MISC section - contents:
1. Vebbe Rebbe
2. Words of Wisdom; Words of Wit
3. Candle by Day
4. MicroUlpan
5. From Aloh Naaleh
6. NEW piece: Spiritual & Physical Well-being
7. From the desk of the director

[1] From the virtual desk of the OU VEBBE REBBE
The Orthodox Union – via its website – fields questions of all types in areas of kashrut, Jewish law and values. Some of them are answered by Eretz Hemdah, the Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, founded by HaRav Shaul Yisraeli, zt"l to prepare rabbanim and dayanim to serve the National Religious community in Israel and abroad. Ask the Rabbi is a joint venture of the OU, Yerushalayim Network, Eretz Hemdah... and the Israel Center. The following is a Q&A from Eretz Hemdah...

Q Someone sinned against his friend, but the victim is unaware of what the sinner did to him and will be very upset if he finds out. Should the sinner tell him and ask for forgiveness?

A The mishna (Yoma 85b) says that one does not receive atonement on Yom Kippur for sins between man and man until he appeases the victim. Thus, the sinner should go to great lengths to appease. The question is whether that includes causing further pain to the victim.

This dilemma is said to be a point of disagreement between two of the great teachers of morality of a century ago. The Chafetz Chayim, in the work from which he received his nickname (Hilchot Lashon Hara 4:12) states that one who caused damage to his friend through speech must ask his forgiveness even if it requires uncovering the story. Rav Yisrael Salanter is reported (in both oral and written record of the exchange) to have protested the ruling, claiming that a sinner cannot make efforts to receive atonement at the expense of another, who doesn't deserve more pain. Rav Avigdor Neventzal shlita is cited (Mikraei Kodesh (Harari) Yom Kippur 2:(4)) as finding it difficult to believe that the Chafetz Chayim is understood correctly.

Rav Neventzal understood that it would be proper to uncover the offense only if the resulting damage would be to the sinner, not if it would extend to the victim. Whatever version of the Chafetz Chayim's opinion (or Rabbeinu Yona's, upon whom it is based) one accepts, the accepted approach is that it is wrong to cause new wounds. One should also realize that even if he gets a degree of atonement for the sin (asking forgiveness of man or Hashem does not assure full removal of every sin), he may add on to the grievousness of the damage and, thus, might anyway lose out in the process.

This being said, one must realize that sometimes the aforementioned concern is exaggerated. On one hand, there are times that even if a victim is aware of the affront, recalling it will cause a painful re-opening of the wound. Yet, that does not mean that it is not worthwhile to ask forgiveness. Often wounds need to be re-opened in order to be properly tended to and heal. The offender should not automatically use the initial uneasiness as an excuse to avoid the very difficult task of asking forgiveness. However, one has to be wise and sensitive about how he does it. If he makes a quick phone call a half hour before Yom Kippur or the like it might be taken as an insincere effort to get some overly easy atonement. Emotional conversations must be planned, and no two situations are identical or are properly remedied in the identical way.

What happens if one decides that he should not ask forgiveness? First of all, a general request of forgiveness from the party is worth something, certainly when the affront is known but is embarrassing to the victim to bring up (see Mishna Berura (written by the Chafetz Chayim) 606:4, who agrees in this case). In general, it appears that the mishna that requires appeasing the victim is some- times taken out of context. Yes, it is futile to attempt teshuva for sins between people by addressing only Hashem without receiving forgiveness from his friend. But it can be illustrated from the mishna's context and from related sources that this is because one cannot be sincere about his repentance if he has the ability to remedy the situation and refuses to do so. So, Rambam (Teshuva 2:9) talks in one breath of making necessary monetary payments and appeasing. The Pri Chadash (OC 606) and Minchat Chinuch (#364) talk about not getting atonement even for the element of the sin of affront to Hashem in this case. There is also a process described as sufficient to do one's duties of seeking forgiveness from victims who are not willing to forgive. These and other sources imply that if one does all that he should for his counterpart, then Hashem will grant him at least partial atonement. Thus, if one refrains from revealing details only in order to spare his friend pain (as Rav Salanter requires) he can expect to receive partial atonement, according to his sincerity.

Ask the Rabbi Q&A is part of Hemdat Yamim, the weekly parsha sheet published by Eretz Hemdah. You can read this section or the entire Hemdat Yamim at www.ou.org or www.eretzhemdah.org. And/or you can receive Hemdat Yamim by email weekly, by sending an email to eretzhem@netvision.net.il with the message: Join Hemdatya –Please leave the subject blank. Ask the Vebbe Rebbe is partially funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel

[2] ArtScroll Series • Mesorah Publications Ltd.
WORDS OF WISDOM WORDS OF WIT by Shmuel Himelstein
Once, on the afternoon before Yom Kippur, the Ba'al Shem Tov was seen striding joyfully down the street. A man stopped him and asked him: "Rebbi, why are you so happy at a time like this, when all are so solemn as the Day of Judgment draws near? After all, if your verdict is a negative one, you certainly have no cause to rejoice. Then again, if you are happy because you are convinced that your verdict will be a positive one, isn't that conceit on your part?" "It is entirely irrelevant to me whether the verdict is positive or negative in my case," replied the Ba'al Shem Tov. "I am rejoicing because there is a Judge in the world and there is justice in the world."

If you’ve enjoyed these stories, look for Shmuel Himelstein's new book, "Wisdom and Wit", at your local Jewish bookstore - an entirely new collection.

[3] Candle by Day
Repentance is a process of crying over spilled milk — and recovering it. - From A Candle by Day by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein

[4] Micro Ulpan - a word (or two) from HaAcademiya LaLashon Ha-Ivrit
The series of tiny holes in a straight line, close together, on a piece of paper or cardboard, that make it easy to neatly tear off a part of the paper or card is called, in English PERFORATION.

And, we'll bet you think the Hebrew word for perforation is PERFORATZIYA. Not even close. The correct Hebrew word for perforation is NIKBUV. Same root but different from the word NIKUV, which means to make a single hole or a few holes. A stamp is perforated (M'NUKBAV) so the tab can be neatly removed.

[5] CHIZUK and IDUD (for Olim & not-yet-Olim respectively)
The closing words of Ha'azinu's song, 'V'KFRA ADMATO IMO/, "And His land will atone for His people", teach us that the land of Israel can achieve atonement for the people of Israel. This is why Chazal emphasize the importance of burial in Eretz Israel. Connecting the word ADMATO mentioned in our verse with MIZBEACH ADAMA, "earthen altar", the Talmud goes as far as to say that burial in the land of Israel is equivalent to burial under the altar, the site of atonement. Due to its inherent holiness as God'sland, all of Eretz Israel is equated to the place of the altar.

The first to insist on burial in the Land of Israel was our forefather, Jacob. Jacob wished to be buried in Eretz Israel, not only for the personal spiritual benefit that he would derive, but also for a much more profound reason. The Meshech Chochma argues that Jacob wished to prevent the assimilation of his offspring into Egyptian life and culture. Jacob impressed the centrality of Eretz Yisrael upon the national psyche of his descendants. Many Jews throughout the generations, who were unable to come to Israel during their lifetimes, echoed Jacob's sentiments and instructed that they be buried there. They too wanted to impress upon their own families and communities that they are but tempo- rary dwellers in a foreign land.

In Midrash Mishlei, Rabbi Levi's version of the drasha regarding V'CHIPER ADMATO AMO reads in a slightly different manner.

He says that anyone who lives in Eretz Yisrael, even for a single hour, and dies there, is destined to inherit the world to come. According to Rabbi Levi, burial alone does not do the trick; living in the land is essential. The Talmud relates Rabbi Elazar's reaction to the death of Ulla, his student, outside of Eretz Yisrael: "You, Ulla, should die in an unclean land!" Hearing that Ulla's coffin had arrived, Rabbi Elazar declared: "Receiving a man in his lifetime is not the same as receiving him after his death."

Jacob was unable to return to live in Israel, but his descendants living in our present, unique times, are welcome to return. May we all merit to live long lives in the Land of Israel.

Rabbi Yitzchak Korn, Jerusalem
TORAH THOUGHTS as contributed by Aloh Naaleh members for publication in the Orthodox Union's 'Torah Insights', a weekly Torah publication on Parshat HaShavua

[6] Spiritual and Physical Well-being in Judaism
<cont. from last week>
Now that we have seen how the energies of time (the seasons) can stimulate us toward T'shuva, next we will explore how the energies of place effect this process. It is well known that certain places in the world act as energy sieves from the earth's core to its surface. Included are Machu Pichu, Peru, Sedona, Arizona and Stonehenge, England. The human body, like all other matter, acts as an energy conduit, similar to a crystal, to the energies flowing from the earth. Every nation, which demonstrates specific attachment to a specific land (Maharal, Netzach Yisrael) are effected more by the energies of their own land. The Jewish crystal, both body and soul, is effected most greatly by the energies of Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel).

Consider next that the greatest form of T'shuva for the Jewish people is to return to live in Eretz Yisrael. Rashi (Vayikra 25:38), based on the midrash, explains to us that living outside of Israel is tantamount to idol worship. Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh (D'varim 30:20) then explains, that when Moshe tells us "to dwell (la'shevet) on the land which Hashem promised to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give to them," it means that to dwell in Eretz Yisrael is the pathway to the attainment of wholeness and completion, a "lengthening of days", and that, as it is written, it is a commandment equal to all of Torah. It is no coincidence that the word for 'to dwell' and 'to return' have the same root, as to do T'shuva is also to be grounded, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Rav Mordechai Attia explains (Lech Lecha V'Sod HaShvuah, pg. 67) that the word T'shuva itself, made up of the Hebrew word "shuv" (return) followed by the letter "heh" (the sfira malchut), means, to return to the Land of Israel. In the book "Kedushat Ha'Aretz", pg. 7, (The Holiness of the Land), we learn that the person who lives in Israel is surrounded by holiness from all sides, "above and below, from the outside and from the inside. From below, standing on holy ground. From above, heaven's gates open opposite Eretz Yisrael". The Zohar explains that the passage that we read every Shabbat in the Mincha service, "You are one, and Your name is one, one nation in the land" means that Hashem's Holy Name, the Tetragrammaton, occurs only when the People of Israel reside in the Land of Israel. This union of the nation and the land lead to a greater spiritual energy flow from heaven to earth, with the nation as the conduit.
When this realigned energy flows through the individual and nation newly resettled in Israel, a cleansing process occurs spontaneously similar to what we see in patients treated with bioenergy healing techniques. The body begins to throw off the poisons, acidity and wastes that had accumulated up until that time. The healing process leads to a psychological cleansing as well. As I witnessed many times in health retreats, fasting patients many times developed psychological healing "crises" as part of their overall healing, manifesting heightened fear, anger, and spiritual angst prior to seeing the light of a detoxified mind.

As Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook (Sichot Zvi Yehuda, Vayikra, pg 57) commented on the passage "the air of Eretz Yisrael makes wise", that it "also heals." "And I will throw upon you pure waters" (Ezekiel 36:25) refers to this spiritual cleansing after our return to the land. Eretz Yisrael, acting as a "healing medicine, and medical bath", which acts to remove sickness from inside to the outside, prior to a complete healing, will "initially remove the inner spiritual poisons to the outside" of those who come to dwell there" (Lech Lecha, V'Sod HaShvuah, pg. 42-45). Rav Mordechai Attia, thus explains the meaning of the Spies report, that all those entering the land "fall in their stature", due to a cleansing, prior to an eventual elevation.

This process does not occur all at once, as our healing crisis would be too much for our individual and collective strength. As Maimonides wrote (Hanhagah Habriut, Ch. 2) that if the medicine is stronger than the patient intrinsic strength, he will succumb. The prophet Isaiah (52:12) tells us, "Not in a hurry, you will go out" from the exile to the future redemption, in contrast to the redemption from Egypt. Rav Kook (Ma'amrei Hariya, Pesach of Egypt, Pesach of the Future, pg 164) explains that the slow redemption functions to allow us to remove all of the "foreign influences" of 2000 years of exile from our national contiousness in a slow manner, as our abilities to perceive and integrate the great light of the redemption have been too dampened to receive it all at once.

The last few decades have shown an increasing expression of angst, fear, despair and anger amongst the people living within the land. Not only has this been due to an unclear sense of self-purpose and destiny, I maintain that this has also been due to the continuing cleansing process of our exilic sickness, of 2000 years of fear, angst, despair and anger. The present crisis, internal (economic, social, religious) and external (terrorist war), only increased the tempo of the healing. As I routinely see in my practice, most people only return to health once they've reached the crisis of sickness. Our crisis has forced us to return to reclarify our purpose here in Eretz Yisrael, to be healthy in body, mind and spirit, as a light unto the nations. The darkness always precedes the light, the contrast making the light all that much brighter.

I can already see the light, and it shines stronger every day. May the present tshuvah season bring you closer to the path of light.

Article by Yehuda Ben-Asher, M.D., from his bimonthly newsletter, The Natural Path. Dr. Ben-Asher has a Jerusalem practice in Naturopathic Medicine. 993-3446

[7] Divrei Menachem
Shabbat Shuva is an apt name for the Shabbat that falls between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. It is the Sabbath of Return, after the first word of this week's Haftara from the Book of Hoshe'a (14:2) which begs us to "Return, Israel, to the Lord your G-d because you have stumbled in your iniquity."

The rabbis discuss whether the stumbling is the result of our iniquity or the iniquity itself constitutes the stumbling. Ibn Ezra deduces that the latter approach is correct, for Hashem tells us later (v.5) that He will heal our backsliding. Like the proficient doctor, G-d will attend to both the sickness of the body and the wounds.

Of course, when we ask ourselves into what iniquity we have stumbled, the list grows exponentially. Nehama Leibowitz considers several sources implying that our mistake was to seek out deviant sources of salvation - political alliances and hand-made idols, for example. Ultimately, she concludes that our most grievous sin was (is) the faith that we put in ourselves.

We are overwhelmed by this realization. And in our naïve way we call out, "Our Father, our King, return us to You in perfect repentance." However, what Shabbat Shuva is really about is our taking the first step. We need first to return. Then, it seems, Hashem will assist us.
G'mar Chatima Tova, Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova,
Menachem Persoff