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Table of contents
1) Perashat Hashavoua - Rabbi Eli Mansour
2) Halakhat Hashavoua (Halakhot related to day to day life) - Hazzan David Azerad
The Three Mitzvot Concerning the Obliteration of Amalek (Peninei Halacha)
3) Holy Jokes!
4) FOR KIDS!
This Week's Parasha Insight with Rabbi Eli Mansour
Parashat Ki Tisa- The Sanctity of Every Jew
The Torah in Parashat Ki-Tisa reiterates the command to observe Shabbat, explaining that Shabbat makes us realize "Ki Ani Hashem Mekadishchem" – "that I am the G-d who makes you sacred" (31:13). Somehow, the institution of Shabbat demonstrates that Hashem has made us a sacred nation. In what way does Shabbat show us our sanctity?
The Or Ha’haim (Rav Haim Ben-Attar, 1696-1743) explains by making a simple calculation. Rashi writes that the Torah reiterates the Misva of Shabbat in this context, immediately following the commands regarding the construction of the Mishkan, to teach that the work to build the Mishkan is suspended on Shabbat. As vitally important as the Mishkan is, and as much as Beneh Yisrael were to work on this project with zeal and energy, the Shabbat restrictions override the construction of the Mishkan, and so the work came to a halt when Shabbat began. The Mishkan is exceedingly sacred, but the day of Shabbat is even more sacred than the Mishkan. And yet, although Shabbat is exceptionally sacred – holier even than the Mishkan – there is something even more sacred than Shabbat: a Jew. As we know, the Shabbat prohibitions are overridden for the sake of saving the life of even a single Jew, regardless of who he or she is. When any Jew’s life is potentially threatened, we may – and must – violate Shabbat to protect that Jew.
It emerges, then, that the Mishkan is very sacred – but Shabbat is even more sacred than the Mishkan, and a Jew is even more sacred than Shabbat.
This, the Or Ha’haim writes, is the meaning of the phrase, "La’da’at Ki Ani Hashem Mekadishchem," which establishes that Shabbat observance demonstrates that Hashem has made us sacred. After commanding Beneh Yisrael to build the Mishkan, G-d reminds us that as holy as the Mishkan is, every Jew is considerably holier than the Mishkan – as evidenced by the fact that Shabbat overrides the construction of the Mishkan, and the life of a single Jew overrides the prohibitions of Shabbat.
There was a Hassidic Rebbe who had the practice during weddings to spread his arms and bow on the dancefloor as the men were dancing. When he was asked about this seemingly peculiar practice, he explained that he was not bowing, but rather immersing. Every Jew is sacred, and when Jews assemble together, they create an entity so pristine and pure that it resembles a Mikveh, which brings purity. And so on the dancefloor, this Rebbe would "immerse" to attain purity from this sacred entity.
Every time we see a Jew, we must recognize that we are beholding Kedusha, that we are in the presence of something more sacred than the Bet Ha’mikdash, and more sacred than Shabbat. While we might be very different from this Jew, and we might have strong disagreements with him or her, or may even have reason to be upset with that person, nevertheless, we must appreciate the holiness within this individual, and within each and every one of our fellow Jews. Recognizing the Kedusha of every Jew can help us transcend our differences and disagreements, and live together in peace and harmony as G-d wants us to.
The Three Mitzvot Concerning the Obliteration of Amalek - Peninei Halacha
Three mitzvot in the Torah relate to Amalek. The first is a positive commandment to remember what Amalek did to us, as the Torah says: “Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, as you left Egypt” (Devarim 25:17). The second is a negative commandment not to forget what Amalek did to us, as the Torah says: “Do not forget” (ibid. 19). The third is a positive commandment to eradicate Amalek’s offspring from the world, as the Torah says: “Therefore, when the Lord your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven” (ibid.).
Amalek symbolizes the root of evil in the world. Indeed, Amalek introduced the concept of Jew- hatred to the world. The Jewish people face a difficult struggle in this world. The idealistic, faith-based message that God assigned to Israel incites all the evildoers of the world to rise up and fight against the Jews. No other nation has been persecuted as the Jews have, from the destruction of the Temple, through the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Khmelnytsky Massacres of 1648-9, and culminating in the terrible Holocaust that ravaged our nation. Amalek started it all.
Right after we left Egypt, even before we had a chance to coalesce and organize ourselves, Amalek attacked us, without any provocation or reason. Who did they attack? Slaves on their way to freedom after a prolonged period of servitude. Amalek is the nation whose very existence expresses hatred of Israel and, by extension, hatred of the Torah and the divine idea of repairing the world through kindness and truth. This is why the verse says, “‘Hand upon the throne (kes) of the Lord (Kah)!’ The Lord will be at war with Amalek throughout the ages” (Shemot 17:16). Rashi comments, noting that the verse uses shortened versions for two words – kes instead of kisei and Kah instead of the full Tetragrammaton – “The Holy One, blessed be He, swore that His name and His throne will not be complete until the name of Amalek is utterly blotted out.”
A Jew is naturally kind and compassionate, and many mitzvot in the Torah further cultivate these traits within him. He would naturally be inclined to forgive Amalek. But the Torah commands us to remember what Amalek did and obliterate it. This way, we will remember that there is evil in the world, and that we must fight this evil to the bitter end, without compromise. Only then will we be able to perfect the world.
Bevirkat Shabbat Shalom Umevorach
David Azerad
3) HOLY JoKeS!!
Selection of funny snippets, loosely related to this weeks parashah or current events, to brighten your day
4) FOR KIDS
Click on the image to open the youtube video
