TORAH 4 TEENS

BY TEENS NCSY ISRAEL

Yaakov Gottlieb Raanana Chapter Madrich Committing to the Torah is the Key

It says in Parshat Yitro:

הנחמה־ןמ םיהלאה תארקל םעה־תא השמ אצויו”

)זי קוספ טי( ”רהה תיתחתב ובציתיו

Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain.

The gemara teaches based off of this pasuk

The Chidushei Harim gives a profound answer. He explains that this generation of Jews were riding high on inspiration and belief. They had seen miracles in Mitzrayim that no other generation would ever see!

Therefore, of course they were able to accept the Torah out of pure and genuine desire! But what about the generations to come who wouldn’t have this level of inspiration and belief? Do they get to opt out of keeping the Torah if they don’t feel spiritually connected? This is why the Torah needed to be given with some force.

The acceptance of the Torah cannot just depend on feelings and desires. If it did, then the moment a Jew wakes up not in the mood to be an Eved HaShem, his relationship with Torah goes out the window!

Rabbi Avdimi bar Hama bar Hasa said: the Jewish people actually stood beneath the mountain and Hashem forced them towards the mountain and said to them: “If you accept the Torah, excellent, and if not, here will be your burial"

Rav Yitchak Meir Alter of Ger, more commonly known as the Chidushei Harim zy”a brings down a question which is already asked by Tosfos on the Gemara; WHY did Hashem have to force Bnei Yisrael to accept the Torah!? They already said עמשנו השענ! The Jewish people made it clear that they wanted the torah, there was no need to force them!

The Ger Rebbe is teaching us that the foundation of properly accepting the Torah must be a combination of desire and commitment. This way, when it gets tough and our desire is weak, we won’t just give up – we will remember that commitment we have and be able to continue moving forward in our Avodat HaShem.

Kinneret Rosensweig 9th Grade, Raanana Is Achdut Really So Hard To Achieve?

Parashat Naso is placed in the order so that it is always around the time of Shavuot and הרותה תלבק. Many reasons have been theorized as to why this is, but one of my favorite interpretations is that of the םש לעב בוט, who chooses to focus on one specific pasuk:

In this interpretation, every element of this pasuk is hinting to an element in our society. The dirt of the ground represents those in our society who are weaker, disabled, challenged, and so on. The Cohen represents the opposite; those of us who are seen as the pinnacles of society, whether financially, spiritually, intellectually, or any other way. With this in mind, there is great symbolism in the Cohen taking a piece of the dirt. The Torah is reminding us that no matter how different we are and how far apart we seem in life and stature, there is still much to learn from each other.

Coming up to Shavuot, much of our focus gravitates towards the concept of Achdut, and becoming one as a society and people. However, we also have a tendency to believe that if someone disagrees with us there is no way we can be fully together as one. This can be seen also in our country at this very moment, as political arguments are tearing us apart. The בוט םש לעב wants to remind us that even if we disagree, it is our duty as a people to treat each other with respect and kindness, and remember that there is something new you can learn from every person you meet. If we finally put these concepts into action we can not only come together amongst ourselves, but make the world a better and brighter place for everyone living in it.