Today's Learning Ketubot 11:3-4 Sponsored by O.C. 183:12-184:2 the Siegman family Sanhedrin 54 in memory of Yerushalmi-- Avraham Eliyahu ben Shalom Zelig Perel A"H Yevamot 42 Hamaayan/The Torah Spring edited by Shlomo Katz Bemidbar Vol. IX, No. 34 (418), 5 Sivan 5755, June 3, 1995 Outside of Israel, Parashat Bemidbar is read on the Shabbat immediately preceding Shavuot in all but (approximately) 26 out of every 247 years. (See Be'ur Halachah 428:4; Tur Orach Chaim section 428 and Pri Chadash there.) This association is not mere coincidence; commentators note many similarities between the primary theme of this parashah--the layout of the camp of Bnei Yisrael-- and the giving of the Torah. In fact, the midrash records that when the Torah was given, Bnei Yisrael saw that the angels who "accompanied" G-d to the revelation at Har Sinai also stood within a fixed arrangement, and thus Bnei Yisrael were inspired to request a fixed arrangement within their own camp. In the same way, also, when Moshe ascended to Har Sinai, he allowed Bnei Yisrael to accompany him only so far, the elders a little farther, the kohanim even more, and Aharon the farthest, until at last they reached a point beyond which only Moshe could ascend. All three of these arrangements, explain the commentators, represent the idea that in receiving the Torah and serving Hashem, each person--man, woman, kohen, levi, yisrael, rabbi or layman--must recognize his place and his role, and not trespass on that of another Jew. ************************************ "Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Sinai Desert." (1:1) Rabbenu Bachya comments, "'In the Sinai Desert'--where Mount Sinai is." He continues: The Torah was given through three creations: fire, water, and desert. Fire--as is written (Sh'mot 19:18): "And Har Sinai was covered with smoke because Hashem came down upon it in fire." Water--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--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. ************************************ Ramban writes: After the Book of Vayikra has taught us what to do in the mishkan (i.e. the laws of the sacrifices), Bemidbar begins with the organization of the camps around the mishkan. The parallelism between this parashah and Shavuot was noted on the first page of this issue. It is also interesting to note that Parashat Bemidbar is one of few parashot (outside of Sefer B'reishit) which teaches no new mitzvot. Furthermore, observes Ramban, the vast majority of the commandments in Sefer Bemidbar are of a temporary nature, applying only to the sojourn in the desert or to the first generation thereafter. Similarly, in the absence of the Bet Hamikdash, there are no unique mitzvot for Shavuot. In fact, the mishnah (Mo'ed Katan 19a) entertains a view that in certain respects, Shavuot no longer has the status of the other Torah-ordained holidays, though the halachah does not follow this view. ************************************ The Torah reading outside of Israel is one week behind that of Israel because the seventh day of Pesach fell on Friday. Outside of Israel, the following day was still a holiday, while in Israel it was an ordinary Shabbat. Communities outside of Israel will not "catch-up" until late in the summer. Why not sooner? The reason may well be the ancient custom to read Parashat Bemidbar on the Shabbat immediately preceding Shavuot. We in chutz l'aretz are observing this custom, while shuls in Israel are not. ************************************ Pirkei Avot "Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: 'Every day a bat kol (heavenly voice) proclaims from Har Chorev (Mount Sinai), "Woe is to them, to My creations, for the disgrace which they cause to the Torah".'" (Ch. 6) Rav Shlomo Kluger zatz'l presents several questions on this mishnah. First, why the repetitive language, "Woe is to them, to My creations."? Second, why does this bat kol originate from Har Chorev of all places? Rav Kluger offers several explanations, among them the following: The disgrace to the Torah of which the mishnah speaks is the insult which is caused when one abuses or speaks evil of a talmid chacham (Torah scholar). Rabbis often appear to be "weaklings" and their congregants think nothing of abusing them. This is particularly true when the talmid chacham in question has a humble and unassuming nature. Do not make this mistake--the honor of those who study Torah is the honor of the Torah itself. Chazal teach that when Hashem prepared to give the Torah, many mountains vied for the privilege of having the Torah given on their peaks. Some of these were tall, some were beautiful, some were covered with trees or other greenery. But Hashem chose Har Sinai (also known as Har Chorev) precisely because it was a plain, unassuming mountain. Why? In order to warn us that the honor of the humble Torah scholar, like the humble mountain, is the honor of the Torah itself. Yet this mishnah contains a warning for the talmid chacham as well: Do not think that because your honor is the honor of the Torah that you may never forgive one who insults you. The double language of the mishnah is meant to inform the talmid chacham that any punishment befitting one who insults him will come on its own. "Woe is to them, to My creations" from their self-inflicted wounds. (Magen Avot) ************************************ Shavuot Shavuot is the most "soft-spoken" and "subtle" of all of our holidays, writes Rav Avraham Eliyahu Kaplan zatz'l (1890-1924; dean of Berlin's Hildesheimer Seminary from 1920). Pesach and Sukkot both have names that vividly portray the nature of the holiday: "Chag HaPesach" - "The holiday when G-d skipped over the homes of the Jews." "Chag HaMatzot" - "The holiday when the Jews left Egypt so quickly that they had no time to bake bread." "Chag HaSukkot" - "The holiday commemorating the 'Clouds of Glory' which protected Bnei Yisrael in the desert." Not so Shavuot! Its name - "The Feast of Weeks" - tells us only that it follows a period during which we eagerly counted-off the days until this occasion. Another example of Shavuot's low key nature: Pesach coincides with the beginning of the harvest, when the Jewish farmer joyfully goes out to the field, full of thanks to the Creator of all. Sukkot falls at the end of the harvest, when the same Jew celebrates the success of his harvest season. Shavuot? It falls early in the summer when the harvest is in full swing and the farmer is about to turn his attention towards cutting his wheat - the most basic and "unromantic" of all crops. Shavuot is a holiday with no mitzvot of its own; it does not need any. Shavuot celebrates the most basic of all of man's needs: Torah, for the soul; bread, for the body. Shavuot does not advertise itself through great miracles (as does Pesach) or a plethora of mitzvot (as do all of the other holidays). Shavuot expects us to understand on our own, and those who are close to the ideals that Shavuot represents do. (B'ikvot Hayir'ah, p.234) ************************************ Donations to Hamaayan are tax-deductible.