Published and Copyrighted © by
Rabbi Moshe Bogomilsky
1382 President Street
Brooklyn, New York 11213
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including photo-copying, without permission in writing from the copyright holder or the publisher.
ISBN 1-8808-8020-2
ISBN 1-8808-8022-9 (set)
First Impression — Nissan 5757-March 1997
Second Impression — Iyar 5759-May 1999
Third Impression — Sivan 5763-June 2003
Fourth Impression — Adar II 5765-March 2005
B"H
I express profuse thanks and praise to Hashem for granting me the opportunity to present to you, dear reader, the fourth volume in the Vedibarta Bam series. The present volume covers Sefer Bamidbar, and contains a chapter on Shavuot as well as the book of Ruth, which is read on Shavuot in many congregations.
This series developed out of the parshah sheets which were distributed weekly for many years to the students of the Lubavitcher Yeshivah, Brooklyn, N.Y. Since the summer vacation commences in the middle of Sefer Bamidbar, the thoughts expounded in this volume were mostly written especially for this volume.
As mentioned in previous volumes, the purpose of this series is to link my family, past and present, through Torah. Thus, I have made an effort to include in each volume some Torah thoughts from my father, Rabbi Shmuel Pesach z"l Bogomilsky, and my grandfather, Rabbi Tzvi Hakohen z"l Kaplan.
To find some Torah insights from my grandfather, I contacted members of my family, and learned some interesting biographical information. He arrived in the United States at the end of 1924, and soon after was invited to join the faculty of Yeshivah Torah Vodaath, where he served with distinction for twenty-seven years. He was not only a teacher par excellence, but also an eloquent and articulate speaker in Yiddish. Upon the request of Torah institutions here and abroad, he would regularly make appeals on their behalf in synagogues throughout New York.
My uncle, Reb Shimon Hakohen Kaplan has notebooks containing my grandfather's lessons and writings. Among them I was fortunate to find one in which he kept a record of the synagogues he spoke in on a given Shabbat and the pesukim which he expounded (most probably to avoid repeating ideas in the same shul). In this notebook I found some derashot written at length and drew from there for this volume.
In 5708 (1948) my father-in-law, Reb Pinchas z"l Sudak, emigrated to Eretz Yisrael and on Asarah B'Tevet, 5757, he passed away. This volume, which is being published in the year of his passing, and which contains the parshah for his namesake, Pinchas, is dedicated to his memory.
All the years of his life, he diligently followed the advice of King David, "When you eat the labor of your hands you are happy and all is well with you" (Psalms 128:2). While toiling for a livelihood, he simultaneously excelled in pursuing the three pillars of Torah, avodah and gemilut chassadim. In addition to his personal Torah study, he participated in many group Torah studies. He was among the first to be at the minyan and strived that the shul and the davening be in proper decorum. His charitable activities in Russia and Israel were also noteworthy.
The Gemara (Berachot 8a) explains that King David's statement, "You are happy and all is well with you," is not a redundancy; rather it means, "You are happy" — in this world — and "all is well with you" — in the world to come. Undoubtedly, his good deeds, which earned him much praise in this world, will assure him an honorable place in the world to come.
The Gemara (Shabbat 23b) says, "He who loves Torah scholars, is blessed with sons who are Torah scholars. He who honors Torah scholars, is blessed with sons-in-law who are Torah scholars." Reb Pinchas z"l was both, and Hashem rewarded him twofold.
King Shlomo says, "Veshabei'ach ani et hameitim shekevar meitu min hachaim asher heimah chaim adenah" (Ecclesiastics 4:2). Aside from the popular translation ("I consider more fortunate the dead who had already died than the living who are still alive"), the words of the wisest of all men can be explained as follows: "Vesha'bei'ach ani et hameitim" — "The praise I say of the deceased" — "min hachayim asher heimah chaim adenah" — is derived from and based on the survivors who are alive." They are his reflection and the source of his praise.
Reb Pinchas z"l is survived by a beautiful Torah-oriented and Chassidic family. Their accomplishments in Divine service and inter-human relationships speak the most emphatic words of praise about him.
May his family continue to live in a manner which will add to his praise and may he be a good emissary before the heavenly tribunal on behalf of them and K'lal Yisrael
May we merit the time when "Hakitzu veranenu shochnei afar" — "Those resting in the earth will awake and shout for joy" (Isaiah 26:19).
Rabbi Moshe Bogomilsky
11 Nissan, 5757
Transliteration generally employs the Sephardi accent, with the following usages:
- Words with a final hei are spelled with a final "h."
- "Ei" (the vowel-sound in "freight") is used for a tzere.
- "Ai" is used for the vowel-sound in the word "tide."
- An apostrophe is used between distinct consecutive vowels, as in "Ba'al."
- An "e" is used for a vocalized sheva, i.e. "bemeizid," not "b'meizid."
- "F" is preferred to "ph."
- "O" is used for cholem.
- Doubling of consonants is generally avoided.
Use of Italics:
Transliterated Hebrew words are generally given in italics without capitalization, except for proper nouns, which are capitalized and, in the case of names, not italicized. Some exceptions are made for very familiar Hebrew words, such as "Torah."
English and Hebrew:
Names of Biblical persons and names of the books of the Pentateuch are given in Hebrew, but other books of Tanach are given in English; thus "Moshe" is preferred to "Moses," "Bereishit" to "Genesis," and "Proverbs" to "Mishlei." Generally English words are preferred to Hebrew ones, but often the content requires the use of the Hebrew.
Exceptions:
Exceptions to these rules most often involve forms already familiar to the English reader, forms that would otherwise be awkward, and ones likely to be mispronounced.
Bechukotai