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Parshat Beshalach
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
"ולא נחם א-הים דרך ארץ פלשתים"
"And David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with spear and javelin, and I come to you with the Name of HaShem of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel which you have taunted.... And all this assembly shall know that not with sword and javelin does HaShem save, for the battle is HaShem's, and He will deliver you into our hand."
This declaration, wish and prayer of David is echoed throughout the annals of history, only becoming stronger and truer in the flight of the future. That said, it seems, however, that this bravery and courage is a sign of our People's national development developed over periods of time from the birth of our People, to the reception of the Torah, to the entrance into the Land of Israel, and other important developments as well. In this way we understand why God did not take Israel directly to the Land of Israel through 'the Land of the Philistines', for He foresaw their unpreparedness to undertake such an endeavor - 'lest the People see battle and return to Egypt'.
As we have shown in the past, one of the important components of such courage is the inspiring air of the Holy Land, as each city and area has its own distinct air of inspiration. We find that David, the Bethlehemite, is particularly successful in defeating the Philistines, who taunted Israel for centuries, but after David, become basically obsolete. We have discussed Bethlehem in the past, so we will discuss here 'the Land of the Philistines' in an attempt to discover what 'air of inspiration' in this Land was David successful in retrieving to the Land of Israel more than all his predecessors.
The origins of the 'Land of the Philistines' can be traced back even to the Patriarchs. In this Land Avraham settled - 'vayagar' - first in 'Grar', this name seemingly rooted to Avraham's settling from the verb root 'gar'. It seems from the juxtaposition of events that Avraham's development of 'Grar' lead to the development of Beer Sheva which we have studied numbers of times. This connection is not only based on juxtaposition but also the numerical value of 'gar'=203 -'beer'-well, is the dominant concept of Beer Sheva we have discussed in the past. This assertion is compounded with the Arizal 's teaching that 'Plishtim' - Philistines have the numerical value of ten times 86, which stands for God's Name 'Elohim=86', which represents God's attribute of justice. Justice, according to our Sages is considered a mainly feminine trait, and therefore this fits perfectly with this area's connection to Beer Sheva, one of the more 'feminine' cities, as we have discussed before.
According to the book of Shmuel 5 main cities comprise the 'Land of the Philistines': Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gat, and Ekron. 'Ash' found in both Ashdod and Ashkelon are most probably connected to the word 'Ashed', which means a 'downhill', most probably since these cities lie in the low land on the coast of the Land of Israel (while probably 'dod' means love, and 'shkalon' means weigh or scale). Similarly, Gat means a 'wine-press', again exhibiting a lowered surface, in this case a pit. In truth the image of the 'wine-press pit' is very close to what we noticed in regard to the attribute of justice, since this 'wine-pit' is recognized in Isaiah 63, 3 and many other sources as alluding to the 'pressing' and subjugation especially of evil, a dominant theme of 'justice'. Based on this we understand the names of the other cities. Gaza or 'Aza' means 'strong boldness' (as in 'azut'), also an attribute strongly associated with justice and the strong subjugation of evil. Ekron means to 'uproot' (see Zefania 2, 4 which makes clear reference to this connection) as in the uprooting of evil by justice.
One of the dominant ways to achieve justice on a national level was through the advent of royalty in Israel (see end of Judges which points to the lack of justice then being due to 'then there was no king'), a matter that could only be fully realized after entering the Land of Israel according to Rambam's ruling. This royalty was most fully realized at first only by the figure of King David, the archetype for all kings.(1) Based on this, we now understand why specifically David the King was so successful in conquering the Philistine Lands, for the pursuer of true regal justice can conquer the lands of justice.
Just as we have shown in the past how the development of Beer Sheva stems from Hebron, so too we may say about the cities of 'the Land of the Philistines' also settled subsequently after Hebron by our Patriarchs. This is Hebron, the cradle of royalty and justice to become the first reigning stronghold of King David.
(1) Saul the first king of the 'temporary' royal line also faught the Philistines, but was not as successful as David. Also Samson from the tribe of Dan which means justice ('din') was also somewhat successful in defeating the Phlstines, but still not on the same level of David.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #153
As I approached the top step on the south side of the Temple Mount I heard a whisper to "remove your shoes this is holy ground." No one was near me, so thinking I was hearing things, ignored it...As I neared the archway, which was going to frame the picture for me, the voice was again but much louder, "remove your shoes this is holy ground". Still, there was no one was around...Again I ignored it and took the pictures, and started back towards the group; but as I crossed a certain spot on the platform the voice now shouted at me (no one was near me). Demanding, almost like booming: "Remove your shoes this is holy ground!" Needless to say, I did; and then walked the entire rest of the way shoeless..." L.M
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Parshat Bo
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
"והיה לאות על ידך ולזכרון בין עיניך"
"Blessed are You HaShem our God King of the Universe Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to put on tefilin."
According to our Sages, Tefilin put on in the Diaspora is meant to serve a type of reminder for their fuller observance in the Holy Land. So they say in the Sifri to explain the juxtaposition of the commandment on tefilin to the verse talking about Exile in the 2nd portion of Shema found in the book of Dvarim. The Sages also base this concept on a verse from the Prophets: "make yourself reminders/omens". Interestingly, the word for reminders/omens in the Prophets is 'tziunim', which startlingly resembles the word 'Zion', as if to say, 'when you put on these omens of tefilin remember that the ultimate goal is commit this mitzvah in the Holy Land.' However, according to the Arizal this message is even deeper.
On the verse in the Song of Songs 'put me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm' the Arizal interprets to refer to the tefilin put on the arm, meant to 'tie' so-to-speak the Holy Presence to the man who wears them. According to the teachings of the Arizal this Holy Presence runs parallel to the Holy Presence of the Land, which explains beautifully why 'Zion' takes such an important place in this mitzvah. This and more. In the past we have paralleled (also according to the Arizal) Zion and Hebron to the Holy Presence related to Rachel and Jerusalem to the Holy Presence related to Leah (of course different spiritual manifestations of the One God). The Arizal also explains that tefilin of the arm correspond to 'Rachel', while tefilin of the head correspond to 'Leah'.
Following this parallelism we come to the conclusion that tefilin of the arm correspond to Hebron and Zion while tefilin of the head correspond to Jerusalem. This is the source of what we have stated in the past that Hebron corresponds to the heart center, just as the verse says 'put me as a seal upon your heart as a seal upon your arm' (this analogy is also based on the Arizal), and also halacha mandates that the tefilin be put directly opposite the heart on the left arm. Only after the tefilin of the arm are fastened then can one place the tefilin of the head, which corresponds to Jerusalem, the 'brain-center' of the Holy Land, as we noted in the past.
This remarkably explains why all the Patriarchs and David first developed Hebron before proceeding to Jerusalem. This is Hebron, bought by 'Avraham my lover (lover of God)', to continue the verse "as a seal upon your arm - For love is strong as death the flashes thereof are flashes of fire, the very flame of God." This is Hebron, the original tie to the Holy Presence in the Holy Land, pumping its vitality to the consciousness of Jerusalem, to the Holy Temple.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #152
"I parked my car at the garage for a few days to be repaired, so from then on I started to hitchhike. Just about 10 minutes later, several kilometers away, the garage repair-man 'happened' to give me a ride just to where I needed, for the first time in my life (he did not notice at first that I had just talked to him on the phone 10 minutes before)."
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Parshat Shemot
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
שַׁל נְעָלֶיךָ מֵעַל רַגְלֶיךָ כִּי הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה עוֹמֵד עָלָיו אַדְמַת קֹדֶשׁ הוא
"And upon Your great kindness I trust, that You grant me to come to the Land of Israel, even though I am not even worthy to utter the name "the Holy Land of Israel", and I am very very far from the holiness of the Holy Land of Israel, nevertheless have compassion upon me and grant me to come to the Land of Israel, so that I arise to the ways of holiness truly..." (Likutei Tfilot 20)
One of the levels of holiness tied to a specific location is highlighted in this week's parsha in our title quote, in which Moshe Rabeinu is ordered to remove his shoes upon entering the the "Mount of God", which later is known as Mount Sinai. However, it should be noted that, unlike the Land of Israel and the Temple Mount which retain a relatively constant level of holiness, Mount Sinai was only 'sanctified' for a relatively short period while the Holy Presence rested upon it - 'when the Jubilee horn calls they (the multitudes) may ascend upon the mount (Sinai - that is the sanctity diminishes).' This said, the similarity between the sanctity of Mount Sinai mentioned in this week's parsha and the Temple Mount is striking. Halacha bids one not to wear [leather] shoes upon entering the Temple Mount, just as Moshe is bidden to remove his shoes upon entering Mount Sinai.
What is the relationship between these two locations portals of such holiness, one temporary (Mount Sinai) and one permanent (Temple Mount)? It seems that one of the striking links between these two locations is none other than the city of Jericho. Upon the land of this holy city too Joshua is commanded to remove his shoes with the exact same words delivered to Moshe. Indeed, our Sages say that Jericho's land was exchanged with that of the Temple Mount in exact measure. This 'exchange' means that the tribe of Binyamin which forfeited its land for the Temple Mount was given in its stead this same measurement of land in Jericho, which had been occupied by the descendants of Jethro beforehand.
One of the explanations given by our Sages for the sanctity of Jericho is that Jericho was the first city conquered by Israel in the Land of Israel, and as a result is like the 'First Offering/Fruit' sanctified unto HaShem. This is also explains, according to our Sages, why Joshua forbade anyone to build Jericho, due to its sanctity (y. Shimoni Josh. 15). However, many poskim rule that today it is permissible and even commendable to build Jericho and settle it with Jews, based on the Yerushalmi Talmud which limits Joshua's ban only till Jericho is already built. They ascertain that according to the Talmud once already built (by Divine command, error or by non-Jews) there is no more ban to develop and build the city of Jericho. Here again we see how Jericho acts as kind of a middle-path between temporarily holy Mount Sinai and the permanently holy Temple Mount
This concept is echoed in the Mishna Tamid (3, 8) which states 10 things that occurred at the Temple that Jericho miraculously could hear or experience. 'Yeriho' (Jericho) according to the Arizal also hints to the word 'yareach' - moon, a matter that once again takes us to the Temple, which is likened to a moon by our Sages, reaching its height in the days of Solomon, builder of the Temple. Based on this we may say that it seems that HaShem wished to bring Israel step by step towards the Bait HaMikdash. First Israel experienced Mount Sinai, then the Holy Presence was present in the Mishkan throughout the wilderness, then Jericho was conquered and sanctified (and the Mishkan was 'anchored' adjacently in Gilgal), and then after a number of temporary moves (which will be discussed in coming weeks b"h) the Mishkan became the permanent Temple of Jerusalem.
It is clear from the constant pairing of Jerusalem and Hebron in the conquests of Joshua (see Josh. ch. 10, 3 and ch. 12, 10 and more) that this development of Jerusalem, as we have described at length here, is deeply tied to the constant power of Hebron from which the very initial revelation at Mount Sinai begins: 'I am the God of Your fathers the God of Avraham the God of Isaac, and the God of Yaacov."
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #150
"I planned not to take any hitchhikers in my car this morning, since I was running late to my kollel. However, I happened to see another member of my kollel who needed a ride, so I summoned him to come into the car quickly. Just as he entered, however, another man, unaffiliated to the kollel, opened the door and started to rearrange the boosters/baby-seats in order to sit in the car, which of course took time. A bit later I happened to see another member of my kollel, and since the "unwanted" hitchhiker had already 'arranged' the back seat I was able to take him too." Y.M.N
Sources: Yeshuot Menahem p. 325-344
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Parshat Va'eira
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
אני ה'
"And unite our hearts to love and fear Your Name" (Second blessing of morning Shma).
The Name of God, the Tetragamatton (havaya), takes a dominant role in the Redemption from Egypt as seen in the opening of this week's parsha. In the following verse we also see that the covenant of HaShem with the Patriarchs to give the Land of Israel to their offspring also takes prominence in this Redemption. The connection between these two concepts can be explained by a halacha unique to the Temple Mount, the crown of the Holy Land. Halacha mandates that, although the Tetragammaton is strictly forbidden to be uttered as it is spelled throughout the world over, nevertheless this holy Name may be uttered as it is spelled on the Temple Mount. This law highlights how through the sanctity of the Land one is able to more greatly express God's Name.
It seems that this law is directly connected to assertion that the concept of God's Name is directly related to the concept of God's Presence, i.e the Holy Presence. In the past we have proven this relationship through such proof-texts as the Targum's translation of "expressing my Name" (Ex. 20, 20) as "resting my Presence" and more. Based on these sources, we may assert that the proclamation of God's Name to Moshe in context of the promise to give Israel the Holy Land means that one of the ultimate reasons for this Redemption was to manifest HaShem's Name or Presence in the Holy Land and especially at the Temple Mount as we just explained (as can also be seen in Ex. 6, 8). If so, what is the meaning of the verse here saying that God did not reveal Himself to the Patriarchs through the Tetragammaton, even though our Patriarchs did live in the Land of Israel?
It seems that the answer to this question lies with the understanding of the sanctity of the Land of Israel being accentuated with spiritual power inherent in the masses of the People of Israel. Halacha mandates that the liability for the sacred Truma (and also Maasros etc.) in the Land of Israel is subject to the majority of the People of Israel living in the Land. This law and many others show that a People mass is essential in 'developing', so-to-speak, the Holy Presence already inherent in the Land. In the understanding that the Land of Israel is the 'wife' of Israel the 'husband' as discussed at length in the past we find how this spiritual 'development' matches perfectly with our Sages teaching that a husband and wife have the ability to make the Holy Presence rest in their midst.
Based on this, we understand that the Patriarchs, as individuals greatly righteous as they were, were still not able to reach the high revelation of the Tetragammatton given to Moshe, who is meant to lead Israel as a People to the Holy Land, the ultimate spiritual union which gives 'justification' for such high revelations for this purpose. Nevertheless, the level of Moshe's revelation is not to be seen as disconnected from that of the Patriarchs. On the contrary, Moshe's revelation is a continuation from the covenant with the Patriarchs, and where the Patriarchs left off Moshe continues. Thus, Moshe's name is numerically equivalent to the Name of God that the Patriarchs did achieve "El Shaddai" = 345.
In a similar way, the Arizal explains the relationship between Jerusalem, City of the Temple, and Hebron, City of the Patriarchs. According to the Arizal King David's spiritual work in Jerusalem (and his preparation for the Temple there) does not stand disconnected from his spiritual work in Hebron. Rather, it is through connecting to the Holy Presence of Hebron that David reached his great spiritual grandeur in greeting the Holy Presence in Jerusalem.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #151
"I had dated with at least ten girls and had been offered dozens of proposals, but for some unknown reason I never saved any of these girls phone-numbers on my cell-phone (rather on slips of paper, etc.). One day, I was matched with one girl, and I suddenly had the urge to save her number on my cell. It turns out that that girl became my wife... " M.Y
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Parshat Vayechi
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
פקד יפקד א-הים אתכם והעליתם את עצמתי מזה אתכם
"Have compassion upon us, all Merciful... for You know our weakness at this time, that we are unable to break the many blockages that block us from coming to the Land of Israel... have mercy on Your People Israel and bring us quickly to the Land of Israel speedily..." (Likutei Tfilot 20)
The common wish of both Yakov and Yosef in this week's parsha is to be brought to the Land of Israel, whether in the near future, as in the case of Yakov, or the far future, as in the case of Yosef. The instance of Yosef's request to be taken to the Land of Israel long after death raises interesting halachic issues. Generally speaking, halacha rules that a corpse is not to be removed from its burial place for almost any reason. However, for the sake of taking a corpse from the Diaspora for burial in the Land of Israel halacha permits such a move, as seen in Yoreh Deah 383. Therefore, Yosef's wish to be taken to the Land of Israel long after death fits beautifully with halachic ruling.
In the past we have discussed this law, but now we shall discuss another law based on the same principle. This law (Yoreh Deah 383, 2) states that generally speaking "a corpse is not to be taken from a city that has a cemetery to another city, unless taken from the Diaspora to the Land of Israel." The reason given for this law is that the taking of a corpse from a city that offers burial ground in its cemetery is considered a disgrace to the other dead already buried in that city's cemetery. However, taking a corpse outside its city in the Diaspora in favor of burial in the Land of Israel does not dishonor the dead buried in the Diaspora, for all know that burial in the Land of Israel is superior to burial in the Diaspora. As we have mentioned before, burial in the Land of Israel offers special atonement for the soul, according to our Sages (calling the Land an 'altar of atonement'), as it says 'and the Land will atone for His People' (p. Haazinu).
The common request of both Yakov and Yosef to be buried in the Land of Israel also raises fascinating insights into the relationships between Yakov and Yosef and their burial places Hebron and Shchem. This relationship between these people and places seems to be most adequately pinpointed to in the verse: 'and he (Yakov) sent him (Yosef) from the depths of Hebron and he (Yosef) arrived in Shchem.' In the past we have explained how Shchem represents 'the shoulders of responsibility' in regard to the Land of Israel. This said, we may say that these 'shoulders' may also represent a parallel internal organ of the body. The 'carrying upon shoulders' is echoed in a parallel context in the Torah in which God, so to speak, 'carries Israel upon wing' (p. Yitro and Haazinu). The recognition of shoulders as 'wings' on a more celestial level, leads us to the clear inferences in the Talmud and the Zohar alike which coin the term 'the wings of the lungs.' Therefore, the three 'purchased' cities in the Land of Israel we have discussed in the past can parallel the heart (Hebron), brain (Jerusalem) (this analogy is based on the teachings of the Arizal), and lungs (Shchem).
This parallel follows beautifully with Rebbe Nahman's teaching (L"M I 92) that Yakov parallels the lungs while Yosef parallels the heart, the two balancing each other, for 'if not for the [coolness of air] of the lungs the heart would burn the body with its heat [of 'intensity]'' (Tikunei Zohar 27b). Based on this teaching we can understand why Yakov ('lungs') is buried in Hebron ('heart') while alternatively Yosef ('heart') is buried in Schem ('lungs') in this classic balancing measure inherent in the relationship between the lungs and heart. This analogy follows perfectly with our analogy in previous issues describing Hebron as 'betrothal' and Shchem as the 'ketuba' between Israel and the Holy Land. The 'kesef' (money) given at the the very outset of betrothal represents the 'kisufin' the longing and intense 'burning' love of the People towards the Holy Land. However, with this 'burning' love must come the cooling rational air of responsibility of Shchem, the 'ketuba' and the 'lungs' of the Land of Israel, and vice versa.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #149
"Once I started to sing the Alter Rebbe of Habad's famous nigun known as 'the four part melody' ('Arba Bavos'). As I sung it I 'happened' to notice that a cd player 'happened' to play the exact same melody just at the same time." M.H.G.
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