Today's Learning Kidushin 2:2-3 Sponsored by O.C. 274:1-3 Sarah & David Maslow Avodah Zarah 32 in memory of their fathers Yerushalmi-- Archie Maslow A"H (18 Marcheshvan) Sotah 44 & Samuel Holstein A"H (25 Marcheshvan) Rochelle Dimont and Chayim Dimont Sahra and Yale Ginsburg & family Yocheved and Jonathan Neuman & family in memory of mother-in-law and grandmother, Chana Dimont A"H and father and grandfather, Louis Tarshish A"H The Vogel family in memory of father and grandfather Aharon Yehuda ben Yisrael Vogel A"H Hamaayan/The Torah Spring edited by Shlomo Katz Vayera Vol. X, No. 4 (441), 18 Cheshvan 5756, November 11, 1995 Siddur Avodat Yisrael writes that there is a chapter of Tehilim which corresponds to each parashah--this week Psalm 11. The primary connection to the parashah is in the following verses, which refer to two events that we read about this week. Pasuk 5: "Hashem tests the righteous one, but the wicked and the lover of violence He despises." Referring to Avraham and the akeidah (binding of Yitzchak), the midrash Bereishit Rabbah (55:2) states that just as a salesman beats only the good flax (in modern terms-- kicks the good tires), so Hashem tests only those who He knows will pass. Pasuk 6: "He will rain down upon the wicked, fiery coals and brimstone; a burning blast is their allotted portion." Bereishit Rabbah (51:3) interprets this as a reference to the destruction of S'dom, which was destroyed by fire and burning sulfur. The midrash asks, "Why is man disgusted by the smell of burning sulfur? Because his soul realizes that that is how it eventually will be punished." ************************************ The verses and commentaries on this page relate to the chapter of Tehilim associated with our parashah (see page 1). "You have torn down the foundations; what has the righteous man done?" (11:3) Rav Yissachar Shlomo Teichtel HY"D explains: During the Second Temple period, Jews studied Torah and performed mitzvot, but they were jealous of each other. By destroying Jewish unity, they destroyed the foundations of our people. The result was a calamity much worse than the destruction of the first bet hamikdash; while the first Temple's foundations were left standing, the second bet hamikdash was completely uprooted and destroyed. From here we can learn, says Rav Teichtel, that Jews who toil in Torah study and are very particular in their mitzvah observance, but who teach disdain for other Jews (for whatever reason), are destroying the foundations of our people and are lengthening the exile. Paraphrasing the above verse: If you tear down the foundations, what is all of your righteousness worth? (Eim Habanim Smeichah p. 309) ************************************ "Hashem is in His holy Temple, Hashem's throne is in heaven. . ." (11:4) One midrash interprets the above verse to mean: "When the Jews fulfill G-d's will, He is in His holy Temple. Otherwise, He places His throne (far away) in the heavens." Another midrash explains the same verse to mean: "Whether the bet hamikdash is standing or is destroyed, Hashem is there. Even though His throne is in the heavens, He is in the Temple." Rav Yedayah Hapenini zatz'l (died 1315) writes that these two midrashim are arguing whether G-d "personally" supervises the Jewish people when they are in exile. The first view holds that He does not, i.e., He remains in the far away heavens. The second view maintains that He does watch over us, symbolized by His being in the Temple which is on earth. According to the latter view, it is particularly important to recognize that every calamity that befalls us is a punishment for our sins. (Leshon Hazahav) ************************************ "He placed him on the altar, above the wood . . . and he took the knife with which to slaughter his son." (22:9-10) Several commentaries ask: All sacrifices are the same in one respect--they are slaughtered before they are placed on the altar. Why then did Avraham reverse the order when he offered Yitzchak as a sacrifice? Rav Yosef Rosen (the "Rogatchover Gaon"; died 1936) zatz'l answers that once Avraham slaughtered Yitzchak, Avraham would have the status of an onen (a mourner before the funeral). The halachah prohibits an onen from performing the sacrificial service. Therefore, Avraham had to have the sacrifice (i.e., Yitzchak) on the altar before he (Avraham) became an onen. However, asks Rav Eliezer Waldenberg shlita, the midrash states that Avraham had the status of a kohen gadol. A kohen gadol, we know, is not prohibited from performing the sacrificial service when he is an onen! The question thus returns--why did Avraham reverse the order of a normal sacrifice? Rav Waldenberg answers as follows: G-d never intended Avraham to slaughter Yitzchak; G-d merely told Avraham, "Raise him there as an olah" (22:2). Avraham did not initially understand the subtlety in G-d's words, but he did nevertheless realize that Hashem did not explicitly tell him to kill Yitzchak. Thus, Avraham reasoned, first he should do what Hashem commanded explicitly (place Yitzchak on the altar) and only then do what was implied (slaughter Yitzchak). Avraham undoubtedly recognized that the order was "wrong," but who was he to question G-d rather than to do G-d's will?! Also, Rav Waldenberg asks: How could Avraham sacrifice the ram which he found stuck in the bush? A ram for an olah must in its second year, and this ram, Chazal say (Avot ch. 5), was created during the twilight of the first Friday in history, two millennia previously. One possibility, says Rav Waldenberg, is that when Chazal say that the ram was created during that twilight of the first Friday, they mean that the decree was made at that time that the ram would be "fortuitously" caught at the right time and place. However, the ram itself was the right age. (Tzitz Eliezer Vol. 15, No. 6) ************************************ The shofar of Rosh Hashanah commemorates this ram. Why is this ram so important that its memory is invoked on the day when G-d judges man? Was sacrificing it not little more than an afterthought? Rav Yaakov Weinberg shlita explains: If we were faced with the same test as Avraham was, and at the last moment we were given a reprieve, we probably would react by saying, "Thank G-d! Now, let's get out of this place." But Avraham did not do that; his reaction upon hearing that he was not to slaughter his son was, "Then what can I sacrifice to G-d?" This is both the great merit which we ask G-d to remember and the lesson which we hope to learn ourselves by blowing the ram's horn on Rosh Hashanah. (heard from Rabbi Shlomo Naiman shlita) ************************************ Rav Yissachar Dov Rokeach zatz'l born 5614 (1854) - died 22 Marcheshvan 5687 (1926) Rav Yissachar Dov, known by the chassidim as "Reb Socher Ber," was the third Belzer Rebbe. Under his leadership, Belz was the largest chassidic group in Poland. One of Rav Yissachar Dov's best known chassidim was a woman, Sarah Schneirer, who in 1917 founded the "Bais Yaakov" movement with the Rebbe's blessing. Before that time, girls did not attend school outside of the home, unless they attended public school. The result was an increasingly large gap between the religiosity of young Jewish boys and their prospective mates. Sarah Schneirer's brain-child reversed this trend, and by 1937 Bais Yaakov had 38,000 students in 250 cities. During World War I, Rav Yissachar Dov was forced to flee from Belz, which was on the front lines. He was away for eleven years, of which the years 1921-25 were spent in Holshitz, in the home of the chassid Yisrael Vogel (see this week's dedication). (A nephew of this chassid was Reb Shalom Vogel, who served as "regent" when the current Belzer Rebbe assumed that post at age 11.) Rav Yissachar Dov succeeded his father as head of the Machzikei Hadas movement, an organization founded by Rav Yehoshua Rokeach and Rav Shimon Sofer to strengthen Torah observance in Galicia. (The latter was a son of the Chatam Sofer.) Rav Yissachar Dov refused, however, to join the Agudas Yisrael movement. Hashem used the expression "Lech lecha" twice, once in last week's parashah when he told Avraham to leave his homeland, and again in this week's parashah when he sent Avraham to perform the akeidah. The midrash asks, "How can we tell which expression is more beloved?" The midrash answers that the second one is, for there the Torah says, "Go to the land of Moriah." How has the question been answered? asks Rav Yissachar Dov. He explains as follows: Chazal say that in the future, the entire world will attain the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael, all of Eretz Yisrael will attain the sanctity of Yerushalayim, and all of Yerushalayim will attain the sanctity of Har Ha'moriah--the Temple Mount. Hashem should have told Avraham to perform the akeidah on "Mount Moriah," not in the "land of Moriah." However, Hashem was hinting at the day when Moriah would be not just a mountain, but an entire territory. Thus this verse is not just a command for that time, but a prophecy for the future--something beloved indeed. (Sefer Maharid) ************************************ Donations to Hamaayan are tax-deductible.