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YNA Newsletter Parshat Bo
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In This Issue
Life Events
Parshat Bo
January 22, 2015
HaRav Nebenzahl on Parshat Bo
Staff Dvar Torah by Rav Rafi
Roness
The Story Of The Jewish People
by Rav Shai Gerson
Tehillim List
Dedications
Parnas Hayom on 2 Shvat was dedicated by Dr Ronald and
Diane Strobel l'ilui nishmat Asher Strobel (5769) Asher Dov
A"H ben Reuven Efrayim sheyichye
Links
yna.edu
YNA Kollel.com
Ask Rav Nebenzahl
Parnas Hayom on 26 Tevet was dedicated by
Ronald and Beth Stern (parents of Max [5771-72]
and Eitan [5772-75]) l'ilui nishmat Perel Yutah Bas Yitzchak
Isaac
Suggestion Box
Alumni Update Form
Contact Us
Abir Yaakov (Hebrew)
Save The Date
The annual alumni Shabbaton in Woodmere will be March 20-21!
Stay tuned for details.
Rabbanit Malke Bina's Glimpse
on the Parsha
RavBeinishGinsburg.com
Last year's YNA Shabbaton
Shiur in Washington Heights
Hillel Golberstein
Needs a Kidney (son
of Yosef Chaim
Golberstein
5760-61)
There will be a shiur given in Washington Heights at the Shenk
Shul 560 W 185th Street on Motzei Shabbat January 31, 2015 at
8:00 PM given by Rav Baruch Simon shlita. The shiur is being
given l'ilui nishmat Daniella Casper a"h the late wife of our dear
talmid Noam Casper (5767-68).
Join Our List
"Out" Shabbat with
Refael Ruben and family
Candlelighting
4:29 PM
Life Events
Mazel Tov
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Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh would like to wish a mazel tov to:
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
4:45 PM
Vatikin at the
home of the Rosh
HaYeshiva
6:05 AM
Second Shachrit
8:30 AM
Mincha
4:25
PM
Joel Minsky (5766-67) on his engagement to Elise
Borman.
Rav Yoel (Staff) and Rebbetzin Shoshana Rackovsky on
the marriage of their daughter Revaya. (Correction)
Benjamin (Benny, 5771-72) Schwartz on his marriage to
Revaya Rackovsky. (Correction)
Open Houses with Rav Bina
YESHIVAT NETIV ARYEH
invites
PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS and their PARENTS
to meet with
HARAV AHARON BINA, Rosh HaYeshiva,
Rav Natan Schwartz
Rav Chanan Bina
and with alumni of YNA
They will speak and answer your questions
regarding the Yeshiva and the year in Israel.
In Great Neck
When: Sunday, February 8th
Time:
7:00 PM
Where: The home of Shiffy and Rafael Yehoshua
32 Hawthorne Lane, Great Neck , NY 11023
In The Five Towns
When: Monday, February 9th
Time:
8:30 PM
Where: The home of Dassy and Steven Kwestel
42 Auerbach Lane, Lawrence, NY 11559
In Staten Island
When: Tuesday, February 10th
Time:
8:30 PM
Where: The home of Lisa & Shmuel Mozorosky
240 Martin Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10314
In Teaneck
When: Thursday, February 12th
Time:
8:30 PM
Where: To be announced
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Rav Nebenzahl on Parshat Bo
HaRav Nebenzahl asks that his Divrei Torah are not read during Tefillah or the Rabbi's
sermon
LESSONS FROM THE MATZAH
The Torah states "you shall safeguard the matzos" (Shemos 12:17). Chazal derive, do not read the
word as matzos but rather as mitzvos (same spelling, different pronunciation - vowels), just as
matzah is not allowed to become chametz we must make sure that our mitzvos do not become
chametz. How does a mitzvah become chametz? One must relate to a mitzvah with zeal and not
lazily, often there are delays in performing a mitzvah due to things which may get in the way.
Chazal teach us that when David Hamelech sent Bnayahu Hakohen and others to crown Shlomo
Hamelech as king in the Gichon (which is not too far away - the Yeshiva in fact goes there for tashlich
on Rosh Hashana), Benayahu remarked "amen ken yaase", may he become king. Why did Benayahu
need to say this, after all that was his mission and in a very short time it will be accomplished, why
should he not become king? Chazal explain that there may be a few disturbances which may delay and
perhaps prevent this, we are aware that Adoniyahu tried to prevent this. Benyahu teaches us that a
mitzvah should be carried out immediately and not lazily.
The baraisa of Rav Pinchas ben Yair which serves as the base for Messilas Yesharim states: "the Torah
brings one to caution, and caution brings one to zerizut - alacrity. Shlomo Hamalech says: "a lazy
person says: there is a lion outside, I will be killed in the midst of the streets" (Mishle 22:13).
One who is instructed to visit his rebbe will say he can't because there may be a lion in the streets.
When told, but the rebbe is in this town he will respond perhaps there are other beasts on the street.
He may then be told, but the rebbe is in the house, he will then say perhaps the door is locked. The
lazy person will always find an excuse not to do something. He will remain in bed rather than do what
needs to be done. The opposite is what is required - zrizim makdimim le mitzvoth, mitzvoth should be
performed as soon as possible. A bris milah may be performed anytime during the day, however
zrizim makdim lemitzvos, it should be carried out as early as possible.
In the beis hamikdash one of the virtues of the kohanim was that they were zrizim, they worked hard
and quickly. We find an unfortunate story in the Gemara of two kohanim who decided that whoever
would arrive first would be honored with the mitzvah of the terumas hadeshen, the removal of the ash
from the altar and placing it on the floor next to the altar - this was the first act of the day of service
in the Beis Hamikdash. The Gemara lates that one came and stabbed the other. This type of wishing
to work quickly is devoid of yirat Shamayim.
On the other hand the Messilas Yesharim as well as the Chinuch teach us the importance of working
quickly even if it is not in his heart, for this can lead to love of Hashem and to internal feeling of
wishing to perform mitzvoth in the best way possible. They add that if a tzaddik lives surrounded by
people who force him to sin even against his will, this will have an effect on him and in the end he
may do so out of his own volition. The opposite is also true, one who is not on such a high level and is
surrounded by an atmosphere of mitzvah performance in the end will perform mitzvoth out of his own
volition.
The attribute of zrizus, as well as all other middos, must be properly channeled - one must know when
to emphasize it and when not to emphasize it, everything should be leShem Shamayim.
Let us take the midda of humility. One who is truly humble does not think only of himself. He does
not think highly of himself but realizes that everything he has, all of his virutes are from Hashem.
YNA Newsletter Parshat Bo
Moshe Rabenu was known as the most humble of all men and the fact that he was responsible for so
many miracles and leading the nation did not contradict his feeling of humility. Moshe and Aharon said
"and what are we", to which Chazal comment that they were even more humble than Avraham Avinu
who compared himself to the dust of the earth. They said of themselves that they were nothing, not
even the dust of the earth. Of course it is easy for us to say we are nothing, but we must feel as
Moshe did.
There was a story which took place during the lifetime of the Ramban of a priest who was known for
his great humility. The Ramban decided that he had to see the extent of this person's humility for
himself. The Ramban met him and was truly impressed with him. He said to the priest - you are so
humble, why does the Torah say that there was no one ever as humble as Moshe Rabenu, you seem
to be at least on that level. The priest responded - I was wondering that myself. Clearly one who
wonders why the Torah does not record him as being humble cannot be very humble.
Another story involves a young man in search of a shidduch, no young lady was good enough for him.
His father, clearly frustrated, decided that his son needed to learn humility and sent him to a Yeshiva
which emphasized mussar. The boy returned after a while, clearly a changed person. He was offered
a shidduch with one of the girls he had turned down, and he responded: "I don't understand, before
she was not good enough for me, and now to top it off I am also humble do you really think I should
consider this?
Humility of course should be internal and not simply words. There are times when rather not be
humble. Yehoshafat, king of Yehuda was known for his great piety. The pasuk describes: "his heart
was elevated in the ways of Hashem" (Divrei Hayamim II 17:6), when it comes to following the ways
of Hashem Yehoshafat felt that pride and not humility was in order. In every midda one must know
when and how much to apply. The Rambam says regarding humility one must go to an extreme, but
however one must know when it is better not to be humble. Moshe Rabenu was the humblest of all
men, yet when it came to fighting against Korach and Dosson and Aviram, he stood up against them
because they went against Hashem.
The lessons from the matzah are not to be lazy, to be humble just as the matzah does not rise. But
most importantly to know when to use it and when it is appropriate to go the other way.
Staff Dvar Torah by Rav Rafi Roness
THE MESSAGE BEHIND THE SHABBAT TREAT
"So what treat are you going to get?" I asked my friend's six year old
son who was on his way with his father to buy a treat at the candy store.
His reply surprised me: "I want deodorant". After some time the boy's
father realized that his son wanted a candy in the shape of a roll-on
deodorant.
Chazal teach us that in order to merit the redemption, Bnei Yisroel
needed to first involve themselves in mitzvoth.
Hashem therefore
provided them with the mitzvoth of Pesach and Milah prior to the exodus
from Egypt. Chazal, however, stress that prior to the involvement in
mitzvoth there was a preparatory stage, "mishchu" (Shemot 12:21) - pull away from Avoda Zara
that was so prevalent in Egypt. Only then may they involve themselves in the many details of the
mitzvah of offering the Korban Pesach.
We must implement this idea in our own lives as well. We must begin by pulling away from all
negative influences and misconceptions accepted by our societies and only then may we involve
ourselves in religious and sanctified matters.
The "negative influences" I am referring to is not limited to modern electronic gadgets. Training an
innocent child to believe that it is completely within the realm of normalcy to eat chocolate pebbles,
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suck on deodorant, and lick a lollipop in the shape of a toilet bowl (which I am told are delicious) is
in keeping with our modern society's acceptance of the most abominable behavior as being normal.
With Hashem's help, this Shabbat I am planning to explain to my children the importance of
inspecting accepted norms around us to see if they are compatible with a lifestyle of Avodat
Hashem, and why this should even effect our choice of Shabbat treats.
Shabbat Shalom
NEW FEATURE!! The Story Of The Jewish People
The Torah-cycle finished and we start again with Bereishit. But the story of the Jews
continued. And thanks to Rav Shai Gerson, the story will continue in the newsletter as told by Tanach through the eyes of Chazal. We start with Sefer Yehoshua.
YEHOSHUA CHAPTER 7
The previous perek ended on a seemingly positive note. In perek 7 we discover that it
was only members of Am Yisrael that were responsible for taking from the forbidden cheirem,
specifically one man named Achan. At this point begins the idea of areivut, that every member of Klal
Yisrael is ultimately responsible for one another. Up until this point a person was responsible for his
own sin, from the time Bnei Yisrael crossed the Jordan the sin is also attributed to the entire Klal
Yisrael. The positive side of this concept is that one is able to discharge another of his obligation to
fulfill a mitzvah, so long as the mitzvah is not a personal individual requirement (e.g. wearing tefillin).
The idea behind this is that from the time they crossed the river, the people became a nation and
were now responsible for one another. Thus when a person sins, the sin is attributed to the individual
as well as to the entire Klal Yisrael.
Hashem becomes angry with Klal Yisrael, but they are unaware of the change in the way Hashem
relates to the people following the capture of Yerichos. Yehoshua advanced westward and now wishes
to wage war and defeat Ay. Once again he sent spies, the spies return with their assessment that we
are speaking of a small city and between two and three thousand troops would suffice. This is based
on a simple calculation - later we are told that Ay was a city with a population of twelve thousand. If
we assume half are women, that means only six thousand men, after deducting the elderly and the
children, the number seems to correspond.
Yehoshua accepts the assessment of the spies, and he himself does not join them in battle (this is the
only loss for the Jewish people, this is not in contradiction to Hashem's promise to Yehoshua that no
one would stand before him because he was not present). Yehoshua sent three thousand troops and
the Jewish people were defeated.
The following pasuk states that the people of Ay killed thirty-six people. Chazal comment that it refers
to one person - whether based on the simple understanding, whether Chazal, we are speaking about
a small number of Jewish casualties, the reason for retreat is not at all apparent.
We are speaking
of a mere one percent of the soldiers. Perhaps we can suggest that whether thirty-six were killed,
whether only one, perhaps we are speaking of a commander or a unit which has now been destroyed
and the soldiers then flee.
Tehillim List
The following members of our extended YNA family need our tefilot:
Yechiel Zalman ben Chana
Nomi Esther bat Tzipporah
Etel bat Yehudis
Daniel ben Tziporah
Alta Miriam Bracha bat Sara
Devorah bat Sarah Leah
Yaacov ben Baila
Nechama Mindle bat Liba
YNA Newsletter Parshat Bo
Chana Bat Rachel
Kayla Rus bat Chaya Rochel
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Chaim ben Miriam
Yisrael ben Chaya Gittel
Shalom ben Shoshana Chanah
Alter Yosef ben Chaya Sarah
Uri ben Rina
Haziine bat Sarah
Ilana Raizel Bat Simone
Yaakov Kopel Ben Rivka
Moshe Tzvi Ben Freida Simcha
Shai ben Meital
Yaakov Kopel Ben Rivka
Ilana Raizel Bat Simone
Daniel ben Tziporah
David Edwar Ben Miriam
Rivkah Leah bat Sarah
Kayla Rus bat Chaya Rochel
Yenudah Pinchas Ben Osna
David Chaim Ben Toran
Boaz David ben Zippora Frei
Mordechai Noach Nissin ben Bracha Rochel
Esther Bas Yehudit
Aharon Ben Rochel Yehudis
Avraham Halevi ben Eidel
Yechiel Michel Natan ben Feiga Esther
Yitzchok ben Rochel
Rachel Yonina bas Leah Raizel
Zev Yisrael ben Esther
And of course we are always davening for the release of Jonathan Pollard
Yehonatan ben Malka
Submit Names to the tehillim list.
Send Us Your Announcements
Please, if you have any smachot or chas v'shalom, less happy occasions, let our office know so
we can keep everybody updated.
Are you visiting Israel?- Let us know! We'd love to host you for a Shabbat meal, davening, a
shiur and would love for you to stop by.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rav Bina,
Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh
Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh | Western Wall Plaza | One Hakotel Street | POB 32017 | Jerusalem | 91319 | Israel