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שבת שלום - פרשת חיי שרה
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Video Shiur
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Click play to watch a sicha by
Rabbi Scott Kahn about Stevie Wonder and the Limits of Choice |
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News and Notes
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On Sunday morning,
as the yeshiva begins
the second month of the
zman, our
shana alef
and shana bet students
will be embarking on
our annual three-day
Golan tiyul. Everyone
is very excited for what
promises to be an
extraordinary
experience in the North
of Israel. In addition
to hikes and
other
activities, we will be
camping out one night,
while staying in a hotel
on the second. We
thank Rav Moshe Lichtman,
Yitzchak Fisher, and
Hillel
Brenner for
accompanying the students.
On
Thursday night, Rav Kahn
gave the sicha on the
topic of "Emor Me'at
Va'aseh Harbeh", while
Rav Arram gave a shiur
on the foundations of
Breslov
philosophy.
(Both shiruim will be
posted on the website
sometime next
week.)
Rav
Kahn will be traveling
to the New York area
on Motzaei Shabbat, and
will
be in the United
States through the following
Tuesday. If you would
like to
get in touch
with him, please call
him at 917-225-1791.
Rav Wolicki will be
spending this Shabbat
in Teaneck, NJ, and will
be in Toronto and South
Florida before returning
to Israel on Tuesday.
If you would like to
speak
with him, please
call him at 732-278-7876.
The
yeshiva is in the process
of updating its website,
and we are now
attempting
to significantly upgrade
our online Beit Midrash
with additional
shiurim
on a weekly basis. Check
out www.yesodei.org to
see the new
shiurim,
including the recently
added "Stevie Wonder
and the Limits of
Choice",
"Og", and "Avodah Zara".
Additionally,
the website now features
a new section containing
student-made
videos,
including a brand new
promotional video produced
by shana bet
students
Shimshon Seligson and
Aryeh Sklar. Enjoy!
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Rebuilding the Ruins
By Rabbi Scott Kahn
Towards the end of Parashat Chayei Sarah, we witness Rivkah arriving in the
Land of Canaan with
Avraham's servant. Just as Rivkah approaches, Yitzchak goes outside to
"meditate in the field before evening." (Bereshit 24:63) Chazal tell us
that Yitzchak was, in fact, praying; indeed, this verse is used by Rabbi
Yosi ben Rabbi Chanina to demonstrate the Yitzchak instituted the Mincha
service. (Berachot 26b) Moreover, Chazal state that the field in which
Yitzchak prayed was none other than the Temple Mount. (Pesachim 88a)
The marriage of Yitzchak and Rivkah is the first story in the Torah that
deals extensively with the process of finding a spouse; accordingly, it
represents the quintessential instance of marriage, and the ultimate
representation of what proper marriage should entail. Why, then, is the
story interrupted with the seemingly irrelevant detail of Yitzchak's
meditating on the Temple Mount?
The answer can be found in a fascinating statement in Masechet Berachot
(6b). In a discussion of the importance of helping a bridegroom rejoice at
his wedding, Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak states, "[It is] as if he built one of
the ruins of Jerusalem" - ke'ilu bana achat me'churvot Yerushalayim. How is
rebuilding a part of the Holy City relevant to the idea of rejoicing with
the groom?
The connection becomes clearer upon examining the creation of the first man
and woman. The Torah tells us, "Hashem Elokim formed man out of dust from
the earth." (Bereshit 2:7) Targum Yonatan ben Uziel and Rashi cite a
tradition that the dust used to form Adam came from "Atar Beit Makdsha" -
the future site of the Temple. Later, when we learn about the creation of
the first woman, we are told that, "Hashem Elokim built the side that He
took from the man into a woman, and He brought her to the man." (Bereshit
2:22) The Gemara notes that the woman was not created, but "built" out of
part of Adam's body. (Berachot 61a) Finally, at the conclusion of the
story of the Garden of Eden, Hashem says that man has become "Achat" - one -
that is, according to Rashi, a unique creature, just as G-d Himself is
unique. (Bereshit 3:22)
Using these textual clues, we can decode Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak's claim
that giving joy to the groom at his wedding is equivalent to rebuilding one
of the ruins of Jerusalem. The achat me'churvot Yerushalayim - one of the
ruins of Jerusalem - is none other than man himself. Adam, whom the Torah
calls "Achat", was formed from the dust of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Despite being formed as a complete being, however, he was dismantled -
literally broken into two - when G-d created the first woman. Thus, Adam
became the one specific ruin of Jerusalem who needs rebuilding through the
process of marriage. Chava, the first woman, was "built" by depleting the
first man. The only way that man can be rebuilt himself is through his
successful reunion with his wife.
When a person rejoices with the groom at a wedding, he is helping the groom
to create a foundation of appreciation for his other half. The act of
rejoicing signals that the husband should never take his wife for granted.
Marriage is far more than two people deciding to live together, for it
represents the ultimate means for a human being to make himself complete.
In the daily trials and tribulations that everyone faces, it is easy to
ignore this crucial reality. By rejoicing with the groom, a person reminds
the groom of the reasons for the happiness at a wedding - his becoming a
complete man - and thereby helps to actualize this truth. In this way, one
who rejoices at a wedding truly does help to rebuild the ruined man of
Jerusalem, and to participate in establishing the foundation for a
meaningful, happy, and spiritual marriage.
This is the reason that the first story of marriage in the Torah includes
the fact that Yitzchak prayed on the Temple Mount. This quintessential
story of marriage alludes to the reality that the groom comes from the site
of the Temple. But despite the fact that Yitzchak was involved in one of
the greatest spiritual pursuits possible - prayer - he nonetheless left the
site of the Temple to grow to even greater heights through a loving
marriage. For a loving home, built on proper ideals, is more than the site
of the Temple: it is the fully built Beit HaMikdash itself.
This may be alluded to in a well-known comment of Rashi's upon the verse,
"Yitzchak brought [Rivkah] to the tent of his mother Sarah; he took Rivkah
to be his wife, and he loved her..." (Bereshit 24:67) Rashi explains that
the phrase "the tent of his mother Sarah" means that, "As long as Sarah was
alive there was a lit candle from Erev Shabbat to Erev Shabbat, blessing was
found in the dough, and a cloud was present over the tent; when [Sarah]
died, they ceased, and when Rivkah arrived, they returned." These three
symbols - the candle, the dough, and the cloud - are also symbolic of three
crucial parts of the Temple: the candle represents the Menorah, the dough
represents the Lechem HaPanim, and the cloud represents the presence of the
Shechina, the Divine Presence. When Rivkah created an ideal marriage, her
home truly became a Beit HaMikdash.
With Hashem's help, we will always appreciate that marriage is the means to
personal and spiritual completion, so that we, too, can invite the Shechina
into our homes, making them places of the utmost holiness and sanctity.
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