Parshat Va'etchanan

From when Hashem appeared in the burning bush of fire,
To enter the land of Israel was Moshe's greatest desire,
But Moshe did not get his way,
In the desert he did pass away.

Hashem said that for Moshe to hit the rock was a sin,
Therefore into the land, he would not be let in,
For a sin so small,
It doesn't seem fair at all!

When the Jews sinned with the golden calf,
Moshe saved the Jews by praying on their behalf,
Why didn't Hashem answer Moshe's prayers now, and wipe his tears,
For his faithfulness and dedication for forty years?

After Moshe liberated us from slavery,
Forever we became spiritually free,
Even when our enemies were in control,
They had no power over our soul.

The Torah that Moshe taught, we still learn today,
The Tabernacle's vessels weren't destroyed, only hidden away,
Everything that Moshe accomplished was eternal and everlasting,
Therefore, Hashem couldn't fulfill what Moshe was asking.

If Moshe were to enter, the Jews could never leave,
To elevate the entire world we could never achieve,
If Moshe would have been given permission,
There would be no continuation to fulfilling our mission.

Going into Israel was only the beginning of our journey,
Hashem didn't want it to be the end of our history,
Going into exile would be no fun,
But great challenges we would overcome!

Moshe's 515 prayers were not in vain,
Permission to see the land, he did obtain,
Moshe's ability to see,
Was given to us for all eternity.

Even when faced with tragedy,
The future redemption is a reality,
Our hope and our faith is as strong as can be,
Because our souls, have the power to see!

Souvenir: binoculars

Parshat Devarim

Devarim, is the name of the Torah portion,
Where Moshe's farewell address does begin,
For the last five weeks before Moshe passed away,
He taught the Jews Torah all day.

Why was this time different than all the rest,
To study Torah for forty years they did their best,
The Torah says, that Moshe gave a באר״ CLARIFICATION,״
The commentator, Rashi, has an interesting interpretation.

Into seventy languages, Moshe did translate,
The entire Torah for five weeks straight,
Rashi usually gives us the simple explanation,
From where does Rashi get this information?

Rashi learns this from a future conversation,
In Parshat Ki Tavo, with the Jewish nation,
The Jews would enter the land shortly,
Moshe asked that they fulfill his legacy.

On twelve large rocks, Moshe specified,
In 70 languages, the Torah should be inscribed,
In a manner that would be "WELL CLARIFIED,"
It would take a miracle, as hard as they tried.

The words "WELL CLARIFIED," are mentioned there,
The word "CLARIFICATION" is mentioned here,
We learn from one verse how to explain another,
When we study Torah, there is so much to discover.

How could the Jewish people benefit or grow,
From hearing the Torah in languages that they did not know?
Moshe knew that entering Israel, wouldn't be the end of our journey,
We would be exiled and dispersed in every country.

Moshe knew that it was necessary,
To translate the Torah into every language there could be,
So that no Jew could ever say that the Torah isn't relevant to me,
Moshe made the Torah accessible in every language for you and me!

*Bonus*

In the word "HEITEV/ היטב," which means "WELL (clarified)" we see,
A hint to the number seventy,
Every letter in the Alef Bet,
A different number it does represent.

The letter א׳ equals one, ב׳ is two, ג׳ is three,
Can you count with me?
The letter ה׳ is five, ט׳ is nine and י׳ is ten,
Can you do it again?

From the word היטב, you will get a total of seventy for sure,
If you add the value of each letter with the letters that come before,
The letter ה׳ equals five, ה׳ plus י׳ equals fifteen,
Do you see what I mean?

The letters ה׳ plus י׳ plus ט׳ equals twenty four,
The letters ה׳ plus י׳ plus ט׳ plus ב׳ equals two more.
Add five, fifteen, twenty four, and twenty six, and you will see,
That the sum will be a total of seventy!

Souvenir:

Parshat Masei

In Parshat Masei it does say,
That if a person killed by mistake he can run away,
To a city of refuge where he wouldn't have to worry,
From relatives who would want to take revenge in a hurry.

Every community had the responsibility,
To make sure the signs were marked clearly,
So that a person who was running away,
Would have an easy time finding the way.

There are 613 Mitzvot in all,
For winter, spring, summer or fall,
Some Mitzvot only apply when the Beit Hamikdash did stand,
Other Mitzvot only apply in the holy land.

Some Mitzvot, only apply to men,
Other Mitzvot were given to women,
But there are 6 Mitzvot that are unique,
They apply to every Jew, in every place, every day of the week.

When we sin by mistake, we also need to run,
To a city of refuge, until we become,
Connected to Hashem once more,
The gates of Teshuvah are always open for sure.

Six cities the Torah does mention,
Six spiritual cities, strengthens our connection,
To be close to Hashem is our intention,
The cities of refuge are a place for introspection.

The 6 spiritual cities are,
6 constant Mitzvot, that accompany us wether we are near or far,
To believe in Hashem and fear him too,
To love Hashem, because He loves me and you!

So if you ever fall don't despair,
Hashem is truly everywhere,
Although it sometimes seems that Hashem does hide,
He is really always at your side.

When you keep this in mind,
You will find,
A sense of security,
You will feel safe and happy!

There is one more thing that we are told,
Make sure that there is a clear sign at the fork of every road,
The best sign that there could be,
Is giving people the opportunity, for Torah study!

Souvenir: signpost

Parshat Mattos

The tribes of Reuven and Gad came with a request,
They didn't want to settle in Israel like all the rest,
Moshe couldn't believe what he did hear,
A repeat of the story of the spies he did fear.

The spies were sent to Israel 40 years before,
The land of Israel they were meant to explore,
With a negative report they did return,
To continue living a spiritual life they did yearn.

Yes, the Manna, clouds and well were great,
But their mission was the physical world to elevate,
For their mistake they had to pay,
For 40 years in the desert the Jews had to stay.

The tribes of Reuven and Gad made it clear,
That it wasn't the physical world that they did fear.
Reuven and Gad were different than the spies,
The importance of making a home for Hashem, they did realize.

They volunteered to fight at the forefront of the battle,
After the war was won they would return to their families and cattle,
Why would they give up their inheritance so grand,
For some good pastureland?

Before they would go to battle,
They said they would build pens for their cattle,
Then they would build for their children cities,
Was there something wrong with their priorities?

Chassidic philosophy does illuminate,
They did have their priorities straight,
There are three reasons that we can find,
For why they wanted to stay behind.

Firstly, to create a home for Hashem in the holy land would be great,
To build a home outside of Israel, was a challenge they wanted to take,
They spoke about the animals first because they were sure,
That the things that seem lower have a higher nature.

To what we see with our eyes there is more,
The lower something seems the higher is its spiritual core,
Just like bricks that make up a wall,
The higher the bricks are the farther they can fall.

Secondly, if they would be shepherds, they knew,
While watching the sheep and cattle they could learn Torah too,
Hashem's home is incomplete without light,
Which is accomplished through Torah study day and night.

The tribes of Reuven and Gad had a third reason,
For their desire to settle on the East of the Jordan,
In the land where Moshe would pass away,
Is where Reuven and Gad wanted to stay.

The land of milk and honey they were ready to sacrifice,
To stay with their leader they didn't think twice,
Because they knew that even after Moshe would pass away,
He would be with them even more in a spiritual way!

Souvenir: lego brick keychain

Parshat Pinchas

To settle the land of Israel the Jews were excited,
In Parshat Pinchas, the land was divided,
There were a lot of factors to take into consideration,
The terrain, location and each tribe's occupation.

There were three ways to show,
For each tribe to know,
Which plot of land was destined for them,
It was all determined by Hashem.

First, the leaders made a calculation,
Taking into account each tribes population,
Then the high priest used inspiration that was divine,
To interpret the letters that on the breastplate did shine.

The third way was to draw a lottery,
The names and places matched perfectly,
Why were the Jews shown in three different ways,
Where to settle in those days?

There is a lesson here for you and me,
About how to serve Hashem properly,
The land that was divided into 12 different parts,
Represents 12 different ways to serve Hashem with our hearts.

Although we each have a unique personality,
There are three things that apply to us all equally,
Calculation, Inspiration, and a lottery hold the key,
To connect with Hashem for all eternity.

The first step is to calculate logically,
That following the Torah is most beneficial for our family,
The second step is when we can feel holiness and sanctity,
When we are inspired and can appreciate spirituality.

The third step is when we follow the Torah even if it doesn't make sense,
A part of Hashem is our very essence,
Our connection to Hashem is like a lottery,
Which has no explanation but is meant to be!

Just like the Jews transformed the Cananite land into the promised land,
Our mission is to transform this world into a home for Hashem so grand,
We will each do our part,
That was given to us from the start.

Souvenir: Israel bracelet