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• Из-за Денег или Аз Баҳри Пул

  Feb 11, 2019 Admin 0 Comments

  В Книге Деварим 21:1-2 говорится:
  וְיָצְא֥וּ זְקֵנֶ֖יךָ וְשֹׁפְטֶ֑יךָ וּמָדְדוּ֙ אֶל־הֶ֣עָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר סְבִיבֹ֥ת הֶחָלָֽל׃ כִּי־יִמָּצֵ֣א חָלָ֗ל בָּאֲדָמָה֙ אֲשֶׁר֩ הי אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ נֹתֵ֤ן לְךָ֙ לְרִשְׁתָּ֔הּ נֹפֵ֖ל בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה לֹ֥א נוֹדַ֖ע מִ֥י הִכָּֽהוּ׃ - "На земле которую даст вам Г-сподь, если вы найдёте тело которое лежит в открытом поле, и вы не знаете кто убийца, то старейшины города должны выйти и определить к какому городу тело лежит ближе, и значит тот город является виноватым в убийстве этого человека."
  
  Почему Тора считает город виноватым в смерти этого человека?
  
  Чтоб ответить на этот вопрос, давайте посмотрим что произошло с этим человеком.
  
  Чужеземец пришел в город, и чтобы найти себе на пропитание пошёл на базар. Проходя по базару, прося милостыню у прохожих и заходя в лавки к торговцам, он не получил от них не единого гроша, куска хлеба или глотка воды. Уставший от скитаний, проголодавшись и утомлённый жаждой, он вспомнил что по дороге в этот город он проходил по полю которое находилось между двумя городами, и он решил собраться с последними силами и пойти в соседний город с надеждой получить там свой кусок хлеба.
  
  Как говорится в произведении Ильяс Малаева, песня исполненая Авраам Толмасовым - Бахри Пул:
  
  Пул набошад дар барат, ҳеч кас намедиҳад салом,
  На ки меҳмондўстию, на ҳурмату, на эҳтиром,
  На зиёфат, на муроъат, на ки чою на таом,
  Дойимо барпо шавад ҳар муддао аз баҳри пул.
  
  И вот он в пути в другой город за куском хлеба. Иссякая силами, уставший и голодный, еле еле он плетётся в другой город, но не дойдя до цели, он падает и умирает на пол-пути в поле.
  
  Тахтаю тобут пулу, гўру кафан ҳам пул, бидон,
  Мурдашўю сангу гўрков-пул, ба ғайри мункирон,
  Дар барат гар пул набошад вақти мурдан, ногаҳон,
  Мурдаат дар кўча монад бенигоҳ, аз баҳри пул.
  
  И вот его тело лежит в открытом поле одно без присмотра и его находит другой прохожий, проходивший мимо, зовёт старейшин чтоб те позаботились об умершем.
  
  Закон гласит - что старейшины должны измерить расстояние от тела до ближе лежащего к нему города. И тот город к которому тело ближе находится, старейшины должны оповестить его о том что они всецело виноваты и на них кровь этого человека. Тогда старейшины города из которого вышел этот бедняк, приведут с собой молодого телёнка который в первом году жизни и которого хозяин ещё не эксплуатировал. Они ломают шею телёнка топором, моют над ним руки провозглашая - "Прости нас странник, что мы не знали что ты был в нашем городе, что ты нуждался, и хотел есть и пить, и прости нашу молодёжь которая была на рынке и к которой ты подошёл, но они не ответили на твой зов и не услышали твой крик о помощи и не помогли тебе. Если бы мы знали что ты в городе и видели бы тебя, то конечно мы помогли бы тебе, накормили и напоили бы тебя, и дали бы в дорогу денег. Пожалуйста прости нас, наших детей и всех жителей нашего города." Только проделав этот обряд, Тора говорит что душа умершего находит покой и это будет правильно в глазах Г-спода и этот акт уберёт вину от людей всего города, как сказано в Деварим 21:1-9.

  
  Господа - на нас лежит ответственность за наших стариков и тех семей нуждающихся в материальной помощи. Мудрецы уже дали нам самые оптимальные способы как это сделать. Человеку нужна работа - помогите ему устроиться на работу - сделав пару звонков и став его гарантом, кто-то хочет открыть своё дело но не имеет достаточно средств - станьте его партнёром и наставником в этом деле, семьям не хватает с пропитанием - помогите и там.
  
  Велика заслуга человека который денежно помогает но не знает кто получит его добро, а те в свою очередь принимают но не знают от кого оно. Этим сохраняя достоинство и не унижая честь человека которым необходима помощь. Любая оказанная помощь, возвращается дающему и его потомству многократно. И награда этой мицвы гарантированна самим Вс-вышним и Он призывает нас испытать Его в этом.
  
  Таърифи он шахси пулдор ки, саховатпеша шуд,
  Меҳри худ дар мардумон доду, худаш дилреша шуд,
  Маст нагашту, соҳиби хоксорию андеша шуд,
  Дон ки, ў гашт одами ақли расо аз баҳри пул.
  
  Дўсти ҷонӣ, дўсти пул ҳеч вақт нагардад дар ҷаҳон,
  Фарқи дўсту, фарқи пулро, аз ҳама афзал бидон,
  Сер шавад инсон, зи обе қатраю, як бурда нон,
  Баҳри ин, Илёс бигўяд:“Ҳар хато аз баҳри пул“
  
  - Шмуэль Катанов
  
  

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• Why do we light bonfires on Lag BaOmer?

  May 13, 2020 Admin 0 Comments

  Imagine it is dark, and hundreds of people are dancing around a huge bonfire, which lights up the excited faces of all the people present around it. But let me ask you why we have had this tradition for hundreds of years?
  
  It says in the Zohar: "Rabbi Shimon said: All my life, I've been begging to reveal this secret. And up until today, my request has been turned down. But today, I received permission. I decree that this day does not turn into the night like any ordinary day. This day belongs to me, as I begin to reveal the secrets..." Rabbi Shimon sat down, engaging in the Divine Torah. Rabbi Aba sat down in front of him and took notes... A fire burned around them, and the sun did not set. He revealed hidden Torah secrets from the Kabbalah until he reached the verse "... For there the L‑rd commanded the blessing, life forever." Rabbi Aba said: "Our teacher had not finished enunciating the word chaim ('life') when his words began to become increasingly imperceptible... Throughout the day, a fire burned in the house, and no one could come near him because he was engulfed by light and fire."
  
  Why was the daylight extended until he finished teaching? The Bnei Yissaschar explains that it was to signify that all the lights of the world were created for the Torah. Our bonfires mirror the sunlight that shone in honor of this special day.
  
  Another explanation: the bonfire that is lit is the fire inside every individual that may have been extinguished and is rekindled once again. This person will carry this light and light others who may not have been present at the bonfire event or felt down in their serving of HaShem, so they can also feel the excitement, see the beauty, and taste the sweetness of Torah and mitzvot.
  
  But there may be another explanation which I would like to present to you today.
  
  Interestingly, if you have ever been to this event, either in Meron or in your neighborhood, you may have noticed that people are holding a small jug of oil in their hands. Some have candles, and during dancing, they throw them into the fire. Why do they do that?
  
  We hold Sefirat HaOmer because Rabbi Akiva's students did not treat each other with respect, did not see eye to eye, could not agree with each other's opinions, and did not accept each other's differences. As a punishment, they started dying, and on the 33rd day, they stopped passing away.
  
  From the first day of Omer to Lag BaOmer, we count from 1 to 33 days, which, Kabalistically, represent different Kavanot. But in simple terms, we are required to work on our middot—the character traits—during this time of the year and, day by day, become better people and better than we used to be.
  
  So here we are, dancing around the fire, and holding our jug of oil in our hands, and suddenly we see that guy, yes, that guy that did bad to us, spoke bad about us, or brought suffering upon us - simply someone we can't stand. So what do we do? Rabbi Akiva's students died because they mistreated each other, and we are not supposed to repeat their mistake, and we need to fix the situation - make the Tikun. But we can't, as we are circling around the fire. The fire throws different shadows that make that person more unbearable and causes much agony to us.
  
  There's a story in the Zohar of the day when Rabbi Shimon came out of the cave. "When the father and son left the cave, they passed a field where they saw Jewish farmers working on the land; they said, 'Imagine people giving up the sacred study of the Torah for worldly matters!'"
  
  When they uttered these words, all the field produce rose in smoke. Then they heard a Heavenly voice saying, "Have you come out to destroy My world? Go back to your cave!" They returned to the cave for another twelve months and left it again only after they heard the same Heavenly voice calling them to leave.
  
  Seeing a Jew carrying two bunches of myrtle, rushing home on Friday afternoon, they asked him what he was going to do with the myrtle.
  
  "It is to adorn my house in honor of the Shabbat," the man replied.
  
  "Would not one bunch of myrtle be sufficient to fill your house with fragrance?" they asked.
  
  The stranger replied, "I am taking two bunches, one for 'Remember the Shabbat day' and the other for 'Keep the Shabbat Day holy.'"
  
  Rabbi Shimon said to his son, "See how precious the mitzvot are to our brothers! Despite all the decrees and persecution of the Romans, the Jews still observed the commandments, especially the Shabbat. Rabbi Shimon and his son felt greatly encouraged."
  
  Many times in the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai is referred to as butzina kadisha - "The Holy Candle" since he brought to light the secrets of the Torah, and was able to rise to the levels where he was able to have a different outlook on life.
  
  So as we dance around the bonfire, suddenly we realize that the 33 days of Omer that we have been counting have not done their job, and we still have a lot to fix. And at that moment, one thought gives us hope, that we still have another 16 days of Omer left to work on our middot. And that moment before throwing a jug of oil into the bonfire, we say our prayer: "Ribbono Shel Olam, please accept my small jug of oil and make it a Butzina Kadisha - 'the holy candle' that should join the grand fire and make my flame be part of it. Just like Rabbi Shimon was able to change his view of the world, to accept everyone and become the holy candle, so I should be able to do the same, since a bonfire is a collection of flames that dance together in unison and make one flame, a big bonfire - so is the community, that has all sorts of people as each individual flame burning away in one big fire called Life.”
  
  As Shavuot approaches, we have the remaining 16 days to achieve that level of Butzina Kadisha—"The Holy Candle"—and truly become one flame, be together as one community and one nation—Ba Lev Echad and Guf Echad—one in Heart and one in Body, and accept the Torah once again on the night of Shavuot as One Nation under G-d.
  
  Shmuel Katanov
  
  
  

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• The Challenge of Unity

  Jun 22, 2023 Admin 0 Comments

  The Parashat Shelach opens with interesting words: Shelach Lecha Anashim. Rashi and many commentators translate it as "Send for yourself," meaning, "Hashem has said that the Land is good, so just go in and take the land," but that generation wanted to see it for themselves, kind of like they wanted to make sure it was a good land.
  
  It seems to me, there's some other meaning hiding behind these words. With your permission, let's look at it closer.
  
  So, the Shelach Lecha means "Send for yourself", but if you pay close attention, Lecha is in the singular tense, but it is directed to Moshe and affects 12 people, who are being sent out on this expedition. So, how is the singular tense being used for this group of people? Why not just use the plural?
  
  In Parashat Bereshit, right after Chava and Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge, and after Hashem had punished them, it says that Hashem banished them from Gan Eden. It uses an interesting word for it; in Bereshit 3:23, it says: וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֵ֛הוּ - Vayeshalkhehu - And Hashem banished him or sent him out from Gan Eden... Sent him out? Why him? Weren't two people sent out from the Garden of Eden - Adam and Eve? Why does Hashem only refer to Adam - sent him out? I believe this is where Hashem is giving us an important message - that Adam and Eve are one, a union, a single entity - a Father and a Mother of all of humanity - The Parents.
  
  But let's go further into the Parashat Lech Lecha. When Hashem tells Avraham Avinu, "Lech Lecha—Go for yourself from your land..." Again, in this case, the word Lecha is used, which affects many people who came out with Avraham Avinu—his wife Sarah, his nephew Lot, all the souls they have made in Haran, and their shepherds. 
  
  We have three places where a singular tense was used that affected the group, the many. This teaches us that Hashem wants a group to achieve unity and stay as a group while on their journey, and get from point A to point B as one single entity, with no one left behind. 
  
  But it doesn't happen so.
  
  Later, in Parashat Lech Lecha 13:5-12, we are told how the shepherds argued, and Avraham Avinu offered to Lot to go left while he went right or right while he went left, and Lot agreed. They both went different ways - but as you remember, Hashem said 'Lech Lecha,' which means that Hashem wanted him to go as one single unit without separation; thus, the word 'Lecha' is used. 
  
  Back then, Avraham Avinu, Sarah Imenu, and Lot were the Jewish nation, and Hashem wanted them to stay together and get to the Point B, or the Promised Land, which unfortunately did not happen.
  
  The Parashat Toldot tells us about Yitzchak Avinu and his two sons, Esav and Yaakov. Yaakov gets the birthright and the blessing, and Rivkah Imenu, worried about Yaakov's safety, tells him to leave for Charan since his brother Esav might kill him. Yakov leaves, and this is when the family breaks up—the unity is lost once again. 
  
  The Parashat Vayishlach tells us that 22 years later, Yaakov Avinu is returning from his father-in-law's house with his family, four wives, twelve sons, and a daughter, Dina. Knowing fully well his brother Esav, Yaakov Avinu hides his daughter in the chest so Esav does not see her. When the brothers meet up, Esav never sees Dina, and the brothers go their separate ways. The Sages tell us that Yaakov Avinu has made a mistake by hiding Dina. Dina should have married Esav - since only she could have brought him back to Teshuva. And then Yaakov with his kids and four wives, and Esav with Dina, would have returned to Israel together as one unit - but it didn't happen. The family has broken up once again, Esav went totally off the derech, and billions of his descendants were forever lost to Judaism.
  
  In Parashat Vayeshev, the nation of Israel is now Yaakov Avinu and his twelve sons. Everything seems to be going well, but suddenly, there's a conflict between the brothers and the younger one, Yosef. So, the brothers end up selling him to Egypt, which breaks the family once again. Later, the whole family moves to Egypt to join Yosef due to the famine in the Land of Israel. 
  
  Years later, Moshe Rabbenu appears in Parashat Shemot. He is sent by Hashem, who tells him to take His nation out. Three million people came out with Moshe Rabbenu after all the punishments brought upon Egypt by G-d.
  
  And in Parashat Yitro, we finally got it—the nation stood as one body and soul—we have achieved complete unity. The Jewish Nation received the Torah on Mount Sinai and officially married G-d.
  
  Then, the nation traveled closer to the Land of Israel, and suddenly, in Parashat Shelach, the people approached Moshe Rabbenu. They wanted to scout out the land, but in reality, they sought to achieve what Avraham Avinu, Yaakov Avinu, and the brothers had been unable to attain: unity. The twelve spies wanted to go to the Land of Israel and return with a unified opinion on the strategy and goodness of the Land. But, as you know, for whatever reason, they came back with ten people’s opinions versus two people’s opinions. Hashem did what He did - males of that generation, 20-60 years old, lost their lives in the desert.
  
  Thirty-nine years later, in the Parashat Matot and Masei, when the nation was standing on the banks of the Jordan River, the tribes of Reuven, Gad, and part of the tribe of Menashe approached Moshe Rabbenu and asked to remain in the east of the Jordan due to an abundance of green pastures for their livestock. Moshe agreed, and in return, they promised him to go out and help other tribes conquer Eretz Yisrael.
  
  And this is where I believe a mistake was made...
  
  The word Lecha in the Shelach Lecha does not only mean send for yourself, but it means to go from point A, which is Egypt, to point B - Eretz Yisrael - as one unit, a single entity - all 3 million people, all 12 tribes with no one left behind or anyone left outside of The Land of Israel. This is where Hashem is telling Moshe Rabbeinu or obligating him to make sure that all 12 tribes make it to the Land of Israel, no matter how appealing it may look outside of it. If they had done so, Moshe Rabbenu would have passed away, but Yehoshua Bin Nun would have taken the nation into the Land of Israel. He would have become a Mashiach ben Yosef, and then the Mashiach ben David would have been found in the nation. The Geulah or Redemption would have started at that moment, followed by the Tehiyat Hametim - the Resurrection of the Dead, where Moshe Rabbeinu and everyone left behind in the desert would have come back to join the rest of the nation in the Land of Israel.
  
  But this did not happen. And because of this, we have had our First Bet Hamikdash and its destruction, Second Bet Hamikdash and its destruction, and today, this.... current long exile with all its hardships - still going on for almost 2,000 years. However, we remain hopeful and are waiting for our own Lecha Moment - Mashiach, who will unite us and gather all 12 tribes together in Israel, and initiate the prophecies, as written in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah and the books of other prophets.
  
  Just like Adam and Chava were sent out from the Garden of Eden as one entity, so are we—all 12 tribes of Israel—have to re-enter our physical Garden of Eden—The Land of Israel—as one, united and strong nation.
  

  May this happen speedily in our days. Amen.
  
  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 cleared off all the idols that were placed there by the army of Antiochus. When they wanted to light the menorah, they found only a small jug of pure olive oil bearing the seal of the 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 for lighting candles.

  
  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 between 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, to look at the burning candles and hopefully this will give us the chidushim or the new understandings in the Torah. But maybe it could also mean, that we should look at the candles and ponder - how can we fix the situation of the divisiveness, the hatred and the distancing between the communities and the people. We got whole eight days to do the pondering,  and the rest of the year to carry out the plan. If anyone can do it, then it is us - 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, there are plenty of problems in the families, in the nation, and the world as a whole. 
  
  Perhaps, this is the time we say: We 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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• The Thoughts Behind The Empty Pit

  Dec 22, 2023 Admin 0 Comments

  "And they took him and cast him into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.", Vayeshev 37:24. It is puzzling that the Torah mentions that the pit was empty. Why would I need to know that? If you ask me, they are in the desert, and if there is water in the pit - it would be called a well, why does the Torah specifically mention the lack of water in the pit?
  
  I think the answer may be hiding in a few places in the Torah. Let's start with the first key. Yosef, וְה֣וּא נַ֗עַר - Ve Hu Naar, Rashi explains, "And He, Being a Lad - His actions were childish: he dressed his hair, he touched up his eyes so that he should appear good-looking." 
  
  But I believe there's more to it.
  
  Ve Hu Naar - And He, Being a Lad, can be also interpreted as him having a child-like imagination. It seemed as if he was a dreamer with his head high up in the clouds. Maybe that is why when he saw the dreams, he was able to come up with great explanations for his and other people’s dreams because he thought out of the box.
  
  So, after Yaakov Avinu sent him to check up on his brothers, Yosef being the dreamer he is, wasn't just simply walking to his brothers, his mind was thinking. And this time he was thinking about Kayin and Hevel. 
  
  Our job in this world is to fix what was broken before – making the Tikkunim, and Yosef was a great example of this.
  
  In Parashat Bereshit 4:9, Hashem said to Kayin, "Where is your brother Hevel?" Kayin said, "I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?" And this is what bothered Yosef that day. Him being the most hated one in the family, he felt that vibe between Kayin and Hevel. And this is where the Tikkun or fixing was being done...given a chance, he thought - he could fix Kayin's error.
  
  And with these thoughts, he came to Shechem, but there he met a man. Chachamim tells us it was an angel, and when that man asked him, who is he looking for, he said: My brothers do I seek - אֶת־אַחַ֖י אָנֹכִ֣י מְבַקֵּ֑שׁ, Parashat Vayeshev, 37:16, but as you know in the Sefer Torah the Nekudot - the vowels are missing and the word אַחַ֖י - My Brothers can also be written as Achi, so at the end, he meant: אֶת־אחִי אָנֹכִ֣י מְבַקֵּ֑שׁ  and that makes it as - My brother do I seek.
  
  Fully determined to fix Kayin’s error and with full understanding of why Kayin killed Hevel, Yosef felt that no matter the amount of hate Yosef had seen from his brothers, they were as a Brother to him, and he was looking not for them but for him - all as one. And with this thought, he went to the city of Dotan. 
  
  But Yosef didn't stop there, he asked Hashem for a sign, that he was on the right track, that his thought process was correct, and his Tikkun was noticed above. 
  
  He didn't have to wait too long, because when he approached his brothers, they took off his colorful tunic - "And took him and cast him into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.", Parashat Vayeshev 37:24. No water in it...?! Notice how the Torah highlights that water was not there.
  
  In Parashat Bereshit, after Kayin killed Hevel, Hashem came to punish Kayin, He asked him, Where's Hevel? Kayin answered, וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לֹ֣א יָדַ֔עְתִּי הֲשֹׁמֵ֥ר אָחִ֖י אָנֹֽכִי׃ - And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?"
  
  So, Hashem said, וְעַתָּ֖ה אָר֣וּר אָ֑תָּה מִן־הָֽאֲדָמָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר פָּצְתָ֣ה אֶת־פִּ֔יהָ לָקַ֛חַת אֶת־דְּמֵ֥י אָחִ֖יךָ מִיָּדֶֽךָ׃ - "Therefore, you shall be more cursed than the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand." Meam Loez says that the sin of the Earth was that it left no trace of blood, like it wanted to hide the blood completely, so it could not be discovered, thus it completely swallowed the blood.
  
  So, Yosef got the sign he asked for - no water in the pit when he was thrown into it, just like the incident with Kayin killing Hevel - no blood was left visible on the ground.
  
  But let's go even further. In Parashat Vayigash 45:12, when Yosef HaTzaddik opened up to his brothers, he says the following:" וְהִנֵּ֤ה עֵֽינֵיכֶם֙ רֹא֔וֹת וְעֵינֵ֖י אָחִ֣י בִנְיָמִ֑ין כִּי־פִ֖י הַֽמְדַבֵּ֥ר אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃ - You can see for yourselves, and my brother Benyamin for himself, that it is indeed I who am speaking to you." Rashi said," ועיני אחי בנימין - And the eyes of my brother Benyamin - just as I harbor no hatred against Benyamin, my brother, for he was no party to selling me, so is my heart free from hatred against you."
  
  But maybe it can also mean, just like Benyamin my brother looks at me and sees me as His Brother, so am I, looking at All of You and seeing you all, as My Brother - Achi and not as Achai - My Brothers. He was not looking for brothers in Shechem, Yosef HaTzaddik was looking for them all - as a Brother looks for His Brother.
  
  Kayin fell short by not being able to co-exist with one brother, and was not content with his lofty share - even though he did have more than plenty, Yosef HaTzaddik has proven that he was his brother's keeper - the caretaker of the entire family. When the time came and the family moved to Egypt, he took care of the needs of his father, the brothers, and all of their families, thus making his contribution to the atonement of Kayin's sin.
  
  Shmuel Katanov

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