The HUMBLE Jewish King

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The parsha continues discussing the mitzvah to appoint a Jewish King...

After settling into the land if Israel, the Jews were commanded to appoint a Jewish king, destroy Amalek, and build the Bait Hamikdash.

The essence behind a Jewish monarchy is to build the Jewish nation and to elevate the Jewish people religiously (govern them with Jewish law- halachot- and bring righteousness to the nation).

In order to prevent the king from sinning and becoming arrogant, Hashem prescribed the following laws for the king:

1.     He may not have extra horses.

2.     He may not have more than 18 wives.

3.     He may not accumulate excess wealth, other than that necessary to build and maintain his army.

4.     He must write a Sefer Torah and keep it with him at all times.

5.     He must read parts of the Book of Devarim at a nation assembly every seven years.

Reasons behind these laws:

1.     Horses were bred in Egypt and Hashem didn’t want the Jews going back to Egypt for any reason. Also, horses symbolized power, wealth, and arrogance, Hashem didn’t not want the Jewish king to amass more than he needed, hence he would succumb to arrogance. Arrogance leads a man away from Hashem.

2.     The king was forbidden to have more than the prescribed number of wives because this can lead a man from Torah studying and observance. The gentile kings had large harems and Hashem did not want the Jewish king to emulate such promiscuous behavior. The role of the Jewish king was to govern the people according to the standards of Torah, not to pursue his personal physical desires.

Indeed, King Solomon had many wives, but on his high level of intelligence, he declared that he was able to withstand all the trials without sinning. In other words, he put himself through the extra struggle in order that Hashem would reward him heavily for defeating his yatar hara. However, as we see, King Solomon was not able to withstand the tests, and his wives did make him go stray.

3.     The king was forbidden to accumulate more wealth than his nation needed, because Hashem did not want his personal lust for money take over. Rather Hashem wanted the king to develop his good inclination and to be conscious of providing for his nation.

4.     The king was commanded to write a Sefer Torah and to have it on him at all times. Wherever he was, he was obligated to internalize that he was Hashem’s servant. Whenever the king had a free moment, he was obligated to study torah.  The king was to be a righteous Torah scholar and leader so that he would be an example to his people.

5.     The king was obligated to occupy himself with Torah study and observe Hashem’s mitzvot constantly!

The king had a highly respected role, a person who disrespected him could be executed, no one was allowed to ride his horse or sit on his throne, and everyone (except the kohan gadol) was obligated to bow in his presence. Hashem wanted the Jewish people to give honor to their king, for he represented Hashem’s Kingship.

Despite the honor the king was given, the king maintained his humility.  He was constantly in a state of thanksgiving, for being endowed with such a distinguished position. The king was continuously taught not to be haughty,(must carry a Sefer Torah, and all other rules to remind him of his ultimate mission in life, to be Hashem’s servant) so to, how much more are we to develop our humility in the face of Hashem? Seeing that the Jewish king, the ambassador to God, saw His imminence and serviced him in such humility, this should teach us that we too are ambassadors to God who must strive to connect to and follow His Torah!

In this month of Elul, each day we are getting closer and closer to the high holy days, we should be mindful of ways we can develop our humility in front of God. May we all be blessed with the courage to develop that awareness and pursue an everlasting connection with the Source of all, today, tomorrow, and for the rest of our lives! AMEN and SHABBOT SHALOM!

QUOTES THAT MATTER!

Parshat Shoftim

Passuk Kaf Bet (22) “And You shall not set up for yourself a monument, which Hashem, your G-d hates.”

Rashi comments on the words “which Hashem your G-d hates,” Hashem has commanded you to make an altar of stones and altar of Earth. This, however, He hates, because this was a religious statue of the Canaanites, and although it was dear to Hashem,  He hates it, since these people made it a statue for idolatry’’.

            Nowadays, we too take something that Hashem likes and then instead of using it for good, its use becomes a form of idolatry. Especially with technology, we are so involved in it that we don’t even hear out parents talking to us! It’s scary how we are so attached enslaved by these gadgets! Hashem does like the fact that technology provides us with efficient ways to communicate. However, we have turned what was meant to be used for goodness into a form of idolatry. For example, we let technology waste our precious time! We watch phony movies and waste precious tears over them, we stalk people on facebook, which may lead us to speak loshan hara and/or writing rude comments about one another, etc. Therefore, now, Hashem, your G-d, hates it because technology is holding you captive, the Yetzer Hara- Evil Inclination trapped you. It made you into a person who acts like a Rasha- and evil person. We have completely hypnotized by the ipad, ipod, computer, and television screen world-- the fourth dimension,  the fake world.  Scary isn’t it!  There must be a battle plan that we can use to overcome our challenges we have nowadays; which is Technology!

Battle Plan:

Step one: talk to Hashem, your G-d and ask Him to help you overcome this Yetzer Hara- Evil Inclination.

Step two: The Ramchal writes in Messilat Yesharim that the way to overcome the Evil Inclination is to keep yourself busy with Torah, Mitzvot and Chessed, that way the Evil Inclination has no time to trap you.

Step three: if you have nothing to do, immediately find something to do!

Here are some options:

1. Call a friend and learn something with him/her.
2. Go online to torahanytime.com, simpletoremember.com and listen to any lecture you would like to hear about.
3. Give a helping hand.

Shabbat Shalom,

Esther Shamayev

Change we can believe in!

          We are soon approaching Chodesh Elul. Hashem is so kind to us that He has given us forty days from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur to do teshuva. Hashem is waiting so patiently for His children to come back to Him and rekindle our relationship with Him. The way to do teshuva is by doing ‘Cheshbon Hanefesh’- checking your actions DAILY. The evil inclination is very wise and even more cunning than you know! It wants to keep you busy with the material world and have you waste your time on trivial things.

Since the evil inclination keeps you so busy, you don’t have time to evaluate your relationship with Hashem. The forty days, from the first of Elul to Yom Kippur, are days where Hashem won’t deny your request to return to Him. He is waiting for you to knock on His door!

 We have to be strong and overcome the challenges we endure. Our desires in this century are fashion, technology and money. To overcome these desires one needs to understand that if Hashem gave you a certain desire there is a cure for it. Hashem doesn’t give His children something they cannot overcome. We need to train ourselves to pick up chumash rather than the remote control! We must strive to fill our precious time with learning Torah and developing ourselves, rather than with chasing worldly pursuits. When we go to the next world we are not taking our savings account, house, clothing etc. with us; however, we are taking our mitzvot!  With that we will be judged.

WORKSHOP:

 Now take five or ten minutes and write down on a piece of paper how you want to change this year in each of the following areas:

1.     Ben Adam L’Chavero_Relationship between man and man:

Ex: judge people favorably, greet someone with a smile, help someone_visit the sick, and babysit for free etc.

2.     Ben Adam L’Makon_Relationship between man and G-d:

Ex: pray with more concentration; stand in one spot while saying Asher Yatzar_prayer after using bathroom etc.

3.     Ben Adam L’Atzmo_Relationship with yourself:

Ex: work on one of your negative character traits; make time to learn Torah etc.

May we all be judged in the book of life, Amen!
Esther Shamayev

Parshas Re’ay- enjoying the smooth ride...

This week’s parsha begins with Moshe telling Bnai Israel that a Jew brings a blessing upon himself when he performs a mitzvah and a curse when he transgresses. 

Moshe says,

“In every aspect of daily life, you are faced with the choice whether or not to obey Hashem. Know that this actually involves the choice of whether to bring blessing or curse, life or death, upon yourself.”

Ultimately, we all have the free will to make choices in our lives, between right or wrong and following mitzvot or transgressing the Torah. We all have the choice, between observing the mitzvot; thereby, we will reap blessings, or we can transgress, and incur curses.

The right choice is challenging. Hashem even warns us that the road of Torah observance may be tough and troublesome at times; however, the destination is worthwhile. Initially, the path towards following the mitzvot may be bumpy; however, further down the road, the journey will be smooth and comfortable.  Conversely, the path of sinning may initially be smooth; however, the road will eventually become obstructed.

Similarly, in our own lives, we tend to get discouraged when we want to get closer to Hashem and observe more mitzvot, feeling that the road is simply too challenging. The beginning is the hardest part, following or adding new mitzvot sometimes seems impossible! However, we must always remember that this leap must be made in order for us to reap blessings from Hashem. Once you courageously do so, you can enjoy the rest of the smooth journey, while admiring your bravery and persistence.

IDOL worship has many forms- Dvar Torah in under a minute!

  the worshiping materialism story

The parsha continues with Moshe teaching and reviewing the commandments related to idol worship. Because Eretz Canaan – Israel- was full of objects people used for idolatry, Moshe commanded that any object pertaining to idolatry be destroyed. Jews are obligated to destroy all idols. The Torah views idolatry as the severest sin. The sages say, “If a person serves idols, it is as though he denied the entire Torah.” The parsha continues with Moshe telling the people they are forbidden to erase even one letter of Hashem’s name, but rather His name must be buried.

Unfortunately, many of us commit the greatest transgression of all, we too worship idols. Whether we idolize celebrities, materialism, status, etc., we believe that obtaining these worldly pursuits is what will bring us happiness. Rather, we must entirely destroy these idol-worshipping tendencies within our higher-consciousness in order to serve Hashem with complete love and awe.

Quotes the Matter- Laws of Shechita

“If you have become wise, you have become wise for your own sake” (Mishlai 9:22)

The parsha continues with Moshe telling Bnai Israel how they must slaughter a kosher animal—by cutting most of its windpipe and throat.

 Then the shochet- person who slaughters animal- recites the blessing, “Blessed are You Hashem, Who sanctified us with His mitzvot and commanded us concerning the shechita.” Then he slaughters the animal.

Many people ponder the essence of the laws of shechita. Does killing the animal this way really minimize the pain the animal feels? Why is it so important which spot of the neck we kill the animal? Essentially, this gets us pondering the essence of the nuances of the laws. However we must have ingrained within our minds that all the mitzvot were created in order for us to become purified and elevated (regardless of knowing the true essence of the mitzvot ); essentially, we are observing them for our own sake.

Moreover, like all mitzvot, Hashem wants to test us and see if we will observe His mitzvot despite the difficulties involved, and when we fulfill His will, we will be rewarded.

This should shed light into our own lives. As we may ponder the essence of many mitzvot we can’t seem to understand, we must keep in mind that we are in fact observing the mitzvot for our own sake. Through observing Hashem’s will, we are passing the tests He throws our way, and we are developing spiritually. This alone should encourage all of us to stay strong and follow His commandments even in times of incomprehension.

Gain interest on the gift that keeps on giving!

The parsha continues to discuss the commandment to give charity with an open hand. The Talmud tells us to give charity again and again without being afraid of financial loss. This is hard to wrap your finger around, I am sure, but this is what Hashem commands from us.

If you were to give someone a loan, with a lender who is guaranteed to pay you back, you would feel secure about lending out the loan, right? When we give charity, it is as if our loan is being guaranteed by Hashem Himself (as it states in Mishlai: “One who gives graciously to the poor extends as it were a loan to Hashem, Who will pay back all that is due” (19:17)). In other words, the benefactor will be repaid, but in the world to come, he will receive his full reward.

Hashem promises that He will repay us when we give tzedaka, so why don’t we extend our arms more often?

Mishlai continues to say, “He who gives to the poor will not lack, whereas he who conceals his eyes will have many curses” (28:27). When we give, we are paid back, when we refrain from extending ourselves, the money we should have given will eventually be lost. However, our sages continue saying that you should not give charity to the point where you yourself need charity, rather you should give according to your financial capability.

Moreover, tzadaka can save a person’s life and abolish any Heavenly decrees that were over his head(repentance and prayer are the other two facets where a person can change his fate).

Halachot-laws- of giving tzadaka:

1.     A person should give based on his income: the more you have, the more you should give. If you have an average income, ten percent is recommended, if you have much more, giving up to one-fifth is recommended. (If a rich and poor person give the same amount, the poor person’s charity will be seen as more favorable to Hashem, whereas the rich man may be punished for giving an insufficient amount).

2.     A person is obligated to give charity to those closest to him. (For example, if you have a poor relative, you give precedence to giving to your family first, then neighbors, then communities, etc.).

3.     Tzadaka is either food or money.

4.     If a poor man asks for charity to buy him clothing, we may investigate the matter further; however, if he asks for food, we must immediately provide for him.

5.     We must give tzadaka happily and give over words of encouragement. A person who gives charity in anger is not merited.

6.     Optimally, giving tzadaka should be done anonymously, where the donor does not know the recipient and the recipient does not know the donor, preventing the recipient from embarrassment. (How amazing is God for even thinking about the psychology of the poor man, His mercy is so great to care about fulfilling their needs so that their struggle to survive is minimized).

7.     The highest level of tzadaka is preventing a Jew from needing tzdaka. By helping a Jew get a job where he can support himself continuously, or lend him money to start a business, etc., you are giving the highest level of tzadaka.  How incredible this would be, helping a person support himself, rather than having him continuously be embarrassed by the fact that he cannot sustain himself and needs financial assistance from others?!

We have to understand that through giving tzadaka, a person is given the greatest opportunity to give, getting a taste of the Creator Himself (Whose essence is complete giving). Without learning to give, what would become of our society?

Moreover, people were created with different financial circumstances for one reason:

 To give those with more the opportunity to give! What’s even more beautiful is that every person is obligated to give, even the poor man has to give, seeing that there is always someone who is more needy than him. The cycle of giving is continuous.

This commandment teaches us that we should all learn to give more! By giving we are actually getting the power to receive. By giving, we are becoming better people, we are developing our character, we are showing that we have bitachon-trust in Hashem- that He will continue to provide for us if we listen to His commandment. Tzadaka truly is the gift that keeps on giving!