Rabbi
Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi,
Kehillat New Hempstead
Rebbe/Guidance
Counselor – ASHAR
Principal
– Ohr Naftoli- New Windsor
STAM
TORAH
PARSHAS ACHREI
MOS
“INSPECT YOUR BRAKES”
Chrysler recall of vehicles for possible brake failure
By Peter Valdes-Dapena, senior writer January
19, 2010
Some of these vehicles could have an
improperly formed brake booster rod retaining clip, and some Ram trucks may
have been built without the piece. The part is necessary for consistent and
proper functioning of the brakes...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now
It's the Brakes on the Prius, as Toyota Recall
Spreads to Japan
Japanese Government Asks Car Maker to Investigate Brakes on
2010 Prius
BY MARGARET CONLEY -- ABC News
Feb. 3,
2010
The Japanese
government has called on Toyota to investigate a
number of complaints about the 2010 Prius in North America and Japan
"While I was
trying to park the car at home, I stepped on the brake pedal but didn't stop
and I ran into my house," read the details of a complaint as translated on
the Ministry of Transport's homepage.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Toyota
By Hiroko
Tabuchi and Bill Vlasic - NY Times
Published:
February 5, 2010
Since last fall, Mr. Toyoda and his top United States executives have been struggling to
find the words to calm consumers about the safety of Toyota
After the first big recall of Toyota
The company has recalled about nine million
cars worldwide, and reports are growing of fatal accidents involving possibly
defective Toyota
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Published: March 17th, 2010
A recall is being issued for
approximately 412,000 Honda Odyssey minivans and Honda Element sport utility
vehicles (SUVs) due to brake problems that have caused a number of
crashes.
The Honda brake
recall was announced on Tuesday by American Honda Motor Co.,
Inc. after the Japanese automaker received complaints that the brakes in
certain 2007-2008 model year vehicles felt “soft” and lost effectiveness over
time.
Defective manufacturing allows air
to slowly enter into the Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) modulator, which is
part of the brake systems of the recalled vehicles, Honda said. This results in
the brakes not engaging until the pedal is pushed closer to the floor than
usual, and the Honda brake problems may worsen over time.
The Torah introduces its discussion about the
details of the Yom Kippur Service performed by the Kohain Gadol by stating that
G-d instructed these laws to Moshe, “After the death of the two sons of Aharon,
when they approached before G-d, and they died[1].”
The Torah seems to be conveying that there is a
vital lesson to be learned from the death of the sons of Aharon that must
preface the unique and holy Yom Kippur Service. What is that underlying
message?
The commentators offer numerous explanations for
what exactly was the sin that Nadav and Avihu, the two righteous sons of
Aharon, committed that warranted immediate death in the sanctuary. The Torah
states, “Nadav and Avihu died before G-d when they offered an alien fire before
G-d…[2]” Righteous and holy as they
were, Nadav and Avihu were guilty of overzealousness. In their unyielding
excitement and burning desire to serve G-d they performed an act which had not
been authorized by G-d.
Their death served as a vital example that one
cannot dictate G-d’s Will. It is not within our purview to compose our own
dictates and laws, and we have no right to add to His Commandments. Rather it
is incumbent upon us to adhere to the laws and commandments of G-d as He
commands them[3].
This idea had to be understood before Aharon could
be instructed about the Yom Kippur Service. On the holiest day of the year the
holiest man in the world was to enter the holiest place on earth. At such an
intense moment he may be tempted to add to the Service. He may be seized with
such feelings of devotion and love to G-d that he may want to do more than what
he was instructed. Thus does the Torah commence its narrative of the Yom Kippur
Service by invoking the memory of the tragic death of Nadav and Avihu. He must
remember that the Service is Divinely ordained. The Kohain Gadol would only be
able to achieve penitence and forgiveness for the nation if he followed the
prescribed modus operandi.
In the Hagaddah we quote the verse[4], “And I passed over you and I
saw you downtrodden in your blood and I said to you: “Through your blood shall
you live!” And I said to you: “Through your blood shall you live”.”
Rashi explains that the prophet repeats the words,
“In your blood you shall live” in reference to the ‘two bloods’ in whose merit
our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt: the blood of the Pesach sacrifice and
the blood of circumcision[5].
However, the Torah records a different merit for
which they were redeemed from Egypt ,
“This shall be your sign that I have sent you: When you take the people out of Egypt Egypt
Rabbi Yaakov Galinsky zt”l explains with a
personal anecdote:
“I was once traveling on a bus from Tel Aviv to
Rechovot to teach. Next to the driver there was a sign posted which said the
following: “Driver, check the belamim before you go on your way.” The sign was
signed by ‘the committee for the prevention of car accidents’.
I asked the driver what the sign said. He replied,
“Don’t you know Hebrew?” I answered that I was from B’nei Brak and only knew
Biblical Hebrew. The word בלמים was
a Modern Hebraic word.
The driver was only too happy to explain, “You see
every car has בלמים,
what you call ‘brakes’. At times the brakes can become jammed or disconnected
making it impossible to stop the bus, which can cause an accident. Therefore,
the sign reminds all drivers to be proactive, by making sure the brakes are in
perfect working order before they pull out of the parking lot.”
I nodded, “Now I understand. But tell me; is the
sign for people too?” He looked at me with a look of perplexity. I explained,
“Every person also travels along a road. It’s a long road which begins in our
youth and continues into our old age. Our brakes are our power of restraint, our
ability to hold ourselves back from wrongdoing and to swallow our pride when necessary.
How many ‘accidents’ happen because people fail to test their brakes and make
sure they are greased and in good working order before they get onto that road?
What a great and profound reminder; we always have to check our brakes before
we begin our journey down the roads of life.”
Based on that story, Rabbi Galinski explained that
in truth our ultimate merit for leaving Egypt
We proved that we were committed by circumcising
ourselves and thereby engraving the mark of distinctiveness into our bodies,
and by slaughtering the lamb, the god of the Egyptians. Only when we had proven
that our brakes were vibrant and strong were we ready to exercise our true
merit, the fact that we were destined to become the Torah nation.
Before the Kohain Gadol could begin the elite Yom
Kippur Service he had to ensure that he understood his limits. He could not
allow himself to be overcome by passion and love. He had to know his boundaries
and the laws which governed his every action during those most intense moments
of the Holy Day.
And before Klal Yisroel could leave Egypt
After a baby is circumcised the Mohel calls out, “זה
הקטן גדול יהיה – This small/young one,
shall become great.” Now that he has been entered into the covenant of our
patriarch Avrohom, he has been indelibly marked with the symbol of the
distinctness and diverseness of a Jew. In doing so he has begun his quest to
become a גדול.
On the tenth of Nissan
when the Jewish people
heeded G-d’s command to transcend their fear and set aside a lamb for its
eventual slaughter in full view of the Egyptians, that too was a mark of
greatness. The Jews had demonstrated that they dared to be different, and that
transformed them into גדולים
- great
people.
The courage to be unique and different, to not
succumb or submit to the surrounding culture, and to be able to ‘step on the
brakes’ vis-à-vis the trends of the times, is a symbol of greatness. Therefore,
the day when Klal Yisroel set aside the lambs following their circumcision, was
a day of transformation when they became גדולים -
great people. How apt then that the Shabbos prior to Pesach is titled, ‘Shabbos
Hagadol – the great Shabbos’ or ‘the Shabbos of the great’. It is the Shabbos
when we set out on the path towards greatness by demonstrating our national
maturity as a special and unique nation.
“After the death of the two sons of Aharon”
“Through your blood shall you live”
[1] 16:1
[2] Bamidbar 3:4
[3] This should not be confused with
customs and personal/communally accepted stringencies which are important and
necessary. Here we are discussing adding to G-d’s commands, as opposed to
differences in understanding of what the command is, or going beyond the letter
of the law.
[4] Yechezkel 16:6
[5] In order to partake of the
Pesach offering all males had to be circumcised. Since the overwhelming
majority of the nation had never been circumcised during the Egyptian exile they
had to do so just days before the redemption. Then on the day prior to the
exodus they slaughtered the Pascal lamb, despite the fact that the lamb was the
god of the Egyptians. They then smeared the blood of the offering upon their
doorposts. It was in the merit of these two acts which involved the flowing of
blood that we ‘lived’, i.e. were redeemed from Egyptian bondage.
[6] Shemos 3:12
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