Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Ki Tavo / Elul: Yes - You Worry! Volume XVI, No. 44 16 Elul 5762 August 24, 2002 Today's Learning: Zevachim 8:2-3 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Bava Batra 157 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Shabbat 32 It is said that R' Yisrael Salanter z"l (founder of the Mussar movement; died 1883) was visibly terrified during the month of Elul. Once a Jew asked him, "Of what are you afraid - is Elul a bear [i.e., a frightening animal]?" R' Salanter answered: "Elul is more frightening than a bear. Look at King David! He said (Shmuel I 17:36), `Your servant has slain even lion and bear.' And yet, King David himself said (Tehilim 119:120), `My flesh shuddered from dread of You, and I feared Your judgments'." R' Shimshon David Pinkus z"l (rabbi of Ofakim, Israel; died 2001) observes: It is difficult for us to understand R' Salanter's feelings. Each of us says, "I'm still around after all of these years. Why should I expect to die all of a sudden?" Nevertheless, our Sages have instructed us to pray during the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah / Ten Days of Penitence: "Remember us for life, O King who desires life, and inscribe us in the Book of Life . . ." Apparently, our Sages understood that it is necessary that each of us pray for his life. The truth, explains R' Pinkus, is that the season of Elul and the High Holidays demands of us emunah / belief in G-d. We do not perceive that our very lives are hanging in the balance, but we are called upon to believe it nevertheless. Indeed, Rambam writes in Sefer Hamitzvot that the mitzvah of emunah includes the belief in reward and punishment, and it requires us to fear that punishment. This mitzvah is particularly difficult for those of us who are surrounded by Hashem's kindness, concludes R' Pinkus. We live lives of ease, comfort and even luxury, and we do not see that one moment on Rosh Hashanah can change everything - for us, for our families, and even for the entire Jewish people. We must teach ourselves to believe this. (Sichot R' Shimshon David Pinkus) ******** "Then you shall call out and say before Hashem, your G-d, `Arami oveid avi / An Aramean tried to destroy my forefather'." (26:5) Understood most simply, the phrase, "An Aramean tried to destroy my forefather," refers to Lavan's attempt to destroy Yaakov. What is so unique about that event that we single it out? (Indeed, we even recite this verse at the Pesach Seder!) Was Lavan worse than Esav? R' Yedidyah Tiah Weill z"l (early 18th century Germany) explains: Esav had a good reason to hate Yaakov. After all, in Esav's mind, Yaakov stole the birthright and the blessing. In contrast, Lavan's hatred was irrational. Yaakov had never hurt Lavan; to the contrary, Lavan prospered after Yaakov's arrival. Moreover, Yaakov's children were Lavan's grandchildren. How could he hate them? Lavan is the model for the irrational Anti-Semitism from which Jews have suffered for millennia. This is why he deserves special mention. This is also why he is mentioned at the Seder, for he was the example for Pharaoh, whose hatred of the Jews also was irrational. Indeed, some Midrashim say that Lavan was none other than Bilam, who, says the midrash, served as an advisor to Pharaoh. (Haggadah Shel Pesach Marbeh L'sapair) The Midrash Sifrei derives from our verse that Yaakov went to Aram "le'hai'avaid" / "to be destroyed." R' Chaim Friedlander z"l (Mashgiach of the Ponovezh Yeshiva; died 1986) explains: Rambam writes that it is human nature that a person is influenced by his surroundings. Accordingly, Rambam advises, a person should choose friends who are righteous. It follows, says R' Friedlander, that one who goes to a place like Aram, the land of the wicked Lavan, is risking his own spiritual destruction. This is what the midrash means: Yaakov went to Aram to be destroyed. (Haggadah Shel Pesach Roshei Yeshivat Ponovezh) ******** "He descended to Egypt and sojourned there." (25:6) We say in the Pesach Haggadah: "This teaches that Yaakov did not intend to settle in Egypt. Rather, Yaakov saw himself as a visitor in Egypt." Is it really necessary to teach us this? Yes, writes R' Yoel Teitelbaum z"l (the "Satmar Rav"; died 1979). He explains: It is obvious that a person must consider himself a visitor when he is in Eretz Yisrael. After all, Eretz Yisrael is the land over which G-d watches constantly. (See Devarim 11:12.) In Hashem's presence, a person must certainly be unable to relax. Therefore, Yaakov never felt "at home" in Eretz Yisrael (in the negative sense of being too comfortable). The lands outside of Eretz Yisrael are not watched directly by Hashem, however, but rather by angels. Yaakov was greater than the angels, as he had even defeated one in a fight. Thus, one might think that Yaakov would settle down and relax when he was outside of Eretz Yisrael, and therefore the Haggadah tells us that this is not so. (Haggadah Shel Pesach Mahari T"B) ******** "It will be when you enter the Land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you as an inheritance, and you possess it, and dwell in it. You shall take of the reishit / first of every fruit of the ground that you bring in from your Land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that Hashem, your G-d, will choose, to make His Name rest there." (26:1-2) R' Chaim Vital z"l interprets these verses homiletically as follows: "It will be when you enter the Land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you as an inheritance" - A person's natural inclination after he comes into this world is to devote his life to gathering possessions, whether by inheritance from his ancestors or by his own labor. A person should reflect on the fact that just as he inherited his father's wealth, he, too, will pass from the world and others will inherit his wealth. "And you possess it, and dwell in it" - However, people do not reflect on the above. Instead, they continue to gather possessions and become entrenched on their land. "You shall take of the reishit" - This is a reference to Torah study, which is called "reishit." (See Rashi to Bereishit 1:1.) "From your Land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you" - One cannot grasp the Torah in the World-to-Come unless he has toiled over it in this world. Hashem gives us this land, i.e., this earth, to prepare for the World-to-Come. "And you shall put it in a basket" - If you study Torah in this world, it will remain in your basket when you reach the World-to-Come. Then you are guaranteed that you will "go to the place that Hashem, your G-d, will choose, to make His Name rest there." (Etz Ha'da'at Tov) ******** "You shall be glad with all the goodness that Hashem, your God, has given you and your household." (26:11) The Midrash Tanchuma teaches: There is no "goodness" other than Torah, as it is written (Mishlei 4:2), "For I have given you a good teaching, do not forsake My Torah." R' Moshe Yechiel Epstein z"l (the "Ozorover Rebbe" in Brooklyn) explains: The midrash is teaching that true happiness can come only to one who is connected to the Torah. Thus it is written (Mishlei 19:2), "Also for the soul to be without knowledge [i.e., Torah] is not good." Our verse should be interpreted likewise: "You shall be glad! When? When you are with all the goodness, i.e., the Torah." Why is this so? R' Epstein explains: We learn in Pirkei Avot (ch. 4), "Who is wealthy? One who is happy with his lot." Only a person whose life is not dedicated to material pursuits can be happy. Who is such a person? One whose life is dedicated to spiritual pursuits, i.e., a person who studies Torah. (Be'er Moshe) ******** R' David ibn Zimra z"l R' David ben Shlomo ibn Zimra ("Radvaz") was born in Spain, but he left with the expulsion around the time of his bar mitzvah. He may have lived in Morocco, but he eventually settled in Tzefat, where he studied under R' Yosef Saragossi. In 1514, Radvaz settled in Cairo, and was soon recognized as Chief Rabbi of Egypt. (He did not rely on this position for his livelihood, but was rather a successful businessman.) Radvaz made many enactments for the community, including abolishing the practice of dating Jewish documents from the reign of Alexander the Great. (This practice was known as "Minyan Shtarot.") He also headed a large yeshiva whose students included R' Betzalel Ashkenazi, author of Shitah Mekubetzet, and R' Yitzchak Luria (the "Arizal"). After forty years in Egypt, Radvaz returned to Eretz Yisrael, again settling in Tzefat, where he was received with great honor. Although R' Yosef Karo was the head of the Tzefat bet din / rabbinical court, he always deferred to Radvaz when it came time to sign a decision, due to the latter's advanced age and great erudition. Radvaz's published works include responsa, kabbalistic treatises, and a commentary on those portions of Rambam's code which the Maggid Mishneh (an anonymous work) did not explicate. Radvaz died in 1573. Radvaz's halachic responsa are voluminous. One question that he was asked was about a person who was in prison, but who was told that he could choose one day on which to pray with a minyan. Radvaz was asked what day he should choose - perhaps Purim, when Megillat Esther is read, or perhaps Yom Kippur? Neither of these, Radvaz answered. The person in question should choose the very next day to go pray with a minyan. One should never put off doing a mitzvah.