17 Adar II, 5774 (3/19/14) – Sukkah#44 {Eliezer}
Tonight, 18 Adar II, is my brother Nachie’s Yartzeit.
Please learn in his memory: Menachem Tzvi ben Chaim Yitzchak. His Neshama should have an aliyah.
Please learn in his memory: Menachem Tzvi ben Chaim Yitzchak. His Neshama should have an aliyah.
R’ Ovadia Yoseph [in Yechave Daas, 3:48]: Our Gemarah mentions that we beat and bang the aravos on the ground. He quotes Teshuvas HaGaonim: The Midrash explains the aravos are representational of lips. From the New Year until now (on Sukkos) we are flooded with mitzvos and Hoshana Raba is the last of these days. We need to “close the mouth/lips” of anyone who might want to now come and harm us. Therefore, we beat them closed, and bang the lips’ words down to the ground. We stop any harm from being uttered and any potential words that escaped should be worthless and fall to the ground instead of actualizing any negative potential.
E’s Lesson: Understand the POWER our speech has. G-d SAID “Let there be light”, and it WAS. Words are creation, as Hashem taught us from the beginning. The Chofetz Chaim devoted a majority of his life to teaching people about the terrible magnitude of Lashon Hara (evil speech). Think extremely carefully before you utter whimsical forces throughout reality, and speak them cautiously. Use speech as only a positive creative force in this world to be a ‘partner in creation’ of ultimate good.