Shalom Friends;
Our Breish’t vort is being sponsored by Benyamin and Barbara Lemkin and family of Ramat Beit Shemesh and dedicated In honor of the Jewish heroes who give of themselves for Am Yisrael, and in honor of all the Jews who are making Aliyah and those who assist them as well as for the safety of the Chayalim and the liberation of all parts of Eretz Yisrael, and with this the liberation of all the remaining hostages and their return home without experiencing any further harm, as well as for the good health and security of kol Am Yisrael. To the Lemkin family, many thanks for your sponsorship and your continued kindnesses.
You can celebrate a Simcha — a birth, a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, a Chassuna or other Simcha event in your life, or commemorate a Yahrtzeit of a loved one, or for whatever other reason by sponsoring (or as the case may be, co-sponsoring) a Parshat HaShavua.
Please forward to your relatives and friends and encourage them to sponsor a Parshat HaShavua. And please be in contact with me with any questions, or for further details.
Best Regards,
Moshe Burt
olehchadash@yahoo.com
Subscribe to the Israel and the Sin of Expulsion blog, to ask questions or to sponsor a Parsha Vort at: olehchadash@yahoo.com
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Rabbi Zelig Pliskin begins his commentaries on Sefer Breish’t in his Sefer, “Growth Through Torah” (page 18):
As soon as you start learning Torah, right from the first posuk: “In the beginning the Almighty created,” you become aware that there is a Creator and Ruler of the universe. This first awareness already makes a major change in you for the rest of your life…. The world has meaning and purpose. (Rabbi Pliskin citing Rabbi Yeruchem Levovitz, Daas Torah: Breish’t, page 3)
Without meaning in life even if [one] accomplishes very much, has health and wealth, fame and fortune, there is a strong feeling that something is missing, Without meaning there is no real enjoyment or satisfaction. Yes, a person can have moments of excitement, joy. and even ecstasy. But they are short-lived. When the high feelings settle down, there is emptiness…. But as soon as you internalize the awareness that there is a Creator of the universe, you see plan and purpose…. Those who lack this realization see only external actions and behaviors of those who live with the reality of the Almighty.
As we begin a new cycle of our etermal Torah and leyn Parshat Breish’t in our Hebrew Year 5786, The War of Simchat Torah will enter its third year, having passed Two years in duration. Therefore, this author writes this vort on Parshat Breish’t with, hopefully, a fresh perspective (noun: a way of regarding situations, facts, etc, and judging their relative importance) on these past two years.
The very first posuk of Torah in our Parshat Breish’t, you know, the one; “In the Big Inning”, provides proof positive regarding Judaism’s eternal connection to Eretz Yisrael:
“Breish’t bora Keilokim eit HaShemayim V’eit HaAretz” (Sefer Breish’t, Perek 1, posuk 1)
“In the beginning of Hashem’s Creating the heavens and the earth” (Sefer Breish’t, Perek 1, posuk 1, as rendered to English in The Sapirstein Edition The Torah: with Rashi’s Commentary).
The Sapirstein Edition The Torah: with Rashi’s Commentary provides a poignant [Adjective: keen or strong in mental appeal] understanding which Hashem conveys to Am Yisrael and to the nations (Sefer Breish’t, page 2) :
What is the reason that He began with Sefer Breish’t?
Note #2: The question is; “Why did the Torah begin with the account of Creation?” It should have begun with “this month, etc.” which is the first commandment directed toward to the entire Jewish nation, and the rest should have been included at a later point. (Rashi citing Nachalas Yaakov; Simchat Chachamim)
It began thus because He wished to convey the message of the posuk, “The power of His acts He told to His people, in order to give them the estate of the nations (Notes 3, 4 Rashi citing Psalms 111.6, Tanchuma Yashan 2), so that if the nations of world will say to Israel, — ‘You are bandits, for you conquered the lands of the seven nations who inhabited the Land of Canaan,” {Israel] will say to them, ‘The whole earth belongs to the Holy One, Blessed is He, He created it and He gave it to the one He found proper in His eyes (Note 4a Rashi’s wording is a paraphrase.of Yirmiyahu 27.8) By His wish He gave it to them, and by His wish He took it from them and gave it to us.'”
Rashi citing Breish’t Rabbah 1:2 The message of Breish’t is addressed essentially to Am Yisrael to Am Yisrael rather than to the other nations as the posuk which Rashi quotes says, “The power of His acts He told to His people,” the commandments of the Torah include several which are dependent upon the occupancy of the Land of Israel by Am Yisrael. The Jews might react to these with a guilty conscience, feeling that the Land rightfully belongs to others. The Torah began with the history of the world and the development of the nation to prove to Am Yisrael themselves that the Land belongs to whomever Hashem grants it, and that all of its commandments are just. (Rashi refers to Nachalas Yaakov, and Psalms 111.6)
Rabbi David Feinstein, z”l provides commentary on Sefer Breish’t, Perek 1, posuk 1 in his Sefer, “Kol Dodi” (page 19) :
Rashi points out [that] the Chumash is not a history book, but rather a lesson in Torah, the laws and statutes we need to know in order to live according to Hashem’s will and to fulfill His purpose in creating us. Thus, the unstated subject of… the Torah’s first posuk, is the Torah itself. which existed from the outset. Thus we can read our posuk as follows: “In the beginning of the Torah, Hashem created the heavens and the earth.” What does this mean?
The Sages tell us that before Hashem created the world, He first made the Torah, which He used as a blueprint and guideline for designing the world. He created a world to fit the Torah, to provide situations in which the Torah can function.
The points of this vort are that those with a surrenderist ideology and agenda regarding this Meilchemet shel Torah, i.e. secular generals and politicians, mainstream media, factions such as Kaplan Group who continuously harp “we can’t defeat terrorism,” who excessively rely on technology and the words of terrorist leaders over the reports of our border guards, or who demand Israel’s government surrender in order to free the remaining hostages at any or all costs to Israel’s security and Jewish lives, a.k.a. “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory” and the realities of such a step, as previously stated by this author, they totally lack awareness of the Almighty, Creator of all.
The same can be said of the military command and political factions, as well as segments of the governed and mainstream media who support agendized judicial dictatorship calling it “democracy” and who attack the religious Torah students who fight Wars for Torah on high spiritual planes (noun: a level of dignity, character, existence, development, or the like — a high moral plane). That the Real Fact that there is no way that the military could absorb the entirety of young religious men learning Torah totally escapes the mindsets of these factions.
Israel’s current victory-oriented strategies in Gaza and attacks in Iran which demolished much of their nuclear facilities, scientists, military leadership, ballistic missiles and ballistic missile manufacturing facilities exemplify positive changes resulting from the appointments of a new defense minister and foreign minister. The pre-emptive actions against Iran are nothing short of miraculous, B’Yad Hashem.
May our government and military bring about the total and complete, Final and Decisive victory over Hamas, their 7 October so-called “civilians(sic)” collaborators and the entire terror cabal, B’Yad Hashem, and become Totally self-sufficient as to manufacture of military equipment and aircraft, weaponry, munitions — heavy munitions, as well as showing independence of actions responding to any threat, regardless of so-called “super powers.”
May we see, from here on, that border guard personnel at all points of possible danger are listened to and treated with respect and dignity. May we see our Chayalim totally eradicate Hamas, Islamic Jihad, those so-called “civilians(sic)” who collaborated on 7 October, as well as Hezbollah, the Houthies, the Mullahs of Iran and all their terror accomplices while liberating all remaining hostages, B’Yad Hashem and mandated by a government secure in it’s foremost service of, and emunah in HaKadosh Borchu, B’Ezrat Hashem! And may we see the restoration of true unity within Am Yisrael. May these words come to fruition B’Esrat Hashem.
May we, the B’nei Yisrael be zocha that our brethren — the refugee families from Gush Katif e permanently re-settled in Gush Katif, once the IDF, by the Yad Hashem, destructs and eradicates the wild beasts of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, all other terror entities, and if necessary Iran, and that our brethren be made totally whole — be totally restituted for all that was stolen from them, that the thrice expelled families of Amona be restored to their rebuilt homes and the oft-destroyed Yeshiva buildings in Homesh be rebuilt, as well as the buildings of Yishuv Elchanan, all at total government expense. May our Chayalim return from battle unharmed — physically, mentally and spiritually and may all of the remaining hostages brutally taken by the wild beasts of Hamas be liberated and brought home to their families. Baruch Hashem that our dear brother Jonathan Pollard is now in his fifth year at home in Eretz Yisrael and continues in a new chapter in his life. May Esther Yocheved bat Yechiel Avraham have an aliyah in Shemayim and may her spirit and memory continue to lift Jonathan to at least 120 years. May the MIAs be liberated alive and returned to us in ways befitting Al Kiddush Hashem — as with the return in April, 2019, via Russia, of the remains of Zachariah Baumel, the recent recovery of the remains of Tzvi Feldman as well as the recovery of the remains of Oron Shaul as should the remains of the other chayal from the Gaza War of ten years ago. May we have the courage and strength to stand up and physically prevent the possibility of Chas V’Challila any future eviction of Jews from their homes and prevent Chas V’Challila the handing of Jewish land over to anyone, let alone to enemies sworn to Israel’s and Judaism’s destruction and eradication. May we see, in 5785, the REAL Jews from the Ukraine and Russia as well as the US and Canada, the real Jews via matrilineal descent, make Aliyah enmass — via thorough review by Misrad HaPanim. And may we soon and finally see the total end to the Communist Chinese Wuhan Lab corona virus pandemic and all like viruses and variants. May we fulfill Hashem’s blueprint of B’nei Yisrael as a Unique people — an Am Segula, not to be reckoned with as with “the nations” and may we be zocha to see the Moshiach, the Ge’ula Shlaima, as Dov Shurin sings; “Ki Karov Yom Hashem Al’Kol HaGoyim”, the Ultimate Redemption, bimhayrah b’yamainu — speedily, in our time”, — Achshav, Chik Chuk, Miyad, Etmol!!!
Good Shabbos and Chodesh Tov!
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Moshe Burt, an Oleh, is a commentator on news and events in Israel and Founder and Director of
The Sefer Torah Recycling Network. He lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh.
Moshe is available for editing of English language documents, articles, manuscripts and more. Please be in contact with him at olehchadash@yahoo.com for your English language needs.
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