Eat Meat And Have A Sweet Year And Nachas

Dedicated By Dr. Ezra and Lauren Kest 

In honor of our children who teach us how to love, listen and be heard.  They should be blessed to find, see and recognize their zivuggim at the right time and always listen well, be heard and feel listened to. 

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This week's parsha, Re'ey, tells us that we can eat meat, "When Hashem your God, expands your boundary, as He has spoken to you, and you say, 'I will eat meat,' because your soul desires to eat meat, you may eat meat, according to every desire of your soul." 

Rashi tells us, "In the desert, however, the meat of a non-consecrated animal was forbidden to them, unless one first consecrated it and offered it up as a peace offering." 

This is the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael in the Talmud, who says that once they entered Israel they were permitted to eat meat for pleasure, however, in the desert they were only permitted to eat meat from the peace offerings that they brought to the Mishkan, otherwise they weren't permitted to eat meat for pleasure. But the Halacha (the law) is not in accordance with his opinion, it is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Akiva, who says that in the desert they were permitted to eat meat from strangers, even though it wasn't slaughtered kosherly, however when they entered Israel, they weren't permitted to eat meat from strangers any more. 

It is a debate on the words of our verse, "expands your boundary." According to Rabbi Akiva, it means an expansion in wealth, when they become wealthy and they could afford it, they may eat meat. According to Rabbi Yishmael, it means expansion in property, when they get the land, they would be permitted to eat meat for pleasure. 

And Rashi, when explaining the words, "expands your boundary," cites the opinion of Rabbi Akiva, "The Torah teaches proper conduct, that one should not desire to eat meat unless [one lives] in abundance and wealth." 

It makes sense that Rashi cites the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael even though the Halacha is not in accordance with him, because in his commentary on the Torah he gives us the simple meaning, not the Halachic ruling. And being that, "These and these are the words of the Living G-d," meaning that both the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva are from Hashem, it is in his right to use the words of Rabbi Yishmael. 

But how can he cite both the opinions of Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva, which seem to be opposing opinions? We must conclude that being that Rashi brings them both, it must be that in their essence, they are based on the same reasoning. As will be explained. 

We also have to ask: Why would Rashi tell us Rabbi Yishmael's opinion, when the Halacha goes according to Rabbi Akiva? 

To understand this, we have to delve into the deeper meaning of this debate. 

The reason that Hashem gave us the mitzvos, is because through the performance of mitzvos with physical objects, in a physical place, and at a physical time (as time is also a creation and only exists in the physical world), we refine the physical and infuse it with G-dliness, thereby making it into a home for Hashem. 

The question is: Did this work begin in the desert or when they entered the land? 

According to Rabbi Yishmael, they weren't able to refine the physical in the desert, they could only have dealt with holiness, therefore they were only permitted to eat meat from the peace offerings, which were holy. Once they entered Israel they were stronger, they were able to refine the physical. Because the holy service to Hashem in the desert strengthened them, it was a preparation for the essential work, refining the physical. 

According to Rabbi Akiva, the work of refining the physical began in the desert, albeit in a limited way, because you can't truly infuse non kosher meat with G-dliness, the only thing that they were able to do, is the mitzvah of not eating blood, which is the life force of the animal and it represents the enthusiasm and the passionate desire for the meat. Once they entered the land, they were no longer permitted to eat non kosher meat, because they were stronger, and were able to do the work of refining the physical, so if they wanted to have meat, it had to be kosher. 

Now we can understand why Rashi brings both opinions, because in their essence, they are the same. 

And now we will understand why Rashi brings the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael even though the Halacha goes according to Rabbi Akiva. Because Rashi is talking to us, and our service to Hashem has to follow the path of Rabbi Yishmael. And this is true for all areas in life. At first you have to shun everything that is not holy, but when you become stronger, you must work with the physical and refine it. This is a never ending process, as you do this work, you constantly get stronger and stronger, what you were able to refine yesterday, is not enough today, because now you can handle a deeper level of the physical world and refine it. 

This can be applied to our daily lives. In the morning, we have to shun the physical and envelope ourselves in prayer and Torah study, only after do we eat a proper meal and go to work, where you deal with the most physical things. 

The week also follows the same pattern. "Shabbos blesses the days (that follow)." Shabbos is like the desert, where we bask in holiness, and it is Shabbos that prepares us, blesses the week, when we do the main service working with the physical. 

The year is the same. The holidays are a great holy time that prepares us for our work all year. And the month of Elul is the desert, the preparation for the holidays. This is one of the connections between our parsha and the time of the year. Because parshas Re'ey is read on the Shabbos before the month of Elul, when we bless the new month, or on Rosh Chodesh Elul itself. 

Being that my son Shalom will be having his Bar Mitzvah party this coming week, I will connect this with the idea of a Bar Mitzvah. 

The same idea applies to life in general and to a Bar Mitzvah boy in particular. The first years of life until Bar or Bas Mitzvah is the desert, the preparation for being a Jew, that is why we insulate our children from anything unholy in those years. From the Bar and Bas Mitzvah begins the preparation for life and the time of marriage, when he or she will go into the physical world of business and making a home. This is a critical time, when one has to form the correct notion of Judaism and life, what is important and what is not important, skills for life, principles to live by. This is the time that one acquires the main skills in Torah study, basking in the holiness and light of yeshiva. And this is the most important skill, because this is the foundation, the source. It is the meaning, the purpose and the reason. It is everything. 

Through following this path in our service to Hashem, we will have good days, good weeks, good months and a happy and sweet new year. 

And may we merit to have nachas from all of our children and grandchildren.  

I Will Be Going to New York

Dear friends,

With Hashem's help, I will be taking a trip to NY next week with my family, from Wednesday September 4th to Wednesday September 11th. If you would like to visit, please text or whatsapp (917)634-0706 or email rabbi@chabadwestvillage.com

This is a big undertaking for my wife, family, friends, Hatzolo and the Hurwitz family fund. I am grateful to them for making this trip possible, I don't know when I will be able to do it again.

If you would like to help, please give to hurwitzfamilyfund.com

Happiness Is All Perspective

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This week's parsha, Eikev, tells us how Hashem tested the Jewish people with the manna. "And He afflicted you and made you hungry and fed you manna, which you did not know, nor did your forefathers know, so that He would make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but rather by, whatever comes forth from the mouth of Hashem does man live." Then it says, "Who fed you manna in the desert, which your forefathers did not know, in order to afflict you and in order to test you, to benefit you in your end, and you will say to yourself, 'My strength and the might of my hand that made all this wealth for me.' But you must remember Hashem your G-d, for it is He that gives you strength to make wealth..." 

How could the manna, "bread from heaven," which was totally G-dly, fed them for forty years in the desert and had every flavor, serve as a means to test and challenge the Jewish people? 

How did the manna afflict them? 

In general, there are two kinds of tests or challenges, the test of affluence and the test of poverty. The manna had both of these characteristics. On one hand, it was G-dly, had every flavor, and the Talmud tells us that when they went to collect the manna, they would find with it precious stones and gems, so it came with both spiritual and physical wealth. On the other hand, the verse says, "Who fed you manna... in order to afflict you." 

The Talmud tells us two opinions as to why it caused them to suffer. It never gave them complete satisfaction, either because they were only able to collect it for one day at a time, tomorrow was uncertain, and "You can't compare one who has bread in his basket, to one who doesn't have bread in his basket." When you have food, you are less hungry, because you have the security of knowing that you can eat whenever you want to. Or because although it tasted like anything, it didn't look like the food they were tasting, and "You can't compare one who sees (his food) and eats, to one who doesn't see (his food) and eats." (Like Crystal Pepsi.) 

Although they had the most amazing G-dly food, they weren't satisfied, either because they couldn't hold on to it, or because it didn't have the right look. But these flaws are not real, they were only perceived flaws. 

The same is true about the study of Torah, compared to other subjects. Other subjects are limited, you can master the subject, and that is very satisfying. However Torah is unlimited, no matter how much you know, you are left wanting more, its completeness is elusive. The more you know, the more hungry you are for another angle, deeper, higher, etc. 

The same is true within Torah itself. On one hand, you have the revealed Torah (Mishnah, Talmud, Halacha, etc.), which although it is Hashem's infinite wisdom, being that it comes to the world dressed in physical cases and scenarios, its study can sometimes leave you satisfied. On the other hand, the hidden or inner Torah (Chassidus, Kabballa, etc.) is Hashem's pure infinite wisdom, it's not dressed up in the physical, the more you know, the more hungry you are for deeper, higher, etc. 

The hunger for Torah and especially the inner Torah, is only in your perception, you perceive that there is more, so you are hungry. 

That means that the only true flaw is in the one who is perceiving it. The way to overcome these flaws is to go out of himself, nullify his own existence to Hashem, then his perception will be Hashem's, where everything is good and truly satisfying. 

The same is true for the manna. How did one find satisfaction in the manna? He had to know that the manna was pure infinite G-dliness that came into the physical world and given to him as a gift from Hashem. if he will humble himself, nullify himself, totally negate his own existence and see that it's all from Hashem, he will truly be happy and satisfied. Because everything that comes from Him is good, there are no flaws. 

Now we will understand why it continues. "And you will say to yourself, 'My strength and the might of my hand that made all this wealth for me.' But you must remember Hashem your G-d, for it is He that gives you strength to make wealth..." Because the manna served as the paradigm for true happiness and satisfaction, the recognition and the true perception that everything he has is from Hashem. 

When he has this perspective, everything in life becomes good. Since he is humble, he sees not only the spiritual, but also the physical is good and holy, there is no difference, because it is all from Hashem. 

The same could be applied to our daily lives. Many of us struggle with happiness, we are often dissatisfied with the hand that we have been dealt. It is all based on your perspective and perception. When faced with a challenge, if you think that it is all your doing or man's doing, "my strength and the might of my hand that has made all this wealth," then you are truly in the hole of unhappiness, self pity and self loathing, but when you recognize that it is all from Hashem, "for it is He that gives you strength to make wealth," then you could find meaning in any situation or at least the knowledge that it is from Hashem, will take away your self pity and self loathing, and you will be happy with yourself. 

I recognize that sometimes we are presented with such a devastating challenge that no amount of positive thinking will soothe the pain. But knowing that it is from Hashem will make things a little bit easier. 

Happiness doesn't mean that you walk around with a smile all day, it means that you are satisfied with yourself and your situation, and that is based on your perspective. 

I have been asked: How do you stay positive through the devastating challenge that you are faced with, ALS and being paralyzed? The hardest things for me, is not being able to be the father and husband that I want to, I struggle with that every day. Though I know that I can't do anything to fix the situation, barring a miracle from Hashem. It hurts not to be able to kiss and hug my children, not to be able to talk and play with them. But as far as everything else is concerned, I say, "What keeps me going, is the realization that Hashem is real, that He has a plan for the world, and I am part of it. Everyone is a part of it, and everyone's part is important. So if He put me in this position, He must want something of me that I can only do in this position. When you see it this way. Instead of feeling down when you are in a challenging situation, you are filled with a sense of purpose, and you are lifted up." 

May all our suffering come to an end, with the coming of Moshiach. May he come soon. 

In The Darkness The Deepest Love Can Be Found

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This week's parsha, Devarim, is always read the Shabbos before Tisha B'Av or on Tisha B'Av itself. Tisha B'Av is the saddest day of the year, it is the day that both our Temples were destroyed and we were driven into exile. The first time for seventy years and the second lasted until the present, over nineteen hundred and fifty years. 

The Talmud tells us that in the Holy of Holies, the Keruvim, the cherubs (in the first Temple era they were on the top of the Ark, in the second Temple they were a design on the wall) would reflect the relationship between Hashem and the Jewish people. When we were in good standing they faced each other, when we were not they faced away from each other and when we were closest they were in an intimate embrace. 

The Midrash tells us that by the destruction of the Second Temple, when the Romans entered the Holy of Holies, they found the Keruvim intertwined in the most intimate embrace. 

If the Temple was being destroyed, it would seem that our relationship was on the rocks and the Keruvim should have been facing away from each other. Why were the Keruvim intertwined in the most intimate embrace? We are forced to conclude that somehow our relationship was closer than ever. How? 

Sometimes in a relationship there is a dark time, but it is not a sign that the relationship is on the rocks, just the opposite, it is a sign that the relationship is in a transition, with much better things to come. 

For example. If a guru is teaching his students and all of a sudden, a bolt of wisdom enters his mind and he knows that if he doesn't take the time at that moment to ponder on the thought, he will lose it. Either he could ponder about it while he is teaching, only giving half of his attention to his students, they will notice that he is not entirely with them and feel unimportant, or he can totally engross himself in the matter and stop teaching altogether, it will be very awkward and they will feel entirely ignored. 

In truth, it's for their sake that he is ignoring them, because as soon as he solidifies the piece of wisdom, he will share it with them. And as a matter of fact, the more he ignores them, the better he will get the idea and the better he will be able to impart the knowledge. By ignoring them, his love for his students is greater. 

The same is true for this exile, there is a reason that Hashem sent us into exile, it's not just to atone for our sins, there is something greater that we are accomplishing in this dark exile. 

The proof that it is not only to atone for our sins, is that if it was only for us to atone for our sins, the further we get into the exile the easier it should get. Because after a while some of our sins would be atoned for and after another while more of our sins would be atoned for, each time the exile should get easier and easier. But it is getting darker and darker, there must be another reason for the exile. 

When Moshiach comes and the exile ends, we won't go back to the second Temple revelation of G-dliness, or to the first Temple revelation, it will be infinitely greater. The revelation of Hashem will be his true essence from beyond all of existence, He will give us His true self, there is no greater revelation. And it's through our efforts in this exile that we are accomplishing this revelation. That is why it continues to get darker and darker, because the greater the darkness, the more powerful our service to Hashem is and the closer we get to Moshiach, the more our service has to accomplish. 

The greatest closeness to Hashem can only be achieved through the exile. And that is why the Keruvim were intertwined in the most intimate embrace, because Hashem and the Jewish people were about to set out on the ultimate quest, to come the closest possible. Although our relationship was strained, the repair of our relationship and making it the greatest possible was about to begin. So it was truly a loving moment, and possibly the most loving moment of all. 

And this is the reason that at the Bris Bein Habesarim, The Covenant Between the Parts, it says, "fear and a great darkness..." And the Midrash tells us that this refers to the exile. From the beginning, there was a plan to have the exile and Avraham knew it. Now why would he agree to something like that? Because he understood what it would give us, Hashem's essence, and he thought it was worth it and so will we when Moshiach comes. 

The same is true about marriage. A loving couple could fall on difficult times, full of frustration and hurt. This can happen even though they have no intention to be hurtful to one another, but it is all done with no malice, and they have no idea how hurtful they are being until it all blows up. Then they are thrown in to darkness and it feels like exile. They could feel in despair. 

How are they to deal with this? 

They know that they love each other and they know that they don't want to be the cause of their spouse's hurt and suffering. 

If they use this opportunity to work on their marriage, learn to understand each other better and are truly remorseful, they could attain forgiveness, take their relationship to a whole new level and their love deeper than they could have ever imagined. And when that happens, they will look back at the dark time as a good thing and the moment of their blow up as the best thing that ever happened to them. 

May we see the coming of Moshiach soon, and realize how it was this dark exile that brought us the greatest revelation, the true essence of Hashem. May we all have good, close and deep marriages. And may we merit to see Tisha B'Av become the happiest day of the year. May it happen soon. 

It Is Our Victories That Make Us Who We Are

Dear friends, 

With thanks to Hashem, I am happy to announce that I began the sixth cycle of dvar Torahs. 

Over the past few weeks, it has been a struggle to write. I have been spending so much time writing on my eye gaze computer to get these Dvar Torahs out. It was taking me three times as long as it used to and sometimes I didn't even finish them. Needless to say, it was taking me away from my family. 

Therefore, I am taking my wife's advice and I will be writing shorter dvar Torahs, but I am going to put more of my heart into them. 

I hope you enjoy it. 

Yitzi 

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This week's parsha, Maasei, lists the travels of the Jewish people, from when they left Egypt until they entered Israel, there were forty two places where they camped. 

The Baal Shem Tov tells us that the forty two travels parallels the life of a Jewish person, every one of the travels represents a period in one's life, with different happenings and different challenges. Birth, being the Exodus from Egypt, and the entry into Israel, being the end of life, the entry into the world of truth. 

This is difficult to understand, because some of the places where they traveled, are known for the terrible episodes that happened there, where the Jewish people went against Hashem. Does it mean that we are condemned to an episode in our lives of sinfulness? 

For example, one of the places where they camped was Kivros Hatava, where the Jewish people complained about the fact that Hashem took them out of Egypt and that they missed the food they had there. They even cried about it. They weren't happy with the manna, the "bread from heaven," they craved meat. Hashem gave them a lot of meat, but many of the complainers died, and they were buried there. That is why it is called Kivros Hatava, which means, "the graves of those who craved." 

Why would we want to go through that? 

The Baal Shem Tov explains that every one of the places could have had two outcomes, positive or negative. And it was up to the Jewish people to choose between a positive or a negative outcome. It could have been "the graves of those who craved," or Kivros Hatava could have been taken literally, to mean "The graves of the craving." They could have buried their desire, done what is good in the eyes of Hashem, been grateful for being taken out of Egypt and for the holy manna that fell from heaven. And that was probably the true intended purpose of traveling there, but we failed. 

The same is true for every one of us, we will have every one of these "travels," and it is our choice to make it what it ultimately will be, a positive or negative episode in our life. 

I know how hard life can be, the challenges Hashem throws our way are so great, they can be paralyzing and debilitating, we could feel that they are too much to handle and maybe they are. It can be a desire that you feel you can't overcome. 

Right now, before the coming of Moshiach, it is especially difficult, it is the darkest time. It is so difficult to stay positive through our challenges, especially if they are prolonged. 

In this situation, sometimes you will overcome and sometimes you may fail, but you should know that every time you overcome, Hashem revels in your victory, it deals a great blow to the forces of evil and it brings Moshiach ever closer. And the greater the challenges you overcome, the more powerful is the effect. 

Don't let your failures get you down, instead count your victories, be proud of your victories, and know how much your victories accomplish. 

In my home, we suffer from a prolonged devastating challenge, on top of the regular challenges that my children, my wife and I have to deal with. Every day, every hour and every minute, is a challenge, and the suffering and anguish are sometimes unbearable. Sometimes we are victorious and sometimes it is just too much. Yes, we are just like everybody else, I too have my moments. But it is our victories that matter, that's why I am so proud of my wife and my children, because with all we are going through, they are amazing and have good hearts. 

You are also amazing, revel in your victories they will strengthen you and empower you. Hashem is proud of you. 

It is enough of the suffering, may Hashem send Moshiach, when "Hashem will erase the tears from upon every face." May it happen soon.