no tachanun today

From  https://www.yeshiva.org.il/article/10759

הרב דוד חי הכהן, ראש ישיבת בת ים ורב קהילה בעיר הורה בעקבות החיסולים של הבכירים כי אין לומר היום תחנונים.

"באבוד רשעים רינה,הודו לד' כי טוב כי לעולם חסדו, מתוך השבח וההודיה לד' יתברך, אין לומר היום תחנונים וכן לא תיקון חצות", פסק הרב.

הרב הוסיף: "יתן ד' ונזכה לראות בקרוב שיהפוך ד' את ימי האבל לששון ושמחה והאמת והשלום אהבו".

בשיחה עם תלמידיו, הרחיב הרב על העיתוי של החיסול. "יצא בהשגחה פילאית, שהזוהר היומי מדבר על 'באבוד רשעים רינה', שיש שמחה בשמים על אובדן רשעי הגויים. מי שהרגיש הרגשת שמחה גדולה מאוד בישועת ה', והרגיש צורך לברך 'ברוך אתה ה' אלוקינו מלך העולם שחלק מגבורתו ומחכמתו לעמו ישראל'- עשה בסדר".


בישיבת בית אל הורה הרה"ג זלמן ברוך מלמד שלא לומר תחנון בעקבות הידיעה המשמחת.

הרב הלל מרצבך כתב בעקבות הבשורה המשמחת על חיסולו של מנהיג חמאס איסמעיל הנייה שר"י, שפעל ישירות לפגיעה ביהודים, יש להודות לה'. 

וכפי כתב המשנה ברורה שביום ראשון של חול המועד פסח נתלה המן הרשע, ולכן יש להרבות בו בסעודה. אי לכך, היום לא נאמר תחנון בתפילות, וראוי להוסיף במאכל משמח. 

אולם אין לומר הלל ואין לברך "הטוב והמטיב", מכיוון שחיסולו לא משפיע ישירות על עצירת הפגיעה בעם ישראל, והמלחמה עדיין בעיצומה.

בתפילה שנזכה להמשך קיום התפילה: "כַּלֵּה כָּל צַר וּמַשְׂטִין מֵעָלֵינוּ"

look twice

  וַיֹּ֤אמֶר ה׳ אֶל⁠־מֹשֶׁ֔ה עֲלֵ֛ה אֶל⁠־הַ֥ר הָעֲבָרִ֖ים הַזֶּ֑ה וּרְאֵה֙ אֶת⁠־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לִבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

 וְרָאִ֣יתָה אֹתָ֔הּ וְנֶאֱסַפְתָּ֥ אֶל⁠־עַמֶּ֖יךָ גַּם⁠־אָ֑תָּה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר נֶאֱסַ֖ף אַהֲרֹ֥ן אָחִֽיךָ

Some of the meforshim (Ohr haChaim, Netziv, Malbim, to name a few) ask why the Torah repeats וְרָאִ֣יתָה אֹתָ֔הּ (27:13) when in the previous pasuk it already said וּרְאֵה֙ אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ.  R' Chaim Elazari answers with a Rashi from earlier in the parsha.  In the count of families (ch 26) every family has a letter ה before its name and a letter י afterwards, e.g.  מִשְׁפַּ֣חַת הַחֲנֹכִ֔י,  מִשְׁפַּ֖חַת הַפַּלֻּאִֽי.  Rashi explains: 

לפי שהיו האומות מונין אותן:⁠ מה אילו מתייחסין על שבטיהם, סבורים הם שלא שלטו המצריים באמותיהם, אם בגופן היו מושלין קל וחומר בנשותיהם, לפיכך הטיל הקב״ה שמו עליהם, ה״י מצד זה ויו״ד מצד זה, לומר: מעיד אני עליהם שהם בני אבותיהם.

The Torah adds the extra letters to connect the shem Hashem to the families. Here too, says R' Chaim Elazari,  the word could just as well be written וְרָאִ֣יתָ, but the Torah adds a ה at the end and repeats the command in this way after already saying  וּרְאֵה֙ in order to connect the shem Hashem to seeing Eretz Yisrael.  When we look at Eretz Yisrael we have to not just see mountains and valleys and cities, but we have to see the shem Hashem manifest there, we have to see the special hashgacha pratis that is there.   The way to look at Eretz Yisrael is different than the way we look at the rest of the world. 

To add one morsel to his idea, I think it is not  by chance that when it comes to the shevatim, the shem Hashem is represented by the letter ה before its name and a letter י afterwards, but when it comes to Eretz Yisrael, there is the ה afterwards, but there is a ו beforehand (which R' Chaim Elazari does not even mention) instead of the י.  

The Shem Havaya is yud-key-vuv-key.  The first two letters represent the higher sefirot, the bottom two letters the lower sefirot.  The Torah adds the first two letters of the shem Havaya to the names of the families in order to emphasize that even though we lived under the thumb of Egyptian subjugation, we did not intermingle with them. We remained on a higher, transcendent plane, elevated from their society.  When it comes to Eretz Yisrael, the Torah adds the last two letters of the shem Havaya to emphasize that the Shechina is not transcendent and outside this world, but is imminent, and rests in Eretz Yisrael. 

kana'im pogim bo and the need for hasra'ah

Why does the Torah mention the yichus of Pinchas at the opening of our parsha?  Rashi explains:

לפי שהיו שבטים מבזין אותו: הראיתם בן פוטי זה, בן שפיטם אבי אמו עגלים לעבודה זרה יהרוג נשיא שבט מישראל, לפיכך בא הכתוב ויחסו אחר אהרן.

What does the fact that his grandfather Yisro fattened calves for avodah zarah have to do with the price of tea in China?  

Some explain that the shevatim could not believe that Pinchas' zealotry was completely l'shem shamayim.  They thought maybe he was just a hothead.  There are people who are makpid on details and if even one little thing is slightly off, they blow up.  They can't delegate, because they have tolerance for anyone making the smallest error.  This is what the shevatim meant פיטם אבי אמו עגלים לעבודה זרה.  Why was Yisro, the highest priest, fattening the calves himself?  It must be that he was one of these people who needed to personally handle everything, one of these people who blew up at the drop of a hat if the slightest thing is off.  Is it any wonder that his grandson would be a zealot?  It's in his genes, not l'shem shamayim!  Therefore, the Torah stresses that Pinchas was the grandson of Aharon, the ohev shalom and rodef shalom.

I often daven in a Moroccan yeshiva and have the opportunity to see seforim and sources there that I never heard of before, which is how I chanced upon the Maggid of Marrakesh.  The Maggid explains Rashi by quoting the din in Yevamos 102:

 גר דן את חבירו דבר תורה שנאמר שום תשים עליך מלך אשר יבחר ה' אלהיך בו מקרב אחיך תשים עליך מלך עליך הוא דבעינן מקרב אחיך אבל גר דן את חבירו גר ואם היתה אמו מישראל דן אפי' ישראל 

This is what bothered the shevatim -- how could Pinchas, who was descended from a ger, judge a member of Klal Yisrael?  Therefore the Torah responds by telling us the yichus of Pinchas, tracing his lineage to a Jewish father, which solves the problem.  

Granting that this approach is derush, I still think it's noteworthy that the Maggid treats קנאים פּוגעים בּו as requiring the same criteria as a din torah.  It's not an extra-judicial concept, but rather is a form of misas beis din carried out by the individual, who serves as judge and jury wrapped in one.

Perhaps that assumption is the nekudas ha'machlokes between Rambam and Raavad.  Rambam writes in Issurei Biah 1:4

כל הבועל כותית בין דרך חתנות בין דרך זנות אם בעלה בפרהסיא והוא שיבעול לעיני עשרה מישראל או יתר אם פגעו בו קנאין והרגוהו הרי אלו משובחין וזריזין . ודבר זה הל"מ הוא ראיה לדבר זה מעשה פנחס בזמרי:

Raavad adds:

תב הראב"ד ז"ל בד"א שהתרו בו ולא פירש אבל לא התרו בו לא אמרינן הרי אלו משובחין עכ"ל:

There is a very difficult Migdal Oz here:

ואני אומר התראה זו לא מצאתיה לא פרק אין מעמידין ולא פרק הנשרפין בבבלי אך בירושלמי יש לו מקצת טעם דאמרינן במעשה זמרי פנחס שלא ברצון חכמים עשה אלא שאין לנו לסמוך עליו הואיל ולא הוזכר בבבלי ושכרו שנתן לו השם מוכיח וגם ר"י אלפס ז"ל לא הביאו בהלכות לומר לך שאינה הלכה ועוד שהרי זמרי בפרהסיא עשה והביאה לפני משה והתריס ומה התראה גדולה מזו והלא אין התראה באה אלא להבחין בין שוגג למזיד וודאי דברי ר"מ ז"ל נכונים:

He writes that the best proof against the Raavad is that we don't see Pinchas giving any hasra'ah to Zimri, but then backtracks and says perhaps that gufa is the reason that the Yerushalmi says שלא ברצון חכמים עשה.  It sounds like he is suggesting that Pinchas may, according to the Yerushalmi, have been in the wrong!  I don't know how you an say that when the whole parsha is about the tremendous reward Hashem granted to Pinchas for his actions.

Be that as it may, perhaps the machlokes Rambam and Raavad here revolves around the Maggid's assumption.  If קנאים פּוגעים בּו is some kind of extra-judicial penalty, then all rules of judicial process go out the window.  However, if it is some quasi maaseh beis din, then maybe hasra'ah is required similar to other cases of dinei nefashos carried out by B"D.

Rav Yaakov David Ilan, in his sefer Masa Yad vol 1, learns the machlokes differently.  Yesh lachkor, he writes, whether hasraah is a din in B"D or a din in the chomer ha'aveira, i.e. is it is the same aveira with or without hasra'ah, but the court needs hasra'ah as a license for them to act, or whether an aveira without hasra'ah is a lesser aveira, and therefore exempt from punishment.

If hasra'ah is a din in B"D, then קנאים פּוגעים בּו, which is not a maaseh B"D, should need no hasraah.  But if hasraah establishes the chomer ha'aveira, then it is necessary even for the punishment of קנאים פּוגעים בּו. 

See also R' Shaul Yisraeli's analysis of the sugya in his Amud ha'Yemini.

the demoralization of America

There is an essay entitled "Decline and Blumenthal" in the collection With My Trousers Rolled: Familiar Essays, by Joseph Epstein (who is one of the most brilliant essay writers of modern times), in which he accurately sums up the mood of modern America:

The pervasive feeling of decline and fall I have been attempting to describe is at bottom about demoralization.  In good part, I believe, this demoralization is owing to the loss of belief in progress.  The United States has always been a country whose underlying assumption has been that or progress - progress unstinting and unrelieved.  I did better than my father, and my children will do better than I -- this was the operating assumption.  It no longer operates very successfully.  For the first time, one hears talk of the downward mobility of children...

Walking the streets of any large American city today one meets with the demented and with the hostile young, lending everything a heavy tone of sadness and menace.  When I was last in Baltimore, a city I have always greatly liked, my overriding impression was that the whole place could use a paint job.  I have begun a quiet campaign to change the sobriquet of New York from the Big Apple to the more fitting the Big Crazy, after the Big Easy, which New Orleans is called.  On the Chicago El one bright Saturday morning I rode from the Loop with a carload of young, my guess is unmarried, mothers, youth-gang members, two men selling newspapers to help the homeless, and a thin, middle-aged transvestite who, I do believe, winked at me as he departed the train at Clark and Division.  One the Howard-Jackson line, it was a A Train, but in such company the strains of Duke Ellington were not to be heard.

The collection was published close to 30 years ago and I don't have the original date of publication of this particular essay in front of me, but it seems to me that what was true then is not only still true now, but is many times worse.  

jump out of bed to face the day

The very first din in Shulchan Aruch, יתגבר כארי לעמוד בבוקר לעבודת בוראו, is based, according to GR"A on our parsha.  The Midrash writes on (23:24)  הֶן עָם כְּלָבִיא יָקוּם וְכַאֲרִי יִתְנַשָּׂא that  אֵין אֻמָּה בָּעוֹלָם כַּיּוֹצֵא בָהֶם, הֲרֵי הֵן יְשֵׁנִים מִן הַתּוֹרָה וּמִן הַמִּצְווֹת וְעוֹמְדִין מִשְּׁנָתָן כַּאֲרָיוֹת וְחוֹטְפִין קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע וּמַמְלִיכִין לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, וְנַעֲשִׂין כַּאֲרָיוֹת וּמַפְלִיגִין לְדֶרֶךְ אֶרֶץ, לְמַשָּׂא וּמַתָּן, אִם נִתְקַל אֶחָד מֵהֶם בְּכֻלָּם אוֹ אִם מְחַבְּלִין בָּאִין לִגַּע בְּאֶחָד מֵהֶן, מַמְלִיךְ לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא.  R' Berel Povarski in Bad Kodesh asks why it is that jumping out of bed in the morning is such a big deal.  If you do the same mitzvah without jumping out of bed, is it any worse? 

Before getting to his answer, I want to offer my wife's grandfather's (R' Dov Yehudah Shochet) explanation of what exactly Bilam did wrong.  After all, Hashem in the end did grant Bilam permission to go to meet Balak.  How then can the very next pasuk (22:22) tell us וַיִּחַר⁠ אַף אֱלֹקים כִּי⁠ הוֹלֵךְ הוּא?  Rishonim and Achronim alike have struggled with this issue.

The gemara Brachos (5a) provides us with advice on how to deal with the yetzer ha'ra:

אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי בַּר חָמָא, אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ: לְעוֹלָם יַרְגִּיז אָדָם יֵצֶר טוֹב עַל יֵצֶר הָרַע, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״רִגְזוּ וְאַל תֶּחֱטָאוּ״ אִם נִצְּחוֹ — מוּטָב, וְאִם לָאו — יַעֲסוֹק בַּתּוֹרָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״אִמְרוּ בִלְבַבְכֶם״. אִם נִצְּחוֹ  מוּטָב, וְאִם לָאו — יִקְרָא קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״עַל מִשְׁכַּבְכֶם״. אִם נִצְּחוֹ — מוּטָב, וְאִם לָאו — יִזְכּוֹר לוֹ יוֹם הַמִּיתָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְדֹמּוּ סֶלָה״.

The question everyone asks is if we have an ace in the whole, namely יִזְכּוֹר לוֹ יוֹם הַמִּיתָה, what's the point of going step by step through this whole exercise?

My grandfather-in-law asked a more basic question. If the point is וְאַל תֶּחֱטָאוּ, not to sin, then what do we need רִגְזוּ for?  Just tell me not to sin, period, full stop!  Why add לְעוֹלָם יַרְגִּיז אָדָם יֵצֶר טוֹב עַל יֵצֶר הָרַע?  

He explained (see this post that relates to the end of our parsha as well) that not sinning is not enough.  What Chazal are telling us is that our goal should be not to desire to sin. לְעוֹלָם יַרְגִּיז אָדָם יֵצֶר טוֹב עַל יֵצֶר הָרַע means you have to work so as to not have a ratzon for sin  If you fail and you have the desire to do wrong, then וְאַל תֶּחֱטָאוּ, but ideally a person should try to not get to that point.

That's why Chazal did not advise a person יִזְכּוֹר לוֹ יוֹם הַמִּיתָה from the get-go.  True, that will stop a person cold in their tracks and prevent them from succumbing to temptation, but וְאַל תֶּחֱטָאוּ is not the real goal -- the real goal is to avoid having the temptation to begin with.  That you accomplish by learning Torah and growing your desire for spiritual things, or by reading shema and increasing your love of Hashem so it supplants the love of physical things.  It's only when those prior steps fail, when the רִגְזוּ hasn't accomplished what it should, then you have no choice but to think about yom ha'misa to prevent wrong from being done.

What Bilam is blamed for is not the fact that he went with the messengers of Balak.  He did indeed have permission for that.  He succeeded in passing the test of וְאַל תֶּחֱטָאוּ.  What he failed at was the test of לְעוֹלָם יַרְגִּיז אָדָם יֵצֶר טוֹב עַל יֵצֶר הָרַע, of avoiding the desire to do wrong.  Chazal tell us that the permission to go with Balak's messengers came about because Bilam, so to speak, twisted Hashem's arm until he got it.  Chazal tell us that chutzpah works even when it comes to getting things from Heaven, and "b'derech she'adam rotzeh lei'lech molichin oso."  Bilam knew that what he desired was contrary to the ratzon Hashem, but that did not stop him from wanting it.  His ratzon, he felt, trumped G-d's ratzon.  That desire to do wrong is itself a sin.  

Now to flip from the negative to the positive.  R' Berel Povarski writes that a person has a capacity for ratzon, for desire, which can either be turned to good and used for torah and mitzvos, or it will lead a person stray to desiring things that should not be desired.  Ain hachi nami, if you roll out of bed late and put on tefillin you have fulfilled the mitzvah of tefillin just as well as the person who got up early to do so.  What you failed to do, however, is to demonstrate the ratzon to do good.  To achieve that, you have to jump out of bed like a lion, like going to davening or learning torah is your greatest desire from the moment you open your eyes,

And now for the icing on the cake.  The GR"A in Aderes Aliyahu comments on  הֶן⁠ עָם כְּלָבִיא יָקוּם:

על ד׳ מלחמו׳ שהיו במדבר כי זאת הפרש׳ הראשונה על מצרים. והשני׳ על המדב׳ כמ״ש כלביא יקום נגד מלחמ׳ עמלק כמ״ש מחר אנכי נצב על ראש הגבע׳ והוא תחיל׳ יציאתן וזהו יקום. וכארי יתנשא במלחמ׳ כנען שהיה בסוף מ׳ לא ישכב עד יאכל טרף. במלחמת סיחון ועוג. ודם חללים ישתה. הוא מלחמת מדין שהרגו על חלליהם שמלחמת סיחון ועוג היה העיקר על הארץ ועל השלל וכאן היה העיקר לנקום בדמם כמ״ש לתת נקמת ה׳ במדין ואמר כי צררים הם לכם וגו׳

Each phrase in the pasuk corresponds to a battle that Bn"Y fought, and  עָם כְּלָבִיא יָקוּם corresponds to the war against Amalek.  Amalek is "asher karcha ba'derech" -- they wanted to afflict us with k'rirus, with coldness, apathy, with lack of desire when it comes to mitzvos.   וַיַּרְא אֶת⁠ עֲמָלֵק וַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר רֵאשִׁית גּוֹיִם עֲמָלֵק Amalek was the first to jump in and attack us when no other nation would.  They exemplify using ratzon, desire, to provide motivation toward nefarious ends, while cooling off any positivity and desire for good.  We, on the other hand, are  הֶן⁠ עָם כְּלָבִיא יָקוּם, not only doing mitzvos, but doing them with zeal and alacrity and desire.

katan reciting aneinu on a fast day

I saw in the Divrei Siach parsha sheet (from the torah of R' Chaim Kanievsky) that even if a katan fasts on 17 Tamuz, he should not recite aneinu since a katan has no chiyuv taanis.  The counterargument I assume would be that the purpose of chinuch is to train the katan to do mitzvos as he would when he grows up.  Since when he grows up this katan would have to fast and would say aneinu, he should daven accordingly now to get into the right habit.  

This issue sounds like it hinges on the same point as a chakira I once posted from my son regarding a katan who comes late to shul.  Does the katan skip pesukei d'zimra to catch up, like anyone else should do, or should he daven the full davening?  If chinuch means we treat the katan as if he has a chiyuv just like a gadol, then just like a gadol should skip, the katan should skip ahead as well.  However, if chinuch means training the katan to do the mitzvah as he would when he reaches maturity, then the proper way to daven is to say everything and not skip, so maybe that's what he should do.  

question the experts

Back in 2007 I posted the question of my then 6 year old daughter as to why Aharon had to be punished when the sin of mei meriva was done by Moshe.  Commenting in Zos haBracha on the words  תֻּמֶּ֥יךָ וְאוּרֶ֖יךָ לְאִ֣ישׁ חֲסִידֶ֑ךָ, Rashi echoes the same idea: תריבהו על מי מריבה נסתקפתה לו לבא בעלילה, אם משה אמר: שמעו נא המרים (במדבר כ׳:י׳), אהרן ומרים מה עשו?

R' Chaim Elazari suggests that Aharon was culpable for the following reason: The command to speak to the rock was given to both Aharon and Moshe.  When Moshe picked up his staff to strike the rock, Aharon must have known this was wrong.  Yet Moshe was his rebbe as well as the rebbe of Klal Yisrael.  No one had a greater understanding of the ratzon Hashem than Moshe, and Aharon trusted him completely.  How then could he question Moshe's actions?

Deferring to "expertise" of Moshe instead of trusting his own judgment, what he himself had heard, was Aharon's error.  

R' Chaim Volozhiner interprets הוי מתאבק בּעפר רגליהם like the words by Yaakov and the angel ויאבק אישׁ עמו.  We are not supposed to follow authority like lemmings or yes men.  When something does not appear correct, we are supposed to raise questions, to wrestle and struggle to arrive at the truth.  

A nachash, a saraf, or a combination -- why do the pesukim keep switching terms?

The last Mishna in the third perek of R"H writes:

וְהָיָה כַּאֲשֶׁר יָרִים משֶׁה יָדוֹ וְגָבַר יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגוֹ׳ (שמות י״ז:י״א), וְכִי יָדָיו שֶׁל משֶׁה עוֹשׂוֹת מִלְחָמָה אוֹ שׁוֹבְרוֹת מִלְחָמָה. אֶלָּא לוֹמַר לְךָ, כָּל זְמַן שֶׁהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִסְתַּכְּלִים כְּלַפֵּי מַעְלָה וּמְשַׁעְבְּדִין אֶת לִבָּם לַאֲבִיהֶם שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם הָיוּ מִתְגַּבְּרִים. וְאִם לָאו, הָיוּ נוֹפְלִין. כַּיּוֹצֵא בַדָּבָר אַתָּה אוֹמֵר: עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף וְשִׂים אֹתוֹ עַל נֵס וְהָיָה כָּל הַנָּשׁוּךְ וְרָאָה אֹתוֹ וָחָי (במדבר כ״א:ח׳). וְכִי נָחָשׁ מֵמִית, אוֹ נָחָשׁ מְחַיֶּה. אֶלָּא, בִּזְמַן שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל מִסְתַּכְּלִין כְּלַפֵּי מַעְלָה וּמְשַׁעְבְּדִין אֶת לִבָּם לַאֲבִיהֶן שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם, הָיוּ מִתְרַפְּאִים, וְאִם לָאו, הָיוּ נִמּוֹקִים.

A bunch of years ago I posted the Netziv's amazing pshat on the first half of this Mishna, but this year I want to look at the second half.  

The Mishna quotes the pasuk עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף and then asks וְכִי נָחָשׁ מֵמִית, אוֹ נָחָשׁ מְחַיֶּה.  Shouldn't it say וְכִי שׂרף מֵמִית, אוֹ שׂרף מְחַיֶּה to match the language of the pasuk?  Why does the Mishna switch terms on us?  

The truth is that it's not the Mishna, but it's the pesukim themselves that set the stage for the confusion of terminology.  Let me call your attention to the highlighted words:

 וַיְדַבֵּר הָעָם בֵּאלֹקים וּבְמֹשֶׁה לָמָה הֶעֱלִיתֻנוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם לָמוּת בַּמִּדְבָּר כִּי אֵין לֶחֶם וְאֵין מַיִם וְנַפְשֵׁנוּ קָצָה בַּלֶּחֶם הַקְּלֹקֵל.

 וַיְשַׁלַּח ה׳ בָּעָם אֵת הַנְּחָשִׁים הַשְּׂרָפִים...

 וַיָּבֹא הָעָם אֶל⁠ מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמְרוּ חָטָאנוּ כִּי⁠ דִבַּרְנוּ בַה׳ וָבָךְ הִתְפַּלֵּל אֶל⁠ ה׳ וְיָסֵר מֵעָלֵינוּ אֶת⁠ הַנָּחָשׁ וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל מֹשֶׁה בְּעַד הָעָם.

 וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ אֶל⁠ מֹשֶׁה עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף וְשִׂים אֹתוֹ עַל⁠ נֵס...

 וַיַּעַשׂ מֹשֶׁה נְחַשׁ נְחֹשֶׁת וַיְשִׂמֵהוּ עַל⁠ הַנֵּס וְהָיָה אִם⁠ נָשַׁךְ הַנָּחָשׁ אֶת⁠ אִישׁ וְהִבִּיט אֶל⁠ נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת וָחָי.

Summary: Hashem sends נְּחָשִׁים הַשְּׂרָפִים.  The people then beg Moshe to remove הַנָּחָשׁ.  Hashem them tells Moshe to make a שָׂרָף.  Moshe responds by making a נְחַשׁ נְחֹשֶׁת.  We go from 1) נְּחָשִׁים הַשְּׂרָפִים to 2) נָּחָשׁ , then back to 3) שָׂרָף, and then back to 4) נְחַשׁ again.  

What are we dealing with here -- a נָּחָשׁ, a שָׂרָף , or a combination נְּחָשִׁים הַשְּׂרָפִים?

The SHL"H (quoted in the Yismach Moshe here) explains as follows: the sin of Bn"Y was twofold -- speaking against G-d and speaking against Moshe, וַיְדַבֵּר הָעָם בֵּאלֹקים וּבְמֹשֶׁה  The punishment of נָּחָשׁ was for the sin of speaking against Hashem; the punishment of שָׂרָף was for speaking against Moshe.  

When the people repented for both sins, וַיָּבֹא הָעָם אֶל⁠ מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמְרוּ חָטָאנוּ כִּי⁠ דִבַּרְנוּ בַה׳ וָבָךְ.  Hashem responded and said, "I am mochel my portion, but I can't be mochel for speaking against Moshe."  Therefore,  עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף, since שָׂרָף is the punishment for speaking against Moshe. 

Moshe, however, thought the opposite.  He was willing to be mochel on his kavod, but how can you be mochel on kavod shamayim?  Therefore, he made a  נְחַשׁ נְחֹשֶׁת, since נָּחָשׁ is the punishment for speaking against Hashem.

This distinction explains why when Bn"Y requested that Moshe daven for them, they requested  הִתְפַּלֵּל אֶל⁠ ה׳ וְיָסֵר מֵעָלֵינוּ אֶת⁠ הַנָּחָשׁ.  The שָׂרָף portion they knew Moshe could be mochel, but the נָּחָשׁ portion, k'lapei shemaya, they knew needed tefilah and Hashem's forgiveness, and so asked Moshe to intervene on their behalf.

Now that we understand how to read the pesukim, we can appreciate the proof of the Mishna and why it switches terms.  כַּיּוֹצֵא בַדָּבָר אַתָּה אוֹמֵר: עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף וְשִׂים אֹתוֹ עַל נֵס וְהָיָה כָּל הַנָּשׁוּךְ וְרָאָה אֹתוֹ וָחָי .  If there was some magic to the cure itself, i.e. Hashem was revealing the way to cure snakebites, then if Hashem said to make a שָׂרָף, it meant only a שָׂרָף would do the trick.  If your doctor writes a prescription for drug X to cure snakebites and you take drug Y, it won't work.  Since Hashem said שָׂרָף, how is it that the  נְחַשׁ נְחֹשֶׁת worked?  

Answers the Mishna: וְכִי נָחָשׁ מֵמִית, אוֹ נָחָשׁ מְחַיֶּה. אֶלָּא, בִּזְמַן שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל מִסְתַּכְּלִין כְּלַפֵּי מַעְלָה וּמְשַׁעְבְּדִין אֶת לִבָּם לַאֲבִיהֶן שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם, הָיוּ מִתְרַפְּאִים, וְאִם לָאו, הָיוּ נִמּוֹקִים.  QED that it's not the נָּחָשׁ and it's not the שָׂרָף itself that does anything.  It's turning to Hashem that is the real cure.  

current events reflected in the parsha

One cannot help but think of current events when reading the short three pasuk episode (21:1-3) that describes the attack against Bn"Y by Canaan, the captive/hostage taken by them, and the eventual victory by Bn"Y.  We hope to see a similar total victory very soon in our days.

 וַיִּשְׁמַע הַכְּנַעֲנִי מֶלֶךְ⁠ עֲרָד יֹשֵׁב הַנֶּגֶב כִּי בָּא יִשְׂרָאֵל דֶּרֶךְ הָאֲתָרִים וַיִּלָּחֶם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּשְׁבְּ מִמֶּנּוּ שֶׁבִי.

Rashi explains  שמע שמת אהרן ונסתלקו ענני כבוד .  It's not clear how the rest of the pasuk follows from this point.  כִּי בָּא יִשְׂרָאֵל דֶּרֶךְ הָאֲתָרִים -- why is the road they took significant, and how does this reason ("כִּי") relate to the death of Aharon as the cause for the attack?   

Netziv and Abarbanel resolve the problem by connecting the parsha not only to the death of Aharon, but to the previous chapter's episode relating to Edom.  In the beginning of the previous perek we read how Bn"Y appealed to Edom for permission to transverse their lands but were denied.  Rather than fight and conquer Edom (which Hashem did not allow), Bn"Y turned away and had to circumnavigate Edom's territory and take a longer route through the desert.  To Canaan, this appeared to be an act of cowardice, proving that Bn"Y wanted to avoid war, even at great cost to themselves.

This was followed by the death of Aharon, which, in addition to the departure of ananei ha'kavid, led the people to rebel and turn back towards Egypt, as Rashi in Devarim (10:6) tells us: 

כשמת אהרן בהר ההר לסוף ארבעים שנה ונסתלקו ענני כבוד, יראתם לכם מן מלחמת מלך ערד ונתתם לב לחזור למצרים, וחזרתם לאחוריכם שמונה מסעות עד בני יעקן,

The net result of these events was that Bn"Y appeared to be marching around like a people lost and afraid, with their morale broken.  

דֶּרֶךְ הָאֲתָרִים was the path taken by the meraglim.  Spies travel surreptitiously, hoping to avoid detection; they don't come into a country in a parade, like a victorious army.  This is how Bn"Y now appeared to be travelling -- slinking around, hoping to fly below the radar.  Abarbanel writes:

וענינו דרך התרים והמרגלים את הארץ שלא ילכו דרך גלויה ומפורסמת אלא דרך עקלתון ונסתרת לאמר לא תשורנו עין

We seem to have done a total about face from the days of yetzi'as Mitzratim where  ובני ישראל יצאים ביד רמה, a total about face from  אָז נִבְהֲלוּ אַלּוּפֵי אֱדוֹם אֵילֵי מוֹאָב יֹאחֲזֵמוֹ רָעַד נָמֹגוּ כֹּל יֹשְׁבֵי כְנָעַן. 

This is what Canaan heard and saw and what led them to attack.  When you appear weak, it provides the enemy with an opening. 

I would add that although Rashi emphasizes the loss of ananei ha'kavod, perhaps the death of Aharon, coming a few months after the death of Miriam, was seen by Canaan as a creating a leadership vacuum.  

If so, the fact that the response davka came dava from the people -- וַיִּדַּ֨ר יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל נֶ֛דֶר -- without the participation of Moshe or other leaders, and וַיִּשְׁמַ֨ע ה׳ בְּק֣וֹל יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל without Moshe being involved, takes on greater significance, as it showed that Bn"Y were not dependent on any individual leader for their success and continuity. 

Despite all the setbacks which set the stage for Canaan's attack, we need to keep in mind the end of the story: Bn"Y won the war.  The lesson learned over 40 years in the desert was one of resilience.  Loss of leadership, loss of morale, setbacks -- all these are heartbreaking, but all these can be overcome.  

R' Mordechai Greenberg, R"Y of Kerem b'Yavneh, writes as follows:

דור ראשון של יוצאי מצרים היה מלא חששות ופחדים. הקב"ה הסב אותו דרך המדבר, ולא העביר אותו בדרך הקצרה ולא דרך ארץ פלשתים, מחשש "פן ינחם העם בראתם מלחמה ושבו מצרימה" (שמות יג, יז). הפחד שלט בהם גם שנה אחר כך, כשהם דחו את דברי כלב בן יפונה וטענו "לא נוכל לעלות אל העם כי חזק הוא ממנו" (במדבר יג, לא), וסופם שנשארו במדבר ולא נכנסו לארץ. נסתם הגולל על דור המדבר. וכדי להמחיש את חולשתם מסיים הכתוב את פרשת המרגלים במפלתם של ישראל, "וירד העמלקי והכנעני הישב בהר ההוא, ויכום ויכתום עד החרמה" (במדבר יד, מה).

השינוי הגדול ניכר בצאצאיהם של דור המדבר במלחמתם בעמלקי-הכנעני דווקא במקום זה, בחרמה. "וישמע הכנעני... ישב הנגב כי בא ישראל דרך האתרים, וילחם בישראל וישב ממנו שבי" (במדבר כא, א), אך הפעם השיבו מלחמה שערה. ישראל התקדמו באותה דרך שהלכו אבותיהם, "'דרך האתרים'- דרך הנגב שהלכו בה המרגלים (התיירים), שנאמר 'ויעלו בנגב' " (רש"י שם שם), והפעם ברוח נחושה ובגבורה. ואף שהכנעני שבו ממנו שבי, לא נפלה רוחם, אלא נדרו נדר, וה' הצליח דרכם. בעקבות הניצחון נאמר קראו את "שם המקום חרמה" (שם שם, ג), השם שסימל בעבר, לפני ארבעים שנה את הכישלון הגדול, מציין עתה שישראל קיימו את נדרם והחרימו את הכנעני.

voting Democrat = suicide (3)

Biden's debate performance speaks for itself, so let's turn to other things. 

1) Kamala Harris proved that she can really cut through the haze and focus laser-like on what's most important.  In an interview in The Nation she had this to say:  

“Similarly, I was asking early on, what are women in Gaza doing about sanitary hygiene. Do they have pads? And these are the issues that made people feel uncomfortable, especially sanitary pads.”

As for the flag burning rioters shouting "Death of America, Death to Israel," she's got that covered as well, commenting that, “They are showing exactly what the human emotion should be, as a response to Gaza."   

Not surprising from the woman who helped raise bail for BLM rioters.

2) That same "human emotion" reared its head at an elementary school graduation in NYC, where Jewish parents were attacked.  Hope they win a bundle in their $100 million lawsuit against the city.

3) The D's are trying to formulate their party platform in advance of the convention.  Elianne Farhat, executive director of TakeAction Minnesota, one of three speakers who addressed their committee, advocated for an embargo on arms sales to Israel, and spoke about what happens when our country, "...Misuses that power to spread pain, suffering and genocide.”  The other two speakers disagreed with her, so I guess we should be happy with rov.  

4) 19 people killed and 100 shot this past weekend in Chicago. Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson, like Kamala Harris, cut right to the heart of the matter and saw what others failed to see, namely, that it is former President Richard Nixon who is responsible for the city's troubles. 

korach and the lesson of rosh chodesh

The gemara (B"B 74a) among the aggadic stories of Rabbah bar bar Channa recounts the following episode that relates to events in our parsha: 

אָמַר לִי: תָּא אַחְוֵי לָךְ בְּלוּעֵי דְקֹרַח. חֲזַאי תְּרֵי בִּיזְעֵי, וַהֲווֹ קָא מַפְּקִי קוּטְרָא. שְׁקַל גְּבָבָא דְעַמְרָא וְאַמְשִׁינֵּהּ בְּמַיָּא, וְדַעֲצִיתֵהּ בְּרֵאשֵׁהּ דְּרוּמְחָא וְעַיְּילֵיהּ הָתָם, וְכִי אַפֵּיק, הֲוָה אִיחֲרַךְ אִיחֲרוֹכֵי. אָמַר לִי: אַצֵּית מַאי שָׁמְעַתְּ, וּשְׁמַעִית דַּהֲווֹ אָמְרִין: ״מֹשֶׁה וְתוֹרָתוֹ אֱמֶת, וְהֵן בַּדָּאִין״. אֲמַר לִי: כֹּל תְּלָתִין יוֹמֵי מַהְדַּר לְהוּ גֵּיהִנָּם לְהָכָא כְּבָשָׂר בְּקַלַּחַת, וְאָמְרִי הָכִי: ״מֹשֶׁה וְתוֹרָתוֹ אֱמֶת, וְהֵן בַּדָּאִין״. 

Sefaria's translation (from Steinsaltz):

Rabba bar bar Ḥana continues his account. The Arab also said to me: Come, I will show you those who were swallowed by the earth due to the sin of Korah. I saw two rifts in the ground that were issuing smoke. The Arab took a shearing of wool, and dipped it in water, and inserted it on the head of a spear, and placed it in there. And when he removed the wool, it was scorched. He said to me: Listen to what you hear; and I heard that they were saying: Moses and his Torah are true, and they, i.e., we in the earth, are liars. The Arab further said to me: Every thirty days Gehenna returns them to here, like meat in a pot that is moved around by the boiling water as it cooks. And every time they say this: Moses and his Torah are true, and they, i.e., we in the earth, are liars.

Rashbam comments: כל תלתין יומין - כל ראש חדש

It seems from Rashbam that this is not some random 30 day cycle, but it is rosh chodesh in particular that brings those who were swallowed by the earth in Korach's rebellion back to the place where they sinned, where they again recant and admit that Moshe is true and that they are liars.  R' Nachman has a hesber why this should be true (Likutei Moharan 10:9), but since understanding R' Nachman is beyond me, let me offer two other suggestions.

Rav Soloveitchik in one of the yahrzeit derashos develops the idea that beis din serves two functions: sometimes B"D acts on their own authority and power, and sometimes B"D acts as representatives of Klal Yisrael, as reflecting the will of the people as a whole.  The Rambam in Sefer haMitzvos sees kiddush hachodesh as reflecting the power of B"D in this second role.  The Rambam writes that there must always be a Jewish presence in Eretz Yisrael because the will of the tzibur of Klal Yisrael means the tzibur in Eretz Yisrael.  B"D that enacts the calendar are just the representatives of this community.

The tragic mistake of Korach is in thinking that the power of the community to create law based on their decisions has no bounds.  The din by kiddush hachodesh is אתם אפילו שוגגין אתם אפילו מזידין אתם אפילו מוטעין.  Even if B"D, as representative of the community, errs, their decision is binding.  Their will, which is the will of the people, is absolute.  

Every Rosh Chodesh the followers of Korach revisit their error. אתם אפילו שוגגין אתם אפילו מזידין אתם אפילו מוטעין works for mistakes made within the framework of halacha, but not to uprooting the system completely.

I saw a different hesber that is based on a yesod of the Maharal.  The korban chatas in the musaf of rosh chodesh in unique in that the Torah describes it as   וּשְׂעִ֨יר עִזִּ֥ים אֶחָ֛ד לְחַטָּ֖את לַה׳.  Why the extra word  לַה׳?  Rashi quotes from Chazal ומדרשו באגדה: אמר הקב״ה: הביאו כפרה עלי שמיעטתי את הירח.  Rashi here is alluding to the Midrash he quotes in Braishis (1:16).  The Torah describes the creation of the sun and the moon as שְׁנֵ֥י הַמְּאֹרֹ֖ת הַגְּדֹלִ֑ים, equal in size.  However, the moon complained that you can't have two kings sharing one crown, and as a result, Hashem knocked it down in size, as Rashi there comments, שוים נבראו, ונתמעטה הלבנה על ידי שקיטרגה ואמרה: אי איפשר לשני מלכים שישתמשו בכתר אחד.  The Midrash Rabbah there comments:

אָמַר רַבִּי פִּינְחָס בְּכָל הַקָּרְבָּנוֹת כְּתִיב שְׂעִיר עִזִּים אֶחָד חַטָּאת, וּבְרֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ כְּתִיב (במדבר כ״ח:ט״ו): שְׂעִיר עִזִּים אֶחָד חַטָּאת לַה׳, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא הָבִיאוּ כַּפָּרָה עָלַי שֶׁמִּעַטְתִּי אֶת הַיָּרֵחַ, שֶׁאֲנִי הוּא שֶׁגָּרַמְתִּי לוֹ לְהִכָּנֵס בִּתְחוּמוֹ שֶׁל חֲבֵרוֹ, וּמָה אִם זֶה שֶׁנִּכְנַס בִּרְשׁוּת כָּךְ פְּגָמוֹ הַכָּתוּב, הַנִּכְנָס שֶׁלֹא בִּרְשׁוּת עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה. רַבִּי לֵוִי בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בַּר אִלְּעָאי אָמַר, דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ הוּא שֶׁיְהֵא הַגָּדוֹל מוֹנֶה לַגָּדוֹל, וְהַקָּטָן מוֹנֶה לַקָּטָן. עֵשָׂו מוֹנֶה לַחַמָּה, שֶׁהִיא גְּדוֹלָה, וְיַעֲקֹב מוֹנֶה לַלְּבָנָה, שֶׁהִיא קְטַנָּה.

אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן וְהוּא סִימָן טַב, עֵשָׂו מוֹנֶה לַחַמָּה שֶׁהִיא גְּדוֹלָה, מַה חַמָּה הַזֹּאת שׁוֹלֶטֶת בַּיּוֹם וְאֵינָה שׁוֹלֶטֶת בַּלַּיְלָה, כָּךְ עֵשָׂו יֵשׁ לוֹ חֵלֶק בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וְאֵין לוֹ חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. יַעֲקֹב מוֹנֶה לַלְּבָנָה שֶׁהִיא קְטַנָה, מַה הַלְּבָנָה הַזּוֹ שׁוֹלֶטֶת בַּלַּיְלָה וּבַיּוֹם, כָּךְ יַעֲקֹב יֵשׁ לוֹ חֵלֶק בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וְלָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. רַב נַחְמָן אָמַר כָּל זְמַן שֶׁאוֹרוֹ שֶׁל גָּדוֹל קַיָּם אֵין אוֹרוֹ שֶׁל קָטָן מִתְפַּרְסֵם, שָׁקַע אוֹרוֹ שֶׁל גָּדוֹל, מִתְפַּרְסֵם אוֹרוֹ שֶׁל קָטָן. כָּךְ כָּל זְמַן שֶׁאוֹרוֹ שֶׁל עֵשָׂו קַיָּם אֵין אוֹרוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב מִתְפַּרְסֵם, שָׁקַע אוֹרוֹ שֶׁל עֵשָׂו מִתְפַּרְסֵם אוֹרוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב, הֲדָא הוּא דִּכְתִיב (ישעיהו ס׳:א׳-ב׳): קוּמִי אוֹרִי כִּי בָא אוֹרֵךְ. כִּי הִנֵּה הַחשֶׁךְ יְכַסֶּה אֶרֶץ וגו׳.

Many years ago there was a certain Rosh Yeshiva that visited the community we were living in and on Friday night they had an oneg Q/A session where you could ask anything you wanted to the R"Y.  Someone chose this topic to ask about.  What does it mean that Hashem needs a korban as a kaparah for himself?  Does Hashem sin?  Does Hashem need to offer korbanos?  Who is He offering them to?  This R"Y was a big Brisker style lamdan, but this was not his cup of tea, and he told the guy that he has no idea what it means.  The guy then pressed and asked what he is supposed to tell his little kid who asked about this Rashi and thinks that his Tatte should have all the answers, to which the R"Y responded that the kid will now learn his Tatte doesn't know everything.  That too is an important lesson even if it doesn't explain the Rashi.  Brisker lomdus may not help you here, but the Maharal will (Be'er haGolah ch 4 among other places, and see the Ishbitzer in Mei HaShiloach as well in parshas Pinchas).  

Maharal explains that the idea behind a korban, from the root קרב, is to draw closer.  The moon was made smaller in physical size by Hashem, and was left wanting.  Hashem therefore said that in order to make it up to the moon, he will offer a korban, i.e. he will draw the moon closer to Him.  Hashem dwells among the humble and the small.  

We find the same idea by mattan Torah.  Of all the great mountains available, Hashem chose to give the Torah davka on Sinai, the smallest of the lot.  

That's what Chazal mean when they say that Hashem asked for a kapparah.  The korban, the drawing closer of the moon, is the kapparah, is the answer to the complaint of the moon, because what it lost in physical size was more than made up for by its gain in spiritual greatness.  

What Chazal are telling us is that Korach did not absorb the lesson of Rosh Chodesh.  The sun appears to be much bigger than the moon, which is why Eisav reckons the calendar according to the sun -- the biggest and brightest.  Korach too, was attracted to the trappings of the office of kohen gadol.  With such a position comes wealth and authority and respect, all the greatness olam ha'zeh has to offer.  All the talk about kedusha was just posturing, just a sales pitch.

We follow the moon, because we know that external appearances aren't everything; we know that the meausure of "bigness" in olam ha'zeh's yardstick is not accurate -- there is "bigness" in spiritual greatness too.  Every Rosh Chodesh the followers of Korach come back and proclaim this truth, and acknowledge that ״מֹשֶׁה וְתוֹרָתוֹ אֱמֶת, וְהֵן בַּדָּאִין

rehabilitating the reputation of the meraglim

There is a custom quoted in SA (OC 580) to fast on 17 Elul as this is the anniversary of the day the meraglim died.  The MB (sk 8) quotes the Beis Yosef as asking why we should commemorate their death.  We have fasts for the death of tzadikim, e.g. Aharon's death, Miriam's death.  However, when it comes to reshaim,  וּבַאֲבֹ֖ד רְשָׁעִ֣ים רִנָּֽה.  We should celebrate their death, not mark the day with a taanis.  

The Beis Yosef answers ואפשר דמסתמא שבו ולא זכו שיקובל תשובתם ולכן מתענים.  It's hard to understand what he means.  If their teshuvah was not accepted, then that means they remain reshaim and הדרא קושׁיא לדוכתא.  But even if they had succeeded in doing teshuvah, does that now make them tzadikim deserving of their own fast day?

R' Moshe Tzuriel answers that the fast of 17 Elul is a fast not for the meraglim, but for ourselves, for Klal Yisrael, because it was our acceptance of the meraglim's report and our rejection of Eretz Yisrael that led to the bechiya l'doros of future churban and galus.  You might argue that we already have a fast of 9 Av for that, but there is a need for both days.  9 Av is a day of mourning over the final outcome of churban, which came as a result of sinas chinam.  17 Elul is a day to reflect on וימאסו בּארץ חמדה, the sin that got the ball rolling.

Maybe we can salvage the reputation of the meraglim and explain why we fast in their honor with the help of a Chasam Sofer.  There is a puzzling Yalkut Shimoni that says:

 מֵעִיד אֲנִי עָלַי שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ שֶׁלֹּא הָיְתָה בְּדַעְתּוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְהָמִית עֲשָׂרָה נְשִׂיאֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶלָּא שֶׁרָצוּ אַחַר מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן עַד שֶׁנִּכְנְסוּ תַּחַת כַּנְפֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה.

Somehow the death of the meraglim is attributed to their following Moshe and Aharon, which is very hard to understand.  How would following Moshe nd Aharon cause someone to die?  On the alhatorah.org website they quoted this Yalkut and add a few words in brackets: שֶׁרָצוּ אַחַר מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן [לִרְגֹּם אוֹתָם בַּאֲבָנִים]  I'm not sure where the bracketed words come from, but they obviously come to address this difficulty by saying it wasn't following Moshe and Aharon that led to their death, but rather trying to kill Moshe and Aharon.  Quite a difference!  The Chasam Sofer quotes the Yalkut and the Tana d'Bei Eliyahu without those words, and has a few different suggestions to explain what Chazal mean.  

Before getting to his hesber, let me preface it with acomment from a talmid of CS in a footnote citing a vort from his rebbe the CS.  He writes that R' Akiva's view in Sanhedrin 108a  דּוֹר הַמִּדְבָּר אֵין לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא וְאֵין עוֹמְדִין בַּדִּין שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר {במדבר י״ד:ל״ה} בַּמִּדְבָּר הַזֶּה יִתַּמּוּ וְשָׁם יָמוּתוּ דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא should not be taking at face value.  In potential, the dor ha'midbar might have theoretically been at risk of losing olam ha'ba.  In reality, however, the opposite is the case.  Read the entire pasuk:

 אֲנִ֣י ה׳ דִּבַּ֒רְתִּי֒ אִם⁠־לֹ֣א׀ זֹ֣את אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֗ה לְכׇל⁠־הָעֵדָ֤ה הָֽרָעָה֙ הַזֹּ֔את הַנּוֹעָדִ֖ים עָלָ֑י בַּמִּדְבָּ֥ר הַזֶּ֛ה יִתַּ֖מּוּ וְשָׁ֥ם יָמֻֽתוּ׃

What Hashem is saying is  אִם⁠־לֹ֣א׀ זֹ֣את אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֗ה -- if not for the fact that they are going to be punished, then  בַּמִּדְבָּ֥ר הַזֶּ֛ה יִתַּ֖מּוּ וְשָׁ֥ם יָמֻֽתוּ.  They are, however, going to be punished.  That punishment is therefor in effect their salvation.

Here is the hesber of the CS to the Yalkut (there are different editions of CS, so it's not so easy to find):

In this piece the CS is saying that the dor ha'midbar were punished, but there was a silver lining.  No one died before age 60, giving them each the opportunity to grow to shleimus.  יִתַּ֖מּוּ = achieve temimus, and only then  יָמֻֽתוּ.  (See the chiddush if the Akeidah in this post.)

Does that mean that the meraglim who were killed on the spot were denied that opportunity and were doomed forever?  Quite the contrary, says the CS.  The meraglim were the only members of dor ha'midbar who had the zechus of walking 4 amos in Eretz Yisrael.  The meraglim were the ones who when Moshe and Aharon asked for volunteers to go ahead and spy out the land, they raised their hands and took the mission knowing full well the dangers that would be involved.  These people didn't need 40 more years in the desert to achieve shleimus before they died.  They had achieved shleimus already!  True, upon their return they sinned in bringing a false report, but that sin does not outweigh the merit of their accomplishment. 

What Chazal in the Yalkut are asking is why did the meraglim, unlike anyone else, **merit** immediate death in a state of shleimus?  The answer is אֶלָּא שֶׁרָצוּ אַחַר מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן.  Because they were the pioneers who trusted Moshe and Aharon, who embarked on an uncertain mission, and were thereby the first ones since the Avos to have the zechus of walking in Eretz Yisrael.  Their sin may have been great, but their merit is even greater.

We fast on 17 Elul to celebrate the greatness of Eretz Yisrael, to celebrate the fact that the heroism and faith of being willing to enter the land in the face of risk and uncertainty can overcome and erase other faults and failures.  

when to hesitate and when not

The gemara (Shaboos 134) says that one is allowed to be mechalel shabbos to wash a baby on the third day after milah.  Some Rishonim hold that this means davka on the third day, as it is on that day that the pain is most intense.  Other Rishonim hold that it means all days up to and inclusive of the third day.  

My SIL in Eretz Yisrael is learning Shabbos and pointed out a very interesting Meiri.  We read in parshas vayishlach (34:25):

 וַיְהִי בַיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי בִּהְיוֹתָם כֹּאֲבִים וַיִּקְחוּ שְׁנֵי⁠ בְנֵי⁠ יַעֲקֹב שִׁמְעוֹן וְלֵוִי אֲחֵי דִינָה אִישׁ חַרְבּוֹ וַיָּבֹאוּ עַל⁠ הָעִיר בֶּטַח וַיַּהַרְגוּ כׇּל⁠ זָכָר.

If the first two days after milah are as painful as the third day, why did Shimon and Levi wait?

The Baalei Tosfos (Daas Zekeinim, Hadar Zekeinim, see also Tur) answer that there were so many people that it took three days to mal the entire city (a bit difficult, as Yehoshua did milah on all those who had been born in the midbar in a single day after Bn"Y crossed the Yarden), or it took three days to convince everyone in the city to do milah.

Meiri (Shabbos 86a, and the Tur also quotes this answer):

 ויהי ביום השלישי בהיותם כואבים כלומר שעדיין היו כואבים וכל שכן שהיו כואבים בראשון ושני אלא שהיו נמלכים בעצמם אם יעשו אם לא יעשו וכשהגיעו לשלישי ודנו בעצמם שאם לא יעשו באותו היום אף הם מתרפאים למחרתו נמנו וגמרו להרגם

Shimon and Levi were uncertain what to do, and debated among themselves for two days.  When the third day came and they realized it was now or never, as the people of Shechem would start to heal the next day, they acted.

My 2 cents: this is the same Shimon and Levi who, with their brothers tacit approval, who immediately wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to kill Yosef once they had him alone, and would have done so if not for the intervention of Reuvain and Yehudah.  No days of deliberation or second thoughts here!

Sadly, this is an all too common story.  When it comes to our aku"m enemies, we klerr back and forth and wring our hands for days deliberating before we finally take action.  However, when it comes to shechting one of our own, the knives are out in an instant and we are at each other's throats without a second thought.  

Baruch Hashem, I think the tide is turning.  We have learned our lesson a bit and we are seeing more achdus in our own camp and more resolve to do what needs to be done to the enemy.  

the suicidal need to vote Democrat (2)

I figured I would post this week's "vote Democrat = suicide" update before the debate, as that will probably be it's own ridiculous parsha.  

1) In LA protestors blocked the entrance to a synagogue and attacked Jews trying to enter.  Here is the description of the police response in the Free Press by eyewitness Noah Pollak : 

But as I got closer, the truly meaningful spectacle came into view: behind the phalanx of LAPD, on the sidewalk in front of the synagogue, were the Hamas supporters. When I walked up to the police with my boys and asked if I could enter the synagogue, they told me not to come any closer and said that I should leave. 

I asked calmly but incredulously, “Shouldn’t you be making sure this place stays open?” The reply was: “You should leave.”

Police were unwilling to confront, arrest, and prosecute bad actors. Jews were being policed in the name of “safety.” In Los Angeles and other big cities, and on many elite campuses, the message from authorities is essentially: things would be so much easier if you stayed off campus, avoided the library, didn’t go to your synagogue, and overall just stayed away from the mobs that regularly gather to confront you.

If you live in a Democrat run big city know this: the police are there to protect the criminals, not to protect you.  If you are in danger, the police response will come too late, will be ineffective, and even if the the criminals are taken into custody they will be handed over to the Soros sponsored DAs who will release them with no charges.  

2) Another excellent promotion within the Biden administration.  Tyler Cherry, whose qualifications are his gender confusion, his support for Palestine, and his hatred of the police, was given a slot handling White House communications. Yahoo News writes, "In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said, 'We’re very proud to have Tyler on the team.'"  

3) Turing to Israel, The Hill writes:

According to an AP report, [General] Brown also warned Jerusalem that “the U.S. won’t likely be able to help Israel defend itself against a broader Hezbollah war as well as it helped Israel fight off an Iranian barrage of missiles and drones in April.” Brown also indicated “the U.S. continues to talk with Israeli leaders and warn against widening the conflict.”

It does not help that the USS Gerald R. Ford was ordered back to the U.S. in January. Nor does Biden’s intentional slow-walking of constriction of weapons shipments to Israel.

Escalation paralysis continues to dominate Biden’s White House, his State Department and now his Pentagon. 

I couldn't have put it better myself.  

the significance of repetition -- lomdus to answer to a Shaar haMelech posted years ago

A mere sixteen years ago when the daf hayomi was doing Nazir I posted a kashe of the Shaar haMelech that I left unanswered. There are Rishonim who hold that given the choice of shechting meat for a choleh on shabbos or feeding the choleh neveila, it is better to violate shabbos.  Even though shabbos is an issur sekilah and neveila is just an issur lav, you potentially violate the issur neveila with every kzayis eaten, multiple times, but violate shabbos only once if you do the shechita.  It is better therefore to minimize the number of issurim.  R' Yosef Engel has an piece that he devotes to discussing the issue of quantity vs. quality, kamus vs eichus.  Here you have it -- kamus trumps eichus, quantity is more important than quality.

Here's the problem.  The Mishna in Nazir (47) talks about a meis mitzvah found by a kohen gadol and nazir.  Who should bury the body?  Neither one is allowed to become tamei, so which is the lesser evil?  

The Ramban tells us that a nazir who is metamei himself violates four separate issurim (Nazir 5:21):

הא למדת שהנזיר שטמא עצמו לוקה ארבע מלקיות משום לא יטמא ומשום לא יחל דברו ומשום לא תאחר לשלמו ומשום לא יבוא אם היתה ביאה וטומאה כאחת כמו שבארנו:

You would think therefore that the kohen gadol should be metamei himself since he violates only one issur.  Yet that is not how the Chachamim rule, or how the Rambam paskens (Nazir 7:13):

נזיר וכהן שפגעו במת מצוה יטמא נזיר אע"פ שהוא סותר הימים הראשונים ומביא קרבן טומאה. ואל יטמא כהן שזה קדושתו קדושת שעה ואפילו היה נזיר עולם והכהן קדושתו קדושת עולם:

Why in this case, asks Shaar haMelech (Maachalos Assuros 14:17), don't we apply the principle that quantity trumps quality, i.e. that even though the kohen gadol has a more chamur kedusha,  קדושתו קדושת עולם, the fact that the nazir violates multiple lavim make it the greater evil?

The Minchas Chinuch (376:6) has an answer, but I want to share with you my wife's grandfather's (R' Dov Yehudah Shochet) answer since it relates to our parsha and is beautiful amkus in understanding the sugya.

Rashi explains the smichus ha'parshiyos between the gifts of the nesiim and hadlakas hamenorah:

למה נסמכה פרשת המנורה לחנוכת הנשיאים, כשראה אהרן חנוכת הנשיאים, חלשה דעתו כשלא היה עמהם בחנוכה, לא הוא ולא שבטו. אמר לו הקב״ה: חייך, שלך גדולה משלהם, שאתה מדליק ומטיב את הנרות בקר וערב.

Many of the mefoshim are bothered by Rashi's contention that שלך גדולה משלהם.  What makes lighting the menorah greater than the gifts of the korbanos?  How do we weigh one mitzvah against another?

My wife's grandfather (see my wife's post) suggested that what makes lighting the menorah greater is the fact that it was done every day, as opposed to the gifts of the nesiim were a one time deal.  Something done repeatedly outweighs something that is a once time event.  

He proves that sevara from the din we just saw above: the lav of neveila outweighs the lav of shabbos even though shabbos has a stricter punishment because the lav of neveila would be violated repeatedly in eating.  Repetition gives something significance and weight.

[Editorial note: We can learn a yesod in shalom bayis from here as well. What you do repeatedly day in and day out carries more weight in a relationship than a grand gesture of a big present for an anniversary or birthday.]

In that proof lies a subtle difference from the way others, like R' Yosef Engel, understood the sugya.  It's not the number of lavim involved in the issur neveila that makes it more chamur (kamus vs eichus), but rather it's the repetition of the lavim, the fact that the person earing takes bite after bite, repeating the issur again and again.  

M'meila, we can answer the Shaar haMelech's question.  The case of the nazir and kohen gadol who chance upon a meis mitzvah is a one time occurrence.  There (hopefully) will never be a repetition of that same scenario.  Therefore, even though the nazir violates more issurim, that does not outweigh the kedushas kohen gadol.  

Hope this was worth the 16 year wait : )

the suicidal need to vote Democrat

For some reason there are people still clinging to the belief that voting for Biden and Democrats is the right thing to do, even though it is the equivalent of pointing a gun at your own head.  Here's a sample of some of the damage our Democrat "friends" have inflicted on us this week:

1) 30 Columbia students were arrested for occupying a campus building during their anti-Jew protest, but that means nothing because Alvin Bragg, who embraced the most ridiculous legal theories in his witch hunt against Trump, had a prosecutor tell the judge to dismiss the charges:

Inside the courtroom—where audio and video recording is not allowed—a prosecutor in Bragg's office argued that the defendants should not face criminal penalties, citing their lack of criminal histories and arguing that the protesters will face internal discipline at Columbia.

The prosecutor also argued that Bragg's office lacked evidence to land convictions in the cases, given those who occupied Hamilton Hall wore masks and covered up surveillance cameras. New York City police arrested the occupiers while they were inside Hamilton Hall.

Still under the illusion that the police and DA are going to stop the criminals? 

2) Senator Tom Cotton reveals the truth behind the White House lie that they have no idea what Bibi is talking about when he accuses them of withholding arms from Israel:

As you are aware, the Arms Export Control Act requires the administration to notify Congress before sending weapons to a foreign country. Your administration has manipulated this requirement by withholding this formal notification to Congress of approved weapons sales, including F-15s, tactical vehicles, 120-mm mortars, 120-mm tank rounds, joint direct attack munitions, and small diameter bombs. Your administration can then claim that the weapons are “in process” while never delivering them.

But the law also includes an exception for “when emergencies exist,” which allows you to waive the requirement for congressional review and expedite weapons sales. Your administration is obviously aware of this exception since you invoked it just last year. Yet, it appears that you stopped acknowledging the emergency in Israel after receiving a letter from nearly twenty congressional Democrats in January, urging you to end expedited weapons sales to Israel.

3) As missiles rain down on the North in Israel in violation of the UN agreed to cease fire between Hezbollah and Israel, you will be happy to know that the Biden administration has spoken out forcefully on the matter:

“The message to Israel is, don’t do anything in the North,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, as US President Joe Biden’s special envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel on Monday, with plans to head to Lebanon on Tuesday.

“We don’t want to see escalation at all in the North. We’ve made that clear to the government of Israel directly,” Miller said.

What are allies for if not to tell you to be a human punching bag for your enemies?

4) Six months after the fact, on the verge of being tossed out of office, Democrat Congressman Jamaal Bowman has finally apologized for denying that Hamas committed rapes in their 10/7 attack.  Amazing how the threat of losing an election brings such clarity of mind.   Who knows, maybe even dimwitted Biden will finally see the truth sometime before November, but I would not hold my breath.

inner strength

 Chazal tell us that Doeg was a gadol ha'dor, a brilliant talmid chacham, but his Torah was מן השׂפה לחוץ (Sanhedrin 106b).  It was all external trappings, but did not penetrate his soul.  Moshe Rabeinu, on the other hand, was the same on the inside as on the outside.  The Torah writes regarding the aron (Shmos 25:11) וצפית אתו זהב טהור מבית ומחוץ תצפנו, to plate it with gold on the inside, מבית, as well as on the outside.   בְּכׇל בֵּיתִי נֶאֱמָן הוּא Moshe was faithful not just on the outside, for show, but even מבית, even on the inside, throughout the depths of his being. 

The gemara in Taanis tells the story of חוני המעגל who people turned to to pray for rain.  Said Choni, בניך שמו פניהם עלי שאני כבן בית לפניך.  The reason Choni's tefilos were answered is because he had this midah of being faithful through and through, both on the inside, מבית -- he was  כבן בית -- and not just on the outside (Yismach Moshe).

I wanted to add my two cents that with this approach we can understand what the Torah tells (Shmos 1:21) us about the midwives of Bn"Y in Mitzrayim who refused to obey Pharoah's order to drown the babies:  וַיְהִי כִּי⁠ יָרְאוּ הַמְיַלְּדֹת אֶת⁠ הָאֱלֹקים וַיַּעַשׂ לָהֶם בָּתִּים  Through their yiras Shamayim the midwives built up their inner strength -- מבית -- and fortitude.

lack of self-awareness

1) It's hard to write something on the parsha when we are barely out of Yom Tov, but I don't want to skip a week, so I am going to come back to topic did before before and hopefully add something new.  A nazir is chayav if he comes in contact with tumas meis even by accident.   וְכִֽי⁠־יָמ֨וּת מֵ֤ת עָלָיו֙ בְּפֶ֣תַע פִּתְאֹ֔ם explains Rashi: פתע – זה אונס. 

Normally the din is אונס רחמנא פּטרי׳.  A person can't be held responsible for an accident that is out of his control.  Why then is the nazir chayav to bring a korban in this case? 

Had you asked me I would have said this is a unique din by nezirus.  The nazir accepts upon himself issurim for the sake of reaching a higher ideal of holiness; therefore, he is held responsible for mishaps that a normal person would be excused for.  Meshech Chochma writes (6:4):

פירוש אל תדמה, שרק בפעולותיו יתקדש, אבל בעצמותו אינו קדוש, לכן אמר כל ימי נזרו קדוש הוא לה׳ כי הוא נעשה קדוש בעצמותו ונשגב במעלתו, כיון שהוא נפרד מן התאוות ונבדל מן המותרות ונזהר מכל אלה, הוא נעשה זך בחומריותו ונעלה בעצמותו, לכן אמר וכי ימות מת עליו בפתע, שלא היה צריך להזהר מזה, כי הוא אנוס והביא כו׳ ועשה כו׳ וכפר עליו מאשר חטא על הנפש, פירוש, כיון שהוא איש קדוש ורום המעלה צריך להביא כפרה על שאירע שמת איש באהלו, וכמו דאמרו במכות בהא שיושב הרוצח עד מות כה״ג דהוי להו למבעי רחמים על דורן ולא בקשו, והנזיר מעלתו כמעלת הכה״ג, שלשניהן נזר אלהיו על ראשו, וזה אשר חטא על הנפש שמת, וכמו ההוא דאכליה ארי ברחוק תלתא פרסי מיניה דריב״ל ולא אישתעי אליהו בהדיה, ולכן אף אם אירע לו מת מצוה מביא קרבן, כמפורש ריש נזיר

(I am a bit confused by his proof from kohen gadol, as the gemara in that case, as M"C himself quotes, writes that the kh"g is held responsible because he should have davened for killing b'shogeg to not happen.  There is a reason for blame in that case.)

R' Simcha Zisel of Kelm learns a more general lesson from this case.  Accidents don't just "happen."  Just like the expression "you make your own luck," the same is true when it comes to accidents.  True, the person cannot be taken to task by beis din for a mishap, but that does not mean the person is true 100% blameless. 

We can glean a different answer from the comment of Netziv on the korban chatas offered by the nazir tamei:

מאשר חטא על הנפש – אחר שכתיב במת שבא ״בפתע פתאום״ שאין שום אשמה על הנזיר, מבואר דהחטא הוא שפירש עצמו מן היין. ואם לא אירע לו זו הסיבה לא היה נקרא ׳חוטא על הנפש׳, שהרי כדאי הוא להזיר עצמו מן התענוג הגשמי כדי להשיג תענוג רוחני של דביקות בה׳. אבל אחר שאירע לו באונס זו הסיבה אות הוא שאינו ראוי לכך, וא״כ בחנם ציער עצמו מן היין וביקש דבר שגבוה מערכו.

Netziv doesn't spell it out the question, but what motivated his comment is R' Elazar haKapar's statement that the cheit for which the nazir has to being a korban is, as Rashi quotes, שציער עצמו מן היין.  If this is true, isn't every nazir guilty of the same crime?  Why is it only the nazir *tamei* who is held accountable for depriving himself?  

Netziv answers that there is a trade off between the excessive perishus of not drinking wine and the spiritual gains of nezirus.  If the nazir successfully completes his nezirus, it means the tradeoff was worth it, as he realized his goal of spiritual growth.  If the nazir fails to complete his nezirus, even through no fault of his own, it means he was not really up to the task and should never have taken the nezirus upon himself to begin with.

R' Chaim Elazari notesnotes that we see an amazing chiddush from this Netziv.  It takes siyata d'Shemaya to go through the period of nezirus with no accidents.  How does a person know if he or she will be zocheh to do so? The answer is that a person has to know himself.  Unlike the Meshech Chochma and R' Simcha Zisel, the Netziv is telling us that the nazir is not held accountable for the accidental contact with the meis.  What he is held accountable for is not knowing the limits of his own ability, for lacking self-awareness.

2) The Seforno makes a beautiful obervation on the pasuk (6:13)  וְזֹ֥את תּוֹרַ֖ת הַנָּזִ֑יר בְּי֗וֹם מְלֹאת֙ יְמֵ֣י נִזְר֔וֹ יָבִ֣יא אֹת֔וֹ אֶל⁠־פֶּ֖תַח אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד.  He writes:

כבר בארו ז״ל ׳הוא יביא את עצמו׳ (ספרי לפסוקנו). וזה כי אמנם כל הקרב אל מי שיחדש דבר בעצמו נאמר שהוא מובא אל המחדש בו על ידי נכבד ממנו, כזה ׳שאין חבוש מתיר עצמו׳ (ברכות ה׳:), ולזה נכתב במצורע בטומאתו (ויקרא י״ג:ב׳) ובטהרתו, ״והובא אל הכהן״ (שם י״ד:ב׳), ובסוטה ״והביא האיש את אשתו אל הכהן״ (במדבר ה׳:ט״ו), וכן בעבד ״והגישו אדוניו אל האלהים״ (שמות כ״א:ו׳). אמנם בנזיר אשר יחודש בו גילוח, ובו יהפך לאיש אחר, אין נכבד ממנו שיביאהו, אבל הוא יביא את עצמו.

Both the metzora and the nazir but their hair and bring korbanos, but only the nazir is considered a different, changed person.  What sets the nazir apart is that he chooses this path; it is not something thrust upon him.  

My wife likes the quote from JFK when he first declared the goal of a moon landing and said, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills..."  The key word in that quote is "choose."  Just doing hard things doesn't always help a person grow.  Many times that person is resentful of their lot.  What makes a peron grow is *choosing* to do hard things and working at them.  

Rus and Shavuos -- kabbalas haTorah and redemption of Eretz Yisrael

1)  וכל העם ראים את הקולת ואת הלפידם ואת קול השפר ואת ההר עשן וירא העם וינעו ויעמדו מרחק (Shmos 20:14). Once the reisha of the pasuk tells us that the people saw the thunder and lightning, why does the seifa add וירא העם?  I think I've mentioned in the past the diyuk of Sefas Emes that  ראים is present tense.  It was not just the generation who was physically present at Sinai who saw קולת ואת הלפידם ואת קול השפר ואת ההר עשן, but every generation sees the same as well.  The experience of mattan Torah is one that takes present in the here and now, not sometime in the past.  

The Sefas Emes (5640) writes that וירא העם is not talking about seeing the smoke and thunder of Sinai, but it's talking about seeing this fact that mattan Torah is  experienced by each and every generation, right down to ours.  The reaction was therefore וינעו ויעמדו מרחק.  Not because the dor de'ah could not handle having front row seats, but because our generation is ראים as well, and we can't handle it.  We don't have the kelim to absorb such an experience, and at best can absorb what we take in at a glimpse from the distance.

Our job, says Sefas Emes, is to rectify that -- to earn the right to be able to have have front row seats.

2) Sefas Emes (5658) writes: ענין מגילת רות בשבועות. לבקש הגאולה.  The Torah tells us two different end goals for yetzi'as Mitzrayim: תעבדון את האלקים על ההר הזה and  וְהֵבֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָשָׂאתִי אֶת יָדִי לָתֵת אֹתָהּ לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב.  The truth is that these are one and the same, as Torah can only be fully realized in Eretz Yisrael, and Eretz Yisrael requires us to obey the Torah or we will have no kiyum in the land.  Chazal therefore instituted reading Rus on Shavuos so as to pair the story of Boaz's redemption of the land, the redemption of Naomi's fields, with the story of kabbalas haTorah.  Boaz = Bo oz, the oz of Torah was part of the essence of who Boaz was, which is why he succeeded as the גואל .  My SIL sent me a program planned for leil Shavuos in Netzarim, in Gaza.  The land is being redeemed once again.  We had a tremendous nefila on Simchas Torah, a chag of Torah, but we can have a tremendous aliya on Shavuos, the zman of kabbalas haTorah.  Says the Sefas Emes:  לכן בעצרת צריכין לבקש על הגאולה בכח התורה to pray for redemption through the descendent of Boaz, of David, with the coming of Mashiach.

the special tefilah of erev rosh chodesh sivan

The Shl"H has a special tefilah to recite on erev rosh chodesh Sivan for the sake of one's children and grandchildren.  In addition to davening for one's children and one's grandchildren, perhaps one can also daven on this day for one's cheilek of Torah as well.  The gemara (Yevamos 63) writes that Ben Azai did not marry (or remain married) because he refused to have any distraction from his learning. Asks the gemara, what about the mitzvah of peru u'revu?

 אמרו לו לבן עזאי יש נאה דורש ונאה מקיים נאה מקיים ואין נאה דורש ואתה נאה דורש ואין נאה מקיים אמר להן בן עזאי ומה אעשה שנפשי חשקה בתורה אפשר לעולם שיתקיים על ידי אחרים

It's not clear what the answer of the gemara is. So what if מה אעשה שנפשי חשקה בתורה?  You wouldn't use that as an excuse for not putting on tefillin, or eating matzah on pesach, so why is it an excuse for not fulfilling peru u'revu?    

R' Yosef Engel in the Gilyonei ha'Shas says (null) a remarkable chiddush.  What Ben Azai meant is that he was in fact mekayeim peru u'revu, as the chiddushei Torah that one produces are like one's offspring!   

I am not the first to point out that in our times we probably need to daven a little more frequently than once a year for our children, our grandchildren, or even our chiddushei Torah, but at least do so today. I don't know why the SHl"H chose R"CH Sivan as the day for this tefilah, but I can tell you that the Chasam Sofer thought it was a significant day, a day of teshuvah, a day on which he would fast.  In parshas Yisro the Torah tells us (19:1-2):

 בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁלִישִׁי לְצֵאת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה בָּאוּ מִדְבַּר סִינָי.

וַיִּסְעוּ מֵרְפִידִים וַיָּבֹאוּ מִדְבַּר סִינַי וַיַּחֲנוּ בַּמִּדְבָּר וַיִּחַן⁠ שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶד הָהָר.

Rashi comments: מה ת״ל?⁠ לחזור ולפרש מהיכן נסעו, והלא כבר כתוב שברפידים היו חונים (שמות י״ז:א׳), בידוע שמשם נסעו. אלא להקיש נסיעתן מרפידים לביאתן למדבר סיני, מה ביאתן למדבר סיני בתשובה, אף נסיעתן מרפידים בתשובה.

Rashi tells us that both the day Bn"Y left Refidim as well as the day they arrived at Sinai were special days of teshuvah (why they needed teshuvah on the day they arrived when they already had done teshuvah the day before is a topic for another time).  Since they arrived on rosh chodesh, as we read in the first pasuk, the day they left was obviously erev rosh chodesh.  Take advantage of these special days.

The Chofetz Chaim has a beautiful lesson in our parsha regarding davening for one's children.  The two largest shevatim counted in our parsha are Yehudah and Dan.  The Chofetz Chaim pointed out that Dan had only one son, Chushim, who was hard of hearing.  Anyone who compared Dan's situation with that of his brothers would think, "Nebach, what a terrible lot in life."  Fast forward just a few generation and look at what became of that "nebach!"  

Why did Dan increase in number more than the other shevatim?  The Chofetz Chaim explained that davka because Dan had only that one son, Chushim, who was disabled, he poured his heart out in tefilah.  The other shevatim had large, healthy families, and so m'meila, they figured they would naturally grow and increase in number.  They of course davened, but it was not the same as Dan's tefilah.  When you feel that there is no way you can succeed b'derech ha'teva, when your back is up against the wall and there is only one address you can turn to for help, your tefilah is a different tefilah.  When you daven for your children that way, it brings hatzlacha.

I wanted to add a point to this C"C.  Neicha the explanation for sheivet Dan, but what about Yehudah?  I usually don't like these type questions.  There is no hechrech or proof one way or the other why one sheivet more than another should be the largest, so it's just speculation.  With that caveat in mind, here's my bit of speculation : )  In Braishis 38 we read that Yehudah had two children: עֵר and  אוֹנָן.  Both of those children, whatever the reason, died.  Afterwards, you have the whole story of how Yehudah came to marry Tamar and give birth to Peretz and Zarach.  I think that just like the tefilos of Dan carried greater intensity because he had but one child, and that one child was disabled, so too, I think Yehudah's tefilos were of greater intensity because of his past history of having lost other children.  When you've suffered loss, you appreciate what you have all the more.

I think that lesson is all the more poignant this year.  Klal Yisrael has suffered such tremendous losses.  We need to daven not just for our own children, but for children like Kfir Bibas, still held in captivity by Amalek/Hamas, and for so many others who have suffered and are still suffering.  And if we have not experienced suffering directly, we should be that much more appreciative of what we have.

There simply are no words to convey the greatness of people like the parent in the video below, a parent who is grieving for the loss of his son who fell in battle, but at the same time rejoicing in the birth of a baby to that son's wife.  Listen for yourself: