Today's Learning Bikkurim 2:6-7 Kitzur 180:12-16 Bava Kama 3 Yerushalmi-- Shabbat 56 PARASHAT KI TISAH Vol. VIII, No. 21 (356), 15 Adar 5754, Feb. 26, 1994 In this week's parasha we read (34:21), "Six days you shall work and on the seventh day you shall rest, from plowing and harvesting you shall rest." The Malbim writes that we already learned in Parashat Mishpatim, "Six days you shall carry out your deeds, and on the seventh day you shall rest." What is added by our verse? Malbim explains that the pasuk in Mishpatim was said to Bnei Yisrael before the sin of the golden calf. As it stood then, Bnei Yisrael would not have been farmers; life would have been as the prophet Yishayahu says of the future (61:5), "And strangers will come and they will graze your flocks and the sons of strangers will be your farmers and vintners." After the sin of the golden calf, however, when Jews are doomed to perform their own work, one might say, "How can we rest on Shabbat and leave the fields idle? It's enough that we can't work on the shemittah!" In fact, says the Malbim, the opposite is true. Shabbat observance actually brings a blessing. ************************************ [We read in this parasha how Moshe Rabbenu "persuaded" Hashem to forgive Bnei Yisrael after the sin of the golden calf. The power of tzaddikim such as Moshe Rabbenu is summed up by the popular expression, "Tzaddik gozer v'haKadosh Baruch Hu mekayem"--"the righteous man decrees, and Hashem fulfills." The following thoughts and stories expound upon this saying.] How does it work that "The righteous man decrees, and Hashem fulfills"? R' Naphtali of Ropshitz explains as follows: The first Rashi in the Torah states, "Hashem should have begun the Torah with the first mitzvah, but He began with creation in order to show man the power of His deeds." In fact, the first verse of the Torah instills in creation the power for every person to create new worlds. "He began with creation in order to show man the power of his-- referring to man's--deeds." This is accomplished through a person's Torah study and mitzvot. This explains how the righteous can decree that Hashem's will be changed. What they are actually doing is creating a new world where Hashem's decree does not apply. (Zera Kadosh) ************************************ Another sage (R' Chaim of Volozhin?) explains as follows: We are taught that Hashem created the world in order that His Name be sanctified. Many people, however, do not see how everything that befalls them is ultimately for their good, and, as a result, Hashem's Name is denigrated rather than sanctified. When a tzaddik prays for such a person, he is saying, "Hashem, since we do not see how Your Name will be sanctified by the present course of events, wouldn't Your Name be sanctified even more by acting in a way that we can understand?!" *********************************** And, in the spirit of Purim... Two students were once comparing the virtues of their respective teachers. "My Rabbi is so great," said one, "that he decrees and Hashem obeys." "So what," retorted the second. "My teacher is so great that Hashem decrees and he obeys." ************************************ PESACH We read in the Haggadah, "Baruch shomair havtachato l'Yisrael"-- commonly translated, "Blessed is He Who kept His promise to Yisrael." In truth, this is difficult to understand; would we then think that Hashem does not always keep his promises? Rather, says R' Eliezer David Gruenwald zatzal, the above expression should be translated: "Blessed is He Who guarded His promise to Yisrael." We read in the Torah that Avraham questioned Hashem, "How do I know that [my descendants] will inherit [the Land]?" Logically speaking, Avraham argued, my children should assimilate and disappear in Egypt, just as most nations do when they migrate to a foreign land and remain there for several hundred years. But this did not happen? Why, because Hashem guarded us from that fate so that His promise would be fulfilled. (Haggadah Shel Pesach: Chasdei David) ************************************ Why do we begin the Haggadah with "Ha lachma ania," a reference to the "poor bread" (matzah)? This may be answered by a parable: A poor shepherd caught the eye of a king, who brought the shepherd to his court and appointed him as an official of the royal household. Gradually, this former shepherd rose in rank, until he became Minister of the Treasury. Other royal ministers were jealous, and they told the king that his treasury minister was embezzling funds. The king did not believe them, but their constant attacks on his minister forced him to take action. One morning, the king and his ministers set out to pay a surprise visit to the treasury minister's home. Arriving there, they were surprised to see how humble the home was. There was certainly no sign that the minister had come into new found wealth. But one door of the house was locked, and there, the ministers were sure, the king would find hidden treasure. The king demanded that the door be unlocked, and all of the treasury minister's entreaties were to no avail. Entering the room, the king was shocked to see nothing but a stick and a knapsack. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked. "With my sudden rise to prominence," the former shepherd responded, "I was afraid lest I become conceited. Therefore, I come into this room every morning, dress in my old shepherd's garb, and remember what it was like to be humble." We, too, are faced with the shepherd's problem, the commentaries say. Once we were humble slaves in Egypt, but suddenly we became a proud nation with the Torah and a land of our own. We begin the seder by looking at the matzah, and this reminds us of who we were and Who made us what we are. (Yalkut Lekach Tov: Haggadah Shel Pesach) ************************************ [The Shulchan Aruch states: "One asks and expounds ("dorshin") upon the laws of Pesach thirty days before Pesach." The Mishnah Berurah adds that today it is our custom that the Rabbi delivers a Shabbat haGadol derashah on the Shabbat preceding Pesach.] One year, R' Zvi Hirsch Berlin of Manheim did not deliver a Shabbat haGadol derashah as was customary. Some members of his community asked him why. "Chazal tell us that," R' Zvi Hirsch answered, "that 'One asks and expounds upon the laws of Pesach.' Now, what is meant by 'one asks and expounds'? The implication is that if people come to ask the Rabbi questions about the laws of the festival, then the Rabbi should expound ("darshen"). Here, no one comes to ask any questions in halachah--apparently everyone knows everything--and I am thus exempted from giving sermons." ************************************ On the day before Pesach, R' Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook's house would swarm with all types of people coming to visit him, making it difficult for his wife to prepare for the seder. She complained to her husband, and he consoled her: "Imagine, Raize Rivka, that I were a wine merchant. Wouldn't you be thrilled by the large number of people coming to our home to buy wine just before Pesach? And aren't you glad that I'm a Rabbi rather than a wine merchant? 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