Thursday, May 17, 2012

Quotes that Matter- "You shall walk in My statutes"

This weeks parsha is parshat Behar-Bechukosai
"You shall walk in My statutes" (Lev. 26:3).
 Why does the verse say "walk?"
To show us that no matter where we are or what we are doing we should affiliate our everyday life with Torah. When we are in the car driving, put a lecture on or if you’re on the train or bus read something spiritual. Keep yourself busy! The Ramchal writes in Messilat Yeaharim that when you’re not busy with Torah you are giving the yetzer Hara- evil inclination- an opening to attack. Rather, than letting the evil inclination within conquer, you should try and find hashgacha pratit- Hashem’s Divine assistance- in your day. Stop and think of all the wonderful things Hashem does for you and dwell on how incredible it all truly is. Additionally, stop and analyze yourself spiritually. Think about where you are spiritually and how you can work to increase your levels of connectiveness to Hashem. Make sure that the yetzer Hara doesn't keep you busy because then you won't have time to connect with Hashem. The yetzer Hara is a dangerous illness and you need to know how to cure it. The antidote is Torah!! Torah will give you all the tools you need to stay strong and close to Hashem.

Shabbat Shalom
-Esther Shamayev

Parshas Behar: CAN I GET A B FOR BITACHON?!

This week’s parsha, Behar, starts with discussing the Sh’mitta, the sabbatical year, where on the seventh year, farmers must let their land rest. Every seventh year, the Sanhedrin, Jewish court, must call out the year of the Sh’mitta. The parsha continues to dictate the several laws pertaining to following the Sh’mitta:
1.    All private ownership of produce is nullified.  With that said, all the produce that grows during that year, naturally, is free for all animals and poor people to take. Moreover, the landowner may also take any produces that yields from his land, but he may only take the amount that he will eat on that day.
2.    All sowing, planting, cutting, and reaping are prohibited. However, one may minimally tend to his crops so that they don’t die.
3.    All the produce produced during the Sh’mitta year contain an essence of kedusha- holiness- to it. So to, because of it’s kedusha, the produce must be treated in an elevated matter. (For example, it is a transgression to throw away any edible part of the produce in the ordinary trash; it must have a separate trash).
4.    Additionally, because of the kedusha the produce yields, the produce may not be sold commercially.
Hashem commands that the Jewish people abide by the laws of Sh’mitta. Hashem tells us that if we abide by the laws, we will be sustained and Hashem will bestow a blessing upon the Jewish people during the years of Sh’mitta and thereafter.  When a person disregards the laws of Sh’mitta, thinking that he needs to work the extra year to make a livelihood, essentially he is lacking bitachon- trust- in Hashem. Similarly, for a Jew to work on Shabbot, he is lacking faith that Hashem will provide him with all his needs during the rest of the week.

As Yirmeyahu exclaimed, “Thus says Hashem, ‘Cursed be the man who trusts in man and attributes his success to flesh,’ by plowing and harvesting in sh’mitta, ‘ and whose heart departs from Hashem’- Who promised to bestow His blessing upon the produce of the sixth year so that it should suffice for the coming years” (Rashi, Yirmeyahu 17:5).

From this it is clear to see how observing Sh’mitta, not only humbles us to recognize Hashem’s Divine assistance in our lives each and everyday, but more so that during the seventh year, the farmer is forced to turn to Hashem and trust that He will provide him with all that he needs for that entire year and on. Moreover, the Sh’mitta law is one of the hardest Torah commands to fulfill. The farmer must sit and watch his land waste away for an entire year! Nevertheless, he follows this command with joy and that is what a true kiddish Hashem is!

As Jews, we must all recognize that we are not self-reliant.  Just because one sows that land does not mean that it will grow, but rather, it is up to Hashem’s will to enable things to grow or not. (Hashem is in control of the fertility of the earth, regarding snow, rain, climate, etc. Hashem can bring insects, wild beasts, etc. to destroy one’s harvest). Moreover, this is a lesson for us all. Although many of us work equally as hard, our efforts may not be as equally successful. Why you may ask? Unfortunately, our finite brains cannot understand the ways of Hashem, but rather we must come to understand that Hashem is in charge of everything, not us. We cannot assume that our efforts will definitely produce our livelihood, but rather, we must place our trust in Hashem, that He is the one who determines if our efforts will yield successful results.

Torah for your Table!Obey MY COMMAND or exile waits!


The parsha continues to discuss what will happen if the Jewish people do not follow the Sh’mitta laws. Hashem says,

“I commanded you to work six years and allow the Land to rest in the seventh, but you deprived it of its due rest. You will therefore be exiled, and it will be compensated for all the years of rest which you deprived it” (Vayikra 26:43).

When the Jewish people violate the Sh’mitta, Hashem subjects them to exile. Why does Hashem punish the Jews with such an extreme measure? By exiling the Jewish people, Hashem subjects the Jews to a foreign land where they are strangers. The hardships of being a foreigner will then instigate emotions in the Jews to feel utmost dependency and helplessness upon Hashem, where they can thereby rekindle their relationship with Hashem.

All that Hashem wants is a constant relationship with His Jewish people, when we abandon Hashem, He unfortunately has to punish us so that we wake up and recognize that we need to straighten ourselves up and get back onto the path of following Hashem’s Torah.

Quotes that matter- Helping the poor



“Fortunate is the lot of one who wisely helps the poor”  (Tehillim 41:2)

The parsha continues to discuss the Torah obligation to put a needy Jew back on his feet. The Torah says,

“And if your brother becomes poor and his means fail him with you, you shall support him, even if he be a convert or a gair toshav (a non-Jew who follows the seven Noachide laws) so that he may live with you” (Vayikra 25:35).

In other words, it is clear to see how this verse is teaching us that we are obligated to help those in financial need, by means of giving or loaning the person in need with money (without interest) so that he may conduct business and sustain himself.  As soon as one begins to tumble, we must lift him up.

Moreover, the Torah continues to teach us that when we give charity, ‘the pauper gives his benefactor more than the benefactor gives the pauper.’  When one gives charity, one is gaining spiritual merits that by far surpass the material amount he has given.

Hashem created this world so that there should always be those who are needy. Without those people, what initiative would others have to give? For our own lives, we should all look to give to those in need, but we should give to them in simcha-joy. We should recognize that Hashem has given us what we have in order for us to develop ourselves as individuals and learn to have giving hearts.

7 steps down hill- Bechukosai


The parsha continues discussing how a Jew pitfalls and turns away from Hashem. There are seven steps involved, which may occur over generations and from external influences:
1.    From neglecting Torah study, he no longer has the information to apply the Jewish ideology to his life; hence he begins his journey straying from the path.
2.    Without diligently studying the Torah, he does not have the proper information to observe the mitzvot- commandments- properly, hence, he no longer observes Hashem’s beautiful commandments.
3.    Over time, without the proper academic background, he will come to despise other observant Jews. By observing their commitment to the Torah, feelings of unrest overwhelm him and in order to appease his psychological unrest, he tells himself, “they are old school, where I am freeing myself from a life of restrictions, because I don’t need them.”
4.    Over time, he begins to despise Torah scholars and leaders, saying, “they are brainwashing everyone into believing this nonsense.”
5.    Now that he has completely disillusioned himself about the what the religion stands for (with his lack of knowledge of the laws, leaders, etc.) he starts to preach to others about how ignorant they are for upholding the Torah way of life.
6.    After alienating Judaism, he starts to deny the idea that G-d gave over the mitzvot to the Jewish people.
7.    Lastly, he completely comes to deny G-d’s existence, which causes him to sever his ties with Judaism completely.
More than anything, the Jewish people are enduring a spiritual genocide. Throughout the generations, people no longer devote time to studying Torah, and then they make many accusations against the divinity of the Torah. The madness must stop. Those of us who are committed to living a Jewish life must adhere to our observance and commitment, to prove to the rest of the Jewish nation that we are in fact  proud educated observers, who don’t believe blindly. If we can confidently practice and have faith, we can spur the generations after us to fight for the truth of the Torah with the same conviction we hold onto every so strongly.


Parshas Bechukosai- Blessings that Hashem promises!


This week’s double parsha begins with Hashem promising the Jewish people that He will bless them if they study and fulfill the Torah. By studying and observing the Torah, Hashem promises the Jewish people the following:

1.    Fruit will be produced during the proper times of the year. Rain is the determining factor of how fruitful the crops will be in a given year, so to, if the Jews follow Hashem’s Torah, Hashem declared that He would give them rainfall ‘in it’s proper time.’ What does this mean in it’s proper time? The rainfall will occur in the fall and in the spring, so that the spring rain will not make the fruits soggy and the fall rain will not destroy houses. Moreover, Hashem will bring rain at times where it will inconvenience people the least (i.e typically when people are in doors more often).
2.    The soil and trees will be as productive as they were in Adam’s time. When the Jews follow Hashem’s commandments, they will be blessed with a fertile earth.  Trees will bear fruit the very same day they were planted. Moreover, every single type of tree will produce some type of edible produce, and not only will the fruit be edible, but so will the bark. Additionally, mountains will drip fruit juice and the soil will produce delicious cake. Initially, when Hashem created the earth, He created it to produce rapidly; however, after Adam’s sin, Hashem punished the earth and cursed people with having to work the land using all their time and energy, “with the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread.” Fortunately for us, through committing ourselves to Hashem’s Torah, the curse will one day be lifted and we will no longer have to toil as we have, our days will thereby be focused on serving Hashem.
3.    Hashem will make us satisfied with little. Although the output of the harvest will exponentially increase, after following Hashem’s Torah and receiving His blessings, He will continue to bless us that in the future we will be satisfied with eating very little. Because eating takes up much of our precious time and is an extremely physical act, in the future,  Hashem will diminish the amount that we eat so that we can focus on our spiritual development and to connecting with Him.
4.    Hashem will bless Israel with peace. No matter how much material and spiritual elevation one has, it amounts to nothing unless there is peace in the land. Not only will there be no wars, but there will be peace amongst all the wild beasts and humans, as it was during Adam’s time.
5.    Hashem will bless Bnai Israel with miraculous victories. If Bnai Israel shall pursue their enemies, their enemies will fall by sword and Bnai Israel will not need a big army. The spiritual powers that we will possess will immeasurably crush any enemy armies.
6.    Hashem will bless the Jewish families, so that their children will resemble their parents morally and spiritually.
7.   Hashem will bless the harvest, causing it to improve with age.
8.    Hashem Shechina-Hashem’s presence- will dwell amongst our midst. In other words, this is Hashem’s final spiritual blessing to the Jewish people, relying to us that we will never be exiled, and Hashem will ‘walk amongst us,’ as He did with Adam in the Gan Adan.