Parshat Truma By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Seeking the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם"

"And I, with Your great mercy, shall enter Your Sanctuary, I shall prostrate myself before Your holy Abode, with Your awe". According to the Zohar, one is to say this verse upon entering the synagogue, "the miniature Sanctuary", with the intent to confer with and "ask permission from" our Patriarchs before entering this holy place. By saying "and I, with Your great mercy, shall enter Your House" one confers with Avraham whose primary attribute was mercy and kindness. By saying, "I shall prostrate myself before Your holy Abode", one confers with Yitzhak who was 'sanctified' in his submission to be offered as a sacrifice. By saying "with Your awe" one confers with Yakov who said "how awesome is this place". We find that this type of 'receiving permission' from the Patriarchs is not only found in the 'mini Sanctuary', but also in the main Sanctuary of all Israel, the Bais HaMikdash. Although Solomon built the First Bait HaMikdash, it is his father David who ultimately paved the main path to its construction, to such an extent that our Sages teach us that the gates of the Bais HaMikdash would not open till Solomon said: "for the sake of David Your servant do not forsake Your anointed". From where did David receive such spiritual power to succeed in heralding such an important mission? On a simple level, we can see that the development of Jerusalem, as in making it his capital city, buying the Temple Mount, and more, all clearly paved the way for the building of the Bait HaMikdash in Jerusalem in his son's time. However, what is less known is what spiritually brought about David's success in Jerusalem. On this cause the Zohar clearly determines: it is David's kingship in Hebron, his "bonding with the Patriarchs", that paved the way for his success in Jerusalem. This concept is ever-more relevant today, as we hope and pray for the rebuilding of the Bais HaMikdash, to indeed fulfill the commandment in our title quote, to build the Temple and have HaShem's Presence rest among us. "Because of the Fathers You shall save the sons" – In Hebron lie the keys to Jerusalem and the Bais HaMikdash. In Hebron lie the keys to Redemption.

Real Stories from the Holy Land #: "We were looking for an apartment before our wedding, and we didn't find anything for a long time. Meanwhile, someone offered to leave his caravan, which was in danger of collapsing, so we could repair it and then move into it. However, they could only move out two weeks after our wedding. Suddenly, a week before the wedding, we were told that the previous residents had just moved out, and that we could move in. Within two days we finished the repairs with 2000 NIS and then moved our belongings in before the wedding. Because of the repairs we made, we were given free rent for three years."

Sources: Zohar 1, 11a, Tehilim 132, 10, Sanhedrin 107b, Zohar I, 99a

Parshat Mishpatim By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

Parshat Mishpatim

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

 

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בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

 

Seeking the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"ואלה המשפטים אשר תשים לפניהם"   

 

"Return our judges as of old, and our advisers as of yore... and rule upon us speedily, You our God alone, with kindness and with judgment..." 

 

One of the primary aspirations of our People is the return of Torah's proper justice system to be applied in all parts of life, and especially in the Land of Israel.  So halacha teaches us, that specifically in the Land of Israel are we commanded to establish Torah courts in every city. Not only in the establishment of the court system is the Land of Israel emphasized, but also in the nature of these courts' jurisdiction. 

 

Last week we gave a few examples of the unique connection Torah's justice system has with the Land of Israel, and this week we shall explore a bit more in depth one of these examples. Last week, we mentioned that there are a number of laws that may only be ruled by those ordained with "special ordination" (mumhim) in the Land of Israel. These laws are Torah's penal laws, such as charging a double-payment in case of theft, or special charges on human assault, and other special charges.  

 

What is left for the jurisdiction of the Diaspora's courts are the charges for payment of loans, monetary admission, and their like, which are not considered penalty payments. 

 

Nevertheless, even these charges rendered applicable in the Diaspora receive their power only in merit of being ruled by Diaspora's courts as "messengers of the courts in the Land of Israel". As such, courts of the Diaspora are only given permission to rule on common issues such as loans, etc., but do not have jurisdiction on uncommon cases such as livestock damaging another's livestock, etc. 

 

Furthermore, even common issues, if they are not considered costly matters are also not under the jurisdiction of the Diaspora's courts. In fact, if one studies this concept in our halachic sources, one will come to the conclusion that a great deal of the laws discussed in this week's parsha cannot be applied today because of the lack in Torah's judicial system in the Land of Israel today. 

 

That said, we can find some solace in the rejuvenated connection we have to Hebron today. A Torah court is comprised of three judges, and we find in the teachings of our Sages that Hashem so-to-speak confers with our three Patriarchs as if they are a court to so-to-speak to make a "just ruling" in merit of Israel. Indeed, just as the Divine Presence rests with a Torah court, so too it rests with our Patriarchs in Hebron. By this concept we understand more why our Patriarchs play such an important role in "ruling" our future redemption - "and He remembers the kindness of Fathers and brings a redeemer for the sake of His Name with love."

 

Real Stories from the Holy Land #54: "Once I was asked by a student in Hebron to use my fax machine for his personal needs. I gave him my permission, but asked him why he does not use other methods of communication such as e-mail etc. The very next day, when I tried to contact a certain company, I was told that they cannot be contacted by e-mail, etc. - only by fax..."

Sources: Rambam Sanhedrin 1, 2 and 5, 8-17, Shabbat 89b, Sanhedrin 6b, Zohar Bo, Avot 3, 6

Parshat Yitro By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

Seeking the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"כבד את אביך ואת אמך למען יארכון ימיך על האדמה אשר ה' א-היך נתן לך"

"For from Zion Torah will be delivered and the word of HaShem from Jerusalem.” 

Although, as we see in this week's parsha, the first Torah and prophecy to our Nation was delivered at Mount Sinai and before in Egypt in the Diaspora, our Sages teach in the Mechilta that once Israel entered the Land all prophecy must be rooted in the Land of Israel. In the Mechilta this concept is compared to the exclusivity of the Beit HaMikdash to Jerusalem, this exclusivity occurring only after a period of time of in-exclusivity in regard to the location of the Bais HaMikdash. If so, the Mechilta asks, how did Yehezkel receive prophecy in Babylon? The Mechilta answers that, because Yehezkel began his prophecy in the Land of Israel, therefore he was allowed to continue his prophecy even when he was exiled to the  Diaspora. Similarly, in a halachic sense, Torah rulings, at least in their highest levels, may only be ruled in the Land of Israel. So halacha mandates, based on this pasuk “For from Zion Torah will be delivered etc.”, that the initial establishment of months, leap years, etc. must be established by the Sanhedrin in the Land of Israel. In addition, there a numbers of laws that can only be ruled by those with “special ordination” (which we still do not have today) in the Land of Israel. Similarly, the grand Sanhedrin of Israel of 71 elders is specifically located adjacent to the Bais HaMikdash in Jerusalem, and in its absence many of the Torah's laws cannot be implemented today. The dominance of the Land of Israel in such important facets of Judaism, such as Torah and prophecy, highlight how the Holy Land stands as such an important cause in the spiritual wellbeing of our People. Indeed, Isaiah describes the Land to the People as a mother to children,

“Lift up your eyes all around and see, they all have gathered, they have come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be raised on [their] side,” and this concept is also echoed in the Yerushalmi (Moed Katan 3, 1).Based on this concept, we can more easily understand why the Torah links, in our title quote, the respect towards parents to our wellbeing in the Land of Israel, the “parent”, so to speak of our People. When we talk about Hebron, this message becomes double-folded. Hebron is both the source of our People's connection to the Holy Land, the 'parent' of our People, as Israel's first bought property therein, and Hebron is also literally the location of our holy parents, the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. The Arizal explains that by honoring our parents, i.e. our cause, we awaken the spiritual cause to our wellbeing. Thus, by also giving honor to Hebron we awaken the spiritual causes for the wellbeing of our People at large.

Real Stories from the Holy Land #53: “I decided to spend a certain amount of money on a mitzah in Hebron, and so I did. Within 5 minutes of doing so, I was offered a job that payed for all the money I just spent... with about a 50% increase...”

Sources: Rambam Kidush Hahodesh 1, 8 and 5, 1, ibid. Sanhedrin, 5, 1-17, Shaar Hamitzvot, Yitro

Parshat Beshalach By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

Parshat Beshalach

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

 

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בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

 

Seeking the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

 

"וַיִּקַּח מֹשֶׁה אֶת עַצְמוֹת יוֹסֵף עִמּוֹ כִּי הַשְׁבֵּעַ הִשְׁבִּיעַ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר פָּקֹד יִפְקֹד אֱ-הִים אֶתְכֶם וְהַעֲלִיתֶם אֶת עַצְמֹתַי מִזֶּה אִתְּכֶם:"

 

"You shall bring them and plant them on the mount of Your heritage, directed toward Your habitation, which You made, HaShem; the sanctuary, O Lord, [which] Your hands founded." 

 

Our Sages explain, in numbers of midrashim, that the beginning of this verse refers to Israel's entrance to the Land of Israel in general, and not only the Temple Mount, a matter which highlights once again that the Holy Land is indeed the Land of "Your habitation", Land of the Holy Presence. 

 

Therefore, it is not surprising why Yosef made Israel vow that they take his bones, and so they did even after about 210 years in Egypt, to be buried in the Land of Israel. It is also important to notice that it is this mission of taking Yosef's bones to the Land that played a crucial role in the splitting of the Red Sea, and thus the Exodus in general. 

 

So our Sages teach us based on the verse in Tehilim - "the Sea saw and fled" - that the Sea fled because it 'saw' the coffin of Yosef who 'fled' from Potifar's wife. Halachically speaking, the transfer of the bones of the deceased from the Diaspora to be buried in the Land of Israel is a legitimate act even today, even though generally speaking halacha bids never to move a corpse from one grave to another grave. 

 

The reason burial in the Land of Israel is such an important matter, is in part because our Sages interpreted the Torah's words "and the Land will atone on His People" (end of Haazinu) that one who is buried in the Land is "as if buried under the Altar", being atoned for his sins. Similarly, within the Land of Israel there are different levels of burial. 

 

A few weeks ago, we brought the ruling of the "Gesher Hahaim", one of the most authoritative works on modern burial and mourning, that the dead of Hebron are not even taken to Jerusalem, because of the tremendous merit attached to burial in Hebron - the Entrance of Souls to the Garden of Eden, just as our Patriarchs chose to be buried. 

 

If so, why was Yosef buried in Shechem and not in Hebron? Simply, we can say that Shechem was given specifically to Yosef by Yakov, as it says "and I give you Shechem over your brothers" (this interpretation is according to the Psikta Vayehi 48, 22), and therefore Yosef had a special personal connection to Shechem. That said, it is important to note that just as Yosef is considered the primary continuation of Yakov (see Midrash Raba Vayeshev 'all that occurred on Yakov occurred on Yosef' and more), and the Patriarchs in general, so too Shechem and Hebron are considered 'sister cities' in many ways - they are the first plots of land bought by our Avos, both are 'Refuge Cities', and both carry the dominant message of the covenant between HaShem and Israel - Shechem is the location of receiving the covenant at Mount Grizim and Eval, and Hebron is the everlasting symbol of HaShem's covenant with our Avot.

 

Real Stories from the Holy Land #52:  "One day, my wife asked me to buy lemons. That same day, I came across a lemon tree in Hebron whose branches collapsed in the recent blizzard, halachically rendered as ownerless. There were so many lemons, that after taking what I needed, there were still plenty to give to my friends." 

 

*To share your story please contactgmoshemoran613@gmail.com

 

*Sources: Exodus 15, 18, Midrash Tehilim 114, Yoreh Deah 363, 1, Ketubot 111a, , Gesher Hahaim p. 299

Parshat Bo By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

Parshat Bo

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron   

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

 

Seeking the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

 

 

"We shall thank You HaShem our God that You have given our Fathers a desirable, good, and wide Land, and that You have taken us out of Egypt..." This blessing "on the Land" said in Birkas Hamazon mentions the exodus from Egypt, for the goal of the exodus from Egypt was to bring us to to the Holy Land, Land of the Holy Presence, to keep the Torah therein. 

 

Indeed, our Sages in the Sifri on the 2^nd portion of Shema explain that the mitzvot kept in the Diaspora serve as reminders to the main observance of mitzvot in the Land of Israel. Not only that, but our Sages explain our title quote about entering the Land, which introduces the portion dealing with the mitzvot of tefilin and the sanctification of firstborn animals, that "one should do this/(these) mitzvo(t), for because of it you will (merit) to enter the Land". 

 

On a basic level, we can understand that mitzvot, especially those connected to remembering the Exodus such as tefilin ("for HaShem took you out with a 'strong Hand') and the sanctification of firstborn animals ("my firstborn son Israel - therefore I will kill your (Egyptian) firstborn"), remind us of the goal of the Exodus, to enter the Land of Israel, thereby giving us merit to indeed enter and conquer the Land. 

 

On a deeper level, we can contemplate the halachic details of these mitzvot how they are connected to entering the Land. In regard to sanctifying the firstborn animals, halacha teaches us that a firstborn animal born in the Diaspora, although it is sacred, cannot be brought to the Land of Israel to be offered in the Bait HaMikdash, as done ideally to a firstborn animal born in the Land of Israel. Rather, it is rendered unusable till it becomes blemished, and then is given as a gift to a Cohen. 

 

In regard to tefilin, it is a well-known halacha that a man must wear two boxes of tefilin, both containing the four portions from the Torah where tefilin is mentioned, two of which are in this week's parsha.  The Zohar in a number of places explains that the two boxes correspond to masculine (head-tefilin) and feminine (hand-tefilin opposite the heart) aspects in relating to HaShem. Re-stated, the tefilin incorporate a 'double of four'. 

 

Ring a bell? That's right - Ma'arat HaMachpela in Kiryat Arba,Hebron, by its very name and essence is also a 'double of four', incorporating the four couples, Adam and Eve, Avraham and Sarah, Yitzhak and Rivka, and Yakov and Leah, who are the spiritual leaders of mankind. We also know that Ma'arat HaMachpela-Hebron, the first land in the Land of Israel bought for the Jewish People, serves as an eternal symbol of our People's connection to our Holy Land. 

 

It is by contemplating the message of Tefilin, remembering the Exodus and its goal, the Land of Israel promised to our 'double-four' ancestors of Hebron, that we hold steadfast to our great heritage and future in our Holy Land, gaining the respect and awe of all nations - "'for they shall see that the Name of HaShem is upon you and fear from you' (Deut. 28, 10) - this is tefilin of the head'" .

 

Real Stories from the Holy Land #51: "I had been looking to buy a second-hand cellphone with certain special functions. I had been looking on second-hand sites on the web to find such a phone, but was not successful in finding the right price, location accessible, etc. I then thought, why waste valuable Torah-learning time looking for this phone, I can trust in HaShem that He bring me an in-expensive phone straight to my Kollel in Hebron. So I put up a small sign in my Kollel for anyone who would like to sell their cellphone. A few days later, one new person to the Kollel 'happened' to spend a day at the Kollel and saw my small sign. He contacted me, telling me that he has a cellphone to sell. It was a good phone with the exact functions I needed. He sold it to me for many times cheaper than what I had researched prices before, and he sent the phone straight to my Kollel."

 

Sources:Kidushin 37b, Rambam Bechorot, 1, 5, Psikta Zutrta Bo 13, 9