I thought of this vort...The aron was made of wood inside between two layers of gold.Sometimes we meet a person that looks like gold from the outside but after becoming close to him and hearing his life story and his weaknesses, falls etc, it seems like a lot of plain wood inside. (Like the zohar writes, wood that the fire can't light up needs to be roughed up). But you need to go deeper and really get to know the truth of the person's struggles, wins and good will, then you'll see that it's pure gold...

Thats beautiful.  Thanks for sharing that

Purim is a time when our tefilot have more of an impact. The halacha is “כל הפושט יד נותנים לו – literally it means whoever sticks out his hand to ask for charity on Purim we should give them, but the Tzaddikim give another interpretation – whoever sticks out his hand to Hashem in tefila on Purim will be granted his request.” 

Let us pray with emunah that tefila really works. Let us pray from the bottom of our heart and let us utilize this wonderful gift that Hashem gave us to help our children become the Tzaddikim that we yearn to see them become.

Purim is the festival that celebrates the victory of the Jewish people in Persia in 356 BCE over Haman, the "Hitler of his time." Rashi points out that the miracle of Purim is intricately connected to the miracles of Passover.

The miracles of Passover were obvious for all to see, yet there seem to be no miracles associated with Purim; the events of the story seem to follow a "natural course." The entire Megillat Esther (literally translated as revealing the hidden) never once mentions the name of God; He seems to be hidden and to play no role in the story.

The point is, no matter how bad we think the situation is, no matter how distant we feel from the Almighty, He is always there, guiding us and our destiny. A spiritual person is able to see the holy in the mundane, the miracles in nature, and the hand of G-d in history. Even when the Almighty seems to be hiding, such a person knows that He is there.

A drunk person feels weak and helpless. And when one feels that way, they recognize that they must turn to Hashem to save them — and that sensation is the recipe for salvation. The Maharal (Or Chadosh) says that this is the reason for drinking on Purim.

On Purim, we wear costumes and perform skits – mocking our hang-ups, idiosyncrasies, and worries. We attack the source of our debilitating anxiety – the Yetzer Hara. We laugh about how silly it really is!

The story of Haman's downfall and Mordechai's rise teaches us that even at a time when we're powerless to act, God continues to protect us and shield us. On Purim, we drink to life – "L'chaim" – with the knowledge that all our troubles are temporary. We capture the joy that just as God redeemed us from previous exiles, so too He will do so again. Because God is always here, running the world for our benefit.

In this week’s parasha, Ki Tisa, Hashem told Moshe to count the Jewish People by each person giving half a shekel because it was forbidden to count them directly. The words Hashem used for the counting were "כי תשא את ראש – which literally means when you lift up their heads." Why was that the expression used? As well, why is it forbidden to count the people?

In this parasha Hashem wants to teach us a message for all generations, namely that a person has to understand how much power Hashem gave him. A person has to know his value and how much he could accomplish, and through that he’ll become successful. 

We have so much potential, we can reach very high levels. Everyone has a piece of Hashem inside of him that is infinite. If we can tap into it and understand how much potential He gave us, we’ll soar to the greatest heights.

If we try, Hashem will help us succeed

One of the translations of מצה is to fight, as it states (Yeshayah 41:12), ,אנשי מצותך “those who battle with you,” because we must put up a battle against the yetzer hara.

The Beis Ahron writes, “The difference between מצה and חמץ is only a small line (in the ח’, which isn’t in the ה' of מצה ). This signifies a drop of bad. One must get rid of the drop of bad that’s in his heart, throw it deep into the sea, and come close to the drop of good that’s inside him…”

We say the brachah, על ביעור חמץ by bedikas chametz. We don’t say the brachah when we burn the chametz. This hints that our obligation is to try and do the best we can. We can’t make a brachah on the results because they aren’t always in our hands. But we can make a brachah on our attempts to cleanse ourselves from all bad, and that is all that Hashem requests from us.

As Chazal (Pesachim 8.) state, one checks for chametz, עד מקום שידו מגעת , as far as his arm can reach. He isn’t expected to do more than he can. And if we try, Hashem will help us succeed. He will help us get rid of the chametz that’s within us.

There was an article printed in the Yated Ne’eman by Rabbi Baruch Rabinowitz who put our current situation into perspective, imagining what his father-in-law, a Holocaust survivor, would say about it. And this is what it says, “You are restricted where to go and how many people can congregate, but you could stay at home and be in your own bed? You mean, you don’t have to stay in a bunker? No ghetto? No sleeping with animals in a barn? You could go to sleep at night and expect to find yourself and your family in the same place in the morning? You have enough food in your home to survive for a few weeks? No rationing of a few grains of barley per person per day? You have fresh water to drink and you don’t need to limit it? You don’t have to boil it first? You can go to the bathroom and you don’t need to use a pail in a corner with other people around? You can go outside to get food and they’ll be food available? You can go outside to get food and you won’t be shot dead if discovered? You can take a shower? With soap? With warm water too? You have a tallit and tefillin? You can pray as long and as loud as you want and not be afraid of being discovered? You could gather on your own porches and sing Kabbalat Shabbat and let it fill the whole street? You could have a Shabbat seuda with real chicken soup, not a little salt in water and leave the rest to the imagination? Real fish? Fresh Challah, soft and chewy? Not hard and moldy? White and not coarse black? You can get more than one slice of bread a day? You don’t have to hide it from other people? You could think about making plans for the next month or even the next year and have a reasonable chance of keeping those plans? Heat? You can feel your fingers and toes when you wake up? You have air conditioning? You don’t feel suffocated by the heat and stench? You have shoes without holes? More than one pair? Really? You have sefarim to learn from? Any sefer that you want? You have access to shiurim by phone or by computer? You have a way to keep in touch with the outside world and at least know there is an outside world? You could actually know what’s happening out there? You could be in touch with family and see how they’re doing? You never think that maybe you’re the last one alive? If you need medicine you could actually get it? You’re planning to make a Seder with real wine and real matzah? Shemura? You have a choice of where to get it from, regular or whole wheat? Spelt, oat? You have enough kezatot for whatever shiur you desire, for each person? You have maror, regular or pre-checked, enough for each? You have chicken and meat too? Fresh vegetables? No moldy potatoes? Potato peels with something inside? Wine, dry, semi-sweet? Four cups for each person? Large cups? Grape juice too? Mevushal, not mevushal? Choice of wines by region and country?”

Yes, we have a lot, although it might seem otherwise. Let us think about all the blessings that we have, appreciate what Hashem has done for us in the past and appreciate what He does for us now. Let us make this Seder the best ever. For some it’s going to be extremely difficult, missing their loved ones who were accustomed to running the Seder. What looks like a time of tachtonim will one day be seen hafuch, that it was a really a time of elyonim. Let us strengthen ourselves and make this a great Seder, a great Pesach and reach great heights. Amen.

Chag kasher v’same’ach

The pasuk says in Tazria, “והיה בעור בשרו לנגע צרעת והובא אל אהרון הכהן – when a person saw that he had tzara’at on his skin, he was to go and show it to the Cohen. I saw a sefer point out that the Torah uses the word והיה here, which Chazal tell us connotes simcha – joy. This means one of the first reactions a person was supposed to have when he saw tzara’at was to be happy. Not happy that he did a sin which caused it to come, but happy that it was Hashem who brought it to him. And it is Hashem that is dealing with him personally and ensuring that he’ll be atoned for. 

Rebbe Yehoshua of Kaminka zt'l taught: Aharon had the attribute of הוד . On Yom Kippur, he went to the Beis HaMikdash, which is also הוד . Therefore, הוד שבהוד is the holiness of Yom Kippur. Chazal (Bava Kama 9) say, הידור מצוה עד שליש . This means, when one performs a mitzvah, it is recommended that he pay a third more for the mitzvah than its minimal price, so he can buy a more beautiful mitzvah.

As Rashi explains, "If he finds two sifrei Torah for sale, and one is more beautiful than the other, he should add a third more money and buy the more beautiful one. As it states (Shabbos 133:) זה א״לי ואנוהו , do beautiful mitzvos before Hashem. Make a beautiful sefer Torah, buy a beautiful lulav, a beautiful talis, and beautiful tzitzis." The Sar Shalom of Belz zt'l asked, Hashem keeps the entire Torah (see Brachos 6). How does He keep the concept of adding a third onto the mitzvos? The answer is, a Yid does 2/3rds of his fight against the yetzer hara, and Hashem completes for him the final third end of the battle. Because the Gemara (Succah 52:) states, יצרו של אדם מתגבר עליו כל יום ומבקש ,להמיתו ואלמלא הקב״ה עוזרו אינו יכל לו "The yetzer hara attacks a person every day and seeks to kill him. If Hakadosh Baruch Hu wouldn’t help, he wouldn’t win the battle." Hashem helps him by completing the final third part of the battle.

The Sar Shalom added: Sefiras Ha’omer is 49 days, and on the 33rd day, twothirds of the omer has passed. During the first two-thirds of the omer, we counted the omer, and we strove to purify ourselves. On Lag b'Omer Hashem completes the mission and we become totally clean from all sins.

The pasuk says in this week’s parasha Vayikra, אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן לה’ מן הבהמה מן הבקר ומן הצאן" תקריבו את קרבנכם– when a man brings a korban from amongst you to Hashem, it should come from animals, either cattle or flock." The mefarshim are bothered by the placement of the word מכם – from you. Seemingly, it should have said "אדם מכם כי יקריב קרבן – a person from amongst you who brings a korban." One explanation given is that Hashem is telling us, when we give a korban, He doesn’t just want an animal, rather אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן – He wants us to sacrifice of ourselves as well. How so? מן הבהמה – we need to go against our animalistic natures. מן הבקר – refers to the animals who are bold, we need to go against our bold nature when it comes to avodat Hashem. And מן הצאן refers to animals who are bashful, we need to go against our bashful nature when it comes to avodat Hashem. For example, if someone has the opportunity to help the masses but he feels, “Who am I? It’s not my place.” That is when he needs to go against his bashful nature and say, “I’m doing the will of Hashem and this is what it calls for me to do.” And if someone was wronged or shamed, and he could easily get back at that person who inflicted the harm, that is when he needs to sacrifice his brazen nature and instead act humbly, like Hashem wants, and keep quiet.


Although we are not able to physically bring korbanot today in the Beit HaMikdash, we could offer korbanot of ourselves all the time by overcoming our nature to do the will of Hashem. If someone has been praying for something for a long time, and instead of his situation improving, it only got worse, his inclination will tell him, “Why bother? Prayer is not helping anyway.” At that moment, he has an opportunity to offer a  korban to Hashem and say to himself, “Tefila is what Hashem wants from me. Although I don’t feel like doing it, I’m going to go against my inclination and I’m going to continue praying with all of my heart.”

The Tzemech Tzedek zt'l said: "Shvi'i shel Pesach is Rosh Hashanah for mesirus nefesh." Also, the Reishis Chachmah (Shaar Ahavah 8:6) writes that the lesson of Shevi'i shel Pesach is to have mesirus nefesh, and then miracles will occur.

Rebbe Michel of Zlotchev zy’a teaches: When a person serves Hashem beyond his natural limits – as this happened when they entered the sea with self-sacrifice – Hashem will act with him beyond the rules of nature, and Hashem will perform miracles for him.

 The Or HaChaim Hakadosh (Shemos 14:14) writes, "Hashem said to Moshe, מה תצעק אלי , 'Why are you praying to me? I also want to perform a miracle [and to split the sea], but they aren't worthy. Middas hadin is preventing… The counsel is that the nation should enter the sea even before it splits, with bitachon that I will perform a miracle for them. This will generate the miracle, and the sea will split.

Sefiras ha'omer purifies us.

As we say in the prayer after sefiras ha'omer, "You commanded us…to count sefiras ha'omer to purify us from our impurities…" This purity connects us to Hashem. Counting the omer is the foundation, the middle, the central beam that enables us to keep the entire Torah 

The Orah v'Simchah writes, “Hashem gave us the mitzvah of sefiras ha’omer to purify us from tumah. What is so significant about this mitzvah that it has the segulah to purify us? “We can explain, bederech tzachus: If a person has many sins when he performs a mitzvah, the mitzvah doesn’t protect him, because the mitzvah becomes batel (annulled) by his many sins. However, the mitzvah of counting the omer is a דבר שבמנין , something that is counted, and the halachah is דבר שבמנין אינו בטל , something that is counted can never become annulled.
Now, since this mitzvah doesn’t become annulled, it has the ability to purify us from our tumah…"

The Shem MiShmuel (Bamidbar תער"ב ) writes, "Even if a person doesn't feel the purity that comes from sefiras ha'omer, he must believe that his neshamah is being purified… The degree of purity one attains varies. For some, only the source of their neshamah becomes pure. For others, their nefesh also becomes pure…"

This is last year's Shevuos newsletter... 
Enjoy!

DavidT wrote on 16 May 2021 14:11:

https://guardyoureyes.com/media/kunena/attachments/5830/weeklygye_shevuos.pdf

Nice. You compiled it?