HaMaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Acharei Mot - Kedoshim Volume V, Number 27 (213) 13 Iyar 5751/April 27, 1991 Parasha Overview The first of this week's two Parashot is devoted in large part to the Yom Kippur "Avodah" (service). The second Parasha contains many Mitzvot (see the Rashi quoted on page 2). One of these Mitzvot is "Kedoshim Teyihu" - "You shall be set aside for G-d." (This is the implication of the usual translation of "Kadosh" - "holy".) To be "set aside for G-d" implies in turn that one is removed from excess material pursuits (Ramban). R' Eliyahu de Vidas observes that the obligation to be "Kadosh" is found at least five times in the Torah, and yet it is not one of the 613 Mitzvot. Rather it is a foundation for all of the other commandments. If a person sees himself as being set aside for the service of G-d, he will have little difficulty performing that service with proper devotion. (Reishit Chochmah, Sha'ar HaKedushah, ch.1) Rashi comments that Parashat Kedoshim was taught by Moshe "B'Hakhel" - in an assembly of all of the Jewish people - because so many critical laws are found in it. In particular, observe many commentaries, Parashat Kedoshim elaborates upon many of the themes found in the "Aseret HaDibrot" ("Ten Commandments"). R' Aharon Eliezer Paskez of Galanta (died 1884) elaborates on this idea. Man, he notes, is composed of two parts - the physical and the spiritual/intellectual - and it is Hashem's intention that both of these be devoted to serving Him. This is the meaning of the first verse of the Aseret HaDibrot: "I am Hashem, your Elokim, who took you out of Egypt..." Throughout Torah literature, the name "Elokim" refers to G-d as He interacts with the physical world, whereas the name "Hashem" refers to our perception of Him on a higher level. Thus we may interpret this verse to mean: Because I redeemed your physical and spiritual aspects, both of which were enslaved in Egypt, I expect you to serve Me. There are many Mitzvot which include both physical and spiritual/intellectual aspects. For example, we observe the laws of Shabbat with our bodies, but we must also observe the spirit of Shabbat with our minds. We perform acts that result in honor to our parents, but we are enjoined to feel awe and fear of them, as well. These two Mitzvot, and the two aspects of each, are examples of how our Parasha elaborates upon and complements the Aseret HaDibrot. There we read, "Remember the Shabbat Day...," referring to the mental aspect. What of the physical? In our Parasha we read, "My Shabbatot you shall keep," referring to the prohibited labors. In the Aseret HaDibrot we read, "Honor you father and your mother." This is the physical aspect. (Chazal interpret this as an obligation to feed one's parents, dress them, etc.) In our Parasha we read, "Each person shall fear his mother and his father." ************************************ "And no person shall be in the Tent (i.e. the Tabernacle) from when he (i.e. Aharon) enters to atone within the Holy (i.e. the main hall of the Tabernacle) until he leaves..." (Vayikra 16:17) R' Joseph B. Soleveitchik, Shlita, wonders why the Halacha found in the above verse is listed by Rambam in the section of his Halachic code pertaining to the Yom Kippur service and is not included by Rambam among the prohibitions described in the Code's section called "The Laws of Entry into the Temple." R' Soloveitchik quotes his father, R' Moshe Soloveitchik, Zatzal, who explained that our verse is not describing a prohibition which applies to a person (e.g. "Do not enter the Temple at this time"), but rather describes a prerequisite to the proper performance of the Yom Kippur service (i.e. "It must be done when no one but the Kohen Gadol is present in the Tent." Thus Rambam's categorization is correct. This, says R' Soloveitchik, answers a question that was asked by the "Meiri" (14th century Talmud commentator): The Torah includes a general prohibition on entering the Tabernacle other than in fulfillment of the Avodah, whether on Yom Kippur or on any other day. Since the Kohen Gadol is obligated to perform the entire Yom Kippur service alone, it follows that any other person who entered the Tabernacle on Yom Kippur would be entering for no purpose, in violation of the Torah's command. Why then is a special verse needed to teach us a prohibition on entering the "Holy" when the Kohen Gadol is performing the "Avodah" (service)? Based on R' Moshe's explanation we can answer the Meiri's question. The prohibition in our verse is not the same as the general prohibition on entering the Tent. In general, the fact that a stranger wandered into the Tabernacle when the Avodah was in progress does not invalidate that Avodah; it merely results in punishment for the "visitor". The prohibition of our verse, however, is different, for here the presence of anyone other than the Kohen Gadol actually invalidates the service. (Kuntreis B'Inyan Avodat Yom HaKippurim, p.46) *********************************** The Geonim [Before Pesach, we concluded our discussion of the "Tannaim" and "Amoraim" (sages of the Mishnah and Gemara) and "Rabbanan Savorai" (the scholars who gave the Gemara its final form). This week, we present a brief overview of the next period of Torah scholarship.] The period of the "Geonim" lasted from the year 589 until 1038. The title "Gaon" (pl. "Geonim"; from the root meaning "exalted") refers to each of the heads of the major Yeshivot of Bavel. The names of fewer than 100 sages from the four-and-a-half centuries of the Geonim are known to us. Of these, approximately 90 held the position of Gaon in the Yeshivot of Peroz-Shavur (closed in 660), Pumpedita (founded in 297 by the Amora, R' Yehuda; closed 1038), and Sura (operated on and off from 259 to after 1040). The names of a few sages who were not "Geonim" are also known from this period, most notably R' Achai of Shavcha, author of She'iltot. It has been written that the Geonim saw as their main task to spread the knowledge of the Talmud Bavli throughout world Jewry, and to establish it as the cornerstone on which Jews, wherever they were, could build their lives. (At the time, many communities especially in Israel and in Italy, followed the Talmud Yerushalmi instead.) When the period of Geonim began, advanced Torah study was almost completely limited to Bavel, but by the end of the period, scholars such as R' Yitzchak Alfasi, Rabbenu Gershom "Me'or HaGolah", and R' Natan "Ba'al HaAruch" could be found in Morocco, Alsace, and Italy, respectively. The era of the Geonim is the first from which we have Torah works written by individuals, unlike the two Talmuds and all of the Midrashim which present the teachings of hundreds or thousands of sages. Among the works produced by the Geonim and their contemporaries are the She'iltot (a Halachic compendium arranged according to the weekly Parasha), Emunot V'De'ot of R' Sa'adiah Gaon (philosophy), and the Seder R' Amram Gaon (the oldest known written Siddur). The last work on this list belongs as well to the genre for which the Geonim are best known: the "Teshuva" - responsum. Because Jewry's greatest Torah scholars were centered in Bavel, other communities regularly turned to them for Halachic decisions, interpretations of difficult Talmudic passages, dissertations on Jewish history, and, in R' Amram's time, the proper order of prayers. The answers that were sent to the far flung Jewish communities are known as "Teshuvot", and R' Amram's Siddur was one of these. The same is true of the historical work, Iggeret R' Sherira Gaon, a Teshuva on which many recent biographies in HaMaayan were based. ******************** Posted by Alan Broder, ajb@grebyn.com (uunet!grebyn!ajb), who should be contacted to request back issues of HaMaayan or to get on or off the direct email mailing list. Shlomo Katz can not receive EMAIL, however I will pass on any comment forwarded to me, or alternately, send your comments care of yehuda@gwuvm.bitnet