In the begining of the Parsha we read about the מצוה of וידוי מעשרות. If a person has מעשר in his home which he hasn’t yet given away, the תורה states that on ערב פסח of the 4th year in the שמיטה cycle, he must remove the מעשרות from his home and give them to the proper recipients.

After removing the מעשר he must say the following פסוקים which are known as וידוי מעשרות:

ביערתי הקודש מן הבית וגם נתתיו ללוי ולגר ליתום ולאלמנה ככל מצוותך אשר ציוויתי. לא עברתי ממצוותיך ולא שכחתי….שמעתי בקול ה אלוקי עשיתי ככל אשר ציוותני.

    I removed the מעשרות from my home and gave them to the correct recipients. I listened to You Hashem and did all that You told me to do.  He concludes וידוי מעשרות with the following תפלה:

השקיפה ממעון קדשך מן השמים וברך את עמך את ישראל.

As רש”י explains:

  עשינו מה שגזרת עלינו, עשה אתה מה שהבטחתנו. Just like we did as we were told, so to Hashem do as You promised, and Shower us with your ברכה.

Harav Yosef Ber Soliveichik asks: We know that וידוי is meant to be a confession over misgivings. Yet here, by וידוי מעשרות, not only is it not a confession, it appears that the person is actually bragging that he did everything right. Why then is it called וידוי?

  Answers Rav Soleveichik, the תורה is giving us guidance on how a person should be approaching וידוי, and תשובה in general. Certainly one should confess his misgivings. But 1st he has to acknowledge the good he’s done. Realize that your a good Jew, who tries to do what’s right, speak about all the good you have done, and then, you can confess and say וידוי for the mistakes that you made.  So the תורה here is teaching us the proper way to וידוי.

This idea is especially relevant this time of year, as we prepare ourselves towards the ימים נוראים. In order to do proper תשובה we must 1st acknowledge that we are good Yidden who try hard to do the will of Hashem each and every day. When we realize that we are on the proper path, we can now turn to הקב”ה and say ” We want to be even better in the next year.”

Just like by וידוי מעשרות, we must be cognizant and aware of our many מעלות. This will keep us in the proper frame of mind to be able to do real תשובה.

We’ll conclude with a beautiful story which highlights this point, as told over by Harav Yaakov Galinsky.

Rav Chaim of Volozhin was learning ספר תנא דבי אליהו, and came across a puzzling passage.  “הקב”ה שמח בחלקו” The רבש”ע is Happy with His lot.

A person is limited in what he has, and therefore should be happy with his lot. But the רבש”ע has everything, what then does it mean that He’s שמח בחלקו?

Rav Chaim couldn’t figure out an answer, so he went to ask his Rebbe, the Vilna Gaon. Explained the Gaon”  It’s true that Hashem has everything, but there’s 1 thing he decided not to control. And that thing is a person’s יראת שמים. As חז”ל say  הכל בידי שמים חוץ מיראת שמים.

It’s up to each individual to decide his own יראת שמים.  It’s on this concept that תנא דבי אליהו says הקב”ה שמח בחלקו. The חלק of הקב”ה is us, Klal Yisrael, as the פסוק says, כי חלק ה’ עמו יעקב חבל נחלתו. And it’s to us that הקב”ה is שמח בחלקו. Whichever level of יראת שמים that we are on, הקב”ה says ” I’m שמח בחלקו- I’m Happy and Proud of you!”

May we all merit knowing and appreciating all the good we do, and through that, merit growing even closer to the רבש”ע.  Good Shabbos

Parshas דברים is always read in the Shabbos prior to תשעה באב. This Shabbos is also known as שבת חזון, for the הפטרה that’s read, חזון ישעיהו. The word חזון, a vision, appears to be enigmatic if we look at the actual פסוקים in the הפטרה. The נביא admonishes כלל ישראל, by saying

בנים גידלתי ורוממתי והם פשעו בי

The רבש”ע complains that he raised and elevated His children, yet they turned against Him. This admonition continues throughout the הפטרה. What then is the vision here, if it’s only a scathing rebuke of כלל ישראל?

Another point to ponder ties in to the concept of אבילות in general. Mourning and sadness goes against the essence of Yiddishkeit which is meant to be lived בשמחה. How then do we understand the whole concept of the אבילות on the חורבן?

We find in Parshas Shmos, when משה רבינו is a put in the Nile and is discovered by Paroah’s daughter, the פסוק says:

ותפתח ותראהו את הילד והנה נער בוכה, ותחמול עליו ותאמר מילדי העברים זה.

What was it in his cry that made her realize this child is a Jew? The נתיבות שלום explains: when a Jew cries, it’s not meant to be a cry of יאוש, of despair. Rather it’s a cry of hope and yearning for a better future. That is what בת פרעה heard with the cry of משה, and that’s how she knew he was a Jew.

This concept is true for the אבילות of these days. We don’t cry in despair, rather we cry for a better future. We yearn to come back to ירושלים הבנויה and till that happens, we continue to mourn as we await that day, with the strong belief that we are still the chosen children of הקב”ה and we will not be satisfied until we once again merit His שכינה amongst us.

We now can understand why the הפטרה is called a חזון. The נביא is rebuking כלל ישראל. Yet nonetheless, even in the rebuke there’s a hidden vision. You are still called בנים- the children of הקב”ה. As חז”ל say based on these פסוקים

, בין כך ובין כך קרוים לך בנים

Whether we are in a good state or a bad state we are always Your children.

We’ll conclude with a beautiful משל from the Chofetz Chaim. A king had many servants and 1 young son. One evening, the prince along with some servants went to town to party. While there, they became completely intoxicated and wild. They eventually made their way back to the palace, still high. To their horror, they discovered the king himself waiting for them at the door. The king turned to the servants and sent them to their quarters. Then, he turned to the prince and roared his disapproval of his unruly behavior. ” You’re grounded for a full month and cannot leave the palace!” The prince responded, ” I understand why I’m being punished, but why were the servants completely left off the hook?” The king responded ” They are just servants. As long as they do their job here in the palace, I’m happy, and don’t care what they do in their spare time. But you are the prince, my pride and joy. You, I care about, and cannot stand when you misbehave!”

Says the Chofetz Chaim: When the nations of the world act out, it’s not as concerning to הקב”ה. But us, כלל ישראל, His precious children, הקב”ה cares about greatly, and as such we at times suffer the consequences of misbehaving.

That is what the אבילות of תשעה באב is all about. Understanding who we are, and yearning to once again merit The שכינה in our midst. May we be זוכה בקרוב to ביאת גואל צדק.

Thank you to all our readers and subscribers. The next Dvar Torah will IY”H be published for Shabbos פרשת שופטים.

At the beginning of פרשת מסעי we read about the 42 places Klal Yisrael journeyed to during the 40 years they spent in the desert. the Passuk says:

ויכתוב משה את מוצאיהם למסעיהם

Moshe wrote the places they left from and the places they journeyed to. Why does the תורה emphasize the places they left from? Obviously if you journey to a new place, you’re leaving the previous place. Yet the תורה emphasizes each and every place they left from as they continued their journeys on the desert.

The נתיבות שלום explains: We find in the תורה, that at different points in the desert, when things got difficult, כלל ישראל yearned for מצרים. When complaining about the מן, they said זכרנו את הדגה אשר אכלנו במצרים. They remembered the good food they enjoyed in מצרים. And when the מרגלים gave their negative report on ארץ ישראל, they said נתנה ראש ונשובה מצרים.

We see that although כלל ישראל had left מצרים, they still retained a connection to that land. As long as they was still connected to מצרים, they were not able to enter ארץ ישראל. To cut off that connection, they needed the 42 מסעות. At each place that they stopped, they built themselves up a notch, till, after 42 stops they finally were completely disconnected from the טומאה of מצרים and were now prepared to enter ארץ ישראל.

We can now understand why the תורה highlights the places they journeyed to, and the places they left from. Each and every stop was a build-up, and when they left it, they were on a higher level than when they had arrived. They utilized these opportunities to grow and become better.

The בעל שם טוב says, that just like כלל ישראל had to journey through 42 מסעות before entering ארץ ישראל, so to every single person in his lifetime has his own 42 מסעות. Every person goes through periods and stages in his life to prepare him for עולם הבא. And our role is to try to utilize each stop and journey in our life to come closer to הקב”ה, and to live a full life. Every day of our life and any situation we find ourselves in, is another an opportunity for growth, as long as we utilize it in the proper way.

We’ll conclude with a story highlighting this point. The Gerer Rebbe the Sfas Emes, passed away at age 57. After returning from the לויה, his son and succeser, the אמרי אמת, remarked to his brothers” At least our father had אריכות ימים.” The brothers were astonished.” He died at such a young age, how can you call that אריכות ימים?” The Rebbe answered ” I did not say he had אריכות שנים-long years. Rather he had אריכות ימים, long days. He lived and utilized each and every day to the fullest!”

May we all merit a long and full life in our journey in this world. Good Shabbos.

We read in the Parsha about the קרבנות that were brought throughout the year, the daily קרבן תמיד and the special קרבנות brought on ראש חדש, on שבת and on each יום טוב .

The Passuk says

צו את בני ישראל ואמרת להם את קרבני לחמי לאשי ריח ניחוחי תשמרו להקריב לי במועדו.

The נתיבות שלום asks: The word תשמרו,to guard, is used in connection to מצוות לא תעשה, when we’re supposed to refrain and guard ourselves from doing something wrong, such as by שבת, where the פסוק says שמור את יום השבת which alludes to guarding and staying away from חלול שבת. Why then is תשמרו used here when alluding to a מצוות עשה, a positive commandment of bringing קרבנות?

Answers the נתיבות שלום, the main עבודה that כלל ישראל had when the בית המקדש was standing was the קרבנות. When the כהנים would bring the קרבנות it would bring about נחת רוח to הקב”ה Who in turn would reward כלל ישראל with all their needs. As רש”י says here in the Parsha:

ריח ניחוחי-נחת רוח לפני שאמרתי ונעשה רצוני

When we no longer have the בית המקדש we don’t have the opportunity to bring קרבנות. Nonetheless we still have a way of meriting the same ברכות, and that is by showing our desire for the resumption of the עבודה. When we show our desire and yearning for the עבודה it brings the רבש”ע much נחת רוח. As חז”ל say

כל העוסק בתורת עולה כאלו הקריב עולה, כל העוסק בתורת חטאת כאילו הקריב חטאת

When one preocupies himself with the הלכות of each קרבן, showing his desire to engage in the real קרבן, it’s as if he actually brought it.

We can now understand why the word תשמרו is used here. In addition to meaning ‘to guard,’ תשמרו can also mean ‘to anticipate’. As it says:

ואביו שמר את הדבר

After יוסף had his dreams, יעקב אבינו waited and anticipated for them to be fullfilled. And the same is here. The תורה is telling us that even when there is no בית המקדש we can still be connected to the קרבנות by yearning and anticipating for the them to be resumed.

This is especially relevant during these days of בין המצרים, when we mourn the חרבן הבית. The various הלכות and מנהגים of אבילות that we observe are all for the purpose of showing our yearning and desire to once again merit the בית המקדש and the קרבנות.

We’ll conclude with a story that illustrates this point. Rav Yosef Dov Soleveichik, the בית הלוי, was living in Warsaw when a delegation arrived from the city of Brisk, asking him to accept the position of Rav of their city. The Rav responded that he is happy in his current state, and is not looking to move. A member of the delegation responded” Rebbe, there are 25000 Yidden eagerly awaiting for you in Brisk!” Upon hearing that, the Rav immediately accepted the position. The Chofetz Chaim would repeat this story and would add: ” If the בית הלוי agreed to uproot himself because 25000 people were eagerly waiting for him, surely משיח would arrive to redeem us if that same number of Yidden would eagerly wait for his arrival!”

May we all merit yearning for the גאולה and seeing it happen בקרוב בימינו!

We read in the Parsha about בלעם הרשע attempting to give קללות to Klal Yisrael but instead was forced to give them ברכות. The נתיבות שלום asks, this entire episode was carried out without the knowledge of Klal Yisrael, and not in their presence. Why then did the תורה find it worthy to relate this story, which is seemingly a private interaction happening between 2 רשעים?

Answers the נתיבות שלום, by explaining the definition of a ברכה and a קללה.

We say by שים שלום,

ברכנו אבינו כולנו כאחד באור פניך, כי באור פניך נתת לנו…וצדקה וברכה ורחמים וחיים ושלום.

Since הקב”ה is the מקור הברכה, the sourse of all the ברכות, then when we’re connected to Him, we have all the ברכות in the world.

And the opposite is a קללה. That happens when there’s a disconnect to הקב”ה. In that state, there is a loss of connection to the source of the ברכות, resulting in negative consequences.

Rashi notes: מברכותיו של אותו רשע אתה למד מה רצה לקלל. We see from the ברכות what בלעם really attempted to say.

He looked for ways to bring קטרוג on Klal Yisrael and to cause a disconnect with הקב”ה. So for instance, when he said מי מנה עפר יעקב, Who can count the מצוות Klal Yisrael does with the earth, such as כיסוי הדם, or כלאיים, his real intention was to say that Klal Yisrael was too connected to ארציות, materialism. By trying to point out their flaws, he hoped to cause a separation with הקב”ה, which would result in loss of protection and a קללה.

He failed to realize however, that there can never be a separation or disconnect between us and הקב”ה. We have an eternal bond, which can never be severed. It’s a bond of love that nothing and nobody can ever break, no matter the situation of Klal Yisrael.

We now understand why this episode is recorded in the תורה. To remind us at all times, that we remain connected to הקב”ה with an eternal bond of love, and that bond will never be severed.

We’ll conclude with a story highlighting this idea and the live between us and הקב”ה. The well known AARTS committee, was visiting Yeshiva Derech Chaim in Brooklyn, to determine the Yeshiva’s eligibility to receive aid in the form of college grants. The committee is comprised of college professors, both Jewish and non Jewish. After visiting the Yeshiva’s בית מדרש, they went to convene in a conference room to discuss their impressions of the visit. A non Jewish member asked to remain in the sanctuary to continue observing the scene of the בחורים learning. The following was told over by the Rosh Yeshiva, Harav Chaim Rennert, who observed it personally. ” Some 20 minutes later, the professor came running in to the conference room. You won’t believe what I just saw, he remarked excitedly. At the end of the learning session, when the boys put away their copies of the Talmud, they kissed it! In the colleges I teach, there is a hateful relationship with the text books, so much so that at the end of the term, students often perform a book burning ritual. Who ever heard of students loving and actually kissing their books? ”

Such is the eternal bond of live we have between us and הקב”ה, which will never be disconnected!

The פסוק at the end of the פרשה says:

על כן יאמרו המושלים בואו חשבון

The Gemara in בבא בתרא explains the פסוק as follows:

The word המושלים- rulers, alludes to those who are מושלים ביצרם, rulers over their יצר הרע. How are they able to rule over it? By saying בואו חשבון- בואו ונחשב חשבונו של עולם. A person who makes a חשבון הנפש can rule over his יצר הרע. As the Gemara continues

הפסד מצוה כנגד שכרה, ושכר עבירה כנגד הפסידה

When confronted by the יצר הרע to not do a מצוה, one should think of how much שכר he will lose if he doesn’t do it, and how much שכר he will get if he does. Conversely, when tempted to do an עבירה, a person should calculate the benefit or pleasure they will get from the עבירה, vs. the punishment they will eventually suffer, as well as think about the great reward they will get when avoiding the עבירה. When making this type of calculation, a person will eventually learn to control the יצר הרע, by realizing the great benefits they will earn when not following it.

The חפץ חיים asks: why do חז”ל use the phrase חשבונו של עולם- “a calculation of the world,” instead of the more common term חשבון הנפש? Answers the חפץ חיים, the יצר הרע tries to entice a person by saying this world is real and now, and the benefits are immediate, whereas עולם הבא is distant and vague, so why not enjoy the here and now. To which חז”ל say we should answer back by saying, חשבונו של עולם! The world to come is also a real world. But while this world and its pleasures are temporary and transient, עולם הבא is eternal נצחיות, rewards that will last forever and ever. So when we do this type of חשבון, surely we will make the right choices and overcome the יצר הרע with the understanding that עולם הבא is worth much more than עולם הזה

We’ll conclude with a story that highlights this point. A bochur who was a talented drummer was not showing up to night Seder in his Yeshiva. After inquiries it was found that he would instead play at local- non Jewish-entertainment establishments. When confronted by his משגיח, the boy answered, ” When I play at these establishments, I get adulation, fame and money. That’s much more fun than sitting and learning in Yeshiva.” The משגיח replied, ” That may be true, but there is 1 thing you can gain by sitting and learning in Yeshiva that those places can never offer: נצחיות- Eternity!!

May we always merit to make the right choices and earn our eternal place in עולם הבא.

In this week’s Parsha we read about the מחלוקת of קרח with משה רבינו, and the severe punishment that קרח ועדתו suffered when they were swallowed alive by the earth.

We’ve been reading for the last several פרשיות about punishments that כלל ישראל suffered for their עבירות such as the punishment given to the דור המדבר following the episode of the מרגלים, where they were to die on the מדבר over a 40 year period. In all these episodes the punishment was given in a natural fashion. It’s only by עדת קרח that an entire new creation was made to punish them, as the פסוק says

אם כמות כל האדם ימותון אלה…לא ה’ שלחני ואם בריאה יברא ה’ ופצתה האדמה את פיה…וידעתם כי ניאצו האנשים האלה את ה’

Why was it nessasary in this episode to create an entire new בריאה?

The נתיבות שלום explains:קרח came with a complaint : כי כל העדה כולם קדושים

Every Yid is great as we were told by מתן תורה:

ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש

Why then are you משה making yourself greater than everyone else?

His mistake was that while everyone has the potential for greatness, the structure in which the world was created is that there is a hierarchy of משפיע and מקבל. The heavens are משפיע rain to the earth so plants can grow. A husband is משפיע to his wife. And the same is true in רוחניות. A Rebbe is משפיע to his תלמיד. And the only way a Yid can grow is by having a Rebbe to learn from. This dates all the way back to מעמד הר סיני, where הקב”ה gave the תורה to משה רבינו. As the משנה says משה קבל תורה מסיני ומסרה ליהושע ויהושע לזקנים

The structure of תורה comes about from a מסורה of Rebbe to תלמיד and this structure is ingrained in creation. So when קרח came and spread doubt on this structure and challenged the need for a Rebbe he not only was חוטא but actually spread doubt on the whole structure of the creation which was set up in a way of משפיע and מקבל. As such he was punished through an entire new creation as well.

This teaches us the importance of having a Rebbe and learning from them. This can be done by becoming close to a Rebbe and also by reading about צדיקים and learning from their ways.

We’ll conclude with a beautiful story about the great צדיק the Tosher Rebbe זצ”ל. One Pesach night as he concluded his preparations for the סדר and was about to start, a poor unkempt and emotionally unstable man walked in to the house and asked to join. He was given a setting at the table when they realized there were no extra 3 מצות for him to have for making his own המוציא. Without thinking twice the Rebbe gave the poor man his own מצות. The גבאי who related this story remarked: ” the Rebbe would prepare his מצות for an entire year. He would harvest the wheat shortly after last year’s פסח. Then grind it with special כוונות.Then guard it the entire winter, and finally bake his מצות on ערב פסח with great עבודה. With all the עבודה he invested into them, he gave it all away, so that another Yid can fulfill the מצוה.

Such are the ways of our leaders whom we can all learn from!

In this week’s Parsha we read about the story of the מרגלים.  Rav Shamshon Refael Hirsch asks a fascinating question: The פרשה starts off with משה רבינו giving the מרגלים detailed instructions on what to look out for as the explore the land.

וראיתם את הארץ מה היא, ואת העם היושב עליה, החזק הוא הרפה המעט הוא אם רב. ומה הארץ אשר הוא יושב בהנה הטובה היא אם רעה.

They were told to see what kind of people live there, strong or weak, and what kind of land it is, good or bad. When the מרגלים came back they gave their answers to these questions based on what they saw. What then was wrong with their if all they did was give the answers to the inquiries they were told to? 

   To answer this questions says Rav Hirsch we need to take a closer look at the words of the תורה. 

וישלח אותם משה לתור את ארץ כנען.

The word לתור translates literally ” to tour” When a tourist visits a country he’s coming only to see the interesting and beautiful sites the place has to offer. He’s not there to explore the negative aspects of the country. We find the opposite idea in פרשת מקץ. When the שבטים stand in front of Yosef he accuses them:

מרגלים אתם, לראות את ערוות הארץ באתם.

You are spies who came to seek out the weakness of the land. A spy comes to view the country’s weak points. A tourist on the other hand comes to see only the good points. 

This was the mistake of the מרגלים. They were sent to see the good parts of the land and instead, looked for its weaknesses.  What משה רבינו was telling then was: “See how the land treats its natives. Are they strong? That will show you how הקב”ה will help you conquer even strong nations. Are they weak? That’s a sign that הקב”ה punishes the רשעים.  Is the land good? Look what a wonderful land you’re going to inherit. Is it bad? See what happens when people don’t live as they should.” So in essence, the mission of the was to give them חזוק as they prepared to enter ארץ ישראל,  so that they would be better prepared. And instead they looked at things the wrong way and only saw the vulnerabilities of the land. And for that they were punished. They were sent to be tourists, but instead became מרגלים- spies.

We see from here how the way we view things makes all the difference in how we act, and that we should always try to view things through a positive lens. 

We’ll conclude with a beautiful story. In  February 2020 Italy was ravaged by the 1st wave of the Coronavirus. An elderly Italian man was rushed to the hospital and placed on a ventilator, hovering between life and death. Thankfully after several weeks he recovered and was weened off the machine. After spending time recovering he was finally ready to be released and was presented with his hospital bill. The man took 1 look at the bill and burst into tears. The clerk tried to calm him down by promising to work out a payment plan for the hefty bill. To which the man responded ” I’m not crying over the bill. Rather, as I looked at it I realized that here I’m being told to pay a large sum for a few weeks of being given oxygen to breath with. And my entire life until this point I was given oxygen from G-d for so many years and it was completely free! I finally realize His great kindness.”

The way we look at things makes all the difference in the world.

At the end of the Parsha the פסוק describes משה רבינו by saying:

והאיש משה ענו מאד מכל האדם אשר על פני האדמה

Moshe was the most humble of all men on the face of the earth. This is difficult to understand. We know that משה רבינו was the greatest נביא and the greatest person to ever live, as the פסוק says in וזאת הברכה

  ולא קם עוד נביא בישראל כמשה אשר ידעו ה פנים אל פנים

. We find instances in the תורה where משה רבינו stood up strongly to protect his stature as the leader of כלל ישראל.  For example,  in פרשת קרח when his authority was challenged, משה רבינו told הקב”ה

  אל תפן אל מנחתם לא חמור אחד מהם נשאתי ולא הריעותי את אחד מהם.

He stood up firmly to protect his leadership. How then do we understand this seeming contradiction?

To answer this question we need to get a better understanding of the concept of humility. A person who has a feeling of worthlessness may appear to be humble, but in reality that’s false humility. When there is no sense of worth, there will be no drive to accomplish. And that certainly is not the appropriate attitude one should have. Rather, humility is the sense that we do have self worth and a unique mission in life, and that we were given the tools to accomplish our mission. There are individuals who may be given extraordinary talents and strengths, as they were assigned  a unique mission. Nonetheless that does not make them better then anyone else, since the tools were given to him by the רבש”ע in order that they should carry our his role. 

Recognizing our talents is crucial in life so that we will be able to carry out our unique roll. And when a person does not recognize his strengths, he’s in danger of not carrying out his unique תפקיד. 

We find an example of this in פרשת שלח. When the מרגלים relay their negative report to כלל ישראל, they say  ונהי בעינינו כחגבים וכן היינו בעיניהם Rashi notes that they said שמענו אומרים נמלים יש בכרמים כאנשים They heard the giants say to each other ” their are ants in the vineyards who look like people”  How were the מרגלים able to understand the language of the giants, who did not speak לשון הקודש? Rabbi Dr. Twerski explains that when a person has a bad self image, he projects his insecurity on to others and imagine they feel the same about him as he does.

  We can now understand the seeming contradiction in the behavior of משה רבינו. On the one hand, he realized his mission and his greatness. So when his leadership was challenged by קרח he stood up firmly to protect it. Yet he also recognized that this was his תפקיד which was given to him by הקב”ה. And so as great as he was, he did not consider himself better then anyone else, and was not bothered when לשון הרע was spoken about him.

We’ll conclude with a beautiful story  The Novominsker Rebbe זצ”ל was once asked to appear in court to testify on behalf of an aquantince who was facing a possible harsh prison sentence. The defence attorney met with the Rebbe prior to his testimony and asked him to describe to the judge who he is and how much weight his word carries in the orthodox world. “The greater you present yourself as, the more respect the judge will have towards your request for leniency in his verdict”, said the defence attorney.

The Rebbe presented himself to the judge and said as follows: “Your honor, let me tell you a bit about myself. I am a leading Rabbi with a large congregation and Teshiva. I sit on the council of great Torah sages. Every important decision in the Orthodox world crosses my desk.” With that he continued with his testimony on behalf of the dependent. 

That is what true humility is all about. Knowing your virtues, yet recognizing that all that you have was given to you by הקב”ה to fulfill your unique תפקיד.

The parsha starts off with several פסוקים discussing שבת, before moving on to the completion of the משכן. The מפרשים ask what is the connection between שבת and the משכן?

The פסוק says regarding the donations given to the משכן:

ויבאו כל איש אשר נשאו לבו וכל אשר נדבה רוחו אותו הביאו את תרומת ה’ למלאכת אוהל מועד

What is the meaning of כל איש אשר נשאו לבו Any man who’s heart inspired him? What does inspiration have to do with donations to the משכן?

The Ramban explains that these words are alluding to those individuals who were inspired to help with the work of weaving and sewing for the הקמת המשכן. Klal Yisrael had just emerged from slavery and there were no craftsmen among them. Nonetheless there were those who felt an inspiration, a desire and a רצון to help create the משכן. Says the Ramban ” ויגבה לבו בדרכי ה'” They felt a calling to help. And indeed Hashem rewarded them by giving them the skills and the knowledge to create the משכן. This is what the תורה alludes to in the words כל איש אשר נשאו לבו They were not skilled in this labor. All they had was the נשיאות לב, the desire to do it.

These words of נשיאות לב are repeated numerous times in the Parsha, to show that this is the key component in the הקמת המשכן.

רחמנא לבא בעי

Hashem is looking for the desire in a person’s heart, and when it’s there, he will be given the tools to come close.

We can now understand the connection to שבת As we know, there is no special מצוה to actually do on שבת. Unlike Yomtov which has special Mitzvos like Sukkah or Matza. What then should a person do for Shabbos? The main Mitzva is to anticipate and look forward to it. A person’s entire week should be a spiritual preparation for שבת, as he looks forward to spending the day with the רבש”ע. So just like the key component שבת is the anticipation and desire towards the day, so too in the משכן the desire to connect to ‘ה is the key component in creating it.

We’ll conclude with a beautiful story. In the late 1920’s Harav Chaim Shmuelevitz, came to visit the Novardok Yeshiva, located in the city of Bialestock, which was led by his uncle Harav Avraham Jaffen. Rav Chaim asked his uncle to point our the best boys in the Yeshiva. Harav Jaffen pointed out several boys. “This 1 is the biggest Masmid. That 1 is the biggest Lamdan, that 1, the most Ehrlich.” Finally Rav Chaim asked” But who is BEST boy in the whole Yeshiva?” Harav Jaffen pointed out another boy. “What makes him the best? He’s the biggest מבקש. The biggest seeker.” That boy eventually became known as the גדול הדור, the great Steipler Gaon זצוק”ל.

May we all merit being מבקשים and connecting with ‘ה.