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. :)
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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

--
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

--
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

You Are Such an Adam

Shalom to all,

Ok. I'm trying to keep a hot streak here. This is two weeks in a row. I am very happy about this.

And there is a second reason that I am very now. This week, I would like to offer something that I have thought of myself. That probably means there is something wrong with it - so I'll leave it to you to figure out. Almost like a riddle.

At the very end of this week's parasha, the Torah, in only one verse, praises Moshe Rabbeniu.

וְהָאִישׁ מֹשֶׁה, עָנָו מְאֹד- מִכֹּל הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר, עַל-פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה.

"The man ("ish" - איש), Moshe, was the most humble, more so than any other person ("Adam" - אדם) on the face of the earth."(Bamidbar 12:3)

Now, some will argue (they're wrong, but that won't stop them) that we don't have to learn something from every story in the Torah. Some will say that the Torah records historical events. There doesn't have to be a message in everything that the Torah says! Well, I'm not going to respond to those people now, except I will just say that I believe they are wrong. I believe that we can learn something from every letter in the Torah.

If I'm not going to respond to that now (maybe one day), then why do I bring it? Because this verse (the one I quoted) is not part of a conversation. It's not like one person told another person, "You know, that Moshe, he was very humble." Nope. If you look at the verses, you will see that there is a story going on, and suddenly, the Torah interjects and just throws in this information. Whom is the Torah speaking to? Miriam? Nope. Aharon? No, not him, either. It is speaking to the reader. To you. To me. To Rav Ovadia Yosef. To whoever is reading and learning the Torah. This praise wasn't said to anyone, and wasn't part of any conversation. It was placed in the Torah, by Hashem, and it is directed to the reader, and only to the reader. So those who suggest the the Torah quotes stories cannot say that this is simply part of a story. This is here to teach us something. After all, it is directed towards us! So if you don't take away something from it, you're missing the entire point.

I'm sure there are many things that one can learn from this passuk. I would like to offer something novel. Well the truth is, I don't know if it is novel. I came up with it either last night or this morning, I can't even remember. But I think it is true, and I can imagine that someone else says something like this. But until someone points out who preceded me in saying it, I will claim it for myself.

This passuk uses two different words that both mean "man." "Ish" and "Adam." Both of them mean "person." However, they have different connotations. The word "ish" implies "man of stature," an important person. Like when you say "ish," you're supposed be taken back and say, "Oh, wow! We're dealing with that type of person." There are many examples where ish is used to describe a man of stature. In fact, there is a pasuk in the az yashir that writes, "Hashem ish milchama!" - Hashem is the man of war. The word ish even is used in relation to Hashem.

The word "adam" has more of a negative connotation. It comes from the word "adama" - land, earth. Man of the earth. Lowly person. [Editor's note: My name is Adam. It hurts for me to write this. I'm thinking about legally changing my name it Ish. Ish Sabzevari. I like the sound of that. No?]

After explaining these different connotations, I think there is something very deep in this passuk, and I would like to share it with you.

Moshe Rabbeinu was the greatest of all men. He spoke to Hashem, one-on-one, consciously, "face-to-face." There was a very close relationship between Hashem and Moshe. Not only that, but he was the only one who ever has such a relationship. He was the greatest of all prophets. Now, you may ask, "Adam, what are you saying? How can you possibly know that Moshe was greater than all other prophets? What? Are you a prophet? Do you have some prophet-level-measuring-radar, or something?" So I'll let you in on my secret. At the very end of the Torah, there is a verse that states, וְלֹא-קָם נָבִיא עוֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּמֹשֶׁה, אֲשֶׁר יְדָעוֹ ה', פָּנִים אֶל-פָּנִים. - "And there has not ever arisen a prophet with Israel like Moshe, whom Hashem knew face-to-face." So we know that Moshe was pretty cool, you know.

Let me ask you a question. Do you think he had a right to be haughty? Like, do you think he did anything that was worth being proud of? Like, did he ever do anything cool in his life? OF COURSE! He was the closest man to G-d in this world! That's something to feel good about! I think he would be justified in being proud.

Comparatively speaking, let's say Moshe is an "ish." Basically, everyone else will be considered an "adam." Compared to Moshe, everyone is on a level lower.

Now lets go back to the pasuk for a second:

"The man ("ish" - איש), Moshe, was the most humble, more so than any other person ("Adam" - אדם) on the face of the earth."

Why does the Torah have to call Moshe an "ish." Why can't it just write, "Moshe was the most humble..."?

I think the Torah is trying to stress that in a world that Moshe was an "ish," and everyone else around was merely an "adam," (when compared to him,) he was still the humblest. To further stress that the word "adam" has a negative connotation, the Torah repeats the word when is says מִכֹּל הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר, עַל-פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה. The word "adama" is repeated to stress that an "adam" is a man of "adama," an earthly man. On the contrary, Moshe was an ish, who would speak with Hashem "face-to-face."

I think the Torah is stressing here that one should not be haughty, even if he has reason to be haughty. If there was one man who would be justified in being haughty, it would be Moshe Rabbeinu. Nevertheless, he was not haughty. In fact, he was the humblest of all men. And that is what made him an "ish" is a world of adams. You may think that you are better than other people. And you really are. Like you are probably worth more than __________ (fill in the blank). But that doesn't mean anything. Wouldn't you agree that Moshe was worth more than _______________, too? He probably was. Nevertheless, Moshe was still more humble than _________. You should be, too.

My point is, you may think that you have the right to be haughty when comparing yourself to certain people. And you probably are better than they. But don't be mistaken - you are wrong in feeling exalted over others, even if you are better than they.

I don't know if I am clear at all in this email. Please let me know if you know of anyone who says this, or if there is something wrong with it that I am missing.

Thank you very much,

Shabbat Shalom!

Avraham Ish Sabzevari

I Must Confess...

Dear All,

There once was a time when I would write a Dvar Torah every week, or at least on a bi-monthly basis. Now, I think it has become something like bi-yearly (I'm being hopeful). I haven't sat down to write a Dvar Torah in a while, primarily because I have been busy in YU. Now, I know that some respond to that, "Excuses. Excuses." (A couple have told me that.) Others are happy that I don't clutter their inbox once a week and will keep quiet, hoping I don't remember. (A couple have told me that, too.) Others just haven't noticed. While I don't understand the ones that claim I clutter their inbox, because you can simply block me or set me as spam, I do understand the ones that suggest I am making excuses. What I wanted to make clear is that, I MUST CONFESS, I know I haven't been writing them, and I think I'm going to pick it up again. To begin this new streak, I have a funny story. You may not think it is funny, but the fact that I think it is funny should be funny for you.

This week's parasha, Parashat Nasso, is the longest parasha, in terms of verses. There are 176 verses (pasukim) in this parasha, which interestingly enough is the same amount of verses in Tehillim perek 119. Perek 119 is in acrostic form, which basically means that there is a letter for each letter in the alphabet. The first verse begins with the letter aleph, the second begins with the letter bet, the third begins with gimmel, so on, so forth. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and the psalm goes through the cycle 8 times. 22 * 8 = 176. Furthermore, the longest gemara (in terms of number of pages) is Masechet Baba Batra. You know how many pages there are in Baba Batra? 176! (The truth is, the masechet begins on page 2, so there are really only 175 pages -- but play dumb). So this number 176 is recurring! What does it mean? I'll leave it to you to figure it out.

In this week's parasha, we are taught the idea of confession.

When a man or a woman commits any of the sins against man, acting treacherously against Hashem, and that person is guilty, they shall confess the sins which they committed... (Bamidbar 5:6)

Here, we are taught that when someone commits a sin, he must confess what he did. According to the Rambam (Teshuva 1:1), this verse is the very source for repenting - doing teshuva. Actually, the Rambam doesn't write that there is even such a mitzvah of repenting. According to the Rambam, it is not a mitzvah to repent and do what is correct. What is the mitzvah according to him? "When a person sins and goes against any mitzvah in the Torah, whether intentionally or unintentionally, when he does teshuva and repents from his sin, he must confess in front of Hashem." According to the Rambam, everyone must do teshuva, and return from his ways. That's a given. For example, the Torah says "Put on tefillin." If someone doesn't put on tefillin, he doesn't need a separate mitzvah to tell him to do teshuva and put on tefillin! The Torah already tells him to put on tefillin. Why would we need another mitzvah to tell him to repent and put on tefillin? Rather, according to the Rambam, the mitzvah of repentance is simply to confess that you have sinned and to verbally accept upon yourself never to do it again.

This is amazing. There is a special obligation to verbalize your sin. Why? If I know I did something wrong, and I want to better my ways, why do I have to verbalize it? And it's not like you have to verbalize it in public - you can do it in the privacy of your own room. So why do you have to do it at all? Why is it so important to say, "I sinned and did such-and-such."

Well, I think the answer is clear. You can ask the AA, that when trying to fix something about yourself, the first step is admitting you have a problem. And you don't have to admit this to the world. You have to admit this to yourself. It's very easy to fool yourself. After all, you control what you think. If you want to convince yourself of something, you can probably do so easily. That is why the first step of teshuva is confessing the sin, as we learn from this week's parasha.

This is when I bring down the funny story. Now, I know that this is unrelated and really should be said at the beginning of the year, but I wanted to share it now anyway.

As you all know, in the times of Noah, Hashem decides to destroy the whole world. He tells Noah to build an ark, and two members from every species - a male and a female - go onto the ark. There are two lions, two bears, two wolves, etc etc.

There is a Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni Bereshit 56) that brings down the following story about Lies and Destruction. The Midrash speaks about them as though they are characters. I will name these characters Lie and Destruction:

Before the flood, Lie comes to Noah and wants to enter the ark. Noah tells Lie, "You can't enter alone! You have to come in with your mate!" Lie isn't sure what to do. He roams around until he bumps into Destruction. Destruction asks Lie, "Where are you coming from, Lie?" Lie responds, I just tried getting into Noah's Ark, and he didn't let me in. He said I have to come in with my mate....Hey, Destruction, do you want to marry me?" Destruction responds, "What will you give me if I marry you?" Lie responds, "I promise that any profit I every make, I will give it straight to you. You can do whatever you want with it." Destruction likes the deal, so she marries Lie, and they enter the ark together. After the flood is over, Lie and Destruction roam the land once again. Many people are involved in business, using Lie to help them make money. Any time anyone ever makes any money because of Lie, Lie hands over the money to Destruction. After a while, Lie asks Destruction, "Do you mind me asking - what have you been doing with all of my profits that I have been handing over to you? I just want to know where all my money is going." Destruction replies, "Don't you remember, you promised that you'll give me your profits and I can do whatever I want with it. So I have been destroying it. Anytime anyone makes any money because of you, I just go and destroy that money, that house, that car, etc."

That's where the Midrash ends. And I think this is very closely related to confession. The Midrash is making a point - where there are lies, there is destruction. Whatever comes about because of a lie will not survive. It is only a matter of time before it gets destroyed. They're married. They go hand in hand. Don't think for a second that if you get something through a lie that it will last. It will not. Lie promised it to Destruction.

If you understand the uselessness of lies, that wouldn't you want to be truthful? Moreover, wouldn't you want to be truthful with yourself?!?!? This mitzvah of confessing is exactly that! Be truthful to yourself. Don't be in denial. Don't convince yourself that you are doing nothing wrong, if you are. You owe it to yourself.

Anyway, I though this story is funny because, why would you ever marry Destruction? Who would do that? But now that I think about it, Lie probably just lied to himself and convinced himself that it's a good match. So why wouldn't he marry her?

May we be truthful with our friends and family, and most importantly, with ourselves.

Shabbat Shalom to all!

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

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

Talking to Yourself

Shalom All,

For all of you who have forgotten, I used to send out weekly Divre Torah. Unfortunately, I have not been keeping up to it for a number of reasons. But I'm still around, and I have something on Pesach, for all those who are interested (and for those who aren't).

Pesach is a great holiday. During Succot, we are a little uncomfortable because we are sitting out in the cold. During Shavuot, many of us eat dairy, which for me, is not fun. I mean, we have dairy during the nine days. No meat is like mourning. Meat is good. But during Pesach, we get to have meat, and we get to sit in our warm houses.

Now that I think about it, we have meat, but that's the only thing we have. Oh yeah, potatoes. And if you're sefardi, there's also rice. Hmmm....I actually may have to rethink this one...I abstain...I'm not sure which chag is the best. I guess they're equally the best.

As we all know, the hagada begins with the "ha lachma anya," which is basically when we get up and announce, "We are about to eat from the matzah and the korban pesach. If anyone needs a place to eat, please feel free to join us." There are a couple of difficulties with this practice. First, don't you find it interesting that we are inviting people after we already started? During the times of the korban Pesach, people had to know where they would be eating way before the meal. Also, I don't know about you, but I don't actually go out and announce this. We make this announcement within the confines of the walls of our houses. Why are you shouting, "Please come eat,"? No one can even hear you! Whom are you even offering this to? Is this some sort of joke? Starting off the Pesach Seder with a good sense of humor....

Second question - why are we making this announcement in Aramaic. The rest of the hagada (basically) is is Hebrew. Why do we say this one paragraph of ha lachma anya in Aramaic?

Well, there are two answers: The first one is simply a historical answer, and the second is has a message behind it.

The first answer is that, this paragraph of ha lachma anya was, historically speaking, actually said before the seder. It was actually said earlier on, probably early morning on the day before the seder. It wasn't said in one's house, but it was announced, in the middle of the streets. This also explains why it was said in Aramaic. When the hagada was first put together, it was when the Jewish nation was still speaking Aramaic as the vernacular language. That was the language people spoke. So we go out in the streets, and we actually invite people to partake in our meals that night, and we say it in a language that everyone understands. The problem with this answer is, so why do we continue doing this?? It makes sense why they did this over two thousand years ago. But, for us??? If we aren't going to say it before the seder, so don't say it at all. Why do we say it during the seder if it is meaningless?

So to answer this, we will offer a second answer. The truth of the matter is that we are NOT inviting anyone to come eat by us. The invitation isn't a real invitation. When we were slaves, we didn't own anything. We were owned. We didn't have a house. We never could invite guests. Now, to celebrate our freedom, we get up and shout, "We're free! We can invite whomever we want! Please, come and eat by us." We don't recite the ha lachma anya to invite people - we recite it to celebrate our freedom. We celebrate the fact that wecan invite people. It is supposed to be a liberating feeling, to be able to invite people to come eat by us - something that we couldn't have done while we were slaves in Egypt.

So why say it in Aramaic? Emet Le'yaakov offers the following answer. There is a concept in Judaism that our prayers don't always go directly to Hashem. Sometimes, they go to the angels (mal'achei hasharet), who in turn present it to Hashem. Meaning, the angels take our prayers and present them to Hashem. Here's the problem -- angels don't understand Aramaic, or any other language for that matter. They only understand lashon hakodesh - Hebrew. So if you want your prayers to go up to Hashem, you should be praying in Hebrew. [Note: I'm not exactly sure that this means you shouldn't pray at all if you can't pray in Hebrew. If you can't say something in lashon hakodesh, then it's definitely better to pray in English than not to pray at all.]

However, there is a story brought down in the gemara in which a Rabbi went to visit a sick person, and he started praying in Aramaic. The gemara questions him, and the gemara explains that when there is a sick person, you can pray in any language, because Hashem is there, Himself, and the prayers don't go through any intermediary. And Hashem understands all languages, so you can pray in front of Him in any language. [If I'm not mistaken, Hashem is also there himself when praying as part of a minyan, so you would be able to pray personal prayers in English if part of a minyan. But you should ask your Rabbi about this concept. I may just be completely wrong.] So, we see that sometimes, if Hashem is there Himself, you can speak in a foreign language.

The Zohar writes that on the night of Pesach, Hashem comes down Himself to hear His children speaking about the exodus from Egypt. It is so dear to Him that He is there Himself, without any intermediary angels.

And it is for this reason that we start the hagada off in Aramaic. We want to let everyone know - "Hey guys, we can speak in any language....Hashem is here, and He knows what we're saying....we don't need to make an effort and speak in lashon hakodesh.....He's with us Himself..."

Are you ready to be in Hashem's presence tonight? Come prepared. You know He will, so it's only right.

Chag Same'ach!

It's good to be back!

And enjoy the matzah!

Sincerely,

Adam Sabevari

What Did You Say?

Shalom to everybody!

It is nice to write once again. I hope it is as nice to read.

The following is a Dvar Torah given over by Rabbi Ben Chaim, with some minor additions.
In the beginning of this week’s parasha, Yaakov is returning back home. Let’s try to go through Yaakov’s thought process. 36 years ago, I ran away from home. Why? Because I pulled a switch-a-roo, and I took the blessing that my father Yitzchak wanted to give to my brother Esav. I stole it from him. And he wasn’t too happy about it. He wanted to kill me. So my mother told me to run away. Now, 36 years later, I am a completely different man. I’m older, I’m richer, I am now married to four women, and I have 12 children. [That’s right – 12. The first 11 shevatim and Dinah. Plus, our Rabbis tell us that every one of Yaakov’s children was a twin, which would mean that he has at least 24 children now.] Now, I am going back home, and I will be meeting up with my brother for the first time. And being that I ran away from him because he wanted to kill me, he probably still wants to kill me. I have an idea. Let me send him a bunch of gifts. Everyone loves money. And I’ll split up the gifts into different groups so he will gradually become happier and happier. Also, I’ll send him “malachim” that will tell him that I am his servant. I am sure that if he hears that I am his servant, he will realize that I am not challenging his authority, and he will not bother me.
There is a question amongst the commentators: Did he send men as his messengers to give the prizes and relay the message, or did he send angels? The word “malachim” means angels, but it can also mean messengers, because angels are the messengers of Hashem, and therefore, the word malach is used to describe a messenger (even a human messenger), as well.
The simple meaning is that he sent real men. From a rational approach, it makes more sense to say Yaakov can hire men as opposed to saying that he has angels at his disposal to send on his missions. But according to that opinion, that he sent real men, the question arises: why does the Torah use the word malach (which normally means angel) to refer to as a messenger? Couldn’t the Torah have simply said, “Yaakov sent men?”
To answer this question, I will bring down a story brought in the Midrash. About two thousand years ago, the leader of the Jewish nation, Rebbi Yehuda Hanasi, was sending a letter to the Roman Emperor, Antoninus. His scribe, Rabbi Afes, wrote the letter and signed it, “From Yehuda, the Prince, to King Antoninus.” When Rebbi Yehuda Hanasi saw this, he got very upset and shredder the letter to pieces. He exclaimed, “Write the following: ‘From your servant Yehuda to King Antoninus!’” Rabbi Afes responded, “Why are you disgracing yourself and belittling yourself? Why do you refer to yourself as the Roman Emperor’s servant?” Rebbi Yehuda Hanasi responded, “What? Am I any better than Yaakov Avinu? He called himself a servant to the first Roman, Esav!”
The Midrash explains further that Yaakov Avinu was mistaken in what he did. He should not have ever sent anything to Esav. He should never have called himself Esav’s servant. The Midrash says that, “He grabbed the ears of a dog (Proverbs).” He had no reason to believe Esav was after him. It’s been 36 years! Esav was living his own life, and Yaakov grabbed his attention and said, “I’m your servant.” This was completely unnecessary. He should have just gone home and not worried. [By the way, it’s very bold to say that Yaakov Avinu was mistaken, considering the fact that Esav was actually already headed toward Yaakov. But I guess Yaakov didn’t know that, and he shouldn’t have sent messengers to wake up the sleeping giant.]
The Ramban writes that this problem of Yaakov has always been the problem of the Jews. They always think they there are helping themselves by building relationships with their enemies, by succumbing to them, by making themselves inferior in their enemies’ eyes, but this has always been the reason for their downfall. The Kings of the Jewish nation, during the times of the Destruction of the temple, were trying to “get good” with the Romans, but it only worked against them. Jewish people should not be calling themselves servants of the other nations of the world. We are not servants to them. Yaakov was not Esav’s servant. Rebbi Yehuda Hanasi was not King Antoninos’ servant. We are not their servants.
And perhaps, this is why the Torah uses the word “malach,” which normally means angel, to refer to Yaakov’s messengers. The Torah is hinting to us this very point. No matter what Yaakov sends, no matter how good it is, Esav will still want to kill him. Even if he were to send real angels, it wouldn’t help. It is true that he sent humans, but even if he sent angels, it wouldn’t make a difference. The response would still be, “Esav is headed toward you with an army to kill you.” There is nothing you will ever gain by trying to subjugate yourself to the other nations of the world. And doing so voluntarily will only create your own downfall.
The point is clear. We need not fear anyone as long as we do what Hashem wants from us. And as long as Hashem is happy with us, we don’t need to start making other people happy. As long as it is clear that we are Hashem’s servants, we don’t need to tell anyone that we are his servant. This is something that we should know. We are a special nation, and we should not allow other to think anything but. However, to truly be special, we must act as such. And if we do, we have nothing to worry about. It doesn’t matter who’s in charge of us. It doesn’t matter where we will. It doesn’t matter whose hands our Land is in. As long as we are doing what Hashem wants, we need not be servants to anyone else.
B”H we will all keep Hashem happy, doing what we should be doing. Now, in terms of how we go about doing that… there’s a lot to learn.

Shabbat Shalom!
Avraham Adam Sabzevari

She Never Even Knew

Shalom,

Because of the early shabbatot, it has been a while since I've written a Dvar Torah. This week, I have one that I put together for another purpose, but it is not in my normal, informal fashion. It's more essayitic. And I did send it out last year, but I figured I have to send something.

It's a dvar Torah about Rachel Imeinu. As you read it, think about her as though she is your mother, because ultimately, she is. And even though it's hard to feel that because she lived so many years ago, you must have that relationship to her. Unless you're a Levi or a Kehon, then you know for sure that she wasn't your mother. But she was your aunt. And she loved your mother, Leah, a lot.

The following is a Dvar Torah given over by my Rebbi, Rav Eli Reich.
Chazal (Midrash Raba Hakdama, 24) tell us that when the Beit Hamikdash was being destroyed, our forefathers pleaded that Hashem stop it. Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, and Moshe begged Hashem to stop based on their merits, but their attempts were unsuccessful. When Rachel Imeinu stood up and requested that the destruction stop in her merit, Hashem listened. What exactly did our mother Rachel do to be considered so meritorious?
The Gemara (Megila) writes that before her wedding, Rachel knew that her deceitful father Lavan is going to put her sister Leah in her place. She brought this to Yaakov’s attention, and they came up with a password. If his bride would relay this message at his wedding, Yaakov would assume that it was, in fact, Rachel. The Da’at Zekenim MiBa’alei Tosafot (Bereshit 29:25) say that this password was the laws of nidda, chalah, and hadlakat haner. However, before the wedding, realizing that her sister will be incredibly embarrassed, Rachel defeated the plan and relayed the password to her sister Leah.
Chazal tell us further that Rachel actually remained under Yaakov’s bed on the wedding night so when he would speak to Leah, Rachel can respond. This would prevent Yaakov from finding out that it was Leah whom he married. Chazal also tell us that in the morning, when Yaakov realized what had happened, he asked Leah why she went along with such an evil plot. She responded, “Well, don’t pretend like you’re so innocent. You’ve also had your fair share in tricking. You’ve tricked your father into believing that you were really Esav.” It is from that moment that Yaakov began to hate Leah, as the passuk writes, “And Hashem saw that Leah was hated” (Bereshit 29:31).
These two midrashim imply that Leah knew about the plot and played a long. However, there is room to say that Rachel managed to keep the truth from Leah, as well. Rachel managed to keep the switch-a-roo a secret from Leah for her entire life. Rabbeinu Bachaya (Bereshit 29:25) writes that Yaakov would constantly send gifts to Rachel during the seven years prior to their projected wedding date. Lavan would receive these gifts, give them over to Leah, and Rachel would keep her mouth shut. She allowed Leah to believe that Leah was, in fact, the one that Yaakov wanted. This also explains how Leah has the audacity to say to Rachel, “Is in not enough that you have taken my husband, but now you want to take my son’s dudaim?” (Bereshit 30:15). Rachel could have replied, “Your husband? He was supposed to be myhusband!” The fact that Leah can say this definitely implies that she had no idea what a kindness Rachel had done for her.
A question that arises is, according to this view, how do we explain the giving over of the password? According to the Da’at Zekenim, we can say that Rachel simply taught her sister the laws of nidda, challah, and hadlakat haner. Yaakov Avinu asked Leah about the laws, and thanks to her sister, she was prepared. However, Leah didn’t realize that it was a test for identification.
With this is mind, we can understand very easily why Rachel’s act was superior to Avraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Yitzchak’s willingness to be sacrificed, Yaakov’s deeds, and Moshe’s achievements. For her entire life, she didn’t allow Leah to know that she was merely in second place. She didn’t want her sister to feel as though she was never wanted by her husband. She had to watch her older sister have six children from the man whom she loved, and never made a comment to Leah to make herself feel a little better.
May we all be inspired by our mother’s actions, and be as sensitive and as considerate as she was, even if it means sacrificing from yourself to do so.

Shabbat Shalom!

Avraham Adam Sabzevari