Inspirational Thoughts on the Parsha

The reason for not observing many customs from Shabbos Mevorchim Chodesh Tishrei through Rosh Hashana is enlightening. They are: blessing the new month, mentioning on Rosh Hashanah that it is Rosh Chodesh, starting the beginning of the Torah on Rosh Hashanah and blowing the Shofar erev Rosh Hashanah. This is to weaken the resolve of the Satan, since he sees that we are so confident that we are not even observing these things. In a deeper sense, the pain that results for us by not doing these things (because we don’t want the Satan to prosecute us) brings us to a very deep level of Tshuva. לקו״ש כד

The Bal Shem Tov tells us that on the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah, Hashem blesses the Jewish people, and with that power, they bless the rest of the year. The blessing that He gives is in this week’s parsha “Nezavim” -that you are standing strong and firm. He gives us the strength, the firmness and unwavering power of the Creator, and with this power, we have the strength to constantly move and grow and evolve throughout the year- “Vayelech”.We see these two ideas of strength and constantly evolving running throughout our service of Hashem-whether it’s Torah, which consists of a written Torah that doesn’t change and then there is the oral Torah that’s constantly changing. We see this with davening where everybody recites the same thing, yet it’s all about the heart-each to his/ her own. Then regarding mitzvahs, where everybody has the same mitzvah, yet there is the approach of individually beautifying the mitzvah. לקו״ש כט

There is a discussion about marriage. What is the cause and what is the effect? Is the cause the man marrying a woman and therefore she acquires the money/ring, or does she acquire the money/ring and that causes for the marriage to be established? Regardless, our relationship with Hashem is like a marriage and there are two ways to serve Him. One is when the keddusin/marriage comes first. Kadosh means to separate, so we first separate from everything negative followed by the kesef “silver/money” which comes from the language of love. This means that afterwards we work on our bond and our love with Hashem. That is a systematic logical way of serving Him. The second approach is where we go beyond logic and jump into the relationship, connecting to Him and loving Him in a very deep way which automatically causes all the negative to disappear. Every Jew is capable of both ways. The main thing is to have a relationship.לקו״ש יט-ג

The Torah tells us that man is likened to a tree that grows tall, strong and independent, yet forever remembers and remains connected to its source. This is opposed to the animal and human kingdom that separate from their source at birth, produce as well even though they are also always connected to their source, but dies. However, after the season, the tree, remains connected to its source and is able to weather all storms.Within man, the tree represents his character, which is strong and unwavering- being that it’s deeply rooted in the soul. Therefore, some people are kind and others strong- and that doesn’t change. The mind, however can change, that’s why it’s so important to work on refining our character. We must learn that since Torah is the source of our life, even at times when we are away and may not be learning, we should always feel connected to our source -the Torah.לקו״ש כד-ג

There were two stages concerning the Jewish people. The first being in the Midbar, where there was more of a spiritual service. They were occupied with learning Torah and they ate the Mun, but weren’t really satisfied. They were only allowed to eat meat when it was utilized for a Karbon. That changed when they entered Eretz Yisroel. Then Hashem wanted them to engage with the world. It was OK to desire meat and eat it, as long as it was all done Leshem Shamayim, by harnessing the physical materialistic world and utilizing it for Kedusha. This is what Torah teaches us; that when your body desires meat it’s really because your Neshama desires it in order to enable you to utilize it for a spiritual purpose. לקו״ש ד

Let’s examine learning Torah versus other mitzvos. The main focus with other mitzvahs is the action, taking a physical object and elevating it to holiness. Although intentions are important, it’s not a prerequisite. However, when it comes to Torah, the vital foundation of this mitzvah is humility, which is attained when we realize that a limited human mind cannot comprehend the wisdom of Hashem. Therefore, we must make a blessing in the morning before we learn, which recognizes that fact. Also, when we learn Torah we have to realize it’s not about our logic, but that we should be seeking the truth in the Torah, feeling like a child when we do. For this reason the mitzvah of learning Torah is derived from the mitzvah of teaching your child. לקו״ש יט-א



When describing both who destroys the Bais Hamikdash and who will ultimately rebuild it, the Midrash uses the same terminology. Both are referred to as lions, although one was an evil person and one will be G-d. This is because although one may not destroy anything, especially from the Bais Hamikdash, however, if one’s intention is to destroy in order to rebuild, then it’s not considered destroying. Hashem is going to rebuild a far bigger and better structure, therefore, It’s not considered destroying, but rather ultimately rebuilding. That’s why Shabbat Chazon is given that name which refers to the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash. There is an explanation of Rebbi Levi Yitchak Barditchov that Chazon also means that we’re shown the third Bais Hamikdash during this time. This means that within the darkness we see the light; within the destruction we see the rebuilding. לקו״ש כט

Because each mitzvah that you do is so important and special, sometimes Hashem will rearrange nature just for you.This is evident in the story of when the Jewish people retrieved the spoils of the war with Midyan. Hashem commanded an accounting of all the spoils, which came to 840,000 animals, and then to split them. Half should go to the Warriors-half the Jewish people- and then take taxes from each half -each within each category. The Torah keeps repeating the exact numbers again and again. This was an extremely time consuming accounting; splitting and taking off the tax. Hashem made sure that not even one animal should die, in order to have the exact number to be able to do the mitzvah precisely. In other words, for years in advance, Hashem assured that they didn’t buy too much or too little cattle; that there were not too many births or deaths, so that one day when the Jewish people would be granted the spoils, that they should be able to fulfill the mitzvah correctly and accurately. לקו״ש י״ג-ב

If we see someone doing a good act with the motive, should we discourage them? The story of Pincos tells us although he was being zealot for God the other Shifatim were saying maybe the reason he was the only one to get up and do something was because he inherited from his grandfather Yisro to be cruel, and therefore the Torah tells us that no he inherited from his grandfather Aron, who nature was to make peace between the Jewish people and Hashem therefore, we should never discourage someone from doing a good act because a ultimately it will lead him to do it for the right intentions and as we learn from our story that you never really know what someone’s true intentions are even though it seems that he’s doing it for the wrong intentions. לקו״ש ח

What is a fearless leader? Is it somebody that’s not afraid? Balak was the leader of Moav. He saw the Jewish people wipe out the two kings that were paid to protect him. His fear turned into panic, which he displayed to everybody, causing them to ultimately get wiped out. The leader of the Jewish people, Moshe Rabeinu, was also afraid that the king Og would be protected in the merit of Avraham Avenu. However, he displayed confidence and positivity, and ultimately they won the war. לקו״ש לג-א