Shabbat Parshat Balak June 25-26, '10 - 14 Tammuz 5770 We read/learn the 6th chapter of Pirkei Avot www.ttidbits.com for PDF files of TT (whole, lite, XL), ParshaPix, text file, Palm version, Torah Tidbits Audio mp3 files... and more! Orthodox Union OU Kashrut <> NCSY <> Jewish Action <> NJCD / Yachad / Our Way <> IPA <> JLIC <> Synagogue Support Services <> OURadio.org <> Young Leadership <> Project Areivim <> OU West Coast Stephen Savitsky, President, Orthodox Union Harvey Blitz, Chairman of the Board, Orthodox Union Rabbi Steven Weil, Executive Vice President Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Exec. V.P. Emeritus Headquarters: 11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 212-563-4000 <> website: www.ou.org OU ISRAEL Seymour J. Abrams <> Orthodox Union <> Jerusalem World Center Founders and initial benefactors of the Israel Center: George z"l and Ilse Falk OU Israel Center programs <> Makom BaLev <> Lev Yehudi <> Pearl & Harold M. Jacobs ZULA Center <> Machon Maayan <> NESTO <> The Jack Gindi Oraita Program <> Mashiv HaRuach <> OU Kashrut Israel Yitzchak Fund, President, OU Israel Rabbi Emanuel Quint, Senior Vice President Prof. Meni Koslowsky, Vice President Stuart Hershkowitz, Vaad member Moshe Kempinski, Vaad member Sandy Kestenbaum, Vaad member Zvi Sand, Vaad member Harvey Wolinetz, Vaad member Rabbi Avi Berman, Director-General, OU Israel David Katz, CFO, OU Israel Menachem Persoff, Director of Programs, Israel Center Phil Chernofsky, Educational Director and TT editor 22 Keren HaYesod <> POB 37015 <> Jerusalem 91370 phone: (02) 560 9100 <> fax: (02) 566-0156 email: office@ouisrael.org <> website: www.ouisrael.org Torah Tidbits and many of the projects of OU Israel are assisted by grants from The Jewish Agency for Israel Founders and initial benefactors of the Israel Center: George z"l and Ilse Falk Torah Tidbits Phil Chernofsky, editor <> tt@ouisrael.org <> (02) 560-9100 ext. 124 Advertising: Ita Rochel <> ttads@ouisrael.org <> (02) 560-9100 ext. 125 Torah Tidbits is produced, printed*, collated, and folded in-house at the Israel Center TT Distribution <> ttdist@ouisrael.org <> 0505-772-111 website: www.ou.org/torah/tt Z'manim (correct for Jerusalem) Ranges are 10 days, WED-FRI 11-20 Tamuz (June 30 - July 2) Earliest Talit & T'filin 4:35-4:39am Sunrise 5:35-5:38am Sof Z'man K' Sh'ma 9:08-9:10am (Magen Avraham: 8:12-8:15am) Sof Z'man T'fila 10:19-10:21am (Magen Avraham: 9:41-9:44am) Chatzot 12:41.25-12:43.25pm (halachic noon) Mincha Gedola 1:17-1:19pm (earliest Mincha) Plag Mincha 6:19-6:20pm Sunset 7:53-7:53pm (based on sea level: 7:47-7:48pm) Jerusalem times for 17 Tammuz: begins 4:10am - ends 8:20pm Candle lighting & Havdala times - Israel Summer Time Candles (earliest) BALAK Havdala Next week 7:13pm (6:20) Yerushalayim 8:31pm 7:13 (6:20) 8:31 7:29pm (6:22) S'derot 8:33pm 7:30 (6:22) 8:32 7:28pm (6:20) Gush Etzion 8:31pm 7:28 (6:20) 8:31 7:30pm (6:22) Raanana 8:34pm 7:30 (6:22) 8:34 7:28pm (6:21) Beit Shemesh 8:32pm 7:29 (6:21) 8:32 7:30pm (6:22) Rehovot 8:33pm 7:30 (6:22) 8:33 7:31pm (6:22) Netanya 8:34pm 7:31 (6:23) 8:34 7:26pm (6:20) Be'er Sheva 8:31pm 7:26 (6:21) 8:31 7:29pm (6:21) Modi'in 8:32pm 7:29 (6:21) 8:32 7:13pm (6:22) Petach Tikva 8:34pm 7:13 (6:22) 8:33 7:13pm (6:19) Maale Adumim 8:31pm 7:13 (6:20) 8:31 7:29pm (6:21) Ginot Shomron 8:33pm 7:29 (6:22) 8:33 7:28pm (6:20) Gush Shiloh 8:32pm 7:28 (6:20) 8:32 7:27pm (6:20) K4 & Hevron 8:31pm 7:28 (6:20) 8:31 7:28pm (6:20) Giv'at Ze'ev 8:32pm 7:28 (6:21) 8:32 7:29pm (6:21) Yad Binyamin 8:33pm 7:30 (6:22) 8:33 7:30pm (6:22) Ashkelon 8:33pm 7:30 (6:23) 8:33 7:30pm (6:21) Tzfat 8:34pm 7:20 (6:22) 8:34 7:31pm (6:22) Zichron Yaakov 8:35pm 7:31 (6:23) 8:35 Rabbeinu Tam havdala BALAK (J'lem) - 9:16pm NOTES: Note about Candle Lighting and Havdala times. Candle lighting times are rounded down to the minute, in other words, seconds are ignored. Havdala times, on the other hand, are round up to the next minute. Further explanations and notes on Z'manim are available on the website www.ou.org/torah/tt - click on Halachic times * Important clarifications concerning the Candle Lighting times Petach Tikva officially accepts upon itself to light Shabbat candles according to the Jerusalem custom. (This is due to the fact that the Ashdkenazi community of PT was founded by people from Jerusalem who brought their customs with them.) Up until this week, we understood that to mean that in PT one lights candles 40 minutes before sunset, just like we do in Jerusalem. We contacted the Religious Council in PT and found out that the official candle lighting time for PT is the same as Jerusalem's (not 40 min. before sunset, but the same time as J'lem). Petach Tikvians (or whatever they are called) must realize that their sunset is earlier than Jerusalem's and therefore they do NOT have 40 minutes after the posted time until sunset - more like 30-35. So too for Maale Adumim. They light candles at the same time as J'lem too. Sunset is also earlier in Maalei Adumim. One of the rabbis from Ascent of Safed (that's Tzfat) told us that there are differing opinions concerning when Candle Lighting is there. All say 30 min. before sunset, but some say the sunset that does not take into account the elevation of Tzfat, and some say to use the sunset time that does take elevation into account. We print the earlier time, in case. Halachic Zmanim and Shabbat times in Torah Tidbits are calculated by CHAZON SHAMAYIM, a computer program by R' Eitan Zakuni of Netivot. The latest version (beta), called HAZON NET is available as a free download on www.sky-view.co.il WORD OF THE MONTH A weekly feature of Torah Tidbits to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby better fulfilling the mitzva of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem... For those who have not yet said Kiddush L'vana this month, their last opportunity in Israel is Motza'ei Shabbat Balak, the eve of the 15th of Tammuz, until 12:25am (that's 25 minutes after midnight, officially Sunday). Friday night is not eligible for us in Israel, because it isn't the last op. But in New York, for example, the deadline is 5:25pm on Shabbat afternoon. That means that all night Friday (Leil Shabbat) is the last opportunity and therefore, one who has not yet said KL in NY can do so on Friday night. LEAD TIDBIT: G-d's Special Love of Israel and a Bonus Set of Lessons In last week's perek of Avot (ch.5), we had reference to Bilaam and his personality traits that can be seem in his "students". This was contrasted with Talmidav shel Avraham Avinu, the students, followers, heirs of Avraham Avinu. Not the topic of this Lead Tidbit; just a ploy to focus you on Pirkei Avot. Now we need to go back three weeks (or three ahead - take your pick) for a teaching of Rabbi Aviva (assumedly - the mishna only said HU HAYA OMEIR...) and then we will apply it to Parshat Balak. "He used to say: ... Beloved are Israel for they are called G-d's children. As a gesture of special love, it was made known to them that they are called G-d's children, as it is said, "You are the children of HaShem your G-d." There's more, but this one portion should be enough to make a point. The mishna is telling us that the fact that G-d views us as His children is a manifestation of His love for us, but the fact that He tells us so in the Torah is a greater indication of his love (or an indication of his greater love). [In a past issue of TT, we made the point that this teaching can apply to parents: They can love their children. This is wonderful. But it is an indication of even a greater love if they (the parents) make there feelings known to their children. Remember to tell your children (and your spouse, your parents, your siblings, your aunts, uncles, cousins, and niblings... and your good friends too) that you love them. It makes the love stronger and more special. CHIBA Y'TEIRA. But back to the sedra...] There is something unique about the large, 95-verse parsha (portion) that makes up most of Parshat Balak - we, the people of Israel, were oblivious to what was happening. The people went about their daily business and on a hilltop overlooking the nation of Israel, a drama was unfolding. Balak sends a delegation of officials to coax Bilaam into joining him and cursing the people who have come out of Egypt and have covered the surface of the Earth... Bilaam first refuses, then gets "permission" to go to Balak - and we did not know that any of this was taking place. And when Bilaam and Balak finally meet and start building altars and offering sacrifices in order to increase Bilamm's task of "attacking" Bnei Yisrael, we still didn't know what was happening. They move from place to place to get a better view of the Israelite camp and they are going full swing in their attempt to vanquish the people of Israel. And we just went about our day-to-day lives without the knowledge that some very powerful men with potent powers were intent on our desctruction. G-d had three options as to how to "handle" the situation. He could have told Moshe about the threat and commanded (or suggested) that he form a strike force to deal with the situation. He didn't do that. Or, He could have taken care of things on His own - which He did, in which case there are two options: Tell us or not tell us. G-d "chose" to fight for us - which is an impressive display of His love for Bnei Yisrael. CHAVIVIN YISRAEL, beloved are Israel that G-d should confound the plot of Balakk and Bilaam and save us from harm. CHIBA Y'TEIRA, as a gesture of special love, He tells us about the whole thing in the major part of Parshat Balak. This example might not be included in the mishna in Avot, but it fits well. But now, there is more. The extra set of lessons referred to in the second title of this Lead Tidbit. The details of the Balak-Bilaam affair are meant to teach us things about ourselves. He wants us to share with Bilaam, the humbling lesson of the speaking donkey. Whether or not Bilaam himself was taken down a peg or two when he realized that a donkey was given the ability to see an angel and he, Bilaam was not - we must learn those lessons. Insight is not a monopoly of those of higher intelligence; it is given - by G-d - to whomever He chooses to so endow. Did Bilaam lean that he should not have gone in the first place, when he knew well what G-d wanted him to do? Maybe, maybe not. Irrelevant. But we must learn the lesson. There are things that G-d says, do and other things that He says, don't. But there are also things that we must perceive as R'TZON HASHEM, G-d's Will, and we should determine our paths in life accordingly. "... Behold, it is a nation that will dwell alone and not be reckoned among the nations." Not only is this so, but G-d chose to inform us of our unique (potential) status through the statements of Bilaam to Balak. Bi9l'am said these things to Balak; he didn't say them to us. We know them only because G-d choose to put these words in the Torah for us to read, ponder, and learn from. G-d is challenging us through Bilaam. Balak 40th of 54 sedras; 7th of 10 in Bamidbar Written on 177.8 lines in a Torah (ranks 35) 2 Parshiyot; 1 closed, 1 open 104 p'sukim - ranks 34th (8th Bamidbar) 1455 words - ranks 33rd (8th Bamidbar) 5357 letters - ranks 35th (8th Bamidbar) Balak is close to average for the Torah's sedras but is on the small side for Bamidbar MITZVOT Balak is one of 17 (of 54) sedras with no mitzvot. Only one of two no-mitzva sedras in the book of Bamidbar. Here's the no-mitzva sedra count per book: 9/12, 3/11, 0/10, 2/10, 3/11 Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary [P> X:Y (Z)] and [S> X:Y (Z)] indicate start of a parsha p'tucha or s'tuma respectively. X:Y is Perek:Pasuk of the beginning of the parsha; (Z) is the number of p'sukim in the parsha. Kohen - First Aliya 11 p'sukim - 22:2-12 [S> 22:2 (95!)] Balak was a weaker king than his neighbors in the region. The defeat of the others (OG and SICHON) instilled fear in Balak's heart, and he realized that waging a "conventional" war against Israel would be futile. His plan (following research of the matter) was to enlist Bil'am to curse the People of Israel. To this end, Balak sends a delegation to Bil'am in Midyan. Bil'am invites the envoys to spend the night so that he (Bil'am) can be spoken to by G-d. G-d does "appear" to Bil'am and asks him who these people are. Bil'am tells G-d and He warns Bil'am not to go with the delegation, nor to curse the people, because "they are blessed". SDT: How come Balak, a sworn enemy of Israel, rates having a sedra named after him? Commentaries suggest that Balak was an "honest enemy" of Israel. His antagonism was based on his fear of Israel; his intentions and actions were clear-cut. We have been plagued by many enemies throughout history who have hidden behind a smile, a mask of friendship, or a hand-shake and photo-op only to try to stab us in the back (or worse). It's "nice" when an enemy is "up front" about it. SDT: Commentaries point out that Moav and Midyan were bitter enemies. Nonetheless, they put their differences aside and united to fight against Israel. This shows the power of anti-Semitism in this world. See what our enemies are ready to do because they hate us so much. But it also must teach us another lesson. We too must be prepared to set aside that which divides the Jewish People into fragments, so that we can fight our common enemy with greater strength. This is not to suggest that we must ignore, overlook, or forgive these differences. But we have to know when we should put our religious-secular battles "on hold", in order to be united against the enemies of the Jewish People. We must all work together - Ashkenazim & S'faradim, National Religious and Haredi, left and right, religious and secular, to strengthen our position against those who would harm us, take parts of Eretz Yisrael from us, or divide our capital. SDT: Rashi quotes a Midrash that explains why G-d asked Bil'am "who are these men with you?", when He first appeared to him at night. This, says Rashi, was to give Bil'am the false impression that there are times when G-d doesn't know something and needs to ask. Bil'am would then be hopeful that during one of those Divine "lapses, he would be able to "bless" the Jews, even though G-d told him that he shouldn't. Levi - Second Aliya 8 p'sukim - 22:13-20 In the morning, Bil'am (reluctantly) dispatches Balak's messengers with his message of refusal. Balak sends a larger and more prestigious delegation to Bil'am, with offers of great honor and wealth if Bil'am would only agree to Balak's request. Bil'am again refuses, but does invite the new delegation to spend the night. This time G-d permits Bil'am to accompany the Moabites, but warns him not to do anything other than what G-d tells him. (Commentaries draw from this the notion: "In the direction a person is inclined, there he is lead" Also like, "giving him enough rope to hang himself with".) SDT: Why was Bil'am to be punished for going with Balak's delegation, when G-d permitted him to go? Sort of told him to go. Certainly, a person is held accountable for violations of G-d's commands, but are we also responsible for things which are not specifically prohibited, although it is reasonable to assume that G-d does not want us to do them? The answer is YES. This is one of the concepts we actually derive from the episode of Bil'am. The Torah gives us a very good idea of what HaShem wants of us. Many sins are spelled out very clearly - in fact, there is a notion of "one will not be punished unless expressly warned"; yet we are warned that G-d will be angry, so to speak, if we do things that we (should) know are contrary to His wishes. This is something that exists in human relationships too. Parents, for example, expect children to behave a certain way, even without being specifically told. We are not programmed robots; we are human beings with the ability to reason. And G-d (and our parents, too - no L'HAVDIL here because of the Gemara in Kiddushin that teaches us that there are three partners in the human being - G-d, his father and his mother) wants us to make the right decision in areas He left "open", so to speak. In the straight reading of the Chumash, it seems that Bil'am is truly a man of G-d who only wants to do what G-d wants him to do. Tradition describes him differently, as one who knows that he is totally in G-d's control but tries to fight it at every step of the way. What a blow to Bil'am's ego to be thought of so highly among people, yet to know that G-d is in charge. Shlishi - Third Aliya 18 p'sukim - 22:21-38 Bil'am arises in the morning, saddles his donkey (by himself), and goes with the Moav officers. (The implication in the pasuk is that Bil'am went with a great deal of enthusiasm to "hopefully" curse the People of Israel. Contrast this with Avraham's enthusiasm on his way to fulfill G-d's command with the Akeida.) G-d is "angry" with Bil'am for going (even though He permitted it) and sends an angel in an attempt to dissuade him from continuing. The Torah recounts that on three separate occasions - symbolically, it happened in increasingly narrower passages - the donkey sees the angel blocking the way, but Bil'am does not. Bil'am strikes the donkey each time, until G-d gives the power of speech to the donkey, who admonishes Bil'am for his deeds. Then G-d permits Bil'am to see the angel and Bil'am acknowledges his sin. He offers to return, but the angel allows him to proceed, with the warning not to say anything "unauthorized". (In Pirkei Avot we are taught that the "mouth of the donkey" was one of ten special items that G-d created in the instant before He rested from further creation on the very first Shabbat. One of the lessons from this concept is SOF MA'ASEH B'MACHSHAVA T'CHILA, what happens in the end was in G-d's thought and plan at the beginning. We should not think that the "mouth of the Earth" that swallowed Korach & Co. or the talking donkey, or No'ach's rainbow, et al, were "after-thoughts" of G-d. No such thing.) Balak goes out to greet Bil'am, who tells Balak that he is powerless to act on his own and must say only what G-d "puts in his mouth". (This is the significance of the "mouth of the donkey" - viz. that it is G-d Who grants the gift of speech; one should not be arrogant about his ability to speak well. In the words of the beautiful prayer of the Shali'ach Tzibur on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, OCHILA LAKEIL, the human being thinks thoughts in his heart, but from G-d comes the ability to express them with his mouth and lips... or the lack of the ability.) SDT: The favored weapon of the nations of the world is the sword. The "weapon" of Israel is "the power of speech" (prayer, divrei Torah, kind words, etc.). Bil'am arrogantly lays "his weapon" aside and attempts to harm the People of Israel with their (our) weapon. G-d, so to speak, went against Bil'am with his abandoned weapon - the angel's drawn sword. And ultimately, the Torah tells us, Bil'am fell by the sword. - Rashi R'vi'i - Fourth Aliya 15 p'sukim - 22:39-23:12 Balak makes sacrifices on the occasion, and Bil'am orders seven altars to be built for the special offerings. (All that is done is highly significant - e.g. the Torah records that our three Patriarchs offered seven korbanot at various times. Bil'am hoped to "neutralize" the effect of those sacrifices in G-d's eyes by repeatedly offering seven sacrifices of his own.) After meditation, Bil'am "speaks" about the People of Israel. He does not curse them, but rather beautifully describes the uniqueness of Israel. Balak is upset, but Bil'am reminds him that he (Bil'am) can only transmit that which G-d wants him to. If we are unique among the nations of the world, it is because of the Torah and our commitment to it, not something genetic, nor a mere accident of birth. We must preserve that uniqueness by remaining true to Torah, faithful to HaShem, and distinct from the other nations. And, as Bil'am pointed out, our uniqueness depends upon being different from the other nations (not wanting to be just like everyone else.) We are different when we are different. And that is what we are supposed to be. When we are the same, we are not different. Chamishi 5th Aliya 14 p'sukim - 23:13-26 Balak takes Bil'am to a different vantage point, in the hopes that he will be able to curse the People this time. Once again, seven altars are built and sacrifices offered. Once again, Bil'am meditates and then utters magnificent descriptions of the Nation of Israel. Balak says his piece and Bil'am again explains his restrictions. (Difficult for someone who is considered the quintessence of arrogance.) Rashi says that Balak chose Rosh HaPisga as a place from where Bil'am might succeed in cursing the people, because he foresaw that Moshe would die there. Rashi says that Balak knew this about the place but Bil'am didn't - that Balak was a more gifted prophet. Twice we find, And Bil'am said to Balak, build for me "with this" seven altars and prepare for me "with this" seven bulls and seven rams (23:1 and 29). With this, BA'ZEH. We are taught that all the prophets of Israel prophesy with KOH (as in KO AMAR HASHEM), except Moshe, who prophesies with ZEH. Bil'am felt that he was on Moshe's level and kept throwing around the ZEH. G-d says to Bil'am, go back to Balak, and thus - KOH - you shall speak. Enough with the pretension to ZEH; you say KOH. Bil'am gets the message and switches to KOH when he speaks to Balak. Shishi - Sixth Aliya 17 p'sukim - 23:27-24:13 Balak suggests yet a different vantage point from which to observe Israel; maybe G-d will permit them to be cursed. Bil'am again asks for seven altars to be built, and a bull and a ram to be offered on each. This time, Bil'am does not meditate in his usual manner, expecting similar results, namely that blessings will emerge from him - and he really wants to curse Israel. SDT: Balak takes Bil'am to Rosh HaP'or. Having seen in a vision that Israel will soon fall at P'or, Balak mistakingly assumes that the cursing from there would be successful (Rashi). Targum Onkeles indicates that Bil'am was "reminding" G-d of the Golden Calf, so that He would allow the People to be cursed. However, when he saw the multitude encamped in such a special manner, he was endowed with "Ruach HaKodesh" and he blessed the People of Israel a third time. Balak had "had enough", spoke harshly to Bil'am, and "sent him packing". We quote the words that emerged from Bil'am's mouth - MA TOVU... Sometimes it takes a non-Jew's observation for us to appreciate something we might not see. Sh'VII - Seventh Aliya 21 p'sukim - 24:14-25:9 Before Bil'am takes leave of Balak, Bil'am prophesies about the other nations in the region... which was, in different words, a prophecy that each nation shall eventually perish, as will those who will bring about the earlier nations' destruction. [P> 25:1 (9)] Bil'am's final advice, his attempts to curse the People having failed, is to entice the People to idolatry and immoral behavior which will turn G-d Himself against them. This plan works, as 24,000 perish in a plague following the immoral and idolatrous worship of Baal Pe'or. Only the bold action of Pinchas b. Elazar b. Aharon HaKohen in defending G-d's honor, stops the devastating plague. SDT: This final lesson of the sedra must be learned well by us today. What Balak and Bil'am discovered is that if Israel is in G-d's favor, it will be invincible from outside attack. No nation can succeed against Israel, when we are "on good terms" with G-d. That includes attacks by the sword or by words... If we, however, incur G-d's anger, by being unfaithful to Him, by disregarding Torah and mitzvot, then we are extremely vulnerable to our enemies. And they might not even have to actually fight against us (as in terror attacks) - we can, G-d forbid, destroy ourselves (as in road accidents, and more). This was true more than 3000 years ago; it is no less true today. On a certain level, Parshat Balak is extremely simple and straightforward, with an extremely powerful message - because of that simplicity. For 95 p'sukim, we feel the protection of G-d as Balak and Bil'am fail time and again in what almost looks like a comical farce. The Gemara says that Bil'am was in some ways superior to Moshe Rabeinu, that when he was around, G-d Himself was extra vigilant in protecting us. For those 95 p'sukim, we beam with pride at the grudging admiration of a unique nation as expressed by Bil'am. And then comes the last 9 p'sukim of the sedra. Bil'am went back home. So did Balak. No danger anymore. WHAM! We did it to ourselves. G-d protected us from Bil'am by giving him his words. By not letting him speak on his own. And then we turned around and betrayed G-d. 24,000 fatalities. And the toll would have been greater, except for the bold action of Pinchas. The sedra is shouting its message to us. All we have to do is listen to it. Last 3 p'sukim are reread for Maftir. Note that the Pinchas episode is interrupted by the break between sedras. Zimri and Kozbi are not identified yet, G-d's reaction comes next week. Just for now - the plague stopped! The swiftness with which the plague struck is matched by the swift action of Pinchas. For now, that's the point. More next week. Haftara 17 p'sukim Micha 5:6-6:8 Micha's prophecies include the state-of-affairs that finds Israel dispersed among the nations of the world, the promise of the end of war and restoration of Israel to its Land, and the "settling of accounts" between G-d and the other nations, and G-d and Israel. This portion contains a reference to the advice of Balak and Bil'am's response to it - thus the appropriate choice of this portion as the haftara for Parshat Balak. Note the "credit" to Balak for the advice that caused the failing of Israel as opposed to the implication from the Torah that it was Bil'am's idea. Note the reference to the leaders of the People as Moshe, Aharon, and MIRIAM. The haftara ends with the famous encapsulation of our responsibilities to G-d: "What does G-d demand of us, ONLY to behave justly, love chesed, and walk modestly (humbly) before G-d." This is the formula for the greatest protection we can have from the Balaks and Bil'ams of the world. And its disregard makes us terribly vulnerable to them. What a contrast between the end of the sedra and the end of the haftara! Again, we have the simple but powerful point. This is how we are supposed to behave. This is how we behaved... and what happened to us. Lessons from the Torah and from the haftara. THE JERUSALEM INSTITUTE OF JEWISH LAW, Rabbi Emanuel Quint, Dean Lesson # 524 JURISDICTION OF THE BEIT DIN In a case that was decided by the Beit Din of Haifa in February '08, the question arose as to which Beit Din has jurisdiction to judge the case. I have written about this in the past but this case was unique in its reasoning. The plaintiff was from a yishuv and the defendant was a resident of Haifa. The defendant when summoned to the Beit Din of the yishuv responded that he would appear before the Beit Din of Rabbi Karelitz of Bnei Braq. The Beit Din began its reasoning with the well know principle that the defendant's place of residence is the proper venue of a case to be judged. Furthermore the plaintiff must go to the city of the defendant if they reside in different cities. This, in spite of the fact that the Beit Din in the city of the plaintiff is superior to the Beit Din of the defendant. What made this case unique was that the foregoing was the halacha among the Ashkenazic Jews and there was a question whether the Sephardic Jews also had this tradition. The decision of the Beit Din cited various decisors who held that this is also the Sephardic tradition, although many Sephardic judges did not always see this as their tradition. He then quotes from Rabbi Ovadya Yosef that the law in this area is as cited by the Rama who cites mostly Ashkenazic sources to substantiate his position in the matter. There is a notable exception: if there is a Beit Din that is so superior to the Beit Din of the city of the defendant, then the plaintiff can insist of having the case judged there. As to the question whether the Sephardim should also follow this tradition, he cites the opinion of the Gaon of Vilna that the opinion of the Rama is not a decree that was made by the Ashkenazic Jews but is the halacha without any decrees having been instituted to make it the halacha. This being so, the Sephardic Jews would also adhere to this halacha as a matter of halacha, not a decree made by Asheknazic Jews. He also cites a ruling of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein who in writing on this matter writes that if a person is ill, he goes to the doctor rather than wait for the doctor to come to him. The plaintiff must go to the place of the defendant rather than insist that the defendant have the matter judged in the plaintiff's jurisdiction. The reason one goes to the doctor is that the doctor can better treat him in the doctor's office; so here too the judges of the local court of the defendant which will have more influence to have the defendant appear to answer the complaint in the local Beit Din. Also if the defendant loses the trial he will be more apt to abide by the decision of the Beit Din of his community. Also that neither party may say to the other party, the Beit Din I selected is superior to the one selected by you. Therefore these rules apply only if the defendant selects his local Beit Din that the plaintiff must go to that Beit Din. But if the defendant selects a Beit Din not from his own community, the plaintiff may object and say he wants to select his own Beit Din. THE CHALLENGE OF MONEY: COMPETITION, PRICES AND PROFITS [part 6] by Dr. Meir Tamari Markets are disrupted by natural phenomena, war or political and racial discrimination, creating scarcity, rising prices and hardship for the poor and weaker classes. Communal-state action including rationing and price-controls, to ensure social justice may be necessary; their nature and extent dependent only on society's social and moral framework. Here are two examples from Jewish history of controlled markets that distorted the free market through controlling prices and availability of certain scarce products. These may serve as blue- prints for society's intervention, based on the Jewish value system. RENT CONTROL Throughout much of Jewish history in the galut, even down to the end of the 19th century, Jewish ownership of real estate was either forbidden or severely curtailed. European Jews were confined to ghettoes or special streets, or were restricted to certain areas as Tsarist Russia's Pale of Settlement. In the Moslem world too, the Jew's ability to live where he liked was curtailed. The constant discrepancy between the limited supply and the demand caused by the natural increase in population and the periodic influx of refugees, created a spiraling increase in rents so the right of occupancy became a valuable economic asset. In consideration of the public good, we find enactments of the autonomous Jewish communities that frustrated the market forces to ensure 'fair' housing. "The cherem of Rabbenu Gershon applies to those who try to rent houses already rented to other Jews. For three years after a Jew has been evicted, no Jew may offer to rent the house but, at the same time we confirm that legal protection of tenancy from competition only applies to the house in which one lives. In all other cases, every Jew is free to hire a house from the gentiles without fear of sin" (Pinkas Padua, 1580). "The parnassim have to prevent the rich from maintaining several empty houses... joining house to house... so that the number of houses available to the poor declines" (Pinkas HaKesheirim shel Kehilat Poznan, 1621-1835). The Responsa of Maharsdam (16th cent. Salonika), Ohel Yaakov (17th cent. Amsterdam) and Avnei Nezer 19th cent. Poland) are examples of halakhic backing for such enactments. COPYRIGHT Copyright is merely a particular case of protecting intellectual property and non-physical assets like goodwill that will be dealt with later, but given the centrality of learning in Judaism and the importance of the printing and publication industries in Jewish economic history, it seems important to deal the specific problem of copyright separately. It should be noted that free entry of rabbis and scholars and the resultant competition against the veterans was early enshrined in halakha but the invention of printing and in our own time computer technology, have made the question of competition in Torah study and the restraining influence of copyright, more complicated. The publication and reproduction of Torah literature has become cheap and readily available, which is to the public's spiritual and religious good; "the jealousy [competition] of the scribes increases Torah knowledge" (Bava Batra 22a). However, there is constantly a moral choice between this public good and the rights of publishers and authors to a legitimate profit or royalties. However, if these rights are not limited in time, the public will be deprived of the benefits of competition. "The halakhic haskamot [and the communal enactments such as the approximately 50 of the Va'ad Arba Aratzot prior to 1751] given to publishers preventing others from publishing their books, is definitely binding. However, when the publisher has already sold the whole original edition, he may not prevent others reprinting the books and thus hindering the work of Heaven [the spread of learning], even if the period of the ban has not yet elapsed, since he is not losing thereby" (Pitchei T'shuva Yoreh De'ah 236). The same source also provides the opposing opinion which maintains that even if the whole edition has been sold, the ban is valid until its expiry; in effect giving the publisher extra profit at the expense of Torah study of the community. Price controls and rationing of these and other forms, inevitably lead to evasion and 'black markets'. However, where there is a consensus regarding the morality and justice of market distortions, controls will be effective and achieve their social and communal goals. Such consensus existed, for example, in Israel during the austerity years of the 1950s. In addition, the state apparatus is essential to ensure that price control and rationing during times of scarcity, are according to the Jewish concepts of equity and the public welfare. MISC section - contents: [1] Vebbe Rebbe [2] Candle by Day [3] Wisdom and Wit [4] From Aloh Naaleh [5] Parsha Points to Ponder [6] Portion from the Portion [7] From Machon Puah [8] Person in the Parsha [9] Praying with Passion [10] Towards Better Kashrut Awareness [11] MicroUlpan [12] Treasures in the Sand [13] Guest Article [14] Pirkei Avot [15] Divrei Menachem [1] From the virtual desk of the OU VEBBE REBBE The Orthodox Union - via its website - fields questions of all types in areas of kashrut, Jewish law and values. Some of them are answered by Eretz Hemdah, the Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, headed by Rav Yosef Carmel and Rav Moshe Ehrenreich, founded by HaRav Shaul Yisraeli zt"l, to prepare rabbanim and dayanim to serve the National Religious community in Israel and abroad. Ask the Rabbi is a joint venture of the OU, Yerushalayim Network, Eretz Hemdah... and the Israel Center. The following is a Q&A from Eretz Hemdah... Q: Often on Shabbat programs for non-shomer Shabbat students, the resort does not have timers for the lights, and participants who turned on lights before Shabbat will certainly shut them before going to sleep. Participants are exposed to the concept of keeping Shabbat, and some decided to try to keep Shabbat while they are with us. Many of them believe that if they switch the lights off once, there is no point in keeping the rest of Shabbat. Are there are sources to allow us to either ask or hint to a non-Jew to turn off their bedroom lights to allow these Jewish kids a better chance at observing Shabbat? A: There are a few circumstances in which a non-Jew can do work on a Jew's behalf on Shabbat. Some involve using hints, as you mention. One possibility is to use a hint in which you mention only the need and do not use any active verb. For example, you could say, "It is too light in many of the rooms for people to fall asleep," as opposed to, "It would be nice if someone shut the lights before people go to sleep" (based on Rama, Orach Chayim 307:22 and Mishna Berura 307:66). Also, one can use even the latter type of hint before Shabbat so that the non-Jew will do the action on Shabbat (Shulchan Aruch, OC 307:2). Despite the fact that these distinctions are quite accepted, there are certain problems with their application. The Magen Avraham (252:9) says that one is not supposed to allow a non-Jew to do melacha for a Jew with the latter's property, even when he does so of his own volition. This can be remedied by KATZATZ, i.e., having the non-Jew receive money by the piece of work done. However, even the leniency of KATZATZ does not work on a Jew's property when people are apt to think that the Jew may have paid him according to time, and even if the non-Jew starts doing the work of his own volition on Shabbat, he should be stopped (Shulchan Aruch, OC 244:1). Why, then, does it help to do a special hint to the non-Jew if, when push comes to shove, he is doing the work on the Jew's property? Acharonim struggle with this issue (see the Sanctity of Shabbos, p. 24), but in general the minhag is to allow this type of non-commercial activity. Even when it is considered that the Jew did not tell the non-Jew to do the work, it is prohibited to receive positive, direct benefit until after Shabbat from that which a non-Jew did on a Jew's behalf on Shabbat (Shabbat 122a). However, not every- thing is considered such benefit, and a classic example the poskim discuss is creating darkness, which is considered just removing light and is permitted. In addition, there is an over-arching heter for allowing telling (even directly) a non-Jew to shut the lights under the circumstances you describe. Shutting a light is a rabbinic prohibition (Mishna Berura 278:3). Under quite a few circumstances of need, it is permitted to ask a non-Jew to do a rabbinic prohibition, including shutting a light to allow a child to sleep (Shemirat Shabbat K'hilchata 38:26). One of the examples is for a mitzva (Shulchan Aruch, OC 307:5) and here there is a double mitzva. One is the (albeit, small) chance that this act of the non-Jew will be a part of enabling your Jewish participant to embark upon a way of life of Shabbat/Torah observance. The other is the mitzva of afrushei me'isura (preventing one from sinning), even on a one-time basis. Although we do not usually say that one should perform a small sin to save someone else from a big sin (Shabbat 4a), the rules of instructions to non-Jews have a special built-in leniency for such cases. Therefore, in addition to permissibility through hints, it should be permitted because of your perceived need. This being said, we would caution that your plan, especially if not carried out properly, could have negative educational ramifications in addition to positive ones. Since you are in the field of working with this population, we leave such considerations to your discretion. Ask the Rabbi Q&A is part of Hemdat Yamim, the weekly parsha sheet by Eretz Hemdah. You can read the entire Hemdat Yamim at www.ou.org or www.eretzhemdah.org and/ or you can receive Hemdat Yamim by sending an email to info@eretzhemdah.org with the message: Subscribe/English or Subscribe/Hebrew leave subject blank. Ask the Vebbe Rebbe is partially funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel. [2] Candle by Day The evil inclination abhors a vacuum. A Candle by Day - The Antidote - The World of Chazal by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein Now available at 054-209-9200 [3] Wisdom and Wit by Shmuel Himelstein R' Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld was the head of the Old Yishuv in Eretz Yisrael, and was a very great Torah authority. Yet he never considered himself to be anything special. In a haskama - endorsement - which he wrote to a sefer, he said: ?It pains me that I am referred to with titles of which I am undeserving, even in the slightest way. I am a simple, old, frail man ... while in reality I have neither Torah nor wisdom. I do not know of any virtue that I have, except that, through the mercy of Hashem, I was able to settle in the Holy City.? ### Just before R' Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld was married, he went in to his Rebbe, the Kesav Sofer, to bid him goodbye. The Kesav Sofer handed him a letter of recommendation, which praised R' Yosef Chaim greatly for his Torah learning and personal attributes. R' Yosef Chaim took the letter but did did not even open it to read its contents. When R' Yosef Chaim turned forty and was convinced that nothing in the letter would lead him to be conceited, he finally took out the envelope and read the letter. ### R' Menachem Mendel of Kotsk said... The greatest thief is the rote perform- ance of one's obligations. Nothing poses a greater danger to the person. Shmuel Himelstein's Words of Wisdom, Words of Wit; A Touch of Wisdom, A Touch of Wit; and "Wisdom and Wit" available at your local Jewish bookstore [4] CHIZUK and IDUD for Olim & not-yet-Olim respectively The Plot Chazal [in the Midrash Tanchuma] identify Bilaam with Lavan. Why? The Haggada states that Lavan tried to "uproot everything (kol)" How? At Gal-Ed, Lavan tries to tell Yaakov that his family and "all (kol) that you see is mine" - He further suggested that they be judged by the [pagan] gods of their mutual ancestors" He thus tries to uproot all of Bnei Yisrael and make it his. What was Bilaam's goal? Chazal [Bamidbar Rabba] point out that Balak and Bilaam's sole purpose was to separate the Jewish People from the Land of Israel. This is highlighted in one of the most moving texts in Tanach. In Micha (7:5), we are told to remember the counsel of Balak and Bilaam, "from Shitim to Gigal - in order to understand Hashem's chesed." The meaning of this cryptic text is as follows: Their counsel was to keep the Jewish nation from Israel. Bilaam advised [as the Torah explicitly states in Parshat Matot] ensnaring them in sexual immorality and idolatry at Baal Peor. These took place at Shitim. The sins are amongst the three for which we are warned that we might be exiled, and certainly should have prevented our going into Eretz Yisrael in the first place. Nonetheless, we went directly from Shitim to Gilgal [the first stop in Israel]; due to Hashem's great kindness towards us! The Gemara [Ketubot (110b)] states that being outside of Israel is like idolatry. Thus, what Lavan (involving us in idolatry) and Bilaam (keeping us from Israel) tried to do to us is indeed parallel! This is one of the perspectives that Chazal allude to by equating Bilaam and Lavan. Our enemies understand today, as then, that Israel is vital to Judaism. We Jews also need to understand this! R. Yitzchak Twersky, Neve Daniel TORAH THOUGHTS as contributed by Aloh Naaleh members for publication in the Orthodox Union's 'Torah Insights', a weekly Torah publication on Parshat HaShavu'a [5] Parsha Points to Ponder for Parshat BALAK 1) Why did Bilaam specify that the messengers from Balak should sleep there THAT NIGHT (HALAILA)? What relevance did this have to the story (22:8)? 2) Why did G-D give Bilaam the respect of actually going to visit him (23:4) while Moshe always had to go to the Mishkan to communicate with G-D? 3) Why does Bilaam say I SHOULD DIE THE DEATH OF THE UPRIGHT (YESHARIM), in plural but then say AND MY END SHOULD BE LIKE HIM (KAMOHU), in the singular (23:10)? Points to Ponder is prepared by Rabbi Dov Lipman who teaches at Reishit Yerushalayim and Machon Maayan in Beit shemesh and is the author of "DISCOVER: Answers for Teenagers (and Adults) to Questions about the Jewish Faith" (Feldheim) and "TIMEOUT: Sports Stories as a Game Plan for Spiritual Success" (Devora) His Hagada commentary, "FOUNDATIONS" will be published by Targum before Pesach ppp@ouisrael.org Answers - Ponder the questions first and then look here 1) The Ohr HaChayim suggests that this demonstrates Bilaam's wicked- ness. He was only willing to offer them a place to sleep for THAT NIGHT and specified that the offer was for that night and that night only. 2) Daat Zekainim MiBaalei HaTosfot answer that G-D did not want Bilaam with his impurity to come to His domain and, therefore, G-D went to Bilaam's location. Moshe, however, was holy and pure and was welcome in G-D's domain. 3) The Kli Yakar explains that when referring to death, Bilaam was asking for his death to be like all the righteous people who have died. However, when referring to what will happen to him after death, his hope was to live a spiritual life which meant to be similar to G-D. Thus, switched to the singular, LIKE HIM, referring to G-D and his desire to be connected to G-D after death. [6] Portion from the Portion by Rakel Berenbaum FEEDback to berenbau@actcom.net.il BALAK or BALAAM The sedra that we read this week is called BALAK because that is the first significant word in the first verse of the portion. But doesn't it seem strange to refer to a section of the Torah read in shul by the name of one of Israel's enemies? Couldn't we find a better way to refer to this section than by the name of someone who only wanted us cursed? What can we learn from the name of this week's portion? First of all, the Rabbis referred to this weeks portion as Bilaam, rather than Balak, because of the beauty of the poetic verses that came out of Bilaam's mouth as blessings. The Rabbis even wanted to include it as one of the sections we would recite every day in our Sh'ma prayers. But in order not to burden the congregation they didn't require everyone to recite so many verses every day. The Rav from Permishelin says that all goyim hate Jews - some just try to hide it. They make us think that they like us. We can get confused by this and trust them and don't realize we must guard ourselves against them. Balak was an 'honest goy'a who made his hatred of the Jewish nation public knowledge. There was no way of mistaking it. He put so much effort into having us cursed and hurt - he didn't give up. When it comes to non-Jews it is something to be thankful for when they express their true beliefs towards us. We know where we stand with them and can try to protect ourselves accordingly. It's those who pretend to be our friends who are a lot worse. Balak was honest with his intentions towards us so we have a portion named after him. There is something positive to be said about enemies like Iran, Hamas, and Hizballah who make it clear what they think of us. Something interesting to note about our portion. Some Sephardi Jews (i.e. those from Aleppo) base the songs of the services each Shabbat on the content of that week's sedra. These tunes are called the Maqam. There are various Maqam tunes to portray different emotions depicted in the weekly portion or special events of the year. There are tunes for happy occasions (such as holidays) or to express the beauty of something (when reading the 10 Commandments) or when there is a tragedy in the portion (the death of someone - Chayei Sara, V'yechi and Acharei). The Maqam used for the portion of Balak is called Mahour, and portrays emotional instability and anger. This maqam is used twice a year - for the portion of Toldot and in Balak. In Toldot it is used because Eisav is upset. In our portion it is appropriate, because Balak became angered as the curses of Bilaam were turning into blessings. We must pray that it be Hashem's Will that all our enemies curses be turned into blessings. Balak was king of Moav. Moav was located near the Dead Sea which is known for its salts. Usually our recipe is for something ingested through the mouth. For a change the recipe is for something absorbed through the skin (like on Yom Kippur we don't anoint ourselves because it is a type of "eating." It is for a recipe with bath salts from the Dead Sea which have medicinal and soothing effects. One can add aromatherapy oils or just regular scents to the salts to increase their therapeutic effects and enjoyment. I haven't tried this specific recipe but brought it here with the link to its source because it contains another ingredient from the area of Moav, lime. www.deadseamineral .com/DeadSeaSalt-BasilLimeBath DEAD SEA SALT BASIL & LIME BATH RECIPE The ingredients are: 5 cups of Dead Sea Salt 1 Tsp. of Baking Powder 2 Tsp. of Almond Oil 5 drops Lime Scented Oil 4 drops Basil Oil Mix the sea salt and the baking powder in a bowl. In another smaller bowl mix together all liquids and add to salts, stirring well. Let sit so they can soak up the scent all of the way through. After they have sat for about two hours take them and place them in jars with cork stoppers. To create a good seal dip the cork in melted wax and put cork into bottle. Correction: Last week it was brought to my attention that there were a few mistakes in my column of two weeks ago, on the Gifts of the Kohein. Third category should have read 10 gifts are given in GVULIN - anywhere in israel. 24th gift should have said EZEL HAGER - the repayment of something stolen from a ger together with the penalty - if and only if the ger has died. TERUMA & CHALLA don't need to be eaten in Jerusalem. [7] from Machon Puah - for Fertility and Gynecology in Accordance with Halacha Medical Secrets A Rational Approach to Disclosure Over the past few weeks we have demonstrated the opinion of the majority of poskim, that medical conditions that will influence the life of the person, their spouse and family must be revealed to prospective spouses. Contrastingly, we can also deduce that there is no obligation to disclose when the issue will have no impact on the lives of the people involved. Consider for example, the case of a woman who suffered from an eating disorder. She has since been treated, it has been determined that there are no long term affects to her health and/or fertility and she is not considered to be at risk for a recurrence of the condition. Since she is medically considered normal, the fact that she once had this illness is not relevant to the shidduch. It is true that a potential mother-in- law might be uncomfortable should she be told of the history. However, that does not make it relevant information, and the woman might very well receive a psak that she need not reveal this information. In fact, there are poskim who have written that any condition that does not affect or bother the couple is not considered a blemish that needs to be revealed, even if it would bother their parents. Most authorities would not advise such. They argue that couples are often too young or too romantically involved to comprehend the impact of a situation. They advise that parents should seek halachic guidance as to how much to interfere when it comes to such cases. The Netziv, commenting on the issue of disclosure, writes that one need not make a disclosure of information that is immaterial and will never be publically known. In contrast, he infers that if the information is either significant or even if insignificant, it is something that the public will know about - disclosure is required. The Netziv's approach considers both the practical - requiring disclosure of any material fact - as well as the emotional - requiring the disclosure of any fact that may be misunderstood or tainting (even by mistake) if made public - in his opinion. On a practical level, we follow the approach of the Netziv. We advise people who consult us to disclose information. While there are certainly medical issues that can be hidden, it seems disingenuous to us to advise people to begin their married life with deception. We do however, advise caution in determining when to make the disclosure. If the information is offered before the couple meet, the person's character, personality and good nature may never be revealed. We prefer to allow the couple to get to know each other and then make an informed decision. For couples who have a significant disclosure to make, it must be made early in the relationship, before the couple can develop serious feelings for one another. In this way, the pain of a breakup will not be too much for either party, while the person with the medical issue has had a chance to present their personality and characteristics to be considered as part of the decision. Contrastingly, when the issues are not significant, we do not set a timetable for when disclosure is made. So long as an engagement is entered into with the truth known, the family can decide exactly when disclosure is made. In these cases there is nothing wrong with allowing the couple to meet first and develop feelings for one another. The couple may decide to continue with the shidduch despite the medical condition since they recognize some wonderful qualities in the other person that make them a perfect spouse. A person is not the sum of their medical records, they are a human being as well and this must be taken into account when deciding when and how to reveal information. Next week: We conclude the discussion The Puah Institute is based in Jerusalem and helps couples from all over the world who are experiencing fertility problems. Puah offers free counseling in five languages, halachic supervision, and educational programs. Offices in Jerusalem, New York, Los Angeles and Paris. Contact: (02) 6515050, (Isr) - 718-336-0603 (US) puahonline.org [8] Person in the parsha by Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb for Parshat BALAK Doing It My Way Most of us have had occasions in our lives when we acted as super- visors over others. It might have been in our role as parents disciplining our children, it might have been as employers giving instructions to employees, or it might have been any number of other contexts in which we had to tell others what to do. I sometimes reflect on the many times in my own personal and professional life when I suggested, counseled, or otherwise instructed others. And I often think of the diverse reactions I received to my attempts to influence or guide the behavior of another. There were certainly those who rejected my instructions, some- times passively, sometimes defiantly. My own children were quite creative in devising ways to ignore their father's commands. And I have had subordinates in various positions that I have held who sometimes stood up to me and simply said, "No!" I have also experienced numerous occasions when my suggestions or commands were carried out to the letter. These were occasions when the individuals I supervised acted with commitment, with obedience to my wishes. I must admit to my great preference to these individuals. Every supervisor likes commitment. But there is a middle category. Here, the subordinates neither defy their orders, nor perfectly conform to them. Rather, the subordinate's response is, "Yes, but!" "I will listen to what you say," they respond, "but I will do it my way!" When I received responses in this middle category I found myself in a quandary. On the one hand, I wanted my orders obeyed, but on the other hand, I didn't want to squelch the initiative and self- reliance of the person to whom I was assigning the task. I may have preferred total commitment, but I compromised. I allowed concession. It is from these personal reflections that I can better understand the interaction between the major character of this week's Torah portion (Parshat Balak), Bilaam son of Be'or, and the Almighty. Read the opening paragraphs of this week's Torah portion carefully. Bilaam begins as a very pious individual who dares not make a move without G-d's permission. He asks G-d whether he can accept the request he has received to curse the Israelites. G-d answers, "Do not go with them! You must not curse that people, for they are blessed." Bilaam accepts this response with commitment. He tells Balak's dignitaries, "I cannot go with you." But then Balak ups the ante and sends more numerous and more distinguished dignitaries to Bilaam. Again, Bilaam consults the Almighty. But this time, He responds, "You may go with them, but whatever I command you, you shall do." How do we understand this shift in the divine instructions? Drawing upon our own personal human experiences in giving instructions to others, we can begin to understand this shift. At first, Bilaam responds with commitment. In his second consultation with G-d, that commitment has diminished. The second delegation of dignitaries has weakened Bilaam's resolve. So G-d, so to speak, has to adapt to Bilaam's "Yes, but!" And G-d offers a con- cession: "Obey me, but do it your way." Our sages describe this concession with this adage: "On the road which man wishes to pursue, upon that road he is led." That is, G-d allows us to follow the paths we ourselves choose. Our free will is so important to Him that He concedes to our wishes, and allows us to "do it our way." Of course, He prefers commitment, but He grants concession, hoping that, even in doing it our way, we will ultimately obey Him and conform, albeit imperfectly, to His will. This approach to understanding one of the ways in which the Almighty deals with human weak- ness allows us to understand many other examples in the Bible of God's concessions to human willfulness. Just a few short weeks ago, for example, we read in Bamidbar 13, of G-d's command to Moshe to send spies, meraglim, to scout out the Promised Land. The commentaries struggle with the account in D'varim 1 in which it is clear that it was the people's idea, indeed demand, that spies be sent, and not G-d's command. The rabbis resolved the problem of the differing texts by suggesting that G-d Himself did not think spies were necessary. He originally depended upon the people's commitment to rely unquestioningly upon His promise of the land to them. But the people wanted to "do it their way" by sending spies. G-d, as it were, relented, conceded. His command to send out spies was a concession He felt was necessary to grant in the absence of commitment. This insight also helps us under- stand the questions which have been raised by students of the Bible for millennia about the desirability of a king in Israel. Is appointing a king a divine imperative, as some texts suggest? Or is it a concession by G-d to the will of the people? Here, too, our approach is helpful. If He could depend upon the people's total commitment to His divine sovereignty, then there would be no necessity for a king. But the people wanted it "their way", and so we have G-d's concession, the mitzva of appointing a king. This concept is particularly useful to apply to our own lives. Ideally, we all should act out of perfect commitment. But human nature often insists that we do it our way. The compassionate Lord of the universe "cuts us a bit of slack", and gives us some flexibility, but relies upon us not to veer too far from His expectations. [9] Praying with Passion - V'ani Tefillah Foundation - Praying with Fire YIGDAL 13 Principles of Faith (part three) Translation: (Koren/OU Siddur) ...At the end of days He will send our Mashiach to redeem those who await His final salvation. God will revive the dead in His great loving-kindness. Blessed for evermore is His glorious name! Theme (of 12th line): As noted two weeks ago, YIGDAL comprises the basic principles of Jewish faith as formulated by the Rambam. This includes (number 12), "I believe with complete faith in the coming of Moshiach. Though he tarry, nonetheless I await him every day that he will come." Insight: Deeper meaning...The Gemara states when a person arrives at his Day of Judgment, he is asked, TZIPITA LISHU'A? - Did you await salvation (i.e. the coming of the Moshiach)? SMAK reasons that we would not be asked whether we awaited salvation if we were never commanded to do so. He finds the source of this commandment woven inextricably into the first of the Ten Commandments, in the verse, "Anochi Hashem Elokecha - " I am Hashem, your God who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Hashem pledged that He would take us out of Egypt, and He also pledged to redeem us from our current exile. The mitzva of "Anochi Hashem Elokecha" often identified as the mitzva of Emunah - faith - requires us to believe that Hashem redeemed us from the Egyptian exile. Our bedrock belief in that redemption, which comprises the living, pulsing heart of our faith, pumps constant life into our belief that He will eventually redeem us from our current exile. As certain as we are of the past redemption is how certain we can be of the coming redemption. In our eyes, the Geula is not just a hope, but a clear presence shining radiantly on the horizon, beckoning us to hurry and draw near. We do not just believe it is there; we yearn to reach it. It is the word "Anochi" that creates the connection between the past and future redemptions: The Midrash states: "Anochi signifies the first redemption from Egypt and the last redemption through Moshiach". Anochi is the word by which G-d identifies Himself in both of those promises. "Anochi" is used when G-d answers Yaakov Avinu's objections to descending into Egypt and thereby risking the dissolution of his family and its unique Divine mission. G-d promised, "I ("Anochi)" shall descend with you to Egypt, and I shall also surely bring you up.. "Anochi also signifies the final redemption as the Prophet Malachi states, "Behold, I ("Anochi)" send you Eliyahu the prophet before the coming of the great awesome day of Hashem." Visualize: ...bringing the prayer to life A person might believe that the bus will arrive at the corner bus stop at noon. He can harbor that belief while sitting in his office, sitting at his shtender learning, or sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch. One who awaits the bus, however, is out at the bus stop. His ears are piqued for the sound of the engine; his eyes are focused on the approaching traffic. He is checking for his fare and checking his watch. At 12:05, he is already wondering, "What's taking so long?" "To await" means an active and eager anticipation of the imminent arrival of the redemption. The Rambam's words, "I await him every day" make it incumbent upon every Jew to await the coming of Moshiach every single day, all day long. Take it with you: Personal connection to the prayer When you know something big is coming, you prepare for it. For instance, if you know you'll be visited by important guests, you make sure your house is clean and pleasant. You prepare food and drink. You make sure everyone in your household is dressed in a neat, respectful manner. You don't think, "If I hear the knock on the door, I'll quickly get everything ready." Expecting Moshiach works the same way. If you're not preparing, you're not living with a firm belief that the time is imminent, and that it will be "something big" that demands more than a last- minute fix. Since the essence of redemption is that G-d's presence will be revealed and known, our task in preparing for that time is to start now, using every possible opportunity to bring honor and recognition to G-d's name though our words, actions and interactions in daily life. [10] Towards Better Kashrut Awareness Q&A on various aspects of kosher supervision, from the OU "home office" No column this week [11] MicroUlpan Male donkey = JACK - AYAR Female donkey = JENNY - ATON ### More SOCCER (wonder why?) Center forward and center back CHALUTZ MERKAZI AND BALAM ### More SOCCER: In the four corners of the field are corner arcs and corner flags - DIGLON HAKEREN AND KESHET HAKEREN [12] Treasures in the Sand A great beach! Parshat Balak. Makes it worth the metal detector you bought on a whim. Phil here - personal time. The Gimatriya seaches that I find most satisfying are the ones that find two or more whole p'sukim that share a gimatriya. Gimatriya Matches or Gimatriya Twins, whichever name you prefer. Based on many of the commentaries on the Bil'am-Balak partnership, we find a suggestion that G-d is extra diligent in watching over us, so to speak, when our enemy is as strong as Bil'am. The pasuk in T'hilim (121:4) that can describe G-d in that protective mode is HINEI LO YANUM V'LO YISHAN SHOMER YISRAEL: Behold, He who watches Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. This pasuk has a gimatriya of 1691. And so does this pasuk - the one most associated with Bil'am: MA TOVI OHALECHA YAAKOV MISHKENOTECHA YISRAEL: Bil'am's plan included the offering of many sacrifices to G-d. These were meant to find favor in G-d's eyes so that Bil'am would be able to curse Bnei Yisrael, and to weaken G-d's feelings for us, to further aid his plan. VAYOMER BILAM EL BALAK B'NEH LI VAZEH SHIVA MIZBACHOT V'HACHEIN LI BAZEH SHIVA FARIM V'SHIVAH EILIM: Seven altars, seven bulls, seven rams. But we have protection from Bil'am in the form of korbanot that we would be bringing in the Beit HaMikdash. U'SEIR IZIM ECHAD L'CHATAT LHASHEM AL OLAT HATMID YA'ASEH V'NISKO: We will be offering in the Beit HaMikdash, daily T'midim and communal sin offerings on Rosh CHodesh and Chagim. That is our vaccine against Bil'am's sacrifices. These two p'sukim are Gimatriya Twins. Bamidbar 22:6 contains Balak's request to Bil'm: "Come now there- fore, I pray you, curse this people for me; for they are too mighty for me; perhaps I shall prevail, that we may defeat them, and that I may drive them out of the land; for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed." Our antidote, our protection: V'LAKACHTA ET HABEGADIM V'HILBASHTA ET AHARON ET HAKUTONET V'EIT HAMEIL HAEIFOD V'ET HAEIFOD V'ET HACHOSHEN V'AFADITA LO B'CHEISHEV HAEIFOD: Gimatriya twins. There are several other examples of GTs with p'sukim in Balak matching p'sukim which remind us that we have nothing to fear of Bil'am and Balak... if we only remain faithful to G-d. [13] The Antidote for Bilaam's Evil Eye Guest article by Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher Dean of Students, Diaspora Yeshiva "And Bilaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israe" (Bamidbar 24:2). Rashi explains that Bilaam wanted to curse the Jewish People with the Evil Eye (Ayin Hara). What is the evil eye and how does it work? How can we shield ourselves from its effects? The Evil Eye is a mysterious, powerful, negative, spiritual force that is unleashed by the gaze of jealous and envious onlookers. Colloquially, many Jews use the Hebrew expression "Bli Ayin Hara" (without the Evil Eye) when speaking about their good fortune, to avoid arousing its wrath against their children, health and wealth. In Kabbalistic sources, the eye frequently serves as a metaphor to describe G-d's metaphysical awareness as well as the interest people take in each other. The Bible depicts the watchful eye of G-d over the Jewish people (D'varim 11:12, T'hilim 33:18) and further demands that people not close their eyes to the needs of the less fortunate (D'varim 7:16, 15:9). It cautions us from being led astray by the wandering eye (Bamidbar 15:39), understanding that visual sensations cause the most sinful temptations (Sota 8a). Within the Talmud the sages admonish one for possessing an Ayin Hara, clearly connoting the vice of an Evil Eye (Pirkei Avot 2:9,11). One should instead adopt the trait of an Ayin Tova (good eye), taking satisfaction with one's lot in life and wishing the best for one's friends and neighbors (Avot D'Rabi Natan 16). Numerous Talmudic sources depict an "Evil Eye" with harmful and destructive spiritual powers. The sage Rav, for example, attributed many fatal illnesses to the Evil Eye, with the Talmlud even contending that he could enter cemeteries and determine that 99 out of 100 people died prematurely from Ayin Hara causes (Bava Metzia 107b). These sages affirmed that certain eyes possessed natural baneful potencies, or alternatively believed that the envious glare of onlookers, even with no ill intended, could cause Divine negative repercussions. These beliefs were widespread in both antiquity and medieval times, and extended to both the learned elite and the masses. Significantly, Rashi (1040-1150, France) and many other medieval scholars explained that the Bible prohibited directly counting the heads of population groups to avoid inflicting an "Evil Eye" (Sh'mot 30:12). Many medieval philosophers affirmed this power of Ayin Hara. Both Gersonides (1288-1344, France) and Rav Yitzhak Arama (15th century, Spain), for example, elaborately explain how eyes can emit certain vapors that wreak havoc on their objects. Others, like Rav Ovadia Seforno (1475-1550, Italy) adopt a more spiritual approach, contending that escalated individual attention causes G-d to examine the actions of the given person, increasing the possibility of divine reproach, since no one is without sin. Rambam directly challenged the notion of an Evil Eye and other folklore beliefs by minimizing the impact these types of beliefs had in Halachic matters. The Talmud, for example, forbids one from overly admiring another's field crops, lest the Evil Eye damage the crops. While Rashi, Ramban, Rav Yosef Karo (Choshen Mishpat 378:5) affirmed this explanation, Rambam explained the prohibition as a protection of another's privacy, and dismissed the Talmud's reasoning. Similarly, while the Talmud forbids caring for lost property while in the view of strangers, lest the Evil Eye destroy the property (Bava Metzia 30a), Rambam only mentions the second reason offered in the Talmud, that the onlookers might steal it. Despite Rambam's opposition, many popular customs based on belief in the Evil Eye became part of Halacha, Jewish Law. Double weddings within families or congregations are not held to avoid the harm of noticeable celebration (Even Ha'ezer 62:3). Fathers and sons similarly refrained from reciting consecutive blessings over the Torah reading. While Rav Yechiel Michel HaLevi Epstein permitted one to forgo this custom if he was not concerned with the Evil Eye (Aruch HaShulchan 141:8), the majority of contemporary scholars believe that this custom should never be waived (Mishna B'rura 141:19). Some contemporary scholars clearly continue to affirm the historic belief in the Ayin Hara. Rav Meshulam Roth (d. 1963) chastised another scholar for dismissing its significance and importance (Kol Mevaser 2:7). Rav Ovadia Yosef gave a fascinating dvar Torah detailing the measures one can take to avoid the Ayin Hara. The main precaution one can take to prevent the Evil Eye is to lead a modest lifestyle. This includes dressing and behaving with Tzniut (modesty), not showing off, and not boasting about one's accomplishments, achievements, and possessions. [14] Pirkei Avot Perek 6 The 48th (of 48) quality associated with the acquisition of Torah is saying something in the name of the one who said it. As it says in Esther... But who said, KOL HA-OMEIR DAVAR B'SHEIM OMRO...? It does not say who in Avot 6. But it does in the gemara: VAYOMER REBBI ELIEZER AMAR RABI CHANINA: KOL HAOMER... [15] Divrei Menachem Parshat Balak recalls how the wicked Bilaam causes the Israelite men to commit harlotry with the Midianite women. This event occurs at the final stopping point in the desert, Shitim, prior to Bnei Yisrael's journey to Gilgal where, in contrast, the men would be circumcised. In the Haftara, the prophet Micha cites the former event to a backsliding people. Micha pro- claims: "Oh my people! Remember what Balak King of Moav plotted and what Bilaam son of Be'or answered him, from the Shitim to the Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of Hashem" (Micha 6:5). For G-d had still to settle affairs with a forgetful, sinful, and ungrateful Israel whom He had so mercifully sheltered during their protracted journey in the Wilder- ness. Yes - Micha reminds us of our unfortunate propensity to take things for granted. For how does a people who finally reached the border of Eretz Yisrael under Hashem's protective wing so easily succumb to Bilaam's shenanigans at the very last stage of their long-suffering journey? Shabbat Shalom, Menachem Persoff Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading TTReader Feedback In last week's Praying with Passion piece on YIGDAL, we tacked on a TBDATR box that pointed out that often, when singing a part of the davening (rather than just saying it), we sometimes pause in the wrong place within a sentence, thereby distorting the meaning of what we are saying, or simply saying something that doesn't make proper sense, in order to keep the beat of the song. The example we gave unintentionally opened an interesting issue. SP pointed this out, but his bandaged and slinged arm prevented his emailing the details, so here's what we put together from his comments (at a wedding with distracting background noise). Remember that YIGDAL is a 13-line poem, each line of which is about one of the Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith. The line in question is the 5th one, HINO ADON OLAM... which corresponds to ANI MAAMIN... "that to the Creator, blessed be His Name, and to Him alone, it is right to pray, and that it is not right to pray to any being besides Him." It seems that there are two versions of the Hebrew line in Yigdal. Although the difference between the two versions is very slight, things change. [1] HINO ADON OLAM L'CHOL NOTZAR, YORE G'DULATO UMALCHUTO. [2] HINO ADON OLAM, V'CHOL NOTZAR, YORE G'DULATO UMALCHUTO. Note not only the L'CHOL vs. V'CHOL, but the change in the position of the comma as a result. [1] is translated as, "Lord of the Universe is He proclaimed, Teaching His power to all His hand has framed." This version fits the beat of the song but seems to have a major "flaw" - it does not reflect the 5th of Rambam's principles. Serious problem. [2] is translated, "Behold He is Master of the Universe; and every creature shows His greatness and majesty." (OU/Koren/Sachs Siddur - Via prayer to Him - this is the implication.) Fits better with the Principles of Faith but has the singing pause in the wrong place. Much less of a problem. Similarly for [2] we have the Birnbaum siddur. There, the Hebrew is V'CHOL (this in the time when all other Siddurim probably had L'CHOL). The English is "He is the eternal Lord [notice that Birnbaum takes OLAM as eternal (timewise) rather than universe or world (space-wise)], every creature (V'CHOL NOTZAR) must declare His greatness and His kingship. In a footnote, Birnbaum says that YOREH is taken in the sense of YAGID or Y'SAPEIR (will tell) and that in Gemara Eiruvin, the word YOREH has the connotation of YITPALEIL (will pray). The point of last week's comment was about a melody sometimes breaking a line in the wrong place. There are many examples of this - we just happen to chose one that is a lot more complicated. Parsha Pix In the upper left corner of the ParshaPix is part of one of the very first ParshaPixPuzzles of years ago. There is a BLOCK (sounds like BALAK) in a nest, which makes it BLOCK BEN TZIPOR Globe wearing an eye patch. Balak said that Israel was so numerous that we covered EIN HAARETZ, the eye of the Earth (as does the patch in that graphic) Messengers from Moav came to Bil'am with K'SAMIM B'YADAM, represented by the magic trick in the hand Bil'am's donkey saw the sword drawn in the angel's hand; Bil'am did not see it at first (or second or third) When the donkey talks to Bil'am, she asks him why he has hit her these three REGALIM, three times. Commentaries point out that it doesn't say P'AMIM, three times, but rather uses the word that refers to our cycle of holidays and to the People who observe them. The angel repeats the reference to SHALOSH REGALIM. The speech- bubble for the donkey contains the question (mark) about the three festivals, represented by the Lulav, Matza, and Torah Chicago basketball player, one of the BULLS and a St. Louis football player, one of the RAMS. Bulls and rams, 7 of each, (hence the large numeral 7) were repeatedly offered as sacrifices by Bil'am and Balak Clapping hands - a representation of Balak striking his hands together in disgust at Bil'am's repeated failure to do as requested. VAYISPOK. A unique word in Tanach, appearing nowhere else The Xed out snake is also from Bil'am's words, that there is no NACHASH in Yaakov. His meaning is that we do not rely on omens A "house filled with money" - sort of what Balak told Bil'am that he missed out on by not uttering one teensy weeny curse The shul in the lower-left corner reminds us of the famous MA TOVU OHALECHA YAAKOV... Lying across the bottom of the ParshaPix is the ROMACH, the spear that Pinchas used to protect G-d's honor The river of oil from the pitcher is mentioned in the haftara On the reverse side of a US dollar bill is a picture of the Great Seal: A pyramid with an all-seeing eye on top. Sometimes called the en- lightened eye. Bil'am calls himself the man with SH'TUM HA-AYIN. Living Torah offers these translations: enlightened, future- seeing, seeing, open, true-sighted, sleep- less, evil, dislocated, blinded. In the upper-right corner of the ParshaPix is a MEM, representing the MEM that is at the upper-right corner of the column in the Torah that starts with MA TOVU OHALECHA YAAKOV... What is remarkable about this MEM is that there is a Scribal Tradition that six specific columns in the Torah (out of 245 or so) need to start at a specific point in the text. All other columns are flexible, in a sense, and the exact beginning of each column will vary from Sofer to Sofer. (Actually, today's Sifrei Torah are written by copying from photocpies of a small number of existing Sifrei Torah whose writing is considered particularly good. So there is more uniformity from Torah to Torah - more than would be expected from the Tradition we're talking about.) This Tradition clashes a bit with another Tradition that each column begin with a VAV. This is a standard feature of most Sifrei Torah today, although it is only six specific columns that "must" begin the same way. Of the six, one starts with a VAV anyway, leaving 5 of about 245 columns that do not start with a VAV. One is the first column, which starts with the big BET of B'REISHIT. The MEM in Balak is another. Two others are the columns that begin the two "song" portions - HABA'IM at the top of the AZ YASHIR column and V'A'IDA at the top of the first of the two Haazinu columns. The lion cub is mentioned in Bil'am's description of the people of Israel - "Behold, the people will arise like a lion cub and raise itself like a lion..." (Bamidbar 23:24) and "He crouched and lay down like a lion, and, like a lion cub - who can stand up to him?" (24:9) ET is for ITI, with me. The occurs 52 times in Tanach and brings to mind the extraterrestrial who wanted to phone home. Balak asks Bil'am to go with him to another vantage point and see the Israelite camp. The Shofar and crown go together and represent the pasuk, Bamidbar 23:21, in which Bil'am proclaims, "He has not seen iniquity in Jacob, nor has he seen perverseness in Israel; HaShem his God is with him, and the TRUMPET BLAST OF A KING (UTRU'AT MELECH) is among them." Below the crown on the right side is CHEF-E, as in SHEFI, from 23:3. It has the meaning of He went alone (in order to meditate and hopefully be guided to curse the Jewish people as he wanted to and as he was hired to. In the lower right is another BALAK, a ben TZIPOR, that is. A baby bird is a BEN TZIPOR; so was BALAK. A company's logo and a Shrek character remain to be explained, which they won't - this week, anyway. That makes them each a ParshaPix Unexplained. TTRIDDLES... are Torah Tidbits-style riddles on Parshat HaShavua (sometimes on the calendar). They are found in the hard-copy of TT scattered throughout, usually at the bottom of different columns. In the electronic versions of TT, they are found all together at the end of the ParshaPix-TTriddles section. The best solution set submitted each week (there isn't always a best) wins a double prize a CD from Noam Productions and/or a gift (game, puzzle, book, etc.) from Big Deal Last issue's (CHUKAT) TTriddles: [1] Location in, same as Shimon's b'chor after Parshat Chukat has 87 p'sukim. In some Chumashim (as we have told you on several occasions), there is a SIMAN (code) or two or three, printed at the end of the sedra - words or names whose gimatriya equals the number of p'sukim in the sedra. One of the SIMANIM for Chukat is L'MEI-D'VA, to MEI-D'VA. 30+40+10+4+2+1 = 87. Location in - MEI-DVA is a location mention in the sedra. Shimon's firstborn is Y'MU-EIL is another SIMAN for Chukat. 10+40+6+1+30 = 87. L'MEI-D'VA is the "same as Shimon's b'chor after" the sedra, that is, in the SIMANIM that are listed after the sedra. [2] The white Bella and a booky moon each claim him Chukat has three SIMANIM listed. The first two are explained in TTriddle [1] above. The third on is UZI, 70+7+10=87. Of several UZIs in Tanach, two of them are UZI ben BELA, a grandson of Binyamin (UZI, that is, BELA was Binyamin's son) and UZI ben BUKI, a descendant of PINCHAS and ancestor of EZRA. Since Bella, as we spelled the name in the TTriddle, is a girl's name, the adjective "white" is L'VANA, with a gimatriya of 30+2+50+5=87. And spelling booky as we did, we made it seem to be an adjective describing moon, also L'VANA, also 87. These first two triddles were all about the number of p'sukim in Chukat and the SIMANIM given for that number. [3] Kashering vessels of Au, Ag, Cu, Fe, Sn, Pb (etc.) The topic of kashering vessels can be found in Parshat Matot. The context is instructions from Elazar HaKohen (HaGadol) concerning the spoils of war from Midyan. Bamidbar 31:22 lists six metals from which vessels were made and instructs the kashing by fire for those vessels used with fire. This, in addition to being treated with the Para Aduma ashes potion. The presentation of the TTriddle used the chemical symbols for ZAHAV (gold), KESEF (silver), N'CHOSHET (copper), BARZEL (iron), B'DIL (tin), and OFERET (lead). This portion in Matot is introduced with the words ZOT CHUKAT HATORAH - the only other occurrence of that phrase is at the beginning of Parshat Chukat. The link between the two is the MEI NIDA, as the Para Aduma potion is called. [4] Yaakov, Yosef, Yaakov to Yosef, and what nation? VAYMA-EIN, and he refused, occurs 9 times in the Tanach, four of which are in the Chumash. Yaakov refused to be comforted, not willing to accept that Yosef was really dead. Yosef refused the advances of Potifar's wife. The third occurrence is when Yaakov refuses to switch his hands back on the heads of Menashe and Efrayim at Yosef's objection. The fourth occurrence is in Parshat Chukat, when the nation-state of Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through its territory. [5] (02) 624-0504 This is the phone number of the OU restaurant off King George in Jerusalem known as the RED HEIFER STEAKHOUSE, as in PARA ADUMA. [6] Between Bogie and Birdie bad not RH, Boston's state In golf, each hole is designated with the number of strokes that a good golfer should take on average, to make the hole. This number is called PAR. A BOGIE is a score for the whole of one more than par. A BIRDIE is one less than par. Therefore, between BGIE and BIRDIE is PAR. Bad is RA. Not RH refers to the days of the week that Rosh HaShana cannot fall on - Sunday, Wednesday, Friday. The three days form the acronym ADU. Boston's state is Massachusetts, abbreviation, MA. All together: PARA ADUMA. This week's TTriddles: [1] 31 degrees 40 minutes 1.49 seconds North, 35 degrees 7 minutes 32.5 seconds East [2] Bil'am:Balak::Asa:whom? [3] What Israel did to its Gemara scholars? [4] The tenth month, Sara the daughter, Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak, Rivka - mother of Yaakov and Eisav, on the Efrata road, 1500, the leaders of Israel, covered the eye of the Earth, you - your son and your daughter [5] Monkey's weekly: win, place, show [6] He follows Naso and Balak [7] L'havdil, M52519 and Bamboo Harvester [8] Squab, gosling, eaglet, keet, eyas, cygnet [9] Curtiss JN-4H [10] Although they repeatedly offered PAR VA-AYIL BAMIZBEI'ACH, their real weapon was the TONGUE [11] Famous anagramic questions from sedra and its haftara Israel Center Miscellany See website for the "standard" entries of this file. Help young couples (evacuees and children of evacuees) from Gush Katif and N. Shomron get ready for the arrival of their babies - Tzedaka - Matan B'Seter; The money collected will be used to buy carriages, cribs, layettes... Make checks out to the Israel Center. Write on the envelope: Gush Katif - Baby Fund, Also collecting good second-hand baby items, For more info. call Sara 0505-444-397 CHESED FUND - When possible, we lend; when necessary, we give. Please help us help those who turn to us for modest financial needs Please give to our Chesed Fund Make checks to "Chesed Fund" and send to: Chesed Fund Israel Center att. Menachem Persoff POB 37015 / Jerusalem 91370 Do you "do" Facebook? If so, how about beoming a "fan of Torah Tidbits" - follow this link: tinyurl.com/m2t6u4 Sponsor a Shiur or a morning or a whole day's learning Sponsorship can be in memory of a loved one...or in celebration of a birth, Bar/Bat mitzva, engagement, marriage, anniversary, special birthday, Aliya of family or friends... The dedication will be included in Torah Tidbits, will be announced at the beginning of the shiur, and will be posted at the entrance to the room. Obviously, we need advance notice to properly process your sponsorship. Call us for further details: (02) 560-9125 Name: ________________________________ Phones: ____________________________ Dedication (circle one): Single Shiur (180NIS) What shiur? __________________________ Morning (360NIS) or full day (500NIS) Indicate which day: ________ In honor of _______________________________________ Occasion (birth, Bar/Bat Mitzva, graduation, engagement, marriage, anniversary, special birthday, recovery, Aliya), other - specify:_______________________________ In memory of _______________________________________ Occasion - yahrzeit, how many years; other: ____________________________________ Getting to Know OU Israel's Other Side The Pearl and Harold M. Jacobs OU Zula Outreach Center Fact Sheet Project Objective: The Zula Kiruv program mission is to rehabilitate youth at risk, and to help them find meaning in their lives. The program is a secure and supportive environment for teenagers who are searching for their spiritual roots and identity. Religious teenagers in particular are required to balance a heavy load in school while coping with unusual mix of pressures and Israeli society experiences. The aim is to hold on to these Jewish youth until they can develop the inner strength needed to come to terms with life's painful realities. At the same time, we encourage them to accept the challenge and responsibility of living their lives as traditional, responsible Jews. Target Audience: (Previously) Modern Orthodox youth at risk, who are deeply searching for answers in order to find themselves. Number of Participants: Between 150 to 200 participants a week. Location of Project: Center of Jerusalem, near Kikar Tzion. Senior Staff of Program: Harel Chetzroni, Refael Even-Denan, Rav Pinchas Rubenstein Project Dynamics: In 2001, many requests were made to create a kiruv program geared towards Modern Orthodox kids on the street. While contemplating, Harel Chetzroni, a wellknown educational master and teenage guru under the supervision of HaRav Mordechai Eliyahu ZT"L, approached the Israel Center, with the idea to build a Zula (recreation room). His idea was to be proactive and go out to the streets and meet these youth in their zone. In the past nine years, The Zula evolved into a well-known home and shelter for hundreds of kids. The Zula is not a school or a formal therapeutic service, rather, it is a comfortable place where street teens and other teens at risk can find acceptance, concern for their welfare and a friendly face willing to sing, schmooze, and reach out to them. Along with this safe haven, leaders of this program (see above) and madrichim speak with them on the phone and meet with them one-on-one as needed. Special Programs: In 2009, the OU Israel Zula program opened two hostels to give shelter to young girls who literally had no place to live and no one to turn to. The hostels, located in the Gush Etzion and Shiloh areas, are staffed by professional and caring counselors who go beyond the call of duty to nurture these young ladies back to society's mainstream. During the summer, "Zula" takes a proactive approach to their "life saving" efforts and sets up a mobile drop in center on the banks of the Kineret, a popular summer hang out for youth "looking for trouble". Machane Dror - Camp Dror Monday July 5th, through Sunday July 18th Boys/Girls going into 6th-10th grade Separate campuses Inspiring shiurim, chessed activities, color war, rafting, tiyulim, sports, water activities and much more - all in a religious and fun atmosphere... combines experiential education, contribution to communities, and volunteering ops with great activities (02) 560-9118, campdror@ouisrael.org 2 SPOTS FOR GIRLS REMAINING 8 SPOTS LEFT FOR BOYS Travel Desk - DIRECT LINE: 560-9110 or 050-725-8392 THE TRAVEL DESK is for making reservations and receiving info about Israel Center tiyulim. Please note that ALL Israel Center tiyulim require advance registration. Please note Travel Desk Hours": At your service SUN 12:00-5:00pm - MON 11:00am-4:00pm THU 11:00am-3:00pm - Other times, leave message at 560-9110 Call Naomi at the OU Israel Center Travel Desk, 560-9110 or 050-725-8392; fax: 566-0156; email: tiyul@ouisrael.org - Outside Travel Desk hours, please leave a message... Call Shulamit Neaman at 050-593-7932 on the day of a tiyul or the evening preceeding it. Also, if you are running late for a tiyul or for last minute cancelation. CANCELLATION POLICIES: We reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee in case of last-minute cancellations. Also... Price of tiyul is based on a minimum number of participants, meaning that we can cancel a tiyul with too low registration BOOKED? When a tiyul is listed as BOOKED - you can call to be wait-listed; you will be called back if there is a cancellation, if we add a bus, or when we fix a new date for the tiyul. STUDENTS FROM ABROAD: Parents visiting you this year? If so, speak to us! (560-9110) to check out our tiyulim or Shabbatonim (call Ita Rochel 560-9125) that might interest them. KASHRUT POLICY: Food for Israel Center In-House programs is supervised by OU-Israel Mehadrin. Israel Center sponsored trips and programs are Mehadrin. Hotels, restaurants, and tiyulim advertised by outside parties are not necessarily Mehadrin and are not endorsed by the OU or the Israel Center. Calls from abroad: Due to time differences, we recommend that people from abroad, email tiyul@ouisrael.org or fax 972-2-5660156 for attention of OU Israel Travel Desk Please be sure to include email or fax number for reply, in addition to phone number. Israel Center tiyulim are partially subsidized by the Jewish Agency for Israel Our next In-House Shabbaton - Return to joy after the Three Weeks in style! Join us for a Shabbat Nachamu Shabbaton - Friday-Shabbat, July 23-24 Shiurim by our Shabbat guest: Rabbi Neil Winkler Plus mini-shiurim, Divrei Torah, tidbits, trivia quizzes, delicious meals, camaraderie... 250nis members (300nis non-members) Call 560-9125 to reserve BOOKED - CALL TO BE WAITLISTED -- See the world-famous BELZ Synagogue - Mon. June 28 3:30pm 25nis per person - Advance registration and payment required; Sign up with the Travel Desk (02) 560-9110 or 050-725-8392 BOOKED - LAST ROOMS - EIN GEDI - Join us for a wonderful 5-day vacation at the Ein Gedi Guest House This is not just a vacation but a blessed health experience, as well - SUN-THU, July 4-8 in the midst of the only Botanical Gardens in the world where people live. Price includes... admission to the world famous magnificent mineral Spa and self-service mud - all day and every day. A delightful semi-Olympic sweet water outdoor pool - hours for separate swimming for men and women, including night swimming. Entrance to the separate Dead Sea beaches. Beautiful, recently redecorated rooms with refrigerator, kettle and more; Rich buffet cuisine - Kosher Lemehadrin - Hashgacha of Rabbi Bistritzky with all products either Eida Haredit or Rabbi Landau GUEST SPEAKERS: Rabbi Jacob J. Greenberg, U.S. Air Force Chaplain (Res.) , spiritual leader of Cong. Beth Tikvah, Canarsie, Brooklyn and Rivka Epstein, graduate, Lander School of Tourism - Topic: Eretz Yisrael - A Unique Land Lunch provided at additional cost of 60NIS per meal per person Prices are per person, dbl. occ. half board (Single supplement available) Deluxe rooms: New desert rooms: 4 nights, 1616NIS 4 nights, 1412NIS 3 nights, 1245NIS 3 nights, 1146NIS 2 nights, 816NIS 2 nights, 780NIS Register immediately with Naomi at the Travel Desk 560-9110 or 050-725-8392 Shulamit's tiyulim are always a treat; Come! You will enjoy her delicious sweets! Since the Travel Desk will be closed from Sunday thru Sunday, July 4-11, it is preferable to register for the Bat Yam and Netanya Tiyul (July 11th), by Thursday July 1st at 3 pm. However, you can leave messages after that on tel. 02-560-9110 only. Building and rebuilding - Modern and Chassidic Communities on the Shore of the Mediterranean Sea Bat Yam (incl. Kiryat Bobov) and Netanya (incl. Kiryat Sanz) with Historian & guide Gabriella Licsko SUN July 11 8:00am to 6:30pm Bat Yam, a city between Jaffo and Holon, with Israel's biggest Jewish population of Turkish origin... walk along the wonderful seashore, hear about famous residents... visit Kiryat Bobov, a Chassidic neighborhood built by the previous Bobover Rebbe... history of Bobov, their historical connection to the Sanzer dynasty, and the Rebbe's unbelievable rebuilding work after WW2 - Netanya, the popular and continuously growing city between Tel-Aviv and Haifa... a considerable anglo population... downtown area, new building projects... Laniado Hospital and Kiryat Sanz ( next to the sea)... learn about the Admor's amazing community work after WW2 - 155NIS members / 170NIS non-members includes a delicious meat lunch during our special tour of Laniado Hospital - For reservations, call Naomi at the Travel Desk 560-9110 or 050-725-8392 - Shulamit's tiyulim are always a treat; Come! You will enjoy her delicious sweets! "Jerusalem of Gold Jerusalem of Colors" - Join us for a lively neighborhood tour of Kiryat Moshe with historian and guide Gabriella Licsko Friday, July 16th 10:30am - 12:30pm Explore Kiryat Moshe, a most popular Jerusalem neighborhood for the Israeli National Religious and "Chardal" community... growing Anglo population...Combine local history with visits to the world famous Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva, Machon Meir - the biggest Dati Leumi baal tshuva yeshiva in Israel, the Beit Knesset of HaRav Mordechai Eliyahu Shlita, the headquarters of Sherut Leumi... and many more sites. 25NIS members / 36NIS non-members - For reservations, call Naomi at the Travel Desk 560-9110 or 050-725-8392 A Summer Vacation for the Entire Family at the Caesar Premier Hotel TIBERIAS - Sunday-Thursday, August 1-5 Join us for a special summer vacation at the five star Caesar Resort Hotel in Tiberias located on the lakeside promenade of the Kinneret, close to the main shopping and entertainment centers. Each room has a balcony with a view of the Kinneret, Outdoor pool with sun deck Spa with an indoor pool health club, Finnish sauna (treatments & massages - additional fee) separate hours for men and women Children's club, Evening entertainment and more... The hotel (for this stay) is Glatt-Mehadrin under the supervision of HaRav Burstein, Shlita. The products have the hecshers of Rav Landau, Rav Rubin and Eida Charedit. 575NIS per person per night in a double room, Single supplement available Price includes HB (breakfast & supper) and afternoon coffee & cake - For reservations: Naomi at the Travel Desk560-9110, 050 725 8392 Shulamit's tiyulim are always a treat; Come! You will enjoy her delicious sweets! The Back Page of TT912 The Avrom Silver Jerusalem College for Adults - Dean, Rabbi Sholom Gold, is the educational component of the Seymour J. Abrams Orthodox Union Jerusalem World Center and incorporates all the classes & lectures of the OU Israel Center. "Regular" IC classes & lectures - 25nis members, 30nis non-members. 5nis maintenance fee for life members. Special rates for mornings with two or more shiurim: 50nis members, 60nis non-members. 10nis for life members. Yearly membership 360NIS couple, 275NIS single. Life membership, call us. Programs of the Center are partially funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel, No one will be turned away for inability to pay. Yom R'vi'i, 11 Tammuz - WED, June 23rd XXX Contemporary Halachic Issues Rabbi Macy Gordon - We wish Rabbi Gordon a speedy recovery. Watch Torah Tidbits for the announcements of his return to the schedule of shiurim 10:45am Parshat HaShavua R' Yosef Wolicki various MINI-Shiur/Divrei Torah while you fold 12:30pm VIDEO/library - Rabbi Zev Leff - "How Goodly Are Your Tents, O Jacob" 1:00pm Financial Success Seminar 12:45pm TaiChi for Health with Avi Hirsch 1:30pm Medical Chi Kong with Avi Hirsch 050-7671-722 1:30pm Verna and her knitting group 2:30pm Women's Beit Midrash - Pearl Borow 7:30pm Rabbi Chaim Eisen's shiur - Truth will sprout from the earth Yom Chamishi, 12 Tammuz - THU, June 24th 9:00am NEW Exercise Class for Women at the ISRAEL CENTER Focus on balance, correct posture, back and abdominal strengthening Given by DR TOVA GOLDFINE Chiropractor/Rehabilitation FOR WOMEN OF ALL AGES AND EXERCISE FITNESS LEVEL What to wear... loose clothes What to expect... fun and challenging exercise and movement Leaving you wanting more and more... and for sure, take home tips for you to continue your strengthening at home 25NIS members 20NISnon-mem PLEASE BRING A BOTTLE OF WATER AND AN EXERCISE MAT Contact Dr Tova 052-420-1201 chirodivine@gmail.com 10:30am Torah and Emunah Dr. Hayim Abramson various MINI-Shiur/Divrei Torah while you fold 7:30pm First Hand Report from Capitol Hill in Washington: Update on How to work with the US Congress to offset US Administration pressure on Israel 8:30pm "READING AND WRITING AND RETZACH" Screening of "For the Sake of Nakba" - unprecedented short documentary, filmed in May 2010 in UNRWA Palestinian Refugee Camps, following premier screening on Capitol Hill in Washington. Discussant for both programs: David Bedein, reporter and film producer Friday 13 Tammuz / June 25th 9:00am Rabbi Eisen's shiur on Aggada 11:00am RCA Daf Yomi Shabbat 14 Tammuz / June 20th 5:00pm Shabbat shiur: Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Poupko From Lot & Lavan to Balak & Bil'am 6:00pm MINCHA Sun-Thu in the Ganchrow Beis Medrash (first floor) 10:00am Rabbi Jeff Bienenfeld - Starting Brachot - 4th perek - Rabbi Bienenfeld will resume July 15th 11:15am RCA Daf Yomi by Rotation (and Fri. at 11:00am) 1:20pm Mincha (this time stays the same throughout the year) 3:15pm Hilchot Shabbat - Rabbi Chaim Sendic (052-668-0312) - Tuesday and Wednesdays 4:30pm Masechet K'tuvot with Rabbi Hillel Ruvell (not Tuesdays) Sunday 15 Tammuz / June 27th L'AYLA classes for women - in recess - until second week in Elul 9:30am Let's Study the Chumash Tonia Frohwein women 10:30am Mystical Insights into the Months of the Year Golda Warhaftig women 12:30pm Life: A fantastic Adventure - Alan Romm 12:00pm Hebrew for Beginners Learn to read and converse in Hebrew and feel more comfortable when you daven. Given by Haya Graus with Cecily Davis 10nis per session 2:00pm Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher (June 27th) Transforming a Fast into a Feast Sunday, June 27th 5:00pm - "The Amazing Health Benefits of the Revolutionary New Vegetarian Omega 3 from Clary Sage Grown in Israel" and a business opportunity. Lecturer: Dr. Gil Shachar, Specialist in Nutritional Medicine, Functional Medicine and Rambam Medicine, 10nis member, 15nis non-members 5:20pm Pri Chadash Women's Writing Workshop (2 hrs) - resumes next week Contact: Ruth Fogelman (628-7359) and Judy Caspi (054-569-0410) 7:30pm Rabbi Eisen's Shiur - Ramban's commentary on the Torah and its wellsprings 7:30pm The Book of Nechemya - Rabbi Mordechai Machlis 8:30pm The Book of Shmuel (A') - Rabbi Dr. Yosef Klausner (Yedidyahu) These classes are open to men and women, and are free of charge Monday 16 Tammuz / June 28th N'SHEI LIBRARY: 10:00-12:30 MOMMY & BABY MUSIC CLASSES with Jackie Mondays at the Israel Center 9:30am for 6-18 months 10:30am for 1-3 year olds Call Jackie to register for classes: 999-5524 / 054-533-9305 The shiurim and classes on Monday, 16 Tammuz (June 28th) are dedicated to the memory of Helen Brandwein a"h by the Levine and Brandwein Families 9:15am Excursions into the Book of Yehoshua Pearl Borow 10:30am Rambam's 13 Principles: T'chiyat HaMeitim - Rabbi Zev Leff Monday, June 28th 11:45am (after Rabbi Leff's shiur) - The emerging Beit El Heritage Center presents a short film and lecture: "Biblical Roots of Modern Beit El" plus: Beit El Artists' Co-op: The Flourishing Creativity of today's Beit El Artists. This is an opportunity for you to learn about and support our front line citizens and purchase some of the beautiful gift items available for sale 11:30am Fit Forever: Look & Feel your Best! Exercise for women of all ages - Call Sura Faecher 993-2524 12:30pm Dr. Maurice E. Joseph Jewish Video Resource Center presents... VIDEO in the LIBRARY: Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D. "Liking Yourself: Building Self- Esteem" 2:00pm "Bring on the Blessings" - Pearl Borow 3:00pm Mishna, Mitzvot, and More - Phil Chernofsky Review of Halacha and Practice of the Three Weeks Monday, June 28th 8:00pm - Phil Chernofsky on recess Rabbi Dr. Elie Assis a senior lecturer of Tanach at Bar Ilan: Now studying SHMUEL (in Hebrew) Details? Sam Finkel 052-469-1263 MASK - J'lem Chapter at the Israel Center - maskjerusalem.cjb.net - 050 754 2717 NEXT MEETING: Monday, July 12, 7:30-9:30pm with Dr. Judy Belsky Yom Sh'lishi 17 Tammuz TUE June 29th The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz begins 4:10am ends 8:20pm 10:00am and 7:00pm - Gemach 9:00am The Torah of Eretz Yisrael Rabbi Aharon Adler 10:15am Parshat HaShauva - Rabbi Sholom Gold 11:30am Jewish History, 2nd Temple Period - Dr. Henry Goldblum 67CE - The Galilee Campaign - Prelude to the Churban 11:20am Inspirational class for women based on the modern Mussar classic, ALEI SHOR with Esther Sutton 12:30pm Dr. Maurice E. Joseph Jewish Video Resource Center presents... VIDEO in the LIBRARY: Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb and other esteemed speakers -"A Time for Prayer and Action - The Three Weeks" and "The Story of the Yom Kippur War" (1 hour total) 1:00pm (to 2:30pm) The Wisdom Within with Esther Sutton A workshop in journaling for women Tuesday, June 29th SHIV'A ASAR B'TAMUZ Musical Program Festive meal If Beit HaMikdash is not yet rebuilt, then... 5:30pm SHIUR on the Theme of the Day by Rabbi Dr. Raymond Apple AO RFD, Senior Rabbi Emeritus of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, Australia; Author, OZ Torah, a global weekly Torah publication 6:45pm Slow-paced MINCHA for the fast day followed by mini-shiur on the Three Weeks 8:15pm MAARIV (fast over at 8:20pm) - Break-fast The fast-breaking refreshments are sponsored by Ruth & Mike Sager in memory of their son Hendry Marc Champion z"l on his 15th yahrzeit, 17 Tammuz Yom R'vi'i 18 Tammuz WED June 30th 10:45am Parshat HaShavua R' Yosef Wolicki various MINI-Shiur/Divrei Torah while you fold 12:30pm Dr. Maurice E. Joseph Jewish Video Resource Center presents...VIDEO in the LIBRARY: "Altalena" - The ship that nearly caused a civil war in the newly born State of Israel. In June '48, a ship carrying weapons from France to Israel under the command of Etzel (Irgun) arrived in Tel Aviv harbor. Etzel attempted to obtain the material to support itself as a fighting force separate from the IDF. The ship was sunk by the IDF and lives were lost. This is the tragic story. 12:45pm TaiChi for Health with Avi Hirsch 1:30pm Medical Chi Kong with Avi Hirsch 050-7671-722 1:30pm Verna with the knitting needles in the Library 2:30pm Women's Beit Midrash - Pearl Borow First hour: the KUZARI; Second hour on Chumash with Rashi 7:30pm Rabbi Chaim Eisen's shiur - Truth Will Sprout from the Earth Yom Chamishi 19 Tammuz THU July 1st 9:00am New Exercise Class for Women 10:30am (to 12:30) Torah & Emunah Dr. Hayim Abramson various MINI-Shiur/Divrei Torah while you fold Thursday, July 1st 8:00pm - The Joy Club - Rabbi Zelig Pliskin The Israel Center, Yashfe and Katamon Konnections invite you to "Mifgashim BaMerkaz" - a bi-weekly interactive meeting place for singles; Thursdays at 8:00pm at the Israel Center, 22 Keren HaYesod Alternate weeks for Ages 25-38 and ages 35-48 starting July 1st, '10 20p.p. Mifgash Bemarkaz aims to bring singles together for activities that will enhance social interaction in a relaxed atmosphere. Ages 25-38: July 1, 15, 29 and August 12 Ages 35-48: July 8, 22, August 5 and 19 We are limiting the number at each meeting to 80 and closing the doors at 8.30pm For more information: hmeller@013.net Yom Shishi 20 Tammuz FRI July 2nd 9:00am Rabbi Eisen's shiur on Aggada 11:00am RCA Daf Yomi upcoming... at the Israel Center Sunday, July 4th 12:30pm - Alan Romm's guest speaker... Eliezer Greenspan Dir. of Israel Family Services on Winning the Health lottery - easy steps to help your life Monday, July 5th 1:35am "Who's Who" - Israeli orthodox communities: 70 faces of the chassidic world the legacy of the Divre Chaim and the Halberstam family: the famous chassidic communities of Sanz, Klausenburg,Bobov and other related groups Interactive lecture with pictures by Gabriella Licsko researcher Lectures by Dr. David Luchins (8:00pm) Sunday, July 11th - Elections 2010: Are Tea Parties Kosher? Monday, July 26th - Between J Street and the ZOA - Should American Jews be taking sides in Israeli Politics? Wednesday, Aug. 4th - Israel and Iran-Whose side is Obama on? Inaugural Event of the Friends of Honenu English Speaking Group http://honenu.org/ - Saluting YESHA Artists The Artistic & Pro-Civil Rights Event of the Summer Benefiting HONENU - Providing legal assistance to Israeli soldiers and citizens in distress. Thursday, July 22, '10 15:00-21:00 at the Israel Center main floor 22 Keren Hayesod - Jerusalem For more info: Michael Heymann, CEO 077-700-8162, 050-950-6665, POB 9676 Jerusalem 91096 www.judaicaboutique.com SHWEKEY IN CONCERT - JULY 28-29 Call 02-560-9118 for tickets