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Shabbat-B'Shabbato

Parshat Vayeitzei7 Kislev 5775 (29 November 201!

"S S#"BB"$ "PP%&"#(S#eave) a)* (arth - by %abbi &+ry her,i .a/ho) .eir%abbi o0 Beit 1eh+*a o)2re2atio) 3er+salem

Different sectors within Judaism read different versions of theHaftarah for this week's Torah portion. Ashkenazim read fromthe verse starting, "And Yaacov fed" !Hoshaa #$%#&, unti theend of the (ook )#*%#+. The -ephardim and the Yemenites readfrom "And nation hesitate a(out returning to e" !##%/, unti

"on the furrows of m fied" !#$%#$. And some -ephardicommunities continue unti "... in a parched and" !#&%0.

1e can search for the essentia eements of the Haftarah in versesnear sections which are shared ( a the different communities,since it is a good assumption that these verses represent thecom(ined strength of a sectors of the nation.

2ear the verses shared ( the various Haftarot are two verses thatare ver simiar to each other%

"And 3 am our 45d from the 6and of 7gpt, 3 wi et (ring ou(ack in tents, as in past das" !#$%#+. "And 3 am our 45d from

the 6and of 7gpt, ou wi never know another god, and there isno savior e8cept for e" !#&%*.

The two verses echo what was said in the first of the Ten9ommandments, "3 am our 45d" !-hemot $+%$, (ut the omitthe phrase "4ho too, yo+ o+t )of the 6and of 7gpt." Thisshows us that in addition to our o(igation to accept the authoritof 45d (ecause He took us out of 7gpt )see :ashi% "The fact that3 took ou out of 7gpt is sufficient to make ou o(igated to e"!$+%$, ;nei Yisrae aso are inherent inked to 45d, even (eforethe received an phsica (enefit from Him. This ink is what iscaed "segulah" ( our sages < an innate uni=ue inner =uait. Andthis rises up at the time of redemption% "He (rings the redeemer

to their chidren's offspring" !from the first (essing in theAmidah> see aso the etters of :av ?ook voume $, pages #@5#@/. Bur inherent outstanding characteristic does not negate ourneed for merits, rather it is an eement of our most importantmerit% the fact that we have a uni=ue identit of our own.

The knowedge that "3 am our 45d" sets Yisrae free from(ondage, (ecause "on a save of 45d is tru free" !:a((i

Yehuda Haevi. As a conse=uence of our innate freedom, we areinvoved in two missions% Torah and poitics. 7conomicindependence, which came to the fore when Yisrae dwet in tentsaround the Ta(ernace whie eating heaven manna, faciitated theadoption of the Torah as a permanent possession within Yisrae,

corresponding to the first of the two verses =uoted a(ove.-overeign independence is possi(e for Yisrae (ecause we do notrecognize an other authorit over us e8cept for that of the

9reator, as is noted in the second verse. 3t is impossi(e to (e trufaithfu to the 45d of Yisrae without fufiing these two missions.

3t ma (e that the com(ination of Torah and poitica action ishinted at in Yaacov's vision of the adder at the (eginning of the

Torah portion, which showed him that even at the time of goingout to e8ie it is possi(e to com(ine heaven and earth. Torah

without poitica independence, without a poitica outook,(ecomes something that is not reevant to "tikun" < improving thestate of the word. The poitica dimension (rings Yisrae together

with its historic mission, which is to revea that no e8terna meansare needed in order to have an encounter with the 9reator. Athat is necessar is to cing to His nation, which is free andidependent.

:a((i 9herki is the head of ;rit Bam < 2oahide 1ord 9enter,Jerusaem

P&5N$ &6 V5(7&)ly a 3e4ish Natio)al #omela)* /a) Va)8+ish $errorism- by %abbi 1israel %oze) 9ea) o0 the :omet 5)stit+te

The week after 3 write this artice is e8pected to (e ver storm.

That is not on the weather forecast as of now, it is main a0ore/ast o0 the 2e)eral moo* i) the /o+)try. The eve ofsecurit and nationa controvers wi come to a crest, and 3 hopeand pra that He who Dwes on High wi hear our praers todecrease the eves of anger and wrath.

$errorism (8+als 5slam

3n the matter of securit, we are facing an enem of a tpe withwhich our ancestors were not famiiar < terrorism. This is amurderous and satanic enem who hods a sword dripping with(ood, infused with crue insanit, who is not (acked ( a specificcountr or an arm that is read for hand5to5hand com(at. -emi5anonmous terrorism has (ecome the utimate enem of the free

word, the word of cuture < and not on in the 1estern 1ord.3n the past we spoke a(out terror nations )such as that of -tainand others, (ut toda the concept of terrorism has changed and itnow refers to 2a)2-style m+r*ers a)* /allo+s i*eolo2i/al

viole)/e 4itho+t s;e/i0i/ )atio)al or 2over)me)tal li),s

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specific person, even if it is carried out ( a terrorist organization,is considered poitica murder and not terrorism. This is true, fore8ampe, of the murders of ?enned, :a(in, and others." 3assume doctora candidates a over the word are "making theiriving" from research on terrorism, and are avid defining and

redefining a the reevant terms. eanwhie, "the sun rose, thesstem has (oomed, and the saughterer continues to saughter"!9haim 2achman ;iaick, ";'3r Haharigah," on the su(ect of thepogroms of ?ishinev, #E+&. And this is true not on in

Jerusaem, "Har Nof, the o of the entire and" !Tehiim *@%&.

1hat is missing in a the earned definitions is a ver simpesentence% =")y me)tio) o0 terrorism is a re0ere)/e to 5slam>=

ollateral P+)ishme)t

During the ast decade terrorism has taken on a monstrouscharacter, seeming without an conventiona soution < when it

was transformed into the s+i/i*al a/t o0 a shahi* 4hosa)/ti0ies *eath. 2o punishment has et (een invented in anearth court that wi serve as a suita(e punishment for a suicidaperson for his or her murders. $he o)ly ;ossible *eterre)/e isrelate* to his s+rro+)*i)2s, ( making his cose reatives pafor his deeds in a wa that corresponds to his eve of murder.Fuestioning of 3samic prospective suicides who were caught onthe wa to performing the deed has shown that on harshtreatment of their parents )and especia their mother together

with other fami mem(ers < might perhaps (e some sort of adeterrent for their actions. 50 it 4ill )ot *eter their a/tio)s it/a) at least serve to /reate a 4ar)i)2

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discipe the aggid of ezeritch, and the third was composed (his discipe < the eder :e((e, the author of the Tana.

$he .elo*ies o0 the %ebbe

The two most prominent ra((is in terms of meodies were theTana, who composed ten tunes, and the ast :e((e, who taughtten meodies that were not we5known ( the pu(ic.

Gor nine ears )0/#50/$*, on the eve of -imchat Torah, after the"Hakafot" ended a few hours after midnight, the :e((e woud goup to his room and eat a ight mea. He woud them come (ackdown to the ;eit idrash in the ver ear hours of the da, whenit was neither dark or ight, in a ver specia atmosphere, and teachthe peope a new tune )in the ninth ear he taught two meodies.

The 9hssidim descri(ed a ver rare event, where the :e((e woudteach a ver od meod, one section at a time, and the woud

repeat it unti the had fu mastered it. The tunes e8pressedoutstanding dedication in addition to happiness, and most of themwere set to words from the praers of the Das of Awe and-uccot. 3t seems that he did not compose these tunes himsef (utearned them in his home in his outh.

The :e((e gave enightening e8panations for each meod, (othduring the ear5morning session and the ne8t da, on -imchat

Torah. After teaching the song the :e((e woud share a "mashkeh"< a drink < from his go(et with an(od who promised to(roaden his stud of 9hassidut during the foowing ear.

$he =$zam'ah= ProDe/t

ost of these meodies (ecame popuar ver =uick, (ut to thisver da the have not (een gathered together, and the have not(een accompanied ( modern arrangements, of the tpe whichnot on doesn't ose the interna charm of the tune (ut even(rings it coser to the heart of the istener. :ecent, the work hasfinished on preparing a new 9D5:B of these tunes, ( thename "Tzam'ah" < ) -ou is Thirst. Bn this recording, topmusica artists wi perform the songs, one song for each singer.7ach meod has its own uni=ue "touch," and the set taken as a

whoe is a deep and e8citing creation. The 9D5:B wi comewith a (ooket fu of e8panations a(out the meodies, (ased onthe discussions ed ( the :e((e when he taught them, a in the

modern anguage of 3srae. 6isten, and eno.

$#( @5#$ S$"%$S 5N $#( ("S$1o+ .+st K)o4 4he) to lose yo+r Boo, by hezi ohe)1eshivat .aaleh ilboa a)* .i*reshet (i) #a)atziv

3n our ast artice )9haei -arah, issue #0*E, we discussed the:ashash ):a((i -haom -hara(i, and we wi continue thisdiscussion now. :a((i -hara(i )#/$+5#/// was one of thegreatest masters of the ?a((aah. He was the head of the?a((aah5oriented eshiva ;eit 7, and he is considered as themost important commentator on the works of the A:3. The:ashash was invoved da and night in Torah stud and praer,

and he wrote a -iddur which descri(ed deep interna intentions ofthe praers, (ased on sources within msticism. ;ut he aso knew

when it was necessar to cose his (ooks and take action.

&)e *ay 4he) %abbi Shalom Sharabi 4as o) his 4ay to theBeit .i*rash he sa4 a bli)* 4oma) bareoot a)* *resse*

i) ras hol*i) the ha)* o her small *a+hter< $here 4asheavy rai) that *ay the street 4as +ll o m+* a)* there4ere ma)y ;+**les or the e)tire le)th o the street< $he%ashash ha* ;ity o) the 4oma) a)* o) her *a+hter a)* heas,e* her to /ome home 4ith him< #e remove* his /loa,a)* 4ra;;e* it aro+)* them both a)* he too, his shoes oa)* ave them to the 4oma)< ")* they /o)ti)+e* 4al,i) i)the street 4ith the rabbi bareoot a)* 4eari) o)ly the

arme)t he 4ore i)si*e his home< he) they rea/he* hishome the rabbi ave the 4oma) a)* her *a+hter 4arm/lothi) oo* a)* mo)ey< She as,e* him his )ame b+t here+se* to tell her o)ly sayi) that he too ha* o)/e bee) a

;oor or;ha) a)* that -* ha* hel;e* him a)* that he

thereore 4a)te* to hel; her< $he 4oma) i)siste* aai) o),)o4i) his )ame a)* he tol* her =Shalom

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The widow is em(arrassed when she hears the ra((i's name. -hefees that she caused harm to a Torah schoar and to the ho

Torah ( deaing the ra((i on his wa to stud. -he makes thecommon error that Torah stud is the on wa to perform a

significant spiritua act. 3n his rep, the :ashash shows hisapproach, which is the opposite of her own. There are times when"to refrain from stud is the wa to accompish it." The o(igationto act in a mora wa takes precedence over Torah stud. 1eshoud aso note that in this stor we are (eing taught a newunderstanding of the concept of "Torah stud." The act of eavingthe (ook cosed teaches us the proper wa to open it < we muststud the Torah of 45d with fu intention to act in a mora andspiritua fashion in this word. 3n fact, this is not an interruption ofthe stud, it is rather an attempt to internaize it and transform itinto practica action. This stor does not invove the aws ofheping other peope. :ather, it is a stor that eucidates theconcept of Torah stud.

e5mai% hhcohen*Kgmai.com)3 wi (e happ to hear an storiesou have a(out the wise men of the east.

" 6".5@1 N".(9 =15S%"(@5=" $imely @oss - by %abbi 1i,hat %oze) 9ire/tor o0 the &r(tzio) 5)stit+te P+blishi)2 $orah Boo,s o0 C+ality

Naama's Story

3mma put the phone down, ooking upset. "1hat happenedL" 3asked her.

"That was m sister Yaffa. You know that she ives in the Mnited-tates (ecause her hus(and's entire fami is there. -he has (eenworking for ears as a teacher in a private schoo. The schoo earstarts ne8t week, and she has (een (us getting read for the newear. -he organized the materia, she reviewed the differentcourses, and she eager anticipated the first da of cass."

"And what happenedL"

"2ow, everthing has changed. -he ust received a etter and hereis what was written% '1ith the (eginning of the new ear we aremaking changes in the teaching staff. -tarting with the (eginningof this schoo ear ou wi no onger work for us, ou are here(

fired. 1e wish ou success in a our endeavors. )-igned, theprincipa.'"

"Yaffa has awas (een considered a good teacher. The studentsove her, she is ver good at teaching the cass materia, and she

was successfu in teahing the students to (ehave proper. -heassumes that she is not osing her o( (ecause her work isunaccepta(e (ut rather (ecause of staff changes or pro(ems withthe (udget. ;ut she is sti frustrated, and we she shoud (eI 3tupsets her and insuts her that she has (een singed out to ose hero(. -he is aso worriedI -he had a good o( in this schoo, what

wi she do nowL 1here wi she earn a ivingL 1i she (e a(e tofind other work as a teacher or in some other professionL"

3mma ooked ver worried a(out her sister, who was so far awa.3n the weeks that foowed, there were other ong conversations(etween 3mma and her sister.

Yaffa found one consoation in her new situation. The

management of the schoo was at east decent enough to give herseverance pa, to hep her during the time she woud (e ookingfor a new o(.

Gor the ne8t few months, Yaffa ooked for other work. 3n a shorttime, she found a new and ver interesting o(, where she foundsatisfaction and was =uite successfu. -he fet that 45daccompanied her in everthing that she did, and that He had edher to find a (etter o( than the one she had in the schoo. 1hieooking for the new o( she used up some of the severance pa,(ut some of the mone remained and she saved it to (e used

when she might need it.

;ut she was sti not aware of the rea support that the Divineguiding hand had given her.

And then one da the phone rang. 3t was Yaffa, and she soundedver e8cited.

"Just isten to this," Yaffa said. "As ou know 3 was working in aprivate schoo. -oon after 3 was fired, the schoo found that it hadsevere financia difficuties. The management was therefore forcedto fire man other teachers. The a received a etter simiar tomine, (ut with an important difference. These peope were notgiven as short a notice as 3 was. The were warned severa monthsin advance that the woud ose their o(s. According to the aw in

the Mnited -tates, the did not get an severance pa. 3t did nottake ver ong (efore most of the teachers in the schoo were outof work, without honor, without severance pa, and without anmone to hep them out even for a short time."

And then Yaffa continued, "2ow 3 understand how good 45dwas to me. 9ear, 3 woud not have (een a(e to continueworking in the schoo for ver ong. Amost a the teachers thatworked with me have (een fired. ;ut 3 was a(e to start ookingfor a new o(. And 3 had m severance pa, which gave me anopportunit to make a new start. ;ut a of m od friends had tostart out without an financia supportI"

"Don't ou seeL" 3mma said. "3t's rea amazingI 2ot everthingthat we think is (est for us rea is the (est thing. You thoughtthat (eing fired was terri(e, (ut now ou see that it was rea aDivine pan to hep ou. 3t was the (est thing for ou to ose ouro( =uick. You found a o( that ou ike more, and ou even gotsome e8tra mone that heped ou aong the wa."

)1ith thanks to :a((i Tuvia 6itzman

)2ote% The stories of the "Yisraei" fami are (ased on trueevents or on stories that coud have (een true.:eactions and suggestions for stories% ikhatKgmai.com

%(SP&NS" 6&% &A% $5.(SPrayi)2 o) the $em;le .o+)t - by %abbi %e'eim #a/ohe)%osh 1eshiva a)* hie0 %abbi &t)iel

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C+estio)F3s there an merit to the caim of those who sa thatwe are not aowed to pra on the Tempe ount since this is are(eion against the other nations of the wordL

")s4erF

The verse, "3 have made ou swear, daughters of Jerusaem... Donot awaken the ove unti it is rightfu desired..." appears threetimes in -hir Hashirim )$%/> E%0> @%*. The sages derive thefoowing from these verses%

":a((i Yossi ;ar :a((i 9hanina said% 1hat is the purpose ofthese three oathsL Bne is that1israel sho+l* )ot /limb +; overthe 4all. Bne means that the Ho Bne, ;essed (e He, made;nei Yisrae swear )ot to rebel a2ai)st the other )atio)s o0 the

4orl*. And one is that the Ho Bne, ;essed (e He, made theido worshippers take an oath not to oppress Yisrae too much."

!?etuvot ###a.

This idrash was used as one of the centra arguments againstNionism and against Aiah to 7retz Yisrae. 3t is the main themeof the (ook written ( the :a((i of -atmar, "Vayoel Moshe."

4reat men of Yisrae throughout the generations competereected this caim. grandfather, :a((i -hmue Hakohen

1eingarten, summarized some responsa and proofs against the"prohi(ition of cim(ing the wa" in a pamphet ( the name of"Hishba'ati Etchem" )3 made ou take an oath, which waspu(ished in 0/& )#E/.

$he #ala/hi/ Vali*ity o0 the $hree &aths

The "v)ei Nezer writes% "The :am(am and a the haachicdecision5makers did not (ring the three oaths to which Yisraeswore, (ecause this is )ot a matter o0 hala/ha." 3n fact, the :3G,the :B-H, the :am(am, the TM:, and the -huchan Aruch didnot =uote the oaths in their haachic works.

The Avnei 2ezer =uotes the opinion of the Hafa'ah that theoaths referred on to the e8ie of ;a(on. This is aso theopinion of :a((i Yehoshua from ?utna, disagreeing with the?essef ishna who interprets the :am(am as saing that theprohi(ition to eave ;a(on aso incudes going to 7retz Yisrae%

"This is hard to understand, for it was on said referringspecifica to the and of ;a(on and not to other ands outsideof 7retz Yisrae. The reason is that after the peope were az inthe time of 7zra the did not want to return to the and (ecausethe thought that the had not (een given an a(soute command...However, the peope from our ands, who were part of the e8ieof Titus from 7retz Yisrae together with a the other nations, arenot incuded in this at a, and it )moving to 7retz Yisrae is agreat mitzva..." !Yeshuot ako .

:ashi too impies that the idrash Agadah a(out the oaths is notreevant for the Third Tempe%

"There are man e8ampes of idrash Agadah which do notcorrespond to the fina order of things, for 3 see that -homo

prophesied and spoke a(out the redemption from 7gpt, thegiving of the Torah, the Ta(ernace, the return to the and, the

Tempe, the ;a(onian e8ie, and the ret+r) to the Se/o)*$em;le a)* its *estr+/tio)." !9ommentar on -hir Hashirim$%/.

:a((i 9haim ita writes that the oaths were in effect on for athousand ears%

";ehod, there was a great Divine oath that the peope shoud notawaken the redemption unti the time for ove had returned...Mnti the desire woud come at the end of the oath, after athousand ears, as is written in a ;araita of :a((i Yishmae inCirkei Haichaot, (ased on the (ook of Danie." !3ntroduction to7tz Hachaim.

:a((i Herzog =uoted from the author of Shevet .+ssar)one ofthe wise men of 3zmir from a(out &++ ears ago that "the oath is

no onger vaid from the (eginning of the si8th centur."

1e can aso add a point (ased on the te8t of the idrash itsef