Parshas Divarim

"I really must thank you for pointing that out to me.I don't know what
I was thinking: To pay $25 for "Microsoft Word 2004", when in the stores it
cost $125. He was obviously a pirate (not the good kind from Pittsburgh) and
I was a partner to his crime."

In a brilliant essay on "rebuke", (this week's parshas has many subtle
and not so subtle rebukings of Moshe to Bnai Yisrael), Rav Yerucham Levovitz
zt"l talks about accepting criticism as a reality check and a vehicle of
growth.

Two lost arts:1) giving and 2) receiving criticism.

Have a great Shabbos !!

Can you share some more of Rav Yerucham's essay with us?

Thanks

Gila

Dear Gila,
Thanks for the question.
Rav Yerucham says that people sin when their guard (against doing wrong)is down. An application of that is, when people feel that they haven't sinned, by definition their guard is down. Only when I realize that I have sinned in the past do I realize that I am vulnerable to slipping again. Therefore, Moshe's rebuke of Bnai Yisrael was just on things that they had done in the past.
There is much to be thought about, on how to apply this in 2005.
Take care. Good Shabbos.
Rabbi Flom