Latest Essays

• 100, 20 and 7 years - why the Torah breaks down the years of the life of Sarah Imeinu?

  Oct 25, 2021 Admin 0 Comments

  וַיִּהְיוּ֙ חַיֵּ֣י שָׂרָ֔ה מֵאָ֥ה שָׁנָ֛ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה וְשֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֑ים שְׁנֵ֖י חַיֵּ֥י שָׂרָֽה׃ - Sarah’s lifetime—the span of Sarah’s life—came to one hundred years, and twenty years, and seven years. (Bereshit 23:1)
  
  Here, Torah broke down the years of her life into the stages of 100, 20 & 7 years. This is what Rashi says on it:  ויהיו חיי שרה מאה שנה ועשרים שנה ושבע שנים And the life of Sarah was 127 years (literally, 100 years, 20 years and 7 years) — The reason the word שנה is written at every term is to tell you that each term must be explained by itself as a complete number: at the age of one hundred she was as a woman of twenty as regards sin — for just as at the age of twenty one may regard her as having never sinned, since she had not then reached the age when she was subject to punishment, so, too, when she was one hundred years old she was sinless — and when she was twenty she was as beautiful as when she was seven (Bereshit Rabbah 58:1).
  
  But my question is, why would Torah break down her years, and what is Torah hinting at?
  
  The Yalkut Shimoni (16:78) says that Avraham Avinu was 25 years old and Sarai was 15 when they married, which makes them a barren couple for 75 years.
  
  When Avraham Avinu and Sarah Imeinu got married they brought into their marriage their past experiences. On top of it, during their life together, Avraham Avinu went through many more trials in his life: being childless for 75 years and everything that comes with it, problems in the community, being singled out in his hometown for his monotheistic ideas, being thrown into a fiery furnace, and many other tribulations in his path of life.
  
  And during all of this, one thing we know for sure: Sarah Imeinu was there for him and with him all that time, feeling his pain and supporting him through all his trials and endeavors.
  
  When the angels came to them in Parashat Vayera, she was there in the tent (Bereshit 18:9), working tirelessly, doing the work to support Avraham's endeavor of hosting guests and spreading the faith of One G-d.
  
  When Hashem told him to leave his hometown in Parashat Lech Lecha, she travelled with him from place to place for many months, enduring much suffering along the way. 
  
  When she gave Hagar to Avraham Avinu as a maidservant to have a child through her, and Hagar got pregnant for the first time, Sarah Imeinu suffered much from Hagar later since she started shaming Sarah, because she couldn't conceive.
  
  She was there when he was in trouble and in pain. She was there for him as he brought people back to Hashem, tirelessly doing the work that needed to be done. And she was there when he was in triumph at the birth of his son Yitzchak.
  
  100 years—Sarah Imeinu didn't live her life—her life had a purpose, a vision; she was part of something BIG, something that drove her existence. She was like a moon reflecting Avraham Avinu's life struggles, accomplishments, and vision. So when Avraham Avinu reached the age of 100, it was her age and achievement as well; it was as if she had reached that age, since she had been with him through the good and the bad.
  
  So what are the 20 years? Shlomo Hamelech said in the song of Eshet Chayil, צ֭וֹפִיָּה הֲלִיכ֣וֹת בֵּיתָ֑הּ - She oversees the activities of her household. When Sarah Imeinu saw the behavior of Yishmael - shooting the arrows toward Yitzchak, as a play, she foresaw this as a future problem, so she asked Avraham Avinu to send Yishmael away, thus making sure Yitzchak would be the only heir through whom the nation would be built. Avraham Avinu did so; for the next 20 years, she raised Yitzchak in the way of Torah, instilling in him the values of Torah and the idea that he would be the next patriarch to build the future of the nation.
  
  The next 7 years were the years in which she worked on her love and full dedication to Hashem. When Yitzchak asked his father Avraham Avinu, Where's the korban that will be brought when they get to their destination? Avraham Avinu answered him that Hashem would choose the korban, and this was when Yitzchak understood that he would be the korban. It says, "Vayelchu Shnechem Yachdav" - "And the two of them walked on together" (Bereshit 22:7-8). He understood and accepted that he would be the korban that his father would bring, and he walked together with his father to his death. He was not made the korban; they brought a sheep as a korban instead (Bereshit 22:13), but since he had accepted the decision of Hashem, he was elevated to the holiest level, worthy of becoming one of the Avot.
  
  Avraham Avinu came from the Akedah and saw that Sarah Imeinu had passed away. Torah says that he didn't mourn for long (Bereshit 23:2-3). He needed to get up and do what needed to be done. Why? Because, remember, they were on a mission - Sarah Imeinu and Avraham Avinu were a team and were together on this all along - working tirelessly day and night for years. To build the nation and ensure its future, one must claim ownership of the land. So he purchased the land, which is a Maarat HaMachpela, where Adam and Chava were already buried. Right after that, Avraham Avinu started looking for a wife for his son Yitzchak.
  
  Avraham Avinu married Ketura and had children with her. Years later, he sent them all away to the East, thus to separate them from the future Am Yisrael and Yitzchak. Following their example, years later Rivkah Imeinu made sure that Yakov gets the beracha from his father Yitzchak Avinu, which made Yaakov Avinu the next patriarch of the nation.
  
  The last sentence in the song Eshet Chayil, written by Shelomo HaMelech says: תְּנוּ־לָ֭הּ מִפְּרִ֣י יָדֶ֑יהָ וִיהַלְל֖וּהָ בַשְּׁעָרִ֣ים מַֽעֲשֶֽׂיהָ׃ - Extol her for the fruit of her hand, And let her works praise her in the gates. The fruit of her hands - as Rashi explains, Glory and greatness, strength, beauty and the ruling power. I would like to also add wisdom and the loyalty to be by her husband's side, to stick to the goal of building the nation, to foresee the trouble that may lay ahead, and to raise the family in the values of the Torah. This is what Sarah Imeinu accomplished and this is what she has entrusted all the women after her - to follow in her footsteps and to continue her work and the work of Avraham Avinu. That is why all men sing to their wives every Erev Shabbat: אֵֽשֶׁת־חַ֭יִל מִ֣י יִמְצָ֑א וְרָחֹ֖ק מִפְּנִינִ֣ים מִכְרָֽהּ׃- What a rare find is a capable wife! Her worth is far beyond the gemstones.
  
  Shmuel Katanov

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• The Shattered Dreams

  May 31, 2021 Admin 0 Comments

  As you know, in Parashat Shelach, the nation asks Moshe Rabbeinu to send out spies to spy out the land, even though Hashem has told them to go into the land. Moshe is not too excited about this idea, so he asks Hashem. Hashem tells him to send them for himself—Shelach Lecha Anashim in Parashat Shelach 13:2. We all know the end of this episode in history—the meraglim return with a bad report. Due to the sin of slandering the land, all the males ages 20 to 60 were buried in the desert, and were not able to enter the Promised Land. 
  
  It seems harsh that, because of biased calculations by a few, so many people are punished. Here they are, standing just a few days away from Eretz Yisrael, and about to enter the land. Suddenly, people come and ask Moshe Rabbeinu to send out the spies. This is something Moshe Rabbeinu doesn't want to do, since Hashem already told him to go into the land, since it is yours and Hashem is with the nation. But the few turn everything around and put Moshe in a difficult position, forcing him to ask Hashem for permission to send people as spies, risking that something might go wrong. And something does go wrong—the meraglim return with a bad report, slander the land, and Hashem tells everyone to turn around and go back into the desert...
  
  Have you ever thought for a second how Moshe Rabbeinu felt?! When Moshe Rabbeinu watched those people slandering the land, and Yehoshua and Kalev defending it, Moshe Rabbeinu knew it was trouble, not only for those who slandered but for the whole nation. 
  
  The years of work that he has put in were crumbling right in front of his eyes. His dream to go into Eretz Yisrael, and to serve Hashem in the Holy Land, was being taken away from him - right there in the broad daylight.
  
  Have you ever had that feeling? You worked on something for years, and suddenly it is being taken away from you by some evildoers and by circumstances over which you have no control.
  
  Not a good feeling. 
  
  But let's look into it from a different angle. 
  
  There's a mitzvah that is hard to understand and makes one wonder why Hashem has given it to us, but in the light of the above explanation, it will start to make more sense.
  
  There are many explanations for the mitzvah of Shiluach haKen, but I would like to take Zohar's explanation and expand on that. The Zohar says that this mitzvah is meant to awaken and intensify Hashem’s mercy on His creations. The pain the mother bird suffers when she is sent away and forced to abandon her young "awakens the forces of mercy in the world" and releases an outpouring of mercy from the Heavens above, alleviating all kinds of human suffering. 
  
  I would like to add to the above with your permission. 
  
  Not to go into the details of this mitzvah, but to touch on it in general: if you have ever performed this mitzvah, the feeling you are left with after completing it is not enjoyable. Besides the fact that you have made the mitzvah, you are left with an egg, and you have left the bird feeling bad - very bad. You have taken her egg or a chick and created that void in the heart of the bird—you have broken her hopes of building a family and ruined her plans for a "bright birdie future".
  
  And here Hashem comes and gives us this, as a mitzvah.
  
  Moshe Rabbeinu worked hard in his 80s, dealing with the nation, which was not easy—a stubborn nation with lots of demands and quarrels. On top of that, the leaders who worked under him ideally had to be on the same page with him, but for some reason, they had their own agenda that he never agreed to or even knew about. All this brought to one result - that generation never made it to Eretz Yisrael, Moshes' goal crumbled, and he had to witness the passing of all the males ages 20 to 60. 
  
  The meraglim didn't just destroy the dream of that generation; they also destroyed the dream of Moshe Rabbeinu. They brought suffering to our nation to this day, and they have totally changed the nation's plans, and everything unfolded not as Hashem had envisioned.
  
  So, Torah tells us to go ahead and do the mitzvah, to go through that uncomfortable feeling, and to let it sink in—feel that bitterness of the committed act.
  
  When we send away the mother bird and take her egg - it may seem, like the meraglim behaved back in the day towards the nation, when they went to Eretz Yisrael, and brought back the bad report that caused a lot of people to suffer - and here we are, taking away the eggs from the shooed away mother bird thus causing her pain and suffering.
  
  As for the mother bird—whatever she is going through —it is like the feeling of what Moshe Rabbeinu and millions of other people not privy to the scheme of the meraglim felt: betrayal of the assigned mission and the shattering of the dream of entering the Eretz Yisrael. 
  
  And as we stand there with an egg in our hands, we need to understand one thing - whatever we do or say in our life, may be breaking the Divine law and order and hurting a lot of people around us, whether intentionally or unintentionally, just by giving in to our biased desires and calculations, as was with the case of the meraglim.
  
  Armed with the above understanding, it should bring us to pray to Hashem and to ask for forgiveness for the sin of the Meraglim, and for that whole generation. This would be the perfect time to ask for forgiveness for our own miscalculations, where we thought and said not in the best of intentions.  And this would be the best time to ask for forgiveness for our nation as a whole, and to ask for the full redemption and reunification with that passed on generation, so we can meet with Moshe Rabbeinu and other members of our nation of the past who were not able to enter the Land, due to the bad schemes of others.
  
  By fulfilling this mitzvah, one is rewarded with marriage, children, and a new home. But most importantly we are taking responsibility for the wrong committed in the past by others, by actively fixing the sin of the past which brings Hashem's mercy onto this world, that stops human suffering and brings the redemption closer.
  
  Shmuel Katanov

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• Why men are obligated to light the Chanukah candles?

  Dec 15, 2020 Admin 0 Comments

  In the story of Chanukah, when the Maccabees returned to Jerusalem, they entered the Temple and removed all the idols that the army of Antiochus had placed there. When they wanted to light the menorah, they found only a small jug of pure olive oil bearing the seal of Rabbi Yochanan Cohen Hagadol. It was sufficient to light only for one day. By a miracle of Hashem, it continued to burn for eight days, till new oil was made available. That miracle proved that Hashem had again taken His people under His protection. In memory of this, our sages appointed these eight days for annual thanksgiving and candle lighting.

  
  Chachamim z"l tell us that the Second Temple was destroyed for only one sin - Sinat Chinam - Baseless Hatred. Only one sin brought down the House of G-d, and I believe we are still battling with it till today. There's no unity, and plenty of lashon hara, dislike, and ill will floating between the communities and among people. I believe that the destruction of the Bet Hamikdash is the sin of the men - this is something we as men are responsible for. 
  
  That's why the obligation to light the Chanukah menorah lies on men, and we have eight days to do it - in our own homes, each one, no matter what part of the world he is in, or what the situation he may be in. In addition, the Sages say that there's a segulah in looking at burning candles, and hopefully this will give us chidushim — new insights — into the Torah. But maybe it could also mean that we should look at the candles and ponder: how can we fix the divisiveness, the hatred, and the distancing between communities and people? We got the whole eight days to think,  and the rest of the year to carry out the plan. If anyone can do it, then it is we, men.
  
  Since the destruction of the Second Temple, Hashem has no home to reside in; the Shechina is in exile; the nation is spread around the world; and there are plenty of problems in families, the nation, and the world as a whole. 
  
  Perhaps, this is the time we say: We've had enough of it?!
  
  Perhaps, this is the time to approach this consciously?!
  
  Either, we can keep on lighting our menorahs for years to come - in exile and in our warm homes, distanced from each other, comfortable and in disagreements, or we put our egos aside, make up with each other, unite as a nation and light the Golden Menorah next year in the House of Hashem - our own Bet Hamikdash Shlishi?!!
  
  Shmuel Katanov

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• Modesty or The Holy Scroll

  Aug 17, 2020 Admin 0 Comments

  Modesty or Tzeniut... When one hears either of these words, the first thing that usually comes to mind is: Oh come on! Do I really have to wear all that? It is so hot outside, I feel so layered up, like an onion... There are lots of excuses one can come up with, but allow me to show you the outcome of whichever choice you make.
  
  I looked up the word "Modesty" in the dictionary, and this is what I found: Modesty is a mode of dress that intends to avoid encouraging sexual attraction in others. The word "modesty" comes from the Latin modestus, meaning "keeping within measure." 
  
  The word Tzeniut means: it describes both the character traits of modesty and discretion, and a group of Jewish laws pertaining to conduct. In modern times, the term has become more commonly used in reference to the rules of dress for women in Judaism.
  
  The Sages say that if a woman keeps the laws of modesty as a reward, she will merit to marry a Cohen and have Cohanim Gedolim come from her. She will have children who may be Jewish judges, great sages, righteous people, and so much more—all of this just by being modest.
  
  But what is it about modesty that so much can be gained from it?
  
  In the book Power Points by Rabbi Ephraim Nissenbaum, there's a story in Parashat Nasso about a young woman who became observant and was bothered by the fact that Jews hold lavish Bar Mitzvahs for boys. At the same time, for girls, the Bat Mitzvah passes unnoticed.
  
  So she asked her Rav, to which he replied, "The Vilna Gaon says that tzeniut or modesty is to a woman what Torah study is to a man, meaning it is her vehicle for spiritual growth. When a boy turns 13, he is counted as part of the minyan and called to the Torah. These are public events, and the celebration is, therefore, public as well.
  
  When a girl reaches bat mitzvah, her defining moment is marked by an image of royalty through modesty. So with this spirit of modesty, her celebration is less public and more reserved."
  
  An image of royalty is a great way to view it, but there could be more to it.
  
  The Sages compare a woman to a Sefer Torah scroll. Since the Sefer Torah is holy and valuable, we dress it beautifully and hide it in a safe box or the Aron. Not only that, but if any of the letters in the scroll are missing or broken, the whole scroll becomes invalid or not kosher.
  
  But what is the scroll made of? It is made of the skin of a kosher animal—klaf—and the sofer, the person who writes it, writes it in holiness and while meditating on the names of G-d.
  
  The Midrash Tanchuma, Bereshit 1 says: How was the Torah written? It was written with letters of black fire on a surface of white fire or black ink against the white parchment. 
  
  I believe there could be more to the black fire on white fire.
  
  We can literally compare them to a married couple—a woman as white fire and a man as black fire.
  
  Just like in the Torah, if a letter is broken or falls from its original place, the scroll becomes invalid. So is the woman; if she is dressed immodestly, not according to Jewish law, she loses that energy or her white fire.
  
  But what is this energy or the white fire?
  
  In Bereshit 2:24 it says: "עַל־כֵּן֙ יַֽעֲזָב־אִ֔ישׁ אֶת־אָבִ֖יו וְאֶת־אִמּ֑וֹ וְדָבַ֣ק בְּאִשְׁתּ֔וֹ וְהָי֖וּ לְבָשָׂ֥ר אֶחָֽד׃ - Hence a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, so that they become one flesh." What happens when the two of them become one flesh? Once the man and the woman are united in a holy act, when permitted by Jewish law, they combine their energies or their fires—black fire and white fire—and this is when the Presence of Hashem comes to dwell in their home, helping them grow in holiness.
  
  When a woman dresses immodestly, she loses her energy, or white fire, and thereby her holiness. This causes the couple to get distracted from serving Hashem, and their goals switch from spiritual to physical, but this is not the only loss. This distraction weakens all the members of the family in their service to G-d and slowly moves them further and further away from Him. Since she has been with her husband, but he cannot cling to her, and they cannot become one flesh - thus they lose out in this world and the next. This is when the issues of Shalom Bayit and other problems arise.
  
  When a woman keeps the laws of Modesty, she becomes a holy parchment—the white fire. A man becomes the black fire or the black ink. When they are together in the holy act, the couple becomes a Holy Letter of the Torah, with their children around them as crowns on that letter written on the holy parchment. 
  
  As families around the world strengthen in their modesty, they slowly grow in holiness. Hashem handpicks them to be part of his own Sefer Torah—The Living and Breathing Sefer Torah. These holy couples keep the laws of modesty and the laws of Torah, either from birth or by returning to their roots later in their lives, thus becoming part of the Holy Scroll of Hashem. And if the woman reveals little in an immodest way, that letter loses its place in the Holy Scroll of Hashem, but not only does the woman lose her place, the whole family is affected by it as well.
  
  In the Megilat Ruth 2:5 says, "וַיֹּ֤אמֶר בֹּ֙עַז֙ לְנַעֲר֔וֹ הַנִּצָּ֖ב עַל־הַקּֽוֹצְרִ֑ים לְמִ֖י הַנַּעֲרָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת׃ - Boaz said to the servant who was in charge of the reapers: Whose girl is that? Rashi explains, To whom does this maiden belong. What did Boaz see in Ruth? He saw her modest and wise behavior, how she picked up the wheat stalks, and did it modestly by sitting."
  
  This act alone led to her marriage to Boaz, thus paving the way for a royal lineage to come from her—King David, King Shlomo, and the long-awaited Mashiach himself —because of her modesty.
  
  But let's look at this from yet another angle. 
  
  It is written in the Torah, "The Israelites journeyed from Raamses to Succoth, about 600,000 men on foot, aside from children." (Shemot 12:37) They all traveled with their wives and children, and as it says in the Masechet Sotah 11B, "Rav Avira taught: In the merit of the righteous women that were in that generation, the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt."
  
  Also, the word "ישראל - Israel" can be read as an acronym for "Yesh Shishim Ribo Otiot LaTorah", meaning: "There are 600,000 letters in the Torah." Therefore, the nation of Israel did not leave Egypt until 600,000 holy couples were included in Hashem's Sefer Torah.
  
  So, if problems come into this world, we have probably fallen short of our minimum of 600,000 families or letters in Hashem's Sefer Torah for modesty. If we improve on this collectively, it can be the answer to the problems the world faces today.
  
  As we increase the number to 600,000+ families, we will increase our chances of bringing redemption closer and finally meeting Mashiach in the near future.
  
  - - Part 2 - - 
  
  But let's go a bit deeper.
  
  In Masechet Menachot 29B, we are told of this story:
  
  "Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: When Moses ascended on High, he found the Holy One, Blessed be He, sitting and tying crowns on the letters of the Torah. Moses said before G-d: Master of the Universe, who prevents You from giving the Torah without these additions? G-d said to him: There is a man destined to be born after several generations, and Akiva ben Yosef is his name; he is destined to derive from each thorn of these crowns, mounds upon mounds of halakhot. For his sake, the crowns must be added to the letters of the Torah. 
  
  Moses said before G-d: Master of the Universe, show him to me. G-d said to him: Return behind you. Moses went and sat at the end of the eighth row in Rabbi Akiva's study hall and did not understand what they were saying. Moses' strength waned as he thought his Torah knowledge was deficient. When Rabbi Akiva arrived at the discussion of one matter, his students said, "My teacher, from where do you derive this? Rabbi Akiva told them: It is a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai. When Moses heard this, his mind was put at ease, as this was part of the Torah he would receive."
  
  Those couples who are careful about the laws of modesty are like the holy couples that came before King David. Please take a look at this essay: King David's Lineage. These holy couples will merit being inscribed in Hashem's Sefer Torah. As it says in the above Gemara, Hashem ties the crowns to the letters as if Hashem rewards these couples with unbelievable Torah growth, and high-caliber children, who will grow to be prophets, great Talmidei Chachamim, and righteous and holy individuals. And this is how you raise an upright and holy family. 
  
  My Holy Nation -- Reserve and earn your place in Hashem's Living and Breathing Sefer Torah!!
  
  Shmuel Katanov
  8/17/2020

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• Why should I keep Shabbat?

  Jul 23, 2020 Admin 0 Comments

  Shabbat or Shabbos... we heard it so many times; some heard it since birth if they were born into a religious home, while others heard it from a friend, at a lecture, or read an article about it later in their lives. This is the only question that is asked most of the time, whether one observes Sabbath... when one is about to be hired, looking for a shidduch, or dealing with some other important matter, but what is it? Why is such importance placed on this one day of the week? There are books and books on this subject, and if you search the Internet, you'll find literally thousands of lectures on the importance of keeping Shabbat and its laws. Let's look into it closely so we can better understand it...
  
  The first time Shabbat is mentioned is when Moshe Rabbeinu received the Ten Commandments. G-d said: "Remember Shabbat day and keep it Holy". 
  
  So, what is Shabbat all about?
  
  A person is not allowed to perform the 39 melachot, or types of work, on Shabbat, according to the Mishkan's activities associated with them.
  
  The commandment of Shabbat is a sign between us and Hashem for generations to come, when one day of the week we unplug ourselves from mundane, and plug ourselves, or shall I say flood our life with holy energy of Shabbat, for one day of the week that lasts until the next week Shabbat comes around. 
  
  But I believe there's more to it, so please allow me to offer my explanation.
  
  When a woman lights the Shabbat candles, the Shabbat starts. Men go to shule for prayers, the table is set, and everyone is in a great mood. This is when the table is adorned with a beautiful tablecloth and fine silverware. The feeling of holiness is in the air. The food is extra delicious, more dishes are being brought out, and overall, it feels extra special. Kids are sitting around the table, everyone singing, talking about the words of Torah, and simply enjoying each other's company. There's a feeling of harmony, oneness, love, and camaraderie in the family. This is the time when family bonds and the ties of love among all family members become stronger.
  
  Suddenly, one member of the family gets up from the table and sits on the sofa, reaches out for the remote control and turns on the TV...and BOOM - all the magic suddenly disappears, the harsh reality of mundane sets in, the voices of the people sitting at the table become louder and louder, the situation switches from the holy to everyday and the feeling of holiness and harmony of Shabbat is no longer there.
  
  This is how Shabbat is broken. The Holy Books bring some of the harshest punishments to the one who breaks Shabbat, but why go to such extremity? Why is G-d so harsh with the one who breaks Shabbat?
  
  To answer the question above, we need to look into one incident in the Torah, and hopefully we will be able to look at this with a different set of eyes.
  
  In Sefer Bereshit, G-d created Heaven and Earth, then He created animals, trees, birds, man, and everything else to support His creation in the livable conditions. After each day of work, He said, "It Was Good," and indeed it was. Everything was simply beautiful: the sky, with birds flying around, singing and enjoying life; the land, with its animals and greenery; the oceans, with their creatures; and, above all, Adam with his wife Chava—everything in the Garden of Eden was in harmony and simply beautiful.
  
  Suddenly, the Snake comes over to Chava while Adam is away, talks her into eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, which she does, and then makes Adam do the same. And for this, everyone involved was punished. G-d cursed Adam, Chava, and a Snake with the harshest curses for breaking His word.
  
  Since Adam and Chava ate from the Tree of Knowledge, their view of the world has changed in an instant. But more than that, something else has been changed, or shall I say, broken. The efforts that G-d put into creating that perfect world, one that could coexist with its flora and fauna—its harmony and its magic—were broken, evaporated, gone, and faded.
  
  Murder, rivalry, death, hardships, competition, diseases, and more were introduced into the world. This plagues us to this day, and the whole world suffers. Turn on any media outlet, and the negative news floods the minds of millions of people daily, trying to sway them from spiritual truth and pursuits. We're drowning in the lies, and it seems that there's no way out. Go out into any social setting, and you'll see lies, slander, murder, and anything bad you can think of is done either openly or stealthily.
  
  But I believe there's more to the curse of the snake. In Bereshit 3:14 it says: "Then the LORD G-d said to the serpent, Because you did this, More cursed shall you be Than all cattle And all the wild beasts: On your belly shall you crawl And dirt shall you eat all the days of your life."
  
  In the beginning, it may seem that the snake hasn't lost much, but the Sages say the real curse was that the snake was walking like a human being in an upright position, but after the curse, it lost its limbs, thus had to crawl on its belly and eat the dust, which is plentiful and all around it. He also lost the ability to pray or be heard by G-d; this ability has been taken away from him, no matter the situation he may be in.
  
  When a person breaks Shabbat, he breaks the harmony of that day, he breaks the flow of the holy energy, he breaks the ancient creation, and draws more of that negative energy into this world, thus continuing the work of the snake. That is why Masechat Chulin 5A says that he deliberately takes himself out of the covenant and sets himself apart from the nation, where he is considered to be like a non Jew. By breaking Shabbat, it opens the door to more transgressions, at which point they are committed without a second thought.
  
  We can even go further and say that just like the snake lost his limbs, so are the person's spiritual limbs on his neshama atrophying, so he can't experience the spiritual, and he pursues physical pleasures in this world. He may enjoy wealth and positions in this world since they become more available and abundant to him, because they become easier to acquire than spiritual items which require functional limbs, but he also loses the opportunity to have a relationship with G-d, and gets paid for any of the outstanding merits and good he may have done over the years in this world to enjoy his life, until he is ready to part with this world.
  
  When a Jew dies, it is said in the Holy Books, that so and so is joined to his nation, his neshama or soul is joined with his parents, grandparents and so on all the way to the forefathers, but not so with the one that breaks the Shabbat, he is not joined to his nation and his soul goes to a different place not where all the Jews are going, the cleansing process of the soul is longer, and when the time of resurrection comes, he won’t be joining his nation, since he is not part of the Jewish nation and his soul is lost forever.
  
  By breaking Shabbat, we are breaking away from our people, thus making ourselves outsiders not only to the religion but also to G-d, to the nation, to the future redemption, and to the turmoil of everyday life.
  
  Our passed on parents, grandparents, and the ones before them all the way to our forefathers are praying that we will make the right choice and embrace the covenant so we stay together after our passing as a nation.
  
  The Sages say that this world is like a hallway before the Grand Ballroom. In order to get to the main room, we need to pass through the hallway, make ourselves look presentable - by toiling in Torah and mitzvot - in order not to be ashamed in front of others that have passed before us, and not to shame our relatives because we lack in front of others present in the ballroom.
  
  But what should we do if Shabbat was not on our To Do list as a major, important item? Start today, keep some of it — or all of it —and you will see how your life will change. Make an opening in your heart and let G-d enter and fill your heart, and let the blessings overflow into every area of your life. And when you do that, that's when your spiritual limbs will heal and get stronger, and you will be able to easily grow and prosper in the spiritual domain. As it is says in the Devarim 4:4 "וְאַתֶּם֙ הַדְּבֵקִ֔ים בַּיהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם חַיִּ֥ים כֻּלְּכֶ֖ם הַיּֽוֹם׃ - While you, who held tight to the LORD your G-d, are all alive Today." With the turmoil that's going on in the world today, you can hold tight, only if your spiritual limbs are intact and strong.
  
  So, why should we keep Shabbat? Because life is full of vanities as was told by Shlomo HaMelech, it is full of things that make noise but have no base and no real value. Loyalty to G-d, and to the generations of the past, and loyalty to your own nation - this is something worth living for, everything else is just a fading noise which is not worth pursuing.
  
  Shmuel Katanov

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