Fearing Spiritual Distance Rabbi Pini Dunnerרּוךְ ּבָ ם הּו ּגַ כֵ רְ בָ אֲ א וָ בוֹ ּתָ ם רֶ טֶ ּבְ ל ּכֹ מִ ל כַ אֹ י וָ לִ א בֵ ּיָ ד וַ יִ צַ ד ּצָ הַ הּוא א פוֹ אֵ י מִ ר אמֶ ּיֹ ד וַ אֹ ד-מְ עַ ה לָ דֹ ה ּגְ דָ רָ חֲ ק חָ צְ ד יִ רַ חֱ ּיֶ וַ

יִהְיֶה. “And Yitzchak trembled greatly; he said: ‘where is the person who prepared the food and brought it to me and I ate from it all, before you came, and I blessed him – he should also be blessed!’” This was the exact moment that the penny dropped. It was at this moment that Yitzchak realized that he had been tricked by an earlier visitor –Yaakov– who was successfully disguised as Eisav. When he realized what had happened, Yitzchak was overcome with an unprecedented fear, a fear which the Midrash says was greater than the fear he experienced when he had been tied to the altar many years earlier as he was about to be sacrificed by his father Avraham. It is self evident that the fear that plagued Yitzchak when he was in imminent danger of dying was enormous and all consuming. After all, the fear of dying, and in such a gruesome fashion, must be the most traumatizing fear any human being can feel. And yet, by stressing the fear as being ‘Ad Me’od,’ the Pasuk tells us that the kind of terror Yiztchak felt when he realized he had given the blessing to Yaakov instead of Eisav was much worse the fear he felt on the altar. This idea seems utterly incomprehensible. What exactly was so frightening about this situation? Was Yitzchak really afraid of Eisav to such a degree? The fear seems even more inexplicable once we delve into the story a little deeper. Rashi tells us that Yitzchak was afraid that he had sinned by favoring his younger son over his older one. It was only once Eisav explained that his first-born rights had in fact been sold to Yaakov many years earlier that Yitzchak calmed down. One could answer that Yitzchak was concerned that he might have sinned; because he was such a holy man who was fearful of sin, one might argue that he somewhat frightened that he had subverted the natural order of things by blessing Yaakov instead of Eisav. But how could such a fear possibly have surpassed the fear of imminent death? How is it possible to compare the two? The answer is – one could say – hiding in plain sight! This is in fact exactly how Yitzchak felt. His fear of a physical death, however dreadful and grisly that death would be, was a temporal fear. His fear of spiritual decline – a decline that could have eternal consequences – was far greater. This was a man who had devoted his entire life to getting closer to God. To him, the thought that he may have undone his life’s work by sinning – even inadvertently – was so shocking, so frightening, that he literally trembled with fear. It was a fear that far surpassed any fear he had felt whilst he was tied to the altar. Such was his concern for all things spiritual. What a lesson for us all! Our forefather is teaching us such an important principle. One’s concern for one’s physical wellbeing is justified – we need to be alive in order to serve God – but any such concern must be dwarfed by our concern for spiritual growth. And so, if our closeness to God is threatened in any way, we should always be concerned and afraid. That was how Yitzchak Avinu reacted to the thought of distance from God, and that is how we should react as well.

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In Memory of Mr. Jack Gindi לע”נ יעקב אליהו בן אליהו הכהן In Memory of Mr. Max Glass לע”נ שמואל מרדכי בן שלמה זאב יוסף

ליקוטי אורA publication of YULA Boys High School

Likutei Ohr

In this past week alone, over 400 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel. War has broken out between our nation and

Hamas, a malicious terrorist organization with a mission to destroy Israel. The only reason we are fighting this battle is to protect our citizens who have continuously been threatened and whose lives have been disrupted and destroyed.

When thinking about the different topics of prayer, Israel always seems to be a focal point of our Davening. In Shemonah

Esrai, a prayer that we recite three times a day, there are many Tefillos that mention Israel. From “Veliyrushalayim Ircha Berachamim

Tashuv,” to “Vesechezein Eineinu Beshuvcha Letzion Berachamim,” our care for the land of Israel is evident. Now, more than ever, it is essential to focus on the words that we say everyday. We must strive for higher and higher levels of Kavana, concentration, ensuring that our Tefillos reach up and break through the Sha’arei Shamayim– the gates of heaven. We are not the valiant soldiers fighting the battle on

the ground with our physical welfare at stake, but we are soldiers that can pray to Hashem and beg for His kindness.

Teffilah Gems Yonah Hiller ’14

Parshat Toldot

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In this week’s Parsha, Parshat Toldot, we are introduced to the painful life of our forefather, Yaakov Avinu. Known as a humble Torah scholar, Yaakov devoted his life to Hashem, a devotion that reached its climax when Yaakov sold lentils to his brother Esav in exchange for a blessing. The Pasuk tells us that after Esav ate the lentils that he traded for his own birthright, he “despised the blessing.” How are we to understand this? Rashi explains that Eisav’s “despising” of the birthright reflected his hatred toward the idea of serving Hashem. Since the birthright signified a responsibility of serving Hashem as the firstborn, Eisav wanted nothing to do with it. On the other hand, the G-d fearing Yaakov radiated with Ahavat Hashem and was enthusiastic about serving creator; he, therefore, wanted the birthright. This famous story teaches a great lesson concerning the historical animosity between the B’nei Yisroel and Eisav’s descendants, an animosity that still exists. The rift with Eisav, which began with the birthright, continues to this very day, as we, the Jews, continue to face our enemies. But as we see, Yaakov still managed to build a dynamic Jewish home, even in the face of danger. We too continue to build strong and loving Jewish communities, even when we must face the threats of those who wish to destroy us. Am Yisroel has achieved greatness, even with its constant persecution throughout history. And what has enabled us to achieve such greatness? Like Yaakov, we devote ourselves to Hashem, and this service of our creator has always pulled us out of dire situations. It is this very devotion that has enabled us to pull ourselves up from the ashes of the Holocaust and build the State of Israel, a state where our devotion is amplified in unprecedented ways. And so, when Israel defends herself from enemies such as the Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, we hear the phrase “Am Yisroel Chai” come off the lips of both secular and religious Jews alike. What does this phrase mean? It means that although our enemies reject–and long ago rejected–the service of Hashem, we, the Jews, embrace Him so that we may continue to thrive regardless of our enemies’ wishes. May we continue to prosper through a strong Jewish foundation of devotion to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

Survival Through DevotionJacob Hershkovich ’14

It’s Never Too Late Jack Kirschenbaum ’14 While Esav and Yaakov were twins, they stood for completely different ideals. One was a hunter, the other was a learner. One left the path of his father, the other followed in his father’s footsteps. To be blunt, there was one rebellious son, and one ideal son. The obvious question is: Why was Yitzchak so insistent of giving the better Bracha to Esav, the child who was much less connected to Hakadosh Barouch Hu? Our rabbis explain that although Esav wasn't a perfect Jew, he constantly perused the Mitzvah of Kibud Av Va’em; he would go to great lengths to satisfy the will of his father. Since Esav was so successful in this Mitzvah, Yitzchak thought of him as a Tzadik. There are two ways to reject this simple answer. First, Yitzchak was not ignorant. It's absurd to say that Yitzchak, one of the biggest Tzadikim of all time, was completely blind to his son’s ways. Secondly, the end of Perek Chaf Vav describes Esav's marriage to two idol worshipers. The Pasukim clearly state that Yitzchak knew of Esav's marriges to idol worshipers, and that he was greatly bothered by it. So now, we're once again stuck with our original question: Why was Yaakov so insistent on giving Esav the better Bracha? It is generally understood that although Yaakov understood Esav's evil ways, he did not give up on his son; he was not willing to let Esav continue to deviate off the Derech. Yitzchak always badgered Esav and insisted that he follow in the ways of Hashem. So, when it came time for Yitzchak's final Bracha, he considered it his final attempt to sway Esav and to push him onto the right path. Yaakov's persistence teaches us not to turn away from, to give up on, or to forget about our peers who are slipping away from Hashem. Even when his life was coming to an end, Yitzchak tried to reaffirm Ahavat Hashem within his evil son. We, in our day-to-day lives, should do our best to help the souls of our brethren, so that we may put them on the direct path to serving Hashem.

Nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes. Everyday, we ask God to forgive us for these mistakes in the prayer of Tachanun. This column will provide an overview of pertinent Halachot regarding Tachanun. When we say Tachanun, we bow our heads on our arms, cover our faces, and say the prayer with intense concentration. Why do we bow at Tachanun? Moshe Davened in three different ways when he prayed to Hashem at Har Sinai–sitting, standing and bowing. We correlate our Davening to Moshe’s: sitting before Shemonah Esrei, standing during Shemonah Esrei, and bowing during Tachanun. The bowing demonstrates our total submission in the hope that God will have mercy and forgive our iniquities. The laws of bowing are actually slightly more complex than we might think. During Shacharit, we bow on the arm that is not wrapped in Tephillin. This is because it would not properly honor the Tephillin if we placed our head on the Tephillin straps. During Mincha, however, we bow on our left hand, because Tephillin is not an issue. Incidentally, Sephardim do not bow at all during Tachanun. The Mechaber states that Tachanun must be said sitting and bowing. The Mishnah Brurah, however, brings another Posek who says that Tachanun can be said standing. Either way, we must make sure to cover our faces with something besides our bare arm, perhaps a sleeve or a Tallit. The Ramah says that we only bow during Tachanun if there is an Aron HaKodesh with a Sefer Torah in the room. Despite this, the Mishnah Brurah brings other Poskim who state that if we are in a place that is dedicated to holding large amounts of Seforim, we should also bow. The Mishnah Brurah says that we should not speak between Shemonah Esrei and Tachanun. Regarding this law, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky poses an interesting question: what should we do if we Daven a long Shemonah Esrei and finish when the rest of the congregation is Davening the prayer of Aleinu together. Should we Daven Aleinu with them and then go back to Tachanun? Or should we say Tachanun immediately and then say Aleinu privately? Rabbi Kamenetsky holds with the latter opinion, ruling that we should say our Tachanun first, and then say Aleinu afterwards by ourselves. Tachanun is very important, extremely powerful, and absolutely integral to our spiritual well being. One should never take Tachanun lightly. Compiled By Your Senior Editor Micah Hyman

Halachic IlluminationsFrom Rabbi Nachum Sauer