5781 Pleasantness Throughout The Week וירא משה את כל המלאכה והנה עשו אתה כאשר צוה יקוק כן עשו ויברך אתם משה (לט,מג) Rashi explains אמר להם יהי רצון שתשרה שכינה במעשה ידיכם, (תהלים צ יז) ויהי נועם ה' אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו וגו. Moshe Rabbeinu gave a Brachah that the Shechina should reside in the Mishkan. The Pasuk says that the Mishkan was erected on Rosh Chodesh Nissan and the Gemara in Shabbos 87b says that day was the first day of the week-ראשון למעשה בראשית....
5780 Hold On This week’s Kiddush was sponsored by Reb Yisrael Neuberger in honor of his new book “Hold On”. (On the cover, there is a rope so the Rav digressed on the idea of a חבל.) The word חבל not only means a rope but at times is used to describe a גרל as the Pasuk says in Haazinu כי חלק יקוק עמו יעקב חבל נחלתו( לב,ט). Now if every creation and creature in this world has a specific purpose as it says לא ברא הקב"ה דבר אחד לבטלה (במ"ר יח,יח, זהר א כג), then all the more so, the human being which is created בצלם אלוקים for sure has a purpose and a mission that only he can fulfil....
5781 Shabbos Zachor The Kiddush was sponsored by Reb Shalom Huss in memory of his father. Once a person continues on to the next world, he is no longer able to do Mitzvos and reach higher levels, he is no longer a מהלך. However, the living are able to make a Brachah לעילוי נשמתו and it can affect the נשמה. The Gemara says about a son ברא כרעיה דאבוה that a son is like a leg of his father which can be understood to mean that one’s father can continue walking through the Mitzvos that his son performs in this world....
5781 Emphasis of Mishpatim The Parsha begins ואלה המשפטים אשר תשים לפניהם. Rashi says: אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא למשה לא תעלה על דעתך לומר אשנה להם הפרק וההלכה ב' או ג' פעמים עד שתהא סדורה בפיהם כמשנתה, ואיני מטריח עצמי להבינם טעמי הדבר ופירושו, לכך נאמר אשר תשים לפניהם, כשלחן הערוך ומוכן לאכול לפני האדם. Hashem told Moshe that he shouldn’t just teach Klal Yisrael the Torah a few times until they are well versed and not explain the טעמי המצות rather he should teach them with their טעמים....
5781 A Torah For All In this week’s Parsha, the Jewish people received the Torah at Har Sinai. The revelation at Sinai was a very exclusive event that was only experienced by the Jewish people. It’s interesting to note that this event which happened that was exclusive to the Jews is placed in a Parsha named after Yisro, a gentile- כהן מדין. Similarly, on Shavuos which is the Yom Tov celebrating Kabolas HaTorah, we read the story of Rus who at least originally was not Jewish....