There's Not Enough Room For The Both Of Us

Shalom!!

I don't have much time to write this week; however, I would like to keep (establish) some continuity. So I will write something short.

In this week's parasha, Parashat Va'era, Hashem strikes Egypt with the the first seven of ten plagues. The second plague is tzefardeya, traditionally known as the infestation of frogs through the land of Egypt, including in their houses, bedrooms, and ovens. Frogs galore. Everywhere they look, they see frogs. Good luck sleeping at night with all of the ribit-ing. They were always making noise, and the Egyptians couldn't run away from them. They were in their bathrooms (that's correct - they were rude), they were in their beds. And they were loud. Like a pounding headache that doesn't stop, for a week straight! And it wasn't just a few people - it was the entire nation. After a while, the Egyptians went crazy and had enough of the frogs. Pharaoh asks Moshe to pray to Hashem and to ask to have all of these frogs removed. 

Moshe said to Pharaoh, "Glorify yourself over me. For when should I pray for you...to remove the frogs from you?"...And [Pharaoh] said, "For tomorrow." [Moshe] said, "As you wish - so that you will know that there is none like Hashem..." (Shemot 8:5-6)

When Pharaoh asks Moshe to pray for the Egyptians to have the frogs removed, Moshe asks, "When would you like the frogs to leave? For when should I pray to have these frogs leave? Glorify yourself over me." What is Moshe saying? Moshe is saying, I'll give you a chance to glorify yourself over me, to make me look bad - You tell me exactly when you want the frogs to leave, and I will have them removed at that very instant. Ask for whenever you want, and if I am wrong, then you will have glorified yourself over me by embarrassing me and by showing that my G-d isn't so powerful after all.

When Pharaoh hears this, he immediately thinks of poker. Pharaoh knew how to play poker and was, in fact, very good at it. And he knew knew a bluff when he saw one. He was sure that Moshe was bluffing. Pharaoh thought to himself, Why would Moshe put so much on the line? He could have simply went and prayed for the frogs to leave. Why does he want me to pick a time? Aha! It must be that he knows that the frogs are leaving now! It must be that he has inside information that the frogs are leaving now, and he expects for me to say that I want the frogs gone NOW. Oh, you tricky Moshe, I can smell your bluff. I don't want the frogs to leave today; I want the frogs to leave TOMORROW!!! 

Pharaoh assumed that the frogs would leave today regardless, and Moshe would be embarrassed because Pharaoh only requested that the frogs leave tomorrow.

Lo and behold, the frogs stayed over one more night, and they only left on the next day, as Moshe prayed for, as Pharaoh requested of Moshe.

The nations is going crazy, and Moshe tells Pharaoh that he can fix things, and he can do it right now if Pharaoh wants. But Pharaohs pride is too big. He doesn't care about his nation. He doesn't care about his family. He doesn't even care about himself. He care about his pride! He wants to prove Moshe wrong so badly, that he is willing to make his entire nation suffer for another day. And at the end, he was still wrong. How do you think his pride felt went he realized that it wasn't a bluff? How do you think he felt when he realized that he has only glorified Moshe even more?

There are many times that our pride gets in the way of our rationale. We can't think straight if our pride gets in the way. In fact, many relationships don't work out because of this. Many people simply cannot get along because there's not enough room in this town for the both of us (what they really means is that there isn't enough room in this town for the both of our prides). 

We should always be conscious of pride, and how it can destroy us. As the Mishna in Pirket Avot (4:21) says, "Jealousy, lust, and pride remove a person from this world." If you ever feel that this is happening to you, maybe take a step back, realize what's happening, and hopefully you do things correctly.

Shabbat Shalom!

Sincerely yours,

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

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For questions, comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please email adamsabzevari@gmail.com. We are awaiting your feedback. :)
www.adamstorah.blogspot.com

All The Time In The World

Hello,

So this is week 2 of my hot streak. It's hard to call it a hot streak if it is only the second email in a while, but I can call it whatever I want. 

In this week's parasha, many events transpire, and the societal status of the Jewish people shifts drastically. The Egyptians enslave the Jews and kill all newborn baby boys. They were very cruel and it is very difficult to think about how much suffering our nation went through. Then, we are told of Moshe's birth, and ironically enough, the savior of the Jewish people lives in Pharaoh's palace, right underneath his nose. [Who said Hashem doesn't have a sense of humor?] Then, Moshe is chased away from Egypt, and he begins his family in Midian. Moshe is then approached by Hashem by means of a burning bush, convincing and persuading him to go save the Jewish people. When he finally accepts this noble task, you can almost hear the background music is crescendo, becoming more exciting. He heads toward Pharaoh, ready and equipped with Hashem having his back. He first tells the Jews that he is here to save the day, and the crowd goes wild. Then he finally goes to Pharaoh and makes his demands - "Let my people go." It would have been great if Pharaoh acquiesced and would just let us leave; but Pharaoh had other plans. He did not the the Jewish people go. Furthermore, he increased the slave-labor workload. 

Pharaoh said to the taskmasters..."You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, [as you have been previously doing so]. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. And do not diminish the quota that they have previously been keeping up to. For they are idle; therefore they cry, saying, 'Let us go...'" (Shemot 5:6-8).

Previously, they had to make bricks, but they were at least given straw to make the bricks with. Now, they have to gather the straw themselves and continue to make the same amount of bricks that they have previously been making. 

The Mesillat Yesharim explains something that I personally see occurring in my life on a daily basis, and I am sure that it applies to the majority of us. When the Jewish people, with Moshe as their representative, came to request freedom (or even to have a vacation to bring some korbanot), Pharaoh became a little worried. He though to himself, "If the Jews have time to think about leaving, they might devise a plot to start a rebellion." Pharaoh knew that he had to snip this at its bud. Thinking is a function of time. You can only think if you have the time to think. If you don't have time, you won't be able to think. These Jews are idle! They have too much free time. That is why they ask to leave. They think too much. How can Pharaoh make sure that they don't think? Well, if he dumps a whole load of extra work to do, they won't have any free time to think. They'll be too busy working, and if they are to slack off, they'll be whipped. It's a fail-proof system. More work means less thinking, which means less danger of rebellion.

So you're probably thinking, what does this have to do with Adam's life on a daily basis? Why is he making bricks? I'm trying to figure that one out myself.

Pharaoh's plan is used by your evil inclination. Even if you don't believe that you have an evil inclination within you, a little guy telling you what to do, you can still relate to this point. When you are very busy, you sometimes forget to do the most important things. In this case, the Jews were unable to think about getting out of Egypt. For others, they aren't able to spend quality time with the families or friends, or they aren't spending enough time thinking about what they want to do with their lives. Where do you picture yourself 20 years from now, and are you taking the necessary steps to get there? Is there a certain attribute that you want to have, but you simply never got around to working on it? Do you want to write weekly Divre Torah to keep in touch with your friends, family, and people that mean so much to you, but you get caught up with other things that are unarguably not as important? Do you ever feel like you should make a phone call to keep in touch with someone but never get the chance? Did you ever have a desire to learn something specific regarding halacha but the opportunity never knocked on your door? Do you often see yourself going with the flow, instead of swimming to where you want to be? Have you ever seen so many consecutive questions?

The point is clear. Pharaoh knew that as long as people are busy, they will not be able to progress. So, as we all know, we have busy lives. What are we supposed to do? The answer is simple: Make time. When you have to get something done, just do it. Don't waste time, and NEVER procrastinate. Just do it. And if you are very busy and doing everything you want to do will mean that you will have to cut out the wasteful times out of your day, that is a decision that you have to make - but it should be fairly simple - do you prefer progressing or wasting?

May we all have the energy within to get things done, and hopefully, may we never feel that we are simply going with the flow.

Good Shabbat (it's a hybrid, if you know what I mean)!

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

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For questions, comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please email adamsabzevari@gmail.com. We are awaiting your feedback. :)
www.adamstorah.blogspot.com

The Best Revenge

Shalom to all,

How are you? Things going well? In case you have forgotten (I certainly have), I used to write weekly/bimonthly Divre Torah. If you don't believe me, look at www.adamstorah.blogspot.com . With a combination of tons of work to do and some laziness, I haven't been writing Divre Torah lately. There have been some people asking me why I stopped, and there was a specific individual that really put me into shape. So I will try to keep up with this again; we'll see how things play out.

I would like to share a personal anecdote. One afternoon last year, I had a lot of work to do. I entered a YU elevator and was greeted by a kind gentleman. I hit the 5th floor button and saw that the 4th floor button was already illuminated.  I smiled and asked the gentleman, "How are you?" He said, "Fine. Thank you. How are you?" For some reason, I responded very enthusiastically, "EXCELLENT! I'm really doing well." He laughed and said, "That's the best revenge." I was a little confused, so I asked what he meant. As the elevator doors opened and as he stepped out, he said, "Living well is the best revenge. If you got enemies, son, just keep living well - that'll kill them." As the doors closed, the first thought that came to my mind was, "Who was that guy?" I still wonder that. Either way, I thought that what he said was important but I didn't have the time to think about it. So I wrote it down. Now, I have a theory that this man was Eliyahu HaNavi. (If you are actually reading this, kind gentleman, please keep it to yourself. I like telling myself that it was Eliyahu HaNavi, so don't burst my bubble.)

As I was looking through Parashat Vayechi, I remembered this man and his advice to me - "Living well is the best revenge." As we all know, Yaakov Avinu has twelve sons. Ten of them plot against Yosef and sell him to the Egyptians. Years later, Yosef ends up as the viceroy of Egypt and brings his entire family, including these ten brothers, to live with him in Egypt. After living in Egypt for 17 years, Yaakov Avinu passes away. Now that their father is gone, the brothers fear that Yosef will try to take his revenge. Perhaps, Yosef was so nice and kind to his brothers for the past 17 years because he honored his father and didn't want his father to see his sons fighting with each other. But now that Yaakov is in a better place, maybe Yosef will use his powerful position to unleash his anger that he has bottled up for so many years.

Yosef's brothers saw that their father was dead, and they said, "Perhaps (lu) Yosef still bears a grudge against us. He will then certainly repay us for all the evil that we did him." They sent a command to Yosef saying, "Your father issued a command before his death, saying, 'This is what you should say to Yosef, "Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin..."'" Yosef wept as his brothers spoke to him. His brothers also went and threw themselves down before him, and they said, "Behold we are your slaves." Yosef said to them, "Fear not... For am I in God's position? You meant to do evil to me, but Hashem meant it for good..." (Bereshit 50:15-20)

Unfortunately, Yosef never actually forgives his brothers. He tells them that although they plotted against him, it all worked out for the best. Everything Hashem does, He does for a reason. But he never actually forgives them. The brothers feel as though Yosef is giving them a cold shoulder. There is a lot of discussion as to why Yosef never forgave the brothers. There are several opinions, some of which say he actually DID forgive them, but we won't go into that now. As we know, later in our history, there were ten very righteous men that had to pay the price in their stead. (If you are not familiar with this story brought down in the midrash, you can reply and I'll send it to you.)

When the brothers express their fear, they say, "Perhaps (lu) Yosef still bears a grudge against us." This word, "lu," that I have translated as "perhaps," is an interesting word. As my Rebbi, Rav Eli Reich, explained, it can have two connotations, because there are two types of maybes. There is a maybe, when you don't want the thing to happen. "Maybe I'll miss the bus." "Maybe I'll forget something." "Maybe Yosef still hates us." Another connotation is a maybe, when you want the thing to happen. "Maybe I will win the lottery." "Maybe I'll meet someone new today." The simple understanding is that the brothers use the first form of the word here - "maybe," when you don't want the thing to happen. "Maybe Yosef still hates us, but we don't want that to be the case." Another second explanation is, "Maybe Yosef will actually hate us now. Maybe he will begin to show us some emotion and not keep everything bottled up. If only he would speak with us. If only we can get this all out on the table so that he will realize that we are sorry. If only he would hate us and show it." The brothers were very disturbed by the fact that Yosef was completely indifferent towards them. 

When Eliyahu HaNavi told me that "Living well is the best revenge," he meant that if someone wronged you, don't let it affect your life. Don't let him see that you are living any differently because of him. This is exactly what Yosef did. He didn't even want to speak about it. When they brought it up, he brushed it off and said, "Oh, please! Do you really think you did it? It was all from Hashem. He planned it out so that I can be in charge of Egypt. Don't think that you actually had anything to do with it." It really hurt the brothers, because they felt distant from Yosef for the rest of their lives. 

HOWEVER, we also believe that as Jews, we don't want to take revenge on people. If there is someone who wronged you and isn't sorry about it, that you shouldn't let the person see that it affects you. You should completely forget about it, move on, and get on with your life. However, we, as Jews, believe in forgiving each other. (As I said, there is a whole discussion as to why Yosef was not allowed to forgive them. Perhaps I'll write about it another time.) We especially believe in forgiving when the guilty party apologizes so sincerely. So we should always forgive. Now, you may ask, what about the advice - "Living well is the best revenge." So, my response is, for sure, you must live well. You cannot let what other people say or do affect your attitude or your outlook on life. However, at the end of day, that doesn't mean you shouldn't forgive him. Live well because you want to live well; not because you want revenge.

In summary, don't let what others do to hurt you affect your lives; however, don't bear a grudge either.

I apologize for being rusty, but things corrode over time. 

Sincerely yours,

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

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For questions, comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please email adamsabzevari@gmail.com. We are awaiting your feedback. :)
www.adamstorah.blogspot.com

"We Did It," says I

Shalom,

It is getting close to Yom Kippur, and I would like to write something, so I will make this very short.

In all of our tefillot, and in all of the vidduy (confessions) that we make on Yom Kipput, we always pray in the plural form. "We sinned, we were guilty, we spoke lashon hara, we did this, we did that, etc." It's almost as though each and every one of us is a representative for the entire Jewish nation. Why do we pray this way? I know that when I go through the vidduy, I think of sins that I committed this year; not the sins that my friends committed. I don't even know what they did. Why am I praying for them?

There are two main reasons that I would like to share:

(1) The chances of getting answered and having our prayers heard are greater when we involve other people. I did many sins this year. If I request forgiveness based on my own merit, I may not deserve it. However, if I ask for everyone else, and everyone else asks for me as well, it's almost as if we are asking Hashem - all or nothing. Forgive us all. And when we all come together to ask for forgiveness, we are a bigger crowd, we are more powerful, and we feel that there is a greater chance that Hashem will forgive us.

(2) However, I think there is a much deeper reason to this. When we pray for everyone else, and if we think about it properly, that in and of itself is a merit for us. My life is on the line - and I know that. However, I am not only thinking about myself. I'm thinking about everyone else, too! I could be selfish - maybe I should be selfish - I mean, after all, I sinned and I need this day and this time to atone for my sins and purify myself. But I am not selfish - I realize that everyone else also needs the help, and I think about them as well. This, in and of itself, is a great act of selflessness. It portrays our brotherly love, and when Hashem sees that - all of his children get together and ask for forgiveness on behalf of each other - there is a certain sense of pleasure that He receives from our comradery.

As you pray on Yom Kippur, and throughout the entire year for that matter, pay attention to the words. Realize that you aren't praying completely for yourself. Think about how you are praying for others as well, and be selfless. Be'ezrat Hashem, that should be a zechut for all of us on this holy day.

Chatima Tova!

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

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For questions, comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please email adamsabzevari@gmail.com. We are awaiting your feedback. :)
www.adamstorah.blogspot.com

Where Do I Begin?

Shalom to all!

Yeshiva University is now underway (this is my second week), and the workload is starting to pile up. Last week, I didn't write a D'var Torah, and I have received a few comments about slacking off - "You've been at YU for two days, and you stop writing Divre Torah?" The truth is, I appreciate those comments because I know they're coming out of love. I mean you have to realize that I'm even sending something to realize when I am NOT sending something, right? [Though I can't hear you, I assume you agree.] Plus, they pushed me to write one this week.

So next week is Judgment Day. It's the day we've all been waiting for and the day we've all been trying to avoid. No one really wants to be judged. I don't want my every action to be scrutinized. But who doesn't love Rosh Hashana? Be'ezrat Hashem, I hope that this year, Hashem will bless us all with health, happiness, and success in everything that we do (unless it's something bad - then I hope that we stop and have no success in it.... unless you consider stopping the bad habits as true "success" as well.... think about it).

Before I write the D'var Torah, I would like to share a nice yet morbid thought that Rav Eliyahu Ben Haiim shared with his shiur at YU this week. He said - people are crazy. When the NY Lotto has a mega million total of $250 million, you will see people standing in the longest lines to buy tickets. As you are on line, you already start thinking about how to spend the money you will win - where should I go on vacation to? Which car should I buy? etc. But what are the chances that you'll actually win? Something like 1 in 1 trillion (I don't know the exact number, but it's a slim chance). But you'll still buy the ticket, and you'll still believe that you'll win. After all, "Hey, you never know." (Where's that from?) But, Rav Ben Haiim said, there are many things that the chances of getting are a lot greater than the chances of winning the lottery. The chances of getting in a car accident are very high, as they happen every single day to many people. The chances of getting sick are very high (may none of us ever know of sickness), as we see it happen with our own friends and family. Lehavdil, and Hashem shuld protect us from sickness, but there are many people who unfortunately don't make it to their next Rosh Hashana - many more people than the amount that win the lottery. When it comes to lottery, you believe that you can be you. But with other things, you don't have any doubt that IT CAN'T BE you. Rav Ben Haiim went on to explain that it's a good thing to think positively, and that it is very detrimental to be scared and be pessimistic about your own life. But at least, you should realize that you aren't invincble. At least, as we approach the Day of Judgment, we should realize that we will really be judged, and there are no guarantees. Like I said, it's nice and morbid. But we need to be prepared before Rosh Hashana - the day on which we will be judged for every single one of our actions.

In the first of this week's double parshiyot, Parashat Nitzavim, there is a famous verse - "The hidden are for Hashem, our G-d, but therevealed are for us and our children forever, to carry out all the words of this Torah" (Devarim 29:28). 

In this verse, we learn that some things are hidden, and we leave them for Hashem to deal with; however, there are some things that are revealed to us, and we must deal with them ourselves. What exactly are these things that the Torah refers to? What is hidden and what is revealed?

The Ramban offers two suggestions: (1) If you read the verses prior to this verse, you will see that Moshe tells the Jews not to serve idols. So the Ramban explain, there will be Jews who serve idol-worship and will veer away from G-d. If no one knows about it, then it's not our responsibility as Jews to do anything - "The hidden are for Hashem, our G-d." However, if we know about someone who turns away from Judaism, and we can do something about it, then we must - "but the revealed are for us and our children forever, to carry out all the words of this Torah." If we can stop someone from sinning with idolatry, then it is our responsibility to do so. [The Ramban is also referring to something specific that we must do. If you're interested, take a look.]

(2) The second explanation is something that, I believe, couldn't come at a better time. Before Rosh Hashana, everyone wants to get better. Everyone wants to guarantee himself life. No one wants to be a bad person. We all want to do teshuva. For me, however, it is very difficult to do teshuva. Where should I begin from? There are so many things that I do that are incorrect. Which one should I work on? Is it even possible for me to fix everything? There are so many things that I do that I don't even know that they are wrong. It's not like I can simply print out a list of things that I must fix. How am I supposed to know what is wrong, what needs to be worked on, etc.?

Very simply, the answer is, think. Just think about what you do, and chances are you'll figure out what's right and wrong. But that doesn't always work. For that, we can learn this Ramban. A person commits many sins - many of which he does subconsciously and doesn't even realize. "The hidden are for Hashem, our G-d." If you do things that are hidden from you, then there's nothing you can do about it. It's up to Hashem to deal with it however He decides. That's not your business. "But the revealed are for us and our children forever, to carry out all the words of this Torah." There are many things that are clear-as-day to us that we need to change. They are completely revealed. Those are the things that we are held responsible for. You don't have to worry if you were eating a dish of pasta and a spider creeped into it without you noticing, and then you ate a surprise for summer. Those are things that you don't even know about. And there are things that you did that you simply forgot. Well, those are things that you simply cannot do anything about. But you can do something about the sins you are aware of.

So basically, in this last D'var Torah before Rosh Hashana, I would like to challenge you to make one (some) New Year Resolution(s). Pick one thing that is obvious to you - revealed. Make it your responsibility to change that habit of yours. Accept upon yourself to change that act. With accepting things upon ourselves, hopefully, we'll merit to be able to fix even more things next year at this time.

I would also like to take this opportunity to apologize to you, if there is anything that I have done that requires your forgiveness. I have already forgiven everyone, even though that isn't necessary for you.

Shabbat Shalom!

Shana Tova! Tizku leshanim rabot, tovot ve'ne'imot.

Sincerely yours,

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

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For questions, comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please email adamsabzevari@gmail.com. We are awaiting your feedback. :)
www.adamstorah.blogspot.com

No Rules For You

Shalom,

This week is one of the more serious weeks. This D'var Torah is very short and simple, and it ain't too funny - not to say that I usually am funny, though I would like to think so. But this week isn't. Whatever.

In this week’s parasha, Parashat Ki Tetzeh, we are given a mitzvah which, at first glance, seems shocking. [My goal is to explain why it isn’t shocking.] “When you will go out to war against your enemies…and you will capture captivity, and you will see among its captivity a beautiful woman, and you will desire her, you may take her to yourself as a wife” (Devarim 21:10). Basically, the Torah teaches us that in the time of war, if you see a woman that you want, you can go ahead and marry her. It doesn’t matter that she isn’t Jewish. It doesn’t matter that she is the enemy. It doesn’t matter that she is married and a mother of ten. Of course, there is a whole process that one must undergo before actually marrying her. It’s a long process, and you can read the very short passage to get a feel of what the process is.

To someone who doesn’t understand, this seems very odd. Why is it that during war time, the laws are put on hold? Why do we forego the laws of morality and allow this man to do the unthinkable? We allow him to marry the enemy, who happens to be married to another man and is the mother of many children! Why is it allowed?

There are a few answers, but one of the famous answers is explained by understanding the way Hashem tests us. In every test that we are faced with, we have a 50% chance of passing and a 50% chance of failing. We have complete freedom of will. If there were a 51% chance of failing, then it wouldn’t be a fair test because we would be starting off behind. Can we really be held accountable for failing that test? In every single challenge that we face, we have the choice to pass or to fail, and we are not predetermined or inclined to either way. We have the choice. We can’t blame it on the circumstances.

When this man is in war, killing people, capturing people, and worrying for his life – sleeping with one eye open – he basically goes crazy. If he sees a woman that he desires, chances are he’s going to fail. It is no longer a 50/50 test – he is inclined to fail, based on the circumstances. He needs a tremendous amount of will-power to pass this temptation, and he is simply not required to display that much will-power. Hashem understands that the bets are against him, and therefore, Hashem lifts the prohibition. It isn’t a fair test, so He simply takes away the test and allows this man to do whatever he wants. [You should know, it isn’t a free-for-all. He doesn’t allow anyone to do whatever he wants, as animals do. There is an entire procedure to go about doing this. I’m not going into it, but please don't mistakenly believe that this man is now permitted to be an animal. I like animals. I have nothing against them. I just don't like it when people become animals.]

From this, we learn that in every test that we face, we have an equal opportunity of passing and failing. It’s 50/50. We can’t make excuses and say that it was too difficult. We have the ability to pass, just as much as we have the ability to fail. It’s completely up to us. We see this in the fact that when it isn’t a fair test (as in this week’s parasha), Hashem lifts the test altogether.

May we all make the correct decisions, even if they are extremely difficult.

Sorry that it's so short this week, you'll have to forgive me.

Shabbat Shalom!

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

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For questions, comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please email adamsabzevari@gmail.com. We are awaiting your feedback. :)
www.adamstorah.blogspot.com

Mirror Image

Shalom to all!

For all of you who don’t know, I try to write up a D’var Torah on the parasha every week and send it out to a bunch of people. From all the people I send it to, a small percentage actually reads it. From the people who actually read it, an even smaller percentage enjoys it. And then there is the smallest percentage that has reported me as spam and has my email address listed under junk mail. Now, this week, I’m not going to write something on the parasha, mainly because I don’t have anything that I think is worthy of sending out – it’s a flaw in me. And being that I don’t want that smallest percentage (spam people) to grow, I will not attempt to make something out of nothing. Instead, I will write something that has to do with the time period that we are about to enter. In fact, it is something that I have written before (as you can find on www.adamstorah.blogspot.com ) , and I will expand upon it. I am writing it again because I love it. And I hope you will, too.

Now, you should know that I already wrote up this entire D’var Torah earlier on, but I accidently hit a button, and the D’var Torah was all deleted – without being saved. I don’t know what I did, and I didn’t even know that was possible So I have to type this up a second time, which is slightly annoying, but whatever – it’s worth it. I’m just hitting “Ctrl + S” after every sentence I type.

Next week, we will be entering the month of Elul 5770. We all know that Elul is a month for self-introspection, for taking on new-year resolutions, and for waking up early to sing about sinning in very cheerful tunes. [If you are not Sefaradi, or if you are Sefaradi but don’t partake in selichot, then you should know that Sefaradim recite selichot during the month of Elul. Selichot consists of admitting to committing many, many sins – in very fun tunes. Really, it’s way too much fun for what we are saying. But it’s fun, nonetheless.] So Elul is a time to think about bettering ourselves, and really to try to make improvements. Imagine you are the CEO of a huge company. You will constantly be thinking about improving your sompany. You are supposed to have a vision of where you want to go and figure out how you will get there. Similarly, you are supposed to be the CEO of the corporation called “me.” And this month is the time for you to really focus on improving “me.” If you don’t do it, who will? Is there someone else who will improve you for you? (If you answered yes, please let’s talk – I can use some help.)

The problem is, it’s very tough to get into the whole Elul feeling. I mean, do you actually think about bettering your ways during Elul? Are you really thinking about what needs improvement in your life and devising the necessary plans to bring those improvements into fruition? Or do they remain a figment of your imagination, if even that much? [Since it is impossible for you to respond to these questions, I will assume that you’re answer is no. If you answered yes to these questions, then you can probably stop reading here…] Why is it so difficult to improve yourself?

I’m not really sure, but I think a lot of it has to do with being partial. How can you really be critical of yourself? There are many things that you are doing wrong that you probably don’t even know is wrong. So how will you ever improve? And there are many things that you know are wrong, but you will justify them and tell yourself that it’s not really such a big deal – because after all, you are partial. You don’t want to be critical of yourself. You don’t want to tell yourself that you are wrong.

The month Elul spelled in Hebrew is אלול. If you spell אלול backwards, you get לולא.  לולאmeans “if only.” There are many times that we know that we did something wrong, or continue to do something wrong. And we want to change, but we can think of an excuse. “If only my situation were different.” “If only I had more money.” “If only there were more people helping me out and there weren’t so much pressure on me.” “If only ______________ (fill in your own blank).” “I could have done this.” “I should have done that.” Elul is the month to take all of those “could’ves,” “should’ves,” “would’ves,” and “if onlys,” and to turn them around. Take the לולא and turn it around into theאלול. No more excuses. Tell yourself that you will no longer tolerate mediocrity. Tell yourself that it’s time to change directions (unless you are already in the right direction – if that’s the case, please do NOT change directions) and start the uphill battle. Think of a few things that you regret, and promise to yourself that you will not allow yourself to regret them ever again, because you will never go down those paths again. No excuses. No more לולא’s. You owe it to yourself, no? Don’t you deserve to improve? And if you don’t do it, it’s never gonna happen. Is that fair? Why shouldn’t you improve? You owe it to yourself.

Let us all try, in this month of Elul, to break loose from the shackles that have been holding us down. And honestly, I know it’s hard because no one wants to be critical of 

himself – but if you don’t, you’re never going to get any better. Is that fair? Is that fair to you? So let’s do it! Take the inspirations and convert it to actual results.

Thank you very much for letting me into your mailbox!

Shabbat Shalom!

Yours truly,

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

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For questions, comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please email adamsabzevari@gmail.com. We are awaiting your feedback. :)
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It's All About You!

Shalom to Everyone!

As we approach August, I feel summer nearing its end. I’m already thinking about Elul and about the High Holidays. Before you know it, I’ll have to wake up earlier for selichot (because I’m Sefaradi) and spend more time on self-contemplation. Time moves so quickly, no? I feel like the summer just started. It’s almost over.

In any event, I would like to write a D’var Torah about something that I once heard, but I am unsure where I heard it – so you’ll have to forgive me for not giving credit where it’s due. In Parashat Ekev, Moshe Rabbeinu continues with his speech in front of the entire Jewish nation. In this week’s parasha, he actually mentions many of the rewards they (we) will receive for obeying the Torah’s commandments. If you read the rewards and believe that they will actually come as a result of adhering to the Torah, then you really don’t need a bigger incentive. One example is: “Hashem will remove from you every illness…” (Devarim 7:15). I don’t even need to elaborate on this. Imagine no sicknesses. No cancer, no flu, no heart attacks, no strokes, no diseases, no tragedies that leave wives widowed and children orphaned. Is there anything else that you would ever ask for? Can it get any better? And that is only one of the many rewards!!! If only the Jewish people would collectively follow the Torah, this world would be a much better place.

But that’s not what I want to focus on. In the middle of his speech, Moshe says, “Now, O Israel, what does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you? Only to fear Hashem, to go in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve Him with all of your heart and all of your soul, to observe Hashem’s commandments and decrees, which I command you today, for your benefit” (Devarim 10:12-13).

This is a very interesting statement. Moshe says, “What does Hashem ask from you except for…” You get the feeling that he’s going to say something small. Furthermore, you get the feeling that he’s only going to say one thing. But that is completely not the case. He continues, “The only thing Hashem wants from you is to fear Him, to go in His ways, to love Him, to serve Him with all you heart and soul, and to observe His commandments and decrees.” I mean, that’s not a lot to ask for. It’s only a few things, and they really aren’t so difficult, right? WRONG! This is probably the hardest to-do list anyone has ever written! Why is Moshe playing it down by say, “C’mon! He’s not asking for much!”

The Gemara actually asks this question a little differently. The Gemara (Berachot 33b) only asks about the first task – to fear Hashem – and asks, “Is fearing Hashem something small?” See the Gemara for its answer. But I want to take the question even further. Why does Moshe list ten tasks? And every single one of them is difficult!

To answer to this question, I would like to give a very short, simple parable. [I thought of it myself, so it can’t be good.] There is a man who is very sick and very obese. After having a heart-attack, his doctor tells him that if he wants to get better, he’s going to have to cut out all fatty foods. No more sugar and no more oily foods. He’s going to have to get a sufficient amount of sleep every night. Also, he’s going to have to begin exercising. An hour a day, seven days a week. He’s going to have to bring down his weight. After hearing all of these things that he must do, the patient thinks to himself, “What does this doctor have against me? Why is he working me so hard? Why does he want me to do so many things? Is he crazy?” When he tells these thoughts to his friend, his friend explains, “You don’t understand. The doctor isn’t asking you for anything – he’s asking you to do this for your own good! He’s not telling you to do these things for him. He couldn’t care less if you got in better shape. It doesn’t affect his life. But he’s asking you to do these things for you!”

If we pay attention to the end of Moshe’s statement, he says the same exact point. “Now, O Israel, what does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you? Only to fear Hashem, to go in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve Him with all of your heart and all of your soul, to observe Hashem’s commandments and decrees, which I command you today, for your benefit” – לטוב לך.  Hashem is not asking us to do these things for Him; He’s asking us to do these things for our own benefit. We follow His commandments to perfect ourselves and to live the wonderful life. It is all for our own benefit. The Torah offers us a system of beliefs that enhances our everyday lives. By following these mitzvot, we live the best life that this world has to offer.

There is really a lot to expound upon this – this is something that you can study for your entire life. How exactly does the Torah enhance your life in this world? I can’t explain it in one email because it’s something that you can spend a lifetime thinking about, and I don’t know about all of the positive effects that the Torah has on one’s life. But I certainly do know some, and maybe at some later point, I’ll go into it. Until then, I challenge you to think of it on your own. If you think of something that you want to discuss, just hit reply – maybe I can use it in a later D’var Torah.

Have a wonderful Shabbat! Enjoy it!

Sincerely yours,

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

More is Less, Less is Less

Shalom to all,

I am writing this D’var Torah on the 12th of Av. My grandfather passed away on the 12th of Av 17 years ago. I am, therefore, writing this D’var Torah in his memory – מרדכי בן משיח, ע"ה.

This week’s parasha, Va’etchanan, is really loaded. There are many important and beautiful passages. Just flip through and you’ll see for yourself.

I would like to discuss a specific mitzvah taught in this week’s parasha. “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor shall you subtract from it” (Devarim 4:2). This mitzvah is very logical. There are 612 commandments in the Torah, and there is a 613th commandment that tells us not to tamper with the first 612. Don’t add anything and don’t subtract anything. You can’t say, “I don’t like #45, #237, and #569. I’m just going to forget about those three – there are still plenty without those three.”
I just explained why we can’t subtract from the commandments. Imagine if we had the choice to forget about some of the mitzvot – perhaps some people would forget about all of them. So the phrase, “nor shall you subtract from it,” makes a lot of sense. But why can’t we add to the mitzvot? What’s the problem if I want to keep an extra holiday? What if I want Succot to last one more day? So what if I keep an extra day of Succot? Is that so bad? What if I decide I want to keep two days of Shabbat a week?  Or if I want to put a fifth strand of tzitzit on my clothing? Or let’s say during Succot, I decide to shake a watermelon together with my lulav and etrog? I LOVE WATERMELON! What’s wrong with adding mitzvot to our Torah?

To explain the problem with adding mitzvot, I would like to bring a story (originally offered by the Maggid mi’Dubno):

There is a man named Shmuli. Shmuli has a very generous, giving neighbor, Moisheleh. Shmuli would always borrow utensils from Moisheleh. One time, when Shmuli borrows one spoon, he returns two spoons. Moisheleh asks, “Why are you giving me two spoons? I only gave you one!” “Well,” responds Shmuli, “while I was using your spoon, it got pregnant and gave birth to a second spoon. So this second spoon really belongs to you!”
The next day, Shmuli borrows a pot, and the following week, he returns two pots, claiming that the first pot got pregnant and gave birth to a second pot. He then borrows a plate and returns two plates. He borrows one bowl and returns two bowls.
One night, Shmuli tells Moisheleh that he is having a huge party and is inviting all of his friends. He asks Moisheleh if he can borrow his huge, golden chandelier. This chandelier has an estimated value of $20 million, and Shmuli really wants to impress all of his friends. Moisheleh thought to himself, “If I let him borrow this chandelier, he’s going to return two! This will be the best business deal of my life.” Not only did Moisheleh let Shmuli borrow it, but he even paid someone to install it in the center of Shmuli’s dining room.
The party comes and all of Shmuli’s friends are impressed with the gorgeous chandelier. The next day, Moisheleh sees Shmuli and, holding back his excitement, he asks Shmuli, “So how was my chandelier? Are you ready to bring it back?” Shmuli responds, “Moisheleh, I’m so sorry, but late last night, as I was cleaning up, the chandelier had a heart attack and died. I buried it this morning.” Moisheleh laughs uncontrollably and says, “That’s a good one – heart attack! Ha. Your sense of humor never ceases to amaze me. Funny guy… But seriously though, whenever you’re ready, I would like to have my chandelier back.” “Moisheleh, I wasn’t kidding. It’s dead.” “Shmuli, are you crazy?!? Chandeliers don’t have heart attacks! They don’t die!” Shmuli responds, “Do spoons give birth? Do pots have children? Can bowls get pregnant? Well, you believed me when I said those stories. So you’ll believe me now when I say the chandelier had a heart attack and died.”

If someone adds rules to the Torah, he will get used to bending the rules. Once he begins bending the rules, it won’t be long before he starts subtracting from the Torah, as well. It is very important not to add to the Torah because it will eventually lead you to being lenient in other areas. And you may think that it’s a great thing to add – but it isn’t. “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor shall you subtract from it” (Devarim 4:2). The Torah doesn’t want our favors. Don’t do more than you’re required to do, because it will only have terrible results.

May we all focus on the many mitzvot that we have in front of us.

Shabbat Shalom!
Yours truly,
Avraham Adam Sabzevari

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For questions, comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please email adamsabzevari@gmail.com. We are awaiting your feedback. :)
www.adamstorah.blogspot.com

Face the Facts, Man

Shalom Alecheim,

I want to begin writing the D'var Torah, but I'm telling myself that I should write an introduction. But I don't have an introduction to write. So I figured that I would write that I don't have an introduction as my introduction. There. I did it.

In this week's parasha, Parashat Devarim, Moshe Rabbeinu recounts many episodes and events that took place during their 40-year-trip in the desert. They are on the brink of entering the holy land, and before they do so, Moshe Rabbeinu gives them a post-game recap of what happened in the desert. One of the headlines was the episode of the meraglim. Basically, at the beginning of their voyage, 12 men entered the land of Israel to spy out the land, determine how to enter, and whatnot. The spies returned with a report that, in the beginning, was very good. They said that the land was "very, very good," and that it flows with milk and honey. Then, all of a sudden, "their entire report transformed into anything but praise." They stated that giants lived in the land and that it was a very scary place. This caused uproar amongst the rest of the Jews, and they were driven to fear by this terrible report. Indeed, the Jews decided that they don't want to enter Israel. Because of this, all of those Jews died, and only their children were privileged enough to enter the land. And, in truth, they could have blamed this on the spies. When your representatives tell you not to do something, you shouldn't do it. Especially since these men were men of stature, and indicated by the label "anashim" in Parashat Shelach (see my D'var Torah on Parashat Beha'alotecha).
However, in this week's parasha, Moshe does not refer to them as "anashim." He doesn't give them the label that connotes greatness. Why is this? Well, it could simply be because they are no longer men of stature. They no longer deserve to be referred to as anashim. But perhaps we can offer another answer by the end of this read.
Another interesting point is that in this week's parasha, Moshe quotes the spies as saying that the land is a very good land! In פרשת שלח, the תורה quotes the מרגלים saying very negative reports –"אֶרֶץ אֹכֶלֶת יוֹשְׁבֶיהָ הִוא" - “It is a land that consumes its inhabitants.” However, in this week's parasha, their report was only praise. "וַיָּשִׁבוּ אֹתָנוּ דָבָר וַיֹּאמְרוּ טוֹבָה הָאָרֶץ". They reported that the land was very good. רמב"ן explains that this is not a contradiction because there were two groups amongst the מרגלים. In ספר דברים, it was יהושע and כלב who offered the good report. On the other hand, in פרשת שלח, it was the other 10 מרגלים who gave over the negative report about the land of Israel. However, we can offer another explanation to this as well.
Rabbi Daniel Mezei taught me (and my class) a very interesting and, what I think is, a very important explanation to these two differences. To clarify, the questions are: (1) Why doesn't Moshe refer to them as men of stature anymore?; and (2) Why does Moshe only quote them giving over a good report?
Rav Dovid Tzvi Hoffman explains that in פרשת שלח, Moshe takes the role of a historian and lists the facts exactly as they happened. However, in this week's parasha (ספר דברים), he is dying soon and he is trying to open the hearts of the people, to really speak to their hearts. Had he referred to the מרגלים as the heads of nation, the people would mistakenly think, “If the greatest men say it is a bad land, there must have been something wrong with it. Our fathers shouldn’t have died! They were only following their leaders!” Furthermore, in addition to their negative report, the מרגלים really did praise the land first. Moshe wasn’t merely trying to alter the facts to hold the truth back from the people. He was trying to rebuke the nation, and he therefore removed all of their excuses. Moshe was informing the nation that even though the מרגלים were great people and they sinned, the Jewish people shouldn't have listened to them. They can blame the sin on the מרגלים and complain that their fathers shouldn’t have died, but that would not be the responsible thing to do. It is for this reason that Moshe omits the facts. He doesn't mention that they were men of stature, and he doesn't mention that they gave a bad report. He is removing their excuses. He is teaching them the lesson that everyone will be held accountable for his actions, even if he feels as though he is very justified to do so.

If you do something wrong, admit it, learn from it, and move on! Don't try to justify and defend. Just admit it and move on. Very often, we do something wrong. And we know it's wrong. But we also know that we can defend ourselves, we find an excuse - a good excuse. So why agree when you have a somewhat good excuse? The answer is, because if you're wrong, you're wrong - irrespective of whether you can justify it or not. It's very tough to admit to this, and I struggle with this all the time (except while asleep). It's tough to accept that you blew it. But that's what separates the ordinary from the extraordinary. May we all have the resolve to face the facts when we are wrong, even if we have some sort of justification for it. And, if we do this, I think many interpersonal relationships will improve, because people will be less stubborn. And if people get along more, then we've done our job!

Shabbat Shalom!

Hoping to see the Beit Hamikdash soon!

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

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For questions, comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please email adamsabzevari@gmail.com. We are awaiting your feedback. :)
www.adamstorah.blogspot.com

What Do I Care?

To my dearest subscribers,

Shalom! If you are a New Yorker, then you had a hot, humid week. If you are not, you may have had a hot, humid week, but it probably wasn’t as bad as in New York. But, thanks to modern day technology, we can condition the air to any temperature that we would like (at least indoors), and I am sitting in a very comfortable, cool room. I once heard a story with Rav Moshe Feinstein. When air conditioners first came out, they asked Rav Moshe if he wanted one. After thinking about it, he said he doesn’t want one. “Why not?,” they asked. “It may help my learning when I am sitting in the air conditioned room. But when I don’t have the air conditioning, I won’t be able to concentrate. Right now, I can concentrate without the A/C. So I don’t need it.” (That’s not a direct quote, but I hope I captured the essence of what he said. In other words, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”) So take that!

In the first of this week’s two parshiyot (Matot and Masei), there is a very interesting story with two and a half of the 12 Jewish tribes. The tribes of Gad, Reuven, and half of Menashe approached Moshe and said that they don’t want to enter the land of Israel. Instead, they want to remain on the east bank of the Jordan River and set up camp there. Why? Because they were shepherds, they had a lot of cattle, and the land to the east of Israel is better for grazing than Israel itself. When they told this to Moshe, he bashed them (for a good reason, of course). He tells them, “Do you know what happened with your parents? During the time of your parents, at the beginning of our 40-year voyage in the desert, spies went into the land and reported that the land was bad. This caused a whole turmoil, and Hashem told them that they can’t enter Israel because of their negative attitude. Now, you – Gad, Reuven, and half of Menashe – are going to get this started again. The other tribes will feel that you don’t want to enter Israel because you are afraid of the nations therein, and then they will refuse to enter the land, as well. “Behold, you have risen up in the place of your fathers, a society of sinful people, to add more to the burning wrath of Hashem against Israel. For if you will turn away from after Him, He will again let [the Jews] rest in the Wilderness, and you will destroy this entire people” (Bamidbar 32:14-15).

So they reply, “We will set up cities for our families, but we will continue with the rest of the nation, into the land, to fight the wars with the rest of the nation.” By offering to come along until they completely conquer the land, they would no longer create fear in the hearts of their brothers. They are gung-ho, fighting the same war, even though they won’t even be living in this land! This would prevent a huge disaster, which would be inevitable, because history repeats itself. Moshe responds, if you do this, “then you will be vindicated from Hashem and from [the Jews]…” (Bamidbar 32:22). Simple understanding of the passuk (in my humble opinion) is that they will be vindicated from both Hashem and from the Jews because, potentially, they would have sinned against both Hashem (if you will turn away from after Him) and the Jews (will destroy this entire people), as mentioned in 32:15.

Another understanding of how they would be sinning against the Jews is they wouldn’t be fighting in the war with their brothers. They would abandon their brothers before entering the land. That would be sinning against them. But now that they decided to come along and fight, they are vindicated in brothers’ eyes, as well.

However, the gemara in Masechet Yoma (38a) and the Yerushalmi (Shekalim 3:2) learn this another way. Moshe tells these nations that they must prove to Hashem that they don’t have negative intentions. They must prove that they don’t want to speak ill against the land or spark any fears amongst the rest of the Jews. However, vindicating themselves in the eyes of Hashem isn’t enough; they must also clear themselves of any suspicion amongst the human beings, as well. One must be careful not to engender suspicion on human beings. He must vindicate himself from them, too. It must be clear to the rest of the nation that they did not have intention to sin.

My question is, Why? Why do I have to care if someone else thinks I’m a sinner? If I am doing what’s correct, and Hashem knows that I am doing what’s correct, then why do I have to make sure to clear my name in other people’s eyes? Is that even a possible feat? I can’t be worried about what others think about me!

Although this is true, to an extent, because it is impossible to make sure everyone in the world thinks you are perfect, when you do something to warrant those negative thoughts, you must undo your damage. In other words, these tribes are deciding to go against the plans. Others will now think that there is something wrong with Israel. Even if you aren’t against the land of Israel, you can still begin turmoil, and you must see that. Sometimes, a person will only do something if someone else does it first. There can be forbidden sin that no one would ever think of doing. But as soon as you do it, you have just opened the doors for others to follow your lead. By saying that they don’t want to enter Israel, it’s possible that others who were having the same thought will not enter Israel either.

Similarly, for us, if you do something wrong, you may be giving others the necessary precedent to sin, as well. It is for this reason that you must clear your name. Not because you care what others think of you – but because you don’t want to be partially responsible for his sin. You don’t want to be that kind of negative role-model.

One example is, let’s say you give someone the cold shoulder, and ignore him, but for good reason. Let’s say, you had to run because someone needed your help, so you ran to help your friend, but in the whilst, you ignored someone else. Now, if you realize that you did this, you should go back to him and explain why you did what you did. Why? Who cares what he thinks? I know that I was doing the right thing! The answer is that this might cause him to give you the cold shoulder, be in a bad mood, and give the next guy a cold shoulder, as well. And you don’t want to be responsible for that. [This isn’t the best example, I acknowledge that, but I’m not perfect. Sorry.]

May we all be sensitive and think thoroughly about everything we do. And if we do something that others might take the wrong way, may we realize that and clear our names of suspicion so that others will not act incorrectly because of us.

Shabbat Shalom, and enjoy your air conditioning!

Always and Forever,

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

NOW!

To my dear subscriber,

First off, I would like to apologize for not writing a D'var Torah last week. Actually, I apologize for not sending it out - I did, however, write one. "So why didn't you send it out?" I'm sure that's what your wondering. Well then, let me explain. I wrote up the D'var Torah, and I was going to send it out on Thursday night. Why wait? Well, I wanted to read it over, add some things, and spice it up with humor. I'm sure everyone will agree that a D'var Torah without humor is like an elephant without a trunk (think about it). So I waited to send it out on Thursday night. And then. Let's just say that I was in for a surprise. For all of you who don't already know, Great Neck (and the neighboring areas) was hit with a tornado (I'm not sure if they're calling it that, but it was the closest thing to a tornado that I've ever seen). There were knocked down trees everywhere...in the streets, on cars, on houses, everywhere...except for in the ground. And I'm not talking about the trees that people grow in little flower pots - I mean trees that are over 100 years old, huge trees, that weigh tons. And, as you might expect, power lines and wires were everywhere except for where they should be. No power means no air conditioning, no refrigeration, no fully-charged cell phones (WHAT?!?!?), no computers, and worst of all, no D'var Torah being sent out. Here's something funny - so there were no traffic lights, so if you were coming from a side street, you basically had no chance to get on the main road because the cars just wouldn't stop. Cars were just driving through, not paying attention to any traffic laws, because there are no traffic lights. And there's no way a cop will pull anyone over under these conditions. The thing is, why don't people stop at stop signs? Stop signs don't run on power, people! Cars were just running stop signs, as though they, too, were shut off. Crazy people!

By the way, the Ribbono shel Olam decided not to take any lives with this storm. No one was hurt. Amazing, no?

But what can I learn from this? I learn from this, when you have a D'var Torah ready, just send it out, man. Don't wait for the tornado to come and take your power away.

In this week's parasha, Parashat Pinehas, Pinehas does exactly that. He sees something that's wrong, and he wants to put an end to it. (Forgive me for not filling in the details, but you can peruse over the end of last week's parasha at your own leisure. It will state what Pinehas did.) Imagine if he would have waited to think about it. Imagine if he would have went on a coffee break, or maybe even slept on it. Do you think he would have been as zealous? Would he have acted with the same vigor? Of course not! It would have died out. Procrastination = Suicide. Well, not really, but you get my point. Now, I'm not talking about doing things without thinking about them. Don't go punching the person sitting next to you on the train because he's/she's talking on the phone, claiming that you didn't want to procrastinate.  I'm saying, when you know something is right, don't wait!

This week, we all fasted on Shiva Asar beTammuz (17 Tammuz). So, being that we entered the three weeks, which is a time to introspect and work on perfecting our ways, I began learning Shaare Teshuva by Rabbeinu Yonah. This is something that I try to do every year, but this year, I'm getting a jump start (now instead of Elul). There's something that he says that I would like to share with you. He talks about how bad it is to push off doing teshuva. He gives two main reasons. 

One reason is, the more you push it off, the harder it will become to do teshuva. It's exponentially more difficult to break a habit of three years as opposed to a habit of two years. If you know you are doing something wrong, you can't push off mending your ways! You have to do teshuva NOW! If you wait, it will only become so much more difficult. I don't need to explain this to you - you can testify to this yourself. The longer you do something, the more difficult it will be to break from that habit. 

The second reason is, your sin will be considered even worse. Let's give you a story. Imagine there are five prisoners in a jail-cell. After a while, they drill a hole to escape. Four of them escape. The fifth one says, "I'm happy where I am. I like it here. I''m not leaving." When the king hears about this, he says, "Kill the remaining prisoner!" "Why should we do that, your majesty?" The king replies, "If he doesn't escape, that means he doesn't fear me. He's not scared of being imprisoned to me. If that's the case, kill him." If a person doesn't do teshuva, it's like telling Hashem, "I know I have a chance to escape by doing teshuva, but I don't care. I like where I am. This life is great. So thanks for the escape, but I'm staying put."

You tell me, how should Hashem react? He is merciful, but do you wanna bank on that?

That's why we have to take the first opportunity that we are granted with, and implement our repentance immediately.

I'm sorry for being so blunt, but I'm scared that the power will go out very soon, so I want to get this out already.

Shabbat Shalom! Thank you!

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

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For questions, comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please email adamsabzevari@gmail.com. We are awaiting your feedback. :)
www.adamstorah.blogspot.com

Piece of Dirt

Dear You,

Summer has begun! No more classes, and my summer plans are under way. I always love the summer because the weekly parshiyot go back into story-mode. At the beginning of the year, all we learn is the Bereshit stories. Then, we have a stretch with very few stories - like zero to none. And as the summer begins, the stories return with it. And that is not to say that one part of the Torah is any better than other parts. I'm just saying that I like stories. And I think we all do. So this week, I would like to share a story with you. However, I will first provide some background information and ask a question.

In Parashat Korach, there is a huge dispute between Korach (and his entourage) and Moshe. Moshe Rabbeinu and Korach are first cousins. Korach is very very upset at Moshe. To give you the full picture, I will give you the family tree. 

Yaakov's third son was Levi. Levi had three sons, and one of them was Kehat. Kehat had four sons: Amram, Yitzhar, Chevron, and Uziel (that's oldest to youngest - Amram was the oldest and Uziel was the youngest). Amram had two sons: Aharon and Moshe. Yitzhar's son was Korach. Uziel's son was Elitzafan. That may be confusing, so take a minute to go over it - maybe even draw a real tree, whatever works. 

Now, Moshe is the leader of the Jews. Aharon is the Kohen Gadol. Korach was very upset that Moshe took both positions for himself and his brother. Korach felt that he deserved some leadership, too! After all, why is Moshe any better than Korach? In any event, when Hashem was appointing leaders over the different tribes with Levi, He appointed Elitzafan as the leader of Kehat. When Korach learned about this, he was furious. Remember, Kehat has four sons. Amram was the oldest, so it makes sense that Amram's sons should receive leadership positions before the others. It makes sense for Moshe and Aharon to be leaders before Korach. But, since Amram has only two sons, the next leadership position should go to Yitzhar's son, which is Korach. [Remember, Yitzhar is the next oldest brother.] Yitzhar's son was Korach. So Korach should receive the next leadership position. But who does receive it? Elitzafan. Elitzafan is Uziel's son - Uziel is Amram's and Yitzhar's YOUNGEST BROTHER! Why is Moshe skipping over Korach? [I hope you got that - I even confused myself.]

So Korach starts arguing. He gathers a group 250+ important men, and he gets them to all be against Moshe and Aharon. To make a long story short, how does it end? Basically, the ground opens up and devours/swallows Korach and his entire assembly. He was basically buried alive. Except no one had to bury him - the earth just took care of that. Pretty cool, huh?

The question I would like to deal with is, why was this his punishment? Why did he have to be swallowed by the earth? Why did the ground have to open its mouth and devour Korach and his entire assembly? There are many other possible punishments that Korach could have received. To answer this, I would like to offer a story. [I heard the following answer in a shiur, given by Rabbi Eli Mansour.]

Once upon a time, there were two neighbors, John and Bob, arguing over the borders of their yards. John built a fence, and Bob disagreed with the location that he put it. There was actually a whole segment of land that each neighbor thought belonged to himself. So what do they do? As all good Jews do, they took it to the rabbi. John says to the rabbi, "The land belongs to me." Bob says, "No! The land belongs to me." After hearing them out, the rabbi says, "I have an idea. Let's just go ask the land!" John and Bob look at each other, each one knowing what the other is thinking - this man must be crazy. But despite the ridiculousness, they agree to go ask the land itself.

So they go to the property. The rabbi looks at them and says, "Give me a moment." He approaches the land, bends over, and places his ear right by the land. After about a couple of seconds, the rabbi starts laughing uncontrollably. He stands up and brushes the dirt of his clothing. And finally the moment of truth. The rabbi says, "John says the land belongs to him, Bob says the land belongs to him, but the land says that you both belong to it. I suggest you settle this amongst yourselves, because if you keep on fighting over whom the land belongs to, the land will show you both who the real owner is."

At the very beginning of the Torah, Hashem tells Adam,  "כִּי-עָפָר אַתָּה, וְאֶל-עָפָר תָּשׁוּב" - "For you are dirt, and to the dirt you shall return" (Bereshit 3:19). Hashem tells Adam, and consequently, to all of mankind, that we are made of dirt, ground, earth. And one day, (morbid thoughts) we will return to the earth. We were put in this world for a limited amount of time. We have tasks to accomplish. We have a potential to maximize. We were not put here to move backwards. We were not put here to waste our time and others' time with useless arguments that come about because we are power hungry. Eventually, we will all end up six feet under. But while we are above the earth, we are blessed with the opportunity to achieve, to perform, to succeed. But if one wastes his time with arguments - fights that are completely a waste of time and energy - then he is basically wasting his life. If he is wasting his life, then what's the point? Why be above the land? Why not go to where he will eventually end up? It's not like he's doing anything up here anyway. So the earth fast-forwards, and just opens up.

That's exactly what happened with Korach. Once it was clear that he wasn't interested in achieving, but only in arguing and causing fights, the earth realized that he no longer serves a purpose here. So the land just opened up and swallowed him.

Be'ezrat Hashem, may we all take advantage of the short amount of time that we have here. May we spend our time with productive tasks and not with useless arguments that only make us move backwards. And Be'ezrat Hashem, if we don't pursue leadership and if we are not power-hungry, then we will all receive a lot of reward, because we will only be achieving.

Thank you for you time,

Yours truly,

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

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For questions, comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please email adamsabzevari@gmail.com. We are awaiting your feedback. :)
www.adamstorah.blogspot.com

Video D'var Torah

Shalom to all,

It is running very late, and I don't have the time to write a 4 page D'var Torah. But I want to keep it going. So I remembered something that I have on this parasha, it video form.

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgQNktkGS6Q

Don't mind my weird outfit.

I apologize for using this unconventional format, but it's either this or nothing. 

Shabbat Shalom!

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgQNktkGS6Q