Thursday, May 23, 2019

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Behar

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

In Vayikra 25:17, the Torah writes "וְלֹ֤א תוֹנוּ֙ אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־עֲמִית֔וֹ וְיָרֵ֖אתָ מֵֽאֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶֽם". 

The Mefarshim ask - why is it that for this specific mitzva of not committing ona'ah (translated for our purposes as fraud) that the Torah instructs that one who does so should fear Hashem? There are many negative commandments which don't have such a warning!

R' Frand answered this question by quoting the Milo Ha'Omer who writes that a person's money is pre-ordained by Hashem before Rosh Hashanah of the year. If a person steals from another, he is attempting to change what was decreed by Hashem and Hashem sees and does not allow that profit to stay with the person.

R' Frand then told a story from R' Weissmandl who lost his family in the Holocaust and fled to the United States where he ultimately restarted the Nitra Yeshiva. R' Frand prefaced this by stating that he does not feel comfortable making statements about why things occurred, but since R' Weissmandl lived this, R' Frand can quote his words. 

R' Weissmandl wrote in his sefer that although the Holocaust started in Germany, the German Jews fared much better than the Jews from other countries such as Poland or Lithuania. The Jews of Germany (proportionately) did not lose their financial resources and the percentage of Jews from Germany who survived is greater than other countries. He offered an explanation for this phenomenon - the Jews of Germany were very honest in business, more than their counterparts in other countries. This could be due to the fact that they were in a better financial situation, but they were more honest in business. For this reason, when the Holocaust came, they suffered less than their brethren.

R' Frand said a second vort on the pasuk in Vayikra 26:2 which states "אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַ֣י תִּשְׁמֹ֔רוּ וּמִקְדָּשִׁ֖י תִּירָ֑אוּ אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָֽה."

Rashi writes on the pasuk - Hashem says I am Hashem and am believed to give reward.

R' Frand quoted the Toras Kohanim which asks why this pasuk needs to be written if the same was previously written? He answers that this is directed to a Jew who due to financial circumstances is forced to sell himself into slavery to a non-Jew. He may feel that since his master can work on Shabbos, he can too, but the Torah is instructing that even though he lives in his master's house and sees what occurs, he will not lose out for keeping Shabbos.

R' Frand also quoted the Chofetz Chaim who writes that no matter how difficult the situation is to keep Shabbos, Hashem promises that he will pay him back for how difficult it was for him to keep Shabbos.

R' Frand then told a story from Otzros Peninei HaTorah about a Jew who was travelling to Jerusalem by car. When he left his house the gas gauge showed full. He traveled about 15 minutes and the gauge still showed full. He soon realized that the gauge was broken and he shortly thereafter ran out of gas.

The man went to the trunk and took out jerry cans and began walking down the road in the blistering heat. After walking for a while he saw a gas station, but the station had a sign which said "Open 24/7."  The man said to himself, this sign angers Hashem - the station advertises that it is open on Shabbos and I wont buy from them. The man continued to walk down the road in search of another station. Soon, a man in an expensive car pulled up and asked if he needed help. When the man said that he was trying to find a gas station, the driver said - you are in luck, there is a station a short way behind you. No, the man replied, I wont buy from them because they have a sign that says that they are open 24/7 and this angers Hashem. Fine, the driver replied, we will find you a station that is closed on Shabbos and after you get gas there I will drive you back to your car.

The men struck a friendship during this drive and stayed in touch with calls before the holidays. 

A number of years later, the man received a call from the driver of the expensive car. He said - you know that I am a lawyer? Yes. And you know that I am a trusts and estates lawyer? Yes. Well, a man died in Mexico City and I am preparing the distributions as executor. He asked that I give money to an honest and upstanding Jew and when I thought about you and how you refused to buy gas from the station which was open on Shabbos and how you walked up the road in the broiling heat in search of another station, I knew that you were the person who fit the decedent's wishes. So under the will you will be receiving $107,000.

R' Frand remarked - this is what the Chofetz Chaim meant by saying that Hashem is believed to pay a greater reward for the more sacrifice a person does to keep Shabbos.

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