- נו יה נכ כר יתי האת,בה המ יתי הכם- ל נו יה נש כמ נד יתי האת30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut פיגנריי- כעל, יפ נג ירי הכם- נו הנ כת יתי האת, כח המ יני הכםdown your sun-pillars, and cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols; and My soul הא נת הכם ,כנ נפשיי נו הג נע הלה ; יגלו ילי הכם. shall abhor you. The name Bechukotai ‘decrees’ comes from the same root as the word to be ‘engraved’. A decree is something etched in stone, and as in the Shoa the decree was etched into our flesh. As the Haftorah further adds: Yermiyahu 17:1 בנצי הפרהן-- נכתו הבה נב יעט כב נר הזל, א כח כטאת ניהו הדה1 The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, ו נל כק נרנות,לו כח יל הבם- נחרו השה כעל: הש ימירand with the point of a diamond; it is graven upon ימ נז נבחו יתי הכם. the tablet of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars. In addition to the word Beceri (casualness) being same gematria of Shoa (312) there are some other gematrias that shed light on this word. The gematria 312 is also the same for Dry (Yavesh-312) and New (Chadash - 312). What is the connection? Not long ago Israel was a dry desert, and miraculously it was re-born it became new again. How could one not see that this was the Hand of Hashem? This kind of blindness can only be caused by hatred. This hatred still exists. It is the hatred of the Charedi world against the impurity called Zionism and the stubborn atheism of Zionists in the face of the miraculous. Both are staring in the face of the divine and see nothing. How many were condemned to death because their Rebbe told them it was forbidden to go to Israel? In the book ‘Perfidy’ it also reveals that a million Charedi Jews also could have been saved by the Zionist government but were not, because it may have caused a shift in the balance of power. 101
The Anatomy of the Root of Destruction The sins of the Shoa which continue to permeate today, have yet to be examined and studied and corrected. The place to begin this study is right here in this Parsha. Here is the root cause as outlined by our Father in Heaven. In the beginning of the curses three sins are outlined: 1 – Loathing the decrees 2 – Rejecting the ordinances 3 – Annuling the covenant Vayikra 26:15 - נו יאם האת, נב מחקהתכי ית כמ האסו- טו ונאים15 and if you consider My decrees loathsome, and if נל יב נל יתי נעשות, ימ נש הפ כטי ית כג שעל כנ נפ נש הכםyour soul rejects My ordinances, so as not to perform all נב ירי יתי- כל שה כפ כר תכם אהת, ימ נצו כתי-כהל- אהתMy commandments, so that you annul My covenant; Lets examine each one. Loathing the decrees מי נשפהטכי- נו יאם האת, נב מח הק כתי ית כמ האסו- טו נואים15 and if you consider My decrees loathsome, , ימ נצו כתי- הכל- נל יב נל יתי נעשות האת, תיגנ כעל כנ נפ נש הכםand if your soul rejects My ordinances, so as not נב יריתיי- נל כה נפ נר הכם האת. to perform all My commandments, so that you annul My covenant (Vayikra 26:15) - Gematria 507 To understand what decrees exactly were so loathsome, we can see an allusion when the same word used in a different chapter. : הל כבז יי נה היה, נא השר נא כמ נר התם-- לא ונ כטפנ הכם31 But your little ones, that ye said would be a נאשהר, הה הא הרץ- נו הי נדעו האת-- נו יה יביא יתי הא התםprey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the כמ שא כס תתם בהה. land which you have despised. (Bamidbar 14:31) In the eyes of the Charedim the Land became vile and polluted and not a kosher environment. There was no great need to live in the Land Hashem desired when communities like Brooklyn of today or Vilna of yesterday were much more conducive to Torah study. In the eyes of the non-religious Israeli or leftist from America there is also no need for settlements that in their mind are the obstacle to peace. The appeasement Jews of the Hagana of the 40’s are not so 102
different from the Labor camp today. Herein lies the first sin from the religious to the non-religious world – Rejecting the Land which conversely leads to despising those who demonstrate their love for it by clinging to the Land and building it! Lets examine the next sin. Rejecting My Ordinances Vayikra 26:15 – Rejects – Gematria = 503 ימשנ הפ כטי- נו יאם האת,בנ מחקה כתי ית כמ האסו- טו נו יאם15 and if you consider My decrees loathsome, and , ימ נצו כתי- הכל- נל יב נל יתי נעשות האת, יתגכעשל כנ נפ נש הכםif your soul rejects My ordinances, so as not to נב ירי יתי- כל שה כפ כר תכם האת. perform all My commandments, so that you annul My covenant; I suggest that one of the ordinances that are being rejected are alluded to by another word with the same Gematria (503). Vayikra 19:29 – To Make a Harlot – Gematria = 503 - כל שהזכנו התה; נול הא, יב נתך- נת כח ילל האת- כט כאל29 Profane not thy daughter, to make her a ו המ נל האה הה הא הרץ יז המה, ית נז הנה הה הא הרץ. harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of lewdness. In defense of Charedim the Land of Israel became lewd and was therefore a dangerous influence however the response is not to separate but to reach out like Chabbad and to be a good influence. I don't believe there has ever been a Chabbad emissary becoming influenced to sin by going to remote or secular places, but rather the opposite; they have caused many to do teshuva. Shmot 32:11 – Driving Out – Gematria = 503 ; נמ כצ נוך כהיום, יאת נא השר הא הנ יכי--לנך- יא נש המר11 Observe thou that which I am commanding thee , הה בא המ ירי נו כה נכ כנ נע יני- האת, יה ננ יני גהרןש ימ הפ הניךthis day; behold, I am driving out before thee the נו כה יח יוי נו כה ניבו יסי, נו כה יח יתי נו כה נפ יר יזי. Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. In defense of the 'new spirit' of Zionism that the Charedim rejected the Jewish people began the process of driving out the inhabitants of the land. The failure is that they see only the might of their own hands and not the \"I\" above. Because of this they appease and compromise from the inception of the Nation until now even though we have witnessed many miraculous war stories. From a national to a personal level we have experienced so many miracles yet we continually fail to see the 'I' above and do not draw the proper conclusion. Many are still willfully blind to the miraculous 103
divine intervention that they know exists but disregard. This is a sin that prevents us from increasing our faith. Rejecting the law leads to harlotry from the secular side and an increase of our enemies because we did not 'drive them out'. If the Charedi rabbis had encouraged their flocks to return and help drive out the enemy there certainly would have been in the very least a very different demographic. One who clings to the laws of Holiness is mocked by many secular people who seek to undermine and scandalize because they themselves 'reject' these ordinances. Many of the Charedi people also mock those who try to 'drive out' our enemies and deride these efforts by saying we are not 'holy' enough and only G-d will do this when Moshiach comes. Lets examine the last sin in the anatomy of our destruction. Annuling the Covenant Here again are similar comparisons. Vayikra 26:15 - 375+1 = 376 - נו יאם האת, נב מח הקתכי יתמנאהסו- טו נו יאם15 and if you consider My decrees loathsome, and if your נל יב נל יתי נעשות, ימ נש הפ כטי ית נג כעל כנ נפ נש הכםsoul rejects My ordinances, so as not to perform all My בנ יריתיי- כל שה כפ כר תכם האת, ימ נצו כתי-כהל- האת. commandments, so that you annul My covenant; Bamidbar 14:6 = 376 , כה הת ירים- מין, ני מפ הנה- נו הכ ילב הבן,נון- ו יויהו מש כע יבן6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of בי נגדיי ההם, הק כרעו--הה הא הרץ-אהת. Jephunneh, who were of them that spied out the land, tore their clothes. Here is the sad reality that two people can be in the same place and draw completely different conclusions based on their lack of self-esteem and faith in Hashem. The irony is that such a large proportion of the religious camp lacks faith and such a large proportion of the non-observant camp has complete faith and courage to conquer our Land. The disease of the soul that causes our destruction is not based on our religious beliefs at all, but something much deeper, our character. Yehoshua and Calev saw an enemy that was frightened and would be easily conquered. Despising leads to rejecting which leads to the annulment of the covenant. After a certain point Hashem removes His protection and causes us to wander yet again. The six day war could have been the beginning of a glorious new chapter but we acted like grasshoppers and allowed Moshe Dayan to invite the fleeing Arabs back and give them the keys to the Temple Mount. We took a great miracle and turned victory into retreat. A new generation must mature and the old one must die out before we will realize the potential that we could have realized much earlier. The reaction against those who cling to the Land like Yehoshua and Calev is the culmination of despising and rejecting which leads to annulment. Those who pleaded with the Nation at the time of Gush Katif were rejected and the annulment or 'disengagement' was created. In the Shoa this annulment meant that whole communities disappeared as if they had never been and those who had inhabited them were murdered. In our time this annulment has lead and continues to lead to whole communities dissapearing and G-d's glory being diminished. 104
Bamidbar 14:9 - נו כא התם שאל, ית כמ הר הרדו- שאל, ט שאך שביה הוה9 Only rebel not against the LORD, neither fear יכי כל נח ימנו יהם; הסר, שעם הה הארתץ- יתי כראו תאתye the people of the land; for they are bread for us; their defence is removed from over them, and יתי הר מאם-כאל ,יא התנו כויה הוה ימ נע ילי ההם יצ הלם.. the LORD is with us; fear them not.' They expressed the two point we already have spoken about. 1. If you are religious, do not sin against Hashem who commands you to conquer the Land 2. If you are not observant , realize that our G-d has removed their protection so have no fear. The spies on the other hand saw themselves as grasshoppers and the inhabitants of the land as ‘giants’. Bamidbar 13:33 - ימן-- כה ננ יפי ילים נב יני נע הנק- אהת, לג נו השם הר יאינו33 And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of כו ןכן הה ייינו, כה ננ יפ ילים; כו ננ יהי כב ןעי ןנינו ככ נח הג יביםAnak, who come of the Nephilim; and we were in כב ןעי ןני תהם. our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.' Rabbi Kahane once said that the nations act reflexively of the Jews. Here we see this principle clearly outlined. Because we lack faith and see ourselves as grasshoppers, we actually give birth to that which we fear the most. Because we see ourselves as grasshoppers, so the nations begin to see us. They act reflexively of our sins. When we act like the spies, they become giants. When we act like Yehoshua or Calev, they become grasshoppers and flee. This principle is outline in the very beginning of Behalotecha as the blessings that precede the curses. In other words there need not be any curses. Hashem prefers that we create blessings by our actions. Bamidbar 13:33 ו ימ האה ימ הכם, ח נו הר נדפו ימ הכם נח ימ השה ימ האה8 And five of you shall pursue a hundred, and a הלחה הרב, נר הב הבה יי נר הדפו; נו הנ נפלו הא ני יבי הכם יל נפ יני הכם. hundred of you shall pursue ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. According to the math, if five shall pursue a hundred, then a hundred should pursue two thousand, not ten thousand. According to Rashi, this teaches that when more people are united in serving G-d, the more effective are their actions. The Great Principle Herein lies the greatest principle of faith. As we stated before the nations act reflexively of our sin. They respond measure for measure based upon our actions. When we do the positive actions that we are commanded to do, however there is an unequal measure. A small action from below creates a larger 105
intervention from above. The intervention from above multiplies as a greater number of Israelites unite in these positive actions. This concept we celebrate during the time of Chanuka we praise Hashem for the victory of the small against the mighty. This victory was not by ‘chance’ or ‘Beceri’, it is a law, a decree. We have the ability to bring tragedy or victory upon ourselves. We don’t even need to be completely united. We need a critical mass behaving in the way in which we have been commanded to behave. When this mass begins to rise up from within the Nation of Israel, there will be a great deal of divine intervention from above. As the numbers begin to swell the Heavenly armies will be at our command. My good friend Yekutiel (the leader of Kahane Chai) wrote: ‘The only thing that changes in Messianic times is our enslavement to the Gentiles, according to the Rambam. The only thing that is holding back these Messianic times is our fear of the nations. It is not Moshiach who performs miracles according to the Rambam, it is Jews who do all of the things that they are waiting for the Messiah to do, who bring the Messiah. It is all about a state of mind.’ Another way to see this is in the passage we have been examining. The last three letters of annulling the covenant spells ‘Matai’ – (when). Vayikra 26:15 - 375+1 = 376 ימ נשפה כטי- נו יאם האת,בנ מח הקתכי ית נמאהסו- טו ונ יאם15 and if you consider My decrees loathsome, and , ימ נצו כתי- הכל- נל יב נל יתי נעשות האת, ית נגעכל כנ נפ נש הכםif your soul rejects My ordinances, so as not to perform all My commandments, so that you נברייתים ת י- הא נל כה נפ נר הכ annul My covenant; We pray responsively every Shabbat : ‘Matai timloch be Tzion’? ( When will you reign in Zion?) How many lectures end with similar hopes. May the temple be rebuilt, soon in our time. May the Moshiach come soon in our time. Those who simply pray for the Moshiach without taking the appropriate actions, not only delay his coming but bring about the curses outlined above. The letters ‘Matai’ are like brackets around this last sin that encompasses them all – annulling the covenant. When will the Moshiach come? Today, if we stop annulling the commandments and show our true faith by driving out our enemies and rebuilding our temple. It is in our hands to bring Shoa’s and as well as glorious victories. May we merit to choose life and not death. 106
The Remedy Lag B'Omer - 33rd day of the Omer ל״ג בעומר = בעומרThree hundred eighteen (318) = בעמרwithout the 'vav' = (312) = כב תק יריThree hundred twelve (312) The remedy The remedy of the curses is reviewed each year during the Omer, especially during the first thirty three days. We have mentioned how Parsha Bechukochai is not only reminiscent of the the destruction of the Temple but also the Shoa in our own time. In addition we have mentioned that the thirty three days of the Omer represent the pain of the re-birth of our Nation. Tisha B'Av is one day that represents the decree of exile after the Temple was destroyed as well as the decree of forty years of wandering. The thirty three days of the Omer represents not the date of destruction’s decree, but the long process of return. Just like the original wandering of forty years the future preparations of our conquest of Israel also take place somewhere between freedom from Egypt and entering the Land. We are not in the galut but the galut still resides within us. In the beginning of the book we spoke about the 'vav' that is in a process of channeling the original thought of Creation from above to below so that it is properly reflected on earth as it is in Heaven. The active ingredient the 'vav' which is this channel goes through many transformations like the yeast that is the active ingredient in making the dough of our labor rise to its fulfillment. In various points of the Torah the 'vav' is held as a guarantee between Yacov and Eliyahu. When Israel comes of age the 'vav' will be redeemed and will glow along with the 'vav' of Sivan, the day we received the Torah (6th of Sivan). B'Omer can also be spelled without the 'vav' which makes it the same gematria of B'Keri (casualness) which is the underlying sin that brings punishment in this chapter. The tragedies that befall us cause a type of growth; growth through suffering. The Shoa gave birth to Israel, but it was a painful birth. It was a birth of 'in its time' as opposed to 'hurried', with great miracles and glory. B'Omer with the 'vav' which is its usual spelling is the gematria 318 which is a famous number mentioned in our Torah. This was the number of students that Avraham took to war against five kings. The two concepts or axioms of glorious redemption vs. tragic & painful growth are spelled out in the beginning of the Parsha Bechukochai. If we are united and take action Hashem is our shield and makes great miracles for us; one will chase 10 and fifty will chase a thousand. If we are indifferent however, than Hashem also becomes indifferent to our suffering and persecution. The Babylonian Talmud tells us, [Yevamot:62:2] that the students of Rabbi Akiva died from a plague during the Omer. The reason they give is that the students did not show proper respect for one another. There is another opinion that it wasn't a plague they died from but rather with Rabbi Akiva's encouragement they joined the forces of 107
Bar Kochba and died in battle. Rabbi Akiva thought Bar Kochba could have been the Moshiach and he was right. In addition Meir Kahane could have been Moshiach. The fault is not the leader but more importantly the people. There must be a critical mass that internalizes the Torah of Moshiach. The number 318 suggests that like Avraham, Rabbi Akiva's students died battling great odds and succeeding, however short lived. It is this defeat that has caused a rift for two thousand years. The Warsaw ghetto type uprising of Rabbi Akiva lied dormant until the Warsaw ghetto uprising of our own time. The rift that began in the times of Bar Kochba is alluded to much earlier in the Torah when Avraham rescues Lot. There are some opinions that criticize Avraham for taking yeshiva students from their studies to fight a war. We hear these same complaints today. The bitter opposition to Jewish nationalism and self-determination today comes from the tragedies of the past failures and the terrible price the Jewish people paid for their rebellion against Rome. Almost 600,000 died when Bar Kochba failed. If we are still mourning the death of Rabbi Akiva's students and their apparent flaw of lack of respect, then this flaw must still be actively undermining our ability to re-unite and rebuild G-ds kingdom today. Avraham took his 318 men and went off to war (Bereshit 14:15). As we mentioned before the gematria 318 = Eliezer. What do the Rabbis mean when they say (based on this gematria), that it could be just Avraham and Eliezer that went off to war? Eliezer was the prime example of the student who internalizes the torah wholeheartedly and goes to war as the Torah commands. He does not opt out of this commandment or deny the legitimacy of Avraham's mission in order to remain behind in yeshiva. On the contrary, he is simply an eved, prepared to do his national service with no ego whatsoever. This is the greatness of Eliezer who is allotted so many passages in the Torah which is usually so sparing in its words. Why is this? The rabbis explain the reason for this is that Hashem loves the words of His servants. A servant to a king is like a king. Here is the great secret and remedy of our times. Eliezer certainly thought of himself and his family. He was Avrahams main student, and of course he wanted to be 1st, and to have his son marry into this family, but he submerged his ego to follow Gods will and this was his greatness. In addition this is the great tikun that we learn from B'Omer = 318. If there was an issue of not giving honor to each other maybe this is still being played out today. There is a midrash that relates that Yerovam who caused the split between the 10 tribes and Yehuda was given a proposition by Hashem to do teshuva and he would sit with king David in Gan Eden. Yerovam asked who will enter first, and Hashem answered David Hamelech. In that case, he said, I don't want it. When honor is put aside for the greater good of Israel then we will be unified. It is not important who goes first. There is no place for jealousy. If the desert became green for one who appears to be less kosher than the other then accept it and join your brother and don’t worry about your honor. By joining and helping him you will influence him to follow the mitzvot. Yukutiel who has kept the sparks of Rav Kahane alive for these last twenty two years is a great example of an eved. He was the Rav's assistant when he was alive and he continues with the same work today. One day he was putting up posters of the haskara of Rav Kahane by a yeshiva and the yeshiva bochers told him it was forbidden. There was a dispute and he took them to their Rav to get a 108
ruling on their bad behaviour. Their Rav looked at his work clothes when they brought him before the tzadik. Yekutiel took offense the way he was inspecting him and he said 'Im just an eved, am I not worthy to see you? ' I was at a wedding with all the Kahane giants present. The gold of the gold were there overlooking Yericho just outside of Yerushalyim (Mitzpe Ramon). Rav Richter, Yekutiel, Shifra Hoffman. All of these giants are eveds and work selflessly for Am Israel. Shifra, who was Rav Kahane's right hand woman for many years is in her late seventies. She told me that when they were shooting in Gilo, she asked herself what would the rav do? And so she organized a program – learn to shoot. An Arab met her on a talk show later on, he knew her name because she was the lady who began this program. This kind of response puts fear in the hearts of our enemies. She went on to tell me 'Why don’t people attack mafia neighborhoods? Because they have a bad reputation, and they are afraid to get hurt. Jews have a good reputation, and the Rav used to say that’s bad for us. ו ימ האה ימ הכם, ח נו הר נדפו ימ הכם נח ימ השה ימ האה8 And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a הל הח הרב, נר הב הבה יי נר הדפו; נו הנ נפלו הא ני יבי הכם יל נפ יני הכםhundred of you shall chase ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. , נו יה נפ ירי יתי הא נת הכם-- ט ו הפ יני יתי נא ילי הכם9 And I will have respect unto you, and make you , נב ירי יתי- נו יה נר יבי יתי הא נת הכם; כו נה יקי המ יתי האתfruitful, and multiply you; and will establish My יאתנכהםcovenant with you. (Vayikra 26:8-9) The Healing Process (2016) ימ נצו כתי- ית ילכו; נו האת, נב מח הק כתי- ג יאם3 If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, שו מע ישי תתם הא התם, ית נש נמרוand do them; (Vayikra 26:15) - Gematria 507 - נו יאם האת,בנ מח הק כתי ית כמ האסו- טו ונאים15 and if you consider My decrees loathsome, and if נל יב נל יתי נעשות, ימ נש הפ כטי ית כג שעל כנ נפ נש הכםyour soul rejects My ordinances, so as not to perform all נברייתיי- כל שה כפ כר תכם האת, ימ נצו כתי- הכל- אהתMy commandments, so that you annul My covenant; (Vayikra 26:15) - Gematria 507 109
The anatomy of potential destruction can be studied from these passages and rectified. Sometimes a small hole is enough for tiny bugs to enter and lay eggs and destroy everything. According to the Zohar to 'walk in My statutes' and 'keep My commandments' refers to the written and the Oral Torah. If we are keeping both the written and Oral Torah, then what does 'and do them' come to add? I suggest that there are some mitzvot that are left to abstraction or we find justification in 'not doing'. Rav Kahane wrote much about these difficult mitzvot like conquering our Land, milchemet mitzva, throwing out our enemies, building our Temple, etc. These mitzvot which could bring the wrath of the nations upon us and are inherently dangerous, would prove without a doubt our faith Hashem. Although we may be perfectly devout practitioners of ritual and do many good deeds by leaving these mitzvot to Hashem or a future Messianic time when the doors are open today to come home and fulfill them, the result is they begin to fulfill themselves against our will. Israel was forced into being after the Shoa but could have been built long before the Shoa without the terrible birth pains that occurred. The same process is occurring today, as we delay in driving out our enemies and building our Temple, our enemies grow stronger and through persecution convince us to return to Israel and within Israel convince us through bloodshed to relocate hostile neighborhoods. What is the hole that allows pestilence to enter and as a final result end in tragic Heavenly decrees? Our behavior below is mirrored above. If there are decrees that we loath, this will lead to our soul rejecting the rest of the Torah and being non-practicing Jews, which leads eventually to annulling the covenant all together through intermarriage. Hashem also warns us above with increasing severity until such a time as He too cuts Himself off from us temporarily. Although He is still with us in our suffering He is forced to be at a distance from us. We are left at the mercy of our foreign lovers which soon transforms into persecution. The mourning period of the sfirat haomer, which is a time of 'rebuilding' the Temple is much longer than the one day mourning of the destruction of the Temple. The rebuilding is a 2000 year process which we are now reaching the final stages of. The 24,000 scholar/warriors almost match the more than 24,000 we have lost since 1948. The mysterious plague that struck Rabbi Akivas warriors due to lack of honor seems to be hinted at today as well. Much of the problems in our modern history that prevent us from complete victory are issues of honor and petty politics where leadership is often more concerned about their own prestige rather than the suffering of the nation and the faith based solution that is required. The loathing of the religious leads to abandoning our destiny and placing our faith in foreign governments. The loathing of the secular leads to abandoning of the Land. Both of these can not be tolerated above. The book of Vayikra and especially the time of the sefira is a time to reflect on the divine intervention that was forced upon us in the past. We must use this book and its teachings under the therapeutic sun of Iyar to learn how to heal ourselves so that we can truly rebuild the Temple which is really rebuilding ourselves and the relationship between brothers and sisters of various tribes. 110
Bechukotai Teshuva that isn't enough This parsha seems to underline what the Rav wrote in confronting the Holocaust. Because we didn’t learn the lessons of the Shoa we are bound to repeat them. He was the only one who pointed out the mida keneged mida while other say it is not to be explained. The Rav says by not explaining you are causing a greater Chillul Hashem. His explanations and our lack of understanding sheds light on a perplexing passage. , נעו ון נא הב התם- נעו ו הנם נו האת- מ נו יה נת כודו האת40 And they shall confess their sin, and the sin of הה נלכו יע ימי- נא השר, ונ כאף,ביי- נב כמ נע הלם נא השר המ נעלוtheir forefathers, for the treachery with which they betrayed Me, and also having behaved toward Me .נב הק ירי with casualness. , נו יה יבא יתי הא התם, יא ילך יע המם נב הק ירי, נא יני- מא כאף41 I also will behave toward them with casualness , נל הב הבם הה הע ירל, האז ייכה כנע- נב הא הרץ הא ני יבי ההם; אוand I will bring them into the land of their enemies; perhaps then their unfeeling heart will be . ענו ו הנם-האת יי נרצו ,נו האז humbled, and then they will gain appeasement for their sin. (Vayikra 26:40-41) If we confess and repent why is Hashem still angry? Chazal tells us because our teshuva is not complete. This is a very general idea which can be interpreted many ways and still leave us perplexed as to why such a punishment. The Rav points out our sin very clearly. Our teshuva is forced upon us but it lacks intelligence. We are forced to have an army and defend ourselves and settle our land but we still are motivated by trying to appease our enemies and to this extent willing still to sell Yoseph. I asked rabbi’s at Chabbad if anyone wrote anything about the connection between the gematria of BKERI (with casualness) and SHOA which jumps out of the page. They shrug their shoulders or quickly condemn anyone trying to analyze the Shoa. I asked other rabbi’s as well and no one has heard anything. The gematria jumps out of the page and yet no one has seen it? Maybe no one wants to see it. This is where my Rav is proven correct even though he wrote little compared to many others still his words cut through volumes of dross with letters of clarity and simplicity. His Torah is gold and holds the answer that we thirst for. Act in the way Hashem asks us, and 5 will chase twenty, twenty 10,000. Appease our enemies, sell our brothers, disrespect our G-d and our laws, and we will be sold and disrespected and suffer. As we see above in our passage. Even a generations after the Shoa we have not learned the lessons yet. Therefore Hashem continues to punish us for our continued sins. Bekeri is Shoa and Shoa continues until perhaps then..their unfeeling heart will be humbled, etc. 111
Bechukotai (2012) Rambam (25:1) Notes that the original covenant between God and Israel as a nation was made by the revelation at Sinai and the subsequent forty days during which God taught the Torah to Moses. Moses recorded these teachings in the “book of the Covenant” (Exodus 24:4,7), and “ratified” that covenant by means of offerings on behalf of the entire nation (ibid 24:5-8). But the people broke the covenant by building and worshiping the Golden Calf, causing Moses to break the Tablets. After God accepted Moses' prayers and called him to Mount Sinai to receive the Second Tablets and be taught the Torah once more, it was necessary to ratify the covenant anew. This time, however, it was ratified not by mean of offerings but by the stringent warnings of this chapter, which makes starkly clear that not only Israel's prosperity but its very survival depends on loyalty to God and His commandments. (Artscroll Chumash pg 708) During the Omer period of forty nine days we read the book of Vayikra. The subjects during this period are about fixing, healing, the laws of leprosy, purity/impurity, laws of sacrifices in the Temple, praying for its rebuilding each night, and the sefirah with its kabbaistic tikkun. Even the sun for the whole month of Iyar according to kabbala has special healing powers at this time. What is the connection with this healing process and the rituals in the temple? I believe the main message is that Hashem prefers the bet migdash and animal sacrifices instead of human ones. This, I believe is the secret meaning of the “erech” after all these punishments. The Meaning of Erech The Artscroll Chumash write (pg 718) This chapter, which deals with voluntary contributions to the Temple, was not included among the commandments that formed the covenant of Admonition (Vayikra 26:46), even though it, too, would seem to belong in the early chapters of this book, which deal with the offerings. By excluding them, the Torah means to imply that such voluntary gifts, while surely commendable, are not as essential as the performance of the commandments. No one should ever feel that voluntary contributions can atone for laxity in what is commanded (R'Hirsh). Hashem would prefer sacrifices of the Temple but we choose to rebel and He has no choice but to bring punishment – which is another type of sacrifice. The section of 'erech' is not included with the section of sacrifices because it is something 'extra' or 'voluntary' but does not replace what is commanded. Like the rest of the Parsha this section to me has many allusions to the Shoa. Binyamin Netanyahu has said that 'Israel didn't come into being because there was a Holocaust. If Israel had existed before there would never have 'been' a Holocaust.” It seems to me the same idea is reflected here in the Parsha. Hashem intended the 1 st giving of the Torah, but we choose the Golden Calf which we still pay for. There is an expression 'When the Jews stop making havdala (separation) the nations start making it'. Hashem desires for us to build the 112
Temple and bring sacrifices. If we shun His laws and His invitation to be kings and teachers to the world, instead we become worthless and abandoned. We become 'human sacrifices' and our souls become voluntary gifts that build the Temple. It is something we can no longer escape after we reach the breaking point, even for all the money in the world. As it is alluded to in the Parsha: ל הא-- הה הא הדם- נא השר הי כח כרם ימן, יח הרם- כט הכל29 Any condemned person who has been banned יו המת, מות: יי הפ הדה. from mankind shall not be redeemed; he shall be put to death. (Vayikra 27:29) In Heaven there is a great reward for being a sacrifice for Hashem and the spilled blood is certainly counted towards the building of the third Temple. Here on earth the 'valuation' or 'erech' is very small – 50 shekeles for man aged 20-60 and twenty shekels for a man 5-20, and even less for children and women. I can't help thinking about the Shoa and how cheap our lives were. One sees a very disturbing analogy in the passage below. כי נע הברהב הקר- הכל נא השר, כמ נע כשר הוצ האן-לב נו הכל 32 And tithe of cattle or of the flock, any that passes under the staff, the tenth one shall be holy הק הדש כליה הוה- יי נה היה, הה נע ישי ירי-- כת כחת כה הש הבט. to Hashem נול הא ני ימי הרנו;ינבכקיר,טוב הל כרע-יבין לג ל הא 33 He shall not distinguish between good and bad and he should not substitute for it, and if he הוא ו נתמו הרתו- נו הה היה, הה ימר ני ימי הרנו-נו יאם does substitute for it, then it and its substitute shall be holy, it may not be redeemed. הק הדש ל הא יי הג יאל- יי נה היה. (Vayikra 27:32) = בה הקרcattle = בהקהריcasualness When our casualness and indifference goes too far and nothing is able to stir our souls and correct us, then Hashem leaves us in His casualness. When you remove the 'yud' of Hashems name you are left with 'cattle'. It is not a coincidence that the condemned of our people were brought to their death in 'cattle' cars. =יבקרshall not distinguish = הבקהריcasualness In a time such as this the angel of death does not distinguish between those with merits and those without. It is pure chance just as the 10th cow is herded through and labeled for the offering. We were casual in the face of the miraculous and were indifferent to the warning signs around us and therefore when we cry for help the world is also indifferent. כי נע הבר- הכל נא השר, כמ נע כשר הב הקר הוצ האן- לב נו הכל32 Any tithe of the cattle or the flock, any that הק הדש כליה הוה- יי נה היה, הה נע ישי ירי-- כת כחת כה הש הבט. passes under the staff, the tenth one shall be holy to Hashem. (Vayikra 27:32) 113
Certainly Hashem would prefer that we chose properly as in the beginning of the Parsha (And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand). However, if we fail continually to heed the warning signs, then these tragedies are unleashed. The inner workings of this cause and effect can be understood in this chapter on Erech and especially in the verses 27:32,33. The more one studies these passages the more one can see the cause and effect of the Shoa of our time and others. Below we shall examine it further. He Shall not Distinguish More on Vayikra 27:33 נול הא ני ימי הרנו;כי שב ןקר,טוב הל כרע-יבין לג הלא 33 He shall not distinguish between good and bad and he should not substitute for it, and if he הוא ו נתמו הרתו- נו הה היה, הה ימר ני ימי הרנו-נו יאם does substitute for it, then it and its substitute shall be holy, it may not be redeemed. הק הדש ל הא יי הג יאל- יי נה היה. (Vayikra 27:33) I found an amazing insight into the in-distinction written about earlier. It is all connected to the leprosy that we read about during this time, the sephira we are fixing and the punishment we are receiving in the past and present. The sin that is at the root of our problems comes from our maliciousness. It is a sin of distinction that Hashem has had too much of, and therefore decrees that there be no distinction made. Those who were always making distinctions of bad and causing separation cause there to be no distinctions when the destroyer comes. Like people often say about the shoa – we were all united in death. See below I found this on the net: These diverei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes Giving the Critic a Taste of His Own Medicine The pasuk [verse] says, \"And if the Kohen examines the Tzoraas and sees that it has spread, he need not (further) examine the yellow hair, the person is Tameh (impure)\" [Vayikra 13:36]. The Baal HaTurim points out that there are only two times in the entire Torah where we find this expression \"he need not examine\" (lo yevaker). The first time is in our parsha. The second time is in Parshas Bechukosai regarding the laws of Temurah (switched sacrifices) \"he shall not distinguish (lo yevaker) between good and bad\" [Vayikra 27:33]. The Baal HaTurim explains that there is a connection between these two pasukim [verses]: Since the person was guilty of distinguishing between good and bad (by speaking Lashon Horah), therefore the Kohen has no need to examine his Tzoraas symptoms further and can 114
declare him Tameh (impure) immediately. The Baal HaTurim concludes \"...for there are 7 reasons that cause Negaim (ritual skin-blemishes) to come\". This is a classic comment of the Baal HaTurim because it is a riddle. Anyone is welcome to speculate over the meaning of this Baal HaTurim during his or her Shabbos seudah [meal]. My feeling is that the meaning of the Baal HaTurim is the following: What is the sin of Lashon Horah all about? When we distill Lashon Horah to its basic form, what does it consist of? Basically, Lashon Horah is about criticizing. It is the uncanny ability to look at a person or situation and to find what is wrong -- to latch on to the shortcomings and the downside. There is good and bad in all of us. We are not all good and we are not all bad. It is possible to look at a person and say \"He's stingy, he's this, he's that, etc.\" But that same person also has positive traits. The chronic Lashon Horah speaker never sees these positive traits. He chooses to look at the bad and to criticize. He chooses to examine every person under a microscope and always come to the conclusion that there are faults and shortcomings. This is the meaning of the Baal HaTurim. When a person transgresses the crime of \"You shall not examine between good and bad\" (he always examines, always looks for fault and always criticizes), he will be punished measure for measure. He will come to the Kohen and the Torah will instruct the Kohen \"Do not examine any further\" -- rule that he is Tameh on the spot. Let him receive some of his own medicine. Teach the importance of my command \"You shall not scrutinize (further)...\" to he who always scrutinizes. We understood that we are one body when our individual identities were taken away and all we had was the star of David. We understand this as well today on Yom Hazikaron when we are united as one body that suffers together. Today, however here is a big difference. We still suffer but we are the avenger now not only the victim. Holiness and Leprosy are opposite yet very similar. Something Holy is separated and designated for a Holy purpose. Something leprous is also separated and untouchable. An example to understand this principle is the relationship between a man and woman. If she is faithfull and pure there is holiness between them. If she has an affair with a strange man then suddenly the vessel of Holiness becomes the target of distaste and that which had been designated as Holy is now separated and removed as something disgusting. The very object of love and beauty becomes the symbol of disgust and must be isolated to the same degree that at one time it had been elevated. To quote the Baal HaTurim again: The Baal HaTurim explains that there is a connection between these two pasukim [verses]: Since the person was guilty of distinguishing between good and bad (by speaking Lashon Horah), therefore the Kohen has no need to examine his Tzoraas symptoms further and can declare him Tameh (impure) immediately. The Baal HaTurim concludes \"...for there are 7 reasons that cause Negaim (ritual skin-blemishes) to come\". The last line is left as a puzzle. How is this a conclusion? I suggest that it has something to do with the following passage: נו הי כס נפ יתי: ילי,ל הא ית נש נמעו-- יא הלה- כעד- יח נו יאם18 If despite this you do not heed Me, then I shall כחט הא יתי הכם- הש כבע כעל, נל כי נס הרה הא נת הכם. punish you further, seven ways for your sins. (Vayikra 26:18) 115
A Question the Rav Answered to me as I Studied Now, I know the Rav was not an admirer of Rebbe worship or mystical Torah where one's Rebbe speaks to one via letters and passages in the Torah. Nevertheless there are stories even among the Litvish of certain Rabbis learning secretly with Eliyahu Hanavi. So its not without precedent to say that I had a question that I pondered one Shabbat evening and it seems to me that the Rav answered it for me as he spoke to me through the pages. , ו נבך ימ כנ נח הל נתך נא השר הנ כת יתי הלך, ד נו הש כמ נט התה4 You will be forced to withdraw from the - הב הא הרץ נא השר ל הא, הא ני הביך- נו כה נע כב נד יתיך האתheritage that I have given you, and I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you ןאש כק שד כח תתם כב שא יפי-יכי- כעד, :הידהענ הת know not; for you have ignited a fire in My עו הלם תו הקד. nostrils, which shall burn for ever. (Yermiyahu 17:4) The question arises that in every admonishment there is always a reassurance that these punishments are not forever. There will come a time when we will be reborn and be fruitful and multiply with peace and plenty. Yet here in this passage Hashem tells us He will forever be in a burning rage. How do we understand this? I could not find an explanation. As I meditated on this question an answer appeared. Through the Rav I came to understand that the inner meaning of this passage is the following. 'You have ignited a fire...that will burn 'forever'' is not a punishment. It is a statement of fact. For example, ever since we were cast out of Eden the entrance is barred by an angel with a sword of fire. No one can ever return through that door. In the same way Hashem has an eternal anger to a type of behavior that we ignited at one point in our history and continue to ignite by reminding Him. What is the behavior and how does it anger Him? For this I will need to explain where I found Rav Kahane in the Parsha which sheds light on this subject. Before I explain this I want to bring a few quotes that define the essence of his Torah and his mission. From 'The Wit and Wisdom of Rabbi Meir Kahane' If one could epitomize the Rabbi's “religious” message to the Jewish people, it would be: Faith in God, and not man. “Cursed is he who puts his faith in flesh and blood”. He felt that the source of all troubles was our reliance on America instead of the Almighty. Even religious Jews were smitten with this malady: “I set my eyes upon the mountains, from where will my salvation come? My salvation will come from Washington” , the Rabbi would jokingly quote the Psalms. To get this message across as briefly (and clearly) as possible, the Rabbi would say: “We have to believe in the burning bush, and not George Bush”. (Pg. 147) The Rabbi held that is was the duty of the Jew to say the truth, to be a “prophet”. “ Prophet”, from the Hebrew word “navi”, whose root is “niv” as in niv sfatayim, meaning “speaking with one's lips”. Thus, the prophet is not necessarily one who foresees the future, but also one who speaks the Torah truths, how unpleasant they may be. He said that too many rabbis are interested on “profit” instead of “prophet”. During a particularly difficult time in an Israeli prison while sitting in solitary confinement for his activities on behalf of the Jewish people, the Rabbi almost broke. “Let someone else do this...I quit”, he thought to himself. At that moment he pulled out his Tanach and inadvertently opened up to Jeremiah, chapter 20, to the verse which says: “Then I said, I will not make a mention of Him, or speak anymore in his name. But His word was in my heart like a 116
burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with containing myself, and I cannot.” The Rabbi trembled as he read these words in which Jeremiah describes his own crisis in faith, and his overcoming it. The Rabbi saw this as a sign from Heaven, and it strengthened him. From that point on, his faith in his mission never wavered. (Pg. 139) , ו נבך ימ כנ נח הל נתך נא השר הנ כת יתי הלך, ד נו הש כמ נט התה4 You will be forced to withdraw from the - הב הא הרץ נא השר ל הא, הא ני הביך- נו כה נע כב נד יתיך האתheritage that I have given you, and I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you ןאש כק שד כח תתם כב שא יפי-יכי- כעד, :הידה נע הת know not; for you have ignited a fire in My עו הלם תו הקד. nostrils, which shall burn for ever. (Yermiyahu 17:4) ןאש כק שד כח תתם כב שא יפי- = יכיnine hundred seventy six 976 (+1 kollel) = 977 Meir David Ben Yecheskel Shraga = 977 מאיר דוד בן יחזקאל שרגא כהנא As I noticed the full gematria of the Rav's name in this passage the question became clear. It is true that punishments do not last forever. This however is not a punishment. It is like the fire in Gan Eden. Forever we cannot return because there is now an eternal fire that blocks the way. In the same way 'forever' we cannot go in the direction of seeking Gan Eden in America, Germany, or Babylon. It will always backfire and this is what the Rabbi kept telling us and this is why his name is here. He was that fire himself which is the same as Hashem's fire because he alone felt Hashems fire and Hashem loved him because of it. The Rabbi was jealous for Him and understood really what Hashem wants to convey to us, and in addition he had this same fire in him like Yermiyahu – the fire of love of Hashem and anger that we run to such terrible places and in order to seek asylum we denounce others. We become timid and fearful in our reliance upon the mercy of our fickle friends. We do anything to prove our allegiance to these Gan Eden's of our making and for protection say such terrible things against our own God and our own land and people – we should be ashamed of ourselves. The Rabbi felt this and told us as if to say 'don’t you know who your husband is why do you go for these lovers that are clearly using you?' How many lectures did he give on the detrimental effect of the Galut on the Jew. How many ways did he try to bring our bodies to Israel and free our souls from the 'exile' mentality? The same fire that is kindled in Hashems nostrils was the fire that Yermiyahu could not escape nor Rabbi Kahane. The fiery speeches were not contrived by a pulpit Rabbi for 'profit' but they were selfless pleas to the Nation to save itself before catastrophe. These were words of a 'prophet' who speaks uncomfortable truths, which is the job the prophet cannot escape because it is in his bones. Gan Eden is closed and no one can ever return through that door of fire. In the same way Hashem has an eternal anger to a type of behavior that we ignited at one point in our history and continue to ignite by reminding Him. The Rabbi warned us of this fire and gave us the solutions. It is in our hands. 117
He Shall not Distinguish and Shvat (2015) ; נול הא ני ימי הרנו,טוב הל כרע- לג ל הא ני כב יקר יבין33 He shall not distinguish between good and bad וא ו נתמורהתוהה כי כו ה and he should not substitute for it, and if he does -הה היה ,ימי הרנו ימר -נו יאם substitute for it, then it and its substitute shall be הק הדש ל הא יי הג יאל- יי נה היה. holy, it may not be redeemed. (Vayikra 27:33) Within this passage is hidden the permutation for Hashems name that coincides with the month of Shvat. In fact Shvat is also hidden in the passage before. כי נע הבר- הכל נא השר, כמ נע כשר הב הקר הוצ האן- לב נו הכל32 Any tithe of the cattle or the flock, any that passes under the staff, the tenth one shall be holy הק הדש כליה הוההשבתט- יי נה היה, הה נע ישי ירי-- כה כתחכת. to Hashem. (Vayikra 27:32) What is the connection? May I suggest that the blood that has flown during these times of admonishment is also connected to the blood of the trees (the sap) which is celebrated on Tu B'Shvat. Just as we are not distinguished in our suffering so will the fruit be not distinguished in its abundance. It is better for us to correct our ways and arrive in 'glory' but even if we segregate ourselves for slaughter by our own doing our offering will still build the Temple and be accepted and add to the abundance that others will benefit from, but it is not preferred, just as the Erech is not the preferred type of service. Israel was born from the ashes of the Shoa, but it could have had a less painful birth. We have a choice to act before the various deadlines until our free choice is taken away from us. In the Chabbad Bet Knesset I go to they observe the yortzeit of the previous Rebbe which occurred on the 10th of Shevat. They see something else hidden within these passages – the date of his yortzeit. שה הבט—הה ענשיי יריBased on my observations above regarding cattle and the Shoa I was curious to know where he was during the Shoa. They told me a fascinating story of how (based on political maneuvering from America) the Nazis themselves came into the Polish ghetto and took him to freedom. He himself was 'plucked out' like the cattle we wrote about; the one in ten that were chosen randomly. 118
The Rebbe Hakodemet (2016) ; נול הא ני ימי הרנו,טוב הל כרע- לג ל הא ני כב יקר יבין33 He shall not distinguish between good and bad וא ותנמו הרתוהה יכ כו ה and he should not substitute for it, and if he does -הה היה ,ימי הרנו ימר -נו יאם substitute for it, then it and its substitute shall be הק הדש ל הא יי הג יאל- יי נה היה. holy, it may not be redeemed. (Vayikra 27:33) Within this passage is hidden the permutation for Hashems name that coincides with the month of Shvat. In fact Shvat is also hidden in the passage before. כי נע הבר- הכל נא השר, כמ נע כשר הב הקר הוצ האן- לב נו הכל32 Any tithe of the cattle or the flock, any that passes under the staff, the tenth one shall be holy הק הדש כליה הוהשה תבט- יי נה היה, הה נע ישי ירי-- הכ כת כחת. to Hashem. (Vayikra 27:32) I asked Rabbi Butman at kiddish why is the haskara of the Rebbe hakodemet (10th of Shvat) hidden in our Parsha? What is the connection between the Rebbe Hakodemet, the month of Shvat and our Parsha? In the whole Torah why should the hint of the Rebbe and the month of Shvat be found here? He didn't have an answer and so I gave an answer. The Rebbe is found here at this time so that we can understand Rashbi and his time which coincides. Let me explain. Rabbi Teichtal who wrote Em Habonim Semaicha during the Shoa asked why this decree was being handed down from Heaven? His answer was that the generation had made a sin regarding the Land of Israel. He brought down a passage from our Parsha: - נב ירי יתי כי נעקוב; נו כאף האת- האת, מב נו הז ככ נר יתי42 then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, , נב ירי יתי כא נב הר ההם- נב ירי יתי יי נצ החק נו כאף האתand also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I נו הה הא הרץ הא נז הכר--הא נז הכר will remember the land. (Vayikra 26:42) Chazal tell us the Avot are written backwards to demonstrate that if we lack the merit of Jacov, then we have the merit of Itzchak, and if we lack the merit of Itzchak, we have the merit of Avraham. Rabbi Teichtal adds but what if we lack this merit? Then we have the Land itself. But if we do not go up to the Land while others that lack Torah are demonstrating their love and sacrifice for this Land, then what do we have to protect us? Every generation has certain mitzvot they excel in and certain mitzvoth that are lacking. We won't get into attempting to explain the Shoa however there are times in our history when Hashem abandons us and Jewish blood becomes cheap. The cattle from the cattle cars that transported Jews were worth much more than Jewish souls that were transported in them. Rabbi Shimons time was similar. The Jewish Nation had been completely decimated. When Rabbi Shimon proclaims that it is forbidden not to be joyous on Lag B'omer one must understand this in a background where everything is black and there is no longer any hope in the eyes of those who have witnessed such cruelty and destruction. It was with this in mind that the Rebbe 119
himself was plucked out of the fire of the Shoa (like the passage above) because the Torah of Chassidut held a remedy. Rabbi Shimon was also spared from certain death so that he could write the Zohar. What is the symbol of Shvat? May I suggest that the blood that has flown during these times of admonishment is also connected to the blood of the trees (the sap) which is celebrated on Tu B'Shvat. Just as we are not distinguished in our suffering so will the fruit be not distinguished in its abundance. This is the tikkun of those who paid the ultimate price that their souls be brought back in Gan Eden below, the Land of Israel to enjoy its fruits. The book of healing from Rabbi Shimon as well as Chassidut will help to unify us and heal us so that we can truly rebuild the Temple with a solid foundation. The appearance here at the end of the book of Vayikra and the time of Rashbi teaches us that the whole book of Vayikra is a book of healing. The decrees that befall us are a last resort that need not be if we follow the books of correction. 120
More on Defining the Punishments I found this on the net from Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld These are the four ways in which Ma'aser Behemah and Bechor are similar (to the exclusion of all other types of Kodshim): 1. GO'EL - they are not redeemed when they have a Mum. With regard to Ma'aser the Torah says, \"Lo Yiga'el\" (Vayikra 27:33), and with regard to Bechor the Torah says, \"Lo Sifdeh\" (Bamidbar 18:17). 2. MUM - they attain full Kedushah even though the animal had a blemish at the time it became Kadosh. 3. TEMURAS - animals with which they are exchanged are not offered on the Mizbe'ach. 4. ACHILAH - they are eaten when they have a Mum (and are not first redeemed like other Kodshim). See how this applies directly to the Shoa 1. GO'EL – even if they are blemished they are accepted as the ultimate sacrifice – they do not need to be exchanged – they are just as holy as the ones next to them that have been chosen for the altar 2. MUM - even if they are blemished they become completely holy 3. TEMURAS – some were plucked from the fire and exchanged for others who didn't make it – once they have been plucked from the fire they have the status of Holiness and cannot be burned on the fire – similar to the shoa survivors today – they are temuras (substitutions and Holy) 4. ACHILAH – even though they are blemished they are accepted and consumed as a perfect offering As we mentioned above something Holy can become the opposite and yet similar. The connection between the Bechor which is the 1st born and the Behema (animal sacrifice) is similar in that it is distinguished among others but not similar in that it is not preferred, nor special, simply the luck of the draw. Redemption with glory or redemption in its time; it is our choice. We can make a three day journey or wander forty years. The allusions are everywhere in Parshat Behuchotai about not only our suffering of the past but the punishments of our own times. One must read Rabbi Kahane's commentary on the Holocaust that is full of Chidushim for many. To say that this is not something we can understand is a Chillul Hashem and makes G-d out to be some chaotic entity that for some unknown reason destroys our people without cause. When we understand the paths that are laid out for us and choose to build the Bet Hamigdash and bring animal sacrifices, literally, and in whatever way is possible in our own times then there is glory and redemption. If we fail to rise to the calling and condemn those who do or are indifferent to miraculous events then by our indifference destructive events will occur, the floodgates of cruelty will open and our salvation will come with the same disinterest. 121
I found this on the internet and decided to include it. It describes many pertinent concepts about this particular time. The Mystery of Lag Ba'Omer Rabbi Pinchas Stolper Thirty-three days following the first day of Passover, Jews celebrate a \"minor\" holiday called Lag Ba'Omer, the thirty third day of the Omer. It is an oasis of joy in the midst of the sad Sefirah period which is almost unnoticed by most contemporary Jews. Yet it contains historic lessons of such great severity -- that this generation must not only unravel the mystery of Lag Ba'Omer but will discover that its own fate is wrapped in the crevices of its secrets. The seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot are the days of the \"Counting of the Omer,\" the harvest festivities which were observed in Eretz-Israel when the Temple stood on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem. This fifty day period should have been a time of joyful anticipation. Having experienced the Exodus from Egypt on Pesach, every Jew literally \"counts the days\" from the first night of Passover until Mattan Torah - the revelation of Torah at Mt. Sinai which took place on Shavuot, exactly fifty days after the Exodus. While the Exodus marks the physical birth of the Jewish nation -- the Giving of Torah completes the process through the spiritual birth of the Jewish nation. Each year, as we celebrate the Seder on Passover, we are commanded to \"see ourselves as though each of us actually experienced the Exodus.\" It therefore follows that we must prepare ourselves during the Sefirah period (counting of the Omer), to once again accept the Torah on Shavuot -- to make our freedom spiritually complete. Clearly then, the Sefirah days should have been days of joy, but instead, they are observed as a period of semi-mourning. Weddings, music and haircuts are not permitted, some do not shave during this entire period. It is on the sad side of Sefirah that we come across the holiday of Lag Ba'Omer, the one day during this sad period when our mourning is halted, when sadness is forbidden. What is the reason for sadness during what should have been a period of joyful anticipation? The reason, the Babylonian Talmud tells us, [Yevamot:62:2] is that during this period, Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students, who lived 1,850 years ago in the Roman dominated Land of Israel, died from a mysterious G- d sent plague. Why did they die? Because the Talmud teaches, \"they did not show proper respect to one another.\" Lag Ba'Omer is celebrated on the thirty-third day because on that day the plague ended and Rabbi Akiva's students stopped dying. This explanation leaves us with a number of difficulties and still more unanswered questions. Why does this event, the death of Rabbi Akiva's students, tragic as it was, merit thirty-two days of mourning when greater tragedies in Jewish history, such as the destruction of both Temples or the breaking of the Stone Tablets of the Covenant by Moses, are marked by a single day of mourning. In terms of numbers, the massacres of the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, the Chemelnitsky pogroms, and the Holocaust which destroyed European Jewry and cost six-million Jewish lives far overshadow the death of Rabbi Akiva's students. Yet, these tragic events are not commemorated by even one special day of mourning. Why is the death of Rabbi Akiva's students given so much more weight? Every event in the Jewish calendar was placed there by the Divine hand because it conforms to a pre- set notion of the significance of the seasons and of history. Nature and events correspond and 122
intermesh, certain days and periods are most suited to joy or sadness. Why does the Sefirah mourning coincide with the joyous holidays of Passover and Shavuot, which in turn coincide with the period of harvest festivities? There also appear to be glaring inconsistencies in the story itself. What were Rabbi Akiva's students guilty of that they deserved to die? If Rabbi Akiva's students died as a result of G-d's punishment for their sins, why should we mourn them? Didn't they deserve their punishment? Why is Lag Ba'Omer a day of \"celebration\"? If all that happened on Lag Ba'Omer was but a temporary halt in the dying, wouldn't it be more fitting to set it aside as a memorial day for the twenty-four thousand scholars who died? What is the connection between Lag Ba'Omer and the revolt against the Romans by Bar Kochba and his army? And how does all of this relate to Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai, author of the mystical books of the 'Zohar' who lived in the same era, about whom we sing on Lag Ba'Omer. And finally, why are all these questions never discussed in the open, as are for example the Four Questions of the Passover Seder? The answers to these and other questions lie shrouded in the history of a turbulent age and in the mysteries of the Jewish concept of the Messianic era. First, we must understand that much of the material in the Talmud that deals with political matters was written with a keen sensitivity to the Roman censor. The Talmud could not speak openly concerning the political ramifications of events. In order to obtain a true picture of what happened, we must piece together the story from various historical sources and Talmudic hints. What we discover goes something like this: The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 C.E. Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside lay in ruins from border to border. Scores of thousands died in the fierce fighting and subsequently from persecution and starvation; thousands more were sold as slaves and forced into exile. The Romans considered the Jewish nation defeated, obliterated and done for. The Roman General Titus erected a grand victory monument in Rome which stands to this day that says just that -- the famous Arch of Titus on which is inscribed Judea Capita -- Judea is kaput, finished -- done for. But even in defeat the spiritual leaders of the Jewish people struggled to rebuild Jewish life and recreate Jewish institutions. They were so successful that around 135 C.E. a Jewish military leader named Bar Kosiba succeeded in organizing a fighting force to rid the Land of Israel of the hated Romans. Thousands rallied to his cause, including the greatest Talmudic scholar of all times, the Tanna Rabbi Akiva ben Yosef, whose insights and brilliant decisions fill the Mishnah. Many of Rabbi Akiva's contemporaries felt that a new revolt against the Romans was doomed to failure and urged the avoidance of bloodshed. But Bar Kosiba persisted and succeeded in organizing and training a superb military force of 200,000 men. The Talmud relates that Bar Kosiba demanded that each recruit demonstrate his bravery by cutting off a finger -- when the Rabbis protested he substituted a new test, each recruit was expected to uproot a young tree while riding a horse. Such was the level of their bravery and readiness. Rabbi Akiva disagreed with his Rabbinic colleagues and won over a majority to his point of view. From the military point of view, he felt that a successful revolt was feasible. It is said by some historians that twenty percent of the population of the Roman Empire between Rome and Jerusalem was Jewish. The pagan foundations of Rome were crumbling. Many Romans were in search of a religious alternative -- which many of them subsequently found in a mitzvah-less Christianity in the following 123
two centuries. Many Romans were attracted to Judaism, and significant numbers converted. There were thousands -- tens of thousands of sympathizers. Some members of the Roman Senate converted to Judaism. If the large numbers of Jews who lived throughout the Roman Empire could be inspired into coordinated anti-Roman revolts, many historians believe that the prospects for toppling Rome were very real. And if the revolts succeeded and Jews from all over the world united to return and rebuild their homeland, Rabbi Akiva believed that they could bring about the Messianic Era -- the great era of spirituality and universal peace foretold by Israel's Prophets -- the great millennia during which all Jews would return to the land of Israel, the Jerusalem Temple would be rebuilt and Israel would lead the world into an era of justice, spiritual revival, and fulfillment. In his Laws of Kings, (Chapter 11:3) Maimonides, in discussing the Messianic era says, \"Do not think that the King Messiah must work miracles and signs, create new natural phenomena, restore the dead to life or perform similar miracles. This is not so. For Rabbi Akiva was the wisest of the scholars of the Mishna and was the armor bearer of Bar Kosiba (the actual family name of Bar Kochba) the King. He said concerning Ben Kosiba that he is the King Messiah. Both he and the sages of his generation believed that Bar Kosiba was the King Messiah, until (Bar Kosiba) was killed because of his sins. Once he was killed, it became evident to them that he was not the messiah.\" To Bar Kochba and his officers, all seemed to be in readiness; Rome was rotten and corrupt - many captive nations strained at the yoke - rebellion was in the air. Rabbi Akiva (Jerusalem Talmud: Ta'anit 4:15) gave Bar Kosiba a new name, \"Bar Kochba\" - Son of the Star - in fulfillment of the prophecy -- \"a star will go forth from Jacob.\" Bar Kochba trained an army capable of igniting the powder keg of rebellion and Rabbi Akiva lit it with one of the most dramatic proclamations in Jewish history - he proclaimed that Bar Kochba was the long awaited Messiah. One of the greatest Torah teachers and leaders of all time, Rabbi Akiva could not have made this crucial and radical declaration unless he was certain. He would never have proclaimed a man Messiah unless he knew. Rabbi Akiva added a new, spiritual dimension to the war of liberation. He attempted to merge the soldiers of the sword with the soldiers of the book - his twenty- four thousand students - each a great Torah scholar and leader. These outstanding scholars would become the real \"army\" of the Jewish people, a spiritual and moral force that would bring Torah to the entire world, overcoming anguish, suffering, and the cruel boot of the corrupt Roman Empire. They would soon inaugurate a new era of peace, righteousness, and justice, an era in which \"the Knowledge of G-d would cover the earth as water covers the seas.\" The fact that the Jews were able to unite around a single leader separates this event from the great revolt of the previous century when bitterly divided factions warred with each other inside the walls of Jerusalem even as the Roman army stormed the gates. The rebellion raged for six years. Bar Kochba's army achieved many initial victories. Many non Jews joined Bar Kochba's army -- it is reported that it grew to 350,000 men -- more men than the Roman Army. Bar Kochba was so successful that Hadrian called in all of his best troops from England and Gaul. Rome felt threatened as never before. On Lag Ba'Omer, it is believed by some, Bar Kochba's army reconquered Jerusalem, and we celebrate that great event today. For four years Jewish independence was restored. Many believe that Bar Kochba actually began to rebuild the Bait Hamikdash, the Temple. Some even believe that he completed the building of the Third Temple. There were two Roman legions in the country when the uprising began, one in Jerusalem and one near 124
Megido. Both were decimated by Bar Kochba's men. Reinforcements were dispatched from Trans- Jordan, Syria and Egypt but these, too, were mauled. The legion sent from Egypt, the 22nd, disappeared from the listings of military units published in Rome, and scholars speculate that it was cut up so badly, probably around Lachish, that it ceased to exist as an organized force. The Jews apparently employed guerilla tactics - foraying from their underground lairs, ambushing convoys and striking at night. In desperation, Hadrian sent for his best commander, Julius Severus, who was then engaged in battle at the hills of far off Wales. Severus imported legions from the lands of Britain, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria. So badly had the Romans been hurt in the bruising campaign that Severus, upon returning to Rome to report to the Senate on his success, omitted the customary formula \"I and my army are well.\" This was total war. In the middle of the effort to rebuild the Bait Hamikdash the tide turned and Bar Kochba lost the support of Rabbi Akiva and the Sages who backed him. What happened? Bar Kochba had murdered the Tannah Rabbi Elazar. He accused the great Rabbi of revealing the secret entrances of the fortress city of Betar to the Romans. It is now believed that this betrayal was the work of the Jewish Christians who wanted to undermine Bar Kochba. Rabbi Akiva then realized that Bar Kochba no longer possessed the qualities which initially led him to believe that he was the Messiah. There was an additional spiritual dimension to the failure of the Messiah-ship of Bar Kochba as well; whether the spiritual failure of Rabbi Akiva's students was the cause -- or whether it was the failure of Bar Kochba to rise to the spiritual heights expected of the Messiah is beyond our knowledge. For then - out of the blue, the great plague Askera descended and struck. The dream collapsed. For reasons that will probably forever remain obscure, the students of Rabbi Akiva were not considered by Heaven to have reached the supreme spiritual heights necessary to bring about the Messianic Age. As great as they were, an important factor was missing. The Talmud tells us that \"Rabbi Akiva's students didn't show proper respect one for the other.\" Precisely what this phrase refers to we do not know. With greatness comes heightened responsibility and with greatness comes a magnification of reward and punishment. For their failure and deficiencies - which would certainly be counted as minor in a generation such as ours, but which were crucial for great men on their high spiritual level - their mission was cancelled and they died a mysterious death. With them died the Messianic hope of that era and for thousands of years to come. Bar Kochba was not a false messiah but a failed messiah. In the terrible war which followed, Bar Kochba and his army were destroyed in the great battles defending the fortress city of Betar. The war had been a catastrophe. Dodio Cassius reports the death of 580,000 Jews by Roman swords in addition to those who died of hunger and disease. Some scholars think that the bulk of the Jewish population of Judea was destroyed in battle and in subsequent massacres. One historian believes that the Jews lost a third of their number in the war, perhaps more fatalities than in the Great Revolt of the year 70. For the survivors, the Bar Kochba uprising marked the great divide between the hope for national independence and dispersal in the Diaspora. The trauma of Betar coming after the fall of Jerusalem effected deep changes in the Jewish people. The stiff necked, stubborn, fanatically independent people that did not hesitate to make repeated suicidal lunges at the mightiest superpower of antiquity lost its warlike instincts. It would be 2,000 years before there would be a Jewish fighting force. As a result, the hope of the Jew for redemption was to be delayed for at least two thousand years. In the great and tragic defeat not only were between half a million to six hundred thousand Jews killed but the Romans 125
were determined, once and for all to uproot the Jewish religion and the Jewish people - to bring an end to their hopes and their dreams. It is for this reason that we mourn today. The mourning of Sefirah is not for the students alone, but for the failure of the Jewish people to bring about the Messianic Age, for the fall of the curtain on Jewish independence, Jewish hopes and Jewish Messianic ambitions. Every anti-Semitic outbreak for which Jews suffered since that day, every pogrom, massacre, crusade, Holocaust, and banishment that took the toll of so many millions during the two thousand year long and bitter night of exile, wandering and persecution, must be traced directly to the failure of Bar Kochba -- but ultimately to the failure of the students of Rabbi Akiva. This was a tragedy of inestimable proportions to a war-ravaged world suffering under the bitter yoke of Rome as well as to the Jewish people. Rome did not fall at that time, but its fury and rage led to the exile and dismemberment of the Jewish people. Yet, on that very Lag Ba'Omer day two thousand years ago, a new hidden light of hope emerged. In the midst of defeat, the Tannah, Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai revealed to a small number of students the secrets of the mystical Zohar. In the Zohar, in its formulas, disciplines and spirituality, lie the secrets whose seed will bring about the coming of the Messiah. The Zohar's living tradition has kept that hope alive down to this very day. On Lag Ba'Omer the plague stopped, the dream was delayed, but it was not destroyed. It was to be nurtured through the generations -- the stirrings of its realization enliven us today. Because Lag Ba'Omer deals with the secrets of the future Messianic Age, it cannot be discussed openly or understood as clearly as can the Exodus or other events of the past. Whenever we stand between Passover and Shavuot - between our physical liberation from Egypt and our spiritual elevation during the Revelation at Sinai we recall those chilling events. For today we are also able to celebrate the liberation of Jerusalem and the site of our destroyed Temple. History is bringing together so many crucial events, -- the history of our ancient past is once again coming alive in the land of our fathers. There are frightening parallels between our own age and the age of Rabbi Akiva and Bar Kochba. Following a frightful Holocaust which many believed would spell the end of the Jewish people, we experienced a restoration of Jewish independence -- once more did a Jewish army score miraculous victories against overwhelming odds. Following the destruction of the great European centers of Torah scholarship, we witnessed the rebuilding of yeshivot in America and in Israel. We experienced a great revival of Torah study. The teshuva movement has brought about a return to Torah for so many who strayed. Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are in our hands. All around us world empires are tottering while despair and corruption rages. Once again, the Jewish people has been entrusted with a great and frightful opportunity. Once again we have been given the potential to recreate a Jewish civilization of Torah greatness in our own land. Will we succeed or will our efforts be aborted because of our own failures, our own inability to respect the differences within the Torah community and unite the Jewish people to our cause? The personality of Rabbi Akiba itself offers frightful lessons and opportunities. It was Rabbi Akiva who understood that \"love your fellow as you love yourself\" is the over-riding principle which the Torah people must internalize if it is to achieve its goals. Rabbi Akiva, too, is the quintessential ba'al teshuva -- it was he who was forty years old and was unable to distinguish between an aleph and a bet -- it was he who rose to be Jewry's greatest Torah scholar. Hundreds of thousands of Jews; Americans, Israelis, and Russians are today's potential Rabbi Akivas. The fate of Jewry and the achievement of Heaven's greatest goals are in the hands of this generation. 126
Will we attempt to achieve them or will we withdraw into our own selfish cocoons by refusing to shoulder the responsibilities which history and history's God has set before us? It is not enough to wait for the Messiah's coming; we must toil to perfect our Torah lives if we are to bring about his speedy arrival. Only if we learn from the lesson of Rabbi Akiva's students will we understand that the coming of the Messiah depends on us. Lag B’Omer and Moshiach ben Yoseph (2014) Every Lag B’Omer I learn my Torah lessons not from rabbis, not in beit knessets, but in the street among the people sitting by fires. This year I found some fires burning in the park by the Carmel bus station. There was a Rasta sitting there with his German girlfriend he met in India. I introduced myself and asked him what the meaning of Lag B’Omer was. He told me two things. The Jewish people rebelled against the Romans and succeeded temporarily. The fire was a signal they sent to others of their victory. In addition the rabbi was connected to thousands of students of Rabbi Akiva that had died at a different but related time. He also said that fire is cleansing and that it is also a feeling of survival and adaptation. Just like boy scouts usually the children build fires and also in sukkot we learn to build temporary houses. How does this all relate to Moshiach ben Yoseph? As I mentioned before there is no coincidence of the sequence of holidays that fall at this time. Pesach is similar to the Shoa of our own time. Only one fifth of the Jews made it out. All of them witnessed great miracles even though great miracles are usually reserved for very holy people. In this case even the simplest maidservant saw the miracle of the sea. Not only that, even bad people, people who rebelled against G-d and Moshe also saw the great miracles. In short like today we all saw the re-birth of Israel. Some can still look this miracle in the face and say it is not a miracle. Through the Shoa and the splitting of the sea some became closer to G-d and became a different type of Jew some lost their faith and have an ax to grind against Moshe and His G-d that put us here in the desert. Next in the sequence is Yom Hashoa which commemorates the birth of the ‘new Jew’ which is the ‘old Jew’ of the times of David Hamelech. The scholar–warrior that conquered all of Eretz Israel and put the fear of G-d into the world lasted for hundreds of years. Eventually the warrior scholar died out after so many defeats in Israel and our expulsion. The last burst of light from the ‘Old Jew’ of David Hamelech came during the Bar Kochba rebellion as well as during Chanuka a number of years later. It was around these times of great victory from the small against the mighty that spiritual provisions for the exile were also prepared. Although the Bar Kochba rebellion and the Chanuka rebellion were great victories and omens for future events, their success was limited in time and eventually the world came crashing down on Israel and the two thousand year old exile began. In these times of exile it was the rabbis who kept Israel alive through the Torah and mitzvoth. Rabbi Kahane brings down Rambam who explains that the reason for keeping mitzvoth in the exile is to serve as a ‘remembrance’ so our customs will not be forgotten. Rabbi Kahane explains the brilliance of this Rambam which explains to us that mitzvoth have no ‘intrinsic’ value. In other words, they are only reminders so that when we return to Israel the Torah and our customs will not be strange to us. We also infer from this that the effect of the exile distorts our way of thinking for we are not complete until we return once again to our homeland. This distortion affected our spiritual leadership, which is alluded to when Moshe is denied entry into the Land of Israel (see Parshat Chukat). From the time of the rebellions which eventually failed and we were led off to exile it was taught that we remain in exile because of our sins. Only when we all do teshuva will Moshiach return us to the Land of Israel. Until this time it is forbidden to make rebellions 127
as Bar Kochba did, or the Macabees. Too many people suffered and were sacrificed because of these rebellions. In the religious world the observance of Tisha B’Av is a time to reflect on our inadequacies and shortcomings. It is these sins which led to our destruction and continue to keep us exiled. In addition we mourn the death of Rabbi Akiva’s students during the Omer. One day we mourn that we have been exiled and for thirty three days we mourn our failed attempts to return. There is a great rift within our Nation which is reflected in the fact that to most secular Jews Tisha B’Av is a regular day, while Yom Hashoa, Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut have great meaning. In the charedi world Yom Hashoa, Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut are regular days while Tisha B’Av has great relevance. Throughout this time from Pesach to Shavout we are counting of the Omer and reading the book of Vayikra. Unlike other months of the year, the month of Iyar has a unique mitzvah each and every day. Each day we count and correct a particular element of our spiritual being. In addition our rabbis tell us there is a special healing property from the sun during this month. The book of Vayikra tells us all about the service of the Bet Hamikdash, the various sacrifices, who is clean and who is impure, who needs to be isolated and who needs to be cleansed. It is a time of healing after the scars of the Shoa in our day or the Shoa of Egypt in the original exodus. The journey from Egypt to Israel was supposed to take three days, but instead we wandered for forty years. In our time as well, we had many opportunities. We could have come home with great victory in the 1920’s long before the Shoa, but we didn’t come when we were invited. We could have vanquished our enemies in 1967, but we invited them back and exchanged the land we fought for and received nothing in return. We are between Egypt and Israel today, however we have left Egypt and the ‘old Jew’ has been re-born. The most important part of the healing process we go through during this time is that we have arrived in Israel as a people once again. Even though it is harder to take the exile out of the Jew than the Jew out of the exile, being together in this Land forces us to fix the broken pieces. Little by little the pieces are being fixed. The 24,000 students that died during this time of the Omer are very close to the number 22,993 soldiers who we remembered this last Yom Hazikaron. If we include others from terrorist attacks I am sure we have already gone beyond this count and are ready for Moshiach now. As I mentioned before there is only one day to mourn the destruction of the Temple which began our exile, but there are thirty three days of mourning for the process of rebuilding our homeland and eventually our Temple. Moshiach ben Dovid will build the Temple but not before the ground is prepared by Moshiach ben Yoseph who fights G-ds wars and drives out our enemies. Yehoshua had to drive out the Canaanites before David could later finish the job and build the Temple. Last year I wrote that Lag B’Omer was unity through fire. I understand this even more this year. The fires of Lag B’Omer are a sign of victory, from the Warsaw ghetto uprising of Rabbi Akiva to our own uprising in our own time. There may yet be another uprising from within our Nation if the government tries to destroy more settlements. Let us hope that before this comes to pass we will be unified as a nation and expel our destroyers from within and without. Lag B’Omer is a sign that the unity of Moshiach ben Yoseph exists already and so we are ready for Shavuot in another week of our time which may in the coming years of Hashem’s time, to re- build the Temple. In the synagogue Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut are regular days. There is still an ax to grind against those who come by force without the spiritual maturity however on Lag B’Omer there is a great charedi Woodstock by the kever of Rabbi Shimon. They are celebrating the continuance of the scholar-warrior that they have yet to discover within. They too are still maturing. Outside in all the parks there are regular Israeli’s lighting their fires. When I asked this Rasta that I began our story with about Lag B’Omer he spoke to me Torah, though he does not go to bet Knesset. It is a time when 128
the huge rift between the religious and the nationalists is bridged. We are finally celebrating together. Lag B’Omer is a holiday of the future. As time rolls on it will becomemore and more apparent that the meaning of Lag B’Omer is the rectification that must take place between two different types of soldiers that become one. Our unity will probably be revealed over the issues of Binyamina, like the story of Yoseph. The charedi reserve unit will mature and take its place among their brothers and their brothers will be studying the laws of the sacrifices while being cleansed by the fires of Lag B’Omer as well as eating al a esh on the same fires. The Choice (2018) The Torah is engraved on Israel. This is what the Shoa demontrated. We cannot escape our ties. We can run but we cannot hide. Its better to be seperate by choice and by accepting this, be blessed. The Pshat of Kabbalah (2019) (Receiving not Deceiving) The book of Vayikra is a book of healing. From the sacrifices we bring to atone, to the leprosy we discover that reveals our spiritual obstructions, and even this last chapter filled with death and destruction. Even from death there is healing. How can this be? If we study as a Nation what we did or didn't do to allow this to befall us then there is a progression. Even from death we must learn and be healed. We are now in a time where we celebrate the mystic Torah of Rashbi. There is an interesting pattern that I have noticed. It seems that there is a fire below that gives birth to a fire above. What do I mean? Nothing happens in a vacuum. It is important to understand the times that Rashbi lived. We dance and celebrate to the mystic Torah he conceived however he conceived this in the backdrop of terrible death and destruction that surrounded him. It is important to know who 'his' Rebbe was, namely Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva took his students from the yeshiva to be the arms bearers for Bar Kochba who could have been the Moshiach. Like Rav Kahane in our time, Rabbi Akiva moved the world physically, with simple faith to go to war and expel the enemies of Israel. He succeeded to a great deal however due to a sin by Bar Kochba (the slaying of a prophet) the battle was lost and there was a horrible Shoa that took the lives of a third of Israel including Rabbi Akiva who was tortured to death. His chassid who of course believed in Rabbi Akiva's course of action is the one who wrote the deep heavenly secrets of the Torah. In the desert generation we see a similar occurrence. Calev stands alone against the Nation of Israel with simple faith and pleads with them to physically conquer the land of Canaan and he is almost stoned to death. His son Chur also admonishes the people for the golden calf and is assassinated. From these great leaders who physically inspired the Nation to move forward with simple faith is born Betzalel who has the vision of the most spiritual concepts, the Bet Hamigdash. More recently the Rebbe Hakodemet who had gone to prison numerous times for the crime of preserving Judaism had the merit to be plucked out of the Shoa in order to continue Chassidut. The 129
pattern I see is that the physical demonstration of simple faith below gives birth to chassidim that receive the secrets of Kabbalah above. Why is this? It would seem that both are diametrically opposed directions. Let me propose an interpretation of a famous passage in Nitzavim: באל יהינו; וכ שה ינ כגלת, כליה הוה--כח כה ינ נס הת הרת 28 The secret things belong unto the LORD our - הכל- אהת, כלענשות- ה הל הנ הו ה הו כל ה הב ןהנ הי הנו כעד עו הלם God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we יד נב ירי כהתו הרה כהז האתmay do all the words of this law. (Dvarim 29:28) Rashi tells us: Regarding those [matters] revealed to us however and to our children, [we are obligated] to destroy the evil from our midst. If we do not administer judgment over them, the majority will be punished. There are dots [in the Hebrew text] over “to us and to our children” to indicate that even with regard to the secrets, the majority were not to be punished until they crossed the Jordan. From having taken upon themselves the oath in Mt. Grizim and Mt. Eibal they became pledged for one another. Rabbi Kahane was not a Kabbalist. He had simple faith and understood that what has been 'revealed' to us we must do. The gematria of the 11 dotted words 'us and our children' is 240. המ הר- (bitter) - 240 הר המ- (lofty) - 240 We wrote in Mar Cheshvon that 'Mar' has a remez of Rav Meir (RM) as it was a bitter month that we lost him and also the converse (Ram) which is used to describe Hashems throne 'lofty' and the upraised arm (Yad Rama) of the children of Israel as they left Egypt (Shmot 14:8). In chassidic texts the Yad Rama translated by Onkelos is an an acronym for Rashbi. I propose that one of the hidden meanings of this verse is that precisely those who follow the revealed Torah with simple faith may have the merit to glimpse the hidden things that belong to Hashem. We see here that from the bitterness of truth that is persecuted physically comes also the highest revelations spiritually. Hashem does not wish us to suffer and if more of the Nation had this simple faith they would have conquered Canaan in the generation of the Exodus and Bar Kochba may not have sinned and modern Israel may have arrived without a Shoa. Malchut on the body of the sefira is represented by both the feet and the crown. The footsteps of Moshiach below in the very physical world are connected to the crown and the highest spiritual worlds. Understanding this background that precedes the Kabbalah and the lofty secrets of the Torah is crucial because without it the Torah becomes distorted. In the Bet Knesset as the curses were being read a congregant was not too concerned. He glibly said to me that they say these curses are actually blessings but we don't understand them. Yes of course all that Hashem does is for the good and every destruction leads to a new construction somewhere. Of course the Shoa gave birth to Israel, however this is not the preferred way. Hashem does not desire our death and destruction and is only angered by our manipulation of the Torah to annul our responsibilities. It seems to me that this is the very meaning of the first passage of our Parsha. 130
, ימ נצ הו כתי ית נש נמרו- ית ילכו; נו האת, נב מח הק כתי- ג יאםIf you walk in My statutes, and keep My כו נע ישי התם הא התםcommandments, and do them; (Vayikra 26:3) What is the reason for the extra words and 'do them'? Doesn't walking in my statutes and keeping my commandments enough? Rashi tells us that the first part of the passage means to be immersed in the study of Torah. He explains that although it is meritorious to study these laws and be immersed in the Torah, the blessings come from the actual 'doing' and performing. Let us look at the passage directly preceding the curses: נא השר הו יצא יתי הא נת הכם, יג נא יני ניה הוה באל יהי הכם13 I am Hashem your God, who took you out of נע הב ידים; הו הא נש הבר, ימ נה הית הל ההם, ימ הא הרץ ימ נצ כר ייםthe land of Egypt, from being their slaves; and I הואו ילך הא נת הכם קו נמ ימיות,המ הטת מע נל הכם have broken the bars of your yoke, and I led you erect. (Vayikra 26:13) It seems to me that this passage is to be understood as 'I freed you from slavery to be my servant and to 'represent' me, to stand erect.' The great leaders who with simple faith physically protested and went to war and believed enough to stand erect and upright even though there was the danger of persecution, it is they who are blessed. In fact even if they fail due to that lack of support by the rest of the Nation or dreamers who are immersed in the Torah but lack the faith to act; those with simple faith are blessed with a closeness to Hashem that brings forth a Kabbalah into the world upon their persecuted backs. Those who distort this however, and see everything as a blessing without understanding the pshat of blessing and curse are unable to prevent death and destruction and in fact use the crown to lull them to sleep as dreamers unable to act when death and destruction approaches. They misuse the crown which only angers the King rather than representing Him below as servants. The secret of Kingship starts from footsteps below that lead to actions and from these actions we receive a crown above. David must first slay Goliath and then he can be crowned king with all the glory this brings. 131
Are Curses Really Blessings (2021) At the Bet Knesset Rav Halperin says you don't need to be a Tzadik to turn a blessing into a curse. Anyone can do that. To turn a curse into a blessing however, this is something only Rav Shimon Bar Yochai could do. Now I love chassidut that teaches that ultimately everything is good and darkness is just a hidden light, however if everything is always good then why do we have prophets that warn us to change or else curses will come? Isn't it a bit tragic to be blind to warning signs and have such a mystic outlook that one sees everything as only a blessing in disguise? At what point do we recognize that we are not being blessed but actually cursed and we need to do something to change that and transform the curse to blessing by our actions? At what point do we realize that the action of altering our perceptions; believing it is only rain when our enemies keep spitting on us, is not the correct action. Standing frozen in prayer in front of Yum Suf may not bring the best results. While others look at this Parsha as blessings I study the root causes of the Shoa (B'keri) and think about prevention. The word repeated throughout this Parsha 'B'Keri' (casualness, laxity) has the same gematria as Shoa. Yes I too see blessing from curse and I can say that today I am fortunate to be living in a Jewish State that came about through the painful birth of the Shoa, so yes that curse brought about blessing, however it could have been brought about without a Shoa if we did not refuse to learn and read the signs in the past and the present. Today in our post-Shoa era it is even more imperative to read the signs and learn from the past. In a very short time it is quite probable that mobs will increasingly rule in America and there will be no police, for why should they risk prosecution to defend the public? In addition with the tremendously reckless spending the US dollar is heading for a big fall and before it becomes greatly devalued it is urgent to escape and come home to Israel now. Having said that, I am also an optimist and things I have no control over I understand are the secret things that belong to Hashem. However, the inaction that leads to more aggression and the impending dangers that loom from a corrupt and radical group that has taken over the greatest idol of our century the USA should concern an intelligent Jewish mind that it is more important than ever to come home to Israel and not delude oneself that all curses and warnings are blessings. Rabbi Nachaum Kahane writes some very strong words. When the day of judgment will arrive, when the world will be divided between those who aided the chosen people of Hashem and those who harmed us, the German nation will be called to explain their murderous conduct. The Germans will reply that their hatred of the Jews is genetic, having received it from their progenitor Amalek, the son of Elifaz, the son of Esav. So the Jews should have known that their place was not to be near the German nation. And furthermore, many could have been saved had the United States accepted the escapees, and not closed their borders, and had England not initiated the White Paper limiting immigration to Eretz Yisrael. Next to explain their conduct will be the British government. They will admit that their policy was pro Arab and hence anti-Jew, but there was good reason for this They will say, \"On November 2, 1917 HM Government adopted the Balfour Declaration to establish a 'Jewish National Home' in Palestine on both sides of the Jordan river, as stated in the 132
Bible, We expected waves of returning Jews to the holy land, as expressed in the prayers the Jews recite three times a day and in grace after meals, and at the close of the sacred Passover Seder We planned for a western orientated country of the Jewish people to enlighten the primitive Middle East, in which we had strategic interests. But except for a small trickle, the Jews did not come!\" \"They didn't come in 1917 nor did they come in 1918, nor did they come in the twenties and not even in the early thirties. Because they were waiting for their Messiah to bring them back on the 'wings of eagles' or on 'magic carpets. So we had no choice but to turn to the Arabs for allies, who demanded limited Jewish Immigration to zero. Hence the British government's White Paper of 1939, where section 2 reads “Immigration: Jewish immigration to Palestine under the British Mandate was to be limited to 75,000 for the first five years, and would later be contingent on Arab consent.\" Then the leaders of Jewry will be called upon to explain their conduct in those years. \"We prayed for a sign from the Almighty that the time has come to leave the galut. But the sign did not come, so we remained in the shtetlach and ghettos of Europe.\" Then HaShem will reply: \"You kept Shabbat without a sign from heaven; as you did with tefillin and all the other mitzvot - because are written in the Torah and Shulchan Aruch. So why did you demand a sign regarding the mitzva of living in My holy land? Isn't the real reason because you were comfortable in the galut, just as the spies were comfortable in the desert?” from With All Your Might (Tazriah pg 485) Certainly everything Hashem does is for the good however He speaks in whispers and if you don''t hear He speaks louder. And if you still don't hear He starts to shake you and if you still don't hear it only gets worse and worse until your soul may escape but your body may not. But don't worry there is life after death and everything is a blessing. It seems to me that is important to view Rabbi Simon in the context of his times. He had himself experienced the curses in the Torah as well as the blessings. He saw the great success of his teacher Rabbi Akiva and watched how five chased one hundred and one hundred chased ten thousand. He also experienced the tragic death of his Rebbe and the disillusionment that must have been felt among that Shoa generation. He gave hope to that generation and future generations that the movement would continue and his teaching would help to correct the internal and spiritual flaws that undermined our success so that their would yet be a future success even though the world had darkened. As we pass through the Sephira of Yesod of Yesod which comes around this time of the curses we also might consider that we suffer in each generation because in each generation there is a Yoseph that we condemn. The same suffering we cast upon him the generation is punished for but ultimately after time the generation understands that he was the one that had the cure though we were too blind at the time to see it. Chur was murdered for his simple faith however through this channel came the mystic depths of Bezallel. The Rabbi Hakodemet who was persecuted for his simple faith by fellow Jews we see in this weeks Parsha plucked out of the Shoa to continue those mystic teachings. Rav Khane also brought 133
hope and clarity in our generation and although he was struck down like those who went before him there emerged Kahane Chai to proclaim that darkness cannot bury light and it will yet emerge greater than before. As we move into the week of Malchut we should take note that the symbol of Malchut is not only the crown but the feet. The crown alone has no legs to stand on. Torah secrets may be revealed to those who followed the simple faith of their teachers however, those secrets without the simple faith can lead one back again to turn blessing to curse by indifference (BKeri). The crown alone without the feet can lead to a strange fire. David Hamelech began his career by slaying Goliath who was a national enemy. He went on to be persecuted and hunted and challenged even more by his own people. The crown begins at the bottom with simple faith in the physical realm. One can see this demonstrated each day by the builders of Zion who are persecuted by both Arabs and even more so by our own people for preventing this physical building. Yes of course a curse can be transformed into a blessing and blessing will continue after tragedy and though we fall we will rise up again. One might even say that through the curses brought about by our own sins against the various Yoseph's in each generation, who could have saved us earlier rather than later, greater blessings will be revealed. However it is not curses that we want for that greater revelation. It would be much better to act correctly today and support those builders and protest the appeasers and fight the Goliath's that mock us and experience the lower level of blessing rather than a higher level of blessing as a result of the curses we failed to heed by our causal and lax indifference. It's better to have blessing than run from one curse after another and its better to live than to die. Death by Indifference (2022) Throughout our Parsha we are warned that increasing indifference will bring increasing punishments. My dear departed friend Shifra Hoffman who was a devoted Chassid of Rav Meir Kahane for many years tried to warn American Jews to make emergency Aliyah because of a potential Holocaust that could happen in America. Her opponents would say she was paranoid and she would answer, 'Paranoid Jews live longer'. One of the antidotes to indifference is fear. Although love is a higher level, alavay that fear should succeed in motivating us to make life changing decisions. I personally was motivated by fear after 9-11 especially when all the airports were closed within 10 minutes. No matter how much money you had, you could not leave the country. I reasoned that there could be a plague one day and no matter how much money I had I would not be able to escape. The vision I saw 19 years ago was Corona. If it was not for my fear back then, today I would be a prisoner in Canada, as only a vaccinated person can enter or leave. Of course, upon escaping in the middle of the Sars outbreak at that time, I immediately fell in love with Israel and my relationship is not based on fear but the love and devotion one feels to one’s beloved wife. Today, much like the Parsha, when the fear of basic survival and peace and security and the value of our money is not that abstract but a real concern, to be increasingly indifferent would cause Hashem to also be increasingly indifferent, just like the Parsha. More monkey business is on the way with a planned monkey pox outbreak. You can see the full itinerary here (see NTI bio ttx paper 2021). Less freedom, more censorship along with interrupted food supply chains is just around the corner. To those 134
who say the curses are really blessings in disguise I would say that it is possible through adversity for one to reach a place one might not have found without that adversity, however what is the price one will pay? Israel is certainly a blessing that was born out of the Shoa but was it worth it? Could Israel not have come about with glory and joy without a Shoa? What if there had been less in-fighting and indifference that may have sealed our fate in the Shoa? There was a genocide of Jews in the Omer period as well during the years of Bar Kochba. The Chassidut of Rabbi Shimon must be understood from this background surrounding his mysticism. When he declares that one must be joyful on his haskara that declaration takes on a much greater meaning when one understands the background. His Rebbe had led the Bar Kochba rebellion against the Gog and Magog of their time and almost succeeded. When the rebellion failed hundreds of thousands of Jews were slaughtered and his Rebbe was tortured to death. His vision of joy was a commandment to overcome the despair and know that their path was correct and will continue and eventually succeed despite the horror they lived through. There is an interesting Torah code in this week’s Parsha that many Chabad people are aware of however they may wonder why it was placed in this week’s Parsha. כי נע הבר- הכל נא השר, כמ נע כשר הב הקר הוצ האן- לב נו הכל32 Any tithe of the cattle or the flock, any that , הה מע ישי ירי--שה תבט staff, tenth הק הדש-יי נה היה תכחכת כה passes under the the one shall be כליה הוה. holy to Hashem. ; נול הא ני ימי הרנו,טוב הל כרע- לג ל הא כי שב ןקר יבין33 He shall not distinguish between good and bad and he should not substitute for it, and if he ו נתמו הרתו הוא-נו הה היה ,ני ימי הרנו הה ימר-נו יאם does substitute for it, then it and its substitute shall הק הדש ל הא יי הג יאל- יי נה היה. be holy, it may not be redeemed. (Vayikra 27:32,33) The 10th cow is to be counted and one cannot choose one that is better or worse. Hidden in this passage is the date the Rebbe Hakodemet haskara. - the 10th of Shvat. But why here? Let me suggest the following. Y’ivkor to choose has the exact same letters as b'keri - indifference that is repeated over and over again in our Parsha. This word indifference is also the gematria of Shoa. When you erase the yud of Hashems name you are left with bakar - cattle. The passage that we find the Rebbe Hakodemet reminds us of the Shoa and how the Jews were transported in Cattle cars and slaughtered like cattle. The Rebbe Hakodemet himself was plucked out of the Shoa in a miraculous way, just like the seemingly coincidental 10th cow that is chosen at random. =יבקרshall not distinguish = הב הקריcasualness = הב הקרcattle = הב הקריcasualness = שו האהShoa = הב הקריcasualness 135
Like Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai the Rebbe's light was chosen so that we will continue to battle despair and Chassidut continues today to light fires below physically through Tefillin and Farbrengins. If you mention reasons for the Shoa however Chabad Chassidim, may respond angrily, as I heard the Rebbe once did and tell you we cannot explain the Shoa. Rabbi Kahane on the other hand says by not explaining the Shoa we make Hashem out to be some entity that simply gets angry every once in awhile for no apparent reason. Binyamin writes: We say that God supervises over every little thing. He is responsible for everything. “A man does not prick his finger if it was not decreed by Heaven” (Hulin 7). And now we get a Holocaust, and say – don't even try to understand it? Instead of checking the Tanach and seeing how the prophecies actualized themselves, what kind of emunah that would bring! There's no greater vehicle for emunah than this. It is something we saw actualized in our generation. (Confronting the Holocaust – R. Meir Kahane) Rav Meir writes: Our failure to grapple with this issue (instead we corrupt our souls by the terrible reply: It is a question no one can answer) has caused us to be silent accomplices in the worst of all Jewish sins and crimes – hiruf v'giduf, blasphemy against the Lord; open insult and attack on His Name – hillul Hashem. How dare we sit by quietly while Jewish ignoramuses and blasphemers speak of the “death of God”, and His Name is dragged through the mud of a theology and philosophy of heresy? How dare we allow Him to be blasphemed and our children to be turned down the path of apostasy and atheism because our reply to the attacks of the blasphemers is “No one can answer the question!”. Of course there is an answer! It is a Jewish answer. (Ibid) He then goes on to explain the background that led up to the Shoa. The chassidut of Rav Kahane takes the baton of indifference and continues the battle of Bar Yochai and Akiva to rebuild our Temple. Even though Rav Khane and his son Binyamin were martyred like Rabbi Akiva, his Chassidut continues – Kahane Chai lives on. This is the fire of Lag B'Omer that lives on, despite torture and death to battle indifference and blow on the coals to reignite our inner flames. Now you may say why should I come to Israel where the rulers are allowing foreign rule to interfere with our mission? There are a number of answers to this. Number one, you can make a difference. Number two, despite whatever hardships there may be there is a much better chance of survival. Number three, it is a mitzvah, and your life will become more meaningful. As I can attest, your fear may transform to love and devotion, and even wealth and prosperity. He who is wise can see ahead. The west is being undermined because of its moral corruption. China and other tyrants are growing stronger. New Jersey and Los Angeles are not written in the Torah. There is no promise and no heavenly stamp of protection. There is however a promised future in our Land, from the coastal cities to Jerusalem to the hills of Yehuda and Shomron. - נב ירי יתי כי נעקוב; נו כאף האת- האת, מב נו הז ככ נר יתי42 then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, , נב ירי יתי כא נב הר ההם- נב ירי יתי יי נצ החק נו כאף האתand also My covenant with Isaac, and also My כו הה הא תרץ תא כז הכר--הא נז הכר covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land (Vayikra 26:42) 136
Chazal explains this is written backwards to convey an important message. If not for the sake of Yacov who was born with a brit milah and had the twelve tribes, then for the sake of Itzchak, even though he had Esav. If not for Itzchak, then for Avraham, even though he had Ishmael. And finally, according to Rav Teichtal, if there are no merits of the forefathers, then there is the merit of the Land itself. (Eim HaBanim Semeicha). Outside Israel you are fighting a losing battle. In Israel however, the next battle will cause Israel and the State of Judea to surprise the world in their quest to destroy God. We know He cannot be destroyed no matter how many Pharoah’s say 'they know not Hashem'. He may hide for a time because of our sins (chas v’shalom), but that is only because he is waiting for all of us. Remember 5 will chase 100 and 100 will 'not' chase 2000 (which would be mathematically correct) but our Torah tells us that 100 will instead chase 10,000. Every Jew that returns and joins this critical mass increases the strength of Israel exponentially. This is much better than the curse of indifference and its punishments that also increases exponentially. To ignore the signs of coming disasters in America, sadly may increase death by the greatest plague of all – indifference. To rise to the calling Hashem reminds us of what He wishes for us. This is the passage directly preceding the curses. This is the glory that could be if we run to it and not away from it. נא השר הו יצא יתי הא נת הכם, יג נא יני ניה הוה באל יהי הכם13 I am Hashem your God, who took you out of נע הב ידים; הו הא נש הבר, ימ נה הית הל ההם, ימ הא הרץ ימ נצ כר ייםthe land of Egypt, from being their slaves; and I have broken the bars of your yoke, and I led הואו ןלך תא כת תכם קו כמ ימיות,המ הטת מע נלכהם you erect. (Vayikra 26:13) Don’t lose your fate to indifference which gives you a random one in ten chance where even merits don’t count. Come home and be part of the blessing where even if you have no merits, the Land will lend you some and you will be blessed. 137
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Kahane in the Parsha Book of Bamidbar 139
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Kahane in the Parsha Bamidbar 141
Bamidbar and Shavuot 2012 I heard a sicha from the Lubavitch Rebbe about Shavuot. He raised the following question. If the desert generation were on such a high spiritual level after having gone through the Red Sea and witnessed so many miracles, how could they go to sleep before matan torah? In addition they slept so deeply that according to the Midrash even a fly could not disturb their sleep (Shir Hashirim Rabba). Further more when one is excited about something that will happen the next day I it's usually hard to sleep. He answers that the only way to understand it is that they went to sleep on purpose. The Rebbe explains that they wanted to get closer to Hashem by getting into sleep mode as our souls normally leave our bodies to some degree when we sleep. Moshe had to wake them up and tell them this is not what is expected. One needs to be awake and bring the Torah down into this world in the physical state. I would like to add to this idea that although this interpretation sounds very good, I would go even further with the conclusion. What does it mean that even a fly didn’t bother them? To me it seems what this midrash is telling us this that just like today in the Charedi world the spiritual answer to our Galut mentality is a dream type state. Even when enemies attack us and could be destroyed like flies, we don't respond. Our response is like this spiritual generation that we must be closer to G-d. Every time we are plagued with the thorns of our enemies we don’t take the practical solution only this mystical one that we need to connect more to G-d like dreamers. This is not what is required. There is a simple and practical path of throwing out our enemies conquering our land and building the Temple – if we have a desire to do these things then they will happen. If we do not really have the desire or fear the consequences then we lack faith and G-d does not want us to dream and have Him do all the work for us. This is the point we are missing. Bamidbar and the Sephira The great achdut(unity) that arrives after this mammoth forty night tikkun is seen right away in this new book. The tikkun from Pesach to Shavuot transforms us to the point that we arrive together in a new book – Bamidbar. What does this new book look like? It begins with a military parade of each tribe. Each tribe has a different name and size but their offerings are identical. Following the military parade is a parade of the tribes and families that officiate in the Temple. All are counted and all are glorified like precious stones. The tikun we have written about beginning with the four sons, four generations and four levels of redemption. The underlying current of revolution from Rabbi Akiva to the Warsaw Ghetto. The split between the Torah students of Avraham until the Torah students of today. The transformation of Bekeri (casual/wasted opportunities) to B'Omer (318) which builds the rejuvenated Nation by lowering the ego like Eliezer (318) the true fighting force of Israel. The military comes first followed by the tribes of the Temple. On one hand the best is counted last, and on the other hand the last cannot be achieved without the first. The parade marks the beginning of a new book and a new era. The final redemption is very close, we need only transform the Tzava (legion) to Tzaveh (commandment). 142
הי יצא הצ הבא- הכל,ג ימ הבן הע נש ירים הש הנה הו כמ נע הלה 3 from twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: ye shall number כא התה, ית נפ נקדו הא התם נל יצ נב הא התם--נב יי נש הר יאל them by their hosts, even thou and Aaron. נו כא נה הרן. (Bamidbar 1:3) יצ הוה, המ השה; כו יי נפ נק ידם- האת,ניה הוה 19 As the LORD commanded Moses, so did he יט ככ נא השר number them in the wilderness of Sinai נב ימ נד כבר יסי הני. (Bamidbar 1:19) = הצ הבאninety three (93) = יצ הוהone hundred and one (101) The difference between Tzava and Tziva is only eight (8) the number connected to the brit mila. נל כבבומהל- נו האת, נל הב נבך-ו ניה הוה באל ההיך האת 6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD נל הב נבך- נב הכל, ניה הוה באל ההיך- נל כא נה הבה האת:כז נר העך thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, נל כמ כען כח הייך-- כנ נפ נשך-ו נב הכל that thou mayest live. (Devarim 30:6) הבThe 'Bet' of Tzava is like a house (Bayit) . The army is the beginning of our re-birth. We have come home and have a strong army that is enforcing moral law in the world. Our morality is still maturing and being tested as our enemies increase from within and without. The 'Bet' that houses the והstrong arm of Israel must transform into the 'Vav' of Hashems name. The 'Vav' as we spoke about in the beginning of the book is the channel through which Hashem infuses this world with Holiness. The 'אAleph' which looks like a 'Yud' above separated from the 'Yud' below must transform into a 'Hey' הwhich is the intention of Creation; for Hashem to dwell below and Heaven will be a little less separated from earth. The 'Hey' is the last letter in Hashems name and represents the culmination of our earthly efforts which is to have the 'Yud' from above dwelling within the house that we build below – represented by the letter 'Hey”. This transformation is slowly coming about as we circumcise our hearts and continue building the house below making it more spiritual. Just as the brit mila happens against our will, so will the final circumcision. We will have no choice, just as the mountain was held above our heads when we received the Torah. The world will come to destroy us and we will fight back and reclaim our heritage as a result. We will have no choice and afterwords we will choose it. We could have entered Israel in three days, but we were still lacking some characteristics that need 143
more than three days to mature. And so the Book of our Wanderings – Bamidbar zooms in for a closer look at the problems that keep us in the desert when we could have already conquered the Land. Our modern history which is the stage of the final redemption seems to be alluded to in the Haftorah taken from Hoshea 2:1-22. The Art Scroll Siddur writes: “The Talmud (Pesachim 87a) gives the background of this prophecy. God told Hoshea that Israel had sinned, to which the prophet replied, “All the world is Yours. [If they are unworthy] exchange them for another nation.” God responded by commanding him to marry a harlot and have children with her, even though he knew she was unfaithful. Chapter one of Hoshea relates that he had three children from this marriage, and, at Gods command, named them as follows: The first was a son named Jezreel, which means that God will gather in the exiled Jews and plant them in their land [Yizra El, the God of powerful mercy will plant]. Then they had a daughter named Lo-Ruchama, Object of No Mercy, for God was resolved no longer to be merciful with the unrepentant Jews. Finally another son was born named Lo-Ammi, Not My People, for the Jews had forfeited their claim to choseness. Then after the three children were born, God ordered Hoshea to send his family away. Hoshea pleaded that he could not part with the children! God then said: “Your wife is a harlot whose children may not even be yours but the products of adultery, yet you say that you cannot abandon them. Israel is the offspring of Avraham, Itzchak and Yacov – how dare you say I should exchange it for another nation!” Understanding the depth of his sin in speaking ill of Israel, Hoshea blessed them with this prophecy. He began by likening their numbers to the uncountable sands of the sea – and this is the connection to our Sidrah, which deals with the large numbers of the nation. Hoshea goes on to speak of Israel in the parable of the harlot, his disloyal wife. He tells Israel that it can yet claim God love, and the names of its children will be changed from their negative connotations to Ammi, My People, and RuHamma, Object of Mercy. From terrifying predictions of Israels degradation if they continue their disloyal ways of harlotry, the prophet shifts to inspiring prophecies of Israels future security and spiritual greatness. The Haftorah ends with the stirring promise that God will take Israel to Himself in love, righteousness and faith – for all time. (Art Scroll pg 1180)” When viewed from our perspective today these three children seem very relevant. The first child (Jezreel)was the in-gathering that began at the turn of the century. This was followed by the daughter of the Shoa – the object of no mercy. The feminine offspring alludes to the weakness of our people that gave birth to the Jewish army and the beginning of Hashems vengeance. Today we are living in the times of Lo-Ammi – 'Not My People.' The current in our times today is doing away with our 'choseness' and wanting to be accepted among the other nations. The more we try the more they become united against us forcing us to choose our first husband Hashem to rescue us. As I write this the seeds of Judea are sprouting as the government of Lo-Ammi has now set into motion the criminal law that will spell the destruction of Yesha. A civilized solution could have been reached by simply handing it over to those who live there, but by using force to destroy communities that Israel had previously built is going too far. I am the last person that wishes a civil war, and Rav Kahane also never wanted a civil war, but from the looks of it Judea will come into being but not without a fight. From this fight all the previous names will be changed to Ammi, My People, and RuHamma, Object of Mercy. 144
Shavuot - The Party That No One Came To (2021) Three times a year our father likes to see us gathered together in his house. He likes to count us and He enjoys our presence. This year he invited us but no one came. It was the first year the Prime Minister and many rabbis seem to have agreed on something as the gate to Har Habayit was locked to Jews. In addition many rabbis warned their Talmidim not to put themselves in danger by going to the Kotel for Shavuot. This seems like the last nail in the coffin that began two years ago (more on that later). As Rav Nachaum Kahane wrote regarding the famous words 'the Har Habayit is in our hands' - 'but is it in our hearts?' It seems to me that because it is not in our hearts it is now being taken from our hands. I have written before how after the 49 days of a personal Tikkun one should arrive at a new reality. Similarly we review over the 49 days various revelations that occurred over the years from the hidden to the revealed. We begin from the furnace of Egypt that brought the new reality of our Nation, as well as the furnace of the Shoa that brought about the State of Israel and Yom Yerushalyim that brought about the Har Habayit. What have we learned along the way? Are we on the three day journey or the forty year journey? On the other hand, is it possible that they can happen at the same time? Let me explain how I see it. It seems to me there is a pattern. The short road, the long road and the retrospective. Maybe this is similar to the first three Sephirot – Chesed,Gevurah and Tiferet. It seems to me that the pattern that began with Avraham continues today. There was a great battle that Avraham and Eliezer fought against five kings and their armies and miraculously, Avraham won. Then Hashem promises Avraham he will have offspring like the stars in the sky and Avraham replies but how will I know, by what sign? At that point Hashem tells Avraham that his children will be enslaved for 400 years. What might we ask is the connection? Is this a punishment? Let me suggest that if two people winning a war against five kings is not a sign, then maybe this means that a greater refining is needed. However this decree was held in abeyance for thirty years. Avraham was seventy years old at the Brit Bein HaBetarim and the 400 years were counted from Itzchak's birth when Avraham was 100 years old. What then caused this decree to be actualized? I suggest it was because of a repetition of the same mistake which caused that original decree to be pronounced. As Rav Meir Kahane brought down, what was the simple (Pshat) understanding of the Akeida? When Itzchak was born there was a great Kiddish Hashem. All the nations saw and beheld the promise of Hashem at such a great miracle. How could a ninety year old woman grow young and give birth? In the following passages Avimelech makes a pact with Avraham however instead of telling Avimelech that the same God that made this miracle has promised me the Land of Canaan he accepts the offer and delays that promise. Avraham takes a Kidush Hashem and turns it into a Chillul Hashem and therefore it is as if Hashem says 'you did not see the miracle of the war against five kings as a sign, and now even this you do not see; a child born to a ninety year old woman? In that case take the child and offer him as a sacrifice as if he never had been, and so begins the 400 year count. And today is it any different? In the 1920's there was the Balfour declaration and the invitation for the Jewish people to come back home, however did they desire their land? At that time there was also the vision of the Chofetz Chaim that WW1 will be nothing compared to the next world war. Of course things became worse and the pessimists left while the optimists stayed. The Shoa of course, created a much greater desire for our own land and our own nation and unfortunately through a very painful birth the State of Israel was born. In 1967 Hashem made a great miracle for us and just like the Balfour declaration that invited us home the Har Habayit was now in our hands and inviting us to take it back. 145
However was the Har Habayit in our hearts? Must it be a painful birth again? Must we go through tragedy to desire the Har Habayit as we once desired our land after the first invitation had been canceled? Does Itzchak need to be sacrificed again? Does the Shoa need to be erased as if it never happened? Does the invitation of 1967 need to be invalidated? Let us recount the events of recent times. A Window of Opportunity Before the multiple failed elections there was a chance of a stable government if Netanyhu accepted Ben Gvir and his condition that Jews could pray on the Temple Mount. Netanyahu said no, because he did not want to start World War Three. The result was the series of failed elections. As that series began President Trump came up with a Peace Plan that everyone loved because it solidified the settlements however it abandoned the Temple Mount to the Arabs. Everyone celebrated this plan like the Jews of Shushan at the feast of Achashverosh, while they overlooked the serving dishes which had been pillaged from our Temple. This plan of course never happened as Trump was defeated. Then came Corona and it seemed as if Hashem was angry and threw us out of the Bet Knesset as if to say 'I do not want your offerings, and I do not need your minyans. I want my temple.' Then came Lag B'Omer and the terrible tragedy there which Rav Nachum Kahane connects to a letter written by the Chatam Sofer on the same Parsha more than a hundred years ago after the earthquake in Sfat in which thousands perished. The Chatam Sofer wrote: 'The earthquake was the expression of Hashem’s zealousness for the honor of Yerushalayim...All the olim turn only to Tzfat and Tiveria - while Yerushalayim is forgotten.' We saw further on Yom Yerushalyim so few arrived because of Arab unrest and on the very day of our celebration the war broke out and the leaders of these terrorists cry out their mantra. 'Jerusalem, Jerusalem!' We have abandoned Jerusalem and evil has have filled the vacuum we left. As I write this I have read the tragic news about more Jews crushed to death on Shavuot itself. I wonder if the Bet Knesset was overcrowded because this year the Kotel was practically abandoned. The choice is in our hands whether we take the short road or the long road; the easy birth or the painful one. On the negative side we are exacerbating the problem by closing the Har Habait even more and making our problems only worse. On the positive side however look at what is written in the Haftorah of Bamidbar, the Parsha in which Hashem takes special joy in counting each one of His children. נא השר הא נמ הרה, כג נפ הנה ו נת יא הנ התה, יד כו נה יש המ יתי14 And I will lay waste her vines and her fig-trees, ; ילי נמ כא נה הבי- נא השר הנ נתנו, הא נת הנה יה המה יליof which she said: 'These are my hire that my lovers have given me'; and I will make them a כו נא הכ הל כתם כח כית כה הש הדה,נו כש נמ יתים נל כי כער forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour them. ני ימי כה נב הע ילים נא השר- האת, טו ו הפ כק נד יתי הע הלי הה15 And I shall visit upon her the day of the Baal- כו ית הלך, כו כת כעד ינ נז המה נו הח נל הי התה, כת נק יטיר הל ההםidols when she burned incense to them, and when ניה הוה-ננ מאם ,הש נכ החה נו הא יתי ;נמ כא נה הבי הה כא נח ירי she adorned herself with her earrings and her jewelry and went after her lovers; and she forgot Me – the words of HASHEM. , נו הה כל נכ יתי הה, יה ינה הא הנ יכי נמ כפ התי הה, טז הל יכן16 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and lead יל הבה- כעל, כה ימ נד הבר; נו יד כב נר יתיher to the wilderness, and speak to her heart 146
יע המק- נו האת, נכ הר המי הה ימ השם- יז נו הנ כת יתי הלה האת17 I shall give her vineyards from there and the העכור נל הפ כתח ית נק הוה; נו הע ננ התה הש המה יכי ימיdesolate valley will be a portal of hope; and she will call out there as in the days of her youth and ימ נצ הר יים- ו נכיום נעלו התה ימ הא הרץ,ננעו הרי הה as on the day of her ascent from the land of Egypt. ית נק נר יאי, ניה הוה- כההוא ננ מאם- יח נו הה היה כביום18 And It shall be on that day - the words of כב נע ילי, ילי עוד- ית נק נר יאי- יאי ישי; נול האHASHEM — you will call (Me) “my Husband,\" and you will no longer call Me \"my Master.\" (Hoshea 2:14-18) There is a small positive window of opportunity. As we no longer have a friend in the White House we must stand isolated and alone which is a very good thing. All the greatest moments have happened when we were alone, for example 1948, and 1967. As soon as we relied on so called friends who pressured us like in the war of 1973 it only led to terrible tragedy. In this sense there is a window of opportunity if we fight and destroy our enemies as we should, and not count on any deals by so called friends or allies (all-lies as Shifra Hoffman calls them) and fight as we must regardless of the shouts of the world which will shout their venom either way. Although terrible decrees were made from the 400 years of slavery to the 3rdWW that the Chofetz Chaim predicted would begin in 2020, they do not need to come about in a painful way if we seize the opportunities and do not repeat the same mistakes. Let this year be the last year that Hashem desired our presence and we were told not to come. Let our hearts move us before our hands lose what they have held since 1967 and let us really be married once again as we should be. Let us rid ourselves of our enemies and be politically incorrect so that we can correct the foundation of our true security and take back our Temple so fast that it will appear that it fell from the sky. I hope and pray that we succeed in using this window of opportunity to stand alone with Hashem and do what He desires so that there will be a glorious end and not terrible tragedy and another painful birth. We are in the desert now. Let us call again to our God and this time let it be: And It shall be on that day - the words of HASHEM — you will call (Me) “my Husband,\" and you will no longer call Me \"my Master.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2022 I noticed this year that the letters of Achur are related to preparing the Table inside the Mishkan and Emek Achur is the same gematria as the Ishmaelites. = עהרנכוIt's arrangement = 296 (Hoshea 2:14) = עהכורdesolate = 296 (Hoshea 2:14) The Ishmaelites = HaIshmaelim = 506 (Bereshit 39:1) = יע המק עהכורthe desolate valley = 506 (Hoshea 2:14) 147
A Question that Remains to be Answered (2023) On Yom Yerushalyim I went to Mount Zion to visit David Hamelech and prepare for where I plan to be on Shavuot. Every year I have a list of Torah questions that I store up for the night of Shavuot and as I stopped by a yeshiva nearby, I asked one of the students one of my questions. We know that Yacov waited till Yoseph was born before he returned to face Esav. The Torah (Ovadia 1:18) teaches that Yosef is Esav's nemesis: \"The house of Yaakov shall be a fire, and the house of Yosef a flame and the house of Esav for straw\". There is a famous Midrash about Yaacov's funeral. When they arrived to bury Yacov in Hevron, Esav challenged them and said that this burial place belonged to him. The sons of Israel sent Naphtali back to Egypt to get the legal deed. Chushim, the deaf son of Dan, asked what the commotion was all about, and was incensed to learn that Esau had halted the funeral of his revered grandfather. With a mighty blow of his sword, Chushim severed Esau’s head, which rolled into the Cave of Machpelah where it remains to this day. Yakov opened his eyes and smiled - \"a Tzadik rejoices when he sees vengeance (Sotah 13). My question was simple. Yoseph was standing right there. Why was Chushim the one to deal with Esav and Yoseph not even mentioned in this Midrash? ‘It’s a good question’ the student said to me and mentioned that Esav and Yacov were supposed to be partners but Esav was rejected. This gave me an idea and I offered a possible explanation. Yoseph and Yacov, the fire and the flame, were the partnership that replaced Yacov and Esav. Possibly now that Yoseph had lost his partner he was weakened before Esav? (More on this later). From the yeshiva I went to the Kotel where thousands were gathering and celebrating Yom Yerushalyim. This year it fell out on Malchut of Yesod which matches nicely. Just as Yoseph in one day went from a prison cell in the morning to the leader of Egypt in the afternoon, in one week in 1967 Israel’s reality changed almost as quickly. One of the benefits of living in Israel, that I feel such gratitude for, is being able to celebrate with your people. The Torah becomes much more than a Holy Book, it becomes a reality that you live inside of. It is written that when Hashem revealed himself at Mt. Sinai, Am Israel saw thousands of angels grouped according to flags, and they desired flags too [(as it says: \"dagul m'revava.\" (Shir Hashirim 5:10)]. In front of me were masses of people with countless Israeli flags along with many other flags including Chabbad, Kahane Tzadek and Lehava. What is the function of a flag? It is an expression that we are part of something greater than ourselves. We are part of a people or a movement or a tribe. It is so interesting that those who want to restore Israel and its glory and holiness and Jewish identity and those who seek to undermine and pervert that holiness with a secular leftist agenda both wave the same flag. Just like in our Parsha the largest tribe was Yehuda 74,600 (the surrounding area of Yerushalyim) and second to that in was Dan 62,700 (the surrounding area of Tel Aviv). Returning to my question maybe Dan’s son who is deaf to the Torah will become the new partner to Yoseph when he avenges the Chillul Hashem against Israel? Maybe Chushim who is crippled will avenge the wrong that paralyzes our leadership? Shimshon also came from Dan and was blinded because of his personal desires, yet his national desire to avenge Hashem was unmatched. Against his will Yehuda had to defend Binyamin and Netanyahu today must defend his Binyamin based coalition. Days of revelation are approaching. Is there some awakening that will come from Dan? Is there a younger generation that will rebel against the desecration of our heritage funded by brother Esav? Who will rise up for Yaacov when Yoseph is weakened? It’s a question that remains to be answered. 148
Kahane in the Parsha Naso 149
Naso – 2012 Don't Take or be Taken Last week we saw the military parade as well as the Temple parade. It continues this week with a deeper insight into the workings of the Temple and what is needed before its dedication. What are the sins that are preventing its dedication? In two words, honesty and loyalty. At the end of the parade after the counting and descriptions of the jobs and dignitaries in charge, there is a new subject. Before the Temple can be dedicated the impure must go outside of the camp and be purified. This is followed by the subject of one who has not given wages and denies it. He must confess, make restitution, and add a fifth for his crime. This subject is followed by the Sotah who betrays her husband and denies it. She is disloyal and suffers the consequences. If she did not betray him and subjects herself to this test she is rewarded with the blessing of a child. The remedy is followed by the nazir who departs from the physical temptations of this world for a time. Hashem is also our husband and we often act like the wayward wife which causes terrible consequences. There are sins between man and man and then there are sins between man and God. As men we must purify ourselves and our relationships with others. We must confess our sins and make restitution. We must be honest with others and ourselves. With God we must also be loyal and not be seduced after other lovers that convince us that our God is old and foreign ways are much more exciting and fulfilling. Learning from others is not a sin however, and if we incorporate it in a kosher way it only adds to our loyalty. If the woman was secluded with another but remained loyal then when she submits to the loyalty test she is blessed. The Common Thread There is a common thread between all of these stories and that is that all are voluntary acts. The one who is impure voluntarily submits to his seclusion. The one who steals and denies, repents, pays the price and is absolved. The nazir voluntarily separates himself for a period of time in order to correct whatever impulses that need correcting. The blessing of the Cohanim is also commanded in this Parsha and fits in nicely with the same topic. The national blessing that we receive as a result of these efforts is given by the Cohanim who also volunteer to bless us. Today as dark clouds hover over Israel and the whole world is becoming more and more united against us, we must be prepared. We must choose candidates that have National ideology and are not simply crooks out for their own prestige. We must be loyal to our people and our Land and be unified in our battle for survival. In this way we will succeed and also rebuild our Temple, restore its service and be blessed. We need honesty, loyalty and to volunteer our souls to ourselves and our people. Soldiers that wear army uniforms and soldiers that wear black coats or shtreimels have in common their submission to a higher authority. Let us be unified in purpose so that as servants we become much greater individuals. 150
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