July 29, 2011
by Digital Maggid
על־פי־רוב טרעפת, ווען א איד פאָרט ארויס אונטערוועגענס, ענדערט ער זיין התנהגות,אז ער ניט אזא זהיר און מדקדק במיצוות ווי ער איז אין דער העיים. ווען ער קומט צוריק פון אונטערוועגענס, פיהרט הער זיך צוריק אויף ווי פאר דער נסיעה. האָט דאָס מעש פארשריבען: אז די „מוצאיהעם“ די התנהגות און אויפפירהרונג אין דאס צוריק אהיים קומען דארף איין גלייך על־פי־ה’. (ר’ אשר הורוויץ)
For the most part, we find that when Jew goes abroad, he changes his conduct, and he is not as carful or punctilious about his mitzvas as he is at home. But when he comes back from his travels, he is guided back as before they journey. This is what Moshe wrote about: That “In their goings out” and ‘in their journeys” their behavior and conduct along the way, as well as in the home, must be equally “el pi Hashem” — before Sashem.
There is a convention of language at work here. The passage begins with a Hebrew phrase: El pi rov , which is translated as an expression: “For the most part.” However, this literally means: “By the mouths of many.”(Near to the many.) The teaching ends “before Hashem” but this literally means “by the mouth of Hashem.” So the Master is saying in a subtle way: We may get lax in the presence of many — when we are travelling and we have some measure of anonymity. But when we are at home, we behave ourselves because we are in the presence of Gd. The master urges us, however, to remain on our good behavior even while traveling because the reality is that we are always in the presence of Gd.
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July 29, 2011
by Digital Maggid
My thanks go out this week to my helpers in translation, to our subscribers, to our contributors, our askers of questions and our givers of insight. You all make it happen.
Please print out some of these teachings for your Shabbos table discussions.
Tomorrow, Gd willing, we will reach the end of B’Midbar (Numbers) as we recap the journeys and encampments during our wanderings in the Wilderness of Sinai. And let me say: !חזק !חזק Chazak! Chazak! *
May the strength of our studies carry us through to the adventures of Dvarim next week, as surely as they have carried us through up till now.
With Hashem’s blessing for a fabulous shabbos,
מיט זײַן ברכהכ פאר א זייער פיין שבת!
*Chazak is a traditional blessing that is shouted out at the end of each book, as we wish each other Strenght! to continue our learning together.
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July 29, 2011
by Digital Maggid
וַיִּסְעוּ, מֵחֲרָדָה; וַיַּחֲנוּ, בְּמַקְהֵלֹת
vatis’u, meicharadah; vayachnu b’mak’heilot
and they journeyed from Charadah, and pitched at Mak’heilot
Numbers 33:25
תפלה, וואס איז מיט עצבוט און געוויין איז גלײַך צו אן אָרימאן וואס פארלאנגט און בעט פונ’ם מלך מיט גרויס געוויין און בקשה, פונדעסטוועגען גיט אים דער מלך ניט מער ווי נאָך א קלייניגקייט. תפילה וואס יס מיט שמחה, איז גלײַך צו א שר ללאס איז מסדר פאר דער מלך זיין שבח מיט שמחה בעט אגב א בקשה, איז גלײַך צו א שר וואס איז מסדר פאר דעם מלך זיין שבח מיט שמחה און בעט א בקשה. דערפילט דער מלך זיין בקשה זונ גיט אים און גיט אים א גרויסע מתנה, ווי מען גיט צו שררות. (בעש”ט)
Prayer, that is done with sadness and crying, is likened to a royal subject who comes before the King with much begging and wailing as he makes his request. However, the King gives him nothing more than mere trifles. Prayer that is done with joy is likened to a prince parading before the King. His praise is joyful and his petition is nonchalant. The King meets this his request and gives him a great gift, as one would give to royalty. (Baal Shem Tov)
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July 28, 2011
by Digital Maggid
As you well know (ooh, I’m sounding like one of them), this parsha is filled with sentences stating each place the Israelites (Children of Israel, -aka Jacob, aka the 12 Tribes) journeyed from and pitched (their tents) at. (ooh, bad grammar.)
What you may not know or realize that each of the place names has a meaning in Hebrew. If you’re reading the Chumash (um, “Old Testament”) in English, all you get is a transliteration of the name, like “Elim” or “Marah” but “Elim” actually means violent or aggressive and “Marah” means bile or gall (and is related to the word bitter).
The masters, accordingly, liked to riff on these place names, teaching that with each station along the 40 year journey, the people moved from one state of consciousness to another, as we saw in the teachings on Bittersweet Wells, and really all of the teachings this week. Here are a couple more insights on the places (literal and figurative) our people found themselves in.
Numbers 33:25 — They journeyed from Ḥaradah and pitched at Mak’heilot
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July 27, 2011
by Digital Maggid
100th POST!
אֵת שֵׁשׁ-עָרֵי הַמִּקְלָט
et sheish arei hamiklat
they shall be the six cities of refuge (Numbers 35:6)
די זעקס ערי־מקלט זיינען די זעקס ווערטער פונ’ם פּסוק „שמע ישראל ה’ אלהינו ה’ אחד.“ „ועליהם תתנו“ — די 48 ווערטער וואס זיינען פאראן אין די פּרשה „ואהות“ ביז „ובשעריך.“
אָט–דאָס זיינען די זעקס „ערי־מקלט“ וואס יעדער איד קען זיך באהאלטען און באשיצען זיי אויב ער האָט געתאָן עפּעס שלעכטס ניצול צו ווערען פון די מקטריגים וואָס פארפאָלגען אים. (אוהב ישראל)
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July 27, 2011
by Digital Maggid
Kivrot Hata’avah — dort vu di chokhmah lebt, dortn iz di taivos bagroben.
There where wisdom lives, there is taivos* buried. (Degel Machaneh Efraim)
*passion, lust.
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July 26, 2011
by Digital Maggid
וַיִּסְעוּ, מִמִּדְבַּר סִינָי; וַיַּחֲנוּ, בְּקִבְרֹת הַתַּאֲוָה
vayas’u mimidbar sinai, vayachanu b’kivrot hata’avah
and they journeyed from the wilderness of Sinai
and pitched in Kivrot Hata’avah (Numbers 33:16)
נאָך דעם ווי די אידען האָבען פארלאָזען דעם מדבאר סיני, זיי אויפ’ן וועג זיך אָפּגעשטעלט מקבר צו זיין זייער תאוות. (ר’ אשר הורוויץ)
After that, as the Jews left the wilderness of Sinai behind, they paused along the way to bury their passions. (R’ Asher Hurvitz)
The place name Kivrot Hata’avah literally means “buried passions” in Hebrew.
What were the passions they buried there, and why? Is passion a klippah (obstacle state)? It appears these particular passions were, or else why bury them?
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July 26, 2011
by Digital Maggid
If you’re following along in the text, this teaching is listed under Numbers 33:16, but it should be under 33:9
וַיִּסְעוּ, מִמָּרָה, וַיָּבֹאוּ, אֵילִמָה;
וּבְאֵילִם שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה עֵינֹת מַיִם, וְשִׁבְעִים תְּמָרִים — וַיַּחֲנוּ-שָׁם
vayis’u mimarah vayavo’u eilimah;
uveilim shteim esreh einot mayim, v’shiv’im t’marim — vayachnu sham
They journeyed from Marah and came toward Elim;
and at Elim there were 12 wellsprings and 70 palms — they pitched there.
פאראן זיסע און ביטערע קוואלען וואסער אין דער תורה. מים מתוקים איז דער האמת, „מים מרים“ איז דער דרך־השקר. אלע אונזערע תנאים ואוראים, צדיקים פון משה רבינו’ס צייטען ביז משיח וועט קומען, האָבען געטרונקען און וועלען טריקען פון די מים מתוקים אין דער תורה. זיינען געגאנגען און וועלען גיין בדרך האמת. און אלע אָפּיקורסים, כופרים האָבען געטרונקען און וועלען טרינקען פון די „מים המרים“ זיינען געאנאגען און וועלען גיין בדרך השקר.
There are sweet and bitter wellsprings in the Torah. Mayim metukim (sweet waters) are the Truth; “Mayim mara’im” (bitter waters) are the Path of Falsehood. All our Tana’im and Amora’im [lit. "teachers and interpreters," two classes of Rabbinic scholars of the Mishnaic period — used here in a figurative sense], sages from the time of Moshe Rabbeinu to the coming of Moshiach (the messiah) drank or will drink from the mayim metukim in the Torah; they went or will go on the the Path of Truth. And all of the Opikursim, heretics, drank or will drink from the “mayim hamara’im” and went or will go on the Path of Falsehood.
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Posted in Degel Machaneh Efraim, Massei, Path of Falsehood, Path of Truth |
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July 25, 2011
by Digital Maggid
OK, here comes a tough one from the Rizhiner. With the indispensable help of Melamed Garry and Rabbi Avram, here’s my rendition:
אֵלֶּה מַסְעֵי בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, וגו’. וְאֵלֶּה מַסְעֵיהֶם, לְמוֹצָאֵיהֶם.
Eileh massei b’nei yisroel, etc., v’eileh masseihem l’motsa’eihem
These are the journeys of the Children of Israel, etc. ; and these are their goings forth
(Numbers 33:1 and 2)
It is obviously well known that when it says “eileh,” the early deeds are invalidated, and when it says “v’eileh,” the early deeds are added to. So the p’shat (simple interpretation) of these verses is thus:
“Eileh”(“These”) — Those who conduct themselves like “eileh” (“these”) invalidate their earlier deeds. They invalidate and find fault with their earlier deeds, deciding that, from now on, they will mend their ways, tearing up their past and adopting a new Jewish way. “Massei b’nei Yisroel” (the journeys of the Children of Israel) this they must draw from and according to this, every Jew must practice.
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Posted in Klippos (Obstacle states, neg. attributes), Massei, R' Yisroel Rizhiner, Right Action |
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July 24, 2011
by Digital Maggid
This is an intriguing little teitsh (teaching) from our would-be Master-of-the-Week, R’ Asher Hurvitz.
אֵלֶה מַסְעֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׁרָאֵל
eileh massei b’nei yisroel
these are the journeys of the Children of Israel
(Numbers 33:1)
„אלה מסעי בני ישראל“ — דערפאר וואס די אידען האבען בעת דעם עגל געיובלט און געשריען „אלה אלקיך ישראל“ זײַנען זיי דערפאר געשטראָפט געוואָרען מיט „אלה מסיע בני ישראל.“ (ר’ אשר הורוויץ)
“These are the journeys of the Children of Yisroel” — on account of the Jews having celebrated the calf, as it is written “eileh elokeicha Yisroel” (“This is your Gd, O Israel” — Exodus 32:4), they were sentenced with “eileh massei b’nei yisroel” (“these are the journeys of the Children of Israel”). (R’ Asher Hurvitz)
So far this makes no sense, does it. Well, as we have seen before, the masters often taught from the remez level — the level of hints and clues (winks, more literally) — and based many of their teachings on word associations and puns. But in this case, he is being so subtle he doesn’t even bother to state it, he only points in the general direction of it. (But don’t worry, I’m not subtle. I will state it for him.)
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Digital Maggid
