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‫פרשת תרומה‬
At the ‫ח׳ אדר א׳ תשפ״ד‬

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ShabbosTable
WEEKLY INSPIRATION AND INSIGHT ADAPTED FROM CLASSIC ARTSCROLL TITLES
FEBRUARY 17, 2024
DECEMBER 12,
ISSUE #177
2020

RABBI YITZCHOK
HISIGER, EDITOR
DESIGN & LAYOUT:
MRS. AVIVA KOHN

PROJECT DEDICATED BY MENACHEM AND BINAH BRAUNSTEIN AND FAMILY

L’ILLUI NISHMAS RAV MOSHE BEN RAV YISSOCHOR BERISH AND MARAS YENTA BAS YISROEL CHAIM

Parashah LIVING TRUE Rav Yaakov Bender on Chumash

‫ — ַוַ ֲֲע ֵֵצי ִִשׁ ִִטּים‬And acacia wood (25:5).

Rashi asks: From where did they have acacia yungeleit still unfamiliar out-
wood in the midbar? Rav Tanchuma explained that side of Lakewood, Monsey,
Yaakov Avinu foresaw that Klal Yisrael would build a and Brooklyn. The roshei kol-
Mishkan in the desert, so he brought the acacia trees lel came directly from Rav
along with him to Mitzrayim and planted them, Aharon Kotler’s Lakewood,
commanding his sons to take them along when they bringing vision, determina-
would leave. tion, and achrayus with them from Beis Medrash
The question is: Why was this necessary? Along Govoha, and along with that, they brought one more
with the commandment to build a Mishkan, the Cre- thing — one of the old, wooden shtenders from the
ator would no doubt have provided the necessary Lakewood beis medrash. Thus connected to the me-
materials. The tachash, for example, was a miracu- sorah of their great rebbeim, they sat down to learn,
lous creation, unique in history, there to creating a lighthouse of Torah.
provide the skins that covered the Mish- Rav Elya Svei asked a complicated
kan. question on the Rambam, and after shi-
Couldn’t the Borei Olam have found a ur, a talmid came to show him a different
solution for acacia trees as well? girsa (version) of the Rambam. According
My friend, Rav Zevi Trenk, shared a to the second text, the difficulty was re-
beautiful explanation with me. solved.
Yaakov Avinu was not worried that Rav Elya thanked him, but did not
his descendants would have any diffi- accept the resolution. “Mir lernen di zelbe
Rav Elya Svei
culty finding the wood. His concern was Rambam vos di rosh yeshivah hut gelernt,
something entirely different. The Mish- we learn the same Rambam that the rosh
kan, site of the Shechinah’s home in this yeshivah learned.”
world, would be suffused with kedushah His rebbi, Rav Aharon Kotler, had
and taharah, a place of great light and ho- learned with the first girsa, and veering
liness, but there was one more ingredient from that text was not an option.
necessary — mesorah! A makom kadosh Even Torah itself, the essence of truth,
needs to be connected to those who Rav Zevi Trenk needs to be rooted in mesorah!
came before us, to their avodah, in order to The Aron, which houses Torah and
M E S O R A H H E R I TA G E F O U N D AT I O N

flourish. Yaakov brought the trees from the land of represents Torah, the core of our being, must be
the Avos so that the Mishkan could be touched with connected to those who turned us into a nation, the
their hashpa’ah. Avos.
The Toronto Kollel was one of the first out-of- Yaakov Avinu saw very far. The forefather of truth
town kollelim in the world, the concept of full-time planted truth, allowing us to live true.

THIS WEEK’S ISSUE IS SPONSORED BY YEDIDYAH AND LEAH SCHIERMEYER

IN HONOR OF OUR AMAZING CHILDREN, THEIR WONDERFUL SPOUSES, AND OUR ADORABLE GRANDCHILDREN
1
 NEW!
Faith SHABBOS FOR ORI
Angels in Orange – Uplifting Stories of Courage, Faith and Miracles from the
United Hatzalah Heroes of October 7th by Rabbi Nachman Seltzer

The story of Ori Magidish, a soldier who was cap- “On Sunday I was at work, and
tured by Hamas, taken into captivity in Gaza, and was I told one of my coworkers about
miraculously rescued, gave hope and chizuk to the entire my niece who was taken into
nation. Gaza. He looked at me in shock.
Morris Elul is Ori’s uncle. Unlike many who heard ‘Morris,’ he said, ‘I just heard on
the tragic story but didn’t know what they should do the radio that the army brought
about it, Morris decided to do something concrete for Ori out of Gaza!’
his niece. “I thought he was joking, so I turned on the news. A
“I was sitting together with Ori’s parents,” Morris minute later, the announcer said, ‘Just to recap what we
recalls, “and I said to her fa- were talking about a few minutes
ther, ‘Yossi, I have a feeling that ago, the army just let us know that
Ori has some sort of protection they rescued a soldier named Ori
from above.” Magidish from Gaza. Again, one
Ori’s mother, Maggie, per- soldier — Ori Magidish — was
formed hafrashas challah in her just rescued from Gaza!’
daughter’s merit, and some- “I burst into tears. When I
thing incredible occurred as she Morris Elul managed to get myself under con-
was performing the mitzvah. trol, I called my son. The moment
Ori’s mother looked heaven- “IF ORI COMES HOME he heard my voice, he exclaimed,
ward and began to pray. “I am do- HEALTHY AND WELL, ‘Abba, do you see what shemiras
ing this in the merit of my daugh- I WILL CONTINUE Shabbos can do? Hashem heard
ter and all the people who were KEEPING SHABBOS — your prayers!’”
taken captive,” she said. “Please, EVERY SINGLE WEEK!” Almost immediately, the
please, Borei Olam, I love You, I streets near Ori’s home in Kiryat
love You! Please don’t forsake me, Master of the world!” Gat were filled with dancing people and the sound of
The entire country was overcome when they saw music. Cars drove down the street honking with happi-
the video of a mother begging Hashem for her daugh- ness.
ter’s safe return and in the same breath telling Hashem “When I walked into Ori’s home,” her uncle said, “I
how much she loved Him. It was an incredibly spiritu- went over to Ori’s father and said, ‘Didn’t I tell you that
al moment and a huge kiddush Hashem. Ori had a special protection from above?’
The family took a Sefer Torah around the city, dancing “He grabbed my head, kissed me, and said, ‘It’s all
with it in honor of the captives, and then the Sefer Torah from Hashem!’
was brought to Ori’s home and carried into her room. “When I saw Ori, I told her the story and the prom-
“It was at this point,” Ori’s uncle continued, “that ise that I had made. Then I told Ori, ‘Now I have to
my children said to me, ‘Abba, do something for Ori!’ keep Shabbos forever.’
I couldn’t refuse. So many people were doing things in “Since then, I have kept Shabbos and will continue
her zechus. How could I say no? On the spot I decided to doing so. I also started putting on tefillin every day. An
keep Shabbos as a zechus for Ori to return home. Then open miracle happened to me. There’s no other way of
I took it a step farther and I said, ‘If Ori comes home looking at it. We need to believe in Hashem. We need
healthy and well, I will continue keeping Shabbos — ev- to daven to Hashem. He loves us and He hears our
ery single week!’ prayers!”

THIS WEEK’S DAF YOMI SCHEDULE: THIS WEEK’S MISHNAH YOMI SCHEDULE:
FEB / ‫אדר א׳‬

FEB / ‫אדר א׳‬

SHABBOS SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SHABBOS SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
17 ‫ ח‬18 ‫ ט‬19 ‫ י‬20 ‫ יא‬21 ‫ יב‬22 ‫ יג‬23 ‫יד‬ 17 ‫ ח‬18 ‫ ט‬19 ‫ י‬20 ‫ יא‬21 ‫ יב‬22 ‫ יג‬23 ‫יד‬
Bava Bava Bava Bava Bava Bava Bava Kesubos
Kesubos Kesubos Kesubos Nedarim Nedarim Nedarim
Kamma Kamma Kamma Kamma Kamma Kamma Kamma 13:11 -
13:5-6 13:7-8 13:9-10 1:2-3 1:4-2:1 2:2-3
107 108 109 110 111 112 113 Nedarim 1:1

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 NEW!
Kedushah A LESSON FROM THE COLONEL
Vayimaen – Rise Above: Set Your Eyes on Greatness by Rabbi Yechiel Spero

KFC. up. He continued to push his prod- and you’ve

It stands for Kentucky Fried
Chicken. One of the most famous
and popular non-kosher restau-
rants, KFC has over 25,000 loca-
tions throughout the world. In just
about every city and town in the
United States, you’ll find the KFC
sign, inviting customers to come on
in and have a bite of its reportedly
delicious product.
Believe it or not, there
is a valuable lesson to be
learned from this very
successful, non-kosher
franchise.
The man who start-
ed it all was famously
known as Colonel Sand-
ers. Over sixty years old
when he first devised
his recipe, the colonel’s
fried chicken would
eventually take over the
world. Over sixty years
old!
Some people are starting to
think about retirement at that age,
but Colonel Sanders was just get-
ting started. At that point, he was a
failure. He had failed at everything
he tried, only surviving thanks to
his $105 monthly Social Security
check. That’s what put food on the
table.
Nevertheless, he believed in his
recipe, and he started trying to sell
it. Initially, he didn’t make serious
money off of it. He traveled the
whole country, trying to convince
people, but everywhere he went,
people told him no.
Colonel Sanders refused to give
uct until someone finally gave him failed to guard
a yes. And then another and anoth- your eyes, you
er. Soon, word began to spread. His must not give
business exploded. up your dream.
And, as they say, the rest is his- You can suc-
tory. ceed. You can
That’s how we find KFC stores build something special.
in over 145 countries and territo- Efforts yield results.
ries, employing 800,000 people. You may not see it at first, but
Next time you pass one of those each moment of kedushah plants
25,000 stores, seeds and creates worlds.
think of this. When faced with a challenge,
YOU ARE The colonel know that by exhibiting gevurah,
SOWING didn’t start when you are sowing eternal kedushah
ETERNAL he was twenty or
thirty or even for-
that can never be taken away from
you.
KEDUSHAH ty or fifty. He be- If at first you don’t succeed, try,
THAT CAN gan when he was try again. Every opportunity offers
over sixty years another chance to conquer the ye-
NEVER old. And he didn’t tzer hara, to build one success on
BE TAKEN open his first store top of another. The more we push
AWAY until years later.
So, no matter
away those impure images, the
more we build the power of taharah
FROM YOU. how long things and of kedushah in our world.
have not been Today, you can find a KFC any-
going your way, you still have a where. But just envision if, because
chance to do something life-alter- of your efforts, you see a beis mid-
ing and life-changing. It could be rash or beis knesses in the spot where
the KFC franchise, or it could be you controlled yourself, in the spot
some other venture that you have where you connected to Hashem.
failed at repeatedly. By pushing away the impurity and
Imagine trying your hand at instead welcoming Hashem, you
various business ventures for years, embedded holiness there.
with mediocre success at best. In time, your efforts can take
But one day, it happens. over streets and villages and cities
Years of mediocrity (and some and countries, and eventually, the
failures, as well) yield inconceiv- world.
able results. With every moment of self-con-
When it comes to kedushah, your trol, you are conquering the yetzer
story is also not yet complete. Even hara and building holiness.
if you’ve walked down the street Take a lesson from the colonel:
hundreds or thousands of times It’s never too late.

This week’s SHABBOS SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

Yerushalmi Yomi
FEBRUARY / 17 ‫ח‬ 18 ‫ט‬ 19 ‫י‬ 20 ‫יא‬ 21 ‫יב‬ 22 ‫יג‬ 23 ‫יד‬

schedule: ‫אדר א׳‬ Terumos 46 Terumos 47 Terumos 48 Terumos 49 Terumos 50 Terumos 51 Terumos 52

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3
 Parashah for Children
‫פרשת תרומה‬
Shittim Wood and Solid Gold

T
he Aron was made of three boxes. The main
one was made of shittim wood and the other
two were made of gold. One of the gold
boxes was a bit bigger than the wooden box and the
other gold box was a bit smaller than the wooden
box. The wooden box was put into the bigger golden
box and the smaller golden box was put inside the
wooden one, so all the wood was covered with gold.
After the three boxes were put one inside the other,
if you were looking at the top you would still see the
top of the wooden box in between the gold. To cover that, a thin piece of
gold was placed on top of the boxes. Now, no matter from what
direction you looked, you would see only gold.

Wood? is enclosed in gold boxes, we

W
hy wasn’t the Aron made of one box of gold? know it’s very valuable. This
What is G-d’s message when He instructs us to teaches us how much we must
place a box of wood between the gold boxes? honor and respect scholars, even
There are many answers. Here are a few: if they are poor. The Torah inside
them is like the wood of the Aron,
 To remind us that the Torah is the tree of life. You
deserving to be covered with gold.
want to have a good life? Live according to the
Torah’s rules. Be like a tree that grows. Never stop  The wooden box reminds us that Torah study is
learning Torah, keep growing in Torah knowledge. like a tree that grows fruit. The fruits of Torah study
are the rewards that grow in Heaven. They will be
 A wooden box isn’t worth much, but if it’s carrying the
enjoyed by those who study Torah. (Of course, that’s
Torah, we cover it with gold boxes. When something
besides the rewards they will get in this world.)

THE WEEKLY QUESTION

Question for Terumah:
Gold is very expensive. Why cover the inside of the Aron with gold if no one sees it anyway?
Kids, please ask your parents to email the answer to shabbosquestion@artscroll.com by this Wednesday to be entered into a
weekly raffle to win a $36 ARTSCROLL GIFT CARD! Be sure to include your full name, city, and contact info. Names of
winners will appear in a future edition. HINT: The answer can be found in The Jaffa Family Edition Weekly Parashah.
The winner of the Parashas Beshalach question is: MOSHE ARONOVITCH, Cherry Hill, NJ
The question was: Why didn’t Hashem tell Moshe to use his stick to split the Yam Suf? The answer is: Hashem didn’t want the
Egyptians to think that Moshe’s miracles happened because his stick had great powers. So at Kriyas Yam Suf, Hashem told Moshe to do this miracle
without the stick, just by stretching his hand over the water. Now everyone saw that Moshe himself performed the miracles and it wasn’t his stick.

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