Today's Learning Bava Batra 3:3-4 Sponsored by O.C. 311:4-6 Sharona and Zevachim 63 Yehuda, Moshe, Eliezer Yerushalmi-- & Ze'ev Katz Gittin 29 in honor of Shlomo's birthday Hamaayan/The Torah Spring edited by Shlomo Katz Ki Tisah Vol. X, No. 21 (458), 18 Adar 5756, March 9, 1996 Siddur Avodat Yisrael writes that there is a chapter of Tehilim which corresponds to each parashah--this week Psalm 75. As explained in Midrash Shocher Tov, this chapter contains numerous parallels to the parashah. Verse 1: "Do not destroy." This parallels Moshe's prayer after the sin of the golden calf, "Do not destroy Your people." (The sin is described in this week's parashah, though this prayer is found in Devarim 9:25.) Verse 8: "He lowers this one and raises this one." The midrash makes a play on the Hebrew word "zeh"/"this") and states that G-d lowered the Jews when they said (Shmot 32:1), "This man, Moshe -- we do not know what has become of him." G-d then raised the Jews with the verse (30:13), "This they shall give -- everyone that passes through the census." (See page 2 for another interpretation.) Verse 11: "Exalted shall be the pride [literally, 'horns'] of the righteous." The midrash states that there were ten tzaddikim who had "horns" of some kind. One of these was Moshe, of whom we read in this week's parashah (34:30), "The skin of Moshe's face had become radiant." (The Hebrew word "karan"/"had become radiant" is spelled the same as "keren"/"horn.") ************************************ The verses and commentaries on this page relate to the chapter of Tehilim associated with our parashah (see page 1). "When I will take mo'ed, I will judge with fairness." (75:3) Rav Avraham Horowitz zatz'l (father of the "Shlah Hakadosh") writes in his will: In this verse, "mo'ed" means "time." This verse is an admonition against acting hurriedly. Only when one takes his time can he judge fairly. Indeed, not only to judge, but to do any task well, one must take his time. (Yesh Nochalin) ************************************ "For G-d is the Judge; This lowers and This raises." (75:8) We find many verses were G-d is called "This"--for example (Yishayah 25:9), "This is Hashem that we awaited Him," and (Shmot 15:2), "This is my G-d." Why is He called "This"? Rav Zvi Elimelech of Dinov (the "Bnei Yissaschar") zatz'l explains that "This" connotes permanence. Unlike man who is always changing, G-d is immutable. In contrast, says Rav Zvi Elimelech, the Torah introduces the census in this week's parashah with the phrase (30:12), "When you raise the Children of Israel." The choice of the word "raise" (rather than the word "count") indicates that man is changing, hopefully for the better. (Igra Dekallah: Parashat Vayakhel) ************************************ Pesach Chazal say that the purpose of the exile in Egypt was to correct the sin of Adam. When the Bnei Yisrael left Egypt, they had attained the level of Adam before his sin. How so? Chazal say that when Adam sinned, the yetzer hara (evil inclination) became a part of him. Rav Avraham Grodzenski (menahel ruchani of the Slobodka yeshiva) zatz'l explains that free will before Adam's sin was different than free will after his sin. Before the sin, man knew that he had free will, but he had no desire to use it. After the sin, man wanted to exercise his free will. In short, the essence of the yetzer hara is the desire to be free; we don't mind doing what is right, as long as it was not imposed on us. As a result of the sin, man became, so-to-speak, "pro-choice." We acknowledge that we are G-d's servants, but do we really understand what servitude is? We are too enamored of our freedom to be servants. This is why Hashem enslaved His people in Egypt. Only after that subjugation were they ready to accept the Torah. (Torat Avraham) ************************************ "When you shall take a census of Bnei Yisrael according to their numbers, every man shall give Hashem an atonement for his soul when counting them so that there will not be a plague among them when counting them." (30:12) Why would there be a plague if Bnei Yisrael were counted as individuals? Rav Eliyahu Meir Bloch zatz'l explains that the Jew's essence is spiritual, not physical. The real Jew is his soul, and not all souls are equal [because of people's accomplishments]. Because counting bodies is a misrepresentation of what a Jew is, it endangers us. Thus the Torah commanded that each Jew give a half-shekel; "The wealthy shall not increase and the destitute shall not decrease from a half-shekel" (30:15). After each Jew does an identical mitzvah, there is a reason to count all Jews equally. (Peninei Da'at) ************************************ "He gave to Moshe, when He finished speaking to him on Har Sinai, two Luchot/Tablets of Testimony, stone tablets inscribed by the finger of G-d." (31:18) Rashi observes that the word "Luchot"/"Tablets" is written without the letter "vav," unlike the usual plural form. He explains that this indicates that the two tablets were identical. Rav Yisrael Meir Hakohen (the "Chafetz Chaim") zatz'l elaborates on this: The midrash says that the Torah was given on two tablets to allude to the two parts of the Torah--the Written Law and the Oral Law. The fact that the two tablets were identical in size, shape, and form teaches us the unity of the written and oral parts of the Torah. Frequently, the gemara or midrash derives laws from a seemingly innocuous clue in the written Torah. However, the fact that G-d made the two tablets--the symbols of the Written and Oral Laws, respectively--exactly identical alludes to the fact that the Written and Oral Laws are a "perfect fit" with each other, even if it is not immediately obvious. (Likutei Halachot) ************************************ "And on the day that I make My account, I shall bring their sin to account against them." (32:34) Rashi explains: "Whenever I punish them for their sins, I will add in more punishment for the golden calf." The sin of the golden calf was initiated by the Erev Rav, hangers- on to the Jewish people who used the Exodus as their own chance to escape from Egypt. The gemara (Avodah Zarah 4b) states that Hashem allowed Bnei Yisrael to be misled only in order to teach us about teshuvah. If so, asks Rav Eliezer Friedman shlita, then the golden calf was not a sin at all. Why, then, does Hashem punish each generation for that event? The reason is, he explains, that we have not learned the lesson; we do not do teshuvah for our own sins. Each time Hashem punishes us, He punishes us also for not repenting. (Hadrat Yirmiyah) ************************************ Rav Eliyahu Levinson zatz'l ("Reb Elinke Krettinger") 5582 (1822) - 18 Adar 5648 (1888) Usually this space is devoted to a great municipal rabbi, rosh yeshiva, or chassidic rebbe. This week's subject was none of these, but rather was a banker. Rav Levinson is noteworthy because he lived the philosophy of his teacher, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, that not every person must be a practicing rabbi, but every person should be capable of being one. Rav Elinke, as he was affectionately known, was a tzaddik and a gaon (Torah sage) who knew the entire Talmud with its major commentaries virtually by heart. As befitting a man of his wealth, he also was a great philanthropist. His honesty, too, was impeccable; when a customer caused the bank a 100,000 ruble loss, Rav Elinke felt responsible and quit his job. He then went into business so that he could repay the bank on his own. (This incredible story was reported in the Russian and German newspapers of the time, bringing Rav Elinke great fame and, eventually, even more wealth.) Despite his vast business interests, Rav Elinke never moved his home away from the village of Krettinga where he had been born. He also never ceased his routine of intense Torah study or his strict adherence to the Shulchan Aruch, and he would visit Rabbi Yisrael Salanter regularly in order to refresh himself spiritually. He did not hesitate to put his religious principles before his financial interests, even to the point of publicly opposing his boss' appointment to a Jewish affairs council called by the Czar. (To the boss' credit, that man recognized Rav Elinke's pure motives and forgave him.) The only written legacy of Rav Elinke is his will. Among other instructions, he writes that if his sons do not learn Torah for two hours on a given day, they should not say kaddish on the next day. After all, it is not the saying of kaddish which is key, but the doing of acts of kedushah (holiness). ************************************ Donations to Hamaayan are tax-deductible.