Shmooze News August 23, 2025
Please click here to view the Shmooze News.
Shabbos Mevarchim Chodesh Elul
Rosh Chodesh will be Sunday and Monday
The Molad for Elul will be Motzei Shabbos {Aug 23},
26 minutes and six chalokim after 11
A Better Quality of Life
Our Parashah begins by laying out two paths before us: One of “berachah” (blessing) and one of “klalah” (curse). The Torah then goes on to discuss the berachah in one verse and the klalah in the following verse. The two verses are mostly mirror images of each other. However, there are some slight differences between the way each verse begins. The berachah verse begins by saying, אֶת הַבְּרָכָ֑ה, The blessing, (with the inclusive term את, which does not have an English translation), אֲשֶׁ֣ר תִּשְׁמְע֗וּ , that you listen to the commandments of Hashem, your Gd…. The next verse which discusses the klalah does not begin with the inclusive word את. It simply begins withוְהַקְּלָלָ֗ה , and the curse. Also, unlike the previous verse it does not have the word אֲשֶׁ֣ר, that, but rather continues with אִם לֹ֤א תִשְׁמְעוּ֙, if you do not listen to the commandments of Hashem, your Gd. What does the Torah mean to convey through these changes?
Starting with the second change, the commentators note that the baseline assumption is that a Jew wants to do what is right. The assumption is that we will listen, not if. It’s the lack of listening to Hashem that is novel and not presumed. That gets an אם, “if.” Because every Jew wants to do what is right (Rabbeinu Bachya, Kli Yakar, Or Hachaim ad loc.).
But there’s more. Because when we follow through with that innate desire, and we do listen to the commandments of Hashem, something interesting emerges, something that is alluded to by the inclusive term את. Because aside from the infinite blessings in the World to Come that await one who is שומע – who learns and listens to the word of Hashem – there’s blessing in the satisfaction in the listening itself. The very learning itself, the very listening to the word of Hashem is itself a source of joy and berachah. When you sit down to learn the word of Hashem, everything else melts away. There’s a sweetness in the “listening” and there’s a sweetness in the living of a Torah lifestyle.
You simply cannot replicate the feeling of calm and satisfaction that Shabbos provides. You cannot replicate the reduction in anxiety that sincere tefillah and real trust in Hashem provide. You cannot replicate the happiness and contentment of a life that is lived with true purpose – one that only the Torah can provide.
Yes, indeed a Torah lifestyle certainly brings everlasting bliss in the World to Come. But that’s not all. There is incredible spiritual bliss and satisfaction in THIS WORLD. That’s the את הברכה אשר תשמעו, the blessing: that you listen to the commandments of Hashem, your Gd. That contentment and joy is the additional blessing (alluded to in the את) that comes along when we listen, for there truly is no better way to live.
Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom / Good Shabbos
Rabbi Moskovitz
Shmooze News August 16, 2025
Please click here to view the Shmooze News.
Embracing the Ger
In this week’s parashah, we are given the commandment, “You shall love the ger (convert)” (Devarim 10:19). Chinuch explains that included in this mitzvah is that we may not cause a convert to Judaism distress in any way. Moreover, we must bestow kindness and goodness to them. Although a ger is a fellow Jew and treating him in a loving way is anyway subsumed under the mitzvah of you shall love your fellow as yourself (Vayikra 19:18), nevertheless the Torah added an additional specific mitzvah for geirim (Chinuch, Mitzvah 431).
Our Sages (see Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvos Asei 207) go so far as to note something extraordinary about the love we are to have for a ger. They say, based on the similar language that the Torah uses in this mitzvah and that used by the mitzvah command to love Hashem, that the two mitzvos are on some level equated!
Chinuch, in his treatment of the command to love the ger, adds a significant lesson derived from this mitzvah. A person who chooses to convert to Judaism necessarily displays great emotional strength and resilience. He or she must leave behind everything that was familiar to them; the safety of the social network of their places of origin, the support of family and friends, and so much more, all in their lofty pursuit of Truth. The Torah therefore commands us to be sensitive to that struggle and to embrace the ger with extra love and care, recognizing his or her vulnerability and challenges in finding their place within their newfound community. The Torah requires that same sensitivity, explains Chinuch, toward anyone who may feel out of place, such as a visitor or someone new to a community. Treating them in a warm and embracing way too is included in the spirit of this mitzvah, if not in the very letter of the law itself (see Sefer HaMitzvos HaKatzer, Asei 61).
This is in fact alluded to in our verse which says, You shall love the ger, for you were geirim in the land of Egypt” (Devarim 10:19). The term “geirim” here cannot mean converts, for we did not convert in the land of Egypt. Rather, it clearly means “strangers,” as we were indeed foreigners in Egypt. What does our experience as foreigners in Egypt have to do with being sensitive and loving to a ger? The answer, based on the above is clear! In Egypt we understood the pain of feeling out of place. We felt the barbs of the local Egyptians who made us to feel “less than” and “unwelcomed,” to say the least. The Torah says, don’t do that to others. Rather, welcome them and embrace them. You shall love the ger (Chinuch Mitzvah 431).
At some point or another all of us were that “stranger” – the new kid at school, the new person in shul, the new employee at the firm. It’s an unsettling feeling. We’ve all been there and have all benefited from those kind individuals who made us feel like we “belong.” Welcoming someone new into our community is a wonderful chessed. But as Chinuch to our mitzvah notes, it is even more. It is a biblical imperative!
Wishing you all a Good Shabbos / Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Moskovitz
Shmooze News August 9, 2025
Please click here to view the Shmooze News.
Shabbos Nachamu
When a Mitzvah Opportunity Comes Knocking
In this week’s parashah we are told, Then Moses set aside three cities on the bank of the Jordan… for a killer to flee there, who will have killed his fellow without knowledge (Devarim 4:41). Moshe here begins the fulfillment of the mitzvah-obligation to set up cities of refuge for accidental killers by designating three such cities in the Transjordan. The commentators wonder why this verse begins with the word “then.”
The assumption would be that the “then” is somehow connected to the immediately preceding verse. Whatever happened in the previous verse somehow led to Moshe then setting aside these cities. But the previous verse simply says: You shall observe His decrees and His commandments that I command you this day, so that He will do good to you and to your children after you… (ibid. v. 40). What is the connection?
Kli Yakar explains that at times a person is presented with an opportunity to begin a mitzvah knowing full well that he will be unable to see it through to its completion. For example, an elderly man might choose to plant an esrog tree, knowing that by the time it produces usable esrogim, he will likely not be there to use of them for the mitzvah of the Four Species. Nevertheless, the planting of the tree is a worthwhile endeavor, for his children and their children will enjoy the fruits of his labor (literally!). Similarly, King David knew that he would be unable to build the Beis HaMikdash. The Prophet told him that his son, Shlomo, would be the one to lead its construction. Nevertheless, David amassed the materials and purchased the land for its future construction. A mitzvah opportunity that comes one’s way should be grabbed, even if he will be unable to see it through to its ultimate conclusion.
This notion is alluded to in the above verse: You shall observe His decrees and His commandments that I command you this day, i.e., if the opportunity presents itself to you, do it today! Sometimes you will merit to see the mitzvah through to its end, in which case the verse says, “He will do good to you.” And sometimes the “good” – i.e., the conclusion of the mitzvah – will only be witnessed by your children, to which the verse alludes to by stating “and to your children after you.” But either way, the mitzvah should be done.
After instructing us of this basic truism, Moshe practiced what he preached. That is why the verse goes on to say, Then Moses set aside three cities on the bank of the Jordan. Our Sages tell us that the cities of refuge in the Transjordan would not become operational until the corresponding three cities were designated in Eretz Yisrael proper, years later (Makkos 10a). That did not stop Moshe. As he just taught the Jewish people, sometimes we get to see a mitzvah through to its end, and sometimes we just merit to lay the groundwork for future generations. Either way, when you can “get in” on a mitzvah opportunity on the ground level, you jump at it.
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom / Good Shabbos
Rabbi Moskovitz
Shmooze News August 2, 2025
Please click here to view the Shmooze News.
Shabbos Hazon
The Three Eichah’s
Over the next few days, we will read three pesukim that begin with the word אֵיכָה, Eichah (How). Each of these pesukim are customarily read in the mournful Tisha B’av tune. The first is in this week’s parasha in which Moshe notes how we, as a nation, had grown beyond his ability to lead alone. Moshe spoke of the need for more judges and leaders by exclaiming: אֵיכָ֥ה אֶשָּׂ֖א לְבַדִּ֑י טָרְחֲכֶ֥ם וּמַשַּֽׂאֲכֶ֖ם וְרִֽיבְכֶֽם, How (Eichah) can I alone carry your contentiousness, your burdens, and your quarrels? (Devarim 1:12).
The second reading of the word Eichah is in this week’s Haftarah in which Yeshayah, the prophet, notes the sinfulness of his generation. He turned to Jerusalem and declared: אֵיכָה֙ הָֽיְתָ֣ה לְזוֹנָ֔ה קִרְיָ֖ה נֶֽאֱמָנָ֑ה, How the faithful city has become a harlot! (Yeshayah 1:21).
Finally, the last reading of the word Eichah is the opening word of the Book of Lamentations (Eichah), that we read on Tisha B’av night. There the prophet Yirmiyah, who saw the utter destruction of Jerusalem, declared: אֵיכָ֣ה ׀ יָֽשְׁבָ֣ה בָדָ֗ד הָעִיר֙ רַבָּ֣תִי עָ֔ם הָֽיְתָ֖ה כְּאַלְמָנָ֑ה, How she sits in solitude! The city that was great with people has become like a widow (Eichah 1:1).
Our Sages connect these three occurrences of the word Eichah by way of a parable. They describe an attendant to a noblewoman who saw the noblewoman in her state of tranquility, then in her impetuous sinfulness, and then in her sorrowful state of degradation. Moshe’s Eichah of Jewish growth is the Eichah of our tranquility. Yeshayah’s Eichah of our failures, in the Eichah of impetuous sinfulness. And Yirmiyah’s Eichah of destruction is the Eichah we read on Tisha B’av night (Eichah Rabbah 1:1).
As noted, the standard custom is to read each of these verses with the mournful Tisha B’av tune. It is certainly understandable that Yeshayah’s Eichah of transgression, and Yirmiyah’s Eichah of destruction should be read in a mournful tone. Why though is Moshe’s Eichah read in that same sad tune?
Perhaps the answer lies in the words of the verse itself: How (Eichah) can I alone carry your contentiousness, your burdens, and your quarrels? As we know, it is our very quarrelling that is the root of our state of exile. Our inability to embrace the other despite our differences, and love the other just the same, is the reason we still have this tragic day called Tisha B’av. Moshe saw a great and growing nation – but he saw the threads beginning to unravel. And so that verse too, gets read with the sad tune that speaks of our nation’s least impressive moments (Shem Mishmuel 5769, cited in Kleinman Midrash Rabbah Insight Eichah 1:1).
That tune will change. It will, one day soon, be read with the same glorious pitch as the rest of the Torah. But there’s something else that needs to change first: How we see one another. When we see one another with loving eyes, as brothers rather that competitors, the tone will change. Not just of that one verse, but of Jewish History and Jewish Destiny.
May we merit to see and hear that change speedily in our days.
Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom / Good Shabbos and an easy and meaningful fast
Rabbi Moskovitz