Hamaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Ki Tavo 18 Elul 5753/September 4, 1993 From our archives.... Although Parashat Ki Tavo is best known as the Parasha of the "Tochacha" - the rebuke and warning that Moshe gave Bnei Yisrael regarding the consequences of abandoning the Mitzvot - this Parasha also contains six commandments. The last of these, the 611th Mitzvah in the Torah, is that we emulate G-d's ways. Sefer HaChinuch describes this as follows: "We are commanded to carry-out all of our actions in a straight- dealing and beneficial way, and all our deeds should lean towards kindness and mercy, just as we know from the Torah that this is Hashem's way." The Sefer HaChinuch notes that Hashem does sometimes become angry, but that the sins of man "force" Him to react thus. Nevertheless, even in His anger, Hashem does not punish the sinner to the full extent that he deserves, and so should we be merciful when we are angered. The Torah-commentators note that all of the "curses" of the Tochacha have been experienced over the past 2000 years of exile. We may therefore be certain that Hashem will keep the rest of His word, and that the promised redemption will come soon. ************************************ Recent Mussar Works With the advent of the Mussar Movement in the 1840's and the revival of widespread Mussar study, the number of Mussar works increased. Each of these works presents a different view or method, but their goal is the same: to heighten the student's awareness of his ethical failings, on the one hand, and accomplishments, on the other. (Some authors focus more on man's positive attributes and encourage him to make the most of them; others look to man's negative side and exhort him to destroy it.) One change which the Mussar movement introduced into the structure of the Yeshiva is the position of the "Mashgiach Ruchani" (spiritual supervisor). Whereas the Rosh Yeshiva (dean) traditionally devotes his lessons to the scholarly material being studied (usually the Talmud), the Mashgiach is responsible for lecturing and leading study groups on the subject of ethics. (In practice, many Roshei Yeshiva also give such lectures.) It is these lectures and discussions which make up the bulk of the Mussar works published over the last century and-a-half. In most cases, the authors of these works did not actually write books, but rather, their students published collections of their lectures, often posthumously. Some of the better known recent Mussar works are listed and described below. However, this list is by no means exhaustive. Ohr Yisrael: Some lectures and letters of R' Yisrael Salanter (1810-1883), the father of the Mussar movement. The work was published by R' Yitzchak Blazer (1837-1907), a student of R' Yisrael and the Chief Rabbi of St. Petersburg (now Leningrad). R' Yitzchak also published his own work entitled Kochvei Ohr. Chochmah U'Mussar: (R' Simcha Zissel of Kelm' 1824-1898). R' Simcha Zissel was a student of R' Yisrael and the teacher of most of the third generation leaders of the Mussar movement. Madregat HaAdam: (R' Yosef Horowitz; 1848-1920). The "Alter" ("Elder") of Novardok, as the author was known, established a large network of Yeshivot which combined the study of Torah and Mussar and produced such noted scholars as R' Yaakov Kanievski, the "Steipler Gaon." "Novardok," as this branch of the Mussar movement is known after the town where it was born, took it to the extreme the outlook mentioned previously that man's primary struggle in this world is to subjugate the many negative attributes with which a person is born. (Compare "Slabodka" below). Ohr Harzafun: (R' Natan Zvi Finkel; 1849-1927). This work is a collection, arranged according to the Parasha, of the lectures of the "Alter" of Slabodka, as R' Natan Zvi was known. The school of Slabodka, taught that man's primary means of service in this world would be, not to focus on his negative side, but to find positive attributes within himself and elevate those further. The students of Slabodka played leading roles in Jewish life during and after World War II. Among them (followed by the Yeshivas with which they were associated): R' Aharon Kotler (Kletsk, Lithuania and Lakewood, N.J.); R' Yaakov Kamenicki (Yeshiva Tora VaDa'as in Brooklyn and Monsey); R' Yitzchak HaLevi Ruderman (Ner Israel, Baltimore); R' Yitzchak Hutner (Yeshiva Chaim Berlin in New York and Yerushalayim); R' Mordechai Shulman (Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim in New York; Slabodka Yeshiva in Israel); R' Dovid Leibowitz and his son, R' Henach; R' Isaac Sher; and R' Yehuda Leib Chasman (Slobodka Yeshiva in Chevron and, after the Arab massacre of that Yeshiva in 1929, in Yerushalayim). Ohr Yahel: (R' Yehuda Leib Chasman; 1869-1935) (see above). Shiurei Da'as (R' Yosef Leib Bloch; 1860-1929). R' Yosef Leib was the Rabbi of the town of Telshe (Telz) and the head of the Yeshiva there (which later transplanted to Cleveland, Ohio). According to his son's introduction to this work, R' Yosef Leib's unique style lay in his teaching that the same principles and study methods work equally well whether one is examining philosophical insights or the intricacies of a Halachic debate. Michtav M'Eliyahu (R' Eliyahu Dessler; 1891-1954). This collection of lectures and letters covers subjects in Mussar, philosophy, and Kabbalah. The lectures it contains were delivered at the Yeshivot of London, Gateshead (England), and Bnei Brak, where R' Dessler served as Mashgiach. Some of the material appears as an independent piece; in other cases, a series of lectures or letters comprise an entire treatise on a given subject. Among the most famous of these are the treatises on "Chesed" (kindness) and "Bechirah" (free-will). Another important subject discussed in this collection is how we are to understand the sins of such Tzadikim as King David and Yosef and his brothers. The same student of R' Dessler who edited the Hebrew version of this work recently published the first three volumes of an English translation. Lev Eliyahu: (R' Eliyahu Lopian; 1872-1970). This work was originally published as a collection of essays and subsequently republished, this time arranged by Parashot. R' Lopian was probably the last survivor of the third generation of the Mussar movement and of the students of R' Simcha Zissel of Kelm. R' Eliyahu headed Yeshivot in Kelm and London, and for the last two decades of his life was the "Mashgiach Ruchani" of the Yeshiva of K'far Chassidim, Israel. Ohr Yechezkel: (R' Yechezkel Levenstein; 1884-1974). R' Yechezkel was the Mashgiach of the Mir and Ponoviezh Yeshivot in Lithuania, Shanghai, and Israel. Each volume of his work covers a distinct topic such as "Emunah" (faith) or "Middot" (good traits). Sichot Mussar: (R' Chaim Shmuelevitz; 1901-1979). A collection of lectures delivered by R' Chaim, the Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir Yeshiva in Yerushalayim, between 1971-1973. (The lectures delivered by R' Chaim during the other 12 years that he headed the Yeshiva have, for some reason, not been published.) The heritages of the three leading mussar schools were joined in R' Chaim. The Rabbi of his hometown was R' Leib Chasman (see above), a student of Kelm. R' Chaim was himself a grandson of the Alter of Novardok. Finally R' CHaim married a granddaughter of the Alter of Slabodka, and also taught together with the Alter's son (R' Yehuda Eliezer Finkel) and grandson's (R' Chaim Zev and R' Beinish) for many years. ************************************ The learning schedule for this Shabbat is: Shevi'it 3:9-10 O.C. 681:2-682:2 Sotah 46 Yerushalmi - Ma'asrot 2 ************************************ Donations to Hamaayan are tax deductible