HaMaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Va'etchanan Volume V, Number 40 (226) 16 Menachem-Av 5751/July 27, 1991 "Shabbat Nachamu" Parasha Overview In this Parasha, Moshe's review of the Torah continues. He exhorts Bnei Yisrael to love and fear G-d - teaching them "Shma" and similar verses - and he repeats the "Aseret HaDibrot" (the so- called "Ten Commandments"), which contain with them allusions to all 613 Mitzvot. The verses describe how Moshe set aside three cities on the east side of the Jordan to be "Arei Miklat" - cities of refuge for one who murders accidentally. Even though Moshe would be unable to designate the Arei Miklat which were to be on the west bank (because he was to die in the desert), he said, "If I can begin a Mitzvah, let me do so." ********************************* "And I beseeched G-d at that time saying: 'You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand...Let me please pass and see the good land which is on the other [i.e. the west] bank of the Jordan...'" (Devarim 3:23-25) Rashi explains: Moshe statement, "[A]t that time," means that after Moshe had been allowed to conquer the lands of Sichon and Og and to incorporate them into Israel, he thought that he would also be allowed to cross the Jordan River and see the rest of the Land of Israel. Why was Moshe so anxious to cross the Jordan? Chazal explain that Moshe wanted to fulfill the "Mitzvot HaTeluyot B'Aretz" - the commandments whose performance is dependent upon being in the Land of Israel. In discussing the laws of "Bikkurim" ("first fruits"), R' Chaim "Brisker" Soloveitchik notes that there are three different levels of holiness to Eretz Yisrael. He bases this on Rambam's statement that - Based on a Rabbinic decree, one must bring Bikkurim from the lands of Sichon and Og [northern Jordan] and from Syria, for one who buys land in Syria is like one who buys land in Yerushalayim. From Ammon and Moav [central Jordan], however, even though one is obligated by Rabbinic decree to give tithes, one does not bring Bikkurim. Why are Ammon and Moav different from Syria? Why are Bikkurim not brought from the former lands? Furthermore, what does the Rambam mean in stating that "One who buys land in Syria is like one who buys land in Yerushalayim."? The Torah obligates us to give tithes from Eretz Yisrael, but not from other lands. However, as Bnei Yisrael expanded the borders of their realms, the sages decreed that tithes should be given from the produce of the new provinces as well. Thus they created a Rabbinic obligation to give tithes from certain territories outside of Israel. The Mitzvah of Bikkurim, however, did not take effect in these lands, for Bikkurim, by definition, come only from Israel. (R' Chaim proves this from a Tosfot.) Why then must one bring Bikkurim from the lands of Sichon and Og and from Syria? The answer is that the historical relationship of these lands to Eretz Yisrael is different than that of Ammon and Moav to Israel. "One who buys land in Syria is like one who buys land in Yerushalayim," states the Rambam. The lands of Sichon and Og and Syria were not just conquered by Bnei Yisrael, they were annexed to Eretz Yisrael. Therefore, they, like the rest of Israel, are areas from which Bikkurim must be brought. (Chiddushei HaGrach HaShalem section 292) ************************************ "'Be consoled, be consoled, My nation,' your G-d will say... for she [the nation] has taken [punishment] twice for all her sins." (from the Haftara - Yishayahu 40:1-2) Does G-d punish us more than we deserve?! asked R' Elchanan Wasserman in the dark days before World War II. Do we not read in Ezra (9:14): "You have prevented many of our sins from being counted, "and in the Torah (Devarim 8:5): "As a father rebukes his son, so G-d rebukes you."? Certainly no parent hits his child even one time more than necessary! This last verse answers the question. Like any loving parent, G-d does not punish Bnei Yisrael in order to hurt them, but in order to signal that they have strayed. Furthermore, just as a disappointed parent hides his children's sins from the outside world, so Hashem protects the honor of Bnei Yisrael. Thus, the prophet Tzefaniah tells us, "I have cut off nations, their fortresses have been abandoned, their markets destroyed... I said, 'Just see this - Learn your lesson!'" Many nations have been destroyed so that Bnei Yisrael will recognize Hashem's anger, but to no avail. As long as Bnei Yisrael saw that their own suffering was no greater than that of their gentile neighbors, they did not recognize that Hashem's anger was actually directed at them. Like a father who has one last hope for his children, Hashem tries again. If Bnei Yisrael do not understand the first, subtle message, a second, direct punishment is needed. Together these constitute the double blow to which our Haftara refers. But, "Be consoled, be consoled, My nation." The double punishment is followed by a double consolation, may it come speedily in our days. (Kovetz Ma'amarim pages 57, 142) [R' Elchanan was murdered in the Kovno ghetto 50 years ago this month, HY"D.] ************************************* Pilpul The word "Pilpul" refers to both a method of study which has existed since the time of Moshe Rabbenu's students (see Temurah 16a) and to a specific school of Torah study which flourished in Poland from the 16th century until recent times. In its most general sense, Pilpul is the level of Talmud study which follows "P'shat" - the simple meaning. After one knows what the sages of the Talmud actually said, one can deduce what they meant to say, what they could have said (but did not), and what they could not have said. In its most extreme form, Pilpul includes building complex discourses in which each step follows logically from the preceding one, but which, when viewed as a whole, are absurd. An example of this is described in the Gemara (Eruvin 13b) which records, "There was a student in Yavneh who could adduce 150 proofs that a rodent is ritually pure." In fact, the Torah states plainly that a rodent is not pure, and even the most logical arguments in the world cannot change this. (This Gemara was discussed at length in HaMaayan for Parashat Vaera of this year.) "Pilpul" means "To turn this way and that way" (HaVikuach Al HaPilpul, p.11), and many Talmudic and Midrashic examples of Pilpul are characterized by the form: Let us look at it this way... or perhaps we should turn down this road and say..." Also, making a play on words, the Gemara sometimes uses the word Pilpul in connection with a scholar who is said to be as sharp as pepper ("Pilpul"). In different times and places, Pilpul took on varying formalistic frameworks. For example, "Regensburger Pilpul" asked, "Why did the sage who asked the question not know the answer beforehand?" "Nuremberger Pilpul" demonstrated and then resolved inherent contradictions in the questions that the Gemara posed against a sage's views. In the schools which followed the methods of the 15th century sage, R' Yaakov Landau, the focus was on the "paradoxes" in Halacha. For example, when is a certain "sin" actually a Mitzvah? (One of the many answers is that the Kohen Gadol's garments contained "Sha'atnez" - usually prohibited mixtures of wool and flax.) The debate over the appropriate uses of Pilpul and the relative merits of a scholar who is sharp versus one who is knowledgeable is an ancient one. It is alluded to by the Gemara (ibid) which states: "It is revealed before Him who created the world, that there was none in Rabbi Meir's generation equal to him. Why then was the Halacha not determined according to R' Meir's view? Because his colleagues could not fathom the extent of his reasoning." This is also (according to some commentaries) the question that was raised when R' Yosef and Rabbah were candidates for the position of Rosh Yeshiva: "As between a 'Sinai' [one who knows the whole Torah] and an 'uprooter of mountains' [one who is sharp], which is preferable?" This question is found yet again in the Spanish scholars' criticism of those among the "Ba'alei Tosfot" who analyzed the Gemara in hair-splitting detail but did not reach practical Halachic conclusions. Most sages agreed that the Pilpul method, if used at all, was reserved for academic settings. It could not be used in deciding practical Halachic questions precisely because through it, one could prove anything, whether true or not. The most extensive debates over Pilpul, however, are those which occurred in the 16th and 17th century Poland. It is on these developments that we will focus in the coming weeks. ********************************** The learning schedule for this Shabbat is: Daily Mishnah Bechorot 9:3-4 (Learn two Mishnayot every day) Daily Halacha Orach Chaim (Mishnah Berura) 301:1-3 (Learn three paragraphs each day) Daf Yomi Shekalim 14 (Learn two sides of a page each day) Pirkei Avot Chapter 3 (Learn one chapter each Shabbat afternoon during the summer) Rambam (1 Chap./Day) Hilchot Parah Adumah, Chap. 16 (3 Chap./Day) - Hilchot Zechiyah v'Matanah, Chap. 1-3 Sefer Hamitzvot: Sh.P245,Su.P245,M.P245,Tu.P245,W.P236,Th.P236,F.P236 *********************************** The hard copy distribution of this week's edition of HaMaayan is sponsored by: Bev Morris and Art Boyars in honor of Rich and Judy Walters in appreciation of their kindness - "Shabbat Nachamu", 5741 ******************** 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