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Dear  Naaleh Friend,

This week we feature a new Naaleh Torah class on Parshat Shelach. The class, 
Grave's Guardianship is from Mrs. Shira Smile's series  Living the Parsha 5778.  In this class (shiur) on Parshat Shelach, Mrs. Shira Smiles discusses  why it is only Calev who goes to pray at the graves of our ancestors and what is the significance of prayer, especially at the grave-sites of the righteous.  To view the class click on the image below.


This week's edition of Torah Imecha 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
For Tehillim list please click here to view our Refuah Shleima page
Based on a Naaleh.com shiur by Mrs. Shira Smiles
Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein 
When Moshe appoints the spies to reconnoiter the land of Israel, the Torah names the spies that represent each tribe. Then Moshe changes the name of Hosheah to Yehoshua. Rashi comments that adding the two letters of God's name was a prayer that Yehoshua not succumb to the persuasion of his fellow spies.  

Names are important and somewhat prophetic. Every letter is essential. How then, asks the  Tallelei Chaim , was Moshe able to change the name of Hosheah unilaterally, and where did the " yud " that he added come from? The Midrash explains that when Avraham's name was changed so was Sara i's  to Sara h . The  yud,  whose numerical equivalent is 10, was then split in two. A " heh ", equal to five, replaced the  Yud  in Sarai's original name, and the other " heh " was added to Avram's name. The yud  who felt slighted at being removed from such a righteous person's name found a new home in the name Yehoshua.  

Letters have mystical symbolic properties as well, continues the  Shvilei Pinchas . The physical world was created through the letter  heh  while the spiritual world was created through the letter  yud . Hashem wants Bnei Yisroel to integrate these two worlds and thereby elevate the physical world to the spiritual world. In fact, Hashem created the physical body of Man before his spiritual soul. The integration of the two was necessary for Bnei Yisroel to enter the Land and live there productively. However, the spies erred in this area. They were great men who were on such a high spiritual plane that they could not conceive moving from their spiritual cocoon in the desert to a physical existence in Eretz Yisrael . Therefore, they wanted to remain in the desert.  

The spies wanted to isolate the spiritual from the physical. Moshe's message was that the two needed to be integrated. The  Tallelei Chaim  notes that Knesset Yisroel needed to include both worlds, the spiritual, concealed world represented by our Matriarch Leah, and the revealed world of our Matriarch Rachel, a world we can relate to. Avraham and Sarah should have been the Patriarch and Matriarch of all twelve tribes, but they were on too high a spiritual level to effectively raise the twelve children to become the twelve tribes in a world not yet ready for such spirituality. Instead, the power of the  yud  was divided between Leah who would incorporate the concealed world into the nature of Bnei Yisroel and Rachel who would bring the power of the revealed world to the nation.  

Of the twelve spies, two remained untainted, Caleb ben Yefuneh of the Tribe of Yehudah, descendent of Leah, and Yehoshuah bin Nun of the tribe of Ephraim, descendent of Rachel. Each inherited the great aspect of his Matriarch, but Moshe now combined the two aspects in Hosheah by adding the  yud  to the  heh , thereby integrating the physical with the spiritual so that Yehoshuah would have the tools to be an effective leader. So, while the spies wanted to remain in that ethereal world, a possibility that was destroyed with the sin of the golden calf, Moshe prepared the scenario for entry into a physical existence in Eretz Yisroel . In fact, Yehoshuah's first act upon entering Eretz Yisroel was seeing to it that all males would be circumcised, since no  brit milah  was performed during the travels in the desert.

Sarah lived in a mini mishkan , writes the  Lemachar Aatir . Hers was still the  yud  dimension which she imparted to Leah and her descendants including Moshe. Hosheah before his name change is described as involved in the physical aspects of the beit medrash , of arranging for adequate seating and other such matters, a legacy of his ancestress Rachel. Now, by adding the  yud  to his name, Moshe bestowed upon him the revealed, completely spiritual aspect of Leah so that there would be an awakening of the forces from above to join the forces from below to enable him to be an effective leader.
 
The Mishchat Shemen  notes that grammatically a  yud  as a suffix connotes either "I" (verb) or "my" (noun). Our Matriarch's name Sara i  implied that she had full control over herself.  Only then could she could reach a higher level and rule over others.  After that, Hashem changed her name to Sara with the all- encompassing  heh . Moshe's lesson to Yehoshuah was to first gain complete control over himself before he could try to control the nation. The spies, writes Rabbi Kofman z"l, never got control of their egos and were unable to extricate themselves from their personal agendas. As the  Sichot Mussar , states, the fear of losing their leadership when they would enter the land, their desire for honor, blinded them into speaking negatively about the land.  

People who constantly seek honor condemn themselves, writes the  Leovdecha B'Emes . Today, the trap of trying to keep up with the Joneses, of maintaining appearances, can readily compromise one's integrity and cause one's downfall (and the downfall of others). That's the  yud  Moshe blessed Yehoshuah with, the blessing of self- awareness to withstand the pressure of society.
         
A good leader must be strong in his own identity, and willing and able to withstand public pressure. A leader of Bnei Yisroel must also love the land of Eretz Yisroel and understand that his personal gifts of leadership and the land are gifts Hashem has given us to enhance our relationship with Him through our service to Him. All this and so much more Moshe imparted to Yehoshuah by adding the yud from Sarah Imenu to his name.

The Gemara discusses a famous disagreement between Shammai and Hillel. Shamai would eat all week in honor of Shabbat. Whenever he found a delicacy he would put it away for Shabbat. But if he found something tastier he would eat the delicacy he already had and put away the new delicacy for Shabbat. He was always focused on Shabbat. Hillel conducted all of his actions for the sake of heaven. If he found a tasty piece of meat on Monday he would eat it that day with trust in Hashem that he would find a nicer piece later on in the week. The Mishna Berura notes that although we rule like Hillel it's also correct to conduct oneself like Shammai.
 
The Rambam cites the middah of Shammai. When we focus on Shabbat all week we fulfill the mitzvah of kavod (honoring) Shabbat. There's a build up of intensity in the idea of kavod Shabbos beginning on Wednesday. The Gemara teaches that if one needs to get on a boat to begin a journey on Wednesday one may only do so for a mitzvah but not for pleasure. Some Rishonim say it takes three days to get over sea sickness and getting on a boat so close to Shabbat could disturb one's oneg (deriving pleasure) Shabbat. The Baal Hameor says when one is traveling on the the high seas, the captain is desecrating Shabbat for the sake of the passengers. It follows that one may not put oneself in a situation of danger so close to Shabbat and this begins on Wednesday.  
 
The Shulchan Aruch says one should wake up early on Friday to prepare for Shabbat. The Mishna Berura notes that it's better to buy what one needs on Friday rather than on Thursday so that it's clear one is buying in honor of Shabbat. While shopping for food and other things one should say l'kavod Shabbat. This puts one in the proper frame of mind and is a way of honoring Shabbat. The Shulchan Aruch writes that even if a person has many servants, he should involve himself in preparing for Shabbat. He cites the Gemara which details how the Amaroim would personally prepare for Shabbat to honor the day.  
 
The Netziv explains that that there are two different types of hechsher mitzvah 1. A standard hechsher , a perquisite to a mitzvah, but not the mitzvah itself such as buying a lulav  2. A hechsher mitzvah that the Torah explicitly tells us to do and that rises to the level of the mitzvah itself such as preparing for Shabbat, building a sukkah , or making tzizit. This explains why the Amoraim where so vigilant to personally prepare for Shabbat as it is considered a hechser mitzvah clearly found in the Torah.  
 
The Rambam considers the mitzvah of hadlakat neirot (lighting Shabbat candles) as an obligation for both men and women. Even if one is poor and has no food he must go begging in order to be able to purchase a candle for Shabbat. The Rambam categorizes the mitzvah as both a form of kavod and oneg Shabbat. By lighting the candles in preparation for Shabbat, one performs  kavod Shabbos ; by leaving the candles to continue to burn into  Shabbos , illuminating the room, one fulfills oneg Shabbat


Mesilat Yesharim: First Steps-Part I
Based on a Naaleh.com shiur by Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen

The Mesilat Yesharim concludes his introduction by emphasizing that this world is only an entranceway to the next world.  Man was not created only for this world but for a higher purpose. Chazal say, " Mi shetarach b'Shabbat yochal b'Shabbat, one who prepares before Shabbat will eat on Shabbat." This world is compared to the time before Shabbat and the next world to Shabbat itself, the everlasting world. Our life on this world is only temporary and a preparation for the world to come.  Life is filled with suffering, hardship, physical ailments, and challenges. How can a person think he was born only to go through agony and pain, with the end goal being death? If we believe this, then animals are better off than us. They don't need to face all the grief humans go through. Taking this into account, man must realize that he is here for a purpose and this world is not his final goal.

In the Gemara, Rav Zeira says, man can only fill up something empty, but Hashem works differently. If a person contains within him spiritually, he can he add to it. If he is completely empty, his life remains empty. The body -soul dichotomy is compared to a peasant who desires to marry a princess and take her back to his hut in the village. She refuses and rightly so as she is used to the royal life in the palace. The soul is a part of the divine presence. Why would Hashem create man with a soul so precious that it is greater than the angels, and put him in a world that is only fleeting? The Midrash in Kohelet says the soul will never be satisfied with this world,  just as the princess will never be satisfied living as a commoner in the village. The more a person involves himself in Torah and mitzvot, the more he will sense the presence of his soul yearning to come closer to Hashem.

The Mesilat Yesharim tells us that our purpose in this world is to fulfill mitzvot and to withstand the tests Hashem sends us.  Avraham was tested ten times. The Mishna in Avot tells us there were ten generations between Noach and Avraham and then the Mishna tells us Avraham Avinu endured ten tests.  The Tosfos Yom Tov says he wasn't just a historical figure. He was avinu , our forefather. He taught us how to relate to tests. And just as he passed all the challenges Hashem gave him, so too did he endow us with the strength to overcome all our tests.  


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