Appreciation

'Say to Aharon, "Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt...and they shall become blood..." (Shemot - 7:19)
'G-d said to Moshe, "say to Aharon: Take your staff and strike strike the dust of the earth; and it will turn into lice throughout the whole land of Egypt." (Shemot 8:12)


In this week's Torah portion, Va'eira, Moshe is sent down by G-d to Egypt to redeem his brothers & sisters, the Jewish nation. During Pharaohs decree decades earlier, that every male born must be thrown into the Nile river and drowned, Moshe's mother Yocheved gave birth to Moshe. But instead of handing him over to the Egyptian authorities, she placed him in a secure basket, and placed it into the river. Miraculously, the basket flowed along until it is seen by Pharaoh's very own daughter, Batya, who saves the boy (incidentally, Batya means 'daughter of G-d.' She is named such in honor of her saving one of G-d's children, Moshe.) Needing a mother to nurse the baby, Yocheved (mother of Moshe) is chosen. She nurses & raises Moshe, teaching him of his heritage and people, before he is given back to Batya's care. One day, already an adult in Pharaoh's household, Moshe walks out of the palace and sees an Egyptian taskmaster brutally beating a Hebrew slave. A man of action, Moshe utters a secret name of G-d, killing the Egyptian, and buries him. When Pharaoh finds out, he wants to kill Moshe, so he runs away, only to return many years later upon G-d's command.

When Moshe returns to Egypt, he demands the release of his people from slavery. When Pharaoh scoffs at this cheeky request, G-d strikes the Egyptians with 10 plagues.
What's peculiar, however, as noted at the top of this page, is that G-d tells Moshe to take part in bringing down the plagues, but only the last 7 of them. It is his brother Aaron who is told to take part in the 1st 3: Water turning to blood, frogs and lice infestations. How come?
The Midrash explains: "Since the river protected Moshe when he was thrown into it, it was not stuck by him at the plague of blood or that of frogs, but was instead struck by Aharon." (Midrash Shemot Rabah 9:10) And the lice? "It was not fitting that the dust be struck by Moshe because it protected him when he killed the Egyptian & hid him in the sand, so it was instead struck by Aharon." (Rashi)

Lest you think this was an isolated case of gratitude to a non human entity in Torah, look at this commentary by one of our great Sages on the Talmud: 'What is the reason why we cover the challah? The rationale is that we do not want to embarrass the bread. If the bread was to be uncovered, it would be humiliated because every day, we bless over the bread first and afterwards we bless over the wine, but on Shabbat we start with the wine.' (Mordechai, Perek Arvei Pesachim)

If Judaism focuses on the need for gratitude toward inanimate matter, how much more so to those living around us! Those who choose to act kindly toward us. Unlike the river or earth in Moshe's life, the human beings around us who help us & act kindly - choose to do so. The "Hakarat Hatov," gratitude, we need to show our Parents, for example, is tremendous. And yet, how often is it (at least as children, hopefully we have matured) that even after receiving 95% of what we need to live happy and productive lives, we have anger toward our parents for not giving us something? The Torah teaches us, that for even the simplest thing given to us, we must show gratitude. And how much more so toward our Parents, and ultimately G-d, who gave us life, sustained us, and continue their support. As the Talmud says: "A person should not cast stones into the well from which he has drunk." (Bava Kama 92b) May we all feel gratitude, and express it to G-d & our loved ones, as often as we can!

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel
~~~~~
A beautiful story that illustrates the power of a kind deed and the attribute of appreciation:

A well-known rabbi went to visit a wealthy philanthropist for a donation. This was a man who, albeit not personally observant, supported the Torah study of many institutions. Curious, the rabbi asked him why he did this. Where did he develop such sensitivity towards yeshivot? He gave the following explanation: "I was a wild teenager, going from trouble to trouble. My parents sent me to Radin to the yeshivah of the saintly Chafetz Chaim. Perhaps there I would be inspired to calm down. Regrettably, I was not accepted. I just was not considered yeshivah material. I was not granted permission even to sleep overnight in the yeshivah. Where would I spend the night? The Chafetz Chaim said, 'You can stay at my home.' So, I went home with the Chafetz Chaim.

"The Chafetz Chaim's idea of home was a two room shack. He gave me his own bed. The room had no light and no heat. Apparently, the great Torah leader was a very poor man.

"I was a young boy, accustomed to a hot meal and a warm bed. Laying there at night, I was shivering from cold, tossing and turning, trying to fall asleep. The Chafetz Chaim walked in and noticed the frigid air in the room. Thinking to himself, 'It is too cold in here for such a young boy,' the sage took off his long frock, which was probably going to be his protective clothing for the night, and placed it on me, over the covers.

"Years later, I became a wealthy Jew. Although I had never become observant, I have never forgetten that incident, how the Chafetz Chaim took off his coat and covered me. I was a total stranger and he owed me nothing. Yet, he felt my pain and showed his love for me. I never forgot that feeling of being cared for and loved by a total stranger. I was so moved by that act of unsolicited kindness that whenever a representative of a Torah institution approaches me for a donation, I give it to him gladly. I will never forget that cold night in that little house, and the elderly man with the giant heart. That coat has kept me warm ever since."

Mission Accomplished

Hi there, hope you've had a meaningful week, and that an uplifting Shabbat awaits you. This week's Torah Portion is entitled "Va'etchanan", which means "And he implored." This refers to the many requests of Moses to G-d to grant him entry into the Land of Israel together with his people. In fact, the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew word Va'etchanan is 515, which our Sages say is the number of times Moses implored G-d to enter the land, but was refused. It was, sadly, not meant to be.
Instead, G-d told Moses to ascend the mountain "Nevo" in the Jordan Valley, adjacent to the Israeli town of Jericho. There G-d Showed Moses the entire land, from north to south. Our Sages say that G-d also showed Moses all of the future events that would happen to the Jewish People in the future; the good & the bad.

After Moses gazed into Israel & the future, it was time for his soul to depart. As sad as it is to lose our great leader, the shepherd of the Jewish People, the description of his death is incredible. The Midrash describes the last day of his life, ending with: '...At that moment, G-d Called to Moshe's soul and said to her: "My daughter, I assigned you one hundred and twenty years in Moshe's body. Now the time has come for you to depart. Emerge and do not delay." She [Moshe's soul] responded: "Master of the Universe, I know that You are the Master of all spirits and the Master of all souls. You created me and You placed me in Moshe's body for 120 years. And now, is there a body in this world more pure than that of Moshe? I love him and I do not wish to depart from him!"
G-d answered: "Emerge, and I shall take you up to the highest of heavens and seat you beneath the throne of My glory, near the cherubs and serafim." Then, G-d kissed Moshe and took his soul with a kiss.'

As fascinating and moving an account this is of G-d & Moses, I think we can also be inspired and learn a few lessons
in our own lives. Generally we look at this life as all that there is. And for good reason! This is all that we see & know, touch and feel. And not only that, but Judaism strongly emphasizes that we live this human life to the fullest, engaging our physical surroundings and uplifting it in the process. But ultimately, we have to remember that we are just visitors. Souls from Heaven on a mission. As sad as death is, it is merely a return; to an even loftier level than where we began. Let's try & live life down here with the constant awareness that we come from up there. And then our life here will better reflect our mission at hand - to make this world a heavenly place.

And may we merit the day when all of those who passed, with Moses at their head, come back to life and lead us all back to the land of Israel, with Mashiach now.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

Living up to your Name

This week we are 1st introduced to probably the holiest person to have ever existed: Moshe (Moses).
As I was reading about Moshe’s early life in the Torah, I began to wonder about something. After Moshe was born, he was placed in a basket and sent down the river Nile by his mother,
to avoid certain death in the hands of the Egyptians. Batya, the daughter of Pharaoh, found the ‘Hebrew boy,’ and with compassion, took him in. She named him “Moshe,”
'For I drew him from the water.’
We are told that Moshe had other names given to him by his family, yet for the 770 times his name comes up in the Tanach, he is called “Moshe.”
How come this holy leader retained the name given by the daughter of an evil Egyptian man? The Kabbalah teaches us that one's name is connected to one's inner soul and purpose.
By taking a deeper look into the life of Moshe, perhaps we can uncover the meaning behind this name.

"It happened in those days that Moses grew up and went out to his brethren and saw their burdens…And he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man." Moshe, the adopted grandson of the most powerful man in Egypt, is faced with a tough situation.
Ignore, and retain your royal status of luxury, or take action and endanger – not only your high position – but your life as well!
Moshe didn't think twice, but sided with the victim: "(He) struck the Egyptian down and hid him in the sand."

"…He went out the next day, and behold! Two Hebrew men were fighting.” Come on. This time, no one’s life is at stake. These men are choosing to fight. Yet again, Moshe immediately acts: "(And he) said to the wicked one, 'Why would you strike your fellow?'" This action would end up costing him dearly. These wicked men informed on Moshe’s prior killing, and: "Pharaoh heard about this matter and sought to kill Moses; so Moses fled from before Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian. He sat at the well." But in Midian, Moshe still could not avoid challenging situations.
"The minister of Midian had seven daughters; they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's sheep. The shepherds came out and drove them away.”

Now logic would dictate (together with instincts of self-preservation), that avoiding altercations in one’s new city of residence is most prudent. Moshe chose, rather, to stand up & do what was right: "Moses got up and saved them, and watered their sheep." We can now understand the Torah’s emphasis on this special name Moshe, given by Pharaoh’s daughter. For by saving the Hebrew baby, she was taking a massive risk, going so far as to disobey the rule set up by her very own father! Yet she did not hesitate: "Pharaoh's daughter went down to bathe by the river… She saw a basket among the reeds… She opened it and saw a boy crying. She took pity on him and said, 'This is one of the Hebrew boys,'…and he was a son to her." How fitting a name for Moshe, who would grow to do the same for others.

As we go through life, we encounter many situations and circumstances that require our action. People who need help. Let's try to stand up for what's right and true, emulating our ancestor Moshe. Let's take action!

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

{Based on Sichos Kodesh 5740 vol. 1 pp. 784-788, and Rabbi Mendel Kalmenson of Chabad.org}

A True Leader

B"H

Last week we Torah readers were riding on a high.

Our forefather Jacob was

finally re-united with his long lost son Joseph, who had been gone for 22 years. Jacob’s family was growing and prospering in huge number, living in the city of “Goshen”, a peaceful suburb off the coast of North-East Egypt.

But unfortunately, Joseph, the 2^nd-in-command to Pharaoh, passed away. All of a sudden, the situation for the Jewish people began to spiral downwards in quick fashion.

‘(Pharaoh) said to his people, “Look! The nation of Israel’s descendants are more numerous and stronger than we are! Come, let us deal shrewdly with them…” The Egyptians enslaved the children of Israel with crushing labor. They embittered their lives…’

But G-d Heard the cry of his people in pain.

He was now ready to redeem them and take them to Israel.

But which leader would be chosen for such an important task? An eloquent speaker.

A polished diplomat for sure. A handsome, charming, powerful leader, right?

Moshe (Moses), the son of Amram & Yocheved, was a shepherd for his father-in-law Yisro’s

flock of sheep. The Midrash tells us that once when he was tending the sheep in the desert, one of his kid goats ran off. Moshe immediately chased after it, and finally reached the goat by a pool of water it had found to drink. Moshe said:

“I didn’t realize that you were running away because you were thirsty. You must be tired!”

So Moshe mounted the goat on his shoulders and walked back to the flock.

G-d Said to Himself, “You have such compassion for the sheep of a mere human being. You are going to shepherd my sheep, the Jewish People.” (Shemos Rabbah 2:2)

Here was the leader G-d Was looking for.

True, Moshe had a stutter. He was 80 years old, and was a shepherd.

But such a tremendous compassion and caring for another’s well-being; that he did have.

This was the one.

So G-d Came to Moshe to Communicate his mission to lead the Jewish People out of Egypt:

‘Moshe was pasturing the flocks of Yisro…He looked, and behold! The thorn bush was burning with fire, but it was not being consumed. Moshe said, “Let me turn now and see this great spectacle! Why will the thorn bush not burn?” G-d Saw that he had turned to see, and G-d Called to him from within the thorn bush… Moshe hid his face because he was afraid to look at G-d.’

Why did G-d Reveal Himself to Moshe through a thorn bush? Our Sages tell us that ‘G-d Wanted to show that He is Always with His People during their times of distress-comparable to thorns. And just as this bush was burning but not being consumed, so too the Jewish People will never be consumed.’(Rashi)

But if we take a deeper look into the revelation of G-d to Moshe,

we will find something remarkable about what type of awesome leader Moshe really was.

Our sages tell us that there is a Moshe in every generation.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Shneerson, was the Moshe of our times. He searched for every lost sheep who was thirsty for water, physically & spiritually. As Jonathan Sacks, chief Rabbi of England, once said: "The Rebbe hunts down with love those that were once hunted down with hate."

The Rebbe once explained this passage as follows: G-d Revealed Himself to Moshe in a thorn bush, as our Sages say, to show that He is with His People during all their tough times. But G-d Wanted to reveal a deep secret to Moshe.

The secret understanding behind why suffering happens to good people.

Why the thorn bush! Why the tribulations at all!

There is a verse which states: “Ain rah yoredes mi’lemala” – No bad comes from above.

But that’s only from G-d’s Perspective!

He Sees the hidden good in all that occurs to us in the world.

G-d is Like the father who smacks his son who ran into the middle of oncoming traffic. He has a good intention. But we’re the son who doesn’t understand.

G-d Wanted to show Moshe the secret reason of why. Why the burning of the thorn bush.

But how did Moshe respond to this once-in-a-lifetime offer? And “Moshe hid his face.”

Moshe gave up on an opportunity many would do anything to attain. Why?

Because Moshe understood, that the minute he sees behind the curtain, the minute he understands from G-d’s Point of view, that’s when he loses the point of view of his people. How would he ever be able to plead with a perfectly true heart to G-d on behalf of the Jewish People, if he understood the hidden good behind the apparent bad? So Moshe “hid his face.”

Kabbalah teaches us, that not only is there a Moshe in every generation, but there is a spark of Moshe in every Jewish soul. Each of us has the ability to give up on our own personal welfare and help a thirsty soul, thirsty spiritually or physically, who is lost in the desert looking for water. To hide our face, our personal gain, in order to look from a fellow Jew’s point of view, from his pain, that is our opportunity to emulate our leader Moshe.

Through our caring for each other, may G-d Send us Moshiach, the ultimate Jewish leader!

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

Jerusalem

P.S. If you're still hanging around to the end of the email, I want to reward you w/ an amazing 1st-hand story I heard last night. Rabbi Yisroel Shem Tov, an Elderly Chassid from Crown Heights, was visiting us here in Israel. He said this story: "In 1955, I was at a farbrengen (Chassidic Gathering) with the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The Rebbe began giving out matzah to all of those present. While doing so, I noticed the Rebbe take 3 pieces of Matzah, roll each one in a napkin, and put it in his jacket pocket. 'A Rebbe does things we definitely don't understand' I thought. Later that night, Mr. Weiss, the head of a nearby Jewish summer camp, came rushing past me to the Rebbe to tell him something. Within earshot, I heard him say: "There has just been a terrible car accident on the way to camp. There were campers in the van, and it flipped 3 times." Now a normal person's reaction would be one of horror or dismay. The Rebbe turned to him and laughing, asked: "3 times?" He then took out the covered matzahs and told the man to bring these to the boys in hospital. The boys soon left w/out any injuries at all."

The stories are endless. G-d, in Every generation, in his Great Kindness, sends us leaders that care for every one of their flock. And spiritually speaking, the Rebbe continues to help us and pray for each of his flock. As Tanya, Ch.27 of Igeres Hakodesh explains: "A Tzaddik is found more in this world after his death than before."