vital information: Fwd: Torat Imecha Haftorah

Thursday, January 23, 2025

Fwd: Torat Imecha Haftorah - Vaeira

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: The OU Women's Initiative <ouwomen@ounetwork.org>
Date: Thu, Jan 23, 2025, 7:05 AM
Subject: Torat Imecha Haftorah - Vaeira
To: <agentemes4@gmail.com>

Torat Imecha Haftorah for Sefer Shemot is dedicated by the family of Rabbi Dr. Israel Rivkin z"l, ישרא–ל בן רפא–ל זאב ז׳׳ל, as an aliyah for his neshama.

Haftorah Shemot

Mrs. Sara Malka Winter

Listen Now

Mrs. Sara Malka Winter holds a Master of Science degree in education and is a sought-after speaker in her community of Silver Spring, Maryland. As a teenager, Mrs. Winter founded Ashreinu, a Canadian kiruv organization dedicated to Jewish outreach to the Russian immigrant community, which has influenced hundreds of girls. Mrs. Winter lived in Israel for eight years with her family, where she taught and lectured across Jerusalem in seminaries, outreach centers, and high schools. In 2008, Mrs. Winter moved to Maryland to help found the Greater Washington Community Kollel, together with her husband, Rabbi Menachem Winter. She continues to lecture throughout the Washington, DC area as a Senior Lecturer for the Kollel on diverse topics, including Tefillah, Chumash, Nach, Tehillim, Chagim, and Mitzvos. Mrs. Winter is also a beloved teacher at the Yeshiva of Greater Washington Girls Division. At the OU Women's Initiative, Sara Malka taught Sefer Tehillim 53-62 and 120-134 to over 5,000 women worldwide as part of the Torat Imecha Nach Yomi program.

Dvar Haftorah

OU Women's Initiative

Founding Director

Rebbetzin Dr.

Adina Shmidman

Our Holy Mission

Parshat Vaeira

Yechezkel 28:25-29:21

As individuals, we carry a profound responsibility to sanctify Hashem's name in our everyday lives. A Kiddush Hashem moment can happen anywhere—in the grocery store, gas station or the library. Whether speaking with integrity, extending kindness to a stranger, or showing patience in difficult situations, each interaction is an opportunity to message Hashem's values and spread His presence in this world.

The opening of this week's Haftorah expands this idea on a national scale. Yechezkel shares a vision of redemption: בְּקַבְּצִ֣י אֶת־בֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל מִן־הָֽעַמִּים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָפֹ֣צוּ בָ֔ם וְנִקְדַּ֥שְׁתִּי בָ֖ם לְעֵינֵ֣י הַגּוֹיִ֑ם, when I gather the House of Israel from the nations where they have been dispersed, I will be sanctified through them in the eyes of the nations (Yechezkel 28:25). Rav Yonason Eibshitz in his work Ahavas Yehonasan observes that this redemption was not simply about the physical return of the Jewish people to their land during the time of the second Beit HaMikdash; it was about the sanctification of Hashem's name—v'nikdashti b'ammi.

The Navi Chaggai describes the Second Temple as greater than the First - גָּד֣וֹל יִֽהְיֶ֡ה כְּבוֹד֩ הַבַּ֨יִת הַזֶּ֤ה הָאַֽחֲרוֹן֙ מִן־הָ֣רִאשׁ֔וֹן אָמַ֖ר ה' צְבָקוֹת, The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former, says Hashem, Master of Legions (Chaggai 2:9). And yet, the Gemara (Yoma 21b) explains that there were five features that the Second Beit HaMikdash lacked - the Aron Kodesh, its cover and cherubs, the heavenly fire on the Mizbeach, the Shechina, Ruach HaKodesh, and the ability to receive Divine guidance through the Urim V'Tumim. How then was the Second Beit MaMikdash greater, given its spiritual deficiencies?

Rav Yonason Eibshitz explains that the Second Beit HaMikdash surpassed the First in one critical way: its impact on the broader world. During the First Beit Hamikdash, the miracles and Divine presence were internal, known only to the Jewish people. The nations around them remained largely unaware. In contrast, during the Second Beit HaMikdash era, non-Jews traveled to Yerushalayim, witnessing firsthand the rebuilding of the Jewish nation and marveling at Hashem's hand in history.

This is the meaning of Yechezkel's words: "I will be sanctified through them in the eyes of the nations." The sanctity of the Second Temple was not limited to internal holiness; it extended outward, inspiring belief and reverence among the nations. This Kiddush Hashem was not simply a product of miracles but of the collective actions and presence of the Jewish people, who reflected Hashem's presence to the world around them.

This principle carries profound relevance for us today. While we may not live in a time of open miracles, we are obligated to make Hashem's presence known through our actions. Every choice we make—to act with kindness, honesty, and refinement—creates a Kiddush Hashem. These moments, however small they may seem, bring holiness into the world and fulfill our role both as individuals and as a nation to illuminate the Divine. May we rise to this responsibility and merit to see the ultimate fulfillment of this vision with the final redemption.