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48 Steps To Torah

The 45th way to acquiring torah is shomeyah u'mosif, which means "understand and add." It's not enough to hear an idea. You have to study it, develop it, and add new dimensions. And then live with it. Only then will the idea become part of you. Whenever you hear an idea, make sure you get to the bottom of it. Don't take the idea at face value. Break it down into components. Define each part to make sure you fully understand, and dont be afraid or anxious to ask for clarification.

tent with other ideas we accept. By adding dimensions and drawing conclusions, it becomes self-evident where our perceptions are off.

THE HASMONEAN HIGH SCHOOL WEEKLY SEDRA SHEET


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Constantly monitor your conclusions by bouncing your ideas off other people. This give-and-take will correct errors while they're still minor, and will also expose new ideas that would not have otherwise emerged from your mind. With this you will be well on your way to acquiring torah and together with the rest Hearing a new idea means more than just lis- of the 48 ways, building yourself up to be a tening with your ears. Hearing means to ab- good torah Jew. sorb the idea on a level that impacts you, and gets into your heart. When an idea reaches your heart, you're jolted into action. Whenever you hear an idea, move it a little and Dear readers, make it your own. Moving an idea into anThis is the last issue of the Living Torah in the other dimension makes it something altoyear 5773, and it therefore means that this is gether different, something real, alive and also our last issue as editors. Wed like to take functional. And this is part and parcel of the this opportunity to thank you all for reading unique human exercise of free will. Too often, ideas hit us on the surface, and we don't bother doing anything about them. That's why there's so much inconsistency in the world today. Ideas bounce off people, instead of into them. With this you will be able to unfold the mystery of life. When drawing conclusion upon conclusion upon conclusion, if you're off just a little bit, all subsequent conclusions will be increasingly wrong and you'll wind up with some very strange and dangerous ideas. On the surface, many ideas seem innocuous enough. Yet, they may be inconsisthis Parsha sheet week in, week out, and in doing so making it possible for us to continue producing it each and every week. Im Yirtzeh Hashem, the Living Torah will be back next year, with new editors, and better than ever! From your editors,

13th July 2013

This Shabbos, Daily Nach will be up to Yechezkel Perek 35. Email dailynach@gmail.com visit www.dailynach.com for more information.
Dvar Torah

Issue No: 438 Shabbos In: 8:59 Shabbos Out: 10:16

Ari, Aron, Gabi, Rafi and Zvi

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As we start the Sefer of Devorim we are reminded of Moshes punishment for hitting the rock at Mei Meriva. If one considers the exceptional role that Moshe Rabeinu played in leading the Bnei Yisroel out of Egypt, and how he dedicated 40 years of his life to leading them through the midbar to Eretz Yisrael, it seems quite incredible that due to this one mistake he is forbidden from achieving his lifes ambition, to enter into the Promised Land. Why did Hashem, who on countless occasions showed such incredible mercy to the Bnei Yisrael, not forgive Moshe Rabeinu for this one sin? Furthermore, the midrash states that had the Bnei Yisrael davened on Moshes behalf he would have been forgiven. Why should it be that Moshes repentance is dependent on others? In order to answer this we need to look more closely at what Moshes sin actually was. The Ibn Ezra explains that rather than defying Hashem by hitting the rock, Moshes real sin was that he described the Bnei Yisrael as rebels, in the phrase . Given the difficulties Moshe faced in leading the Bnei Yisrael and the many times they had complained, one would have thought that this expression was not out of place. However, the very opposite is true. The Bnei Yisrael are an Am Kadosh, a holy nation, and even when behaving in an unacceptable manner, it is not acceptable to speak of them in disparaging terms. So Moshes transgression was that he spoke Loshon Horah about the Bnei Yisrael. We can now understand why despite Moshes prayers Hashem did not forgive him, because it was not in His power to do so. As the Midrash explains, it required the Bnei Yisrael to pray on Moshes behalf, for if a person speaks Loshon Horah about another individual he cannot be forgiven by Hashem until he has first been forgiven by

that individual. Furthermore, were he to speak Loshon Horah about a group of people, then he would have to receive forgiveness from each and every individual. Moshe had spoken Loshon Horah against the whole nation, and it was simply impossible for him to be forgiven by every man, woman and child. His punishment shows us the severity of the sin of Loshon Horah in Hashems eyes. As we enter into the week of Tisha bAv this incident holds some very significant messages for us. The reason why the Second Beis Hamikdosh was destroyed was sinas chinam, the very negative ways that the Jews of that time behaved towards one another. However, the reason why we do not have the Beis Hamikdosh now is not because of the unacceptable behaviour of Jews 2000 years ago. It is because of our behaviour today. How often have we spoken negatively about others, and used derogatory terms about individuals or even groups of people? Inherent in the concept of speaking rather than hitting the rock is the idea that no matter how challenging or intransigent an individual may be, we must always be calculated in the way we communicate. Rather than using a stick, if we speak in the right manner, water, which is a Siman Bracha, will come forth. The simple message we can learn from Moshe Rabeinu is that if we want to enter into the Promised Land, then we have to speak nicely to one another, or as the Rambam put it so eloquently . Speak gently to all people at all times. As this is the final Living Torah for this academic year, I would like to say a special thank you to the editorial team Ari, Aron, Gabi, Rafi and Zvi who have worked so hard to light up our shabbos with weekly pearls of Torah.

Yartzheit Story

Dvar Torah

This Wednesday, 8th Av, will be the 115th Yartzheit of come here and eat, I feel that I cannot ask you to Rav Simcha Zissel Ziv, the Alter of Kelm. pay, said the inn owner. Please accept this meal absolutely free of charge. The Alter of Kelm was one of the foremost Talmidim of Rav Yisrael Salanter, the founder of the mussar Thanking their hostess profusely, the Alter and the movement. other Rav got up to leave. Once, the Alter was travelling somewhere in Europe together with another Rav. On their way, they stopped by an inn in order to eat a meal. As they climbed out of their wagon, the owner of the inn came running out excitedly to greet them, shouting The Rabbanim are here! The Rabbanim are here! She brought them inside, and brought them a large meal. After all, these were no ordinary guests, and they deserved royal treatment. As the Alter and the other Rav ate their meal, the owner of the inn sat there and talked to them, about nothing of great importance. She told them how her crops were growing, about how her animals were faring, and about various other pieces of unimportant information. The Rav who was accompanying the Alter paid little attention- he sat over a Sefer, learning as he ate. The Alter, however, engaged in the conversation, clarifying unclear points and participating fully, much to the delight of the hostess. As they left the inn, the Alter turned to his travelling companion. I am very surprised at you. You just ate a full meal at that inn, yet you did not pay a penny! Are you not worried about stealing? The Rav threw the Alter a quizzical look. But she just told us that she wasnt making us pay! The honour of our visit to her was her payment! I didnt steal a thing! No, my friend, Im afraid youre making a mistake, replied the Alter. What was the honour that she received? It was the fact that I listened and participated fully when she was telling us her stories. That was what made her want to let us off from paying. You, however, paid her no attention at all, and hence have no justification for not paying.

In the week in which Andy Murray renewed Britains hope in a bright tennis based future by being the first male Briton to lift the trophy at Wimbledon since the year 1936, it is difficult not to think back to exactly a year prior, when Britains collective dreams were shattered by on the very same court, when he lost spectacularly. In that dark hour, people shouted at their television screen, chastised the sportsman from their living rooms, and silently thought Why did he throw that one away? But was this the reaction we should have had? In the third posuk of this weeks Parsha, we are told that Moshe spoke to the Bnei Yisrael according to everything that Hashem had commanded him to say to them. Through this statement, all the reprimands and rebukes, including You have been rebellious with Hashem from the day I knew you, are immediately part of Hashems instructions regarding what messages Moshe should convey to the people. RZalman Sorotzkin, the Lutzker Rav, brings the Rambam, who says that the deadly aveirah of Moshe at Mai Merivah was that he rebuked the people as they were hollering for water, saying Listen here, you rebels! According to the Rambam, it is because he used this adjective in reference to the people that he was prevented access to Eretz Yisrael. RSorotzkin asks, why is it that when Moshe called the people rebellious in the episode of the Waters of Strife he is punished severely, but in Devarim, it is in fact Hashems instruction to rebuke the Bnei Yisrael for being rebellious?! Whats the difference between these two situations? Pirkei Avos says Do not judge your friend until you have reached his place. The Gemara says that the main reason why the second Beis Hamikdosh fell was because of a virulent epidemic of sinas chinom, baseless hatred. What is baseless hatred? Why would someone hate someone else without a reason? The answer to this is that a person believes that their hatred is justified, but they fail to recognise the other persons particular circumstances and situation which may have caused

this person to act in a certain way, which you interpreted as being worthy of your displeasure. R Sorotzkin continues, and says that at Mei Meriva, the people were desperate for water. They were in an arid desert, without a water source, so they panicked. Of course, they should have had faith in the G-D who had kept them safe up until this point, but nevertheless, they were a distressed people on the brink. Moshe should have taken their situation into consideration when he was undertaking his course of action. Conversely, in our parsha, the Bnei Yisrael were in an extraordinary position. They were successfully conquering nations of warriors, and were on the threshold of the Promised Land. They were fed, watered, and protected. Moshe sensed that despite this good fortune, the people were still not where they should have been when it came to faith in Hashem. He was therefore completely justified, and even commanded, to rebuke the people in this fashion; their circumstances did not give them any leeway in this matter. A similar theme can be seen in Bereishis when Hashem admonished Yaakov for becoming angry at his wife when she complained of being childless. Like Moshe at Mei Merivah, he did not place himself into the shoes of the party being rebuked, and was therefore castigated. Of course, we are talking about extremely high levels of spirituality here. It is difficult to understand why Moshe was given such a notable punishment for what we may see as a minor issue. However, there are important lessons to be learnt. In hindsight, we realise that it was simply not Murrays time to win Wimbledon last year. The circumstances were extremely difficult for him, and he just needed another year to reach the top of his game. Similarly, we must try and understand the situations of our friends and acquaintances before we start judging and rebuking them. This is especially important just before Tisha BAv, at a time when we mourn the destruction of the Botai Mikdosh, the second one having fallen through the sin of Sinas Chinom, a lack of empathy and understanding to our fellow human beings.

The Alter of Kelm was deeply attached to Torah, and would surely have paid the price of a meal in order to learn. However, the dignity and honour of another Jew meant that he gave up the chance to learn, in order to make a simple innkeeper feel The Rabbonim finished their meal, and prepared to good. pay. Since it is such a great honour for the Rabbonim to

Gematria:
The Baal HaTurim comments that the gematrios of the final letter of the first word of each of the Five Books of the Torah, the letters taf, hay, alef, reish and hay, add up to 611. He explains that this is the same as the gematria of Yiras (fear of). This shows us that the Reishis Chachmoh (the beginning of wisdom), namely the Torah, leads to Yiras Hashem (fear of G-d), as stated in the passuk Reishis Chochmoh Yiras Hashem.

Riddle:
When will the first edition of next years Living Torah be?

Answer in next years Living Torah Last weeks riddle: Which Aveira is forbidden Miderabanan in the week, but forbidden from the Torah on Shabbos ? Answer: The Aveira of tzaar baalei chaim, causing unnecessary pain to animals. Even according to those who hold it is only ossur midrabbonon, the Torah explicitly commands that on Shabbos, we have to let our animals rest we must not hurt them by making them carry heavy loads that cause it pain.

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