48 Steps To Torah

The 21st of the 48 ways is erech apayim, which literally means long nostrils. This kinyan teaches us the importance of exercising control over our anger so that we dont allow ourselves to commit foolish acts in our anger that we will come to regret later.

scenities. He is blind to the consequences of his actions; hence the expression, "blind rage." He has given in to frustration. A first step in controlling anger is to recognize how counterproductive it is. When you feel frustration building, and a little voice inside of you says, "Let's yell that guy off the face of the earth," ask yourself, "What benefit will there be? I'll only embarrass myself and come to regret it."

THE HASMONEAN HIGH SCHOOL WEEKLY SEDRA SHEET

9th February 2013

Imagine you've just bought a brand-new sports car, and are taking it out for your first drive. As you approach a traffic light, it turns yellow, so you slow down carefully and stop. Suddenly someone bumps you from behind. As if this was not angering enough, the same If we could see a videotape of ourselves getting angry, driver backs up and bumps you again. Now, you're the humiliation might well cure us of anger for the rest furious! Your beautiful, shiny sports car that cost a of our lives! year's salary! Is it reasonable to assume that your life will always be You jump out in a rage, ready to let the guy really have frustration-free and a smooth ride? No way. it... when all of a sudden, a 6-foot-10 linebacker steps out of the car. In the Book of Mishlei, King Shlomo said: "The righteous person falls seven times and gets up. The evil "Gee, sir," you begin in a much softer tone than origiperson falls just once." We see that the righteous pernally intended. "It seems that you've hit my car. Are son is not defined as someone who never makes a you okay? Do you have insurance?" mistake. Rather, the person who achieves greatness is How did you shut off your anger so quickly? one who keeps trying again and again. He sees frustration as only a passing nuisance, and therefore never On an intellectual level, we understand that anger is gives up. In fact, his falling seven times may be precisecounterproductive. We possess the power to control ly how he became great! our emotions. No matter how infuriating a situation is, we can put the anger aside and act civilly. Especially You have to distinguish between what you "hope will when standing up against a 6-foot-10 linebacker. happen," and what "will probably happen." Life inevitably has its ups and downs its moments of relaxaErech apayim literally means "long nostrils." Do you tion and times of tension. When you learn to accept see how someone's nostrils flare up when he gets this reality, you come one step closer to being able to angry? A tool for healthy living is to conquer that frusdeal with frustration in a healthy way. tration. The next time frustration pops up, just remind yourAn angry person is acting like a wild animal. He's given self, "That's life!" up all restraint. He may slam the door and shout obDo you have a Kindle? Send us your Kindle E-mail address and we will send the Living Torah directly to your device!

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Azov taazov Imo (23:5) You shall surely help him together with him. The Torah commands us to help a fellow Jew when he is struggling with a heavy burden. However, we are told that the reason why the pasuk uses the word Imo, 'together with him' was because one is not expected to work alone, but rather together. For example, we are obliged to help a person who is struggling with their shopping, but the person seeking help mustnt take advantage of the one who is helping him, and he must also carry part of the shopping. The Chofetz Chaim takes this passuk further, and compares this to our struggle with the Yetzer Hora. It would be very difficult to overcome the Yetzer Hora without Hashems assistance. Hashem created a Yetzer Hora and promises us that he will 'help us' overcome it. Hashem is more than happy to help us overcome our Yetzer Hora, but we must show a willingness to do so. If we just Daven and ask Hashem to remove the Yetzer Hora, or even just make it easier then Hashem may not necessarily help us. We most show a TRUE commitment towards

removing the Yetzer Hora. This is done by actually working hard to ignore our inclinations to do bad, and then Hashem will do the rest. If a person does not show his commitment to overcome his Yetzer Hora then he might as well give up on Hashem helping him. At the end of the Amida we say Elokai netzor leshoni maro- My G-d, guard my tounge from evil. We have to know that this request to Hashem will only be fulfilled if we really try hard to first mend our ways, by learning the Halachos of Lashon Hora and Rechilus- only then will Hashem actually help us. The surest way of getting Hashem to help us overcome our Yetzer Hora is by actually learning the halachos of Lashon Hora. Lashon Hora can affect so many people badly, that being aware of the consequences actually helps us be a better friend or sibling, that people will trust and like more than anybody else. A few minutes a day, learning the halachos of Shmiras Haloshon, be it Lashon Hora, Rechilus etc not only helps us understand how hurtful our words can be to other people, but this is the clearest proof that we are 'sticking to our side of the deal' with Hakadosh Boruch Hu.

Yartzheit Story

Dvar Torah

This Tuesday, 2nd Adar, is the 36th Yartzheit of Rav Yisroel. Very excited, the diamond dealer immediateYisroel Alter ZTL, the Beis Yisroel of Ger. ly left for Eretz Yisroel as well. A man who survived the Holocaust came to Switzer- Once in Eretz Yisroel, he decided to go to the Beis land to rebuild his shattered life. In order to earn Yisroel, who lived in Yerushalayim, to ask for his himself a living, he opened up a diamond business. support. One day, a man, who was not known as the most honest of people, walked into the diamond shop, to attempt to strike a deal. Although the diamond dealer had done business with him before, he still did not trust him. Ultimately, they finished talking, and the man left the store. That was when the diamond dealer noticed that a diamond was missing. Instantly, he knew what had happened. The man who had just come into his shop was of ill repute, and the fact that the diamond had gone missing just after he left the shop led the diamond dealer to the correct conclusion that the diamond had just been stolen. The dealer was, understandably, extremely upset. That diamond had been worth a large sum of money, and the fact that it had just been stolen left him considerably worse off. He spent many years trying to hunt down the thief, but he could find no trace of him. Eventually, he consigned himself to his loss. However, one day he finally heard news of the thief- he was in Eretz The Beis Yisroel was known for the brevity of his answers. In this case, he was no different. Where are you staying? he asked sharply. The dealer gave him the address of his hotel. To his great surprise, the meeting was then over. That was it. The next day, the dealer received an envelope through his hotel room door. He opened it up, and, to his great amazement, there was the diamond, lying in the envelope. He returned to the Beis Yisroel, in a state of great excitement. Rebbe, how did you do this? I have been chasing this man up for years, and have never succeeded in getting the diamonds back. Yet, you succeeded in recovering it in a single day! Replied the Beis Yisroel: I found out where this man was staying, and summoned him to me. As soon as he came in, I turned to him, and said A Jew doesnt steal! That was all that he needed. He immediately went and returned the diamond to you.

There are four shomrim (guards) we learn about in Parshat Mishpatim. The first is a Shomer Chinom, someone who guards something for free. The second, a Shomer Sochor, is a paid guard, the third is a Shoel (borrower), and the fourth is a Socher (renter). A Shomer Chinom is never liable if something happens to the item, unless he was negligent. A Shoel, in contrast, is always chayav, except in two cases: Meisoh Machmas Malacha, if it breaks/ is lost while in use in an ordinary way, and Shaela B'Baalim, when the lender is working for the borrower. The Parsha tells us a law: if the Shomer Chinom claims that the item was stolen through a break-in and he swears regarding this in beis din, then two witnesses prove that he is lying, he then pays Kefel (double). However, if he claims it was forcibly taken from him and he swears in beis din, then two witnesses prove that he is lying, he just pays for the items value and not double. This stringency, that Kefel only applies to the Shomer Chinom and not the borrower,is because the borrower will always pay if the item is stolen or lost however it may happen. Rashi in Bava Kama 4b, and the Gemara in Bava Kama 57b establish this point that there can never be a case when a Shoel will pay Kefel. Rabbi Osher Arielli was asked the following question: there is a case where a Shoel can pay Kefel. The Trumas Hadeshen discusses the following story. A village was attacked by some armed bandits, and one of the villagers went to his neighbour to borrow his sword. This villager failed to fight off the bandits, and the whole village, including the sword, was looted. The villager who borrowed the sword should, according to the laws above, pay the person who owned the sword. Nevertheless the

Trumas Hadeshen has a different insight to this case, that the villager doesn't have to pay. Why? He says that if a sword is looted in combat, this is considered Meisoh Machmas Malacha- one of the cases that a Shoel does not have to pay. The question is, what if this case happens, but the villager is proved to be lying by witnesses, and he actually has the sword in his house. He should therefore pay double because he claimed it was stolen from him. This contradicts what Rashi and the Gemara in Bava Kama say. Rabbi Osher Arielli answers that actually Tosefos asks a similar question in Bava Kama Daf 57b. Tosefos finds another case where a Shoel can pay Kefel. The case is where the Shoel claims that the item he borrowed was stolen, but he is the lenders boss and, as we said earlier, the other case where a Shoel is exempt from paying is when the lender is his worker. The Shoel swears in Beis Din; then two witnesses prove that he is lying. Says Tosefos that in such a case he would pay Kefel. Then Tosefos says that in actuality, the borrower doesn't pay Kefel. Tosefos does not give a reason for his answer. Rabbi Eliezer from Metz explains Tosefos with a Lomdus that the reason why the borrower doesnt pay Kefel is because when he trys to get out of paying he does so by using the fact that he is the lenders boss. So when he is found to be false he only pays once and not Kefel because he uses the fact that he is the lenders boss to not pay and not that it was stolen. So too in the case of the Trumas Hadeshen the reason why the villager would be exempt is because of Meisoh Machmas Malacha, so therefore if he lied about the fact that it was stolen in combat he doesn't pay Kefel, and only pays the items value once.

Gematria:
You know the life of a stranger. (23:9) The Bnei Yisrael were expected to understand the feelings of a stranger because they had lived the lives of strangers during the years of exile. How long was the exile in its entirety? While the years spent in slavery only numbered 210, the Torah gives the total duration of the exile: The habitation of the Bnei Yisrael during which they dwelled in Mitzrayim was four hundred and thirty years (Shemos 12:40). The Bnei Yisrael are commanded to have compassion on strangers because they knew ,the life, of the stranger. The numerical value of is 430.

Riddle: In the Shabbos prayers we say that Hashem called Shabbos "Chemdas Yamim" - "Most coveted of days." Where in the Torah is Shabbos called "Chemdas Yamim"? Last weeks riddle:
How is water from the sea like atonement like a cow? Answer: 'Water' and 'from the sea' are both spelt in Hebrew. 'Atonement' and 'like a cow' are both spelt in Hebrew. Hence, both sets of words are 'like' each other in that they are spelt the same, but pronounced differently, with different meanings.