Author: moshe

Parshat Vayakhel 5771: Shabbos, the Mishkan and Unity

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by Moshe Burt

Our Parsha Vayakhel is dedicated to teaching B’nai Yisrael about Shabbos which has always, until recent times, been the unifying, defining factor of Judaism. It alludes to all else — Yishuv HaAretz, Kiddushin, etc. It symbolizes the Jew’s faith in Hashem. And the melachot involved in the construction of the Mishkan were meant to define the paradigms of melachot prohibited on Shabbos.

The parsha begins by stating that “Moshe assembled the entire congregation of B’nai Yisrael…” (Perek 35, Posuk 1) Torah’s loshen (language) “Adat B’nai Yisrael”, in the context of learning the laws of Shabbos as related to the construction of the Mishkan, seems to indicate a unity — the Assembly of the B’nai Yisrael.as if one single entity. read more

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Purim Kattan: Halachic Prerogative vs Today’s Reality in Israel

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by, Moshe Burt

I’ll start by departing from norm and writing this in the first-person and by asking forgiveness in advance for the absolute bleakness of this piece. But if you don’t forgive me, well — that’s okay too! But I’m gonna say what needs to be said regardless of forgiveness, and regardless of who holds of me where because I see the below as true and accurate portrayal, on the whole, of the state of Am Yisrael today. What’s more, I can almost see R’ Meir Kahane writing precisely this. read more

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Parsha Ki Tisa 5771 — The First-Borns, The Kehunah and Bechirah

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by Moshe Burt

For many years, this author has spoken or written about a posuk in Parsha Ki Tisa which alludes to an event which is recorded in Torah 40 years later, in a subsequent Parsha.

The posuk being referred to (Sh’mos, Perek 30, posuk 30) says that while Moshe Rabbeinu was on Har Sinai being given Torah, Hashem said;

“You shall anoint Aaron and his sons and sanctify them to minister (to serve) Me.”

This seemingly obscure posuk, which pops up 8 times in various different forms in Parsha Tetzaveh and again in our Parsha, raises a few challenging questions which cut to the chase of what we continue to face today. One question is; what about that Pinchas Ben Elazar? Why was he not anointed as a Kohen with his brothers? The other question is: What about the first-born and the Priesthood? read more

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Parshat Tetzaveh 5771 — The Bigdei Kehunah, The Urim U’Tumim and Common Sense

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by Moshe Burt

In our Parsha Tetzaveh, the laws regarding the anointment, the vestments and the Avodah (service) of the Kohanim are enunciated for the Jewish people.

R’ Shimshon Rafael Hirsch, z’l offers this commentary on the Kehunah and the Bigdei Kehunah (the vestments of the Kohanim) in the new Hirsch Chumash (published by Feldheim in 2005 and translated to English by Daniel Haberman), pages 662-663 in Sefer Sh’mot:

The priestly garments must be supplied and owned by the nation. From this fact alone we draw the important conclusion that only when a Kohen dressed in these garments can be considered a Kohen. Only… [in this attire] does he appear as the nation’s servant in the Sanctuary of the Torah. Only thus does his service become the nation’s service in the Sanctuary… Only thus does… his service attain the character of a Mitzvah given to the nation by Hashem in His Torah…. read more

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Parshat Terumah 5771: The Mishkan, Terumah and the “Crown of a Good Name” — Revisited and Revised

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by Moshe Burt


Back in Philadelphia, in the “old country”, R’ Moshe Ungar would speak about the Mizbeiyach in terms of both the Beit HaMikdash and in terms of the personal Mizbeiyach which burns eternally in our hearts. And there is the well-known wish to a Chosson and Kallah that the fire of the personal Mizbeiyach burn eternally.

In our Parsha, we begin learning about the construction and the contents of the Mishkan (Tabernacle).

The Shem Mishmuel [Parsha Terumah, pg. 169-172) cites R’ Shimon who said; read more

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Parshat Mishpatim 5771: In Search of Jewish Standards — Honesty, Principle and Morality

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by Moshe Burt

Nearing the conclusion of Parshat Yithro, Torah records the high moment to date in world history; The Asseret HaDivrot (The 10 Statements) were given on the 6th day of the month of Sivan. After Hashem presents Moshe and the B’nai Yisrael with The Asseret HaDivrot, he instructs Moshe to fashion the construction of an earthen altar — a Mizbeiyach on which to bring the various offerings to Hashem (Sefer Sh’mot, Perek 20, posuk 21).

R’ Shimshon Rafael Hirsch, z’l in the new Hirsch Chumash (published by Feldheim in 2005 and translated to English by Daniel Haberman), provides commentary on posuk 21 (New Hirsch Chumash, Sefer Sh’mot, Parsha Yithro, Perek 20, posuk 21, page 359): read more

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Parshat Yithro 5771: What Fueled Yithro’s Longing to Join B’nai Yisrael?

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by Moshe Burt

We learn that when Yithro had heard all that Hashem had done for B’nai Yisrael, he left Midian with Tzippora and Moshe’s two sons and went to join with the Jews.

We are not absolutely certain as to whether any one specific event Yithro heard boosted him to circumcize himself and to go out to join the B’nai Yisrael, and if so, which exact event it was, or whether it was the sum total of all he had heard which convinced him to become a Jew.

In the sefer Ner Uziel: Perspectives on the Parsha, Rabbi Uziel Milevsky z’l writes on our Parsha Yithro (p. 380-383) indicating that were Yithro to have come to join the Jews after Yetziat Mitziyim or after the cri’at Yam Suf, it would have been unlikely that he could have joined with the Jews due their concern as to what his motivations might be; i.e. whether he was anxious to be on a winning team, on the right side. It would seem to this author that this is not unlike many athletes who, when reaching free agency status, seek the best deal, to earn more than their peers, to join onto the team which has gone all-the-way. read more

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Parshat Beshalach 5771: Moshe’s Paradigm of Inspiration and Empathy: Applied Today?

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by Moshe Burt

Near the end of our Parsha, we read:

“And the hands of Moshe were heavy and they took a rock and placed it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Chur supported his hands, one on either side, and his hands remained an expression of trust until sunset.” (Sefer Sh’mos, Perek 17, posuk 12)

Rabbi Pliskin in Growth Through Torah cites a Rashi which states;

“…Moshe did not sit on a comfortable pillow, but a rock. There was a battle going on with Amalek and Moshe wanted to feel the suffering of the people. This, said Rabbi Yeruchem Levovitz, is a lesson in feeling for another person’s suffering. Not only should we mentally feel their pain, but it is proper to do some action in order to feel some of the discomfort yourself when someone else experiences pain. This way [through empathy] you actually feel his pain.” (Growth Through Torah, Rabbi Zelig Pliskin, page 177, citing from Daas Torah, page 152) read more

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Parshat Bo 5771: Tangible Darkness, Supernal Light, and Its Message to Jews, to the Nations

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by Moshe Burt

Parshat Bo is the one which, for me, annually relates to that crazy tune which played back “in the Old Country” a few decades ago, “Does Your Korbon Pesach Lose It’s Flavor Tied to the Bedpost Overnight?” (Actually, the real title to the song was “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It’s Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?”)

Over the years, this author has opened with this nutty parody because it cuts right to the chase, to the very heart of our Parsha. That is the Mitzvot of taking the Korbon Pesach, applying the da’am on Jewish doorposts, the going up from Mitzrayim (Egypt) to “…a land flowing with milk and honey …” and the first mitzvah commanded of the National entity (B’nai Yisrael), the Kiddush HaChodesh — the sanctification of the New Moon and the relevance today of these mitzvot which relate to emunah (belief in) and yirat (fear of) Hashem. read more

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Parshat Va’era 5771: The Roots of Disconnection From Jewish Power Sources — Then and Now

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by Moshe Burt

At the conclusion of Parsha Shemos, Moshe and Aaron are confronted, upon exiting Pharoah’s Palace, by the B’nai Yisrael who are in deeper despair than before because of the increased workload, i.e. finding their own straw while the quotas remain the same, which resulted from Pharoah’s fury at Moshe’s first effort to secure their freedom and exit from Mitzrayim.

Our Parsha begins with the dialogue which Moshe Rebbeinu has with Hashem prior to again speaking to the B’nai Yisrael. And so, after Hashem rebukes Moshe for his complaint and reassures him that redemption is at hand, Moshe again addresses the B’nai Yisrael as to his meeting with Pharoah; read more

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