CONGREGATION
MELECH YISRAEL OF TORONTO
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CONGREGATION
MELECH YISRAEL OF TORONTO |
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Devarim {2:18} You are this day to pass over Ar, the border of Moav(Moab): {2:19} and when you come near over against bnei Ammon, don't bother them, nor contend with them; for I will not give you of the land of bnei Ammon for a possession; because I have given it to bnei Lot for a possession. Devarim {2:24} Rise you up, take your journey, and pass over the valley of the Arnon: behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. {2:25} This day will I begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole sky, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of you. Devarim {3:1} Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. {3:2} HaShem said to me, “Don't fear him; for I have delivered him, and all his people, and his land, into your hand; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” Have you read the four passages of Scripture that I have presented? You will need to if you are really going to understand what I have to say about Parash Devarim. From these Scriptures I derived that there were some battles that HaShem did not want bnei Yisrael to fight. Left to themselves they probably would have attacked and fought every country that apposed them. If they would have done that there certainly would have been battles that they would have lost. This most probably would have been because HaShem did not want them to fight them in the first place. Similarly, I believe, there are battles that HaShem does not want us to fight either. My philosophy is, and I have shared it with you before, that if you would like to know how G-d works in your life then study how He worked with bnei Yisrael in Scriptures. You can learn a lot from the way HaShem worked with bnei Yisrael, His children, throughout history because this is the way He works with us, His children! You may find what I am about to tell you a bit silly, but I believe that what I have to say has been proved out by the Word of G-d as in the passages you read above. When I counsel engaged couples, even married couples for that matter, I tell them (mostly the men) that they need to pick their fights. I encourage them not to argue with their spouse over every little detail, but rather to pick their battles and to pick them very carefully. Not every battle is meant to be fought and there are battles that we must back down from so that we can live to fight the bigger ones. If a husband and a wife chose to fight over everything that upsets them about their spouse then they would never cease fighting and there would never be peace in the house. In addition, fighting over every little thing gives the impression that you always want to have your own way, something that only causes further contention in a family. Men, we are not supposed to be bullies who force our way upon our wives and families with a brutish attitude, but there are some things, when it comes to running a biblically based family, that we must take a hard and fast stand on. It is these battles that we should save our fights for. At this point in their history bnei Yisrael had an excellent relationship with their G-d and, when consulted, He directed them not only in which battles to fight, but also in all the other aspect of their lives. This type of leading and direction from God is also availability to us if we keep G-d in the center of our marriages and, or if single, in the center of our lives. Not all of the battles that present them selves to you are meant to be fought and not all of the enemies that come against you are meant to be defeated. However, if you acknowledge G-d in everything in your life He will direct your path. Mishlei (Proverbs) {3:6} In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Baruch HaShem Rabbi Jack (Ya'acov) Farber |
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