221. Oneg Shabbos Vayelech

Wishing all of Klal Yisroel a Gemar Chasim

‫בס"ד‬

Issue

221

a Tova!

‫הריני בא ללמוד תורה לשמה לעשות נחת רוח לאבינו שבשמים‬

‫מוצאי שבת ויו"ט ר"ת‬

‫מוצאי שבת ויו"ט‬

‫פ' וילך שבת שובה‬ ‫ו' תשרי תש"פ‬

5 October 2019

‫קבלת שבת ויו"ט‬

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7.33

7.50

7.43

6.56

7.27

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7.27

7.29

7.20

5.44

6.24

6.30

6.20

6.24

6.16

Our Connection to the Sefer Torah

Rabbi Yissocher Frand Rosh Yeshiva, Ner Yisrael Baltimore

The Pnei Yehoshua explains, based on the Zohar, the Shnei Luchos HaBris and many other Kabbalistic sources that every Jew has within his soul one particular mitzvah attached to one particular letter in the Torah.

Rav Osher Weiss, in his Sefer on Chumash, makes a comment that I have thought about in the past, but I never knew how to fully explain it.

Whenever I go to a Hachnasas Sefer Torah, I am always amazed at how much people get into the ceremony and how they manifest such sincere jubilation on that occasion. Today, Boruch Hashem, one can open up any Aron HaKodesh in virtually any shul and find a surplus of Sifrei Torah. Basically, we are talking about just adding one more Torah to an Aron HaKodesh that already has more Sifrei Torah than the kehilla actually needs.

And yet somehow, the joy of a Hachnosas Sefer Torah ceremony is something that touches every Jew and brings out a simcha that far exceeds what one experiences on most other occasions. How does one explain this?

Rav Osher Weiss suggests that this is because of the above referenced mystical connection between a Jew’s soul and the Sefer Torah, which has a letter within it which is linked to that soul. There is therefore a connection between every Jew and every Sefer Torah. It consequently becomes a personal simcha. No one ever wonders why a Jew is joyous at his own child’s wedding or his own son’s Bar Mitzvah. “It is because it is me, it is

David Cohen 156 / Shutterstock.com

Parshas Vayelech contains the six hundred and thirteenth mitzvah of the Torah – the commandment to write a Sefer Torah [Devorim 31:19]. The Pnei Yehoshua cites in his commentary on Tractate Kiddushin that the fact that the number of letters in a Torah scroll is 600,000 alludes to the name Yisrael (’‫)י’ש’ ר’ א’ ל‬, which itself is an acronym for the expression: ‫יש ששים ריבוא‬ ‫( אותיות לתורה‬There are 60 myriad letters in the Torah.)

It is thus not coincidental that the number of Jewish souls counted in the census of the Exodus was this same number of 600,000. That number corresponds with the 600,000 letters in a Torah scroll1. my child, it is my grandchild. Of course I am jubilant.”

Using this idea, Rav Osher Weiss shlit’’a explains a very famous Gemara [Avodah Zarah 18a] that we recount on Yom Kippur: Rabbi Chananya ben Tradyon went to visit Rabbi Yosi ben Kisma when the latter took sick. Rabbi Yosi ben Kisma said, “Chananya my brother, don’t you know that this nation (the Roman Empire) has been empowered from Heaven for they have been allowed to destroy His House, burn His Sanctuary, kill his pious ones, and cause to perish his precious ones. Her might persists and I have heard about you that you sit and occupy yourself with Torah and gather congregations publicly to study with you. You openly display the Torah lying in your bosom.

Rabbi Chananya responded, “May they have Mercy from Heaven.” Rabbi Yosi answered back to him, “I have given you a logical argument (why you should stop your public teaching) and you answer back ‘They should have Mercy from Heaven.’ I will be surprised if they don’t burn you and your Sefer Torah at the stake...”

The Gemara in fact concludes that the Romans found Rav Chananya ben Tradyon publicly teaching Torah.

They took him out, wrapped the Sefer Torah around his body and burned him at the stake. They placed moist clumps of cotton on his heart to increase the pain and slow down the process of his death.

His disciples saw what he was going through and they asked him, “Rebbi, what do you see?” He responded

famously, “I see the parchment being consumed but the letters are flying off and they remain.”

The response of Rav Chananya ben Tradyon regarding the letters flying off the parchment appears to be allegorical. What is the deeper meaning of this conversation?

When the students asked their teacher “What do you see?” they were asking “What is going to be the future of Klal Yisrael? The Romans are in charge. They are killing everybody. What is going to be? They have destroyed the Bais HaMikdash they are destroying everything connected with Torah. What is the future going to bring?

How is Klal Yisrael ever going to survive this?”

Rav Chanina ben Tradyon told them “The parchment is burning” – they can extinguish the bodies of Klal Yisrael, but “the letters are flying away” – the letters of the Torah which are linked to the souls of the Jewish people – these will remain forever. The letters flying away are a metaphor for the souls of the Jewish people which correspond, through a mystical link to the souls of every member of the Jewish people. The Romans can destroy the synagogues and the study halls and even the Beis HaMikdash. They can destroy the “body”, but not the “soul”. The souls of the Jewish people, like the letters of the Sefer Torah will endure forever. “...It will not be forgotten from the mouths of his descendants...”

[Devorim 31:21].

M

1 In truth there are only 304,805 letters in the Torah. Many explanations are given for this huge discrepancy. For example, the fact that some letters are made up of two or more letters, such a ches which is made up of two zayins.

See

page

For questions on Divrei Torah, please email the editor Rabbi Yonasan Roodyn at editor@oneg.org.uk

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Oneg Shabbos Issue 221

g n i t t e G e h t to r e p Up d r i Th “Gather together the nation, the men and the women and the children...in order that they will hear and they should learn...” (31:12)

E

very seven years the king reads the Torah in the presence of the entire nation. This is the mitzvah of Hakhel. Even though the young children did not understand what was being read to them, their parents received reward for bringing them.

This reveals to us a major principle in chinuch banim. Even though they may make a noise and be distracting to their elders, the experience for them is irreplaceable, for they feel, through osmosis, the importance to the Torah. Even though they cannot understand a word they have imbibed a vital lesson: The Torah is the life-blood of the Jewish People.

Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt’’l was once visiting a kindergarten of a Talmud Torah. Noticing that all the mezuzos on the doors were placed on the lower third of the doorposts, he remarked, “It’s a lovely idea to put the mezuzah in a place where the children can easily reach up and touch them, but please put them where they belong, on the upper third of the doorpost, and let them use a stool to reach the mezuzah. Otherwise they will grow up thinking that you can put the mezuzah anywhere you wish. One does not raise children with untruths.”

This story can serve as a parable for our relationship to the Torah. We must go up to the Torah, not bring the Torah down to our level. Wherever the attempt has been made to make Judaism “easier,” the outcome is that people have come to despise it and reject it altogether.

Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

We may be no more than spiritual children, but we will never grow into adults unless we look up to that mezuzah. And then, maybe one day we will be able to reach it by ourselves, unaided by a stool. But if we learn that we have to make no effort to raise ourselves up to the Torah, we will make the mistake of thinking that we are already shoulder-high to the Torah, that we need to make no efforts to change and improve ourselves. We will thus both debase the Torah and give ourselves no motivation to grow. We will merely sit back like self-congratulatory pygmies convinced that we are already spiritual giants. M Based on a story by Rabbi Nisson Wolpin

Feel free to cut this out and stick it in the front of your siddur

“I accept upon myself the positive commandment of loving my fellow as myself”

‫לקיים מצות עשה של‬..." "‫ואהבת לרעך כמוך‬

5 October 2019

‫ו' תשרי תש"פ‬

‫פרשת וילך שבת שובה‬

Dread, frustration, disappointment and despondency are just some of the emotions that begin to erupt as we face the reality and implications of Yom Kippur.

We dread facing our personal deficiencies. We are frustrated with our paltry and insincere regrets. We are once again disappointed in ourselves. All this leads us to hopelessness in our ability to ever repair our relationship between ourselves, our fellow man and Hashem.

On Yom Kippur we make a last ditch effort at contrition and to undertake meaningful change. Yet, the moment Yom Kippur is over we are right back to our old habits initiating this vicious endless cycle of “fear to despair” once again.

The Mishna1 tells us that no other Yom Tov paralleled Yom Kippur (and Tu B’Av). The Gemara2 explains the specialness of Yom Kippur was due to it being a day of forgiveness. On Yom Kippur the Second Luchos were given indicating atonement for the terrible sin of the golden calf.

Shlomo HaMelech refers to Yom Kippur as "‫ "יום חתונתו‬-"the day of his wedding"3, a day of joy.

Where has the joy gone?

There are three components to doing ‫תשובה‬, repentance: ‫חרטה‬, regret, ‫עזיבת החטא‬, abandoning the sin, and ‫קבלה על‬ ‫העתיד‬, accepting to change in the future.

Can we sincerely state we have regretted our sins when we consistently return to them time and again? Regretting what

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3

we know we will inevitably Rabbi Zvi Teichman continue to do Congregation Ohel Moshe Baltimore, MD compound our frustration with ourselves.

Is it really within our “choice” to change abruptly from all that we have done wrong? Some things are simply beyond our unique level of free will. To be able to learn eighteen hours a day is not attainable for most of us. Even those areas that are in our reach but have become distant from us because of our poor choices also need time and can’t merely be undone in an instant.

Haven’t we proven ourselves lacking in the commitment to no longer sin by the very fact that from year to year we seem to be in the same place?

Perhaps our error lies in our perspective. When we view our lives on Yom Kippur as a checklist of failures and seek to undo them entirely we are doomed. We don’t possess yet the sufficient understanding of sin to give us a true sense of regret. That takes a lifetime of avodas Hashem. ‫חרטה‬, can more aptly be translated as sensing a deep sense of loss, a feeling of emptiness that is “etched” into our consciousness. Only when one fathoms the relationship properly can one first fully appreciate the sense of failure.

But we are capable of emoting a deep yearning to get closer, and a healthy “regret” that we are not there yet. This passionate expression of a desire for closeness is more easily “etched” into our being and provides a much healthier power of “regret”. The critical difference between the two is that this second one leaves us hopeful. It stems not from failure but rather from aspiration.

We can imprint onto our soul a hopeful pining to get closer and to understand that connection to Hashem that we are missing.

Instead of desperately trying to focus on undoing our “misdeeds” entirely, we can try to undertake a plan to get ever closer. By taking upon ourselves to improve an area that is within our reach and doable, we begin to convey our striving for closeness with tangible evidence of our goal. This will encourage us rather than defeat us.

There is one caveat however with this approach. In the past when we undertook a sweeping repentance it was unrealistic and thus not fully accountable. When we promise to make small pragmatic change however, we will be held fully responsible to maintain it. It is within our reach!

On a wedding day life is filled with so much promise. In the long road ahead there is commitment to grow closer together.

The pitfalls in marriage are merely opportunities to correct them, not out of guilt and failure, but in search of deep love.

Yom Kippur is our chance to move closer, to find areas of our relationship where we can take “steps” forward in advancing the bond positively. It is a joyous challenge!

May we sense an excitement of opportunity on this opportune day and may Hashem embrace us lovingly with His blessings! M

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RABBI IGAL COHEN 1 Taanis 26b 2 Taanis 30b 3 Shir Hashirim 3:11

www.torahanytime.com

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Yom Kippur

Oneg Shabbos Issue 221

Confession and Redemption Beset by many evils and troubles, the will say, “It is because Hashem is no longer with me that these evil things have befallen me.” On that day I will utterly hide My face because of all the evil that they have done... (Devarim 31:17-18).

Rambam says that this admission of guilt and regret is still not a full confession, and therefore Hashem continues to hide His face. But the hiding is different: no longer is it a hiding of Hashem’s mercy, allowing evil to befall them, but rather a hiding of the ultimate redemption. That change in Hashem’s relationship contains a hint to their ultimate redemption when their repentance is complete.

To better understand this Rambam, we must first understand the function of verbal confession in the teshuvah process. Sefer Hachinuch (Mitzvah 363) offers two explanations of the benefit of verbal confession. First, verbalising one’s repentance creates the feeling of conversing with a second party, which, in turn, sensitises a person to the reality of Hashem’s presence, Hashem’s awareness of his every deed, and the need to render an account before Hashem. The greater a person’s awareness that his sin was one in Hashem’s presence, with His full knowledge, the greater His shame and regret.

Secondly, verbal expression intensifies the process and leaves a more lasting effect.

In addition to regret over the past, teshuvah also requires a commitment not to repeat the sin again. That commitment must be so decisive, resolute, and firm that Hashem Himself can testify that at the moment of confession, the sinner does not contemplate ever committing that sin again. Just as a vow to do or not to do something in the future requires verbal expression, so, too, does the commitment not to repeat past sins.

The Sefer Yereim specifies another dimension to verbal confession -supplication for atonement. There must be a clear recognition of the seriousness of the damage caused by the sin, both in terms of the damage to one’s soul and one’s relationship to Hashem, and in

terms of the effect on the world by closing the conduits of blessing.

For this, one must entreat Hashem to forgive, heal and repair the damage. Just as prayer and supplication must be verbalised to establish a feeling of communication, so, too must one’s entreaty for atonement.

There is yet another aspect of confession that relates to the nature of sin itself. Sin, says the Maharal, is one neshamah of the Jew. It cannot blemish the neshamah itself.

Rather it superimposes layers of impurity that separate one from his essence. Since the Jew’s connection to Hashem is through that untainted essence, when he becomes distant from his essence, he also becomes estranged from Hashem.

Teshuvah, then, is the return of the Jew to his essence and the breakdown of the barriers that separate him from Hashem.

Hashem does not leave the Jew when he sins; rather the Jew loses contact with Hashem, Who still resides within the essence of his soul. As Chazal say on the verse, “I am asleep, but my heart is awake” (Shir HaShirim 5:2), my heart refers to Hashem. Though the Jew sleeps and loses consciousness of Hashem, Hashem still occupies his heart.

By articulating his sin in vidui, the Jew makes it something external to himself.

Then he is able to detach those layers of sin that have accreted on his neshamah. Vidui itself becomes an act of purification. Thus, Targum Yonasan translates the word “purify” in the verse “Before Hashem should you purify yourself” (Vayikra 16:30), as “confess.” The confession is itself the act of purification.

It is this last aspect of full vidui which is lacking in the confession, “Because G-d is not with me, all these misfortunes have befallen me.” Although this statement expresses regret, recognition of the devastation resulting from sin, and even hints to a commitment to avoid this state in the future, it is still lacking. There is no recognition that it is not G-d Who has deserted us, but we who have become detached from ourselves and therefore from Hashem.

Rabbi Zev Leff Rav of Moshav Matityahu

When a Jew feels Hashem has abandoned him, says Sforno, he gives up hope, since he thinks that it is G-d Who must first return. But in truth it is man who has strayed from his essence, and he can find G-d where he originally left Him. Teshuvah is thus literally redemption: “Return to Me for I have redeemed you” (Yeshayahu 44:22). One redeems his untainted essence from the layers of sin and impurity that encrust it.

As long as we fail to comprehend this aspect of redemption, Hashem continues to hide the face of redemption from us.

When we appreciate all the aspects of vidui, including that recognition that Hashem remains where He always was, waiting for us to strip away the barriers, we can look forward to both personal and national redemption. M

5 October 2019

‫ו' תשרי תש"פ‬

‫פרשת וילך שבת שובה‬

Leader & Legacy

M

oshe Rabbeinu can no longer lead the Rabbi Berel Wein Jewish people. He Founder & Director, Destiny Foundation informs us that he is no longer allowed “to forth out or to come in.” He whose eyes did not dim even in death is now shorn of his superhuman powers and subject to the mortality that faces us all. At that moment Moshe does not wallow in sadness nor does he seem to review in detail his life’s achievements and the disappointments that occurred in his lifetime of greatness.

He expresses no regrets and voices no complaints. He does not refer to those who persecuted him, injured his pride, questioned his worth or doubted his words. Rather his whole focus is on the future of the Jewish people. He points out that their future failings will clearly lead to tragedy and defeat but never to complete destruction. He cautions them against falling into the trap of adopting new ideas and mores simply for the sake of change or newness.

He makes it abundantly clear that the covenant of Israel with Hashem and His Torah contains no escape or cancellation clauses.

The bond is an eternal one. He sees the future and continues to look forward to new generations and recurring challenges. To the end he remains the leader and not the historian, the teacher and not merely the observer.

It is the presence of this implicit spirit of innate optimism, even in the face of known problems and Jewish failings, which characterises Moshe’s relationship with the Jewish people and his guidance of Israel through all of its generations. That is why “there arose none like Moshe” in all of Jewish history.

The Torah teaches us “vayelech Moshe” – Moshe went and walked and proceeded. Immediately thereafter the Torah records for us that Moshe said “I cannot go forth or return any longer.” So which is it?

Did Moshe walk forth and proceed or did he remain housebound and passive. It is obvious that Moshe’s inability to go forth and return describes the physical limitations placed upon him on his last days on earth.

But “vayelech Moshe” – Moshe’s goings and comings are the spiritual guidance and moral vision that he invested in the Jewish people that remain vital and active in all later generations of Israel even after Moshe’s passing. Leadership and inspiration is rarely judged by physical criteria.

Franklin Roosevelt was afflicted with polio before he rose to become the president of the United States. He certainly is to be reckoned as one of the strongest and most influential presidents in American history though he could not physically go forth or come in. If we see this truism in the life of a “regular” human being such a Roosevelt, how much more so is this obvious in the life and achievements of the superhuman Moshe.

Vayelech not only means that Moshe once went but it also implies grammatically in Hebrew that Moshe is still going forth. The Jewish people are still guided by Moshe’s Torah and teachings and his spiritual legacy continues to inspire and instruct. As long as there are Jews in the world, Moshe will continue to go forth and come into our hearts and minds. M

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6

Oneg Shabbos Issue 221

This page has been sponsored anonymously

In the

Blink of an

Eye

Rabbi Nachman Selzer

A two part story

S

imchas Torah is a very happy day, or at least it’s supposed to be.

That’s what made the whole episode so much more interesting. It was at the end of the davening on that particular Simchas Torah afternoon and I was just about ready to leave my spot and head towards the large double doors at the back of the shul when it was time for the final kadish of the day. The reciter of the kadish, was an old man, and he was doing the recitation in an extremely emotional tone of voice.

For some reason I felt like there was something going on over here, something hiding behind his trembling voice and tear filled eyes and I decided to find out what it was. I watched him as he chanted the familiar words; each word rolling off his tongue with a burning fluency, a longing, a sincerity, there was definitely something going on. So after the kadish was over and the people were all filing out of the shul, I approached him and sat down beside him, watching as he said a few more kapitlach tehillim before going home. He looked up at me, the vestiges of his moving testimony still staining his cheeks and gave me an inquiring stare.

“Can I ask you something,” I began.

He hesitated for a minute before replying, “Yes what do you want to know?”

“Well,” I continued, “I was watching you just now when you said the kadish and I was really wondering who you were saying such a kadish for! I mean I’ve never seen somebody say kadish with such fervor before! I know I’m very chutzpadik and I’ll understand completely if you don’t want to tell me, but maybe you’ll let me in on the background of your kadish.”

“You know,” he said, “you really are very chutzpadik and I should tell you to get lost...... really I should give you a patch,” he said almost to himself, but then he smiled

and his eyes were sad and vulnerable, yet warm and full of clarity all at the same time. I sat down beside him on the old wooden bench and waited patiently for him to marshal his thoughts.

I don’t know what it is about me, but I’ve found that people respond to me in ways that they never do with other people and I in turn appreciate their confidences and collect their memories and secrets, keeping them locked up in a secure place in my heart, only unveiling their stories if they want to share them with others as well.

The old man closed his eyes for about three minutes while I waited anxiously and when he reopened them, I knew that he had been to the past and back. And this is the story he told me.

“I was brought up in a little Polish town,” he began, while stroking his tangled beard.

“I was part of a little clique of boys my age.

We had so much fun together.......” his voice kind of trailed off as he relived his beautiful memories. “We did everything together,” he went on, “we attended cheder together, played in the park and were just a great group of kids.

When I was twelve years old,” he went on, “my Zeide olov hasholom, bought me my first pair of tefillin. They were the most beautiful objects I had ever laid eyes

5 October 2019

‫ו' תשרי תש"פ‬

‫פרשת וילך שבת שובה‬

This page has been sponsored anonymously

7

on and I promised him that I would put them on every single day of my life. I took this promise very seriously,” the old man went on, “and I made sure that I donned my tefillin first thing every morning. I loved davening in those tefillin! It was the greatest experience in the world entering the shteibel on those cold winter mornings, chopping a steaming glass of hot water from the samovar and then wrapping my precious tefillin around my arm and head. I felt a connection with my grandfather, with my ancestors and most of all, with Hashem!”

I stared at him, this old, old man. It was hard to imagine that someone so wrinkled and aged was ever really young, but the more I listened to what he had to say, the more the years fell away and I could see the vibrant, charismatic youngster that he had once been.

“Yes, our lives were so good,” he spoke gently with a vague accent tasting of Warsaw, “but soon came word about the war and nothing mattered anymore.....but survival.

It entered our lives like a whirlwind of destruction, like a dervish of turmoil, thrusting millions of lives into a catastrophic tunnel from which few emerged alive. Not only that, many of those who did escape were never the same again. Our group managed to stay together, don’t ask me how! We were together while our village was turned into a ghetto and we were transferred in one group to a camp, the second of many stops on the hellish journey we were unknowingly embarking on.

Roll call at Buchenwald concentration camp, ca.1938-1941. Two prisoners in the foreground are supporting a comrade. Everett Historical / Shutterstock.com

While there, I had the privilege of saving the life of a fellow Jew.” He related to me, how one of the skeletons living in their barracks had contracted typhoid, making it a very small matter of time before he was discovered and sent to the “infirmary.”

Nobody lasted there for long. So this young boy, took it upon himself to feed this man his daily rations, thereby ensuring his very survival. He then traded his own rations, his only sustenance, for cigarettes which he used to buy medicine to combat the horrible disease. And he personally made sure that he took his medicine and watched the man climb back from his meeting with the Angel of Death. And through it all, he never missed a day with his Tefillin!

They would berate me for still believing in the one above and they would say that he had abandoned his nation, chas v’sholom!

They would ask me why I was still risking my life to put on my Tefillin day after day and how our lives were lost anyway, so what was the point! And all I could say was, “yeshuas Hashem k’heref ayin, Hashem’s salvation comes in the blink of an eye.

But then there was Shea. And he was a real problem… M To be continued next week ...

“My friends,” the man went on, “would scream at me, their sorrow making them utter words that they would have never dreamed of saying, if not for their despair.

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‫לע''נ אריאל יהודה ז''ל בן ר' פינחס צבי נ''י קליין‬

Oneg Shabbos Issue 221

Restoring the primacy of Choshen Mishpat Under the auspices of Harav Chaim Kohn ‫שליט"א‬

Rabbi Meir Orlian Halachah Writer, BHI

PARTNERSHIP OF INTEREST

“There is something called heter iska, which enables a return on the capital,” said David. “it redefines the loan as an investment. If it becomes relevant, I can explain it in further detail.”

“Can you find out whether there is an option?” asked John.

“Is there a Rabbi you can ask?” “There is,” replied David. “I’ll consult with him.”

David called Rabbi Dayan and asked: “can a non-Jew and a Jew who have a partnership lend to Jews with interest? Does a heter iska work?”

John McNally ran a loan business. His Jewish neighbor, David Birnbaum, was an investor who also maintained a large gemach (interest-free loan fund).

“I’d like to expand my business,” John said to David. “I’m looking to add a partner. I know you’re involved in lending.

Would you consider joining me?’

“I’m not sure that I can,” said David. “There is a problem lending with interest to other Jews.”

“I have no problem, though,” said John. “If we lend to Jews you can ‘blame it’ on me.”

“It doesn’t work that way!” David laughed. “If we’re partners, when the partnership lends, I’ve got a share in the prohibited loan.”

“You mean that Jews really lend without any interest?!” exclaimed John.

“Very often we do on a personal level,” said David. “In most Jewish communities there is a charity fund for providing interest-free loans, like the one I operate.”

“That’s very thoughtful,” said John. “I wish we had something like that, but I’ve never heard of anyone lending on a significant scale without interest. Do you provide interestfree loans also to non-Jews?”

“Interest-free loans are a special brotherly arrangement between Jews,” replied David. “Just as you charge interest when you lend to a Jew, you are expected to pay interest when a Jew lends to you” (Y.D. 159:1).

“How do businesses operate, though?” asked John. “There are Jewish banks and loan businesses, even owned by observant Jews.”

“The Melamed l’hoil (Y.D. #59, by Rabbi D.Z. Hoffman, zt”l, 1843-1921) addressed this question,” replied Rabbi Dayan.

“He cites from responsa of Maharit that if a Jew invests money with a non-Jew as a silent partner, he may share the interest profit that the non-Jew earns, even from Jewish clients. This is because the non-Jew operates on his own and the invested money is under his control, so that the Jew cannot restrain him from lending as he wishes.

However, Melamed l’hoil concludes that if the Jew is an active partner in the business and the money is also under his control, it is not permissible for them to lend with interest to Jewish clients.”

“Does he provide any solution?” asked Mr. Birnbaum.

“The Melamed l’hoil provides two options,” answered Rabbi Dayan. “One is that the non-Jew accept full liability to the partnership for the loan to a Jew. In this case, it is as if the non-Jew took money from the partnership and he alone lent to the Jew. Conversely, if the partners want to borrow money from a Jew, the non-Jew must take full liability to the Jewish lender, so that he alone is borrowing.

“The second option is for the partners to arrange from the beginning that all loans to Jews should be from the share of the non-Jew, and loans to non-Jews from the share of the Jew. A similar arrangement is mentioned regarding Shabbos, whereby partners can arrange that all profits from Shabbos belong to the non-Jew, and from Sunday belong to the Jew. If the partners didn’t do so initially, they can dissolve the partnership and reformulate it as such (O.C. 245:1-4).

“In addition, if the Jewish partner arranged a heter iska for the partnership, it is permissible. The terms are binding also on the non-Jewish partner who agreed to it” (Bris Yehuda, Ikrei Dinim 20:[29]).”

Ruling: the partnership may not lend to Jews with interest, unless the non-Jew undertakes full liability for those loans, the initial partnership was formulated so that loans to Jews are from the non-Jew, or there is a heter iska. M

Provided by Business Halacha Institute. The BHI is a non-profit organization based in New York that educates and guides people in up to date applications of monetary halacha. For more information or to browse the BHI archives, visit www.businesshalacha.com

5 October 2019

‫ו' תשרי תש"פ‬

‫פרשת וילך שבת שובה‬

MIDDOS ‫דרגה יתירה‬ Rabbi Zalman Guttman Ramat Shlomo

9

FOOD FOR THOUGHT TO SPARK N CONVERSATIO

PRIORITIES

)‫א‬:‫וילך משה וידבר את הדברים האלה אל כל ישראל (לא‬

There are four periods of teshuvah that are alluded to in the parshiyos that we read during the month of Elul and through the beginning of the new year. R’ Moshe Wolfson ‫שליט"א‬ points out that there are 30 pesukim in Parshas Vayelech, which can be compared to the 30 days of Elul, after which the perfectly righteous are signed and sealed in the Book of Life. There are 40 pesukim in Nitzavim which are linked to the 40 days from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur, when the Beinonim - those of average merit - can repent and be inscribed for a good year. And there are 52 posukim in Parshas Haazinu which allude to the 52 days from the beginning of Elul until Shemini Atzeres, when extra time is given for everyone, even those of minimal merit to return to Hashem and receive a positive judgment. The combined total of all the posukim in these three parshiyos is 122.

This is an allusion to the 122 days from Rosh Chodesh Elul until “Zos Chanukah” - the last day of Chanukah - when Hashem, in His Mercy still leaves a window open for even the lowest neshamos to come home.

R’ Wolfson further points out that Parshas Ki Savo, which also contains 122 pesukim, is filled with many curses that will come to those who do not serve Hashem properly. But these curses must come to an end, as it says, ‘tichleh shana vekileloseha’ - may the year and all its curses end. From these 122 pesukim of Ki Savo, we go on to read the 122 pesukim of Nitzavim, Vayelech and Haazinu, which we hope will replace all the terrible curses with the most wonderful blessings for the coming year. This Shabbos Shuva, may we merit to be among the perfectly righteous who are already signed and sealed in the Book of Life.

A POWERFUL USE OF THE POWER OF SPEECH It was growing late on Erev Yom Kippur when the Chasam Sofer summoned his daughter to carry out an important mission.

She was to make her way to one end of Pressburg to inform an orphan boy that after Yom Tov the Chasam Sofer would propose a shidduch with an orphan girl.

Then she was to travel to the girl, at the other end of Pressburg, and bring her the same good news. While the daughter was willing to oblige, she couldn’t help asking her father, “Isn’t it too close to Kol Nidrei? Couldn’t this wait a day?”

Her saintly father replied, “My daughter, I must take this mitzvah along with me to shul.

It cannot wait.” The Chasam Sofer, whose account already overflowed with mitzvos, felt this was the one he wanted to take to shul. So potent a chessed is a shidduch, so much good does it do to have a hand in creating a new Jewish home and a new generation, that this was a mitzvah that couldn’t wait.

HOLD ON TO THE INSPIRATION!

The Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation Reviewed by Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Lowy. For discussion only; actual halachic decisions should be made by a rav or halachic expert on a case-by-case basis.

10

Oneg Shabbos Issue 221

BENEFIT OF LESS THAN A PERUTA FROM THE HOLY ‫הנהנה מן ההקדש שוה פרוטה‬

The Mishnah teaches that one is only liable to pay for a me’ilah violation if he has benefitted at least the value of a peruta.

The Rishonim discuss whether there is a prohibition of me’ilah for less than a peruta. The Rambam writes (Hilchos Me’ilah 7:8), that a person would not get lashes for intentional me’ilah for less than a peruta. The Mishneh LaMelech infers from this that benefitting even less than a peruta is prohibited, just as we find regarding many other prohibitions in the Torah, but one does not get lashes unless he takes at least a full peruta. Many Rishonim (Riva”m, Rashba) say that there is no Torah prohibition of me’ilah for less than a peruta, but it is disallowed miderabanan.

The Gemara in Bava Metzia (55a) says that if one uses less than a peruta of value of the Mikdash, he must still pay back that which he used, but he does not have to pay a one-fifth penalty.

This is derived from the posuk (Vayikra 5:16), “And that which he took from the holy he must pay.” Rambam writes that when a person takes less than a peruta, he must pay the principal, but not a one-fifth penalty, and he does not have to bring an asham offering. He adds that the person would also not be given lashes.

Toras Kohanim derives from the end of the posuk cited by the Rambam (ibid.) that the words “from the holy” teach us that restitution must be made for even less than a peruta, even though me’ilah does not apply. And how do we know that one would even have to add a fifth and an asham with this payment? The posuk therefore says, “The holy he shall pay.”

CO U

Stories from the Daf CHILD'S PLAY ”...‫“הערלה‬ Years ago, when toys were harder to come by, children used their active imaginations to make playthings out of most anything. In Israel to this day, apricot pits are known as aju’im, and children compete for them fiercely during the short season when they are available. Children collect these seeds—much like kids in America collect baseball cards and the like— playing a game of skill with them, and the winner takes all. Once the season is ended the aju’im are considered worthless and are looked upon like the pit of any other fruit.

One religious kibbutz planted a large quantity of apricot trees. Obviously, the fruits were absolutely forbidden for the first three years due to orlah. As we find on today’s daf, one who eats a k’zayis of orlah purposely after being warned is liable to receive lashes. But the children quickly noticed great possibilities for these fruits: they could use the seeds to play aju’im! But of course, they first needed to ask whether one can use pits of orlah fruits in this manner.

When Rav Moshe Fried, shlit”a, asked this question to Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt’’l, he ruled that the pits can be used in this manner.

Rav Fried was amazed, “But don’t we find in the Gemara that that the words ‘‫ ’ואת פריו‬teach that the seeds of orlah are also forbidden?” As always Rav Elyashiv had an immediate response.

“That is only regarding one who wishes to eat the seeds or derive some similar pleasure from them, like to plant them. But there is no prohibition against children playing with them.”1 M

‫ ע’ שי”א‬,‫ וישמע משה‬1

Rabeinu Hillel explains that when the Toras Kohanim says “and an asham” it is referring to the principal payment, which is sometimes called “asham.” It cannot mean that the offender would bring an offering, though, because all agree that there is no asham offering for less than a peruta. The Ra’avad understands Toras Kohanim differently, and he concludes that there is no proof that the Toras Kohanim believed that there is a one-fifth payment for a trespass of less than a peruta. Regarding the view of Rambam, The Malbim explains that the text which Rambam had in the Toras Kohanim reads, “and how do we know that there is no one-fifth payment for less than a peruta?”

The Malbim also says that even if Rambam’s text of the Toras Kohanim is as we have it, he could have interpreted it the way the Ra’avad does, and that the conclusion is that the one-fifth penalty is not assessed for less than a peruta. The sefer Mekor Baruch writes that Rambam holds that Toras Kohanim learns that me’ilah of less than a peruta requires a person to pay a onefifth penalty to satisfy his obligation to Heaven, although he is technically exempt and “does not have to pay the one-fifth.” M

91

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5 October 2019

‫ו' תשרי תש"פ‬

‫פרשת וילך שבת שובה‬

Sages through Ages THE

11

Dr Benji Schreiber

The Vilna Gaon Vilnius, Lithuania 1720 - ­1797 ‫י”ט בתשרי‬ Rav Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman, also known as the Vilna Gaon, or the ‫גר”א‬ was undoubtedly one of the outstanding talmidei chachamim of the last five hundred years. He was born in a Rabbinic family – one grandfather was the Rov of Vilna, the other the author of the ‫באר‬ ‫הגולה‬.

By the age of six he gave drasha in the Vilna shul in drush and pilpul.

He was an incredible masmid, apparently sleeping only two hours a day in four half hour blocks.

He had eight children from his first wife, Channa, 3 sons and 5 daughters. One of the daughters died in childhood. There are many thousands of descendants. After Channa passed away he married Gittel. He had no children from Gittel.

as Berlin. He was humble and refused to accept any position in Vilna. He lived very simply and learnt Torah continually.

Aliya He planned to go to Eretz Yisrael. He reached as far as Germany and the letter he sent from there to his family is worth reading. He then returned home, saying Hashem did not want him to go. He did encourage his talmidim to go and this grew in momentum, with hundreds making Aliya between 1808-1812. These groups were known as Perushim. Some say this was an attempt to prepare for the possible coming of Moshiach in 1840. Their arrival

“If a person is lacking knowledge in other wisdoms, he’ll be lacking a hundred fold in the wisdom of the Torah.”

Writings He was a prolific writer. There are many seforim which he wrote collecting his glosses – short notes - on much of Tanach, Mishna, Midrashim, Shulchan Aruch as well as on grammer , algebra and the Jewish calendar and kabbalistic works on Sefer HaYetzirah and the Zohar. There have been several commentaries to explain his notes on Shulchan Aruch and many seforim written by his talmidim.

The Misnagdim The Vilna Gaon vehemently opposed Chassidus and refused to meet the Baal HaTanya – the first Lubavitcher Rebbe – who came to see him.

Customs In his youth he went into self-imposed exile, and in his wanderings reached as far

‫ לעומת זה יחסר לו‬,‫לו לאדם הידיעה בשאר החכמות‬ ‫מאה ידות בחכמת התורה‬

On the other hand, he strongly opposed the study of philosophy and criticised the Rambam for being influenced by it.

Talmidim

in Jerusalem swung the population from mostly Sefardi to Ashkenazi. They established the neighbourhood of Meah Shearim, and ensured the prominence of minhag haGra in Jerusalem – including not wearing tefillin on Chol HaMoed, and not davening mincha after sunset.

External Studies He saw great importance in the sciences and studied maths, engineering, biology, astronomy and music. He said: ‫כפי שיחסר‬

He did not have a Yeshiva but there was a Beis Hamedrash near his home and he gave some shiurim there and answered questions. Rav Chaim of Volozhin was probably his principle talmid. He went on to establish what was the first Yeshiva in recent centuries - in Volozhin.

Avraham ben Avraham A Polish nobleman, Count Valentine Potocki converted to Judaism and was called Avraham ben Avraham. He was burnt at the stake for converting to Judaism. He was close to the Vilna Gaon and some of his ashes are buried alongside the Gaon. M

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