Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshios Matos-Maasei

Although there are no live Rabbi Frand shiurim on the Parsha until Elul, R' Frand posted a pre-recorded Parsha vort on OU Torah. This week's vort can be found at https://outorah.org/p/160758, but I have attempted to reproduce the vort to the best of my ability in this post. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to the maggid shiur.

R' Frand began the vort by noting that the parsha contains the request by the tribes of Gad and Reuven to stay on the other side of the Jordan as the land was good for raising livestock. Moshe did not originally understand their request and he asked in Bamidbar 32:6 -  הַֽאַחֵיכֶ֗ם יָבֹ֨אוּ֙ לַמִּלְחָמָ֔ה וְאַתֶּ֖ם תֵּ֥שְׁבוּ פֹֽה? They respond and tell Moshe in Bamidbar 32:17 - וַֽאֲנַ֜חְנוּ נֵֽחָלֵ֣ץ חֻשִׁ֗ים לִפְנֵי֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל עַ֛ד אֲשֶׁ֥ר אִם־הֲבִֽיאֹנֻ֖ם אֶל־מְקוֹמָ֑ם.

Moshe then responds in 32:24 that they should do what they propose and  וְהַיֹּצֵ֥א מִפִּיכֶ֖ם תַּֽעֲשֽׂוּ.

R' Frand noted that although Moshe approves their request he inverts their statement. Although they propose in Bamidbar 32:16 - גִּדְרֹ֥ת צֹ֛אן נִבְנֶ֥ה לְמִקְנֵ֖נוּ פֹּ֑ה וְעָרִ֖ים לְטַפֵּֽנוּ, Moshe responds in 32:24 - בְּנֽוּ־לָכֶ֤ם עָרִים֙ לְטַפְּכֶ֔ם וּגְדֵרֹ֖ת לְצֹנַֽאֲכֶ֑ם -highlighting that the children should be looked after first.

R' Frand quoted the Medrash which states that the tribes had it backwards as they made the main thing secondary and the secondary into the primary as they told Moshe they would take care of their money and then their children. Moshe inverted this and told them to care for their children first. The Medrash states that this priority issue manifested, since they were away for many years and when they returned the children had long hair like the non-Jews.

R' Frand observed that in today's generation people priorities their wealth and careers over their families. Even when they publicly retire and say that they are doing so to spend more of their time with their families - at the age of 60 their families are all grown up.

R' Frand said that when you are in the child rearing stage you think it will last forever. But when they get to high school and beyond there are outside influences. A person needs to maximize his time with the children when they are still young and not lament lost opportunities later.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Pinchas

Although there are no live Rabbi Frand shiurim on the Parsha until Elul, R' Frand posted a pre-recorded Parsha vort on OU Torah. This week's vort can be found at https://outorah.org/p/160759, but I have attempted to reproduce the vort to the best of my ability in this post. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to the maggid shiur.

R' Frand began by noting that Parshas Pinchas begins the last days of Moshe Rabbeinu. The Torah states in Bamidbar 27:13 that after being instructed to go up on Har Ha'Avarim and - וְרָאִ֣יתָה אֹתָ֔הּ וְנֶֽאֱסַפְתָּ֥ אֶל־עַמֶּ֖יךָ גַּם־אָ֑תָּה כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֥ר נֶֽאֱסַ֖ף אַֽהֲרֹ֥ן אָחִֽיךָ.

R' Frand noted that there is a parallel parsha in the Torah for which he sometimes sheds tears. He was referring to the last part of Zos HaBracha in Perek 34, pesukim 1-3 where Moshe is told to view the land in certain detail, and thereafter Hashem says in Devarim 34:4 - זֹ֤את הָאָ֨רֶץ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נִ֠שְׁבַּ֠עְתִּי לְאַבְרָהָ֨ם לְיִצְחָ֤ק וּלְיַֽעֲקֹב֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לְזַרְעֲךָ֣ אֶתְּנֶ֑נָּה הֶרְאִיתִ֣יךָ בְעֵינֶ֔יךָ וְשָׁ֖מָּה לֹ֥א תַֽעֲבֹֽר .

R' Frand remarked that it would seem somewhat cruel - Moshe is told - look at it, but you can't go there. R' Frand said that this was not meant to torture Moshe, but the pasuk always bothered him.

R' Frand quoted an answer from Ner Uziel which was written by a bochur from Uruguay who R' Frand knew in Ner Israel. He explains that the Jews had seven shepherds - and these are the seven Ushpizin. And in Kaballah, each of these corresponds to the seven Sefiros. Avraham = Chessed. Yitzchak = Gevurah. Moshe = Netzach - eternity. Because everything that Moshe did was forever. Moshe gave us the Torah and it will be forever. 

Hashem then had a problem - if Moshe had taken the Jews into Israel we would have remained there forever. But in Hashem's grand plan we were not destined to be in Israel forever and the Beis HaMikdash was not intended to stand forever. However Moshe did infuse in us a Netzach - an eternal desire and passion to be connected to the land of Israel. We pray for our return in myriad ways and we all have the longing to be there. And this was implanted by Moshe - because Moshe was given the opportunity to see Israel and have the desire to be there - this was infused in our DNA. This showing was not meant to be sadistic, it was meant to inspire a love and desire for Israel in the Jewish people.

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