Back in 1996, Rabbi Finman was asked to speak to the niece of one of his students. After spending many hours answering her questions, the woman gave Rabbi Finman her e-mail address. Rabbi Finman wrote the woman a note and included in it a short insight into that week's Parsha and a short Chasidic story.
Realizing that this was something no one was yet doing,, Rabbi Finman sent the missive to his mailing list of about 30 people. Requests from recipients friends came pouring in. The next week Rabbi Finman sent the e-Parsha to 100 people. Within a year more than 2000 people were receiving it. Today, more than 14,000 receive the e-Parsha weekly and the requests keep coming in.
Shavuos 5786
Bamidbar 5786
Behar Bechukosai 5786
Emor 5786
Acharei Mos Kedoshim 5786
Shavuos 5786
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This week's YouParsha Bamidbar http://youtu.be/L_s6Ovnxx3M Deserts? Tents?
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The angels accosted Moshe while he was on Mount Sinai. Why should the Torah be given to people? They would just mess things up anyway. Hashem instructed Moshe to answer them. Moshe asked the angels, "It says in the Torah, “Do not steal. Do any of you have a Yetzer hara - evil inclination to which the Torah speaks not to steal?" The Tzemach Tzedek - third Lubavitcher Rebbe - makes a point. Had Adam not eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, we would never have received the Torah as we would be like angels and not have a Yetzer Hora. Our sages explain that the Torah begins with the word "breishis - meaning two heads" to allude to the two reasons for the creation, the Torah and the Jewish people. Had the Jewish people not received the Torah (because of a lack of Yetzer hora) the world would have ceased to exist.
The Alter Rebbe, first Lubavitcher Rebbe, complicates matters. He maintains that the angels did not get the Torah as their source is rooted in Divine speech (the creation is the product of speech. Hashem said let there be light, let there be space etc. The angels are a product of the same system and thus did not possess the needed strength to effect the creation). Souls are the product of Divine thought - a higher expression of G'dliness - as the verse states, "The souls of Israel rose in the thought of Hashem." Jewish souls have the ability of maintaining the creation due to their being comprised of this higher expression of the Divine. This implies that even had Adam not eaten the fruit, Jews still would have received the Torah and the yetzer hora point is moot.
The Torah is the will and wisdom of the Almighty. The Zohar refers to the Torah as the blueprint of creation (Hashem looked in the Torah to make a creation. The righteous look in the Torah to keep it going). Will and desire is a universal expression; effecting all aspects of the creation equally. Each detail of creation is an expression of Divine will and essentially important. In this vein, the Torah need not be limited to merely conquering human, animal desires. The Torah provides the Jewish people the means to achieve the purpose of creation.
Ultimately, Jews should feel as though they are involved in a passionate love affair with Hashem. The Alter Rebbe explains in chapter ten of Igeres HaTshuvah (check out the recorded class on www.rabbifinman.com/classes) that the greatest level of love of Hashem is achieved through learning Torah, davening and doing mitzvas. The Torah provides the medium and tools to maintain a constant connection with the Almighty. One's mind becomes aligned with the will and wisdom of Hashem (I once asked Reb Zalman Serebriansky - known as the tsadik of Melbourne - why people came to him with questions of business and investments. He was a rabbi familiar with Jewish texts. He responded that when one's mind is aligned with Divine thought, everything is clear). Davening focuses our awareness of the personal relationship Hashem has with us (Hashem wants to have a relationship with us more than we with Him). We are encouraged to think of the greatness of Hashem before and during davening, how insignificant we truly are - by comparison - and become overawed that Hashem would want to maintain a relationship with us. The result of such thought is - as the Alter Rebbe quotes, "Like a face reflecting in the water." The relationship we have with Hashem is the relationship we create.
The mitzvahs bring this relationship into concrete terms. Most mitzvahs utilize a physical object; tefillin with physical leather, tsit tsits with physical wool, mezuzas with physical parchment, etc. This process elevates the mundane world to holiness and draws G'dliness into our world (we can now understand the word breishes - two heads. The Torah and Jewish people work in tandem to fulfill Hashem's desire of a more G'dly world). Only souls manifest in bodies can achieve this goal (The Mishna states, "Better is one hour of Teshuva and good deeds in this world than the entire world to come (when Moshiach comes). It is only in our current state of existence that the world can be improved and made more G'dly).
The question raised by the Tzemach Tzedek's remarks can now be answered. Humans have the potential for making a big mess of creation. We can, but are not forced to follow the advice of the yetzer hora. We can relate to the coarseness of the mundane world and use it as a vehicle for holiness. Had Adam not eaten the fruit, we would not have been able to relate to the mundane in any other way other than as a vehicle for holiness. We would have been similar to angels in that regard. From Hashem's point, the Torah would still have been given, at it provides that means for a relationship to be developed between G'd and the Jewish people (you do not need a yetzer hora to love G'd).
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One day, the Baal Shem Tov arrived at a small inn many miles from the nearest Jewish community. He was warmly invited in and served by the innkeeper's family. "Where is your father?" he asked the children. "He's praying," they replied, and Reb Yisroel settled down to wait for his host.
An hour passed, then two. It was late afternoon by the time the innkeeper emerged from his room. After greeting his guest, he apologized for his long absence. "I am an ignorant Jew," he explained. "I can barely pronounce the words from the prayerbook. Deciphering its instructions, written in vowel-less Hebrew, is beyond me. I have no choice but to recite the entire prayerbook from cover to cover every day."
"Perhaps I can help you," said the Rabbi. He sat with the innkeeper, instructing him on the proper use of the prayerbook. The Baal Shem Tov wrote the instructions on small slips of paper and put them in the proper place in the innkeeper's prayerbook. Shortly after, the Rebbe went on his way. Not long after, the innkeeper dropped his prayer book and the wind blew away the bookmarks. The innkeeper ran after the Baal Shem Tov. After several miles, he finally sighted the Baal Shem Tov far ahead. From the distance, he saw Reb Yisroel reach a river. The Rabbi took out a handkerchief, spread it over the water, glided smoothly across and disappeared into the woods on the opposite bank. In a flash, the innkeeper was at the water's edge. Spreading his handkerchief on the water, he stepped onto it and glided across and ran after the Baal Shem Tov. "Wait, Rabbi!" he called. "Wait! You cannot go until you mark my prayerbook again! All your notes have fallen out!"
Hearing the man calling out to him, Rabbi Israel stopped and turned to see his recent host running toward him, clutching his prayerbook in one hand and the slips of paper in the other. "How did you cross the river?" asked Rabbi Israel in amazement. "With my handkerchief, same as you," replied the simple Jew. "I think," said the Baal Shem Tov, "that Hashem is extremely satisfied with your prayers as they are. You should continue to pray just the way you have been up until now."
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