World Mizrachi Weekly Parsha Newsletter

Printable Version

Back to the Weekly Parsha Newsletter List

Sign up to the World Mizrachi Blog - http://www.mizrachi.org/blog/

There are visions and there are nightmares. This week’s parsha and haftorah provides us with a little of both. As Moshe begins his final great oration to his beloved people he warns of the dangerous future and reminds the people of the tragic and costly errors of the past. Moshe is the person of vision. He is shown the entire story of the Jewish people throughout all of the ages.

His vision even includes, so to speak, seeing the knot of God’s head tefilin “on His back.” But Moshe also sees the tragedies, defeats, mistakes and failings that lie ahead in the Jewish story. He also views the vision of Jewish resilience and eventual triumph, peace, prosperity, and security. Thus the entire gamut of chazon – vision of the future, its problems, defeats and victories is reflected in this week’s parsha.

There is a great responsibility that rests upon the shoulders of one that possesses the gift of vision. How does one translate that vision into reality is the problem of all visionaries. Moshe faces it with the fortification of the Divine Torah that he himself brought down to Israel from Sinai.

He forecasts the difficulties that lie before the people that is charged to be a light unto the nations. Yet he does not gloss over the sad parts of the vision. An honest leader tells the people the truth no matter how difficult and painful it is. Chazon – vision – therefore always has an element of sadness attached to it for it describes the reality and difficulties of life. 

The haftorah is the vision of the great prophet Yeshayahu. It also minces no words in describing the impending tragedy of the Temple’s destruction and of the sins of Israel that contributed and led to this destruction. In reading the words of the haftorah, one cannot help but sense the overwhelming feeling of frustration that envelops the prophet.

He is the doctor who has diagnosed the disease correctly and has the proper medicines and cures to heal the patient but the patient ignores the disease and its cure. Yeshayahu complains about the thickheadedness of Israel in not understanding and realizing its true condition and its tragic result. It is Israel’s refusal to see things clearly, to ignore the long range disaster that looms over it and instead look only for short range comfort that drives the prophet to understandable distraction.

His vision is real and stark, disturbing and tragic. There is a willful blindness in Israel regarding its future that strikes Yeshayahu, as a man of vision himself, as being utterly not understandable. Israel is more blind to its future and,  necessarily as well, to its past then is the donkey or the ox that recognize their sources of food and safety.

But all prophecies regarding the Jewish people, no matter how sad and doomed they seem, always end on a note of hope and optimism. The eternal people will right itself and yet achieve its physical and spiritual goals and be redeemed in the cause of justice and righteousness.

from the World Mizrachi Halacha Yomit program www.mizrachi.org/elearning/kitzur.asp

We find in the Kitzur a number of halachot of Tisha B'Av that are surprising at first glance:

The afternoon before Tisha B'Av (123:3)

Concerning the last meal (before the fast) there are several laws. The correct way is to eat before the afternoon service a normal (full) meal, and afterwards to pray Mincha but without saying Tachanun, because the 9th of Av is termed a ''Mo'ed'' as is written: ''He called a mo'ed against me''.

Shacharit on Tisha B'Av (124:3)

After the Amidah he says half kaddish and does not say neither Tachanun nor ''O G-d, slow to anger'' because (the 9th of Av) is termed a ''Mo'ed''… We do not say (Psalm 20) ''For the chief musician. A psalm of David''.

Tisha B'Av on Shabbat or Motzaei Shabbat (125:3)

In the afternoon services we do not say ''Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness''.

In spite of the extremely sad and mournful tone of the day no tachanun is said, no selichot are recited – why is this? The Kitzur explains that this is because Tisha B'Av is referred to in Megillat Eicha as a mo'ed or festive day. Why is the saddest day of the year known as a festival?! You could argue because of the pasuk in Zechariah (8:19) when the prophet describes how all our fast days will become festivals:

Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fact of the tenth, shall become times of joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts to the house of Yehuda; therefore, love the truth and peace.

Since they will become days of feasting, we begin to observe some of the laws of festive days in anticipation of that time. However, this does not seem to fully explain, since why do we not have similar laws, then, for all the other fast days?!

It seems to me that in the saddest possible moment, there is room for hope and even, possibly, happiness. When we read the famous story from the end of the Gemara in Makkot (24b), perhaps this concept will be more clear:

[Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar Ben Azarya, Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Akiva] were ascending to Jerusalem. When they reached Mount Scopus, they rent their garments. When they reached the Temple Mount, they saw a fox leaving the [site of] the kodesh ha-kodashim [the innermost sanctum of the Temple]. They began crying, but Rabbi Akiva laughed.

They said to him, 'Why do you laugh?' He said to them, 'Why do you cry?'

They said to him, 'The site about which it is written: "The foreigner who approaches shall be put to death" - now foxes walk there, and we shall not cry?'

He said to them, 'Therefore I laugh. For it is written, "I called upon reliable witnesses - Uriya the Kohen, and Zekharya ben Yeverekheyahu" (Yeshayahu 8:2). What does Uriya have to do with Zekharya - Uriya [lived] during the First Temple [period], whereas Zekharya [lived] during the Second Temple! Rather, the verse hinges the prophecy of Zekharya on the prophecy of Uriya. In [a prophecy of] Uriya it is written, "Therefore, because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field," and in [a prophecy of] Zekharya it is written, "There shall yet be old men and women in the streets of Jerusalem." So long as Uriya's prophecy was unfulfilled, I feared lest Zekharya's prophecy will not be fulfilled. Now that Uriya's prophecy has been fulfilled, it is certain that Zekharya's prophecy will be fulfilled.'

They said to him: 'Akiva, you have consoled us; Akiva, you have consoled us.'"

Taking the events of Tisha B'Av in a narrow prespective leads us to mourn and cry without any hope or optimism. However, this is not the case at all. We learn that there is always hope – we repeat the penultimate pasuk of Eicha to ensure we end on a positive hopeful note (which we recite as we return the Sefer Torah to the Ark) – "Turn us back, O Lord, to You, and we will return. Renew our days as of old." We even sing the last kinah "Eli Tzion" – why do we sing it? We are only able to sing it due to the hope provided by the promise of Zechariah, exemplified by Rabbi Akiva: Now that Uriya's prophecy has been fulfilled, it is certain that Zekharya's prophecy will be fulfilled. We have the merit of seeing in our generation "old men and women in the streets of Jerusalem" once more – this should give us the strength this Tisha B'Av to feel that "Akiva, you have consoled us".

Baruch Dayan HaEmet – Moshe Menora z"l

With great regret and sadness I inform you of the tragedy and death of a dear friend and member of Mizrachi, Moshe Menora z"l who was killed in a plane crash yesterday in Michigan with 3 of his grandchildren. One of his grandchildren survived and is in a serious condition with severe burns. Please pray for him Netanel Yosef Ben Simcha Sima.

We extend our heartfelt sympathy's to his wife Sima and the entire family. May his memory be a blessing for his entire family and Klal Yisrael.

To read more about the tragedy see here, here, here and here.

The funerals will be on FRIDAY July 16th.

The Levaya and Kevura for Rikki and Racheli Menorah will be in Eretz HaChayim cemetery near Beit Shemesh at 9:00 am.

The Levaya for Moshe Menora and Sara Klein will be at Rechov Agassi 5, Har Nof, Jerusalem at 11:30 am. From Har Nof the Levaya will proceed to Har HaMenuchot Cemetery.

The following phone number was listed in the JM Post for information: 054 668 0836

The following shiva information was also circulated, please confirm:

Sholom Menora and sons will be sitting shiva in Beit Shemesh. Zevi and Kelly Klein and family will be sitting shiva in Har Nof at 78/9 Katzenelenbogen. Seema Menora and Miriam Schreiber will be sitting shiva in Har Nof with the Klein's until 6 pm Sunday evening. Beginning Monday after 1 pm, they will be at 4100 Grove in Skokie.

Mizrachi Conference / World Zionist Congress

You can now read a report on the recent World Mizrachi Conference and World Zionist Congress. See www.mizrachi.org

Yavneh Olami Summer Internship Program (SIP)

World Mizrachi wishes the 50+ participants on Yavneh Olami's SIP b'hatzlacha with their internships. For more information about the program visit http://www.yavneholami.org/programs/?id=3

Gaza Flotilla – The TRUTH

We recently released some videos and articles revealing the truth about the Gaza flotilla. You can find them on our website – www.mizrachi.org – or on the blog – www.mizrachi.org/blog

World Mizrachi Heritage Tour #9 – Japan – photos online

Photos from the World Mizrachi Jewish Heritage Tour to Japan are on our website – www.mizrachi.org.

Have you signed up for the BLOG?

The World Mizrachi Blog is now online! Visit the website www.mizrachi.org and go to the blog to sign up to receive our regular updates.

More additions will continue to be added in the near future, so sign-up to keep in touch!

Personals

Please advise us of all good news and sad news that you care to share with others, else we cannot post it – email mizrachi@worldmizrachi.org.