Parashat Terumah- HaShem Resides Inside

BS’’D

Parashat Terumah- HaShem Resides Inside

 8. And they shall make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell within them ח. וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם:

Parashat Terumah speaks about all the elements that come together to create the Mishkan. HaKadosh Barukh Hu instructs us on how to build the Aron Kodesh, the Menorah, the Shulhan with the Lehem HaPanim. We are told how to weave the beautiful fabrics of the Mishkan walls and how to build the Efod (Kohen HaGadol’s breastplate). We are instructed to build such a place for the Shekhina of HaShem to rest in it.

Wait, no. The pasuk says the Shekihna of HaShem will rest in them.

Them?

Says the Shelah HaKadosh, the verse does not say, ‘and I will dwell within it,’ but ‘and I will
dwell within them’ --within each and every one of them. When we build for ourselves a Mikdash, a sanctuary, we are really creating a place for HaKadosh Barukh Hu to rest within us, literally inside us.

The Midrah HaGadol explains that the materials donated for the Mishkan correspond to the components of the human being. ‘Gold’ is the soul; ‘silver,’ the body; ‘copper,’ the voice; ‘blue,’ the veins; ‘purple,’ the flesh; ‘red,’ the blood; ‘flax,’ the intestines; ‘goat hair,’ the hair; ‘ram skins dyed red,’ the skin of the face; ‘tachash skins,’ the scalp; ‘shittim wood,’ the bones; ‘oil for lighting,’ the eyes; ‘spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense,’ the nose, mouth and palate; ‘shoham stones and gemstones for setting,’ the kidneys and the heart.

Each and every person in Kelal Yisrael is a Mikdash in themselves. We take HaShem with us everywhere we go. To access HaShem, we don’t have to take ourselves all the way to a specific location or building to speak with Him or bond with Him, He very much resides inside us—if we allow Him in.

When we realize that our bodies house something so holy, we can ascertain that our actions will reflect this knowledge and awareness. If we have an exquisite bottle of wine, would we pour it into a plastic cup to drink? Certainly not! We would use our best glass to pour this wine into since we know we are putting something important inside. Likewise, we must sanctify ourselves because we are a receptacle of something so great and so holy, we are receptacles of HaShem’s presence.

Think to yourself. Am I deserving of the Master of the Universe to place part of Himself within me? Am I a kosher and complete Mikdash fitting for Ribono Shel Olam to dwell inside? Many of us would be too ashamed to admit the truth to ourselves. When we start thinking of ourselves as a mere vessel to contain Shekhinat HaShem Yitbarakh, we become humbled, we become holy, we become a true Mikdash.

HaShem is telling us, build a Mikdash and I, in all My Honor and all My Glory will dwell within you, flesh and blood. THE KING OF THE UNIVERSE IS WILLING TO PLACE PART OF HIMSELF WITHIN YOU, IF ONLY YOU TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO BUILD THAT MIKDASH. If you make the decision to make yourself holy, to elevate yourself, HaKadosh Barukh Hu is already there waiting to come inside. If we open ourselves up, He guarantees that He is right there to meet us. HASHEM’S HAND IS STRETCHED OUT, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TAKE IT!

Be’Ezrat HaShem, may we all develop the awareness that we have inside us a helek Elokit mi’Ma’al, a piece of HaShem from Above, and the more we open ourselves to let HaShem in, the greater a Mikdash we can become. The pasuk says ‘Pit’hu Li Petach Ke’Hudo Shel Mahat, Va'ani Eftakh Lakh Petah ke'Ulam Shel Melech,’ If you open a hole the size of the eye of a needle, then I will enlarge that hole to the size of a kings palace. All we have to do it take just a little bit of initiative and HaShem will surely help us do the rest. Be’Ezrat HaShem may we all have the koah to do so!

Shabbat Shalom uMevorakh!!!!

Ariella Samimi

Parashat Mishpatim-Not So Small After All….

BS’’D

Parashat Mishpatim

Not So Small After All….

Rules of the City of New York - Title 9
Procurement Policy Board Rules

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   §1-01  Use of Language in These Rules.

   (a)  Singular-plural and gender rules. In these Rules, words in the singular number include the plural and those in the plural include the singular. (Yes, you a reading a Devar Torah right now….). Words of a particular gender include any gender and the neuter. When the sense so indicates, words of the neuter gender refer to any gender.

   (b)  Titles. (if you’re bored already, skip the next two points….)The titles to chapters, sections, subdivisions, and paragraphs, or other titles contained in these Rules, are for convenience and reference only and in no way define, describe, extend, or limit the scope or intent of the substantive provision to which the title applies unless the context so requires.

   (c)  Listing(s) not indicative of order of preference. Unless otherwise stated, a listing of factors, criteria, or subjects in these Rules does not constitute an order of preference. (Okay, I’m not sure how you were physically able to read this far….but keep going….)

   (d)  Meanings. The words defined in this section shall have the meanings set forth below whenever they appear in these Rules unless the context in which they are used clearly requires a different meaning, or a different definition is prescribed for a particular provision.

Blah, blah, blah....BORING!

Nobody likes reading boring instructions. Who would want to read rule, after rule, after rule? I don’t know about you, but that’s certainly not what I do on my free time. Yet, Parashat Mishpatim is full of laws and commandments that we are meant to read and follow to its precise detail. How can we keep them if we can barely even read through them once? Sometimes I’m just not in the mood to read all about the sale of slaves or about theft of sheep and oxen….

Even if these laws seem somewhat ‘dry’ to us, if we realized how important it is to keep each and every single one to its finest detail, we would even memorize the entire Parasha! What we have to understand is that the missvot we are given aren’t as simple as just reward and punishment. We might say to our selves So big deal, I won’t bother with the trivial little missvot in this Parasha, like feeding animal carcasses to the dogs if it’s not kosher to eat, and I’ll face the consequent punishment for it, I’ll live… But if we really knew what a big deal each and every little sin is, and alternately, how powerful each and every missva we do is, we would be much more careful in the manner in which we behave.

When we were fortunate enough to have a Beit Mikdash, when a person sinned just one ‘tiny’ sin, they were obligated to bring an entire animal sacrifice known as a korban to make up for it. Since we use the concept of korban so often, maybe we can forget what a big deal it really is, it’s an entire procedure. Just think about it. One ‘little’ sin like lashon hara and you had to take a high quality cow or ox from your own personal possesion, or go out and buy one, wake up early one morning and trek across Eres Yisrael to the Beit HaMikdash with this massive animal and wait in line along with thousands of other people (and their massive cows) until it would finally be your turn at the mizbeah (the altar) if you were lucky enough to be taken that day (if you weren’t, you would have to find accommodations for the night for you….and your cow). So you finally make it to the towering mizbeah. Now the process can finally begin. First, the animal for the korban is brought and must be checked for blemishes (a process known as hakravah), then something known as semikhah takes place, where the owner of the korban places his hands on the head of the animal and presses down with all of his strength and begins to confess his sins. Picture yourself doing this. It is not an easy thing to do; not physically and not emotionally. Just imagine yourself with you hands on a cows head pushing with all your might, screaming out with regret and tears what you have down wrong. You are trying to concentrate deeply and, meanwhile, the animal is moving and kicking, and making wild noises. A few minutes later, this large cow is held down so it could be slaughtered because of your sin, and is put to death (shehitah). Picture to yourself this animal being decapitated in front of your very eyes. Now blood starts to flow out everywhere, and part of it is received in a vessel to be sanctified (a process known as kabalah), while the rest is left to flow. The Kohen then carries this blood (halakhah) and then applies and sprinkles it in a ritual way(zerikah) and the rest of the animal parts are burnt on the altar as a korban/sacrifice to HaKadosh Barukh Hu (haktarah), while some other parts are left to be eaten (akhilah). Imagine the scent of burning flesh, of an animal turned to ashes before our eyes. What a humbling experience; it could have been us.

This entire procedure for one small sin. Does it seem small anymore? I don’t think so. Read the Parasha again. Would you dare even think about transgressing one of these ‘random’ or ‘unimportant’ missvot? I don’t think so. We do not have any concept of how profound the effects of our missvot and aveirot are. It is not just about mechanically doing something we don’t understand; there are deep spiritual implications behind every single one of our actions. If we do something even small wrong, look at the entire procedure we must go through in order to correct it. This is no small matter.

The effects of our actions are far-reaching. Be’ezrat HaShem after 120 years, we will be judged based on the ‘Hok u’Mishpat’ we have accomplished in our lives. Hok refers to the missvot and aveirot we have done and their respective reward and punishment. So what would Mishpat possibly mean? Hok pretty much seems to cover it all…

Mishpat refers to the impact we had on other people’s lives through our own personal actions. Mishpat is the far-reaching effect we had on other people when we had no idea that the ‘small’ missva we did had saved another Jew. Even the smallest action we take upon ourselves can have a profound effect on others. It is no coincidence that this Parasha is called Parashat Mishpatim. These seemingly unimportant laws become the basis for how we treat each other, for the effect we have on other people’s lives. This is why we must be extra careful with precisely these laws….

Rebbetzin Ginzberg offers a wonderful mashal to beautifully capture this concept. She explains to us that life is often like a play. When you are standing on stage, the light shines so strong on you that you cannot see the audience, and you assume nobody sees you. But this is actually the very moment that everybody is looking directly at you, the spotlight is on you! No matter how big or how small your line in the play, everybody is listening. And sometimes, it is precisely that one little line that twists the whole plot and changes the story.

Likewise, even the smallest thing that you do, you would be surprised who is paying attention, and you would be even more surprised how much you may have inspired them to grow. Most times we never even realize how much we can affect others; make sure the effect you have on those around you is a positive one.

Be’ezrat HaShem, may we all develop this awareness that even the smallest things we do can influence others greatly even when we do not know it, and that we should be positive role models for those around us. Now that we understand the power of a korban, today, when we don’t have a Beit Hamikdash and offer Tefillot in place of korbanot, let us realize what the strength of Tefillah is, and strive to daven with more strength and closeness to HaKadosh Barukh Hu, all to merit the coming of Mashiah where we can once again offer korbanot to HaShem Yitbarakh, Amen!

This Devar Torah is dedicated to each and every person who had a deep and profound effect on my own life by emulating the Ways of HaShem and did not even know it….

Shabbat Shalom uMevorakh!

Ariella Samimi

Parashat Yitro-Redefinition of Repetition

BS’’D

Parashat Yitro

Redefinition of Repetition

I don’t think there is one Jew in the world who has not heard of the Aseret HaDibrot, the Ten Commandments. Ask any of them and they will tell you something to the effect of it being a moral code which is the basis of the Torah we know.

Okay, so we’ll take a crash course on these ten statements, memorize them all and we’re good to go, perfect Jews, right?

Wrong.

Even the sage and scholar cannot be proficient in what the Aseret HaDibrot, and by extension, the entire Torah entails if they lack one thing: sensitivity. Without sensitivity, the Torah is powder in our hands; even if you collect grains and grains of information and mount them in your palm, it can all be blown away at once if there is no sensitivity acting as the liquid solution that will stick all the powder together.

Sounds nice but let’s give concrete applications.

It is known that towards the end of his life, Yisshak Avinu lost his ability to see. Why is that? Say the Hakhamim that the smoke from the sacrifices that Esav and his wives brought to foreign gods affected Yisshak Avinu’s eyes and caused him to lose his vision. This is a famous midrash. But wait a minute. Wasn’t Rivka Imenu there as well? The smoke didn’t reach her eyes?? Why is it that she didn’t lose her vision?!

Sefer Hinukh LeBanim answers this question as a HALAKHA. We must understand, Yisshak Avinu was brought up in a completely Kadosh environment, he was sensitive to things like idol worship and therefore it affected him greatly when he was exposed to it to a point where he even lost his eyesight. However, Rivka Imenu grew up in a home with Lavan as father, understandably not as Kadosh an environment. Rivka Imenu was therefore more tolerant to this idol worship and lost that special sensitivity that Yisshak Avinu had, and thus the smoke did not affect her.

In Parashat Yitro, Yitro offers Moshe Rabbenu advice so great that he had the zekhut of having an entire Parasha named after him. What was his advice? Yitro notices that for every single little legal problem, all of Benei Yisrael continuously come to Moshe Rabbenu to seek his council, and this became somewhat overbearing. Yitro suggests to appoint a court for smaller issues, then a step up for larger appeals, and others higher until only the issues that were unable to be solved would reach Moshe Rabbenu himself. What Yitro saw was a tolerance on the part of Benei Yisrael to such quarrels. People would really bring their friends to court for such trivial things?? It was not fair for Moshe Rabbenu to have to deal with this every moment of the day. Had Benei Yisrael been more sensitive to each other, they would keep the missvot more perfectly and these issues wouldn’t even exist in the first place.

Sometimes, we don’t realize how tolerant we become to impure and profane things. We might see an ad with an undressed person in it and even though we know not to look, it doesn’t really bother us that it is there. Other times we brush off a sentence of lashon hara spoken. Sometimes it doesn’t affect us so much if we missed minha that day. WHY SHOULD IT BE THIS WAY? The first time something like this happens, we become really affected and try very hard to maintain our Kedusha despite what just happened and begin to do teshuva for it. The second time too, and maybe even the third time, but by the fourth time, and the fifth, and the fiftieth, we have already become too tolerant to such things and it doesn’t even bother us anymore.

Just because something happens repetitively, it should not have to lose its effect. Rav Waus explains with such passion the phenomena of rain. Just for a second, pretend you have never seen rain before. Good. You look outside your window and all you see is literally millions and millions of little drops of water falling from the sky. What a wonder! Did you ever stop to think what an amazing event is taking place here? When it rains, not only do we ignore it, but we also complain about it! But just think about the beauty of what is happening. Just because we have seen rain so many times before, it shouldn’t have to lose its charm. Likewise, says Rav Waus, as well as Rav Avigdor Miller zt’’l, did you ever stop to consider the beauty of fruits? HaKadosh Barukh Hu could have created the world with dull, tasteless spheres hanging from trees for us to eat. But He didn’t! HaShem made fresh, succulent and vibrant fruits for us to enjoy with fragrance and color! Don’t you see the wonder in that? Just because we have eaten them so many times, it doesn’t take away for one second the value of a beautiful fruit in our hands.

If we look at life and the missvot with fresh new eyes, we will acquire a hibba, love for doing them and we will have no problems keeping the missvot. But if it feels like a chore, then what is the point?

This is why the advice of Yitro is the prelude to the Aseret HaDibrot. If we become tolerant to negative influences, the Torah can easily slip through our fingers. When we develop a passion and sensitivity for what HaKadosh Barukh Hu in his Mercy teaches us in His Torah HaKedosha, the Missvot will solidify in our hands. Then we can be sure that not only will we keep the Missvot impeccably, but that they will come from our own initiative and we won’t have to feel forced (I know, worst feeling). Not only that, we will never be susceptible to the negative influences around us either and we can live our lives in the highest levels of Kedusha!

Be’Ezrat HaShem Yitbarakh, may we all develop the sensitivity to realize the beauty of this world the more we experience it instead of become tolerant to its wonders. May we apply this sensitivity to the way we keep the missvot and further, to the way we treat the people around us (especially our family members whom we are so used to seeing but may sometimes forget to treat specially). In this zekhut, may we be zokhim to feel HaKadosh Barukh Hu with at least the same level of awe and love Benei Yisrael felt for Him at Matan Torah when we stood at Har Sinai.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom uMevorakh! Remember, just because Shabbat Kodesh comes every week, it does not for a second lose its Kedusha and inherent beauty!! Enjoy it like it’s new J

Ariella Samimi

Based on the teachings of the wonderful Rav Waus, Rav Avigdor Miller zt’’l, Rebbetzin Kalazan, Rebbetzin Marcus, Sefer Hinukh HaBanim

Parashat Beshalah-At the Scene With a Tambourine?

BS’’D

Parashat Beshalah

At the Scene With a Tambourine?

20. Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women came out after her with tambourines and with dances.

כ. וַתִּקַּח מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן אֶת הַתֹּף בְּיָדָהּ וַתֵּצֶאןָ כָל הַנָּשִׁים אַחֲרֶיהָ בְּתֻפִּים וּבִמְחֹלֹת:

Ask yourself, if for any reason you were forced to leave your home, never to return, what would be the first thing you took with yourself? A siddour? Food? A sentimental photograph? Your Blackberry? Surely you would take something of high value or use.

This Shabbat is called Shabbat Shirah in honor of this week’s Parashat Beshalah in which Shirat HaYam is beautifully relayed to us. As Benei Yisrael cross the Yam Souf in joy and elation, they dance and sing this very song exalting the name of HaShem. Moshe Rabbenu leads the men while Miriam HaNeviah leads the women with song and tambourine.

Just imagine to yourself this powerful and moving scene. Millions of Benei Yisrael are all standing together amidst an ocean’s worth of water pillared high around them, singing and dancing their hearts out to HaKadosh Barukh Hu. Imagine actually being part of the biggest miracle that ever took place in the world. One would not be able to hold back from singing and dancing in both awe and appreciation. Just picture Moshe Rabbenu reciting each verse and all of Benei Yisrael responding in a unified, booming voice. Imagine Miriam HaNeviah followed by all of the women in Kelal Yisrael with such vigor and enthusiasm playing their tambourines.

Wait, What?

Hold on one second. Something is wrong with the picture here. WHERE IN THE WORLD DID MIRIAM AND ALL OF THE WOMEN OF KELAL YISRAEL JUST PULL TAMBOURINES OUT FROM?? They were slaves in Egypt! What does a slave need a tambourine for? The last thing I would consider taking with me after being freed from a 210 year bondage is a tambourine. Benei Yisrael didn’t even have time to bring food; they took their dough with them as it was still in their kneading bowls! Who would even have it in their mind to bring such a trivial thing when they have a family to pack for including all of their neighbors’ gold and silver and even clothing and get ready to enter the wilderness. A tambourine isn’t going to ward off any desert snakes; maybe a spear would be more logical. So why did Miriam and the women of Kelal Yisrael even consider bringing musical instruments with them?

Rashi asks the same question. "Where did the tambourines come from? Why were they brought? The righteous women brought them from Egypt because they knew for sure that HaKadosh Barukh Hu would perform miracles in order to enable their escape, and songs and dances of praise would be their proper response." Look at the Emunah of these righteous women! These nashim sadkaniot were so confident that HaKadosh Barukh Hu would save them in the future that they prepared in advance tambourines and musical instruments so that they can truly praise Him from the bottom of their hearts. There was absolutely no doubt in their hearts that their salvation would come. In the middle of all their deep pain and suffering in Egypt, these righteous women sat there and prepared tambourines to sing to HaKadosh Barukh Hu in praise and thanks.

We must live our lives the same way. We must be so sure that Ribono Shel Olam will always send us a salvation to our suffering to the extent that even within our suffering we are preparing to praise HaShem for that moment when He saves us. Sometimes when we are so engrossed in our own anguish and affliction, we see no way out and begin to feel despondent. Has Ve’Shalom, it should never be this way! If from the beginning we believe that HaShem Yitbarakh will pull through for us and that he will catch us if we fall, we won’t even have the suffering in the first place. It all depends on the level of our Emunah in HaShem. Habakuk tells us that the foundation of the entire Yahadut is וצדיק באמונתו יחיה; that a Sadik lives and endures only through his Emunah. It is easy to look back and have Emunah that HaKadosh Barukh Hu has answered our tefillot, but to live our lives knowing steadfast that HaShem will surely work every detail of our lives out for us ahead of time is truly of its own caliber.

Be’Ezrat HaShem, may we all build our Emunah enough to the level where even amidst our hardships, we are able to prepare ourselves for the moment we can express praise and thanks, song and dance to Boreh Olam when He sends forth Yeshuot for us. May our lips always sing such songs and may our hearts always feel such levels of joy and devekut (connection) to HaShem Yitbarakh. May we always feel His presence in our lives on such a level and may we always have reason to sing and dance!

Shabbat Shalom uMevorakh! This Shabbat and every Shabbat Kodesh, Dance, Sing, Go Crazy for HaShem!!!

Ariella Samimi

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