This week’s Parsha Preview is co-dedicated to the refuah of the following people:
Men
Reuven Mordechai Ben Chana Batya, Yaakov David Ben Sarah, Avraham Ben Sarah, Menachem Mendel Ben Faigie Ruchel, Gilon Chaim Ben Yonit, Ofek Ben Tali, Shimon Ben Miriam, Avraham Moshe Ben Miriam Tova, Baruch Kalman Ben Leiben Jacobs, Mendel Ber Ben Sarah, Aharon Ben Tamar, Shmuel Baruch Ben Golda.
Women
Kreindel Bat Esther, Kreynah Leah Bat Rachel, Simcha Bat Mazel, Sara Bat Hodda, Kyla Chaya Bat Sarah Polson, Leiba Bat Devorah Esther, Tova Rochel Bat Chaya and Yocheved Yaakovite bat Leah.
May Hashem grant them all a speedy recovery and a complete healing.
Daven for the release of Gilad Shalit-Gilad Ben Aviva-may Hashem bring him home safe and sound. If you asked to have someone put on the refuah list please update me on how these people are doing. If you would like to add someone to the list please send me an e-mail yvalloul@gmail.com
Once again, you can have this Parshah Preview dedicated in honour or memory of a loved one, you can ask for a refuah or simply acknowledge a milestone. It does not cost a thing all you have to do is ask.
Join my blog @
http://parshapreview.blogspot.com
or
http://apps.facebook.com/liveblog/entry/485526
Happy Birthday to:
Haskel Zionce
Adrienne Gold
“Ad Meyah Vesrim Shannah”
Mazal Tov to my Nephew and Niece-Yechiel and Lana Bobrowsky on the birth of a baby boy!!!
Parshah Ki Teitzei - Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19
Torah Reading for Week of August 15-21, 2010 - Elul 5-11 5770
Candle Lighting in Toronto 7:55 P.M.
Candle Lighting in Thornhill 7:55 P.M.
Number Of Mitzvot in Parshah Ki Teitzei: 74
27 Mitzvot Aseh (Positive Commandments)
47 Mitzvot Lo Taaseh (Negative Commandments-Prohibitions)
Haftorah: (Additional portion, from Prophets, which is read after the Parsha)
Yeshayahu / Isaiah 54:1- 10
This is the fifth of seven Haftorot, - the Seven Haftorot of Consolation, that precede Rosh HaShana).
Parha Summary
Parsha Summary – Ki Teitzei
The Torah Reading on Shabbat day is divided into 7 sections. Each section is called an Aliya (meaning to go up) since for each Aliya, one person "goes up" to make a bracha on the Torah Reading. We invite the Cohen first, followed by a Levite who then in turn is followed by an Israelite. When a Cohen is not in attendance we call an Israelite in their place, if a Levite is not in attendance then the same Cohen is called in their place.
Following the instructions at the end of last week’s Parsha as to how the Jew is to wage war, Moshe, in this week’s Parsha Ki Teitzei, presents 74 Mitzvot which highlight the value that the Torah places on the private domain of person and property.
Moshe forewarned us of the moral and familial dangers of warfare. A soldier brings home a non-Jewish female captive. Disregarding rational and obvious differences, he marries her, has his 1st son with her, and eventually resents the discord he has fostered upon himself, his "captive wife", and his extended family. Attempting to deny his responsibility in the "resentment turned to hatred" breaking apart his family, he attempts to deny his 1st born son's rights. This is illegal.
This can produce the "Rebellious Son"; a child who does not value the private rights of person or property and will eventually be executed for his crimes against society. It's a tragedy that begs us to consider the long range consequences of our actions before giving legal license to the wild beast within each of us.
The laws regarding: hanging and burial; returning lost articles; the fallen animal; transvestitism; and the birds nest are detailed.
The laws regarding: guard rails; mixed agriculture; forbidden combinations; Tzitzit; the defamed wife; if the accusations against the wife are true; the penalty for adultery; the rape of a betrothed or unmarried girl; the prohibition against marrying a father's wife; the Mamzer; and the prohibition against marrying an Ammonite or Moabite are detailed.
The laws regarding: marriage to Edomites or Egyptians; the sanctity of the army camp; sheltering runaway slaves; prostitution; deducted interest; and keeping vows are commanded.
The laws regarding: workers eating while they harvest; divorce and remarriage; military exemptions for a new husband; taking a millstone as security for a loan; the punishment for kidnapping; leprosy; general laws regarding security for loans, are detailed.
The laws regarding paying wages on time; the testimony of close relatives; concern for the widowed and orphaned; forgotten sheaves of grain; leftover fruit from the harvest; Malkot - flogging; the childless sister-in- law; the assailant and the wife who comes to the rescue; honest weights and measures; and remembering Amalek are commanded.
Ki Teitzei
Remember what Amalek did to you on the way when you were leaving Egypt. (Devarim 25:15)
Parashat Ki Teitzei is known as the parshah with the most amount of mitzvot, so it may not be surprising to find the mitzvah to recall Amalek's hatred of the Jewish people at the end of the parshah, seemingly disconnected from what came before it and what comes after it.
Amalek represents intellectual doubt, the kind that erodes one's sense of belief in a G-d-run world. This is why the Hebrew word "amalek" (in gematria) is numerically equal to the Hebrew word "safek," which means doubt.
However, the mitzvah that preceded this one of Zechirat Amalek was that of keeping properly balanced weights and measures, so that no one will ever end up paying more than they should have for what he purchased. However, the weighing of items is a symbol for far more than the give-and-take of the business world; it also represents the idea of being "deliberate in judgment."
Thus, the Rabbis have taught:
Moshe received Torah from Sinai, and handed it over to Yehoshua; Yehoshua to the Elders; the Elders to the Prophets; and the Prophets handed it over to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be deliberate in judgment; develop many students; and make a fence for Torah. (Pirkei Avos 1:1)
First the mishnah discusses the Mesorah, the line of Torah tradition without which Torah Judaism cannot survive. Right after that, however, the first teaching to emerge is to be "deliberate in judgment" ... to weigh issues and assess their importance. As one Rabbi put it:
"I find that most people I meet already know enough to live a meaningfully spiritual life. It's just that they have their knowledge arranged out of order, and much of what I do is just to show them how to properly prioritize their knowledge."
It is as if the Rabbis are admonishing that the Mesorah itself survives only when those responsible for it act level-headed, are well-balanced, and only interested in the pursuit of justice-G-d's justice. If not, then the teachings become flawed, severed from their Divine Source. The result of not properly weighing ideas: doubt, confusion, and war with Amalek!
Following Zechirat Amalek comes Bikurim, the mitzvah to bring up the First-Fruits to the Temple in an elaborate ceremony. The underlying premise of this mitzvah is that G-d has been good to the Jewish people, bringing us out from the depths of spiritual oblivion to the heights of a holy life on the holy land of Eretz Yisrael. It is a mitzvah of hakoret hatov-of recognizing the good.
This is the other half of the "coin" that encloses the story of Amalek. Disgruntled people are rebellious people who tend to turn against the authorities governing their lives. If the economy is good and the standard of living is reasonably high, then leaders can get away with just about anything. But if the quality of life drops, and you're a leader-especially an elected one ... watch out!
However, unhappy people are not necessarily people who lack. Rather, they can often be people who simply overlook the blessings in their lives. Amalek loves to focus people on what is missing from life, because he knows that it weakens the bond between the person and G-d. (This is precisely how the Original Snake approached Chava in order to get her to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.)
As Rosh Hashanah approaches, it is time to recall in earnest that Heaven is "taking out" and "polishing" its scales, in advance of that awesome Day of Judgment. For what will we be judged? For how intellectually clear our way of thinking has been, and for how grateful we are for every blessing we have been granted. Everything else we do merely flows from this, as the Talmud warns:
A person only sins when a spirit of insanity enters him. (Sotah 3a)
Halacha of the Week-New
Please note that the Halachot discussed here are according to Sephardic Tradition as outlined by The Maran Shulchan Aruch. This is just a summary and in no way deemed as a Halachic ruling. Please contact your local Orthodox Rabbi for help.
Since it is Chodesh Ellul I thought it would be appropriate to discuss The High Holidays.
Confessing Sins and Crying During the Rosh Hashanah Prayer Service
The Bet Yosef (work by Maran, author of the Shulhan Aruch) writes that one should not mention the word “Het” (“sin”) on the festival of Rosh Hashanah, or confess his sins on this day, as this would be inconsistent with the festive spirit of the holiday. The Zohar (principal text of Kabbalistic thought) likewise discourages making confession on Rosh Hashanah.
However, Rabbi Chaim Vital (1543-1620) records that his teacher, the Arizal (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed, 1534-1572), encouraged confessing one’s sins and repenting on Rosh Hashanah. The Arizal understood that the Zohar discouraged confessing aloud, in an audible voice, but confessing in a soft, inaudible tone is acceptable and even admirable. Particularly, the Arizal taught that one should confess and repent at the time of the Shofar blowing, specifically during the sounding of the first thirty sounds. During these thirty Shofar blasts, the Satan is confounded and off-guard, and thus unable to prosecute against us before the Heavenly tribunal. This is therefore an especially auspicious occasion for confessing one’s sins and begging God for forgiveness, as the Satan is incapable of prosecuting at those moments. The Kaf Ha’haim (Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sofer, Baghdad-Israel, 1870-1939) clarifies that one should confess in between the sets of Shofar sounds. The Ba’al Teki’a (person sounding the Shofar) generally pauses in between the sets of “Tashrat” (Teki’a -Shevarim Teru’a – Teki’a), “Tashat” (Teki’a – Shevarim – Teru’a) and “Tarat” (Teki’a – Teru’a – Teki’a). During those pauses it is proper to confess one’s sins, specifying whichever sins he is aware of, and ask God for forgiveness, in a soft, inaudible tone.
Different views exist as to the propriety of crying during the prayers on Rosh Hashanah. The Vilna Gaon (Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna, 1720-1797) opposed crying on Rosh Hashanah, noting the verse in the Book of Nechemya (8:10) urging that we observe Rosh Hashanah as a day of joy and festivity, and not with tearful repentance (“Ki Hedvat Hashem Hi Ma’uzchem” – “For the joy of God is your source of strength”). By contrast, the Shela (Rabbi Yeshaya Horowitz, 1565-1630) felt it was praiseworthy to cry from emotion during the Rosh Hashanah prayers. The Arizal went so far as to say that if a person does not shed tears during the High Holidays, this signifies a deficiency in the functioning of his soul.
As for the final Halacha, Hacham Ovadia Yosef ruled that it would be inappropriate to intentionally evoke tears on Rosh Hashanah. However, if a person is overcome by emotion as a natural result of sincere prayer, then he certainly should not restrain his tears, for as the Arizal said, this emotional response testifies to the greatness and purity of one’s soul.
This Parsha Preview is sponsored by Cars And Trucks 4 Less, Sales, Leasing and Financing. If you are in the market for a New or Used Vehicle give us a call “we will steer you in the right direction”. Please call 416-829-1761.
If you would like your company or service listed here please do not hesitate to ask. I do not take a fee for this. It is very important for us to support and promote local Jewish businesses. We spend so much time looking for the best deal possible that we lose sight of obligation to support our “brothers”. It’s forbidden to give business to others; we are obligated to do business with fellow Jews. Trust me when I say that the other nations put the welfare of their own first and not looking for the best deal in town. Again, there is no charge and would be my pleasure to list your service, product or business. All you have to do is ask.
Shabbat Shalom Umevorach-A peaceful and Blessed Shabbat
Yitzchak Alloul
Men
Reuven Mordechai Ben Chana Batya, Yaakov David Ben Sarah, Avraham Ben Sarah, Menachem Mendel Ben Faigie Ruchel, Gilon Chaim Ben Yonit, Ofek Ben Tali, Shimon Ben Miriam, Avraham Moshe Ben Miriam Tova, Baruch Kalman Ben Leiben Jacobs, Mendel Ber Ben Sarah, Aharon Ben Tamar, Shmuel Baruch Ben Golda.
Women
Kreindel Bat Esther, Kreynah Leah Bat Rachel, Simcha Bat Mazel, Sara Bat Hodda, Kyla Chaya Bat Sarah Polson, Leiba Bat Devorah Esther, Tova Rochel Bat Chaya and Yocheved Yaakovite bat Leah.
May Hashem grant them all a speedy recovery and a complete healing.
Daven for the release of Gilad Shalit-Gilad Ben Aviva-may Hashem bring him home safe and sound. If you asked to have someone put on the refuah list please update me on how these people are doing. If you would like to add someone to the list please send me an e-mail yvalloul@gmail.com
Once again, you can have this Parshah Preview dedicated in honour or memory of a loved one, you can ask for a refuah or simply acknowledge a milestone. It does not cost a thing all you have to do is ask.
Join my blog @
http://parshapreview.blogspot.com
or
http://apps.facebook.com/liveblog/entry/485526
Happy Birthday to:
Haskel Zionce
Adrienne Gold
“Ad Meyah Vesrim Shannah”
Mazal Tov to my Nephew and Niece-Yechiel and Lana Bobrowsky on the birth of a baby boy!!!
Parshah Ki Teitzei - Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19
Torah Reading for Week of August 15-21, 2010 - Elul 5-11 5770
Candle Lighting in Toronto 7:55 P.M.
Candle Lighting in Thornhill 7:55 P.M.
Number Of Mitzvot in Parshah Ki Teitzei: 74
27 Mitzvot Aseh (Positive Commandments)
47 Mitzvot Lo Taaseh (Negative Commandments-Prohibitions)
Haftorah: (Additional portion, from Prophets, which is read after the Parsha)
Yeshayahu / Isaiah 54:1- 10
This is the fifth of seven Haftorot, - the Seven Haftorot of Consolation, that precede Rosh HaShana).
Parha Summary
Parsha Summary – Ki Teitzei
The Torah Reading on Shabbat day is divided into 7 sections. Each section is called an Aliya (meaning to go up) since for each Aliya, one person "goes up" to make a bracha on the Torah Reading. We invite the Cohen first, followed by a Levite who then in turn is followed by an Israelite. When a Cohen is not in attendance we call an Israelite in their place, if a Levite is not in attendance then the same Cohen is called in their place.
Following the instructions at the end of last week’s Parsha as to how the Jew is to wage war, Moshe, in this week’s Parsha Ki Teitzei, presents 74 Mitzvot which highlight the value that the Torah places on the private domain of person and property.
Moshe forewarned us of the moral and familial dangers of warfare. A soldier brings home a non-Jewish female captive. Disregarding rational and obvious differences, he marries her, has his 1st son with her, and eventually resents the discord he has fostered upon himself, his "captive wife", and his extended family. Attempting to deny his responsibility in the "resentment turned to hatred" breaking apart his family, he attempts to deny his 1st born son's rights. This is illegal.
This can produce the "Rebellious Son"; a child who does not value the private rights of person or property and will eventually be executed for his crimes against society. It's a tragedy that begs us to consider the long range consequences of our actions before giving legal license to the wild beast within each of us.
The laws regarding: hanging and burial; returning lost articles; the fallen animal; transvestitism; and the birds nest are detailed.
The laws regarding: guard rails; mixed agriculture; forbidden combinations; Tzitzit; the defamed wife; if the accusations against the wife are true; the penalty for adultery; the rape of a betrothed or unmarried girl; the prohibition against marrying a father's wife; the Mamzer; and the prohibition against marrying an Ammonite or Moabite are detailed.
The laws regarding: marriage to Edomites or Egyptians; the sanctity of the army camp; sheltering runaway slaves; prostitution; deducted interest; and keeping vows are commanded.
The laws regarding: workers eating while they harvest; divorce and remarriage; military exemptions for a new husband; taking a millstone as security for a loan; the punishment for kidnapping; leprosy; general laws regarding security for loans, are detailed.
The laws regarding paying wages on time; the testimony of close relatives; concern for the widowed and orphaned; forgotten sheaves of grain; leftover fruit from the harvest; Malkot - flogging; the childless sister-in- law; the assailant and the wife who comes to the rescue; honest weights and measures; and remembering Amalek are commanded.
Ki Teitzei
Remember what Amalek did to you on the way when you were leaving Egypt. (Devarim 25:15)
Parashat Ki Teitzei is known as the parshah with the most amount of mitzvot, so it may not be surprising to find the mitzvah to recall Amalek's hatred of the Jewish people at the end of the parshah, seemingly disconnected from what came before it and what comes after it.
Amalek represents intellectual doubt, the kind that erodes one's sense of belief in a G-d-run world. This is why the Hebrew word "amalek" (in gematria) is numerically equal to the Hebrew word "safek," which means doubt.
However, the mitzvah that preceded this one of Zechirat Amalek was that of keeping properly balanced weights and measures, so that no one will ever end up paying more than they should have for what he purchased. However, the weighing of items is a symbol for far more than the give-and-take of the business world; it also represents the idea of being "deliberate in judgment."
Thus, the Rabbis have taught:
Moshe received Torah from Sinai, and handed it over to Yehoshua; Yehoshua to the Elders; the Elders to the Prophets; and the Prophets handed it over to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be deliberate in judgment; develop many students; and make a fence for Torah. (Pirkei Avos 1:1)
First the mishnah discusses the Mesorah, the line of Torah tradition without which Torah Judaism cannot survive. Right after that, however, the first teaching to emerge is to be "deliberate in judgment" ... to weigh issues and assess their importance. As one Rabbi put it:
"I find that most people I meet already know enough to live a meaningfully spiritual life. It's just that they have their knowledge arranged out of order, and much of what I do is just to show them how to properly prioritize their knowledge."
It is as if the Rabbis are admonishing that the Mesorah itself survives only when those responsible for it act level-headed, are well-balanced, and only interested in the pursuit of justice-G-d's justice. If not, then the teachings become flawed, severed from their Divine Source. The result of not properly weighing ideas: doubt, confusion, and war with Amalek!
Following Zechirat Amalek comes Bikurim, the mitzvah to bring up the First-Fruits to the Temple in an elaborate ceremony. The underlying premise of this mitzvah is that G-d has been good to the Jewish people, bringing us out from the depths of spiritual oblivion to the heights of a holy life on the holy land of Eretz Yisrael. It is a mitzvah of hakoret hatov-of recognizing the good.
This is the other half of the "coin" that encloses the story of Amalek. Disgruntled people are rebellious people who tend to turn against the authorities governing their lives. If the economy is good and the standard of living is reasonably high, then leaders can get away with just about anything. But if the quality of life drops, and you're a leader-especially an elected one ... watch out!
However, unhappy people are not necessarily people who lack. Rather, they can often be people who simply overlook the blessings in their lives. Amalek loves to focus people on what is missing from life, because he knows that it weakens the bond between the person and G-d. (This is precisely how the Original Snake approached Chava in order to get her to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.)
As Rosh Hashanah approaches, it is time to recall in earnest that Heaven is "taking out" and "polishing" its scales, in advance of that awesome Day of Judgment. For what will we be judged? For how intellectually clear our way of thinking has been, and for how grateful we are for every blessing we have been granted. Everything else we do merely flows from this, as the Talmud warns:
A person only sins when a spirit of insanity enters him. (Sotah 3a)
Halacha of the Week-New
Please note that the Halachot discussed here are according to Sephardic Tradition as outlined by The Maran Shulchan Aruch. This is just a summary and in no way deemed as a Halachic ruling. Please contact your local Orthodox Rabbi for help.
Since it is Chodesh Ellul I thought it would be appropriate to discuss The High Holidays.
Confessing Sins and Crying During the Rosh Hashanah Prayer Service
The Bet Yosef (work by Maran, author of the Shulhan Aruch) writes that one should not mention the word “Het” (“sin”) on the festival of Rosh Hashanah, or confess his sins on this day, as this would be inconsistent with the festive spirit of the holiday. The Zohar (principal text of Kabbalistic thought) likewise discourages making confession on Rosh Hashanah.
However, Rabbi Chaim Vital (1543-1620) records that his teacher, the Arizal (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed, 1534-1572), encouraged confessing one’s sins and repenting on Rosh Hashanah. The Arizal understood that the Zohar discouraged confessing aloud, in an audible voice, but confessing in a soft, inaudible tone is acceptable and even admirable. Particularly, the Arizal taught that one should confess and repent at the time of the Shofar blowing, specifically during the sounding of the first thirty sounds. During these thirty Shofar blasts, the Satan is confounded and off-guard, and thus unable to prosecute against us before the Heavenly tribunal. This is therefore an especially auspicious occasion for confessing one’s sins and begging God for forgiveness, as the Satan is incapable of prosecuting at those moments. The Kaf Ha’haim (Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sofer, Baghdad-Israel, 1870-1939) clarifies that one should confess in between the sets of Shofar sounds. The Ba’al Teki’a (person sounding the Shofar) generally pauses in between the sets of “Tashrat” (Teki’a -Shevarim Teru’a – Teki’a), “Tashat” (Teki’a – Shevarim – Teru’a) and “Tarat” (Teki’a – Teru’a – Teki’a). During those pauses it is proper to confess one’s sins, specifying whichever sins he is aware of, and ask God for forgiveness, in a soft, inaudible tone.
Different views exist as to the propriety of crying during the prayers on Rosh Hashanah. The Vilna Gaon (Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna, 1720-1797) opposed crying on Rosh Hashanah, noting the verse in the Book of Nechemya (8:10) urging that we observe Rosh Hashanah as a day of joy and festivity, and not with tearful repentance (“Ki Hedvat Hashem Hi Ma’uzchem” – “For the joy of God is your source of strength”). By contrast, the Shela (Rabbi Yeshaya Horowitz, 1565-1630) felt it was praiseworthy to cry from emotion during the Rosh Hashanah prayers. The Arizal went so far as to say that if a person does not shed tears during the High Holidays, this signifies a deficiency in the functioning of his soul.
As for the final Halacha, Hacham Ovadia Yosef ruled that it would be inappropriate to intentionally evoke tears on Rosh Hashanah. However, if a person is overcome by emotion as a natural result of sincere prayer, then he certainly should not restrain his tears, for as the Arizal said, this emotional response testifies to the greatness and purity of one’s soul.
This Parsha Preview is sponsored by Cars And Trucks 4 Less, Sales, Leasing and Financing. If you are in the market for a New or Used Vehicle give us a call “we will steer you in the right direction”. Please call 416-829-1761.
If you would like your company or service listed here please do not hesitate to ask. I do not take a fee for this. It is very important for us to support and promote local Jewish businesses. We spend so much time looking for the best deal possible that we lose sight of obligation to support our “brothers”. It’s forbidden to give business to others; we are obligated to do business with fellow Jews. Trust me when I say that the other nations put the welfare of their own first and not looking for the best deal in town. Again, there is no charge and would be my pleasure to list your service, product or business. All you have to do is ask.
Shabbat Shalom Umevorach-A peaceful and Blessed Shabbat
Yitzchak Alloul
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