Shalom!
How is everything going? [I'm not really expecting a response to that question, but I would love to hear one if you would like to share.] We are coming right out of Shavuot. As my weeks in Eretz Yisrael wind down, I'm trying to make the most of my time here. Shavuot was the beginning of what will hopefully be a strong finish to the year. I hope we all took what we could from the chag and are able to keep it going for as long as possible, at least for the summer. By then, we'll have Rosh Hashana to keep us going. Looking forward.
So here's the dilemma. The 6th day of the month Sivan was on a Friday this year. That means Shavuot is on Friday. Now, if Shavuot is one day (i.e. in Eretz Yisrael), then on the following day, we would read Parashat Nasso (which actually happened in Eretz Yisrael). If, however, Shavuot is two days (i.e. in America), then on the following day, we wouldn't read Parashat Nasso (which was the case in America). Instead, we would read it the following week. Basically, since in Israel, we already read Parashat Nasso, this week's parasha is Parashat Be'ha'alothcha, whereas in America, it's Parashat Nasso.
So this week's parasha is both Parashat Nasso and Parashat Be'ha'alothcha. So which do I write about? I think it just makes most sense for me to right on Be'ha'alothcha because that is the parasha where I am, and also, those in America can still have it for next week. And that is what I'll do.
[Trivia: How do Israel and America synchronize and eventually end up reading the same weekly portion?]
In this week's parasha, Parashat Be'ha'alothcha, the Jewish people complain to Moshe Rabbeinu. In terms of food, we were completely taken care of. Every single day, a portion of 'man' fell from the sky, and everyone was fine. It really doesn't get any better than that. One problem. I love pizza. A lot. I can eat it everyday. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And even though that sounds great, after doing it for a while, I'll get sick of it. In fact, I'm sure that after a long time, I wouldn't even want to see pizza. Wouldn't even want to hear the word "pizza." Why? Because we get sick of certain foods. So too with the Jewish people. They got sick of the 'man.'
"Who will feed us meat? We remember the fish which we ate in Egypt freely (chinam); the cucumbers, the watermelons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. Now our bodies are withered, there is nothing at all, except for the 'man' before our eyes" (Bamidbar, 11:4-6).
As we see, they were reminiscing over the variety of delicacies offered to the Jews in Egypt. But there is one word that they threw in to their complaint which indicates that not only were they complaining about the food (or lack thereof), but about the conditions under which they are currently eating. They remember that they used to eat the food freely ("chinam"). What was their complaint? Do you really think they were granted fish for free without having to work for it? They were slaves! All they did was work! How do you call that free?
One explanation is offered by the Midrash Sifri (11:5) and is brought down by Rashi. They were given food in Egypt when they were free from mitzvot. Hashem supplies food for Israel only when they perform the mitzvot. For example, people who were less observant had to walk a far distance to pick up their 'man.' Their accessibility to the food depended on their observance of the commandments. So the food wasn't "free." But this did not apply in Egypt, before the Torah was given. Everyone received his portion, irrespective of his religiosity (because it didn't exist yet).
The Maggid of Dubno explains differently. He offers a novel way of reading the passuk and gives us such a beautiful insight into this statement.
He gives the following parable. Imagine one morning, Michael gets ups and goes to work, as he normally does everyday. On his way home after work, he no longer remembers anything. He completely lost his memory. How does he get home? He doesn't even know if he has a home. He grabs the first person he sees in the street and asks,
"Where do I live?"
"Um, I don't know. What's your name?"
Michael responds, "I have no clue."
"Ok. Are you married? What's your wife's name? What's her number? I'll give her a call."
"Uhh, I don't even know if I'm married."
"Maybe you have some family? Parents, brothers, sisters, etc?"
"I don't even know what you're talking about!"
I could keep on going with this forever. Even if Michael ever even finds his house, he wouldn't know who his wife is, or his kids, or anything. He can't live a functional life.
Obviously, Hashem graciously granted us with the precious gift of memory. Without it, we would not be able to function. We need our memories. Hashem gave us this necessary ability. How wrong would it be to take this gift, without which we cannot survive, and use it to remember negative things, bad things, things that we shouldn't remember, things that if we spend our time remember, it would be better off not having a memory at all?
One of the reasons why the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed was sinat chinam, or baseless hatred. The only reason why I bring that is to show that the word "chinam" can also mean "baselessly," or "free of justification."
The Jewish people said, "We remember the fish which we ate in Egypt," chinam - baselessly. The Torah is interjecting and explaining that when the Jewish people said, "We remember the fish," they we remembering baselessly. They had no justification for using their memories for such negative reasons. They were remembering baselessly! Hashem gifted us with memory so that we can function in this world, not so that we can complain about Hashem! We abused our gift! It was all chinam. It was all free of any legitimate reasons.
The amount of kindnesses Hashem does for us on a daily basis is unbelievable. You wouldn't be able to count your blessings because they are just way too many. There are many abilities and qualities Hashem bestowed upon us with which we can do great things. We have to use our abilities for good things, to help us function well in this world, to help us help make this world a better place. Not to complain. We weren't given eyes to call something ugly. We weren't given noses to whine about foul odors. We weren't given the ability to remember to show a lack of appreciation to Hashem.
May we all use our qualities, efficiently, in their proper usages. And may we all be thankful to Hashem for those qualities, as well.
Shabbat Shalom!
Thank you very much for reading the D'var Torah, and please share your thoughts on it with me.
-Avraham Adam Sabzevari
--
For questions, comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please email adamsabzevari@gmail.com. We are awaiting your feedback. :)
My Blog - www.adamstorah.blogspot.com
How is everything going? [I'm not really expecting a response to that question, but I would love to hear one if you would like to share.] We are coming right out of Shavuot. As my weeks in Eretz Yisrael wind down, I'm trying to make the most of my time here. Shavuot was the beginning of what will hopefully be a strong finish to the year. I hope we all took what we could from the chag and are able to keep it going for as long as possible, at least for the summer. By then, we'll have Rosh Hashana to keep us going. Looking forward.
So here's the dilemma. The 6th day of the month Sivan was on a Friday this year. That means Shavuot is on Friday. Now, if Shavuot is one day (i.e. in Eretz Yisrael), then on the following day, we would read Parashat Nasso (which actually happened in Eretz Yisrael). If, however, Shavuot is two days (i.e. in America), then on the following day, we wouldn't read Parashat Nasso (which was the case in America). Instead, we would read it the following week. Basically, since in Israel, we already read Parashat Nasso, this week's parasha is Parashat Be'ha'alothcha, whereas in America, it's Parashat Nasso.
So this week's parasha is both Parashat Nasso and Parashat Be'ha'alothcha. So which do I write about? I think it just makes most sense for me to right on Be'ha'alothcha because that is the parasha where I am, and also, those in America can still have it for next week. And that is what I'll do.
[Trivia: How do Israel and America synchronize and eventually end up reading the same weekly portion?]
In this week's parasha, Parashat Be'ha'alothcha, the Jewish people complain to Moshe Rabbeinu. In terms of food, we were completely taken care of. Every single day, a portion of 'man' fell from the sky, and everyone was fine. It really doesn't get any better than that. One problem. I love pizza. A lot. I can eat it everyday. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And even though that sounds great, after doing it for a while, I'll get sick of it. In fact, I'm sure that after a long time, I wouldn't even want to see pizza. Wouldn't even want to hear the word "pizza." Why? Because we get sick of certain foods. So too with the Jewish people. They got sick of the 'man.'
"Who will feed us meat? We remember the fish which we ate in Egypt freely (chinam); the cucumbers, the watermelons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. Now our bodies are withered, there is nothing at all, except for the 'man' before our eyes" (Bamidbar, 11:4-6).
As we see, they were reminiscing over the variety of delicacies offered to the Jews in Egypt. But there is one word that they threw in to their complaint which indicates that not only were they complaining about the food (or lack thereof), but about the conditions under which they are currently eating. They remember that they used to eat the food freely ("chinam"). What was their complaint? Do you really think they were granted fish for free without having to work for it? They were slaves! All they did was work! How do you call that free?
One explanation is offered by the Midrash Sifri (11:5) and is brought down by Rashi. They were given food in Egypt when they were free from mitzvot. Hashem supplies food for Israel only when they perform the mitzvot. For example, people who were less observant had to walk a far distance to pick up their 'man.' Their accessibility to the food depended on their observance of the commandments. So the food wasn't "free." But this did not apply in Egypt, before the Torah was given. Everyone received his portion, irrespective of his religiosity (because it didn't exist yet).
The Maggid of Dubno explains differently. He offers a novel way of reading the passuk and gives us such a beautiful insight into this statement.
He gives the following parable. Imagine one morning, Michael gets ups and goes to work, as he normally does everyday. On his way home after work, he no longer remembers anything. He completely lost his memory. How does he get home? He doesn't even know if he has a home. He grabs the first person he sees in the street and asks,
"Where do I live?"
"Um, I don't know. What's your name?"
Michael responds, "I have no clue."
"Ok. Are you married? What's your wife's name? What's her number? I'll give her a call."
"Uhh, I don't even know if I'm married."
"Maybe you have some family? Parents, brothers, sisters, etc?"
"I don't even know what you're talking about!"
I could keep on going with this forever. Even if Michael ever even finds his house, he wouldn't know who his wife is, or his kids, or anything. He can't live a functional life.
Obviously, Hashem graciously granted us with the precious gift of memory. Without it, we would not be able to function. We need our memories. Hashem gave us this necessary ability. How wrong would it be to take this gift, without which we cannot survive, and use it to remember negative things, bad things, things that we shouldn't remember, things that if we spend our time remember, it would be better off not having a memory at all?
One of the reasons why the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed was sinat chinam, or baseless hatred. The only reason why I bring that is to show that the word "chinam" can also mean "baselessly," or "free of justification."
The Jewish people said, "We remember the fish which we ate in Egypt," chinam - baselessly. The Torah is interjecting and explaining that when the Jewish people said, "We remember the fish," they we remembering baselessly. They had no justification for using their memories for such negative reasons. They were remembering baselessly! Hashem gifted us with memory so that we can function in this world, not so that we can complain about Hashem! We abused our gift! It was all chinam. It was all free of any legitimate reasons.
The amount of kindnesses Hashem does for us on a daily basis is unbelievable. You wouldn't be able to count your blessings because they are just way too many. There are many abilities and qualities Hashem bestowed upon us with which we can do great things. We have to use our abilities for good things, to help us function well in this world, to help us help make this world a better place. Not to complain. We weren't given eyes to call something ugly. We weren't given noses to whine about foul odors. We weren't given the ability to remember to show a lack of appreciation to Hashem.
May we all use our qualities, efficiently, in their proper usages. And may we all be thankful to Hashem for those qualities, as well.
Shabbat Shalom!
Thank you very much for reading the D'var Torah, and please share your thoughts on it with me.
-Avraham Adam Sabzevari
--
For questions, comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please email adamsabzevari@gmail.com. We are awaiting your feedback. :)
My Blog - www.adamstorah.blogspot.com
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