Parshas Matos

Reading the Torah portion each week has proved to be quite insightful. While learning about Hashem's halachot (laws) and the growth of the Jewish people in Eretz Israel, I've also been able to apply the words of the Chumash (Torah) to my own life. You'd be surprised how much the words of the parsha, written thousands of years ago, still rings true to the life of a 23-year old struggling to be a good Jew in a modern society.

Mind you, I am not here to preach--just to wonder in amazement how relevant a book of long ago is to today

Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the Children of Israel saying: This is the thing that HASHEM has commanded: If a man takes a vow to HASHEM or swears an oath to establish a prohibition upon himself, he shall not desecrate his word; according to whatever comes from his mouth shall he do. (Bamidbar 30:2-3)

A person can create an obligation and make a restriction that is as binding as any other commandment in the Torah.
An interesting example, a slice of pizza can be as forbidden as a slice of bacon as long as you that person vows to himself that it is forbidden.

According to the Vilna Gaon, the righteous person who constantly sees the good in others and blesses them he will become the object of blessing by The Almighty. The habit of the wicked on the other hand, he says, is to search for fault and blame in others. He therefore brings curses upon his own head.

It is this "baseless hatred," according to many rabbinim, that is the underlying reason for the destruction of the 2nd temple (which we mourn on Tisha B'av) and our subsequent exile

A son reaches for the last cookie in the cookie jar despite strict orders from his mother that he is not allowed to have any cookies before dinner time. The mother, watching this occurance, notices him trying again and again until he finally grabs the delicious chocolate chip and stuffs it into his mouth. With that, the mother cuts off the arm of her son. The rest of the family is horrified. This absurd case is unlikely to occur as most would agree that the mother stepped over the boundries of acceptability. The kid was not innocent, but didn't deserve to lose a limb.

There is no need to personally attack or condemn a person for one small mistake. Despite our nation's ability to try to prove otherwise, its quite a common occurence among the whole of society today.

A similar thing happened to me recently when a friend heard about something I had said to another friend, misinterpreted it, and then decided to pull out mistakes of the past that would have gone unheard (and forgotton) if his brutal free-for-all attack had not occured.

That’s the definition and the dynamic of "baseless hatred." The hatred is not entirely unwarranted but the ability to complain will continuously spill over and drown the "unwarranted."

Instead of being a source of blessing and goodness for others we are tempted to kick and curse at them, inviting further reasons for unhappiness. Shouldn't we change our ways?

May this Shabbos be a holy and spiritual time and one filled with relaxation and enjoyment. SHABBAT SHALOM!!