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March 24, 2006

פרשת ויקהל - פקודי - Moshe's Presence

In the beginning of parshas Vayakheil Moshe begins to instruct the nation on how they are to proceed with the building of the Mishkan. At the conclusion of Moshe's assembly, the pasuk (ל"ה:כ) recounts וַיֵּצְאוּ כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, מִלִּפְנֵי משֶׁה ת that the congregation of B'nei Yisroel exited from the presence of Moshe Rabbeinu. R' Lopian, in לב אליהו, comments that it would have been sufficient for the pasuk to say that בני ישראל exited. We knew where they were. Why is it necessary for the pasuk to say that they exited from Moshe's presence?
Imagine a street in a city that contained both a bar and a library. If you were to see a man walking crooked down the street, barely able to stand on his own two feet, explains R' Lopian, you need only take one look at him and you know exactly from which of the two he has just emerged. Likewise, the pasuk here is telling us that when בני ישראל left Moshe's presence, they were fundamentally changed people. They were not simply בני ישראל. They were a nation who had just left the presence of their great leader, Moshe Rabbeinu. Merely being in his midst left its mark on them.
שבת שלום
משנכנס אדר מרבים בשמחה

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March 17, 2006

פרשת כי תשא - Going for gold

When Moshe returns to HaShem to begin his defence of B'nei Yisroel, he opens by stating (32:31) "The nation has sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves a god of gold." Rashi, quoting the gemara (Berachos 32a, Yoma 86:) writes that Moshe's intention with this opening argument was, in fact, to place the blame on HaShem, so to speak, for having showered so much gold upon B'nei Yisroel. Rashi adds a parable that illustrates Moshe's argument. It is assumed that Moshe is referring to the loot that B'nei Yisroel were commanded to collect before leaving Egypt. However, asks my father, Rashi writes (15:22) that the spoils collected at Yam Suf when they Egyptian soldiers were washed onto the shore along with their horses and chariots was far greater than that which was collected before B'nei Yisroel left Egypt. If so, Moshe's point is no longer valid. HaShem may have commanded B'nei Yisroel to collect the gold from the Egyptians in Egypt. But they were never commanded to loot the soldiers after they were washed on the shore of Yam Suf. How, then, can Moshe claim that HaShem was solely responsible for their wealth?

I believe the answer lies in the GR"A's understanding of the two episodes which I will summarize briefly. The gemara (Berachos 9a) relates that HaShem asked in the form of a request that B'nei Yisroel collect the silver and gold from the Egyptians. This was done in order to appease Avraham Avinu, so that he does not claim that the promise that his descendants would be subjugated was kept but the promise that they leave with a large bounty was not.

The GR"A asks that if this was in fact the proper fulfilment of the promise to Avraham, why was it done to "appease" him so that he does not raise a complaint? Avraham Avinu's reaction should not be the issue. It should be a matter of whether or not it is time to fulfill the promise. He answers that in truth, the exodus from Egypt was only ultimately complete at Yam Suf where the Egyptians truly got their deserved punishment for subjugating B'nei Yisroel. It was only then that HaShem's promise to Avraham that his descendants shall leave with a great bounty needed to be fulfilled. However, in case Avraham mistakenly viewed the leaving of Egypt as the ultimate redemption, HaShem had B'nei Yisroel collect a great bounty there before leaving to avoid any possible objections from Avraham.

According to this, although B'nei Yisroel were never commanded to collect the adornments from the horses of the Egyptians at Yam Suf, this too was part the fulfilment of the promise that HaShem made to Avraham Avinu 400 years prior. Therefore, Moshe Rabbeinu's defence was still valid.

שבת שלום

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March 13, 2006

פורים

Click here for more on פורים from previous years.

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פורים - Giving and Receiving

In general, the מצוות that accompany other festivals bear a logical connection to the festival itself. It is not difficult to understand why we light candles on חנוכה, why we eat matzah on פסח or cheesecake on שבועות. However, משלוח מנות and מתבות לאביונים do not fit that mold. The direct connection to the events of פורים is unclear at best. I believe that as פורים is a celebration of Jewish survival in the face of complete extermination, these מצוות were instituted as a symbol of what keeps us together and therefore a necessary component of our survival. We must recognize the importance of the bond we have with our fellow Jew and פורים, when we all almost didn't make it, is the time to do that. Indeed, this is only example of a "mitzvah of the day" being of "בין אדם לחבירו" nature.
There is an interesting contrast between these two מצוות. The gifts to the poor are referred to only as "מתנות לאביונים" However, משלוח מנות differ as the pasuk makes direct reference to the giver and the receiver, "איש לרעהו." This somewhat superfluous elaboration hints to the fundamental difference in the purpose behind these two מצוות. The purpose of משלוח מנות is to establish camaraderie between fellow Jews. It is more important to send to one's less friendly acquaintance than to one's good friend. It therefore does little toward that end if the receiver is not aware of the giver or vice versa. The pasuk therefore clearly mentions the giver and receiver, to stress this importance.
מתנות לאביונום is quite the opposite. There is a need for the poor to be properly sustained and it is the responsibility of the public to do what they can to sustain them. While it is certainly important for the giver to be aware of the great cause to which he is contributing and for the receiver to know that there are people who care, it is far less important that they are aware of each other's identity. A poor man is generally more emabarassed by direct donations and an anonymous donation is a far more noble deed as there is no recognition or acknowledgement involved. To emphasize this point, the pasuk describes this mitzvah simply as מתנות לאביונים.
We do not make a ברכה on the mitzvah of מתנות לאביונים. In fact, we never make a ברכה on the giving of צדקה. There are varios reasons given for this. However, the above thoughts lead me to another insight regarding the lack of ברכה. In performing חסד, it is all too easy to get caught up in selfish aspects of the deed. It is of utmost importance, yet sometimes challenging, to put complete focus on the needs of the receiver. Perhaps assigning a berachah to the mitzvah of tzedakah would dangerously put too much emphasis on the self. The lack of a ברכה allows us to forget about what this מצוה does for us and helps us focus on what it is we are supposed to be doing for others.
Have a happy and healthy פורים.

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March 10, 2006

Purim Torah

Got Purim Torah? Please submit as a comment.
Thanks.
פורים שמח

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פרשת זכור- Taking out the males

In the portion read for פרשת זכור we find the commandment "תִּמְחֶה אֶת-זֶכֶר עֲמָלֵק", wipe out the remembrance of עמלק. The גמרא בבא בתרא כ"א relates a rather bizarre incident where Yoav, David HaMelech's general was sent to destroy Amaleik. He returns, having wiped out all of the males. When he is confronted by David HaMelech as to why the others were allowed to live, he declares that he was taught "תִּמְחֶה אֶת-זָכָר עֲמָלֵק," wipe out the males of Amaleik. Needless to say, Yoav was not very happy when he found out he had been taught wrong.

It is indeed quite difficult to understand how the mesorah could be so skewed as to totally misunderstand and misrepresent this pasuk. I heard an interesting insight into this mistake but I have unfortunately forgotten the source. Yoav's rebbe never thought that the word was pronounced "זָכָר." However, many nouns in לְשון הַקודֶש undergo vowel changes when they are used in a possessive form, known as smichus. In fact, the previous sentence contained such an example. I believe the term לְשון הַקודֶש literally means "the language of the holy," rather than the holy language. Therefore, the word "לָשון" becomes "לְשון," indicating the possessive.

The word for smoke is "עָשָׁן" The vowelization of this word is the same as "זָכָר." However, when the Torah describes הר סיני and describes how its smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, the term used (שמות י"ט:י"ח) is "עֶשֶׁן הַכִּבְשָׁן." Clearly, when the word "עָשָׁן" is used in the possessive, the קמצים are converted to סגולים. Yoav's rebbe read the pasuk "תִּמְחֶה אֶת-זֶכֶר עֲמָלֵק," and understood that זֶכֶר was the possessive form of זָכָר. He therefore mistakenly taught Yoav that the commandment is to wipe out only the males of עמלק.

שבת שלום
!משנכנס אדר מרבים בשמחה

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March 03, 2006

פרשת תרומה - Oil and Spice and everything nice

Last year, I posed the following question and received back a number of suggestions which I would like to share. Additionally, if anyone has any new suggestions, please send them or, even better, post them on the blog:

At the beginning of the parsha Moshe is told to collect numerous different materials for the purpose of building the Mishkan. He is told to collect gold, silver, copper and various other materials without any indication as to what they will be used for. Then he is told to collect oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and the Ketores and stones for the Eifod and Choshen. Why is the specific purpose listed for these materials but not for the others?

  1. The relative value of the metals and fabrics was known to be greater and thus their importance was easily understood. It was more difficult for the people to understand the importance of the oil and the spices. They therefore needed to be informed right away of the important tasks for which these items were needed. (This answer would not suffice for the stones, however.)
  2. This week's parsha deals at length with the construction of the Mishkon using the wood, the metals, and the skins. The oil, spices and stones are not dealt with more thoroughly until the next parsha. Since their purpose isn't discussed until later, it is mentioned briefly at the outset.
  3. The other materials were more readily available to B'nei Yisroel. The oil, spices and stones took greater toil to seek out. As in answer 1, they needed to be informed of the special purpose they would serve in order to motivate them to find the materials and bring them in.
Please comment on the above answers or offer your own.

שבת שלום
!משנכנס אדר מרבים בשמחה

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פרשת תרומה - עמודי החצר

Don't forget to check out my essay on the configuration of the עמודי החצר here.

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March 01, 2006

משנכנס אדר מרבים בשמחה

אמר רב יהודה בריה דרב שמואל בר שילת משמיה דרב כשם שמשנכנס אב ממעטין בשמחה כך משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה (:תענית כ"ט)

A couple of notes concerning this gemara with which we are all familiar:

  1. A reader once pointed out there is a tendency to assume that this שמחה applies solely to the month of אדר, perhaps only to the lead up to פורים. However, רש"י's interpretation would indicate that this is very much not the case. He writes:
    2. משנכנס אדר: ימי נסים היו לישראל פורים ופסח

    Clearly, the hapiness and joy which we strive for with the onset of אדר is meant to carry through consecutively through פסח.

  2. My Zadie, Rabbi Yaakov Bulka, points out that the gemara quoted above is making a clear corrolation between אב and אדר. As we know, the reduction of שמחה in the month of אב is for all intents and purposes absolute as virtually all forms and expressions of שמחה are eschewed. Likewise, explains my Zadie, the שמחה in אדר shall not be a mere increase in joy and happiness. Rather, we must strive to reach a level of absolute and total שמחה.

May we all be זוכה to reach that level.

חודש טוב

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