Moshe’s Death

The main portion of this week's parsha deals with Moshe and Aaron's death.

With Miriam gone, the Well of Miriam had ceased to flow. Because of that, Bnai Israel went to Moshe to complain about their thirst. Although Moshe and Aaron were sitting shiva- seven day mourning period- for Miriam, Moshe and Aaron fell to the ground in prayer. Hashem immediately came to answer Moshe and Aaron’s prayers and commanded Moshe to find the Well of Miriam and command it to give forth water.  Hashem wanted Moshe to congregate in front of the tzaddikim and teach them a passage of Torah while they were witnessing this miracle. From this we can see the merit that is brought forth from communal studying of Torah.  Moreover, Moshe wanted the entire nation to see Hashem’s miracle, so to, he assembled everybody to the rock to witness the miracle. The air ravs- new Egyptian converts- started to scoff about what Moshe was doing, they wanted to see if Moshe would perform a real miracle or if he was doing ‘magic tricks,’ because as a shepherd he knew which rocks held the most moisture.

The air ravs instigated and said, “Unless you give us water from our choice, we don’t want any at all!” Moshe was completely distressed at this point. His mission was to bring the nation to the rock and teach them Torah to show them that the power of their learning would create a miracle, instead he faced a crowd of scoffers who were questioning the validity of this miracle altogether.

Because of this madness and mockery by the air ravs, Moshe sensed the shechina- Hashem’s presence- was gone; therefore, no miracle would occur. Moreover, the atmosphere was not appropriate for Torah learning. The people were rebelling against their rebbe, how was he supposed to teach them? Moreover, which rock was he to choose? He did not want to transgress Hashem’s commandment and chose another rock.

Furthermore, Moshe decided to reprimand the people for going against their rebbe. He said sternly, “hear now you rebels, you fools! You think your understanding is greater than your rebbes’?” From the beginning of Moshe’s leadership career, Hashem had told him never to get angry with the Jews. No matter how much they provoked him, he was never to give into his anger and rebuke the people. Because of the anger he displayed, Hashem punished him with death. Moshe continued to carry out Hashem’s command to bring forth water. When Moshe commanded the rock to produce water, nothing happened, so Moshe hit the rock and blood protruded instead of water.

Some commentators state that because Moshe didn’t address the people kindly, he was sentenced to death to atone for his sin (Aaron was punished for sitting silently). What was the sense of these harsh punishments? Because Moshe addressed the people as ‘rebels and fools,’ such a subtle remark, Hashem punishes him with death? And Aaron is punished with death for sitting silently? What is going on here?! It is beyond our comprehension as to why both Moshe and Aaron are sentenced to death, many commentators try to understand this; however, there is no way to understand the true essence behind it. Rather, what we can learn is that since these men were so holy, they were punished more harshly, even for their tiny misdemeanors.  The closer someone is to Hashem, the less he is spared for blame because Hashem has higher expectations of such a person.  These two tzaddikim devoted every breath of air to Hashem, so to, their punishment was proportionate to their closeness to Hashem. Additionally, we cannot ever judge Moshe and Aaron for what happened, such righteous men are on a level far beyond our understanding. Even though Moshe and Aaron sinned, they were still beloved in Hashem’s eyes.

Many of us commit acts that are much more worse than using harsh words, and we are not punished as harshly, for the obvious reason, we are not tzaddikim. This should push us to set the standard higher for ourselves and our behavior. We should only hope that one day we can attain even a grain of righteousness comparable to that of Moshe and Aaron so that Hashem can look at our behavior and have higher expectations of us.

Parshas Chukas- Chokim

Parshas Chukas

This week’s parsha commences with the discussion of the many different types of laws in Judaism. The mitzvot are generally divided into the following three categories:

1.    Testimonies- Adiot- these mitzvot serve as a testimony to our belief in Hashem. (For example, by observing Shabbot, that is our testimony that we believe that Hashem created the world in six days and on the seventh day, He rested. Additionally, by observing the yomim tovim- holidays- that is our testimony that Hashem rescued the Jewish people from Egypt.  Moreover, the mitzvah of tefillin and tzitzis are a testimony that we believe in Hashem’s rulership).
2.    Civil Laws- Mishpatim- these mitzvot were Divinely created to assure civility and safety for the survival of humanity. (For example: laws against theft, murder, etc.).
3.    Divine Ordinances- Chokim- are mitzvot that were Divinely created; however, their meaning is logically incomprehensible. There are four main chokim that the Midrash discusses:
a.    Yibum- If a man loses his brother he is forbidden to marry his dead brother’s wife if she has children; however, if she has no children, it is a mitzvah to marry her.
b.    Shaatnez- We are prohibited against wearing a garment that has both wool and linen together. However, if a person has a linen garment attached to wool tzitzis with a techalis thread (blue string which we no longer have today) a person is permitted to wear that garment.
c.    Sa’ir a Azazel- The he-goat offering to Azazel is sent to death during the Yom Kippur services in order to act as an atonement for Bnai Israel’s sins; however, the person who performs the sacrifice becomes impure.
d.    Para Aduma- the red heifer is burned and its ashes are sprinkled onto a Jew who is considered ritually impure, in order to purify him; however, any person who is involves with preparation of the ashes becomes impure.          
Because all these chokim defy our logical rational and they are beyond our human intellect, the Torah states, “These are the chokim of the Torah” (19:2), nevertheless we must accept them as Divinely given. Chokim were not given to us to be understood, they are beyond human comprehension.  Moreover, many chokim seem contradictory (as seen from the above examples). Nevertheless, the Jewish people have been steadfast in observing these incomprehensible chokim for thousands of years. Moreover, those who follow the chokim, despite failure to understand them see the utter brilliance in the Creators mysterious ways.

King Shlomo, the wisest man of all time, spent a great deal of time trying to make some sense of the chokim. Although he possessed more knowledge of the Torah than even Moshe Rabbenu, even he could not make sense of some of the chokim, such as Para Aduma- the red heifer. King Shlomo said, “I studied it and toiled to understand it, but it is far beyond my grasp.”

Furthermore, if a man like King Shlomo whose Torah wisdom surpassed that of Moshe, who wrote three holy books with ruach hakodesh- Divine inspiration-(Mishlai, Kohelet, and Shir Ha Shirim), who was able to illustrate the Torah through 3000 parables,  who was competent in every science, who surpassed Adam’s knowledge of animals, exceeded Avraham’s astrological knowledge, and outshone Yosef’s statesmanship, was incapable of comprehending many chokim, but nevertheless followed them with his entire heart, what gives us the right to deny their validity?

How are we expected to understand the mysteries of the Creator of the Universe? Moreover, how improper of us to even question the logical validity of Hashem’s ordinances. Hashem created us all with a logical and rational mind; anything that questions our logic therefore seems incorrect. However, we must constantly remind ourselves that Hashem is outside the realm of logical and rational reasoning, which we are imprisoned by. Our mission in life is to rise above our logical intellect and see how there is utter Divinity in that which is beyond logic. Through that, we can then full heartedly commit to following Hashem’s chokim and accept the fact that indeed our knowledge can never reach that of our Great King. Just as King Shlomo firmly accepted the Divinity and majesty of the chokim, this should push us to see how dynamic Hashem’s ordinances truly are.

Trying to Understand the Red Heifer

The parsha discusses the chok- law beyond intellectual comprehension- Para Aduma. In order to purify oneself from being in contact with a dead corpse, a person must be sprinkled with the ashes of the red heifer; however, the person who conducts the sacrificial ceremony of slaughtering and burning the heifer is considered ritually impure, what is the sense of this?

On a basic level, the only way we can come to understand this contraction is to discuss one of the philosophical mysteries of the world in trying to understand the essence of dualities—in other words, how could two opposite forces co-exist? For example, how could good and evil co-exist? How can there be happiness, tragedy, evil, etc. all simultaneously? Why do the righteous suffer? Why do the wicked prosper? These are all questions that even the greatest prophets of all times pondered profusely.

Other nations of the world understand this duality by claiming there is one deity for goodness, and one for evil. However, Jews obviously find this argument absurd, that is claiming that there is not One infinite power. However, the Torah teaches us otherwise. We learn from the Torah that there is One Source, where all goodness emanates from; good and seemingly evil are rooted in goodness. Additionally, because of our obvious intellectual limitations, we cannot fully comprehend the true essence of para aduma. By seeing where our limitations lie, this can allow us to shed light and transcend to a plain where contradictions no longer exist, but rather, we see clearly that Hashem’s Divine plan is for our ultimate benefit.

By adopting this emunah- commitment- in Hashem’s rulership of the world, and accepting that the many contradictions we face in our own lives are from Hashem, we are testifying to Hashem that we are completly committed to Him and His rulership, in the places we understand, but most importantly, in the places we don’t.

The Great Merit of Miriam- ‘Quotes that matter”

“The World stands on three things, Torah, Avodah (service), and G'meelut Chasadim (acts of kindness). Pirke Avot 1:2

Parshas Chukas continues with the discussion of Miriam’s death. In the fortieth year in the desert, Bnai Israel endured a national tragedy, Miriam passed away at the age of one hundred and twenty five.  Just as Moshe had been a spiritual leader for the men of Bnai Israel, Miriam was his feminine counterpart. She guided the women and was one of the seven prophetesses.  The Torah positions Miriam’s death and the laws of the para aduma together to portray that the death of a tzaddik atones for the sins of the nation, just as the para aduma is an atonement for those who are impure.

Moreover, in Miriam’s merit, Hashem provided Bnai Israel with the Well of Miriam, which sustained Bnai Israel for forty years in the desert. When she died, the well stopped flowing, because Hashem wanted the nation to recognize that the well had been supplied to the people on behalf of her merit and good deeds.

The quote from Pirke Avot- Ethics of our Forefathers- teaches us that these three attributes, Torah, avoda, and chesed, are essential to our very existence. Miriam, who was known for her acts of kindness, devoted her life to other people. (Moshe personified Torah study, and Aaron personified Avoda- service to Hashem). As a young child she assisted her mother, who was a midwife, and brought food to the poor. Because of her continuous kindness to others, Hashem blessed Bnai Israel with water, which is vital to human physical survival. Similarly, just as water is essential to our physical survival, so to is kindness essential to our spiritual survival. Without constantly exerting ourselves to assist others, who are we? If we cannot act selflessly, what are we? We need to constantly push ourselves to commit acts of kindness. Just as Bnai Israel was blessed in Miriam’s merit, so too will our families and generations after be blessed continuously.

Parshas Korach-- Get over your Pride!

In this week’s parsha, Korach, we see how Korach desires a more prominent position within Bnai Israel. Because Korach was born in prominent family, he was Moshe’s cousin after all, he assumed that he deserved a position of royalty or priesthood. Indeed, Korach did have many superior qualities:
1.    He was a first cousin of Moshe and Aaron.
2.    He was chosen to be one the men who carry the aron.
3.    He was an extremely learned man.
4.    He had ruach hakodesh (divine inspiration), that his descendents would include prophets (i.e. Shmuel being one of them).
5.    He was the wealthiest man at the time.

In Korach’s mind, he believed that he was destined for greatness considering all his superior qualities. However, since Korach was not chosen for a high-ranking position, he was greatly dismayed and this took a toll on his pride.

Although Korach was a wise man, he lost all his wisdom by letting his pride get in the way. Korach let his desire for stature get so far that he eventually gathered 250 followers to rebel against Moshe, stating that Moshe was assigning all the high ranking roles to his brother and to his nephews. Korach even went so far and he started asserting that Moshe made up all the commandments!

From this we can see how Korach let his jealousy and pride cloud his mind and caused him to sin. Rather, he should have recognized the Hashem has endowed him with a specific potential that only he could accomplish, and actualize that potential. Instead, he looked at what he lacked, which led to his downfall and death.

This should shed light into our own lives. At times, we tend to overlook the greatness Hashem has graciously bestowed upon us. Rather, we look at what strengths others possess, thereby, we feel as though we are lacking. Essentially, we must realize that each member of Bnai Israel has a different strength and potential to fulfill. We must appreciate our unique set of strengths that were given to us in order for us to accomplish our unique mission. Rather than constantly comparing ourselves to others, we should keep in mind the greatness we have within and completely develop those qualities. Once we have accomplished that, the greatness achieved through that, will be much greater than trying to actualize someone else’s potential.

Torah for your table! Become more educated!

From rebelling against Hashem’s Torah, Korach and his followers were severely punished with pershing in Gehinnom (Jewish understanding of ‘hell’ --place of making teshuva- repenting). Because Korach claimed that it was Moshe who made up all the commandments, Moshe had pleaded with Hashem that He publically punish Korach and his followers in order to reveal to the entire nation that Korach was in fact a liar. Moshe never wishes for his people to be punished; however, he needed the entire nation to recognize that their claims against the Torah were in fact false.

From this we can see how important it is to stay committed to Judaism and accepting the Divinity of the Torah. The Divinity of the Torah is based on the fact that the entire nation of Israel was present at Mount Sinai and heard the revelation from Hashem, and Moshe was appointed as His leader. When Korach and his followers rebelled against Moshe, they were denying the Divinity of the Torah. Additionally, had Korah not been publically killed, others may have later challenged other parts of the Torah, and eventually later generations would have questioned the Torah altogether. Moshe wanted to avoid this at all costs and asked that Hashem punish these men uniquely so that the entire nation could see that in fact, Hashem is the Master of the Universe who created the Torah, not Moshe. So to, Hashem performed a miracle and had the Earth split open and Korach, Aviram, Dasan, and their entire families were suctioned into the ground below, into Gehonnim.

Moreover, rather than making outlandish assumptions that ‘Rabbi’s created this religion for the sake of controlling people’ we must recognize the Divinity of the Torah has been revealed to our ancestors many times over (in Jewish historical facts: mass revelation, Hashem’s open miracles to Bnai Israel, Korach’s open miraculous death, etc.). It is just up to us to become educated enough and see Hashem’s Divine hand in all that occurs.

Parshas Shelech Lecha- IN DEPTH

In this week’s parsha, Shelech Lecha, Bnai Israel was approaching the Land of Israel. Upon their ascent, members of Bnai Israel came to Moshe requesting for spies to investigate the Land. Bnai Israel wanted to investigate the Land in order to discern which route to take upon entering the land, and which cities they could easily conquer first.

The Cloud of Glory was directing Bnai Israel, why did they feel the need to investigate the land on their own?

Bnai Israel came up with a few excuses as to why they felt it necessary to explore the land:
1.    They said, “Hashem promised us a land of good and precious things; however, before our arrival, the Canaanites (current inhabitants) will conceal all the precious things Hashem has set for us, so it would be a good idea to send spies to see where they are hiding our precious things.”
2.    Bnai Israel even brought down a halachic proof to justify their desire to send spies into the land. They said to Moshe, “You taught us Moshe that if we are to capture idols for non-Jews, we are obligated to only destroy those that are actually being worshiped, and the Land of Canaan is land of idols, we must send in spies to know which ones we must destroy!”
3.    Furthermore, since Hashem promised to drive out the inhabitants to Canaan slowly, Bnai Israel wanted to ascertain which cities to attack first.
4.    Additionally, Bnai Israel wanted to determine the native language of the Land in order to uncover the inhabitant’s military strategies.
In actuality, Bnai Israel wanted to send spies into the Land because they had two doubts:

1.    Even though Hashem promised Bnai Israel that the Land was good, nobody had actually seen the Land and they were not convinced.
2.    Additionally, Bnai Israel only had a hand full of skilled warriors; therefore, they were worried about how to fight a war against an unknown army in an unknown terrain.
Bnai Israel’s concerns were undeniably understandable from a logically perspective; however, Hashem was extremely disappointed in the lack of emunah- faith- that Bnai Israel had in Him. Because of that, Hashem punished that generation by not allowing them in the Land (except for the Tribe of Levi and the women, they did not want to get involved with investigating the Land, for they had utter faith in Hashem’s guidance).

Moreover, despite the fact that Hashem knew the mission of the spies would fail, He nonetheless allowed them to send the spies in, for had He not they would say the following:

1.    Bnai Israel would assume the Land was not as good as Hashem had promised.

2.    Additionally, Hashem gave Bnai Israel free choice. Despite the fact that their request for the spies was improper, they could have come back and given a good report; however, they chose to come back with a negative report.

The twelve men to be chosen for the journey were worthy individuals. Although Moshe informed the Jews that Hashem permitted the spies to enter the Land, he was hoping that the permission given from Hashem would be enough for them to realize that the Land was in fact good, as Hashem had said before, and then they would reconsider the notion of entering the Land. Unfortunately, Bnai Israel did not have this realization and sent forth the twelve spies.

Moreover, after their journey in Israel, ten of the twelve spies came back with negative reports, while Yehoshua and Kalav came back with positive reports (to atone for the sin of the spies, ten men are needed to congregate and form a minyan).

From this we can see how the members of Bnai Israel were fearful upon entering the land and they did not trust what Hashem had in store for them in Israel; therefore, that generation of men was punished with being forbidden from enter the land.

Had Bnai Israel trusted in Hashem’s plan for them, and just enter the land without any hesitation, they would have spared themselves the additional 38 years Hashem had decreed to them in the desert. This should shed light into our own lives to trust Hashem and not second-guess His plans for us. Taking this a step further, sometimes we ask why Hashem causes these ‘things’ to happen to us (i.e., plans being canceled, traffic jams, tragedies, illnesses, natural disasters, etc.). However, we need to have trust in knowing that everything happens according to Hashem’s will.

Additionally, we need to recognize that the many unfortunate things that do happen are not happening in vain, but rather, there is a Divine purpose and plan to it all. Despite the sadness and tragedies that people face, we have to continuously have faith in Hashem, because in His infinite kindness and compassion, He only wants good things for His creations (the creation cannot ever fully understand it’s creator, especially since we can only understand the world and Hashem through our five senses, Hashem in His greatness is infinitely beyond that, hence we can never fully understand His ways, but nonetheless we must accept them as eternally good). 

Once we have internalized this message, we can start accepting our fates (not so say that we should sit around complacently and not try to change our lives) but realize, that some things are beyond our control. When we start accepting the undeniable facts of life and know that it’s many surprises are in fact from Hashem, we will show Hashem that we are hundred percent committed to His set path for us.