Interesting Analogy

There is an interesting analogy brought in the ספר הישר describing how one needs to prepare himself to receive holiness, contentment, and peace of mind. There is a certain amount of cleaning that one must do.

The comparison is to a painter who must properly prepare the object he is painting. He must smooth out the surface and remove all obstructions, in order for the paint to be absorbed by the surface. If such preparations are not made, the paint will peel off in a short time.

The same holds true with our spirituality. If we don't drive away the חלאי המחשבה, the sick way of thinking in a negative way, and our unbridled lusts, the holiness will not take hold and will peel off in a short time.

Therefore, we must work on thinking positively and overcoming our desires. The reward will be our connection to Kedusha and Hashem.

Interesting Analogy

There is an interesting analogy brought in the ספר הישר describing how one needs to prepare himself to receive holiness, contentment, and peace of mind. There is a certain amount of cleaning that one must do.

The comparison is to a painter who must properly prepare the object he is painting. He must smooth out the surface and remove all obstructions, in order for the paint to be absorbed by the surface. If such preparations are not made, the paint will peel off in a short time.

The same holds true with our spirituality. If we don't drive away the חלאי המחשבה, the sick way of thinking in a negative way, and our unbridled lusts, the holiness will not take hold and will peel off in a short time.

Therefore, we must work on thinking positively and overcoming our desires. The reward will be our connection to Kedusha and Hashem.

Interesting Analogy

There is an interesting analogy brought in the ספר הישר describing how one needs to prepare himself to receive holiness, contentment, and peace of mind. There is a certain amount of cleaning that one must do.

The comparison is to a painter who must properly prepare the object he is painting. He must smooth out the surface and remove all obstructions, in order for the paint to be absorbed by the surface. If such preparations are not made, the paint will peel off in a short time.

The same holds true with our spirituality. If we don't drive away the חלאי המחשבה, the sick way of thinking in a negative way, and our unbridled lusts, the holiness will not take hold and will peel off in a short time.

Therefore, we must work on thinking positively and overcoming our desires. The reward will be our connection to Kedusha and Hashem.

Scapegoat and תחום שבת

Another example of תחום שבת is found as part of the Yom Kippur service. It was related to the שעיר לעזאזל, the scapegoat sent to carry out the sins of the people.

The person designated to take the scapegoat and throw it off the cliff, needed to travel a very great distance (some say as much as ten kilometers out of Jerusalem.) Every 2000 אמות which was the same as תחום שבת,had a Succah waiting for him. They offered the messenger food and water in case he felt faint.

The Gemara in Yoma says that he always refused the offer. In total, there were ten Succot waiting after each 2000 אמות. When he reached his destination and threw the goat over the cliff, and saw the red ribbon turn white, he completed his assignment.

He remained in the last Succah until the end of the fast.

Mitzvot and Treasures

One more interesting point from פרשת בשלח. The Torah makes a point of telling us that Moshe Rabbeinu himself took the bones of Yosef out of Egypt for his permanent burial in Shechem. There are two lessons to be learned from Yosef's remains. The Egyptians thought that they could the Jewish people in Egypt indefinitely as long as they hid Yosef's remains.

The Midrash says that Moshe stood by the water where Yosef was placed and said the magic words, פקוד יפקוד and the casket with the bones rose to the top of the water. One final time the Egyptians were shown that they cannot outsmart Hashem and Moshe Rabbeinu.

The second lesson was that while Moshe searched for Yosef's remains, the rest of the people were searching for gold and silver. The Ramchal says that if we would only seek out Torah and Mitzvot, the way we seek treasures, we'd be better off. Moshe taught this by his personal example.

Fence Around the Torah

There is a Mishna in Pirkei Avot that says עשו סיג לתורה, to make a fence around the Torah. This means that the Rabbis are empowered to set up laws to safeguard that Torah. Their job is to be certain that they make it one step more difficult so as not to come to violate a Mitzva.

Surprisingly, this is learned from the beginning of Parshat בשלח where Hashem felt it would demoralize the people if they were to go to war immediately after the exodus. He, therefore, took them on a circuitous route in order to "make a fence" that they not be harmed.

This is also the idea behind תקנות or decrees that the Rabbis are allowed to make. They take into account the needs of a particular society so as to keep it strong during difficult and trying times. These תקנות are meant to protect and safeguard the Jewish people.

תחום שבת

Shavua Tov. In פרשת בשלח we have a reference to תחום שבת. We are not supposed to leave the city limits on Shabbat up to 2000 אמות or cubits. The Rabbis made up the concept of עירוב תחומין where one puts food 2000 אמות out of the city before Shabbat. If the traveler stops to eat that food on Shabbat, he's awarded another 2000 אמות.

There is a practical application where a person might be in a non-religious Yishuv on Shabbat and the nearest Minyan is in another Yishuv a few miles away. He makes this עירוב תחומין before Shabbat in order to reach his destination within Halachic boundaries.

The mystical reason for this according to the של״ה הקודש, is that if we remain stationed in one place, Shabbat is the perfect time to break up קליפות, or negative barriers, that prevent us from coming closer to Hashem. Leaving our domain minimizes our ability to break the קליפה.

Drowning Egyptians

Parshat בשלח discusses the great miracle of קריעת ים סוף. We learn that Hashem told the Angels in Heaven to stop rejoicing because His creation, the Egyptians, were drowning. This was not a time for celebration.

The של״ה הקודש asks that it's written that when רשעים fall, there is רינה, happiness. He answers that the Egyptians were not really completely evil because they did acknowledge Hashem's greatness at the ים סוף. The Pasuk says אנוסה מפני בני ישראל כי ה׳ נלחם להם במצרים, that we must run away from בני ישראל, because Hashem is fighting for them in מצרים.

We see many instances when even our enemies receive some merit because they recognize the G-d of Israel. This explains why the angels were not allowed to rejoice. Shabbat Shalom

Thoughts and Soul

The ספר הישר discusses the connection between one's thoughts, his מחשבה, and the level of his spirituality, or, his נשמה. The two are very much inter-related.

When one consistently allows himself to let in negativity and negative thoughts, it's an indication that he has a weak soul. If one had a strong soul, he would always think positively and optimistically.

The comparison is to our physical body. If we don't take care of ourselves and allow our body to consume bad foods, our bodies will be weak. If we eat right and exercise, everything will be flowing and we will be healthy.

The solution for our weak spirituality is to bombard it with "healthy" foods of holiness. We do this by surrounding ourselves with holy, positive, people. We immerse ourselves in Torah and allow only the teachings of Chazal to enter. Allowing a negative thought to enter, is like allowing damaged food into our bodies.

If we create a spiritual filter, we will become much stronger and more productive people. We will always be in a state of happiness and contentment. Great advice from Rabbeinu Tam and his ספר הישר.

Jewish Majority

Upon reflecting on Jewish History, there is an amazing historical fact. When the Jewish people left Egypt, there was a period of nearly nine hundred years that the majority of the Jews in the world were living in Eretz Yisrael.

In Kings I 6:1, it says that at the end of 480 years from the exodus from Egypt, the Temple of Shlomo Hamelech was completed. His Temple lasted 410 years. The ten tribes were lost at the end of the first Temple period.

Since that time, which was about 2500 years ago, the majority of Jews in the world have not lived in Israel. This is about to change.

Incredibly, we have merited living in a time when once again the majority of the Jews are living in Israel. Conservative estimates say that this will happen in the year 2130. At that time, new Halachic laws will take effect regarding תרומות ומעשרות.

Happy are those that have eyes to see and appreciate these special times we are living in, and chose to be part of that number of Jewish majority. How sad it is for those who are unable to pry themselves loose from the Galut, and have not come home.

Forgetfulness

There is a chapter in ארחות צדיקים titled שכחה, or forgetfulness. On the one hand, we are commanded in the Torah that it is forbidden to forget what we saw at Mount Sinai. And it is forbidden to forget the Torah that we once studied. But, on the other hand, we are also supposed to be careful about selective memory.

It can be very dangerous for one to only remember his good deeds and conveniently forget his transgressions. This will cause the person to overrate himself and think of himself as a Tzaddik.

It is much more beneficial for a person to forget about his Mitzvot and downplay them. He should focus on remembering where he has done wrong, and work at fixing his weaknesses.

It is interesting to me how our Rabbis understood human nature so well and how they saw it as their job to always find ways to motivate people to achieve the maximum at self improvement.

Chametz and Negativity

 Another message learned from the idea of ridding ourselves of Chametz, also comes from the של״ה הקודש. He says that the act of cleaning our homes of Chametz is to rid ourselves of negativity and negative influences.

We are to be aware that we can easily get sidetracked from our goal of achieving holiness, if we allow negativity to come in. The negative influences put doubts into what we are doing and makes us wonder if we will achieve our goals.

Rav Mann זצ״ל used to speak about the dangers of negativity. He would see this as a constant battle to be sure that we are thinking in the right way. We should be aware when we allow negativity to come in, and we must learn to send away all negative thoughts.

The act of removing the Chametz, is meant to drive home this point. Stay away from negativity and negative influences.

חמץ ומצה

Shavua Tov. I returned at 1:30 before Shabbat. Good to be back.

The Parsha today spoke a great deal about חמץ and מצה and their significance. The של״ה הקודש points out that the letters in both words are exactly the same except for the ה in מצה and the ח in חמץ. The explanation is that the ח represents haughtiness and the ה humility.

This is a huge lesson in life where it is easy to get carried away with oneself and give in to one's ego. When this happens, one loses his closeness to Hashem and his overall direction.

Humility, on the other hand, keeps a person grounded. It helps a person realize what his place is in the world and how his complete existence depends on Hashem's kindness.

We must always remember that simple corollary from Moshe Rabbeinu. The greater the person, the more humble he is. The smaller the person, the more conceited he is.

Kiddush Hachodesh

• The של״ה הקודש was a great Kabbalist. He speaks a great deal about the struggle between the sun and the moon. The argument was initiated by the moon who felt that both luminaries should not have been of equal size. Hashem agreed and made the moon weaker than the sun. In Messianic times, the moon and sun will be equal again.
• In this week's Parsha, we are taught the laws of קידוש החודש, the sanctification of the new month with the first appearance of the new moon. The moon was a symbol for the Jewish people. The fifteenth generation after the exodus from Egypt was the reign of Shlomo Hamelech. Just as the moon is at its peak on the fifteenth day, Shlomo's reign was never eclipsed (good pun) by any other time in history. On the other hand, the twenty-ninth generation was that of King Tzidkiyahu, that corresponded with the destruction of the first Temple. On the twenty ninth day of the month, the moon is barely seen.
• The Rambam demonstrates his genius in the Mishne Torah and the laws of קידוש החודש. He gives complicated, detailed calculations showing how we can predict exactly and at what angle in the horizon, the new moon will first appear. קידוש החודש was the first Mitzva given in Egypt. Shabbat Shalom

Learning Lishma

Parshat בא has a total of twenty laws in it. Nine are positive and eleven are negative commandments. Most of these laws have to do with the offering of the Pesach sacrifice, while others deal with some of the rules related to the preparation of the Pesach holiday. They discuss the prohibition of having Chametz in our possession and the prohibition of eating Chametz.

The של״ה הקודש takes this Parsha as his opportunity to emphasize the importance of studying those laws that have no relevance in today's world. Even though we pray and believe that we will one day offer the קרבן פסח, the details as to how to prepare it, do not yet affect us.

The point of the של״ה הקודש is that when we diligently learn such laws, we are rewarded as if we observed them.

My late brother in-law Rav Yair זצ״ל, (his Yahrtzeit is in the month of שבט) once told me when I was eighteen years old, how important it was to study all of the rules related to all of the קרבנות. Not only is there great reward in such study, but it is an indication that one is truly learning Torah לשמה, for the sake of Heaven.

From time to time, we need to be reminded of this.

השגחה פרטית

There is a concept in Judaism called השגחה פרטית which is translated as Divine supervision. This means that we believe that Hashem is involved and cares about every human being .

Hashem hears our prayers and guides each individual according to the direction that person wants to go. If one chooses to be close to Hashem, then Hashem will make it happen. If one distanced himself from holiness, he will be distant.

The idea of השגחה פרטית is that the world is being run by Hashem and all mankind is dependent on Him. Nothing happens by chance and there is a purpose to everything.

The Mishna in Brachot tells us that we must mention יציאת מצרים in the morning and at night. We do this by reciting the third paragraph of Shema, that speaks of Tzitzit.

The whole purpose of mentioning Egypt is so that we do not think, G-d forbid, that Hashem created the world and left it.

In Egypt, His involvement was in an outward, obvious way. He is equally involved with us on a daily basis, if we open our eyes and see.

Promises of Redemption

The Maharal makes a comparison between the ברית בין הבתרים, when Avraham was put in a deep sleep, and the four promises of redemption.

Avraham is told that his children will be strangers in a land that does not belong to them. And they will be enslaved and they will be afflicted and afterwards they will go out with great wealth.

The Maharal suggests that we learn the various stages of servitude. The first level is that we are strangers and we don't feel the same sense of belonging as the residents. We realize that this is not really our land. Slowly, we are asked to do acts of hard labor. This labor increases to the point where we are afflicted or tortured until our prayers for redemption are answered.

Each promise of redemption removes us from each level of affliction. It comes out that והוצאתי, והצלתי, וגאלתי, ולקחתי correspond to these levels.

The Maharal further suggests that there are hints to future exiles that began without too much pain, but got progressively worse.

If we would only learn the lessons of history, we would not repeat the same mistakes.

No Free Will for Pharoah

The Rambam speaks of deviants who anger Hashem by their behavior. His definition of deviant refers to those individuals who do not accept the basic principles of the Torah.

Those who question such basic ideas as the Torah coming from Sinai and every letter of the Torah was given by G-d to Moshe. They must believe in prophecy and Olam Haba and תחיית המתים, the resurrection of the dead. One who denies G-d, has the doors of Teshuva closed to him.

Such a denier was Pharoah who constantly questioned Hashem's existence. The Ramban says that after the first five plagues, Hashem took away his free will and the second five plagues were given against his will.

There is always place for Teshuva but if we stray too far, it becomes a little more difficult to come back.

Breathing Easy

Shavua Tov from LA. There is an interesting Pasuk in today's Parsha where it says that the people could not believe Moshe Rabbeinu when he told them that he was the redeemer because of קוצר רוח ועבודה קשה. We translate קוצר רוח to mean shortness of breath.

Rashi points out that there is a different way of breathing for one who is stressed out and one who is calm and relaxed. When one is under pressure, he takes short breaths as if he's gasping. When one is relaxed, he is able to take long deep breaths.

This is also good advice as a method to test our own level of functioning. The way we breath, is a reflection of how we are feeling.

In Chassidut, there is an emphasis on רגיעה, calmness. We are to try to maintain a level of peace of mind with the knowledge that Hashem is watching over us. We are to monitor ourselves to be certain that we remain calm and relaxed.

It is understandable that our ancestors in Egypt, were short of breath. We have no excuse but to work on breathing peacefully.

Moshe's Questions

Another difficulty in understanding Moshe Rabbeinu is that in the early stages, he seems to be complaining to Hashem. His questioning seems to be downright disrespectful.

Rashi comments about this and says that Moshe was reprimanded for this. Hashem tells him that the Avot, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, are sorely missed for they never questioned Him as Moshe did.

When Moshe asks why Hashem made things worse by the Jewish people having to gather straw, he was really asking for understanding as to how Hashem operates in the world. His tremendous humility made him question G-d if he was really the right choice to lead the nation.

Moshe ultimately reached the highest level ever attained by man, because of his questions. He eventually understood how Hashem manifests Himself in this world, more clearly than any human being.

Each of us has to work on "knowing G-d", לדעת את ה׳, in the words of the Rambam. Not only will this knowledge elevate us spiritually, but it will cause us to be more humble people. This will come when we recognize our own vulnerability as compared to the Al-mighty G-d. Shabbat Shalom