Today's Learning Eduyot 5:2-3 Sponsored by O.C. 355:1-3 Michael Singer Menachot 84 in honor of Yerushalmi-- Beth Singer's birthday Bava Metzia 22 The Mailman family on the yahrzeit of grandfather Shalom ben Dov Ber a"h Hamaayan/The Torah Spring edited by Shlomo Katz Vaetchanan Vol. X, No. 39 (476), 11 Menachem Av 5756, July 27, 1996 Siddur Avodat Yisrael writes that there is a chapter of Tehilim which corresponds to each parashah -- this week, psalm 90. The relationship of this psalm to the parashah is obvious compared to those of previous weeks. Specifically, the parashah opens with Moshe saying, "I pleaded with G-d," and this psalm begins, "A prayer by Moshe..." This psalm bears a relationship also to the post-Tishah B'Av period, when we read the Prophets in search of consolation. Rabbenu Maimon (father of Rambam/ Maimonides) writes that this psalm includes a prayer for every type of trouble that would befall the Jewish people from the beginning of the exile until its end. Moshe prayed, writes Rabbenu Maimon, that G-d should have mercy on us, that He should punish us (when He must) with mercy, and that He should give us strength to outlast the exile. Moshe's prayer was accepted, says Rabbenu Maimon. The proof is that all of the ideas that are only alluded to in this psalm are addressed at length in the later prophets. (Iggeret Hanechamah) ************************************ The verses and commentaries on this page relate to the chapter of Tehilim associated with our parashah (see page 1). "You turn man back until he is crushed, and You say, 'Repent, sons of man." (90:3) Rav Yitzchak Arama explains: The first half of the verse teaches that Hashem wants every person to repent, and He brings about various circumstances to promote that result. If necessary, Hashem even will bring suffering on a person, all so that he will see the wrongfulness of his ways. However, the second half teaches, Hashem is very kind. After he has brought the sinner back against his will, he gives the sinner credit as if he repented on his own. (Akeidat Yitzchak: Parashat Shemini) Rav Ovadiah Sforno writes that this verse explains why the generations after the flood lived much shorter lives than before. Long life makes man lose sight of the need to repent. "You turned man back until he is crushed," i.e, You turned back the number of his days until they are nothing compared to what they used to be, all in order to say, "Repent, sons of man." (Beur Al Tehilim) ************************************ "Satisfy us in the morning with Your kindness, then we shall sing out and rejoice all of our days." (90:14) Midrash Shocher Tov (ch. 36) tells about a man who was unable to light his lamp in the evening. Each time he lit it, it went out. Finally, in exasperation, he said, "Will I be doing this repeatedly? I may as well wait until morning, and then I will walk by the sunlight." So it is with Yisrael, says the midrash. They were subjugated by Egypt, and Moshe and Aharon redeemed them. By Babylon--and Chananiah, Mishael, and Azaryah redeemed them. By the Greeks--and Mattityahu, Chashmonai and his sons redeemed them. Finally, when the Jewish people were exiled by Edom/Rome they said, "From now on, we do not want anyone except Hashem to light our way." Rav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik explains that this is the idea contained in our verse: "Hashem, satisfy us in the morning with Your kindness, not with brief respites from the long night such as the previous redemptions brought. Only then we shall sing out and rejoice all of our days, instead of only temporarily." (Bet Halevi: Drush Dalet) ************************************ "Let me now cross and see the good Land that is on the other side of the Jordan. . ." (3:25) The gemara (Sotah 14a) asks: Why did Moshe want to enter Eretz Yisrael? Was he looking forward to eating the fruit of the Land? the gemara asks rhetorically. On this, Rav Akiva Yosef Schlesinger z"l asks: What would have been wrong if Moshe had been looking forward to eating the fruit of the Land? After all, don't we pray in the berachah which we recite after eating cake or drinking wine, "May You take us up to it [i.e., the Land] and we will eat of its fruits"? In fact, there is some halachic controversy regarding the above language of the blessing (see Tur Orach Chaim 208). However, Rav Yoel Sirkes (the "Bach") justifies the language on the basis that "the holiness of the land which comes from Above flows to its fruits also," and, "by eating its fruits we are enjoying holiness and purity from Above." As Rav Schlesinger explains, eating the fruits of Eretz Yisrael brings holiness to the soul and aids us in serving Hashem and improving our characters. Moshe was on a level where such concerns were not relevant to him; he was as close to being a perfect human being as one can be. Thus, regarding Moshe, one could rightly ask: Was he looking forward to eating the fruit of the Land? (based on Tosfot Ben Yechiel p.50b) ************************************ "Hear O Israel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One." (6:4) This verse begins the daily recital of "Shema." In the gemara (Berachot 13a), reciting this verse and the following five verses is called, "Accepting the yoke of Heaven." Reciting the second paragraph of Shema (Devarim 11:13-21) is called, "Accepting the yoke of mitzvot." What is the yoke of Heaven as distinct from the yoke of mitzvot? asks Rav Avraham Grodzenski (mashgiach of the Slobodka Yeshiva) hy"d. To understand this, we must understand the basic tool of the yetzer hara, says Rav Grodzenski. This tool is the concept of "choice." Man doesn't mind doing what is right, but he is "pro-choice"--he must feel like he is in control and no one can tell him what to do. Phrased differently, man does not object to doing mitzvot; what he objects to is the yoke of Heaven. (Rav Grodzenski explains how this resulted from Adam's first sin.) Conversely, says Rav Grodzenski, accepting the yoke of mitzvot is not so hard, so long as one has accomplished the prerequisite: "Accepting the yoke of Heaven." This means subjugating man's desire for "choice" to the recognition that man is ultimately a slave to G-d. (Torat Avraham p.59) ************************************ Rav Simcha Zissel Ziv z"l (The "Alter of Kelm") born 5584 (1824) - died 8 Av 5658 (1898) Of the three leading students of Rav Yisrael Salanter, founder of the mussar movement, Rav Simcha Zissel was the one who Rav Yisrael expected to carry on the movement. Rav Simcha Zissel devoted his entire adult life to Rav Yisrael's teachings. Though he never held any official position -- when he was offered the rabbinate of St. Petersburg, he sold it to his friend Rav Yitzchak Blazer for 25 rubles -- his numerous students included many of the mussar greats of the next generation, including Rav Nosson Zvi Finkel of Slobodka, Rav Yosef Yoizel Horowitz of Novhardok, Rav Aharon Bakst, Rav Reuven Dessler (father of the Michtav M'Eliyahu's author), Rav Nachum Ziv, and Rav Hirsch Broida. It would be impossible to summarize Rav Simcha Zissel's approach to mussar/character improvement in so small a space as this. However, the historian, Rav Dov Katz, writes that there were three guiding principles: (1) one should become emotionally involved in his studies, whether joyful or sad; (2) one should ask himself after everything he learns, "What did I think before, and what do I know differently now?"; and (3) one's study should always include stripping away the veneer and getting to the essence of the topic. Rav Simcha Zissel taught that the whole world was a classroom where one could learn to improve his character and increase his belief in G-d. Such study was not limited to books or to Torah sources. Of course, worthwhile lessons do not come merely from observation. Rather, intense reflection is required. Also, one must realize that this study never ends. This is why Torah scholars are called, "talmidei chachamim"/"students of wise men." Rav Simcha Zissel used to quote Socrates, who said that true wisdom is knowing that one doesn't know. Rav Simcha Zissel was very sickly his whole life. Therefore, much of his teaching was through letters that he wrote to his students, rather than in person. (He also encouraged his followers to establish groups to strengthen each other and review his teachings.) Only a small portion of his written legacy has been published (Based on Tnuat Hamussar). ************************************ http://acoast.com/~sehc/hamaayan/ send mail to: ajb@acm.org Donations to Hamaayan are tax-deductible ************************************