Today's Learning Sotah 7:5-6 Sponsored by O.C. 246:3-5 the Meth family Shevuot 24 in honor of Sheldon's birthday Yerushalmi-- Ketubot 61 Menashe, Adina, Elisheva & Leora Katz in honor of Rachel's birthday Hamaayan/The Torah Spring edited by Shlomo Katz Ki Tavo Vol. IX, No. 49 (433), 21 Elul 5755, September 16, 1995 Most of this parashah tells of the terrible curses awaiting the Jewish people if they fail to live up to G-d's expectations. Both physical and mental torments are promised, including: "All these curses will come upon you and pursue you . . . for you will not have listened to the voice of Hashem, your G-d, to observe His commandments and decrees that He commanded you. They will be a sign and a wonder, in you and your offspring, forever." (28:45-46) Asks Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, "Then is all hope lost--does not the verse say, 'They will be a sign and a wonder, in you and your offspring, forever"? No, he explains. This verse is not modifying the preceding curse ("All these curses will come upon you and pursue you . . ."). Rather, it modifies the second half of the preceding verse, "His commandments and decrees that He commanded you." Those commandments and decrees should be a sign and a wonder, to us and to our offspring, forever. (Maharil Diskin Al Hatorah) ************************************ "I did not give of it to the dead. . ." (26:14) Twice every seven years, a Jew was required to recite vidui ma'aser--a declaration that he had disposed of his tithes in accordance with the law and had not misused them. Literally, the above verse is a statement that one did not use his ma'aser (tithes) to buy burial shrouds. Rav Avraham Horowitz zatz'l (father of the Shelah Hakadosh) wrote in his will that this verse has a homiletic meaning as well: "I did not give of it to the dead"--I did not expend my energy for the purpose of leaving my children a large inheritance. Rav Horowitz explains: Many people work very hard so that they can leave their children in a comfortable situation. Is there any guarantee that the children's inheritance won't be wiped out within days? Is there any guarantee that the children won't squander their fortune within a short time? There are proofs in the Talmud that there is no mitzvah to leave an inheritance. In Tractate Gittin (47a) we read that when the sage Resh Lakish lay on his deathbed, he realized that he was leaving behind a small kav (about a quart) of spice (and nothing else). Because of that small measure of property, he applied to himself the verse, "They have left their strength to others." Throughout his years, Resh Lakish had made sure to spend his entire daily wage on the same day; the fact that he had something left when he died indicated to him that he had worked harder than necessary. (Yesh Nochalin) ************************************ ". . . there you will work for the gods of others--of wood and stone. You will be a source of astonishment, a parable, and a conversation piece, among all the peoples where Hashem will lead you." (28:36-37) An apostate once complained to Rav Chaim of Volozhin zatz'l that he suffered greatly from the ridicule of the gentiles. Long ago he had tried to get in their good graces by eating with them, but this did not work. He tried joining them on outings--even when it meant transgressing the laws of Shabbat, but that did not help. Eventually he apostatized, but he still was not welcomed by the gentiles. Replied Rav Chaim, "This is foretold in the above verse." (Be'urei Rabbenu Chaim Mi'Volozhin) ************************************ "On this day you have become a nation. . ." (27:9) Say Chazal: A person is obligated to view every day as the day on which he received the Torah at Har Sinai. Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzato ("Ramchal") zatz'l elaborates: A good part of the Torah was not given on Mount Sinai, but during the subsequentforty years. The most important thing that happened at Har Sinai was something else. A Jew's soul inherently wants to serve G-d, and would do so even if there were no Torah. However, the consequences of that service would be different. Chazal say that one who does a mitzvah after being commanded is greater than one who does the same mitzvah without being obligated to do so. [This is why, for example, Avraham did not circumcise himself until he was 99 years old. Although he kept the entire Torah without being told, he could circumcise himself only once. Therefore, he preferred to wait for G-d's command.] Why is this seemingly illogical fact true? When we do mitzvot, we not only please G-d and earn reward, we change the world. And where do we get the power to affect the cosmos through our deeds? That is what G-d gave us at Har Sinai. A good deed done without a commandment also pleases G-d, but it has no power to affect the world. At Har Sinai we became the powerful nation that we are, and "[o]n this day [also] you have become a nation." A person is obligated to remember every day what powers G-d has given him. (Da'at Tevunot) ************************************ "Do not turn away from any of the words that I command you this day, right or left, to follow gods of others, to worship them." (28:14) What is the meaning of "right or left, to follow gods of others?" Rav Yehonatan Eyebschutz zatz'l explains: When Avraham's servant Eliezer spoke to the family of Rivkah,he said, "And now, if you intend to do kindness with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, and I will turn to the right or to the left" (Breishit 24:49). Rashi says: "To the right--to the daughters of Yishmael; Or to the left--to the daughters of Lot." In other words, "to the right or to the left" means "to leave Eretz Yisrael." This is equated in our verse with "to follow gods of others." As Chazal say, "He who lives outside of Eretz Yisrael is as if he is an idolator." (Tiferet Yehonatan) ************************************ Rav Yaakov Segal Moellin zatz'l ("Maharil") born 5125 (1365) - 21 Elul 5187 (1427) Maharil (an acronym of Moreinu Harav Yaakov Levi) was the leading Ashkenazic authority of his day, particularly with regard to synagogue customs and rituals. (It is said that Maharil demanded complete adherence to custom, even down to the High Holiday melodies.) Many present day Ashkenazic customs are quoted by poskim (halachic authorities) in Maharil's name. Maharil was born in Mainz and led a yeshiva there, but he died in Worms. His best known student was Rav Yaakov Weil. Another student, Rav Zalman of St. Goar, was the author of the authoritative Minhagei Maharil ("Customs of the Maharil"). Maharil also left hundreds of halachic responsa. Among the themes of the psalm "L'David Hashem ori" (which is recited every day during Elul) is that we should fear no one but G-d. Maharil discussed this idea in one of his responsa (She'eilot U'teshuvot Maharil No. 1; addressed to "My master, teacher, and mentor, my brother, my friend, the great tree, Rav Yekutiel Segal"): The gemara says that one of the sages interpreted every occurrence in the Torah of the word "ET" (spelled in hebrew as Aleph Taf) (a word that has no translation or real meaning) as coming to include something. For example, the word "ET" in Sh'mot 20:12 ("Honor (ET) your father. . .") requires one to honor is older brother. However, when this sage reached the verse, "You shall fear (ET) Hashem your G-d," he stopped. What could one possibly be required to fear alongside G-d. (Later, Rabbi Akiva taught that this occurrence of the word "ET" creates an obligation to honor Torah scholars.) Maharil notes that the sage did not have a similar problem with an earlier verse which says, "You shall love (ET) Hashem your G-d." It's easy to understand that one's love of G-d should require him to love G-d's "leading" servants (i.e., Torah scholars) as well. But how can we fear mortal man, especially Torah scholars? What will prevent us from deifying them? To this Rabbi Akiva explained that the word "ET" indicates inclusion, but it also indicates subservience (as in Sukkah 6a). Thus, the verse, "You shall fear (ET) Hashem your G-d," teaches us at once to fear Torah scholars but not to deify them. ************************************ Donations to Hamaayan are tax-deductible.