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Recently, books have appeared advocating

“positive imagery,” suggesting that if you imagine the scene that you wish to occur, this will make it happen. The first tendency is to dismiss this almost derisively. “I was laid off eight months ago. I have repeatedly imagined myself happily employed at a new job, but I am still unemployed.” It is quite difficult to counter such observations. Magical thinking is juvenile, one says, and wishing it will happen does not bring it about.

Logically, I would go along with this observation. However, I came across an essay in the sefer Ohev Yisrael, by the Chassidic master, Rebbe Avraham Yehoshua Heschel of Apt. He cites Rashi’s statement (Bereishis 7:7) that Noach vacillated in his belief that there would indeed be a flood, and did not enter the ark until the rising waters forced him to. The Rebbe of Apt asks,

“How can one say that Noach, whom the Torah describes as a perfect tzaddik, was lax in his belief in Hashem’s words?”

The Rebbe explains that the word emunah, faith, is related to he word omein, which means “to raise up,” as in the Book of Esther, which uses the word omein in the sentence that Mordecai reared Esther. This connotation, the Rebbe says, means that emunah can “raise” things, i.e., bring them about. Therefore, Noach did not allow himself to have a strong belief that the flood would occur, because he feared that this might actually cause the flood to materialise. Noach still held out hope that the people might do teshuvah that might avert the flood, and his intense emunah might hasten it. Thus, Rashi’s comment is not an aspersion on Noach.

We have the principle that a positive middah is more powerful than a negative middah. If, as the Rebbe says, a strong belief (emunah) may result in a negative result, them certainly, a strong positive belief may bring about a desired result.

However, the belief must be genuine and complete, which may be difficult to achieve.

Rebbe Yitzchak Meir of Gur (The Chiddushei HaRim) cites the Midrash, that before offering the Torah to the Jews, Hashem offered it to other peoples. The Moabites asked, “What does the Torah say?” and Hashem said,

“You shall not commit adultery.” The Moabites rejected the Torah because,

“We are a lustful people. We cannot accept that restriction.”

Hashem then offered it to the Edomites, who asked, “What does the Torah say?” and Hashem said,

“You shall not commit murder.” The Edomites rejected the Torah because,

“Our father, Esav, was blessed ‘to live by the sword.’

Why did Hashem offer the Torah to other nations? So that they should not say, “You favoured the Jews. If you had given us the Torah, we would have been the chosen people.” Now Hashem can say, “I offered it to you, but you rejected it.”

“But,” Rebbe Yitzchak Meir asked, “how does that address the charges of the Moabites and the Edomites. They will still say, ‘You quoted us “You shall not commit adultery.” and “You shall not commit murder,” but to the Jews You said, “I am Hashem your G-d.” Had you told us that, we would have accepted the Torah.”

Rebbe Yitzchak Meir explained, “The Torah is intended to help a person overcome his physical drives. The primary physical drive of the Moabites was lust, and that of the Edomites, bloodshed. These are not the primary drives of the Jews. The Jews’ primary drive is scepticism. Other nations could believe that idols, rivers and mountains were gods. Jews, on the other hand, witnessed many supernatural miracles, yet as the Torah relates and our history confirms, continued to doubt Hashem. Therefore, Hashem approached each nation with what would be the greatest challenge for them. For the Moabites it was restraint of lust, for the Edomites it was restraint of killing, and for the Israelites, it was to believe in Hashem. By accepting the Torah with the immortal words naaseh ve nishma, they passed this test and were given the Torah.

Emunah is indeed a powerful force and may make things happen, but it needs to come from a pure and sincere place. This is something that is within our reach, but certainly requires constant effort and investment. May Hashem purify our hearts, so that we can serve Him with truth.

The first Rashi in this week’s Sedrah gives us the 7 names that Yisro was known by one of these he shares with his famous son-in-law Moshe. What is it? Furthermore, what is the difference between the one given to Yisro and the one given to Moshe?

Riddle of the Week

For any questions on Divrei Torah please

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OnegShabbosNorth West London's Weekly Torah and Opinion Sheets

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E 1. The ten commandments are comprised of two groups reflected in the two Luchos. Why not have all ten on one Luach?

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2

Right at the end of this week’s Parshah, we are again confronted with the notion of inanimate, lifeless objects seemingly possessing feelings and emotions.

The Torah enjoins us (Shemot 20:23): “And you shall not ascend with steps upon My altar (the mizbach haolah), so that your nakedness shall not be exposed upon it.” Rashi cites the Mechilta that understands this verse as a prohibition against constructing the altar with steps. If the kohanim walked up broad steps it would be as if they were uncovering their nakedness and thus, they would be treating the altar disrespectfully. By walking up a ramp in smaller steps, as a ramp would necessitate, less disrespect would be shown to the altar. (It is evident from Rashi that it is the disrespect (bizayon) which is the concern and not the immodesty).

Really? Since when is an inanimate ramp conscious to the manner in which people ascend it? Does the wood of the ramp sense the way the Kohen ascends it?

This is not the first time we have such a concept. The majority of the 10 plagues needed a physical act to bring about the plague. With the plague of blood, the Egyptian waters had to be hit with a staff thereby causing the water to turn to blood. Similarly, to bring about the frogs that were to emerge from the waters, the waters needed to be hit. To bring about the third plague – lice - the earth was struck.

The interesting thing we see from the verses, however, is that Aharon rather than Moshe was the one to brought about the first three plagues.

Rashi explains that it was not befitting for Moshe to smite the waters or the earth. As an infant, it was the River Nile that had protected Moshe from the Egyptian murderers and allowed him to be hidden from them. It was the earth that had allowed Moshe to bury the Egyptian that he had previously killed. Since they had been of such assistance to Moshe it was incorrect for Moshe to smite them and therefore Aharon had to do so. For Moshe to smite them would constitute as a lack of gratitude, hakaras hatov, to the waters and the earth.

Are the waters and the earth actually conscious that Aharon struck them and not Moshe?

We’ve all experienced what I call ‘false gratitude’. Sometimes you get a phone call or email from someone thanking you for a favour you’ve done for him or her. But then they go on to ask you for another favour. And then you realise that the reason he called you is not to express their thankfulness but rather to ask for another favour!

That’s not true appreciation. That’s appreciation because you further want to have benefit from the person. True gratitude is when a person expresses gratitude purely for its own sake. He recognises that someone has helped him and they deserve to be thanked and appreciated for their efforts. John F Kennedy once said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them”.

Chazal wanted to instil and cultivate within us a true appreciation and sensitivity of others without ulterior motives.

How does one develop sincere appreciation? When one’s gratitude and empathy extends even to inanimate objects that cannot reciprocate, that is true greatness. When Moshe is careful not to smite the waters or the earth this is not because they will be any different whether Moshe smites them or not, rather for Moshe to cultivate true appreciation for others. When the Kohen acts respectfully to the altar, this is not because the altar is conscious but rather for the Kohen to nurture true sensitivity for others.

The Shitah Mekubetzes (Bava Kama 92a) records an inspiring story about Rabbi Yitschak Alfasi (1013-1103), known commonly by the acronym Rif.

The Rif had fallen ill and was advised by his physician to bathe in hot waters on a regular basis. A wealthy man in the community offered the Rif the use of his personal bathhouse, which the Rif accepted, eventually becoming better. The wheel of fortune turned and the wealthy man not only lost all his money, but also had many creditors. The Beis Din ruled for the assets of this wealthy man to be evaluated for them to be sold to his creditors. The Rif, however, immediately refused to be the one to evaluate this man’s bathhouse. He was certain that due to his personal benefit from the bathhouse he would not give an objective evaluation and would over price it.

This is genuine appreciation and sensitivity and this is what the Torah teaches us in this week’s Parshah: Appreciation, gratitude, kindness and sensitivity for their own sake and for no ulterior motive.

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2. Are there any connections between the two sets of five commandments in the Luchos?

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3

Chazal tells us (Bamidbar Rabbah 13:15) that there are shivim panim baTorah, seventy facets to the Torah - meaning that it can be interpreted and understood on multiple levels. If that is applicable to the entire Torah then in relation to the Aseres Hadibros, which is a microcosm of Chumash, this capability must surely be greatly magnified.

That is why, over the centuries, countless mefarshim

have elucidated the various layers of the Aseres Hadibros,

which the Torah explicitly states comprise the covenant

between Hashem and the Jewish people.

Amongst them we find the brilliance of Rav Shimshon

Raphael Hirsch who highlights for us the interplay between

the first and second set of five mitzvos on the luchos.

According to Rav Hirsch, the latter proclaim the implications

of our knowledge and acknowledgement of Hashem for our

lives as members of human society. If Hashem is the one

sole Ruler of man’s destinies, and if He is to be the sole

Guide of all the deeds of men, then each and every one of

our fellow men, too, must be considered equally under His

care in every aspect of his destinies, and the eye of Hashem

will be upon any action we take against our fellow man.

In other words, our perspective of the last five

prohibitions of the aseres hadibros should be that they are

key to protecting the Divinely endowed rights of our fellow

human beings because it is the will of G-d that they are in

the position in which we encounter them.

Rav Hirsch further explains that the order of these

principles is also highly significant. The first half begins

with the word אנכי - ‘I am Hashem’ and ends with כבד -

‘Honour’. The implication is that when we truly contemplate

that only Hashem is an ‘I’ then we are able to honour His

other creations. Fundamental to our ability to respect

others is the extent to which we keep our ego in check

by acknowledging that we are all finite and only Hashem

is infinite. Failure to recognise this truth is at the root of

mistreating other people.

The second half of the Ten Commandments begins with

the word לא - ‘Do not’ and ends with רעך - ‘Your fellow Jew’.

Again this implies that the minimum that is expected of

us in maintaining harmony amongst the Jewish people is

to avoid doing anything that could be to someone else’s

detriment.

As if proof was needed that the totality of these mitzvos

are all-encompassing then we only have to appreciate

that the opening demand that we recognise Hashem is

imposed upon the intellect whilst the final one is directed

towards action. The starting point for kabalas hatorah is

the understanding that there is no distinction in Hashem’s

eyes between mitzvos bein adam l’Makom and bein adam

l’chaveiro - how we relate to Hashem and how we interact

with our fellow human beings. By knowing that our

position amongst others is the will of Hashem requires us

to treat them with respect, which in turn necessitates that

our behaviour at all times is conducive to promoting peace

within the Jewish people. This realisation may originate in

the realms of the theoretical but it must not be allowed just

to remain there, rather it must be implemented into every

aspect of our life. The aseres hadibros and by extension

the entire Torah are thus a tutorial in translating this ideal

into practice.

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3. How many letters are there in the ten commandments and how is this significant?

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AHTHE ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE AND THE

SECRET TO LONG LIFE AND PROSPERITY

Rabbi Meyer AmarM.A.(Jewish Education). Senior Kodesh Teacher at Hasmonean High School

4

Imagine you are sitting with your business associates having a meal in an upmarket restaurant when your mother storms in and makes a beeline for your table. With a face that could turn a stone into water she grabs your iPad on which you were making a presentation and dunks it into the ice bucket. She then upends your main course onto your best suit and publically berates you in a shrill voice to the astonishment of the onlooking crowd.

How do you react to that? Some might be so shocked they are paralysed into doing nothing, others may get violent seething at the sheer embarrassment and potential loss of a lucrative deal. The Gemara in Kidushin 31a, tells us something very different. Do nothing at the time, absorb the losses and the insults out of respect for your parent. When matters are calmer, respectfully channelled rebuke can be given or even court action to claim back financial damage.

Although this sounds spectacularly difficult the Torah teaches us in the aseres hadibros of Parshas Yisro that the reward for Kibbud Av va Em is that of a long life both in this world and the next as it says “Lema’an yarichun yamecha al ha’adama”. Yamecha is interpreted to mean olam haba (the world to come) and adama is interpreted to mean olam hazeh (this world).

It is puzzling however why the Torah chose to use word adama to represent this world. A more usual word might be aretz as is indicated in the commentary of the Oznaim LaTorah1 who says that adama is referring to Eretz Yisrael.

I would like to suggest that the word adama serves a special purpose here, which will become clear once we take a deeper look into another mitzvah mentioned a shor twhile later in Parshas Yisro.

A few pesukim before the end of the parshah it says “mizbach adama ta’ase li” - Make for me a mizbeach of earth. The Midrash Agada makes a very mysterious comment about the word mizbeach. The letter ‘Mem’ stands for (Bris) Mila, the letter ‘Zayin’ for Zechor, which refers to a possuk

“Zechor l’avadecha l’Avraham l’Yitzchak l’Yaakov” – translated – remember your servant Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. The letter ‘beis’ stands for bracha and finally the letter ‘ches’ for chayim meaning life. What is

1 Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, also known as the Lutzker Rav 1881–1966

the connection between these seemingly different ideas in the word mizbeach ? Lets take a look at some further commentaries to give us more insight into this Midrash.

The Likutei Zohar explains that giving one’s son a bris mila is compared to offering up a korban. This explains the connection of mila to the mizbeach.

The Kli Yakar2 explains adama (earth) as representing the concept of humility, something which is useful but does not make anything of itself in terms of haughtiness or pride. A korban should be brought with feelings of humility before Hashem. This is the meaning of mizbach adama.

The Oznaim LaTorah takes it one step further. Someone who makes himself humble is like he is offering a korban to Hashem. You are effectively offering your ego to G-d in your serving Him with humility in your everyday life.

Perhaps we can now understand the Midrash. When a person does a bris mila for his son he is humbling himself before Hashem as if saying, here is the son that we physically made but we recognise the immense part You had in his creation, we are obligated to perform your wishes even if it involves some pain and removal of part of the body. By engaging in humility, a sacrifice of self has been made.

Where do we learn to do this from our avos Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov who all made sacrifices of self to Hashem. When one does this, Hashem bestows blessing on the one who has shown this recognition. Hashem rewards midda keneged midda - measure for measure, you used the concept of adama-humility, to serve me, I will reward you with adama, the basis of physical life on this world.

Now we can return to the reward of kibud av va’em. Giving respect to one’s parents in the manner described above involves great self sacrifice which stems from the midda of humility. It is therefore fitting to be rewarded with a lengthy life represented by the word adama just as the mizbeach is called adama and also rewards the one who self sacrifices with humility.

Clearly, humility is a much desired trait in the Torah. It is the foundation of korbanos, bris mila and kibbud av va’em. It would do us well to remember that whilst we are proud of belonging to the chosen people of Hashem we must also be humble in its practice in order to merit the blessings of long life and prosperity.

2 Kli Yakar: commentary to the Torah which highlights the homiletic or derush, written by Shlomo Ephraim of Luntshits (1550-1619), a student of the Maharshal

לעילוי נשמת מאיר בן אברהם

י’’ט שבט

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4. What is a perquisite for receiving the Torah?

נא להתפלל עבור

דוד יהושוע נתנאל בן צירללרפואה שלמה בקרוב בתוך שאר חולי ישראל

נא להתפלל עבור

יהודה בן יענט ~ אלכסנדר דוד בן לאהלרפואה שלמה בקרוב בתוך שאר חולי ישראל

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AHSTAND UP AND BE COUNTED

Rabbi Zach FordKerem School and Kollel Halocho Berura GGBH

5

Has it ever bother you that this week’s Parashah is called Yisro? Does anything dawn on you when you re-read the aforementioned question? I mean from a very young age, we’re all inculcated to recite verbatim that Matan Torah crops up in two parshios, Yisro and Va’eschanan. Shouldn’t this great event steal all the limelight? After all, Yisro’s introduction is directly juxtaposed with Bnei Yisroel reaching the climactic point in their fledgling history, an occasion where our destiny as G-d’s chosen is forged and hermetically sealed?

Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz poses this question and asks whether

there is indeed a logical explanation for the name of this week’s

parasha?

The Gemara Shabbos (31a) famously tells of the inspired gentile

who wished to convert to Judaism. However, his prerequisite for

unequivocally accepting the Torah was to be taught its entirety

whilst standing on one foot. Unperturbed by his first encounter

with the revered Shammai, who rejected the gentile’s request, the

man persevered and approached Hillel for a retort.

“What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the

whole Torah; the rest is the explanation of this, go and study it!”

The venerable Hillel responded to the request and gave the

gentile a sense of belonging and that his opinion counted for

something –albeit with a significant chunk of homework!

In a similar vein, Yisro approaches Moshe Rabbeinu in

this week’s parshah, after the numerous nissim and niflaos in

mitzrayim and he understands that his son in-law has become

truly great person and an outstanding leader! Yisro then proceeds

to test Moshe on two separate occasions to see if his personal

opinions mattered to the esteemed leader of Bnei Yisroel.

And he said to Moshe, “I, Yisro, your father in law, am coming to you, and [so is] your wife and her two sons with her.” (18:6 )

Rashi explains that Yisro asked to personally greet Moshe and even if he didn’t want receive him personally; he should at least come to greet his wife and children. Yisro is essentially asking whether his son in-law, with his now elevated status, still has the time to afford him kavod of coming to greet him. And as the pesukim ensue, we find that Moshe passes this test with flying colours – prostrating himself and giving Yisro all the kavod he deserved. A true example of ‘Bein adam le chaveiro’.

Moreover, Yisro probes further and seeks to inquire whether his opinion counts regarding Moshe’s system of judging disputes between Bnei Yisrael.

When Moshe’s father in law saw what he was doing to the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing to the people? Why do you sit by yourself, while all the people stand before you from morning till evening?” (18:14)

After Yisro explains to Moshe that his current methods are not productive as ‘navol tibol’- ‘you will surely become worn out’, he duly accepts and heeds his father in-law’s call to create a new hierarchical structure for judging the people. Yisro’s ‘sevoroh’

–‘logic’ ultimately prevailed, reiterating the fact that his opinion mattered in the ultimate quest to serve Hashem.

Rabbi Lebowitz posits that this concept - one where everybody plays a role in the Torah no matter how big or how small- is the ultimate message to propagate in the run up to matan Torah. It is the quintessential feature of our religion that the Torah is for each and every one of us and that we can all bring something to Hashem’s figurative table. This is exact message of Yisro – someone not originally part of Klal Yisrael, who might have thought that his great son in-law didn’t have time to greet him or that his opinion wouldn’t resonate to affect the status quo in terms of judicial tactics. But the firm message from Yisro is that we all matter and we can all contribute. What better way to introduce the giving of the Torah than empowering and encouraging every single individual of Klal Yisrael to be an integral piece of the very rubric that sets us aside from all other nations. Now we are truly prepared to recount the giving of the Torah with an understanding of why Yisro was the perfect example to introduce this momentous occasion and have the parshah named after him!

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5. Since the ten commandments are so important, why do we not say them every day?

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6

Rashi asks –what did Yisro hear that made him come?- kriyas yam suf and milchemes Amalek.

Why these two events? And what is so significant about milchemes Amalek more than any other nissim of yetzias mitzrayim? How did it propel Yisro to come and join the Bnei Yisrael?

The whole world saw the miracle of the splitting of the sea since, according to the Medrash, all the waters of the world split. This must have had a tremendous impact!

However we see that after such an earth shattering event only Yisro came to join Bnei Yisrael –no one else! And not only that –Amalek –who also saw this miracle and the clear Divine guidance and protection being shown to the Jews – chose to attack them and try to defeat them.

When Yisro contemplated this –and this is what shmiya, listening really connotes – he realised that inspiration resulting from the witnessing of miracles just isn’t enough. It doesn’t last and when the inspiration fades there is nothing left –and you can end up with a situation of Amalek!

This realisation is what propelled him to come. He realised he had to make the inspiration concrete and learn and live with Torah for the impact to last [Kotzker Rebbe].

We see a similar thing in last week Parsha. After krias yam suf the posuk says [15:22]

Moshe led Israel away ”ויסע משה את ישראל מים סוף“from the Red Sea.

Rashi comments –that Moshe had to force them to

travel on against their will. He says that there was so

much spoil that they wanted to stay longer to gather

it. If we are more generous with our interpretation

perhaps we can say that the “spoil” was indeed

the spiritual inspiration that they had received at

the סוף and that they were reluctant to move on ים

and away from a place that had so inspired them.

However Moshe warned them that they needed

more and they had to journey on to accept the

Torah- and indeed the next step was Marah where

after complaining, and thereby demonstrating that

the infusion of emunah was truly short lived, they

did indeed receive 3 mitzvahs to keep them going!

But just what is it about Torah that is required to

enable emunah and inspiration last?

What is a miracle? A demonstration that this

world and the laws of nature are just an illusion and

that Hashem is in complete control. We can see His

Hand clearly and the truth of His presence in the

world.

And this is exactly what we can see daily through

limmud hatorah – through discovering the ohr

haganuz, light of His truth. Torah teaches us to see

through the veil of olam hazeh and see Hashem’s

hand in everything and His desire as to how we

should lead our lives.

If when we sit down to learn we focus on the

fact that we are encountering the Divine will and

discovering the light of Hashem ’s presence we will

truly be and remain inspired.

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E 6. The possuk (20:15) says that the nation saw the sounds. How can you see sounds that you can only hear?

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7

Eating on the Go (Part 1)As observant, G-d-fearing Jews, reciting berachos on the foods that we eat is an

integral part of our daily lives. The purpose of this practice is twofold. Firstly, it is to remind us Who our Benefactor is. The berachos that we recite prevent us from forgetting the Source of all of our sustenance and enjoyment.

There is a famous story told of a chassid of Rav Aharon from Karlin zt’l who traveled to Rav Aharon to bask in his holiness, as he was known for his other-worldly actions. When the chassid arrived, he watched as the rebbe picked up an apple. The chassid became very curious and excited about what the rebbe would do next. He watched in amazement as the rebbe held the apple, recited the beracha of Ha’eitz, and took a bite. The chassid thought to himself, “The rebbe did nothing special. I do the same when I eat an apple!” The rebbe turned to him and said, “Let me explain to you, my son, the difference between you and me: When you want to eat an apple, you take the apple, but because you know that one must not eat before thanking Hashem, you recite the proper beracha, and then you proceed to fulfill your desire of eating the apply. I, on the other hand, want to praise Hashem, but I cannot simply recite a beracha for no reason, so I take an apple in order to enable me to make a beracha to praise Hashem. ”

Changing one’s location while eating may require one to make a new beracha in order to continue eating in the second location. Even if one returns to his original place immediately and continues to eat from the same food he started with, since he changed location a new beracha is required.1 This is because when one changes location, it is as if he has stopped his present eating session and then started a new eating session.2

To determine whether one has made a halachic change of location that necessitates a new beracha, two factors must be taken into consideration:

1. What is being eaten,

2. To which location did he move.

WHAT IS BEING EATEN?

Q. To which foods does this halacha apply?

A. Whether one requires a new beracha when changing location depends on what he is eating.3

 Some foods require their beracha acharonah to be made in the place where one ate. In such a case, a change of location cannot be considered as though one had stopped that eating, since he must return to the original place to recite a beracha acharonah.

 However, for foods that do not require a beracha acharonah in the place where one ate, changing location is considered an interruption, and a new beracha rishonah will be required when continuing to eat.

(Note: According to Sefardic practice, it makes no difference what is being eaten. A change of location always necessitates a new beracha.)

1 Gemarah Pesachim 101b that discusses a case where some people left a table of friends to greet a chasan and kallah, upon returning, require a new beracha to be made on any further food they decide to eat.

2 Gemarah ibid. The Rambam brachos 4:5 writes that a shinui mokom is like one finished his eating in that place.

3 Gemarah ibid, Shulchan Aruch 178:1.

FOODS THAT REQUIRE A BERACHA ACHARONAH IN THEIR ORIGINAL PLACE

BREAD

When eating bread, a change of location does not require a new beracha in the second location or upon returning to the original location, provided that a k’zayis of bread was eaten in the first location4.

MEZONOS

Although one may not initially (l’chatchilah) change location when eating mezonos foods, if one did change his location a new beracha need not be recited.5

SHIV’AS HA’MINIM

When eating one of the fruits of the shiv’as ha’minim (the seven foods for which Eretz Yisrael is praised, which are grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates; the other two, wheat and barley, fall under the category of mezonos foods), one should not initially (l’chatchilah) change location. However, if one did, a new beracha need not be recited.6

FOODS THAT DO NOT REQUIRE A BERACHA ACHARONAH IN THEIR ORIGINAL PLACE

Q. Which foods are not subject to this requirement, and thus if one changes his location he must recite a new beracha?

A. One who eats any food which requires the beracha acharonah of Borei Nefashos must recite a new beracha rishonah if he changes location. This is because for foods that do not require a beracha acharonah in their original place, a change of location is considered a type of cessation of that eating session, and thus a new beracha is required in the new place.7

Therefore, when one eats chocolate or apples, or drinks coffee, water, soda, etc., he should not leave his place to continue eating or drinking elsewhere. If he did, a new beracha will be required if he wants to continue eating in the new place.

Note: it makes no difference whether he continues to eat the same food in the new location or he returns immediately to his original location – a new beracha is always required.

Next week, we will learn what is considered to be a change in location……

SUMMARY

Borei Nefashos (fruits, veg, crisps, choc & drinks)

- change of location requires a new beracah

Mezonos (cake, biscuits, pasta) - Don’t initially

change location, but if did, it does not require a new

baracha.

Hamotzi (bread) - Dont change location, but if did, it does not require a new

beracha.

4 Ramo 178:5, Mishnah brurah 28, Shulchan Aruch Harav 3.5 Shulchan Aruch. The mishnah brurah notes this is the opinion of most poskim.6 Shulchan Aruch 5, mishnah brurah 43.7 Shulchan Aruch 1, even if one changes his place for a very short time.

Please could you ensure that there are ample sheets left in shuls for Shabbos before taking one home -as there have been few left in shuls.

This newsletter contains Divrei Torah and may contain Sheimos - please dispose of accordingly.

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PAR

SH

AHDERECH ERETZ AND

KABBALAS HATORAHDayan Elimelech VanzettaRav of Ahavas Yisrael community, Edgware. Former Secretary General of the Conference of European Rabbis. European Director of 70 days for 70 years

8

1. The first five commandments deal with the mitzvos Bein Odom LeMokom, man and Hashem, while the second deal with Bein Odom Lechaveiro, man and his fellow.

2. Rashi in Shir Hashirim (4:5) brings the comparisons between each parallel commandment. I am Hashem opposite do not kill since a murderer minimises the G-dlike form of man. You should not have other gods opposite adultery since the action reflects the same unfaithfulness to the partner. Not saying Hashem’s Name in vain opposite stealing since a robber will end up swearing falsely. Remembering Shabbos opposite not to give false testimony as profaning Shabbos is like giving false testimony against Hashem. Honouring parents opposite jealousy since a jealous man will end up with a child who will not honour him.

3. The Baal Haturim (20:13) brings that they contain 620 letters alluding to the 613 Torah Mitzvos and the seven Noachide Laws. 620 is the gematria of keser, crown, that comes when we do all of these.

4. Rashi (19:2) brings that what is needed is Achdus, unity. We find the same thing by Megillas Esther where the problem was that the Jews were an Am Mefuzar, a nation spread out, meaning having arguments. However, the salvation came about when – Lech Kinos es Kol Hayehudim, they gathered together in unity. This resulted in a reacceptance of Torah, Kimu Vekiblu.

5. The Gemara Brachos (12a) answers that this was done originally but was abolished due to the heretics. They would come to say that by only reading this implies that there was no more Torah other than this.

6. The Rosh (20:1) brings from the Ramban that the first two are the main commandments and therefore are described as being said directly. However, the others not being as fundamental are described as having been heard from Hashem.

Yisro, Moshe Rabeinu’s father in law, merited to have an entire portion in the Torah named after him thanks to the advice he gave his son in law.

After coming to live with Klal Yisroel, Yisro realized that Moshe Rabeinu spent his entire day occupied with problems, solving and the clarifying of people’s doubts. Witnessing Moshe Rabeinu’s taxing and demanding daily schedule, Yisro concluded that sooner or later both his son in law and the people would be worn out.

He then recommended that Moshe Rabeinu chose able and capable men, “men of means, G-d fearing people, men of truth, people who despise money…” blessed with a discerning mind and appropriate knowledge to undertake this momentous task (Shemos 18:21-22). Moshe would then judge only the most difficult cases whilst those he appointed would deal with simpler ones.

Moshe immediately acquiesced to his father in law’s advice. However, he realised how difficult it would be for Klal Yisroel to accept this new reality. Therefore he also instituted “Shotrim” – officers, whose task it was to help the appointed judges in implementing their decisions. Understandably, Klal Yisrael could argue that as great as these judges were, they were not Moshe Rabeinu, with whom they had always dealt, and therefore refuse to accept their rulings, hence, Moshe felt it necessary to also appoint Shotrim to work together with the judges.

A striking fact from the aforementioned account is that when the Torah tells us (Shemos 18:24) that Moshe accepted Yisro’s advice, it does not at all mention his decision to also appoint officers in order to ensure the success of the newly implemented legal system. In fact, it is only 40 years later, as Moshe Rabeinu starts to bid farewell to the Jewish people, that he says (Devorim 1:15): “So I took the heads of your tribes, men who were wise and well known, and I appointed them as heads over you, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens, and officers for your tribes.”

For what reason doesn’t the Torah describe all of Moshe’s decision related to Yisro’s proposal as they happened?

We find the answer on a Sefer called Kol Tsofayich, written by Rav Chayim Zaizik (zt”l) who says that had the Torah mentioned Moshe Rabeinu’s complementary ideas it would have simply belittled Yisro’s idea, diminished its importance. All this despite the fact that, without Moshe’s complementary measures, Yisro’s idea would have not been successful.

We see from here the that it is imperative to always show Derech Eretz towards others No one is great enough

to be above it and Moshe Rabeinu reinforces this point for us.

In the very parshah dealing with Kabbalas HaTorah, with the most defining moment of Klal Yisrael, we are given a tremendous lesson, prior to actually receiving the Torah, of how Moshe Rabeinu acted towards his father in law in a clear fulfillment of the dictum Derech Eretz Kadmah l’Torah, we have to act like menschen for only then can we truly receive the yoke of Torah.

This point is further emphasized by this week’s Haftorah.

There is a passage, from Yeshayahu HaNovi (6:3) which we pronounce every day of the week during Shacharis, and that is: “VeKarah Zeh el Zeh veAmar: Kodosh, Kodosh, Kodosh…” When proposing to sing the Al-mighty’s praises the Heavenly Angels first ask each other for permission and then intone together the aforementioned words. Rashi explains that if for any reason one Angel starts before the others he is immediately consumed by a Heavenly fire for not having waited for his peers who also wanted to praise Hashem. That is what we find in davening during Shacharis when we say: “K’dushah culam keEchod Onim ve’Omrim be’Yiroh.”

Maybe one could argue that Angels have it easy as they lack free will and, therefore, are not influenced by the Yetzer Hara. However, Klal Yisroel, if righteous, has in fact the ability to be greater than the Ministering Angels as we learn in the Gemorah (Sanhedrin 93b). Furthermore, the vehicle for such greatness is none other than Torah itself, for we find several times in the Talmud (e.g. Kiddushin 54a) that “the Torah was not given to Ministering Angels.”

In this week’s parshah not only did we receive the Torah, we were also taught a powerful lesson, not through words but rather actions, actions of the one who was at the same time the greatest and the most humble of HaShem’s servants, of how fundamental is Derech Eretz in our lives and how much of a pre condition it is to truly receiving the yoke of Heaven and to living by it.

Granted we are not Moshe Rabeinu, but if we aspire to be his disciples this is certainly a lesson we should all take to heart.

ANSWERS

Chever but the interesting thing is that in the Mechilta on this week’s Parshah it says Yisro was called Chever

because he was like a Chaver (derived from the Hebrew word friend) to Hashem, but the Medrash Rabboh at the beginning of Parshas Vayikro when it lists Moshe Rabbeinu’s alternative names and says one of them is Chever says that the derivation of his name is either based on the word Choiver Chever (a divinator) since he prevented punishments coming to Bnei Yisroel or as in he joined (Lechaber) the Bnei Yisroel to their Father in Shomayim.

Riddle Answer

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