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The Rosh on this week’s Torah portion of Lech Lecha explains a gemara in Nedarim 32a that discusses an argument about why Avraham was punished by his descendants being enslaved for 210 years in Egypt. Shmuel says it is because he questioned Hashem’s decree when he said “How am I to know that I will inherit it” (Breishis 15:8). The Rosh explains that the way he expressed himself, the words that came out of his mouth, was inappropriate (not that he actually felt in his heart what he said). (Click here for Hebrew text.)
The other answer given by Rebbe Abahu in the name of Rebbe Elazar is because he recruited Torah scholars to aid him in the war against the four kings, as the Torah states “and he mobilized his trained men, those who were born in his house” (Breishis 14:14). The Rosh explains that Avraham Avinu was punished for sending his students, who he taught mitzvos to, as his vanguard in war. (Click here for Hebrew text of gemara Nedarim.)
Avraham joined the war of the four kings verse the five kings in order to save his nephew Lot who was captured. It was a personal matter of life and death and the Ra”n in Nedarim says the problem was that he took his students who he taught Torah into war, and Rashi there describes that he taught them Torah like a person who poured liquid from one vessel into another, that is how he taught them Torah. These people were obviously close confidantes of Avraham who he trusted as the best soldiers to weaponize for war to save his nephew, Lot. Why should he be punished for the decision that he made? Anyone else that he could have recruited, let’s say his normal servants (besides Eliezer who was his most trusted servant, which one opinion in that gemara holds was the only other person who joined Avraham in battle.) or outside friends or mercenaries, who says they could be trusted? His students were the closest ones to him who could be most trusted; so why was Avraham punished?
It would seem that those that were learning Torah were meant to be staying and learning. Each person has a purpose in life and has their own role in contributing to the fight. The Torah student’s role is to accrue merits for the fighters through their learning and prayers that brings spiritual protection to the fighters on the front line. Taking them away from their main role, on some slight, minuscule level, was a lack of faith in Hashem’s choice for giving individualized purpose to every person. In fact, the Rosh in Nedarim says the real sin was clearly stated as being questioning Hashem, as Shmuel said but Rebbe Abahu in the name of Rebbe Elazer held that this sin of sending the Torah learners out to war was the precursor punishment that allowed Avraham to fall into the trap of questioning Hashem of saying the expression “bameh aidah“.
We see how important it is for everyone to acknowledge that each individual has a certain purpose in the world, to recognize that purpose and to excel at it as much as he possibly can because that is Hashem’s destiny for that individual.
Sending the Torah student to war would be like requiring someone to always walk on their hands. Granted it’s possible and the more one works at it the better he’ll become but a person is not supposed to walk on their hand. Hands are made to work with, and feet are made to walk with, each one has their own purpose, and one will be a much better walker or runner by foot than by hand no matter how much practice he has.
It is possible that some people’s purpose is to learn Torah and to go out into the battlefield to fight. Everyone’s purpose is not black or white, it could be gray, but the point is that one has to figure out and then excel at their own purpose in life and others cannot criticize if someone is doing something different than them if that is supposed to be their purpose in life since everyone is different and has their own unique role in the world.
We are all like a piece of a puzzle, each piece is different and belongs in a specific place some pieces are similar to each so you know they belong in that area but they each have their own unique role, and when unified the complete picture can be seen and understood.
Noach – The Balance Between Bitachon & Hishtadlus
What made Noach such a big tzadik, a righteous person, that only he and his family deserved to survive the flood?
The pesukim in this week’s Torah portion of Noach twice mention that Noach was a tzadik before he entered the ark. The portion begins, “These are the offspring of Noach, Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generation; Noach walked with G-D” (Breishis 6:9). Then in the beginning of the next perek the Torah states, “Then Hashem said to Noach, ‘Come to the ark, you and all your household, for it is you that I have seen to be righteous before Me in this generation'” (Breishis 7:1).
The Ralbag tells us that the Torah “is informing us about the secrets of Hashem’s Divine Providence over man in specific terms and in general terms. For belief in them directs a person towards much perfection, besides the fact that the Torah in general is built upon it. This is what the Torah is teaching us when it said, “And Hashem said, ‘My spirit shall not contend evermore concerning Man since he is but flesh’ (Breishis 6:3), for the flood which was most incredibly bad, was still [Divine] providence on mankind, for He did not prevent them from reaching perfection, which is the purpose of creation just as originally. And the Torah is teaching us by saying, “because with him I saw a tzadik before Me in this generation,” for the tzadik is protected by The Blessed Hashem with incredible protection to save him from bad things that should rightfully come upon him, just as was explained by the saving of Noach and the protection Hashem gave him in this wonderful story. And if there would have been another tzadik besides him, he would have been saved with him, from the fact that the Torah goes out of its way to explain the reason why he was saved, which was that Hashem saw a tzadik before Him. What follows is that if there would have been another tzadik besides him, he would have been saved with him, to the point that if the entire generation would return to Hashem and leave their bad ways, they would have all been saved.”
It would seem from this Ralbag that what defined Noach as righteous was his incredibly high level of belief and trust in Hashem and His Divine Providence, both in general and specifically in his individual life. Because the faith of a tzadik is so incredibly intense and focused, so too the Divine Providence Hashem has over this person is more direct and personalized. Yet Hashem did not just create a force field around him and his family to save him from the elements with food from heaven. Rather, Hashem instructed Noach, “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make the ark with compartments and cover it inside with pitch… and as for you, take yourself of every food that is eaten and gather it in to yourself etc.” (6:14, 21). The Ralbag points out that “The Torah is already teaching us an incredible lesson by telling us of the command Noach was commanded, of making the ark in this exact fashion with specific parameters so that he will be protected, as well as collecting food which will be enough for while he is in the ark. There is an incredible lesson that can be learned [from these instructions] which is that even the righteous man who is guaranteed protection by Hashem should not be lax in preparing provisions for his household and to take action in the proper fashion just because he trusts in Hashem that he thinks it will be found for him food and health. All the more so all the other people should not be lax [in one’s hishtadlus, effort]. Chaza”l say, when it says, ‘in order so that Hashem, your G-D shall bless you,’ one might have thought this is true even if he sits around doing nothing, therefore it teaches you [one is blessed] ‘in all that you will do.'”
One would think that if a person is on such a high level of faith and trust in Hashem, that he is considered a tzadik under Hashem’s Divine protection, then he should not have to put in too much effort into life. In a sense, any hishtadlus [effort] is the antithesis of the highest levels of belief in Hashem’s Divine Providence, for one must believe that everything comes from Hashem and Hashem can do absolutely anything. So, if the more one trusts in Hashem the less he should have to do, and on the contrary the more personal effort one puts in the less of a connection one might think he has with Hashem! Case in point, Moshe went 40 days and 40 nights without eating, for he was on the highest level of belief in Hashem, “face to face”. Wouldn’t one think that that would be the level a tzadik like Noach might be on, if the Torah attests that he was righteous? Or at least on the level of the Jews of the desert who received manna from heaven, drank water from a rock and had Divine Protection by the Clouds of Glory!? Yet Hashem expected Noach to go to great efforts to build himself, his family, and all the animals an ark with exact dimensions, and to collect enough food for everyone.
How much exactly is the requirement for the effort one puts into his life and how does that balance with the concept of emuna and bitachon? Rabbeinu Avraham, the son of the Rambam gives general parameters to answer this question in his Sefer Hamaspik Li’ovdei Hashem. In the chapter on “prishus” he says, “the way to achieve true abstinence, meaning that with your heart, that is the effort to stand up against natural urges. For the love of this world is implanted in every person’s heart, and Shlomo already said, ‘He also but an enigma in their minds’ (Koheles 3:11). We set aside for the concept of hishtadlus the next chapter, and here we are just saying that the main effort one should have is to decide in a person’s mind a pure decision from any craze or delusions because the delights in this world are not the ultimate purpose of mankind…” Elsewhere in the next perek “Hashkeida” he says, “The main hishtadlus, efforts, should be that a person has a feeling to perfect himself spiritually, and to rise oneself, aspire oneself, and find oneself yearning for it. But afterwards focus in on the combo of soul with body and the closeness of one with the other, as well as the benefits from delectable treats, as well as one’s involvement in benefiting and settling his world, and then one will know that this is the reason of why one’s soul would be cut off from the perfection which it was destined for. Just as Shlomo said, ‘made me a keeper of the vineyards of idols, but the vineyard of my own true G-D I did not keep’ (Shir Hashirim 1:6). Because these two connections, the connection between it (the soul) and the world which it was hewn from and the connection it (the body) has from the world it finds itself involved in-are diametrically opposite. When one is strengthened the other is weakened and the amount that one is made greater, so to the other is weakened.”
We see from here that the soul and body are interconnected; therefore physical effort must always be factored in with all the trust and faith one has in Hashem. But the balance of how much effort one needs to put into this world depends on how much emuna and bitachon one has. The more belief and trust one has, the less effort one has to put into his life; not that it is zero, but it is less, (which is why Hashem expected Noach to provide for the animals, his family and himself the bare minimum of food and shelter), maybe even a lot less, than others who have less faith in Hashem. Those that have less trust in Hashem cannot rely on Him more and are expected to put in more effort, hishtadlus. The correlation between body and soul, as well as hishtadlus versus emuna and bitachon are dependent on each other and ones focus but they always coexist together in this world.
Simchas Torah/Breishis – Kavod Shabbos vs. Kavod HaTorah
On Simchas Torah we conclude the reading of the Torah and immediately start it again with the reading of the seven days of creation in the Torah portion of Breishis. The creation culminates with the Shabbos; yet the obvious question is, why did Hashem rest on the 7th day and declare it a weekly “holiday “ in perpetuity?
The Medrish Tanchuma in the second paragraph for the portion of Breishis answers this question based on a Shi’iltos di’Rav Achai Gaon, that was added into the medrish, and says that “Jews are obligated to rest on the day of Shabbos for Hashem created the world in six days and rested on Shabbos. He blessed [that day] and sanctified it, just as a person who builds his own house, and upon finishing it would throw a party. They would have a feast commemorating the conclusion of building, so that is what ‘By the seventh day G-D completed His work’ (Breishis 2:2), means. Hashem says you shall rest on Shabbos just as I rested on Shabbos, as it is written, ‘And He rested on the seventh day therefore Hashem blessed etc.’ (Shemos 20:11).” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
The medrish goes on to discuss various things we do differently on Shabbos than during the week, for example not fasting, eating and drinking fancier food and drinks to delight on Shabbos, as well as dressing up in fancy, clean clothing. One shouldn’t talk about the same subjects or in the same way as they do during the week; neither shall they walk the same way as they do during the week, for mundane matters. (The Radak in Yeshayahu 58:13 adds that one should even eat his meals at different times than during the week, before or after the normal weekday times).
The medrish then asks, “However we have to figure out, if a person is going to do a mitzvah, or going to pray, or to learn in the beis medrish, is it permitted to take big steps on Shabbos [as they would during the week]? (Big steps are defined by the Anaf Yosef as more than an amah. A normal step is an amah, meaning a half an amah between each foot when taking a step, and the sole of the foot is about a half an amah as well. An amah is 21.25 inches.) Is a mitzvah better or is honoring Shabbos better?” (The Be’ur Ha’amarim explain the question is, is honoring the Shabbos more important or is kavod HaTorah, honoring the Torah and it’s mitzvos when performing them more important? Meaning, are you considered in violation of the pasuk in Yeshaya 58:13 which says one should walk differently on Shabbos if one’s steps are too big when going to perform a mitzvah, or does it only apply to doing personal tasks?)
The Medrish answers, “Come and listen, for Rebbe Tanchum said in the name of Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi that a person should always run to do any matter of a mitzvah and even if it is on Shabbos. And Rebbe Zeira said that originally when I saw rabbis running to a Torah class on Shabbos, I said to myself that these rabbis are profaning Shabbos. When I heard what Rebbe Tanchum said, I also ran, and I concluded in my learning that the reward for going to a Torah class is in fact for the running.”
The Etz Yosef brings two reasons why the reward in Heaven for going to a Torah class is for running:
- According to Rashi, the reward for most people listening to a drasha [speech] from the rabbi is in fact the actual running to the lecture, as most of them cannot follow what he is saying, and even if they can, they won’t be able to repeat the lecture after a short period of time from when they got the reward for learning.
- According to the Maharsha, this is referring to the rabbis who show up but don’t need the shiur, for they already know halacha, but nevertheless they are rewarded for running to the class. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
How could Rebbe Zeira think his fellow rabbis were desecrating Shabbos and what was it that Rebbe Tanchum said which made Rebbe Zeira change his mind so emphatically?
On the one hand we see how respecting Shabbos is so important to the degree that we have to do many things differently, like what we eat and drink, when we eat, how we dress, talk, and even the way we get from one place to the next. They should be different on Shabbos than during the week in order to acknowledge our belief in The Creator and appreciate His handiwork.
On the other hand the importance of respecting Hashem’s Torah can be emphasized by the opening statement of the Medrish Tanchuma on this Torah portion, which is the beginning of the entire book when it says, “’In the beginning G-D created’ this is what the pasuk writes, ‘Hashem with wisdom laid out the foundation of the land’ (Mishley 3:19), and when Hashem created His world, He inquired into the Torah and created the world.” The Torah is the blueprints of creation and handbook for mankind, so in showing honor to the Torah by running to fulfill its mitzvos and learning from it, it does not take away from the sanctity and honor of Shabbos as both are for the purpose of honoring Hashem.
Rebbe Zeira must have understood all this but thought that if the pasuk in Yeshayahu went out of its way to emphasize that one must walk differently on Shabbos, then that must be in all situations. Therefore since performing a mitzvah with alacrity or learning diligently with understanding, or praying with deep intent, suffices to bring honor to the Torah on Shabbos, the speed of travel to begin that mitzvah can be slowed for the sake of honoring the Shabbos, for both can be accomplished. Indeed, it is uniformly a show of respect for Hashem; therefore it must be those rabbi are disrespecting Shabbos by running to do the mitzvah!
However when he heard Rebbe Tanchum’s statement that at all times, even on Shabbos, one should rush to perform mitzvos or listen to Torah being learned, he realized that the ultimate respect to Hashem is in showing one’s interest and passion to hear and perform the “Word of G-D,” even if one does not understand what he is listening to or knows it already and doesn’t gain anything. The rush to acknowledge the importance of listening to Torah and trying to perform His will is the ultimate show of honor to the King Of All Kings and is not a sign of lack of respect to the Shabbos, because it is all one thing, serving Hashem, The Creator Of The World, and showing excitement in performing His will.
Yom Kippur -Enjoying Shabbos is Delighting in Hashem
There are those that have the custom to say the following pesukim at the beginning of kiddush every Shabbos day meal:
| 13 If you restrain your foot because of Shabbos, from performing your affairs on My holy day, and you call Shabbos a delight, the holy of Hashem honored, and you honor it by not doing your wonted ways, by not pursuing your affairs and speaking words. | יגאִם־תָּשִׁ֚יב מִשַּׁבָּת֙ רַגְלֶ֔ךָ עֲשׂ֥וֹת חֲפָצֶ֖יךָ בְּי֣וֹם קָדְשִׁ֑י וְקָרָ֨אתָ לַשַּׁבָּ֜ת עֹ֗נֶג לִקְד֚וֹשׁ יְהֹוָה֙ מְכֻבָּ֔ד וְכִבַּדְתּוֹ֙ מֵֽעֲשׂ֣וֹת דְּרָכֶ֔יךָ מִמְּצ֥וֹא חֶפְצְךָ֖ וְדַבֵּ֥ר דָּבָֽר: | |
| 14Then, you shall delight with Hashem, and I will cause you to ride on the high places of the land, and I will give you to eat the heritage of Yaakov your father, for the mouth of Hashem has spoken. | ידאָ֗ז תִּתְעַנַּג֙ עַל־יְהֹוָ֔ה וְהִרְכַּבְתִּ֖יךָ עַל־בָּ֣מֳתֵי (כתיב בָּ֣מֳותֵי) אָ֑רֶץ וְהַֽאֲכַלְתִּ֗יךָ נַֽחֲלַת֙ יַֽעֲקֹ֣ב אָבִ֔יךָ כִּ֛י פִּ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה דִּבֵּֽר: |
These 2 pesukim are the conclusion of the Haftorah for the morning of Yom Kippur from Yeshayahu perek 58.
There are many aspects of Shabbos that are derived from these pesukim, amongst them being is the mitzvah of oneg Shabbos, delighting in Shabbos. This mitzvah is elaborated on in the gemara Shabbos 118b. Concerning the miztva of oneg Shabbos the gemara states, “Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: With regard to anyone who delights in Shabbos, G-D grants him his heart’s desires, as it is stated: “And you shall delight in G-D and He will grant you your heart’s desires” (Psalms 37:4). This delight in G-D, which is mentioned in the verse, I do not know what it is. When it says: “And you shall call Shabbos delight,” one must say: It is the delight of Shabbos. The Gemara asks: With what does one delight in the day of Shabbos? Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shmuel bar Sheilat, said in the name of Rav: With a dish of beets, and large fish, and heads of garlic. Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi said that Rav said: Even with regard to a small item and one prepared it in deference to Shabbos, it is a delight. The Gemara asks: What is the small item mentioned? Rav Pappa said: Small fried salty fish.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
What was considered a delicacy back then is very different from what we eat today. Nowadays if you want to be very fancy, people have three-layered kugels consisting of kishke, potato kugel, and pieces of meat, fancy roasts for the main course Shabbos night, pastrami meat and kishke in their cholent Shabbos day, 5 types of herring, and tons of spreads to put onto their challah, and of course dessert. By the time Shabbos is over they feel something else… sick to their stomach! Is that really what the mitzvah of delighting in Shabbos is meant to be? On the other hand, just having a can of sardines, even if you have in mind it’s for the sake of enjoying Shabbos, seems not to be the greatest respect to the mitzvah; so why just because one prepares a simple food in deference to Shabbos is it considered fulfilling the mitzvah of oneg Shabbos, delighting in Shabbos?
The Radak on these two pesukim has a very interesting approach to defining precisely what the mitzvah of oneg Shabbos is. He explains in pasuk 13 that “’If you restrain because of Shabbos’ refers to the negative mitzvos ‘and you shall call Shabbos a delight’ the positive mitzvos to delight the body on the day of Shabbos with good and sweet food. For by having better food [on Shabbos] than the rest of the week one will remember the creation of the world, and that G-D made it from nothing and rested on the seventh day. And through [thinking about this] one will give praise to G-D and glorify Him with his mouth and heart and his soul will delight in it.”
In the following pasuk the Radak elaborates, “’Then you shall delight with Hashem’ if you delight on Shabbos you will delight with Hashem, meaning He will shower you with goodness until you will delight with Him and thank Him, and His goodness for everything comes from Him and it’s all within His ability. And delighting with Hashem is the delight of the soul. Rav Saadia Gaon explain that physical delight, meaning delight of your body shall be with Hashem, unlike the fools, as it says by them, ‘delight is not nice to the fool.’ But the intellectual will not overindulge himself in delicacies, rather it will be calculated within reason, for he is involved in wisdom, and he delights in that more, however delighting the body within reason will make the mind better and strengthen its 3 powers, (1) the power of memory, (2) the power to differentiate, (3) the power to think.”
(Click here for Hebrew text.)
The gemara in Shabbos implied that one who is poor should simply have in mind that he makes is for the sake of delighting in Shabbos; then whatever it is counts for the mitzva, even if it is not so elaborate. It is the thought that counts, as they say. However, this is true even when someone is well-off. The Radak is in fact saying that one’s attitude or intent, even when creating an elaborate spread, is what is important for the mitzvah of delighting in Shabbos. Indeed, the whole point in having all these fancy foods which we would not have during the week is to come to a realization of how special this day is. To remind us of how Hashem created the world, something from nothing, and rested on the 7th day. And through this thought process, one will be inspired to sing zmiros, songs of praise to Hashem, as we have for all the meals, and finally in this way one will feel a spiritual elation, a delight for the soul that connects one to His Creator. Chazal say, in fact, that Shabbos is a taste of the Paradise in the World To Come. The key, in fact, is the intent for the sake of enjoying Shabbos, the overindulgence the gluttony is in fact foolish, as Rav Saadia Gaon points out.
One must use his or her mind intelligently and know themselves, live within their means, and not only monetarily but healthily understanding how much one can eat and exactly what can be eaten. This will improve one’s spiritual and intellectual self, and, in that way, one will come to the pure and true goal of delighting in Shabbos ,which is delighting with Hashem. But using these physical means to get to the ultimate spiritual purpose might be the hardest thing to balance, but Hashem gave us the ability and potential to understand ourselves and reach such an incredible feat.
Rosh Hashana – Ten Days of Repentance: A Time Set into the Nature of Creation
The Orchos Tzadikim in The Gate of Repentance says that six things inspire one to repent. Regarding the fifth of these he says: “The fifth way in which repentance can be aroused is when the Ten Days of Repentance draw near, then every man should arouse his heart and tremble as he goes to meet the Day of Judgment, for he should ponder that all of his deeds are written in a book, and that at this time G-D will bring to judgment every deed and every hidden thing, whether it be good or bad. For a man is judged on Rosh Hashanah, and his decree is sealed on the Day of Atonement (Rosh Hashana 16a). Now, if a man were to be brought for judgment before a king of flesh and blood would he not tremble with a great trembling, and would he not take counsel with his soul? And it would not occur to him to do any other thing, than to find some merit that might save him from that judgment. Therefore, how foolish and stupid are those who do not know what their judgment will be, and yet they occupy themselves with idle things other than the repentance that would find favor before the Great Judge!”
Why is this time of the year any different than any other time of the year when it comes to repentance? Doesn’t Hashem allow and wants us to repent from wrongdoings whenever they happen? The Gemara in Yevamos 105a quotes this gemara in Rosh Hashana 16a and elaborates: “With regard to a decree of judgment that cannot be torn up, Rav Shmuel bar Unya said that Rav said: From where is it derived that a sentence of judgment upon a community is never sealed? The Gemara expresses surprise: Is it truly not sealed? But isn’t it written: “For although you wash yourself with niter, and take much soap for yourself, yet your iniquity is marked before Me” (Jeremiah 2:22), indicating that there is no longer any atonement for iniquity of a community. Rather, one must say as follows: From where is it derived that even when a community’s sentence is sealed, it may be torn up as a result of repentance, as it is stated: ‘For what great nation is there, that has God so close unto them, as Hashem our G-D is whenever we call upon Him?’ (Deuteronomy 4:7). The Gemara objects: But isn’t it written in another verse: ‘Seek Hashem while He may be found, call upon Him when He is near” (Isaiah 55:6), implying that God is not always near and may not always answer whenever we call upon Him? The Gemara answers: This contradiction is not difficult. This verse is concerning an individual who must seek God where He is found, as He is not always equally accessible to answer those who call out to Him. That first verse is concerning a community, for whom He is accessible “whenever we call upon Him.’ The Gemara asks: For an individual, when is the time that God is close to him? Rav Naḥman said that Rabba bar Avuh said: These are the ten days that are between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur.”
The Etz Yosef quoting Rav Yonasan Eibshitz, explains the last part of this gemara. “These ten days between and including Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are specifically made (mesugalim) for repentance. And in these days Hashem arouses us in repentance without any arousal at all from down here [in this world]. This is what the pasuk quoted means, ‘Seek out Hashem from where He is,’ He makes Himself known to us before we call out to Him, and on the contrary, He is around beforehand to give inspiration to his son to repent. And if a person gives his heart, feels in his heart constantly during these ten days, inspiration to repent and fear Hashem, even if he is lax in other matters, nevertheless his heart will be pumping to repent. And this is because Hashem arouses us to repent during these days without any preparation from down here in this world (Ye’aros Devash, drush 1).” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
What the Etz Yosef is telling us is that the Ten Days of Repentance are days which do not need any cataclysmic events to inspire us to repent, but rather there is a natural drive to repent at this time of the year, which Hashem put into the nature of the world. But what does this mean? And if it is so natural, then why doesn’t it automatically happen? Doesn’t the Etz Yosef say that only if we put our heart (and mind and soul) towards repenting will it take effect? That is true any time of the year!
We must say that a person can potentially inspire himself to do Teshuva, to repent after he has sinned, without any suffering of any sorts happening to him, even at any time of the year, as Chaz”al says is the ideal way to repent. However, the inspiration isn’t necessarily there at other times of the year, and Hashem brings suffering to people who need that extra inspiration and impetus to motivate them to repent, if they cannot do it on their own. But Hashem created the Human Being with a “genetic trait” that at this time of the year triggers, creating inspiration to repent during these Ten Days of Repentance. Yet, like with all other things in life, Hashem gives us free choice to choose not to focus and take advantage of that genetic impulse inside each of us that is triggered at this time of the year. But if one does tap into this inspiration, it is overwhelmingly positive, possibly even better, if not the same as Hashem giving yesurim, suffering to arouse a person to repent.
A gutten shabbos and yor, ksiva vichasima tova and a happy and healthy New Year,
Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder
Netzavim/Vayelech – Too Casual is a Lack of Self Respect
This week’s Haftorah for the double Torah portion of Netzavim and Vayelech opens (Yeshayahu 61:10):
| I will surely rejoice with Hashem; my soul shall exult with my G-D, for He has attired me with garments of salvation, with a robe of righteousness He has enwrapped me; like a bridegroom, who, priestlike, dons garments of glory, and like a bride, who adorns herself with her jewelry. | ישׂ֧וֹשׂ אָשִׂ֣ישׂ בַּֽיהֹוָ֗ה תָּגֵ֚ל נַפְשִׁי֙ בֵּֽאלֹהַ֔י כִּ֚י הִלְבִּישַׁ֙נִי֙ בִּגְדֵי־יֶ֔שַׁע מְעִ֥יל צְדָקָ֖ה יְעָטָ֑נִי כֶּֽחָתָן֙ יְכַהֵ֣ן פְּאֵ֔ר וְכַכַּלָּ֖ה תַּעְדֶּ֥ה כֵלֶֽיהָ: |
The Radak says that this pasuk is either referring to the words of Yerushalayim or to what the Jews exclaim upon their return from exile. Quoting his father, the Radak says that the name of Hashem in this pasuk refers to His mercy and the name “Elokei,” G-D, refers to strict judgment. Therefore, the pasuk begins with a double language, שוש אשיש, “I will surely rejoice” and furthermore when the attribute of mercy is mentioned both the body and soul are happy, but when the attribute of strict judgment is mentioned the soul rejoices for it is from on High and can accept suffering more than the body. Meaning the first rejoicing, using double language, refers to both the body and soul rejoicing over Hashem’s mercy, while the second rejoicing of the soul is over Hashem’s strict judgement. All this rejoicing is over the process of redemption from exile, which is very promising, but will still come through many trials and tribulations. The Radak goes on to explain that “garments of salvation and a robe of righteousness” are a parable. For clothing is what people dress themselves with, and a robe is what they adorn or cloak themselves with; that is why it says adorn by the cloak. “Exalts himself in splendor” in Hebrew is יכהן פאר, from the word kohen. This refers to the groom enhancing his splendor with nice clothes, just as the kohen who serves Hashem is the head of the nation; therefore, it refers to greatness as a kohen. We also find that the children of Dovid are referred to as kohanim. The Targum Yonasan on that pasuk says kohanim means they were dressed in fancy clothes just like the kohen gadol, the high priest. (Click here for Hebrew text.) We see from here that being all dressed up is dignified, and being adorned with extra clothing is a sign of glory. Just as a king wears his crown jewels and robes, and the royal guards are all dressed up in their uniform, so too the High Priest had eight priestly garments that were bedecked with jewels and fancy layers of clothing. So we see that the more one covers him or herself, the more dignified they are. That is why the pasuk mentions that King Dovid’s children, the princes of the Jewish Kingdom, were all dressed up in fancy clothing, as a kohen gadol would be when serving in the Beis Hamikdash.
Society nowadays would say that it is not the style, it isn’t very uncomfortable to wear too much clothing and to be covered up. They laugh at those that are, and think the royal guards are a joke. The question is: why isn’t today’s “modern society” correct?
It would seem from the Radak’s interpretation of this pasuk that there is an inherent splendor and importance, a glorification of sorts, when fully clothed. It is dignified. That follows that one who walks around uncovered, with less clothes on his or her body, is not only immodest, but lacking a level of dignity and self-respect. Or you can say dressing immodestly is a lack of dignity and self-respect, by definition. This means that the attitude of society today to dress more casually and to wear less is a sign of a lack of self-respect and dignity for oneself. In fact, the problems of anxiety and depression rampant in this world could very well be correlated with this attitude of how to dress. The lack of desire to dress modestly, more put together, and fancy is a sign that people have no self-pride. The way the yeshiva world and especially chassidish men dress should not be looked upon as a uniform, but as a sign of dignity and self-respect.
Hashem, addressing the Jewish people before giving them the Torah on Har Sinai, in the portion of Yisro says “You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests (kohanim) and a holy nation” (Shemos 18:6). The Jewish people, representing the King Of All Kings, as His children, ministers, and dignitaries to the rest of the world, should certainly dress with a feeling of self-respect and honor. My Rosh Yeshiva of blessed memory, HaRav Alter Chanoch Henach Leibowitz zt”l, Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim use to say we should dress elegantly conservative. However, there are situations, times, and places where one may dress more casually, for example when playing sports, or recreational activities like in the pool, in the privacy of your own home, or certain hands-on jobs which are very dirty any sweaty by nature. But in general, one should realize his self-worth, gadlus ha’dam, the greatness of man, and dress modestly and respectively wherever you are.
Ki Savo – A Reason to Learn Sefer HaChinuch
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The bulk of this week’s Torah portion of Ki Savo discusses the blessings and curses. It lists a number of offenses for which one will receive a curse for transgressing them, and concludes the list by stating:
אָר֗וּר אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹא־יָקִ֛ים אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֥י הַתּוֹרָֽה־הַזֹּ֖את לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת אוֹתָ֑ם וְאָמַ֥ר כׇּל־הָעָ֖ם אָמֵֽן׃ {פ}
“Cursed be whoever will not uphold the terms of this Torah and observe them. —And all the people shall say, Amen” (Devarim 27:26).
This pasuk cannot be referring to anyone who just transgresses the Torah, because virtually everyone would be cursed for doing so, since everyone sins on some level at some point in their lives. In fact, the Ramban specifically says that if one eats pig or a bug out of physical desire, or was too lazy to perform the mitzvah of lulav or sukkah, then he is not included in this curse, for the pasuk does not say “one who does not perform the terms of the Torah;” rather it says, “whoever will not uphold the terms of this Torah.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
The Ramban, and in the same vein the Rabbeinu Bachye, which this dvar Torah will be focusing on, shines light onto what “uphold the terms of this Torah” means. Rabbeinu Bachye says that this curse “includes all the mitzvos in the Torah. And the explanation of the pasuk is ‘who will not uphold’ the mitzvos in his heart, meaning acknowledging them and believing that every single one of them are true. There is nothing lacking in any of them which would not be beneficial for the body and soul, and not one of the mitzvos are a waste. This is what it means, ‘who will not uphold,’ to do them, that they are established in one’s heart with strong faith, that they are befitting to be fulfilled, for all of them are logical to those that understand and fare to those that are intelligent.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
(Rabbeinu Bachye quotes another interpretation based on a Talmud Yerushalmi (5:7) that says that this pasuk refers to a chazzan not doing hagba, lifting up the Torah, after reading from the Torah, and Sfardim also do it before reading, in order for the congregation to see the words of the Torah. Parenthetically, according to the second interpretation of this curse, it is very limited in scope and it is designed to teach us the importance of the concept that seeing is believing. Just listening to the Torah being read at shul is not enough; seeing the words inside reinforces how real it is, and this must be done to ensure belief in its truth and reality).
The first interpretation of Rabbeinu Bachye is also limiting. One is only cursed if he does not authentically and totally believe that every single mitzvah of the Torah is Divinely true and has a useful purpose, physically and spiritually. Nothing is lacking or extra in any mitzva.
However, what if one is lacking this belief for some mitzvos, even for just one, or one is not 100% confident in his belief system? What should he do?
It is apparent from Rabbeinu Bachye that one has an obligation to learn in depth, b’iyun, in order to understand the logic and how straight and fair each mitzvah is. The more clarity and appreciation of the profundity of Torah one has, the better the understanding and the stronger the belief. Even learning Sefer HaChinuch, which gives reasons behind the 613 mitzvos, is a good way to strengthen one’s belief system. Anything proper that will authenticate Torah and Mitzvos!
Ki Seitzei – Commonsense
A number of years ago I merited to fulfill the mitzvah of shiluach hakan, shooing away a mother bird from her nest. I had actually won the privilege of performing this mitzvah, whose reward is longevity, in a Chinese auction. A person who was an expert in the mitzvah, which has a number of intricate details, who helps others perform it, took us to a public street in Boro Park where he knew how to find pigeon nests by storefronts, and showed me what to do. It was a thrilling experience!
We find this mitzvah in this week’s Torah portion of Ki Seitzei. The pesukim state: “If a bird’s nest chances before you on the road, on any tree, or on the ground, and [it contains] fledglings or eggs, if the mother is sitting upon the fledglings or upon the eggs, you shall not take the mother together with her young. You shall send away the mother, and [then] you may take the young for yourself, in order that it should be good for you, and you should lengthen your days” (Devarim 22:6, 7).
The Medrish Rabba(6:5) observes about this mitzvah, “Rebbe Elazar said, ‘It did not have to say this, but rather Hashem said that one should be involved in the honor of the world (kavod ha’olam) and fixing the world (tikkun ha’olam) in order to save it.’”
The Etz Yosef explains that the medrish is telling us that the Torah did not need to be so stringent about saving the mother bird. But rather for the sake of the honor of the world, for the bird to have children all over the land, which makes the world beautiful, and for fixing the world, so that people all over can eat them, it is therefore worthwhile to save the mother bird.
The Maharz”u learns a general lesson about life from this medrish, which he feels is the reason for this mitzvah. He says that Rebbe Elazar was teaching that Hashem did not need to defend the affront (or insult) of the bird in a field, for it is ownerless. Indeed, doesn’t Hashem command us to ritually slaughter (shecht) domesticated and wild animals as well as birds? Rather, the point of the mitzvah is not to have mercy on the bird, but instead to teach us knowledge. He did not command us to do this with something which would cause a loss of money to ourselves, for Hashem spares Jewish money;, rather the mitzvah must be fulfilled with something that one attains from ownerless property. We should learn from here that the will of Hashem is that one should involve himself in matters that will fix the world and give honor to it, and it is one of the needs of the Torah which is worth making a mitzvah out of. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
What is the “knowledge” that the Maharz”u speaks about that Hashem is teaching us through this mitzvah?
It is certainly not animal rights activism, for as he points out Hashem sees nothing wrong with shechting [slaughtering] animals for offerings or for food. He is not worried about the extinction of kosher birds because Hashem controls existence and can choose the extinction of anything or the continuation of anything at His own will.
Rather I humbly believe that the knowledge referenced here refers to commonsense. Assuming that what the Etz Yosef said fits with the Maharz”u, which seemingly it does, then we can understand that commonsense dictates that one should do what one can to beautify the world, making the place we live in pleasing, as well as ensuring that we help one another guarantee we each have ample food and goods to live.
Hashem felt it important to reinforce the imperative of acting with common sense with a mitzvah, however out of His abundance of kindness and mercy He didn’t require us to shoo away our own birds which might have been a loss of money on our part if they don’t come back. We could learn from here that one should be very careful with his own money, not to waste it, that is considered common sense, but we also see from the way Hashem set up the mitzvah that we should encourage people to do the right thing with ways that will minimize putting the other out, as much as possible.
Shoftim – Clarity in Justice
There is an obscure medrish in the beginning of this week’s Torah portion of Shoftim. It states, “Rebbe Eliezer says, ‘In a place where there is judgement, there isn’t judgement and, in a place, where there is not judgement there is judgement.’ How can this be? Rather Rebbe Eliezer says, ‘If judgement was done down here [on earth], then judgement is not done above [by the Heavenly Court]. And if judgement isn’t done below, judgement will be done above'” (Medrish Rabba Shoftim 5:5).
In the gemara we frequently find what is called a hava amina and a maskana, which is essentially an assumption of what the gemara originally understood (i.e. hava amina) what the rabbinic figure said. The gemara will then have a question on that assumption, and eventually conclude with an answer (i.e. maskana). However, we don’t find this back and forth as often spelled out in the medrish. So why did the medrish here quote a statement from Rebbe Eliezer, asking what it means, as if they didn’t understand what he was saying, and then restate what he meant?
The Yedei Moshe addresses this conundrum. He begins by explaining the medrish based on a gemara in Makkos 5a, referring to the concept of eidim zomimin, which is a specific type of false witnesses, who are only proven false if two other witnesses come and say “you were with us when this happened,” so the first set of witnesses could not have been there to see the incident, for example if they are testifying about a murder. The gemara there says that if the suspected murderer is executed based on their testimony, then they are not executed. The law by these types of witnesses is that only if they attempted to punish someone, then they get the punishment they attempted to execute; but if the punishment already happened, then they aren’t punished. If that’s the case, then that is what the medrish means when it says, “in place of judgement,” meaning if judgement was already exacted based on their testimony, then “there is no judgment;,” the witnesses aren’t punished with execution. “When there is no judgment ” means the suspect wasn’t executed yet based on their testimony, and so the witnesses are marked for execution [for trying to kill the suspect.] The medrish then asks why this is done against logic [meaning how does it make sense that if the suspect is punished then the false witnesses aren‘’t punished but if the suspect who was charged was not punished yet then the false witnesses are punished with the punishment they tried giving the suspect?] To this the medrish answers that what Rebbe Eliezer meant is that if judgement was executed [for the witnesses] down here, then it’s not done On High, but if it was not executed down here, it does not mean that they are overlooked; rather judgement will be met from On High.
In summary, the Yedei Moshe explains that originally the medrish was referring to the concept of eidim zomimin, which is discussed later in the parsha, and the medrish says they are punished if the guilty party wasn’t punished yet, and they are not punished if the guilty party already received punishment. The medrish asks, how does it make sense; the witnesses are punished if nothing bad happened to the guilty party, but are not punished if the guilty party was already punished? The medrish answers that what Rebbe Eliezer means is that the witnesses are punished by earthly courts when they were caught before the suspect was punished, because that punishment logically isn’t as severe. But when the suspect was punished, the false witnesses aren’t punished by the earthly court but rather by the Heavenly Court, a much more severe punishment.
Yet the Yedei Moshe doesn’t stop there. He continues and says, “Because it states in The Book of Galanti a correct reason why this is truthfully so, and these are his words: ‘Because it states in Tehillim (82:1) ‘G-D stands in Divine Assembly.’ [Referring to Hashem’s Shechina resting amongst the Jewish High Court (Sanhedrin) while they are in session,] and if the Sanhedrin mistakenly executes someone because of these witnesses, the question is how can that be allowed to happen with Hashem’s Presence right there with them? Rather it must be that the person that was executed because of these witnesses must have deserved execution anyways for some other sin [that the court might not have even known about]. The opposite is also true, if the guilty party was not executed yet based on these witnesses [when they were found to be false] this was a reason from Hashem not to kill him because they were lying witnesses and if so, they deserve to be punished because they tried to kill a kosher and innocent person. If this is so then when the medrish says ‘Rather when Rebbe Eliezer says, if judgement is done below, judgement is not done above’ this means that if this one is killed because of their testimony it must be he was liable to die already, the judgement on these witnesses is not executed above because he was already considered a dead man who they killed. And if judgement was not executed below then judgement is done above meaning that Hashem who knows this person is kosher, therefore he is not killed based on their testimony. Think about it!” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
At the end of the day, after all the dust settles and all the factors are put into place, the Yedei Moshe understands the medrish to be teaching a lesson about eidim zomimin, that originally Rebbe Eliezer just said if judgement was acted upon then there is no judgment for the witnesses and if it was not acted upon yet then there is judgement for the false witnesses. The medrish felt that does not make sense in logic, for if Hashem’s Holy Prescence, The Shechina, is in the court room how can He allow such a blunder to happen? So, the medrish concludes that it must be that the suspect was deserving execution anyways but there was no way to legally get that done in this world by a court case against him, and therefore Hashem orchestrated that it got done through these false witnesses. That is why the witnesses aren’t liable for punishment but if they are caught to be false before the suspect is punished then they get the punishment for being false witnesses and trying to punish an innocent person.
We can learn an important lesson from this medrish that especially when it comes to moral conduct one must prove and look into the matter very carefully and not just settle for what seems to be true on a superficial level. For it is true that if Hashem wantsed to set up a statute that false witnesses who are caught as eidim zomimin only receive the punishment they tried giving to the suspect but weren’t successful in doing so, Hashem could do what He wants and that is the rule He decided to make. But if it doesn’t make sense at face value, one has a right to question it and should search for the truth and logic behind the reasoning. This is the lesson of this medrish which goes out of its way and put in great efforts in the fashion of the Talmud to understand what Rebbe Eliezer was teaching us.
Re’eh – “Truify”
In modern society, many people believe that the truth is not an absolute, but, rather, relative. That is far from the Torah perspective. Hashem’s Divine direction for existence, the Torah, the Blueprints of Creations, and the Handbook of Mankind is the absolute truth without any question or doubts. This is obviously true because the Almighty, All Knowledgeable, All Goodly, and perfect in every possibly way, Hashem, created the ultimate truth. Indeed, even when there are arguments within Jewish Law as to what the absolute truth in fact is, these arguments are based on the misunderstandings of feeble-minded human beings. Though they put all their efforts into arriving at the ultimate truth, at the end of the day no matter how great of an intellectual and how wise they are, they aren’t perfect. Therefore it is possible to have dissenting opinions as to what the absolute truth is; but the arguments are all based on the same sources, the Written and Oral Torah. Ultimately, one must live by a mesorah, a single tradition, that is one’s link to the ultimate truth.
But how can we be so confident that our truth is the only truth…?
We find in this week’s Torah portion of Re’eh the prohibition of not worshipping Hashem the same way as idolators worship their gods. The Torah states, “You shall not do so to Hashem, your G-D; for every abomination to Hashem which He hates, they did to their gods, for also their sons and their daughters they would burn in fire to their gods” (Devarim 12:31). The lesson the Ralbag learns from this pasuk is “that it is not befitting to put in efforts to serve Hashem in the manner that idolaters serve their gods. For the rituals of idolaters were disgusting and very farfetched for people. They thought they had to brutalize themselves when serving [their gods,] while also burning their sons and daughters in fire to their gods. This was their way in all manners [of worship]. However, our pure Torah does not burden us to do disgusting things and things which are not nice. But everything put into order for us are for the sake of life of our body and the life of our soul, which are sweet for the soul and heals the bones.”
We clearly see from here that Hashem’s ways and His Torah, which He proscribed for us to live by, are just, good, and nurturing for mankind, and for all of existence. Yet in the next perek, by the “Wayward City” where an entire Jewish city was found guilty of idolatry and their punishment was that those who worshiped idols were to be executed and all their possession burned to ashes. (In fact, the gemara in Sanhedrin 71a says this never actually happened and never will, but the concept is potentially there, and there are lessons to be learned from this mitzvah). The Torah states about this mitzvah: “You shall surely strike down the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroy it with all that is in it and its livestock, with the edge of the sword. And you shall collect all its spoil into the midst of its open square and burn with fire the city and all its spoil, completely, for Hashem, your G-D; and it shall be a heap of destruction forever, never to be rebuilt. And nothing that is doomed to destruction shall cling to your hand, so that Hashem may return from His fierce wrath, and grant you compassion, and be compassionate with you, and multiply you, as He swore to your forefathers” (Devarim 13:16-18). The Ralbag takes as a lesson from these pesukim that “cruelty towards the wicked is compassion for the good, for exacting judgement on the “Wayward City” subsides the wrath of Hashem from the Jews and brings upon them mercy.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
We find specifically in today’s day and age a conviction that one must be gentle and nice to everyone, no matter who they are, how they act, good or bad. Why act the same way as they do, killing and beating? The judicial system should be soft on crime, no more capital punishment, ever. Criminals are alive, why should they be treated violently and differently than any morally decent individual, and if one treats them nicely maybe they will change their ways and be better people. That is the philosophy of this movement in a nutshell. They would say that G-D and His Torah contradicts itself for on the one hand the Torah stands for the highest quality of morality, justice, and nicety, but on the other hand it talks of wars, bloodshed, capital punishment and the eradication of the heathens, or the wicked. This movement would ask, why is this fundamentally moral?
What we see from here is that in order to understand the ultimate truth, the Divine Torah, Hashem’s Word, one must have a solid grounding and foundation in emuna and bitachon, belief and trust in Hashem. Once grounded in this faith, one can truly understand and find answers to these difficult answers. Being that there are levels of recognition of faith in Hashem, the more confident one is in his or her faith the more of an impetus one has to dig deeper, to learn harder and find answers in the ultimate truth of the Torah. It makes sense then that the ability to appreciate the profundity of the Torah and to really go b’iyun, in depth, into the truth and fine details of the Torah is correlated with the amount of emuna and bitachon one has in Hashem. For the clearer and more steadfast a belief and trust one has, then that will give a person the impetus to learn harder and to arrive at the truth of the Torah.
The ultimate example of this is Avraham Avinu by Akiedas Yitzchak [the Binding of Isaac]. Hashem gave Avraham a test which seemed to go against the logic of the Torah (why Hashem did such a thing is for a different time, or for one of such great faith to learn the answer by themselves). But Avraham had such a clarity of faith in The Creator, The King Of All Kings, that he wholeheartedly went through with this test, until Hashem insisted on replacing Yitzchak with a ram, to sacrifice on the alter. We see the extent of the excitement Avraham had for fulfilling Hashem’s will, for the Torah says, “And Avraham arose early in the morning, and he saddled his donkey…” (Breishis 22:3). About this the Ralbag says, “It is befitting for a person to act with speed and alacrity (zrizus) to perform Hashem’s will and even though one is already feeling pain or suffering over this. For we find that Avraham Avinu quickly went to fulfill this mitzva, and he woke up early to complete it with alacrity, even though the whole concept seemed strange and painful.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
Avraham was on such a high level of belief and trust in Hashem that even when Hashem’s command seemed very strange, and was quite painful, the thought of sacrificing his only son with Sarah Imeinu who he was waiting to have for so many years, who was supposed to be the progenitor of the Chosen Nation, but still in all he was able to delve into the matter and make sure he fulfilled Hashem’s word with such speed, alacrity, and precision. This is a model of a true ben Torah, which we have to ask ourselves, when can we reach the level of our forefather Avraham and strive with great depth to reach our potential.