Category: Food for Thought

There is a negative commandment (i.e. thou shalt not) in this week’s Torah portion of Behar regarding the charging of interest when loaning money to ones fellow Jew. The Torah states (Vayikra 25:35-38): “If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter in your proximity, you shall strengthen him, convert, or resident, so that he can live with you. Do not take from him interest and increase; you shall fear your G-D, and let your brother live with you. Do not give him money for interest, and do not give your food for increase. I am Hashem, your G-D, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be G-D unto you.”

The Sforno sheds some light on this mitzvah. There is a mitzvah to support your brethren in need however the proper way (or, literally, the nice way) to support him is to lend him money without interest. Yet the Torah only requires one to loan his fellow money if the lender has sufficient means to support himself, as the Rabbis taught (Bava Metzia 62a): “Your life takes precedence over the life of your friend.” (Click here fore Hebrew text.)

The Sforno concludes his explanation of the verses by saying that Hashem’s intended purpose should be attained by all, and therefore it is proper that everyone organizes their social and political lives in such a manner that everyone can live together and assist each other so as to fulfill G-D’s will. (Click here fore Hebrew text.)

On the one hand a person has a phenomenal opportunity to support or even save a Jew, a holy and precious soul in need of some financial assistance. On the other hand if the loan comes at the cost of putting ones self into debt or dangerous financial straits that is forbidden to do, because the Torah mandates that ones own life comes before anyone else’s. However this does not mean that one can profit when lending money, which would not be a nice thing to do for the individual in need.

What is perplexing, however, is that the Torah emphasizes that it is worth lending money without interest for sake of bettering society. If one were to think about it, society runs on the principle of interest, with the very existence of banks (and thereby mortgages, businesses, etc.) depending on interest. So how can society be a better place without charging interest?

We see from here how sensitive we must be, not only towards the needs of others but also towards the feelings of others; especially of one who is in need. It was important enough to create a negative commandment in the Torah, just due to the fact that what you are doing is not nice towards the individual. It will make him feel bad when he knows he has to pay back the loan plus interest.

This sensitivity to an individual is so important that it changes the way society must operate. Granted, it is true one must take care of his own need before anyone else’s, but there must be a balance. When one is able to help another, that does not mean he or she has the right to profit off of that act – because it will make the borrower feel bad. And don’t worry about the banks and the credit card companies – if the proper thing to do is to be sensitive to the feelings and welfare of the individual, then people have the ability to set up systems of business to take care of those needs.

The world would then be a much better place; everyone could get along if people would just focus on the individual, feelings and all.

Can you imagine anyone in their right mind starting to pay tuition for schooling before they have any children to send to school? Yet this is the ideal way to serve Hashem…

The Medrish Tanchuma (Parshas Emor paragraph 7) sites an introduction to one of Rebbe Tanchuma’s sermons: “‘Whoever anticipated me and I can reward him, for whatever is under all the heavens is mine (Job 41:3).” This verse refers to a man without children who lives in a certain area and pays wages to teachers of the Written Law and Oral Law. G-D says: ‘It is behooving of me to reward him for his hard work, I will reward him with a son.’ Rebbe Yirmiyah ben Elazar use to say, In the future a Voice from Heaven will speak from on top the mountains and say, ‘Whomever works with G-D come and take your wages.’ The Holy Spirit will cry out and say, ‘Whoever anticipated me and I can reward him.’ Who gives praise before me before I give him a soul? Who circumcises his son before I give him a son? Who makes tzitzis before I give him a four cornered garment? Who makes a fence on his roof before I give him a roof? Who makes a sukkah before he is given a place to put it? Who sets aside the corners of his field for the poor before I give him a field? Who separates terumah and tithes before I give him a threshing floor? Who brings offerings before me before I give him an animal? This is the intention of the verse (Vayikra 22:27), ‘When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born…’”

The Etz Yosef explaining how the verse in Iyov [Job] relates to the verse in this week’s Torah Portion says that even if one brings an ox or sheep as a sacrifice to G-D he should not feel glorified about his actions because Hashem is the one who gave him the animal in the first place… Even though there really isn’t anyone who can fulfill a mitzvah before he has the means to do it, and therefore G-D really has no obligation to reward anyone because everyone should fulfill G-D’s mitzvos since He gave to everyone out of His goodness, Hashem will nevertheless reward anyone who fulfills His mitzvos. (Click here for Hebrew text)

It makes sense that true reward is only deserved if one does something out of the goodness of his or her heart, without needing to give back, and, therefore, G-d, in His pure mercy, is really just rewarding us for doing something which we should feel indebted to do anyways since he gives so much to us and we should use those means to give back without expecting anything more in return. We certainly should not feel arrogance, for any mitzvah we perform, no matter how elaborate it is, because G-D himself gave us the material to perform the mitzvah.

It would seem from this medrish that Hashem is concerned with us becoming haughty as a results of the mitzvos we perform. Yet Hashem is not concerned with us becoming haughty as a result of the effort and hard work we put into something – even if we do not produce results. But why not? Doesn’t it say in Pirkay Avos [Ethics of our Father with Bartenura commentary] 5:23: ‘according to the amount of pain and suffering one can withstand for the sake of learning Torah and doing Mitzvos the more reward he receives!?’ If effort is what really counts in Hashem’s eyes, then we should be even more drawn towards conceit no matter what the results are!

It must be, therefore, that a person does not feel any pride in putting in all his efforts, no matter how much glitz and energy one puts in, if, in the end, one doesn’t produce. And this must be so even if he knows the results are all in Hashem’s hands and that Hashem is only looking for one’s efforts; still, everyone feels there is nothing to feel arrogant about if one didn’t fulfill what he intended.

In the days of the Beis Hamikdash [Holy Temple], Tzaraas [a spiritual ailment similar to leprosy] was inflicted on those who transgress in certain areas, including that of loshon hara [slanderous speech. A Kohen would then declare the individual spiritually impure, followed by a week of quarantine. The Torah says that then “The Kohen shall look at it on the seventh day and behold! – The affliction retained its color, and the affliction did not spread on the skin, then the Kohen shall quarantine it for a second seven day period. The Kohen shall look at it again on the seventh day, and behold! – if the affliction has dimmed and the affliction has not spread on the skin, then the Kohen shall declare him pure it is a mispachas he shall immerse his garments and become pure” (Leviticus 13:5, 6).

The Sforno (verse 5) emphasizes that this sequence is illogical. The requirement that spiritual contamination and purity of the affliction be dependent on the declaration of a Kohen is a rule without logical reason in the Torah, “For the lips of the Kohen shall guard knowledge.” When the blemished individual comes to the Kohen, he will teach him or her to do teshuva [mend their ways] and to pray for themselves. The Kohen will also pray for them. (Click here for Hebrew text)

The Sforno observes that the more logical assumption would be that a blemish on one’s body should be inherently pure or impure; why should it depend on the declaration of a Kohen? It either is or isn’t Tzaraas. However, G-D made it dependent on the declaration of a Kohen in order that the afflicted person be required to go to a Kohen and be taught how to cure himself through repentance and prayer, and have the Kohen also pray on his or her behalf.

Why did Hashem feel that the process should be done in this way? If a person suddenly fell ill and he began to experience a very painful rash on a part of his body, wouldn’t one think that he would run to the doctor for a cure? Even more so,  if he was already diagnosed with a terrible illness, he would doubtlessly make a follow up appointment with the doctor!? The Kohen was the spiritual doctor of the day, and if a Jew was diagnosed with tzaraas by a kohen, wouldn’t he logically seek out, on his own, whatever means were necessary to cure himself, be it prayer, repentance, etc.? Indeed, this is especially so if it has been a week and he sees that nothing is changing. So why did the Hashem create a situation where the question of whether the blemish is contaminated or not is dependent on the word of the Kohen, and not obviously or automatically known?

It would seem that when it comes to healing one’s soul one would not be as quick to run to a “doctor” for a cure, despite knowing for a fact that something is wrong. Yet the state of insecurity and the unsettled feeling would drive him back to the Kohen, without hesitation, in order to properly learn from him how to mend his ways. Out of Hashem’s pure love and mercy for his children, He left it up to the kohen to declare a person contaminated and pure, in order that the person is guaranteed to get the proper means to heal him or herself.

This dvar Torah is transcribed from the notes of a shmuz given by Rav Moshe Chait zt”l when I was in Chofetz Chaim Yerushalyim.

The Torah portion of Shemini describes two moments in the history of the Jewish people which are sharply contrasting: First, the dedication of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) on the first of the month of Nissan. The Yalkut Shimone points out that the Mishkan was established on the first of the second year after the Exodus from Egypt, and that the Shechina (Divine Presence) rested on the Mishkan, and this dedication was like the creation of the world.

In contrast, the second moment in this week’s parsha takes place when Aharon’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu, brought a strange fire on the alter and it consumed them as punishment. They were known as very righteous people, as we see that Moshe said that the Mishkan was established because of them. Moshe also told Aharon: “They were greater than us.” And Aharon responded with pure silence.

On Mount Sinai Hashem told Moshe that someone great would sanctify this House with his death. Moshe thought it would be him or Aharon, but it was in fact Nadav and Avihu. Aharon accepted this judgment in silence.

In the Book of Koheles (Ecclesiastes) it says that there are different times to do different things. One is a time to be silent. Rashi says in that time a person will be rewarded for his or her silence, just like Aharon. Aharon’s reward was for Hashem to speak directly to him immedeatly after this incident, without Moshe as an intermediary, to inform him of certain laws concerning the priesthood. This implies that he had reached a level where only he could accept this message from Hashem.

When Koheles says there is a time for silence he means there is a time that “cries out” silence. There is a moment which is so beyond us that we cannot talk. There can be silence out of joy or out of sorrow. In Aharon’s case, there was a time declared as silence which Hashem declared upon the world, unexplained, and because Aharon recognized the silence came from G-D, was he rewarded.

There is a famous question asked about Moshe Rabbeinu. We know that during his lifetime Moshe not only wrote several Torah scrolls, but was capable of writing about himself, as we learn from the following sources: “And the man, Moshe, was very humble more than anyone else on the planet” (Bamidbar 12:3) and “There was no one more trustworthy in all My house besides Moshe” (Bamidbar 12:7). These sources are interpreted as meaning that Moshe Rabbeinu knew that he was the most humble person in the world and that he was on a higher spiritual level than any other human being – yet despite this knowledge he remained the humblest person in the world. How could this be? Indeed, if he knew the truth­, did G-D want him to lie to himself and deny every achievement he made in his lifetime?

My Rosh Yeshiva of blessed memory, Rav Alter Chanoch Henoch Leibowitz, went into great detail when answering this question, to define what exactly humility is. I will summarize what he says based on the Chiddushei HaLev [Bamidbar 12:3] (please look at the source material for more detail): ‘The Chovos HaLevavos, Rav Yisrael Salanter and the Chofetz Chaim all agree that a humble person honestly recognizes, in totality, the true level of spirituality and intelligence that he has achieved. It is therefore reasonable for him to feel that he is ‘better’ than everyone else. However, the attribute of humility causes one to emphasize to himself his own shortcomings while focusing on everyone else’s achievements. This, then, is why the truly humble individual is able to continue thinking of himself with humility.

Additionally, a humble person is able to recognize all of his special achievements and strengths, which is the reason why he understands his purpose in life; but, still, he thinks that others are better than him. In this same way, Moshe Rabbeinu was cognizant of all of his achievements, knew he was the most perfect and humble person in the world, and understood that his purpose in life was to be the greatest leader of the generation and to lead the Jewish People out of Egypt and through the desert. Yet he continued to feel that every Jew was better than him, as he was able to recognize the achievements that each individual possessed that he did not.

There is an oft mentioned quote from Yeshiva Slobodka: “Humility, yes; depression, no.” This means that it is forbidden for a person to lack self-worth, since feelings like this will ultimately lead to depression and giving up. There is no doubt that the Chovos Halevavos, Rav Yisrael Salanter and the Chofetz Chaim also felt this way. Granted they said that a humble person feels everyone is better than him, but that is not because he deems himself to be a bad person; rather, it is because he focuses on elevating others, on the tremendous value of everyone else, judging all of their actions favorably.  Thus a truly humble person does not feel depression and at a loss for hope; on the contrary – he feels great joy and spiritual satisfaction at being able to reach this incredibly high spiritual level of humility. (See also “Majesty of Man” – essays on the weekly Torah readings adapted from the talks of Rabbi A. Henoch Leibowitz zt”l, parashas Vayikra, page 165.)

Against this back drop, we find something very peculiar. The first verse of the Book of Leviticus (Vayikra 1:1) starts with “Vayikra el Moshe” [“And He called to Moses.”] Vayikra in Hebrew is spelled ויקרא. In the Torah scroll the last letter of the word, an aleph [[א, is written shorter than the rest of the word.

The Mahara”m MiRotenberg says that the reason why the aleph is small is because “Moshe was great and humble and he wanted to write ויקר without an aleph which means ‘a happenstance,’ meaning G-D only spoke to Moshe through dreams. However Hashem told him to write ויקרא in full. Moshes did not want to write this explicitly because of his humility but he said he will write the aleph smaller than other alephs in the Torah.”

According to what was said above, how could it be that Moshe wanted to imply that Hashem only spoke to him through dreams by pure happenstance? In truth Hashem called on Moshe whenever He wanted, at the spur of the moment; Moshe was spiritually ready and able to speak to Hashem when needed. Would it not be a lie to erase the aleph from the word Vayikra? How is this true humility!?

One can find an answer to this question in the gemara Bava Metzia 23b which quotes Rav Yehuda in the name of Shmuel (Shmuel is Shmuel Hakatan, known to be a very humble sage). He said that there are 3 things which rabbis are known to “switch their words” about, one of them being a tractate. Rashi explains that this means that if someone asks a rabbi if he knows a certain tractate of Gemara by heart (thoroughly back and forth) and he indeed does, the rabbi can still reply no and this is considered acting humbly.

Tosfos there asks: how it is possible for a rabbi to deny such a thing? There is a gemara in Kiddushin 30a which quotes a verse from Shema that says that a rabbi should ‘have his teachings on the tip of his tongue for if anyone asks him a question he should not hesitate and answer rather he should answer immediately’ (ideally). Tosfos answers by saying that only applies if a person comes over to a rabbi with a practical question or to learn from him; but if he is coming just to test the rabbi, to see if he knows his stuff, the rabbi is permitted to switch the truth and say that he never learned it.

In a similar vein we can understand where Moshe Rabbeinu was coming from. Everyone knew already that Hashem spoke to Moshe directly and whenever He needed to; indeed, it even took place front of the Tent of Meeting, in broad daylight! Yet Moshe felt that he did not have to show it off and publicize it. His speaking to G-D was like the tractates learnt by the rabbis, since G-D was his teacher. Anything Moshe spoke to G-D about was Torah. And just as it is a sign of humility for a rabbi who is being tested to deny learning a certain tractate in which he is actually an expert in order not to flaunt his knowledge, so too Moshe felt no need to spell out explicitly that G-D called on him in broad daylight, out of true humility. He wasn’t trying to lie or deny the truth. Moshe knew who he was and knew that everyone else knew who he was as well; he simply did not need to flaunt this to the world. That is true humility. Ultimately, however, Hashem overruled Moshe, as the word Vayikra is completely spelled out in the Torah. But from the fact that Vayikra is written with a small aleph, we see that Hashem agreed with Moshe that his intentions were proper.