Parshas Korach

This week's Torah portion is Parshas Korach, named after the famous instigator, and cousin of Moshe and Aharon, who challenged the High Priesthood of Aharon by inciting a rebellion within the Jewish camp. Given this, we must ask a very obvious question: why would a portion in the Torah be named after Korach, an evil man who revolted against the leadership of the Jewish people? Seemingly, he should be among those who names we never mention, or only in conjunction with the ubiquitous saying, "yimach shemo" (lit. 'his name should be erased"). It must, therefore, be that there is a great lesson we can learn out from this portion and from the man after whom it is named. To find this lesson, we do not even have to look very far. On the very first verse of the parsha, which reads, "Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi took [himself to one side] along with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben. They confronted Moses together with two hundred and fifty men from the children of Israel, chieftains of the congregation, representatives of the assembly, men of repute" (Numbers 16:1-2), Rashi, the famous Torah commentator, tells us that there is a very "beautiful" Midrash (homilectical teaching) on this verse. In other words, before Rashi tells us ANYTHING else about Korach, he first tells us that there is something beautiful that we can find about him (the word "midrash" is etymologically related to the word for search). The lesson here is clear, that any Jew, even a Jew like Korach, who rebelled against the rock and foundation of the whole Jewish people has something beautiful in him which we must look for and find; how much more so any of the simple Jews which we know, about whom it is written, "they are filled with good deeds like a pomegranate with seeds". Therefore, it is so necessary night now, especially this week of Parshas Korach, where we learn once again about the terrible consequences of machlokes, of disagreements, that we make every effort to always overcome our differences and find the beautiful in our brothers and sisters. In the merit of this, we should all go up to Yerushalayim together immediately to the Beis haMikdash!

Parshas Shelach

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This week is Parshas Shelach, literally "send", from the verse which reads, "The Lord spoke to Moses saying: Send out for yourself men who will scout the Land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel. You shall send one man each for his father's tribe; each one shall be a chieftain in their midst" (Numbers 13:1-2). This tells the story of the infamous "spies", whom the Jewish people sent to scout out the Land of Israel before they would conquer and inherit the land, according to Divine Command. As the story goes, the spies had deceitful intentions, and brought back such a horrifying report of the land and its inhabitants, that the Jewish people cried and begged that they should die in the desert, or return to the slavery of Egypt, rather than attempt to conquer the Land of Israel. For the 40 days which the spies toured the Land, the Jewish people were punished with 40 years of wandering in the Desert. While many commentators point out that even to send scouts in the first place displayed a lack of faith in Hashem, who had assured them that this was a good land, "flowing with milk and honey", in truth, we see other examples in the Torah where Moshe, and others sent scouts before a Divinely commanded invasion. Not only that, but seemingly this would be the only logical course of action, given the maxim that "one should not rely on miracles", but rather an individual must do everything within his power to assure the success of a mitzvah (for example, buying food for shabbos, and cooking it, inviting guests, etc. this all does not just happen on its own!); how much more such, such an important mitzvah as conquering the Land of Israel. Surely part of the command was that they should formulate a battle plan, and know, at the very least, which is the best path to enter the land. In the end, however, the spies did more that was asked of them; in addition to scouting the Land, they gave their opinion about the feasibility of achieving the goal, this despite the Divine assurances of their success. As such, they overstepped their bounds, and were duly punished.
Each of us too, has a Land of Israel which we must conquer. This includes our physical bodies, and our animal souls, and our immediate surroundings, which we are charged to turn into "a land of desire, flowing with milk and honey" though the keeping and performance of Torah and Mitzvos. Doing so, we must certainly plan and consider the best course of action, and even scout out the opposition, but along the way it may lead us to doubts about the possibility of achieving such a goal. "How can I keep shabbos? I'll have to turn off my cell phone and computer for an entire day! Keep kashrus? I'll need new dishes, and it's more expensive anyway. Tefillin? Isn't this just an archaic superstition?!" For this, the Torah gives us the story of the spies, that we should see the disastrous results of taking our eye off the prize, and forgetting the contract and the promise which Hashem made for us, and the testimony of countless generations, and the guidance of our leaders, that the land is "very very good", and the assurances of our success. With this faith we will immediately go up to the Land of Israel, to Jerusalem, and to the Holy Temple!

Parshas Behaalosecha

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This week is shabbos Parshas Behaalosecha, "When you light"", from the verse which reads, "The Lord spoke to Moses saying: Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall cast their light toward the face of the menorah" (Number 8:1-2). In the general flow of the Torah, this Parsha, discussing laws of the Menorah in the Temple, does not follow the subject matter of that which directly proceeds it, which discussed the inauguration of the Sacrificial Alter in the Temple, and the various offerings of the 12 Tribal Leaders. Rashi, the famous commentator of the Torah, says this teaches us that when Aharon (Moshe's brother, and the High Priest in the Temple) saw that neither he nor his sons nor his tribe (the Tribe of Levi) were included in the Inaguration of the Temple he became dumbfounded (literally, "his intelligence was weakened"). In response, the Holy One Blessed Be He taught Moshe this parsha of the laws of the Menorah, to show Aharon that he too would not only have a part in the Inauguration, but an even greater part. We have to understand, however, why was Aharon dumbfounded upon hearing this? Perhaps it would have been more proper to be upset or insulted.
Aharon, as the High Priest, was necessarily involved in all matters of the Temple, from small details of bird sacrifices, to the great and holy service of Yom Kippur. Even more so, his entire existence was bound up in the Holy Temple, and all of his powers and faculties were entirely dedicated to serving in the Temple. Therefore, when Aharon saw a certain service performed, let alone such an important one as the Inauguration, that did not involve him, he saw himself as lacking in completeness, and first and foremost, lacking in intelligence, dumbfounded in the most literal sense of the word.
There is a great lesson here that we can all learn: As we have spoken of several times before, each of us has a Temple inside (which extends to the world and people around us), where we are the High Priest, and therefore everything that we learn about Aharon applies to each and everyone of us. Therefore, when we see that others are "serving" in their Temple, exerting themselves in Torah and Mitzvos, while we are not, we should be dumbfounded, and feel that we are lacking in our own completeness. As the statement of the sages says, "I was only created to serve my master"; all of the abilities and talents that we have were only given us that we should use them in the service of Hashem, and if we do not, then we should feel a distinct lack. And if we truly come to this feel, and commit ourselves to joining them in their service, then Hashem should bless that we too will have a part in the Inauguration of the Third Temple, and the lighting of the Menorah in the Holy City of Jerusalem.

Parshas Naso

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After a celebrating a beautiful midweek holiday, and receiving the Torah with joy and meaning, we are back in the swing of things, with this week's portion, Parshas Naso, literally to "lift up", but here meaning to take a census, from the verse which reads, "The Lord spoke to Moses saying: Take a census of the sons of Gershon, of them too, following their fathers' houses, according to their families" (Numbers 4:21-22). This refers to the counting of the Levite families, which was performed separately from the rest of the Jewish people (because they did not participate in the Incident of the Golden Calf), which consisted of three familes, the sons of Kehas, the sons of Gershon, and the sons of Merrari. In addition to counting their numbers, each family was also assigned a different task in the transporting of the Tabernacle. The family of Kehas was responsible for carrying the Ark of the Covenant and the other instruments of the Tabernacle (such as the Menorah, the Showbread Table, and the Incense Altar), while the family of Gershon carried all of the various coverings and curtains which made up the Tabernacle itself and the courtyard, and the sons of Merrari carried the beams that formed the structure of the Tabernacle.
We find something interesting, that only for the first two families, the familes of Kehas and Gershon, does the Torah use the word Naso (the name of this week's parsha), which literally means to lift up, when instructing Moses to perform the census, while for the family of Merari, it simple says that he should count them. Seemingly, this places Merari on a lower level than his brothers, Kehas and Gershon, who merited that they should be "lifted up" and elevated in their duty of carrying the Tabernacle, while Merari did not merit such an elevation. In fact, his name, Merari, is etymologically related to the Hebrew word for bitterness, Merirut, signifying a depression, and not an elevation. What makes this Levite family different from the others?
To understand this, we should look back and see what exactly the different families were responsible for carrying: Kehas carried all the instruments, many made of out pure gold, which comprise some of the holiest and most valuable objects the world has ever know (just ask Indiana Jones, lehavdil!), and Gershon carried all the garments, which were made of beautiful multicolored fabrics and animal skins. Merari, on the other hand, carried wooden beams, which after the erection of the Tabernacle, are totally concealed by the curtains and fabrics of Gershon. We see here clearly, that the families of Kehas and Gershon were involved in a more glamorous task than the family of Merari, and therefore, became "elevated", while Merari remained in his state of "bitterness". However, it is still not understood: apart from their various tasks in carrying the Tabernacle, we do not find differences amongst the Levite families (for example, in terms of receiving tithes from the rest of the Jewish people, or their portions in the Levite cities), why, therefore, did the Torah seemingly degrade the family of Merari in this one particular area? It must rather be that there is a special lesson that we can learn from these circumstances to guide us in our own lives.
It is taught that each Jew has within him his own Tabernacle, or Temple, a place within his soul where Hashem resides, and in order to "build" our Tabernacle, we must also have the different pieces: fancy instruments, curtains, and also beams for the structure. Just as in building the real Tabernacle (and any building), one must first erect the foundation and the frame, and then cover the surfaces, and finally fill it with furniture, so to when constructing our personal Tabernacle. Therefore, the beams of Merari were the first step in the erection of the Tabernacle, which gives them a special importance. More specifically, because of their subservient role to the rest of the Tabernacle (to the point that we do not even see them behind all the coverings), the structural beams represent humility, teaching us that in order to begin building our spiritual Tabernacle, we must first take an honest look at ourselves, and evaluate where we stand (this might even lead to bitterness, hence the name Merari, see above). Finally, we can now understand why specifically the family of Merari was not "elevated" in their counting, since elevation can also imply haughtiness, as opposed to the humble, or low, spirit that the beams represent. Of course, after establishing our foundation, it is necessary to deck it out with fine curtains and furniture (by recognizing and brining out all of our fine qualities and strengths), to make it a beautiful dwelling place for Hashem within each of us, and thereby within the world at large.

Parshas Bamidbar/Shavuos

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Next week we will celebrate one of the three Festival holidays from the Torah, the holiday of Shavuos, literally the Festival of Weeks. This holiday celebrates the completion of the Omer Count (as spoken about in past weeks), and coincides with the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai to the Jewish people after the Exodus from Egypt. While this is a very vast subject, and there are any number of topics that we could speak about, we will have to limit ourselves to just one. There is a very famous Midrash, which speaks about the scene in Heaven at the time of the Giving of the Torah. When Moses, Our Great Teacher, ascended to Heaven to receive the Torah, the Angels complained to Hashem, and demanded to know why the Torah was being given to such lowly creatures, like Humans, and in such a lowly place, like this physical world. In truth, the Angels asked a fair question. The Torah is the wisdom of Hashem himself, which is surely much higher than this gross physical world, so what business do we have with it? Furthermore, why does something so spiritual deal with food (kashrus), relations (permitted and not-permitted), and other mundane matters.
To understand this we should first understand the difference between Man and Angel, which is illustrated in their manner of creation. About the Angels it is written, "With the spirit of [G-d's] mouth, [he created] all of His hosts". This teaches us that the Angels were created in one shot, with souls and bodies together (yes Angels also have bodies!). Man, on the other hand, was first created as an inanimate body, from the dirt of the Earth, and only afterwards, "[G-d] breathed into his nose a spirit of life", implanting a soul within that body. Since the body of an Angel and his soul, are intrinsically connected from the instant of their creation, the body of an Angel remains slightly "spiritual", and his soul remains slightly "physical". Man, however, who was created in two seperate pieces, and then, so to speak, assembled, has a completely physical body, and a totally spiritual soul. This allows him to exist in the physical world, and still maintain his connection with spirituality, while an Angel who "falls" to the physical world "loses" his holiness.
Given this distinction, we can now understand the deeper intention of the Giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. It is written in the Midrash, that Hashem desired to have a "Dwelling Place in the Lowest World" (Dira b'Tachtonim), literally a home (and even a House, Speedily in our Days!) on planet earth, and Torah and Mitzvos are the tasks that we have to perform to prepare this home. It is like a king who desires to move to a new palace, and he sends ahead to his servants a list of things to do to prepare the residence for his arrival. So too, we, as Hashem's servants, have a lists of tasks to prepare the palace, this physical world, for the arrival of the King. Therefore, to fulfill this task, me must have physical bodies in the physical world, and therefore the Torah was given specifically to Man. Just as important, every Jew has a totally spiritual soul, which is "an actual piece of Hashem", that gives him the desire and strength to fulfill this goal, and when we perform this mission, we unify two oppisites: a physical body and a spiritual soul. This fusing of opposites and resolving of contradictions comes from the essence of creation, and the essence of Hashem, and this is revealed in its strongest fashion on the holiday of Shavuos. May we merit to see it with our physical eyes!

Parshas Vayikra

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This week (in addition to celebrating my wedding to Miriam, mazel tov!) we have the great merit to start a new book in the Five Books of Moses, the Book of Vayikra (which is also the name of the first parsha), which literally means, "And he called out", from the verse which states, "And He called to Moses, and the Lord spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When a man from [among] you brings a sacrifice to the Lord; from animals, from cattle or from the flock you shall bring your sacrifice" (Leviticus 1:1-2). As we see already in the first verse, this portion deals primarily with the laws of animal sacrifices, and the Book as a whole contains the greatest number of laws of all the Five Books, and is the most technical. In the verse quoted above, we find something very interesting in the Hebrew text, which should literally be translated as, "When a man will bring a sacrifice from you" (note the change in the order of the words), which seems to imply that the individual (and not the animal), is the one being brought as a sacrifice. If we also render the word for "bringing a sacrifice" literally, than the verse will actually read, "When a man will come close from you". From this verse we can now take many teachings about someone who wishes to "come close" to the spiritual, and connect with holiness. First and foremost, it should be from [amongst] YOU. YOU have the ability and the opportunity to come close and make a connection, and YOU were given all of the strengths and placed in the proper circumstances to achieve this goal. Therefore, we can never say, "When will I reach that level of the Forefathers [Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob]", but rather right now we all have everything that we need to "come close". Secondly, it should be FROM you, a piece of you that you are willing (or sometimes not willing) to sacrifice in order to come close. And this is why the verse continues, "from animals, from cattle or from the flock". Each of us has a body, an animal, with certain habits and tendencies, some of us are like cattle, big strong animals, and some us are like sheep, meek and quiet, each one of us knows in ourselves. And this means we're going to have strengths and weaknesses, maybe I'm like an ox with a bad temper, or maybe I'm lazy like a sheep. Whatever it is, we have to take FROM this "animal" and try to burn it up on the alter with spiritual fire and get it excited to come close, and the best way to do this is through study and stimulating our intellect in topics of spirituality and holiness, in general Torah, and in particular ChaBaD (an acronym for Knowledge, Wisdom and Understanding) philosophy. So I encourage everybody to go out an explore something that interests you. Chabad.org is a great place to start and of course Google, and I am always happy to answer questions.

Most importantly, I wish everyone a very meaningful and a restful Shabbos!
Eli

Candle Lighting in NY 6:48 PM (note the change of time to to Daylight Savings)

Parshas Yayak'hel-Pekudei

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This week is very special (in addition to my wedding!) as we have a double Torah portion, with Parshas Yayak'hel-Pekudei (literally "Assembled-Numbers"), from the first first verse of the two portions, which read, "Moses called the whole community of the children of Israel to ASSEMBLE, and he said to them: 'These are the things that the Lord commanded to make'" (Exodus 35:1), and, "These are the NUMBERS of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of the Testimony, which were counted at Moses' command; [this was] the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the Kohen" (Exodus 38:21). Just from the names of these two parshas we can learn a lesson for our daily lives. Like most "double-portions" in the Torah we find that these two names seem to contradict one another. "Assembled" refers to taking many separate parts or individuals, and gathering them together into one unit, a community. Essentially, when we assemble, we submit our individual identity to that of the whole. On the other hand, "Numbers" refers to the counting of each individual part, separating it out from the whole. For example, we may have had a pile of dollar bills, and now that we go through and count it, it becomes X number of individual bills, each able to purchase some goods on its own, separate from the "assembly". What then, is the lesson that the Torah is teaching us, by contradicting these two concepts? That we must at one time be both an individual and a member of the community. That the community can not be complete without each individual (like a car engine, which needs many fine and intricate parts to work), and at the same time, no individual is complete if they are separate from the community (like a bearing which is useless outside of the engine). To fulfill this dual task is surely a great challenge, and the surest way to succeed to is if we connect our selves to the Torah of Life, which "elevates the soul over the body" (Tanya, Chapter 32), revealing its place in the One and Living G-d, the place where all Jews are brothers, and where all of Creation reaches its fulfillment.

I wish everyone a very restful and meaningful shabbos, and would like to extend an invitation to come celebrate my wedding with me this Sunday in Crown Heights at 5 PM at 770 Eastern Parkway, Lubavitch World Headquarters!
Eli

Candle Lighting Times for New York 5:41 PM