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Tales
for the Shabbos Table
This week's double section begins with
the commandment of 'Shmita'.
This means that farmers in Israel can
work the land only six years in a row
and then must stop in the seventh 'Shmita' year.
Something like the commandment to rest
on the Shabbat; first we work six
days then on the seventh we rest.
But here it seems to be written in
the wrong order!
Our portion begins with G-d saying.
"When you come to the land that I gave
you, the land must rest for G-d." And then in the next
sentence it says;
"Six years you can plant you field and six years you
can work in your
vineyard and gather produce." !!
In other words, the seventh (Shmita)
year is written BEFORE the first six!
And in fact, if you look at Exodus
20:8, 9 you will find the same stange
thing in the Ten Commandments:
First it says, "Keep the Shabbat."
20:8
And THEN, "Six days toil and do
all your work." 20:9
Why does the Torah write them in the
opposite order that they occur?
Perhaps we can answer with these two
stories.
Once, about one hundred and fifty years
ago in Russia there lived a certain
once-rich Jew, let's call him Mr. Feld that had made his fortune
in the
fish business. But after a few bad business deals and a few
strokes of bad
luck before he knew it the poor fellow lost everything including
his house
and furniture.
His wife and children moved temporarily
to her parent's home while he spent
most of his time loitering around the synagogue.
No one had any solution for his problem;
he was too proud to accept
charity, not fit for manual labor and no one had enough money
to get him
back on his feet. So he just sat there and mourned.
It so happened that there were a few
Chabad Chassidim that occasionally
frequented that Synagogue and when they noticed what was happening
one of
them suggested that he travel to the Lubavitcher Rebbe (at
that time Rebbe
Menachem Mendel nicknamed the 'Tzemach Tzedik')
So our pauper made his way to Lubavitch
(with his last pennies) figuring
that it certainly couldn't hurt and maybe the Rebbe would
help.
And sure enough! The Rebbe told him,
"Go to Berlin and HaShem will help."
But he did not go to Berlin. As soon
as he thought about it he realized it
was foolish. First of all he had no money for travel or lodging.
Secondly,
he knew no one in Berlin, what would he do there? And third,
he didn't
really believe that this Rebbe had any idea about business
anyway. So he
returned home.
But as soon as the Chassidim there
heard what had happened they gathered
enough money to hold him over in Berlin for a few weeks plus
travel
expenses and put him on the train.
He arrived and immediatly found a cheap
hotel room and began to aimlessly
wander the streets, hoping for something, naturally gravitating
to the fish
stores but with no results. No one even spoke to him. He had
no money to
invest anyway. And, frankly, he was beggining to get really
depressed.
Another day passed, then another. People
were rushing and busily working
all around him while he just dragged dreamily around like
an old bum.
Several days later he was standing
before a fish store idly gazing in the
window when the owner came out and said to him in a gruff
German. "You
understand fish? Want to buy carp? I'll give it to you cheap;
one hundred
barrels for ten marks a barrel. Where do you live? I can have
it delivered
tomorrow, pay me on delivery. Pay me in a week if you want.
Maybe you can
get rid of them. I have nothing to do with them. What do you
say? Nu… come
have a look? What is your name?"
Mr. Feld snapped out of his reverie,
followed the German to the back room
of the store like a zombi, saw the barrels and started to
come alive. He
even opened one and had a look…. Finally he was doing
something.
The German took his hand and began
shaking it saying, 'Look, I'll give them
to you for nine marks a barrel. Just sign here and I'll have
them delivered
tomorrow afternoon. And here's your copy… I'll sign it
here. You sign this
one."
Mr. Feld, more from boredom than anything
else, signed, took the copy that
the German signed and left the store.
It really was quite an amazing coincidence.
Who knows, maybe this is why
the Rebbe sent him? If he could find way to get rid of these
fish, even
though he didn't have a penny to his name, he could make some
money. He
touched the bill of sale a few times just to be sure he wasn't
dreaming and
went to his hotel room.
At twelve o'clock the next afternoon
he heard knocking loudly on his door
and someone yelling, "Herr Feld? Halloo, Mr. Feld, are
you here?" He
figured it must be the delivery, the fish barrels are here.
He opened up and saw four men that
he immediately could see were fish
salesmen.
"Mr. Feld? Ahhh, our pleasure"
One of them stuck out his hand while the
others smiled and nodded warmly. "We understand you bought
a hundred
barrels from Heinz, you know … carp from Heinz's fish
store. Is that
right?"
Feld nodded yes.
Well, listen, there is no carp on the
market and we need that carp. We
wanted to buy from him but he said he already signed with
you. Here… we
will give ninety marks a barrel." He said as he pulled
out a large wad of
bills.
Feld was stunned.
"Okay, make it a hundred…
take a hundred marks a barrel" he said as he
nodded to the man standing next to him who produced the remaining
money.
He nodded, took the money and gave
them the bill that Heinz signed. They, then, produced their bill of purchace which he gladly signed
and beaming
with joy, they took turns shaking his hand and bid him goodbye.
Later that day he returned to the fish
store, paid the nine hundred Marks
to Heinz and returned home a rich man. The Rebbe's blessing
worked.
The second story is about Rebbe Boruch
of Mezibuz.
Chassidim would come to hear or even
just see Rabbi Boruch from all over
Russia. But it once occurred that a certain Chassid, who was
a wine
merchant, was in the middle of a business trip with a wagon
laden with
hundreds of bottles of wine that he had bought on credit when
suddenly he
got a great urge to travel to the Rebbe.
Some say it was because he suddenly
remembered a certain sin he had done,
others because he suddenly realized a certain character flaw
in himself. In
any case he unloaded his wagon at the first inn he passed,
gave the
innkeeper some money for the space it took and sped off in
his empty wagon
to Mezibuz.
He got there shortly before Shabbat
but when the Rebbe saw him for the
first time, called him over, asked him the reason for this
sudden visit and
heard what had happened he began insulting and shaming the
poor fellow in
loud tones for all to hear for several minutes.
And so it continued the entire Shabbat.
At every meal, when hundreds of
Chassidim were sitting together in joyous solemnity the Rebbe
would let
this Chassid have it in the most degrading terms. "Idiot!
Deformed fool!
Numbskull! Better you weren't born!! Etc." Needless to
say the Chassid was
embarrassed to the essence of his soul but the Rebbe didn't
let up.
Now, that Shabbat the Rebbe's in-law,
another great and holy Jew called
Rabbi Avraham of Chemilnik, was also there and he just couldn't
bear to see
what was happening.
"Rav Boruch," he leaned over
and said softly, this pains me deeply. Why are
you shaming that poor fellow, and don't you know what it says
in the Talmud
and the Zohar that one who embarrasses his fellow man in public
has no
place in heaven?! Rav Boruch, you are forfeiting your place
in the world to
come!!!"
"Of course I know that!"
Rabbi Boruch answered. "But I see that there are
thieves that want to rob all the wine that this fellow left
unattended
miles from here. The shame of my insults is in the place of
the pain he'll
have by becoming a pauper for the rest of his life……
"And I'm willing to loose my place
in heaven to save his money!"
This answers our questions. The Torah
precedes Shmita (and Shabbat) to the
six years (and six days) that it really follows to answer
a very difficult
question:
The Jewish people are very small in
number (and the religious ones even
smaller). The entire world seems to be against us; we are
surrounded and
outnumbered by hostile nations, religions and philosophies
a thousand to
one! How is it really possible to live a life completely according
to Torah
against such impossible odds and in such unfriendly environments?
Therefore the Torah tells us that the
FIRST thing on our mind should be the
Shmita and the Shabbat: First we must remember that G-d is
the boss. He
alone creates the entire universe every instant and He alone
controls
EVERYTHING that happens in it.
Like in the second story how Rabbi
Boruch did not care for himself but ONLY
about what HaShem wants. That is the power that has kept Judaism
alive
since Abraham, four thousand years ago.
But in case a person might come to
the mistaken conclusion that this world
is nothing more than a big obstacle and the main thing is
the spiritual
Shmita at the end, the Torah follows with 'working six years
(and six
days)' to tell us that the PURPOSE of this spiritual devotion
of Shmita
(and Shabbat) is only to have the proper attitude in order
to effect the WORLD.
As it was in our first story: the purpose
of listening to the Rebbe was to
be RICH … but in a holy way.
The main lesson to us then is: by listening
to the Lubavitcher Rebbe's
words and doing ALL we can to bring Moshiach, without caring
about
ourselves, soon we will all experience the greatest RICHNESS
possible: the
revelation of the true ONEness of the Creator, world peace,
brotherhood and
joy! With………
Moshiach NOW!!!
Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel
Torah Online: www.ohrtmimim.org/torah
Tales
for the Shabbos Table
In our day and age there are a lot
of Jews that still do not observe Torah and its commandments.
The beginnings of both of this weeks
two sections give several reasons why.
Firstly:
"B'har" means "at
The Mountain" referring to Mt. Sinai where the Torah
was FORCED on us: "G-d held Mount Sinai over the Jewish
Nation saying, "either accept the Torah or.....""
(Talmud Shabbat 88a. People don’t like to feel forced.
Secondly:
B'har is connected to ANTI-SEMITISM:
"Why was the mountain called Sinai? Because from the
moment the Torah was given, people began to 'hate' (Sina)
us" (Brachot 89b). Why be hated by everyone?
Thirdly:
B’chukosai implies "BLIND"
obedience. "Chuk" are the type of Torah laws that
make no sense at all, (like not eating Milk with meat).
Who needs to be a robot?
Finally:
The Torah totally avoids mentioning
heaven and only promises
material rewards: "If you walk in my statutes I will
give rain, plenty"
etc.
So we aren’t promised heaven, and anyone can see that
doing the commandments does not, unfortunately, bring riches.
Who wants to work for no reason?
To answer all these difficulties
here is a story:
When I first arrived in Israel over
25 years ago, before I got married, I learned in the Yeshiva
in Kfar Chabad for a year.
Now, everyone knows that Chabad encourages
outreach.
So early every Sunday morning I would
catch a long passenger train filled with Israeli soldiers
that stopped in Kfar Chabad, and put Tefillin on as many
passengers as possible, and then get off at the last stop
to catch the train back.
It so happened that early one Sunday
morning Rabbi Mendel Futerfass, the Head of the Yeshiva,
saw me rushing out the door and asked me where I was going.
Rav Mendel was over sixty years old,
very impressive looking and had recently been released from
over five years of hard labor in one of Stalin’s Siberian
prison camps.
When I told him I was going to put
Tefillin on soldiers in a train, without hesitating he said,
"I want to go too."
I figured he was just being nice
so I said, "Fine, Reb Mendel, G-d willing we’ll
go together some time, but now I’m in a hurry."
"Good!" he answered, "Let's
go!"
I was already late and it was a ten
minute run, but he just said (and kept yelling at me all
the way there) "You just run and don’t look back,
I’ll make it, just don’t look back!!"
So I half-heartedly ran and miraculously
I made it in time. But I figured that Rav Mendel didn’t
have a chance (he also had troubles with his legs so it
was hard for him to run).
The next thing I knew, he was pulling
himself up the steep steps after me into the coach, and
the train pulled out!
How he did it I never really figured
out, but needless to say he was really out of breath, and
as the train began moving he just motioned to me to give
him some Tefillin and begin without him. So I gave him one
of my four pairs, entered the first car and went to work.
The way it usually worked was that
at first a few people would politely refuse until someone
broke the ice and agreed, and then there would be a flood
of takers.
But this time I was in for a surprise.
As expected the first man said no,
as did the one sitting next to him.
But the third man, in a short, stocky,
middle-aged, balding, beady eyed, bull necked, mean-looking
fellow got angry...really angry.
In Israel there are a lot of people
that really hate Judaism and religious
Jews...and he was one of them.
His face became red like an apple,
and the veins stood out on his neck. He squinted his eyes
in hatred, leaned toward me to the edge of his seat, like
any instant he would spring, and began hissing a string
of menacing Israeli threats such as:
"T’oof MiKan Oh Ashbor
l’chaw et HaPartzuf!" (lit. Bug off or I’ll
break your face!) with appropriate Israeli gestures and
motions.
I took the hint, forced a smile,
and moved on.
Then someone in the middle of the
car wanted to put on Tefillin, then
another, and before I knew it all three pairs were in use.
Suddenly I remembered...Reb Mendel!
I had completely forgotten about
him. Certainly he had caught his breath by now and would
enter any minute. I had to save him from that bull-necked
monster! Who knows what he might say (or do!!).
I whipped around in time to see that
(Gevalt!) the worst was happening!The first two men had
refused him also, and Reb Mendel was beginning to lean over
to speak to....Him!
I tried to catch Reb Mendel’s
attention but to no avail.
"Our friend", reading a
newspaper, saw Rav Mendel from the corner of his eye and
began to twitch with rage.
Then one of the soldiers behind me
called out, "Nu, Rabbi, how do I take off the Tefillin!"
Then another, "Hallo! My turn, I want to put on!"
I quickly turned to them, removed
the Tefillin from one and put it on the other, when suddenly
the unmistakable high-pitched voice of Reb Mendel pierced
through the noise of the crowd:
"I love you! You are my brother!
Come, put on Tefillin! I love you!"
I shot a look over my shoulder and
saw that Reb Mendel was reaching over the first two men,
grabbing the arm of the amazed "beast" and was
preparing to slide Tefillin on it.
Again the soldiers called me back,
so I had to stop watching, and take care of the next set
of customers.
I finished as fast as I could, and
when I looked back toward where Reb Mendel was, I beheld
one of the most amazing sights I'd ever seen in my life:
The same fearsome "wild man"
that wanted to destroy me moments earlier was now rocking
slightly back and forth, reading the SHEMA from a small
page, with Tefillin on his arm and head. Reb Mendel was
looking lovingly at him with the most angelic look on his
face, like a mother hen at one of her chicks.
He had literally conquered him with
love.
Now we can begin to answer all the
problems we raised earlier.
True, we were forced at Mt. Sinai...but
we were forced with LOVE.
The Baal Shem Tov explained that
the word for "mountain" also implies LOVE.
So when it says that G-d held a Mountain over them, it really
means that He did something like what Reb Mendel did to
our passenger.
It’s also true, that with the
Torah came hatred toward the Jews. But that is because the
Torah is so GOOD. (And that is what our bull-necked friend
suddenly felt).
The hatred of the non-Jews comes
either from jealousy (no one but the Jews can even CLAIM
that G-d Himself gave them their Bible) or from pure evil
(they hate the Torah because it is GOOD; the source of blessing
and meaning
in the world).
But that shouldn’t obscure the
good of the Torah.
Thirdly, it’s true that the
word "Chuk" implies blind obedience. But that's
because it also means "Carved" and CONNECTED.
At Mt. Sinai G-d "Carved"
the commandments into the heart of every Jew. It doesn’t
make sense, but its true. It is a feeling of true "blind"
identity above understanding. And that is why our friend
on the train actually put on the Tefillin.
And finally, when a Jew finally feels
all these (love, goodness and
connection) he DOESN’T CARE ABOUT REWARDS, he wants
only to do HaShem’s will, and purify the world.
But really the Torah is hinting here
at the greatest reward possible...and it will be in this
material world; The arrival of Moshiach and the revelation
of the Oneness of G-d (in miniature that is what happened
to that fellow on the train) as we say thrice daily in Alenu:
"All the people on the earth, even the evil ones, will
recognize and know YOU."
And it all depends on us.
Moshiach NOW!!
Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad Israel
Tales
for the Shabbos Table
This week's section begins with the
agricultural commandment of Shmita; not working the land or
harvesting its produce on the seventh year (in Israel).
This commandment, besides being practical
(as it gives the land a chance to replenish), also evokes
G-d's blessing; (25:19)
"The earth will give its produce
and you will eat to satisfaction and you will dwell with certainty
upon it"
But amazingly, in the very next two
sentences after this Divine promise is a strange statement:
"And WHEN you say; 'What will
we eat in the seventh year? behold we haven't planted or gathered
our produce! I will command My blessing in the sixth year
and it will make food for three years"
At first glance this is not understood.
If G-d has just promised 'the earth will give its produce
etc., then what place is there for questions about 'What will
we eat?"
Even more; the Torah seems to be saying
here that Jews will certainly ask this question; the sentence
says 'And WHEN you say; what will we eat etc.' (not: 'and
IF you say' etc.)
Finally; of what importance is all
this to us non-farmers?
To understand this here is a story.
The Fourth Rebbe of Chabad, Rebbe Shmuel
once was visited by a Chassid that had just returned from
the land of Israel.
The Chassid was disappointed from the
trip. He had expected to see
unusually holy Jews there with great spiritual powers as it
is written in
many holy books. But he didn't notice anything special; in
fact the Jews there looked just the same as Jews everywhere!
The Rebbe smiled and said, "Here
is a story I heard from my father (the previous Chabad Rebbe,
the Tzemach Tzedik) that might change your mind.
"Once in a small village near
Jerusalem lived a very simple Jew. This
fellow was so plain that, although he could read Hebrew, he
didn't
understand much and try as he would, his efforts at the Siddur
(prayer
book) resulted in complete havoc:
"He got so confused that he never
really knew if he was saying the correct thing
"But finally he found a solution.
Once a week, every Sunday, he would travel to Jerusalem to
a certain Rabbi he knew who would put markers in his Siddur
that would organize the prayers of entire week (although the
prayers were almost the same every day). And on the Holidays,
when the prayers were more difficult, he would stay with the
Rabbi in Jerusalem thus ending his prayer problem.
"The only exception was in the
rainy (winter) months beginning with the month of MarCheshvan.
Then, because the roads were muddy and travel was often almost
impossible, he had no choice but to have the Rabbi mark off
several weeks at a time.
"Well, it so happened that one
MarCheshvan after the Rabbi had given him such a 'big' order,
the rains delayed in coming and the simple Jew decided to
travel to Jerusalem a few weeks early while the roads were
still dry.
"He thought he would give his
Rabbi a pleasant surprise, but when he
arrived he was shocked to see that all the stores were closed
and the
streets were empty!
"'Gevalt!' he thought to himself
'Could it be that I made a mistake and
today is Shabbat!!?' He emptied his pockets, got off his wagon
(so as not to carry or drive, which are both forbidden) and
walked as fast as he could to the house of the Rabbi, and
when he wasn't to be found there he ran desperately to the
synagogue.
"It was just as he thought! The
Synagogue was full to the brim!! It must be Shabbat! He ran
to the front of the Shul where the Rabbi sat, fell to one
knee and almost crying and blurted out in a whisper.
"'Is today is Shabbat? Why are
the streets empty? Why is everyone here in Shul? I mean, I
cooked this morning, and drove the horses and did tens of
forbidden things!!! What can I do now??? Rabbi, believe me,
I didn't know!!' He looked at the Rabbi with beseeching eyes.
He would have broken out crying but he didn't want to miss
the Rabbi's reply.
"'No, no!' Said the Rabbi with
a smile. 'It's not Shabbat. Look, no one here has Shabbat
garments on. Today is a fast day.'
"'What?' exclaimed the simple
Jew in surprise as he stood to his full
height and held his head in his hands, 'A fast day? Oy! Why
didn't you
tell me? Why didn't you put it in my Siddur? Oy! Oy!! I ate
already!!!'
"'No no, don't worry!' the Rabbi
quietly assured him again. 'Don't get
excited. Today is a special fast only for the people of Jerusalem
because the rain hasn't come. You haven't done any sin, don't
worry my friend. If you want just take a book of Psalms and
….'
"'What?!' Exclaimed the Jew as
his eyes opened wide in amazement, 'Fasting …. because
there is no rain? What in the world do you have to fast for?'
"'Because' explained the Rabbi,
not believing that anyone could be so
simple, 'If there is no rain there is a danger of famine and
drought,
people's lives are endangered.'
"'I understand that' Said the
Jew, but why fast?'
"'Well,' replied the Rabbi mercifully,
'What do YOU think we should do? Have you got a better way
to bring rain?'
"'Certainly'" he answered.
'When I want rain I just go out in the field
behind my house and say 'Father I need rain',,,,, and the
rain comes'.
"'Oh Yes?' said the Rabbi not
believing his ears 'Well, very good then!! Do it here also!'
"'Sure!' he answered shaking
his head obediently. He stood, went out the door, into the
yard of the Synagogue, stood, raised his eyes to the heavens,
and said, 'Father! Can it be that Your children in Your Holy
city will go hungry? Don't You see that they need rain?!!
Please send …… rain!!'
"Immediately the sky filled with
clouds and rain began pouring down in torrents.
"You see" concluded the Rebbe
Shmuel to the traveler, "You simply don't understand
anything about souls!"
This answers our question.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains (Lekuti
Sichot 27) that the question the Torah quotes here is not
IF G-d's promises will be fulfilled but rather HOW; how will
G-d provide for the farmers if they don't harvest in the seventh
year? Perhaps He will provide Manna from heaven as he did
in the desert or perhaps people will demand less, or the food
will be more satisfying.
On this the Torah answers (25:21) "I
will command My blessing in the sixth year and it will make
food for three years"
In other words a new sort of miracle:
Usually land becomes weaker and less productive as it is used
year after year. But here G-d is saying that the opposite
will happen: in the merit of the Shmita (seventh) year the
land in the sixth year will produce triple the usual amount!
Just like the simple Jew in our story,
the weakest suddenly can become the source of all blessings!
And this is especially relevant to
our generation. As the Lubavitcher Rebbe pointed out; we are
the last generation of exile and the first of Moshiach. The
seventh generation.
In many ways we are the LOWEST generation
of all history but nevertheless G-d has blessed us, as He
does the sixth year, that WE have the power to bring the long-awaited
ultimate Messianic redemption!!! In fact a three-fold blessing
of the days of Moshiach, the complete redemption and the raising
of the dead.
We just have to do ALL WE CAN to bring....
Moshiach NOW!!!
Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel
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PARSHA
MOSHIACH
IN THE PARSHA
WEEKLY
MESSAGE
TALES
FOR THE SHABBOS TABLE #1