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. :)
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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. :)
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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. :)
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