July 10, 2011
by Digital Maggid
Our parsha begins rather in the middle of a story that we left unfinished last time. To recap briefly, the Jews were living for a period of time in Shittim, and “the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moab.” By this is meant that they were worshipping the wrong gods, ate the wrong foods, married the wrong people, etc. etc.
Hashem would not suffer this, and became angry. He ordered Moses to ‘Hang ‘em high!’ (paraphrased). And a bit of an odd thing happens here (as if this were not an altogether odd story to begin with), because there is an implication that the punishment for those who worshipped the Baal of Peor (a false god) were to be hanged, but at the same time, a plague arose. Only the text does not tell us this until after the fact. It appears that people who were neither hanged nor afflicted with the plague were mourning the loss of their kinsmen, while a certain Israelite was carrying on with a Midianite woman in plain sight.
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Posted in piety, Pinchas, Pinchas, Vurker Rebbe |
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July 10, 2011
by Digital Maggid
R’ Israel Yitzchok Kalish
R’ Israel Yitzchock Kalish (1779–1848) was the first Chasidic Rebbe of Vurka. He is known also as R’ Yitzchok of Vurka, and The (First) Vurker Rebbe.
He was a disciple of Grand Rabbi Dovid Biderman of Lelov, who was a disciple of the Seer of Lublin, who was a disciple of R’ Elimelech of Lizhensk, who was a disciple of R’ Dovber the Maggid of Mezeritch, the chief disciple The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism. After the death of Rabbi Dovid Biderman of Lelov, Rabbi Yitzchok became a disciple of Simcha Bunam.
R’ Yitzchok Vurker’s son Yaakov Dovid Kalish I (1814–1878) became the first Amshinover Rebbe and the found of the Amshinov Chasidic Dynasty.
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Posted in Master of the Week, Vurker Rebbe |
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July 1, 2011
by Digital Maggid
This parsha, Chukat, is so fascinating. First we have the whole shamanic rite with the red heifer, and then we have Gd telling Moshe to tap a rock with his staff to bring forth water in the desert. And generations upon generations of us have been wondering what the heck Moshe was thinking by clobbering that rock in anger, when … well, how can such a holy man just lose it like that?
Well, here comes another commentary, this one attributed to R’ Menachem Mendel of Vork (the Vorker Rebbe) addressing Moshe’s motivation.
משה רבנו, דער רועה נאמן לישראל האָט בכוונה געשלאָגען דעם שטיין, כדי עס זאָל ניט געשאפען ווערען קיין קטרוג קעגן די אידען, אז א שטיין וואָס רעדט נישט און הערט נישט פאָלגט גיכער דעם געבָט פון גאָט ווי די בני ישראל.
Moshe our Teacher, the loyal shepherd of Israel, deliberately struck the rock in order that no accusation should come against the Jews that a stone, which neither speaks nor hears, would sooner obey the commandments of G-d than the children of Israel.
That’s quite a statement. Moshe didn’t want a rock to show us up.
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Posted in anger, Moshe | Moses, Vurker Rebbe |
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Digital Maggid
