Parshat Mikeitz By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Mikeitz

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

 Seeking the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

 "הנמצא כזה איש אשר רוח א-הים בו... ויוסף הוא השליט על הארץ" (בראשית מא-מב, ו)

"Upon Israel, and upon our sages, and upon their disciples, and upon all the disciples of their disciples, and upon all those who occupy themselves with the Torah, in this [holy (in the Land of Israel)] place or in any other place, upon them and upon you, may there be abundant peace, grace, kindness, compassion, long life, ample sustenance and deliverance, from their Father in heaven; and say, Amen."[1] 

Torah, its study and practice, is what gives our People dominion and blessing to such a state that all nations will exclaim, just as Pharoh said upon Yosef in our title quote, "who is great like this People who have such righteous laws and statutes like all this Torah etc."[2]  Indeed, both the stories of Yosef and Hanuka are stories of how spiritual greatness ultimately lead to manifest political power and prestige, despite the great odds. 

In regard to Yosef, it is important to understand that this spiritual greatness was quite probably due in part to his upbringing in Hebron, which the Zohar equates with Torah greatness, for a Torah scholar is called a "haber".[3] In regard to Hanuka, a key question is, "what is so special about the miracle of Hanuka that it was instituted to be a forever-binding holiday - behold, many miracles, similar to oil lasting eight days, happened to Israel that were not instituted as holidays?" 

In explaining the reason for the institution of Hanuka, Rambam clinches with the following sentence: "They appointed a king from the priests, and sovereignty returned to Israel for more than 200 years, until the destruction of the Second Temple."[4] This means that a major part of the miracle of Hanuka is the return of national sovereignty to Israel for an extended and important period of time. As we have shown before, the sovereignty of Israel is deeply rooted to the Land of Israel, as our Sages teach that a king must be appointed only after entering the Land and may be appointed only within the Land.[5]

Hebron, in turn, as the roots of Israel's connection to the Land of Israel and as the first kingdom of David, holds a crucial place in the establishment of Israel's sovereignty in the Land of Israel.  Indeed, also today we see how Hebron is key in reinforcing and leading the message of Israel's sovereignty in the Land of Israel. It is with this consistent message, stemming from our spiritual roots to this Land, that we show ourselves and the world at large, that we are deeply and spiritually rooted to our Holy Land, Land of the Holy Presence. Just as HaShem provided us miracles in the past by this spiritual greatness, so too we trust fully that He will show us such miracles as then at this time.

Real Stories from the Holy Land #46: "For more than a year, I have hitchhiked numbers of times a day to Ma'arat HaMachpela from Kiryat Arba. Throughout this whole period, even though many police vehicles have passed by me, never have they stopped to give me a ride (they're probably busy with their work). Suddenly, last week, on two separate occasions and different times of day, and by different police, I was voluntarily (without signing to hitchhike) given a ride by the police (without being arrested J) to Ma'arat HaMachpela. Then I remembered how the parsha told how Joseph was prosperous even in jail..."

---

[1]Kadish Derabanan

[2]Deut. 4, 8

[3]Zohar 3, 160a

[4]Rambam Megila veHanuka, 3, 1

[5]Sifri on Deut. 17, 15

Parshat Vayeishev By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Vayeishev

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Seeking for the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

 

"וישלחהו מעמק חברון"

"Atone for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, HaShem, and lay not [the guilt of] innocent blood among your people Israel." These words comprise the prayer of the elders of a city adjacent to the site of a murder whose culprit is unknown, otherwise known as the instance of "egla arufa". 

Our Sages teach that before Joseph was sold by his brothers he had been learning this Torah topic with his father Yaakov, as our Patriarchs were fully knowledgeable of the Torah even before it was given at Mount Sinai.[1] What meaning can we gather from the connection and parallels between the sale of Joseph and the instance of "egla arufa"? 

The source of Joseph's sale by his brothers stemmed from their hatred towards Joseph and their will to murder him. Similarly, "egla arufa" is brought as atonement for the merest connection to murder. Joseph is sent out by his father to search for his brothers in fields of pasture, and, according to his elder father's interpretation, is killed there by a wild beast. Similarly, in "egla arufa" the corpse is found "outside in the field" and is examined by the elders of the city to determine who should take responsibility. 

In regard to Joseph, both Yakov and Reuven, who held leadership roles, felt responsible for the 'death' of Joseph. [2]Similarly, in "egla arufa" the leaders are meant to feel responsible for a murder in their vicinity, to an extent that they must seek atonement and proclaim that they "did not spill this blood".  Ultimately, the sale of Joseph was the beginning of the Exile from the Holy Land to Egypt. 

"Egla Arufa" applies only in the Land of Israel,[3] a matter that highlights the unique high sensitivity of the Holy Land, and the Holy Presence therein, to bloodshed. In fact, the only reason for court/human-induced exile in Torah (to a refuge city) is due to bloodshed, and Exile from the Land is also linked to bloodshed in Pirkei Avos.[4] 

Now we can find more meaning in the Torah's description of Yaakov sending Joseph specifically from "the depths of Hebron" as showing how "HaShem provided the cure before the blow".  Our Sages teach[5] that Joseph's descent to Egypt, beginning with his departure from Hebron, was pre-destined in the "deep" prophecy of Abraham of "Hebron", who was told that his offspring will be in exile in a "land that is not theirs", afterwards to "leave with great possession". 

Based on what we have just studied, the "depths of Hebron" are even deeper - Hebron, as the very source of our People's connection to the Holy Land, which allows for the atonement for connection to murder in the form of "egla arufa", and as a City of Refuge for negligent murderers, provides the cure and atonement for the near-murder by the brothers. Hebron, City of our Unifying Roots, rectifies these sources of hatred by love, stemming from being the children of the same fathers, still very much alive today - "Od Avinu Hai!"

Real Stories from the Holy Land #45: A few decades ago there were numerous attempts to settle the settlement in Elon Moreh next to Shechem, but without success. One time we decided to leave from Kiryat Arba next to Yeshivat Nir, as the Torah says that Joseph left the "depths of Hebron and arrived at Shechem". Indeed, this time we succeeded."

---

[1]Midrash AgadahBreshit Vayigash 45, 27

[2]Reuven's confession is explicit in the verses, and Yaakov's feeling is posed by Alshich Breshit 37, 34

[3]Rambam Rotzeah uShemirat Nefesh 10, 1

[4]Chapter 5, 9. See also Shabbat 33a for the reason.

[5]Sotah 11a

Parshat Vayishlach By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Vayishlach

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Seeking the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

וַיָּבֹא יַעֲקֹב אֶל יִצְחָק אָבִיו מַמְרֵא קִרְיַת הָאַרְבַּע הִוא חֶבְרוֹן אֲשֶׁר גָּר שָׁם אַבְרָהָם וְיִצְחָק:

"Every day I have faith to receive the Countenace of the Master, and we shall return in the settlement of Hebron, and in Jerusalem, and also Zion. Strengthen, please, the hand of Your servant... and bless him with the blessing of parents... My help is from HaShem Creator of Heaven and Earth."[1] 

Ultimately, the long journey of Yaakov to and within the Land of Israel, to 'receive the Countenance of his Master', worshiping God in Bet-El, and more, culminates in his arrival to the location both his father and grandfather cherished, both in life and in death, Kiryat Arba-Hebron. 

Last year we pondered the question: what is so unique about Kiryat Arba-Hebron that all our Patriarchs, including Adam, so cherished this location? Last year on this week's parsha we discussed one explanation, and this year we would like to discuss yet another. 

According to Rav Haim Vital,[2] the great disciple of the Arizal, Kiryat Arba, literally meaning the 'City of the Four', was (or is) the 'battle-ground', so-to-speak, between the four primary sources of holiness, Adam and our three Patriarchs, versus the four sources of evil, the giants 'Anak, Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai'. 

The reason Hebron was chosen to be such a pivotal 'battlefront' is because 'Hebron was built seven years before Zoan of Egypt'[3]. The significance of Hebron being built before Zoan of Egypt lies in the fact that "Egypt" was the first-born son of Ham (son of Noah), while Canaan was Ham's fourth son. Even though logic would hold that 'Egypt''s first city, Zoan, be built first, nevertheless, Hebron, in the portion of Canaan, was built even before the first city of Ham's first-born son Egypt, because of its great importance. 

The reason Hebron was so important among the Hamitic line, was rooted in the fact that Hebron was the first and primary claim of the Canaanites to the Holy Land. However, as we see dozens of times in the Torah, HaShem had already allotted the Holy Land for the Jewish People, a matter that definitely came in conflict with the Canaanites' aspirations, which came to their height and source at Hebron. 

For this reason, our holy ancestors settled in Hebron, taking the 'front-lines' in preserving the Holy Land for the Jewish People. These ideas shed light on one of the 613 commandments to destroy the seven Canaanite tribes of the Land of Israel (who are non-existent today). [4]Yet still, Hebron today stands as a 'battlefront', so-to-speak, between the schemes of the enemies of Israel versus the Godly plan to give the Holy Land to His holy People, Israel. 

  

Real Stories from the Holy Land #44: "Almost every day for the past year I have hitchhiked a number of times a day from Kiryat Arba to Hebron. However, last week I was given a ride for the first time by a particularly interesting man, Bar Hebron, who is the only survivor of the Hebron massacre about 80 years ago to return and live in Kiryat Arba-Hebron.  Interestingly, within seven days again I 'happened' to receive a ride from this man to Hebron, yet at a different time of the day..."

---

[1]End of Psikta Zutrta

[2]Etz HaDaat Tov, Shelah, 'vayaalu banegev'

[3]Num. 13, 22

[4]Rambam Melachim veMilchamot 5, 4

Parshat Vayetze By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Vayetze

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Returning to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"אָנֹכִי הָאֵ-ל בֵּית אֵ-ל... אֲשֶׁר נָדַרְתָּ לִּי שָׁם נֶדֶר עַתָּה קוּם צֵא מִן הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת וְשׁוּב אֶל אֶרֶץ מוֹלַדְתֶּךָ"

 

"...Eternal love You will bring them, and the covenant of the Fathers upon the sons You will remember. May it be Your will HaShem our God and God of our Fathers that You raise us with joy to our Land..."[1] Hebron, city of our Forefathers, is an eternal reminder for ourselves and before God that HaShem eternally loves us, as He loved our Forefathers and chose their offspring as his holy People forever. 

 

No matter how long the exile from our Land has lasted, we know, and our ancestors knew, that Hashem's love and covenant to our Fathers is everlasting, that a day will come, and all our People will be raised to our Holy Land. Indeed, our Sages teach us that "the deeds of the Forefathers are signs for their descendants"[2] - just as Yaakov went into exile for many years and was called by HaShem to return to the Land, as we see in our title quote, so too our People will listen to HaShem's call permeating both through Torah and reality, and return to the Land of the Holy Presence. 

 

This intricacy of listening to HaShem's 'voice' both in the explicit terms of the Torah and through the in-explicit terms of reality is clearly found in Yakov's speech to Rachel and Leah about returning to the Land of Israel, ending with our title quote. To more fully appreciate this speech, it is important to note that Yakov was already explicitly commanded by God to return to the Land, Yakov had already vowed to return and worship God in the Land, and also the Torah, which according to our Sages Yakov was fully aware of [3] mandates that one can force one's spouse to move from the Diaspora to the Land of Israel.[4] 

 

Nevertheless, instead of bluntly telling Rachel and Leah, 'HaShem commanded me to return to the Land', Yakov goes on in a lengthy speech (10 verses long) explaining, with seemingly excessive detail, the background of the need to return to the Holy Land. Yakov doesn't even mention God's command to him till the last verse. Rather, he begins with how reality, the change in Laban's attitude towards him and his personal experience with Laban, 'show' that things are different than what they used to be. 

 

To begin with, we can learn from this speech that even when one has good reasons or even Godly imperatives to do a mitzvah, one should preferably not force the matter on others, but rather explain the matter in a way that will agree with the other person. Secondly, we learn that although we receive explicit messages from God in the Torah we should also be aware of God's 'speaking' to us through reality and Providence, of course with the caution that these function as reinforcement signs,[5] but yet don't dictate, as Torah does, what to do. 

 

Indeed, it is via Hebron, our eternal reminder of our connection to the Holy Land, that we are more greatly aware to the call of God permeating both through the Torah, which is full of the high importance of our People's return to the Land, and through reality, which has shown us the unprecedented return of our People, in the last half-century, to our Holy Land.

Real Stories from the Holy Land #43: "I have been praying and learning in Ma'arat HaMachpela regularly for the past year. This past Shabbos I came to Ma'arat HaMachpela and decided to ask another person who I have seen regularly there, but have hardly ever exchanged words with, if he would like to learn a specific topic with me. Moments later, before I got a chance to ask him, he took the initiative and asked me if I would like to learn with him the exact same topic."

  

Note: The halachic issues we raise in Leshichno Tidrishu are meant to increase awareness to these issues but not to rule halachic rulings. A competent posek should be consulted in all matters of practice.

 

---

[1]Musaf of Rosh Hodesh

[2]Tanhuma, 9

[3]Tana Dvei Eliyahu Zuta, 4

[4]See Ketubot end of ch. 13, Rambam Ishus, 13, 19, and Shulhan Aruch Even Haezer 75, 4

[5]See Rambam Avoda Zara 11, 5

Parshat Toldot By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Toldot

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Seeking the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"וירא אליו ה' ויאמר אל תרד מצרימה שכן בארץ אשר אומר אליך"

"And may our eyes see in Your return to Zion with compassion. Blessed are You HaShem who returns His Holy Presence to Zion." 

These words formulate in all our prayers the constant yearning our People have for the return of the Holy Presence to Zion, Jerusalem and our Holy Land. As we explained last year, our Sages interpret God's command (in our title quote) to Yitzhak to 'dwell - shechon

- in the Land' as a command 'to make the Shechina dwell in the Land'.[1]

 

Indeed, this imperative applies to all Israel as we say in Tehillim: "Trust in HaShem and do good; dwell in the land and be nourished by faith", on which are Sages remark, 'dwell - shechon - make the Shechina dwell in the Land'.[2]

As we have shown many times before, it is by having trust in HaShem especially in His Land of Providence and doing good therein that one 'dwells in the Land', makes the Shechina rest among us, leading to the real and palpable nourishment of faith in our lives. 

Similarly, just as Yitzhak was commanded not to leave the Holy Land, so too halacha bids us not to leave our Holy Land, save a few exceptional cases, as Rambam rules: "It is forbidden to leave Eretz Yisrael for the Diaspora at all times except: to study Torah; to marry; or to save one's property from the gentiles. After accomplishing these objectives, one must return to Eretz Yisrael. Similarly, one may leave Eretz Yisrael to conduct commercial enterprises. However, it is forbidden to leave with the intent of settling permanently in the Diaspora unless the famine in Eretz Yisrael is so severe that a dinar's

worth of wheat is sold at two dinarim ... Though it is permitted to leave

Eretz Yisrael under these circumstances, it is not pious behavior. Behold, Machlon and Kilyon were two of the great men of the generation and they left Eretz Yisrael only out of great distress. Nevertheless, they were found worthy of death by God". [3]

Simply, this does not mean that leaving the Land has liability of death, God forbid, but rather that Divine judgment was harsher on them because of their departure, especially in context of their high ('great men') position. Interestingly, we see that just as Machlon's downfall was in his departure from the Land of Israel, so too his widow Ruth's ascent to (solid) conversion, 'under the 'wings' of the Holy Presence', began with the ascent to the Land of Israel, as her first words of devotion prove, "where you go I shall go", simply referring to the Land of Israel. Therefore, it is not surprising that Ruth is buried in Hebron, the symbol of our people's age-old connection to our Holy Land, the Land of the Holy Presence.

 

Real Stories from the Holy Land #42: "My brother-in-law sent a set of seforim from Northern Israel with a messenger just before 'Shabbat Hebron' last week to Kiryat Arba. My brother-in-law does not know where I live in Kiryat Arba, so he definitely did not know where to direct his messenger. Suddenly, after not talking for several hours, while I was returning home from buying popsicles from the neighborhood's kiosk, my brother-in-law called to give me the messenger's cell-phone number. I called just then and it 'turns out' that out of the thousands of possible meters this messenger could have been in Kiryat Arba, he 'happened' to be next to the mikveh, at the same time I also "happened" to be there about 25 meters away."

---

[1]Breshit Raba 64, 3

[2]Tanhuma Reeh, 11

[3]Rambam, Melachim veMilchamot 5, 9- in the past we noted that there are poskim who permit more reasons to leave, but all opinions agree that to leave for mere leisure is forbidden. 

Parshat Vayera By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Vayera

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Yearning for the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָהָם אֶל עֶפְרוֹן וַיִּשְׁקֹל אַבְרָהָם לְעֶפְרֹן אֶת הַכֶּסֶף אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר בְּאָזְנֵי בְנֵי חֵת אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שֶׁקֶל כֶּסֶף עֹבֵר לַסֹּחֵר:

Enduring One, may Your mercy be aroused and please take pity on the son of Your beloved because it is so very long that I have yearned intensely, to see speedily the splendour of Your strength..."[1] 

The words for "yearning intensely" - "nichsof nicsafti" - are a clear allusion to Laban's description of Yakov's flee stemming from intensive yearning - "nichsof nichsafta" to the Holy Land in general, and Hebron, "the abode of your father" (Isaac), in specific.[2] 

Indeed, the yearning for Hebron can be traced even further back to the purchase of Maarat HaMachpela by Avraham in our title quote from our parsha in the form of the same word root - k.s.f, here used to mean money, but also extrapolated in the Zohar to allude to the 400 spiritual worlds of pleasure yearned for and achieved by the righteous.[3] 

We can understand that the usage of the root k.s.f. both for yearning and money is not simply a play on words: money and where one puts it is a product of one's yearning for a particular matter or thing. Last year on this week's parsha we discussed the great halachic importance attached to purchasing land from gentiles in the Land of Israel, as a type of regaining and/or re-conquering of the Holy Land for the People of Israel, so important that it can override Rabbinic prohibition on Shabbat in an unprecedented level.[4] 

In parshat Balak this past year we discussed how this re-ownership and re-unity with the land is compared to the unity of husband and wife by Isaiah, which also begins with yearning, kisufin, and money, kesef, of kidushin (betrothal).[5] In both cases, marriage and purchase of the Land of Israel, the Holy Presence rests between husband and wife and between the People and the Holy Land.[6]

  It is therefore no surprise that adjacent to the story of the purchase of Maarat HaMachpela appears the story of the marriage of Rivka to Yitzhak. The telling of the story of the purchase of the Machpela Cave is not only important history giving our people a deeper claim to our Holy Land - the very methods of marriage and of ownership in general in halacha are extrapolated by our sages from the story of Avraham's purchase of the Machpela Cave in this week's parsha.[7] 

Our sages teach us that in truth HaShem first 'looked' at the supernal Torah and thereby created the world.[8]This means that, if the halachic source of marriage, all ownership and monetary possession stems from this 'story', then that means that all marriage and possession in the world over stem from the lessons and secrets imbibed and hidden in the story of the purchase of 

Maaras HaMachpela.

 

Real stories from the Holy Land #41: "My name is Moshe. I once came across a book titled "Maarat Sdeh HaMahpela", which was called such partially because its author, a famous kabbalist, was named Moshe, coming out of the acrostic of this title. This past Shabbat I was honored with hagba (raising the Torah scroll for all to see), and as I lifted the Torah I wanted to look for the letter mem on the scroll, as there is a custom to look for the first letter of one's name on the Torah scroll when lifted. Without any effort, the first words my eyes centered on, among hundreds of words before me, were no other than "Maarat Sdeh HaMachpela".

---

[1]Yedid Nefesh

[2]Gen. 31, 30

[3]Zohar 1, 123b

[4]Rambam Shabbat 6, 11 and Orah Haim 306, 11

[5]Isaiah 62, 5

[6]Sotah 17a and Yalkut Shimoni Tehilim 863 and much more

[7]Beginning of tract. Kidushin at length

[8]Zohar 2, 161a

Parshat Vayera By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Vayera

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Re-discovering the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"וירא אליו ה' באלוני ממרא"

"From Your place, our King, may You appear and rule upon us, for we are awaiting You. When will You rule in Zion? Speedily in our days forever You shall dwell among us..." [1]

Our hearts and the hearts of all Israel yearn for the return and re-discovery of God's Kingship, the return and re-discovery of the Holy Presence, in Zion, in our Holy Land. The time has come to follow in the footsteps of Avraham our father, who searched all places on the globe for the Holy Presence and found it in our Holy Land, even before being commanded by HaShem to go to this Land in the beginning of last week's parsha.[2] 

The time has come to follow in our father Avraham's footsteps, who ran after his bull, in this week's parsha, from his tent in Hebron to close-by Ma'arat HaMachpela, 'discovered' the Holy Presence there, and thereafter continued to make a pilgrimage of prayer every day to that spot.[3] The time has come to recognize and re-discover the Godly significance of location in our thoughts, speech, and daily lives

In halacha we find many references to the exact definitions of location designated for the 'dwelling' of the Holy Presence among us, from the measurements of the Temple Mount, via exact measurements of the Land of Israel, to even the measurements of an ad-hoc minyan in arbitrary rooms in the Diaspora. After all this is said, what sources do we have as to the spiritual dimensions in regard to Hebron and Ma'arat HaMachpela

As we see from Avraham's close-by pilgrimage within Hebron to Ma'arat HaMachpela, we learn that even several meters can make a difference in the spiritual intensity of location, even outside of the Temple Mount. Nevertheless, there are sources that point to the Torah's saying that Kaleb 'reached Hebron', without saying 'Ma'arat HaMachpela', showing that all of greater Hebron has spiritual power like Ma'arat HaMachpela, sufficient to save Kaleb from the scheme of the spies. [4]

There is yet another source suggesting a distance of three parasangs (6 km or 4 miles) as being at-least the extent of spiritual intensity stemming from Ma'arat HaMachpela, causing the nations 'to lick the dust of the earth' there in honor of the [5] tomb of Yaakov.  That said, however, if we take into consideration the other holy places of Hebron, such as the Tomb of Jesse and Ruth, the ancient cemetery full of saints, and the many yeshivas and Kollelim spread across Hebron-Kiryat Arba, every meter we walk is a spiritual journey, spanning past, present, and future, into connecting to the Holy Presence in our Holy Land.

 

Real Stories from the Holy Land #40: "It was about  22:00 on Hoshana Raba night and I had still not davened Maariv. Even though I live in a neighborhood of Kiryat Arba several miles away from Ma'arat HaMachpela, I had a special 'hankering' to pray specifically at Ma'arat HaMachpela on this special night, even though finding a minyan there at such a late hour was close to impossible, especially since most people would begin the tikun of Hoshana Raba by then. I hitchhiked to Ma'arat HaMachpela, and just as I arrived, a goup of soldiers, well over enough for a minyan, 'happened' to come then and began to pray Maariv."

---

[1]Kedusha of Amida Shabbat

[2]Zohar 1, 78a

[3]Ibid, 127b

[4]Shaar Hahatzer 380

[5]Zohar Shmot 1

Parshat Lech-Lecha By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Lech-Lecha

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Venturing for the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"והקמתי את בריתי ביני ובינך... ונתתי לך ולזרעך אחריך את ארץ מגורך את כל ארץ כנען"

"Blessed are You HaShem our God King of the World that has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to place him (the baby) in the covenant of Avraham our father." 

This blessing, said at a baby boy's first mitzvah, circumcision, highlights the centrality of Avraham our father at the very onset of our lives, and with them highlight how central are our roots stemming from our three Patriarchs in general as the forerunners of our sacred covenant with God. 

Indeed, this week's parsha begins the core topic of our first book in the Torah, Breshit - the story of our holy Patriarchs. As Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook zt"l noted numbers of times,[1] the first two parshios of Breshit are basically a kind of 'pre-history' till we reach parshat Lech Lecha which begins, with our Patriarchs, the main history that concerns most of the Torah. 

It is also this mitzvah of circumcision that, as our title quote teaches us, that connects us, via our covenant with God, to our Holy Land. The connection between bris mila and our Holy Land is actually so great that the Zohar explains the reason that the descendants of Ishmael have had such a strong grip on the Land of Israel for such a long time is because of the merit of the brit done on Ishmael in this week's parsha. 

However, the Zohar continues and says that because this circumcision was done at a later age and other factors, unlike Isaac and his decendants, Ishmael's circumcision is 'imperfect', and thus his descendants will not merit to hold the Land forever.[2] As we have shown many times, Hebron is key in the connection of our People to our Holy Land. It is therefore no wonder that the place of the first circumcision of Avraham occurs in Elonei Mamre, i.e. Hebron, as we see in the beginning of next week's parsha. 

Indeed the very name, 'Elonei Mamre' is, according to the Midrash, based on the figure of Avraham's colleague, Mamre, who advised Avraham to commit the commandment of circumcision, despite numbers of adversaries. The reason he was called 'Mamre', our sages add, is because he advised despite - 'lamrot' (verb root same as 'mamre') - adversaries who advised Avraham not to commit circumcision for numbers of reasons. 

In this sense, Hebron, Elonei Mamre, today continues this legacy of Mamre.[3] Hebron stands in the leadership of "fighting the case" for the Holy Presence in our Holy Land, thus continuing the legacy of our ancestors and patriarchs and keeping the covenant with God and His Holy Land.

Real Stories from the Holy Land #39: "It was almost 22:30, last time in Kiryat Arba one can find a minyan for Maariv. I was in a different neighborhood of Kiryat Arba from this minyan and needed to hitch a ride to make it in time for the minyan, which was about half-an-hour walk away. I saw about 6-8 people waiting to hitch a ride, which would normally mean I had no chance. With confidence in God I decided to proceed several meters away from the group of hitchhikers, saying to myself 'I'm going to do a mitzvah, I trust in HaShem to help me". Just then a car stopped and took me straight to the minyan on time."    

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[1]See 'Sichot Rav Tzi Yehuda'

[2]Zohar 2, 32a

[3]Breshit Raba Lech Lecha 42, 8

Parshat Noach By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Noach

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"נח איש צדיק תמים היה בדורותיו את הא-הים התהלך נח"

"Our Father, Compassionate Father! Please have compassion upon us and instill within our hearts understanding to understand... to learn, to teach, to keep... all the words of Your Torah with love... and make our hearts cleave to Your commandments... Speedily bring upon us blessing and peace... and lead us upright quickly to our Land..." 

This blessing, known as "the blessing of love" before reading the Shema shows us that to love God means not only to aspire to know and cleave to Him by learning the Torah but also, as seen at the end of this blessing, to cleave and aspire for His Holy Land.  

The commandment of "cleaving to God" has additional meanings as well, such as incorporated in halacha, in the form of cleaving to the Godly righteous.[1] Our Sages ask: how can we be commanded to cleave to God, behold 'He is a Consuming Fire'? They answer: one can cleave to the Godly righteous and thereby cleave to God.[2] 

This concept has special significance in this week's parsha, as we see that it is those who cleaved to Noah, "the righteous man" in our title quote, that were saved from the Flood in the beginning of this parsha, and it is also Lot who cleaved to Avraham, at the end of this parsha, who later merited to much blessing and salvation as we see later in the book of Breshit. 

In a similar way, Kaleb cleaved to the righteous of Hebron and was thereby saved from the plot of the spies against the ascent to the Land of Israel. Indeed, according to the Arizal one of the main purposes of attending the tombs of the righteous is to "cleave spirit (the visitor) to spirit (the righteous deceased)".[3] 

It is we too, by connecting to the righteous of Hebron that we merit much blessing and salvation. Although we have usually focused on connecting to our righteous Patriarchs, let us take a closer glimpse of the other righteous of Hebron. 

One of these is Jesse father of David, buried next to the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron. About Jesse it is said that he is one of the only four righteous that died with no sin.[4] Therefore, it is no surprise that Mashiah is many times coined as "the son of Jesse". Next to him is buried Ruth, the exemplary figure for all converts, the 

figure of exemplary devotion and courage, the "Mother of Royalty".

Real Stories from the Holy Land #38: "For Rosh HaShana I stayed at an apartment in Jerusalem my friend's parents rented. On Rosh HaShana I "happened" to meet neighbors of mine when I was living in New York. They later told me that they had come to be in Israel for two years and were living in the same building that I was staying for Rosh HaShana".

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[1]Rambam Deot 6, 1

[2]Ketubot 111b

[3]See "Avnei Shoham", Shulhan Aruch of Arizal

[4]Shabat 55b

Succot By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Succot

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Rejoicing with the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land 

"בסוכות תשבו שבעת ימים... ושמחתם לפני ה' א-היכם שבעת ימים"

"Our Father, our King! Reveal the honor of Your Majesty upon us speedily... and gather in our dispersed from among the nations... and bring us HaShem our God to Zion Your city in joy, and to Jerusalem Your holy city with eternal happiness."[1] 

"Whoever has not seen the happiness (in the Bait HaMikdash) at the "water drawing"[2] (celebration) has not experienced happiness in his lifetime."[3] 

The greatest joy of all is to experience HaShem's Holy Presence among us, to know that every moment of our lives is under HaShem's kind Providence, ultimately to exult in the Exalted One. Therefore, this happiness reaches its height particularly in the Bais HaMikdash - "before HaShem your God" as in our title quote, pinnacle point of the Holy Presence, and generally in the whole Land of Israel, threshold of the Holy Presence. 

By thanking God, in all places of the earth, for the abundant gifts He has bestowed us, we increase our ability to appreciate God's Providence upon us, which in turn increases the level of Providence on us.[4] 

Our generation has been granted many gifts that not so long ago were merely the dreams of our ancestors. The ability to dwell and settle in our Holy Land, the ability to be part of Hebron's building and settlement, the merit of learning and praying in our holiest cities, Hebron, Jerusalem, and more, are just a few of the many gifts HaShem has bestowed upon us. 

Indeed, it is on this "holiday of happiness", Succot, that we are taught that the size of the Sukka must be 10 hand-breaths high in order to allow the spirit of the Holy Presence to enter our Sukka.[5]It is well known the teaching of the Vilna Gaon that in two mitzvoth one enters one's entire being into the mitzvah - dwelling in the Land of Israel and dwelling in the Sukka. 

Thus, for seven days, we enter an atmosphere of realizing that we all are really guests in the abode of the Holy Presence. In this atmosphere we become capable of receiving the countenance of such lofty guests as our holy Patriarchs, Moshe, Aharon, Yosef and David as the Ushpizin. 

It is in Hebron too that year-round we live the spirit of our holy Patriarchs and rejoice with their countenance. This is also the time to express our gratitude to our devoted readers and supporters of Hebron. Hag Sameach!

Real Stories from the Holy Land #36: "There was a friend of mine who I felt I had offended this last Purim. This Rosh HaShana I resolved to go ask forgiveness from her. Just as I was thinking these thoughts, this friend 'happened' to meet me on the street, and I apologized, and we made amends." 

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[1]Musaf of three festivals

[2]There are also sources for 'drawing' the holy spirit - ruah hakodesh - at such occasions - see Midrash on Gen. 29, 2 and more

[3]Suka 51b

[4]See "Shaarav Betoda", R. Arush which deals with this concept in length with many sources

[5]Suka 5a

Yom Kippur By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Yom Kippur
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron  

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

To Return to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם לטהר אתכם מכל חטאתיכם לפני ה' תטהרו"

"Remember Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yisrael, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your very Self, and to whom You said: 'I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens, and all this land which I said that I would give to your seed, they shall keep it as their possession forever... HaShem, HaShem! Benevolent God, Who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness and truth,preserving loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and rebellion and sin, and cleansing..."[1] 

The very sources of Yom Kippur are in these words of forgiveness and compassion, as Rashi teaches us that after the Sin of the Calf, Moshe arose to Mount Sinai for another 40 days, which culminated with HaShem's forgiveness on this very day, the 10^thof Tishrei, "

therefore it (the 10^th of Tishrei) was established (as a day) of pardon and forgiveness". [2] 

It is therefore no wonder why the Mishna and Talmud Yoma[3] put so much emphasis on the necessity to proclaim that the dawn of Yom Kippur has reached "till Hebron", in order to mention the merit of our Patriarchs, for it is this very merit which brought about the forgiveness on this very day after the Sin of the Calf, that became the predecessor of Yom Kippur for all time. 

In this sense, we are indebted to our Patriarchs not only for the distant past as generators of our People, or for the nearer past as conduits of mercy at the Sin of the Calf, but also throughout the present and future for being beacons of mercy and compassion, allowing us this great day of compassion and forgiveness for all time. 

Thus, our Patriarchs are very much still alive in addition to the fact that we, with our very lives, continue their legacy into the future. This "legacy" also acts as a reciprocal chemistry, for in halachic sources we find that there is a concept called "the son gives merit to his father"[4], for the son is the product of his father. This means that just as our lives are indebted to our Patriarchs, so too the Patriarchs are so-to-speak "indebted" to those who continue their legacy by 'raising' the power of the Holy Presence,[5]following their righteous ways, and of course, supporting Hebron, the city they cherished both in life and death. 

As the "books of life and death" are open before our Holy King, may we, supporters of Hebron, City of our Living and Enlivening Patriarchs, be inscribed and sealed for a good and prosperous life.

Real Stories from the Holy Land #35: "One year I had taken on learning Rambam's Mishneh Torah as my main learning project. That Rosh HaShana I was given the honor of taking out the second Torah scroll (meant for Pinhas reading). Later, I changed location to a different synagogue and again was given the same honor of taking the second scroll. After contemplating what is the significance in my life of taking specifically the 'second scroll', I realized: "Mishneh Torah" means the "second Torah" scroll that a king is meant to learn..."

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[1]Exodus 32

[2]Rashi on Deut. 9, 18

[3]Ch. 3, 1

[4]This concept is very well known in context of Kadish, said by the living descendants for their deceased. See Yoreh Deah 376, 4 in length.

[5]See Pesikta Rav Kahana, 1

Parshat Nitzavim-VaYelech By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Nitzavim-VaYelech
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Returning to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"ושב ה' א-היך את שבותך ושב וקבצך מכל העמים.. והביאך אל הארץ אשר ירשו אבותך... "

"The soul is Yours, and the body is Your handiwork, have mercy on the fruit of Your labors. The soul is Yours, and the body is Yours, HaShem, do for the sake of Your Name. We have come for Your Name, do for the sake of Your Name... For the sake of Your Name HaShem may You forgive our sins for they are great" (intro. to Slichos). 

These days are great and holy days of returning to our roots, returning to our souls, returning to God with repentance, forgiveness, and compassion. Our title quote is taken from a quite famous, and also very timely, part of our parsha, known as "parshat hateshuva". Within this section (Deut. Ch. 30) comprising of 10 verses, the same verb for "returning", "lashuv", is used 7 times. While 4 of these seven verbs have the connotation of 'repentance' on the People's part, 3 of these verbs refer to 'returning' on God's part, as in returning the exiles of Israel to the Holy Land and the return of God's happiness upon Israel. Indeed, just as Israel returns to God so too God returns to Israel, so to speak, by resting His Holy Presence with them in the Holy Land (see Rashi ibid verse 3 - based on Megila 29a).  

Similarly, just as there is a reciprocal return between God and Israel in the Holy Land, so too there is a reciprocal return between the souls of Israel in regard to unity and mutual responsibility in this Land. The strengthening of mutual responsibility especially in regard to the Land of Israel is halachically grounded in Sanhedrin 43b based on our parsha's verse (Deut. 29, 28):  "the hidden is to HaShem our God and the revealed is to us and our children forever to do all the words of this Torah." 

The Torah marks numbers of letters in this verse with dots, which according to our Sages are meant to teach us about the level of mutual responsibility in regard to "hidden" sins and/or "revealed" sins. According to both opinions in the Talmud the dots narrow the mutual responsibility for the sins of our fellow Jew to begin only at the entrance to the Land of Israel in the era of Joshua, while they differ in regard to the difference between 'hidden' sins and 'revealed' sins. 

The concept of "mutual responsibility" between Jews is halachically grounded not just in regard to sins but also positively in regard to the ability to benefit others with positive commandments, such as one Jew exempts another Jew in regard to 'birkat hamazon', for example (Rosh and Rabeinu Yona ch. 3 Brachot). Just as mutual responsibility begins with the Land of Israel, so too mutual responsibility and unity of Israel is enhanced continuously in this Land as the Zohar (3, 93b) teaches us that the nation of Israel is one only in the Land of Israel (see parshat Vayigash for another example of halachic mutual responsibility in the Land in the present/future). 

By returning to Hebron, we return to our unifying roots in the Land of Israel (Hebron means to unite), we return to the righteous ways of our Patriarchs, we return to the God of Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yakov, our beacons of merit year-round, and especially during these holy days.

Real Stories from the Holy Land #33: "We had to return late at night from Northern Israel to Kiryat Arba on Motzei Shabbos. We arrived in Jerusalem by bus at about 12:30, just missing the last bus to Kiryat Arba, so my wife and I hoped and prayed to God that we find a ride to Kiryat Arba for our family. I tried to implement what I learned in Hovot Halevavot that one should have confidence in God with total peace of mind, so I told myself, "when we reach the hitch-hiker's spot HaShem will have a ride waiting for us to Kiryat Arba", and my wife told herself, "we''ll reach Kiryat Arba by 2:00". When we reached the hitch-hiker's spot a car was there ready to drive to Kiryat Arba. Just as we passed the guard of Kiryat Arba the car's radio signaled 2:00."  

Parshat Shoftim By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Shoftim

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo in Hebron 

בס"ד                                                                                             לשכנו תדרשו

Seeking the Honor of the Holy Presence in

Our Holy Land

 "כִּי תָבֹא אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר ה' א-היך נֹתֵן לָךְ וִירִשְׁתָּהּ וְיָשַׁבְתָּה בָּהּ... שום תשים עליך מלך"

 "And so give honor to Your People, praise to those that fear You, good hope to those that seek You... happiness to Your Land, gladness to Your city, a budding of the horn of David your servant, and a setting of the lamp for the son of Jesse, speedily in our days..." (Amida of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur)

The spirit of the coming new year is already in the air, and with it the inspirational days of Elul leading to the days of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, about which it is said (Isaiah 55, 6) "seek HaShem when He is present, call unto Him when He is close" (Rosh HaShana 18a).

Indeed, the closeness of HaShem, the intensity of the Holy Presence, is greater at this time, and even more so in the Land of Israel, the "land that HaShem 'seeks' it, forever the 'Eyes of HaShem Your God' are upon it from the beginning of the Year (this is the only inference to the term Rosh HaShana in the Torah) till the end of the year" (Deut. 11, 12) It is this Land of the "Honor of God", a term used for the Holy Presence (see Onkelos in parshat Shlah and many places), that we pray on these holy days to be granted happiness in conjunction with the gladness of the holy city of Jerusalem and the ascent of the kingdom of David and the Messianic era.

Although many are aware of the concept of the Messianic era, much fewer are aware that this concept is really rooted to a commandment incumbent on the People. As we learn from our title quote in this week's parsha, there is a commandment to appoint a king upon Israel (Rambam Melachim Vemiklchamot 1), and the Messiah is the one who completes this commandment in its ideal state (ibid, 11-12).

As we see from our title quote, this commandment is dependent on Israel's entrance to the Land of Israel, and so rules Rambam in the very first law regarding kings (ibid 1, 1): "Three commandments Israel were commanded upon entering the Land of Israel: to appoint a king... to obliterate the descendants of Amalek... and to build the Bais HaMikdash... Appointing a king precedes the war with Amalek... and obliterating the seed of Amalek precedes the building of the Bais HaMikdash."

From this dependency of the commandment to appoint a king on the Land of Israel (it should be added that the Sifri deduces from the Torah's words that the king must be appointed in the Land of Israel, and more), we can understand why the fore-mentioned prayer on Rosh HaShana links the state of the Holy Land and Jerusalem to the Kingdom of David.

However, why is all this mentioned specifically in the prayers of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur and not the entire year, and what does the honor of Israel, mentioned in the beginning of the prayer, have to do with "happiness in Your Land" and the return of the Kingdom of David? Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur are days of heightened awareness to the Kingship of God upon all, and thus we emphasize in our prayers the concepts of honor befitting a King, the "Royal Presence" in the form of higher intensity of His Holy Presence as found in the Holy Land and Jerusalem, and the concept of kingship itself in the form of the ideal Kingdom of David, for "the kingship on Earth has similarity to the Kingdom of Heaven" (Brachot 58a).

Ultimately, the honor of Israel, God's People, is the honor of our God-King, as David declares before Goliath who tried to diminish the honor of Israel (see Sam.I, 17, 25 and on): "You come before me with the sword... but I come before you in the name of HaShem the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel who you have dishonored." Thus, by praying for Messiah and working for his coming, we are working on greatening God's Honor, which means greatening HaShem's Presence through our "Holy People" (Deut. 14, 21) and the holy places, Jerusalem and the Holy Land which together illuminate the entire world with their Godly light.

It is Hebron, cradle of the Kingdom of David in its first stages, the burial place of the forerunners of royalty, Jesse and Ruth, the "City of the Patriarchs", who were promised royalty to their descendants by God, and the stronghold of sovereignty of Israel of today despite the multitudes who oppose us, that plays a crucial role in the advent of Jewish rule, and ultimately the recognized rule of God upon all Earth.

Real Stories from the Holy Land #30: "Today I came to Ma'arat HaMachpela before dawn to say Tehilim at the famous "Seven steps", since today Jews were restricted from entering the Ma'arat HaMachpela because of the Muslim's Ramadan. The Muslim's put their loud-speaker on so loud and for a long duration that it was difficult for me (and quite clearly also for others) to concentrate. I then decided to say the Tehilim loudly so I could concentrate. Immediately as I did so, the Muslim loud-speaker stopped suddenly and ceased entirely (there was no chance that the Muslims or police/soldiers heard me since the loud speaker was so loud)."