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Page Zero of Torah Tidbits 822Lead Tidbit cont. from page 1 (below)
about the yahrzeits of other people in the Torah most wellknown is 7 Adarfor Moshe Rabeinu but Aharon's is the ONLY yahrzeit actually stated in theTorah. Second, the Torah does not tell us the date of Aharon's death when ittells us that he died, back in Chukat. Only in Mas'ei, as almost a "by the way"comment, do we have the date.
And this year, we read Mas'ei on that very date. (Even in other years, wearen't too far away. Mas'ei can be read as early as 26 Tamuz or as late as 2Av. That's the range. Always close around or on Rosh Chodesh Av.)
So where does this leave us? A a fork in the road... again. With a choice inpaths... again.
The sedra is amazingly encouraging. We have a review of the travels fromMitzrayim to the threshold of Eretz Yisrael. Took us a while to get there, butwe're there. This is significant progress on Gd's original Plan. Way back inSh'mot 3:8, way back at the first appearance of Gd to Moshe, we read: "AndI have come down to save them from the hand of the Egyptians, and to bringthem out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milkand honey..." And here we are. Almost ready to cross the Jordan. The Planand the Promise are almost fulfilled. And then we find in the sedra theboundaries of the Land, and the command to enter, conquer and live there.Here. The mitzva to live in Eretz Yisrael was theirs to fulfill, and it is ours tofulfill. This is one path, one road.
And here's the other path. The path represented by Rosh Chodesh Av. WhenAv enters, we diminish our joy. What does that mean? One opinion says, wedrop the level of our usual joy each person on his own level. The GR"Asays, we cut out joy completely. And why is that? Why is our joy diminishedor eliminated when Av enters? Because of the events associated with Tish'ab'Av. Because the decree against the generation of the Midbar was
pronounced on Tish'a b'Av. BecauseTish'a b'Av is the anniversary of therejection of mitzva to dwell in EretzYisrael. Because Tish'a b'Av marks therejection of Gd's Plan for His nation.Because two Batei Mikdash weredestroyed on that day. Because the firstwas destroyed because we turned awayfrom Gd. Because the second BeitHaMikdash was destroyed because weturned away from each other.
There's a little more on page 3
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822g"qyz a` '`August 12, '08 •
Early Shabbat MinyanMincha 6:00pm (Plag 6:14pm)
Shabbat 5:00pm (Mincha @6)
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Correct for TT 822 • Rabbeinu Tam (J'm) 8:55pm7:00 (6:10) Yerushalayim 8:15pm7:17 (6:12) S'derot 8:16pm7:15 (6:10) Gush Etzion 8:15pm7:17 (6:12) Raanana 8:17pm7:16 (6:11) Beit Shemesh 8:16pm7:17 (6:12) Rehovot 8:17pm7:17 (6:12) Netanya 8:17pm7:14 (6:11) Be'er Sheva 8:15pm7:16 (6:11) Modi'in 8:16pm7:00 (6:12) Petach Tikva 8:17pm7:00 (6:10)Maale Adumim 8:14pm7:16 (6:11)Ginot Shomron 8:16pm7:15 (6:10) K4 & Hevron 8:15pm7:15 (6:11) Giv'at Ze'ev 8:15pm7:16 (6:12) Yad Binyamin 8:16pm7:17 (6:13) Ashkelon 8:17pm7:06 (6:11) Tzfat 8:16pm
This Shabbat is the 325th day (of 383), 47th Shabbat (of 55) of 5768
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From TTriddle to Lead TidbitDK/BE emailed with a suggestion for a TTriddle for this Shabbat. We'vecommented on the same thing before, but have decided to use it as thespringboard for this week's Lead Tidbit.
When do we read in the regular Parshat HaShavu'a on Shabbat, of an eventthat occurred on that exact date? The answer is, this Shabbat, when we readParshat Mas'ei on Rosh Chodesh Av. In the "travelog" that gives the sedra its
name, and occupies its first 49p'sukim, many places are named. Butfor very few of those places do we findany details. A notable exception is HorHaHar. Two p'sukim are added to tellus that at Gd's command, AharonHaKohen ascended the mountain anddied there, in the 40th year out ofEgypt, in the fifth month, on the firstof the month. Aharon was 123 yearsof age when he died at Hor HaHar.
Two things are significant about thisdating of Aharon's yahrzeit. First, it isthe ONLY yahrzeit mentioned in theTorah. We have traditions
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Word of the MonthMany people have thecustom of waiting until afterTish'a b'Av to say KiddushL'vana prefer ably afterhaving broken their fast.However
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That's the crossroads we stand at... again. That's our choice between sayingmore and more Kinot on Tish'a b'Av or celebrating the festive day it willbecome. That's the lesson of Parshat Mas'ei. The journey continues. But inwhat direction.
WORD of the MONTH cont. from p.2
A weekly TT feature to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, therebyenhancing our appreciation of Gd's gift to us of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem...
Minhag Yerushalayim is NOT to wait, but to take the first opportunity in allmonths. This includes Tishrei, when many wait until after Yom Kippur; Sivan,when many wait until after Shavuot; and Av, when many wait until afterTish'a b'Av.
Tachlis, if you wait until after 9 Av, then you wait. If you follow the 7dayafter the molad rule, then you will also wait until after 9 Av, since the first opwould be Motza'ei Shabbat, which is Leil Tish'a b'Av.
But if you follow Minhag Yerushalayim for KL, then your first op will beTuesday night, the eve of 5 Av, August 5th.
And that's the story for this month.
MAS'EI STATS43rd of the 54 sedras; 10th of 10 in Bamidbar
Written on 189 lines in a Sefer Torah (rank: 30th)
8 Parshiyot; 6 open, 2 closed
132 psukim ranks 12th (5th in B'midbar)
1461 words ranks 32th (7th in B'midbar)
5773 letters ranks 28th (6th in B'midbar)
P'sukim of Mas'ei are the shortest in the wholeTorah. Hence the severe drop in rank. Or putting itthe other way hence, the deceptively high rankfor number of p'sukim.
MITZVOT6 of the 613 mitzvot, 2 positives, 4 prohibitions
All of the above: Plus Maftir, see there
AliyabyAliyaSedra SummaryNumbers in [square brackets] are theMitzvacount of Sefer HaChinuch ANDRambam’s Sefer HaMitzvot. A=ASEI(positive mitzva); L=LAV (prohibition).X:Y is the perek and pasuk from whichthe mitzva comes.
[P> X:Y (Z)] and [S> X:Y (Z)] indicatestart of a parsha p’tucha or s’tumarespectively. X:Y is Perek:Pasuk of thebeginning of the parsha; (Z) is thenumber of p'sukim in the parsha.
Kohen First Aliya 10 p'sukim 33:110We indicate here the standardarrangement of Aliyot fo Mas'ei whenit is read separately from Matot.
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However, some shuls/communitieshave the custom not to stop duringthe "travelog", but rather to combinethe first two Aliyot (making the firstAliya 49 p'sukim long, moving it intofirst place as the longest (in p'sukim)first Aliya). In this case, anadditional Aliyastop is inserted elsewhere. Note that this issue comes uponly when Matot and Mas'ei are readseparately. When combined (which ismost often, as we've said severaltimes), the whole travelog is contained in R'VI'I, the bridge aliya ofthe two sedras.[P> 33:1 (39)] The sedra of Mas'eibegins with a summary listing ofthe 42 places of encampmentduring the years of wandering inthe Wilderness. Most places are justlisted; a few are anecdoted. Thepresent day identity of many ofthese places is in dispute orunknown. This portion covers theExodus from Egypt (the city ofRam'ses), the passage through theSea, and the 3day journey thatbrought the People to Mara, withits "water problem" (and solution).From there, it was back to YamSuf, before continuing into theWilderness.
Note that the city from which theExodus was launched was Ram'seis,as opposed to Raamseis, one ofthe two supplycities the Jews wereforced to build (see Sh'mot 1:11).
Yosef, on Par'o's "order", settled hisfather and brothers (and families) inRam'seis (SH'VA NACH under theAYIN, SH'VA NA under the MEM, 2syllables: RA and M'SEIS) back inB'reishit 47:11.
PITOM and RAAMSEIS (PATACHsunder the REISH and AYIN, SH'VANACH under the MEM, 3 syllables:RA, AM, and SEIS) were the supplycities referred to above.
In Sh'mot 12:37, the Torah tells usof our leaving MEIRAM'SEIS...
In Mas'ei, the word MEIRAM'SEISappears twice more (33:3,5).
That's it for REISHAYINMEMSAMACHSAMACH in Tanach. 5times: 4 RAM'SEIS and 1RAAMSEIS.
Listen carefully and see if your BaalKorei gets it right. Or better, givehim a "heads up" before Torahreading.
Travelog These are the placesof encampment and some comments...
From Ram'seis (0) to Sukkot (1) toEitam (2) to Pi HaChirot (3) to Mara(4) to Eilim (5) to Yam Suf (6)...
Levi Second Aliya 39 p'sukim 33:1149From Yam Suf to Midbar Sin (7) toDafka (8) to Alush (9) to R'fidim(10) to Midbar Sinai (11) to KivrotHaTaava (12) to Chatzeirot (13) toRitma (14) to Rimon Peretz (15) toLivna (16) to Risa (17) to K'heilata(18) to Har Shefer (19) to Charada(20) to Mak'heilot (21) to Tachat(22) to Terach (23) to Mitka (24) toChashmona (25) to Moseirot (26) toBnei Yaakan (27) to ChorHaGidgad (28) to Yotvata (29) toAvrona (30) to Etzion Gever (31) to
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Midbar Tzin (which is Kadesh) (32)to Hor HaHar (33)...
This is where Aharon died at theage of 123. He died on RoshChodesh Av.
As mentioned in the Lead Tidbit, thisthe only Yahrzeit mentioned in theTorah. Furthermore, it is interestingthat the date is NOT mentioned inChukat where we read of his death.It appears only here in therecounting of the episode which"happens" to be on Shabbat RoshChodesh Av (or near it).
[S> 33:40 (10)] The Torah thentells us again that our presence wasnoted by the K’naani king of Aradin the Negev of Eretz Yisrael. Weknow from earlier in the Chumash,that the K'naani attacked thepeople after Aharon's death, butthat is not mentioned here. Rather,the list of places then continues...
...to Tzalmona (34) to Punon (35)to Ovot (36) to I'yei HaAvarim (37)to Divon Gad (38) to AlmonDivlataima (39) to Harei HaAvarim(40) to Arvot Moav (41).
Apparently, the counting of theencampments includes their firstpoint of departure, which wemarked as 0. So the number 42holds. The reason we chose not tonumber from 1 to 42 is because ofChashmona, which by our countcomes out number 25 and that fitswith Chanuka on the 25th of Kislevand the Chashmona'im.
Notes:
G’matriya of RAM'SEIS = 430, thenumber of years from the originalprophecy to Avraham Avinu in theBRIT BEIN HA'B'TARIM until theEXODUS (as in Sh'mot 12:4041).
The first stop out of Ram'seis isSUKKOT, G'matriya = 480, thenumber of years from the Exodusuntil the building of the First BeitHaMikdash (a.k.a. SUKKAT DAVID) the arrival of the People ELHAMENUCHA V'EL HANACHALA(D'varim 12:9). So just the first legof the wandering represents(numerically) the major first (andsecond) leg of the journey of JewishHistory. Note too that until the BeitHaMikdash was built, the Mikdashwas the Mishkan in different formsand several places. The Tabernacle,just as Sukkot is called.
SUKKOT, says the Baal HaTurim, gotits name from the Heavenly Cloudsthat began "functioning" there.MIDBAR SIN got an extra YUD andbecame SINAI to mark the fact thatthe ASERET HADIBROT were giventhere. Baal HaTurim
The Midrash says that it was atALUSH that the People first receivedthe Manna and where we spent ourvery first Shabbat. The Manna wasgiven to the People of Israel in themerit of our mother Sarah, who wasasked by Avraham to knead andbake cakes for the angels/guests.Her enthusiastic providing of food forothers was repaid by Gd, Whoprovided food for Sarah's childrenmore than 400 years later. Thename ALUSH is a play on the word "Iwill knead".
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RITMA was the place from which thespies were sent, and therefore theplace where the decree to wanderthe wilderness was pronounced. Onecan imagine a qualitative differencein the mental attitude during the first14 encampments as compared tothose following Ritma.CHASHMONA was the 25th restingplace of the People. Centuries later,there was a resting (from battle) onthe 25th (of Kislev). The peoplethrough whom Gd wrought themiracles of Chanuka were theChashmona'im. This is consideredone of the "hints" to Chanuka fromthe Torah. Sources mention thepossibility that the Chashmona'imcame from and got their name fromChashmona.
Rashi points out that with 14 placesbefore the decree to wander, andwith 8 places in the final year, therewere only 20 places that the Peoplemoved to and from in 38 years orso. That is not really all that much.Gd was merciful with the Peopleeven as He was punishing them.
Shlishi Third Aliya 22 p'sukim 33:5034:15[S> 33:50 (7)] Gd speaks toMoshe in Arvot Moav andcommands the People to enter,conquer, acquire, and settle theLand, according to the “DivineLottery”. This is one of the 613mitzvot according to Ramban Themitzva of YISHUV ERETZYISRAEL, the mitzva to live inIsrael. Ramban says that this mitzvaapplies in all times, including ourown.
Part of the mitzva, explains theRamban, is that the people ofIsrael may not shun Gd’s giftand promise and go conquer andsettle elsewhere. Jews who liveanywhere in the world outside ofIsrael should always remembertheir “stranger in a strange land”status. Adopting someplace elseas your own and removing Israelfrom your personal agenda,seems to contravene the spirit(and maybe the letter) of thismitzva.
Ed. note: Having reread the previous paragraphfor inclusion in this week's TT, I have decidedto go back and bold it, and then add thefollowing point:
We Jews have been often exiled in the past,throughout a large part of Jewish History. If wewere asked, What are you doing in Bavel, youbelong in Eretz Yisrael? we would be able toanswer, We were exiled from our Land; Gdhas expelled us from our Land; Gd has sent ushere. But what happens today 5768 when aJew who lives in exile, who lives outside EretzYisrael is asked: What are you doing here, youbelong in Eretz Yisrael?
[P> 34:1 (15)] The boundaries ofthe Land are detailed. Theseboundaries are now for the 9½tribes, since Reuven, Gad and halfof Menashe have claimed theirallotments on the East Bank.
Read the description of the boundaries of the land that is being givenby Gd to the Jewish People. To theJewish People. To the Jewish People.To us. Unlike the identity of many ofthe encampments, we know wherethese boundaries are. Eretz Yisrael
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for the Jewish People goes at least(see below) from the MediterraneanSea to the Jordan River. The Torahdoes not seem to indicate that partsof the Promise Land should becomea foreign state or be given toenemies of the State of Israel orenemies of the Jewish People.
In Gd's original promise to AvrahamAvinu, the land to be given to hisdescendants was to be "from theEgyptian River until the great river,P'rat". The boundaries described inthis week's sedra contain a territorysignificantly smaller than that whichwas promised. Our Sages tell us thatthe original promise includesterritory to be added to Eretz Yisraelin the future, in the times of theMoshiach.
R'vi'i Fourth Aliya 14 p'sukim 34:1629[P> 34:16 (14)] Next the Torahlists the new leaders of the tribeswho will be in charge of the"Divine lottery" by which the Landwill be apportioned.
Elazar HaKohen and Yehoshua binNun are the overall leaders of theNation.
Yehuda: Kalev b. YefunehShimon: Shmuel b. AmihudBinyamin: Elidad b. KislonDan: Buki b. YogliMenashe: Chaniel b. EifodEfrayim: K'mu'el b. ShiftanZevulun: Elitzafan b. ParnachYissachar: Paltiel b. Azan
Asher: Achihud b. ShlomiNaftali: P'dahel b. Amihud
A note on pronunciation (again)...
Let's look at two names: the fatherof Gamli'el, leader of Menashe at thebeginning of Bamidbar, xEvdc§R andthe leader of Naftali at the end of thebook of Bamidbar, l ¥ §d ©c§R (son of oneof the Amihuds). Notice that the firstname has no SH'VA under the HEI;the second one does. HEI without aSH'VA is silent. Totally silent. Like anALEF. Like it wasn't there. The nameis P'DATZUR. HEI with a SH'VA issounded, just like a MAPIKHEI atthe end of a word. The name isP'DAHEIL. The SH'VA under a HEI isALWAYS a SH'VA NACH. HEI/SH'VAcloses a syllable, never starts one.Notice: The absence from the list ofrepresentatives from Reuven andGad. They will not participate in theapportionment of the land across theJordan.
Notice: The word NASI is used forseven of the 10 tribal leaders. OhrHaChayim says in the name ofRabeinu Nissim Gaon that Kalev wasso well known as a leader of thepeople that it was not necessary toidentify him as a Nasi. Shimon'sleader was not worthy of the title.And Elidad from Binyamin was Eldad,a prophet. Prophet is a higher titlethan Nasi. Ohr HaChayim adds thatfor Yehuda and Binyamin, anotherreason for not using Nasi is thateach will have kings from them Sha'ul from Binyamin and David, etc.from Yehuda. King is higher thanNasi. Haamek Davar, on the otherhand, says that Kalev was not a Nasibut was selected for the landdistribution task only.
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Notice: The names of 8 of the 10tribes here represented are B'NEIShimon, B'NEI Dan, etc. Yehuda andBinyamin are identified without theB'NEI. Is there a connection to theOhr HaChayim's comment aboutMalchut? Or to the future Kingdom ofYehuda vs. (unfortunately) the Kingdom of Israel?
Chamishi Fifth Aliya 8 p'sukim 35:18[P> 35:1 (8)] Following thegeneral plans for dividing the Land,the People are instructed toprovide cities for the Leviyim [408,A183 35:2], since they, theLeviyim, do not receive Land asinheritance. The cities and theirsurrounding areas, number 48,including the 6 cities of refuge.
Note that the measure of 2000 amotas "city limit" was subsequentlyborrowed by the Sages in fixing thedistance outside the dwelling placethat a person may walk on Shabbat,known as T'CHUM SHABBAT.
Rashi points out that there werethree cities of refuge on each side ofthe Jordan River, even though in thewestern case, they would serve 9½tribes and in the eastern case, theywould serve 2½ tribes. An inferenceis drawn that there would be morecareless homicides on the easternside of the river.
These cities, to be given by thetribes to the Leviyim, were givenproportional to the populations ofthe tribes.
Reference in this portion is made to1000 amot and to 2000 amot outsidethe city itself. Rashi explains that theouter 1000 amot area is for fieldsand vineyards; the inner 1000 is toserve the city for whatever openareas are used.
Shishi Sixth Aliya 26 p'sukim 35:934[P> 35:9 (26)] The cities of refuge(and the other 42 Levite cities,withsome differences) serve to protectthe inadvertent killer. Even amurderer flees to a protecting citypending trial.
It is forbidden to kill a murdereruntil he stands trial and is foundguilty [409,L292 35:12].
The inadvertent killer is sent or heflees to a city of refuge [410,A225 35:25]. The Torah presentsguidelines for defining murder andinadvertent killing and sets downsome of the court procedures, suchas the prohibition of a witness alsoacting as judge in a criminal case[411,L291 35:30]. We are alsowarned not to permit substitutepunishments for a murderer [412,L296 35:31] and the inadvertentkiller [413,L295 35:32]. Strictadherence to all rules of justiceassure us continued "quality living"in Eretz Yisrael, accompanied bythe Divine Presence.
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MitzvaWatchMitzvot 412 and 413 basicallycommand us to follow other mitzvot inthe Torah that require a convictedmurder to be executed and a convictedSHOGEGkiller to be exiled to a City ofRefuge. How unusual for the Torah todo that. The small Sanhedrins of 23judges, whose jurisdiction it is to carryout the commands of the Torah inmatters of “sentencing” for certaincrimes/sins are dutybound to complywith halacha.Why would the Torah specificallycommand compliance with anothercommand. The Torah requires us to"bench" after a meal. It does notcommand us separately to follow thecommand to bench and not to choosean alternative. The command itself isenough. What makes these casesdifferent?It is quite possible for us to rationalizean alternative punishment or treatmentof the convicted murderer intentionalor inadvertent. And sometimes, thealternative suggestion will be moreappealing, more logical, more beneficial than the Torahrequired procedure.Very tempting. So the Torah comes toreinforce its insistence that its procedures be carried out. Ir Miklat, forexample, is punishment, protection,and atonement all rolled into one. Andit is the command of Gd. We cannotchange it.To clarify (a little) the Ir Miklatissue... Anyone who causes the deathof another individual is to flee to a cityof refuge. Or he is to be taken their bydeputies of the court (SHOT'RIM). Hethen is brought from the Ir Miklat to
stand trial. If he is found guilty ofintentional murder, he will besentenced to be executed. If he isfound to be free of all responsibility forthe death, he is released. If he isdeemed to be a SHOGEGkiller, he isreturned to the Ir Miklat where he mustremain until the Kohen Gadol dies. Itwould be up to the small Sanhedrin of23 (which existed in all major cities andtowns) to determine the level of thekiller's responsibility. Aside from MEIZID (intentional), SHOGEG (inadvertent, "marked by unintentional lack ofcare"), and ONEIS (accidental), thereare in between categories. Determination of the status of the perpetrator andwhat is to be done with him is made bythe panel of 23 judges.
The laws of Ir Miklat are labeled with arare term in the Torah: CHUKATMISHPAT. (The only other area ofTorah law called by this strange term isthe laws of inheritance.) MISHPAT isthe term used for areas of Jewish lawthat are easily understood, commonsense, rational, logical. CHOK are theenigmatic mitzvot that defy (complete)understanding. By telling us that IrMiklat is part CHOK and partMISHPAT, we must do the best we canto understand many aspects of it, butnot expect to (ever) understand it all.
Sh'VII Seventh Aliya 13 p'sukim 36:113This aliya is also called: Sh'vi'i Chazak[P> 36:1 (13)] Leaders of thefamily of Menashe to which thedaughters of Tz'lofchad belong,approach Moshe and raise theproblem of potential erosion of
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their tribal allotment if Tz'lofchad'sdaughters marry outside their tribe,taking their land with them. Mosheissues a ruling restricting them frommarrying outside their tribe. This isnot a law in perpetuity (andtherefore, it is not counted as amitzva among the Taryag); itapplies only in this case. Incompliance, Machla, Tirza, Chogla,Milka, and No'a marry cousins fromtheir tribe of Menashe.
The Book of BaMidbar ends withthe statement, "These are theMitzvot and the Laws that Gdcommanded Moshe to (transmit to)Bnei Yisrael, in Arvot Mo'av on theJordan (Jericho) River."
When each of the five books of theChumash is completed, the custom isfor the congregation to shout outCHAZAK, CHAZAK, V'NITCHAZAK.(It seems that this is more correct thanthe popular V'NITCHAZEIK.) Perhaps,the one receiving the aliya for Chazakshould not say CHAZAK, CHAZAK...either because it might constitute aninterruption between the Torah readingand his afterbracha or because theblessing of CHAZAK, CHAZAK mightbe directed towards the one who getsthat Aliya. Note that this paragraphbegan with the word, PERHAPS.
The congregation stands for the lastverse and for CHAZAK. There doesnot seem to be any objection to this.
Maftir (2nd Torah) 7 p'sukim Bamidbar 28:915Chapters 28 and 29 in Bamidbar(Parshat Pinchas) deal with thedaily and Musaf korbanot(sacrifices) in the Mikdash. Sincethe two Shabbat p'sukim arefollowed by the five that deal withRosh Chodesh, both portions areread for the Maftir on ShabbatRosh Chodesh. Notice that theMusaf of Shabbat is an expandedversion of the weekday sacrificesand Rosh Chodesh's Musaf is likethose of the Chagim. Makes sensewhen you think about it. Six days...and on the 7th Shabbat is one ofthe days of the week and theunique one among them. TheChagim belong to the Jewishcalendar, which is based on themonths and Rosh Chodesh.
Haftara 28 p'sukim Yirmiyahu 2:428, 3:4Some add pasuk 3:4 to the end ofthe second perek of Yirmiyahu, asindicated above. Others (S'faradimand Chabad) add 4:1,2 instead.
In addition, because the ShabbatRosh Chodesh haftara did NOTpreempt the regularly scheduledhaftara (as it usually does), somecommunities (S'faradim and thosewho adopted their minhag) will finishthe haftara readings with the firstand last p'sukim of the Shabbat RoshChodesh haftara. Standard Ashkenazic practice not to add the extrap'sukim for Rosh Chodesh. Maftir
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Concerning the custom mentioned atthe beginning of the Sedra Summary, tocombine the first two aliyot so the"travelog" is not interrupted... It is theMagen Avraham quoting the Tz'rorMor who says that the 42 places of encampment correspond to the 42lettername of Gd and therefore they shouldnot be interrupted. Many others teachthis practice Mishna B'rura, KafHaChayim, R' Akiva Eiger...
Mazal Tov toBinyamin & Nancy Chernofsky
and family on the birth of theirgranddaughter, Rachel EmunahDaughter of Bryna & Gadi Segal,
sister of Eliya, Amichai, and Yedidya,greatgranddaughter of Mrs. Helen Fuchs
says "Rosh Chodesh". The haftarasays, "Bein HaM'tzarim" (ThreeWeeks).
This is the 2nd of the 3 TragicHaftarot read during the ThreeWeeks. It is the continuation of lastweek's haftara. In fact, these twohaftaras are the only continuousportions of the Prophets read ashaftaras on consecutive weeks.Gd, speaking through the prophet,chastises the People of Israel forthe terrible double sin of forsakingHim AND turning to gods who arenothingness. Repeatedly, we areasked how it was possible that weturned away from Gd so. Terriblepunishment for this betrayal of Gdis prophesied. The haftara ends onthe hopeful note that if we return toGd, then He will return to us andrestore His special relationship withus.
THE JERUSALEM INSTITUTE OF JEWISH LAWRabbi Emanuel Quint, DeanLesson #435 Procedure in Beit Din
The entire country is being witness to thecourt proceedings of a witness testifyingin matters that may affect the future ofour government. Headlines in theJerusalem Post declared “Olmert’s lawyercatches Talansky in contradictions”.Throughout these proceedings, I havebeen asked in the kollel how does halachacontrol testimony to assure that thetestimony is truthful?In halacha, a person who knows evidencepertaining to a pending case has an
obligation to testify. One of the 613Torah commandments is for a personwho has information regarding a pendinglitigation to testify in the case. “And ifanyone sin, in that he hears the voice ofadjuration, he being a witness, whether hehas seen or known, if he did not utter it,then he shall bear his iniquity” (Vayikra5:1). During the time that the BeitHaMikdash stood, a person who violatedthis commandment had to bring asacrifice to atone for its violation. There
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were ten requirements before the personwould be liable for the sacrifice: (1) thelitigant requested the witness to testify;(2) the suit was brought for a moneyjudgment only; (3) the claim arose out ofa transaction regarding personal property;(4) the other party would be found liableon the strength of these witnesses; (5) thewitness after being asked to testify deniedthat he had any knowledge of thetransaction; (6) the denial was made inBeit Din; (7) the denial was accompaniedby an oath including Gd's name; (8) theknowledge was known to the witnessbefore he took the oath; (9) the partyasking him to testify separated him as hiswitness; and (10) the oath was taken in alanguage that the witness understood.If a witness who has met the criteria doesnot testify, he has no monetary obligationto the party on whose behalf thetestimony would have been useful. Hedoes however, have liability to thejudgments of Heaven for not havingtestified. There is no monetary obligationeven if there were two witnesses and theyconspired not to testify. If the potentialwitness who refused to testify wishes topurge himself of the liability to Heavenhe must make restitution to the personwho lost the case because of his refusal totestify. The litigant who lost because ofthe refusal to testify may not sue therefusing witness and may not employselfhelp to recover his losses even inplaces where selfhelp is permitted.A person may not appear in Beit Din withthe purpose of intimidating one of theparties by causing him to think that hisadversary has more witnesses than hereally has. The plaintiff presents his casefirst. The party who files his claim firstwith the Beit Din is the plaintiff even if
there is a counterclaim in the exact sameclaim. There are circumstances where thedefendant will present his claim firstwhether it is his counterclaim or hisdefense. If the defendant will suffermonetary damage by the continuation ofthe lawsuit against him and the plaintiff isnot prepared to proceed to trial on thecomplaint; if the defendant claims thatthe plaintiff is holding the defendant’ssecurity which is about to depreciate invalue if the claim on the security is notheard immediately and the plaintiff is notprepared to proceed to trial on hiscomplaint; and if the defendant’switnesses are ill or about to depart thejurisdiction and the defendant will not beable to present his defense orcounterclaim without them. However, ifthe plaintiff’s witnesses are also ready toleave the jurisdiction the priority will begiven to the plaintiff. Even if the Beit Dinhears the plaintiff’s case first and rendersa judgment in his favor, it may enjoin theenforcement of the judgment if thedefendant will be prejudiced by theplaintiff collecting the amount of thejudgment. Prejudice might be shownwhere the defendant’s counterclaim isequal to or larger than the amount of thejudgment and there is danger that theplaintiff will divest himself of the moneyshe will collect from the defendant. If thedefendant is not ready to proceed on hiscounterclaim, the Beit Din may grant thedefendant an adjournment of thecounterclaim and proceed to judge theplaintiff’s case. If both parties are readyto proceed to trial on the compliant andcounterclaim respectively, then the BeitDin will hear the plaintiff’s case first andthen the counterclaim. The Beit Din mayaward one of the parties the differencebetween the two awards.
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In a dispute between a borrower and alender who is holding the borrower’scollateral, even if the borrower institutedsuit first to obtain the collateral, thelender will be deemed to be the plaintiffin the lawsuit. There are times when thedefendant may make a motion to Beit Dinthat the plaintiff present any and allclaims that he may have against thedefendant in addition to the claim that isthe basis of the pending lawsuit. Thedefendant may desire to obtain a generalrelease from the plaintiff after all theplaintiff’s claims have been adjudicatedand the defendant has paid all the moneysawarded by the Beit Din, including theaward in the pending lawsuit. The motionmay be made as soon as the defendanthas been served with a summons in thefirst lawsuit or at any time during thetrial. It may also be made by thedefendant if he loses the lawsuit andwould like to have all of the plaintiff’sclaims against him adjudicated before hepays the judgment so that he can obtain a
general release of all claims. The BeitDin will decide whether the defendant’smotion should be granted in full or in partor denied in full. In deciding the motion,the Beit Din may consider whether thetrial of closely related claims will beequitable for both parties. For example, ifthere are still claims that there are lienson the defendant’s property and thedefendant can show damages if thelawsuits are not all tried at this time, themotion should be granted. However, themotion should not be granted if theplaintiff is not ready to proceed to trial onhis other claims and will be prejudiced ifhe has to wait with the claims that he isready to proceed. If the plaintiff is notaware of any other claims he may statethat he does not at this time know of anyclaims and should not be prejudiced whenhe learns of such claims.The subject matter of this lesson is more fullydiscussed in A Restatement of Rabbinic Civil Law byE. Quint. Copies of all volumes can be purchased atlocal Judaica bookstores. Questions to quint@inter.net.il
Spiritual and Ethical Issues in the Sh’mot Stories:by Dr. Meir Tamari
“And Moshe Erected the Mishkan” [1]
"The Mishkan, in the light of the serious events that Israel had just experienced,had now to be built on quite a different basis. The people and the kohanim hadlearnt to know the necessity to strive for their spiritual elevation and atonementbut also to know Gd in the whole weight of His justice and the depth of Hisinfinite mercy" (Rabbi S. R. Hirsch)."You favor [chonein, a gift given with chesed] Mankind with wisdom and teachmortals understanding and insights." These are essential for human existence,welfare and prosperity; that is this why this is the opening b'racha of theweekday Shmona Esrei. "When night fell for the first time, Adam shuddered,filled with fear at the sudden darkness. Gd in His mercy then taught him howto strike stones to make fire for warmth, light and cooking" (B'reishit Rabba).
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Yet the same technical and scientific knowledge can be used for evil.Knowledge, technology and wisdom must therefore be subservient to Gd'steachings and laws, and so He gave us the legal, moral and ethical teachingsof Torah. "The arts, philosophy, literature, and science of Greece with whichGd blessed Yefet must be under the guidance of the Tents of Shem (S.R.Hirsch, Parshat No'ach)."All technical and scientific knowledge that are beneficial and essential forMan's prosperity, welfare and peace can also be used to create luxuries, for alove of pleasure and a search for fame and power. This leads to indolence, andjealousy, to a struggle for ruling of others, a love of money and materialism,and to war and strife, that all finally result in undermining society, anarchy andcorruption. When Israel will be settled in their land as a political entity, they toowill need to use the technical knowledge, skills and crafts that are essential fortheir existence and pleasure. All of these were used in building the Mishkanand making its vessels, and in that way Gd taught this people that He hadchosen to be an Am Segula, that all knowledge has a Divine source and so itmust be used for holy purposes. This is as our sages taught: 'there is nothingwhose first fruits do not have to be sanctified to heaven' " (Ramban, end ofSefer Shmot). "Not only the wise, the scholars and the craftsmen acquiredsome divine wisdom through building the Mishkan, even the most uneducatedand simple people gained CHOCHMA thereby" (Chidushei Harim miGur[P'shyscha]). "He filled Betzalel with the wisdom of Gd, with insight, with wisdom, withunderstanding, and with all manner of craftsmanship" (Sh'mot 35:31). "With 10sayings the world was created… and it was finished with 3 things, as it iswritten (Mishlei 3:20): 'By wisdom Gd founded the earth, by understanding Heestablished the heavens and by His knowledge the depths off the oceans areopened'. With these three, the Mishkan was made, the Temple built and withthem the future Temple will be rebuilt" (Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer 3).In B'reishit, Avimelech reproached Avraham for suspecting that any of thecultured and civilized Philistines would murder him in order to take his wifeSarah. Avraham simply answered: "I knew that there is no fear of Gd in thisplace"; that makes immorality and crime possible even among knowledgeableand sophisticated people. Even Torah knowledge and wisdom without fear andawe of Gd can lead to wrongdoing and destruction: "The Sages taught that theBeit Hamikdash HaSheini was destroyed even though that was a generation ofscholars, without the sins of the First Temple, because they did not recite theBirchat HaTorah'; thereby they forgot to fear Gd who gave the Torah" (ShemMiShmuel). To help us prevent that, we pray on Shabbat M'vorchim for livesthat have a love for Torah and Yirat Shamayim.The repetition of the Shabbat injunction before describing the erection of theMishkan teaches Israel how to use the wisdom that Gd has granted. "All the
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various parts of the Mishkan were assembled so that it became a single entity;in the same way by uniting Israel in its construction, the differences betweenthe craftsmen, the artisans, the instructors and the common laborers wereunited. So the main unity of Israel is through the Shabbat that represents thehonor of Gd and that is why it precedes the erection of the Mishkan whosepurpose was the honor of heaven" (Mordechai Yosef of Itsbitsa; P'shyshcha)."Why don't we put on Ttefillin on Shabbat? Chazal teach that since they,together with Mila and Shabbat are signs; on Shabbat we do not need Tefillinsince the other two are sufficient. Tefillin are a connection with Gd, but sincethe whole of Shabbat connects us with Him, we have no need then of that intermediary; likewise the building of the Mishkan and the Beit HaMikdash thatserved to unite us with Gd, is forbidden on Shabbat when we do not need anyadditional means of connection. There is an additional lesson to be learnedhere. Moshe wanted to first build the Mishkan and then the Aron, since hebelieved that Israel could reach Torah through their own effort; that would havebeen possible before the making of the eigel (golden calf). Betzalel, however,claimed that they were spiritually not strong enough to do so through their ownefforts; so now Torah was Gd's gift to Israel, therefore the Aron that held itshould be made first. In the first Luchot, the Shabbat is a memorial to Gd'sresting after the Creation, whereas in the second Luchot, it refers to the Exodusthat came purely as a chesed of Gd's" (Avnei Nezer)."The building of the Mishkan, if not from the point of art, is from the point ofview of its purpose and idea of changing this earthly world into a place whereGd can dwell in our midst, is surely the noblest conceivable plan for humanactivity. Even such a noble and spiritual activity is introduced by the injunctionto observe the Shabbat. Man thereby submits his mastery over matter, thegetting, producing, changing, manufacturing of raw materials, and even thepower to transfer an object from one domain to another, to his allegiance toGd" (S.R. Hirsch)."And Gd blessed the Seventh Day and made it holy" (B'reishit 2:13); thus Hesanctified time. "And Moshe looked upon all the work of the Mishkan andbehold they had accomplished it as Gd had commanded [thus Israel sanctifiedspace], then Moshe blessed them" (Sh'mot 39:43).
MISC section contents:[1] Vebbe Rebbe[2] Candle by Day[3] From Aloh Naaleh[4] Wisdom and Wit[5] Parsha Points to Ponder[6] Gimatriya Match
[7] Micro Ulpan[8] From Machon Puah[9] Thingsthatshouldhavebeeninlastweek'sTT[10] Portion from the Portion[11] EcoRabbi[12] Pre Nine Days Review[13] Divrei Menachem
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[1] From the virtual desk of the OUVEBBE REBBEThe Orthodox Union – via its website – fieldsquestions of all types in areas of kashrut, Jewishlaw and values. Some of them are answered byEretz Hemdah, the Institute for Advanced JewishStudies, Jerusalem, headed by Rav Yosef Carmeland Rav Moshe Ehrenreich, founded by HaRavShaul Yisraeli zt"l, to prepare rabbanim anddayanim to serve the National Religiouscommunity in Israel and abroad. Ask the Rabbi isa joint venture of the OU, Yerushalayim Network,Eretz Hemdah... and the Israel Center. Thefollowing is a Q&A from Eretz Hemdah...
QHow Much Does One Need to Eatfrom the Lechem Mishneh?
Does one have to eat a k’zayit (size of anolive; assumed to be 1 fl. oz.) from thelechem mishneh (two loaves of bread forShabbat)? What happens if the lechemmishneh is too small for everyone to geta sizable piece or if someone prefersanother challa?
AThe Rama (Orach Chayim 167:1),in describing how much of a loafone should properly cut off after
reciting Hamotzi, says: “That which oneshould not pull off more than a k’beitza(the size of an egg) is only during the weekwhen one is eating by himself. However,on Shabbat or when one is eating withmany people and needs to give from theremoved piece a k’zayit to everyone, onecan pull off as much as he wants.”Ostensibly then we assume that everyoneshould receive a k’zayit of the main breadupon which the b'racha was made.However, let us put the matter inperspective based on the sources andissues.
The poskim (see Tur/Beit Yosef, OC 167)say that one should not normally cut off alarge piece of bread from his loaf becauseit looks gluttonous (based on B'rachot 39b).
However, the Gemara (ibid.) says that ifone does so specifically on Shabbat, it isfine, as he is seen as one who approachesthe mitzva to eat on Shabbat enthusiastically. The Rambam (B'rachot 7:3) alsosays that one should not cut off too small apiece because that looks stingy. The BeitYosef corroborates with a Gemara thatshows the importance of a host givingnicesized pieces to his guests. Thus, onecan easily understand the Rama as justdealing with matters of manners with noimplication about whether the guests arehalachically supposed to eat a k’zayit fromthe main loaf (see Mishna Berura 167:15).
The Magen Avraham (167:7; cited ibid.),though, understands that there may be ab'racharelated reason to have a k’zayit. Hepoints out that the minhag is not to becareful on the matter but says it ispreferable to have a k’zayit (see also DagulMei’revava, ad loc.). That being said, thesesources do not say that even preferably thewhole k’zayit must come from the loafupon which the b'racha was made. In fact,if the guests have bread in front of them,they can use the host’s b'racha andimmediately eat from their own bread(Shulchan Aruch ibid.:15).
The question is on Shabbat, whereeveryone must be connected to the lechemmishneh and wait to receive a piece (ibid.).We find that on Shabbat it is best to cut offa big enough piece in the beginning tosuffice for the whole meal (ibid. 274:2).However, there does not seem to be arequirement for individuals to eatspecifically a k’zayit from the lechemmishneh. (A person should eat a k’zayit ofbread for it to be a meal and recite BirkatHamazon and a k’beitza to justify theb'racha on netilat yadayim.) However,being connected to the lechem mishneh andthe b'racha made on it can be accomplished
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with eating any quantity (Igrot Moshe, OCV, 16; Teshuvot V’hanhagot II, 171).
This being said, there are sources thatindicate that a piece less than a half of ak’zayit is not considered significant (seeEliya Rabba 174:2) and that one shouldshow respect to the bread to which themitzva is related (see Levush, OC 174:14).Therefore, people would do well to eat ahalf of a k’zayit (without exaggerating thesize of k’zayit as many of us do on Pesach)from the lechem mishneh. However, onewho dislikes the challa the host used forlechem mishneh or has health concernswith it can follow the basic halacha that hecan go on to other bread after a small tastefrom the lechem mishneh. Similarly, hostswho make Hamotzi on a loaf that may notprovide a k’zayit or even a half for all (e.g.,with large groups or for those who use rollsor matza for lechem mishneh at seudashlishit and then serve sliced bread orleftovers) need not feel guilty. One who iscareful to provide a k’zayit to each guestfrom the lechem mishneh is praiseworthy(see Shemirat Shabbat K’hilchata 55:24and footnote 15)Ask the Rabbi Q&A is part of Hemdat Yamim, theweekly parsha sheet published by Eretz Hemdah.You can read this section or the entire HemdatYamim at www.ou.org or www.eretzhemdah.org.And/or you can receive Hemdat Yamim by emailweekly, by sending an email to
info@eretzhemdah.org with the message:
Subscribe/English (for the English version) orSubscribe/Hebrew (for the hebrew version).Please leave the subject blank. Ask the VebbeRebbe is partially funded by the Jewish Agency forIsrael
[2] Candle by DayIt is a mistake to feel that old woundshave healed simply because they nolonger hurt. It may be that they just
have not felt the touch which wouldcause them to throb again.
From "A Candle by Day" by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein
A Candle by Day • The Antidote • The World of Chazalby Rabbi Shraga Silverstein
Now available at 0542099200
[3] CHIZUK and IDUDfor Olim & notyetOlim respectively
Bamidbar ends with an interestingdiscussion relating to Eretz Yisrael andhow it is to be settled.
Earlier, the daughters of Tz'lofchad wonthe right to receive their deceased father'sportion of the land, as part of the sectionthat was allocated to the tribe of Menashe.This week, in Mas'ei, the heads of the tribeof Menashe come to Moshe with aproblem: If these five daughters should"marry out", meaning marry someone froma different tribe, then the land willeventually leave the possession of Menasheand belong to a different tribe, since theland will go to their sons who go after theirfather's tribe.
"If they become wives of one of the sons ofthe tribes of the Children of Israel, thentheir inheritance will be subtracted fromthe inheritance of our fathers and be addedto the inheritance of the tribe into whichthey will marry, and it will be subtractedfrom the lot of our inheritance." (36:3)
The Netziv asks two questions: One, whyis it relevant that another tribe will getadditional land; what should be of concernto the leaders of Menashe is that they don'tend up with less? Two, why do they twicemention the fact that land will be"subtracted" from their inheritance?
He starts by answering the secondquestion, as follows: There are two things
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they fear losing should their tribe's portionbe diminished. There is a material loss –the amount of land to till and build on –and the spiritual loss.
The Netziv explains that the kedusha ofEretz Yisrael depends on Jews living intheir right place in the land (which wasdetermined by a lottery). When two and ahalf tribes decided to live on the other sideof the Jordan, instead of in their rightfulspot in Eretz Yisrael, there was adiminishment of kedusha and as result,certain mitzvot, including the observanceof a number of yovel years, were notobserved.
So the leaders of Menashe weren'tconcerned that other tribes would get moreand they'd get less. They wanted to ensurethat their descendants be able to live in theland that was designated for them so as notto harm the spiritual ecosystem of EretzYisrael.
Moshe accepted their claim and instructedthe daughters of Tz'lofchad to marry withintheir father's tribe. Says the S'forno, theywent further and made sure to marry notonly within the tribe, but within theirfamily. They understood how important itis for every Jew to live in his preciseportion of the land so that Eretz Yisrael canflourish spiritually.
Unfortunately, we don't know which tribewe belong to, or which family within thetribe. But we do know that we all belong inEretz Yisrael, and that our presence is aprerequisite to realizing its spiritualpotential – and our own.
Rabbi Joel Rebibo , Beit El
THOUGHTS as contributed by Aloh Naaleh membersfor publication in the Orthodox Union's 'TorahInsights', a weekly Torah publication on ParshatHaShavu'a
[4] Wisdom & WitOften, when R’ Yosef, Av Beit Din ofPosen, was with people, his wife thedaughter of the Noda BiYehuda wouldcome in and make disparaging andinsulting comments about her husband. Atfirst, the members of the communityattempted to find some way to prevent herfrom treating her husband, their belovedrav, so disrespectfully, but nothing they didchanged her ways. Eventually theyresigned themselves to the situation andgave up trying.When R’ Yosef died, though, the mysteryof her treatment of her husband was solved.As her husband lay on the ground, withcandles all around him, she announcedaloud: “R’ Yosef! Now all must realize thatwhen I insulted you, I did not do somaliciously or to harm you. I did sobecause that was the condition you madebefore you consented to marry me. Whenyou were young, all proclaimed you atzaddik, and you were mortally afraid offalling into the pit of conceit. What I did,you forced me to doWho, more than I,knows how truly great a tzaddik you reallywere ...”
Shmuel Himelstein has written a wonderful seriesfor ArtScroll: Words of Wisdom, Words of Wit; ATouch of Wisdom, A Touch of Wit; and "Wisdomand Wit" — available at your local Jewishbookstore (or should be). Excerpted with thepermission of the copyright holder
[5] Parsha Points to PonderMAS'EI
1) The Torah teaches that we shoulddestroy the inhabitants of Israel and theiridols (33:52). It then teaches that if we donot do so, then they will be a thorn in oursides and cause us trouble (33:55). Why
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does the Torah interrupt this theme withthe seemingly irrelevant point that the landshould be divided by lots based on the sizeof each tribe (33:54)?
2) How can Kadeish Barneia be describedas being part of the Land of Israel (34:4) ifthe Torah clearly states that Moshe broughtthe Jews to Kadeish Barniei (D'varim 1:19)and Moshe never entered the Land ofIsrael?
3) Why does the Torah dictate that anaccidental killer's sentence in exilecontinues until the death of the KoheinGadol (35:28), thereby creating morelengthy punishments for some accidentalkillers over others?
THESE ARE THE ANSWERSPonder the questions first, then read here
1) The Kli Yakar answers that GD isaddressing the reality that many tribesmight shy away from combating the gentilenations or would try to conquer an areawhere they anticipate little or no resistance.Thus, before relating the negative whichcomes from not conquering these nations,GD immediately states that lots willdetermine who must conquer which areasand no tribe can shirk their responsibility.
2) The Daat Zekainim MiBaalei HaTosfotconcludes, as a result of this question, thatthere must be two places called KadeishBarneia one in Israel and one outside ofIsrael. He proves this from the teaching ofRav Yosi in Makot that there were twocities named Kadeish. The S'forno (26:13)understands that when the Torah describesKadeish in the desert, it means across fromthe Israeli city of Kadeish Barneia.
3) The S'forno explains that there aredifferent degrees of accidents. This systemof the punishment depending on the death
of the Kohein Gadol enabled GD toarrange that those who were morenegligent would have to remain in exilelonger than those whose accidents werecloser to being complete accidents with nolevel of negligence. Thus, what seems to bea random and unfair system of sentencingactually serves to create the highest level offairness.
Parsha Points to Ponder is prepared by RabbiDov Lipman, who teaches at ReishitYerushalayim, Tiferet, and Machon Maayan inBeit Shemesh and RBS and is the author of"DISCOVER: Answers for Teenagers (and adults)to Questions about the Jewish Faith",justrepublished by Feldheim, ppp@ouisrael.org
[6] Gimatriya Matchl ¥x §U¦i i¬¥p §a ¦l zF ½H ©O©d i ¥W`xÎl ¤ Æd ¤Wn x³¥A ©c§i©e
:'d d¬E¦v x ¤W £ x ½aC©d d¤f x ®n` ¥l
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These are the first p'sukim of Matot &Mas'ei. They have the same gimatriya.First of all, that's a rarity. Second of all,if any two sedras were to have theirfirst p'sukim matching gimatriyas, itshould be Matot and Mas'ei, becausethey are the two mostoften combinedsedras.
[7] MicroUlpan
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[8] From Machon PuahMother and DaughterQuestion:
Dear Rabbi,
I wanted to speak to you about mydaughter. She has been married for threeyears and has no children. I am sure thatthey are suffering from infertility andmaybe are even undergoing treatment, butwhen I try to speak to her about it she getsvery annoyed and refuses to talk to me atall. What can I do?
Waiting your speedy reply,
A worried mother
Answer:
I am sorry to hear that your daughter mayhave infertility problems and that she is notwilling to speak to you, but I feel that it isimportant to understand her position aswell.
Infertility is a very personal thing and yourdaughter may not want to share theintimate details of her life with otherpeople, including her mother. This does notmean that she does not love you or feelclose to you, rather that she wants toprotect her privacy. Since you do not knowwhether they are actually suffering frominfertility, this is even more important,since there may be significant factors thatare better not to be shared. For example, ifit is a male factor infertility, a daughtermay choose not to tell even her ownmother so as to protect her husband and notto degrade in her family's eyes.
I recall a very unfortunate case when ayoung woman was encouraged by herparents to divorce her husband since he hada problem and they did not think that it wasnecessary for her to suffer just because of
him. I am sure that you would never dosuch a thing, but your daughter may feelthat she does not want to share this detail inher intimate life out of fear that such athing could happen.
If your daughter is undergoing fertilitytreatment I am sure that you appreciate thatthis is a very pressured time and processfor her and her husband. They must go forconstant monitoring, doctor's visits and shemay be taking oral medication or evenshots.
At this time, the last thing that yourdaughter needs is more pressure. Eventhough you are just enquiring to make surethat she is fine and is receiving the correcttreatment and is in the best hands, still shemay see this as adding more pressure toher. The simple fact that she has to sharethis information with another person maybe too much for her.
A couple undergoing treatment areconstantly involved in the process offertility treatment and sometimes need tounwind and find a safe place where theycannot think about it for a while. Yourdaughter may see her interaction with herfamily as such a place and when she isquestioned about her infertility that safeplace is taken away from her.
More on this next week.
The Puah Institute for Fertility andGynecology in Accordance with Halacha isbased in Jerusalem and helps couples fromall over the world who are experiencingfertility problems. Puah offers freecounseling in five languages, halachicsupervision and educational programs.Puah has offices in New York, Los Angelesand Paris. To contact the Puah Instituteplease call 026515050 in Israel or7183360603. Visit our website atwww.puah.org.il
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[9] TT's newest (once in a while) column...
Things that should havebeen in last week's TT
Not only did we read Parshat Matotthis past Shabbat, but at Mincha, weread the first part of Parshat Mas'ei.(Some read more than others, sincesome read through all of the travels,while others stop much sooner.)
Mas'ei is a rare Shabbat Mincha reading(20.5% of the time in Eretz Yisrael; only10.5% of the time in Chutz LaAretz)since it is combined with Matot moreoften than any of the other sedrapairsthat are sometimes combined.
Is there a rarer Shabbat Mincha reading?Depends where you are when you askthe question. Outside of Israel, theanswer is technically YES, since B'reishitis NEVER read at Mincha on Shabbat.(On the Shabbat before B'reishit, V'zotHaB'racha will be read since SimchatTorah will come before ShabbatB'reishit and V'zot HaB'racha is the next"Parshat HaShavua".
In Israel, on the other hand, whenSimchat Torah is on Shabbat (which itcannot be in Chutz LaAretz), we readB'reishit at Mincha on Simchat Torah.This occurs 28.5% of the time, makingB'reishit more common than Mas'ei.
Next in line for Israel and abroad(equally) is the only Shabbat Minchareading that is not from the beginningof a sedra Yom Kippur that falls onShabbat. This happens 32% of the time,so Mas'ei still holds the worldwiderecord and B'reishit (with an asterisk)holds the record for Chutz LaAretz for
the least common Shabbat MinchaTorah reading.
As long as we're on the subject, thereare some Shabbat Mincha readings thathappen more than once a year. We'llhave stats IY"H on this, some othertime.
MORE...
For a new column, we're certainlymaking a splash.
Did anyone notice that Shabbat wasover in Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, BeitShemesh, Be'er Sheva, and Giv'at Ze'evat 8:21pm this past Shabbat the sameas the TT issue number. 821?
It has happened before: Back in 5766,Parshat Ki Tavo (TT #731), Shabbatwas out in Beit Shemesh, Modiin, GinotShomron, and Kiryat Arba at 7:31pm.
Previously, back in TT 607, Mishpatimof 5764, Shabbat was out in several ofour locations at 6:07pm.
We're checking for other "matches",for candle lighting as well. We'll let youknow. Cont. box at bottom to the left.
[10]
by Rakel BerenbaumFEEDback to berenbau@actcom.net.il
A FREE MOUTHWe find ourselves in the last portion ofthe book of BAMIDBAR Numbers.The portion begins with Moshe listing
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the journeys taken by BNEI YISRAELfrom the Exodus from Egypt until theyreach the West Plains of Moav – 42stages in all. Besides being a historyand geography lesson, what is theeternal message of all these verses (atotal of 48)? Couldn't the Torah justhave recounted to us that Israeltraveled through the desert andreached the plains of Moav. Why dowe need to know all the stagesinvolved?Rashi states that the list here is like aking whose son was ill and he took himto a far away place to cure him. Whenthey finally returned home, the fatherbegan to list all the stages involved inhis cure. It's a way of taking account ofwhere they had been and what theyhad accomplished. The list in thisweek's portion is to record the placeswhere the children of Israel angeredHashem and where they receivedmoral lessons from Hashem (theircure) in how to improve their ways.Let us look at one of these verses indepth and see what lesson we canextrapolate from it that can help us inour moral improvement today.Verse (33:7) states, “They left Eitamand returned to Freedom Valley – PIHACHIROT. The Otzer Chayim explains that PI HACHIROT was a type ofidolatry that allowed total freedom ofthe mouth PImouth , CHIROT Freedom. People were allowed to saywhatever they felt like, includingslander, insults and swears. Nowadayswe might not have a religion like thisbut there are defintely people who feelthat in order to be true to themselvesthey must say anything that comes totheir mind. They are blunt and tactlesswhen speaking to others. They only
think of themselves and are obliviousto the pain and suffering they cause bytheir verbal abuse. (Pliskin)
Let us take this time of the ThreeWeeks, and learn from these versesand try to cure this trait however itapplies to us. This is part of our journey– MASA. Let us make sure that whatcomes out of our mouths are wordsthat bring people closer together ratherthen distancing one from the other.
MELT IN YOUR MOUTHSUGAR COOKIES
1 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise(it comes out best with this brand)1 cup white sugar1 tsp. vanilla2 cups flour½ tsp. baking soda½ tsp. salt
Mix Mayonnaise and sugar. Addremaining ingredients. Roll into ballsand press down. Bake 8 minutes at350°F (175°C). You can decorate withcolor sprinkles if you like.
[11] EcoRabbiExcerpts from a weekly blog by YaakovReichert, drawing lessons in ecologyfrom Parshat HaShavua
What kind of mark are you leaving?As I was growing up, whenever wewould go to a park or on a camping trip,my parents would instill in me the valueof leaving the area where we had justbeen cleaner than how we had found it...This idea is applicable not only to actualphysical places, but to people and ideas
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as well.
In Parshat Mas'ei, the Torah describes thetravel route of Bnei Yisrael through thedesert... Why does the Torah have to listevery single place where they camped?
We have already learned from thebeginning of Vayeitzei that when arighteous person (Yaakov) comes to, oreven leaves a place, he leaves a mark...So too for the many places where theIsraelites camped...
We should always be aware of oursurroundings and how we affect them.Every place we go, we each leave a mark.The question is what kind of mark do weleave? Do we mess things up or are weleaving every place a little bit cleaner, alittle bit better, because we were there?
[12] Pre9 days reviewBecause of the restrictions of launderingclothes during the Nine Days, and theadditional restriction of wearing freshlylaundered clothes, it is a good idea toprepare for the Nine Days before RoshChodesh by taking several clean shirts, etc.and wearing them each for a brief period oftime. This way, they are not consideredfreshly laundered and may be worn duringthe Nine Days. (For Shabbat during the NineDays one may wear fresh clothes withoutdefreshening them.) Underwear isconsidered a hygienic necessity and not aluxury and therefore may be worn withoutthe "pre9 days processing" of outer clothes.So too, if one runs out of clean underwearduring the Nine Days, he may wash them inprivate.
Most important... is mourning thedestruction of the Beit HaMikdash and theother tragedies associated with this time ofthe year. Details of halacha and custom areimportant, but hollow without the feeling
and thought that is the order of the day.
This Shabbat Rosh Chodesh is not treatedany differently because it is part of the NineDays. Next week's TT will IY"H have areview for Shabbat Chazon which is Erev9Av, and Tish'a b'Av itself.
[13] Divrei MenachemLife is a journey that encompasses a number
of different places of sojourn. Some domainsinherently belong to us; some are theproperty of others; and some are yetacquired from others. Some stops on theway are relatively permanent; at others wespend a transient moment or two in thestream of life's surge. But when the Torahtells us that, "You shall possess the Land andyou shall settle in it" (B'midbar 33:53), weclearly understand that our dwelling in EretzYisra'el should be more than a passingphase.
For Rashi, this sentence is more in the natureof a warning: If you do not dispossess thelocal inhabitants, you will not be able topossess the Land and remain there. ForRamban, however, the term, "You shallsettle", is a positive commandment to theJew to inhabit Eretz Yisra'el. Either way,what comes into question is the nature of ourrelationship with our indigenous neighbors.
The Torah indicates that the Canaanitepresence in the Land has a corrosive effectincompatible with the mission of the Jewishpeople. Moreover, Rashbam explains thatfailure to drive out the local inhabitantscauses the Jewish population in the Land tosuffer the fate intended for the heathens. So,as Tish'a b'Av approaches, we might want toconsider how the free thinking, hedonisticways of pervading cultures undermine us both in times past, and in our days in oursocalled enlightened society.
Shabbat Shalom, Menachem Persoff
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Towards Better Daveningand Torah Reading...No column this week
So too, no "Animal" and no Pirkei Avot.
The Pyramids, the many arrows,and the outline of Israel, ofcourse, stand for the travels ofthe people from the Exodus toEretz Yisrael.
The compass at the top of theParshaPix represents thedescription of the boundaries ofEretz Yisrael, with the pasuktaking us through the compasspoints.
The map in the upperright witha big 3 on each side of theJordan River refers to the Citiesof Refuge to be designated inEretz Yisrael.
The road sign to Hebron is one ofthe requirements for Cities ofRefuge (which Hevron is one of).Roads to them must bewellmarked to facilitate theescape to them by one whocommitted a homicide, regardless of the outcome of his trial.
Elsie the Cow of Borden's famehas two horns. They stand forthe rare (this once only)occurrence of the TROP calledKARNEI PARA.
Lowerright is the logo ofYOTVATA
the choir is for MAKHEILATA
the Lulav for SUKKOT
and the dreidel is forCHASHMONA all names ofplaces of encampment.
There is a ChatanKallah,multiplied by 5, representing thedaughters of Tz'lofchad whomarry distant cousins to solvethe old “land going from onetribe to another tribe” problem.
There are three visual TTriddlesremaining. One (along the leftside of the PP is easy, if you canmake out what is pictured. Theother two are more challenging.The one to the right of Elsie(who's been around since 1930,believe it or not) is a standalonechallenge that will come with itsown CD prize.
Under the number/letter 2K(remember the panic?) isTROPnote called YERECH BENYOMO. It is as unique to theChumash as the KARNEI PARA(see above) and is under theword ALPAYIM, meaning 2000, asdoes 2K mean 2000.
On the left side of the PP were 12springs, as in the 12 springs and70 date palms in EILIM, asdescribed in B'midbar 33:9.Obviously, the place was anoasis.
The circle (yellow) with threeblack triangles is the symbol for afallout shelter, a MIKLAT. With anear attached to it, we has an IRMIKLAT.
To the right of Elsie (who hasbeen around since 1930, by the
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way), is nice graphic made up oftwo Ms on each side of a square,representing the cities of theLeviyim which had an area on allsides of the city of 2000 amot, sothe Leviyim would have place tohave fields and vineyards. (M isthe Roman numeral for 1000.)
The monogrammed pomegranate(try saying that aloud a fewtimes) belongs to someonenamed Peretz it is RIMONPERETZ, one of the encampments.
A couple of Unexplaineds whichare visual TTriddles.
The bullet for these explanationsis not a TTriddle too easy (ifyou can make it out). It is asuitcase and perhaps a passport,standing for the travelsrecounted at the beginning of thesedra.
TTRIDDLES... are Torah Tidbitsstyleriddles on Parshat HaShavua (sometimes on thecalendar). They are found in the hardcopy ofTT scattered throughout, usually at the bottomof different columns. In the electronic versionsof TT, they are found all together at the end ofthe ParshaPixTTriddles section. The bestsolution set submitted each week (there isn'talways a best) wins a double prize a CD fromNoam Productions and/or a gift (game, puzzle,book, etc.) from Big Deal.
TTriddles are scattered through the hard copy ofTorah Tidbits and are listed in the email andweb versions. They are in the order in whichthey are found in the hard copy, but notnecessarily in the order in which they wereoriginally conceived. In the wild, they aresometimes overlooked. If you are interested, gopage by page and keep your eyes peeled.
[1] YUD & MAPIK change wo into her
Start with the word for woman, ISHA, ALEFSHINHEI. Add a YUD between the ALEF and the SHIN andput a MAPIK in the HEI. The word becomes ISHAH,with a sounded HEI at the end of the word. It nowmeans her husband (lit. her man). So the YUD andthe MAPIK change the wo of woman into the her ofher man. The word ISHAH occurs 39 times inTanach, 16 of which are in the Torah, 12 of whichare in Bamidbar, 9 of which are in the first aliya ofParshat Matot. When reading the Torah, one mustbe careful to aspirate the MAPIK HEIs and not tosound all the other final HEIs of words. Particularcare must be exercised when the meaning of theword changes depending upon whether the HEI issounded or not. ISHA is a woman. ISHAH means herhusband. It makes a difference.
[2] we 10 tribes and descendants of 2 of them
The first word of the TTriddle is the answer: "WE".But not the usual ANACHNU (121 times in Tanach)or the Mishnaic Hebrew equivalent ANU (56 times inMishna ANACHMU shows up only twice in Mishna).Here we are referring to the unusual word NACHNU,which also means "we". It occurs only three times inTanach and this TTriddle relates to the twooccurrences in the Torah. The first time we findNACHMU, it was said by Yosef's 10 brothers. Thesecond time, in Parshat Matot, it is used by thedescendants of two of those brothers, namely therepresentatives of Reuven and Gad. The other timeit occurs, by the way, is in Megilat Eicha.
[3] Slight variation on Yehoshua b. P’rachya’steaching
In the first chapter of Avot coincidentally, theperek of last Shabbat we find the teachings ofseveral early Tana'im, among them, Yehoshua benP'rachya. He said (among other things) ASEI L'CHARAV UKNEI L'CHA CHAVEIR... Provide (make for)yourself a Rav (a teacher) and acquire a friend(maybe a learning partner). The Torah introducesthe episode of the Two and a Half Tribes in ParshatMatot by telling us that they had many flocks ofanimals. It uses these words: UMIKNEH RAV.Sounds like a variation of Yehoshua b. P'rachya's
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teaching. At least if you have a TTriddleear.
[4] HH’s nightmare: teaching LD to read thebeginning of Matot
As we've mentioned and discussed both last weekand this week about the MAPIKHEIs in the firstportion of Parshat Matot, know also that we continually attempt to TTriddlize it in different ways.This time, we refer to HH, Henry Higgins, and to LD,Liza Dolittle, of My Fair Lady fame. Cockney Lizahad the toughest time learning to say Henry Higginsrather than 'enry 'iggins. That difficulty translatesfor a Torah reader to the MAPIKHEI issue. As hardas it was to get her to say the rain in Spain linecorrectly, the first aliya of Matot would have beenmuch more difficult.
[5] Her daughters more than live in the burbs
There are plenty of people whose daughters live inthe burbs (a.k.a. suburbs). But according to the lastpasuk of Matot and the commentaries who explainit, NOVACH conquered K'NAT V'ET B'NOTEHA,K'NAT and her "daughters". This is a figurative termfor the outlying villages, or suburbs, as we wouldcall them. So K'NAT's daughters more than live inthe burbs thay ARE the burbs.
[6] The MazalPic
As you know (or not), the Word of the Monthfeature on page 23, is accompanied by a graphicrepresenting the Mazal or Zodiac symbol of themonth. We change the MazalPic on the Shabbat thatwe bench the coming month. The Mazal of Av is theLion, HaAryei. Leo. In recent years, we switchedfrom actual symbols for the Mazal to TTriddlesymbols, based on a whimsical representation orsome play on words. For Av, we've used thecartoon character Snagglepuss, Burt Lahr whoplayed the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz, PaulNewman dressed for his role as ARI (lion) benCanaan in Exodus. This time around, we went withan obscure unit of acceleration known as the leo,which is equal to an acceleration of 10 meters persecond per second. The official unit of accelerationis m/s² (meters per second per second). Interest
ingly, another unit is the gal, which is equal to 1cmper second per second. It follows that 1 leo = 1000gal. So what's interesting? Both units are named forGalileo Galilei (no relationship that we know of toRabbi Yosi HaGalili). A leo is close to theacceleration on Earth due to gravity, which is 32.2feet per second per second, or 9.81m/s, or 981gals or .981 leos. And now you know.
[7] ParshaPix Unexplaineds
There are three unexplained images in theParshaPix. The easy one is an American quarter.George Washington is still on the obverse, but thebald eagle that was so familiar on the reverse(19321998) has been replaced by Statehooddesigns of the 50 states of the US. For ourpurpose, the quarter represents REVA (whichmeans quarter in Hebrew) who was one of theMidianite kings mentioned as casualties of the warrecorded in Parshat Matot.
The hardtomakeout metal object (and even if ithad been larger and clearer, it still would not berecognizable) is known as a TIGRESS, forTRIUMFISAC GammaRay Escape SuppressedSpectrometer, a device used to produce and studyhighenergy radioactive beams (see further).
Then we come to the bottom part of a cancontaining a Tibet Almond Stick, which isused to "wipe out furniture scratches quickasawink". Almond Stick, MAKEIL SHAKEDis mentioned in the haftara of Parshat Matot.
[8] The challenge in the animal column
Last week's MA RABU MAASECHA HASHEM columnwas about tigers. It was titled TIGRESS on purpose.TTreaders were asked why we had chosen thatanimal and that title. The answer is found amongthe names of the cities in the territory that was tobe taken over by Reuven, Gad, and half of Menashe.Specifically, NIMRA or BEITNIMRA was in theterritory of Gad, thought to be about 11 miles eastof Yericho.NIMRA and NAMERA (tigress) are spelledthe same way.
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[8] The bullet of the ParshaPix explanations
Reference pp. 16,37. It looks like an equal sign,which is how it was made. But it really wasn't anequal sign. It was the two upper horizontal lines ofthe letter E. Take away the vertical line and thebottom horizontal line from the E and you are leftwith an equal sign. And what letter have you takenaway from the E? The letter L. And is E aconsonant? No, it's a vowel. And if you take the elaway from vowel, you get VOW, the first topic ofMatot and a major theme of the sedra in light of theopening portion and of the vows that the two and ahalf tribes made to Gd and their fellow Israelites.
[9] And, finally (maybe) the footers of the PDF file
This did not appear in the hard copy of TT, but itwas the footer of each page in the PDF file whichmany people download from the website or get tofrom the link in our email. The figure on the right isa jet plane, MATOS in Hebrew, a sound alike for theAshkenazic pronunciation of the name of the sedra.And on the left is a pot, part ofYirmiyahu's vision in thehaftara.
This week's TTriddles:[1] SH'MA is our refuge
[2] It’s not referring to the Gobi
[3] Who takes the bets when the snakeraces the lion cub?
[4] Initially, a year long Chinese apple
[5] First appearance: Lag BaOmer, where?
[6] Chinuch’s Calendar is Ramban’s what?
[7] Where they camped just because
[8] What should they serve as refreshmentsin the Dolphin Theater in Aukland,NZ?
Plus the Unexplaineds from the ParshaPix
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