Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Tetzaveh Volume XV, No. 20 15 Adar 5761 March 10, 2001 Sponsored by Alan and Paula Goldman, in memory of Sam W. Goldman a"h The Yablok family, on the first yahrzeit of father and grandfather, Shmuel Eliezer ben Osher Zev Yablok a"h The Rosenberg family, in memory of Mordechai Dan Himmelfarb a"h and Amitai Yonatan Westreich a"h Today's Learning: Nedarim 1:4-2:1 Orach Chaim 392:2-4 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Gittin 31 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Sanhedrin 22 This week's parashah opens with the command to prepare pure olive oil for the menorah in the mishkan. The Torah (28:21) seems to emphasize that the oil was "from Bnei Yisrael," and the midrash explains with a parable: A blind man and a seeing man were traveling together, and the seeing man said to the blind man, "Lean on me until we reach our destination." When they reached their destination, the seeing man said to the blind man, "Please light a candle for me so that you will not feel indebted to me." "Look how praiseworthy is the seeing man in this parable!" writes R' Moshe Sternbuch shlita (rabbi in Johannesburg and Yerushalayim). Not only does he care for the blind man's needs, he takes pains that the blind man will not himself feel, and will not appear to others, to be indebted to him. This is how Hashem acts towards us. He provides all of our needs, but He is concerned enough to build-up our self-esteem by asking us to light a menorah for Him! On the verse in Tehilim (64:13), "Yours, Hashem, is kindness, for You repay each man according to his deeds," The Ba'al Shem Tov asks: Where is the kindness? If we have done good deeds, does not Hashem owe us a reward? He answers: In fact, Hashem owes us nothing, for He gives us the ability to do good deeds and all of the tools that we use. However, out of kindness, He rewards us as if we have accomplished something on our own. (Ta'am Va'da'at) ******** "You! Bring Aharon your brother near to yourself . . ." (28:1) The midrash states: "Thus it is written (Tehilim 119:92), 'Had Your Torah not been my preoccupation, then I would have perished in my affliction.' When Hashem told Moshe, 'You! Bring Aharon your brother near to yourself,' Moshe was disturbed. Hashem said, 'I had the Torah and I gave it to you, and if not for that, I would have destroyed My world'." What is this midrash teaching? R' Moshe Shick z"l (1805-1879; Hungarian rabbi; known as "Maharam Shick") explains: Why is it appropriate for the kohen gadol's garments to be made of gold, silver and gems? Might this not distract the kohen gadol from his focus on spiritual matters? This question bothered Moshe. [When the midrash says that Moshe was disturbed by the verse, "Bring Aharon your brother near to yourself," it means that he was bothered by the entire section describing the priestly garments, which begins with the quoted verse.] In truth, however, man is a physical being, and he usually is not moved by purely spiritual concepts. Man needs to see the kohen gadol dressed in splendor in order to be moved. Originally, the Torah itself was completely spiritual, being comprised of Names of G-d. However, when Hashem chose to give the Torah to man, He translated the deep kabbalistic secrets of the Torah into stories and laws that man can comprehend (as Ramban explains in his introduction to his Torah commentary). Thus, when Moshe challenged Hashem, asking, "Why is the kohen gadol clothed in physical beauty?" Hashem answered him, "The Torah, too, is clothed in physical garments. It used to be Mine, and then it was all spiritual, but I gave it to you." (Maharam Shick Al Ha'Torah) ******** "You shall make vestments of sanctity for Aharon, your brother, for glory and splendor." (28:2) The midrash relates: Moshe served as kohen gadol during the first seven days of the mishkan's dedication. Moshe thought that this position would be his permanently, and he was therefore quite surprised when Hashem told him that the position would be Aharon's. How could Moshe have been surprised? Had not Hashem already told Moshe (in our verse) to make the kohen gadol's garments for Aharon? R' Hillel Lichtenstein z"l (1815-1891; rabbi of Kolomyya, Ukraine) explains: Moshe thought that he would remain as kohen gadol. However, halachah requires that the kohen gadol who officiates on Yom Kippur be married, while Moshe was divorced. Therefore, Moshe assumed that Aharon would be assistant kohen gadol and would serve only on Yom Kippur, while Moshe would serve at other times. Thus, Moshe was surprised at Aharon's appointment. (Makrai Dardaki) ******** Thirty Days Before Pesach What precisely is included in the mitzvah of Sippur Yetziat Mitzrayim / telling the story of the Exodus at the Seder? R' Shimon Schwab z"l (1908-1995) taught: "From my earliest youth, I remember that the children would ask each other on the first morning of Pesach, 'How long did your Seder last?' This was true in my youth, and it is still the case today [in 1992]. "If the children were to ask me this now, I would answer them, 'I made sure to eat the afikoman before chatzot [halachic midnight].' According to some poskim [authorities], even the recitation of Hallel should be completed before chatzot. I must point out that the present-day practice in which all the children read from their prepared sheets which they received is not exactly in accordance with the mitzvah of 'and you shall tell to your children' (Shemot 13:8). The children have started a new mitzvah of 'and you shall tell to your father and mother,' which makes it extremely difficult to reach the mitzvah of achilat [eating] matzah - and certainly the afikoman - before chatzot. "Rather than discourage the children from actively participating, [R' Schwab continued,] they should keep their remarks brief, so the father, or other leader of the Seder, can read the text of the Haggadah and explain the nissim [miracles] of Yetziat Mitzrayim [the Exodus]. However, the children should be encouraged to say their divrei Torah during the meal if there is time or, otherwise, during the daytime meals of yom tov. . . "On the Seder night, it is a mitzvat asei d'Oraita [Torah- ordained commandment] to retell to one's children the events surrounding Yetziat Mitzrayim. If one has the zechut [merit or fortune] to have children or grandchildren, it is a mitzvah for the father or grandfather to hand down to them the details of Yetziat Mitzrayim. The saying of so-called 'gute vertlach,' good, short pieces of Torah, is very nice, but these are not details of the narrative of Yetziat Mitzrayim - or its meaning and message - they are not a part of this mitzvah. On the Seder night, the children are encouraged to ask any question relevant to Yetziat Mitzrayim, and the father has a special mitzvah d'Oraita to respond to these questions and tell his children about the miracles Hashem did for us." (Rav Schwab On Prayer p. 541) R' Joseph B. Soloveitchik z"l (1902-1993) taught: Aside from relating the events that occurred at the time of the Exodus, the mitzvah of Sippur Yetziat Mitzrayim includes the obligation to teach the laws of Pesach. This is clear from the Haggadah itself, specifically, from the answer which is given to the wise son: "One may not eat dessert after the afikoman." The source of this law is the section of the Torah which presents the question of the wise son. He asks (Devarim 6:20), "What are the testimonies and the decrees and the ordinances that Hashem, our G-d, has commanded you?" And, the Torah's answer to the wise son has two parts (verses 21 & 24): (1) "We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt . . ." and (2) "Hashem commanded us to perform all these decrees . . ." In other words, we are commanded to relate what happened and what Hashem commanded us to do as a result. (Haggadah Shel Pesach Siach Ha'Grid p. 31) ******** Introductions . . . This week, we continue with the introduction to Sefer Hachinuch, an anonymous 13th century encyclopedia of the 613 mitzvot. In the excerpt presented last week, the author of Sefer Hachinuch argued that our traditions are reliable because they are based on the eyewitness testimony of the millions of people who stood at Har Sinai. He continues: If someone who wished to mislead us - someone whose heart has turned away from Hashem, our G-d - would argue and say: "What is with you and your traditions? Why should you ask your fathers and your elders? Investigate and question with your own intelligence, and probe with your own logic! Open your eyes and see what the world is made of! . . ." We would answer him by saying that our own investigations could never lead us to understand anything about G-d. Even regarding earthly matters, scientists cannot attain complete understanding! . . . Would we then presume to understand loftier matters, to know G-d? Far be it! Far be it from us to approach the King with haughtiness, to raise our hand against Him, thinking thoughts which are beyond our capability to understand and which we have no need of because our forefathers of blessed memory set the table for us. They probed with their questions and came to the ultimate knowledge that a person can attain, for "Elokim spoke to man [i.e., to our forefathers] and [they] lived" (Devarim 5:21). Why should we, then, question further? Rather, we should drink in their words thirstily. To what may this be likened? If you were told by millions of people not to drink from a certain river because every person who has drunk from that river has died, and you are told that the river has been tested at various times of year by various types of people [and they all died], but one scientist tells you, "Don't believe them! I know there is nothing wrong with that water and that it can't kill," would you reject the eyewitness testimony of the millions in favor of the one scientist? A discerning person would pay no attention to him. This is what we said before [regarding our ancestors being witnesses to G-d's existence and His giving of the Torah]. - To be continued -