Today's Learning Sponsored by Shabbat 23:3-4 The Siegman family Kitzur 221:5-8 in memory of Bava Kama 80 Avraham Eliyahu ben Shalom Zelig z'l Yerushalmi-- Eruvin 41 Begin Shulchan Aruch tomorrow. Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz PARASHAT BEMIDBAR The 48th day of the Omer Vol. VIII, No. 31 (365), 4 Sivan 5754, May 14, 1994 This parasha, which nearly always is read on the Shabbat before Shavuot, begins, "Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Sinai Desert." Rabbenu Bachya comments, "'In the Sinai Desert' þ where Mount Sinai is." He continues: The Torah was given through three creations: fire, water, and desert. Fire þ as is written (Sh'mot 19:18): "And Har Sinai was covered with smoke because Hashem came down upon it in fire." Water þ as is written (Shoftim 5:4): "Hashem, when You left Se'ir, when You strode from the Field of Edom, the land quaked, also the skies dripped, also the clouds dripped water." [This is a reference to when Hashem offered the Torah to the sons of Esav.] Desert þ as is written: "Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Sinai Desert." Why was the Torah given through these three? To teach us that just as these three are available for "free," i.e., they exist in the world in unlimited quantities, so too the Torah is available for free to anyone who wants it. Also, the Torah was given in the desert to teach us that the Torah only stays with those who humble themselves like the desert. ************************************ "For every firstborn is Mine; on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified every firstborn of Yisrael, from man to animal, they shall be Mine, I am Hashem." (3:13) Says Rav Natan Zvi Finkel (the "Alter of Slobodka") zatz'l: This verse demonstrates the attention that Hashem pays to a person's smallest suffering. Because the Jewish firstborn experienced fear at the time that Hashem smote the Egyptian firstborn, Hashem rewarded them by raising them above the rest of Bnei Yisrael and giving them a special holiness. In truth, Hashem had promised that He would distinguish between Egyptian homes and Jewish homes, and He commanded that the Jews place blood on their doorposts as a sign. The Jewish first born should not have been afraid at all. In fact, they were probably happy that their oppressors were suffering. Nevertheless, they did experience a small measure of fear, or at least discomfort, and Hashem took note of it. (Ohr haTzafun II p.110) ************************************ The Levi'im who carry the Aron haKodesh are commanded not to look at it before the Kohanim cover it (4:20). Rav Moshe Sternbuch shlita writes that this is a warning to the "Levi'im" of today, i.e., the Torah scholars (see Rambam, Hil. Shemittah v'Yovel 13:13, quoted below) that they cannot see the essence of Torah. Each person can attain Torah knowledge at his own level, but no one can plumb its depths. Accordingly, we cannot change the Torah based on our perception that the reasons for its laws no longer apply. (Ta'am vaDa'at) ************************************ We read in this week's parasha that Moshe counted the adult males who would serve in the army, but did not count the tribe of Levi with them. Rambam writes: "Why didn't Levi receive a portion of the land? Because that tribe was set aside to serve Hashem and to teach His ways to others. . . . Therefore they do not go out to war like the other Jews. And not only the tribe of Levi, but any man alive who desires to separate himself, to stand before Hashem, to serve Him and to know Him, and to divest himself of worldly worries, he is sanctified as the Holy of Holies and Hashem will be his lot forever. . . ." This Rambam is one of the primary sources for those who take the position that yeshiva students ought to be exempted from army service. The opposing position, as enunciated by Rav Aharon Lichtenstein shlita (in a published article), notes that only those of the highest moral and religious standards were allowed to serve in the Jewish armies in the times of Tanach. For example, the gemara comments on Devarim 20:8 that if someone feared that he had committed a minor sin, even if he had only spoken a few words in the middle of davening, he would not go out to war with the army. ************************************ PIRKEI AVOT "This is the way one acquires Torah: Eat bread with salt, drink water in a measure, sleep on the ground, and live a painful life. . . ." (Chapter 6) Rav Itzele Petersburger zatz'l asks: What detail is added by the phrase "live a painful life"? Isn't eating only bread with salt, drinking a small amount of water and sleeping on the ground itself painful? In the tochachah þ rebuke þ in Parashat Ki Tavo we read (28:66), "Your life will hang in the balance, and you will be frightened night and day, and you will not be sure of your livelihood." The gemara (Menachot 103) explains that the first part of the verse refers to someone who brings home a year's worth of food at a time but doesn't know if next year's produce will be plentiful, the second part refers to someone who brings home food once a week, and the last part refers to someone who has to earn his living on a daily basis. The last of these is the greatest curse of all! The above Mishnah advises that the way to acquire Torah is to live a life a pain, i.e., to earn one's living on a daily basis. Why would the Mishnah advise someone to do that which the Torah treats as a curse? Rav Itzele explains that we must remember to whom the tochachah is addressed: sinners. Such people have no faith in Hashem and therefore feel suffering when they don't have enough food for tomorrow. One who has faith, by contrast, does not see such a life as one of pain. To the contrary! Chazal ask why Hashem made the mahn fall every day rather than letting people store it for longer periods, and they answer that Hashem desires the people's prayers. People who are financially established may remain more distanced from Hashem. (Kochvei Ohr, ch.11) Is it impossible to be wealthy and live well and be a Torah scholar? No, explains Rav Eliyahu Dessler, but it is dangerous to try. Based on the kabbalistic writings of Ramchal, Rav Dessler explains that material forces tend to be opposed to holiness. They can, however, aid the search for holiness and should not be distanced entirely. The difficulty is, of course, knowing how much or how little to distance them. Chazal say that Og was already living in Noach's time, before the flood, and he asked Noach to save him. Noach agreed, on the condition that Og would serve Noach's descendants. Nevertheless, Noach did not allow Og to enter the ark but only let him sit on the roof throughout the flood. What was the end result? That centuries later, Og tried to kill Avraham (see Rashi, Breishit 14:13). And this, says Ramchal, is a parable for how the forces of materialism behave. (Michtav m'Eliyahu IV p.38) ************************************ SHAVUOT Rav Yehuda Ze'ev Segal zatz'l offers the following "Words of Awakening" regarding Shavuot: Now that we have reached the holiday of Shavuot, baruch Hashem, one must know that Shavuot is exactly like Yom Kippur þ it is the day of judgment over Torah study. . . . [Moshe Rabbenu asked Hashem to postpone giving the Torah for one day.] Moshe sensed that the Jews were not yet ready to receive the Torah. Contrary to what we think, being ready to receive the Torah does not mean having a new suit. On Shavuot we must accept the Torah anew. Decorating the shul with flowers for Shavuot is a nice custom, but a person must "decorate" himself as well. This can be done only by accepting the Torah and studying Torah. [How does one prepare to receive the Torah?] Rabbenu Yonah comments on the Mishnah: "If there is no derech eretz there is no Torah." A person must correct his character flaws and then the Torah will reside within him. However, the Torah never resides in a body which has bad character traits. A key character trait is gemilut chassadim þ performing acts of kindness. One must not wait for opportunities to perform kindness; one must seek them out! And when one meditates upon the idea of kindness, he sees that there are so many ways to help others. When Rabbi Yisrael Salanter was on his deathbed, he took the time to reassure his nervous attendant that there was no reason to fear a corpse. This is greatness! Did Rabbi Yisrael not have many lofty matters to meditate upon? [Another character trait:] The blessing we say in the morning, "Who forms the light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates all," is based on a similarly-worded verse in Yishayah (45:7). However, that verse actually has the phrase "creates bad" instead of "creates all." Why do we change it? So that our daily language will be "clean." (Yir'ah vaDa'at I 173) ************************************ DONATIONS TO HAMAAYAN ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE