Korach 5774

"And Korach took (separated himself).”  (Bamidbar/Numbers 16:1)

In this week’s Torah portion, Korach challenges Moshe (Moses) and Aharon (Aaron). Chazal (the Sages) say that Korach had a vision that he would have great descendants, including the prophet Shmuel (Samuel).  He falsely assumed that he was righteous enough to be the progenitor of greatness. In fact, his sons were the ones who merited having righteous descendants.

What lesson can we learn from Korach’s mistake?

Writes Rabbi A.L. Scheinbaum in Peninim on the Torah: “A man may possess tremendous potential and he may even have the capacity to see into the future, as Korach did. Yet, he can make one little mistake by not using this gift astutely and it tragically can cause his downfall…Instead of utilizing this prophecy as a catalyst for repentance, he [Korach] used it to impugn the leadership of Moshe.”

As parents, we must recognize our gifts. Our children have tremendous potential. Most of us have enough money to provide for our families, as well as to help people in need. We must make sure we appreciate these gifts and use them for the right purpose, the way G-d intended for us to use them. We must scrupulously avoid using our children to satisfy our own personal needs,or using our wealth to exert power and undue influence.

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Vayikra 5774

“Any meal offering that you sacrifice to Hashem shall not be chametz (leavened), for you shall not burn yeast or honey [as] a fire offering to Hashem…Offer salt on all your sacrifices.” (Vayikra/Leviticus 2:11,13)

Why are we prohibited from using yeast and honey in the sacrifices, and obligated to use salt?

Yeast is an additive that puffs up the dough, changing its state from flat to fluffy. Honey is an additive that sweetens food, changing its taste. Salt, too, is an additive, but its job is to enhance flavor rather than change it. Instead of adding new flavor or quality to the food, salt brings out flavor already present.

Rabbi Zelig Pliskin in Growth Through Torah cites Rabbi Mordechai Gifter: “When serving the A-mighty, you should follow the model of salt. That is, utilize all the abilities and talents that you have to serve Him. Do not be like yeast that causes distortion to what is there. Do not be like honey that is very sweet but is something borrowed from the outside. Be yourself, but make every effort to be all that you can be.”

Rabbi Pliskin notes the custom to dip bread in salt at the beginning of a meal, which serves to remind us of the sacrifices described in this week’s Torah portion. He writes that the table salt can also serve as a reminder to be ourselves and to fully utilize all of our talents and abilities.

As parents, we must help each of our children to identify their individual, unique talents and abilities. Then, we must be the “salt” that helps bring out each child’s potential to its fullest.  

http://www.aish.com/tp/b/1-min-vort/With-a-Grain-of-Salt.html

Vayelech 5773

This week’s parsha contains the last of the 613 mitzvot (commandments). “Write for yourselves this song and teach it to the Children of Israel.” Our tradition teaches that the mitzvah (commandment) is for each of us to write our own Torah or to take part in the writing of a Torah scroll.

Why is Torah called shirah, song?

Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks cites the interpretation of Netziv: The whole Torah should be read as poetry, not prose, as the Hebrew word shirah means both song and poem. Like poetry, Torah is allusive rather than explicit, leaving more unsaid than said.

The Chief Rabbi also references R. Yechiel Michal Epstein, who equates the arguments in rabbinic literature, “the words of the living G-d”, with a song because “a song becomes more beautiful when scored for many voices interwoven in complex harmonies.”

Writes the Chief Rabbi: “The 613^th command is about the duty to make the Torah new in each generation. To make the Torah live anew, it is not enough to hand it on cognitively – as mere history and law. It must speak to us affectively, emotionally. Judaism is a religion of words, and yet whenever the language of Judaism aspires to the spiritual, it breaks into song…Words are the language of the mind. Music is the language of the soul.”

How do we make the Torah new in each generation?

Rabbi Yehonasan Gefen on aish.com provides the explanation of the Ktav Sofer: “This mitzvah is teaching us that it is not sufficient for a person to observe the Torah simply because his parents habituated him to Torah observance. Rather, he must create his own personal relationship with G-d based on a genuine recognition and appreciation of Torah. Writing one’s own Sefer Torah [Torah scroll] and not relying on that of his parents indicates that a person is striving to develop his own path in serving G-d and not blindly following that of his parents.”

While the child must forge his own relationship with G-d, developing his own traits and talents to the fullest, the mitzvah requires that he write the exact same Sefer Torah as his forefathers: “The degree of innovation that he makes cannot go beyond the boundary of the Torah inherited from his parents.”

Writes Rabbi Gefen: “All Jews are born into a line of tradition that goes back to Abraham; we are obligated to faithfully adhere to the instructions and attitudes that we receive from this line of tradition. A person cannot make up his own set of values or lifestyle; there is a tradition that guides him how to live his life. But at the same time, this does not mean that each person in the chain of tradition is identical in every way – there are many ways in which a person can express himself in the fulfillment of the tradition.”

Rabbi Gefen reminds us that on Yom Kippur (which will be observed this year on Tuesday evening September 25 through Wednesday evening, September 26) we will be judged not only for our mitzvah observance, but as to whether or not we are fulfilling our own purpose in life – whether we have utilized our own talents to our greatest ability and found our own niche in serving G-d.

As parents, we must transmit the Torah of our ancestors to our children, while at the same time allowing them to write their own song, their own Torah, and reach their individual potential by fulfilling their unique purpose in life.

Read the Chief Rabbi’s article at chiefrabbi.org/2009/09/12/covenant-conversation-5769-nitzavim-vayelech-the-torah-as-g-ds-song.

Beha’alotecha 5771

This week's parsha opens with G-d's instructions to Aharon regarding lighting the menorah: "When you raise up the lamps…"

What is the significance of "raising up" the lamps, rather than merely "kindling" them?

Rashi explains that the lamplighter is required to hold the flame to the wick until the flame rises by itself, on its own accord. The lights of the menorah are symbolic of the Jewish soul. The words "raise up" (beha'alotecha, the name of the parsha) are used rather than "kindle" or "light" because Aharon's task is to raise up every soul, to bring out the great potential within each individual.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe understands this to mean that the objective of teachers, parents and mentors should be "to establish [our charges] as self-sufficient luminaries. [We should] assist in developing their talents and abilities so that their lamps independently glow and, in turn, kindle the potential in others."

As parents, we must strive to "raise up" the potential in each of our children, revealing it from its state of dormancy. The key is not only to ignite a flame of belief, but to provide direction and confidence in our children's abilities that will take them to the point where they are no longer dependent on our inspiration, and are able to shine strongly without our constant aid.

Raising up can only be achieved by teaching and illuminating with uplifting and encouraging messages. It cannot be accomplished by berating children and putting them down when their actions disappoint us. Instead of trying to change our children, we should recognize their unique potential and help them to achieve it. Mrs. Chana Weisberg writes on www.chabad.org "We 'light up' another not through scathing criticism aimed at crushing individuality, but through warmth, love and validation. By validating positive qualities, by discovering latent capabilities, by igniting his fire so that his own branch shines brightly, we have succeeded in enriching another life."