The Torah Portion of Shelach
"For the tribe of Yosef, for the tribe of Menashe" (Bamidbar13:11)
Regarding Ephraim it is not written "For the tribe of Yosef, for the tribe of Ephraim". The Daat Zekainim explains, that here Yosef received his punishment for speaking an evil report about the brothers. It is written "the tribe of Yosef" next to the tribe of Menashe, since there came out from that tribe Gadi ben Susi who was one of those sent by Moshe to spy out the Land (who brought up an evil report on the land of Israel), and it isn't written "the tribe of Yosef" next to the tribe of Ephraim, since there came out from that tribe Yehoshua bin Nun, who did not agree with the advice of the spies (i.e., the 10 spies who spoke an evil report on the land of Israel).
"And you will look upon the land, what is it?" (Bamidbar 13:18)
3 times in the Torah it is written "And you will look", to hint about the statement (in Ethics of the Fathers, Chapter 3, first Mishna) "Know from where you came, and to where you are going, and before Whom in the future you will give a judgment and accounting":
1) "And you will look upon the birth-stool" (Shemot 1:16, regarding the order that Pharoah gave to the midwives), hints about the phrase: "from where you came".
2) "And you will look upon the Land, what is it?" (Bamidbar 13:18, regarding Moshe's instructions to the spies), hints about the phrase: "to where you are going".
3) "And you will look upon it and remember all the Mitzvot of Hashem" (Bamidbar 15:39, regarding the Mitzvah of Tzitzit), hints about the about the phrase: "and before Whom in the future you will give a judgment and accounting".
The Holy Ari says, that the bringing of the first fruits is an atonement for the sin of the spies.
Rabbi Menachem Zambe ztz"l explains, for this reason it is written in the Mishna, "One who goes down into his field and sees a grape cluster which is a first fruit, a pomegranate which is a first fruit, a fig which is a first fruit, ties upon it a band, etc." In truth, for all of the seven kinds (for which the Land of Israel is praised) it is required to bring first fruits from them, but the Tanna in the Mishna emphasized these particular kinds, because it was these particular kinds of fruits that were taken by the spies, and in this way we repair the spiritual damage caused by that sin.
The spies went on the 29th of Sivan and returned on the 8th of Av.
On the night after that, they (all the people who believed the evil report of the spies) wept. Hashem said, you cried for nothing, I will fix for you a weeping for the generations, and this is the day of the destruction of our Temple on Tisha B'av.
The punishment of the spies.
The punishment of the spies was, that their tongues stretched out until their navels, and there were worms coming out of their tongues until their navels, and they were suffering like that until the 17th of Elul, and that day is their Yahrzheit; so it is written in the Shulchan Aruch, Siman 580. The Bait Yosef asks, why was the day of the death of the spies counted among the fast days for Tzaddikim (righteous people)? Isn't it written that "when evil people perish there is rejoicing song"? However, they probably repented, but did not merit to have their repentance accepted.
"The beginnnings of your kneadings you shall raise up a loaf as a portion" (Bamidbar 15:20)
The word for kneading in Hebrew is "arisa" , which can also be understood as "bed". Immediately when you get up in the morning from the bed, it is necessary to begin serving Hashem, and from that you will have a lot of success during the rest of the day. (from Mayana Shel Torah)
"The beginnings of your kneadings..." (Bamidbar 15:20)
There are people that say that at the time of their old age, then they will have free time to serve Hashem. And that is what the meaning of the words "the beginnings of your kneadings" refers to: during your youth, immediately serve Hashem, and don't wait for a later time. "Don't say that when I will have free time I will learn, for perhaps you won't ever be free". (from Mayana Shel Torah)
"On the corners of their garments" (Bamidbar 15:38)
And why did it command to put the Tzitzit on the corners of the garment? It says in the Midrash and is brought by Rashi, this is in order to recall for us the goodness that the Holy One Blessed Be He did for them in the time that they went out from Egypt, for it is said "And I carried you eagles' wings" (Shemot 15:4). (Note: The Hebrew word for corners and wings, which is "Kanfei", appears in both of these verses.) And why does a Tallit of 4 corners require Tzitzit, and not one with 6, or 5, or 3? This is in parallel to the 4 languages of redemption which were stated in Egypt: "and I will bring you out", "and I will deliver you", "and I will redeem you", "and I will take you" (Shemot 6:6-7) The torquoise wool is becasue of the plague of the first-born which was at night, because torquoise wool is simlar to the color of the sky when it is darkened at night. The 8 threads correspond to the 8 days that passed from the slaughtering of the Passover offering until the splitting of the Reed Sea.
Tzitzit.
The word Tzitzit has the Gematria (numerical value) of 600, and has in it 8 strings and 5 knots, together adding up to the number 613 (the number of Mitzvot in the Torah)
Tzitzit.
The Gr"a z"l wept before his death. His students said to him, behold, you have been serving Hashem all the days of your life, so why do you need to weep? Certainly you will merit the World to Come. He said to them, that he is crying because he is going away from such a world as this, in which it is possible to merit for a small amount of money, to fulfill the Mitzvah of Tzitzit which is weighed against the whole, entire Torah. (Note: see preceding paragraph, which shows how the Tzitzit stand for all 613 Mitzvot.) And there (in the World to Come) it is already impossible to fulfill this great Mitzvah.
The Torah Portion of Shelach has 119 verses. Haftora: "Vayishlach Yehoshua" (Yehoshu 2)
May you all have a light-filled and happy Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom.
L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben R' Chaim ztz"l, Nilkach L'Bait Olamo Yud Gimmel Tishrei 5772
The Torah Portion of Beha'alotcha
Why was the passage about the Menorah placed after the passage about the Princes? Because when Aharon saw the inauguration of the Princes he felt mentally weakened because neither he nor his tribe participated in it. Then the Holy One Blessed Be He said to him, by your life "yours is greater than theirs, because you light and prepare the candles" (from Rashi) The Ramban says that this comes to hint to us that the Chashmonaim will be descended from him, and they will establish the Mitzvah of lighting the candles of Chanukah, and that is what is meant by "yours is greater than theirs".
Rashi says "yours is greater than theirs because you light and prepare the candles".
It has been asked, didn't it need to say "because you prepare and light", since the preparation of the candles is before the lighting? Another question is, how did the Holy One Blessed Be comfort him by saying that, so that afterwards he no longer felt mentally weakened? The answer is, that there are rare Mitzvot such as the redemption of a first-born mule, and the like, and that when people do those Mitzvot they feel great enthusiasm, because they are not frequently performed, but for a Mitzvah which is performed on a regular basis there is not so much enthusiasm. And this is what the Holy One Blessed Be He intended when He said to him "yours is greater than theirs": that you will light the Menorah regularly, and even so it will be with great enthusiasm. Therefore it is written "light and prepare" because that indicates the continuity "light and prepare, light and prepare" without stopping. (from Kol Yehuda)
"Toward the face of the Menorah they will cast light" (Bamidbar 8:2)
It is written in the Zohar, that the face of a man is similar to the Menorah. The 6 branches correspond to the 2 ears, the 2 eyes, the 2 nostrils, and the mouth, which is most important, corresponds to the "face of the Menorah" (Bamidbar 8:2). One needs to sanctify all of these parts of one's face, and then he will cast light upon the Torah with great success, and that is what is meant by the verse: "towards the face of the Menorah they will cast light" (Bamidbar 8:2)
"But a man who is pure and was not on the road" (Bamidbar 9:13)
There are those who explain, that if someone wants to be pure, then he should not be on the road, he should not wander around outside and he should guard his eyes.
"According to the word of Hashem they would camp, and according to the word of Hashem they would journey" (Bamidbar 9:23)
The Chida says, that we always need to mention the name of Hashem, at every place and in every matter that we turn to: Baruch Hashem (Bless Hashem), May Hashem be merciful, If Hashem wills it, etc., and we learn this from the verse: "according to the word of Hashem they would camp, and according to the word of Hashem they would journey" (Bamidbar 9:23)
"And the man Moshe was very humble, more than any other person" (Bamidbar 12:3)
It has been asked, why isn't this written in the Torah Portion of Shemot, because also there the humility of Moshe is shown when he said "Who am I" (Shemot 3:11), "I am not a man of words" (Shemot 4:10), and "Please send by the hand of whomever you will send" (Shemot 4:13)? The explanation is that here in this passage, his humility is shown after they hurt him when they said about him "that he had taken a Cushite woman" (Bamidbar 12:1). This is a greater proof of his humility.
Moshe prayed for Miriam "Please G-d, heal her now" (Bamidbar 12:13)
In this verse the Hebrew word "Na" appears twice. Why? The Daat Zekainim says the translation into Aramaic explains the first "Na" as a language of request ("Please"), and the second "Na" is translated as "now". There are those that explain that a request which includes the word "Na" two times is a great Segula (that is, it is very effective method) for a prayer to be accepted. The word "Na" also occurs twice in the prayer "Please Hashem Save Now" (Tehillim 118:25, which we say during the Hallel).
The Sages say that four categories (of sinners) don't receive the face of the Shechina (Divine Presence).
These have the initial letters of Chashmal (the Hebrew letters Chet Shin Mem Lamed). Chet stands for Chaneifim (flatterers), Shin stands for Shakranim (liars), Mem stands for Mesaprai Lashon Hara (speakers of Lashon Hara - derogatory speech), and Lamed stands for Laitzanim (scoffers). The Gr"a says that these four groups of sinners are the four legs of the throne of the chariot of impurity. And the Raishit Chachma writes, that he heard in the name of the Kabbalists that corresponding to these four groups of sinners are the four impure animals, the Shafan (rock badger) , the Arnevet (rabbit), the Gamal (camel), and the Chazir (pig). And in correspondence to these there are four Klipot (husks of impurity) in the upper realms to raise up the act of the sinner and punish him in Gehinnom. In addition he wrote that he heard that someone who sinned and was a member of one of the aforementioned four categories, in the future he will be reincarnated as one of these four impure animals, each one in the animal that is hinted at and related to the particular type of sin which he did.
The Torah Portion of Beha'alotcha has 136 verses, 3 positive commandments and 2 negative commandments. Haftora: "Rani v'simchi" (Zecharia 2)
May you all have a light-filled and happy Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom.
L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben R' Chaim ztz"l, Nilkach L'Bait Olamo Yud Gimmel Tishrei 5772
The Torah Portion of Naso
The Torah Portion of Naso is usually read immediately after the holiday of Shavuot, and it is the longest portion in terms of the number of its verses, to hint to us that after receiving the Torah we need to increase in learning and to strengthen ourselves. Also the Midrashic explanations, as well as the explanations in the Zohar on this Torah Portion, are very extensive.
The Torah Portion of Naso is the longest Torah Portion and has 176 verses.
And also in the book of Psalms, the longest chapter is chapter 119 which has in it 176 verses. In addition, the longest tractate is Baba Batra, and it has 176 pages. In the name of the Gr"a it is stated that in truth the tractate of Baba Batra is the longest in terms of the number of pages which it has; however, the tractate of Berachot is the longest one in terms of the number of words.
"Count the number of the sons of Gershon, also them" (Bamidbar 4:22).
The Ohr HaChama explains, why does it say "also them"? The sons of Levi in the order of their birth are Gershon, Kehat, and Merari, that is, Gershon is before Kehat. But in the order of their carrying of components of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), the carrying done by the sons of Kehat is written about in the Torah Portion of Bamidbar - before the carrying done by the sons of Gershon, because the items carried by Kehat were the most holy items. So in order to not cause us to err and say that the sons of Gershon were excluded from the general class (of sons of Levi who were honored by being given the task of carrying components of the Tabernacle), it was therefore written "also them", because also they were highly honored.
"And they shall confess their sin" (Bamidbar 5:7)
The law of Vidui (confession) is written in the context of stealing from a convert: "And they shall confess their sin" (Bamidbar 5:7). And why was this written in the context of stealing from a convert? The reason is that every sin is a type of theft, because Hashem created man to do good acts, and if so when he sins he is stealing from the Holy One Blessed Be He. (from the Sefat Emet)
"To take a nazarite vow" (Bamidbar 6:2).
Rashi explains that the reason the passage about the Sotah is adjacent to the passage about the Nazir is to tell you that everyone that sees a Sotah in her disgrace should take upon himself to abstain from wine. And this presents a difficulty, because a Nazir needs to bring a sacrifice for causing himself to abstain from wine, as the Rabbis said, that he sinned against his soul by causing himself suffering by abstaining from wine. And the explanation is, that what is meant by saying that someone who sees a Sotah should abstain from wine is that he should not drink a lot to the point of drunkenness. (from the Riv"a)
"And the first days shall fall aside" (Bamidbar 6:12)
This is a hint, to every person who is trying to bring himself closer to Hashem, and the evil inclination puts him down, by saying "you are a sinner and doing repentance will not be effective". The verse says "And the first days shall fall aside" (Bamidbar 6:12); he should not think about what occurred in the past, but rather should start anew, and strengthen himself. And so we say in one of the prayers: "from now until eternity"; that the main point is that we need to strengthen ourselves so that "from now until eternity" we will behave correctly. (from Mussar teachers)
"And I will bless them" (Bamidbar 6:27)
In the blessing given by the Kohanim, it is not specified in the verse with what Hashem will bless us, etc. (The Sages explained, that "May He bless you" is with wealth, "And may He guard you", is from damaging influences, etc., but these are not stated explicitly in the Torah.) The Gaon Rav Yosef Chaim Zonenfeld ztz"l says, that the Kohen himself doesn't know what is lacking for each individual, so it would be possible for him to bless someone with wealth and it wouldn't be good for him to have that, because "there is wealth which is guarded for its owner to his detriment". The Holy One Blessed Be He said to the Kohen "You will say 'May He bless you', etc.", "And I will bless them" (Bamidbar 6:27). I will bless each and every one with what is beneficial for him.
The Torah Portion of Naso has 176 verses, 7 positive commandments and 11 negative commandments. Haftora: "Vayihi ish achad m'tzara" (Shoftim 13)
May you all have a light-filled and happy Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom.
L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben R' Chaim ztz"l, Nilkach L'Bait Olamo Yud Gimmel Tishrei 5772
The Torah Portion of Bamidbar
The Chumash of Bamidbar is also called the Chumash of Counting (i.e. similar to the idea of calling it the Book of Numbers in English) because within it is written the number of all of the children of Israel.
"Their counted ones, for the tribe of Dan: 62,700" (Bamidbar 1:39)
The Chafetz Chaim says that when we read in the Torah Portion of Vayigash "the sons of Dan, Chushim" (Bereisheet 46:23) , we pity him because he had only one son, but in the Torah Portion of Bamidbar we see that the tribe of Dan had the largest number after the tribe of Yehudah, and from this we see the great importance of one soul in Israel.
"Their counted ones for the tribe of Dan: 62,700" (Bamidbar 1:39)
It is said that Dan would always request from his father to pray for him, and Binyamin, who had 10 sons, did not request that he pray for him. After the event of the Pilegesh B'givah there remained in the tribe of Binyamin only 600 people, and from this we see that a person always needs to pray.
"As they camped so they traveled". (Bamidbar 2:17)
The Ramchal says, there are people who when they are in their homes act strictly with all the Jewish laws and when they go outside on a journey they take matters lightly. And the opposite case is also true, there are people that when they are at home, take matters lightly, but outside of their houses they act strictly in front of the eyes of the public to show others that they are righteous. Therefore the verse says, "as they camped so they traveled", that one should behave with the same behavior whether at home or outside.
Haftora:
"And the number of the children of Israel will be like the sands at the sea". (Hoshea 2:1)
And in the Torah it is said also "like the stars of the heavens". Stars of a necessity are separated one from the other because every star is a world unto itself, and if G-d forbid one star would crash into another, entire worlds would be destroyed. In contrast to this, the sand at the sea is not able to exist unless every grain of sand attaches itself to another one, for each grain by itself would be washed away by the waves of the sea and made to vanish. But the gathering together of all the grains of sand into one body generates a powerful opposing force to the waves of the sea. Similarly for the children of Israel: if each one of them is like a complete world in and of himself, similar to the "stars of the heavens", on the other hand, they don't have any existence except when they are united together like the sand on the shore of the sea (Mayana Shel Torah - from one of the great Mussar sages).
Chag Hashavuot:
There are those who call the Shabbat before Shavuot "Shabbat Derech Eretz", the Shabbat of courtesy, because Derech Eretz (courtesy) comes before the Torah. And there are those who call it Shabbat Kallah, the Shabbat of the Bride.
The Torah was given in Sivan
The Torah was given in the month of Sivan. The Hebrew letters that spell "Sivan" are Samech, Yud, Vuv, Nun. These letters are Roshei Teivot (initial letters), and have significance, as follows:
Samech has the numerical value of 60. 60 groups of 10,000 = 600,000 men stood there at the occasion of receiving the Torah
Yud has the numerical value of 10. That refers to the 10 commandments.
Vuv has the numerical value of 6. Shavuot is celebrated on the 6th of Sivan.
Nun has the numerical value of 50. We count 50 days until the receiving of the Torah. (That is, we count 49 days during Sefirat Haomer, and on the 50th day is the receiving of the Torah.)
"Moshe received the Torah from Sinai" (Avot 1:1)
Why was it not written "at Sinai"? The Bartenura explains that the intention is, from the One who was revealed at Sinai, and that is the Holy One Blessed Be He. The Tiferet Yisrael explains that the word "Sinai" implies humility, since that mountain was lower than the other mountains, and that is why is says "from Sinai"; one needs to learn from Moshe who was humble and then he will have great success in the Torah. The Sages say that the mountain of Moriah was removed from its place and came to the mountain of Sinai, in order that the Torah would be given on it, for it was worthy that the Torah should be given on the place where Yitzchak was bound (at the Akeidah).
"And they journeyed from Rephidim...and they encamped in the desert and Israel encamped there..." (Shemot 19:2)
The Ohr HaChaim writes that there are 3 ways to succeed in the Torah (as hinted at by the above verse): 1) "And they journeyed from Rephidim", first one needs to remove himself from the desires of this world and from laziness (from things which weaken him -- since the place name Rephidim has the same root letters as the Hebrew word for weakness). 2) And afterwards "they encamped in the desert" -- one needs to make himself like a desert, abandoning his selfishness and giving in to other people, and not being overbearing toward other people. 3) And afterwards "Israel encamped there" -- one needs to be in unison with all of Israel like one person with one heart.
Megillat Ruth:
Ruth, the Moabite woman, lived until Shlomo Hamelech as it was written "and Shlomo put a chair for the mother of the king", and that chair was for Ruth. Shmuel the prophet wrote Megillat Ruth in order to tell of the ancestry of David. And the reasons we read Megillat Ruth on Shavuot are : 1) Because David was born on Shavuot and died on Shavuot. 2) Because the Torah is not given except through suffering and poverty, and that is similar to what Naomi and Ruth experienced. 3) In order to strengthen the Oral Torah, since it is written in the Torah "An Ammonite and a Moabite should not come into the congregration of Hashem", and the Sages said "An Ammonite man and not an Ammonite woman, A Moabite man and not a Moabite woman", and that is an example of Oral Torah. And it is from this which we learned in the Oral Torah that Ruth the Moabite woman was permitted to get married to Boaz.
The Name Ruth
The name Ruth has the Gematria (numerical value of its Hebrew letters) of 606, and if we add to that the 7 Mitzvot of the children of Noach which she was required to fulfill prior to conversion, together we come up with "Taryag" (that is, 613) which is the number of Mitzvot we have in the Torah. In the Midrash Tanhuma for the Portion of Vayelech it is written that the name "Ruth" is because she had 606 Mitzvot added to her by means of her conversion. And in the Gemarah Brachot 6b, it is written that the name Ruth is related to the Hebrew word for quenching thirst, because she merited that David descended from her, and he quenched the thirst of the Holy One Blessed Be He with songs and praises (as written by him in the Book of Tehillim). And the Gr"a explains that certainly the main point of the name "Ruth" is that she had 606 Mitzvot added to her by means of her conversion, but one could question why she shouldn't have been called Tur (which also has the Gematria of 606). And on this the answer was given that David descended from her and he quenched the thirst of the Holy One Blessed Be He with songs, and therefore she was called Ruth and not Tur.
The Seven Mitzvot of Bnai Noach (the children of Noach)
The Seven Mitzvot of the children of Noach are, according to the order of the Hebrew alphabet:
1. Aleph - Aiver Min haChai, not to eat a limb from a living animal.
2. Beit - Birkat Hashem, not to curse Hashem.
3. Gimel - Gezel, not to steal.
4. Dalet - Dinim, to establish a court system for enforcing the laws.
5. Hey - Hariga, not to kill.
6. Vuv - V'avoda Zara - not to worship idols.
7. Zayin - Z'nut - not to have illicit relations.
"Who is that young woman?... She is a young Moabite woman" (Megillat Ruth 2:6)
Boaz asked: "Who is that young woman?" (Megillat Ruth 2:5). And the young man answered him "She is a young Moabite woman" (Megillat Ruth 2:6), because he wanted to embarrass her. Boaz said to her, "Have you not heard, my daughter...." (Megillat Ruth 2:8) --- they are embarrassing you, and you are among those who receive insults and don't insult others, who hear their disgrace and don't answer, therefore I call you "my daughter", a term of importance, for now you are more important to me.
"The name of the man that I did (something) for today, is Boaz" (Megillat Ruth 2:19)
This presents a difficulty, for it should have said "The name of the man that did (something) for me", because Boaz did her a favor. But rather, we learn from this, that moreso than the good that the householder does for the poor person, the poor person does good for the householder. (from the Sages)
"Better for me is the Torah of Your mouth than thousands of gold and silver" (Tehillim 119:72)
The Sages say that after David killed Goliath, everyone threw him lots of silver and gold. And Doeg the Edomite who hated David came and said to them, why are you honoring him, isn't he from Ruth the Moabite and it's forbidden for him to come into the congregation of Hashem? Afterwards the Sanhedrin came and said that thus it has been received from Shmuel HaRamati, "A male Amonite and not a female Amonite..." And that is what David meant when he said "Better for me is the Torah of Your mouth from thousands of gold and silver" (Tehillim 119:72), since the Torah Shel Baal Peh (the Oral Torah) saved me from the words of Doeg who wanted to embarrass me because I received silver and gold.
The Seven Rabbinic Mitzvot
The seven Rabbinic Mitzvot are: 1. Hallel, 2. the Holiday of Purim, 3. Eruvin, 4. Blessings over enjoyment, 5. Lighting the Shabbat Candle, 6. the Holiday of Chanukah, 7. Netilat Yadayim (ritual handwashing). These can be remembered by means of Roshei Teivot (initial letters) based on the letters Shin, Mem, Ayin, Bait, Nun, Yud, which spell the words "Sh'ma B'ni" (which means "Hear my son"), as follows:
Shin - is the first letter of Shevach (praise) which refers to Hallel.
Mem - is the first letter of Megilla, which refers to Purim.
Ayin - is the first letter of Eruvin.
Beit - is the first letter of Birkat Hanehenin, Blessings over enjoyment.
Nun - is the first letter of Nair (Candle), for the Candle of Shabbat and Chanukah.
Yud - is the first letter of Yadayim, for Netilat Yadayim (ritual handwashing).
The Torah Portion of Bamidbar has 159 verses. Haftora: "V'haya mispar yisrael" (Hoshea 2)
Chag HaShavuot:
Two Torah Scrolls are taken out. In the first, 5 men are called for reading in the Torah Portion of Yitro, "Bachodesh hashlishi". In the second, the Maftir is read from the Torah Portion of Pinchas, "Uvayom habikurim". Haftora: "Vayehi beshloshim shana" (Yechezkel 1) until "Kol midabair", then skipping to Chapter 12 verse 3, "V'tizaeini ruach" until "mim'komo".
May you all have a light-filled and happy Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom.
May you all have a light-filled and happy Yom Tov. Good Yom Tov.
L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben R' Chaim ztz"l, Nilkach L'Bait Olamo Yud Gimmel Tishrei 5772
