Tag Archive for Parshat Chukat

Hitting the Rock

August 1, 2013 The Gift of Speech No comments
 

The children of Israel screamed out, ‘We want water! We want water!’ Where thereafter, Moshe took the stick and hit the rock resulting in water streaming out. ‘Why did you hit the rock?’ G-d asked disappointingly. The Sages were unclear what exactly was G-d’s commandment to Moshe, the leader of the Jewish people. Was Moshe commanded to speak to the rock whereby instead he hit it? Or the fact that G d instructed Moshe to take his stick, presumably, indicates He may have wanted him to hit it. This is the question in which Rav Henoch Leibowitz z’l of Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim presents. Was the commandment to ‘speak’ or ‘hit’ the rock?

  We know Moshe was punished for this incident and was prohibited to enter the land of Israel – something that he desired greatly. Despite praying and pleading with G-d before he died, his quest to pilgrimage with the rest of the Jewish people to Israel was denied. The answer to this question is both. Moshe was commanded to speak to the Israelites first, in front of the rock, and to announce G-d’s great miracle in a thunderous way. It will take place through His trusted servant who will perform the task by hitting it. However, Moshe and Aharon merely said, ‘Listen up; we will now draw water from the rock by hitting it’. Moshe and Aharon had to be clearer and emphasize the wondrous hand of G-d, that this was a momentous moment. Therefore because they weren’t clear, G-d rebuked them, stating ‘you did not believe in me.’ But isn’t it clear and pretty obvious that G-d commanded Moshe. The Israelites knew Moshe was His faithful servant and every breath, every step , which was taken, was done with G-d’s signature. I mean -really – it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out G-d is pushing the controls.
Perhaps the Torah is trying to teach us an important lesson about ourselves. Man has a much higher impression and a stronger feeling when the information he receives is straightforward and clear (stating G-D DID IT!). However, if the message is trickled down by hints, it doesn’t have the same effect; it’s not impactful. Therefore, when G-d said ‘you are not believers in enhancing my ambiance in the eyes of the children of Israel’. By Moshe and Aharon not elaborating their action, they caused a decreased spiritual force in the world. The result of the ‘hint’ weakened the impression that it was G-d who made the water come out from the rock. G-d gave us the gift of speech; something animals lack, and it’s our obligation to express ourselves properly. We all heard of the expression ‘words penetrate the heart’. The sages say there is no comparison between hearing, which has a stronger effect than seeing. G-d set the stage for Moshe to infuse his awareness upon the Israelites; he had to articulate with his speech what G-d planned to do. Think of it as an announcer describing an exciting baseball game. The announcer has to be gifted in describing the game and keeping the fans, tuned in and interested. I have an aunt living in Israel who would always talk very positively about the land and the Jewish people. Every time we come across a positive experience, she would comment, ‘You see, you don’t need to go to America. You have America here.’ She would verbally describe every experience and make it seem adventurously fun. My aunt has a gifted knack to use her words to the fullest ….. Unfortunately, Moshe missed that precious opportunity. We have to learn from this incident that G-d bestowed upon man the precious gift of speech and it’s our responsibility to utilize it to the best of our ability.

Honoring Parents

August 1, 2013 Kibud Av/ Honoring Parents No comments

 

Two kids are talking to each other. One says, “I’m really worried. My dad works twelve hours a day to give me a nice home and good food. My mom spends the whole day cleaning and cooking for me. I’m worried sick!”

 The other kid says, “What have you got to worry about?  Sounds to me like you’ve got it made!”
Responds the first kid, “What if they try to escape?”
Any guy will confess (I actually took a survey) that the best years of his life when he was “still living at home”. No responsibility, being catered to and not having to worry about making a living is the way to go!! After all, it’s your own nest.
It seems like we really are dependent on our parents when we’re young. There is an old saying “one parent can take care of 10 kids however 10 kids can not take care of one parent.”
It’s very hard to fulfill the commandment of honoring one’s parents, especially when they’re old and cranky. Especially when one has the pressure of raising young children, a demanding wife and bills mounting endlessly. Many of us take pride in honoring parents, however, on occasion our patience is tested.
 Once, a son took his frustrations to an extreme.
 After his mother’s passing, the son moved the father in with him. He BaruchHashem had a growing family. The father had some medical issues, but the son with the right care took care of it. But juggling both family, work and an elderly father, who seemed like was blessed with longevity, became too challenging over the years. The loyal son became very impatient. Medical insurance was not covering all of the old man’s expenses. No matter how prosperous and modern thinking this country can be, it seems like it’s not prepared for the elderly. The son found himself behind the eight ball, in debt.
 Pressure makes a person think irrationally. He decided to take some time off. As a child, the father would always take him camping. The stressed out son decided to take his father for a ride to the mountains. Rest and relaxation is therapeutic sometimes. The road was extremely and dangerously narrow and he had to drive carefully. As he was reaching his destination, an impulsive, horrifying idea surfaced.  The son thought, “here is my opportunity” as they were camped at the edge of the mountain. Still he decided to see his father’s face one last time before he commits his act of desperation. He was taken aback seeing his father with a smile. Knowing that his father was a very smart man, he curiously asked, “Pop, why are you smiling?” The father answered back, “I did the same thing to my father”.
 The son felt a cold chill as he realized that how one treats one’s parent is how he will be treated. Quickly, he took he father out of danger.
The reward:
“You will have longevity” means your children will follow in your ways. They will be an extension of you. This is what every parent wants, for their offspring to be “a chip of the old block” . One long life translates into two generations of you.
In this week’s Parsha, Chukat, we learn a valuable lesson of how to perform the mitzvot- commandments for chukim, or, laws that have no rhyme or reason. We might think we know what the purpose of a certain commandment is, however, we cannot fully comprehend the magnitude of the action of the mitzvah; it’s not for us to understand, we just have to do it. The most famous example of a chok is the red cow. One has to approach a chok with the same enthusiasm as he does with the mitzvot that make logical sense, like mishpatim-logical laws.
However, we often think that we have a good understanding of certain basic logical mitzvot. This dangerously leads us to decisions of when and to what degree must we observe certain mitzvot in certain situations.
All commandments originate directly from Heaven, and man’s intellect cannot fathom the reasoning behind them. Yet, because he still tries to interpret the Torah through logic, the Torah is sometimes undermined. For example, if a rational reason for a mitzvah no longer applies, one will argue that it makes the commandment inapplicable.
 “Honor your father and your mother” is a classic example. It may come as a surprise, but truthfully “honor your father and your mother” in some cases doesn’t make sense.
 We learn that if one strikes his father or mother, he receives the death penalty. This law even applies to children who are estranged to their parents. Even though the parent was not active in raising the child, and in fact was detrimental to the progression of him/her, nevertheless, the child would still be liable with the strict punishment of death…… Why?!
It would make sense for such a harsh punishment to be administered if the parent raised the child, if the parent gave their heart and soul (which they are supposed to do), then the severe punishment is appropriate.
Logically, one might think an irresponsible parent would be an exception to the harsh punishment. Furthermore, Rabbi Oelbaum who quoted the Chayei Adam, strengthens the emotional aspect of the commandment saying “ONE DOESN’T FULFILL THE MITZVAH OF HONORING THEIR PARENT BY JUST CATERING TO THEIR  WISHES (LIKE BRINGING THEM TEA OR TAKING THEM TO DOCTORS. In order to fulfill the requirement, ONE HAS TO FIND IN THEM SOMETHING TO RESPECT, A POSITIVE TRAIT PERHAPS. THAT’S RIGHT, SOMETHING TO RESPECT WHICH DEFINES WHO THEY ARE…….THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL THE CHILDREN FULFILL THE COMMANDMENT OF  KABED ET AVICHA VEH ET IMECHA. In some cases, finding something good about a person is a difficult task. Nevertheless, that’s the requirement. KABED-respect- means to seek something that deserves just that.
However, fulfilling the commandment is applicable for ANY PARENT, whether deadbeat or not!! Seemingly, the commandment is wishy washy, there is seemingly no logic to the ruling!!!
G-d therefore gave us certain commandments (the red cow) which all would agree lack rational explanation. From these we may derive that the entire Torah must be treated with Divine status, even if we don’t understand the raionale.
There is a unique severity to the punishment of chok. We actually see this from last week’s parsha, Korach. Korach, who sought honor, complained “we all were at Mount Sinai, why is Aharon, your brother, the only High Priest. Let there be a monthly rotation”. This complaint was against G-d’s decree. When G-d created the sun and the moon, they were both the same size. The moon complained “how can two kings wear the same crown”. G-d punished the moon for complaining by making it smaller. The Talmud tells us a story about an Arab who once approached a Jewish sage and asked him to come with him, “I have to show you something” the Arab said. He then showed him a place in the dessert, a spot in the ground where smoke was coming out. Every 30 days one can here voices coming out proclaiming “Moshe and his Torah is the truth and we, Korach’s assembly, were wrong”. Interstingly, every 30 days, correlating with Korach’s complaint, the moon, which decreases in size, is at its smallest.Where would we be without our parents? They raised us and made us who we are. We were insensitive. We kept them up late by forgetting to call; they were worried for us. They grew a lot of gray hair worrying for their kids. BUT DON’T YOU HATE IT WHEN THEY MAKE YOU FEEL GUILTY!!One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out of her brunette head. She looked at her mother and asked, “why are some of your hairs white, Mom?”
Her mother replied, “Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white”. The little girl thought about this for a while and then said, “Mommy, how come ALL of Grandma’s hairs are white?”
One can arrive at many logical conclusions as to why we perform certain mitzvot. However, at the end of the day, one has to believe and perform the mitzvot wholeheartedly,  regardless if it makes sense to him or not. This is a most difficult thing to do. Nevertheless, we have to remind ourselves that Judaism is a belief and belief comes from the heart.
Extracted from Rabbis Isaac Oelbaum, Baruch Dopelt , Yossi Bilus, Yitzchak Aminov Shli”ta.