Let’s Be Better

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

It was, in a sense, the first gathering of the Bnei Yisroel, the twelve pillars of our nation surrounding the bedside of their father. Yaakov Avinu looked at each of his sons in turn, focusing on their gifts and challenges, studying their destiny, before bestowing the brachos and tefillos that would accompany them and their progeny for eternity.

When he looked at Levi, Yaakov foresaw a road with some bumps, but one that led to the loftiest of callings, the right to serve in Hashem’s earthly home, standing guard over the Bais Hamikdosh and its sacred keilim.

But he also saw something else, the dark and turbulent events of this week’s parsha, the uprising of Korach and his people against the leadership of Moshe Rabbeinu.

“Bekehalam al teichad kevodi. I want no part in it,” Yaakov Avinu pleaded. Therefore, Rashi tells us, Korach’s lineage is traced back to Levi, but not to Yaakov Avinu.

It’s puzzling. If Yaakov foresaw the incident, why did he not ask that there be no machlokes altogether? Why not daven that Hashem’s trusted messenger be untarnished by this rebellion? Why didn’t he daven that Klal Yisroel not rise up against Moshe?

When his grandfather, Avrohom Avinu, sensed that Sedom was on the verge of destruction, he immediately began to daven, as improbable as the chances were of there being many tzaddikim in Sedom. Yet, his concern for all of mankind led him to daven in a valiant attempt to prevent the judgment from being carried out. Why didn’t Yaakov attempt to use tefillah to try to prevent the ugly story from happening?

Perhaps the explanation is that at the root of the machlokes was jealousy. Korach was jealous of Moshe and Aharon, and he was upset that he wasn’t recognized for his greatness and given a position of leadership that he felt he deserved. Yaakov wanted it to be clear that this middah ra’ah was not traced back to him.

Jealousy is part of the teva with which Hashem created the world.

Back at the very onset of creation, the great luminaries, the sun and the moon, fell prey to jealousy. “Who will rule? Who will be bigger?” they questioned.

The upper waters and the lower waters got locked in an epic and enduring battle, each pining for Divine closeness at the expense of the other.

Jealousy is built into creation. It is part of nature.

Kayin encountered Hevel and revealed the most basic human emotion.

Man ventured forth into the world, interacting with other humans, engaging in commerce and conversation, and there were always undertones of jealousy, competition and rivalry.

Perhaps we can say that Yaakov didn’t feel worthy of davening for Hashem to change the teva ha’adam. It is a well-known rule that we are not mispallel to change teva (see Pachad Yitzchok, Rosh Hashanah, Ma’amarim 10 and 33). Additionally, Yaakov was the av who declared, “Katonti mikol hachassodim umikol ha’emes.” The Gemara (Shabbos 32a) and Medrash Hagadol Toldos relate that Rabi Yanai said that a person should not stand in a dangerous place and say that a miracle will occur for him. Firstly, perhaps he won’t merit the miracle, and even if he does, it will diminish his zechuyos. Rabi Chonon adds that this is derived from Yaakov Avinu, who said, “Katonti mikol hachassodim umikol ha’emes.”

Yaakov felt that it would be fruitless for him to daven for Hashem to change the teva ha’adam. He felt that he could only daven that he shouldn’t be included in the rebellion that would ensue years later on account of jealousy, praying that the machlokes not be traced back to him.

Human nature is not always what we want it to be. Ki yeitzer lev ha’adam ra mine’urav. It requires much effort for man to break his inclinations and middos ra’os and make a mentch of himself.

It is the goal of the human experience to work to cultivate the G-dly and subjugate the animalistic instincts that combine to make us what we are. The word adam, says the Shela Hakadosh, hints at the potential, adameh le’elyon, and also the risks, adamah, the depths to which man can sink, like dirt.

There is one antidote, one tool, with which we can work, and that is the Torah. One who dedicates his life to the precepts of Torah can tame his human inclinations, such as the trait of jealousy and the propensity for machlokes. Torah has the ability to cure man of his pettiness and help him rise above societal ills.

Yaakov was an ish tom yosheiv ohalim. He was purified and cleansed by Torah and its mussar. Having devoted his energy and strength to rising above human frailties, he felt that the machlokes had no connection to him. He wanted to demonstrate that although teva dictates that human interactions lead people to be consumed by jealousy, the condition is not terminal, as one who is a yosheiv ohalim and works on himself to be subservient to the precepts of Torah until he becomes an ish tom can win these battles.

When Yaakov Avinu beheld Levi, he saw the unfortunate results of jealousy and rivalry, but he also saw something else: the lofty destiny of the shevet and the koach they possess to rise above it all. The fruition of this vision is found later in this week’s parsha.

The pesukim in perek 18 following the tragedy of Korach relate that Hakadosh Boruch Hu tells Aharon what to do to ensure that there won’t be another catastrophe such as the one that took place with Korach and his eidah. Hashem tells Aharon that he, the kohanim and shevet Levi, should be “shomer mishmeres” and then there will be no more “ketzef” on the Bnei Yisroel.

The posuk explains that Hashem separated the kohanim and Levi’im from the Bnei Yisroel. They will not engage in everyday commerce with the rest of the Jews. They will perform their work in the Temple of Hashem. They will do the avodah in the Ohel Moed and will receive no nachalah, portion, in Eretz Yisroel. Hashem will be their cheilek and nachalah.

To understand the correlation, we examine the famous words of the Rambam at the end of Hilchos Shmittah V’Yovel (13:12-13). He explains that Levi did not receive any nachalah, because he was chosen to serve Hashem in the Mishkon to teach His righteous ways and laws to the rest of the people. Therefore, says the Rambam, they were separated - “huvdolu midarkei ha’olam.”

In other words, in order to ensure that there would never be another ketzef such as that which took place in the time of Korach, shevet Levi was separated and removed midarkei ha’olam, from the ways of the world. They refrained from engaging in regular daily business and interactions, because to do so would lead them to become jealous and argumentative. To prevent them from falling back into the teva of man which leads to jealousy and rivalry, allowing human failings to manifest themselves and cause ketzef, they would no longer engage in the type of human interaction that exposes mortal weaknesses.

From that point forward, the shevet Levi would be dedicated fully to Hashem’s work and would not be subject to the pressures which they were not able to overcome. A person can overcome issues that lead to machlokes and bitterness by dedicating himself to the avodah of Hashem and rising above mundane pursuits. By dedicating oneself to observing the precepts and teachings of the Torah in every field of human endeavor, man can rise above the subliminal earthiness that seeks his downfall.

Thus, the Rambam states in the following halacha that this mode of life is not only reserved for kohanim and Levi’im, but can be followed by anyone who sees the light and wishes to earn for himself a life of blessing and peace, walking a straight path and cleansing himself of human trivialities and foibles.

Korach was blinded and hindered by his negios. His desire for personal advancement grew out of his jealousy of Moshe and Aharon. He couldn’t rise above the teva. It seems strange to us, but he was able to convince all the great men of Klal Yisroel to join him in his rebellion. For it wasn’t only Korach who was subsumed by jealousy, but others as well. They all wanted the “big job.” Their vision was hampered as well, and they were unable to perceive Moshe’s greatness. Jealousy so clouded their vision, perception and understanding that they were unable to appreciate the significance of what happened to the meraglim, who had doubted Moshe. They weren’t able to rise above the teva of anoshim and thus brought ketzef upon themselves and others.

As we study the parsha, we have the benefit of hindsight, the clarity of Rashi’s lens, and the Rambam’s lucid perspective. We delve into the explanations of the tale and think about how such smart and righteous people could sin so terribly and err so badly. We learn the pesukim, the Rashis and the Rambam, and we resolve to become better bnei Torah, baalei mussar and anshei tom in order to rise above the middos ra’os that bring down lesser men.

All around us, we see people in positions of power and influence acting foolishly and blindly as they seek to advance their careers and their self-serving agendas.

In this country, there is currently an ongoing propaganda battle concerning a Supreme Court decision. Half of the country sees the decision as righting a wrong that was perpetrated half-a-century ago, when the court created a right where none existed to protect an action favored by progressives.

Democrats, in a desperate campaign to maintain control of the Congress and Senate, have seized upon the court decision, twisted the ruling, and presented it as “the realization of extreme ideology,” in the words of President Biden. They seek to convince the country that the ruling is an assault on people’s rights, though the majority opinion clearly states that it should not be viewed as jeopardizing recognized rights.

The Democrats think that if they can whip up people into a frenzy over the court’s ruling, that could overcome the administration’s debacle in Afghanistan, wasteful distribution of trillions of taxpayer dollars, raging inflation, an economic recession, increasing crime, an open border, doubts concerning the president’s mental acuity, and his sagging poll numbers.

Their negia for power causes them to perceive everything in a twisted fashion and seek to convince more than half of the country that their thinking is correct. The same politicians who are bashing the court and calling for mass protests are trying President Trump in a show trial for not properly respecting all branches of the government and complying with their rulings, as well as leading an insurrection against Congress. Their negios prevents them from seeing the incongruity.

Korach, motivated by his desire for honor, prestige and power, was able to mislead his many followers by peddling empty, disingenuous arguments. His follower, Ohn ben Peles, was famously saved from the fate of Adas Korach by his wife. When he came home enthralled by Korach’s arguments against Moshe, she did not engage in a debate with him. She didn’t try to refute what Korach had alleged. She didn’t bother with any of that. She had a much simpler way to steer her husband clear of the morass.

She said to him, “What will you gain by getting involved in this machlokes and following Korach? You won’t gain anything! You’ll be the same simple person with the same job and low position in life whether Moshe wins or Korach wins. Why are you jeopardizing your life and everything else for Korach?” She won the day and saved her husband’s life.

Now, if the dispute was over the issues that Korach had presented, of what use was her argument? Ohn should have responded to his wife and admonished her for her words. “How could you tell me to drop out of the campaign for Korach? Moshe is corrupt. He did this wrong and that wrong. The laws he presents don’t make any sense. This is a battle over ideology. First defend Moshe and then tell me to ditch Korach.”

But Ohn’s wife was a wise woman. She knew that at the root of Korach’s insurgency lay not halacha, and not hashkafah. Nor was it about fairness and integrity. It was about his negia, about jealousy. Everyone in Korach’s eidah, including her husband, was motivated by their negia, by jealousy over other people’s attainments. Therefore, she addressed his negia and not his intellectual arguments.

Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach would explain that the power of daas Torah is that those who possess it are free of negios. They have no personal investment in what they are called to rule upon. Their only negia is to the truth. They study Torah and are suffused by it, as the Torah overtakes them and transforms them. All their decisions and actions are guided by Torah. They are possessed by a love of Torah and Am Yisroel.

At the end of last week’s parsha, the pesukim (Bamidbar 15:31-41) discuss the mitzvah of tzitzis. We repeat them daily in davening, but perhaps we don’t always pay attention to what we are reciting. We say, “And you shall put tzitzis on the corners of your garments…and you will see them and remember all Hashem’s mitzvos and you will perform them and you will not be misled by your hearts and eyes which lead you to stray. [And you shall wear them] so that you will remember and perform Hashem’s mitzvos and you will be holy.”

Our hearts and eyes lead us to stray from the correct and moral path. It’s just a fact of life. That’s how we were created. The way to prevent ourselves from being misled by our hearts, which includes bad middos, among them jealousy as discussed prior, and our eyes, which cause us to sin when we allow them to view improper things, is by performing mitzvos and bringing kedusha into our lives.

This is not my interpretation; this is the simple meaning of the words. The antidote to chet, sin, is kedusha. To merit Hashem’s brachos, we need to seek to bring more kedusha into our lives and stay away from things that detract from kedusha. People rationalize and think they have good reasons for engaging in behavior that is antithetical to kedusha, but they are just excuses brought on by a negia to have a good time. We don’t need Ohn’s wife to teach us that. We should figure it out by ourselves and always seek to engage in actions that increase our kedusha and make us better people.

Seeing the Good

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

It is interesting that as we enter the period of the most enjoyable weather, following the Yom Tov of Shavuos which celebrates Matan Torah, for several weeks we lain parshiyos that depict unfortunate behavior by the Jews in the desert.

We wonder how the people sank so low so quickly. We wonder: Why the cynicism? Why the lack of faith? These were the same people who, not long ago, were slaves in a foreign land, mistreated and abused, performing backbreaking manual labor, without proper housing or income. Moshe appeared and miraculously led them to freedom. They received the Torah at Har Sinai and enjoyed Hashem’s beneficence in an unprecedented manner. They had spiritual and physical wealth, and all their needs were provided for.

Yet, they couldn’t stop complaining. They were impossible to satisfy. Nothing was good enough for them. They didn’t trust Moshe, or Hashem for that matter. They were unhappy with their food choices, weren’t convinced that Eretz Yisroel was all it was cracked up to be, thought Moshe used nepotism when appointing Aharon, they attached great powers to a golden calf they fashioned, and the list continues.

Until today, we suffer for their sins and haven’t yet rectified them.

In this week’s parsha, we read of the tragic episode of the meraglim sent to scout Eretz Yisroel. The spy mission ended in disaster, with ten of the twelve spies going off the rails, badmouthing Eretz Yisroel and doubting the Jews’ ability to capture the land promised to them by Hashem centuries earlier.

Quoting from the Medrash Tanchuma, Rashi explains that the parsha of the meraglim follows the parsha of Miriam, because Miriam was punished for the gossip she spoke about her brother Moshe, and although the wicked people witnessed this, they failed to learn anything from it.

The common explanation of this is that witnessing the painful consequences of Miriam’s lashon hora should have deterred the meraglim from speaking lashon hora about the Land of Israel.

Perhaps we can understand this by examining the root of lashon hora, commonly explained to mean gossip. The roots of this sin are more destructive than simple chitchat.

At the end of Parshas Beha’aloscha (12:1-2), the posuk states that Miriam and Aharon spoke about Moshe concerning his wife. “And they said, ‘Did Hashem only speak to Moshe? He also spoke to us!’” The posuk does not recount what they said about Moshe’s wife, but it says that they minimized their brother’s greatness. They compared themselves to Moshe, as if to say, “What’s the big deal? Who does he think he is? Hashem also talks to us. He doesn’t only speak to him.”

The essence of lashon hora is minimizing the accomplishments of other people. People will admire someone for having reached some level of accomplishment. The baal lashon hora throws a damper on it by bringing up a tale whose message is that the person is not really great. He also has failings. If we wanted to, we could succeed just as he did.

The meraglim should have learned from Miriam what happens to someone who disparages and minimizes greatness. They failed to learn that negativity and cynicism are not compatible with greatness. They should have seen that such behavior is frowned upon by Hashem. For even if the details are true, nevertheless, since it diminishes the subject’s esteem in another’s eyes, he has spoken lashon hora.

At the root of lashon hora lies a desire to destroy the respect one person holds for another.

Thus began the chain of events that are at the root of the churban Bais Hamikdosh and the reason we have not yet merited redemption.

Aharon and Miriam were tzaddikim on a high level of avodah, and it is not for us to criticize them or their speech and actions. The Torah relates what took place not for us to pass judgment on them, but so that we can learn from the episode to avoid the temptations to diminish anyone or anything.

The downfall of the meraglim, selected by Moshe for the mission, was their failure to learn not to approach matters with a negative view. They spoke against the Land of Israel, which Hashem had praised. They said that it was an “eretz ocheles yoshveha,” a land that eats its citizens. Then they said that the people who live there are strong and would make life difficult for the Jews.

They minimized the greatness of the land and the promises of Hashem. They drove a wedge between Moshe and Am Yisroel. They caused the nation to have doubts about the greatness of Hashem. Therefore, for eternity, these individuals are referred to as resho’im.

The meraglim’s report caused the Jewish people to quickly lose interest in Eretz Yisroel as they bemoaned their bitter fate. There was a large gathering on the eve of the 9^th of Av, addressed by the ten spies, and when it was over, “Vatisa kol ha’eidah vayitnu es kolam - The entire nation raised their voices and cried that night” (Bamidbar 14:1).

Chazal (Sanhedrin 104b, Taanis 29a, Sotah 35a) teach that Hakadosh Boruch Hu said that “since the Jewish people wept for nothing, I will establish this day as a day of sobbing for generations to come.” The Medrash Tanchuma and Medrash Rabbah (Shelach 16:20) add that at that moment, it was decreed that the Botei Mikdosh would be destroyed and Am Yisroel would be exiled.

They derive this from the posuk in Tehillim (106:24-27) which states, “Vayimo’asu b’eretz chemdah lo he’eminu lidvaro - And they despised the desirable land and had no faith in Hashem’s promise. They murmured in their tents, not listening to Hashem. Vayisa yado lohem lehapil osam bamidbar ulehapil zarom bagoyim ulezarosom ba’aratzos. Hashem raised His hand and promised that He would knock them down in the desert, and would cast down their descendants among the nations, and spread them out across the lands.”

The Ramban (ibid.) and the Maharsha (Sotah, ibid.) offer a similar explanation. At the root of their sin and the cause for their punishment – which extends to our day – is the debasement of Eretz Yisroel. The sin of the meraglim and the people was that they put down the land Hashem had promised us, saying that it is an “eretz ocheles yoshveha,” a country that eats its inhabitants, and other derogatory accusations.

This was similar to the sin at Kivros Hata’avah, discussed in last week’s parsha, where the people weren’t satisfied with the monn and all the livestock they had amassed leaving Mitzrayim. Instead of appreciating all that they had been blessed with, they complained about their food choices. They begged for the fish and watermelon they had in Mitzrayim, even voicing the desire to return to the land of depravity and servitude so they could satisfy their urges.

At the root of their sin was not appreciating what they had been blessed with. Moshe Rabbeinu was able to deal with all the various criticisms and rebellions of the people, but to this insurrection at Kivros Hata’avah, he had no response. He said to Hashem (Bamidbar 11:15), “Horgeini na harog. Kill me rather than put me through this.”

It is possible to deal with people who have philosophical differences, who have differing perceptions, fears, and legal disputes, but it is impossible to deal with people who are unappreciative of their gifts and all they have. Instead of focusing on the good and appreciating the blessing, they find fault, and are negative and unfulfilled, acting as if they have been cursed and robbed.

The sin of lack of appreciation is also what was at the root of Miriam’s disparaging talk about Moshe. She didn’t appreciate what Moshe had achieved and the ultimate heights he had reached, and thus she spoke ill of him.

The meraglim failed because they, too, were guilty of the same failing. They didn’t appreciate the great country promised them by Hashem. They traveled there and interpreted everything they saw negatively. They found negative where there was positive and lost sight of the beauty and grace of the land. “Mo’asu b’eretz chemdah,” they saw nothing good in the treasured land. They despised it and badmouthed it to their brethren.

“Resho’im halalu rau velo lokchu mussar.” The wicked people saw what happened to Miriam when she didn’t appreciate her brother’s greatness, and what happened when the people didn’t appreciate the monn, yet they did not learn any lesson from those incidents. For not appreciating what Hashem promised them, they and their descendants were punished.

The Yaavetz, in his introduction to his peirush on the siddur, writes that it is therefore incumbent on everyone to appreciate the gift that Eretz Yisroel is and to seek to move there. We were thrown into golus because we didn’t appreciate the greatness of the land and failed to establish a proper attachment to it. Therefore, we must do what is in our power to demonstrate that we recognize that Eretz Yisroel is the eretz chemdah tovah urechovah.

For centuries, it was a treacherous undertaking for Jews to visit and live in Eretz Yisroel. The land was desolate. Life there was extremely difficult, with many constant threats to health and safety. This began to change when the students of the Vilna Gaon and the Baal Shem Tov started moving to the Promised Land. Slowly, more people came and began developing the land and studying in kollelim funded by their hometowns and other generous donors.

Today, it is easy to fly there on an airplane and enjoy being in the eretz chemdah. There are negatives there, to be sure, but there are lots of positives. Having just returned from there, I can say that anyone who is looking for a place to visit during the summer would be better off visiting there than any European country where anti-Semitism abounds, and certainly in those soaked with centuries of Jewish blood.

As we seek to end the golus and do teshuvah for the aveiros that caused the churbanos and golus, not only do we need to work on sinas chinom and lashon hora, but, apparently, we must also work on “Vayimo’asu b’eretz chemdah” and show that we appreciate the promise and brocha of Eretz Yisroel.

The sin of the misoninim and baalei hataavah of last week’s parsha, the sin of Miriam and the sin of the meraglim are all related.

We must never disparage any of the gifts Hashem has blessed us with. We must not look at things cynically, finding fault where there is good and negativity where there are lots of positive things to be thankful for. Even in times of sadness and pain, there is always what to be thankful for.

As maamimim, people of faith, we must demonstrate our belief that everything that happens is from Hashem, and since this is so, when things happen that we do not understand, when we see others having more than us, when we feel as if our lives are lacking, we should remember that whatever happens is because Hashem willed it so and we should accept it as best as we can.

If we look for the good, we will find it and Hashem will bless us with more of it.

Sparks Aflame

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

While I was in Eretz Yisroel last week, I came across a pithy saying I had never seen before. In Hebrew, on a keychain in a store in Zichron Yaakov that doesn’t cater to tourists, it said that wealth is achieved when you have everything that money can’t buy.

I had the good fortune to spend ten days in Eretz Yisroel from before Shavuos until Motzoei Shabbos.

Being there was refreshing, invigorating, and an opportunity to recharge my spiritual reserves through learning, connecting with my rabbeim, and being and davening in holy places.

When I’m in Israel, I get chizuk from watching people. Simple people. Good people. People who look holy and people who don’t.

All Jews have at their core a neshomah mimaal, and for some reason, in that country, it is easier to spot it. Not always, not in everyone, but often enough to inspire.

I was sitting on a bench on Rechov Abir Yaakov in Naharia, waiting for someone. A man was walking down the street with a white nylon yarmulka perched on his head. With his hand outstretched, he was asking people for money. There was something off about him and nobody gave him anything.

One man seemed to know the beggar, and when he asked for money, saying he needed it for food, the man looked at him and sharply responded with a loud, “Lo. No.” Though the poor man promised that he had not consumed any alcohol since Monday, the man refused to give him anything.

He sat down next to me, holding his lit cigarette between his nicotine-stained-fingers, and began humming to himself in a most beautiful tune a kapitel of Tehillim. I moved a little closer to him and was in awe as I listened in on his conversation with Hashem. He finished the kappitel and went back to work.

Such is the beauty of Eretz Yisroel and its people. A shiker without a shekel in his pocket reaching out to Hashem with a most beautiful tune, reciting the ancient words of Tehillim as he awaits his daily salvation.

Though they seem so far removed, the sparks are there, close to the surface, ready to be set aflame.

I met Binyomin Netanyahu and was discussing the political situation with him. I asked what it would take to topple the current government. He looked at me and said, “What we need is for you to daven a little harder!” Not known to be religious, he also has the spark of a Yid.

Why am I telling you this?

My trip began on a sad note, for shortly after our arrival, Rav Uri Zohar suffered a heart attack and passed away. My involvement with Lev L’Achim over the past 30 years afforded me the opportunity to develop a relationship with Reb Uri, ever since he began coming to America to help the organization raise money.

His passing brought out mourning and much discussion across the country in religious and secular communities.

Uri Zohar was the embodiment of Israeli culture. He was the personification of what the general world regards as success. He was the country’s top actor, comedian and entertainer. Nobody else even came close. And since he left the profession, nobody has replaced him at the pinnacle of achievement in Israel.

He was wildly popular, admired and idolized, living in a three-story Tel Aviv glass-walled beachfront home. He had all the money and physical accouterments anyone could desire. And then he shocked the country and dumped it all.

He found something more tempting and fulfilling than everything that his fans, the cultural elites and the media, define as success and achievement. His public teshuvah and embracing of Torah some forty years ago sent shockwaves across the country.

He went on to live a life of complete and total penitence, forgoing fame and fortune, living in virtual poverty and spending his days and nights making up for lost time, learning Torah. He spread his message of truth across the country, filling theaters and halls with thousands of people, who, decades later, still had not gotten over the shock of his transformation. Working with Lev L’Achim, he helped bring tens of thousands of children to yeshivos and their families to teshuvah.

He went from being a public clown to a well-known tzaddik, who lived in a tiny 30-square meter apartment, dedicated strictly to learning Torah and doing mitzvos. Hu hagever, he experienced life the other way and saw the futility of physical pursuits. He wasn’t born to it. He came to it on his own and went on to set an example for all who were interested in the truth.

His inner spark got lit and flamed into a giant torch, providing light and direction for himself, his family, and millions of people, earning the respect of all.

He had to forsake much to live the life we lead. He was tested in many ways and withstood everything thrown in his path. He came from far away to adopt the lifestyle we take for granted. And since his passing, at his levayah and in private and public conversations, his life is being celebrated.

I’m telling you all this by way of introduction to the massive, unprecedented celebration of our Torah life that took place this week in Philadelphia. Tens of thousands of bnei Torah gathered in a sports stadium to commemorate the growth and support of the many thousands who dedicate their lives to learning Torah at Bais Medrash Govoah in Lakewood.

Shortly after he escaped from the Lithuanian churban, Rav Aharon Kotler opened the yeshiva in 1943, determined to rebuild here the world of Torah that was destroyed in Eastern Europe, where it had flourished for hundreds of years. His yeshiva began with a smattering of talmidim, his idea given a very small chance of success. The idea of kollel was not foreign, but was highly unpopular and would remain so for a long time.

The kollel concept was mocked by many, as was the idea of strictly learning Torah in yeshivos gedolos without attending college. Almost everyone went to college and earned a degree to enable them to succeed in life. It was believed that a bochur without a degree wouldn’t amount to much in life. Rav Aharon and his fidelity to Torah lishmah were considered throwbacks to an era gone by. The Jewish leadership and the masses mocked and vilified him and the few who shared his views, giving them no chance of succeeding.

But he paid no attention to them, persisting in inculcating the idea of Torah lishmah to a growing number of talmidim. By today’s numbers, it wasn’t much, but the idea and concept were set and others began to follow. Rav Aharon’s talmidim began opening yeshivos, and other American yeshivos and kollelim were slowly growing.

It’s hard for us to imagine that Orthodoxy was given little chance of survival. Many religious people were not able to hold on to their children, and hundreds of thousands left the world of shemiras hamitzvos. Yeshiva talmidim seeking rabbinic positions sought out Conservative congregations, thinking that that was the wave of the future.

Despite all the negativity, the Torah community began taking hold, as yeshiva graduates married, had children, and enrolled them in yeshiva elementary schools and then high schools and on to yeshivos gedolos. People saw that it could work and was working. Over the decades, American born-and-bred parents were thrilled to see their children growing in the path of Torah study and observance. Their lives had fulfillment. Learning Torah brought them satisfaction, meaning, purpose and nachas.

When plans were announced for the Lakewood event, skeptics abounded, questioning its purpose and need. But all those who were blessed enough to be in attendance felt as if they were at an historic celebration of lomdei Torah, bnei Torah, machzikei Torah, and the very Torah lives that we lead.

It was the largest event produced by and for bnei Torah anywhere. No longer are we dependent on the generosity of outsiders. No longer do we need others to produce things for us and tell us what is good for us and what we should be doing. Bnei Torah have demonstrated time and again, and celebrated this week, that we have arrived. The days of being mocked and vilified, the days of being looked at as shleppers and lo yutzlachs, are gone. Every ben Torah has an extra bounce in his step this week, every yungerman feels more appreciated than ever before, and every bochur feels special.

Invariably, stadiums are arenas where winners and losers gather, but this night it was different. All the attendees were winners. There was a pervasive energy in the room, a combination of ruchnius and nitzchius, of haromas keren haTorah velomdeha vetomcheha. The spirit that guides and maintains us was tangible in the room. Nothing but Torah was mentioned, nothing but Torah was celebrated, nothing but Torah mattered.

Rav Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, the Bais Medrash Govoah rosh yeshiva under whose leadership the yeshiva experienced its tremendous growth along the trajectory that began under his father, Rav Shneur, set the tone of the event with his sparkling message of the life-giving qualities of Torah. What was left unsaid, but not unfelt, was that he is third in line playing a leadership role in the transformation of the world of Torah. The revolution that his grandfather began and laid the foundations for, took off under his father, and under him it has blossomed to qualitative and quantitative heights unprecedented in our history.

In the country where it was thought that Shabbos, kashrus, limud and shemiras haTorah stood no chance, a packed stadium sat, stood, danced, and called out that netzach Yisroel lo yeshaker, demonstrating it by their very being there, by the lives they lead, by the way they dress and act, and by the way they support Torah and Torah supports them.

The special guest from Eretz Yisroel was Rav Dovid Cohen, rosh yeshiva of the famed Chevron Yeshiva in Yerushalayim. Famous for his brilliant shiurim and seforim, as he addressed the packed arena, he epitomized all that he spoke of, a giant in Torah who dedicates his life to learning Torah lishmah simply and without any outside considerations.

The words of the speakers were prose and poetry. The older people closed their eyes and imagined what the world was like as they were growing up, and the younger people were pumped with pride as they gained a better appreciation of their historic roles and opportunities.

The sparks of Yidden throughout the lonely forties, fifties and sixties were lit and began to flare with increasing fervor until the world of Torah and bnei Torah grew to the flaming torch we are today.

We went from being the few to the many, and thanks to Hashem’s brachos, bnei Torah who are working and in the business and professional worlds contribute historic sums to yeshivos and yungeleit within whom the flame of Torah burns. They support Torah and Torah supports them. The Torah carries the yungeleit as well, allowing them to grow in Torah and avodah, and together with their dedicated wives, they are raising another generation of bnei and bnos Torah whose lives revolve around Torah.

Anyone who saw Rav Aharon Kotler and attempts to describe him will speak of the fire in his eyes. They will tell you that when you looked at him, he was aflame, on fire with Torah.

In those eyes, he held all the sparks of the generation to come and provided the fuel to light them on fire. That fuel was Torah, Torah lishmah, learning for the sake of learning and constantly growing in Torah.

This week’s event was a celebration of his vision, the fire in his eyes and the flame in his soul. It was a celebration of the remarkable burst of growth of the Torah world, of the flame that arose from the sparks, of the thousands of families who dedicate their lives to Torah, and the budding talmidei chachomim as well.

It was a gathering of rich people - the richest people in the world. A gathering of over twenty thousand people who possess all that money cannot buy.

Ashreihem.

Today is the Day

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

In the initial days of this world, when there was little more than the earth and the sky, the sun, the moon and the stars, the world was waiting. Even after Adam was created and settled into the garden, le’ovdah uleshomrah, the world was still in a state of anticipation. The doubt would remain for centuries on end.

Throughout the generations that followed, despite Noach’s lone piety in a world of darkness, Avrohom Avinu’s perception of a Creator, and Yitzchok’s readiness to be offered as the ultimate sacrifice, something was missing.

Even as Yaakov studied through the long nights and his sons marched forth, an army of soldiers of the Ribbono Shel Olam, the world was not yet perfect.

It was all a journey, a process leading finally to the Yom Hashishi, the sixth day of Sivan at Har Sinai, when the world received its heart and soul. Bishvil haTorah shenikreis reishis.

“Ve’am nivra yehalel Kah” (Tehillim 102:19). A nation, newly identified, newly charged with a mission, called out the two words that echo through the ages, defining us and what we are about: “Naaseh venishma.”

It was the moment when Klal Yisroel announced for the entire world to hear that although they were mortals fashioned of flesh and blood, they would live on a higher and loftier plane, using the Torah to guide them.

And now, once again, we are at the time of year when the power and potency of that day reigns again and we are able to tap into its energy.

As we celebrate Zeman Mattan Toraseinu, the best and most appropriate preparation is to focus on how blessed we are, with the gift we received, and what those moments at Sinai and their reverberations mean to us.

We all know it’s true. In the year 2022, we can perceive that the ongoing golus has taken its toll and neshamos are increasingly dimmer. It’s hard to feel ruchniyus, to acutely sense kedusha in a crass, immoral world, but it is there.

If we take a moment and contemplate, and conduct an honest self-assessment, we will realize that whatever might give us a degree of happiness - a new car or home, a good meal or a great vacation - isn’t the real deal. The feeling it gives us does not compare to the elation we feel when we gently stand up after a good shiur or seder, having learned with a child or chavrusa. Shetihiyu ameilim baTorah. The joy we feel when we understand a difficult sugya and it all comes together is like none other. We taxed our powers of thought and concentration, and it became clear to us: Ahh! That is satisfaction.

The joy of Kabbolas HaTorah is eternal and hasn’t faded along with everything else. Every time we hear a good sevorah, vort, or shiur; every time we work hard to understand a Gemara, Rashi, or Tosafos, the joy that was felt at Har Sinai is felt again.

Everything else is fleeting. The world was created for Torah. The joy that was felt on that day in Sivan so many years back and all those feelings that were apparent on that day are eternal. We can feel them any time we delve into the holy words of amar Abaye and Rebbi Yehudah omeir.

Hashem gave us the ultimate gift, and when we express our thanks, we allow ourselves to become vessels that contain it and open our hearts to its light. Hanosein matonah lachaveiro tzorich lehodio. This means that when a person gives someone a gift, the giver must inform the recipient that he is giving him something. Additionally, the word lehodio also has in its root the word hoda’ah, thanks, indicating that when a person gives a gift, he has a reasonable expectation that it will be appreciated and acknowledged. Therefore, we say thank you every day. Asher bochar banu. You chose us. And on Shavuos, we celebrate it.

On Shavuos, when we reaffirm that we only exist for the Torah and our nation has a unifying goal, we allow the Torah to shine its light into our hearts. We remain awake at night, demonstrating our appreciation of the Torah’s role in our lives. We read through the entire Torah in Tikkun Leil Shavuos to show that we treasure every sefer of the Torah and the knowledge contained therein.

We pledge to take it all very seriously and endeavor to understand whatever we can.

The Meshech Chochmah asks at the end of Parshas Yisro: What did Moshe Rabbeinu personally gain from Kabbolas HaTorah? He had already been worthy and was able to rise Heavenward even before having received the Torah. This was an indication that Moshe Rabbeinu had personally achieved perfection before Sinai.

The Meshech Chochmah’s answer is instructive and relevant. Until Mattan Torah, he says, Moshe Rabbeinu and man were able to serve Hashem with ruchniyus. The novelty of Kabbolas HaTorah was that now, acts of gashmiyus were invested with kedusha. Man was directed to sanctify himself, his corporeal needs, and his animal instincts.

This, says the Meshech Chochmah, is the idea of Hashem telling Moshe Rabbeinu at the sneh, the burning bush, “She’al na’alecha mei’al raglecha - Remove your shoes from on your feet. Remove the vehicles for your gashmiyusdike living. Remove your chomer as you approach Me. Here you must be an angel.” That was before Matan Torah. Afterward, the shoes became part of the package - the package called Am Yisroel, to whom the Torah was given.

After Matan Torah, Hashem tells Klal Yisroel, “Ve’anshei kodesh tihiyun li - And holy people you should be unto me” (Shemos 22:30). The Kotzker Rebbe explained this to mean, “Be mentchlich heilig. Be holy within the context of being human.” Figure out how to exist within society, to be a father and a husband and a friend who is holy. We are meant to be people who live elevated lives, not malochim. To be good, we don’t have to escape to a desolate island away from humanity. Rather, we are to excel as we live among others.

On Shavuos, we celebrate this concept. Hakadosh Boruch Hu desires our service. He gave us the Torah to guide us and address our physical existence. We celebrate the potential of man, who can use the Torah as the ladder to climb to ever loftier heights.

The Creator didn’t ask us to become angels, but rather to remain mortals, to incorporate the Torah and its laws into the realities of our human lives.

The Gemara states that while regarding other Yomim Tovim the rabbis disagree how much of the day should be dedicated to the purely spiritual, on Shavuos “hakol modim deba’inan nami lochem.” They all agree that we need to please the more physical side as well.

We can understand this to mean that on Shavuos, we need “lochem,” to proclaim that the physical is part of the Shavuos celebration. We demonstrate through our actions that Torah affects and impacts our basic human behaviors as well. The bein adam lachaveiro, the way we conduct ourselves and the way we deal with other people, is an integral part of Torah, not only the bein adam laMakom, the way we serve Hashem. Torah touches our souls, impacts our actions, and improves our personal conduct.

Perhaps this is a reason why the Torah is achieved through 48 attributes, many dealing with interpersonal relationships, because in order to excel in Torah, a person’s middos must be refined as well.

This is also a reason why the Torah was only given when the Bnei Yisroel were united without any rancor or fights between them. As the posuk (Shemos 19:2) states, “Vayichan shom Yisroel neged hahar,” using the singular conjugation vayichan, instead of the plural vayachanu, to denote that they came to rest at the foot of the mountain prior to Hashem giving them the Torah.

As Rashi famously states, “Vayichan shom Yisroel neged hahar, k’ish echod beleiv echod,” as one person with one heart.

In fact, prior to that, the posuk uses the plural forms to track their movement: “Vayisu m’Refidim, vayavou midbar sinai, vayachanu bamidar.” As long as they were divided and quarreling, Hashem did not yet see fit to give them the Torah. It was only after they were able to put aside their differences that Hashem said that now He could give them the Torah as He had intended since He created the world. [See Vayikra Rabba 9:9.]

Individually, as well, in order to be worthy of Torah, we have to have perfected our character, for it is only when people have refined their middos that they are able to set aside jealousy, petty concerns and hatred to be able to join together in harmony with others.

Achdus and the ability to live peacefully with others is a prerequisite for Torah.

Chazal (Pesikta Zutrasa, Va’eschanon) state, “Chayov odom liros ess atzmo ke’ilu mekabel Torah miSinai, shene’emar, ‘Hayom hazeh nihiyeisa le’am.’ Every day, a person is obligated to conduct himself as if he accepted the Torah that day at Har Sinai.’” We are all familiar with this directive regarding Yetzias Mitzrayim. In fact, it is the central theme of the leil haSeder, but we don’t think about it on Shavuos.

Imagine if today was the day you received the Torah. Imagine standing at Har Sinai and hearing the words of the Aseres Hadibros being called out. Imagine the sounds. Imagine the sight. Imagine being led out of Mitzrayim with very little knowledge or holiness, and trekking through the desert, becoming a better person every day.

Now, imagine how empty and meaningless your life would be without Torah. No Torah, no learning, no Shabbos, no tefillin, no Yom Tov, nothing that your life is centered around, nothing that gives your life the meaning it now has. You wouldn’t even have potato kugel or cholent, or a nice suit, hat or shaitel. You wouldn’t have a shul to go to and no reason to go to one altogether. Think of everything you do in your day, week and year. Now imagine that there was no Torah.

Imagine that today is the day you discovered the secret of the world. Imagine that today you were invited to study G-d’s word, to bask in His glow, to find meaning, satisfaction and joy in your life. How excited you would be! How grateful and how dedicated!

Today is that day. “Ke’ilu mekabel Torah miSinai.”

Appreciate it. Show it. Feel it.

Hayom hazeh! Today and every day. Despite the degeneration of the world, despite the struggles we experience with every tefillah and the challenge of concentrating fully when we learn, despite the many forces competing for our attention, we have a new Kabbolas HaTorah.

Our human shortcomings are not a hindrance. We weren’t given a Torah despite the fact that we are people, but specifically because we are mere humans.

In the days of old, this concept was widely appreciated. There was a natural reverence for Torah and its scholars even among the unlearned. In Volozhin, local homeowners would line up at the train station before each zeman to vie for the honor of pulling the wagons carrying arriving talmidim and their luggage. The yeshiva learned through Shas, and when the yeshiva celebrated a siyum on each masechta, the local people would arrive at the yeshiva and proudly serve as waiters.

Imagine that! Imagine if in your town, the bochurim and yungeleit would learn in yeshiva, and when there is a siyum, they would sit down in the dining room and the local residents would serve as their waiters, going from table to table giving out the food they had picked up at the kitchen.

Nobody forced them to come. Nobody even asked them to come. It was their special honor, because they appreciated Torah and lomdei Torah. It was an honor for them to carry the lomdei Torah and their belongings to the yeshiva, and it was their pleasure to partake in the simcha of the completion of yet another masechta.

It was special to them. It was valuable to them, as if it was given today. They treated it with respect. They treasured the Torah and the people who studied it the whole day. It was their pride and joy.

We hear these things and smile. They are charming reminders of a world that was. Of a world that we need to recreate.

Shavuos is a time to refocus on what Torah means to us, and on how blessed we are to be able to spend time by a Gemara or Chumash or Shulchan Aruch, and be surrounded by talmidei chachomim and yeshiva bochurim.

The Kadmonim call the moments spent in Torah study “lev hayom, the heart of the day,” its most crucial and life-giving period.

We open our arms wide and accept the Torah, just as our fathers and their fathers have done for thousands of years. We cherish its words, raising our children and helping guide them to see the honey under each letter.

It is who we are and what we are about. Our lives revolve around it. It is Torah.

As we go about what is commonly referred to as “real life in the real world,” as we confront issues of parnossah and health challenges, temptations of all sorts, the different types of people we must contend with and everything else that we encounter in our daily lives, we have to keep focused on our roles as bnei and bnos Torah to deal with everyone and everything as befitting those who stood together at Har Sinai and were embraced by Hashem and given the Torah.

We are higher and better than to get pulled down and sucked in by the vortex colluded by the yeitzer hora.

As we say and sing the words, “Boruch Hu Elokeinu shebra’anu lechvodo v’hivdilanu min hato’im v’nosan lonu Toras emes v’chayei olam nota besocheinu,” let us think about them and what they mean, so that this Shavuos and every day thereafter, we bask in their glow and earn the brachos of a good life, happiness and fulfillment.

Gut Yom Tov.