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Dear  Naaleh  Friend,

This week we continue our Elul themed learning. We have featured the class   Atonement of the Individual vs. Atonement of the Community by Rabbi Hershel Reichman from the Naaleh.com series Repent! A Survey of Al Ha Teshuva. In this Torah shiur Rabbi Reichman begins his course on Al Hateshuva with an explanation of Rabbi Soloveitchik's essay on the Atonement of Yom Kippur today and in the times of the Beit Hamikdash, and the differences between communal and individual kaparah.   

 Click on the image below to view the class now:
 
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We have a new Torat Imecha Newsletter for Parshat Ki Tetzei and it is available on our Newsletter page.  Click here for the printer friendly version, to share at your Shabbat table. Be sure to visit the homepage as well, for many more inspiring Torah classes!
 
Shabbat Shalom!

-Ashley Klapper and the Naaleh Crew
 
Teshuva Part III
Based on Naaleh.com shiur by Rebbetzin Leah Kohn

Chapter 30 in Parshat Nitzavim is usually read before Rosh Hashana and discusses the concept of teshuva. The chapter is called Perek Hateshuva and Pereh Hageulah. On the one hand the Torah says, "V'shavta ad Hashem Elokecha." This is the commandment to do teshuva, to return to Hashem. On the other hand, the Torah tells us, "V'shav Hashem Elokecha et shevutcha. Hashem will return us to the land." So this chapter discusses two concepts, repentance and redemption. In reality they are really one and the same.

Chazal tell us, "Kol h'omer davar b'shem omro mevi geulah l'olam. Whoever quotes something in the name of the one who said it brings redemption to the world." We find proof of this in the story of Megilat Esther. Esther told Achashveirosh in the name of Mordechai about the plot of Bigtan and Teresh. This later set into motion Haman's downfall, Mordechai's rise to glory, and the salvation of the Jewish people. Still we can ask, if it happened once does that make it a rule? In addition, how many times have we quoted things in the name of people and the redemption has still not come. What did Chazal really mean?

The Maharal explains that the root of the word geulah is g'aal - to redeem. We find this concept discussed in the Torah in relation to redeeming land in Eretz Yisrael. Hashem divided the land among the tribes according to lots. Whatever a person possesses was destined for him in order to fulfill his mission in this world. Hashem wanted each one of us to get exactly what we got. Therefore a Jew is discouraged from selling his land to others. However, if he comes upon hard times and is forced to do so, he can. But he is obligated to buy it back when he gets back on firmer financial footing. But if he can't buy it back, his closest relative can redeem the land for him, and has a mitzvah to do so. The Torah calls this geulah.

In Megilat Rut, we find that the person who would marry Rut was called the goel and would have the obligation to buy back the land of Avimelech and return it to the family. So we see that the concept of redeeming is returning something to its original owner. Similarly, if someone links a quote to its origin he brings geulah to the world. If he neglects to do so and separates the original idea from its owner he creates a form of exile.

Throughout history, Hashem punished sin with exile. Adam was exiled from Gan Eden. Kayin was sentenced to wander from place to place. The generation of the Flood were completely removed from this world. Klal Yisrael went down to exile in Egypt. Later on we were again dispersed and we are still in galut today. The soul's original resting place was under the throne of Hashem in close proximity to His presence. The soul desires and aims to return to its source. When it comes down to this world, its goal is to return to Hashem. Each time a person commits a sin he creates darkness and make it harder for his soul to come back. Teshuva is returning to our source, to the place where we had total clarity, to the state of knowing that Hashem is our father and we are His children.

Let us say a person did exactly what he was supposed to all year and then Rosh Hashana comes. Does he still need teshuva? In truth, our relationship with Hashem is limitless. A person can always deepen his connection with Hashem and make it more meaningful. The more one invests in the relationship the more spiritual pleasure the soul attains and the closer it feels to Hashem. It follows that every Jew has an obligation to do teshuva. In Lecha Dodi we say, "Karva el nafshi gealah. The fact that You bring me close to you Hashem, redeems me." When the soul returns to its origin, to the place where it belongs, it experiences true redemption.


Faulty Sales & Counterfeit Money 
Based on Naaleh.com shiur by Dayan Shlomo Cohen
Generally, faulty sales involve defective items. But what if money that was exchanged in a sale turned out to be counterfeit? Who is responsible? A problem arises when the buyer didn't know that he handed over forged money. He may claim, "I thought it was good money, I'm no expert in dollars." How does Jewish law address toan v'nitan - a claim and a counterclaim?

The Shulchan Aruch explains that if it was known that there was a clear debt, the halacha is that the debtor has to pay. But if the debtor might owe the claimant but it isn't certain, the debtor isn't expected to pay.

There was a case where someone hired a builder and payed him $10,000 in a cash. The next day the builder found out that $1,000 of this sum was counterfeit and he demanded repayment. The client refused to reimburse him claiming, "Who says the bills I gave you were forged? As far as I know they were good." So in this case there was a clear debt between the builder and the client. The client paid, but the builder claims he is still owed $1,000. The client is unsure if the bills were good. In this case it seems he must pay again. On the other hand, one could claim, certainly there was a clear debt but from the moment the client paid there was an understanding that the debt was paid. If the builder subsequently comes back, that's a new claim. Therefore the halacha would seem that he doesn't have to pay. The question remains, is it a continuation of an old debt or a new claim?

The Taz writes that a similar question came before his beit din. Some judges claimed that it was part of the old debt while others said it was a new claim. The Piskei Teshuva rules that when there was a clear debt between two people it's only considered paid if the debtor pays with legitimate money. In this case, since the client was unsure if the bills were legitimate, he would have to pay again. But where there was never a debt, for example if someone bought something from a shop and then the next day the seller said the bills he was given were forged, the buyer would not have to pay again.

Choseness 
Based on Naaleh.com shiur by Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller

At the Yam Suf, the Satan said to Hashem, "Halalu ovdei avodah zorah v'halalu ovdei avodah zarah. Both the Jews and the Egyptians serve idols." Why are you saving the Jews? Hashem justified His nation. "They lived through terrible circumstances. Their minds were confused." But what about the times they served idols in peaceful circumstances? What was their motivation?
 
Adam was created with absolute awareness of Hashem. In early times people knew this. They knew that nothing existed outside His will and wisdom. As time progressed, this knowledge diminished. Some things in this world have practical purpose and little spiritual value while other things are meant to inspire us. They serve much like a ladder bringing us closer to Hashem.
 
All of creation is a means of coming closer to Him. Jews naturally understand this. It is what makes us spiritually different from the other nations. They see things in a way that is disparate. They worship the forces of nature and want to use them for their own benefit. In the end they wind up worshiping themselves.
 
When King Shlomo built the Beit Hamikdash, he involved the nations in order to join all the disparate forces of the world in service of Hashem. When the Jews worshiped idols, their inner motivation was to have a less intimate relationship with Hashem. He is one. A person cannot hide from Him. But if one thinks there's a ladder, a medium between Him and the world, there's more distance and a person can follow his desires with less guilt. It wasn't the belief in idols that got the Jews, but the kind of life they wanted to lead.
 
Yet emunah in Hashem is really there deep within each of us. There remains in our hearts that belief in Hashem's unity, which stems from our forefathers. The Gemara compares the nations of the world to the sun and the Jews to the moon. The sun gives forth energy unceasingly in the same way the nations will attribute power to themselves. The sun signifies the mind, which also operates continuously. In contrast, the moon waxes and wanes. It is compared to the heart and the emotions, which are in constant flux. The heart is the epicenter of the body and is more powerful than the mind.
 
The moon has no light of its own. So too our true goal is not self-actualization but actualizing the will of Hashem. The sun always gives light to the moon, but we see the moon differently each night, depending on its cycle. So too Hashem is always relating to us, but we only see His light when we recognize that we are nothing compared to Him. Just as the moon waxes and wanes, there are times when we're in a state of greater enlightenment, of mochin d'gadlut, and times of katnut when we're so constrained that we cannot see much. There are times of struggle when a person feels distant from Hashem, and there are times of elation when we feel close to Him. The moon is always renewing itself. We also have the ability to start anew. In the month of Elul, when the King is in the field, we can return and grow and come closer to Hashem.
  
Featured Classes
Path to Teshuva, Part I Rabbi Hanoch Teller
Themes of Rosh HaShana
Rabbi Michael Taubes 
The Three Mitzvot Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller
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