Thursday, February 18, 2021

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Terumah

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur which was previously recorded due to the weather. 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.

The parsha begins with the command to Moshe to ask the Jews to donate for the building of the Mishkan as the Torah states in Shemos 25:2 - דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה מֵאֵ֤ת כָּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרֽוּמָתִֽי.

Rabbi Frand quoted the Medrash Tanchum and the Yerushalmi in Terumos which state that the gifts which were accepted for the Mishkan could only be accepted from gedolim and not from children. The reason for this rule is based on a Gemara in Gittin which states that a child can receive as someone else gives it to him. However, a child cannot give something away as he does not have the da'as to do so. 

R' Frand then made reference to the age old problem of giving a lulav and esrog to a child on the first day of Sukkos as they cannot give it back from a halachic perspective. (R' Frand then told a personal story that when he was growing up he did not have his first lulav and esrog until he was married. Prior to that point the people contributed and utilized communal lulavim and esrogim).

R' Frand then quoted the Alter Tolner Rebbi who explained that this is more than halachic, its an indicia of being mature. Children are used to receiving and there is a reason for the expression "taking candy from a baby" because its hard for children to give. When person is mature he wants to and is used to giving to others. And if the grown up cannot give, its a personality flaw. R' Frand also quoted R' Dessler who said that there are two types of people - givers and takers. What distinguishes a gadol from a katan is that you give. And if you can't give then you are a katan, regardless of your physical age.

R' Frand also noted the parsha mentioned the Kruvim from which English derives the word "cherubic" meaning child like. However, the Torah mentions Kruvim elsewhere in Parshas Bereishis as the Kruvim there held swords to prevent re-entry to Gan Eden. So what are the Kruvim? Are they scary soldiers or child like? 

R' Frand said that he remembered that R' Shalom Rifkin Ztl who was the Rav in Seattle said this vort at his bar mitzvah and that the vort was also said by R' Moshe Mordechai Epstein from Slabodka. The difference is where do you put the Kruv? If it is in the Mishkan, it is a positive, but if you put a sword in its hands, its negative. It all depends on the environment that you put the child in.

R' Frand then told a story about a man who went to visit the Chafetz Chaim and he was thrown out without the Chafetz Chaim even looking at him. He went back in to the Chafetz Chaim and he asked - Rebbi, what did I do wrong? The Chafetz Chaim responded - because you are responsible for 3 million Jews being slaughtered and being taken away from Judaism. He asked - what are you talking about, I don't know 3,000 Jews. The Chafetz Chaim said - you were the head of a school and you threw out that kid because he was a wild kid. That kid was Leibel Trotsky ... who went on to become Leon Trotsky, a leader of the Bolshevik Revolution. Yes, he was a problem, but by throwing him out of the yeshiva environment you created a Leon Trotsky and are responsible for the millions of Jews who were exiled to Siberia.

R' Frand then told a story about Yeshivat Porat Yosef and its Rosh Yeshiva R' Yehuda Tzedakah. There was a boy who was a real troublemaker and they came to R' Yehuda and said  - we need to throw him out. R' Yehuda said that we need to daven and the entire administration went to the Kotel to daven for him. The boy heard about this and was so taken by their davening for him that he went back on the derech.

R' Frand said that the lesson is that you need to think long and hard about sending someone out of yeshiva and that you need to look for another place for him, rather than just sending him away.

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