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<DIV><SPAN class=341221915-18072008><FONT face=Arial>One of my all time
favorites from R' Sacks (although I always call it Tzipita
Lyeshua?)</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=341221915-18072008><FONT face=Arial>May we speedily learn the
lesson.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=341221915-18072008><FONT face=Arial>KT<BR>Joel
Rich</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face=Arial size=1>Rabbi Yonason Sacks</FONT></EM>
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<H1><FONT face=Arial><I>U'Mipnai Chatoeinu</I></FONT></H1></CENTER>
<P><FONT face=Arial>The three weeks from <I>shiva asar b'Tamuz</I> to <I>Tisha
B'Av </I>mark an intense period of universal mourning. During this time we face
the difficult challenge of <I>aveilus</I> commemorating the destruction of the
<I>Beis Hamikdash</I>. For many of us, however, this experience may seem
somewhat distant and remote. How do we internalize the loss of something that we
never witnessed and experienced. How do we, living in a blessed era or religious
freedom and growth, yearn for the building of the <I>Beis
Hamikdash</I>?</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>A profound lesson can be gleaned from the plight of the
<I>eved ivri</I>, the Jewish bondsman. The Torah (<I>Shemos</I> 21) allows the
court to sell a thief into slavery to raise funds to pay his victims. If after
six years of servitude he chooses to remain a slave his ear is bored. Rashi
(21:6) cites the <I>Gemara</I> (<I>Kiddushin</I> 22b) which states,
“<I>u'ma ra'ah ozen leiratza mikol sha'ar eivarim shebaguf? Amar Rabban Yochanan
ben Zakai, ozen shesham'a al Har Sinai 'Lo Signov' v'halach v'ganav teiratze</I>
– and what is it about the ear that it should be bored of all the organs of the
body? Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai said it was the ear that heard at Mt. Sinai 'You
shall not steal', and yet he went and stole, therefore let it be
bored.”</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>The Maharal Diskin questions the timing of the boring of the
ear. If the purpose of <I>retzia</I> is to teach the <I>eved</I> the lesson of
<I>lo signov</I>, why do we pierce his ear now - wouldn't it be more fitting to
pierce his ear at the time that he stole? The Maharal Diskin explains that the
true punishment for stealing was his being sold as a slave. However, when his
years of servitude come to an end and he proclaims, “<I>lo eitzei chofshi</I>- I
shall not go free”, it becomes clear that what was intended as a punishment was
perceived by the <I>eved</I> as an ideal. It now becomes necessary to punish him
again by boring his ear.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial><I>Golus</I> is a punishment. Our challenge, especially
during these three weeks, is to realize that although <I>b'chasdei Hashem</I> we
live in a time of abundant <I>beracha</I>, nevertheless “<I>U'Mipnai chatoeinu
galinu meiartzeinu</I> – because of our sins we were exiled from our
land.”</FONT></P></DIV><br><br><table bgcolor=white style="color:black"><tr><td><br>THIS MESSAGE IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE <br>
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