Parshat Pinchas By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Pinchas

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron 

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Pleading the Case for the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"אַךְ בְּגוֹרָל יֵחָלֵק אֶת הָאָרֶץ לִשְׁמוֹת מַטּוֹת אֲבֹתָם יִנְחָלוּ:" (במדבר כו, נה)

"Our Father, Merciful Father! Show us a sign of goodness, and gather our dispersions from the four corners of the earth, and all nations shall know that You are HaShem our God... Have mercy on Your People, have compassion on Your Land, have mercy, please, as befits your great compassion.."  These words are only a short excerpt from the many pleadings to HaShem found in the Tahanun prayer (Sephard) to end our Exile, to ingather our People, and to have compassion on our Holy Land.  In addition to the ingathering of exiles, one of our People's great aspirations is not only that our People settle in the Land, but also that this settlement be in a specific way or division, in which each person settles in a portion of the Land befitting his tribe. Needless to say, that to ascertain today to which tribe a person belongs is a feat almost undoubtedly dependent on the advent of 'ruah hakodesh' ('holy spirit of divination') or prophecy, since very few can trace their ancestry to Biblical times, when this 'division' was last operating. The advent of this 'ruah hakodesh' or prophecy may also be linked to the revival of the power of the Shechina in our Land which also comes in conjuction of the return of Israel to the Holy Land as we have mentioned (based on Zohar and more) many times before (just as the 'absence' of the Shechina is linked to the absence of 'ruah hakodesh' in the Bais HaMikdash in Yoma 21b). In our title quote from this week's parsha we learn that the Land was divided among the tribes by lots. Our Sages add (Baba Batra 117) that in addition to lots, 'ruah hakodesh' was also an integral part of the division process, a matter that highlights the divine and supernatural connection of our People to the Holy Land, not only in a general way as ascertaining the tribes of people as mentioned above, but also in a very specific and practical way in defining specific plots of land for specific individuals. We should also add that this division of the Land between the tribes, is a crucial step, built on top of the basic step of settlement of the majority of Israel in the Land (this basic step is sufficient for the mitzvot of teruma and maaser (Rambam Terumot 1)), for the renewal of the observance of many mitzvot, such as: Shemita and Yovel, the 'Hebrew servant', 'redemption of Land' (see parshat Behar), and more (Rambam, Shemita V'Yovel 10, 8). What meaning can we muster from the great importance given to dividing the Land between the tribes? If we understand that the completion of our People's spiritual potential comes through settlement of the Holy Land, then we can go further to understand that there are different parts of the Land which befit and complete the different missions of each tribe's specific potential. When this unique 'relationship' of each tribe is established then the whole People's 'relationship' to the Land reaches an even greater spiritual level. Hebron is the capital city of the tribe of Judah (see David's ascent to royalty via Hebron). Judah is the tribe of leadership. By supporting Hebron, we build the leadership of today and of our promising future. (Note: It should be clear that all terms used in context of the Holy Presence (to 'awaken', revive, etc) do not say anything about the essence of the Shechina, but rather are meant to 'soothe the ear' to contemplate the ways the Shechina as it is 'revealed' to us. Add. Note: all 'meaning' or reason given for the mitzvos are also to 'soothe the ear' to contemplate on HaShem's ways, but definitely do not claim to present the ultimate reasons of mitzvot, which are divine decrees far deeper and beyond our understanding, also not dependent on the 'reasoning' we present).

Real Stories from the Holy Land #24: "One day we signed a contract to buy a house in Kiryat Arba.  That very same day the landlord of the apartment we had been renting, who did not know anything about this contract, suddenly called after not talking with me for several months. He said that that very day someone offered to rent the apartment in our stead."

Parshat Balak By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Balak

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron 

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Uniting with the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"כִּי מֵרֹאשׁ צֻרִים אֶרְאֶנּוּ וּמִגְּבָעוֹת אֲשׁוּרֶנּוּ הֶן עָם לְבָדָד יִשְׁכֹּן וּבַגּוֹיִם לֹא יִתְחַשָּׁב"

"You are One, and Your Name is One, and who is like Your People Israel, one people in the Land." It is on our holiest day, Shabbat, and on its highest spiritual height, the Minha prayer, that we proclaim these words, proclaiming our tremendous "oneness" with HaShem - just as He is One, we, the People of God, are ultimately united with and by Him.

It is when our People are in the Holy Land, united with and by the Holy Presence therein, that we will truly express our great Godly potential, so much so that in the future the righteous will be called in the Name of God (in addition to MaShiah and Jerusalem - Baba Batra 75b). Indeed, the term used for dwelling in the Land in our title quote is "yishkon" - strongly connected, by our Sages, with the term Shechina, as we showed in parshat Toldos by the Midrash on the commandment on Yitzhak to dwell - "shechon" - in the Land - to revive the power of the Shechina within it.

Our title quote also alludes, according to our Sages, to our Patriarchs and Matriarchs, who were the forerunners in reviving the power of the Shechina (Pesikta, 1). Thus, according to our Sages, our title quote should be interpreted as follows: "For from the days of the Patriarchs ("heights of cliffs") I shall see them, and from the days of the Matriarchs ("hills") I shall gaze upon them, surely they are a People that will dwell ("and 'revive' the Shechina) alone, and will not be considered (in the same status) as other nations".

These words are not said by the lovers of Israel, and not even from the greatest of Prophets, Moshe, but rather are delivered from the mouth of one of Israel's greatest foes, Bilam (acc. to Midrash he advised Pharoh to kill all Jewish males), a matter that highlights that the praises of Israel in this week's parsha cannot be even mistaken as stemming from anything close to nationalistic pride, but rather from sole Divine Truth.

That said, what is the significance of Israel being "alone" in the Land, and to be "considered apart from other nations"? Does this mean that other nations cannot live in the Land of Israel? To begin with, we definitely do see a halachic allowance of gentiles dwelling in the Land of Israel in the form of "residential converts" ("ger toshav" - to be differentiated from a "ger tzadek", a Jewish convert), who take on just a few basic obligations of citizenship, but remain gentiles.

That said, we see that the Torah, in its commandment "lo tehonem" (Deut. 7, 2), and Halacha, explaining this commandment, do give a certain validity to our title quote, not only as a future prophecy, but also as a viewpoint to be brought down in today's practice, to a certain extent. The term in Dvarim "lo tehonem" is interpreted by our Sages, and ultimately Halacha, to mean "not to give other nations 'anchorage' ("honem"="hania") in the Land" (A"Z 20a).  This is the source for the Shulhan Aruch's (and Rambam's) ruling that: "one is not to sell to them (gentiles) houses or fields in the Land of Israel" (Yorah Deah 151, 8 - a competent posek should be consulted in regard to practice).

This said, what meaning can we gather from the complexity of the laws regarding gentile "residential converts" and the prohibition of selling the Land to gentiles? Isaiah (62, 5) compares our People to a husband and the Holy Land to a wife. Just as in regard to husband and wife intimate union (see Isaiah) is only achieved by the absence of other beings in their midst, so too the full connection of our People to the Land is only achieved by full-undivided and committed union between our People and the Land. Thus, just as the Shechina rests between husband and wife, so too the Shechina rests between the People and the Holy Land.

However, this union is primarily established by the commitment of settling the Land in the form of ownership. Therefore, the allowance of other nations to be present in the Land without ownership is not necessarily considered a disruption of this intimate union. Hebron, by its very name, incorporates this union. By connecting to Hebron, we unite with the Land, we unite our People through the Land and our common roots, we unite with the "heights of cliffs", our holy Patriarchs who 'revived' the Shechina in the Land, we become one with the One and Only Unique Holy One. "Shema Yisrael, HaShem Eloheinu, HaShem Ehad".

Real Stories from the Holy Land #23: "We were in need of a light-weight stroller for our infant, who had "graduated" from her heavy-weight baby-carriage. I prayed to HaShem that He provide us with such a stroller. Shortly after praying, I found an operating light-weight stroller next to the dumpster, for the first time in a numbers of years."

Parshat Chukat By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Chukat

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron 

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"Awakening" the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"אז ישיר ישראל את השירה הזאת... ויקח ישראל את כל הערים האלה וישב ישראל בכל ערי האמרי..."

"R' Shimon arose and said... 'Listen, Lofty Ones - these are the "slumberers of Hebron" (Avot) and the "the Faithful Shepherd" (Moshe Rabeinu) - Wake up from your sleep!... Wake up and praise, to "awaken" the Holy Presence, for She is "asleep" in Exile..." (Intro to T. 

Zohar incorporated as intro to prayers acc. to Sephardic custom) 

Indeed, we are hearing the ever-strengthening wakening calls of

Redemption, calling us to awaken ourselves and others, calling us to revive our People, calling us to "awaken" and revive the Holy Presence in our Holy Land. These calls of wakening and excitement are a direct product from the closeness of Israel to its Holy Land, as seen explicitly in the Midrash on the "Song of Israel" in our week's parsha (see title quote and its Rashi). 

The Midrash (Bamidbar Raba 19, 26) explains that this song was sung out of praise and excitement for the miracle that occurred at the Arnon River, in which an earth-quake crushed the enemies of Israel. The Midrash explains that the earth quaked, because Israel approached the Arnon River, the border of the Land of Israel - "just as a maidservant (the Land of Israel), when she sees the son of her master (People of Israel) approaching, she (maidservant/Land) jumps up (in excitement) to greet him (even) before his entrance" (words of the Midrash). 

When we examine this midrash more deeply, in context of the Holy Presence, we gain an added dimension of understanding. When our People merely approach and "make motions" towards our Holy Land much spiritual "excitement" is sparked, for these "motions" are the catalysts towards "arousing" the Holy Presence in our Holy Land. 

In this week's parsha, this initial "approaching" is not left to disintegrate into the annals of history, but rather is actualized in the form of  permanent settlement in the "Amorite cities" on the Eastern Bank of the Jordan (mentioned in second half of our title quote). The concept of "the Eastern Bank of the Jordan" mentioned in this week's parsha and on-wards plays an important Biblical and halachic precedent to the semi-holiness of locations adjacent to Israel-proper (on the Western Bank). 

Without discussing the many halachic details involved in this "semi-holiness", we shall say, for short, that it is only because these areas were not conquered after the conquer of the entirety of proper Israel, that these areas are not considered to be fully holy as the rest of the Land of Israel (Rambam, Melachim veMilchamot 5, 6) Nevertheless, we may infer from such "semi-holiness" that all efforts to enhance the Land of Israel are yet-still the motions of holiness, motions of reviving the Shechina in our Land. Thus, we connect to the ways of our Patriarchs, "awoken Ones of Hebron", who connected to our Holy Land long before it was actually conquered by their descendants. May we realize our Patriarch's vision and promise and the dreams of their 

descendants for countless generations. May we awaken Redemption.

Real Stories from the Holy Land #22: "Our lap-top, used for work, was under repair for several weeks. We were told that it would take at-least another 4-5 weeks to get it back. Although we managed with the work-load nevertheless for several weeks, one day we came to the conclusion that we have no choice but to find a temporary computer/arrangement to keep up with the work-load. That very day we got the lap-top back, repaired"

Parshat Korach By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Korach

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron 

בס"ד

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"Fighting the Case" for the Shechina in Our Holy Land

""וַאֲנִי הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לְךָ אֶת מִשְׁמֶרֶת תְּרוּמֹתָי... לְךָ נְתַתִּים לְמָשְׁחָה וּלְבָנֶיךָ לְחָק עוֹלָם:" (במדבר, יח, ח)

"Please, my Beloved, reveal Yourself and spread upon me the shelter of Your peace. Illuminate the Land with Your Glory that we may rejoice and be glad with You. Hasten, show Your love, for the time has come, and show us grace as days of old" ("Yedid Nefesh").    When HaShem's "Glory", the Holy Presence, is revealed to us in our Holy Land, that is the greatest joy of all. So too, the gifts of Teruma to the Cohanim are granted by HaShem with joy, as our Sages (Sifrei Zuta) learn from our title quote that the word "hineh" always denotes joy, as in "hineh (Behold), he (Aharon) comes out before you and shall see you and rejoice in his heart" (Ex. 4, 14).   Indeed, the Holy Land is the Land of Joy with the Shechina (as the Torah explicitly says that in Exile God will give the people a "spirit of sadness" (Deut. 28, 65)), and the mitzvah of Teruma, unique to the Holy Land, is given with joy. How is teruma unique to the Land of Israel? The laws of Teruma and Maaser in Shulhan Aruch Yoreh Deah 331 open up as follows: "Trumot and Maasrot are only practiced by Torah ordination  in the Land of Israel... Today, even areas (in the Land) settled by those who returned from Babylon even in the time of Ezra are not liable for trumot and maasrot on a Biblical level, but only on a rabbinic level, for it says, "when you (plural) come (to the Land)" - "when you come" - as a group whole, and not individuals as it was in the time of Ezra (when the majority of the Jewish People did not return to the Land)".    Let us remember too that this mitzvah of teruma in this week's parsha comes in context of showing the special status of the Cohanic rite despite the claims of Korah and his followers. Let us also remember that one of Korah's primary claims, aside from the demand to obliterate the Cohanic rite, was also against the Holy Land: "it is not enough that you have taken us away from a land flowing with milk and honey (Egypt)... and you have not even brought us to a land of milk and honey" (Num. 16, 13-14).    Just as Korah and his followers were mistaken to think that we can obliterate levels of holiness with the claim of equalizing all as "all are holy", so too Korah failed to understand the unique level of holiness in regard to the Holy Land, equating "the flowing of milk and honey" both to the Land of Israel and Egypt. Therefore, it seems that nothing is more befitting to rectify this mistake as HaShem's subsequent command to give the Teruma to the special Cohanic rite and also to do so specifically in the Holy Land.    As we mentioned last week, it takes courage and bravery to "fight the case" against those who talk against the Holy Land and the settlement of our People therein. From where do we instill ourselves with the courage to speak forth? It is by following in the footsteps of Kaleb, it is by connecting to Hebron and its spirit, that we instill ourselves and others to "fight the case" for the Shechina in our Holy Land.   Real Stories from the Holy Land #21: "One evening, while walking outside,  I suddenly started to ponder cases in which a sibling intervenes in a husband-wife relationship. When I returned home it "turns out" that at the same time I was thinking those thoughts, my brother-in-law called my wife, intervening in our relationship, something he hasn't done for numbers of years (this is not to encourage such intervention)."