Hamaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Emor Volume VI/Number 31 (265) 13 Iyar 5752/May 16, 1992 Parashat Overview Last week we read of our obligation to be "Kadosh" - holy - and of Mitzvot that Hashem gave us so that we may further that goal, Parashat Emor expands on that theme. The Parasha's first section is devoted to laws pertaining to the Kohanim, that class within the Jewish people of whom a higher degree of holiness is expected. The second major part of the Parasha is devoted to the holidays, teaching us that at certain times of the year greater holiness is demanded of us all. The Parasha's last section recounts the sin and the punishment of the blasphemer (see page 3). This reminds us that we must be holy, not only in deed, but in our speech as well, for Chazal teach that the blasphemer's mother's flirtatious speech created the situation which led to her son's sin and then, death. (Bedibur Echod) Parashat Emor is always read in close proximity to "Lag B'omer" - the 33rd and, in many ways, most significant day of the seven- week period in which we now find ourselves. R' Shmuel of Sochatchov writes that the purpose of counting these 49 days is to work on serving Hashem after the awesome revelation of the Exodus (the first night of Pesach) has begun to fade into the darkness of everyday life. It is our task during this period to elevate that mundane existence to a holier plane. However, just as in the last third of the night we begin to see signs of dawn, in the last third of the Omer (which begins with the 34th day) we begin to see signs of that other awesome revelation, the giving of the Torah at Har Sinai. This, according to R' Shmuel, is why most people cease to observe the restrictions of the Omer on the 33rd or 34th day; the darkness is lifting and the light of Hashem's revelation reappearing. (Shem Mishmuel, p.302) This may relate to our Parasha as well, for it was at Har Sinai that Hashem declared us to be a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Sh'mot 19:6). Hopefully as Shavuot nears we find it easier to attain that level of holiness which this week's and last week's Parashot demand. The story of the blasphemer may be tied to the Omer as well. Chazal teach that Bnei Yisrael did not imprison the blasphemer in the same cell as the woodchopper (see Bamidbar 15:32) because the latter had been sentenced to death while the former's punishment was not yet known - perhaps his sin was so serious that death at the hands of a human court would not be severe enough for him. R' Henach Lebowitz, Shlita, notes that this demonstrates incredible sensitivity; the blasphemer had cursed G-d, but Bnei Yisrael did not want him to suffer on death row (with the woodchopper) when he might not be sentenced to death. Such sensitivity and caring for others is exactly what the 24,000 students of R' Akiva lacked, and this caused their death during the 33 day period which ends with Lag B'omer. This is a lesson which our Parasha and the present period of the year can leave with us. ************************************ Of a rich man whose many business ventures left him no time for Torah study, the "Chafetz Chaim" said, "He's so poor, he doesn't even own time." ************************************ Pirkei Avot If there is no flour [i.e. sustenance], there will be no Torah. If there is no Torah, there will be no flour. (Ch.3) Which one comes first? asked R' Yisrael of Vizhnitz, and he answered the question based on the following Halacha: If one takes out a loan, to be repaid at Pesach-time, the loan is due when the first Pesach arrives. The borrower is not allowed to claim, "I meant next Pesach," because there is no limit to such a claim [i.e. "I meant Pesach two (or three or four...) years from now."] Similarly, Hashem can't (so-to-speak) expect us to learn Torah before he sustains us, because the Torah is never-ending. We would never finish learning, and thus never trigger Hashem's "obligation" to sustain us. Rather, let Hashem sustain us first; then He can expect us to study properly. (Mimayanot Hanetzach, p.186) After each chapter of Pirkei Avot, we traditionally recite the following Talmudic teaching: Hashem wanted to reward us, therefore He gave us many Mitzvot. R' Mendele of Viso explained: Hashem wishes to reward us in "Olam Haba" - not in this world. Therefore he gave us a Torah which is never-ending, a Torah which we can never finish, but rather, must struggle to keep up to the moment that we pass on to the next world. We cannot be rewarded in this world because we never finish our tasks here. (ibid, p.350) ************************************ The Kohen who is greater than his brothers... a widow... he shall not marry." (Vayikra 21:14) The prohibition on the Kohen Gadol's marrying a widow reminds us how powerful a person's desires are, and how far one must go to distance himself from temptation. How so? The commentary of the "Ba'alei Tosfot" gives as the reason for this prohibition that the Kohen Gadol may find himself attracted to a married woman, and on Yom Kippur, when he enters the Holy of Holies, he may pray for the woman's husband to die. Of whom are we speaking?! Of the spiritual leader of all of the Jews, and at the holiest and most solemn moment of the year, no less. But such is the power of the Yetzer Hara! (Shai Latorah) ************************************ "And you shall count for yourselves... seven complete weeks they shall be." (Vayikra 23:15) Says the Midrash: "When are these weeks complete? When Bnei Yisrael do G-d's will." "Doing G-d's will" is the highest level that a person can attain, higher than simply keeping all of the Torah and Mitzvot. "Doing G-d's will" means observing the Mitzvot without any awareness of one's self. Rather, one is motivated only and completely by the fact that it is G-d's will. This level is mentioned in connection with the Mitzvah of counting the Omer because one purpose of that Mitzvah is to mark off the days until Shavuot, the day of the giving of the Torah. As one eagerly counts-off the days until he will receive the Torah anew, one imbues in himself love of Torah. It is this love, more so than knowledge of Torah alone, which brings one to "do G-d's will." (R' Mordechai Gifter, Shlita: Pirkei Moed) ************************************ "And the son of an Israelite woman went out....and [he] cursed the name of G-d." (Vayikra 24:10) Rashi quotes the Midrash: From where did he go out? From the preceding section of the Torah, which teaches the laws of the "Lechem Hapanim" - the bread which sat in the Bet Hamikdash from Shabbat to Shabbat and was then eaten by the Kohanim. Chazal teach that a miracle occurred and the bread remained fresh, but this individual was skeptical, and he asked sarcastically, "Are we then to serve the King [Hashem] cold bread?" It appears from Rashi that this Jew was, in his own misguided way, standing up for G-d's honor. How then did he come soon after to curse Hashem? The answer is that this how an extremist behaves: he seeks to be more righteous than everyone else, but if he is rejected, he ends up more evil than everyone else. This Jew stood up for Hashem's honor when it was not called for, and the result was that he dishonored Hashem. The correct path is the middle one. (Heard from R' Yissachar Frand, Shlita) ************************************ R' Menacham Ziemba R' Menacham was one of Poland's leading scholars during the period between the wars, though he is generally known today only among other scholars. This is because he never held any Rabbinic or Yeshiva post, but rather supported himself from a steel goods store which he and his wife inherited from her father. He ran that store only a few hours a day, and even then, was constantly studying. People used to say that between customers, R' Menacham studied Talmud, but he corrected them, saying, "Between paragraphs of Talmud, I wait on customers." Six or seven hours of each day were occupied by a "Shiur" (lecture) which R' Menacham delivered to a select group of students. He did not prepare each lecture in advance; rather, he would bring his students into the creative process. Together they labored over the Gemara, and under his direction they would evolve new ideas. R' Menacham felt that a serious student could study and understand any printed work on his own. A Rosh Yeshiva's or teacher's job is not to present a work's conclusions, but to point out the prior assumptions, the "you might think" and the "at first glance" which lead to the author's conclusions. This way a student will learn the nature of the creative process and will appreciate the importance of carefully weighing everything he says. R' Menacham died in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, on the 19th of Nisan 5703 (1943). Despite the battle raging around them, tens of people attended his funeral. In 1958, his remains were found and reinterred in Israel, in the presence of the Gerrer Rebbe, the Brisker Rav, and many more of Israel's leading sages. (R' Aharon Surasky, Great Chassidic Leaders) ************************************ The learning schedule for this Shabbat is: Mishnah Yomit: Ohalot 11:6-7 (Learn two Mishnayot every day) Halacha Yomit: OC/MB 397:3-5 (Learn three paragraphs every day) Daf Yomi: Moed Katan 11 (Learn two sides of a page every day) Rambam Chapter/Day: Hilchot Melaveh V'Loveh - Chapter 24 3 Chapters/Day: Hilchot Tumat Ochlim - Chapters 13-15 Sefer Hamitzvot Sh:P98; Su:P98; M:P107; Tu:P108; W:P101; Th:P99; F:P100 ************************************ The hard copy distribution of this week's Hamaayan is sponsored by: Aaron and Rona Lerner in memory of their fathers, Mr. John Lerner and Mr. Alvin Cohn Mr. Moshe Cohen in memory of his father, R' Chaim ben Zvi Hakohen