visit us online at: www.naaleh.com | for questions, suggestions, or dedication opportunities, email [email protected]1 The midrash in Parshat Va’aira cites a verse in Kohelet, “I see that with wisdom comes foolish- ness, for what is man to question what has already been decreed and done.” The midrash says this refers to Moshe. He had been told by Hashem before he went to Paro that it would be a difficult mission and that the king would not listen to him. Yet after this first meeting, Moshe complained to Hashem about why he had been sent and that the situation had gotten worse. The Shem MiShmuel notes that this midrash is puzzling because Hashem had only told Moshe that he would harden Paro’s heart, not that the circumstances would get more difficult. When Yaakov sent Yosef to find his brothers, the Torah writes that he sent him from “emek Chevron,” the valley of Chevron. Rashi explains that this was a fulfillment of an eitza amuka, a very deep idea of Avraham, who was buried in Chevron. At the Brit Bein Habetarim, Hashem discussed the problem of Jewish continuity with Avraham. The avot were great people, but how would their greatness be perpetuated in their descendants? Hashem asked Avraham which solution he preferred, galut or gehinom, exile in this world or the next? Avraham chose exile as the guarantor of Jewish continuity and this was the eitza amuka. The concept of galut followed by geulah is a fundamental aspect of Jewish history. Galut must result in redemption. The darker the galut, the sweeter and more beautiful is the redemption. The Jewish people in exile have not only suffered but have been the target of whole philosophical campaigns against them. The essence of galut is chilul Hashem because we are the chosen nation and if we suffer, Hashem suffers too. Our return to Israel will be a kiddush Hashem. The greater the chillul Hashem engendered by galut, the greater will be the kiddush Hashem brought about by geulah. The geulah will prove that our faith in Hashem was justified despite all the troubles we suffered. With this idea, the Shem Mishmuel explains that the galut/geulah alternative was better than gehinom because in a sense the geulah would be a redemption of the galut itself. This lesson was established with the exile in Egypt and the subsequent great Exodus, which resulted in a tremendous sanctification of Hashem’s name. In Tehilim it is written, “Mikolot mayim rabim… More than the roars of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, are you Hashem on high.” Egypt is referred to as the mighty empire, the raging waters are the subsequent exiles, but emerging from all these terrible exiles, stands Hashem, because galut produces an astonishingly powerful kiddush Hashem. Moshe needed to go to Paro because he was the medium through which Hashem’s voice spoke to the king. Nevertheless, Paro chose to defy Hashem’s will and therefore the power of teshuva was taken from him. After Moshe returned from Paro, Hashem sent the plagues and caused a great sanctification of Hashem’s name. The midrash criticizes Moshe for not understanding Hashem’s plan for galut and geulah. The gemara writes about repentance out of love, “zedonot naasot k’zichuyot,” sins become merits. Ironically, sins can sometimes catapult a person to teshuva and redemption of one’s character. Sins can cause a person to ascend to higher levels. Indeed Chazal note, “B’makom she’baalei teshuva omdim ein tzaddikim yecho- lim l’amod. In the place that baalei teshuva stand, righteous people cannot stand.” One should never say that a sinner is doomed, because a person can repent and become even greater. Teshuva m’ahava has the ability to infuse fire and passion into one’s avodat Hashem. Similarly, we may feel alienated and distant from Hashem during the six days of the week. However, the exile of the soul experi- enced during the week helps us appreciate the geulah of Shabbat. Chazal tell us, “Mi shetarach b’erev Shabbat yochal b’Shabbat.” One who works before Shabbat will eat on Shabbat. If one knows that galut will eventually lead to geulah, one gains strength to go through the week, and when Shabbat finally does arrive, one can truly enjoy it. As we encounter the difficulties of life, we need to take hope and encouragement in believing that the geulah will be even greater than the exile. If we go through galut with faith and trust in the coming redemption, we gain strength to bear our suffering. This was the eitzah amukah that remains the Jewish paradigm as we await the geulah speedily in our days. Parshat Va’aira: Understanding The Will of Hashem Based on a Naaleh.com shiur by Rabbi Hershel Reichman Brought to you by Naaleh.com Volume 2 Number 40 Dedicated in memory of Rachel Leah bat R' Chaim Tzvi Support our website and Torah learning, one purchase at a time. Apply for the Naaleh Credit Card, visit Naaleh.com for more info.
Transcript
visit us online at: www.naaleh.com | for questions, suggestions, or dedication opportunities, email [email protected] 1
The midrash in Parshat Va’aira cites a verse in Kohelet, “I see that with wisdom comes foolish-ness, for what is man to question what has already been decreed and done.” The midrash says this refers to Moshe. He had been told by Hashem before he went to Paro that it would be a difficult mission and that the king would not listen to him. Yet after this first meeting, Moshe complained to Hashem about why he had been sent and that the situation had gotten worse. The Shem MiShmuel notes that this midrash is puzzling because Hashem had only told Moshe that he would harden Paro’s heart, not that the circumstances would get more difficult.
When Yaakov sent Yosef to find his brothers, the Torah writes that he sent him from “emek Chevron,” the valley of Chevron. Rashi explains that this was a fulfillment of an eitza amuka, a very deep idea of Avraham, who was buried in Chevron. At the Brit Bein Habetarim, Hashem discussed the problem of Jewish continuity with Avraham. The avot were great people, but how would their greatness be perpetuated in their descendants? Hashem asked Avraham which solution he preferred, galut or gehinom, exile in this world or the next? Avraham chose exile as the guarantor of Jewish continuity and this was the eitza amuka.
The concept of galut followed by geulah is a fundamental aspect of Jewish history. Galut must result in redemption. The darker the galut, the sweeter and more beautiful is the redemption. The Jewish people in exile have not only suffered but have been the target of whole philosophical campaigns against them.
The essence of galut is chilul Hashem because we are the chosen nation and if we suffer, Hashem suffers too.
Our return to Israel will be a kiddush Hashem. The greater the chillul Hashem engendered by galut, the greater will be the kiddush Hashem brought about by geulah. The geulah will prove that our faith in Hashem was justified despite all the troubles we suffered.
With this idea, the Shem Mishmuel explains that the galut/geulah alternative was better than gehinom because in a sense the geulah would be a redemption of the galut itself. This lesson was established with the exile in Egypt and the subsequent great Exodus, which resulted in a tremendous sanctification of Hashem’s name.
In Tehilim it is written, “Mikolot mayim rabim… More than the roars of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, are you Hashem on high.” Egypt is referred to as the mighty empire, the raging waters are the subsequent exiles, but emerging from all these terrible exiles, stands Hashem, because galut produces an astonishingly powerful kiddush Hashem. Moshe needed to go to Paro because he was the medium through which Hashem’s voice spoke to the king. Nevertheless, Paro chose to defy Hashem’s will and therefore the power of teshuva was taken from him. After Moshe returned from Paro, Hashem sent the plagues and caused a great sanctification of Hashem’s name. The midrash criticizes Moshe for not understanding Hashem’s plan for galut and geulah.
The gemara writes about repentance out of love, “zedonot naasot k’zichuyot,” sins become
merits. Ironically, sins can sometimes catapult a person to teshuva and redemption of one’s character. Sins can cause a person to ascend to higher levels. Indeed Chazal note, “B’makom she’baalei teshuva omdim ein tzaddikim yecho-lim l’amod. In the place that baalei teshuva stand, righteous people cannot stand.” One should never say that a sinner is doomed, because a person can repent and become even greater. Teshuva m’ahava has the ability to infuse fire and passion into one’s avodat Hashem. Similarly, we may feel alienated and distant from Hashem during the six days of the week. However, the exile of the soul experi-enced during the week helps us appreciate the geulah of Shabbat. Chazal tell us, “Mi shetarach b’erev Shabbat yochal b’Shabbat.” One who works before Shabbat will eat on Shabbat. If one knows that galut will eventually lead to geulah, one gains strength to go through the week, and when Shabbat finally does arrive, one can truly enjoy it.
As we encounter the difficulties of life, we need to take hope and encouragement in believing that the geulah will be even greater than the exile. If we go through galut with faith and trust in the coming redemption, we gain strength to bear our suffering. This was the eitzah amukah that remains the Jewish paradigm as we await the geulah speedily in our days.
Parshat Va’aira: Understanding The Will of HashemBased on a Naaleh.com shiur by Rabbi Hershel Reichman
Brought to you by Naaleh.comVolume 2 Number 40
Dedicated in memory of Rachel Leah bat R' Chaim Tzvi
Support our website and Torah learning, one purchase at a time. Apply for the Naaleh Credit Card, visit Naaleh.com for more info.
visit us online at: www.naaleh.com | for questions, suggestions, or dedication opportunities, email [email protected] 2
The Shulchan Aruch differentiates between two different kinds of gentile workers, a kablan, an independent contractor, and a sirchyon, a day laborer who is paid an hourly wage. Examples of a kablan would be a mechanic, a dry cleaner, or a gardener, where you are only paying for the task to be done. In contrast, a sirchyon, like a babysitter, is considered like your personal messenger, as you are paying him to work for you specifically during the time you’ve hired him. A sirchyon may not work for a Jew on Shabbat. The Shulchan Aruch rules that a kablan may work for a Jew on Shabbat provided you do not specify that the work be done on Shabbat and it is not evident that the work is being done for a Jew. If it is clear that he is working for a Jew, it is prohibited due to marit ayin, as an onlooker may think he is a sirchyon. The rishonim cite two reasons for marit ayin. First, one may not raise a chashash (an impropriety) about himself so that people will come to speak lashon hara. Second, an onlooker may think the act is permitted and and mistakenly follow his example. Therefore, a kablan may not work in a Jew’s home on Shabbat. Another reason is zilzul Shabbat, disresepcting the Shabbat atmosphere with weekday actions. This would also apply to gardeners. You should specifically tell them not to come on Shabbat. A gentile contractor may do maintenance work on a bungalow
colony in the winter. In this situation there is no marit ayin or zilzul Shabbat because there are no people there. The Shulchan Aruch writes that a Jew should not lease his property to a non-Jew. This is because the gentile will do business on Shabbat and people may think he is a hired worker. A field may be rented to a non-Jew because the accepted relationship is for the owner to receive his fixed rent and for the farmer to net all the profit. This is called arisut. If one has a shared partnership with a non-Jew and profits are split, a rabbi must be consulted.One may not cause a gentile to specifically work for a Jew on Shabbat. For example, a person may not drop off his car at a mechanic an hour before Shabbat, knowing that the work will take more than two hours, and tell the gentile that he will be back to take it an hour after Shabbat. There is a machloket whether one may give work to a gentile to do over Shabbat when it is obvious that he will do it Shabbat. For example, if you specify that he finish the work by Monday and the only way he could possibly finish would be if he worked overtime Friday night or Sunday, it is permitted according to Rav Moshe. However, Rav Elyashiv and Rav Sheinberg hold that such a situation should be avoided as much as possible.One may receive mail deliveries on Shabbat since the postal service works on its own schedule and there is no question of marit ayin. However, one may not tell a delivery
service like UPS to come specifically on Shabbat. One should not take the mail or packages from the mailman. Rather one should ask him to put it down near the door. The Shulchan Aruch notes that the mail is muktza since a melacha was done on Shabbat on your behalf and you are prohibited from deriving benefit from this. Store deliveries may not be received on Shabbat. However, if you specifically asked them not to deliver it on Shabbat and they did, one may receive it.One may not ask a live-in maid to do any melacha on Shabbat, whether for Shabbat or in preparation for after Shabbat. If she does melacha on her own and it presents a marit ayin problem or it is zilzul Shabbat, you are obligated to stop her. To that end she may not vacuum the house or wash the Shalosh Seudot dishes or go shopping for you. If she can do a specific action in a permissible way and she does it in a prohibited way for her own convenience, it is permitted. For example, even though we may only wash dishes on Shabbat with cold water and a plastic scrubber, she may use hot water and a sponge, if she so prefers. Anyone with gentile household help on Shabbat should consult a rabbi to define the parameters in which work can be done.
Question:Why do we need horrific tragedies to make us aware that we need to strengthen our achdut? What can we do as individuals or as a community to rectify this?
Answer:This is a terrible reality. I have seen chesed break down barriers in a tremendous way. The people who do bikur cholim, those who serve lunch at soup kitchens, and the families that open their homes on Shabbat are all people who
do not have big barriers separating them from other Jews. The more chesed you do, the more you identify and empathize with others. Many times people are afraid that associating with people at a lower level of observance can have a negative impact on their own or their children’s spiritual development. There really is no consensus where to draw the limits. However, you can start by refusing to speak evil about any Jew under any circumstances. You don’t have to become the other person to do this. Another step would be to make an effort to broaden and
deepen your perception of others. If you are strong in your religious beliefs and your children sense that you are guiding them and not the other way around, then only good can come of reaching out to others.
Hilchot Shabbat VPractical Applications of Amira L’akum
Based on a Naaleh.com shiur by Rabbi Shimon Isaacson
Brought to you by Naaleh.comVolume 2 Number 40
Dedicated in memory of Rachel Leah bat R' Chaim Tzvi
Support our website and Torah learning, one purchase at a time. Apply for the Naaleh Credit Card, visit Naaleh.com for more info.
Rebbetzin’s PerspectiveClass #1
Excerpted from Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller’s Question and Answer series on Naaleh.com
