BS"D Parshas Bamidbar - Shavuos 5781

By Rabbi Dovid Caro

Candle Motzaei Rabbeinu The Midrash Rabba in this week's Parsha writes that the Torah was given
lighting Shabbos Tam
with three things, with fire, water and in the dessert.
Atlanta, GA 8:13pm 9:14pm 9:44pm There are many explanations on the uniqueness of these three things.
Boca Racon, FL. 7:41pm 8:38pm 9:13pm The Kesav Sofer explains that these three things represent three important
factors regarding Torah Study.
Brooklyn, NY 7:47pm 8:54pm 9:19pm
Water naturally always flows to the lowest spot. The same is with those that
Chicago, IL 7:43pm 8:53pm 9:17pm learn Torah. Torah naturally finds its home in the hearts of those that are
Lakewood, NJ 7:46pm 8:53pm 9:18pm humble.
Fire has two opposite factors. On one hand it lights up the darkness and
Leeds, UK 8:42pm 10:13pm 10:15pm
warms cold areas, on the other hand if not kept under control fire burns. The
Liverpool, UK 8:46pm 10:16pm 10:19pm same is with Torah if learnt properly it lightens. However, Torah Scholars
London, UK 8:29pm 9:51pm 9:59pm have a greater responsibility and if they misbehave or misuse their Torah
studies the Torah may burn them.
Los Angeles, CA 7:29pm 8:30pm 9:00pm
Thirdly, the Torah was given in the dessert. In the dessert there is shortage
Manchester, UK 8:46pm 10:13pm 10:16pm of food, drink and extras. So someone who wants to succeed in Torah must be
willing to sacrifice extras and be willing to manage with the minimum.
Melbourne, AU 5:02pm 6:01pm 6:32pm

Miami, FL 7:41pm 8:37pm 9:12pm

Rabbi Meir Schapiro zt"l the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin
Montreal, QC 7:59pm 9:12pm 9:31pm gives the following explanation.
New York, NY 7:47pm 8:54pm 9:19pm We find that Jews in all generations were willing to sacrifice their lives
whether being killed, burnt, drowned or tortured whenever they were put to
Panama City, PA 6:12pm 7:04pm 7:43pm
test and forced to go against the Torah or to abandon their faith in Hashem.
Seattle, WA 8:21pm 9:37pm 9:53pm From where did the Jews receive this amazing strength to withstand such
suffering?
Sydney, AU 4:45pm 5:42pm 6:15pm
The answer is, that there were three major incidents in Jewish history of
Toronto, ON 8:17pm 9:27pm 9:49pm
which the Jews had Mesirus Nefesh for Emunah in Hashem and His Torah.
Yerushalaim, EY 6:53pm 8:10pm 8:47pm The first was when Avraham Avinu was thrown into the furnace by Nimrod
for not willing to abandon his faith and believe in idol worship.
For questions, comments, or to sponsor, The second time when the whole Klal Yisroel marched into the sea by Kriyas
dedicate or subscribe please email to: Yam Suf, following the command of Hashem, although it looked like a suicidal
tiferetzvi13@gmail.com move.
 The third was when the Jews all entered the desert, a
place of danger, where there is plenty of snakes and
dangerous animals. Furthermore, went into the desert
2 with nearly no food and took nearly nothing with them.
These three incidents implanted the power of Mesirus
Nefesh into all of Klal Yisroel that they will forever be
able to be Moser Nefesh for Torah and Mitzvos.
Jews in all generations were forced to give up their
Emunah and Torah studies. Even today Torah students
and their studies are under threat. But the Mesirus
Nefesh from then, still continues and exists today and
however hard and difficult it may be. They will not be
deterred.
The Rebbe Reb Shmelke from Nikilsbourgh when he
was tired he would go to sleep sitting on his chair
holding a burning candle between his fingers in order
that he shouldn't over sleep and wake up as the fire
reached his fingers.
Once when Rebbe Elimelech from Lizhensk came to
visit him, he convinced him to rest a bit on a bed. When
Reb Shmelke fell asleep, Reb Elimelech closed the
window, put a blanket over him, and Reb Shmelke slept
till the morning. When he woke up fresh and with a clear
mind he said "from now I have learnt that one can serve
Hashem with sleep too!"
This story can be understood a lot better with the
following story.
The Great Rabbi Aharon from Karlin was sitting at the
table, surrounded by many of his followers. He took an
apple, made a Beracha and started eating. One of his
Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter zt"l
Grand Rabbi of Gur
Author: Imrei Emmes
7 Sivan 5708 (1948)
One day in the years between the first and second world
war, a Chassid of the Imrei Emmes visited his Rebbe, to
consult about his financial worries. He said, "For years,
I've been buying merchandise at a good price from a
Jewish company in Berlin, which I then sold for a nice
followers started thing to himself, the Rebbe is no different to
him. Even though he is so great, he eats, drinks, sleeps and is
having an apple just like him.
The holy Rebbe sensed what he was thinking, turned his
head towards him and started saying aloud.
"I am thinking to myself, what is the difference between you
and me. I eat an apple, you eat an apple. I make a Beracha and
so do you. So what is the difference between us?
There is a person, he walks on the street and he sees a
beautiful apple tree, full of fresh, big delicious sweet apples.
He is so taken aback by the amazing tree and thinks to
himself, "Ma rabbu ma'asecha Hashem" - "how great are the
doings of Hashem." But the Tzaddik hasn't calmed down, he
desperately wants to express himself and say a Beracha.
However he knows that one must not say a Beracha in vein so
he takes an apple and with great concentration he makes a
Beracha to thank Hashem for such a wonderful creation.
You also go out in the morning and see the same delicious
apples on the tree. You turn to Hashem and say "Hashem I
really want to taste and enjoy such fresh juicy apple!"
However, you don't have any money on you, so you go to work
and earn some money. At the end of the day you buy the food
for your family and ten apples. You come home, put the
apples on the table and prepare yourself to enjoy the delicious
fruit. However, as my follower you know that you may not eat
without making a Beracha, so you make a Beracha.
So the difference between us is that I eat to be able to make
a Beracha and thank Hashem and you eat make a Beracha to
be able to enjoy the apple!"
profit. But I recently received a letter from them,
stating that they won't be selling to me anymore. Now
I don't know how I will earn a living.…"
The Imrei Emmes asked, "What can I do to help?"
and the man had to admit that he didn't know what the
 the Rebbe could do.
The Imrei Emmes was quiet for a few moments, and then
3 he said, "Soon, I will be traveling with my brother-in-law,
the Rav of Bendin, to the resort in Marienbad. En route,
we will pass Berlin. Ask my brother-in-law whether he is
willing to make a stop in Berlin, to visit this company. If
my brother-in-law agrees to take this detour, I also agree.
We will speak with the heads of the company. Perhaps
that will help you."
The man thanked the Imrei Emmes, and went to the Rav
of Bendin. His response was, "If this is what the Gerer
Rebbe desires, of course I agree."
So the Imrei Emmes and his brother-in-law stopped in
Berlin, and went to the company. The proprietor didn't
recognize them, but was impressed by their scholarly and
Rabbinic appearance. The Imrei Emmes introduced
himself, "My name is Avraham Mordechai Alter. In
Poland people call me the Gerrer Rebbe. And this is my
brother-in-law, Chanoch Zvi HaKohen Levin, the Rav of
Bendin. We are also mechutanim (relatives through
marriage. The daughter of one is married to the son of the
other).
The owner jumped from excitement. "Can you repeat
what you just said?"
The Rebbe repeated, "I am the Rebbe of Gur, and this is
my brother-in-law and mechutan, the Rabbi of Bendin."
For some reason, these words made him very happy. His
partner was upstairs. He called him down. The partner
came down, and the proprietor asked the Imrei
Emmes to repeat what he said a third time.
The Imrei Emmes obliged, "I am the Rebbe of Gur," he
said, "and this is my brother-in-law and mechutan, the
Rabbi of Bendin."
The two business partners looked at each other, smiled
broadly, and began to dance energetically. The Imrei
Emmes and his brother-in-law stood there astounded,
wondering what this was all about.
Finally, one of the partners explained, "We are also
brothers-in-law. I have a daughter, he has a son, and
we thought that it would be nice if the children marry
each other. But on second thought, we were concerned
that perhaps it isn't proper for cousins to marry each
other. So we pushed away the idea to the back of our
minds. But this caused a problem, because to run our
busy business, we need to speak with each other often.
Due to our decision, an uncomfortable tension rose
between us and we hardly spoke. We weren't able to
run a business successfully this way, and contemplated
closing it.
But now you came to our store and told us that you
are brothers-in-law and also mechutanim. That means
our children can marry one another, if you did it, so can
we! Our dancing was kind of an advance engagement
celebration, because we are so happy. In addition, we
won't lose our livelihood either. We will be able to
speak normally with each other, and remain in
business. It is like a miracle!"
When the partners calmed down, the first
businessman said, "I'm sorry for carrying on. I didn't
even give you a chance to tell me why you came."
The Imrei Emmes explained that he came to help
one of his Chassidim. "He used to buy from you, but he
received a letter stating that you won't be selling to him
anymore."
The proprietor replied, "There is nothing to worry
about. I will write another letter, stating that he is
welcome to do business with us as before, and you can
bring it to him. We only sent that last letter because we
thought we were closing shop. But now that we know
that our children can marry, our business can continue.