TorahVort.com

From TorahVort.com

DvarTorah

Contents 1 Bereishit 2 Noach 3 Lech-Lecha 4 Vayeira 5 Chayei Sarah 6 Toledot 7 Vayetze 8 Vayishlach 9 Vayeshev 10 Miketz 11 Vayigash 12 Vayechi 13 Shemot 14 Va'eira 15 Bo 16 Beshalach 17 Yitro 18 Mishpatim 19 Terumah 20 Ki Tisa 21 Vayakhel 22 Pekudei 23 Vayikra 24 Tzav 25 Shemini 26 Tazria 27 Metzora 28 Acharei 29 Kedoshim 30 Emor 31 Behar 32 Bechukotai 33 Bamidbar 34 Naso 35 Behaalotecha 36 Shlach 37 Korach 38 Chukat 39 Balak 40 Pinchas 41 Matot 42 Masei 43 Devarim 44 Va'etchanan 45 Eikev 46 Re'eh 47 Shoftim 48 Ki Teitzei 49 Ki Tavo 50 Nitzavim 51 Vayelech 52 Haazinu 53 V'Zot HaBerachah

Bereishit

The Torah restarts this week from the beginning. In this action packed parshah, the first chapter informs us of each of the six days of creation, as man kind is created on the sixth day. On the seventh day G- d rested, which brought in to existence the spiritual universe of Shabbat. Adam and Chava - the Human pair - were placed in the Garden of Eden, created on the sixth day, they were given one commandment by G- d, to not eat from the forbidden fruit of the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil,’ However the serpent encouraged Chava to eat from it and in turn she encouraged Adam to eat from it, thus they failed to keep the sole command to not eat from that tree. By absorbing "sin," Adam and Chava rendered themselves incapable of staying in the spiritual paradise of Eden and were banished. Death and hard work (both physical and spiritual) now entered the world, together with pain during childbirth. The serpent was also punished as the serpent encouraged Chava to sin, for eternity the serpent was cursed to crawl and eat from the dust in the ground. When G-d asked them if they had transgressed, each of them, the serpent, Chava and Adam passed the blame on to each other. We learn from this how bad lashon hara is and enticing other people to slander can be. The Gemara argues that we must understand the evil of Lashon Hara to be equal to the combined evil of the three cardinal sins (idolatry, incest/adultery and murder). It is our job to control what we say about other people, as many individuals lives may be destroyed through cheap gossip, false accusations and baseless hatred, there is a concept that if two people are speaking bad behind someone’s back, the victim of the lashon hara is rewarded with all the mitzvah’s the slanderer and listener attribute and they in turn are credited with all the victims previous sins. When hearing lashon hara one should try and rebuke the speaker and explain to them why it is so bad, it is highly commendable to look at the good in other individuals as from this weeks reading we learn that we all come from ‘Adam’ originally and we were all made in the image of G-d, it is also commendable to judge people favorably and give the benefit of the doubt. Some sages comment that a person who speaks Lashon Hara about other people may be similar to a snake.

The Parshah continues with the story of the first two brothers, the sons of ‘Adam’, Cain and Abel. Cain murdered able in cold blood, as they both offered Sacrifices to Hashem, Abel’s generous sacrifice was accepted, however Cain’s unimpressive sacrifice was rejected; jealousy aroused in Cain’s heart and he then murdered his brother. When initially questioned by Hashem about the murder, Cain replied ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ however he later did teshuva (repented), and Hashem punished him with exile and death after seven generations, as opposed to a much harsher punishment. His blind great grandson, Lemech, would later on accidentally kill him. The Parshah continues by listing the descendants of Adam’s third son, Seth, who was born 130 years after Adam was created. One of Seth’s great grandson’s was the righteous man, Chanoch, who lived a total 365 years (a life span which was considered very short before the flood), many opinions mention that he was the first out of nine people featured throughout the Tanach who never actually died and went straight up to ‘Gan Eden’ alive. Other Righteous people who also stayed alive, include, Eliezer, Basya, Pinchus and Serach. After the death of Seth, Mankind descended into evil, and G-d decided that He would blot out man in a flood which deluged the world. However, one man, Noach, found favor with G-d. Noach, his wife, his sons (Shaim, Yefes and Cham) and his son’s wives would survive the flood which will be discussed in full in next week’s torah reading!! Hope you all had a great week, I would like to dedicate this Dvar Torah to My best friend, Ben Bernstein, whom I spent three years with in Liverpool University, who passed away over three years ago in a car accident, he would have been 28 years of age this month and His Hebrew name is Benyomin Ben Mordechai. Hope you all have a great Shabbat, from Michael Z learning at Ohr Sameach yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Noach

we are reading the epic parshah of Noach this week. We learned at the end of last weeks reading, Bereishis, that G-d saw that man kind was behaving badly, there was a huge rate of immorality, idolatry and robbery, and G-d resolved to bring the flood which went on to destroy all the earths inhabitants except for the righteous Noach, his family and sufficient animals of all different kinds to repopulate the earth after the flood. Noach was commanded to build an ark, being given a period of 120 years to do this. While building the ark, he was given the job to try and get all the other people on earth to repent and follow the ways of G-d, however he failed in getting the people to repent and many commentaries criticized him for that. There was a sharp contrast between Noach and Avram, we will learn in parshah Vayera (in two weeks time), that Avram will bring many people to follow the ways of G-d and to repent, and he will even pray for the wicked to change their ways (when he davens to spare the city of Sodom in the merit of the righteous people of that city), however Noach did not pray for the rest of the people to repent. After failing to bring the nation to repent, there was an unlikely extra passenger that attached himself to the ark, that person was the giant OG (whom later proves to be a massive opponent of the Jews in the book of Bamidbar). After forty days and nights, the flood covered even the tops of the highest mountains on earth. After 150 days the water started to recede and on the 17th day of the 7th month, the ark came to rest on the Mountain of Ararat. Eventually G-d commanded Noach and his family to depart from the ark. Noach then brought sacrifices to G-d from the animals which were carried in the ark for this purpose. G-d then vowed to never again flood the entire world and then designated the rainbow as a sign of this covenant. The parshah continues by telling us that Noach and his descendants were now permitted to slaughter and eat meat, due to Noach taking care of the animals in the ark. G-d then commanded the Seven Noachide (Universal) Laws, for all people of all nations to keep; the prohibitions against idolatry, adultery, theft, blasphemy, murder, eating meat torn from a live animal, and the obligation to set up a legal system. The reading progresses to list the offspring of Noach's three sons (Shem (Malkitzedek), Yefet and Cham) from whom the seventy nations of the world descend from. The Torah then continues to illustrate the incident of the Tower of Bavel, which resulted in G-d fragmenting communication into many languages and the dispersal of the nations throughout the globe. All of man kind were living in the same area, and decided to build a huge tower, which they believed would later shelter them from another flood. Despite the people were doing this to fight against Hashem, they were all united together, so Hashem had mercy among the rebellious people and did not wipe out all of them just like he had done in the flood, we learn from this that when people are united together, Hashem will show more mercy to them if they do wrong. However the main point of life is that everyone should be united together in following the ways of the Torah!!! The Parshah concludes with the genealogy of Noach to Avram. From the last part of the Torah reading we learn of Avram’s faith in G-d, as he admonishes idolatry and is sent by his father, Terach, to the first ‘mighty man,’ Nimrod. Nimrod tried to entice Avram into idolatry in a public ceremony, if he refused to bow to the idol, Avram would face the death penalty. However Avram refused, and was thrown into a fiery furnace by Nimrod, however a miracle occurred, he did not burn in the fire, and walked out without a single burn on his body, to Nimrod’s shock. Avram had really strong faith and perfect belief in G-d, recognizing that there is only one G-d and admonishing idol worship. By refusing to worship the idol, Avram performed a sanctification of G-d’s name. Hope you all have a fantastic Shabbat, from Michael Z learning at Ohr Sameach yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Lech-Lecha

It’s that great time of year again, Parshat Lech Lecha!! At the beginning of this weeks Torah reading, G-d informs Avram to leave his land, his relatives and his father's house and travel to an unknown destination where G-d would transform him into a great nation. Avram left, and took with him his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, their servants, and those whom he converted to faith in G-d. Avram was the first so called ‘out reach (Kiruv) worker’ and had phenomenal success in helping people find the ways of G-d, he always had his tent opened to anyone who wanted to come in for a meal, for a conversation, he followed the ways of G- d and was the most approachable and well liked of all men of his era. He honored everyone he met, greeted all individuals and we learn from him an important lesson; Pirkei Avot asks ‘who is the truly honored person?’ the answer given is ‘one who gives honor to other people.’ Avram looked at the good in all people and brought them to follow the ways of G-d with pure joy and happiness. When they reached the land of Canaan, G-d appeared to Avram and told him that this is the land that He will give to his descendants. A famine then ensued almost immediately in the land and Avram was then forced to relocate to Egypt to find food. Realizing that his wife’s beauty could potentially cause his death at the hand of the Egyptians, Avram requested her to act as his sister. Sarai was taken to Pharaoh, however G-d afflicted Pharaoh and his court with severe plagues in order to prevent Pharaoh from co habiting with Sarai, and she was released unmolested (Commentators say that Pharaoh was the first man to suffer from leprosy). Avram then returned to Eretz Yisrael (Canaan) with much wealth given to him by the Egyptians, as it was customary in the old days when marrying off ones sister in the biblical era, the man marrying the woman would shower the family of the bride with gifts and money. The reading continues with an argument which breaks out between Avram’s shepherds and Lot’s shepherds, over the grazing rights between their lands; as Lot’s shepherds were grazing their animals in fields which were not theirs. Lot and Avram then moved off to different destinations, Lot chose to move to the rich but much corrupt land of Sodom (a City which we will learn about in the next weeks Torah reading). Lot is soon after captured in the ‘first ever World War’ between the Four kings against the Five kings, the Four kings defeated the ‘Five kings’ and they in turn captured Lot. An unlikely hero stepped in to inform Avram that his nephew, Lot, had been captured, that was the giant of the name ‘OG.’ He informed Avram, with a hidden motive, with Avram going to battle against the Four Kings, he was sure Avram would be killed, that would allow him now to marry the beautiful Sarai. Despite OG’s hidden agenda, he was still rewarded with a very long life, which shows that when one performs a mitzvah insincerely they still will get reward for performing them. The victory was miraculous for Avram as many opinions say that it was himself and his servant, Eliezer, who were able to defeat the four kings and their armies, which proves how much Avram had G-d on his side. The Torah portion continues with a prophetic covenant, G-d revealed to Avram that his offspring will be exiled to a strange land where they will be oppressed for 400 years, after which they would emerge very wealthy and return to Eretz Yisrael, their irrevocable inheritance. The reading then continues, relating to the birth of Yishmael. Sarai was barren and gave Hagar, her Egyptian hand-maiden (daughter of Pharaoh), to Avram in the hope that she will provide them with a child. Hagar then became arrogant when she discovered that she was pregnant. Sarai in turn dealt harshly with her, and Hagar fled. On the instruction of an angel, Hagar returned to Avram, and then gave birth to Yishmael. The Torah reading then concludes with G-d commanding Avram to circumcise himself and his offspring throughout the generations as a Divine covenant. Circumcision should always take place on the eight day after the baby being born, however different circumstances may prevent it being taken place on that specific day. The Haftorah of this weeks Torah reading is taken from chapter 40 in the book of Yeshaya. I would like to thank all of you for the very positive feedback I have been receiving on my Dvar Torah’s, hopefully I will in due coarse also be recording a shiur given over by myself on the weekly Torah reading’s and other Torah related topics! Hope you all have a fantastic day and a spiritually uplifting, fun and Incredible Shabbat!!!! From Michael Z at Ohr Sameach Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Vayeira

The reading continues where we left off from last week, Avraham was circumcised at the age of 99. The third day after a circumcision is reported to be the most painful day; however G-d visited Avraham on the third day to show him honour for having carried out the commandment and also to acknowledge that he had now been elevated to higher spiritual plateau. Despite the painful wound, Avraham yearned so greatly to have guests, he sat outside his tent, waiting for the arrival of guests so that he could bring them into his house for a meal. In response G-d sent him three angels in the guise of people, and Abraham ran to greet them in and personally serve them. He also encouraged his son, Ishmael into service, for the education of the youth must be practical; preaching about acts of kindness will fail to achieve the ideal result unless it is assisted with acts of kindness. Avraham told them he would give them ‘little bread and water’ however he served them a huge luxurious meal, in Pirkei Avot there is a statement that says a Righteous man should ‘say little and do a lot.’ Avraham is known through history as the man of Chesed (performing acts of kindness). He was at work 24 hours every day, bringing people closer to the religion, having an open house and greeting everyone he saw with enthusiasm. Every task he did in life was carried out with a smile. The Gemorah says that when one smiles at another person it is like ‘giving a cup of milk’ to the other person, and a smile is so nutritious it can change an individual’s day and have a tremendous positive ripple effect, a huge easy mitzvah. One of the goals of Torah study is to help an individual internalise the torah into his character to improve his man to man relationships. Furthermore the great sage, Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai, was one of the leading Torah sages a hundred years after the destruction of the second temple, he wasn’t seen walking four meters without learning torah, however he always greeted every person he walked past first whether he knew them or not, even the cruellest man in the market place, it shows how important it is to acknowledge and how treat other people in the religion. The reading continues as the three angels guised in the form of humans related to Avraham that Sara would give birth, however Sara laughed at the blessing and was guilty of not answering Amen, as she found it hard to believe she could give birth at the age of 90. Sara is described as being one of the four mothers and was one of the most righteous women throughout history, also always practicing acts of kindness, Avraham would usually bring the men closer to G-d and Sara would work on the women. The reading continues with the destruction of the city of Sodom. Lot and his two daughters would be the only people saved from the city through the assistance of an angel. The chapter then continues to relate the birth and arrival of Moav and Ammon, introducing the seed through which Moshiach will eventually come from as Ruth and David are descendants of Moav. The reading continues as Avraham and Sara journeyed to the Philistia land, and once again Avraham pretended to be the brother of Sara, however the plan worked to no avail and Avimelech abducted Sara. Almost immediately Avimelech returned Sara out of great fear as G-d appeared to Avimelech in a dream ordering him to give Sara back to Avraham. To prevent Avimelech from forcing Sara to live with him, he was temporarily punished with impotence. The Parshah continues with the birth of Isaac, the manner of his birth was miraculous – that a woman who was infertile even in her youth had a child at the age 90 – established the nature of G-d’s chosen people. This also teaches us the key to conception like many other things in life are in G-d’s hand. The reading then continues describing a peace treaty that was made between Avraham and Avimelech for the following three generations. The parshah concludes describing the tenth trial of Avraham, the binding of Isaac on the alter, as the Ram is sacrificed on G-d’s command as opposed to Isaac. The Haftorah for this week’s parshah comes from the second book of Kings, chapter 4. The Haftorah describes how the prophet, Elisha helped a woman so poor that she only owned a single jar of oil. She was in huge debt, and her creditor was about to take her children into slavery as settlement. Elisha told her to borrow empty vessels and begin pouring her oil into these vessels. To her amazement, as long as there were vessels to be filled, the oil continuously flowed. She then had more than enough Oil to sell and pay off all her debts. I would like to dedicate this Dvar Torah in the memory of my late Grandfather who passed away 15 years ago this week, his Hebrew name is Shalom Shlomo Ben Nauriel. Hope you all have a fantastic Shabbat, from Michael Zaroovabeli at Ohr Sameach yeshiva in Israel.

Chayei Sarah

This weeks Torah reading starts off with eulogising the life of Sara, she passed away at the age of 127 years old. Avraham had the task of burying Sara, he knew the ideal place where she was to be buried, the Cave of Machpeale. Already Adam and Chava were buried their and Avraham wanted to purchase the burial plot of land so that Sara and later on he could be buried there. Despite Avraham had already been told the whole of the land of Israel would be his, he still purchased the plot of land, he bought it off a man named, Ephron the Hittie. In fact, prior to purchasing the land, Ephron had been promising and boasting that he will give the plot for free and as a generous gift, however his greedy character prevailed and almost sarcastically said to Avraham in front of many people you can have the entire plot of land for ‘400 silver sheckels,’ which many of the sages say was an enormous sum of money, however Avraham knew he had to buy the plot for whatever sum of money was required. Much of the rest of the parshah is dedicated to the task of Eliezer (Avraham’s faithful servant) in finding Yitzchak a wife. The first ever accounted so called ‘shidduch’ was being set up in biblical history. After Avraham made Eliezer swear to find the girl from Avraham’s family. Eliezer traveled to Aram Naharaim and prayed for a sign to find the right girl at a ‘well.’ Providentially, Rivka appeared. Eliezer asked her for water. Not only did she give him water, but she drew water for all 10 of his thirsty camels. (Some 140 gallons!) This extreme act of kindness marked her as the suitable wife for Yitzchak and a suitable Mother of the Jewish People. We learn from this that the power of praying is huge, when one prays they are capable of elevating themselves to supreme levels and prayer may or may not be accepted or granted, however one needs to pray ideally from the heart and not see prayers as a regular chore. Whenever prayers have been expressed sincerely we see all through out the Tanach they were granted and accepted, examples of few includes the prayers of Chana (through the birth of Samual), Moshe (punishment of Korach), Joshua (the halting of the sun in the war against the Caananite kings). Once Eliezer realised Rivka was the right girl, he showered her with gifts and went to her fathers house, Besuel, in order to finalize the marriage negotiations. Besuel and his son, Lavan, accepted the marriage arrangements realizing as Eliezer told them what happened at the ‘well’ that the potential marriage was made from Hashem. Eliezer brought Rivka to Yitzchak (he had just finished davening Micha prayers at the time Rivka appeared), and the two of them got married. Eliezer shortly after went in to ‘Gan Eden’ alive due to the fantastic job he did in bringing the couple together, he was seen to be one of the most faithful servants any of leaders ever had throughout biblical history. The Torah reading concludes as Avraham remarries a woman named Keturah (many say this was his former wife, Hager) and the death of Ishmael at the age of 137 years old. The Haftorah this week is from the first chapter in the first book of Kings, which narrates how Shlomo was the successor to King David, after King David’s death at the age of 130 years. Hope you are all enjoying the Dvar Torah’s by Michael Zaroovabeli from Ohr Sameach.

Toledot

This week’s reading starts off with the newly wed couple – Yitzchak and Rivkah, praying hard for the birth of children. After 20 years of continuous prayers, Rivkah finally gave birth to twins, Yaakov and Eisav. Their prayers for children were finally answered as they visited ‘Har Hamoria,’ (near where the Western Wall is in modern day era) this was the future sight of the first and second temple. Rivkah had actually been given prophecy by the great sage ‘Shaim,’ he told her that she carried in her two great nations, however both nations will strive towards different goals, one will be proud of its Torah and the other would pride itself on its wealth. It became apparent as they both reached the age of Bar Mitzvah, they had two different personalities, Yaakov immersed himself in learning Torah and Aisav became a mighty hunter. Avraham passed away at the age of 175 years, on the day of the funeral, Aisav came back from hunting (he didn’t realize his grandfather had just passed away) and sold the precious birthright in order to obtain a pot of ‘red lentils,’ he found the birthright to be absolute worthless. A famine then hit Canaan and Yitzchak decided to escape to Egypt, however G-d informed him that as he was bound as a sacrifice, he had now a holy status and must stay in the Holy Land. He relocated to Gerar in the land of the Philistines, where, to protect his wife Rivka, he informed the inhabitants that she was his sister. The Philistines quickly grew jealous of Yitzchak when he became immensely wealthy, and Avimelech the king along with his sidekick, Phicol, asked him to leave out of pure jealousness and hatred. Yitzchak re-dug three wells in the land Gerar which were dug by his father, Avraham, which in fact prophetically alluded to the three future Temples. The Philistines destroyed the first two wells; however they didn’t touch the third well, alluding to the fact that the first two temples would later on be destroyed while the third temple would stand for eternity. Avimelech saw that Yitzchak was blessed by G-d, decided to make a peace treaty with him. The Way the Philistines had treaded Yitzchak can be viewed as modern day anti Semitism. When Yitzchak sensed that his end was approaching (he was at the point 123 years old and within five years of the age of when his mother, Sarah, died at the age of 127), he summoned Esav to give him his blessing. Rivka swiftly acted on a prophetic instruction that the blessings must be given to Yaakov. She arranged for Yaakov to impersonate Esav and receive the blessings. Yitzchak instructed Esav to hunt food for him, so that he would be in a joyous state when giving the blessings so that the blessing s would have a powerful affect. There were many different prophets all throughout Jewish history and also 10 prophetic songs, the greatest prophets included; Samuel, Eliyahu, Elishah, Gideon, Yiftach, Shimshon, Barak, Ehud and many more. When one is generally in a ‘happy’ state they can receive prophecy if merited to do so. In fact, the sages commented that when one learns Torah, the scholar acquires 613 mitzvot for each word learned, furthermore when learning in a state of joy; the sages have commented that it has 1000 times the value. Yaakov successfully and deservingly took the blessing, and when Esav in frustration revealed to his father that Yaakov had bought the birthright, Yitzchak realized that the birthright has been bestowed correctly on Yaakov and confirmed the blessings he had given Yaakov. Esav then vowed to kill Yaakov, so Rivka decided to send Yaakov to her brother Lavan where he may find a suitable wife – which we will learn about in next weeks reading. The Torah reading concludes as Eisav married a daughter of Yishamel, adding to his two other wives. This week's Haftorah comes from the book of the prophet ‘Malachi’ and warns us to cherish our relationship with Hashem and never take advantage of it. Please everyone pray and say Tehilim for ‘Sarah Miriam Bat Tamar’ who is a very young girl in hospital and may she make a healthy and speedy recovery. The Dvar Torah is written by Michael Z learning in Ohr Sameach yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Vayetze

After rightfully taking the blessings of Aisav, Yaakov departed from Be'er Sheva and went to Charan, the home of his mother's family. His first destination was the yeshiva of Shem and Aber, where he went on to spend 14 years learning torah in order to strengthen his faith and increase his knowledge in Torah. Spending time in Yeshiva in general is a place not just to study, but to work on one’s characteristics, development, thought of mind and people’s skills, which is usually very beneficial when going out into the working world. He then resumed his journey and arrived to Mount Moriah, the area where Noach and Adam offered Sacrifices, the place where his father Yitzchak was brought as an offering, and also the future site of the Temples. He slept there and immediately had a prophetic dream of angels going up and down a ladder between Heaven and earth. G-d promised him the Land of Israel, that he would be the founder of a great nation (from the twelve tribes), and that he will have Divine protection. Also the prophetic dream was a sign of the four future exiles Israel would later on endure during the future, in punishment for not keeping to the commandments, they were, Babylonian Exile, where Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the first temple and the Jews left for Babylon, the second exile took place during the Persian/ Median era, where Haman attempted to destroy the Jewish Nation; the third exile lasted 152 years, known as the Greece Exile, where Ptolomy and Antiochus attempted to forcefully assimilate the Jewish people in to secular culture; the fourth exile took place during the end of the second temple era, know as the Roman Exile, which we are still facing today. Yaakov then woke up and vowed to build an altar there and tithe all that he would receive when he stayed in Lavan’s territory. Then he traveled to Charan and met his cousin Rachel at the well. He arranged with her father, Lavan, to work seven years for her hand in marriage, however Lavan tricked Yaakov, instead giving Rachel’s older sister, Leah. Yaakov then committed himself to work another seven years in order to also marry Rachel. Lavan realized that all his produce was flourishing on account of Yaakov working for him so he tricked the entire marriage in order to have him employed for a much longer duration. Leah then gave birth to four sons: Reuven, Shimon, Levi and Yehuda, the first Tribes of Israel. Yehuda would later be given the crown of Kingship, and the Davidic dynasty would be traced back from him. Rachel at this point was still barren, and in an attempt to give Yaakov children, she gave her handmaiden Bilhah to Yaakov as a wife (Just like Sara gave Hagar to Avraham as a wife a few weeks back in Lech Lecha). Bilhah gave birth to Dan and Naftali, two tribes whom great leaders would come later on, Shimshon and Devorah respectively. Leah, following the footsteps of Rachel gave Yaakov her handmaiden Zilpah, who gave birth to Gad and Asher, the prior would later on be famed for being warriors of Hashem and the latter’s daughters would be famed for marrying Kohen Gadolim. Leah then gave birth to Yissachar and Zevulun, famed for the learn and work partnership throughout Jewish history and then she gave birth to a daughter, Deena. Hashem then finally blessed Rachel with a son, Yosef. Immediately after giving birth to Yosef, Yaakov decided to leave Lavan, as he knew Yosef‘s high level of purity is high enough to destroy the impurity of Eisav when the two were to encounter each other in next weeks reading, however Lavan, aware of the wealth Yaakov made for him, was reluctant to let him go, and concluded a contract of employment with him. Lavan tried to trick Yaakov throughout his twenty years of employment; he even changed his wages ‘100’ times! However Yaakov still became extremely wealthy. Six years later, Yaakov, aware that Lavan had become immensely resentful of his wealth, ran away with his family. Lavan pursued them however he was warned by G-d not to harm them. Yaakov and Lavan agreed to a covenant not to harm each others descendants (Lavan’s descendant, Bilam would later on break the treaty) and Lavan returned home and lost all his wealth as the righteous Yaakov left his home, which shows that a man’s produce may be blessed due to the presence of a righteous individual. The Haftorah for this weeks reading is taken from the Book of Hosea, chapters 12, 13 and 14. Thanks for all the fantastic feedback for the Dvar Torah’s, it is exciting that it is being printed in various Jewish newsletters and featured now in Jewish newspapers across the world!!

Vayishlach

After leaving Lavan’s territory, Yaakov sent angelic messengers to find out about Aisav’s whereabouts. The messengers returned, informing Yaakov that Eisav was approaching with an army of 400 people, potentially looking for revenge on the blessings which Yaakov had rightfully taken. Yaakov immediately prepared for war, a preparation which many Jews would model on, later on the years. He divided his camp in two, if one falls the other would survive; he prayed to Hashem for aid during the war and finally he prepared a most lavish gift for Aisav, to appease/ bribe him, in order to avoid the fight. On the eve of the encounter, Yaakov met the ‘angel’ of Aisav; they wrestled throughout the night, Yaakov emerged victorious however he was left with an injured sinew in his thigh (which is the reason that it is forbidden to eat the sciatic nerve of a kosher animal). The angel informed him that his name in the future will be Yisrael, signifying that he has prevailed against man (Lavan) and the supernatural (the angel of Eisav). Yaakov and Eisav then met the following day and at the sight of each other embraced each other, perhaps Eisav was touched by the huge gift or he genuinely felt joy at seeing his brother for the first time in around 35 years; however Yaakov, was still fearful of his brother, and rejected Eisav’s offer that they should dwell together. Eisav met all of Yaakov’s family for the first time, interestingly enough, Yaakov’s daughter, Dina, was hidden in a box, so to avoid if Eisav was to see her, he would want to marry her. The sages in fact said that if Dina was at the end seen by Eisav, and they did end up marrying each other, it could have potentially brought about a huge change in Eisav for the better and may have made him completely repent for all his past misdeeds, however it wasn’t to be. The Sages furthermore, criticize and suggest that all punishments that was to befall Dina and Yaakov later on within regards to Shechem and Yosef respectively were brought about in retribution by not encouraging a marriage between Eisav and Dina, this teaches us how important it is try and help and assist our fellow Jews or neighbors to repent for past misdeeds, change there ways for the better if they are in a troubled state and bring them about on the correct path, as we have the potential to change many lives for the good with positive actions we may be unaware about. Shechem, a Caananite prince, then abducted and violated Dina, Yaakov’s daughter. In return for Dina’s hand in marriage, the prince and his father, Shechem, suggested that Yaakov and his family should intermarry and enjoy the fruits of Caananite prosperity. However in retribution, Yaakov’s sons, still fuming from Shechem’s outrageous behavior, feigned the agreement; however, they stipulated that all the males of the city must undergo circumsion, in order for the deal to take effect. Shimon and Levi, two of Dina’s brothers, entered the town of Shechem and executed all the males in the city who were weakened by the circumcision. This action was justified as no one in the city of Shechem objected to the shocking behavior of Shechem, also proving that they had no proper judicial system which is a violation to one of the Noachide laws. G-d then commanded Yaakov to go to the land of Beit-El and build an altar and sacrifice an offering to Hashem. His mother’s nurse, Devorah, died and was buried below Beit-El. G-d then appeared again to Yaakov, blessed him and changed his name to Yisrael – a name signifying the Jewish people. While traveling from the land of Succot, Rachel went into labor and gave birth to Binyamin, the twelfth of the tribes of Israel. Unfortunately, She died in childbirth and was buried on the Beit Lechem Road, her death in fact was due to the curse Yaakov had brought upon the person who stole Lavan’s ‘Idols’ in last weeks reading – without realizing it he in fact cursed Rachel as she stole and hid Lavan’s idols. Yaakov then built a monument for her. The Parshah then mentions Yitzchak passing away at the age of 180 and was buried by his sons. The reading concludes by listing Eisav’s descendants. The Haftorah from this weeks reading is from the book of ‘Ovadia’, who was a later prophet and also converted to Judaism, an Edomite convert. I would like to dedicate this Dvar Torah to the Yahrzeit of my Uncle, ‘Dovid Ben Shlomo.’

Vayeshev

The reading starts as Yaakov moved in to the land of Canaan. His favorite son, Yosef, brought him false reports about his brothers, accusing his brothers of various misdeeds. This instituted Lashon Hara on his part and also Yosef failed to judge his brothers favorably. The Talmud teaches us that the way one judges an individual, Hashem will judge the other person in retribution. Giving the benefit of the doubt in an average case is always good as Hashem will in turn give that person the benefit of the doubt in effect. Yaakov made Yosef a multi-colored coat of woolen strips. This in turn triggered off further hatred and jealously by the other brothers. Yosef furthermore increased his brothers’ jealousy by relating prophetic dreams of sheaves of wheat bowing to his sheaf, and of the sun, moon and stars bowing to him, signifying that all his family will appoint him king. The brothers really believed that Yosef was following the footsteps of their wicked ancestors, Eisav and Ishmael and believed he was potentially a big problem in the family and resolved to execute him. When Yosef came to Shechem at a later date to find his brothers at work, the brothers saw him from a far and relented and decided to kill him. However Reuven pleaded with them, to throw him into a pit instead, thus saving his life. In fact Reuven was in a period of repenting after a major transgression he performed in previous years, and many people use him as the benchmark on how an individual should repent if transgressing, he was sincere and repented out of love of Hashem not fear. Yehuda then persuaded the brothers to take Yosef out of the pit and sell him to a caravan of passing Ishmaelites, selling him off as a slave. Reuven returned shortly after, to find the pit empty and then rended his clothes, believing Yosef was dead. The brothers soak Yosef’s multi colored tunic in goat’s blood and showed it to Yaakov, who assumed that Yosef has been killed by a wild beast. Yaakov was absolutely distraught. Meanwhile, in Egypt, Yosef had been sold to a man named Potiphar, Pharaoh’s Chamberlain of the Butchers. The Torah reading then extraordinarily changes its theme and concentrates on Yehuda’s journey as he moves away from his family; Yehuda married and had three sons. His eldest son, Er died as punishment for preventing his wife Tamar from becoming pregnant. Onan, Yehuda’s second son, then married Tamar by levirate marriage (yibum). He was also punished in similar circumstances. Then as Yehuda’s wife died, Tamar resolved to have children through Yehuda, as at this point she couldn’t marry anyone else as Yehudah still had a young son, whom he hadn’t given to Tamar to marry. The union between Yehudah and Tamar actually founded the Davidic line culminating in the Messiah. Tamar gave birth to a pair of twins, Peretz and Zerach. Meanwhile, Yosef rose to power in the house of his Egyptian master, Potiphar. His extreme beauty attracted the unwanted advances of his master’s wife. She continuously harassed Yosef, and he kept rejecting her. Enraged by his rejections, she accused Yosef of attempting to seduce her, and Potiphar in turn imprisoned him. Yosef then made a huge in impact in prison, changing many of the prisoners lives and became a popular figure there. In the tenth year of his stay, Yosef successfully predicted the outcome of the dream of Pharaoh’s Butler, who was reinstated to his position as Butler, giving a favorable interpretation. However, the dream of Pharaoh’s baker, Had a less favorable interpretation, resulting in the baker being executed. Due to his successful interpretation of the butler’s dream he requested him to inform his expertise of dream interpreting to Pharaoh, who in turn would release him from Prison, however due to his great trust in the butler, Hashem extended his prison tenure by another two years, totaling his prison sentence to 12 years, a year for each of his brothers he slandered and the two extra years for having a lack of faith in Hashem. The Haftorah for this weeks reading is taken from the book of Amos, chapters 2 and 3 respectively. I would like to dedicate this Dvar Torah to the Yahrzeit of my Uncle, ‘Dovid Ben Shalom Shlomo.’ Hope you all have a great Chanukah by Michael Zaroovabeli learning at Ohr Sameach yeshiva in Israel.

Miketz

We left off in last weeks reading, with Yosef counting on a ‘butler’ who had been freed from prison, to relate to Pharaoh about Yosef’s expertise in interpreting dreams, which would have in turn resulted in him leaving prison. However, the butler initially forgot to mention it to Pharaoh. Pharaoh had a dream two years later (Yosef’s 12the year in prison). Pharaoh was unsatisfied with all the attempts made to interpret it, by various magicians and sorcerers. Pharaoh's Butler finally remembered that Yosef accurately interpreted his dream while in prison. Yosef in turn was released from prison and was brought in front of Pharaoh. We learn the significance of having ‘dream’s while being asleep. A Dreams outcome has been reported to be dependant on the way they are interpreted. Also a dream, could symbolize what the person’s heart is actually thinking about during the day. Yosef interpreted from the dream that in due coarse there would soon begin seven years of abundance of food where the land of Egypt would be flourishing followed by seven years of a severe famine. He advised to Pharaoh to appoint a wise person to store grain in preparation for the famine. Pharaoh appointed Yosef as viceroy to oversee the project, showing how quickly a man could rise to greatness, one minute Yosef was a prisoner and next the deputy of the main country in the world. We see elsewhere in the Tanach, leaders having significant dreams, in Parshat Vayaitze, we learned that Yaakov had a dream of the angels climbing up four different ladders, which symbolized four different exiles that the Jews would go through during history. Also the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, dreamt about his monarchy in the book of ‘Daniel.’ Pharaoh quickly switched Yosef’s Egyptian name, and changed it to ‘Tsafnat Panayach’, and gave over Potiphar’s daughter, Osnas, to Yosef as a wife. The flourishing state in which Egypt found themselves made them the main economic country in the world, and Yosef was thriving in his new position. He proved his wisdom to the King Pharaoh, proving he knew 71 different languages, one more language than the king actually knew (Hebrew), which actually at the time meant he was more deserving of the throne, during that era, an individual who knew the most languages was worthy of being the King. Throughout the Tanach, there were many individuals who obtained phenomenal wisdom, including, Adam, King David and King Solomon. Yosef’s wife then gave birth to two children, Menashe and Ephraim. They were to later on become separate tribes. In fact, Ephraim would later on become the head of the ’10 tribes’ which rebelled against the King of Yehudah in the book of ‘Kings,’ many centuries later, which in turn resulted in the exile of the 10 tribes. Yaakov then sent his sons to Egypt to buy food, as there was a famine throughout the world, just as Yosef predicted. The brothers came before Yosef and bowed down to him, proving that the dreams Yosef had in last weeks reading came true. Yosef recognized them but they did not recognize him, he had a different name and they hadn’t seen him for many years. Yosef shrewdly made himself out to be a different person, as he didn’t want the brothers to know who he was, hoping they would be punished for the problems they caused him, which would in turn help them towards a mass repentance, sparing them from punishment in the heavenly court for their previous behavior. Yosef purposely accused them of being spies, and kept Shimon hostage until they were to bring their brother Binyamin to him. Yosef commanded his servants to replace money in their sacks, so that they would have to come back later on and prove there honesty. On the return journey, they discovered the money in the bag and their hearts sank. They returned to Yaakov and retold everything. Yaakov refused to allow Binyamin to go to Egypt, however when the famine grew to an unbearable level, he gave in. Yehuda guaranteed Binyamin's safety, and the brothers went to Egypt. Yosef welcomed the brothers in a fabulous manner as honored guests. When he saw his full brother, Binyamin he rushed from the room and cried. Yosef then instructed his servants to replace the money in the sacks, and to put his precious goblet inside Binyamin's sack, framing Binyomin of theft, this was done in order to prove if the brothers were willing to fight and protect Binyomin which in turn would prove their repentance. When the goblet was discovered, Yosef demanded Binyamin to become his slave as punishment (at this point Binyomin knew that Yosef was his full brother and was play acting as an enemy, and he was assured of his safety). Yehuda (unaware of Yosef’s identity at this point) interposed and offered himself instead, however Yosef refused. We will see what happens in next weeks reading about how this episode turns out! The Haftorah for this weeks reading comes from the book of Kings, Chapters 3 and 4, and it relates a dream that King Solomon had, where Hashem allowed him to request one thing, he chose to have enormous wisdom, making him the ‘wisest man in the world.’ I would like to dedicate this Dvar Torah to the yahrzeit of my late uncle, David ben Shalom Shlomo. From Michael Zaroovabeli at Ohr Sameach Yeshiva.

Vayigash

We left off in last weeks reading with Yosef instructing his son Menashe to put the ‘magical’ goblet in Binyonin’s sack, in turn framing Binyomin of thievery. When Yosef accused one of the brothers of stealing the goblet, they were all confused as they were sure none of them would have taken it (which none had an actually done). Binyomin was taken and Yosef punished him into a lifetime of slavery, however, the future king of the Jewish people, Yehuda, stepped forward and eloquently but firmly petitioned against Yosef for Binyamin's release, offering himself as a slave instead. As a result of this act of total selflessness, Yosef finally had pure proof that his brothers were different people from the ones who threw him into the pit, realizing they had fully repented for their past misdeeds. He decided to reveal to them that he is none other than their brother. Yehudah proved to every one of his leadership qualities, his actions of leadership teach all of us how we are all capable of stepping up and attempting to lead in any situation. We learn in parshat Shemos, when Moshe saw the sight of the ‘Burning Bush,’ Hashem instructed him to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt, despite being the shyest of all men and having a speech problem, he still went on to arguably be the great leader of the Jewish people throughout history. The brothers, who had just discovered who Yosef was, were in pure shame with the way they treated him; however Yosef consoled them, telling them that everything had been part of G-d’s plan. From Yosef we learn how a person can come from absolute nothing and rise to power and fame, we see many cases in the Tanach where people came from ‘nothing’ to total rulership, in the book of ‘Shmuel,’ we learn how the young shepherd David, rose from doing a regular job, into being anointed as the future king, slaying the giant Goliath and then actually becoming King for 40 years. We see in the book of Shoftim ‘Judges’ how Yiftach was bullied by his fellow townsmen, driven out of his town and then later on became judge of the Jewish people for six years. Yosef then sent the brothers back to their father, Yaakov, with a message to come and reside in the land of Goshen (a segregated part of Egypt so that the ‘Hebrew’s would not assimilate into Egyptian culture). At first, Yaakov could not accept the news, however Asher’s daughter, Serach, played in the most gentle manner with her musical instrument a song with the words ‘Yosef is still Alive!,’ his spirit was then revived. In turn, Serach was blessed by Yaakov with eternal life, the Gemora says that she was one of nine people who went up to Gan Eden alive. Yaakov together with all his family and possessions left for Goshen. Hashem communicated with Yaakov in a vision at night. He informed him not to fear going down to Egypt and its potential detrimental spiritual consequences, because it is there that G-d will in the future establish the Children of Israel as a huge nation despite they will dwell in a land steeped in immorality and corruption. Pharaoh presented Yaakov and his family with lavish gifts, and the two leaders, Pharaoh, the international King and Yaakov the leader of the Hebrew’s finally met, as Yaakov blessed Pharaoh, almost instantly after the blessing, the famine stopped! Which shows the power of a blessing from a righteous individual!! The Torah then lists Yaakov's offspring and hints to the birth of Yocheved, who would in the future be the mother of Moshe. Seventy souls in total descend into Egypt, where Yosef was reunited with his father after 22 years of separation. He embraced his father and wept, overflowing with joy, whereas Yaakov was busy reciting the Shema. The Children of Israel then became settled in their new land, and their numbers multiplied greatly. The Haftorah from this weeks reading comes from the book of Ezekiel, chapter 37. Ezekiel was a priest, prophet and preacher of the exile in Babylonia. When his people had all but lost hope in the continuity of the Jewish covenant, Ezekiel comforted his people with the promise of God's forgiveness and return to Zion. Dvar Torah written by Michael Zaroovabeli, from Ohr Sameach yeshiva in Israel.

Vayechi

Yaakov entered the land of Egypt at the age of 130, he went on to spend 17 further years in the land, Yaakov then sensed that his days were drawing to an end and he summoned Yosef. He made Yosef swear to bury him in the Machpela Cave, which was the burial place of Adam and Chava, Avraham and Sara, Yitzchak and Rivka. Leah had also been buried at this place and he was to be buried next to her. Upon visiting Yaakov, Yosef had actually reduced Yaakov’s illness by one sixtieth, as the Talmud teaches us how important it is to visit the sick, as one individual coming to help and support someone in a bad state can alleviate ones mood. Yaakov later on fell further ill and Yosef brought his two sons, Ephraim and Menashe. Yaakov then went on to bless his grandchildren, Ephraim and Menashe to the status of his own sons, thus giving Yosef a double portion of the 12 tribes and he also removed Reuven as the first born and awarded it to Yosef in turn. Yaakov was blinded in his old age, just as Yitzchak was, Yosef lead his sons close to their grandfather. Yaakov then began to bless them, giving precedence to Ephraim, the younger, however Yosef interrupted him and informed him that Menashe is the older of the two. However Yaakov explained that he intended to bless Ephraim with his strong hand because he foresaw through prophecy that Yehoshua will descend from Ephraim, and Yehoshua will be both the conqueror of Israel and the teacher of Torah to the Jewish People, in fact he was leader of the Jewish people for 28 years after Moshe had died, and he defeated many of the Canaanite countries. Yehoshua was so great that he in fact made the sun stay still for 36 hours during one of his wars. Yaakov then summoned the rest of his sons in order to bless all of them as well. Yaakov gave blessings to reflect the unique character and ability of each tribe, directing each one in its unique mission in serving Hashem. Yaakov’s blessed his first three children born to Leah, in each of the blessings was an implied rebuke, they were given to Reuven, Shimon and Laivi. He expressed his disappointment with Reuven within regards to him moving his fathers couch, and rebuked Shimon and Laivi due to the way they went about there actions in Shechem. However we do see later on throughout the Chumash that Laivi channel their zealousness to G-d as they were the torah scholars in Egypt and were the only tribe to protest against the Golden Calf. Yaakov then gave a powerful blessing to Yehudah, praising him for the way he dealt with Tamar. He handed over the kingship to Yehudah and compared him to a ‘Lion.’ Many great leaders were to descend from Yehudah, including, Nachshon, Betzalel, David and Shlomo. Yaakov then gave beautiful blessings to the rest of the tribes, Yissacher, Zebulan, Naftali, Asher, Gad and Binyomin. He also blessed the tribe of ‘Dan’ comparing him to a serpent, he was alluding to the great later judge, Shimshon, who was a nazrite by birth and went on to become one of the greatest leaders of all time, slaying many of the enemy of the Jews, including thousands of Pelishtim. Yaakov died at the age of 147 years. Yaakov was given the utmost respect in his funeral, as all the leader of the different nations accompanied him in burial. After Yaakov died, the brothers were worried that Yosef would now take revenge on them for selling him. Yosef reassured them, even promising to support them both emotionally and financially and their families. Yosef lived out the remaining of his years in Egypt as deputy, and even went on to see Efraim's great-grandchildren live. Yosef informed his brothers before he died, that G-d would later on redeem them out of Egypt. He made the brothers swear to bring his bones out of Egypt with them at the time of redemption, actually in few weeks time we will see in Parshah Beshalach that Moshe would be the one to carry his bones out of Egypt. Yosef passed away at the age of 110, he was the youngest to die out of his brothers. This is how we conclude the book of Bereishit; we will be starting of the book of Shemot in next weeks reading. The Haftorah for this weeks reading comes from Chapter 2 in the book of Kings where King David delivered his death message to his son, Shlomo. Hope you all have a great week, by Michael Zaroovabeli.

Shemot

Va'eira

Bo

Beshalach

Yitro

Mishpatim

Terumah

This weeks reading, Tetzave, starts off relating the commandment that olive oil should be contributed by the nation for the menorah and that it should be lit by the Kohanim. The first drop of the oil when squeezed was to be used for the menorah, teaching us that only the most purest oil should be used for the menorah and in turn making us realize that we should all strive to be as pure as possible in all daily tasks in life. It also teaches us that just like oil floats to the top, when the Jews fulfil Hashem’s will, they rise above the nations. Next up in the reading, Hashem commanded Moshe to consecrate the Kohanim with special priestly Garments. The Kohanim had a total of four vestments to wear, whereas the Kohen gadol wore eight different vestments. The following were the different garments; the shirt, the breeches, the belt, the turban, the robe, the apron, the breastplate and the headplate. Each of these vestments signified a certain atonement which by the Kohen gadol wearing it, that atonement would be provided for the Jewish nation. The ‘Belt,’ was worn over the heart and therefore atoned for improper thoughts of the heart. One should always strive to have ‘pure’ thoughts, and not to go into a position of ‘lust,’ which is one of three things that take a person out of the world, we see Korach suffered from ‘lust’ in his pursuit for glory. The ‘breastplate’, was worn, featuring 12 different colored gems, a different color for each of the 12 tribes, this was worn to atone for the sin of perverted judgement since it was worn over the Kohen’s heart. False Judgment actually emanates from improper thoughts of the heart. In fact, if one falsely accuses someone of doing something wrong, it is proper for the accuser to give the victim a blessing in compensation. We learn at the start of the book of Shmuel, when the Kohen Gadol, Eli, falsely accused the mother of the future prophet, Shmuel, for behaving like a drunk, he gave her a blessing, which in turn led to the birth of Shmuel. The ‘robe’ was worn as an atonement for the transgression of lashon hara, the robe had golden bells and pomegranate shaped wool hanging on the bottom of the garment, reminding that all of an individuals words spoken should be golden, and one should think before they speak, as they shouldn’t say improper things. The Parshah then goes on to relate how the Kohanim were consecrated for seven days, the inauguration process would be complete on the eighth day, we will see the events of this day later on in Parshat Shmini in the book of Vayikra. On each of the seven inauguration days, three sacrifices had to be offered; a bullock and two rams. The bullock was used as a sacrifice as it atoned for the possible sin of someone’s having donated stolen material to the tabernacle or the alter. One has to be honest in the gifts and make sure they bought it from authentic and honest sources. It is improper to cheat and be too ‘shrewd’ in dealings, if it leads to trickery and loss to another party. The sages say that one of the first questions G-d asks a man after their life is, ‘did u act honestly in business?’ The parshah then relates the laws of the ‘Tamid’ (Continuous) offering, where a lamb had to be offered on the alter every single morning and afternoon, the detailed laws may be learned in parshat Pinchus in the book of Bamidbar. The Parshah concludes relating the details within relation to the ‘Golden alter,’ which was made of shittim wood and overlaid with pure gold. Around the alter, was a golden rim, symbolising the crown of ‘Kehuna,’ one of the high positions that Hashem awarded to his people. Incense was to be burned on this alter. Hashem actually says, that this offering, is the most beloved of all offerings. This is because all other offerings atone for transgressions; however incense is offered to bring joy and happiness. The Haftorah for this weeks reading comes from Chapter 43 of the book of Ezekiel, regarding our long dark exile and the brilliant light awaiting us at the end of it. I would like to dedicate this Dvar Torah to a women who has stage four lymphoma that has spread to her bone marrow and other parts of her body, her name is Gittel bas Sorah, I hope that she makes a recovery and urge everyone to say tehillim for her.

Ki Tisa

Vayakhel

Pekudei

Vayikra

Tzav

Shemini

Tazria

Metzora

Acharei

Kedoshim

Emor

Behar

Bechukotai

Bamidbar

Naso

Behaalotecha

Shlach

Korach

Chukat

Balak

Pinchas

Matot

Masei

Devarim

Va'etchanan

Eikev

Re'eh

Shoftim

Ki Teitzei

Ki Tavo

This weeks reading is introduced with the topic of ‘Bikurim’ which is the mitzvah to bring the first fruits to the Beis Hamikdash (temple), the first fruits are brought from the seven species for which the Land of Israel is famous for – wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. When an owner of land would notice that the first fruit of any of the aforementioned kinds start to ripen in his field or orchard, he ties a thread around it and marks it as Bikurim. He waits for all the different kinds of fruits to ripen and then take them all together to the temple. The mitzvah of Bikurim is a great example of the Jewish people’s efforts to beautify the mitzvos. Only a deep love for the mitzvah could transform the commandment ‘’to bring the first fruits to the Beis Hamikdash’’ in to a glorious undertaking. It was a festive procession to Jerusalem, they would recite biblical scripture which was accompanied by music, and the first fruits were given to the kohanim. It was a ceremony expressing recognition that it is G-d who guides the history of the Jewish People throughout all ages. As well as the mitzvah of the ‘first fruits’ the Torah reading this week includes a mass number of blessings and curses which befall the jewish people when they keep or stay away from the torah, the blessing and curses were initially pronounced at Mt Gerizim and Mt Aival, during Moshe’s last few days alive, 6 of the tribes stood at Mt Aival – Reuvain, Gad, Asher, Zevulin, Dan and Naftali and the other 6 tribes stood at Mt Gerizim – Shimon, Laivi, Yehuda, Yissachar, Yosaif and Binyamin. The haftorah in this weeks torah reading comes from the book of Yeshaya chapter 60. As Ellul is continuing it is a time for the Jews to do Teshuva and improve themselves in all areas of life needed, hope you all have a great Shabbat, from Michael at Ohr Sameach Yeshiva.

Nitzavim

This week is a double torah reading and features the two shortest readings in the entire torah which have 40 and 30 verses in each Parsha respectively. The first of the two readings is Parshah Nitzavim, it is introduced as Moshe makes a covenant with the nation when entering the land, and the parshah continues with one of the main theme’s for the month of Ellul, ‘Teshuva’ (repentance), where Moshe promised that if the Jewish nation do Teshuva while in Exile, Hashem would redeem them, Hashem always listens to the sincere prayers of the Jewish people and one of the first steps in doing Teshuva is to have regret on the actions the person had previously made, there were countless individuals throughout the Tenach who did Teshuav including the first born of the twelve tribes, Reauven (after moving his fathers bed to his own mothers tent), the Jews after commiting the atrocity of the Golden Calf, Rachav after she commited years of Harlotry did teshuva and many other people throughout biblical history, there is even a concept of an individual who performs multiple transgressions and then has sincere regret in his prior actions, his original transgressions maybe transformed into mitzvahs. The Parshah of Nitzavim is concluded as Moshe emphasizes that by keeping the Torah a person acquires eternal life. The Parshah of Vayelech is introduced as Moshe comforts the Jews regarding his impending death, as he was about to die at the age of 120 years, Moshe called his successor, Yehoshua, and honoured him in the presence of all the Jews and clothed him in royal attire, seated him on his own chair and placed the crown on his head and in turn all the Jews accepted Yehoshua as their new leader. Yehoshua deserved to become Moshe’s successor as he was Moshe’s star pupil, he was always by his side learning torah and even waited for him on the foot of Mount Sinai for 40 days!! This alone earned him the respect of Klal Yisrael! The Parshah continues with instructions of the ceremony of ‘Hakhail’ – this was where the national assembly gathered once every seven years to hear the King read the Torah, the king was required to read a number of passages from the book of Devarim. The aim of the mitzvah of ‘Hakhail’ was to strengthen the Jewish people in Torah and observance of G-d and it was a mitzvah observed by all the righteous kings. Further on in Parshah Vayelech, Moshe warned the Jews to acknowledge G-d’s justice for when in future times they were to be punished for idol worship. Vayelech concludes with the mitzvah for every Jewish man to write a sefer torah for himself, however in this day and age many people buy sefarim (books of torah literature) instead, and it is also customary to buy a share in a communal Sefer torah and it is the practice for the men of the community to trace in the last words of the Sefer Torah, binding them together in a symbolic way comparable to the binding of the whole Jewish nation together during the sacred ceremony of ‘Hakhail.’. Have a Fantastic and Incredible Shabbat from Michael at Ohr Samaeach Yeshiva in Israel. Shabbat Shalom!!!

Vayelech

This week is a double torah reading and features the two shortest readings in the entire torah which have 40 and 30 verses in each Parsha respectively. The first of the two readings is Parshah Nitzavim, it is introduced as Moshe makes a covenant with the nation when entering the land, and the parshah continues with one of the main theme’s for the month of Ellul, ‘Teshuva’ (repentance), where Moshe promised that if the Jewish nation do Teshuva while in Exile, Hashem would redeem them, Hashem always listens to the sincere prayers of the Jewish people and one of the first steps in doing Teshuva is to have regret on the actions the person had previously made, there were countless individuals throughout the Tenach who did Teshuav including the first born of the twelve tribes, Reauven (after moving his fathers bed to his own mothers tent), the Jews after commiting the atrocity of the Golden Calf, Rachav after she commited years of Harlotry did teshuva and many other people throughout biblical history, there is even a concept of an individual who performs multiple transgressions and then has sincere regret in his prior actions, his original transgressions maybe transformed into mitzvahs. The Parshah of Nitzavim is concluded as Moshe emphasizes that by keeping the Torah a person acquires eternal life. The Parshah of Vayelech is introduced as Moshe comforts the Jews regarding his impending death, as he was about to die at the age of 120 years, Moshe called his successor, Yehoshua, and honoured him in the presence of all the Jews and clothed him in royal attire, seated him on his own chair and placed the crown on his head and in turn all the Jews accepted Yehoshua as their new leader. Yehoshua deserved to become Moshe’s successor as he was Moshe’s star pupil, he was always by his side learning torah and even waited for him on the foot of Mount Sinai for 40 days!! This alone earned him the respect of Klal Yisrael! The Parshah continues with instructions of the ceremony of ‘Hakhail’ – this was where the national assembly gathered once every seven years to hear the King read the Torah, the king was required to read a number of passages from the book of Devarim. The aim of the mitzvah of ‘Hakhail’ was to strengthen the Jewish people in Torah and observance of G-d and it was a mitzvah observed by all the righteous kings. Further on in Parshah Vayelech, Moshe warned the Jews to acknowledge G-d’s justice for when in future times they were to be punished for idol worship. Vayelech concludes with the mitzvah for every Jewish man to write a sefer torah for himself, however in this day and age many people buy sefarim (books of torah literature) instead, and it is also customary to buy a share in a communal Sefer torah and it is the practice for the men of the community to trace in the last words of the Sefer Torah, binding them together in a symbolic way comparable to the binding of the whole Jewish nation together during the sacred ceremony of ‘Hakhail.’. Have a Fantastic and Incredible Shabbat from Michael at Ohr Samaeach Yeshiva in Israel. Shabbat Shalom!!!

Haazinu

This week’s torah reading is the portion of ‘Ha’azinu’ and poetically depicts what will happen to the Jewish people until the end of days. It states what the ramifications on the Jews will be, if they transgress the covenant with Hashem and portrays how Hashem will punish the nations who wronged the Jewish people while in exile. Ha’azinu is the forth out the ten prophetic songs featured in the Tanach, other examples of songs included in the Tanach is the song of ‘the praise of Miriam’ which was featured in Parshas Chukas and Adam reciting the first song in Gan Eden just after creation. In this Parsha we learn the power of saying the word ‘amen’ after a blessing is made, as Moshe summoned the people to respond with praise of G-d whenever he mentioned G-d’s name. Moshe prefaced the anthem of ‘Ha’azinu with the lesson; ‘Whenever I mention Hashems Name, praise him by responding ‘amen.’’ Our sages derived from this verse that after every blessing recited in the temple the people were required to respond ‘blessed be the name of his glorious kingdom for ever and ever.’ We too observe the rule of ‘responding with a blessing’ whenever we hear a person reciting a blessing. There is also the idea that an individual who responds with the word ‘amen’ to a blessing, is even greater than the person who recited the blessing! It’s such an easy Mitzvah!!! The song has many verses to it; the song talks about how Moshe declared that the Torah is ‘Lifegiving like rain,’ the song states that G-d’s work is perfect and all his ways are absolutely Just; the song also enumerates of Hashems kindness to the Jewish people. Moshe prophesies that the Jews will sin and rebel against Hashem; the song talks about the punishments that will befall the Jews if they don’t heed to the word of torah; the song concludes with a comfort for the Jewish people and the divine promise that justice will be executed on their oppressors. The torah reading continues with Moshe and the future leader, Yehoshua, teaching the song of Ha’azinu to the children of Israel and Moshe explaining how everything in the Torah is true. The reading concludes as Moshe ascends on to Mount Nevo to view the land of Israel. This parsha is the forth shortest in the five books of Torah as it only has 52 verses. On Sunday, it is the festival of Yom Kippur (day of atonement) and the torah reading in the morning prayers will be sections of the Parsha, ‘Acharai Mos’ featured in the book of Vayikra (Leviticus) which deal with the Yom Kippur service and the laws of Yom Kippur. I hope you all have a fantastic Shabbat and a meaningful fast and Yom Kippur!! Shabbat Shalom!! From Michael Z, learning in Ohr Sameach yeshiva in Jerusalem.

V'Zot HaBerachah

Chag Sameach, the end of the torah cycle is approaching again, as Sunday will be Simchat Torah, this week’s Torah reading, is the last one in the torah, as Moshe passes away and Joshua becomes leader and takes the Jews in to Eretz Yisrael. The Majority of the parsha talks about how Moshe blesses the Tribes prior his death. Moshe wished as his final act to bless the Jews. He had started the Sefer Devarim with reproof, and he also rebuked the Jews in the song of Ha’azinu. The Later prophets and sages learned from Moshe that they should conclude their speeches, with words of comfort and blessing for the people. The Torah states that Moshe was a ‘man of G-d.’ This title was given to him only after he blessed the Jews, since one who defends and praises the Jewish people is elevated by Hashem. Moshe starts the blessings by describing the Jews greatness; he describes how G-d revealed himself at Har Sinai to give the Torah. Matan Torah also highlights the greatness of the Jews, for all generations only they were willing to accept the treasured torah, and therefore are worthy of the blessings. Reuvain, as the first born, was given the first blessing, ‘May Reuvain live and not die, and may his men be counted among the tribes,’ was the blessing Moshe proclaimed on Reuvain, to a certain level it was referred to the tribes founder. Moshe blessed Reuvain that his transgression involving Bilha (when he moved his fathers bed out of his tent with Bilha’s into his mothers tent, Leah) not be held against him in the future since Reuvain had repented the mistake. We learn from Reuvain the importance of repentance and how one can clear the slate if they are truly sorry about their past misdeeds. Yehuda was the next tribe to be blessed (Shimon’s blessing was included in Yehuda’s), Yehuda was a natural born leader, King David and the Davidic Dynasty came from this tribe, and it possessed the crown of kingship. Nachshom Ben Aminadav, a descendant of the tribe Yehuda, was the first man to dive in to the water, which split the sea as the Jews left Egypt, this characteristic of leadership and responsibility reflected on the whole tribe. The next tribe to be blessed was, Laivi, Moshe praised the tribesmen of Laivi who were chosen to perform G-d’s service in the Mishkan and Bais Hamikdash. Following Laivi’s blessing was the tribe Binyamin, the first King, Shaul, was to descend from Binyomin, the tribe founder was the youngest son of Rachel. Yosaif (Rachel’s oldest son) was awarded the next blessing, Moshe blessed Yosaif’s portion of land to yield more delicious produce than any other plot of land. The leader after Moshe died, Yehoshua, led the Jews in to the land of Israel and was in charge of the country for 28 years, he did a magnificent job, eradicating the 31 kings of cannan, and won numerous wars. He died at the age of 110 years. The Tribes, Zevulan and Yissachar were given the next blessings, they formed a partnership, where the tribe of Zevulin would be the merchants working hard at sea in business, they would support the tribe of Yissacher, with some of the profits they had made in business, while the Tribe of Yissacher would be learning Torah throughout the day, a partnership which is seen in this day and age also. The final four blessings were given to the tribes of Gad, Dan, Naftali and Asher respectively. All 12 tribes provided different qualities to the Jewish nation, when the tribes were united, they elevated Hashems divine presence amongst the Jewish nation; while they were in the wilderness for forty years, the tribes divided in to four camps, with three tribes in each respectively. When the Jews in general are all united together and not fighting each other, Hashem’s divine presence rests among them, which teaches us how important unity is!! One Nation One Heart!!! Hope you all have a fantastic Yom Tov and Shabbat, from Michael Z learning at Ohr Sameach Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

• * Home
• * Contact Us