Today's Learning Shabbat 12:6-13:1 Kitzur 202:14-203:2 Bava Kama 52 Yerushalmi-- Eruvin 13 Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz PARASHAT TAZRIA-METZORA The 20th day of the Omer Vol. VIII, No. 27 (362), 5 Iyar 5754, Apr. 16, 1994 Chazal say that, if man is worthy, he is told that he preceded all of creation; if he is unworthy, he is told that even the gnat was created before he was! However, asks R' Yoel Teitlebaum (the Satmar Rav) isn't it a fact that man was created last? How can man's behavior change that fact? Man's body was the last of the creations, but man's soul was the first. If man devotes his life to spiritual pursuits and puts his soul first, then we may say that he preceded all of creation. However, if he devotes his life to the fulfillment of his body, then he is the last of the creations and even the gnat precedes him. (Divrei Yoel: Tazria) Our parasha begins with the laws of childbirth and continues with the laws of tzara'at, the disease which afflicts one who speaks lashon hara. Based on the above we can understand why these laws are juxtaposed to each other. If man focuses on the differences between himself and others, he will inevitably speak lashon hara. However, if he looks beyond his birth and his physical being, if he concentrates on his spiritual life, he will see all that he shares with the rest of mankind. In fact, says the Satmar Rav, this is what Hillel meant when he told the convert (in the famous story), "'Love your fellow as yourself' is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary." ************************************ "On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised." (12:3) Why does the Torah set the circumcision for the eighth day? R' Levi ben Gershom ("Ralbag") explains this halacha from a purely pragmatic standpoint. Before the eighth day, he writes, the child may not be strong enough to withstand circumcision. On the other hand, if the circumcision were pushed off for much longer, until after the parents have had a chance to get to know their newborn, then the parents might be reluctant to subject him to what they might believe to be a painful procedure. Also, the older the child is, the more painful the circumcision would actually be. (Commentary to Parashat Metzora) ************************************ The mishnah (Nega'im 2:5) states: "A person sees all nega'im-- tzara'at wounds--except his own." Literally, this means that a person, even a kohen, may not be the judge of whether he himself has tzara'at. Rather, he must go to another kohen. Figuratively, however, this statement is frequently interpreted as referring to the fact that people are rarely objective about their own faults. A person sees everyone else's faults, but not his own. If so, asks R' Eliezer David Gruenwald, z'tzal, how can a person assess where he stands? Another mishnah states, "One does not search [for chametz], not by the light of the sun, and not by the light of the moon, but only by the light of a candle." The strong "light of the sun" represents wealth, and the weak "light of moon" represents lack of success. Neither of these is an accurate indicator of whether Hashem is happy with a person. Only the "light of a candle," an allusion to the verse, "A mitzvah is a candle", is an accurate indicator. What does this mean? If a person wants to know where he stands in his service of Hashem, he should look at his attitude towards mitzvot. If a person considers mitzvot to be a burden, then he has a long way to go. However, if he enjoys performing mitzvot, then he is on the right track. (Chasdei David, p. 11b) ************************************ In a similar vein, the Dubno Maggid commented on the verse in Yishayah (43:21), "You did not call Me, Yaakov, for you grew weary of Me, Yisrael." If one grows weary of calling out, it is certain that he is not calling to Hashem. To what may this be compared? To the difference between a coal seller and a diamond merchant. The former may grow weary of carrying his merchandise; the latter never does. ************************************ PIRKEI AVOT "The Master of your work ('melachtecha') can be counted on to pay the reward of your actions ('pe'ulatecha')." (end of chapter 2) Why does the mishnah first use the word "melachah"--"work" and then switch to the word "pe'ulah"--"action"? Rav Moshe Shick ("Maharam Shick"; 1807-1879) explains as follows: The gemara (Rosh haShanah 17b) questions the meaning of the following verse (Tehilim 62:13): "Yours Hashem is kindness, for You pay each man according to his deeds." Is there kindness involved in paying man what is rightfully his? Rather, the gemara explains, Hashem first pays man according to his deeds, and later He pays out of kindness. How so? Chazal teach Avot ch.5), "According to the pain is the reward." That being the case, a tzaddik who has conquered his evil inclination should not be entitled to very much reward for the good deeds of his old age, as his effort (once his yetzer hara is subdued) is minor compared to the spiritual work of his youth. Nevertheless, the above verse teaches, Hashem, in His kindness, pays the tzaddik the same reward for the good deeds of his old age that He would have paid for those good deeds in the tzaddik's younger years. The word "melachah," Maharam Shick explains, describes greater effort than the word "pe'ulah." The Master for whom you toiled and performed your difficult spiritual work ("melachtecha") in your youth, the mishnah teaches, can be counted on to pay the same reward for your relatively easier actions ('pe'ulatecha') in your old age. The end of the mishnah states as proof of the above explanation: "Know that this is true, for the primary reward is in the future." A tzaddik's primary challenge in his old age is to make his body perform good deeds; his soul is already purified, but his body is tired. Why then would Hashem save the tzaddik's reward for the World-to-Come, rather than rewarding the body now? The answer must be, says Maharam Shick, as we said above: Hashem rewards the tzaddik's soul for his good deeds, even though its work is relatively light. (Maharam Shick Al Pirkei Avot p.48) ************************************ In the autumn of 1919 (11 Tishrei 5680), Rav Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook wrote: It is incumbent upon us to inform our brothers, from all parties (all of whom seek the good of our nation and the broadening of our right to Eretz Yisrael), that the foundation of the British government's proclamation [i.e., the Balfour Declaration], which has planted a tender sapling [from which] our redemption will blossom, is primarily based on the perspective which all the world's nobility, and particularly British nobility, has, that our connection to Eretz Yisrael is just, that it is sanctified with a Heavenly sanctity. They see this through a holy lens, [i.e.,] the Tanach (Bible) which is holy to the vast majority of cultured people in our time. Israel's enemies, whether internally or externally, commonly use the accusation that the young [generation of] Israelites has lost its connection to the Holy Book and therefore has no right to the land of the Tanach. We are obligated to stand guard and to show the whole world that the Jewish soul is alive . . . and that the land of the Tanach belongs to the people of the Tanach. [We must show the whole world] that, with its entire soul, the young generation lives in the spirit of the Holy Land, the spirit of this Holy Book. This is the truth--that in their innermost spirits, our sons are students of Hashem and the ideal of their lives is all holy, all Biblical. It is our holy duty, that the first steps should be recognized [as bearing] the holy imprint of the Tanach, which has been intertwined with our lives for all generations. In this great hour, our original, national nature must stand out, as we build our lives as a society on our land. Only Israel's return to its land, to its source and its kingdom, to its Divine inspiration, to its prophecy and its Temple--this alone will eventually bring that lofty radiance to the world, which all of the lofty souls of mankind aspire to. (Mo'adei haRe'iyah: Yom haAtzma'ut p.397) ************************************ Donations to Hamaayan are tax deductible ************************************