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Table of contents
1) Perashat Hashavoua - Rabbi Eli Mansour
2) Halakhat Hashavoua (Halakhot related to day to day life) By Hazzan David Azerad -
Meat and Wine on Shabbat Ĥazon and at a Se’udat Mitzva -Peninei-Halacha
3) Holy Jokes!
4) For KIDS
This Week's Parasha Insight with Rabbi Eli Mansour
Earning Redemption Through Self-Sacrifice
The Mishna in Masechet Sota teaches that the world will be in a state of disarray and chaos in the generation before Mashiah’s arrival. Youngsters will disrespect adults, and children will brazenly disobey parents. During that period, the Mishna writes, "On whom can we rely? On our Father in the heavens."
The conventional reading of the Mishna is that before the time of the final redemption, the state of the world will be so dire that it will be clear to us that we have only the Almighty on whom to rely, and then the redemption will come.
Additionally, however, there is a deeper interpretation, that the Mishna is coming to answer the question that many of us ask ourselves during this time of year, when we mourn the destruction and yearn for exile: how will we ever be worthy of redemption? If, as our Rabbis teach, there is a process of "Yeridat Ha’dorot" – "the decline of the generations," whereby our nation’s spiritual level consistently declines, then why do we think we can be worthy of Mashiah’s arrival, if previous generations weren’t?
To understand how the Mishna answers this question, let’s look at a different source which tells of what will happen in the future.
In Masechet Shabbat (89b), the Gemara teaches that G-d is going to approach Abraham Abinu and "complain" that his children, the Jewish People, are mired in sin. Abraham is going to reply, "They shall be killed for the glory of Your Name." G-d will then approach Yaakob Abinu, who will give the same response. Finally, G-d will approach Yishak, who, unlike the other two patriarchs, will come to our nation’s defense. He will begin by noting that the Jewish People are not only his children, but also G-d’s children, and by claiming that the nation’s sins are not as numerous as they seem – after all, people are punishable only from the age of 20, and during the time people sleep, pray, and tend to their basic needs, they aren’t sinning. And thus only a very minor percentage of a person’s life is spent sinning. Yishak will then say that he will step up and volunteer to assume responsibility for the nation’s sins. He would be able to that, he will say, "because I sacrificed my life before You." Since he was placed on the altar, ready to be sacrificed for G-d, Yishak will be in a position to assume the full weight of all of Am Yisrael’s sins.
What does this mean?
It means that even if our sins at the end of time will make us unworthy of redemption, we can still nevertheless earn forgiveness through the quality embodied by Yishak at the time he was placed on the altar – the quality of "Mesirut Nefesh" – self-sacrifice. If we do what Yishak did, committing ourselves to make great sacrifices for the Almighty, this outweighs all our guilt such that we are then indeed worthy of being redeemed.
This is the deeper meaning of the Mishna’s teaching that in the end of days, we have no one on whom to rely other than "Avinu She’ba’shamayim" – "our father in heaven." This might be referring not to G-d, but to our patriarch, Yishak. The Zohar writes that although Yishak was not actually sacrificed, nevertheless, since he was prepared to be slaughtered for the sake of G-d, his "ashes" are in the heavens, right by the Heavenly Throne. And thus Yishak is referred to by the Mishna as "our father in heaven" – our patriarch whose "ashes" are present before G-d at all times in the heaven. What will save us at the end of time, when we will be mired in sin, and we will lack the merits with which to be redeemed? The Mishna’s answer is – the ashes of Yishak. Despite our sins, we can earn our final redemption by making difficult sacrifices for Hashem, by showing our selfless devotion to Him by serving Him even when this entails great difficulty and significant sacrifices.
Fortunately, we live at a time when we are not called upon to risk our lives for the sake of Torah. We enjoy the freedom to practice our religion without fear. However, this does not mean that we cannot live with Mesirut Nefesh, that we cannot make great sacrifices for Hashem. Anytime we do something difficult for the sake of a Misva, we are accessing the precious "currency" of Mesirut Nefesh through which we earn our final redemption. It could be writing a check for charity while juggling our expenses. It could be ensuring to pray properly with a Minyan despite our busy schedules, or coming to a Torah class at night despite being tired and fatigued after a long day at work. For many people, dressing according to Halachic standards entails a great deal of sacrifice. For others, closing a business or refraining from work on Shabbat results in a significant loss of income, and thus entails great sacrifice.
This insight should encourage and motivate us to persist, to be prepared to make these and other sacrifices for the sake of Torah and Misva observance. Our generation might be on a much lower level than previous generations – but we are no less capable, and perhaps even more capable, of making sacrifices, of showing our loyalty and devotion to Hashem by following His commands and fulfilling Misvot under difficult conditions and in the face of great challenges. And if we do this, then yes, we can be worthy of our final redemption, may it arrive speedily and in our days, Amen.
Halachot this week are selected and Translated by Hazzan David Azerad
Meat and Wine on Shabbat Ĥazon and at a Se’udat Mitzva -Peninei-Halacha
We eat meat and drink wine on Shabbat Ĥazon, as on every other Shabbat of the year. After all, even if Tisha Be-Av itself falls out on Shabbat, causing the fast to be postponed to Sunday, one may eat meat and drink wine on that Shabbat; one may even serve a meal as lavish as that of King Solomon in his time since there is no mourning on Shabbat (SA 552:10).
In addition, one may taste the meat dishes that one prepares in honor of Shabbat Ĥazon, to see if they need additional seasoning. This is because the purpose of this tasting is not to enjoy, but rather to prepare for the mitzva of oneg Shabbat (making Shabbat a delight).
Similarly, one may eat meat and drink wine at a se’udat mitzva, such as a meal in honor of a brit mila, a pidyon ha-ben, or a siyum. One may also eat meat and drink wine at a bar mitzvah celebration, provided it takes place on the day the boy becomes obligated in mitzvot (see above, section 3).
There are divergent customs, however, regarding the number of people one may invite to such a meal. Some say that during the Nine Days, one must limit the number of people one invites to the celebrants plus an additional minyan of ten men. Others maintain that one may invite all the people whom he would have invited had the meal occurred at a different time. According to Rama, during the Nine Days, until Shabbat Ĥazon, one may invite anyone he would normally invite, but during the week of Tisha Be-Av, one should invite only a minyan of men, in addition to the celebrants. In practice, the halakhic ruling in practice varies according to the circumstance and the need.
The Aĥaronim write further that one should not intentionally schedule a siyum for the Nine Days, in order to permit the consumption of meat and wine, as this is a willful abrogation of the mourning over the Temple. Rather, only one who happens to complete a unit of Torah study during the Nine Days, in the course of his regular studies, may organize a festive siyum meal, provided that he usually does so when celebrating a siyum similar to this one (MB 551:73).
Even one who regularly recites Birkat Ha-mazon over a cup of wine should recite it without wine during the Nine Days (Rema 551:10, Kaf Ha-ĥayim 551:152).
Some have the custom of making a festive meal on the night before a brit mila, but this meal is not considered a se’udat mitzva. Therefore, one may not eat meat or drink wine during such a meal when it coincides with the Nine Days.
Regarding the number of people one may invite to a se’udat mitzvah: See Torat Ha-mo’adim 5:49, which summarizes the three opinions and rules following the most lenient one. mb 551:77 and Kaf Ha-ĥayim 551:165 indicate that there are two opinions regarding what it means to limit the number of guests. According to Levush, it means inviting ten people in addition to those who are actually celebrating the event and their relatives (close enough that they may not testify for or against them in court); one must follow this practice throughout the Nine Days. Rama, on the other hand, rules stringently only during the week of Tisha Be-Av, but during that period he rules even more stringently than Levush does, stating that in addition to the celebrants themselves, one may invite-only enough people to complete a minyan, including relatives. Kaf Ha-ĥayim further states, citing Ben Ish Ĥai, that some people have a custom not to eat meat or drink wine even at a se’udat mitzva. Instead, they eat fish and serve other drinks, in order to avoid uncertainty regarding who may be invited. One certainly recites Birkat Ha-Mazon over wine after a se’udat mitzva. Chabad Ĥasidim customarily celebrates siyumim specifically during the Nine Days, and they invite as many people as possible to the festive siyum meal, claiming that rejoicing over the Torah and increasing camaraderie is restorative. This opens up a "loophole" for eating meat.However Minhag Chabbad is to follow the students of the Ba'al Shem Tov to participate in a Siyum during the nine days but have the custom not to eat meat afterward. In practice, the summer session in yeshivot ends on Tisha Be-Av, which means that the students usually complete the tractate that they study in that session during the Nine Days. But this is not done in order to cancel the mourning; therefore, the yeshiva may serve a distinguished meal, as befits the completion of a tractate that the students studied for an entire session.
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
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