Shalom Friends;<\/p>\n
This week, our Parshat HaShevua, Parshat Shemini vort is being sponsored by David and Tamar Kallus of Ramat Beit Shemesh dedicated for David’s birthday on Daled Iyyar and for the safety of the Chayalim and the liberation of all hostages as well as for the good health and security of kol Am Yisrael. The vort is also dedicated lilui nishmas for the yahrtzeit of my mother, Chana bat Zalman HaKohen who was niftar on 22 Nissan, 5775.<\/p>\n
You can celebrate a Simcha \u2014 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 a Parshat HaShevua.<\/p>\n
Please forward to your relatives and friends and encourage them to sponsor a Parshat HaShevua. And please be in contact with me with any questions, or for further details.<\/p>\n
Best Regards,<\/p>\n
Moshe Burt Subscribe to the Israel and the Sin of Expulsion blog, to ask questions or to sponsor a Parsha Vort at: olehchadash@yahoo.com<\/strong><\/a> Just as Parshat Ki Tisa normally follows on the heals of Parshat Tetzaveh, in which Moshe’s name is omitted, and Megillat Esther, where Hashem’s name is omitted, our Parshat Shemini normally, and this year, follows on the Shabbos following Shv’i Shel Pesach. Parshat Tzav falls on the Shabbos which leads, at its conclusion, immediately into Pesach.<\/p>\n Early in our Parshat Shemini, Hashem adjures (verb — used with object:to charge, bind, or command earnestly and solemnly, often under oath or the threat of a penalty.)<\/a> Aaron: <\/p>\n “Do not drink intoxicating wine, you and your sons with you, when you come to the Ohel Mo’ed [Tent of Meeting], that you not die — this is the eternal decree for your generations.” (Sefer Vayikra, Perek 10, posukim 8 and 9 rendered to English in The Artscroll Stone Edition Chumash)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, in his Sefer, “Unlocking the Torah Text,” Sefer Vayikra notes (page 54) :<\/p>\n A wide spectrum of opinion emerges among Rabbinic sources concerning the nature of the sin and resulting punishment of Nadav and Avihu. At the core of the discussion lies the fundamental mystery: which aspects of Nadav and Avihu’s actions were onerous [adjective: burdensome, oppressive, or troublesome; causing hardship: onerous duties]<\/a>, so unforgivable, that they warranted such immediate and harsh Divine punishment?<\/p>\n [For purposes of this vort, Rabbi Goldin notes] They enter the Mishkan in a drunken state. (Rabbi Goldin citing Midrash Rabbah Vayikra, Shemini 12:5) Support for this position can be derived from an immediately subsequent passage where Hashem commands the Kohanim not to enter the Mishkan while drunk, on pain of death. (Rabbi Goldin citing Sefer Vayikra, Perek 10, posukim 8 – 11; Midrash Rabbah Vayikra, Shemini 12:1)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Aharon Yaakov Greenberg, in his Sefer, “Torah Gems” on Sefer Vayikra notes (page 270) :<\/p>\n The Torah therefore warned them [Aaron and his remaining sons; Elazar and Ithamar] not to drink wine or strong drink, because joy which comes about by artificial means is not valid. Instead, the following verse offers advice on how to make oneself joyful, stating: “that you put a difference between the holy and the unholy”; by studying Torah you will be able to know all the laws, and “there is no joy such as that involved in dispensing with uncertainty.” (Aharon Yaakov Greenberg citing Netziv in Ha-Amek Davar.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Rabbi Zelig Pliskin puts a bit of a different spin on these posukim which could relate to what seems to be the current state of our Milchamah Shel Torah, as of compiling this vort, in his Sefer, “Growth Through Torah” entitling his vort on these posukim: “When You have a Strong Will for Something, the Almighty Leads You on that Path.” This author excerpts from Rabbi Pliskin’s vort (pages 250 – 251) :<\/p>\n The Midrash (Rabbah Vayikra, Shemini 12:1) warns against the harm of alcoholism: “If a person drinks too much wine, he will end up selling all that he owns to keep up his addiction to drinking.”<\/p>\n In a letter to his father, Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler commented that we see from this principle that the Almighty leads a person in the way he wants to go. If this so when a person wants to do something that is improper, all the more so is it true when a person has a strong will to do what is good. (Rabbi Pliskin citing Michtav MeiEliyahu, volume 3, pages 319 – 320)<\/p>\n The greater your desire to do something, the more successful you will be. When you wish to accomplish in spiritual matters, build up a strong desire to accomplish and the Almighty will lead you in that path.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It would seem to this author that the principle of developing a strong desire to accomplish in spiritual matters resulting in Hashem leading one in that path would also apply in combat in the case of a strong, burning desire to defend ones’ people, ones’ nation in a Milchamah Shel Torah B’Yad Hashem. The Chayalim have that desire. It seems highly questionable whether the previous IDF high command echelons have such a strong desire, having been taken in by misconceptions concerning their adversaries.<\/p>\n We seem to be seeing positive changes with appointments of a new defense minister, foreign minister and military chief of staff who seem to be signaling a more zealous, diligent command structure and strategy based on valid understandings of their adversary’s intentions and concern for Israel’s sovereignty and security.<\/p>\n How great, really, are the desires of Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir for true success, ultimate victory and the eradication of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and ALL of their co-conspirators, as well as the recovery of all remaining hostages — both those alive and the remains of the deceased? <\/p>\n The following are excerpts from a report on Chief of Staff Zamir’s first address to the Chayalim:<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe IDF did not fulfill its mission on Oct. 7, [2023]. We will not hide or cover this up,\u201d said Zamir while praising the military\u2019s response: \u201cOut of the depths, our people rose, our army stood, and you fought back with full force.\u201d<\/p>\n He vowed to \u201cstrike a decisive blow\u201d against those who attacked Israel and committed atrocities, pledging, \u201cWe shall not return until they are destroyed, and we will not rest until our brothers are brought back from the tunnels of captivity.\u201d<\/p>\n Zamir honored slain soldiers and their families, stressing that \u201cbehind each name on the IDF memorial wall lies an entire world.<\/p>\n Looking ahead, he urged determination: \u201cThere will be difficult days, but also better ones. A remarkable people, filled with tears and hope, looks to us. Our actions will speak for themselves!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe mission is clear: to lead the IDF to victory. Hamas has not yet been defeated,\u201d Zamir said in a solemn address, emphasizing the gravity of his responsibilities.<\/p>\n He pledged to prioritize the return of all the hostages being held by terrorists in Gaza, saying, \u201cWe must bring our people home, by any means necessary.\u201d He affirmed his commitment to defending Israel and uniting its citizens.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Jewish people are the people of the book, the people of the Torah\u2014but also of action. I call on all parts of Israeli society to participate in the commandment of defending the homeland,\u201d<\/strong> Zamir said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If Lt. General Zamir’s words at his installation as the new IDF Chief of Staff are any indication of intense desire on the part of the government and the IDF high command to achieve these results, we look forward to a great victory B’Yad Hashem, may these words come to fruition B’Esrat Hashem. and, as we recite after Tehillim:<\/p>\n “…May the Omnipresent One have mercy on them [the hostages] and remove them from distress to relief, from darkness to light, from subjugation to redemption, now, speedily, and soon — and let us say: Amen.” (This author citing the Artscroll Weekday Siddur, Shacharit, page 146 – 147)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Not withstanding what was a horrendous \u201cceasefire\u201d and drips and drabs of hostages in exchange for thousands of bloody-handed terrorists, may it be that our Chayalim, regardless of the machinations of malfeasance and nonfeasance by their previous high command to date, emerge totally victorious \u2014 eradicating from the face of the earth Hamas, their terrorist buddies and the so-called \u201cinnocent civilians\u201d of Gaza who joined with Hamas in their murderous deeds, that the Chayalim return home whole \u2014 physically, mentally and spiritually and that the Chayalim Liberate and bring home all remaining hostages. May we see a Final and Decisive victory by our Chayalim, mandated by a government secure in it\u2019s foremost service of and emunah in HaKadosh Borchu, B\u2019Ezrat Hashem! And may we see the restoration of true unity within Am Yisrael.<\/p>\n May we, the B\u2019nei Yisrael be zocha that our brethren \u2014 the refugee families from Gush Katif be 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 \u2014 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 \u2014 as with the return in April, 2019, via Russia, of the remains of Zachariah Baumel,<\/a> as should the remains of the two chayalim 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\u2019Challila any future eviction of Jews from their homes and prevent Chas V\u2019Challila the handing of Jewish land over to anyone, let alone to enemies sworn to Israel\u2019s and Judaism\u2019s 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\u2019s blueprint of B\u2019nei Yisrael as a Unique people \u2014 an Am Segula, not to be reckoned with as with \u201cthe nations\u201d and may we be zocha to see the Moshiach, the Ge\u2019ula Shlaima, as Dov Shurin sings; \u201cKi Karov Yom Hashem Al\u2019Kol HaGoyim\u201d, the Ultimate Redemption, bimhayrah b\u2019yamainu \u2014 speedily, in our time\u201d, \u2014 Achshav, Chik Chuk, Miyad, Etmol!!!
\nolehchadash@yahoo.com<\/strong><\/a>
\nskype: mark.burt3<\/p>\n
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\nMoshe Burt, an Oleh, is a commentator on news and events in Israel and Founder and Director of The Sefer Torah Recycling Network.<\/strong><\/a> He lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh.<\/p>\n