Ahavat Yisrael Sheet - Parasha Re'eh 5780

!!!"‫ לאין סוף ברוך הוא‬,‫ ברוך שמו"!! "הללויה" "אין סוף תודות‬,‫" "ברוך פודה ומציל‬...‫בס"ד "אין עוד מלבדו‬

Issue 979

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Lesson of Parshat “Re’eh” 5780.

'Money' is not the goal but a means to an end!!

In our parsha, G-d commanded us: "Give up your money."

What amount are we talking about, 100 NIS? 200 NIS? 1,000 NIS? The answer: we are talking any amount. Even 100,000 NIS or a million dollars. Let it go! Forgive him! Do not ask him to give it back to you.

To what extent?

Reuven gave a loan of 100,000 NIS to Shimon, and now comes the seventh year, the ‘Shemitah.’ Reuven is not allowed to collect his money back. This is what is written in our parsha: “And this is the manner of the release… but what is yours with your brother,” meaning, any sum of money you have by your brother, “your hand shall release“ - give it up, Do not ask him to repay his debt.

Moreover: you must not refrain from lending to your friend. If your friend approached you about a month before the shemita year and asked for a loan, you must not avoid lending to him for fear that the shemita year will come before he repays his debt and you will have to give up the money.

This is as it is written: "Beware, lest there be in your heart an unfaithful thought, saying, "The seventh year, the year of release has approached," and you will begrudge your needy brother and not give him,” But: "You shall surely give him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him; for because of this thing the L-ord, your G-d, will bless you in all your work and in all your endeavors."

This is a mitzvah that only we, the people of Israel, the chosen people, are able to keep. It is very difficult for all of us to give up our money, but when our G-d commands us to do so, we have the power to do so and with great joy.

But why? What is the reason that Our G-d commanded us to give up our money? The Torah commentators wrote various reasons for this mitzvah, with the rule that emerges being to teach us that money is not the primary thing in life. It is an important component in our lives, but not an essential

thing. Moreover, Our Heavenly Father seeks to teach us that our money is not ours. Yes! It is not ours! Money is not the goal, but a means to an end to achieve the wonderful goal, that is to please Our Creator and buy our share in the life of the next world.

Our ancestors and forefathers grew up with this wonderful understanding and lived in a way in which they knew how to cherish, appreciate and respect each other, even when the actions of others were not acceptable to them or even angered them.

To what extent?

Rabbi Yitzchak David Grossman, the rabbi of Migdal HaEmek, said the following: The envelope that rested in the mailbox of my teacher and Rabbi, the Tzaddik of Jerusalem, the late Rabbi Aryeh Levin ztz’l, came as a surprise to the members of the household. The logo of the Jerusalem District Court was printed on the envelope. What does a man, who is all about the grace of giving and charity have to do with the court? Maybe a mistake was made here, the household members pondered, as they tore up the glue and opened the envelope. Inside was an official blank paper with an invitation to a court hearing, pertaining to a claim by a certain plaintiff suing Rabbi Aryeh Levin for a large sum of money.

Who is this person? Rabbi Aryeh Levin tried to remember and did not succeed. He never met this Jew and certainly did not borrow money from him. Thoughts raced through Rabbi Aryeh's mind for long hours and the members of the household turned to examine the matter in great detail.

After an in-depth examination, it became clear that the plaintiff claims that Rabbi Aryeh signed a guarantee for a third person who did not fulfill his obligation.

Rabbi Aryeh was in shock, he never signed a guarantee for this man, and in general he very much avoided signing a guarantee. "A guarantor (cosigner) should know that he has the money to pay," he would tell his students, "otherwise he is nothing but a thief."

FYI: This wonderful Torah newsletter is available in Hebrew, English and French. As we get your request at Alon.Ahavat.Israel@gmail.com, we will email it to you and to anyone you see fit. Yishar Koach!!!

!!!"‫ לאין סוף ברוך הוא‬,‫ ברוך שמו"!! "הללויה" "אין סוף תודות‬,‫" "ברוך פודה ומציל‬...‫בס"ד "אין עוד מלבדו‬ Rabbi Aryeh was adamant: "I have never signed a guarantee for this Jew, and my name is mentioned in this matter without my knowledge." But the plaintiff kept saying: "We will meet in court, where everyone will stand their ground."

Rabbi Aryeh placed his trust in G-d and continued in his holy work just as he did every day. Immediately after dawn he went to the ‘Ets HaChaim’ ('Tree of Life') yeshiva, where he stood guard over the spiritual management of hundreds of students, instilling in them reverence, Torah and holiness. In between, he would go to the nearby ‘Bikur Cholim’ Hospital and to the ‘Hansen House’ in Talbieh, to the leper hospital, where Rabbi Arieh came to encourage them and uplift their spirit.

From there he would continue to the "Russian compound" detention station in Jerusalem to visit and encourage Israeli prisoners. This was the daily routine of that righteous man whose heart was filled with love for his fellow Jews.

His heart did not foretell bad things to him. He would come to court and easily contradict the words of the plaintiff. And what possible evidence could the plaintiff have, all his words were a complete lie! After all, this never happened!!

The court was full of people. On one bench sat the plaintiff and on the other side sat Rabbi Aryeh Levin, the Tzaddik who never harmed anyone. The judges opened the documents to review and discuss the situation seriously.

They, too, knew Rabbi Aryeh's righteousness, but the prosecutors insisted. They displayed a document signed by Rabbi Aryeh as a guarantor of a certain person.

Rabbi Aryeh was tense. He never imagined that a Jew would boldly lie to the court with such brazenness - forging his signature, causing him torture and unnecessary suffering for no reason. For a moment he thought of proving the forgery of his signature thus proving his innocence, but immediately he changed his mind: "The plaintiff will be very ashamed when I expose the forgery! His disgrace will be revealed to the public when it is proven without a doubt that he forged my signature!

Is it permissible to shame a son of Israel because of a financial loss? Rabbi Aryeh looked lightly at the man standing in front of him and decided in his heart: "I will pass this test and I will not embarrass him - no matter what."

"Yes, indeed this is my signature," Rabbi Aryeh "recalls" and confirms his 'signature' on the guarantee document. The plaintiff looked down, as he heard the words of Rabbi Aryeh Levin, who went on to say: "Since this is a very big sum of money, I will ask the court to spread the debt over many payments."

The plaintiff, who was very impressed by Rabbi Aryeh's nobility, responded by saying, "I agree to the terms of multiple payments" while still looking at the ground. For many years, Rabbi Aryeh paid a huge sum of 28 Israeli pounds each month, in order to not embarrass a person from Am Yisrael, even though he sinned, lied, deceived and robbed.

This is how a Jew behaves, where he understands that money is not the goal but a means to an end. G-d will merit us to understand this and live this way, Amen!

With Blessing of Hallelujah, Shabbat Shalom And Chodesh tov umevorach, All-inclusive salvations and kol tuv, Moshe Yazdi

Dear Rabbi, shalom and bracha!

First of all I would like to write to you that your newsletter is our 'Oneg Shabbat'. I and all the synagogue worshipers hurry to arrive early to Friday night prayers to pick up a leaflet, for fear that there will not be enough for everyone.

So thank you so much for the fascinating content you submit every Shabbat. Hence my question: I have two very good brothers-in-law but different in nature and worldview as far east from west.

My brother-in-law Isaac (a pseudonym), is a man of kindness who always loves to help and be happy. The whole family loves him very much. We have one problem with him in that he 'shies away' from everything to do with Judaism.

According to him, he does not keep any mitzvah. Even on Yom Kippur he did not fast. Many times he shocked us greatly when he told us about his lifestyle that has never had any spiritual content.

He has very good qualities, so even though he is not observant, he respects those who observe, and we have never seen him disparage them.

My second brother-in-law, Yaakov (a pseudonym), was born into an ultra-Orthodox family and serves as the rabbi of the synagogue in his neighborhood. Jacob is very angry that Isaac is not willing to hear about our holy Torah and its commandments. He is so angry that he is unwilling to sit with him at one table. He does not invite Isaac to family celebrations. Even when there is a celebratory event in the extended family, Yaakov gets up and immediately leaves the hall when he sees Isaac enter. If I am not mistaken, Yaakov makes sure to invite Yaakov to his family celebrations, he also confessed several times and said that he loves Yaakov and only his ultra-Orthodox lifestyle is not acceptable to him.

Recently the hostility and hatred on the part of Yaakov has escalated. I do not want to elaborate because many of the family and outside of it read the leaflet and I am concerned about Yaakov’s honor. Since I know that Yaakov also regularly reads this respectable pamphlet, I decided to write to you and ask you to give your opinion, is Yaakov allowed to behave this way towards Isaac? Is this the will of G-d? How do you mediate between them?

Yaakov says that we are obligated to hate Isaac and keep him away from the family. Is he right? Please!

Kvod HaRav! Write a detailed and clear answer on this subject and I pray that your answer will succeed in uprooting the evil that caused a terrible split in our family. Your kind attitude and decisive words penetrate our hearts even when they are sharp. Therefore, it is clear to me that my brother-in-law Yaakov will also accept them and with Hashem’s help, peace in our family will return.

With great gratitude and love: A.C. Central Israel.

This newsletter is dedicated to the holy memory of our father, the Torah

!!!"‫ לאין סוף ברוך הוא‬,‫ ברוך שמו"!! "הללויה" "אין סוף תודות‬,‫" "ברוך פודה ומציל‬...‫בס"ד "אין עוד מלבדו‬ Answer: My dear and esteemed friend!

A. It is clear and simple that your brother-in-law, Rabbi Yaakov, is making a serious mistake and is even transgressing the terrible sin of desecrating the name of G-D. I do not want to write my own opinion on his erroneous and false opinions, I prefer to quote from our Sages as follows: B. The Gemara [in Tractate Hagiga 15] says that an echo sounded from heaven and said: "Return you wayward children except for Elisha son of Abuyah" because he increased doing evil. When Elisha son of Abuyah heard this, he decided to reject Hashem and started a wayward lifestyle. The Maharsha wrote about this: “Even after Elisha ben Abuyah heard this explicitly, he should have repented and certainly Hashem would have accepted his repentance with great joy.

"Since nothing stands in the way of repentance"!!

C. The "Chafetz Chaim" came to the town where a Jew lived who was careful to eat meat with one hand and sip the milk on the other hand and would do so in public while disgracing and blaspheming our sacred Torah and those that observed its commandments. As soon as he heard this, the "Chafetz Chaim" asked to speak to him and everyone tried to dissuade him, concerned that this insolent one would disgrace the honor of the "Chafetz Chaim". "Without knowing him, I love him," said the "Chafetz Chaim," adding, "And surely my words will be accepted in his heart."

D. When the "Chafetz Chaim" entered his house, he immediately said: "Peace to you precious Jew! I felt the need to come and tell you that I truly love you, despite the hatred and hostility you show to our sacred Torah” E. The "Chafetz Chaim" sat down on a chair and began to preach morals and reproach from a truly loving heart until suddenly this same Jew burst into tears and said: "Rabbi! I have sinned! Give me a way of repentance."

The Chafetz Chaim decided to stay for Shabbat in the same town and when the Baal Teshuvah entered the synagogue, the Chafetz Chaim invited him to sit next to him and he became one of his greatest disciples.

F. In Parsha Pinchas, the holy “Ohr Hachaim” wrote: “Hashem, may He be blessed, was concerned with the honor of Zimri son of Salu and did not write his name because Hakadosh Baruch Hu does not want to disgrace even completely evil people” G. The holy “Ohr Hachaim” also wrote there in the name of the Kabbalists: "All the souls of Israel will merit to finally repent fully.

Even those that put all their efforts into blaspheme, disgrace and come out against Hashem, may He be blessed, even they will merit to return to their roots and fully repent, so none will be rejected.”

H. When the Hasidim told the holy rabbi the "Avnei Nezer" about a Jew who was persecuting their lives spiritually and physically and harassing them terribly, they asked him to act against this Jew. The Rabbi "Avnei Nezer" raised his voice and shouted: "I am the L-rd"! The students did not understand his intention, and suddenly Rabbi "Avnei Nezer" shouted louder: "I am the L-rd"!

And immediately he explained and said: "After Hashem commanded 'and you shall love your neighbor as yourself' Hashem added and said: 'I am the L-rd'. Why? To tell us: Just like I love you and continue to provide for you despite your evil deeds, you should also love and respect the wicked among you, in spite of their evil deeds."

I. In the framework of my public activities, I got to know a respectable Jew named Ben, a man of great kindness whose great and strong faith beat in his heart and guided him in all his actions. About three weeks ago, Ben told me about a group of young men who strayed from the path of Torah and mitzvot, they became irreligious and descended from Israel to America. After a considerable period one of them began to repent and managed to bring them all back until they too repented completely. These wonderful young men decided to establish a congregation and pray in a minyan while setting aside fixed times to study our holy Torah, and asked for Ben's help to lend them a Torah scroll and indeed within a few days an elegant Torah scroll arrived.

Now I will write to your brother-in-law Rabbi Yaakov: You are a small man! The greatest Sages of the generation, the holy “Ohr Hachaim" and the "Chafetz Chaim" understood to do the opposite of your opinion! Arise and annul your opinion, retract and go to the house of your brother-in-law Isaac [who has better qualities than you] and ask his forgiveness and talk to him from a loving heart and illuminate his wonderful soul.

J. Shabbat Shalom and a good and blessed month, comprehensive salvations and all the best.

Tikun for the deceased!!!

Thank G-d, every Friday (about two hours before Shabbat), we have the merit to learn the teachings of the Holy "Or HaChaim" (Rabbi Chaim Ben Attar Ztz'l) on the weekly Parshah.

After the Shiur all of the participants perform the "Tikun (correction, improvement)-for the deceased", presented in "Kuntrass HaYechieli". Any person may order this wonderful Tikun for his parents or other relatives of blessed memoryl, and the merit of the study of the Tikun helps save their soul from the judgment of Gehennom (Purgatory). Even the souls that merited, and are in Heaven, benefit thanks to the Tikun, to rise from one level of Heaven to another. As conclusive evidence that they are doing better due to the Tikun, the deceased will appear in a dream, looking well and dressed in opulence. Sometimes, they specifically thank those who made the effort for them and dedicated their money to elevate their soul.

Below is a synopsis of some of the letters received in our office: Dear Rabbi Moshe Yazdi Shlit"a, After we asked to have the Tikun done for our grandfather, Rachamim ben Rachel z"l, he showed up in his daughter's and granddaughter's dream, wearing a beautiful white shirt, and looking very good. I have no words to thank you. Orit: 050-8733-474.

Dear Rabbi Moshe Yazdi Shlit"a, After having bad dreams about my late grandfather z"l, we, the entire family, asked you to perform the famous Tikun for him. I am happy to inform you that about a week later, he appeared in the dream of my mother Techi'. He was very happy and was laughing. We thank you very much for that.

Ruth: 050-413-4799.

Anyone who wishes to please and gratify their relatives by ordering this wonderful Tikun, Please call 323-4498184, or email: Ifat08@gmail.com G-d bless you and Kol Tuv!

Scholar Kvod Harav Yashar ben Tzion Ben Shifra, of blessed memory.

!!!"‫ לאין סוף ברוך הוא‬,‫ ברוך שמו"!! "הללויה" "אין סוף תודות‬,‫" "ברוך פודה ומציל‬...‫בס"ד "אין עוד מלבדו‬

When Maran the “Chafetz Chaim” (1838-1933) was still an unknown Yeshiva student from the village of Radin, he wrote his first book that dealt with the subject of “Lashon Hara” (slander and gossip). He received many accolades and recommendations, some of which were not printed, as they were so numerous. One of the generation’s greats, Rabbi Baruch Mordechai Lifshitz, was very impressed with the book, and wanted to check out its author, to see if his behavior matched his thoughts. He chose several wise and quick-witted men to perform the mission. One of them spoke with Rabbi Israel Meir, called the “Chafetz Chaim” (after his book by this name), for six hours(!!!) about the various problems of the Jewish people, only to hear from him but one bad word… but the Chafetz Chaim didn’t utter even the slightest Lashon Hara, even though the subjects they discussed were charged and sensitive. When Rabbi Lifshitz heard this, he gave him a recommendation, writing: “He practices what he preaches”.

Once the “Chafetz Chaim" passed the recommendation stage, he now faced a greater obstacle, censorship.

In those days every Jewish book had to pass thru the censors, to verify there were no contents that hurt or insulted Christianity or the government. The government would choose its own censors, who checked the books and made changes as they felt. The “censors” were usually apostates or Maskilim (secular Jews belonging to the “Jewish Enlightenment” movement), who were ignoramus fools, without any understanding, who caused ludicrous mistakes. The censor who was appointed to go over the “Chafetz Chaim’s” book was a secular apostate who knew the Chafetz Chaim in his youth and was surprised to see him in his current condition. So much time and effort were spent by the leaders of the Maskilim to try and change the Chafetz Chaim, but he remained righteous, grew in Torah and devotion, and their false ideas did not affect him at all. The censor tried to argue with him about several subjects, but the Chafetz Chaim evaded any response. All he wanted was to get the government’s approval to print his book, he did not want to get into an argument with an ignoramus Maskil. The censor got angry and said: “Look at the difference between us, we started at the same point, I live in luxury, earn a lot of money, and life smiles at me, and you, what did you do with your great talents?! Look at your clothes and the poverty you live in. Don’t you think you made a mistake by not joining us?!” Now the Chafetz Chaim knew he had to give him a convincing decisive answer. The Chafetz Chaim replied: “I once came to the city of Lida for something. Lida is far away from my village Radin, a distance of several hours. I travel in an old simple wagon, who’s seats are bone breaking, but that’s what there is, and I accept the reality. When I finished my business in the city, a fancy carriage stopped by me, the man sitting in it asked me if I want to go to Radin, for he is on his way there. Of course I was glad for the invitation, upholstered seats, comfortable carriage, the trip will be short and easy, what could be better? I climbed unto the carriage, and being very tiered, I fell asleep. After a few hours I woke up and realized we were still far away from Radin. "What happened, why is the trip taking so long?" I asked the wagon driver. I was shocked when I heard his answer. It turned out the carriage first went to a different city, from there it went back to Lida, and only then did it turn towards Radin. “Why did I have to go thru all this?! Granted the carriage was comfortable and fast but it only prolonged the way for me… what is the point of comfort if it doesn’t get me to my destination?!

“The same goes for your claim” the Chafets Chaim concluded his allegory: "Our soul travels thru this world until it reaches the heavens, its final destination… and you speak to me about physical comforts. Our life conditions are like the carriage. Your carriage is comfortable, but it only lengthens the way for you, and rather than helping you fulfill your purpose, it prevents you from doing so. My carriage, on the other hand, m‫ש‬y not be so comfortable, I suffer poverty and sorrow, but I know that every minute of my life is leading me, in the best way, towards my destination.”

The power of the sweet allegory could open any heart, but not the heart, made of stone, of that censor. He only mumbled in anger, and turned to his work, realizing it was useless to argue with the Chafetz Chaim, his mind was set, even if he refused to argue about it. The censor dared to change some parts in the book, but eventually the Chafetz Chaim received the permission, and finally got to the task of printing his book.

May his memory be blessed.

The following is an example of the holy customs and ways of our father, who served G-d with all his being, Kvod Harav (KH), Yashar Ben Tzion Ztz”l ben Shifra A”h.

It is written in the Halachah (law) that a person who says the blessing of "Blessed is the One who drops sleep on my eyes" before "the Keriat Shema on the bed" should be careful to recite this blessing right before sleeping, so that he does not talk between the blessing and sleep.

My brother, Rabbi Shimon Shlit"a told the following: "Right after the birth of my son, Naftali Yehuda Hy"v, I decided to call and inform the dear parents about it, despite the late hour and knowing they might be asleep already. My mother techi' answered the phone and was very happy to hear that G-d has given her another grandchild. Since Mor our father Zlh"h already said the Shema, he hinted to our mother to tell me that Halachicaly he is not allowed to speak because he already said the blessing of "One who drops sleep on my eyes". Of course I understood and ended the phone call happy and pleased.

Whenever Mor our father Zlh"h was informed of the birth of another grandchild, he used to start singing on the phone and thank G-d joyfully. The next morning Dad called me and started singing his traditional songs, and then he told me: "You should know that last night I had a very difficult test, because I really wanted to talk to you and express my joy at the birth of your son, my grandson. It was very difficult for me not to be able to talk to you, but it is better to be stringent and not talk after the blessing of "One who drops sleep on my eyes". I want to tell you that out of joy I did not fall asleep all night and I danced in bed and waited for the morning light to call you and wish you Mazal Tov happily."

Tnsb”h. His merit should protect us. To be continued next week.

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