Hello Everyone!
This week is "Shabbat Chazon." It is called this because the first word of the Haftarah is "chazon," or "vision." It's about a vision that the prophet Yesheyahu had, and he laments over the causes of the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash. This coming week is supposed to be a week of improvement on all our parts because we want to repair the destruction that occurred in our land close to 2,000 years ago. As we all know, our Rabbis teach us that the second Beit Hamikdash was destroyed because there was baseless hatred between the people; we just weren't nice people. Furthermore, Chazal also teach us that in every generation that the Beit Hamikdash was not rebuilt, it is as though is was destroyed during that generation. Which means, we should really be feeling as if the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed in our very days. Remember September 11th? That event is really real to me because I was alive when it happened. It's not just a historical event, but I experienced it. It should be the same with the Beit Hamikdash.
This week, try to give a little love. Try to dish out baseless love. Don't ask questions. Don't be nice only to those who deserve it, but to everyone. Just for one week. Try it. Love people irrationally. Help bring back the Beit Hamikdash.
"You shall not bother Moav and you shall not provoke war with them, for I shall not give you an inheritance from their land..." (Devarim 2:9)
Hashem tells us in this week's parasha that we will not be able to ever conquer land that belongs to Moav. If we want a land that belongs to them, forget about it.
Let's back-track a little bit. In the end of parashat Chukat, the Torah says, "The poets [ha'moshelim] would say, 'Come to Cheshbon! Let it be built and established as the city of Sichon'" (Bamidbar 21:27).
The word "moshelim" - "poets", comes from the word "mashal" - "parable." Poets are the ones who make analogies, metaphors, personifications, and parables. The simple understand of the passuk is that during that time, when the Jewish nation was conquering one city after another on its way to the Promised Land, everyone was talking about it. Everyone was writing about our military operations and covert missions. When we conquering Cheshbon, which was a city that belonged the Sichon (the King of Emori), the poets spoke about that conquest, as well.
Our Sages interpret this passuk in a different way, in addition to its simple meaning. The word "moshel" can also mean a ruler - one who rules or reigns over something. "These [moshelim] are those people who rule over their [evil] inclinations. 'Come, let us think about the matters and calculations of the world. [Let us compare] the loss one undergoes when doing a mitzvah in respect to its reward and the reward one receives when refraining to sin in respect to the loss one undergoes by transgressing the sin'" (Baba Batra 78b).
What were these moshelim saying? When the righteous people, who completely ruled over their evil inclinations, saw what happened to Sichon and the entire city Cheshbon, their initial reaction was, "Let's start thinking. Let's take an account (cheshbon) of everything we are doing and make sure that we are on the right path. Let us make sure that we are never sinning. And even in the things we are doing correctly, let us make sure we are doing them with our utmost ability, not slacking off at all. How will we come to such yearning to do that which is correct? We will weigh out both sides. If, right now, I have the choice to do a mitzvah, let me think about the advantages and disadvantages. How much will I lose by doing this mitzvah? Will I have to buy some things? On the contrary, how much will I gain by doing the mitzvah? How great are the everlasting rewards that are promised to me in the eternal world to come? Is it worth it to exchange a couple dollars for eternity? The same comparison should be done with negative mitzvot. How much eternal reward will I receive for refraining from transgressing this sin at hand? How much momentary pleasure will I actually gain by committing it?
In any event, there is a lot to think about regarding this interpretation of this passuk. "Let's start thinking."
The question arises: What does this have to do with anything? Why are we learning about "taking account for our spiritual lives" from this passuk? This passuk has to do with the military conquests of the Jewish nation before entering Israel! Is there a connection merely because the name of the city was "Cheshbon," which means "an accounting or calculation?"
I once heard someone make a beautiful connection.
This city, Cheshbon, wasn't always under the rule of Sichon (the Emorite King). It used to belong to Moav.
"Cheshbon, was the city of Sichon, king of the Emorite; he went to war against the first king of Moav and took all his land from his control." (Bamidbar 21:26)
This is significant because the Jewish nation was not allowed to conquer any land from Moav, by the order of Hashem, as we see in this week's parasha.
So in truth, we were never allowed to get our hands on Cheshbon. Cheshbon belongs to Moav, and we are not allowed to take anything from them. However, once the Emorites took Sichon from Moav, there was no longer anything holding us back from conquering Cheshbon. It no longer belonged to Moav. Therefore, we conquered Cheshbon. Sichon was serving as a pawn in the Jewish nation's battles, to help us achieve our goal of conquering Cheshbon. Initially, when Sichon took over the land from Moav, he definitely thought that he was invincible and an unbelievable leader. He definitely grew arrogant because he was amassing property while others were losing. But little did he know that his good fortune had nothing to do with him. It only happened to him so that someone else (the Jews) can reap the benefits. He was successful, only to give us what we want.
Now, you can understand that anyone who sees something like this will start thinking about it. Wow. Maybe there are good things happening to me. But why? Am I blessed because I deserve to be? Or am I just doing the hard work and amassing properties and assets just to hand it over to a more worthy fellow? Well, there's only one way to be sure that this is happening for me: "'Come, let us think about the matters and calculations of the world.'" Let us make sure that we are doing everything correctly and pleasing our Creator. Let us make sure that we are on the right path, and hopefully, not have to hand over our blessings to our enemies.
May we all merit to have the knowledge and intellect to be able to think about our spiritual lives, ensuring that we do what is right. May we all introspect properly, and through that, not only will ensure that we are not a pawn is someone else's life, but we will also make sure we are living with more of Hashem in our lives.
Shabbat Chazon Shalom!
May we all be enjoying a Yom Tov this coming Thursday and no longer be mourning the loss of the Beit Hamikdash.
Sincerely,
Avraham Adam Sabzevari
Last week's Torah Trivia
"If a man takes an vow to Hashem or swears an oath to establish a prohibition upon himself..." What is the difference between taking a vow or swearing an oath?
Simply put, a vow changes the status of the object, whereas an oath places an obligation only on the person. For example, you can make a vow against fruits, and the fruits will be like non-kosher. If you want to swear off sleeping for a night, that would have to be done with an oath.
A great difference between the two is the following. Let's say someone wants to bring a korban. He has a specific cow, called Cathy the Cow. If he makes a vow to bring Cathy as a korban, then if she dies, he no longer is obligated to bring a korban, because Cathy's status changed, but she's dead. On the contrary, if he made an oath to bring a korban, then the obligation is placed on him. If Cathy dies, he would have to bring another korban, like Bessy the Cow.
This week is "Shabbat Chazon." It is called this because the first word of the Haftarah is "chazon," or "vision." It's about a vision that the prophet Yesheyahu had, and he laments over the causes of the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash. This coming week is supposed to be a week of improvement on all our parts because we want to repair the destruction that occurred in our land close to 2,000 years ago. As we all know, our Rabbis teach us that the second Beit Hamikdash was destroyed because there was baseless hatred between the people; we just weren't nice people. Furthermore, Chazal also teach us that in every generation that the Beit Hamikdash was not rebuilt, it is as though is was destroyed during that generation. Which means, we should really be feeling as if the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed in our very days. Remember September 11th? That event is really real to me because I was alive when it happened. It's not just a historical event, but I experienced it. It should be the same with the Beit Hamikdash.
This week, try to give a little love. Try to dish out baseless love. Don't ask questions. Don't be nice only to those who deserve it, but to everyone. Just for one week. Try it. Love people irrationally. Help bring back the Beit Hamikdash.
"You shall not bother Moav and you shall not provoke war with them, for I shall not give you an inheritance from their land..." (Devarim 2:9)
Hashem tells us in this week's parasha that we will not be able to ever conquer land that belongs to Moav. If we want a land that belongs to them, forget about it.
Let's back-track a little bit. In the end of parashat Chukat, the Torah says, "The poets [ha'moshelim] would say, 'Come to Cheshbon! Let it be built and established as the city of Sichon'" (Bamidbar 21:27).
The word "moshelim" - "poets", comes from the word "mashal" - "parable." Poets are the ones who make analogies, metaphors, personifications, and parables. The simple understand of the passuk is that during that time, when the Jewish nation was conquering one city after another on its way to the Promised Land, everyone was talking about it. Everyone was writing about our military operations and covert missions. When we conquering Cheshbon, which was a city that belonged the Sichon (the King of Emori), the poets spoke about that conquest, as well.
Our Sages interpret this passuk in a different way, in addition to its simple meaning. The word "moshel" can also mean a ruler - one who rules or reigns over something. "These [moshelim] are those people who rule over their [evil] inclinations. 'Come, let us think about the matters and calculations of the world. [Let us compare] the loss one undergoes when doing a mitzvah in respect to its reward and the reward one receives when refraining to sin in respect to the loss one undergoes by transgressing the sin'" (Baba Batra 78b).
What were these moshelim saying? When the righteous people, who completely ruled over their evil inclinations, saw what happened to Sichon and the entire city Cheshbon, their initial reaction was, "Let's start thinking. Let's take an account (cheshbon) of everything we are doing and make sure that we are on the right path. Let us make sure that we are never sinning. And even in the things we are doing correctly, let us make sure we are doing them with our utmost ability, not slacking off at all. How will we come to such yearning to do that which is correct? We will weigh out both sides. If, right now, I have the choice to do a mitzvah, let me think about the advantages and disadvantages. How much will I lose by doing this mitzvah? Will I have to buy some things? On the contrary, how much will I gain by doing the mitzvah? How great are the everlasting rewards that are promised to me in the eternal world to come? Is it worth it to exchange a couple dollars for eternity? The same comparison should be done with negative mitzvot. How much eternal reward will I receive for refraining from transgressing this sin at hand? How much momentary pleasure will I actually gain by committing it?
In any event, there is a lot to think about regarding this interpretation of this passuk. "Let's start thinking."
The question arises: What does this have to do with anything? Why are we learning about "taking account for our spiritual lives" from this passuk? This passuk has to do with the military conquests of the Jewish nation before entering Israel! Is there a connection merely because the name of the city was "Cheshbon," which means "an accounting or calculation?"
I once heard someone make a beautiful connection.
This city, Cheshbon, wasn't always under the rule of Sichon (the Emorite King). It used to belong to Moav.
"Cheshbon, was the city of Sichon, king of the Emorite; he went to war against the first king of Moav and took all his land from his control." (Bamidbar 21:26)
This is significant because the Jewish nation was not allowed to conquer any land from Moav, by the order of Hashem, as we see in this week's parasha.
So in truth, we were never allowed to get our hands on Cheshbon. Cheshbon belongs to Moav, and we are not allowed to take anything from them. However, once the Emorites took Sichon from Moav, there was no longer anything holding us back from conquering Cheshbon. It no longer belonged to Moav. Therefore, we conquered Cheshbon. Sichon was serving as a pawn in the Jewish nation's battles, to help us achieve our goal of conquering Cheshbon. Initially, when Sichon took over the land from Moav, he definitely thought that he was invincible and an unbelievable leader. He definitely grew arrogant because he was amassing property while others were losing. But little did he know that his good fortune had nothing to do with him. It only happened to him so that someone else (the Jews) can reap the benefits. He was successful, only to give us what we want.
Now, you can understand that anyone who sees something like this will start thinking about it. Wow. Maybe there are good things happening to me. But why? Am I blessed because I deserve to be? Or am I just doing the hard work and amassing properties and assets just to hand it over to a more worthy fellow? Well, there's only one way to be sure that this is happening for me: "'Come, let us think about the matters and calculations of the world.'" Let us make sure that we are doing everything correctly and pleasing our Creator. Let us make sure that we are on the right path, and hopefully, not have to hand over our blessings to our enemies.
May we all merit to have the knowledge and intellect to be able to think about our spiritual lives, ensuring that we do what is right. May we all introspect properly, and through that, not only will ensure that we are not a pawn is someone else's life, but we will also make sure we are living with more of Hashem in our lives.
Shabbat Chazon Shalom!
May we all be enjoying a Yom Tov this coming Thursday and no longer be mourning the loss of the Beit Hamikdash.
Sincerely,
Avraham Adam Sabzevari
Last week's Torah Trivia
"If a man takes an vow to Hashem or swears an oath to establish a prohibition upon himself..." What is the difference between taking a vow or swearing an oath?
Simply put, a vow changes the status of the object, whereas an oath places an obligation only on the person. For example, you can make a vow against fruits, and the fruits will be like non-kosher. If you want to swear off sleeping for a night, that would have to be done with an oath.
A great difference between the two is the following. Let's say someone wants to bring a korban. He has a specific cow, called Cathy the Cow. If he makes a vow to bring Cathy as a korban, then if she dies, he no longer is obligated to bring a korban, because Cathy's status changed, but she's dead. On the contrary, if he made an oath to bring a korban, then the obligation is placed on him. If Cathy dies, he would have to bring another korban, like Bessy the Cow.
