Pyka Family

Parashat And Sidra Ki Seitzei

Parashat Ki Seitzei is the 49th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading.

“Ben sorer kills ejnenu shomea bekol aviv ubekol imo”-
“The son is corrupt and rebellious, he does not obey the voice of his father and the voice of his mother”. The story of the prodigal son is interesting in many ways. Becomes rebellious through an act that goes against basic respect for parents and thereby shows total moral laxity without any inhibitions.
To become a “sorer umore” he must rob his parents, and then make a “party” for his bad friends from these stolen money. It is evident from this that there is a complete failure of family values and hierarchy, which manifests itself in rebellion against dearest authorities.
The sentence that the Torah pronounces on such a son seems inhumanly harsh – the death penalty. However, when we approach
interpretations by which the Wise analyze the text, we find that it is practically impossible to fulfill all the conditions after which fulfilling it would be possible to punish him.
In the Talmud, a clear statement states – in the entire history of the Jewish people, there was no such condemnation, and not even until the future will not come.
The Wise Men very narrowly specify the conditions of the theft – the amount, the son’s age, what he must buy for it (wine and meat), how much what they have to eat, where and with whom. In addition, both parents themselves must come to the rabbinical court, complain and demand that their son be killed (it is hard to imagine such parents). Another limitation concerns parents. If one of them will be any handicapped in some way – mute, deaf, blind, the son cannot be punished either.
There are still many conditions and the question arises – why is such a law written in the Torah when it is practically impossible
apply it? Many explanations can be given to show what was the meaning of these verses. Let’s make a few points. Whole the principle of judgment is not cruelty, but rather mercy with this unfortunate son.
The wise say –
“Better that he dies with a relatively clean slate than commits much worse acts in the future” (murders, etc.), for which will receive a much heavier punishment from the heavenly court.
It is a prevention against the growing evil, but all this only in the idea of the thing, because in reality the Wise Ones come and establish the whole the range of conditions that move the possible judgment to the hypothetical level. Another aspect is that the Torah stipulates a certain “psychological-educational constant” – at the age of 12 (which is the only age when he can be punished for it), is a person is already ready, made, all the spiritual mechanisms that he
they will determine behavior in life. Education is finished at this age – either successfully or vice versa, and it can no longer be done do nothing further. (Of course, it is still possible for a person to realize other values in adulthood, and through his work he changes his personality on himself. However, this is extremely difficult and few people find within themselves this power to change. In
The Talmud says that it is harder to change one of the characteristics in oneself than it was to part the sea when leaving Egypt.
This statement shows us the difficulty of later personality changes.)
Last but not least, it comes as a great and final warning to the son. It wants to shake him to be even more he recovered and tried to reassess his attitudes and save his life and his soul for the future. It is also emphatic
a rebuke to parents for their way of raising them. Apparently they failed to navigate their son’s soul well while raising – too much softness and pampering that has caused him to lack basic social instincts and respect for them.
Or, on the contrary, the upbringing was too hard and “broke” the child’s soul. Such failure in education often stems from handicap of parents (what Tora calls – deaf, dumb, blind). Because the parents themselves are affected by something, they were not well-bred themselves, and have bad characteristics and habits, the child receives such a “family inheritance” in the wine.
(There is a story about a rabbi to whom a young mother-to-be came and asked him how to raise a child who will be born to her. The rabbi told her – “You are late, you should have come 25 years ago” (when she herself was a baby).)
“Ve talita oto al ec” – “And you will hang him on a tree”. Why is it necessary to hang the condemned man’s body on a tree after he was killed by stoning and thus received his punishment? And why are only those who are cursed by G-d punished in this way
name, or did they serve idolatry?
In this second question, there is already a hint of an explanation of the whole thing (they say – good question, half answer).
The whole case has deep roots. They extend back to the Creation of the world where Adam’s failure to command of the Lord. He was given the entire Garden of Eden, with the challenge that he was forbidden to eat from two trees – The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. However, a snake came and managed to convince Adam that this one G-d issued the ban only so that he – Adam – would not become his equal. If he dreams of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he will become all knowing, just like G-d. Adam believed and ate. This failure was classified as blasphemy
to the Hashem. How can Adam think that he who was just created can suddenly “rise” to the level of G-d?
After all, he belongs to the created, and not to the Creator. Therefore came the harsh punishment of expulsion from Paradise, which is the reason for it mortality. Sin is symbolized precisely by the Tree of Knowledge. This is the reason why the Torah commands us – the one who whoever is guilty of blasphemy, or idolatry – rebellion against the Hashem, will be hanged on a tree after his death, in remembrance of Adam’s sin. It is a punishment for the soul, since the body has already been punished. The following passage in our parasha is peculiar in its arrangement. It intertwines themes for which it is general the consensus that they are the foundations of coexistence in society, with topics whose essence is difficult to understand. It starts the obligation to return a thing that the other has lost, even when we do not know the owner. Finder must in public “advertise” that he has a thing that he specifies to a certain extent so that the owner understands that what is being talked about lost On the other hand, they hide some identifying features, according to which potential interested parties are then asked and determined, who is the real owner. There is a clear moral appeal to society for honesty and helping others. In a similar the continuation also speaks to the spirit, which calls for the duty to help one’s neighbor in time of need (for example – help another with his donkey), even if he does not have good relations with the other.
(Neighbor = a person, and not a relative. True “helping one’s neighbor” does not mean, as many think, in a narrow circle
family and friends, but especially people we can’t “stand”.)
And suddenly a “special” order comes – a woman is forbidden to wear something masculine (in a broader sense -e.g. pious Jews do not go to the army, due to, among other things, holding a weapon – men’s tools – a man fights and not woman), and conversely, a man may not wear women’s clothes.
Moreover, this prohibition is strongly reinforced – “it is an abomination to the Hashem”. What’s so terrible about this innocent exchange?
A simple interpretation says – so that they do not mix with each other and promiscuity does not prevail. In today’s modern however, such an explanation will sound archaic to society.
However, the command is not meant only for “external signs” – clothing, etc., in its principle, it speaks about the general the arrangement of the world – there are women and there are men, which are two completely different worlds (I do not mean this in any derogatory way). Woman thinks
she feels, reacts completely differently than a man, and has a completely different scale of values than a man. The two then join theirs together opposites into mutual symbiosis and harmony. By the fact that today the world promotes “overall” equality (the same application in society), he is doing himself a “disservice”, since this “self realization” will not make people more satisfied.
This only obscures and complicates the understanding of one’s own essence, where the use of natural ones is the basis physical and spiritual prerequisites and gifts (not their suppression, or “overriding”). The passage continues “special” mitzvah – “shiluach ha-ken” – the mission of the bird – the mother from the nest, before taking the eggs. The command is amplified in conclusion – “for this you will have a good time and you will live a long time”. Again, at a superficial glance, the whole thing seems to us incomprehensible. Why such a command, and if so, what is so difficult about it that the Lord “gives away” a long life for it (which is not written for any other commandment except honoring one’s parents, which is considered the most difficult in the entire Torah)? There are explanations that speak of the manifestation of mercy, but more essential is the principle that the whole passage wants us to know show. Torah’s logic is different from ours. What we would divide into essential and non-essential includes compactly into one whole, and it tells us that – things work differently than you think. The Tory system reveals to us the complexity of Creation, and shows us our limited understanding of context. (There is a Midrash where Moshe asked G-d, to make him understand how justice works in the world. G-d played before his eyes the story of several people who
seemed completely illogical and unfair to him. Moshe did not understand, and G-d explained to him that it was about closing certain ones old debts, and there was a fair resolution. He wanted to show Moshe that it is impossible for a person to understand the ways G-d lives in Creation. We, as humans, limited in time, space and understanding cannot fully understand the things happening in life and the world, and therefore we cannot establish absolute values and truths. This should be well understood in today’s world, which confuses quantity with quality in the field of knowledge.

“Lo javo amoni umoavi bikhal Hashem” –
“Ammonites and Moabites will not come to the Hashem’s city”.
It is written that Amon and Moab can never come into the village of G-d. In contrast, the Torah states that Edom and Egypt they can, after three generations, convert to Judaism. What is the difference between these two groups? Regular reader of Torah would rather say the opposite verdict. The Egyptians and Edomites behaved much more harshly and dangerously towards Israel. Egypt killed their newborn babies, and when Israel fled they pursued them and wanted to kill them. Edom to them, at the request of Israel to pass through his territory, they came out to meet the army and wanted to make war with them. In contrast, Moab and Ammon “only”
they tried to put them on the grass by wanting to seduce them with their daughters and thereby avert their defeat.

However, the Torah says otherwise. Why?
The rule is called -“Worse is the one who wants to cause a person to sin than the one who wants to kill him!” The murderer kills the body, but the one who led him astray kills the soul. In this context the verses are already understandable. The interpreter goes on to explain that the restriction of Moab and Ammon only applies to men and not to women. One of the reasons is the one so other nations don’t think Judaism is racist.
Anyone, from any nation, can convert to Judaism, and in principle this also applies to Moab and Ammon. As however, they committed a dangerous attempt to “spiritually” destroy Israel, they are exemplary punished – they cannot convert. However, women can so that the punishment is not interpreted as a “racist law”. A shining example is Rut – a Moabite princess who wanted to join the Jewish people, which she was allowed to do, and he even married her the wife of Boaz, who was the leader of the nation at the time. She thus became the great-grandmother of King David, which is clear evidence that the he who approaches Israel wholeheartedly and with pure intentions can attain the highest degrees in relation to G-d and in the community of Israel.

Chassidic Parashat

The Real Battle
“When you go out to war against your enemies, Hashem will make you victorious
over them, and you will take captives.” (Deut. 21:10)
Rashi zt”l comments that the verse is talking about a “Milchemes Rishus”, an optional war, and not one that the Torah demands of Yisroel to fight. The Chassidic literature finds in this verse and Rashi’s commentary on it, some basic tenets of Chassidic practice. R’ Avraham Yaacov of Sadiger, the son of
R’ Yisrael of Ruzhin, explained. Every material thing in creation is endowed with a unique and wholly spiritual element which enlivens that item, as it is written in Nechemia 9:6, (and found in the Shacharis service in the end of V’Yevaraiych Dovid) “. . .and You constantly give life to all living things.”
Every item of food and drink is especially imbued with this spiritual vitality as it is
written, “The Tzaddik eats for the satiation of his soul”. (Proverbs 13:25). The Tzaddik eats in order to extract and elevate the spiritual portion of the food.
In every action a person ought to endeavor to be conscious of the spiritual element inherent in the item from which he is benefiting, since no thing is devoid of this spiritual, enlivening aspect.
Given this understanding, one might think that in order to raise up its spiritual element, it would be permissible to do something forbidden by the Torah!
Nevertheless, the sages inform us (Yevamos 20a), “Sanctify yourself with that
which is permissible to you”. This Avodah is proper only with things which are not forbidden to you.
Now understand the meaning of our verse. “When you go out to war against your enemies. . .”, when you set out to do battle against the Yezter Hara, your negative inclination, then you should “take captives”, that is to say, to gather up and elevate the Holy Sparks of the spiritual aspect which enlivens every living thing and have fallen into captivity.
As Rashi informs us, this is the “Milchemes Rishus”, the battle to sanctify the things which the Torah permits us to benefit from. Even those things which the Torah permits us (gives rishus to us to use), must be enjoyed in a manner which will liberate and elevate the fallen sparks which have become captives of the Yezter Hara.
Once, R’ Chaim of Sanz, the Divrei Chaim (1797-1876), was travelling on a boat across the (Dnieper?) river. During the crossing, the Rebbi stood on the deck leaning against the railing, smoking his ever present pipe. Suddenly, the pipe slipped from his mouth and fell into the water of the river below! The Rebbe made a quick calculation. If he acted immediately, he could manage to bend over the railing and retrieve his pipe. But just as suddenly as the pipe had fallen in, he
remembered that he had never in his life bent himself over to come closer to, or to
partake of any material pleasure. Although smoking his pipe was a distinctive component of his Avodas Hashem, he left it to float away in the water.
When the boat docked at the pier on the other side of the river, R’ Chaim disembarked. As he walked down the pier towards the shore, he became aware of
something near his feet, bobbing up and down in the water. He realized that it
was his pipe! He nodded his head in appreciation to Hashem, and this time bent
over slightly to reach the pipe. His grandson, the late Sanz-Klausenberger Rebbe (1904-1994), remarked, that he remembered seeing the pipe which had been kept as a family heirloom, before it was lost during the Holocaust. It was recognizable by its distended bowl which had absorbed so much water that day in the river. He then added, that since his grandfather had always raised the spiritual level of any material item that he had had benefit from, he experienced a miracle that day when Hashem returned his pipe, in essence, raising up the material to a more spiritual level.

Coming Clean
“. . . and you will eliminate the evil within (from amongst) you, and all of Israel will
hear about it and they will fear.” (Deut. 21:21)
R’ Avraham Mattisyahu of Shtefanesht, (1847-1933), the son of the Shtefaneshter Rebbe, the fourth son of R’ Yisrael of Ruzhin, was considered to be one of the hidden Tzaddikim of his generation, even though he never recited a Torah thought in public, and there is hardly one idea that can be said over in his name. He learned in strict privacy in his room and forbade entrance to all comers.
He carefully replaced the books when he finished, leaving no sign that they had ever been used. Only once was he “caught” with a sefer in his hands. Yet, he was totally immersed in his Avodas Hashem.
Once, a certain chossid of the Rebbe asked him about his behavior. “The Rebbe”, he said addressing R’ Avraham Mattisyahu, “doesn’t ever deliver a Torah thought, not even at the Tish, nevertheless, thousands constantly arrive to be in the Rebbe’s presence! How is this possible?
“What is so surprising to you?”, began the Rebbe in what was to be one of the only Torah thoughts attributable to his name. “The verse says, ‘. . . and you will eliminate the evil within (from amongst) you’. When one does that, then the result is, ‘and all of Israel will hear about it and they will fear’.”

Jewish Marriage
“When a man takes a new bride, he shall not enter military service nor be assigned to any associated duty. He must remain free for his wife for one year, and he shall rejoice with his bride that he married.” (Deut. 24:5)
As it is well known, marriage and family are at the core of Jewish life. In fact, the very first mitzvah in the Torah is to be fruitful and multiply. This implies marriage and then giving birth to and raising children.
As most people know, the divorce rate today in our traditional Jewish communities, is exceedingly low. One of the reasons why, even in today’s world, we have so much success in transmitting the values of marriage and family, may well be because of the mitzvah we learn from the above verse.
The Sefer HaChinuch, the book of Mitzvos education, learns from this verse it’s 582nd (from amongst 613) mitzvah.
“The groom shall rejoice with his bride for a full year.”

The Torah enjoins the young groom to gladden his new bride and rejoice with her
for a full year. This means that he should not travel out of town, nor go to war, nor to any other activity that will result in him being alone for a number of days without his bride. He should dwell together with her for a full year from the day of the wedding, as it is written, “. . . he must remain free for his wife for one year, and he shall rejoice with his bride that he married”.
The underlying reason of the mitzvah is, that Hashem, in His infinite wisdom, chose to create the world. He desired that it be populated with healthy and deserving creations who would unite in holiness, male and female. Since to Hashem, promiscuity and immorality are abhorrent, he decreed concerning the people who are called by his name, that a man should dwell for a full year with the woman who has been designated to bring souls in to the world together with him.
In this year, he accustoms himself to her nature, and she to his, and he binds his thoughts to hers. He instills her likeness in his heart and allows her ways to permeate his soul. Then she will become familiar to him and any likeness or association with any other woman will seem to him as utterly foreign. He will shun any contact with other women. His wife, with whom only he is intimate, shall become the sole business of his being. The children born of such a union will be pleasing and becoming, and the world will be full of grace in the eyes of Hashem.
A Guten Shabbos