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.
Korach 5786
Shlach 5786
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Korach 5786
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YouParsha Korach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NxZG8W0bkM. The connection of Parsha Korach to Shlach
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Parshas Korach, Numbers 16-18, features a rebellion by Moses's cousin Korach. Korach felt that the positions of leadership were doled out through nepotism rather than merit (Korach had been passed over for head of clan in favor of a younger cousin). Moses's response to Korach was that these decisions were from G'd and Moses had no say in the matter.
The Midrash describes how Korach initiated his rebellion. He approached Moses with learned questions, "Does a garment made entirely of blue wool require tsitsits (the fringes on the corners of a garment require one blue thread. Korach rationalized that a completely blue garment would not require another singe thread)? Does a house full of Torah scrolls require a Mezuza, which is a scroll of only two paragraphs?"
Korach missed the point. The Torah was given to the Jewish people on Sinai and is absolute truth. Korach did not need any proofs of the Torah's validity. He saw the plagues of Egypt and the exodus. He walked through the parted water of the Reed Sea, ate manna from heaven and witnessed the giving of the Torah on Sinai. We however, must understand that there is a logical progression to believing the truth of the Torah.
Maimonides, 13th century Jewish scholar, postulated that Jews believe 13 things. Jews do not believe blindly. Our beliefs must have a basis in intellect. First: G'd is the creator. All theories of creation begin with a starting point - a bang, a primordial soup, etc. Renowned physicist Stephen Hawkins maintained that nothing had to exist before these second steps. Maimonides calls this nothing - the first cause. We call it G'd. Since this cause is first, it always existed - it never started. Something which never started can never stop (how can you turn off the car if you never started it?). Something that is not limited by time cannot be limited by space. We must therefore conclude that our first cause/G'd is beyond time and space, truly infinite.
Next Maimonides posits that this first cause is unified. The creation does not displace G'd as the creation is totally insignificant qualitatively and quantitatively. The universe is 13 billion light years across. Compared to infinity 13 billion is a very small number. How small? Were Hashem to create an infinite number of creations - they would all be infinitesimally small. G'd created the world through speech. The expression, "and G'd said, 'Let there be…"' appears ten times in Genesis. A person's speech requires a process of only a few steps: that person must have a need that must be filled in order to derive some pleasure from it, he must possess intelligence and formulate his desires into realistic thoughts, then add emotion and enunciation and finally utter the word. Those few words are insignificant to the source of his soul's desire that provided the initial impetus for the utterance. The Kaballa explains that G'd's speech involves infinite steps to bring about a physical world. How significant can those few words expressing the creation be in comparison to G'd's essence?
Because of the infinite nature we ascribe to our first cause/G'd, we must conclude that Hashem can have no body. The very idea of corporeality implies limits. Since the creator is involved with every aspect of the creation at all times, only to this entity is it is valid to pray.
Now that we believe that there is a creator and that the creator made the creation, there must be purpose to the creation. How could people be expected to fulfill the purpose of creation without knowing what that purpose is? Jews believe that that purpose was conveyed to the world through various individuals called prophets. The system of prophets was very exact. During Biblical times, people went to prophet schools. There, they learned the nuances of receiving prophecy. They graduated when prophecy was conveyed to them. Thousands of prophets foretold the imminent future. They proved themselves as prophets when their prophecies came true. We know of only several dozen prophets. Their words are relevant for all times and were canonized in the 24 books of the Bible. The greatest of these prophets was Moses. Moses's message comprises the first five books of the Bible - the Torah. The Almighty's purpose in creating the word is contained within the five books. It therefore follows that there is no need for another Torah to be given, nor is there need for the one we have to be changed.
Given now that the Torah is true, the last four postulates are a natural progression The Torah says that G'd knows the actions of man. We have the freedom to choose right from wrong. G'd can reward us when we choose the right path. The ultimate reward is when the task of creation is complete. That will be realized when Moshiach comes and we experience the revival of the dead and a world that requires no more rectification. May we merit it soon.
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It once happened that that the young daughter of Nechunya the digger of wells fell into a deep well (Talmud Baba Kama 50A). Some bystanders immediately ran to inform Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, who replied, "She will be fine." After a long time passed, Rabbi Chanina said, “She has come out of the pit.” The girl had managed to climb out of the well. When she was asked how she managed to scale the tall, steep walls, she said that she was assisted by a ram led by an old man (a reference to Abraham and the ram he brought as a sacrifice instead of Isaac). The people then turned to Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, asking if he was a prophet.
He said to them, “I am neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet. I made a simple calculation. Nechunya put so much effort into digging wells for the benefit of the pilgrims who come to Jerusalem every year. Shall the thing to which that pious man has devoted his labor become the downfall of his own progeny?”
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It once happened that the daughter of Rabbi Mordechai (Feitelson) of Lieple was gravely ill. Seeing that her days were numbered, Rabbi Mordechai ran to Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi to ask him to pray for her recovery. Arriving in the middle of the night, he tried to enter the home of Rabbi Schneur Zalman, but all the doors were locked. He finally found an open window. The desperate father climbed into the house and found Rabbi Schneur Zalman laying on the floor saying, “Nechunya the digger of wells … become the downfall of his own progeny … Mordechai Liepler has done such and such … become the downfall of his own progeny?” Seeing Rabbi Schneur Zalman tearfully praying for his daughter was all Rabbi Mordechai needed. He left the house and returned home; where he found his daughter well on the road to recovery.
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The Rebbe's yartzeit is Tamuz 3, this year July 2. The following is a taken from a private audience of the Rebbe that took place in the winter of 1969.
Question: The Rebbe's energy is so instrumental in helping us serve G'd properly, how is it possible that we still have free will?
The Rebbe: The Torah says, regarding Moses: "I stand between G'd and the Jewish people," because connecting directly with G'd is a challenge. The Jews pleaded with G'd to place an intermediary between the Jews and G'd. Each generation has its own Moses.
To understand this from a worldly perspective: when a regular person has an appointment to speak with the king, it is such a momentous occasion that in preparation for even a brief audience, the person dons brand new clothes and buys new shoes. He will need to know in advance what to speak about and, more importantly, how to speak to a king. How does such a person prepare himself? He contacts an official or a lawmaker who is intricately familiar with the laws and customs of speaking to a king, and who will advise him on how to get a message across to a king.
The same applies spiritually: G'd intended for you to get involved in a specific type of business through which you became, thank G'd, very wealthy. Now your job is also to give charity. There are times during the year, like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when it is relatively easy for a Jew to communicate directly with G'd. However, reaching G'd on your own on a regular basis is a very difficult task. You go to a tzadik (righteous person), who knows how to speak to G'd, and this tzadik communicates on your behalf.
Regarding your question of free will: A wealthy and respectable person who wants to build a house still needs to find a contractor who will actually do the work, an architect to make the blueprints etc.; he will have to find someone specific for each detail of the house. In building a house, it is impossible for one person to do everything. It is true that there may be some people who are wealthy and they are also contractors themselves and this person can build a house on his own, but only a select few individuals can do all things involved in building a house. When this wealthy person builds a house, the fact that he relies on various different people, with different professions, does not mean that his image as a wealthy and respectful person is diminished. Rather, he needs money to pay other professionals to do the various tasks, and without money, he indeed would not get anywhere.
The same in spirituality: a Jew who is occupied with business and with giving charity still needs a tzadik for help. On his own, a Jew does not have sufficient merits; he therefore needs the tzadik to elevate him closer to G'd.
For example: how do you connect a Jew here in Brooklyn who gives money in order to help free a Jew in Russia? How can a Jew in Russia give someone a part in a mitzvah? The same thing regarding a Jew from here who gives money, enabling a Jew in Tel Aviv to don tefillin - how are those two people connected? The fact that the Jew from here is connected to me and the Jew who is in Russia is also connected to me, and I know how to speak to the Above, I connect both of these Jews together. I am a physical human being like you. It is just that G'd gave me the strength to help out Jews.
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