand what relation these three Parshios have to the Three Weeks.
It is possible to say, based on a vort [saying] from the Baal Shem Tov, that when one wants to be rescued from the Goel Hadam - [literally, blood-avenger, but here] - the Yetzer Hara [evil inclination], he should flee to one of the three Arei Miklat [cities of refuge]. (The Arei Miklat were mentioned in groups of three). That is to say, a person should concern himself with three aspects of Torah. First, the Torah of Machshava, thought, that a person should constantly concern himself with thoughts of holiness. Second, the Torah of Dibbur, speech. A person should strive to speak words of Torah, and when not speaking of Torah, a person should always speak with pure expression, free from lies, etc. Third, the Torah of Ma'aseh, action. A person should always concern himself with holy actions, performance of mitzvos, especially charity, kindness, and the like.
This threefold process can be seen in the three Parshios of Pinchas,
Matos, and Masei. Pinchas deals with the Yamim Tovim [Jewish
calendar and its holidays], which is based on the calculations of Beis Din [the Jewish
national court]. Thus we have the Torah of thought. Matos deals with the issue of
Nedarim, oaths, issues which deal with speech. Masei deals with the
Arei Miklat, the cities of refuge, to which a person guilty of an accidental manslaughter
must flee, thus we have the Torah of action.
based on the Kuntres Tiferes Yisrael - Av 5708/1948
""V'Chusa Na, V'Al Tisalem - Please show Mercy towards us [Hashem], and don't ignore us" - (found repeatedly in the Slichos, as well as similar phrases in Tachanun)
Rebbe Yechezkel of Kuzmir asks an obvious question - if we are asking Hashem to show us Mercy, why do we need to also ask Him not to ignore us? What's added by this second request?
To answer this, the Kuzmirer quotes the famous halacha about Hashavas Aveida - returning lost objects. The Torah has an interesting turn of phrase through the various psukim explaining this mitzva - V'Hisalamta in the first pasuk... Lo Suchal LeHisalem in the last. In context, the first pasuk basically says 'Don't make the mistake that might lead you to ignoring the lost object' (in which the word V'Hisalamta is mentioned in the positive; whereas in the latter pasuk, the phrasing is more direct (and negative) - 'You are not allowed to ignore... Lo Suchal LeHisalem'.
We understand it to mean basically that one is not allowed to ignore an object we find that has clearly been lost, and we must undertake to return it to its owner, not leave it.
But we are taught in the gemorrah that there are certain cases that do justify one's ignoring the object (which is derived from the positive use of the word V'Hisalamta), such as if the finder is aged, for whom the involvement with this object may not be respectful for his stature in life. The respect for his age overrides his requirement to deal with this lost article (assumedly, the next [younger] person to come along will take care of it).
Reb Yechezkel of Kuzmir says that this is what we ask of Hashem. Even though
dealing with wayward children, who have "lost their way" could easily be seen as being
beneath Hashem's Dignity, not in line with his Stature, nonetheless, we beseech that
he not Ignore us. We may not even deserve His Attention, but nonetheless, we plead
that He not Ignore us. Please Hashem, Pity us, and help us mend our ways.
The Consolation and Goodness of the Three Weeks
based on ma'amarim in Ma'amarei Oraysoh and Yisa Bracha
The three-week period of mourning from the Seventeenth of Tamuz, marking the breach in the walls of Yerushalayim, and the Ninth of Av (Tisha B'Av), commemorating the destruction of the two Holy Temples, actually consists of 22 days, the Rebbe Shlita points out. This corresponds to the 22 letters of the Torah (the Hebrew alphabet) that the Jewish people violated.
The Gemara (Baba Basra 88b) tells us that Hashem blessed the Jewish people with 22 (letters, from Aleph to Tav, all the letters of the alphabet), and cursed them with 8 (letters) - from Vav (the 6th letter) till Mem (the 13th); whereas Moshe Rabbeinu blessed them with 8 (also from Vav till Mem), while he cursed them with 22 (from Vav till Heh). The Midrash (Vayikra Rabba, 35:1) notes that Moshe's curses are in reverse (the Vav precedes the Heh), and from this Rav Avin deduces that Hashem says, "If you are meritorious, I will revert the curses back to blessings - when you keep My Torah."
The Rebbe Shlita explains that the letters of Hashem's curses are actually the Torah's signposts for the Three Weeks, known in Hebrew as "Bein HaMetzarim" - "between the fences." The Vav represents the sin of the golden calf, which took place on the 17th of Tamuz. Then it was said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up (Hebrew - "he'elucha") from the land of Egypt (Shemos, 32:3). "He'elucha" is written in the plural form, to which the Gemara (Sanhedrin 63a) says that this indicates their desire for many gods. The Vav is what gives this word its plural form.
The bad report of the meraglim (the spies, Parshas Shlach) was given on the night of Tisha B'Av. Their sin is symbolized by the letter Mem, for they said, "...we cannot go forward against those people, for they are stronger Mimenu." (Bamidbar, 13:31) The word mimenu can mean, "than us", but also "than Him." The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabba, 16:11) tells us that their intention was the latter, "as it were, they cast their words against the One Above."
The remedy for violating all the letters of the Torah is to keep and learn the Torah. But what is our consolation? The Rebbe Shlita tells us that in Psalm 23 it says, "Even if I walk 'b'gai' (in the valley) overshadowed by death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me." The numerical value (gematria) of "b'gai" (17, including the word itself - "im hakolel") is exactly equal to the days of this three-week period, without Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh. So our consolation is that even in these 17 days, we should fear no harm, for the Shechina (Divine Presence) resides with us.
This last idea is further developed by the Divrei Yisrael (brought by his son, Reb Shaul, in "Yisa Bracha"). In Eicha (Lamentations, 1:3) it says, "All her pursuers have overtaken her between the fences." When a king leaves his palace on a journey, anyone can approach him with a request - even the simplest peasant. Similarly, in this time of "Bein HaMetzarim", the Divine Presence is in exile, and great things can be attained.
"All her pursuers have overtaken her between the fences," refers to the Jewish people, whose pursuit can only
end up in goodness and kindness. This is expressed again in Psalm 23, "Only goodness and kindness will pursue me..."
Such pursuit can be attained at this time, with Hashem's ever-abundant mercy and lovingkindness, for all good things.
Translated by Reb Yitzchak Dorfman of Yerushalayim, a Modzitzer Chassid
Chodesh Tamuz
It is not a coincidence that the first Parsha in the month of Tamuz is Parshas Shelach - the Parsha of the Lashon Hara of the Meraglim. And it is not coincidental that the next few parshiyot in the month are also ones that relate to speech and machlokes.
The next Parsha is Korach that tells of the machlokes between Moshe and Korach and his followers that ended with so many dead. This is followed by the death of Miriam in Parshat Chukat and the incident at May Merivah. This is followed by Parshas Balak in which Bilam tries to bring about the destruction of Klal Yisrael by cursing them. Rashi tells us that "Ein Yeshuasem L'Am HaZeh Elah B'Peh" - our only salvation lies in the mouth - Bilam knew this and tried to use the Peh to bring about our destruction. We follow this with the Parshiyot of Matos and Masei that discuss Niddarim and the power of the word. And we end with the Shabbos before Tisha B'Av - the Parsha that is called words - Devarim.
The Peh -the mouth - can be used in the Lashon of life or death. It is not a coincidence that these Parshiyot
all come out during the month of Tamuz leading up to the 9th of Av. We must always remember that life and death
is in the power of the mouth At the beginning of Shmone Esrai we say "Hashem Sifsai Tiftach" - Hashem should
open our mouths with Tefillah and at the end we say "Nitzor L'Shoni Merah" - guard my tongue from evil.
We must never forget the power that our mouths have over our lives and we must always use the Peh for good.
