Thoughts from Parshas Korach

Where to begin??? There's soooo much this week....

Nashim Daatan Kalos - I knew that would get your attention. While the gemara says this and I believe it to be true, it does NOT mean that women are in any way mentally inferior to men. It's just means that their "daas" is "lighter".
Why do people always focus on that statement in the gemara and not on the fact that women have "beena yesaira". Daas is one simple level of understand, beena is understanding on a much diffrent and deeper level. Women have deeper insight and greater understanding into things than men. This week's parsha brings proof to this.
Korach starts a whole revolt and has Dasan and Aviram on his side, together with On ben Peles. Yet, when the actual confrontation occurs, On is nowhere to be found. Chazal tell us that his wife argued with him and convinced him not to go and even devised a plan to keep him from going, even when they came to call on him. She literally saved his life, both in this world and the next. How and why did she see this? Why didn't/couldn't On see it for himself? The answer is "beena". Women are gifted with that extra level of understanding and insight that men simply cannot achieve.
I have experienced this in my own life as well. There was once a situation where my wife saved my job. She understood something that either I couldn't see or failed to realize. She forced me to do something about it and it literally prevented me from losing my job. I have spoken with numerous others who have had similar experiences. I would take the lighter daas and greater beena any day.

I was contemplating something the other day. This is a dvar torah very commonly given at sheva brachos and it dawned on me, Parshas Korach almost always comes out in June, the most popular month for weddings.... hmmmmmmmmmm... another "coincidence"???

The Esoteric Meaning of Numbers - Numerology 101

Who knows One? I know One. One is Hashem in the heaven and the earth.


A seemingly innocuous statement at first glance. However, if you look further you realize the depths of it. One is Hashem and nothing BUT Hashem is one.
One symbolizes uniqueness and unity. There is nothing on this earth that is unique or is perfectly united other than Hashem. When you hear an advertisement claiming that something is a one of a kind or a one day only sale, do you believe them? Of course not, because it's not possible in this world of ours.
The letter corresponding to the number one is the letter "aleph" whose gematria is one. What sound does the aleph have? None. It's silent because it's not pronounced and can't exist in this world. It's the same concept.
What does aleph mean? It can mean aluf, meaning champion, which makes sense being that it's the first letter of the aleph bet, or to teach. "l'aleph" means to teach or train. The gemara says "aleph bina", the first two letters, the "aleph" and "bet" are the beginnings of teaching.
We are taught that the first time in the torah that a word starts with a specific letter, that word defines the letter. The first word in the Torah that starts with the letter aleph is elokim.
If you look at the aleph, it's made up of a "vav" with a "yud" above it and a "yud" below it. The letter "yud" is one of the representations of Hashems name. This signifies Hashem in the heaven and the earth, with the "vav" (which is also part of Hashem's name) connecting the two. The gematria of two yuds and a vav = 2*10+6=26 which is the gematria of Hashems name.

Coincidences??? Clearly not......

Thoughts from Parshas Shelach

After the Meraglim came back and gave their report to the Bnei Yisrael, the Bnei Yisrael despair and spend the night crying and complaining to Moshe and Aharon why they took them out of Egypt to die in the desert.
The Torah tells us that Moshe and Aharon, and Yehoshua and Kalev react to the Bnei Yisrael's reaction in different ways. Moshe and Aharon "fall on their faces" in tefilla, because they hoped that there was still a way that they could salvage the situation. Yehoshua and Kalev "ripped their clothes" in mourning because they realized that the situation was hopeless.
How was it that Yehoshua and Kalev saw and realized what Moshe and Aharon didn't?
The answer that I heard given is that Yehoshua and Kalev had just returned from a stay in Eretz Yisrael, and they still had some of the kedusha inside them. As the gemara teaches us, "avira deretz yisrael machkima". Although Yehoshua and Kalev were definitely not on a higher madrega than Moshe and Aharon, at that moment, because of the time that they spent in Eretz Yisrael, they had greater clarity.
Good Shabbos!

The Esoteric Meaning of Numbers - Numerology 100

There are those who believe that numbers are just numbers. Then you have people like Pythagoras and others that believe that numbers are so much more. I totally ascribe to this second school of thought. I love numbers. I live numbers.
As it turns out, this is also the accepted opinion of our Jewish sages.

The following is based on shiurim by Rav Ari Bergmann and other bits of knowledge that I have gathered over the years:

The oldest sefer we have, is the Sefer Yetzira, which happens to be a kabbalistic sefer. The sefer was apparently written by Avraham Avinu, or it was possibly given by Hashem to Avraham Avinu. In either case, it's quite old.
The Sefer Yetzira writes that the world was created with 32 paths of wisdom. No coincidence that the number 32 is the gematria of lev/heart. In Parshas Breishis, when discussing the creation of the world, the word/name "elokim" is written 32 times.
What are these 32 paths of wisdom? The Sefer Yetzira answers that the 32 paths of wisdom, the 32 building blocks of the creation of the world, are the 10 numerical digits and the 22 letters of the hebrew language.
Kabbalists discuss and delve into the importance of the numbers and they included one of the most telling pieces into our Haggadah, namely, the "echad mee yodea". It seems like a strange place. Why in the Haggadah?
Any time there are repetitions of numbers, there is always an inherent connection between those numbers. The question is asked why were there ten makos? Hashem could have easily wiped out Mitzrayim with one. The Maharal gives a beautiful answer. He explains that Yetzias Mitzrayim, wasn't just about extrictaing the jews from Egypt. It was a re-creation of the world purely for the sake of the Jews and the Torah. The ten makos, perfectly correspond to the shutting down of the ten "maamoros" with which the world was created (yes, the aseres hadibros also ties in to these ten maamoros). He explains them all, but the easiest ones to understand are the maka of choshech, offsetting "yehi ohr" and makas bechoros offsetting "naaseh adam", etc. So, on Pesach night, when we discuss the genesis and recreation of the world for the jews, there is no more fitting time to discuss the numbers, the building blocks of the world, and how they apply to us.
As time goes on, I will try to go number by number and explain their importance, when possible combining it with its corresponding letter. I hope you enjoy!

Life - equation

Life is made up of 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to the 10%.

Thoughts from Parshas Behaaloscha

The parsha begins with Hashem commanding Moshe to speak to Aharon and teach him the laws of lighting the Menorah. The Torah then testifies in Aharon's merit that "kein asah Aharon". Aharon did exactly how he was told. Rashi even "expands" on this and says "melamed shelo 'sheena' " That this teaches us that Aharon didn't deviate at all from what he was told. Is it that shocking that Aharon did exactly as Hashem commanded? Secondly, what is it that Rashi is adding?
I heard a beautiful explanation.

The word 'sheena' normally means to deviate. It comes from the same shoresh as sheini, two or second. It makes sense. To deviate means to go down a separate, second or different path. (Lashon Hakodesh is such a beautiful language, but that's for another time.) However, here Rashi means that Aharon did not repeat (same shoresh). He lit the menorah every single day for almost forty years and each time he did it, he did it with the same excitement and fervor as the very first time.
I'm sure all guys remember the very first time they put on tefillin. How long did it take you then, and how long does it take you now?
It is encumbent upon us to do mitzvos with excitement, not just by rote and rut.

That is the lesson I hope to take from the parsha this week. Good Shabbos!

Napoleon

Napoleon was a short man who tried to conquer the world and failed but left behind so much that we have in our lives even 250 years later.
The concept of hiring relatives, a great long palindrome, a yummy cream filled dessert and perhaps my favorite to study..... an interesting complex.

Over the years I have worked with many people, skinny and fat, tall and short. It does amaze me how many short people that I have worked with have exhibited traits consistent with the napoleonic complex. Is it that so many short people act in this manner? or do I specifically notice it because they are short and make the connection?

Perhaps most importantly, what did they call this complex before Napoleon was on the scene? (I know, that's a takeoff on the "irony" that Lou Gehrig died of Lou Gehrig's disease, sorry)

Thoughts on Parshas Nasso

OK, fine, so I am three days late. Ten days late for my Israeli readers. I do apologize.
The mishna berura cites that one can be maavir sedra until Tuesday, so i can officially sneak this in. The message is so important, that I had to blog it.
There are so many messages to be learned out from Parshas Naso, including one really deep one about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and more. I want to focus on what I think is the main lesson of the shabbos (I may get into the others another time).
Every parsha has it's haftorah, and there is always a connection between the parsha and the haftorah. Sometimes it's more obvious, sometimes less so. Sometimes both.
The obvious connection this past week is that Shimshon was a nazir and the parsha teaches us the halachos of nazir. connection. simple.
I'd like to bring attention to a different connection with a strong message in both the parsha and the haftorah which is why I referred to it as the message of the shabbos not just the parsha.
We are taught that the Torah doesn't waste an extra letter. Yet, the Torah spends 72 precious pesukim (anyone who wants to count the letters, be my guest) describing the korbanos of the nesi'im that were all identical. The Torah felt it important to teach the lesson of how the nesi'im behaved, each one following the other's lead, not trying to outdo his fellow nasi (although I'm sure it was tempting) and setting an example for their individual shevatim and for all of klal yisrael.
Let's look at the haftorah, where the message is even stronger and clearer. The malach comes to Manoach's wife, Tzlelponis, and tell her that Shimshon will be a nazir. He proceeds to teach her all of the halachos of a nazir, no wine or grapes, no haircuts, no tumah, etc. She then tells over the story to her husband, Manoach, whose response is perplexing. He prays to Hashem, "please send us back the malach to tell us what we should do "lanaar" - to/for the boy. What's the question? The malach already explained everything to Tzlelponis. If he had a question about the halachos of nazir, what did he need the malach for? He could have just asked the gadol hador.
What makes it even more perplexing is that the navi tells us, that Hashem listened to Manoach's prayers and sent the malach.
To make matters worse, what does the malach tell Manoach? He says, do exactly as I described to your wife. Manoach is satisfied with this answer. ??? what's going on???
So I heard a beautiful answer. Manoach heard and understood what the malach told his wife the first time (btw, for all of you feminists out there, isn't it amazing that the malach appeared both times to Tzlelponis and not to Manoach?). His question wasn't what is a nazir. His question was, "how am I supposed to raise a nazir?" I am supposed to tell him, "oh, Shimshon, it's ok for me to cut my hair and eat grapes, but it's not ok for you"? How can I possibly raise my son that way? That was Manoach's question of the malach. What does the malach respond? "kol asher tzivisiha TIshmor" YOU, yes, you Manoach, you must do everything that I told her. Lead by example.
That appears to be the lesson of both the parsha and the haftorah. It's something that we hear all the time, but it's an important one and one that it can't hurt to hear again and again until we internalize it. We can't tell our children one thing and we ourselves do another. There's so much more on this, but this post is long enough as it is.

On a side note, 99% of the time, parshas naso comes out the shabbos after shavuous. there are numerous connections between the two.
For twenty five bonus points, what's the connection between this haftorah and megillas rus.

Anivus/Humility

The gemara at the end of mesechet sotah discusses certain character traits and whether or not they still existed in the time of the gemara. The suggestion comes up that "anava"/humility/modesty no longer existed after the death of Rav Yehuda Hanassi.
Rav Yoseif stood up and said no, you can't say that it no longer exists, "d'ica ana" which literally means, because there's still me. This sounds like a very contradictory statement, bordering even on a joke.
There are numerous answers. One is, that he didn't mean himself. "ana" in this case should not have been translated, it was a proper noun. He was referring to another amora whose name was "ana". I don't know about you, I think it's a "cute" answer, but it doesn't really do it for me.
Maybe we have to discuss what humility and modesty is. Maybe, most likely, we don't truly understand it.
The Torah tells us that Moshe Rabbeinu was the greatest anav ever. What does that mean? Did he think that he was anything less than the leader of klal yisrael?
Not a chance. He knew exactly who he was. He knew that he was the only who could speak to Hashem face to face.

OK, so my understanding now of anava is not being clueless to who and what you are, but simply put, not taking credit for it. Moshe knew he was the manhig and that there was nobody else like him, but he didn't feel he was worthy, due to anything that he himself did. He gave Hashem all of the credit. That's anava.
If Hashem gives us special talents, and He gives some to each and every one of us, it is a shame for us not to recognize and appreciate those gifts/talents. It would be a crime not to utilize them. The trick is that while using them, accepting the fact and knowing full well, that they are gifts from Hashem and not chas v'shalom the results of "kochi v'otzem yadi".
Rav Yoseif knew who he was and that he was the most modest person alive at that time, but he didn't feel it was his doing, and under normal circumstances he didn't go telling everyone about it. He only mentioned it when he did, to prevent the thought that it no longer existed.
May we all recognize the talents within ourselves and recognize them as the gifts that they are from Hashem and use them to praise His holy name. Good Shabbos!

Why???

B"H I have my health and my family is healthy.
B"H I have a good marriage and wonderful healthy children.
B"H I have a great job and a very good parnassa.
B"H I have lots of friends.
B"H I am not only well liked, but I am loved, and I know it.




So why am I soooooo down????

The Apprentice

Lee or Sean???

Sean or Lee???

Who will be the winner tonight??????

The answer is clear in my mind. The winner of the Apprentice will be.........
.
.
.
.

The Donald again, of course.

The man is a genius. In the first seasons, he would create these tasks to test the candidates and every item was a Trump item that he was plugging. It was great advertising. Now he has major companies, paying him, vying to have their corporate name mentioned on his program and all of the tasks revolve around those companies.

Whether Lee wins or Sean, Trump himself is the ultimate winner.

That being said, it would be fun to see the frum guy win. GO LEE!!!!!