פרשת צו / י’ באדר ב’ תשפ”ב
We fast the day before Purim. This is usually understood that Esther requested this due to the danger of going to the king without permission. This can also be understood that the reason for the story to begin with is that the Jews were not behaving properly at the beginning of the story
פרשת ויקרא / ח’ באדר ב’ תשפ”ב
Our answer to those who wish to destroy us is not just to merely survive. but to continue to live as Torah observant Jews. That is their ultimate defeat.
פרשת ויקהל / כ”ד באדר א’ תשפ”ב
Every Jew had to donate a half shekel for the upkeep of the Temple. This is to teach us that every person has value. The concept of the upkeep of the Temple also included making sure the roads to Jerusalem were in good shape for those who had business in the Temple.
פרשת ויקהל / כ”א באדר א’ תשפ”ב
The Torah again stresses how the Cohenim (Priests) should be attired while working in the Tabernacle. Why does it stress the physical? This is to teach us that when we should dress appropriately when we are in a holy place. And that when we visit such a place it should be an experience for us.
פרשת ויקהל / כ’ באדר א’ תשפ”ב
The leaders of the tribes were punished because they hesitated to donate to the Tabernacle. They felt that they would wait and see what would be needed after the people donated. The people donated so much that their donations were not needed. The Torah points out that a leader has to lead by example.
פרשת כי תישה / י”ז באדר א’ תשפ”ב
Moses is considered to be the humblest man who ever lived. While he knew that he was a leader, he did not realize how his leadership influenced others. He was unaware his face glowed. How could someone so important no know this?
פרשת כי תישה / ט”ז באדר א’ תשפ”ב
The entire nation was punished for the sin of the Golden Calf. This is astounding when we realize that it was only a minority that committed the sin. Why was the whole nation punished? To teach us that silence in the face of evil is complicity in in evil.
פרשת כי תישה / ט”ו באדר א’ תשפ”ב
After witnessing the greatest miracles man had ever seen the Israelites chose to worship an idol that they had created rather than God who performed the miracles. This is perhaps the real reason that the Jews were punished, they refused to believe reality.
פרשת כי תישה / י”ד באדר א’ תשפ”ב
The ultimate defeat of evil is not just to survive but to survive in a way that shows they failed to destroy your humanity. As long as you follow God’s commandments evil is defeated. As long as a Jew celebrates being Jewish then the Nazis have been defeated again.
We are travellin in Lithuania. It seems very fitting that we should be visiting this country during the Three Weeks.
The Three Weeks is ythe period between the 17th of Tamuz and the 9th of Av. That is the traditional mourning period for the destruction of the Holy Temple. (The 17th of Tamuz is considered to be the date on which the Romans broke through the walls of Jerusalem, that ws the beginning of the end of the Second Temple.)
I bring this up because Lithuania used to have a vibrant Jewish community. It was the intellectual center of the Jewish world for about 200 plus years.
In 1940 this all came to an end. First the Soviets invaded. Then on June 22, 1941 the Germans invaded. Within the three years of the German occupation 96% of the Jewish population of this country. The the Russians came back. They refused to allow any Jewish life to return to Lithuania.
What is left is a community that is totally ignorant of their own past.
So as we travel around this country, it is just sad to think about what was and what is.
