Saturday, March 12, 2016

Parshas Pekudei - Looking Good



From an email....


Shalooommmm sweeeeeeetest friends!!!!:-)

A huuuuuuge mazelllll tooovvvv to my most beloved and holy friend, man of chasidus and kabala, a future luminary in Israel, R' Kivi Naiman on his engagement to Allie Buchsbaum. May they build a home filled with limitless שפע אלוקי and always bi-simcha! 

A mazel tov to my beloved friend, a great man of Torah and chesed, Rabbi Elie Ryzman and of course to his Rebbetzin on the birth of their son. A special mazel tov to the extended family, pillars of Torah and chesed in Klal Yisrael! 

They should all have limitless bracha and nachas!


This dvar Torah is dedicated with love and appreciation as a zchus to all of the sponsors of my newest sefer Nagila Vi-nismicha [available, I hope, next week]

In this weeks parsha it says וירא משה את כל המלאכה וכו' ויברך אותם משה - Moshe saw all of the work that the Jews had done and he blessed them. Rashi explains that he blessed them that the Shechina should dwell on all of their handiwork etc. 

The deeper meaning of this "seeing" and blessing is based on the pasuk in Bereishis וירא אלקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד - Hashem saw all that He had done and it was very good. Another pasuk [Mishlei 22/9] says טוב עין הוא יבורך - A good eye is blessed. When a person has an עין טובה, a positive eye, a feeling of love and care for others, his very look brings down blessing. Just as an עין הרע causes harm - an עין טובה brings blessings. And the good in the spiritual world is stronger than the evil so an עין טובה is much more potent than an עין הרע. When Hashem looked at the world - He essentially brought down His bounty. Indeed, Hashem saw all that He had done and with His vision, He made it טוב מאד - very good. 

The pasuk [Shemos 2/25] similarly says that when the Jews were in Mitzrayim - Hashem saw the Jewish people and right afterwards Hashem appears at the burning bush and tells Moshe to redeem us. It was the עין טובה - the positive eyes [כביכול] of Hashem that brought about our redemption. 


Another source - הבט משמים וראה שוממותינו - Look from above and see our desolation [Daniel 9, 18]. If you see us then you will help us. Or השקיפה ממעון קדשך וברך את עמך - Look from your heavenly abode and bless the Jewish people [Dvarim 26/ 15]. Just looking with your positive eye will bring the blessing.

That is the pnimiyus - the deeper depths - of Moshe's "looking" at our work. He put his עין טובה on the work of the Jewish people and brought down the divine blessings. 

[Based on the Tiferes Shlomo - please see there for more. Thanks to my beloved friend Yoni Abrams for pointing this source out to me]


We, too, all have the power of עין טובה. We can view others positively or negatively.If we choose the former option we fulfill the pasuk טוב עין הוא יבורך and merit to bring blessing to ourselves and all those around us. 

We can also view our life situations with an עין טובה. That too, the Tzadikim teach, has the power to transform reality!

We should have a sweeeet shabbos filllledddd with עין טובה and much love for all.

Shabbat Shalom! 

Love






Me