Shabbos: Ta’am HaChaim Pinchas 5770

שבת טעם החיים פינחס תש"ע
Shabbos: Ta’am HaChaim Pinchas 5770

Hashem loves the Jewish people no matter how much they have sinned

Introduction
פינחס בן אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן השיב את חמתי מעל בני ישראל בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם ולא כליתי את בני ישראל בקנאתי, Pinchas son of Elazar son of Aharon the Kohen, turned back My wrath from upon the Children of Israel, when he zealously avenged My vengeance among them, so I did not consume the Children of Israel in My vengeance. (Bamidbar 25:11)
At the end of last week’s parasha we learned how Balak had facilitated the Moabite women to seduce the Jewish men. HaShem became angry at the Jewish People and they were threatened with annihilation. Pinchas, the grandson of Aharon HaKohen, saw that there was a need to act and he killed Zimri, the leader of the tribe of Shimon, and Kazbi, the Midianite woman, and through this zealous act he appeased HaShem’s wrath. In the beginning of this week’s parasha HaShem informs Moshe that Pinchas will receive HaShem’s covenant of peace. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 105b; Brachos 7a) presents a perplexing statement regarding this time period in the Wilderness. It is said (Micha 6:5) ami zichar na mah yaatz Balak melech Moav umeh anah oso Balaam ben Beor min hashitim ad haGilgal limaan daas tzidkos HaShem, My people, hear, now, what Balak, king of Moav, schemed, and what Balaam son of Beor answered him, [and all the events] from Shittim to Gilgal - in order to recognize the righteous acts of HaShem. The Gemara explains that this verse teaches us that HaShem was informing the Jewish People that if He had become angry from the time that the Jewish People arrived in Shittim until they reached Gilgal in Eretz Yisroel, the entire Jewish nation would have been destroyed. The Gemara is referring to HaShem’s wrath against the Jewish People for having sinned with the Moabite women. This Gemara, however, is difficult to understand, because the Torah states explicitly that HaShem did become angry and almost annihilated the Jewish People. In fact, if not for Pinchas’ act of heroism, the Jewish People would have been destroyed. How, then, could the Gemara state that HaShem did not become angry at that time? The Netziv in his commentary Heemak Davar at the end of Parashas Balak and in Harchev Davar at the beginning of Parsahas Pinchas offers a solution to this difficulty by stating that there is a distinction between charon af and cheimah, two forms of anger. Thus, although HaShem did not display charon af, He did display cheimah [Both words are translated as wrath in English.] The Netziv’s commentary is difficult to comprehend, as the Torah states clearly that HaShem became angered with the Jewish People. Rashi (Bamidbar 23:8 and Sanhedrin 105b s.v. kol osan hayamim) indicates that the anger the Gemara is referring to is at the time that Balaam attempted to curse the Jewish People, but the verse that states “from Shittim until Gilgal” does not reflect this explanation.


All of Balaam’s attempts to cause HaShem to despise us were in vain
The Gemara is difficult to reconcile with the verses in the Torah and in Micha. Nonetheless, we can glean from the Gemara an important lesson in how HaShem views His relationship with His Chosen Nation. Balaam was attempting to curse the Jewish People, and when Hashem thwarted his efforts, Balaam employed a different tactic. Balaam’s strategy was to cause the Jewish People to sin and thus incur HaShem’s wrath. HaShem did get angry but He would not allow Balaam the satisfaction of seeing his actions bear fruit. Thus, the Gemara states that HaShem did not become angry during the entire time that Balaam sought to destroy the Jewish People.
The Shabbos connection
We may think that Hashem has left us to the elements, and we are under the jurisdiction of the forces of nature. When Shabbos arrives, however, we see clearly that Hashem has bestowed upon us His greatest gift, which is the Holy Shabbos. Even during the period of the Three Weeks, when the Jewish People are in a state of mourning for the loss of the Bais HaMikdash and for the ongoing exile, HaShem has not abandoned us. HaShem loves us more than anything else in the world, and He will demonstrate this love for us when He brings us the redemption with the arrival of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily, in our days.
Shabbos Stories
All paid up
Rav Shmuel Shtrashan of Vilna (1819-1885) was a wealthy banker as well as a renowned Torah scholar. In addition to his commerce, he maintained a free-loan society to provide interest-free loans to the needy. One time he granted a one-year loan of 300 rubles to Reb Zalman the tailor and carefully recorded it in his ledger. One year later, to the date, with 300 rubles in an envelope, Reb Zalman knocked on the door of Rav Shmuel's study. The Rav was in the midst of a deep Talmudic contemplation and hardly interrupted his studies while tucking the money away in one of the volumes he had been using. A few weeks later, while reviewing his ledgers, Rav Shmuel noticed that Reb Zalman’s loan was overdue. He summoned him to his office to inquire about the payment. Of course, Reb Zalman was astonished. He had paid the loan in full on the day it was due! The Rav could not recall payment and insisted that they go together to Beis Din (Rabbinical Court).

Word in town spread rapidly, and people began to shun Reb Zalman. His business declined, and his children and wife were affronted by their peers. The only recourse the Beis Din had was to have Reb Zalman swear that he had repaid the loan. Rav Shmuel did not want to allow a Jew to swear falsely on his account and decided to forego the procedure by annulling the loan. This latest event brought even more scorn to the tailor, and eventually he felt forced to leave Vilna and establish himself elsewhere.

A year later, Rav Shmuel was analyzing a section of the Talmud and opened a volume he had used sometime in the past. He could not believe his eyes when he saw a thick envelope with Reb Zalman's return address, containing 300
rubles. Quickly, he ran to find the hapless tailor who had been so besmirched. After unsuccessfully searching Vilna, he found that the tailor had moved. Rabbi Shtrashan traveled to Reb Zalman to beg forgiveness. The tailor, a broken man, explained that there was no way that anyone would believe the true story. They would just say that the pious scholar had shown mercy on the unscrupulous tailor. Finally, they decided that the only way to truly atone and give back the tailor his reputation was for the scholar to take Reb Zalman's son as his son-in-law. The shocked town of Vilna rejoiced at the divine union that helped re-establish a reputation. (www.parsha.net)

Pinchas and Pinchas
R' Pinchas Shapiro of Koretz zt"l (1726-1791; student of the Baal Shem Tov and early chassidic rebbe) lived in terrible poverty. His house was shabby and it looked ready to fall at any moment.
Once, R' Pinchas' chassidim in another town invited him to spend Shabbat with them. In honor of the occasion, they bought him a new suit and prepared a beautiful apartment in which he would stay.
On Friday night, R' Pinchas was in high spirits. He said: "Here, where I am a guest, they feed me on silver platters like a wealthy man, whereas at home, the poverty reaches every corner of my house. I assume that my chassidim learned to treat me this way from the Torah itself."
He explained: "Parashas Pinchas contains a description of the sacrifices for all of the holidays, yet this parashah's regular place (its 'home') is during the depressing Three Weeks. On the other hand, when this parasha comes as a guest, it is Yom Tov (i.e., on each of the holidays, we read the day's sacrifices from Parashas Pinchas as a maftir).
"Similarly, I, Pinchas, make my home in depressing surroundings, but when I come as a guest, it becomes a Yom Tov." (Quoted in Otzros Tzaddikei Ugeonei HaDoros p. 489)
R' Yeshaya Bardaky zt”l
Died 18 Cheshvan 5623 / 1862
R' Bardaky was a son-in-law (in his second marriage) of R' Yisrael of Shklov, who refers to his son-in-law as, "an important man and a talmid chacham, the sharp and erudite rabbi who is more G-d-fearing than most . . ." R' Bardaky was born in Pinsk and taught Torah there, but he decided to settle in Eretz Yisrael after his first wife died. When the ship carrying R' Bardaky, his son, Shmuel Akiva, and his daughter, neared the port of Akko, it was wrecked, and all the passengers were thrown into the sea. R' Bardaky, however, was a powerful swimmer, and, with his two children on his back, he swam ashore.
Upon reaching Yerushalayim, R' Bardaky was appointed head of the Ashkenazic community. He also was appointed vice-consul of the Austrian Empire as a result of the following incident: The Austrian Emperor took ill and sent a message to Yerushalayim that R' Bardaky, who was known as a holy man, should pray for the Emperor at the Kotel hamaaravi. Until that time, R' Bardaky had never visited the Kotel because he was afraid that when he touched the wall he might inadvertently put his finger into a deep crevice in the wall, thus inadvertently trespassing on the Temple grounds in a state of ritual impurity. However, to fulfill the Emperor's request, R' Bardaky did pray at the Kotel, and the Emperor was cured.
A pauper once visited R' Bardaky, who was in charge of distributing stipends, and asked for an advance on the following month's payment. R' Bardaky responded that regrettably he had no money to distribute at that moment. The pauper became agitated, and when R' Bardaky continued to demur, the pauper slapped him. "Wait here," R' Bardaky said in response, and he ran out of his house. Returning a while later with money that he had just collected, R' Bardaky apologized to the pauper: "I'm sorry, I did not realize how great your need was."
The entry in Yerushalayim's Chevrah Kadisha journal recording R' Bardaky's death states: "Zion will cry bitterly over the destruction which G-d has wrought in Zion, how the ark of G-d was taken . . . the famous rabbi and gaon whose name went from one end of the world to the other." (Source: Gedolei HaDoros p. 638 (www.Torah.org)
What Not To Do At The Shabbat Table
The Broodo family of Dallas, Texas is now a well-established Orthodox family. They’re leaders and role models in their community. However one event during their first Shabbat experience almost derailed their teshuva journey. If it was not for the quick thinking of their hosts, their lives might have been very different today.
Ken and Beth Broodo were both raised in non-Orthodox Jewish homes. Ken is a lawyer, and several years ago a local Jewish organization, the Dallas Area Torah Association (DATA), the “community kollel,” sponsored a onetime lunch-n-learn at his law firm. It was delivered by a big-name visiting rabbi. Ken attended the event and enjoyed it, but didn’t feel particularly changed by it.
The event put the Broodos on DATA’s mailing list, and six months later they received an invitation to a DATA seminar on the upcoming holiday of Purim. The Broodos acknowledged that they knew very little about their Judaism and were very curious to learn more, so they decided to attend the event.
At the event, DATA rabbis spoke about various topics of Purim. One topic, the Hidden Mask of Nature, peaked their curiosity. The speaker, Rabbi Aryeh Feigenbaum, surprised them by pointing out that HaShem’s name is never mentioned in the Megillah but His hand is apparent throughout the whole story.
“Only when you look back do you see HaShem’s hand in it. Even when I say it now I get chills. I had never heard something of that depth about the Torah. It was an interesting phenomenon to me,” Ken said.
Ken was fascinated by the presentation and impressed by Rabbi Feigenbaum. Ken stayed afterwards to drill him with a slew of other questions.
Following the seminar, the Broodos began attending other classes sponsored by DATA. Ken began studying one-on-one with Rabbi Feigenbaum each week. He and his wife began seeing the truth and beauty of Judaism and began to realize that this was the spirituality they were craving in their lives. However they were somewhat intimidated by the observances and cautious about jumping into anything too religious.
Rabbi Feigenbaum had given them an open invitation to come to synagogue on a Friday night and to his home for Shabbat dinner. The Broodos were intrigued by the opportunity to learn more and to get closer to the Feigenbaums. They were uncertain about what the experience would be like, but were excited about the opportunity. One Friday night they decided to take him up on it.
As soon as they entered the Feigenbaum’s house, the Broodos were made comfortable by their hosts’ warm welcome, the beauty of their Shabbat table and the obvious love and holiness that filled the home.
“It was my first Shabbat dinner. I was very taken by the whole scene – the white tablecloth, the silver Kiddush cup, the candles, the singing and the Divrei Torah,” Ken said.
Ken especially loved Mrs. Feigenbaum’s homemade Challah. He had never eaten homemade challah before, and he found it to be absolutely delicious.
After finishing his first piece, Ken craved a second slice. The challah was sitting in a metal wire basket in the middle of the table, amidst all sorts of dishes and just on the other side of Mrs. Feigenbaum’s beautiful silver Shabbat candlesticks. Ken tried asking other people to pass him the bowl, but he couldn’t get anyone’s attention. So he decided to lean across the table and pick up the challah bowl himself.
The challah basket was lined with a napkin. As he carried the basket over the items on the table, Ken lifted it over the Shabbat candles, and within a second, it caught fire and turned into a giant bowl of flaming challah!
Ken dropped the burning basket onto the table and was about the douse it with his glass of water, when the rabbi leaned over the table and said ‘Stop!’ Rabbi Feigenbaum picked up the basket, carried to the front porch and let it burn out.
Ken felt extremely embarrassed that he had set the Feigenbaum’s challah on fire. He was ready to leave the meal at the first opportunity and never come back again. But when Ken and wife finally did put on their coats to leave, without missing a beat, Mrs. Feigenbaum responded in a way that immediately turned around his negative feelings.
“Stop worrying about it,” she said to Ken. “The next time you want toast for Shabbat, just let me know in advance!”
Mrs. Feigenbaum’s quip put a smile back on Ken’s face and helped the Broodos stay on their path of growth towards Jewish observance.
“When Mrs. Feigenbaum said that, we all laughed. I realized that no one judged me for making such a ridiculous mistake. Then I felt accepted” Ken explained. “When you’re not frum and you’re around people that are, the one thing you feel sure of is that you are being judged and not accepted.”
The burning challah episode was a critical point in the Broodos’ life. If their hosts had handled it in any other way, they might have never come back. Instead they returned for many more meals in the Feigenbaum home and grew extremely close to the family. They began attending additional classes and started coming to the community frequently for Shabbat.
The Broodos eventually moved into the neighborhood. Several years later, the new local Orthodox synagogue was founded in their living room, and they remain extremely involved to this day. They also now frequently host newcomers to the community. And for anyone who seems uncomfortable by being in an Orthodox home for Shabbat, Ken eases their worries by telling them the story about the Shabbat night that he set the rabbi’s challah on fire. (http://michaelgros.com/category/stories-of-kiruv/)


Where are you from?
I once knew a baal teshuva whose name was Shlomo Zalman Satanofsky zt"l and he told me the following story. When he was becoming frum, still rather early on, he was traveling one Erev Shabbos and got stuck in Williamsburg. He knew at that point in his life that he could not drive on Shabbos so he quickly parked the car and found a place to stay. The next day, he came to one of the Satmar shuls (in a green suit and purple tie) and began to daven. He happened to look up and saw three little chassidishe kids, with curly payos, looking at him very intently.
"Where are you from?"
"I'm from a place called Los Angeles. Have you ever heard of Los Angeles?"
One of the kids looks up at him and says "We only know three places: Williamsburg, Monroe, and Mitzrayim." (www.kiruv.com)
Shabbos: Ta’am HaChaim Pinchas 5770
Have a wonderful and delightful Shabbos
Prepared by Rabbi Binyomin Adler
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