Today's Learning Ketubot 9:4-5 O.C. 181:8-10 Sanhedrin 47 Yerushalmi-- Yevamot 35 Hamaayan/The Torah Spring edited by Shlomo Katz Bechukotai Vol. IX, No. 33 (417), 27 Iyar 5755, May 27, 1995 This parashah describes the blessings and curses which await the Jewish people. "If you will follow in the way of My laws...," the Torah says, and Rashi comments: "You should toil in Torah." "And if you will keep My commandments...," the Torah continues, and Rashi writes: "Toil in Torah in order to observe it." "And if you will not listen...," we read later, and again Rashi explains: "If you will not toil in Torah." How is it, asks Rav Eliyahu Dessler zatz'l, that all blessings and punishments depend on toiling in Torah? He explains: The pleasures of this world differ from the pleasures of the World-to- Come. In this world, the relief which is felt after a period of suffering is proportional to how far removed from the suffering one is now. Not so the rewards of the World-to-Come. The reward there is the very realization that all of man's toil in Torah and mitzvot was for a purpose; the greater the toil, the greater the satisfaction and, hence, the reward. Indeed, man's toil for spiritual matters is an end in itself. In truth, this is an emotion which can be felt in this world as well. On the verse (Tehilim 128:2), "You will be fortunate, and it will go well with you," Chazal comment: "Fortunate in this world, and well with you in the World-to-Come." Even in this world one can appreciate that his toil for mitzvot is worthwhile. (Michtav M'eliyahu III, p. 286). ************************************ "And you will plant your seeds for naught, for your enemies will eat them." (26:16) G-d told the prophet Yechezkel: "I passed by you, and I saw you wallowing in your blood, and I said to you, 'With your blood you shall live.' I said to you, 'With your blood you shall live'." Says Rav Yissachar Shlomo Teichtel, H"YD: Yechezkel, in this prophecy, foresaw our condition in exile--especially in Europe--where we toiled with our blood and sweat in all walks of life for the betterment of the societies in which we lived. In the end, we saw fulfilled the words of the verse: "And you will plant your seeds for naught, for your enemies will eat them." The prophet calls to us in G-d's name: "I said to you, 'With your blood you shall live.' I said to you, 'With your blood you shall live'." [Why the repetition?] All of the energies that you have previously devoted to building other societies, you should devote to building your own land and people. (Eim Habanim Smeichah, p.219) ************************************ "I will make the land desolate . . . And you--I will scatter among the nations . . . During all the days of her desolation, the land will rest; those sabbaticals that it did not observe while you were on the land, it will observe now." (paraphrased from 26:32-35) Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook zatz'l wrote: Upon being exiled, the Jewish people were freed of any national concerns; they rather turned their eyes and hearts heavenward. Jews were no longer preoccupied with the same concerns that draw the attention of the other nations, and at the same time, Jews ceased to chase after the idols [literal and figurative] of the nations. The spirit of Hashem prompted the Jew to recognize the value of every soul, and particularly, the spiritual worth of the Jewish nation. The Torah was appreciated more than fine gold and silver, just as in the nation's youth. Because of their holy faith, the Jews in exile went to martyrdom with love and happiness. The Jew in exile always turned towards his land [Israel], but not as one who yearns for his home because it satisfies his hunger and his other physical needs. The Jew looked towards his land with a gaze filled with holiness; he looked towards its inner nature as the land that complements his yearning for G-d. The time of the redemption is hidden. Who is privy to G-d's secret, knowing when the land and the nation will have been completely purified, that beloved time when the land and the nation will be reunited? Our sages have said that there is no greater sign of the onset of the redemption than the fulfillment of the verses: "And you, mountains of Israel, give forth your branches, present your fruits to My nation, Yisrael, for they are near to arrive." "And the cities will be settled and ruins will be rebuilt, and I will increase men and animals on the land and they will multiply..." (Introduction to Shabbat Ha'aretz) ************************************ Pirkei Avot "There are four characteristics among those who sit before Torah scholars: . . . (3) a strainer ('mishameret') which lets the wine pass through but keeps out the dregs . . ." (Ch. 5) In 1946, Rav Yoel Teitlebaum (the "Satmar Rav") zatz'l was invited to speak at Yeshivat Bet Avraham - Slonim in Yerushalayim. He introduced his lecture with the following explanation of the above mishnah: The gemara mentions that certain pious individuals used to spend nine hours a day in preparation for, and in, prayer. The gemara asks, "How then is their Torah accomplished?" The gemara answers, "Because they are pious, their Torah is 'mishtameret' (presumably, 'guarded')." This answer, says the Satmar Rav, is difficult to understand. If "mishtameret" means being "guarded," it can only refer to the Torah which these pious individuals have already learned. How, however, will they learn more if they are so occupied in prayer? Rather, the gemara means "mishtameret" in the sense of the "mishameret"--strainer--of our mishnah. For the ordinary person, accomplishment in Torah requires extraordinary effort; for the pious, who spend the bulk of their time in prayer, Torah is easily "strained". True insights are acquired with less effort, while the "dregs"--false leads and misunderstandings--fall by the side. (Mimayanot Hanetzach, p.274) ************************************ Rav Shlomo Kluger zatz'l writes that "those who sit before Torah scholars" are the supporters of the Torah. This is based upon the verse (Devarim 33:18), "Rejoice, Zevulun, in your excursions, and Yissachar, in your tents"--a reference to the fact that Yissachar and Zevulun shared the profits of Zevulun's business and the rewards of Yissachar's Torah study. Note that Zevulun is mentioned before Yissachar in the verse. There are four types of Torah supporters, the mishnah says: a sponge, a funnel, a strainer, and a sieve. The first is someone who "absorbs" all requests for charity, whether the recipient is deserving or not. The second steals in order to give charity; the money just passes through his hands, as through a funnel. The third- -the "strainer"--accepts requests only from those who are not worthy, just as a strainer passes the wine, and retains the dregs. Finally, the fourth is like a type of sieve which holds the finest flour and passes through the bran--he accepts requests only from the worthy. [Ed. note: The mishnah appears not to pass judgment on these four types of givers. It is important for a person just to recognize himself.] (Magen Avot) ************************************ "And you will eat your bread to satiety. . ." (26:5) There are two ways to become satiated--to eat a lot or to be satisfied with what one has. The following stories, from the new biography of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zatz'l, Hamaor Hagadol, highlight some examples of the latter type of satisfaction: The poverty in the home of Rav Chaim Leib zatz'l and Tziviah A"H Auerbach was unimaginable. Their son, Rav Shlomo Zalman, quipped to his younger brother, Rav Avraham Dov shlita, "You were born in the good days, that is when there was occasionally one egg in the house that the four children could share." Even so, young Shlomo Zalman would often run off to school without eating, so that his younger siblings could share his portion. Rav Chaim Leib was the dean of Yeshivat Sha'ar Hashamayim, and he personally guaranteed the academy's many loans. Eventually the yeshiva's creditors came for the family's furniture. Next went the dishes and pots. But what was really unbearable, not just for Rav Chaim Leib, but for his wife and children as well, was the day that the creditors came for the sefarim (Torah books). It was customary in Yerushalayim of old that each time a young bride-to-be visited the parents of her betrothed, they gave her a small gift. Rav Shlomo Zalman's parents could not afford this, so they promised to give young Chaya Rivka (A"H) a larger present someday. "Am I a doctor," the young bride asked, "that you must pay me for every house-call?" ************************************ Donations to Hamaayan are tax-deductible.