Back in 1996, Rabbi Finman was asked to speak to the niece of one of his students. After spending many hours answering her questions, the woman gave Rabbi Finman her e-mail address. Rabbi Finman wrote the woman a note and included in it a short insight into that week's Parsha and a short Chasidic story.
Realizing that this was something no one was yet doing,, Rabbi Finman sent the missive to his mailing list of about 30 people. Requests from recipients friends came pouring in. The next week Rabbi Finman sent the e-Parsha to 100 people. Within a year more than 2000 people were receiving it. Today, more than 14,000 receive the e-Parsha weekly and the requests keep coming in.
Chukas 5785
Korach 5785
Shlach 5785
Behalosicha 5785
Naso 5785
Chukas 5785
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Watch the archived edition of the YouParsha Chukas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAJNhbdavpU&index=15&list=PL8D8F0ABC74E7B73C Replacing the vov
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This week we read the Parsha of Chukas, Numbers 19 - 22:1. The purification of contact with a dead body is the initial theme of the Parsha. It is discussed that an open clay vessel becomes impure if left in the same room as a body. A sealed vessel does not. The general rule is that metal vessels become impure if something impure comes in direct contact with them. An earthenware pot is contaminated if an impure object enters the inner space of the vessel. (My bubby of blessed memory would pour out containers of water when someone in the neighborhood died. They did this in the shtetl and I assume this bubba maaseh was based on the concept of the contents of earthenware vessels becoming impure in the room of a dead body.)
The Kotsker Rebbe, circa 1850's, explained the difference. A metal vessel is important in its own right. Therefore, it becomes impure as things touch it, not its airspace. A clay pot has little intrinsic worth. It is used to hold things. Therefore, the space of the pot is important, not the pot itself.
A contaminated metal pot can be cleansed through immersion in boiling water. A clay pot must be broken. The impurities, absorbed through the inner space, permeate its entirety. Purging it will have no effect.
We must make ourselves like clay pots. A sealed clay pot, one that is protected from the extraneous influences of the forces of evil, never becomes impure. If we can focus on G’dliness and spirituality, there is no need to worry.
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The Baal Shem Tov would experience aliyas hanishama, elevation of the soul, each week at the third meal of Shabbos. While visiting the celestial spheres, he would be privileged to secret information. One week, he noticed a black cloud hanging over a certain village. He inquired of the nature of this cloud and was told that a decree was issued against that village. He further inquired as to the reason for the decree and was denied the information. The reason being, that he would use his influence to avert the decree. The Baal Shem Tov swore that he would do nothing to avert the decree.
Upon being informed, the Baal Shem Tov immediately descended back into his body. He turned to two students sitting next to him and ordered them to go immediately to that village to do such and such in order to avert a terrible decree.
The following week, when the Baal Shem Tov again experience the elevation of the soul, he was met with great displeasure. Because he had sworn not to get involved and did get involved, he was to lose his entire portion in the world to come. The Baal Shem Tov began to laugh. They (whoever they were) were in a quandary. Why was the Baal Shem Tov laughing in the face of such a horrible sentence? The Baal Shem Tov replied, "Until now, I thought I might be doing mitzvahs and learning Torah for the eventual reward. Now that I know I have no portion in the world to come, I can do mitzvahs simply to serve Hashem, with no ulterior motive." When they heard this, they told the Baal Shem Tov that not only did he earn back his portion of the world to come, but they were giving him a bigger portion.============================================
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