Hebrew | Francais

Shabbat Parashat Vaetchanan 5775

Vaetchanan | 16 Av 5775 | 01/08/2015

Parashat Hashavua: Our Wisdom … in Our Eyes?

“And you shall observe and do, for it is your knowledge and your wisdom in the eyes of the nations” (Devarim 4:6). The sefer Torah was always the book of knowledge and wisdom. Different cultures and all sorts of different books entered the world sphere, and yet our book remains the Book of Books, the holiest and most important of all books. There is practically no language in the world, from the most distant land, that the Torah has not been translated into and where it is not sold. Our land, which was promised to us, is also held in great esteem by the nations as the “Holy Land.” They consider it sacred and worthy of admiration. Nations even hold us to be a special nation, and our scholars have often been revered. All who were in contact with us realized that we have something special. Even in the time that we were subjugated by the Romans, there was a movement of Romans who wanted to convert to Judaism.

Ask The Rabbi: A Lawyer’s Obligation to Get Involved in Sticky Cases

I am a lawyer. A potential client asked me to help sue someone who is known to be part of the underworld. Should I agree based on the commandment of lo taguru (“Do not be afraid of a man” - Devarim 1:17), or is it okay for me to pass?

Ein Ayah: When Bad Can Bring Good

[At the inauguration of the Beit Hamikdash, the people were happy] “for all the good that Hashem did for His servant David” (Melachim I, 8:66) – that David was forgiven for that sin [of Batsheva] – “and for His nation, Israel” – that He forgave them for the sin of Yom Kippur (as they ate during the festivities of the inauguration).

P'ninat Mishpat: Adding Relatives to Recipients of Posthumous Tzedaka Fund

Reuven, a rich man on his deathbed, had a will made, which included creating a tzedaka fund. Afterward, his brother-in-law Shimon reminded him that some of his relatives are poor, especially one of Reuven’s brothers. Shimon wrote down, with permission, sums of money to be put aside for these relatives from the tzedaka funds (four gold coins a week), and that if this is not enough money for his brother, two gold coins should be added for him. Reuven did not sign the will, but his wife and oldest son did, followed by two witnesses, who confirmed the former signatures and orally heard the wife and son’s confirmation of Reuven’s addendum to the will. Shimon held on to the addendum for three years without telling the brother, at which time the brother found out. When he asked the widow and orphans for back money, they said that the addendum is not binding because all the information came from them, and they were so distraught at Reuven’s illness that they agreed to things without understanding what was going on.

Hemdat Yamim

is dedicated

to the memory of:

those who fell in the war

for our homeland.

Yitzchak Eizik

ben Yehuda Leib Usdan a"h,

whose Yahrtzeit

is the 29th of Av

Gital Gila Bat Eliyahu Michael a”h

on the occasion of her yahrzeit,

Av 21^st

Mrs. Sara Wengrowsky

bat R’ Moshe Zev a”h.

who passed away on

10 Tamuz, 5774

R' Meir
ben

Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld

o.b.m

R ' Yaakov ben Abraham & Aisha

and

Chana bat Yaish & Simcha

Sebbag, z"l

Hemdat Yamim

is endowed by

Les & Ethel Sutker

of Chicago, Illinois
in loving memory of
Max and Mary Sutker
and

Louis and Lillian Klein, z”l

A weekly divrei Torah leaflet: A Glimpse at the Parasha, Ask the Rabbi, From the writings of Harav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, zt”l, Pninat Mishpat (Jewish Monetary Law).