Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev

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 Volume XII - Issue 15

 The DRS Weekly Torah Publication
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This week’s issue of

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   

is sponsored by
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F ollowing the description of the chet haegel and Hashem’s forgiving the na-
tion, the Torah records Moshe Rabenu asking Hashem: “make Your ways
known to me, so that I may comprehend” (Shmot 33:13). The Rambam in
the first chelek of Moreh Nebuchim explains that Moshe Rabenu was in effect
making two requests from Hashem: “show me Your ways and show Me Your
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when it comes to pure Revelation: “no human can see My face and live” (ibid.
20). Hashem then proceeded to show Moshe the connection between various ele-
ments of the world - this is the ultimate understanding man can achieve. It is inter-
esting to note that a similar revelation (although, not on the level of Moshe) was
achieved during the crossing of the Red Sea. This clarity and level of understand- This week’s issue of
ing of the Almighty led the B’nei Yisroel to sing praise to Hashem out of sheer    
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When we describe Hashem we often use the Thirteen Midot Family commemorating the recent
yahrtzeit of ‫דבורה בת יעקב קאפל ז“ל‬.
(Continued on page 7)

The Golden Calf Tragedy

By Benjamin Watman, 10th Grade

T he Golden Calf episode (Shemos 32) has been analyzed by every major commentator on Torah. We will
here offer the analysis of the Beis HaLevi, with bracketed comments by Rabbi Goodman.
There are two astounding facts about this tragedy that seem to indicate that this sin was somewhat
less severe than one might think at first glance:
1. How can we fathom the amazing gall of those who approached Aharon, brother of Moshe, to take the
lead in making this image? It is like asking a night watchman to help thieves break into a building.
2. What does Moshe mean when he appeals on behalf of the people with the phrase (Shemos 33:13), “and
see that this nation is Your people”? Have they not forfeited this title after this terrible action?
We must recognize that every mitzvah we do on earth has tremendous ramifications and effects in Heaven.
[A classic example of this idea is found in the Talmud (Sotah 49b), where Rava claims that this entire wicked and
(Continued on page 4)
2 ‫דברים היוצאים מן הל“ב‬
Torah Teasers
By Rabbi Moshe Erlbaum
‫פרשת כי תשא‬ The Secret of Deep Emunah
Questions
By Daniel Stroh, 10th Grade
1. Which two people appear in the Torah for the
first time in this ‫?פרשה‬
2. The Hebrew word for mask is ‫ ַמ ֵסכָה‬. Yet, the In this weeks Parsha, Moshe asks Hashem the big question, the
word "‫ " ַמ ְסוֶה‬is used instead of ‫ ַמ ֵסכָה‬. a) Who
same question that is always on our minds. After the Egel, and
wears a mask in the ‫ ?פרשה‬b) Where does the
Moshe gets Hashem to forgive Bnei Yisrael, Moshe asks “Show
word "‫ " ַמ ֵסכָה‬appear in the ‫( ?פרשה‬2 times)
3. What item was destroyed in four different me your ways.” The Gemara explains that Moshe was asking a
ways? pointed question: how is it possible that bad things happen to a
4. In connection to what does a "‫"ּצּור‬, a rock, Tzaddik and good things to a Rasha? Even Moshe Rabbeinu, the
appear? greatest prophet that ever lived, who is called “ish haelokim,” who
5. Aside from the ‫עגל‬, what other animal names learned with Hashem for 40 days and nights, could not grasp it.
appear in the ‫?פרשה‬ And the answers that Hashem gave him is not so clear either.
6. What descriptive term is used for ‫בני ישראל‬ Hashem answered initially “hinei makon iti, there is a place with
four times in the ‫?פרשה‬ me.” Hashem then further answers that “you will see my back but
my face you cannot see.” What does this mean?
Rabbi Mansour explains this with a famous story of the
Answers Ramban, who had a student on the verge of dying. The Ramban
asked him to go to the highest level and ask some questions, and
1. ‫בצלאל בן אורי‬, the artisan in charge of building the then come back in a dream and give the answers. The student was
‫ משכן‬and his assistant ‫ אהליאב בן אחיסמך‬appear in concerned and said “I am not worthy to get to the highest levels.”
the ‫ פרשה‬for the first time )‫ ו‬,‫ ב‬:‫)לא‬. The Ramban said not to worry, and gave him the questions in his
2. a) At the end of the ‫פרשה‬, ‫ משה‬wears a "‫ " ַמ ְסוֶה‬- right hand and wrote a special Kabbalistic amulet in his left hand,
“a mask” on his face after speaking with ‫בני ישראל‬ and made sure he was buried like that. Sure enough he goes to
)‫לג‬:‫(לד‬. b) The Golden Calf is called an " ‫" ֵעגֶל‬ Shamayim, and they don’t want to let him in at the first gate, he
‫ ַמ ֵסכָה‬- “a molten calf” )‫ד‬:‫)לב‬. Later in the ‫פרשה‬, shows the amulet, and they let him ascend to the highest level.
‫ בני ישראל‬are warned not to make any "‫" ֱאֹלהֵי ַמ ֵסכָה‬ Finally he returns to the Ramban in a dream and the Ramban asks
- what happened, and he said the “amulet worked like a charm and I
“molten gods” )‫יז‬:‫)לד‬. advanced to the highest level.” The Ramban asked if he got an-
3. The Golden Calf was burned, finely ground up, swers to the perplexing questions, and the former student answers
scattered on water and then drunk by ‫בני ישראל‬. “I had 1 problem, the place where you sent me to in heaven, to
The Torah states ‫” ַויִשְר ֹף ָבאֵׁש ַוי ִ ְטחַן עַד ֲאׁשֶר־דָ ק ַויִז ֶר‬
that place most high there are no questions here! There is so
“‫ עַל־ ְפנֵי ַה ַמי ִם ַויַׁשְק אֶת־ ְבנ ֵי יִש ְָראֵל‬- “and he burned it
with fire, and he finely ground it up, and he scat-
much clarity that there are no questions and everything is obvious,
tered it on water, and he gave it to ‫ בני ישראל‬to the questions make no sense anymore so I can’t give you an-
drink )‫כ‬:‫)לב‬. swers.”
4. Hashem agrees to show ‫ משה‬His glory, and From here on earth there are too many obstructions and
directs ‫ משה‬to stand on "‫ "הַּצּור‬- “the rock” -‫כא‬:‫לג‬ things make no sense, but from an aerial view next to Hashem
)‫כב‬a). everything is perfectly clear. For a human that has no perspective
5. A ‫שור‬, an ox, a ‫שה‬, a sheep and a ‫חמור‬, a donkey of the past or sense of the future, we can’t really make sense of
are all mentioned in reference to the law of re- this picture and we therefore must rely on Emunah. A good anal-
deeming a firstborn of those species )‫כ‬-‫יט‬:‫)לד‬. A ogy is that of a person who goes in one hour late to a two and a
‫גדי‬, a kid, is mentioned in reference to the half hour movie, and complains to his friend how the movie
prohibition of cooking meat and milk together makes no sense. He has a horrible time so he leaves a half hour
)‫כו‬:‫)לד‬. early and doesn’t stay for the ending. He runs into other friends
6. ‫ בני ישראל‬are called an "‫ "עַם־ ְקׁשֵה־ע ֶֹרף‬- “ who ask how the movie was, and he replies it was terrible, as the
a stiff-necked nation”, four times in the ‫פרשה‬ movie had no good beginning and the end didn’t make sense. But
.)‫ט‬:‫ לד‬,‫ה‬:‫ לג‬,‫ג‬:‫ לג‬,‫ט‬:‫■ (לב‬ how would he know about the movie, all he saw was a small clip!
(Continued on page 6)
Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev 3

Half of a Holy Shekel

By Yitzie Scheinman, 9th Grade

The pasuk states that the donation of the hakodesh.

machatzis hashekel is calculated as half of a shekel ha- The Ohr Yonasan addresses another question:
kodesh, a holy shekel. In what sense, and for what pur- why does the Torah write that each person should give
pose, does the Torah use the phrase “a holy shekel” only half of a shekel and not a whole one? He states a
here? well-known understanding that this mitzvah was meant
Rashi states that the expression “b’shekel hako- to be performed specifically with a machatzis hashekel
desh”, with a holy shekel, teaches us the shekel that the to signify that each Jew by himself is only like a half a
pasuk refers to here is similar to the shekalim that were person and must connect with others for his complete
given to hekdesh (the treasury of the Bais Hamikdash). self to be realized.
Therefore, the term “shekel hakodesh” should be under- Nevertheless, he points out, one must be careful
stood as a shekel of hekdesh. with whom he unites and associates. If they are also ob-
The Ramban, however, doesn’t limit the idea of servant and righteous, he certainly should group himself
shekel hakodesh to the money used to support the hek- together with them. If not, however, he must steer clear
desh. He says that the term includes money for any of them. The pasuk, he explains, conveys the lesson that
mitzvah or halacha with a designated shekel value. It is each person should give a machatzis hashekel if it will
called shekel hakodesh because the language of the To- unite to form a shekel hakodesh, a holy alliance.
rah and all the mitzvos is lashon hakodesh, the holy R’ Aharon of Karlin and others point out a fasci-
tongue, because it’s the language in which Hashem nating allusion in the word machatzis that hints at a
spoke to the prophets and to his nation when declaring similar concept. The word machatzis is spelled with the
the Ten Commandments. Therefore, a shekel’s use in letter “tzaddik” in the center, symbolizing a righteous
the performance of a mitzvah qualifies it to be called a person, whom one should emulate and attach himself to.
shekel hakodesh. On either side of the “tzaddik” is a “chet” and a “yud”,
Rabbeinu Bachya gives an entirely different rea- symbolizing people who closely surround the righteous
son for the pasuk’s mention of machatzis hashekel with person to learn from him. When they come together in
shekel hakodesh. He explains it as a symbol meant to this way, they form the word “chai”, alive. The two let-
convey the concept that the two parts of one’s makeup, ters on the outside, “mem” and “tuf”, standing away
the body and the soul, should be treated with equal care. and distant from the righteous person, can also join to-
Although it is proper and beneficial to use one’s physi- gether, but their union forms the word “mais”, dead.
cal capabilities in the service of Hashem, one cannot do The message is clear: Joining with a fellow Jew who
just that - he is also required to take care of his physical shares one’s Torah principles brings life. Joining with
necessities. Therefore, a person should weigh all of his one distant from these values, however, can bring disas-
actions like one would weigh a machatzis hashekel and ter. Adapted from A Daily Dose of Torah.
determine if each half of his structure is being used cor-
rectly. By doing so, he will be assured of constantly ris- Have a great Shabbos! ■
ing in his level of holiness, and he will become a shekel

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4 ‫דברים היוצאים מן הל“ב‬
(Benjamin Watman — Continued from page 1)
immoral plane does not deserve to exist, but does so
only in the merit of our recital of Keddusha and
yehay shemei rabbah . We would surely recite ye-
hay shemei rabbah with great concentration if we
remembered that our existence depended on this
* recital.]
So, too, our building a Mishkan for God’s
glorious presence requires a leader who knows all
the secrets and thoughts that must go into each act,
‫*לזכר נשמת שלמה בן אלתר יחיאל‬
and the meaning of each and every symbol. Only
then can we expect the Divine Shechinah to rest
What is Wrong with Counting? upon it. That leader, of course, was Moshe Rabbe-
inu. But now he is gone.
By Yoni Orlofsky, Member of Yeshivat Lev Shlomo In panic, the people approach he next most
holy person- Aharon. He alone can produce a sub-
This week's parsha begins with Hashem commanding
Moshe Rabenu tocount the Bnei Yisrael. The commandment,
stitute for their beloved leader, for he can invest this
however, was not to simply count the people in the normal fash- new symbol with true sanctity, which will induce G
ion of counting. Rather each person was to give in a half Shekel -d to dwell amongst them. [Indeed, the Midrash that
and then Moshe was to count the summation of the coins given. states that Satan intervened and had the calf actually
The Torah itself explains that the reason for this is in order to step out from the molten gold (as we read [Shemos
avoid a plague. Rashi on the second Passuk explains this peculiar 32:24], “and this calf came forth”) explains how the
connection. He writes that “things that are counted bring about people exulted that their effort had succeeded
the evil eye and as a result a plague befalls….” We also see this thanks to Aharon. Only the eruv rav (the recently
idea manifest itself in Jewish history as well. Dovid Hamelech converted Egyptians) actually went a step further
told his general Yoav to count the Bnei Yisrael and as a result a and called this image “your god.”] Therefore, most
plague was brought about, killing many of the nation (Shmuel I of the people did not see this act as idol worship.
Perek 24). Despite Rashi's insight, there is still much explanation
Of course, they made a grave error. Al-
needed here. At first glance the counting of people seems like a
though holy people can invest physical objects with
harmless act. What exactly is the connection between counting
and bringing about the evil eye? What is so bad about counting? great sanctity and power to shake the Heavens, it
One possible answer to this question was explained to me can only be so when G-d commands it. [Thus, when
by a chacham echad who lives in the land of Israel. One must G-d commands that we make two images of Keru-
look at the essence of what counting is. When one counts, he is vim in the Kodesh Kedashim, this act is mystically
limiting the matter which lies in front of him. Putting a specific (Continued on page 7)
number on something stunts the growth of this thing for I now
know exactly what it is. One is essentially exclaiming to the
world "this is what you are and nothing more." Perhaps this idea still has ultimate potential. But once it is counted the
can explain what Rashi means when he writes that counting Gemorah calls it a prayer to no avail. For now that it is
brings upon the evil eye. As long as something is not counted it measured, counted, and defined, there is nothing else
still has unlimited potential. It is infinite and without boundaries. that can be done.
At the moment that one counts, simultaneously he is destroying We too should not allow ourselves “to be
the potentiality. That is the evil that is being brought on as a re- counted” for at that moment we are defining ourselves .
sult. This is exactly why Dovid Hamelech was punished. He in- In other words, we should never limit ourselves in re-
hibited the growth of the Bnei Yisrael. gards to our own dreams and aspirations. Of course we
The Gemorah in Bava Metzia 42a quotes the following should feel joy from our previous accomplishments
statement from R Yitzchak: “Bracha is only found in something however we should not be satisfied. A person should
that is hidden from the eye.” The Gemorah continues to explain never say "this is who I am, and this is all that I can do"
that if someone is going down to measure his grain he may recite for there is always room to expand ourselves and grow
a special Yehi Ratzon to Hashem that Bracha should flow on to into more refined servants of Hashem. Hopefully, we
this pile of grain. However once he measures the grain he can no will allow this important message to penetrate into our
longer say the Yehi Ratzon. The same idea is being reiterated here hearts.
too. As long as I do not see and measure the grain then the grain Have a Great Shabbos! ■
Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev 5
6 ‫דברים היוצאים מן הל“ב‬
(Daniel Stroh—Continued from page 2) messed up, and then it turns out that he missed an acci-
There is only one entity who has a clear view of the dent or crash. Or the tragedy of a Jewish man who died
whole scenery, who was here from beginning to end and in a helicopter crash on flying over the Grand Canyon. A
that’s Hashem. When Hashem says hinei makom iti, month later they put up the tombstone, and, as its a big
there is a place next to me, he means there is a seat next chesed to attend that, all of his coworkers came, together
to Hashem and only from there can everything be seen with a few hundred of his friends. The day of the Tomb-
from beginning to end, as that’s the only place that has stone unveiling was September 11, 2001, and it was
proper perspective. Things are only clear from where early in the morning 8 or 8:30 in New York. These 250
Hashem is. coworkers of his worked together on the 101 floor of the
The Chofetz Chaims gives a different analogy to Twin Towers; they were all supposed to be at their desks
explain the situation. He speaks of a man who, when he at that time. Hashem engineered events that they would
came to a new shul and saw aliyot given out, complained all be someplace else at that time instead of at their desks
to the Gabbai that he doesn’t understand, how come this when the terrorists crashed planes into the Towers. On
guy had Kohen, that guy got Levi, another got Shlishi, August 11 we were questioning as to why did Hashem
and so on for each of the aliyot. The Gabbai answers, killed this person, and it is only through the events that
how would you know, you weren’t here last week and occur one month later that we realize that this one saved
may not be here next week! We balance out who had an 250 people. We just can’t understand any of these things
aliya last week, who has a chiyuv, who had yahrtzeit next when they happen. These aren’t isolated stories, Hashem
week. But you come in here without perspective, so why is always doing chasadim for his children Bnei Yisrael.
would you even entertain the thought that you could just Maybe that explains why in the morning Birchot
figure out what system we are using? Hashachar we say shasa li kol ztarchi, that you provided
We know that halacha says that a mourner says me with my needs is in the past tense when other bera-
kaddish, but whay does it have to be so many times a chot are in present tense. When we see something that
day? The standard thinking is that its a zchus for the de- looks like a tragedy we can’t thank Hashem because we
ceased, that his relative tells the people let us sanctify don;t have the proper kavana, but after some time he real-
Hashem together and enabling a mitzva to be done. Rabbi izes it was for his own good. A man who gets fired finds
Mansour says there is a deeper understanding we can a job that is better for him and everything settles down for
have if we understand the words and why it is so comfort- him and he eventually realizes he is in a better position
ing to the mourner. The key words are “yhe shemei than before. He wakes up that morning and says I have
rabba mvorach lolam ul’olmei almaya” - may your name unfinished business, thank you Hashem that 6 months ago
be blessed Hshem who is from the beginning of the world you provided me my needs and I didn’t thank you, thank
until the end of the world. Hashem is the only entity that you. Or the fellow that got a bad doctors reports, he
spans from beginning to end of time. The mourner is re- makes teshuva, puts on tefillin every day, goes to shi-
minded that someone understands the loss and reason be- urim, and this brings him to eternity and olam habah. so
hind everything, and someone understands the reason he comes later in life and thanks Hashem for providing
things happen. And when the mourner repeats theses him with his needs. Thinks look devastating at the time,
words “leolam ul’olmei almaya”, these words wash over but eventually they spark change that could make people
his soul and eventually he is comforted. That’s why better. That’s what Hashem was teaching Moshe Rabbe-
Hashem is the ultimate consoler, and we say “Hamakom inu, vraiti et achorai efanai lo yarau. - that you can see
Yinachem Etchem ...” at a Beis Avel. my back but not my face, we cant figure him out immedi-
The second answer given, that you can see my back ately.
but not my face, also needs to be understood better. We have to remind ourselves of these concepts,
When we are close to something it is sometimes hard to these things did not come naturally to Moshe Rabbeinu
see what is going on. Just like if a chumash is too close either. In the zchus of emunah may Hashem take away
to the eyes we can’t focus on it, similarly we may not be difficult times from us. An may everyone have all of the
bale to figure things out fresh when it happens. What blessings of the month of Adar, Layhudim Haysa Ora,
Hashem is saying is try to look back a little and as the V’simcha, V’sason, Viykar Kain Tihiyeh Lanu, Amen
event passes it can sometimes be put in proper prospec- v’Amen.
tive. This is an important yesod that we must always
keep in mind. Have a Good Shabbat! ■
There are always stories we hear about someone
who missed a flight and is upset that his schedule is
Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev 7
(Benjamin Watman—Continued from page 4)

No Payback very holy, and has tremendous ramifications in upper

spheres that we cannot fathom.] But a physical object made
and No Revenge by human notion, not mandated by God, can never have any
sanctity whatsoever, and is therefore labeled as idolatry.
By Yigal Saperstein,
We can now understand why Moshe, when defend-
10th Grade ing the people. Stated that they are “Your people,” for he
understood their intention had not really been to worship a
different deity.
Regarding ‫ בצלאל‬the ‫ פסֹוק‬says: We can also more fully appreciate why, in the final
“.‫ְהּודָֽה‬
ָ ‫ֶן־חּור לְמַ ֵטִ֥ה י‬
ֵ֖ ‫ֶן־אּורי ב‬
ִ֥ ִ ‫” ְר ֵ ֵ֖אה ָק ָ ָ֣ראתִ י ב ֵ ְֵׁׁ֑שם ְב ַצלְאֵ ֵ֛ל ב‬ sidrah of chumash Shemos, when the Mishkan was erected
by Moshe, the text never tires of repeating again and again,
Interestingly enough regarding ‫ אהליאב‬the “as G-d commanded Moshe”- for only then was each act
‫ פסּוק‬doesn’t mention his grandfather, only his invested with all the sanctity that eventually brought down
father. the Divine Presence to dwell there, as the volume of Shemos
concludes.
“.‫ֵה־דָֽן‬
ָ ‫ִיאִ֥ב בֶן־אֲ חִ ָֽיס ָ ֵָ֖מְך ְל ַמט‬
ָ ‫ְהֹור ֹת נ ַ ָָ֣תן ְבל ִֵׁ֑בֹו ֕הּוא וְאָ ָֽ ֳהל‬
ֵ֖ ‫”ּול‬ The Yalkut Shimoni records a perplexing midrash
about the Golden Calf; “The upper half of its body was an
Why is this? ox, and the lower half was a donkey.” Since there is no hint
Rashi says ‫ חּור‬rebuked the ‫בני ישראל‬ to this in the Torah, this comment obviously has a hidden
because of the ‫עגל‬, the Jews gathered together message.
and killed him. Also in ‫ פקּודי פרשת‬Rashi says The Pardes Yosef presents the following hypothesis:
that the ‫ משכן‬was a ‫ כפרה‬for the ‫עגל‬. We know from many sefarim that most of the people under-
The ‫ תֹורה‬is teaching an important stood that this calf was not really a symbol of G-d or a true
message by mentioning ‫חּור‬. Although those who object of Divinity. Their error was thinking that G-d had
created the ‫ עגל‬took away life from his ancestry, abandoned them to nature’s laws, to be governed by the
‫ בצלאל‬still does his best to atone for their sins, so constellations and signs of the zodiac. They chose the image
Hashem could forgive them. of an ox, which symbolizes prosperity. This was understood
by the more intellectual people. However there were simple
Good Shabbos. ■ ones who imagined unique Divine powers in this molten
(Continued on page 9)

(Ilan Portnoy—Continued from page 1)

(Attributes). This does not mean that we truly understand His ways - we only understand Him through His ac-
tions. The Rambam writes that love of Hashem can only be achieved through an understanding of the world which He
created. The Attributes are not emotions or reactions as they may mistakenly be perceived. Hashem does not get an-
gry, rather whoever is punished deserves punishment and whoever is rewarded deserves reward. The emotions are
descriptions for our benefit alone.
The Rambam adds: “a leader, if a prophet, should try to reach the level in which his actions will not be
reactions or emotions, acting based on emotions is a very negative way to act.” In other words a leader, and man in
general, is required to perfect his character - put simply - to exercise self-control. Self-control, however, is not limited
to restraining his behavior, but to controlling his thoughts as well. We see this kind of control by Moshe in this week’s
parsha (Shmot 32:14) which leads to “Hashem let Himself be moved to change His intent regarding the evil He had
said he would do to his people”. We find this kind of true leadership by another holy leader, Pinchas. Whereby, we are
told (Bamidbar 25:11) “Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned My wrath away from the
children of Israel, in that he was very jealous for My sake among them, so that I consumed not the children of Israel in
My jealousy. Wherefore say: Behold, I give unto him (Pinchas) My covenant of peace.” We see a valuable lesson
from these two great leaders. That although life is filled with a roller coaster of emotions, and these emotions are criti-
cal to understanding Hashem in all of His ways, we must still have unwavering faith and actions towards our service
to Him regardless of our current state of mind.
Have an awesome Shabbos! ■
8 ‫דברים היוצאים מן הל“ב‬

Learning from Moshe Rabbeinu

By Daniel Stroh, 10th Grade

This Parsha includes the saddest time in Jewish history, will erase your name from the 20th Parsha, Parshas Tet-
when the Jews, only a short time after speaking with zaveh.”
God Himself, serve a golden calf. To try to win a re- However, Rabbi Mansour points out a deeper in-
prieve to save the Bnei Yisrael, Moshe asks “why are terpretation. Many times we hear people who make
you getting angry at your people that you took out of charitable donations, use donation numbers 18, 36, 26,
Egypt with great power and a mighty hand...”. This 52, and a number common to Sefardim is 101. Even if
question looks a little strange- How does that make it someone want to donate $100 he says $101. What is
better? Doesn’t that just reinforce why Hashem was an- the deeper significance of the number 101?
gry with the Jews in the first place, worshipping a After worshipping the Golden Calf, Hashem said
golden calf after Hashem did so much good for them? he forgives them. Then he says that he will send a ma-
How is Moshe Rabbeinu helping? lach to guide Bnei Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael. Who was
Rabbi Mansour quotes the Maggid Miduvna who the malach? Micha’el. How do we know? Because it
gives an analogy from a married couple to the relation- says “Malachi” which are the same letters as Micha’el.
ship between Hashem and the Jews. A married couple Micha’el is the great angel of Mercy and Kindness.
has to sometimes remember what they saw in each other Moshe Rabbeinu however did not accept this; he wanted
when they got married to regain perspective. Moshe Hashem himself to bring us into Israel. Hashem agreed,
was reminding Hashem, that the Jewish people were and Micha’el was fired. How could that be? How could
supposed to be in Egypt for 400 years. But Hashem Moshe stop an Angel? Rabbi Mansour describes that in
took us out of after 210 years, 190 years short. When gematria, Micha’el equals 101. And Moshe, when spell-
Hashem is angry at what the Jews did, Moshe Rabbeinu ing out the secondary letters, also equals 101. Moshe
reminds Hashem “what are you complaining about, you had the power of angel Michael in him. What other con-
loved us so much that you took us out of Egypt 190 nections are there between the angel Michael and
years early with full strength and many miracles, please Moshe?
remember that love of us now! When Moshe reminded In Gemara Chagiga Daf 9 give ways to help mem-
Hashem about Egypt, it inspired the original love of ory. It says you can’t compare someone who studies
Bnei Yisrael and we were forgiven. Torah 100 times and 101 times. That’s hard work.
In last weeks parsha, Moshe’s name is not men- There is story told of Rav Moshe Feinstein who was
tioned, and our Rabbis say it was a consequence of when once testing a student, and the student says something
he told Hashem that “if you don’t forgive Bnei Yisrael was written in chapter 22. Rav Feinstein corrected him
blot me out from your book,” “misifrecha. Even though and said it was in chapter 21. The student replied he was
Hashem forgave us, there is a consequence of any utter- sure it was Chapter 22 since he just studied it. However,
ance of a Tzaddik, so Moshe’s name is not listed here in Rav Feinstein replied again that he knew it was Chapter
last weeks, Parshat Tetzave. But why Tetzave? 21 because he learned Shulchan Aruch over 250 times
Rabbi Mansour gives three reasons why: and that’s how he know where every paragraph was!
The first is that our Chachamim made a calendar We shouldn’t think all of the tzaddikim had photo-
that this Parsha is always during the week of the birth graphic memories, as most people aren’t given that ber-
and yahrtzeit of Moshe Rabbeinu on 7 Adar. We are acha. The holy books say that there are 2 angels. The
thereforereminded about Moshe anyway. A second rea- Satan special name with Samech Mem is 100, and the
son is that Moshe says “mecheini nah misifrecha” - angel in charge of memory is Michael, 101, and that’s
which can be read “miseifer cha”, and the 20th Parsha why that analogy is used. Michael is the angel of mem-
from Bereishit is Tetzaveh! So therefore Hashem said “I (Continued on page 10)
Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev 9
(Benjamin Watman—Continued from page 7)
image.
The third verse in the Navi
G-d is Always With Us Yeshayahu (1:3) shows the differ-
ence between an ox and a donkey;
By Jonny Perlman, 11th Grade “An ox knows its master, and the
donkey knows the feeding bowl of
its owner.” As the commentators
explain, the ox has enough under-
standing to recognize that the mas-
“Then I shall remove my palm and you will see My back but My face may not
ter feeds it, while the donkey
be seen.” (33:23)
thinks the bowl itself provides the
In this week’s parsha, Moshe asks Hashem to show him His glory.
Hashem responds by saying that Moshe will not see G-d’s face rather he will
food.
see His back. So what do you and I make of such a response? Does G-d have Hence, this Midrash is ac-
a face? Was Moshe not holy enough to see G-d’s face or is G-d’s face just tually hinting that the “heads” of
straight out too holy? the people were “oxen,” who knew
Rashi says on the words, “you will see My back”, that Moshe saw the all along that G-d is the Master of
knot of Hashem’s tefillin. In essence, Rashi has not really helped us at all. the universe (although He might
Great, Moshe saw the knot of Hashem’s tefillin, but what does that have to do have just abandoned them), but the
with anything in terms of explaining the pasuk to make logical sense? “lower half” of the people were
If we look back to the previous Rashi we can make sense out of all like donkeys, who now imagined
this. Rashi says when G-d has removed His glory and guidance from before that the molten calf was actually
us, to go from there and onwards, then we will see the back of G-d. Many of Divine.
you are probably thinking that this Rashi just makes things even more compli-
cated. So what does this all mean? Good Shabbos. ■
The gemara in Brachos (1:7) says that Moshe was asking Hashem to
explain His ways. Another way of phrasing this is Tzaddik Verah Lo. Why do
bad things happen to good people and why do good things happen to bad peo-

Stay tuned for the

Purim Is coming up!

JEW-MONGOUS
ple? One explanation of the answer is that Moshe can not comprehend G-d’s

Are you excited??

HAYOTZIM
PURIM ISSUE
ways from the front. He can only look back into history and try to explain the

DVARIM
bigger picture. A mashel given by Rav Aharon Soloveitchik explains this con-

IS!!!!
5771!!!

cept. A man once went to the home of a very prestigious painter. This painter
did magnificent work and this man came to see the extravagance of the
painter. The man took notice of a painting and approached the painting look-
ing at it closely, examining it very carefully. The painter instructed the man to
step back and look at the whole picture. The man did as instructed and was
then able to appreciate the whole picture for its true beauty.
So Hashem told Moshe that only in the future will he be able to see
the extravagance of G-d’s ways. How does this fit in with the previous Rashi
though? An answer to this takes us back about seventy years. During and after
the Holocaust, many people questioned G-d at thought that G-d had absolutely
forsaken His people. Many people even left Judaism for this reason. We can
line up this situation into our Rashi. Rashi says when G-d has removed His
guidance and glory from before us, then we can look at the back of Hashem.
So we clearly see that Hashem is trying to send a distinct message to us all.
At the moment in question we can not comprehend the ways of Hashem, but
if step back and look back at the whole picture, we will see and understand
that Hashem was amongst His people for the entire journey.

Good Shabbos. ■
10 ‫דברים היוצאים מן הל“ב‬
(Daniel Stroh—Continued from page 8)
ory, and after you learn something 101 times it sticks.
Of all people in history, the one person who’s memory
was absolutely necessary to accomplish his tasks was
Moshe Rabbeinu. Everything was given to him by
Walking Backwards .
heart, and he had to transmit the 613 mitzvot. The To- By Jeremy Bienenfeld, .
rah was downloaded into Moshe’s brain, and if he 10th Grade .
would have forgotten one dot, it would have been lost
forever.
Moshe Rabbeinu also had a very special trait he
excelled in which allowed him to transmit the Torah, ‫שנֵי‬
ְ ‫ׁשנֵי לֺח ֹת ָהעֵדֺ ת ְבי ָדֹו לֺח ֹת כְתֺ בִים ִמ‬
ְ ‫ׁשה מִן ָההָר ּו‬
ֶ ֹ ‫” ַויִפֶן ַוי ֵֶרד מ‬
the trait of Humility, as the Torah says Moshe Rabbe- )‫טו‬:‫ֶעב ְֵריהֶם מִ זֶה ּומִ זֶה הֵם כְתֺ בִים“ (לב‬
inu was the most humble man ever! Hashem loves “Moshe turned and descended from the mountain, and
humility and despises arrogance and haughtiness. the two tablets of testimony were in his hand.” (32:15)
Even the passuk in Iyov says where can you find wis-
dom? Vhachachma me’ayin temaseh”. Where can The Rambam (Beis Habechira 7:4) writes, that
you find wisdom? From someone who is “ayin,” when a Kohen completes his work in the Beis Hamikdash
someone who considers himself to be nothing. We and leaves, he is prohibited to leave with his back facing
learned that Hashem picked Sinai instead of a majestic the Beis Hamikdash. Rather he is required to walk back-
mountain like Carmel, Nevo, or others precisely be- wards, out of the deference to the Presence of Hashem that
cause it was a humble and low mountain. What is is fount in the Beis Hamikdash. This law can explain why
“chochma”? The gematria of “chochma” is 613. Moshe “turned” as he descended. Hashem’s Presence was
When you add up all of the primary and secondary let- on Har Sinai and required the same respect as the Beis
ters (including spelling “chet” out chet yud tet, etc.) all Hamikdash. Therefore Moshe walked down the mountain
of the letters equals 613. in a “turned fashion”, as in, with his body facing the
Why is Moshe called Moshe Rabbeinu? The rea- mountain.
son is because Moshe is 345 and Rabbeinu is 268, add However, this explanation seems to be contra-
them together and you get 613. Moshe gave us Cho- dicted from another pasuk. Earlier, in parshas Yisro
chma, and Chochma means Torah. (Shemos 19:14), after mentioning that Hashem spoke to
The last reason he gives for excluding Moshe’s Moshe at Har Sinai, the Torah writes that “Moshe de-
name from Parshat Tetzaveh is based on what he says scended from the mountain to go to the people.” Without
in our Parsha. Hashem does it in the month of 7 Adar mentioning that he “turned” as he descended. There too he
when Moshe is remembered for his birthday, and in a was leaving Hashem’s Presence and it seems as though he
Parsha that has 101 pesukim in it! In fact, the siman should have walked backwards as a sign of respect.
for remembering the psukim for this parsha is The answer to this lies in a careful reading of the
Micha’el! words of the Rambam earlier. The Rambam prefaces his
Hashem loved Moshe Rabbeinu the Anav so words by writing “when a Kohen completes his work.”
much that he said, “I know you are a tzadik and if you The requirement to walk backwards only applies after a
said something even inadvertently I will follow it. Kohen has completed his work, and is leaving for the day.
But if I can’t actually write your name out, I will at Similarly, Moshe was only obligated to walk backwards
least hint to it.” after totally finishing his discussion with Hashem. The
The lesson for us is that if we want to make our- episode in parshas Yisro took place before the giving of
selves a vessel to receive the Torah on the highest lev- the Torah, and Moshe had not yet finished conversing with
els we must first first be humble. If we want Hashem Hashem. Therefore he left in a normal fashion. Parshas Ki
in our lives and close to us, we have to learn from Sisa is describing Moshe’s descent after the entire process
Moshe Rabbeinu. Being humble means not to boast, of giving Torah was completed. Moshe was taking final
and to be thankful for our connection and closeness leave from Hashem. So Moshe left in a respectful man-
ner—facing Hashem as he walked down the mountain.
with Hashem.
Have a wonderful Shabbos! ■
Shabbat Shalom. ■
A vort from R’ Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik
Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev 11

The Bond with Hashem

By Marc Eichenbaum, 11th Grade

In this week’s Parsha we read about the Chet Ha’Egel, the sin of the golden calf. According to the pashut
pshat, the simple explanation, the Jews created a golden calf to serve as a g-d for them because they did not know
what happened to Moshe after they miscalculated the length of his absence. This, however, needs serious further ex-
planation as to why and how B’nei Yisrael could simply forget about Hashem and turn to another “g-d.” The
Medrash explains that the Satan tricked the B'nei Yisrael by showing them a picture of Moshe’s coffin in the sky,
implying that Moshe had died. The Jews, in complete shock and fear, thought they had just lost their spiritual leader
and their link to Hashem. Because of this, they created a golden calf to replace Moshe as the link to Hashem. How-
ever, to me, this explanation of the Chet Ha’egel still doesn’t make much sense. Could it really be that even after wit-
nessing the ten plagues in Mitzraim, being taken out of Mitzraim by G-d, and hearing directly from the Creator of the
Universe Himself at Har Sinai, the B’nei Yisrael still believed that a piece of matter, a golden calf that they them-
selves created, would serve as a g-d or even as a link to G-d!?!
I recently heard an explanation from Rabbi Netanel Lebowitz in the name of Rav Eliyahu Dessler that sheds
tremendous light on the story of the Chet Ha’egel. Rav Dessler explains that the Jews did not actually believe that a
golden calf could replace G-d. The reason they partook in this sin was because they were scared of their lifestyles.
B’nei Yisrael, being at the highest spiritual level attainable at this point, were scared of this close, intimate, relation-
ship with Hashem. For this reason they decided to sin with a golden calf. They did not believe the calf would have
any special powers, but rather they performed this sin for the sole purpose of sinning in order to decrease their spiri-
tual bond with G-d. And what better way to diminish this bond than with the worst of sins, Avodah Zarah? B’nei Yis-
rael succeeded in their objective of decreasing their relationship with G-d, and that is why they were commanded to
make the Mishkan. The Jews would now have to use the Mishkan as an intermediary to serve Hashem instead of their
serving and connecting to Hashem directly as they had done before the Chet.
We can all learn a tremendous lesson from this explanation. Rav Dessler clearly explains the sin of Avodah
Zarah as not simply worshiping another g-d, but anytime one lessens the bond between Hashem and himself. In other
words, any distancing from Hashem constitutes as Avodah Zarah. May we all think before we act to avoid distancing
ourselves from G-d in order to stay away from transgressing Avodah Zarah.

Good Shabbos! ■

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12 ‫דברים היוצאים מן הל“ב‬
PUBLICATION
STAFF
STORIES OF GREATNESS Editors in Chief
TOLD OVER BY: YEHUDA ISAACS Yaakov Feldstein
David Freilich
Good Shabbos! This week’s story is a to his host, "that you are held in great esteem in
Associate Editors
rather amusing one and I hope you will like it. Heaven. Perhaps you can tell me why this is
Layout Editors
Enjoy! so?" Judah Max Abittan
One day, it was revealed to "I am a simple, uneducated Jew," said Dani Scheinman
Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov that he had mer- the man, "who earns his living off the land. Yitzie Scheinman
ited that a great soul would be his "roommate" There is nothing special about me. Maybe you Rabbinic Articles
and partner in the World To Come. The identity should check your sources again." Yechiel Auman
of his roommate was also revealed to him as "Have you ever, in your life, done a
Student Articles
being the soul of a certain homesteader in a great deed?" persisted Rabbi Yisrael. "Perhaps Adam Goldstein
backwoods village many miles from his you once saved a life, or gave a great sum to Avrumi Blisko
home. Desiring to learn more about his destined charity, or made some other great sacrifice for Director of Production
partner, Rabbi Yisrael journeyed to the village the Almighty's sake?" Andrew Mermelstein
and asked after the person whose name he had "I'm sorry to disappoint you," said the Production Staff
been given. The man turned out to be a simple man, "but you have the wrong fellow. I've Nison Basalilov
and ignorant Jew—it was doubted that he was never done anything of that sort—I'm just an Jeremy Bienenfeld
literate enough to even read the prayers prop- illiterate farmer. The only extraordinary thing Yaakov Bluestein
Benjamin Watman
erly or master a few verses of Chumash. A few about me is the amount of food I consume. No
‫סופרים‬/Authors
villagers described him as a "boor" and a one eats as much as I do." Benny Aivazi
"glutton." "Why do you eat so much?" asked Yonatan Aivazi
Rabbi Yisrael rented a room in the Rabbi Yisrael. "That's because of my father," Ariel Bagley
Dan Bamshad
man's house and observed his behavior for sev- said the man. "Your father?" David Beer
eral days. Indeed, his destined roommate "My father died al kiddush Hashem Marc Eichenbaum
seemed a very ordinary man, with the manner- ("for the sanctification of G-d's name"). At a Yered Elisha Ginsberg
Yitzchak Ginsberg
isms of a simple peasant. Never did Rabbi Yis- pogrom many years ago, he was dragged from Shmuli Gutenmacher
rael see him with an open book beyond a terse his bed and given the choice of baptism or Yaakov Hawk
dispatch of the requisite daily prayers, nor did death. When he refused to kiss the cross, they Elisha Ishaal
Aaron Joseph
he discern any exemplary behavior in any area. set the barn on fire and throw him into the Yoni Kadish
The only thing remarkable about him flames. But my father was a wisp of a man—all Barak Klammer
was his diet: the man consumed a vast quantity skin and bones. In minutes, he was completely Eli Lonner
Avi Moisa
of food. At a single meal he would down what consumed by the fire—there was scarcely any- Yonatan Mehlman
the average man ate in a week. His girth bore thing there to burn. Gavi Nelson
ample witness to his eating habits: physically, So I resolved that, with me, it would Jonny Perlman
Shmulie Reichman
at least, he was a prodigious man. never be that way. If it should ever happen that Yigal Saperstein
Finally, Rabbi Yisrael asked him di- I must burn for the sake of G-d's holy name, I David Silber
rectly. "I have it from a reliable source," he said will burn, burn and burn! Boy will I burn!" ■ Alex Selesny
Daniel Stroh
Jesse Steinmetz
Jeremy Teichman
Benjamin Watman
David Weitz
The DRS Yeshiva High School For Boys Maggid of DRS
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