Tonight, we are going to begin a series on a subject that is very intriguing to most people, a subject that really has much more relevance than most people wish to acknowledge. It’s the subject called gilgul neshamos. In English, the word is reincarnation.
n parshas Chukas, a famous episode took place where Klal Yisrael began to complain to Hashem and complain to Moshe. They were saying all kinds of nasty things. “Why did you take us out of Mitzrayim? What kind of food are you giving us?” And Hashem got upset and sent them a “present.” It wasn’t the kind of present that we’re looking forward to.
“These are the journeys of the Israelites…” Rashi cites Chazal, who ask why the Torah lists all their travels, and he answers that it was in order to make Klal Yisroel aware of the chessed of Hashem that they stopped and rested from one station to the next.
What does, קַח לְךָ, take for yourself, mean? Rashi explains, קָחֶנּוּ בִּדְבָרִים , take him with words. Draw him in convince him and say to him, אַשְׁרֶךָ שֶׁזָּכִיתָ לְהַנְהִיג בָּנָיו שֶׁל מָקוֹם, fortunate are you that you are zocheh to be manhig the children of Hashem.
The foundation of being an ehrliche Yid and the foundation of somebody being a talmid of Avraham Avinu is based on having good middos (Avos 5:19). And if you lack those good middos, then you’re one of the talmidim of Bilaam Harasha. He’s your rosh yeshivah, he’s your rebbi, and that is what you are drawn to.
In the past, we have spoken about a massive problem, a challenge the people have with kinah, jealousy, and with sinah, hatred. Today, we would like to discuss the ways and means to deal with these issues. If you think about it, it is really a pachad how much kinah and sinah good individuals have and suffer from – even righteous people, chashuve people. I once heard of a story about two big tzadikim who had a sichsuch (argument) between them, and each one had tainos on the other. One of them was a very…
In this week’s parshah, we encounter a game-changing episode in the history of Klal Yisrael. The meraglim, the spies, came back and gave a bad report about Eretz Yisrael. The consequences were terrible. These great tzaddikim ended up forfeiting their lives. It caused tremendous issues for Klal Yisrael. The Torah tells us about a group of Yidden who felt very remorseful after the whole episode came to an end.
In this week’s parsha, we are told about an episode with a group of people who expressed their regret and pain over the fact that their impurity prevented them from bringing the korban pesach. Their sheila was that if there was some hope for them not be left out from Klal Yisroel (Bamidbar 9:6-14). The emes is that this is a really strange episode because they understood that they were tamei, and someone’s who’s tamei cannot bring a Korban Pesach, so what were they asking? Did they think that Moshe Rabbeinui could provide them with a “new” Torah? Why did they even bother to come?
We’re coming down from the mountain. Shavuos is over. You know, there is one maalah of Yom Tov over Shabbos. The Ramban says that the neshamah yeseirah of Shabbos leaves by Motzei Shabbos. By Yom Tov, it doesn’t leave. But lema’aseh, after matan Torah, you know what Hashem said? שׁוּבוּ לָכֶם לְאָהֳלֵיכֶם, “Go back to your tents” (Devarim 5:27). Go home. Do you know what Hashem wanted us to do? To take the Torah we just learned, take the Torah we were just mekabel, and bring it home.
There was a great tzaddik and talmid chacham, R’ Yosef Caro (1488-1575). He was mechaber the Shulchan Aruch and many other works. He was zocheh to tremendous giluyim min hashamayim over a 35-year period. He had a malach appear to him constantly who related to him a lot of sodos (secrets). R’ Chaim Volozhin writes in his introduction to the Biur HaGra on Safra Ditzniusa, that it is not a pele that chachmei Yisrael are zocheh to such giluyim, that they open up the shaarei shamayim for them.
