AUGUST 7, 1998 VOL 1, ISSUE 39 15 AV 5758

 

 

 

Chabad of Northern Beverly Hills, 409 Foothill Road . Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Rabbi Yosef Shusterman 310/271-9063

PARSHAT VAETCHANAN "Va'etchanan - I pleaded with G d... please let me pass over and see the good land..." (3:23-25) Our sages note that the numerical value of Va'etchanan is 515, corresponding to the 515 prayers of Moses to enter the Land of Israel. He persisted even after he was told by G-d, "Enough! Do not speak to Me any more about this matter." This teaches us that we, too, must persist with continuous pleadings of "How much longer?" - asking to enter the Land of Israel with the Messianic redemption. As we have already been told that ours is the generation of the redemption, our sincere prayers will undoubtedly effect the immediate revelation of Moshiach! (From: Insights to Geula, Chabad in Cyberspace)

"Va'etchanan"( 3:23) "Va'etchanan" means "I implored". The gematria - the numerical equivalent - of Va'etchanan is 515. There are 516 hours between the start of Rosh Hashana and the end of Hoshana Raba - which is the last chance to change a decree which was made on Yom Kippur. In the last year of his life, between Rosh Hashana and Shmini Atzeres, Moshe prayed every hour - 515 times - that Hashem should forgive him and let him cross over the Jordan. Finally Hashem told him not to continue praying. From this we can learn the enormous power of prayer: Hashem told Moshe to stop praying to Him - implying that if Moshe had continued to pray, if he would have prayed the 516 prayer, Hashem would have acceded to his petition. (From: Ohr Somayach web site, Rabbi Mordechai Perlman)

"There is none else beside Him…"(4:35) Rabbi Binyomin Kletzker, a chassid of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, was a lumber merchant. One year, while he was adding up the annual accounts, he inadvertently filled in under a column of figures: TOTAL: ein od milvado ("There is nothing but He"). Upon hearing of Reb Binyomin's `Chabadian slip', a fellow chassid berated him for his absentmindedness. "Don't you know, Reb Binyomin, that everything has its time and place?" he admonished. "There's a time for chassidic philosophizing, and a time to engage in worldly matters. A person's business dealings are also an important part of his service of the Al-mighty and must be properly attended to." Said Reb Binyomin: "We consider it perfectly natural if, during prayer, one's mind wanders off to the fair in Leipzig. So what's so terrible if, when involved in business, an `alien thought' regarding the unity of G-d infiltrates the mind?"

"Hear O Israel, the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your G-d..." (6:4-5) The Maggid of Mezeritch expounded on the verse "And you shall love the Lord your G-d": how can there be a commandment to love? Love is a feeling of the heart: one who has the feeling - loves. What can a person do if, G-d forbid, love is not imbedded in his heart? How can the Torah instruct `you shall love' as if it were a matter of choice? But the commandment actually lies in the previous verse, "Hear O Israel." The Hebrew word Sh'mah (`hear') also means `understand'. So the Torah is commanding a person to study, comprehend, and reflect upon the oneness of G-d. Because of the nature of the human mind and heart, and the relationship between them, this will inevitably lead to a love of the Al-mighty since, in essence, the mind rules the heart. If one contemplates deeply and yet is still not exited with a love of G-d, this is only because he has not sufficiently refined and purified himself of the things which stifle his capacity to sense and relate to the Divine. Aside from this, such contemplation by the mind will always result in a feeling of love... -Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok of Lubavitch. (From: Once Upon a Chassid by Yanki Tauber)

"Ascend to the top of the cliff, and raise your eyes westward, northward...and see with your eyes, for you shall not cross this Jordan." (3:27) Picture the feelings of longing that Moshe must have had as he stood on top of the cliff, gazing out over the Land he so yearned to enter. There it

was, stretched out in front of him like a map. The Land of Israel. So close and yet so far. Hashem knew how much Moshe wanted to go into Eretz Yisrael, so why did He "tantalize" Moshe by telling him to go up and gaze at this land that he knew he was never going to enter? Furthermore, our Sages tell us that by prophetic insight Hashem showed Moshe every single square inch of Eretz Yisrael - which must have only increased his longing! What was Hashem's purpose?

Each of the Avos, the Patriarchs, are associated with a specific quality: Avraham with Chesed, Kindness; Yitzchak with Gevurah, Self-control; And Yaakov with Emes, Truth. The quality associated with Moshe is Netzach - Eternity. Everything that Moshe did was forever. If Moshe had gone into the land of Israel with the Jewish People, then their entry would have been an "eternal entry." After such an entry, the Jewish People could never again leave the Land. Hashem knew that the Jewish People would have to go into exile for they would not be able to maintain the high spiritual standards that the Land requires. If they could not leave, and they could not stay, they would be "caught" in a spiritual vise and they would be in the very real danger of annihilation (r"l). Thus, Moshe could not enter the Land of Israel.

However, Hashem made Moshe's non-entry into the Land serve a positive purpose: Hashem wanted to sear the memory of the Land of Israel into the collective psyche of the Jewish People. By showing Moshe every blade of grass, by taking him and showing him every corner of the Land he was never to enter, Hashem planted in Moshe's heart a longing for the Land of Israel which would be eternal. Look at our daily prayers. Look at the blessings after eating a meal. Our petitions to Hashem are saturated with the name of the Land which we long to return to as a Holy People. Throughout the long, long night of exile, the Jewish people have never lost that longing for Eretz Yisrael that Moshe felt when he stood on top of the cliff and gazed into the Land which he would not enter. (From: Ohr Somayach web site, - Malbim, Rabbi Yerucham Uziel Milevsky z"l)

PIRKEI AVOT

"... one who occupies ("osek") himself with Torah…" (Avot, 6:2) The term most often used by our sages to describe our involvement with Torah is not study, learn, practice, observe or the like, but osek ("occupy oneself") -- a verb usually associated with the act of doing business. Indeed, a life devoted to the study of Torah and implementation of its ideals much resembles a businessman's occupation with his enterprise.

…An area in which business mirrors life is the importance of mobility. To succeed in business, one must be on the move. Thus, when Moses blessed the Jewish people before his passing, Zebulun, a tribe of merchants, was given seaports in the land of Israel and blessed with the gift of mobility - a property as vital to the merchant of 3,000 years ago as it is to the businessman of today.

Stagnation is anathema to business. Despite the tremendous advances in the communications technologies, the 20th century businessman still commutes, travelling to a place situated and equipped for business's specific needs. From the office, he further ventures out to pursue business opportunities wherever they may present themselves. In philosophy and temperament, the businessman must also be mobile and forward-looking. A person successful in business is a one who has learned to continuously progress and develop, to constantly finding new and innovative ways to optimally apply his talents and resources. This is why commerce is a solely human endeavor. Of all G-d's creatures, man alone has been blessed with the capacity for progress. Man alone strives upwards, forever seeking to improve upon his inborn traits, forever seeking to perfect himself and his world. One who "occupy himself" with Torah, is one who applies this mobility to his moral and spiritual endeavors. To be osek with Torah is to commit oneself to the business of life. (From:Beyond the Letter of the Law by Yanki Tauber).

The blessing of Hashem, that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.

-King Solomon

 

 

 

 

The Mittler Rebbe quoted the Alter Rebbe: Ahavat Yisrael must possess one to the very core of life itself. (Ad Mitsui hanefesh. The identical phrase is used by the Sages (Sifri, Devarim 6:5) to describe the required degree of loving G-d, "…with all your soul ect…" i.e. up to, and including, readiness to give up one's life). (From Rebbe's Hayom Yom, Menachem AV 18).