Torah Teasers
Parshas V’zos Habracha / Simchas Torah
1. The torah tells us “Vzos HaBracha Asher Tziva Moshe Ish Ha’Elokim”; This is the bracha that Moshe the Man of Hashem…. Why does the Torah call Moshe at this late stage Ish HaElokim? If we don’t know it yet, when will we ever? Ans…The Netziv answers that Moshe as the leader of Bnei Yisroel never spoke for himself. It was always Hashem speaking through his throat. Once Moshe turned over the leadership of Bnei Yisroel to Yehoshua, Hashem no longer spoke through him and it was Moshe himself speaking. One would think that the Bracos of Zos HaBracha are Moshe’s own brachos and not from Hashem, so the pasuk tells us that for the last time Moshe acted as Ish Ha”Elokim. The Netziv compares this to a candle that is about to extinguish. As the flame dies down, right before it is snuffed out forever, it flickers one more mighty flicker, as it fights off the end. This flicker is greater than the flame at its normal strength. As Hashem leaves Moshe, and his neshama is about to depart this world, he gave “the bracha”, the powerful bracha, even greater than the brachos of Yaakov, to each Shevet in his last hurrah as Ish HaElokim. Similarly, explains the Netziv, this phenomenon is how Eliyahu was able to grant Elisha’s request to give him double the Nevuah that Eliyahu had as he departed for Shamayim.
2. In Zos HaBracha, the Torah teaches that the burial place of Moshe Rabbeinu is not known. [Devorim 34:6] Why was Moshe Rabanu’s kever hidden from mankind? Ans….Rav Shamshon Rafael Hirsch explains that the Torah saw the potential that Moshe Rabbeinu’s grave could become a deity. It is important for all of us to remember that when we visit the graves of Tzadikim, we do not pray TO the Tzadikim that they should bless us. We are forbidden to daven to a human being – dead or alive! We visit the graves of Tzadikim to ask that they petition on our behalf to the Ribono shel Olam. The Torah saw the potential of such a thing happening with Moshe Rabbeinu. Moshe was a person of such monumental stature that the Torah feared lest his burial place would become a shrine.
3. What lessons do the words of Zos HaBracha in the Bracha to Shevet Levi who carried the flag of Torah – “Who said of his father, and of his mother: ‘I have not seen him’; neither did he acknowledge his brother, nor knew he his own children…” have for us today? Ans … The Chofetz Chaim used to praise the American students who left their families to come halfway across the world in a very difficult trip to Europe to learn in the great Yeshivos of Mir, Telshe, Radin, etc. In those days, it meant being almost completely cut off from your family, in a totally foreign and strange land. He said that this is what the Mishnah means, “Hevey Golah LiMakom Torah” – “You shall go in to exile to a place of Torah study”. This is hinted in the words of Zos HaBracha in the Bracha to Shevet Levi who carry the flag of torah. These students left their parents, brothers and children — therefore, they will be Zocheh to be “Yoiru Mishpatecha LiYaakov” – a Teacher of Torah to Klal Yisroel.
4. Who enjoyed this world more — Zevulun or Yesachar? Ans… A talmid of Rav Aharon told his Rebbe he was planning to go out to work. When Rav Aharon expressed disappointment the talmid said that, since he was going to support Talmidei Chachomim with his money, he would have a cheilek of their Torah in Olam Habah, so there was no reason for concern. Rav Aharon answered him that it was his Olam Hazeh he was worried about- not his Olam Habah. He may get his reward for Torah but what Geshmack would he have from a life devoid of Torah? While Yisachar got his geshmack out of life toiling over his gemara, Zevulun sweated his way through the crooked ways of the business world and suffered nothing but aggravation. This is the meaning of Moshe’s Bracha, “Smach Zevulun B’Tzeisecha” – Zevulun will be happy when he exits the world and finally reaps his eternal rewards. “V’Yisachar B’Ohalecha”, Yissachar on the hand enjoyed every second sitting in his tent toiling no less than Zevulun, but toiling the sweet toil of Torah.
5. The Esrog and Lulov is too expensive? Ans … The Medrash says that it says by Yetzias Mitzrayim “V’Lakachtem” – you should take a piece of “Eizov”, grass and dip it into the blood of the Korban Pesach. The medrash then says that the eizov costs but a few pennies, yet it earned us the reward of the wealth of Mitzrayim, first when we left, then again at the Yam Suf, and then again from Sichon and Og and all the nations that lived in Eretz Yisroel. By Lulav and esrog it also says “V’Lakachtem”. A good Lulav and Esrog, which can cost a small fortune, will return a far greater reward then the very appealing reward we received for the little blades of grass. If you spent a lot of money on your Arba Minim, you may be smiling now and justifiably so!
6. Why do we bench Tal on Pesach and Geshem on Succos? Ans …The difference between rain and dew is that rain originates from the earth below. After the vapor condenses in the skies, it then falls back to earth, giving life to the world. Dew originates in Shamayim and is not stimulated by the earth below. It is a gift from Shamayim. This, says the Bnei Yissaschar, is analogous to Pesach and Succos. Pesach is a gift of freedom. It is not something we earn. Each year Hashem renews and refreshes us with the gift of freedom as we are born anew. Succos is the celebration of our being cleansed after a month of our hard work, as we repair ourselves with Tshuvah. Therefore, Pesach is the time to bless the Tal. It too, is a gift without any input from us. Succos is a time to bless the rain. The rain symbolizes the fruit of our effort that we exerted during Elul and Tishrei. After we send our Tshuvah up to Hashem, Hashem resends it back to us down below in the form of life.
Memories

One Succos many years ago, the Gaon Rav Chaim Dov Roth, z’tl was sitting in his succah in Bnei Brak, and he heard a knock at the door of his succah. A chassidish avreich was standing in the doorway, and he introduced himself as Rav Yosha Lipshitz, the head of the Sanz community in Netanya. Rav Lipshitz informed Rav Roth that the Klausenberger Rebbe wished to speak with him, and the taxi to Netanya was already waiting downstairs.
Rav Roth joined Rav Lipshitz in the taxi, and the whole trip he sat deep in thought, trying to figure out why the Klausenberger Rebbe would want to see him, but he could not solve the mystery. When he arrived, he entered the room, and the Rebbe turned to him and said, “I wish to appoint you as the Rav of the hospital (Laniado) which we established in the Kiryah.”
Rav Roth was astounded. He was then only 26 years old. He learned in a kollel in Bnei Brak, and he was also active in learning practical halacha, but he certainly did not feel qualified to serve as a Rav of a hospital, where complicated medical shaalos arise on a daily basis. “In order to be a Rav of a hospital, one must have years of experience in medicine and halacha, and this certainly doesn’t apply to me.” Rav Roth replied in shock.
The Rebbe calmed his guest down, requested that he sit down, and began explaining his reasoning to him. In order to be a Rav of a hospital, and command enough authority that even the secular doctors will adhere to your rulings, the most important thing is that you are loved and respected by the doctors. The Rav must be capable of endearing himself to everybody. If the Rav is loved and respected, the doctors will follow his wishes. And how does one endear himself to the doctors? This is only through the middah of chessed. When the doctors see that the Rav performs chessed, they will want to repay him and listen to all his instructions.”
Rav Yosha Lipshitz now interrupted the conversation, and related that the Rebbe had instructed him to seek out a true gomal chessed, someone whose middah of chessed is innate. Rav Lipshitz continued, “I went to Bnei Brak, and I began to make inquiries, until I heard a wondrous thing about you concerning an ailing talmid chacham.”
This talmid chacham was stricken with his illness when he was still a child, and he slowly lost all his friends and acquaintances, until he was forgotten and neglected. Rav Roth, you were the only one who visited his house – six times a day, every day – before and after each seder in kollel. That ailing man was my brother.
The Rebbe said, “It’s fitting for a person like you to be the Rav of a hospital,” and right there he officially appointed Rav Roth as the Rav of Laniado Hospital. Rav Roth served as the hospital Rav for several years, until he requested to leave his position to move back to Bnei Brak for his children’s education. (Barchi Nafshi)
******************
Rav Yaakov Safsel, the Vishki Illuy, was a great talmud chochom as well as a true patriot who wanted deeply to help with the war effort during World War Two. He contacted the Department of Defense and asked if he could “bless” the submarines that were docked at that point in New York harbor. The commanders had no problem with a rabbi blessing the submarines and gave the OK to Rav Safsel.
Rav Safsel went to the docks, but instead of merely blessing them (mainly because he didn’t believe his blessings had much worth), he was mechadesh Torah in the zchus of the submarine. Each submarine received its own chidushei Torah.
So how did the Rav know if his new chidushim were emes or not? Every day, he was the first to go to the news stand and check which submarine survived and which were lost. Those that were lost, he figured must have had a flaw in the stikle Torah he was mechadesh for it. Those that survived, he knew the stikle Torah he was michadesh was emes.
******************
The Ostrovtza Rebbe, Reb Meir Yechiel, was an illuy and well known Godol in Europe before the war. His knowledge of Torah was astounding and matched by his ahavas yisroel. Many would come from far and wide for eitzos and brachos. But for a sich person, instead of giving a bracha, the Rebbe would be mechadesh Torah in the zchus of the choleh. He truly knew the power of Torah.
But when someone would come to him a few months later and ask a question on that new Torah, he would say, “Freg nisht. Ehr leibt noch.” (Don’t ask…he is still living).
******************
Rav Yechezkel Landau, The Noda b’Yehudah was a Rav in Prague. He was known for his tziddkus and overwhelming genius in Torah, and he was also known as a Rav who feared no one, and was not intimidated by anyone under any circumstances.

A sofer in Prague was once suspected of having committed a severe transgression. The Noda b’Yehudah summoned the sofer, and asked him to confess but the sofer refused. The Noda b’Yehudah instructed him to bring a parchment and quill and to write some words on the parchment. After he did so, the Noda b’Yehudah instructed him to write the passuk in the Torah which prohibits the particular transgression which he was suspected of committing. The sofer tried with all his effort several times, but it was as if his hand was paralyzed, and he was unable to write the possuk. The Noda b’ Yehudah said, “Rasha! A rasha like you is forbidden from writing divrei kedusha ever again!” (Toldos Noda b’Yehuda)

Who Knows One
Q. “I’ve always been healthy and I’m a first born male, my parents are observant Jews, yet I’m exempt from circumcision. Who am I?”
Answer: A first-born of triplets, born Friday after sunset, whose two brothers – born after dark – died due to circumcision. If, G-d forbid, two brothers die from circumcision, any other brother born to that family is exempt from circumcision.
Q. The name of which Parsha has the same gematria – numerical value – as the number of its verses?
Answer: Parshat Tzav, which has 96 verses. (This is according to some opinions. However, according to the punctuation in a standard Chumash, Tzav contains 97 verses.)
Q. What word in Hebrew is spelled “Vav VavVav Vav”
Answer: “And his hook” The Hebrew word for ‘hook’ is ‘vav’. It is spelled with two letters: ‘vav’ and ‘vav.’ The letter ‘vav’ as a prefix means ‘and.’ The letter ‘vav’ as a suffix means ‘his’. Hence, the word spelled ‘vav vav vav vav’ means ‘and his hook.’
Q. When can a person be called to the Torah for 3 successive aliyos on the same day?
Answer: A kohen is called to the Torah for maftir, which is the last aliya on Shabbos morning. He then goes to mincha where he is called up first for the kohen aliya. There is no levi, so he receives the next aliya in place of a levi.

Know Your Gedolim…
Who Is This?

Talk the Talk — Walk the Walk
“Oh NO! She’s on the phone again!” Zachary had tried to keep his 3 year old daughter from picking up the receiver and pushing those buttons that make funny noises. Many times he grabbed the phone away from her and found operators, people from far- away places and even the police on the other line, all trying to make sense of the giggles on the other side.
“Hello”, he said, expecting to explain his daughter’s fixation with the telephone once again.
“Hello…Ari?”
Zachary could not believe that he was speaking with Ari Feldman, a friend and former co-worker from New York on the other line. “Ari, did you call me and my daughter just picked up?
No. I didn’t call you. I don’t have your number. You called me, explained Ari.
“I couldn’t have called you because I don’t have your number since you moved to Florida.” Zachary looked at his 3 year old daughter. How on earth…..?
Zach and Ari spoke for a short while and Zach asked how life was in NMB. Zach had been looking for a new community to move to and soon, because of their unexpected chat, he was seriously considering a move to NMB.
Zach hung up the phone and reviewed the series of events. His daughter randomly dials the number of his friend in Florida who happened to have moved to a great little community called North Miami Beach. Neither of them had the other’s number. The chances of his daughter dialing the exact numbers in a perfect sequence and reaching a person he knows, let alone a friend and co-worker who just invited him to look at NMB, were way beyond comprehension. Zachary Wunsch and his family eventually moved to NMB and they have Ari Feldman to thank. Let’s not forget Zach’s little daughter. (Can she give us a few lotto numbers?)

The Geula — What to Expect
70 Dwindling Nations
On Succos, for the Korbon Mussaf we bring a total of 70 Parim, oxen. The first day we bring 13 and then each day bring one less until the last day on Hoshana Rabba we bring only 7. This makes a total of 70 oxen (13+12+11+10+9+8+7). The Medrash says that this is in order to merit the 70 nations of the world with plentiful rain since Succos is the time that the water/rain ration for the whole world is judged. In addition we bring 14 Kevasim, lambs each day of Succos. This is for the 12 shevatim and Efraim and Menashe.
The reason the medrash says that we bring the 70 oxen in reduced increments each day is to show us that the 70 nations will eventually disappear. However the 14 Kevasim which represent Klal Yisroel are brought consistently each day to show that Am Yisroel will live on forever!
A Succah Screaming From The Rooftop
At the end of time, Hashem will give all the nations one last chance to earn eternal life. He will challenge them to perform the mitzva of Succah. The gemara (Avodah Zara 3a) says they will all go out and build succos on their roofs. Hashem will then take out the boiling hot sun until they all run away from their succos and fail their last test. If Hashem is being so kind to give them another chance after all they have done then why spoil it with an unnaturally hot sun? Moreover the gemara says they are allowed to leave the succah under extreme temperature and they were only punished for kicking the succah on the way out.
The Ben Ish Chai explains that they didn’t really want to sit in the succah in the first place. They purposely built them on the roof where the sun is at its hottest rather than the cool courtyard that is protected from the sun. Hashem gives every person what he really wants. He didn’t punish them with a hot sun, rather He gave them the excuse to leave that they were looking for.
Maybe we can offer another explanation B’derech Drush. The gemara in Succah 49b says that even mitzvos that are performed in public like Hachnosas Kallah must be done as discreetly as possible, since the Pasuk of Hatzei’a Leches to go modestly is written in the same pasuk as the mitzva of Hachnosas Kallah. Succah is the most private of Mitzvos. It cannot be performed publicly but only in your own private succah, as we leave everything and everyone and have Yichud with Hashem. It is purely Lishma with no neighbors watching.
Succah was the test of the other nations to see if they are ready to be alone with Hashem even with no one watching. What did they do? They went out and built the succah on their roofs so everyone can see that they are doing a mitzva. To this Hashem said no thank and turned up the heat, chasing them all away.
We do so many things for public recognition. Mitzvos are not meant to be done while shouting from the rooftop. One time a year we are trapped. On Succos it is just us and Hashem. Halevai we can take succos with us the whole year and perform all our mitzvos in a succos like atmosphere, caring only about serving Hashem and not looking over shoulder to see who is watching.

Smile, The Road To Yerushalayim Is Under Construction Again
The Medrash Tanchuma gives a number of reasons why Hashem took Bnei Yisroel the roundabout way to Eretz Yisroel. One is that
when the Kena’anim heard Bnei Yisroel left Mitzrayim they knew exactly where they were headed and why. They then “burned the
vegetation, uprooted the trees, cut down the plants, razed all the building, and stuffed up all the wells. Hakadosh Boruch Hu said, I promised Avrohom their father that I would bring them to a land filled with good. I will delay them in the Midbar forty years
until the Kena’anim repair all that they damaged.”

These words of the Medrash validated the feelings expressed by two gedolim, once in the name of Rav Simcha Wasserman and once in the name of the the Gerrer Rebbe. It was before the Six Day War and there was fear in Eretz Yisroel that they were facing total annihilation. When asked about this, the response was “Hashem didn’t bring us back to Eretz Yisroel to build it up just so it can be destroyed.”

Since then, every time a new road is being built, while people curse the traffic, we should smile and see before our eyes thousands of Olei Regalim pouring in to Yerushalayim. Do we expect them to get in on a single measly two lane highway? We need roads connecting all the Yidden from Ashkelon to Kiryat Shmoneh, Teveria to Chaifa, Modi’in, etc. We need big comfortable highways reaching Yerushalayim from every direction and accessing all parts of the city. We will soon need a six lane highway to move around. Hopefully Moshiach is on his way and will be here very soon – even before the light rail system is finally in place, because we cannot wait that long! Im Kol Zeh Achakeh Lo B’Chol Yom SheYavo!
This week’s Torah is B’Zchus: those who will dance with the Torah and hold it dearly.
Distributed by the Chevre Marbitz Torah D’NMB

Created By Rov Allen Sherman