|
Behalosicha /
בהעלותך
Behalosicha /
בהעלותך
The possuk
says that when the
Aron HaKodesh
traveled Moshe said
“rise up HaShem and
scatter all of your
enemies”. What is
the connection
between the prayer
of hope and the
movement of the Aron
HaKodesh? Likewise,
we find the Aron
Hakodesh accompanied
them into war. What
power did it wield?
The Gemora in Taanis
describes the
situation during
severe drought. They
would remove the
Aron HaKodesh from
the Beis HaKineses
to the street and
begin a process of
prayer and
penitence. Again,
what does this
signify? The answer
is that when life is
normal and the times
are not times of
oppression the “man
in the street” is
greatly influenced
by the prevalent
idioms and “isms” of
the day. The Aron
HaKodesh - the Torah
- remains as if
sequestered in the
shul or Bais Medrash.
Not so when the
times become
difficult and all
the myths of social
redemption fade and
wither, then the
Aron HaKodesh
travels among the
people and they then
realize the Torah is
the rallying point
for the Jewish
people. ( משלחן גבוה
).
From the word “behaalosecha”,
which means to lift
up or elevate, the
Chazal derive two
different laws
concerning the
menorah. A) There
was a step in front
of it to elevate the
Kohain b) the
Kohanim should be
sure that the lights
of the menorah are
self sustaining. The
obvious question is
how could two
unrelated droshos be
derived from one
word? The answer
offered by R’ Moshe
Feinstein z’l is in
reference to the
menorah symbolizing
Torah and Torah
education. The Rebbi
or teacher must
teach his talmid the
subject clearly and
well enough that the
talmid becomes
self-sufficient. In
order to do this,
the Rebbi must have
a control of the
material and
investigate it
properly. To
represent this the
Torah depicts the
Kohain on a step,
high above the
menorah, thereby
enabling him to
properly scrutinize
the cleaning and
preparation of its
lights.
“And Moshe said to
Chovav” - the Ramban
comments that this
name was given to
Yisro upon his
conversion as is the
custom to change the
name of a convert.
Chovav describes the
love for Torah that
he possessed. R’
Yosef M’Slutzk z’l
explains with this a
statement of Chazal
in Berochos ז' .The
Gemora questions the
significance of the
name of Rus the
Moabite, from whom
came King David.
What prompts the
Gemora to ask? The
answer is that, it
seems, this was her
name from before, so
why didn’t she
change it? To this
the Gemora shows the
beauty and
significance in the
name “Rus”.
Moshe Rabeinu was
officially the king,
the ruling monarch
of the B’nei Yisroel.
His successor,
Yehoshua was quite
capable and
possessed many
beautiful qualities.
However, the
handiwork of Moshe
was preserved for
eternity in the form
of the Mishkon and
the Shemen HaMishcha,
the annointing oil.
How did HaShem mark
the passing of Moshe
Rabeinu as a
significant loss to
B’nei Yisroel? How
did He emphasize the
uniqueness of this
the greatest leader
of the Jewish
People? HaShem
commanded Moshe to
make trumpets to
gather the people,
to lead the people,
to proclaim the
sovereignty of
Moshe. The Torah
uses the expression
“make for you”, to
which Rashi comments
that after the
passing of Moshe the
trumpets should be
buried forever, not
even to be used by
Yehoshua. A
statement attesting
to the special
position of Moshe
Rabeinu in the
history of the
world.
In the parsha is the
section which begins
“vayihi binsoa haron”
- the traveling of
the camp. Before and
after this section
is the letter “nun”.
The medrash refers
to this section as a
book by itself, thus
making seven books
of the Chumash. Why
did the Torah choose
the letter “nun” to
isolate this book?
The Vilna Gaon was
quoted as saying
that the Torah
wished to show that
even this small
section contains all
the fifty gates or
levels of holiness
or kedushah. This is
the numerical value
of “nun”.
Previous Parshos
Tazria
Metzora
Achrei Mos
Kedoshim
Emor
Behar
Bechukosai
Bamidbar
Shavuos
Naso
Behalosicha
Shilach
Korach
Chukas-Balak
Pinchos
Matos-Masei
Devorim
Voeschonon Ekev
Reah
Shoftim
Ki Seitzei
Ki Savo
Nitzovim
- Vayelech Rosh
HaShana Haazinu-Yom
Kippur Sukkos V'zos
HaBrocha
Breishis
|
