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Rabbi Yehuda (Leonard) Blank MS, BCC
Vice President of Professional Development and External Affairs
Rabbinical Alliance of America/Igud HaRabbonim
917-446-2126 rablenblank@gmail.com
⬄⬄⬄Thursday, October 27,2022, 25 Cheshvan 2, 5783⬄⬄⬄
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Emulating the Ribono shel Olam doing chasadim with kindness
humility and sincerity.
Ahavas H, Ahavas Torah, Ahavas Yisrael.
The sadness of the loss of an outstanding member of the Tantzers
R’ Alexander Zishe Rosenblum zt”l
The Yartzeit of Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l . His legacy
and the world of our holy brothers and sisters of Sephardic Jewry.
A special video of Rav Ovadia Yosef by the renown Rabbi Yaakov
Moskowitz founder of the Growth Through our Gedolim Project.
The link to the video and bio about Rabbi Moskowitz
can be found at the bottom of this article).
From Artscroll Chumash Parshas Bereishis Mesorah Publications Ltd. We learn of how the Ribono shel Olam says “ “Let us make man” “The humility of the Holy One Blessed is He”. “He consulted them (the angels). He consults His retinue.” He shows us His humility, even speaking with the angels who are lower than He. How humble we should be in all that we do for others.
After Adam and his wife ate from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge and realized they were naked, they then made aprons from fig leaves. “They heard the sound of H walking in the garden towards the direction of the sun; and the man and his wife hid from H among the trees of the garden. H called out to the man and said to him, ”Where are you ?” “He said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I am naked , so I hid.” “And He said, “Who told you that you are naked? Have you eaten of the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me- she gave me of the tree and I ate.” “And H said to the woman, “What is this that you have done !” There is so much kindness H shows us. He did not shout nor accuse them of wrong doing in an embarrassing way. Nor did He surprise them with a loud voice. He did not speak to them in an accusing manner, but gave them an opportunity to share what had happened with His gentle questioning.
H also showed another chesed of kindness by making for Adam and his wife garments of skin. Not only did He make for them special clothing, He also clothed them. These are just several of the multitudes of chasadim the Ribono shel Olam does of which we are the recipients everyday of our lives.
Adam’s wife did something horrendous by eating and then giving him to eat from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge of which the world will never be the same for generations to come. Yet there are no words of anger in the Torah said by H to Adam and his wife. There are also no words of anger spoken by Adam to his wife. Instead as the Torah says “he called his wife Chavah (Eve) because she had become the mother of all the living.” There is much for us humans to learn from our Creator, as well as Adam and Chavah.
From Shabbos with Rav Pam on Chumash by Rabbis Sholom Smith Parshas Bereishis, Mesorah Publications Ltd. Page 30. “Among the lessons learned from the incident ( H accepted the gift of Hevel’s korban but not of Kayin’s korban) is the concept of hidur mitzva, the obligation to enhance the performance of a mitzva. Kayin’s sacrifice was sorely lacking in hidur mitzva (inferior portions of his crop), in contrast to his brother Hevel’s offering (of his choicest firstlings of his flock) which exemplified hidur mitzva.”
“The primary source of hidur mitzva in the Torah is in Parshas Beshalach (Shemos 15:2) zeh keili veanveihu, This is my G and I will glorify Him. The Gemara (Shabbos 133b) comments that one should glorify H by beautifying the performance of mitzvos. This is achieved by making (or purchasing) a beautiful succah, lulav, shofar, tzitzis, sefer Torah, etc. Rav Abba Shaul says that the word veanveihu means, “be like Him”; just as H is gracious and compassionate, so should a Jew also be gracious and compassionate. Rashi explains that veanveihu is a contraction of two words Ani – Vehu- I and Him, meaning that a Jew should strive to emulate the attributes of his Creator. Maharsha adds that glorifying H by emulating His attributes includes hiddur mitzva in interpersonal commandments.”
(cont. pages 31-32) “Parshas Bereishis is read on the first Shabbos after Succos when countless Jews spent large sums of money and devoted much time and effort to buy and esrog mehudar (choice esrog) for yom tov, and to fulfill the mitzva of succah in its optimal manner. While this is certainly an expression of hidur mitzva, one should not overlook the fact that a person is obligated by the same requirement of hidur in interpersonal mitzvos, especially those pertaining to tzedakah and chesed.”
From Rabbi Frand on the Parsha Artscroll Series Mesorah Publications, Ltd.(page 24). “ The Talmud states (Berachos 17a) that when the Sages took leave of each other they would say, “Olamecha tir’eh bechayecha. May you see your world during your lifetime.” What exactly does this mean?
Rabbi Shimon Schwab offers a beautiful interpretation. The word olamecha, your world, is cognate with he’elmecha, the part of you that is concealed. A person’s world is the part of him that has not yet seen the light of day, the part that is still potential. That is the arena where he works and struggles and strives to achieve. Realizing the full potential is the work of a lifetime.
This was the blessing the Sages wished each other. May you see your world during your lifetime. May you achieve during your sojourn in this world the full realization of all the potential H has invested in you.”
We have begun our New Year with the culmination of Simchas Torah already doing many hidur mitzvos. There is much to learn from and emulate Hakadosh Baruch Hu, our G. We are mispallel to Him for the many opportunities of doing chasadim with kindness, sincerity and fulfilling many potentials with humility. May we be zoche to be Mekadeish H and to be worthy ambassadors of H and of Klal Yisrael. May our love for H, our Torah and all of Klal Yisrael continue now and for years to come. Amein
It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the passing of R’ Alexander Zishe Rosenblum z”l, who was injured critically in a car accident six years ago. R’ Zishe was a member of the “Tantzers” group who are mesameiach people in special circumstances. R’ Zishe was on his way from Monsey to Boro Park in November 2016 when the car he was in lost control trying to avoid a deer and smashed into a tree. R’ Zishe was unconscious and crippled. R’ Zishe battled his injuries for the last years, while Yidden all over the globe davened for his recovery. Yehi zichro boruch.
I shared this information because I have not forgotten the tremendous efforts by the Tantzers for the great chasadim they did for the bar mitzva celebration of my grandson Moishe and all they do for Klal Yisrael. If anyone would like a copy of the article which included the video of that simcha, please contact me.
Sincerely, Rabbi Yehuda Blank
Rabbi Yaakov Moskowitz serves as Director of Community Learning in Yeshivas Toras Chaim in Miami. He is the founder of the Growth Through Our Gedolim project, that creates vital, short, videos recapping inspirational stories from the lives of Gedolei Yisrael. As well, he is a dynamic lecturer, well known for his engaging shiurim, and his growth to greatness series, found on Torah Anytime and his numerous Whats App chats. He has touched the lives of Jews across the globe working in conjunction with formidable organizations such as, The Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation, Chazaq, and Guard Your Eyes.
CLICK ON THE LINK FOR THE VIDEO OF RAV OVADIA YOSEF ZT”L.