1. What makes Parshas Vayelech stand out from the other Parshious?2. What is the last of the 613 mitzvos that appears in Parshas Vayelech?3. What other mitzva appears in Parshas Vayelech that is relevant to us every few years?4. What is the rule that sometimes Parshas Nitzovim and Vayelech are joined together and sometimes they are separate?5. What is the special name given to this week and why?6. Why is Shabbos Shuva called the week  Rosh Hashana and not the week  Rosh Hashana when some people have

already been judged?

בסד

COMMUNITY PARASHA SHEET

www.torahactionlife.com

אהיה כטל לישראל אהיה כטל לישראלאהיה כטל לישראל אהיה כטל לישראלאהיה כטל לישראל אהיה כטל לישראל

VAYELECH5th TISHREI 5777Shabbat begins: 18:10Shabbat ends: 19:09

This week’s edition is sponsoredLehatslachat Raaya Bat Liora

Yehudit Vechol Mishpachta

RABBI JONATHAN TAWILDIRECTOR, TAL

Why The Kids?

Silence is golden, unless you have kids, thesilence is just suspicious!We are blessed to have youth and the Torahteaches us an important lesson in thisweek’s Parasha emphasising our role astheir mentors.Picture this scene: Millions of Jews – menand women, infants and their great-grand-mothers, scholars and laypeople –assembled in Jerusalem on the TempleMount. A hush falls over the mammothcrowd, as the royally bedecked king of Israelascends on to a platform and reads sectionsof the holy Torah. The nation is inspired andinvigorated. A display of unity and astatement of purpose converge to revitalizeand refocus a multifarious people.

Though seemingly improbable, this scenerepeated itself in ancient Jerusalem on aseptennial basis.

“At the end of every seven years, at anappointed time, in the Festival of Sukkot

[following] the year of Shemitah. When allIsrael comes to appear before the Lord, yourG-d, in the place He will choose, you shallread this Torah before all Israel, in their ears.Assemble the people: the men, the women,the children.” (Devarim 31 10-12)Rashi spells out the details of Hakhel, basedon the Gemara [Chagiga 3a]: The mencome to learn; the women (who in thosedays did not have the educationalbackground to really learn the Torah) cometo listen; and the children come to bring areward to those who bring them.

The simple reading of the Gemara is thatthere is in fact no inherent purpose for thechildren to come. The men can learn. Thewomen can at least listen. But what are thekids coming for? They will not even listenproperly.In light of this, it is hard to understand themeaning of the Gemara when it says, "togive reward to those who bring them". Whatdoes this mean? If, in fact, there is nopurpose to bring the children, then whatreward should be granted to those who

bring them? There is no mitzvah to bring asack of potatoes!

The Netivot answers this question verypractically. All the Jews from throughout theLand of Israel came to Jerusalem for Hakhel.So who was left home to watch the kids?Where would they find baby sitters?Obviously, the adults had no choice but tobring the children. Since the children had tobe brought anyway, the Torah commandedthat they be brought, so that there wouldalso be a mitzvah and the associated rewardinvolved in bringing the children.

Reb Yerucham Z’l offered a different Interpretation. When the Gemara states thatthe children are brought "to grant reward tothose who bring them", the intent is not thatthere is no inherent value in bringingchildren to Hakhel. In fact, there is some-thing to be gained from bringing them evenif they do not have the intellect to learn or thepatience to listen. Merely being present at anevent like Hakhel -- in an atmospherepermeated with holiness has an effect on thechildren, not necessarily immediately, but inyears to come.For example, the Yerushalmi Yevamot saysthat the mother of Rav Yehoshua benChananya used to take his cradle and placeit in the Bet Midrash, just so the baby shouldabsorb the sound of Torah.Parents who make the effort to expose theirchildren to positive experiences in life,despite the fact that the child ostensiblydoes not gain anything concrete from theexperience at the time, will be rewarded.That is what the Torah is relating. Merelymaking the effort to exposethem to a positive

TAL is sponsored by

02084581234

אהיה כטל לישראל אהיה כטל לישראלאהיה כטל לישראל אהיה כטל לישראלאהיה כטל לישראל אהיה כטל לישראל

www.torahactionlife.com

environment will allow the parents to reapreward in the future.I recently saw a booked called, "A Day in theLife of Israel". Sixty of the bestphotographers in the world were assigned acity or an area in Israel and told to takephotos on a given day, the best of whichwould appear in this book. I saw one photoof a new-born nursery in Bnei Brak. There isa picture of rows of little infants in plasticcribs lined up in the nursery. In one of thecribs, there is a picture book opened topictures of Rav Shach, the Steipler Gaon,and the Chazon Ish. There in the cradle, inthe hospital, pictures of Gedolim [greatTorah luminaries] surround the baby. Thisbook is not a religious book. It is a secularbook. Nonetheless, the caption on thisphoto is "Education starts early in Israel".

On a subconscious if not a conscious level,his environment has an effect on him. Par-ents who make the effort to put their childreninto a good environment -- even though atthe time the efforts seem in vain -- will even-tually receive reward, in the form of the devel-opment of spiritually developed children.This is what our Sages mean when they say,"to grant reward to those who bring them".

In the early eighties, a team of scientistsheaded by Dr. Marian Diamond at theUniversity of California at Berkeley came tothe rescue. Her team discovered that astimulating environment has a hugeinfluence on the ultimate level of intelligence.Up to then, it was generally accepted amongneuroscientists that the human brain and itsintelligence was created by the genes andcould not be changed.

Dr. Diamond's research changed all that.She demonstrated that we could increaseintelligence by stimulating the brain. Thatwas revolutionary brain science. Sheshowed us that intelligence is created byboth our genes and the stimulation from theoutside environment working together. Thegenes create the brain and its cells(neurons) in the first place, while most of itsintelligence is created after it experiencesenvironmental stimulation, with the mostimportant being during the first three years.Our culture of reading, discussing, andlearning was precisely the stimulatingenvironment needed for our Jewish intellectto flourish.

To illustrate this brain phenomenon in simpleterms, think about what happens when abody builder strenuously exercises hismuscles. With enough exercise, his muscleswill grow larger and stronger. That is nothingnew, everyone knows about body building.But what is new is that scientists havedemonstrated that the very young humanbrain when stimulated or exercised grows inpower like our muscles.

It is a fact that much of our intelligencedepends on how much teaching and qualitytime Jewish parents are willing to invest withtheir children during their crucial first years.

Just as a child begins to grow and mature,absorb and ingest, immediately uponentering this world – and even beforehand –so does our obligation to educate our childand provide for his/her spiritual nourishmentand needs begin at that point. Immediatelyupon entering this world, and even before-hand, we must ensure that the child issurrounded by a positive spiritual environ-ment. May our children glow with the light ofTorah and our traditions excelling in all theirendeavours.

VaYelech contains only 30 pessukim. It iseasily the smallest sidra. But is it indeed asidra, or only a fragmentation of a largersidra, necessary to make up the numbers ofsidrot when Rosh Hashana falls on Mondayor Tuesday, as this year, as the Tur pithilyputs it (= 2 or 3 i.e Monday orTuesday) (= the King i.e. RoshHashanah) (= Vayelech getsthe biscuit i.e comes into its ownindependent of Nitzavim). This question has two practicalramifications.

(a) When Nitzavim VaYelech are readtogether how many people maybe called up in Nitzavim the firstsidra. If they are two separatesidrot joined together then the ruleis that the fourth person to becalled up must span both sidrotbut if they are in reality one sidra

then one can call up as manypeople as one wants in Nitzavim.

(b) If a Kehilla missed out on KeriatHaTorah one week the rule is thatthe following week they read themissed sidra together with thesidra of the week. But only onesidra can be compensated thisway not two. So we need to knowwhether Nitzavim/VaYelech is onesidra sometimes divided into two,or two sidrot sometimes readtogether.Now the Zohar tells us that there

are 53 (Gan) sidrot. But a count reveals 54.The reconciliation of this conundrum hasexercised many Gedolim. Here is a briefresume of the answers.1. Maharash Abuhav – Vezot HaBracha notcounted because it is not read on Shabbat(in chutz la Aretz when Simchat Torah cannever fall on Shabbat).2. Chida – Trumah/Tetzaveh is one onlysince the name of Moshe Rabbenu does notappear at all in Tetzaveh and in his honourthat sidra is to be considered as theconclusion of Trumah.3. Mishnat Avraham based on Radvaz thatNitzavim does not count because it is inreality the conclusion of Ki Tavo as theantidote to the Kelalot therein.4. Ibid in name of Avodat HaGershuniVaYehi does not count as there is no breakbetween it and the preceding VaYigash.

5. The best answer to my mind however isthat in reality Nitzavim and YaYelech areonly one sidra which usually is readtogether and this is the answer given byMaharam Zakuto and quoted by Chida inname of Sefer Kadmon. This can besupported by the Pessukim count at the endof the sidrot in most printed Chumasheditions which replicate the ancientMassorot. For VaYelech the number givenis 70 and the siman given is Adoniah (= 1 +4 +50 + 10 +5) = 70. Now this is only possible if it countsNitzavim (40) and VaYelech (30) together.Surely this is conclusive proof to the factthat they are in reality one sidra sometimessplit into two as explained above. This issue came to life in SunderlandBeth Hamedrah 61 years ago in September5715 (1955 CE) at the Barmitva of mycousin. It was Nitzavim/VaYelech and therewere numerous visitors. The Rav, RabbiAvraham Babad zatzal, was consulted as towhether it would be permissible to call up asmany as possible to the Torah in the firstsidra Nitzavim, as VaYelech is so short thatthere would be far too few Aliyot available.See (a) supra. The Rav thought about itand decided to permit it. At the time wethought it must have been a special heterbecause of Kevod HaOrchim. Butafterwards we realised that this was a Psakbased on the foregoing, that Nitzavim andVaYelech are in reality one and the samesidra.

Rabbi Joseph PearlmanWhole Or Half?

HONP ECITYProud sponsors of TAL

90 Golders Green Road, London NW11 8LN

Golders Green

אהיה כטל לישראל אהיה כטל לישראלאהיה כטל לישראל אהיה כטל לישראלאהיה כטל לישראל אהיה כטל לישראל

www.torahactionlife.com

Proud sponsors of TAL

1. Parshas Vayelech is the shortest parsha in the Torah with only thirty pesukim.2. It is (31:19) the obligation for every Jew to write a Sefer Torah. The Rosh says that nowadays people can also fulfill this

mitzva by buying seforim from which they can learn Torah.3. The mitzva of Hakhel (31:10-12) at the end of a shemitta year, on the second night of Sukkos all the people including women

and children gathered to hear the king read the Mishne Torah, Sefer Devorim.4. See the first Baal Haturim on Parshas Vayelech, and the source is mentioned in Shulchan Oruch O.C. 428:4. It depends on

when in the week Rosh Hashana falls meaning if there will be two weeks between Rosh Hashana and Sukkos then ParshasNitzovim and Parshas Vayelech are split, like this year. Otherwise, they are together.

5. It is Shabbos Shuva after the first word of the haftora that discusses . This is the Shabbos that falls during the AseresYemai . Hence this is the subject matter.

6. Even though Tzadikim and Reshoyim have already been judged, the Gemora Rosh Hashana 16a brings the opinion that evenafter the decree has been finalised crying out and teshuva can still have an effect. However, we act nowadays like Beinoinimwhose decree has not yet been finalised until Yom Kippur and therefore we assume that teshuva is still needed to makechanges before the final decree.

STORIES OF OURCHACHAMIM

Reb YitzchakGvirzman

Reb YitzchakGvirzman, fondlyknown as “Reb Itz-ikel”, came intothe world on Tevet12, 5642 (1882) ina tiny village nearGerlitz. He wasthe son of RabbiNaphtali Elime-lech Gvirzmanand his wife, Reb-betzin HannahBrendel. On hisfather’s side hedescended froman impressive line

of rabbanim. They tell that his grandfather,Rabbi Avraham Gvirzman of Gerlitz, was aTsaddik Nistar (a hidden Tzaddik). Even withhis most insignificant remarks (for example,when he was bringing cheer to youngnewlyweds), a careful observer could noticethat by his words he implied somethingmuch more, and in this way he went abouthis Divine service. Rabbi Chaim of Tsanz saidof his student, Rabbi Avraham Gvirzman, thathe didn’t know what it meant to sin, and thathe was as innocent as a one-year-old child.

The day of his Brit Milah, his father gavehim the name Yitzchak in memory of theTzaddik of Lublin. His uncle, the ShinoverRebbe, added to him the name of Moshe (inmemory of Moshe Rabbeinu, who riskedbeing drowned in the Nile) because hismother had difficulty during labor, and onlythe prayers of the Tsaddik of Shinov savedhim. The child thereby received the name ofMoshe Yitzchak.

Still very young, he distinguished himselfby his exceptional behavior and his kiddusha.They tell that Rav Avraham Chaim Horovitz,who noticed the child when he was 8 yearsold, asked, “Who is this child? TheShechinah illuminates his face!”

A little afterwards, his family left Gerlitz togo live in Shinov. The child lived almostconstantly at the residence of his uncle, the

Shinover Rebbe. One day, as he was playingin the Beit Midrash (as young children do), hewent to hide under the Tallit of his uncle. Thishappened during the Mincha service beforeShabbat, and the Shinover Rebbe began therepetition of the Amidah. When the childheard the voice of the Rebbe trembling andseeming to shoot out flames, he wasovercome with such fright that he ran awayand didn’t dare approach his uncle for days.

In the year 5654 (1894), at the age of 12,his uncle sent him to study in Tama withRabbi Moshe Apter. On the 12th of Tevet1895, the child celebrated his Bar Mitzvah.However his Tefillin weren’t quite ready, andhe put on those of his uncle. Years later, RebItzikel recounted just how much he wasmoved by this, and affirmed that he wouldnever again have the courage tothoughtlessly put on the Tefillin of the Rebbe.On that same day he was engaged to Rachel,the daughter of Rav Issachar Dov HacohenGlanz from the city of Shinov, who himselfdescended from an illustrious family ofRabbanim. On the 6th of Tevet 5659 (1899),the Shinover Rebbe left this world. Reb Itzikelwas then 17 years old, and he spoke of hisuncle until his dying day.

On Rosh Chodesh Nissan 1899, a fewmonths after the passing of his uncle, themarriage of Reb Itzikel and Rachel hisbetrothed was celebrated. During that periodof time, he didn’t stop elevating himself inpurity and holiness, fasting several days in arow and studying Torah day and night.

On the 9th of Av 5674 (1914), the WWIbroke out. Cities in Poland and Galicia wereturned into battlefields. Russian soldierschased the Austrian army before them,attacking Jews everywhere as they went. TheCossacks were renown for their cruelty. Thecity of Shinov suffered terribly from the inva-sion and was almost completely destroyed.

One day, while Reb Itzikel was reciting theAmidah in his basement (which had a doorgranting access to the street), his daughterBilah came down to see him. Suddenly shesaw a Cossack yelling and demanding

something from her father, who then calmlypursued his prayers. The Cossack, engagedwith anger, prepared to stab the Rebbe frombehind. She let out such a scream that theCossack himself got scared and bolted asfast as he could to save himself. During thisperiod, Reb Itzikel decided to leave Shinovand settle in Pshevorsk. There he began tokeep an open house during Shabbat andholidays. The Chassidim flocked to him.

Unfortunately, in 1930, while Reb Itzikelwas away on a trip, a terrible fire destroyedmore than 50 Jewish homes in Pshevorsk,including the home of Reb Itzikel, the BeitMidrash of the Chassidim, and the onlyprinting house in the town.

On the 16th of Elul 5699 (1939), WWIIbroke out. On Rosh Hashanah 5700 (1939),the Nazis seized Pshevorsk and put thesplendid synagogue there to the torch, butnot before profaning the Sifrei Torah foundwithin. That same year, on the day after YomKippur, the Jews were chased from the townand forced to escape to Russian territory.They managed to do so on the eve ofSukkoth, arriving in the Russian village ofUlshitza (which had a Jewish majoritypopulation). Reb Itzikel lived there for aboutseven months, until his exile to Siberia.

During the winter of 1940, the Russiansproposed to all the inhabitants of Galicia, aswell as to all the refugees fleeing the Germanadvance, that they receive Soviet citizenship.Of course, everyone asked what the bestthing to do was. Reb Itzikel ordered hisChassidim to in no way sign up.

One Shabbat evening in June 1940,Russian government agents raided all theJewish homes in Galicia and, equipped withtheir list, made everyone who had refusedSoviet citizenship leave their homes in themiddle of the night. They were all brought tothe closest railway station, where trainsawaited to bring them to Siberia. Theseexiled people realized just what an enormouscalamity had fallen uponthem because of the decree.Despite all this, Reb Itzikel

www.torahactionlife.com

maintained that such a day could only bringgood, since it was that day, long ago, thatthe decree of Haman had been annulled andthat the Jews had escaped his clutches.Nobody understood Reb Itzikel. Howeverone year later, in 1941, the Germans invadedall of Galicia and sent all those who hadescaped exile in Siberia to a certain death.

As for them, the Jews exiled in Siberiasuffered terribly from hunger, cold, and allsorts of imposed labor. However most ofthem ended up escaping. Thus theyunderstood what Reb Itzikel had told them:

“The 23rd of Sivan is a favorable day forIsrael!” After the war, the Polish governmentrequested that Russia liberate all the Polishcitizens that it had retained on its territory.

During the month of Iyar 1946, Reb Itzikelbegan his voyage home. The train ride lastedseveral weeks, and upon his return in Poland

he settled in Breslau (in Silesia). Yet therewas no mikveh there, nor Beit Midrash, andReb Itzikel oftentimes spent several weeks inKrakow, where he finally settled in Elul 1947.

It was in Krakow that somethingextraordinary happened. Often he wouldstay up for the entire night studying in the

“Ezrat Nashim” of the Beit Hamidrash. Duringthe night of the 8th of Nissan, he stayed upand began to study, as was his habit. Then,in the middle of the night, he decided to takea look at the Gemara about which he wasabout to do the Siyum (conclusion) in themorning for the memory of his father z’’l. Hesat down, and at that exact moment a bulletpassed just over his head. Reb Itzikel hadbarely escaped death. After an investigation,it later turned out that that a non-Jewishneighbor living in front of the Beit Hamidrashcouldn’t stand to see this Jew studying all

night, and his vehement anti-Semitic hatredwas so great that he decided to kill him.

Reb Itzikel stayed in Poland until 1949. Helater settled in Paris and lived there until 1957,then in Antwerp, where he stayed and spentthe last years of his life. He left this world onYom Kippur 5737 (1976). Reb Itzikel hadthree daughters and one son-in-law.

At the funeral of Reb Itzikel, tens ofthousands of people from around the worldhastily arrived and squeezed together toattend the service. Each had in his heartmemories of the piety and saintliness of thisextraordinary being, a man whose miracles,wonders, and exceptional manner – amanner that allowed him to serve the HolyOne, blessed be He, by constantly beingattentive to the least detail – would requireseveral books to recount