Shoftim 5777

The Parsha discusses the rules of a Jewish king in the land of Israel. The Torah lists three specific prohibitions in regards to a king. These include not owning a lot of money, not owning many horses, and not marrying many women. But why are these three singled out for a king? 

The Kli Yakar explains that these three would distract the king from his service to G-d. Excess amounts of wealth would have him forget G-d, as the verse says earlier in the Devarim (8:13-14). Owning many horses would remove his trust in G-d; instead he would rely on his horses and chariots to save him from harm (the daily prayer of "Lamnatzei'ach speaks of the other nations relying on their military while Jews rely on G-d). Having many wives would lead to him sinning and leaning towards their requests rather than G-d's; that was precisely what happened to King Solomon.

If the king follows these three prohibitions, his kingdom will thrive. The Kli Yakar notes that this is hinted to in the Hebrew word for chair - "Kisei". Kuf stands for Kesef (money); Samech stands for sus (horse); and Alef stands for isha (woman).

Re'eh 5777

As Moshe continues to lecture to the nation, he mentions not to add or subtract from the commandments (13:1). Rashi quotes a Sifri that says we are not to add a fifth section in our tefillin, a fifth type of plant with the lulav bundle, or a fourth blessing in Birkat Kohanim. Both the Maharal and Maskil Le'David ask the following questions: Moshe had already warned the nation of adding or subtracting back in Parshat Va'etchanan (4:2), why is he repeating himself? Secondly, Rashi over there quotes the same teaching of the Sifri with one change where he says not to add a fifth tzitzis; why does he change it to Birkat Kohanim?
Both commentaries give a single answer that addresses these questions. With tefillin, lulav, and tzitzis, the person is intending to add on to the essential fulfillment of the commandment; they want to add an extra part to the action. That, says the Torah in Va'etchanan, is the primary prohibition of adding or subtracting. But what about adding onto the commandment once one has fulfilled the obligation? This is why Moshe repeats the prohibition again and Rashi adds Birkat Kohanim. When the Kohen recites the third blessing, he has fulfilled his obligation of blessing the people. However, he is not allowed to add a fourth blessing on his own accord even if he has done the full action already.
The Torah is teaching us that it is important to never overdo things. There are set limits and regulations in order to maintain order in the world. Once we begin to be flexible with rules we begin to alter fundamental beliefs and values we have.

Toldot 5776

A Medresh asks why are there a short few psukim jotted in at the end of the parsha about Eisav. The Medresh explains that the psukim describe how Eisav took one of Yishmael's daughters as his wife, a few dvarim and that's the whole story. Meanwhile when Yaakov takes a wife, we get into the whole bubba meisa, perek after perek on ever detail of why and how everything happened. The Medresh comes to tell us that this is one of many shiduch lesson of the Torah. Some Shiduchim are as simple as Eisav and his two pesukim while some have to experience the Yaakov of Shiduchim where it becomes an expanded tale.

Vayelech 5776

The parsha discusses the mitzvah of "hakhel." During Succos of the year after Shemittah, Bnei Yisroel is required to gather at the Mikdash for a public reading of Sefer Devarim. This mitzvah includes bringing small children and babies. Why? They lack the capacity to understand and comprehend mitzvos. What is the purpose of bringing them? Rashi quotes the Gemara from Chagigah (3a) saying that it is in order to give s'char (reward) to those who brought them. But what does that really mean? Why does the Gemara seemingly go out of its way to mention an extra amount of s'char for the parents?
My rebbe, R' Yehuda Shmulewitz, explains that the Gemara is teaching the importance of one's environment. A person's surroundings have such an effect on a person, even from an early age. Bringing children to the Mikdash to hear the Torah will expose them to a healthy and wonderful environment, one that they will hopefully continue to live in as they grow. They will want to continue living in a Torah-filled life.
The Gemara in Chagigah also expresses R' Yehoshua's reaction to hearing such a statement. He calls the vort a "precious gem." Why did he find it so moving? When R' Yehoshua was a baby, his mother would bring him to the beis midrash to be among talmidei chachamim. He eventually became one of the main disciples of R' Yochanan ben Zakkai. R' Yehoshua was pleased when he heard how much s'char his mother got from putting him in the right environment.

Nitzavim 5775

The posuk (29:18) says that when a person hears the words of the rebuke, he'll say to himself that he'll be alright; "peace will be with me," he says. Why would a person do this? Wouldn't the right reaction be fear? The Yonasan ben Uziel translates this posuk along the lines of "yeiush", giving up. A person will hear the rebuke and will lose hope in himself. After he hears about all the horrible things that would happen to him, he'd think that there's nothing he can do about it and continue living life sinfully; he'll keep on doing aveiros without regret
That's where teshuvah comes in. The opportunity to do teshuvah removes all sense of giving up. It can give a person a fresh start in life despite all that he has done.

Ki Tavo 5775

The parsha opens up with the mitzvah of Bikkurim, to bring your first fruits as a gift to the Mikdash. When a person brings the basket of fruit, he recites a paragraph about being freed from Egypt by Hashem and his gratitude towards Him. The Abarbanel explains that there are four purposes for this mitzvah:
1) In order to make a person's heart humble. A person cherishes his first produce of the year and cannot wait to eat them. The Torah then commands him to control his urges and to separate them as Bikkurim.
2) In order that a person will not be ungrateful towards Hashem Who gave him this produce. It "forces" a person to recognize the source and be thankful.
3) Reciting the paragraph reminds a person of his past hardships in his time of success. Many people forget the hard times when everything is going well for him.
4) It strengthens a person's humility and lowliness when he puts the basket on his shoulders and when he speaks about how tough it was for his ancestors back in Egypt

Tisha B'Av 5775

The Midrash Rabbah compares the sin of Adam to the exile from Jerusalem based on a posuk from Hoshea. Hashem had brought Adam into Gan Eden and gave him an order to follow (not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge). Adam transgressed the command, causing Hashem to banish him the garden and send him out into the world. Hashem also lamented over Adam as seen from the word “Ayeka” (“where are you”), which is spelled the same as “Eichah” (“alas”).
This pattern can be seen with Bnei Yisroel. Hashed brought them into Eretz Yisroel and gave them the mitzvos to follow. They committed sins and Hashem banished them from His temple and sent them out into exile. Hashem lamented over them with “Eichah”.
Why does the Midrash compare these two entities? What connection is there between them?
The Rambam explains that before Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge, he saw everything in the world as Truth and Falsehood. There was clear indication of what was the right thing to do. After the sin, Adam saw his choices as Good and Bad, a more subjective perception of things.
When the Beis Hamikdash was around, we witnessed miracles upon miracles. We saw kivyachol the Hand of G-d on a daily basis. It was as if we saw everything on a level of Truth and Falsehood. Unfortunately, we were not able to sustain that sense of choice and we resorted back to choosing between Good and Bad.
This is what we pray for everyday, that we once again reach a level of Adam before he sinned. If we can reach and maintain a level of choosing between Truth and Falsehood, we can bring back the Temple bimheirah biyomeinu.