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Parshat Toldot
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
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Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
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"And make us merit to come to the Land of Israel, the place of our sanctity, the source of faith, of prayer, of miracles, the source of life, the source of Israel's closeness to their Father in Heaven..." (Likutei Tfilot 9)
The Land of Israel is the source of Godliness in this world, as a wellspring is the source of streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Wellsprings take a dominant place in this week's parsha. Halachically, wells in the Land of Israel take an important role as well. Based on Talmud Eruvin 21a Rambam rules that only at wells in the Land of Israel can one use the special permit to use the simplistic "well polls" (pasei beraot), even without a regular 'eruv', to draw water on Shabbat from a well for drinking on that spot. This permit was given uniquely to the Land of Israel which is meant to contain many Torah scholars, as befitting its spiritual status, who need this well-water to continue their journey for their studies. We can see the importance of the wells of this Land also in this parsha as Yitzhak digs numbers of wells in the Land of Israel that become the source of important cities such as Rehovot and Beer Sheva.
Considering our analysis of Hebron in the past as being the most prominent city where all our Patriarchs both lived and were buried, it seems essential to examine the relationship of Hebron to other cities the Patriarchs spent considerable amounts of time developing. One such city is, without doubt, Beer Sheva, where Avraham lived for 26 years after Hebron, and also where Yitzhak lived for an extensive period. Although there is very much to study about Hebron and Beer Sheva, a good place to start is the analysis of these cities' names. Also, an in-depth study should include the understanding that the Patriarchs were highly spiritual figures, and as such it follows that they saw special spiritual "missions" at these specific locations.
In the past, we have shown how Israel are compared to a husband and the Land to a wife by Isaiah (62, 2), a matter that is echoed both in halachic and esoteric Torah sources as not only being a metaphor, but an essential description of Israel's connection to the Holy Land. We also described how Hebron means "unity", being the source of the unity, the "betrothal", so-to-speak, in Avraham's acquisition of Maarat HaMachpela, which represents the "betrothal" between Israel, the husband, and the Holy Land, the wife. This "unity" or "betrothal" is not only established by monetary purchase, but also through Avraham's dedicated settlement and burial in Hebron which preceded and followed this purchase. Fascinatingly, we find that Avraham's main shift to a different location other than Hebron, namely Beer Sheva, comes with the birth of Yitzhak. Time and time again we find Yitzhak associated with wells, whether seeming to spark the advent of Beer - the "well of" - Sheva at his birth, whether spending considerable time at "Beer" - the "well of" - "Lehai Roi" at the time he meets and marries Rivka, or whether occupied with wells to a great extent as seen in this week's parsha.
This matter can be explained by our Sages' apprehension that Yitzhak, of all the Patriarchs, represents the more feminine (even though a man) relationship towards God. Our Sages explain that wells represent feminine spirituality, just as a well represents how the Feminine Land (as above in the "betrothal" of Hebron) gives forth to vitality - water. Our Sages explain that is for this very reason why all the wives of Yitzhak, Yaakov, and Moshe, were all found by a well. Therefore, we may say that Hebron represents the essential union between "husband" and "wife" through which our Patriarchs, and especially Yitzhak, reached Beer Sheva ("Sheva" also connotes the feminine as in Bat Sheva and the 7th day Shabat 'Queen') to elevate the power of the "wife", i.e the power of the Holy Presence as it "emerges and flows" from the Holy Land.
Therefore, we may understand why even Yitzhak returns to Hebron in his later life and is also buried here, for a primary goal of elevating the power of the Holy Presence of the Land is ultimately to bond it to the Holy People in harmonious Union - Hebron.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #145
"Just before going to Kever Rachel on her yahrzeit I planned to make random corrections on a sefer Torah I was working on. How surprised was I to find that the psukim (verses) I randomly chose were just about Rachel's passing in parshat Vayishlah!" Y.N.K.
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. Parshat Chayei Sarah
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
"ותמת שרה בקרית ארבע היא חברון"
"May it be Your Will our Father, our King, the Light of our spirits and our souls... remember our love and endearment, and return Your Holy Presence to Your Holy Temple... for difficult is Your separation from us like the separation of our souls from our bodies - our innards long, and our souls yearn for the redemption of Your Holy Presence..." (prayer of the Or Hahaim)
When we yearn for a soul, a Godly light, that has left us, we gain a small glimpse of the Great Light from which that soul emanates, the Light of the Holy Presence. In this way, we accentuate our understanding of our title quote to mean that it is through"the passing of Sarah" that Avraham achieved a yet even stronger connection to "Kiryat Arba - Hebron", the first location our Patriarchs "discovered" the Holy Presence. The Midrash teaches that this "City of Four" (Kiryat Arba) has four names - Eshkol (or "Nahal Eshkol" of the spies in Bamidbar), Mamreh, Kiryat Arba, and Hebron. We may say that these four names describe the spiritual journey in "discovering" the Holy Presence in Hebron and the Land of Israel in large.
One of the 613 commandments is "to cleave to God/God's Presence". Our Sages explain that cleaving to God's Presence is achieved by cleaving to the Godly righteous among man. According to this, we come to the realization that an essential step in connecting to God is connecting to the human soul as mentioned above. This connection is hinted to in the name "Eshkol", which means both grapes and/or bereavement. Here stands the test of faith of Hebron and the Land of Israel at large. One can center one's thoughts on Hebron being the Gateway of souls to the World to Come, coined by our Sages as the World where "grapes are united with their wine", the wine of joyous loftiness, representing this World of Spiritual Loftiness. However, one can, God forbid, center one's thoughts on the bereavement - "Eshkol - I will bereave", the sorrow and fear, attached to the elevation of these souls to Heaven.
This is where the spies in Bamidbar fell, turning the death they saw into fear, despair, and ultimately hatred towards God. However, Kaleb realized the truth - that the death he saw was just a grain of the Grand Divine Plan, to distract Israel's enemies from the spies' presence by funerals... After passing the test of "Eshkol", which is also the name of one of Avraham's colleagues, we reach "Mamreh", Avraham's more superior colleague than "Eshkol", who advised Avraham to commit Brit Mila. At this stage, Hebron instills us with the power and courage to "go despite" - "Mamreh- lamrot - despite" - the opposing forces, to surpass all blockage, foreskin or other, in making covenant with God and His Holy Presence. After "Mamreh", full covenant and commitment to the Holy Presence, comes "Kiryat Arba- the "City of Four", representing the cleaving to God through His four letter Name - Adonai.
The Arizal explains that Sarah's life-span of 127 years represents the numerical value of the spelling of this name, Adonai, letter by letter (א, אד, אדנ, אדנ"י +1(the word itself) = 127). The Arizal goes further to explain that "Hebron" represents the "uniting" (Hebron=hibur=unity) factor in these four steps of spelling this name, namely the beginning aleph. Amazingly, although the Arizal does not tell us of such, this "aleph", when spelled out, has the identical numerical value as Hebron (=266, אלף למד פא = 266)! Thus, we can say that the next step after Kiryat Arba comes Hebron - uniting these "four" Godly manifestations of the Name to their One Godly source in "Hebron".
Once we travel all through these four names we come to the "crown" of Hebron - Maaras HaMachpela. Here, according to the Zohar and the Arizal, we enter the depths, as in a "Cave", of cleaving to God, through the ineffable Tetragammaton - "havaya", which has "double - Machpela" "heh"'s. Here we must stop, for the "Glory of God must be concealed..."
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #144
On Sukkos my fan stopped working. I tried to connect it to the the socket and different sockets in different ways, but to no avail. I decided to try the socket in the Sukka - perhaps the sanctity of the sukka will "fix" the problem. To my amazement the fan started to work in the sukka and then continued to work in the house. A bit later, the fan stopped working again. I did the same procedure, trying sockets at the house, which did not help. Only when I tried the socket in the sukka once again did the fan start working!" M.G.
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. Parshat Lech Lecha
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
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Connecting to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
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"And grant us to long, yearn, and desire always to come to the Land of Israel till we realize our thoughts and travel and arise to the Land of Israel speedily...” (Likutei Tfilot I 55)
One of the matters that can enhance our desire for the Land of Israel is the realization that the Land of Israel provides us good sustenance not only on a spiritual level but also on a para-material-spiritual level as well. This concept can be hinted in our Sages interpretation of our title quote which commands Avraham to go the Land 'for you' to mean that HaShem tells Avraham to go for himself and his own benefit as well. Going in Avraham's footsteps we can learn from this message that it is also important to contemplate how our Land is also beneficial to us in material, social, organizational, and other ways.
Indeed, when we eat of the produce of the Land halacha mandates that one is to conclude the last sentence of a 'bracha achrona' (blessing after eating foods other than bread) with a letter or two that signifies that the food that was eaten originated from the Land of Israel. This means that upon wine that originated from the Land of Israel one is to conclude 'al pri gafna' (upon the fruit of its vine) instead of saying 'al pri hagefen' (upon the fruit of the vine), as one would say upon wine that originated from the Diaspora. This same rule applies to the 5 species of fruit among the 7 species that the Land is praised for, and, according to Sephardic tradition, also upon the 5 species of grain, when originating from the Land of Israel. If one is in doubt whether a product originated in the land of Israel one is to use the conclusion used for Diaspora fruit. This rule is true even for one who is present in the Diaspora but has consumed a product that originated in the Land of Israel. This law is meant to express our praise of God for giving us the Land of Israel which provides us with this produce.
It seems that it is by Hebron that we learn of some of the material advantages of the Holy Land as well. The Torah says that 'Hebron was built seven years before Zoan of Egypt'. Our Sages interpret this verse to mean that it comes to teach that even Hebron, considered to be the 'rubble of the Land of Israel' in the sense that it was used for a graveyard in Maaras HaMachpela is yet greater than even Zoan of Egypt, compared in the Torah to the 'garden of HaShem' - a kind of 'paradise'. It is clear that this statement of the Sages does not come to deviate Hebron's spiritual level among the cities of the Land of Israel, for this would contradict the many sources that point at Hebron's superior spiritual level among the cities of Israel. Rather, it is clear that our Sages' statement refers to the material level of Hebron, that even on this level Hebron supersedes the material 'paradise' of the Diaspora.
In tractate Ktubot (111-2) our Sages point to the material prosperity of the Land of Israel to be exceedingly great, but yet this prosperity is dependent on the goodness of its inhabitants. Nevertheless, Hebron's 'lowly' material level in comparison to the other cities of Israel does not pose a disadvantage but rather an advantage. One of the great Tannaic masters, R. Yehoshua, taught that if Torah scholars were less materially/physically attractive they would concentrate on their spiritual studies more and be even greater scholars. In a similar sense, our Sages teach that Jerusalem did not grow paradise fruit like Jericho, in order that People concentrate on the spiritual motive of ascending to Jerusalem for the sake of a mitzva and not be distracted by material motives such as paradise fruit. This is Hebron - one of the highest spiritual beacons of the world.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #142
"It was just before Purim, and I had no idea how I was supposed to deliver our mishloah manos with my car which was on the verge of breaking down. I prayed to HaShem for help. While driving on Taanis Ester I stopped to pick up a man who motioned that he needed a ride. However, on the way suddenly my car broke down. I explained to the man that I need a downhill in order to continue, and for this I need help shoving the car till it reaches a downhill. He helped shove the car to the downhill, and the car started working again. When he got back into the car I explained to him the condition of the car and my financial incapability to pay its repairs. To this he answered, 'before I made Aliya from Yemen I was a car repair-man - I can fix your problem easily.' I parked next to my house, and this man subsequently started repairing my car and giving me advice on the way. After he was finished fixing the car, the man refused to receive anything for his work (worth about 1000 NIS), saying that it is a gift in honor of Purim." Y.S
Sources: Orah Haim 208, 10
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Parshat Vayeira
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Uniting with the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
"וירא אליו ה' באלוני ממרא"
"And teach me the path and the method, so that I merit to surpass all that blocks and prevents me from coming to the Land of Israel, whether it be for monetary reasons or for other reasons, and especially for cognitive reasons... till I merit to come quickly to the Land of Israel... and may I merit there to bring upon myself sanctity, purity, and fullness of awe from the ten sanctities of the Land of Israel..." (Likutei Tfilot II 39)
Our Sages teach us that sanctity leads one to ruah Hakodesh (spiritual inspiration). In the past we have shown how our Sages tie prophecy, 'ruah hakodesh par excellence', to the Land of Israel, saying that prophecy only comes about in this Land or for its sake. Although, generally speaking, prophecy after the Torah was given does not have halachic significance for extensive periods of time, it seems that there are slight variations to this rule. In regard to the Bais HaMikdash we find that the basic outline of the Mishkan/Mikdash is constant in halacha. However, the specific details of the dimensions of the Bais HaMikdash etc. are left to the prophet to determine. Such is clear from the differences between the Mishkan, and the First, Second, and Third (described in Ezekiel) Temples. Nevertheless, the Hasam Sofer (O"H 208) explains that in truth these variations are Biblically based on the Torah's words on the Mishkan, 'all that I show you'. This means that the details of the Mishkan/Mikdash are pre-set in the Torah to be dependent on the prophetic vision that 'I (God) will show you (the prophet)'.
Another example of seeming halachic significance tied to prophecy can be found in the case of determining who is a proper Kohen, Levi (in regard to Truma, serving in the Temple, etc.), and also to which tribe each person belongs for the allocation of tribes in the Land of Israel. This too can be explained by saying that prophecy here merely serves to 'reveal' the tribal allocations of the people, but does not present any novel halachic teaching. Other examples of para-prophetic-halachic laws include the extension of the sanctity of the Land of Israel to additional conquered lands and the extension of the sanctity of Jerusalem to additional locations. These examples too can be linked to proof-texts in the Torah. Nevertheless, it is clear from these instances that in certain cases prophecy may play a para-halachic role. What is also interesting is that this para-halachic role is used especially in matters that regard the sanctity of the Land (Truma, extension of sanctity), Jerusalem (extension of sanctity), or the Temple Mount (dimensions, service, etc.). Indeed, we have shown in the past through the teachings of the Yerushalmi Talmud and more that this connection between seemingly distant facets of Judaism is actually quite natural to the atmosphere of the Holy Land.
It is this Land of the Holy Presence, so rooted to its first Jewish City, City of the first proper revelation to Avraham ('appeared' in title quote) - Hebron - the City of Unity, that inspires the inherent harmony of all different facets before our One God.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #143
"One evening I davened Maariv early before nightfall, which means that I needed to say Shema again after nightfall to fulfill the mitzvah of reciting Shema. However, I was so tired that I fell asleep at home without saying Shema. At about midnight I woke up but was unable to fall back asleep. Therefore, I decided to read a paper next to my bed called 'Tiv Hakehila'. Suddenly my eyes caught on the halacha panel in this paper, which wrote that although one davens Maariv in shul, he must say Shema again on his bed. Then I remembered that I had forgotten to say Shema on bed, and at truth at all after nightfall to fulfill the mitzvah. How grateful was I that I was 'reminded' to fulfill this important mitzvah." M.M
Sources: Rambam Trumot 1, 2, Bait HaBehira 6, 11, Mlachim 12, 3
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. Parshat Noach
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
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Uniting with the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
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"And with Your good Will You have granted Israel to conquer the Land of Israel from the 7 nations, to purify the Land and expel the impure air of those nations and sanctify the Land with the sanctity of the Land of Israel. Thus, with Your kindness may You merit us ... that in every place we pray... to bring upon that location the holy air of the Land of Israel...” (Likutei Tfilot I 44-46)
The father of these 7 Canaanite nations is Ham the son of Noah mentioned in this week's parsha. Here we also learn of Ham's evil actions which caused his father to curse him and his son Canaan to be servants of servants of his brothers. Even many generations later, we see that the Torah ties an exceptionally low moral nature to the Canaanite Nations, commanding our People not to take on the ways of incest, idolatry, etc. of the Canaanite Peoples. Our Sages explain that the Canaanite Peoples were specified in this prohibition because they were especially immoral among all the nations. If so, how could it be that such an immoral nation was given such a holy Land, the Land of Israel, before Israel conquered this Land?
According to Rebbe Natan of Breslev in Likutei Halachot the reason for this was to show God's kindness in regard to the settlement of the Land to such an extent that He had tolerance for such sinful nations. In this way, even when Israel sin this attribute of Godly kindness continues to be present upon this Land, and as such we should remember that God's kindness is still upon us to aid us in settling the Land even when we are not fully worthy.
In regard to these Canaanite Nations there are also numbers of mitzvot and laws. One of the 613 commandments is to fight the 7 Nations. This said, however, Rambam notes that the 7 Nations have already been extinguished. Nevertheless, from this mitzva we gain more meaning as to the high spiritual significance in purifying the Land of Israel from sinful practice. In addition, from the laws in our Oral Tradition concerning 'Canaanite servants', which include non-Jewish servants in general even if not Canaanite, we learn fascinating laws concerning the spiritual and moral relationship and responsibility between Jews and Non-Jews.
One of these fascinating laws is the conversion of this Non-Jewish servant to become a 'quasi-Jew' under certain conditions, a matter that is extremely unique among all laws of the Torah and which gives high spiritual stature to such a servant. In addition, halacha mandates that such a servant is to be treated kindly and respectfully as is befitting the kind-natured spirit of the Jewish People. This kind spirit is also the spirit of Hebron where Avraham concentrated much of his spiritual work of giving over the message of God to all nations - 'in Elonei Mamreh (Hebron) and he (Avraham) was sitting at the entrance of his tent at the heat of day (to greet guests).'
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #141
"One day I got a call from the bank and was told that if I do not cover expenses asap checks will bounce, etc., etc. I prayed to God for help, quickly made efforts to find ways to pay this sizable sum that very same day, and then made my way to the bank. Just before the bank was about to close I hurried there to pay the debts. However, on the way I was suddenly detained by a bothersome character who likes to talk with people at length. I tried to excuse myself saying that I have to catch the bank before it closes, but to this the man answered, 'what do you say?! Show me the check you need to pay', grasping my clothes. After he managed to 'download' my bank account number, he nimbly called his bank and asked to deposit the sum I needed from his account to mine, explaining that just now he has lots of money just 'sitting' in his account. After thanking him, he told me not to thank him. Instead, he sat me down for a three hour conversation b"h." M.A
Sources: Rambam Avadim, Likutei Halachot Mila 3, 3
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