Hamaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Bo Volume VIII/Number 15 (350) 3 Shevat 5754/January 15, 1994 In this parasha, we find the first mitzvah which was taught to Bnei Yisrael as a whole. This is the commandment to sanctify the new moon. Chazal teach that just as the mitzvah was addressed specifically to Moshe and Aharon, the outstanding sages of their generation, so, in each generation, the outstanding individuals in the Sanhedrin ("high court") are entrusted with the declaration of "Rosh Chodesh" and the sanctification of the moon. Another mitzvah which involves the calendar and is entrusted to the Sanhedrin is counting "shemittot"-"sabbatical years." The Sefer haChinuch (Mitzvah 330) writes that in the same way that we count the Omer, the Sanhedrin would count, "This is the first year," "This is the second year," ..."This is the eighth year which is the first year of the second set of seven years," and so on, until the "Yovel" ("Jubilee Year"). One reason for this, according to the Chinuch, is to serve as a constant reminder that physical possessions are not permanent -- in the fiftieth year, most land that has been sold is returned to its hereditary owners -- hopefully leading people to deal more honestly in business. ************************************ "On the first day shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day shall be a holy convocation for you...." (12:16) [Jews outside of Israel keep not only the first and seventh days of Pesach as Yom Tov, but two more days as well. This is because at one time, Jews far from Israel did not know when the holiday actually started. Why do we maintain this custom today, when our calendar is fixed and well publicized?] R' Zvi Yehuda Kook (who lived in Yerushalayim) said, "We were once outside of Israel on the last day of Pesach, the second day of Yom Tov in the Diaspora. We prayed according to the custom of the people of Israel, and put on Tefilin in private, as required. [See O.C. Ch. 496, Mishnah Berurah paragraph 13.] When this became known to the residents of the community, who were not scholars, they were filled with interest and wonder. They said, 'People come from Jerusalem who put on Tefilin on Yom Tov!' "I explained to them that in Israel there is no second day of Yom Tov, and since we had left Israel for only a limited time, we had to continue the customs of Eretz Yisrael. "They said that if there was a difference in customs between Israel and the Diaspora, then obviously the Jews of Israel were right, and so they too should do like the Israelis and hold only one day of Yom Tov. "I told them that since they recognized the difference between the Judaism of Israel and of the Diaspora, they could understand that complete Judaism makes sense only in Eretz Yisrael. In the Diaspora, Judaism is not precise." (Torat Eretz Yisrael p.218) ************************************ "They could not delay...." (12:39) Chazal praise the Jews in Egypt for speaking Hebrew, giving their children Jewish names, and maintaining the Jewish style of dress. Yet Chazal say that if the Jews had remained in Egypt another instant, they would have become completely assimilated. This demonstrates, says R' Zalman Sorotzkin, that the trappings of Jewish living do not preserve Judaism; only the Torah, which the Jews in Egypt had not yet received, can do that. (quoted in Ta'am vaDa'at) ************************************ "And so that you shall relate in the ears of your son and your son's son...." (10:2) The Ba'al haTurim explains that the Jews would tell their sons and their grandsons about the Exodus -- but apparently not later generations -- because a person's concern (literally, "mercy") for his descendants usually extends only that far. (Alternatively, says the Ba'al haTurim, this parallels the three generations which were enslaved in Egypt.) R' Eliyahu David Rabinowitz Teomim (the "Aderet") notes that the mitzvah of relating the story of the Exodus parallels the mitzvah to teach Torah. This too is incumbent upon fathers and grandfathers (Atrot Ader). Some explain that a grandfather's teaching Torah to his grandson is actually an element of the mercy to which the Ba'al haTurim refers, for it sets the grandchild on the correct path (Shoham Yakar). The nature of a grandfather's obligation to teach Torah is discussed in the responsa of R' Moshe Halberstam, shlita. Specifically, he was asked, is a grandfather obligated to teach his grandson under all circumstances, or only if the boy's father does not do so? R' Halberstam notes that there is no specific mitzvah among the 613 commandments to teach Torah to one's son. Rather, this mitzvah is either an extension of the commandment to study Torah (which, according to Rambam, includes both studying and teaching) or it is part of the mitzvah to teach Torah in general (according to "Semag"). Why then is there a special obligation to teach one's son? Because teaching Torah is like giving charity; it begins at home. Just as one must give charity first to his children, then to his siblings, cousins, and neighbors, and only then to strangers, so a person's obligation to teach Torah is greatest with regard to those who are closest to him. There is no obligation to give charity to one who does not need it, concludes R' Halberstam. Accordingly, he writes, a grandfather need not teach Torah to a grandson who is already learning. (Divrei Moshe ch.69) ************************************ R' YITZCHAK ISAAC SHER born 5635 (1875) - died 10 Shevat 5712 (1952) R' Isaac Sher was born in Halosk, Russia, and in his youth he studied under R' Baruch Ber Lebovitz and in the Volozhin Yeshiva. Later, he became attached to R' Nassan Zvi Finkel (the "Alter of Slobodka"), whose daughter he married. In 1924, the Alter transplanted a large part of the Slobodka Yeshiva to Chevron, leaving R' Isaac behind as the Rosh Yeshiva. (The Yeshiva moved to Yerushalayim, where it is now known as the Chevron Yeshiva, after the 1929 Arab massacre in Chevron.) In the late 1930's, R' Isaac suffered a heart attack; thus, when World War II broke out, he was stranded in Switzerland, where he had traveled for recuperation. After the Holocaust, R' Isaac began to rebuild his Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, beginning in the summer of 1946 with three students. The Yeshiva grew rapidly, with R' Isaac saying "mussar shmussen" (talks on ethics) and his son-in-law, R' Mordechai Shulman, lecturing on Talmud. In 1951, they were joined by R' Yechezkel Abramsky. One collection of R' Isaac's lectures, Lekket Sichot Mussar, includes many talks on the nature of Torah study. In particular, R' Isaac emphasizes the search for "p'shat" (plain meaning). The majority of chapters, however, deal with mussar and "hashkafah" (Jewish thought). In explaining the mitzvah of eating "marror" (found in this week's parasha) he notes: Most people think that the bitter herbs recall the physical suffering of slavery, but his is not so. The Jews, from Yaakov and his sons onwards, accepted their Divinely-ordained lot with love. Rather, the bitterness of the Egyptian exile was in that, because the Jews lived in peace and comfort for the first century in Egypt, they stopped performing the mitzvah of circumcision, and they assimilated. The Talmud Yerushalmi's choice of marror is lettuce. R' Isaac explains that lettuce is sweet when its young, but becomes bitter with age. This was the pattern of the exile as well; in fact, the bitterness of the exile grew out of its sweetness. ************************************ The learning schedule for this Shabbat is: Orlah 1:6-7 Kitzur 155:7-11 Kiddushin 42 Yerushalmi -- Shabbat 14 ************************************ The hard copy distribution of this weeks Hamaayan is sponsored by: Martin & Michelle Swartz in memory of Martin's grandmother, Elise Hoffman The Goodman family in memory of mother and grandmother, Rivka bat Yehuda haLevi Rachel Kaplan & Peter Rosencrantz in honor of their marriage ************************************ DONATIONS TO HAMAAYAN ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE