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Biography of Yehuda Katz | Archives | This Week's Parsha

This Torah thought is being dedicated to my beloved father, Nachman Shimon ben Yehuda Meir Hakohan, Z"L.

VAYEICHI

"Then Jacob called for his sons and said,"Gather yourselves and I will tell you what will be in the End of Days."(49:1)

Before Jacob was to pass away,he wished to reveal to his sons the time when the Messiah will arrive.The SHALA Hakodesh ( Rabbi Isaiha Horowitz,ZS"L) writes, that when Jacob used the language of "Gather yourselves", it is to teach us that in order for the "End of Days " to occur all hatred must be eradicated from the tribes of Israel. The nation of Israel must be one unified unit.......This is hinted to in the very words of "Gather yourselves" into one brotherly unit, devoid of hatred and animosity...................(end) In addition,Tractate Yoma 9a states that the Temple was destroyed due to baseless hatred among the people...........

A very fundamental question can be asked, How can we ourselves eradicate hatred , and thus actively bring about the Messiah? Perhapes the following will help,Bezrat Hashem: The total eradication of hatred from our hearts begins primarily in how we perceive another person and ourselves. By realizing that every soul is beloved by G-d and uniquely created to fulfill its individual purpose , a person can begin to understand the foolishness in baseless jealousy and animosity..............If your friend is unique and your unique, so why be jealous? This can be further explained by an original MOSHAL (parable) as follows:

There once existed a poor village boy who was very curious about how things work,especially clocks. One day he decided to take a clock apart and examine its parts to further his understanding of the clocks mechanics......After much study and observation, he felt it was time to put it back together.................However, he soon discovered that some of the parts were left over and not placed in the clock..............But since at first glance the clock seemed to work, perhapes he thought that these parts were extra and unnecessary..................After a few days, the village boy soon realized that the clock was off by a few minutes and that these minutes will turn into hours over time..........This village boy realized the importance and value of every individual part that makes up the entire clock.................... Its is important to realize that G-d has a purpose,and that every Jew has a part in the realization of this purpose...............Just like every part of the clock is important in order for the proper functioning of the clock, so to every Jew is equally vital in the fulfillment of G-ds purpose.....................Furthermore, when Jacob blessed his sons before his passing, he also revealed to them their unique tribal purpose in order to further instill in them the respect each tribe should have for the other............Have a good Shabbos

 


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