Reeh (see) as the parsha begins is written in singular form.  As the first pasuk continues, the word “Lifneichim” (before you) is written in the plural. The message that Moshe is relating to the nation is the bracha and or Klalah (curse) that Hashem will give to the Jewish nation. If the Torah is speaking to the people collectively, why is the first word in the pasuk in singular form, whereas the latter part is intended for the plural? Rav Menachem Mendal MiKotzk explains that the Torah is teaching us a profound lesson. The message of the Torah is given to the entire nation but it is each individual member of Klal Yisrael that makes the message of the Torah personal to them. The overall message is equal to all of us as a nation. We are to live our lives as a Holy Nation representing the true path that Hashem wishes for the world. Our obligation is to translate this message into practice.  As this week is Rosh Chodesh Elul, the time of year for self introspection begins. It is important for us to start to think about how we have personalized the Torah to our lives and evaluate our performance in doing so.

 This week was a very difficult one for Am Yisrael.  Four of our brothers and sisters were savagely murdered by terrorists outside of Chevron.  Many of us wonder how Jews are able to live and sustain themselves in the face of potential danger. It is the love of Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael that give these people the strength to live and keep alive a Jewish presence in an area that has some of the most deeply rooted Jewish historic sites in all of Eretz Yisrael.  We owe them a debt of gratitude. May Hashem avenge the blood of those who were killed, and bring comfort to all of the families and children who became orphaned.  

In our Parsha we are given the choice of Chayim and Maves, Life and Death from which to choose.  Hashem then instructs us in the very next pasuk that we should choose life.  One wonders what is the reasoning of including the choice of death. After all, who would choose the latter over the former? Rav Aryeh Levin zt"l explains that the choice described here is one that we face every day of our lives. He explains that there are times that we choose to do something because we feel that we are being pushed by our good inclination to do so, when in truth it is really our evil inclination that is urging us to take that action. To choose life means to be granted the ability to distinguish correctly between our yetzer tov and yetzer hara. There are moments that we convince ourselves that something is right when we know that deep down inside it is really wrong. May we merit to discern and act upon this distinction.

Good Shabbos!

The month of Elul is here and we begin to look at our actions and evaluate where we have succeeded and where we have gone wrong over the last year.  We often hear of the word sinner and the word rasha used during this month. What’s the difference between these two? The “Ben Sorer Umoreh” is translated into English as being “the wayward and rebellious son”.  Sorer is someone who strays from the path, but the word Moreh can be explained in more ways than one.  Rav S. Alter explains that the word Moreh means one who teaches.  A rasha separates himself from all others by not being satisfied with his own infatuation with sin, but teaching others to do the same. We all have faults and, unfortunately, we all commit sins. The real question is, what do we do with what we have?  Do we keep our sins private and internally try to repent for them? Or do we publicize our sins in a way that will teach others that they can successfully sin like us?  Judaism does not believe in public confession, nor does it believe in confession of sins committed between man and G-d to other human beings as a group.  It may be helpful to share one’s personal struggle with confidants who can help one deal with their own personal challenges. I would like to suggest that perhaps the word Moreh, in the aforementioned pasuk, may have another use when it comes to sin. Perhaps when we sin and repent, we are moreh. We teach others, how to approach sin in a constructive way, not by publicizing sin but by being reflective and aware of our frailties and faults as human beings.  As we approach this month with trepidation, let us hope that Hashem cleanses us of our sins and that we are blessed with a Ketiva Vchaitima Tovah.
Shabbot Shalom!

-I would like to wish a Tzeitchem Lshalom to all of our young men and women who will be leaving this week to study in Israel.  Enjoy this special time in Arzeinu Hakedosha and make West Orange proud. Hatzlacha Rabba, and please stay in touch!

-Please mark your calendars for a special Pre-Slichot Learning Program on motzei Shabbat September 4 at 10:30 PM.

Get in the mood! 10:30 -11:00 -Preperation with Chavruta, 11:00 -11:45 -Shiur with Rabbi Klein, 11:45 -12:30 -Shiur with Rabbi Zwickler.

How careful are we when holding a day old baby? I recently heard a story that is most appropriate for the start of Elul.  One morning in a shul, the Sefer Torah was being returned to the Aron Kodesh and Rachmana Litzlan, It slipped and fell out of the person’s hand to the floor. I have been trembling about such an occurrence each time I see the Torah come out of the Aron Kodesh and would like to remind all of us about the fragility and honor that we must give to the Sefer Torah, especially when handling it.  Yet the part of the story that surprised me was the reaction of a number of people in the shul. Upon hearing of what happened, they approached the Rabbi of the shul and insisted that the Torah that fell must have something wrong with it and therefore needed to be checked. The Rabbi didn’t feel it was necessary as the Torah had been checked not long before the incident.  The Torah was checked but the message, I think, is profound.  Chazal tell us that when things happen in life, there are times that we have to look into the meaning of what took place, if we are able to do so.  Ultimately there is so much that we do not understand; yet at times we must try to see if there is a message that we can learn from something that has transpired. It is easy to say that there is something wrong with the Torah- “Let’s have it checked”, but it is more difficult to say there must be something wrong with the way that we treat the Torah “Let’s check into ourselves”. Elul is a month of self-introspection, a time when we begin to question ourselves and our relationship with our Creator.  We daven that Hashem will give us the ability to be honest with ourselves in order to truly appreciate the goal of this month.

 Perhaps the most difficult theological question we find is that of suffering.  Why is there so much suffering in this world?  At times, we see this is the case with very righteous people. In Parshas Eikev, we are told that Hashem chastises His people just like a father would chastise his son. The implication, based on this analogy, is that Hashem loves us dearly, even though He chastises us severely at times. How are we to truly understand this phenomenon? The Maggid Mimezrits explains that this analogy is most appropriate. When a child begins to walk, his father distances himself from the child in order to encourage him. The child may fall. Nevertheless, the desire to reach his father increases. Similarly, when Hashem chastises one of his children, His intention is to bring them closer to Him. Sometimes, He causes us to fall in order for us to strive to become closer to Him. May we strive in our lives to grow on a regular basis, and to improve our relationship with the Creator.

At the beginning of the Parsha, Moshe requests from Hashem to "cross over and see the land". If Moshe's request were granted, and he were allowed to enter the land, why was he asking to see it? He would obviously see it once he was standing inside of it! The Kotzke Rebbe explains that Moshe didn’t simply ask Hashem to see the land physically, he asked Hashem to be able to see the inherent spirituality of the land.  An extension of this spirituality is the inhabitants, and, of course, those who are charged with protecting the physical land: the soldiers. Whether religious or secular, each soldier is selflessly dedicated to the Land and Home of the Jewish people. It is important to recognize, during this time, when we are constantly keeping Israel's soldiers and our brethren in mind, that our community has produced such young men who have put their lives on the line as soldiers in the Israeli army, and recognized the spiritual kedusha that one attains in doing so. May Hashem continue to watch over them and all of the shomrim of our beloved homeland and on this Shabbos Nachamu may He comfort the families of those who have died Al Kiddush Hashem. 

The Torah tells us that a judge must be fair to both litigants standing before him. Rashi explains that one should treat a case dealing with very little money as importantly as one dealing with a large sum of money. The concept here is that justice must prevail at all costs. While this lesson is important in a court of Jewish law, it is also of great importance on an individual level. When we make a decision concerning minor financial matters we may be tempted to make light of the fact that it isn’t a major monetary issue and, therefore, may ignore its importance. The following is a case in point. I once noticed someone in a supermarket tasting a few grapes that were in the produce department. I questioned them as to how they can eat the grapes if they didn't buy them? They responded that the supermarket allows people to taste the produce and that I should not worry, “after all it costs only a couple of pennies”. When I asked the supermarket management, I was told that customers were not allowed to taste any produce unless the product was displayed in order to be tasted.  The taster in this story may have thought that the value of a few grapes was insignificant, while the Torah implies that there is no difference between a few pennies and a hundred dollars.

-Special thanks to Shaindy Zudick and Ilene Strauss for giving classes over the last several weeks on the subject of the churban of the Bais Hamikdash.

The tribes of Gad and Reuven requested from Moshe that they be given land on the other side of the Jordan River and that they need not enter Eretz Yisrael.  Moshe seemed shocked and responded to them “is it possible that your brothers will be fighting a war and that you will be sitting here?” Moshe’s solution to the problem was that these two tribes would fight in the war for Eretz Yisrael and then they would return to the land across the Jordan river. The Tiferes Yehonasan explains that the question Moshe was asking the tribes was really a question and lesson for generations to come. When the Jewish people are being persecuted or attacked anywhere in the world, no Jew is safe. When Israel is in jeopardy, we are all in jeopardy and we need to respond in that way.  As we are in the midst of the three weeks we are reminded that the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash took place because of baseless hatred. The Bais Hamikdash can be rebuilt with unconditional love. Care and compassion for every Jew, anywhere in the world, even if we do not know them on a personal level, is essential for the health of the Jewish nation as a whole on a spiritual level. By staying aware and making our voices heard here in America we can insure that the concern we have for our brethren in Israel also helps their physical safety. For this reason Israel activism is so important. We must remain aware and involved even when things seem to be relatively quiet. I would like to suggest that everyone subscribe to the Daily Alert email that will keep you up to date and suggest how you can help Israel. http://www.dailyalert.org
Good Shabbos!

Ever wonder why Shacharis on Shabbos morning is later than the rest of the week in most shuls?  In Eretz Yisrael it is very common for most minyanim to daven a little bit later than they do during the week and in Chutz La’aretz the custom seems to be to daven quite a bit later than normal.  The Mordechai comments in the name of Rav Hai Gaon that the pasuk in Parshas Pinchas that describes the offering of the Korban Tamid, the daily offering brought in the Mishkan as well as the Bais Hamikdosh, was brought twice daily.  The first time it was brought was בבוקר -in the morning.  The second time it was brought was in the afternoon.  When describing the Tmidin that were brought on Shabbos, the Pasuk only says וביום השבת  and does not specify that the first korban was brought in the morning.  We imply from the fact that the Tamid was brought in the morning all week long, that we do so on Shabbos as well.  However since the pasuk does not say the word בבוקר  when it comes to Shabbos, the custom has arisen to daven a little bit later in the morning on Shabbos.  

Good Shabbos!  

 -Last night I had the honor of giving the invocation at the swearing in ceremony for the new Mayor of West Orange, Rob Parisi. My involvement in the ceremony is a credit to Mayor Parisi, and the relationship that he wishes to solidify with our community. I wish him much luck and success in his new position and hope that all of the residents of West Orange will benefit from his leadership in the years to come.

This week, the West Orange Jewish community joins together in mourning the passing of Rabbi Hillel Horowitz z"l. Rabbi Horowitz was the Rabbi of Beth Israel for more than forty years.  ln Parshas Balak, Bilaam requests that he be granted the ability to die a "Mos Yesharim", a "death of the upright".  Many commentators explain that Bilaam desired to receive a reward in the next world as we do when leaving this world.  A chasid once came to Rabbi Yehoshua of Belz and asked him for a bracha that he should merit to "die like a Jew".  The Rebbi responded "to die as a Jew, even non Jews wish for that as we see from Bilaam. The real challenge is to “live like a Jew". What does it mean to "live like a Jew"?  It means to be a Yashar, a straight person, honest, sincere, and dedicated to serving one's creator in every facet of one's life. Rabbi Horowitz z"l was a Talmid Chacham par excellence but never flaunted his knowledge. He had the respect of his colleagues and all who knew him because of the person that he was.  In the years that I merited to know him, I never heard Rabbi Horowitz utter a disparaging word toward anyone. At times Vaad meetings over the years have become heated, but I never saw Rabbi Horowitz lose his cool.  Most notably Rabbi Horowitz would represent the other Rabbis in the community by making the transaction with the non-Jew on Erev Pesach each year. He continued doing so until this past year, as he persevered even when life became most difficult.  He was always most gracious and treated every human being with the respect they deserved in his work as a chaplain or as a Rabbinic figure in our community.  May we as members of the community remember him for the way in which he carried himself, his humility, menschlichkeit, and wealth of Torah knowledge.  He was a representation of what a Rav should really be.  Tehei Nishmaso Tzrurah Bitzror Hachaim.

-Today marks the 4th year that Gilad Shalit is being held in captivity. Please continue to keep him in your tefilos.

-I would like to wish all those campers leaving this week a most enjoyable summer.

Good Shabbos!