Pirkei Avos

influence without intention

,

, , -- , , However, in the same way that we can have an , effect for the good, we can also have an effect . for the bad. An example to either end: recently Avtalyon said: Sages, be careful with your words lest you deserve to be exiled and are exiled to a place of bad waters. The students who come after you will drink of these waters and die, and G-d's Name will be desecrated.

for the better in order to affect us and those around us.

The Hasmonean High School Weekly Sedra Sheet

Dvar Torah

Living Torah
Issue No: Shabbos In: Shabbos Out:

21st January 2012

391 16:12 17:25

This is one of the harsher-worded Mishnayot in Masechet Avot, the reason for which is that of its critical subject the leaders. Whether they are poskei hador, community rabbanim or anyone else with a responsibility of setting an example, they need to exercise extreme care in what they say. This responsibility is incumbent on each and every one of us as well we have a chiyuv of being an Or laGoyim a light unto the nations. This applies in our everyday lives even whilst talking to our friends in a public place, people around us listen to our conversations and base their view of the community we belong to on that one encounter. The message of our mishna is twofold as well as the warning over the care we must take when we speak, it also warns us of the knock on effects of our actions. In the same way as a fruit seller in Tunisia setting himself on fire triggered the Arab Spring which ultimately could be seen as having brought a fresh start to the region, the way we act and the way we speak can have a massive effect on our environment. We have the power, and the responsibility, to make a change

a Facebook page was created encouraging people to say Tehillim for a young mother who has been extremely ill. She was at the stage that the doctors were giving up hope and taking her off medication. Within hours, over 1000 people were saying Tehillim, learning in her zchut and making brachot with her (and her family) in mind.* This all stemmed from one person making the minimal amount of effort to raise some awareness online, and ultimately, a Kiddush HaShem was created. Quite on the opposite extreme, we have seen in recent news that in Bet Shemesh, there were people who held a protest over the way the chareidi population is treated and represented within Israel. One individual had the idea of dressing their children in striped pyjamas; of wearing yellow Jude stars. One persons idea, an anomaly amongst the masses, caused exactly what our Mishna warns us of, a Chillul HaShem. Our Mishna teaches us that we have massive power in the words we say and the actions that we do. We need to make sure that we utilise the opportunities that we come across for the good, and never, Chas VShalom, for the bad.
*Please daven for the refuah sheleimah of Shaindel Bracha Bas Chaya.

snakes and ladders

( ):
Moshe came with Aaron to Pharaoh and they did so, as Hashem had commanded; Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.

This sounds pretty impressive. If someone came into my house and transformed his staff into a snake I would be suitably amazed, but to Pharaoh it was nothing new. The next describes how he calls upon his advisors to pull off exactly the same trick and the midrash goes further to suggest that Pharaoh even called his wife and the kindergarten kids to do it. What Moshe and Aaron were practically doing is similar to introducing coal to Newcastle or striking a safety match and creating fire. Been there, done that! But then something absurd happens. The staff of Aaron, which the pasuk tells us had regained its previous natural state, consumed all the other the stick-serpents in the room. This really scared Pharaoh. Nobody had ever pulled off this trick before.

too often, we end up making the wrong decisions eventually leading us to regret our previous actions. An extreme example of this happened in the USA when the Jewish immigrants arrived from Europe before, during and after the Second World War. These Jews were faced with decisions which had never even been contemplated before. Namely, do I accept a job which requires me to work on Shabbos or should I say no to that job and keep looking? Now, it is not for any of us to judge them, but a Jew knows that keeping Shabbos is undeniably crucial! It is extremely important for one to make money to keep their family, but if it comes at the expense of observance then all factors should be taken into consideration. The state of American Jewry at that time can prove to us why it is so important for us to follow our biblical teachings. At the end of the day, the purpose of this world, according to the Ramchal in , is to cash in points for . And we know that the Almighty is looking out for us, we are His children! For sure he wants us to succeed.

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From this instance in the we see the immense amount of and a Jew is required to have Here we have an extreme case of ( selfin the Hashem. Moshe and Aaron made themselves look sacrifice). These two highly optimistic brothers enter the like fools before all of the Egyptian statesmen, but in the palace of the King and request of him to let their nation end, they prevailed. Those times when we are faced go free, as Hashem had commanded them to do. Follow- with different challenges, one should try their best to ing this, they perform a ( wonder), as desired by listen to what the Almighty is telling them. It is no coinPharaoh to prove that they really were sent by G-d. But cidence that Hashem gave us the , translated if G-d can do anything, why would he send them to do as instructions for living. Everything we will ever need to know is in there; we just need to study it appropriately the trick even Pharaohs kindergarten children could perform? We sae directly afterwards that He was able do and diligently enough to extract the correct in which something so much more wondrous and incredible which to live our lives. By heeding the words of the Almighty we are throwing our staffs to the ground later to be even Pharaoh had never seen. surprised by an incredible taking us one step higher up the ladder, culminating at the top of the climb There are times in life where we find ourselves in a situation that is very difficult to find a way out of and all in very soon !

Story

Dvar Torah

A Glance and a sigh

The Baal Shem Tov once told over the following story to his Taalmidim: "There once lived two neighbors, a Torah scholar and an impoverished labourer. The scholar would wake before Shacharis, rush to the Beis Hamedrash and study for several hours. He would then daven at length and with great devotion, hurry home for a quick bite of breakfast, and return to the Beis Hamedrash for more learning. After a quick lunch he would go to the market and engage in some dealing - just enough to earn him his basic needs -then back to the Beis Hamedrash. After Maariv and the dinner, he would again sit over his Seforim till late into the night. His neighbour would also wake early, but his situation did not allow for much Torah study: no matter how hard he struggled to earn a living, he barely succeeded in putting bread on the table. He would pray quickly with the first minyan at daybreak, and then his labour would consume his entire day and the greater part of his night. On Shabbos, when he finally had the opportunity to pickup a Sefer, he would soon drop off from exhaustion. When the two neighbours would pass each other in the streets, the scholar would throw the labourer a look of contempt and hurry on with his holy pursuits. The poor labourer would sigh and think to himself: How unfortunate is my lot, and how fortunate is his. We're both hurrying -- but he's rushing to the Beis Hamedrash, while I'm off to my mundane burdens.

Free Will?
Pharaohs heart remained hardened
It says in this weeks Parsha that Hashem hardened Pharaohs heart in order that he chould stop Bnei Yisrael leaving Egypt. However, many commentaries ask, surely this is a breach of his free will? This would seem to be contradictory to a fundamental Jewish principal of self determination to do the actions one pleases. And furthermore, since he was not acting under his own autonomy, how could Hashem possibly punish Pharaoh for his decisions? over by one of the leading Talmidim in the Valozin Yeshiva. He points out that Pharaohs free will wasnt actually taken from him, but rather, his ability to withstand suffering and pain was increased. I.E: Hashem had hardened his heart to the suffering of his own people. He compares it to a person whose body is weak and his resistance to pain is very low. If on the other hand, he is very strong and is more able to hold out against more pain, he can endure more. Therefore, a person who can hold out against more pain can ultimately do what he wants for longer.

After 120 years, the two men found themselves stood before the heavenly court, where every mans actions from his entire life are laid bare and judged. An advocate-angel placed the scholar's many virtues in the right cup of the balance scales: his many hours of Torah study, his thought filled davening, his frugality and modesty, and his honesty. But then came the prosecuting angel, and placed a single object on the other side of the scales -- the look of contempt that the scholar would occasionally send his neighbours way. Slowly, the left side of the scales began to dip, until it equalled, and then exceeded, the formidable load on the right. When the poor labourer came before the heavenly court, the prosecutor loaded his miserable, spiritually void life on the left scales. The advocating angel had but one weight to offer - the sorrowful, covetous sigh the labourer would emit when he encountered his learned neighbour. But when placed on the right side of the scales, the sigh counterweighted everything on the negative side, lifting and validating every moment of hardship and misery in the labourers life." The Baal Shem Tovs story leaves many clear messages. We must learn that as much as we may feel we are working harder or doing better than others in some aspects, we never know their exact situation, and no one knows the effect of every tiny action, even a tiny look of contempt, can change everything.

The Chafetz Chaim provides one answer This is what Hashem did to Pharaoh, he by explaining that there are two types of didnt actually take away his free will, but rather allowed Pharaoh to retain it for repentance: longer, because he was unaffected by the Firstly, there is the Repentance that Ha- suffering of his people he could continue shem does for us. Siyata Dishmaya. Ha- to act as he wished and keep Bnei Yisrael shem brings us up without us doing much enslaved. Moreover, the Dubner Maggid of the work (i.e. he inspires us or makes it says that this "hardening" was only to the very easy for us to repent). Alternatively, extent that he could resist the power of there is the Repentance that we do our- the plagues, which would have taken selves and achieve through hard work and away his free will and forced him to free tough decisions. When Hashem hardened the slaves. Therefore, since there was a Pharaohs heart, He removed the first op- balance of forces, he still had his free will. tion from Pharaoh, but he did not deny Hence, Pharaoh had complete free will him the free choice to repent if he sin- when he chose to stop the Bnei Yisrael cerely desired to do so. from leaving and could therefore face the Another answer to this dilemma was given consequences.

Gematria of the Week:

Throughout these current parshios, Moshe and Aharon are constantly using the - the stick; Hashem tells Moshe that the he should use the stick to perform the signs to the Bnei Yisroel: - ' in order that they will believe that Hashem the G-D of their fathers appeared to you. The stick is also used to punish the Egyptians. How would the stick prove to the Bnei Yisroel that it was specifically Hashem, the G-D of their fathers who appeared to Moshe? The gematria of is equal to the gematria of " - I will judge them. This was the prophecy that Hashem spoke to Avraham the forefather of the Bnei Yisroel to tell them that He would judge the nation who enslaved them with what? The .

Riddle of the Week:

What is the shortest word in the Torah? (Answer in next weeks edition)

Answer to Last Weeks Riddle:

Who was the first translator mentioned in the Torah? Manashetranslated Yosefs conversation with his brothers.