Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Hello, my friends, and welcome back for this week's episode of the Practical Parsha podcast. This is Rabbi Shlomo Cohen, and I hope you are well. Before we begin this week's episode, I have to say mazel tov.
[00:00:13] So if you listen to the rebroadcast of last year's episode, you know exactly what I'm talking about. But just in case you didn't, I'm, um, wishing mazel tov, because, thank God, the Practical Parsha podcast is two years old.
[00:00:31] Two years ago, Parshas Baha Losha.
[00:00:35] I started this podcast, and I'm so happy that I did.
[00:00:41] It's been something which has pushed me every week to, you know, commit to you, to give you a share on the Parasha, to give a podcast on the Parasha, something clear, something enjoyable, and I hope you have grown from listening to this podcast. I have definitely grown giving this podcast.
[00:01:03] Um, and I wanted to thank you, thank you all the listeners, all the friends, all the supporters who really are pushing me to keep doing what I'm doing.
[00:01:16] You know, every time someone listens, someone sends me an email, someone reaches out to me, someone tells me that they listen to this podcast. It pushes me to keep doing what I'm doing.
[00:01:28] So thank you.
[00:01:30] And really, somebody special that really deserves a special thank you is my wife, Penina. She should be gabenched, because week after week she pushes me to do this podcast.
[00:01:46] You know, as many as all of you know, Thursday night is the busiest night of the week in a Jewish home because Shabbos is coming.
[00:01:57] And a lot of times, just due to work and life, I'm not able to sit down to do this podcast till Thursday night.
[00:02:07] But my wife, week after week, pushes me out the door to make sure I do it. She wants, she supported, she supports me 100% in this. And really, my success is her success.
[00:02:21] And God willing, we should continue together for many, many years.
[00:02:26] And before we begin, as always, if you have any questions, comments, or would like to wish a happy birthday to the Practical Parsha Podcast, share your thoughts, how you've enjoyed this podcast, what it means to you, please send me an email. Rabbi Shlomo kon k o h nmail.com I'd love to hear from you, and it just will keep me going even more.
[00:02:52] This week's Parsha is Parsha's Ba' Aloscha. And just to give a quick overview of the Parsha, the Parsha speaks about the special commandment that Hashem spoke to Moshe Rabbeinu to tell Aaron Hakoin that he would have the job of lighting the menorah in the Mishkan, in the tabernacle and in the temple, the Beis Hamikdash.
[00:03:11] The Parasha continues with the consecration of the Leviim, that they are consecrated now as the Mishkan, the tabernacle is being inaugurated. That they would do the service in the Mishkan. The Parsha tells us about the Pesachsheni, the mitzvah, that even though there were Jewish people who were tame or impure, when the Jews left Mitzrayim, due to no fault of their own, they asked Moshe Rabbeinu for a chance, a second chance, to do the mitzvah of the Karbon Pesach, which they couldn't do while they were in a state of impurity. And Hashem acquiesced to their request and gave them Pesach Sheini, where they're able to do the mitzvah. Uh, now they have a second chance of doing it when they're Tahar, when they're pure. Now the Parsha tells us about the divine signs of the Jewish people's travels. That when the Anane Akavu, the clouds of glory went up, it was time to travel. And when the clouds rested, the Jewish people knew when they would have to rest. The Parsha continues with the chatsois Reis, the trumpets that Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu to make, as well as the order of the camp.
[00:04:20] And the Parsha continues with the Misoinanim, the complainers that there were groups, uh, of people in the Jewish nation that were complaining they were dissatisfied with the Mun, that they would get the heavenly food that they would receive every day from heaven and complain to Moshe Rabbeinu for meat. And Hashem responds by sending a batch of quail to the Jewish nation for them to eat.
[00:04:47] Finally, the Parsha finishes off with the story of Miriam. Miriam breaks out with Tsaras with leprosy because of a slight dishonor. She spoke Lashon Hara, a woman on her level. She spoke slightly Lashon Hara against her brother Moshe Rabbeinu, and was stricken with Tzaras and had to be quarantined. And the Jewish nation wait for her before they keep moving forward.
[00:05:11] The first idea I want to share with you today takes us to the divine signs that. That the Jewish people had when they knew when to travel, when they knew when to stop, right? This was the Anane Hakavu, the clouds of glory. And aside from obviously telling the Jewish people when they would encamp and when they would just journey, the clouds of glory illuminated for them at night and also protected them miraculously. The posseq reads in Perek tes posse Chesky, chapter 9, verse 18, Alpi Hashem Yuso b' nai yisrael vaal PI hashem yahanu kol yemeashir yishkein ha' anan alamishkon yachanu. According to the word of Hashem, would the children of Israel journey? And according to the word of Hashem, would they encamp? All the days that the cloud would rest upon the tabernacle, they would encamp.
[00:06:07] So there's a very interesting idea that we see from this pasuk.
[00:06:12] The Talmud tells us in Shabbos that we know the Mishkan, the tabernacle was the, uh, prototype for the laws of Shabbos.
[00:06:24] That means the 39 forbidden malachos, the 39, um, activities, I guess the general areas of Halachah that we can't do on Shabbos, things that we that were prohibited from doing on Shabbos, the 39 malachos, the 39 areas of work, are all sourced to the Mishkan, meaning from the things that they did in the Mishkan. So we learn out from it what you can't do on Shabbos.
[00:06:50] Now, the Talmud tells us that when it comes to building and destroying on Shabbos, there's different forms of, you know, obviously you can't build on Shabbos and you can't destroy on Shabbos. And that. What does that mean exactly? So the Talmud tells us, and in Halacha, it's expounded upon of what is considered building, what is considered destruction. But in the Gemara and Shabbos, it says that on Shabbos, the main prohibition of breaking something down is only when you're going to be rebuilding it again in the same spot. Obviously, there's many halachos related to it. This is not halacha la maisa, not practical. But in the Gemara, when we're sourcing the different laws, we start off with, uh, the main halacha, let's say sometimes it's a biblical, uh, commandment, and sometimes there's rabbinic, uh, restrictions as well. But when it comes to the main prohibition of breaking something down on Shabbos, of destruction, it's only when you're gonna break it down to rebuild it in the same spot.
[00:07:50] So the Talmud asks a question, says if we know everything was learned from the Tabernacle, the whole concept that building and destruction and all the laws of Shabbos are learned from the Mishkan, from the Tabernacle. So we know that the Mishkan, when it was taken down, it was not taken down to be built in the same spot. So how could we learn out from the Mishkan that whenever you're taking something down, the main prohibition of that on Shabbos is only when you're going to build it in the same spot? We see from the Tabernacle, from the Mishkan, that it's not like that, that the Mishkan was taken down to be built in a different spot. But the Talmud tells us that if a person takes something down to build it in the same spot, that is one of the main prohibitions of destruction on Shabbos. So what's going on?
[00:08:44] And the Gemara answers that since the B' Nai Yisrael, the Jewish people, they traveled and, and they encamped according to Hashem.
[00:08:54] So it's considered that they were in the same place. It's considered that they never really moved. They were always in the same spot, right? We said in the posse Alpi, uh Hashem Yachanuv uh Alpi Hashem, HM Yisro, that they traveled on the word of Hashem and they encamped in the word of Hashem. Everything was according to Hashem. And just to help us understand this answer and really take out a practical lesson from it, Rab Chaim Shmuelovitz explains this concept with an example that if a woman is traveling from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and she has an infant with her, right?
[00:09:30] Can you say that the infant has gone from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem?
[00:09:36] Maybe you could say that, but really you can't. Because as long as the infant is with the mother, it makes no difference where the child is, because the infant's with the mother, he's still in the same place with the mother. And as long as that child is with its mother, there's no difference what city he's in. So the similarly can be said with the Jews in the desert, since they did everything according to Hashem, they traveled according to the word Hashem, they encamped according to the word of Hashem, they were totally with him.
[00:10:12] They were. Even though they went from place to place, they were still with Hashem. So it's like they were in the same spot. It's like similar to the case of the child, that the child travels all over the place, but it's not considered as if the child's anywhere else to the child, there's no difference where they are. They're still in the same place with the mother. So when the Jewish people were traveling in the desert, although they took down the Mishkan, they took down the Tabernacle and rebuilt it in a new place. But they only did that according to the will of God. So it comes out that they were. Since they followed the commandment of taking it down and camping in another place, according to Hashem, according to the Almighty, it's as if they're in the same spot. It made no difference because they were with Hashem. Um, they were together with him the whole time. So it didn't really make a difference where they were. So the halacha that we learn out for Shabbos can still be applied. And I think this is a very powerful lesson that we can learn out from this idea, and I think it's something we could try to internalize.
[00:11:17] Sometimes we have different stages in our lives and different places we find ourselves in.
[00:11:22] And sometimes they're challenging stages or, uh, places.
[00:11:27] But at the same time, we have the ability to determine where we are whenever we want to be.
[00:11:36] And that means we have the ability in our mind to cognitively make a decision that we are going with Hashem.
[00:11:47] Meaning things in life aren't coincidence.
[00:11:51] We have to do our part. But there's no coincidence. Everything is divinely orchestrated. And if we live our life that we're just. We're going, we're journeying with Hashem, we're encamping with Hashem, we're trying to follow the signs of doing the right thing, of doing the will of Hashem. Um, so then no matter where we are, we're in the same place. We're with Hashem. And I feel like this sometimes can be very helpful in a situation that's a challenging situation.
[00:12:20] You know, obviously there are times we have to try to get ourselves out of a situation, but we can't make that happen for sure. Sometimes we could try, but we can't guarantee the results of things. But wherever we find ourselves, we should always make the effort to think that this is part of the plan, this is part of the divine mission, and we are part of it. So when we have that attitude, so it doesn't make a difference. Wherever we are, we're able to overcome the challenges. There's a fellow, his name is, um, Mordechai Rubashkin.
[00:12:56] And you might have heard of him, that there was about. Probably about, um, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, he was charged and put in jail on some obscure law.
[00:13:09] And really the government was out to get him. And there were many people that were involved in his case, high ranking government officials to try to lobby to get his sentence commuted on some archaic law that they gave him a sentencing which was way overboard. And finally, at a certain point a bunch of years ago, President Trump commuted his sentence. And he's an amazing person in his own right, how he, you know, just throughout his ordeal of going through this, this experience in prison, he kept his faith in Hashem. It didn't waver one bit. And when he would talk about prison, he, in his book that he wrote, he wrote a book about his experiences and, you know, how he grew from it. He said, you know, he didn't call, say that he was in prison. He said he's in a place called prison.
[00:13:58] That even though he was in a place, he was in a prison in his own mind, he wasn't imprisoned because he was in a place called prison, because he decided where he's going to be. He decided that he was going to put his faith in Hashem, and he decided to. That he's walking with Hashem and following the journey. And I think this is a very powerful lesson for us to just, to go with the flow. Meaning, obviously, we have to do our part, like I mentioned before, and sometimes we need to change our situations and sometimes we have to get out of the situations that we're in.
[00:14:32] But in the moment, in the time, in the challenge, we realize that there's no accidents and realize that this is part of being with Hashem, to just, we're going with the journey, we're following the signs. To be with G D, to be with Hashem. Um, and God willing, when we have that attitude, it helps us overcome the challenges and takes us out of the current reality where we are, helps us put us in this other place of being with Hashem, to be. No matter where we are, we could still be with Hashem. Maybe even a person could be even in the worst situation in the world, like this fellow Rabbi Rubashkin in prison.
[00:15:08] But he decided to not be in prison because he made that decision in his mind to be with Hashem. Um, the second idea I wanted to share with you today takes us to the story in the parsha about the misogynym. Um, the complainers, the Jewish people complain to Moshe Rabbeinu about not having meat.
[00:15:27] And Moshe Rabbeinu doesn't answer them in the usual way that he deals with the Jewish people, but rather he's very sharp and seems frustrated. Even the wording in the parsha is very interesting. It says in the parsha says, loy uchala noi levadi lose kola am haze ki kaveid mimeni veim kocha at oisali hargeni na harog imotza cheyn beynecha berosi. Moshe Rabbeinu says to the Jewish people, I alone cannot carry this entire nation, for it is too heavy for me. And if this is how you deal with me, then kill me now if I have found favor in your eyes. And let me not see my evil.
[00:16:14] So the question here is, is that we know Moshe Rabbeinu throughout, uh, the Torah, the story of the Jewish people. In the Torah, he's always a defender of the Jewish nation. He's always standing up for the Jewish people, right? The most famous example is the ched hagel is the sin of the golden calf that the Jewish people, they worship an idol, a golden calf.
[00:16:45] This is like almost the biggest affront they can do to God.
[00:16:49] And what does Moshe Rabbeinu do? Hashem tells him, you know, I'll start a new nation. You'll be the father of the nation. What does Moshe Rabbeinu do? He says, if you're going to get rid of them, get rid of me.
[00:17:00] And he stands up for the Jewish nation.
[00:17:03] But why over here, when it comes to the complainers, when it comes to this situation of meat, where they are coming to Moshe Rabbeinu for meat, they want meat. They don't like the man. They're dissatisfied with the mun. Moshe Rabbeenu seems to be taking a very harsh stance against the Jewish people.
[00:17:22] He's very frustrated with them. What's the difference in his reaction? Why in other places is he standing up for the Jewish nation, but over here, he's very frustrated and upset with the Jewish nation, with the Jewish people.
[00:17:37] And the answer to this, says Rabbi Tversky, lies in Rashi.
[00:17:43] Rashi points out for us that when the Torah tells us that the Jewish people were weeping about this not having meat, Rashi tells us that Moshe Rabbeinu heard that, uh, the reason why the people were weeping was that not necessarily because of the meat that they didn't have was rather because they couldn't marry who they wanted to marry. The Torah forbade to them now marrying close relatives. And the way that they expressed their frustration to Moshe Rabbeinu was through the fact that they weren't able to have meat.
[00:18:27] So really, it came out.
[00:18:29] What really was making them upset, what really was making them complain, didn't have to do with the man or the meat, but rather had to do with these forbidden relationships that they weren't able to have anymore.
[00:18:44] And that's what frustrated Moshe Rabbeinu. That's what got him upset at the Jewish Nation, says Robert Rytorski. Because a leader, as long as someone could come forward to him with their problem, with their issue, so they can deal with the issue.
[00:19:02] But if people either don't know what's really bothering them, or they're covering it up for different reasons, so then you can't deal with them, you can't solve the problem.
[00:19:13] And that's why Moshe Rabbeinu was frustrated with the Jewish people. Because even if he would give them meat, it wouldn't solve the problem, because that's not what they really wanted. They wanted these forbidden relationships, and they couldn't have it. So even Moshe Rabbeinu would give them the meat, they would still complain. And that's why he was upset. So there's two thoughts which I want to bring out from this question and answer number one is many times when we're upset, we lash out at people, or we treat people in a way we shouldn't treat.
[00:19:51] We're disgruntled, we had a bad day, we're grumpy.
[00:19:56] What's the real reason that's causing our discontent? You know, sometimes it's very easy for us to place the blame on our job, on our family, on our wife, on everything under the sun.
[00:20:11] But really, deep down, what's causing the discontent is something within ourselves.
[00:20:19] And the way that we project that discontentment is by taking it out on other people.
[00:20:29] I think this is something probably all can relate to.
[00:20:32] And I think, uh, the message here is that it's easy always to put it on someone else to blame.
[00:20:40] But if we really want to get to the bottom of things, we have to look inward.
[00:20:46] Because otherwise we'll switch jobs, we'll switch this, we'll do something else. And it's not going to solve the problem.
[00:20:55] Because if we don't fix the thing that needs to be fixed, it's still going to be there. A lot of times, I feel like in life, we always see the same problems repeating themselves. We have this idea in our mind that if I just get to the next stage, things will be better. If I get, you know, once I get married, it'll be better, uh, once I have kids, once I have this, you know, once I move into a new house, everything will be solved. Once I have a new job, it'll all be good.
[00:21:22] It's not like that. Sure, there are situations you need to try to get yourself out of, but in life, usually the same problems repeat themselves. And what that means is that, is that the problems are with us.
[00:21:34] That not necessarily problems, but my point is that the things we need to work on are within us, and we need to look inside of us to see what's causing us to not be content with ourselves.
[00:21:46] And just really this segues into the next thought I want to share regarding this point that we know if someone is lacking in a vitamin and a mineral, it's very easy to find out what they're lacking. They take a blood test and they could see what they're missing. And then the doctor could prescribe some type of vitamin or they could take something, and it'll help get everything in the proper level and the proper amount.
[00:22:10] But Rabbi Twersky explains, he says there's something also called spiritual deficiency syndrome, that sometimes we're. And really probably many times people where we feel we're not living up to our expectations spiritually.
[00:22:27] And some people are not connected spiritually.
[00:22:30] And there's something under the surface which is causing them to be, you know, subtly unhappy, a little bit discontent. You know, they're not depressed, but there's something in there that's not just. It's not hitting the spot. And no matter what they do, it's not getting to that sense of satisfaction, fulfillment in life.
[00:22:55] And I think, unfortunately, today you see a lot of Jewish youth that are searching for things. They're, uh, very involved in causes and all these different types of, um, causes.
[00:23:07] But the point is that we have to know that every Jew has an neshama.
[00:23:12] And there is a spiritual deficiency sometimes that we all have.
[00:23:18] And nothing can fill that deficiency except for Torah and mitzvos.
[00:23:24] And I think this is something we have to recognize. Tying back into this week's parsha to also recognize the true source of our discontent. A lot of times, and I think one thing is tied to the other.
[00:23:36] Sometimes our personal, you know, unhappiness is tied to where we are spiritually. This spiritual vacuum, this hole that we have, and they go together.
[00:23:48] And God willing, when we're hitting our stride and we're doing what we're supposed to be doing, we're gonna have this tremendous sense of satisfaction, of fulfillment, of empowerment to keep going higher and higher.
[00:24:02] So with that, I'm going to finish for today's podcast. I hope you all enjoyed. If you have any questions, comments, or just would like to reach out to say hello. Feel free to send me an email at Rabbi Shlomakon Kohn at gmail com. Have a great day.
