Hamaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Ki Tisah Volume VII/Number 21 (308) 20 Adar 5753/March 13, 1993 We read in this week's Parasha (34:27), "For by these words ('Ki Al Pi haDvarim haEleh'), I have made a covenant with you (Moshe) and with Israel." Based on the words "Ki Al Pi" - literally: "By the mouth" - Chazal say that the covenant between Hashem and the Jews is founded primarily upon the Oral Torah. The Rambam states that one is not bound by an obligation which he accepted if the limits of his commitment were not known when he made it. How then, asks Dayan Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss, zatzal (1902- 1989), were Bnei Yisrael bound by their promise to keep the Oral Torah? Unlike the Written Torah, which one can read from cover to cover and know its contents, the Oral Torah is limitless. In every generation, new interpretations are offered and new Halachot "discovered" and applied! The answer is that there is one way in which a person can become bound by an undefined obligation -- sell himself as a slave. A slave is bound to do everything that his master commands; it does not matter that when he became a slave, the individual did not know what would be expected of him. This is what our ancestors did -- they made a covenant with Hashem by which He acquired them (and therefore us) as His slaves. (Divrei Yitzchak, Introduction) ************************************ "And Hashem said to Moshe, 'Go down, for your nation has destroyed....'" (32:7) Rashi comments: Go down for your greatness, for I made you (Moshe) great only in Bnei Yisrael's honor. Based on this, said R' Michel Feinstein, shlita, (Rosh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak; said at the funeral of his uncle, R' Moshe Feinstein), we can understand the following Gemara (Baba Metzia 85): When R' Chiya and R' Chanina were debating, R' Chanina said, "Do you disagree with me, who, if the Torah were forgotten by the Jews, could reconstruct it with my wisdom?!" So what? asked R' Feinstein. Since the Torah was not, in fact, forgotten, of what importance is to us that R' Chanina was so accomplished in "learning" that he could reconstruct the Torah? The answer is that Torah never belongs to the individual. It belongs to all, though it may reside in a R' Chanina. Thus, R' Chanina's greatness is, in fact, a reflection of the entire generation, just as Moshe's greatness spoke of the heights that his generation had reached. When they fell, so did he. (reprinted in l'Torah v'Hora'ah) ************************************ "Why should You be angry with Your nation, which You took out from Egypt?" (32:11) How is the Exodus relevant to Moshe's defense of Bnei Yisrael? R' Chaim David haLevi, shlita (Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv) cites the Midrash which explains that Moshe said, "You, Hashem, know that Bnei Yisrael were idolators in Egypt! Why do You expect better of them?" Of course, Hashem knew that, notes R' haLevi. However, Hashem has a plan for us, and He does not abandon His plan although He sees that we sin and will sin. In the end, His plan will be fulfilled. (Aseh Lecha Rav IV p.62) ************************************ "Please [G-d], the nation has sinned a great sin, it has made gods of gold." (31:32) How could Moshe say such a thing? Why didn't he defend the Jewish people? R' Chaim Meir Hager, zatzal (1888-1972; the "Vizhnitzer Rebbe") explains as follows: Bnei Yisrael's sin was indefensible. However, Hashem will always stand up for His people when no one else does. This is why Moshe turned against them, for in that way he "forced" Hashem to forgive them. (quoted in Zecher Chaim) ************************************ Chazal teach that when Moshe returned to Har Sinai after the sin of the Golden Calf, the Shofar was blown to remind Bnei Yisrael not to miscount the days of Moshe's stay on Har Sinai. (That had been the catalyst for their sin.) R' Chaim Freidlander, zatzal (died 1986; Mashgiach in the Ponovezh Yeshiva) notes that, according to Chazal, the Torah is written in such a way that people can misunderstand it if they wish. All sin, in fact, comes from a deeply hidden desire to sin; otherwise, why didn't Bnei Yisrael come to the obvious conclusion that Moshe had not returned from Har Sinai because it was not yet time for him to do so?! The sound of the Shofar is one which penetrates into the deepest recesses of a person's heart. That sound was intended to bring to light, and thus destroy, the hidden desire to sin. (Siftei Chaim p.22) ************************************ P A R A S H A T P A R A H Chazal say that Moshe Rabbenu was the only person who understood the Mitzvah of the "Parah Adumah" - red heifer. Even Shlomo haMelech ("the wisest of all men") did not. Why? R' Mordechai Shulman, zatzal (1902-1953; Slobodka Rosh Yeshiva) explains, based on the following statement from Mesilat Yesharim: "A person's purpose in this world is to perform Mitzvot, serve G-d, and stand up to challenges." These are three separate requirements. One could perform the acts of the Mitzvot without serving Hashem, and he could serve Hashem without ever being challenged. The greatest challenge is to serve Hashem with no self-interest. One who wants to repent from the sin of serving G-d selfishly should strive to excel in an area from which he has no gain. This explains why Chazal call the Parah Adumah an atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf. That sin was caused by a self-serving miscalculation -- Bnei Yisrael hoped to develop a newer and better way to serve Hashem. The result was idol worship. As an atonement, the Torah says, serve Hashem through the Parah Adumah, a Mitzvah which is not understandable. It will thus be clear that this Mitzvah is being done only because of Hashem's command. Shlomo haMelech's ancestors were present at the sin of the Golden Calf; he, too, needed this atonement. Moshe, however, did not. (quoted in Legacy of Sladbodka p.86) ************************************ P E S A C H Is it right for three generations of a family to share the Seder, with the grandfather reading and explaining the Haggadah to all? At first glance, says R' Moshe Sternbuch, shlita, it is not proper, for the Torah commands, "And you shall tell your son." The Seder night is a special time for inculcating faith in one's children, and that is not an opportunity which should be passed-up. Nevertheless, says R' Sternbuch, there are two reasons why a grandfather may conduct the Seder, and why that may, in fact be preferable. Firstly, the Mitzvah of teaching one's children about the Exodus is, according to numerous authorities, only an extension of the Mitzvah to teach Torah. Not only is a grandfather obligated to teach Torah to his grandchildren, his doing so is arguably preferable to the father's doing so because he (the grandfather) is one generation closer to the source of our heritage. Secondly, to recite the Haggadah, as with many Mitzvot, one can appoint a proxy. Again, a grandfather is a worthy proxy because his age and wisdom (hopefully) enable him to command greater respect. (There is a practical difference between the two reasons. It is not clear that a maternal grandfather is obligated to teach Torah to his grandchildren. Nevertheless, he, too, can serve as a father's proxy.) Of course, it is always better to perform Mitzvot in person, rather than through a proxy. Therefore, one should take care to participate in teaching the story to his children, wherever the Seder is held. (Teshuvot v'Hanhagot II section 236) ************************************ The learning schedule for this Shabbat is: T'vul Yom 2:4-5 O.C. 566:4-6 Nedarim 26 Yerushalmi - Pe'ah 33 Rambam Ch./Day: Hilchot Kidush Hachodesh - Ch. 12 3 Ch./Day: Hilchot Shegagot - Chs. 12-14 Sefer Hamitzvot Sh:P72; Su:P68,P75,P76; M:P74,P77; Tu:N106,P87; W:N107,P107; Th:P107; F:P107 ************************************ Donations to Hamaayan are tax deductible