Kollel of Greater Boston

Day: July 28, 2023

  • Parshas Vaeschanan

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    By Rabbi Shimmy Sternfield

    עלה ראש הפסגה ושא עיניך ימה וצפנה ותימנה ומזרחה וראה בעיניך כי לא תעבר את הירדן הזה (פרק ג’, פסוק כ”ז)
    Ascend to the top of the cliff and raise your eyes… and see with your eyes, for you shall not cross the Yardein.
    When משה Davened to Hashem that he be allowed to enter ארץ ישראל , Hashem told him, “Do not continue to speak to Me about this matter! Go up to the top of the cliff and see with your eyes, for you will not cross the Yardein.” רש”י explains, that this was Hashem’s response to the prayers of משה . Since משה had used the words, “Let me see the good land that is across the ירדן ,” Hashem granted his request by allowing him to look from afar and see ארץ ישראל from a distance. According to this explanation, the end of the פסוק is saying, “See ארץ ישראל with your eyes from here, because you will not be entering it to see it from within.” The באר יוסף suggests an alternate interpretation based on a מדרש . The מדרש states that, when משה looked from the top of the cliff, Hashem did not only show him the land of ארץ ישראל . Rather, Hashem showed משה what would happen to ארץ ישראל and בני ישראל for all generations to come. “ משה saw the wars יהושע fought with the kings of כנען , as well as the battles of דוד המלך . Hashem showed him the leaders of each generation until the coming of ”.משיח The באר יוסף writes that, if משה saw the leaders of every generation, as it says in the מדרש , he would have also seen that he was not among them once they entered ארץ ישראל ! It could not be made clearer to משה that he was not going to be allowed to enter ארץ ישראל in the end. Accordingly, concludes the באר יוסף , the פסוק may be interpreted, “See with your own eyes that you will not be crossing the ירדן [since you will see that you are no longer present among בני ישראל from that point on].”
    וזאת התורה אשר שם משה לפני בני ישראל (פרק ד’, פסוק מ”ד)
    This is the Torah that Moshe placed before B’nei Yisrael. The פסוק says, “This- וזאת – is the Torah that משה placed before בני ישראל .” The גמרא states, that this פסוק is the source that the word זאת – “This”- is a reference to the Torah. What connection is there between the word זאת and Torah? In what way does that word in particular represent Torah? Reb Yaakov Kamenetsky, ,זצ”ל gives the following explanation: Included in the seven מצות given to non-Jews is the מצוה to establish a court system, including judges to establish laws and to issue rulings in cases of dispute. Even if these court rulings are not always in accordance with the Torah’s approach to ruling in a דין תורה , nevertheless, they are, from a Torah perspective, binding. Should the court decide that an item belongs to John Doe, a non-Jew who steals that item from John transgresses the prohibition against stealing (another of the seven מצות ) and deserves the death penalty (the Torah punishment for a non-Jew who transgresses any of the seven מצות ). However, nothing about this court system is set in stone. As the world changes, the court system changes as well. New laws are introduced, old laws are abolished, and penalties are adjusted as the court sees fit. Therefore, there is nothing about these rules that is permanent. Torah, on the other hand, is eternal. All laws, procedures, penalties, etc. remain exactly as they were given to us at Sinai. Since Torah can never be altered, one can say, “This is the Torah! This is exactly how it was originally given, and this is how it shall always remain.” Therefore, it is appropriate that the word זאת – “This”- is used to refer to the Torah.

  • The Greatest Praise: Shema Yisrael

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    By Rabbi Naftoly Bier

    Mr. Moshe (Morris) Salzberg, who passed away in 2015, was a survivor of the concentration camps. He related that as a “laborer” at the gas chambers, he witnessed that no Jew would enter without articulating “Shema Yisroel”. This despite that moments before, they were atheists, agnostics, Christians, Maskilim, etc. Yes, all six million are called קדושים for they died sanctifying Hashem’s Name, but this was a monumental revelation! Every Jew has a special, unique נשמה , soul, that at the moment of truth, is able to remove all falsehood and express the ultimate expression of faith, .שמע ישראל
    We find that the “Shema” is called שירה , a song of praise. The מדרש רבה , quoted by the תורה תמימה in שיר השירים ח:יג says, “When the Jewish people enter into the synagogue and in unison with the same inflection of voice, with the same focus, say Shema… Hashem says… we all listen… but when everyone says it at a difference pace, all disconnected from one another, one faster and one slower, the ‘ רוח הקודש ’ screams… ‘My beloved, emulate the angels who say praise with ‘one voice, with the same sweetness’.”
    Every day in תפלת שחרית we say, “ לפיכך… we are obligated to thank, praise… fortunate we twice daily say, Shema Yisroel.” In ברכת היוצר , we elaborate on the idea of how the מלאכים , in a unified, selfless manner praise Hashem.
    The recitation of Shema is simultaneously the epitome of praise to Hashem and the greatest expression of subservience to Hashem; for when one truly recognizes His boundless dedication to us, one will logically subjugate oneself to Him and to His people, Klal Yisroel.
    שמע , the Rambam in ספר אמונה ובטחון , points out that while in all languages there is a different word for seeing and perceiving, for hearing and understanding, in our language, לשון הקודש , the word שמע means to hear and to understand, ראה is to see and to perceive. For if one hears and doesn’t ponder and absorb the lesson, one is not living properly.
    שמע . Hear and understand, Yisroel. You are coming to articulate your praise of Hashem, your love of Hashem; don’t express it without sincere, unmitigated, attentive focus and clarity.
    ישראל . When one praises and accepts Hashem’s sovereignty, attach yourself in a decisive manner to all of Klal Yisroel. This in itself is a tremendous זכות , merit, as we beseech Hashem in תחנון ,u שומר ישראל , the Guardian of Yisroel… let not Klal Yisroel be “lost”, in the merit of just saying the words שמע ישראל . The desire to understand Hashem’s love, to unite in love with all of our brethren is a most significant achievement!
    The rest of the verse has many explanations/lessons:
    יקוק – The name of Hashem which denotes kindness and mercy
    אלוקינו – The title of Hashem that signifies remonstration and sufferering
    יקוק – They are both reflections of His inimitable love of His people, for it all emanates from His altruism אחד – Hashem is the only Source of all of Creation, the absolute sustainer and supervisor of all that transpires.
    Another explanation:
    יקוק – All פוסקים agree that when reciting this name, one has to have two distinct thoughts, 1) that אדון הכל , He is the Master and ruler of all, 2) היה הוה ויהיה , He was, He is, and He will be – two attributes of Hashem. He has always and will always exist (an idea that is beyond human comprehension) and He is the absolute source of all.
    אלוקינו – Hashem is our G-d, the name אלוקים is associated with creation ( בראשית פרק א ). It is affilliated with the ברית מילה with אברהם אבינו , a covenant of promising the land of כנען to the Jewish people and eternal love ( רש“י בראשית י“ז:ב,ז ). The purpose of Creation is those who embrace all of Torah – henceforth אלוקינו , He is our loving Creator – our G-d, for we are following the dictates.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 ה‘ אחד – The day will come when all of humanity will accept Hashem for who He is, the loving Creator of all of humanity.
    This theme is the second paragraph of תחנון ,v… ,שומר due to our articulation of ה‘ אלוקינו ה‘ אחד ! First we prepare ourselves to be attentive to the praise we will express, and then we passionately and wholeheartedly articulate it. We are being taught that each one is a great achievement that warrants Hashem’s loving protection. When one recognizes with unadulterated acuity that the Almighty is a loving Being, one has arrived at the fundamental essence of life, the greatest praise possible. If one truly feels bonded to Hashem due to His infnite caring love, then one logically reciprocates… ‘ ואהבת את ה אלוקיך , and one should due to His love, love Him…