Feb 5, 2023

Raize Guttman 02-05-23 (14 Shvat 5783)

Tu B'Shvat
Parshat Vayishlach Ch 33  V 18-20


Tu B'shvat is on the 15th (tu) of Shvat.  It is the New Year and Yom Din (Day of Judgement) for the trees. As in all other points in the Jewish calendar, Tu B'Shvat offers a opportunity for insight into living and personal growth and getting closer in our relationship to Hashem.  On Tu B'Shvat we make  a Seder with fruit, and before enjoying it, we recite a bracha (a blessing). An apple is not just an apple; an apple is a blessing. Maybe I could believe that apples come from trees, but a blessing could only come from Hashem.   The roots of the tree remind of our tzniut  (modesty) as women.  They are hidden deep in the earth, and are supporting the entire tree and allowing it to grow and thrive.


Parsha Vayishlach - Yaakov arrives "intact" from Padan Aram to the city of Shechem.  Rav  Pam from Torah Ha Das, comments he came "intact" because of the Torah that he learned in the  Yeshiva of Shem  & Ever.  Torah  was part of him, and this is what gave him the strength to stand up.  He did not just learn Torah it was entrenched in his blood; it was him, it was not just a nice story.  He internalized and inculcated it.  He was Torah and so he remained intact. Chapter 33 ends with Yaakov buying part of field where he had pitched his tent 
There is built a mizbeach (an altar). He called it the Gd of Israel, to thank Hashem because he was always with him and created so many miracles for him.
May our clinging to Torah be a shmira (a protection/a guard) for all of us!!



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