Parshas Sh’lach
SIVAN, 5779
Interpreting Artifacts
As in the gift of Manna, so it is in the memory of artifacts
After the exodus from Egypt, Hashem gifted the Jews with manna, ’heavenly bread’, to consume during their travels in the wilderness.
Hashem furthermore commanded Moshe:
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר משֶׁ֗ה זֶ֤ה הַדָּבָר֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוָּ֣ה הֹ' מְלֹ֤א הָעֹ֨מֶר֙ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ לְמִשְׁמֶ֖רֶת לְדֹרֹֽתֵיכֶ֑ם לְמַ֣עַן יִרְא֣וּ אֶת־הַלֶּ֗חֶם אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֶֽאֱכַ֤לְתִּי אֶתְכֶם֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר בְּהֽוֹצִיאִ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם
“Moses said, This is the thing that the Lord commanded: Let one omerful of it be preserved for your generations, in order that they see the bread that I fed you in the desert when I took you out of the land of Egypt.”
Like the saved Manna, the Torah is providing us with a template to preserve the meaning of the Holocaust artifact.
***********************************************D’VAR TORAH
Dear Friend,
Rabbi Yehuda Arye Leib Alter (1847-1905), also known by the title of his main work, the Sfas Emes served as Rebbe of Góra Kalwaria, Poland (Ger) from 1870 until his passing in 1905.
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The Medrash Rabba on this week’s parashah states: “Nothing in this world is as beloved to the Ribbono Shel Olam as sheluchei mitzvah. The Sfas Emes explains that sheluchei mitzvah are “people who are sent on a mission to do a mitzvah and give their all in order to accomplish their mission.”
The Sfas Emes continues with quoting his grandfather, the Chiddushei HaRim. The Chiddushei HaRim would often say that each and every one of us can achieve the honored role of being a shaliach mitzvah. In order to accomplish this, all we have to do is recognize that our purpose in this world is to be devoted to fulfilling Hashem’s will and to ensure that our behavior reflects this.
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contact Amud Aish at: 718-759-6200 or info@amudaish.org