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Home -> 5778 -> Tetzaveh

ואתה תצוה את בני ישראל ויקחו אליך שמן זית זך. להעלות נר תמיד

Roberto Szerer
In Tetzaveh, 5778

ואתה תצוה את בני ישראל ויקחו אליך שמן זית זך. להעלות נר תמיד And you shall command Bnei Yisrael that they shall take for you clear oil…to light a lamp continually

In the beginning of Parashas Beha’alosecha, Rashi asks why the command concerning the Menorah is juxtaposed on the previous parsha (Naso) which details the korbanos, offerings, brought by the Nesiim for the Chanukas HaMishkan, inauguration of the Sanctuary. Rashi comments that Aharon HaKohen was chagrined that every shevet, tribe, was represented by its Nasi, Prince, while he and his tribe, Shevet Levi, were excluded. Hashem comforted him by saying that his and his tribe’s participation in the Menorah service was greater than their sacrifices. This was not the only service performed by Aharon and his shevet. The Yom Kippur service…

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Home -> 5778 -> Terumah

מקבץ נדחי עמו ישראל

Roberto Szerer
In Terumah, 5778

Mekabeitz nidchei amo Yisrael. Who gathers together the dispersed of His nation Yisrael?

Each and every Jew has spiritual potential. These spiritual energies or sparks of holiness, nitzozos, are mischanelled when we do not use our spiritual potential properly. Thus, we are unable to experience the full experience of life due to a limited supply of spiritual energy. We pray to Hashem that He gathers our personal sparks and brings back all of the spiritual energies to their proper potential. Similarly, when Adam HaRishon sinned, he caused the tzinoros hashpaah, Heavenly channels of holiness, to shatter, thereby spreading sparks of holiness throughout the world, where they are not imprisoned inside klipos ha’tumah, shells…

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Home -> 5778 -> Terumah

ועשית את הקרשים למשכן עצי שטים עמדים

Roberto Szerer
In Terumah, 5778

You shall make the planks of the Mishkan of shittim (Acacia) wood, standing erect. (26:15)

The Midrash observes that atzei shittim refers to wood derived from a tree that does not bear fruit. Chazal explain that, if in the future, a person would want to build a house of wood from a fruit-bearing tree, he would be prevented from doing so by applying a simple logic. If the King of Kings, Hashem, to Whom everything in this world belongs, said that His Mishkan should only be built from wood from a type that does not bear fruit, how can a human being make a different decision? We derive from here that whatever we do, regardless…

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Home -> 5778 -> Terumah

ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו תקחו את תרומתי

Roberto Szerer
In Terumah, 5778

And they shall take for Me a terumah/tithing/portion from every man whose heart motivates him, you shall take My portion. (25:2)

As mentioned earlier, the question on this pasuk is: Why does the Torah use the word v’yikchu, rather than v’yitnu? Would it not have been more correct had the Torah asked them to give a donation? After all, is this not what they were being asked to do? Horav Shlomo Wolbe, zl, explains this by applying the well-known Chazal in Meseches Kiddushin (7a) concerning the obligation that (in order to make a kinyan, halachic acquisition) the man must give the woman either a perutah, penny, or shavah perutah, value of a penny. By accepting the money, she becomes makneh, gives…

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Home -> 5778 -> Terumah

דבר אל בני ישראל ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו

Roberto Szerer
In Terumah, 5778

Speak to Bnei Yisrael and let them take for Me a terumah/tithing/portion, from every man whose heart motivates him. (25:2)

Nedivas ha’lev, a donation from the sincerity of one’s heart, is the loftiest level of generosity. It is easy to write a check – if one has the money to back it. Easy come – easy go. Generosity of the heart demands sincerity; it is not about the amount of money that one gives. It is how much of himself he gives with that money. The purity of money is based upon the sincerity behind it. When one seeks to establish an abode for Hashem, a place where the Divine Presence will repose, it must be the result of funds…

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Home -> 5778 -> Terumah

ויקחו לי תרומה

Roberto Szerer
In Terumah, 5778

And they shall take for Me a terumah/tithing portion. (25:2)

The command to build the Mishkan was not a one-time command, but rather, it is relevant to every Jew, every day of his life, at every juncture in history. The command begins with an ambiguous term, v’yikchu, “and they shall take,” when the correct vernacular should have been v’nasnu, “and they shall give.” Obviously, we can derive much from this. We will focus on the Midrash that equates the v’yikchu in this pasuk with the v’yikchu in the pasuk in Mishlei (4:2), Ki lekach tov nasati lachem, Torasi al taazovu, “For I have given you a good deal – My…

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Home -> 5778 -> Mishpatim

וקבצנו יחד

Roberto Szerer
In Mishpatim, 5778

v’kabtzeinu yachad. And gather us together.

Horav Shimon Schwab, zl, explains that the dispersment of our people during the long, bitter years of our galus, exile, is not only physical-geographical, but also ideological. This means that: the non-observant element of our nation does not understand those who are religious; and those who are observant are divided and subdivided even among themselves. We pray for the day when all factions of Klal Yisrael will come together in recognizing Hashem; those who presently are unpracticing will practice, and those who have varied approaches to serving Hashem will coalesce under one banner of understanding Torah as our only guideline…

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Home -> 5778 -> Mishpatim

לא תשמע שמע שוא

Roberto Szerer
In Mishpatim, 5778

Do not accept a futile report. (23:1)

Growing up, one of the easiest types of tests to ace was the “true” or “false” quiz. After all, it was either true or false. Growing up, the distinction between true or false was perceived as quite simple: it was no different than yes or no. Moving on from there, we assume that something which has been proven correct or real is considered true, while something which has failed to be proven true is false. Obviously, there are areas in which this does not prove correct, since a claim that has not been credited as true does not necessarily mean…

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Home -> 5778 -> Mishpatim

ואנשי קדש תהיון לי

Roberto Szerer
In Mishpatim, 5778

And men of a holy calling shall you be to Me. (22:30)

The Torah does not say anashim kedoshim, holy men; rather, it says anshei kodesh, men of a holy calling. Not all men can achieve the apex of kedushah, holiness, but all men can – and should – live as individuals who are charged with a Heavenly mission to achieve holiness. Our goal must be to become holy. Kedoshim tiyehu, “Be holy!” would then be interpreted: as strive for holiness; imbue your life with kedushah; attempt to reach the level whereby you are sanctified. Demanding personal holiness might be difficult for the individual. Expecting everyone to strive for holiness, to focus…

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Home -> 5778 -> Mishpatim

אם ענה תענה אתו כי אם צעק יצעק אלי שמע אשמע צעקתו

Roberto Szerer
In Mishpatim, 5778

If you dare cause him pain…! – For if he shall cry out to Me, I shall surely hear his outcry. (22:22)

Causing pain to a person whose life is wretched, who stares misery in the face each and every day, is wrong – regardless of one’s motivation. Sometimes, a person’s intentions are noble. He is acutely aware that the individual who is suffering might well put his suffering behind him, if he would only pray with greater devotion. Some people need to be up against the wall with little or no hope for salvation before they pray like there is no tomorrow. They must feel that it is all over; there is no way out; there is no tomorrow. Only then,…

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