לזכות רפואה שלימה בקרוב – עודד דוד בן ציפורה בתוך שאר חולי ישראל
In a continuation of last week’s inspiration, Parshas Yisro provides us with one of the most primary perspectives we must obtain in our unending objective of achieving closeness to the Ribono Shel Olam.
At the foot of Har Sinai we were given 613 mitzvos, which, loosely translated, are referred to as “commandments.” In truth, however, they are so much more than commandments – or even obligations. Each mitzvah is a remedy. A guide. An insight into Hashem’s Omnipotence and perfect Oneness. Every mitzvah Divinely divulges the ultimate truth: Hashem is everything & every single thing is Him.
With this in mind, we are faced with a few obvious questions, namely: what exactly does Hashem want from us if He lacks nothing? What does He desire if all belongs to Him? Furthermore – if we really wanted to take a giant step back – now that He deemed it necessary for us to exist, why give us the myriad challenges that we will inevitably go through if He is all-knowing? In other words, Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn’t need to administer tests in order to discover results, so why put us through the whole song and dance in the first place?
As if it were possible to truly understand Hashem and His infinite ways… it isn’t, so we never will. However, the Torah does give us many explicit insights that shed some light into these, and many other colossal questions we may have regarding life’s purpose.
One such source is one with which we are actually quite familiar. The Mishna in Makkos (3:16) quotes the fourth generation Tanna, Rabi Chananya ben Akashya, who says: רָצָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְזַכּוֹת אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל – Hashem wanted to bestow merit upon the Jewish people, לְפִיכָךְ הִרְבָּה לָהֶם תּוֹרָה וּמִצְווֹת – He therefore gave them a vast Torah and a plethora of mitzvos. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר – As it is stated (Yeshaya 42:21): הַ’ חָפֵץ לְמַעַן צִדְקוֹ יַגְדִּיל תּוֹרָה וְיַאְדִּיר – Hashem desired for the sake of [Bnei Yisroel’s] righteousness that the Torah be expanded and strengthened.
This is essentially the argument that Moshe Rabbeinu used when he debated the Malachim regarding where the Torah belonged. It is to be given to Yisroel for their benefit, he argued; the more תורה and מצוות and the greater the challenge they present – the higher the Yidden are induced to rise. But you, the celestial servants, are stationary beings, and do not rise or fall in your עבודת השם. And so, much more than the fact that you do not need the Torah, is that it was not created for you at all!
Hashem, in His great love for the Jewish people, has given them 248 dos and 365 don’ts in order for them to reach the levels of greatness that they were created to achieve, and to merit the ultimate reward, ‘דביקות בה – closeness to their loving Father in heaven.
Today’s song choice, Rotzoh, was sung by Dedi as the title track of his second studio album back in 1993. In what’s beginning to seem like some sort of pattern, today’s choice was composed by none other than Yossi Green, and can be pretty much chiefly credited as the song that put Dedi Graucher on the map. {What is most remarkable about this song is that it has more than the usual two or three parts that we are accustomed to hearing in popular Jewish music. Depending on how you count it, there are up to 8 distinct sections of the song. However, that did not stop it from being sung just about everywhere – from camps to concert halls all over the world. Amazingly, it is still magical and magnificent, three decades later.}
Following the album’s release, Dedi’s music career sky-rocketed, allowing him to showcase himself as the bona fide superstar that he is. Dedi was everywhere. He was touring the world and releasing albums one after the next. If you were ever lucky enough to attend a Dedi concert you can attest to the immense joy and excitement that he brought to a crowd. You never knew what to expect! Would he come out dressed up like Pavarotti? (Yes.) Would he interrupt a pumping song to tell a joke? (Yes. Many, many times.) And who can forget his famous wired-microphone flips!? Dedi was truly a one-of-a-kind entertainer.
This morning we learned that Dedi (Oded Dovid ben Tzipporah), who had been recovering from a serious health episode he suffered in 2018, has been hospitalized again and is currently in a complicated medical condition. We owe him our heartfelt tefillos for a complete and speedy recovery, b’ezras Hashem.

Dedi’s involvement and closeness to Camp HASC is legendary. Not only did he sing often for the children, but he would also personally raise money for various upgrades to their facility. I would be hard-pressed not to post what I think is the finest rendition of this timeless tune – Ladies and Gentlemen, from his performance at the Metropolitan Opera House for HASC’s A Time for Music XV on January 13, 2002 accompanied by Toronto’s Kol Chaverim Choir, we present to you – Rotzoh.
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