Divrei Mav

Parshas Naso 2015 Avigdor Laib (Maverick) Peters               “A man’s holiness is his….” (Numbers 5:10). We can look at our lives as if we are standing in the foyer preparing ourselves at a wedding that waits ahead. Our effort to primp and preen our clothes to look our very best before we enter, is similar to our efforts in olam hazeh (this lifetime) to prepare for our arrival in olam habah (the world to come).   A man, Jacob, has three friends. His first friend is his best friend. A person who he can really count on for anything. His second friend is not quite as close with Jacob but still a friend indeed. The third, Jacob likes but is not that close to, just a person that he is friendly with from time to time. One day Jacob receives a letter that summons him to court immediately he will stand trial for his life. Desperate, he runs to his best friend’s house and asks him to be his advocate and witness. His friend knows wholeheartedly that Jacob is innocent but h

Parshas Behar and Bechukosai 2015 Avigdor Laib (Maverick) Peters   The Torah is often known in the secular world as the “five books of Moses”. In truth, this is highly misleading for it gives an apparent connotation that Moshe himself actually authored the Torah. This assumption is not only incorrect but it is also prohibited. We as Jews are required to live with a concrete belief and an unwavering faith that the Torah is of Divine origin (from Hashem). The laws of the Shemittah year discussed this week are a strong proof that no man could have possibly written the Torah.               The Shemittah year (lit. Sabbatical year) is the seven year in the seven year cycle. This year is solely to let the land rest. No Jewish farm owner can work his field (in Israel) during this year. It serves as a “Shabbos” (time of rest) for the agricultural element of creation (Jews and the animals have every seventh day). One would ask, “If the fields cannot be worked then how will th