Today's Learning: Kelim 7:4-5 O.C. 586:20-22 Nidah 65 Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Ki Tavo Vol. XI, No. 49 (529) 18 Elul 5757, September 20, 1997 This week's parashah contains two mitzvot that are known as vidui/confession. One is vidui ma'aser/confession over the tithes; the other is vidui bikkurim/confession over the first fruits. These confessions are different from the confessions that we are used to, notes Rav Isaac Sher ("Slobodka Rosh Yeshiva") z"l. Usually one confesses his sins, but here one "confesses": "I have heeded the voice of Hashem, my G-d; I have done all that You have commanded me." Can anyone really say this? Is there even one mitzvah that any one of us has fulfilled completely? Apparently a person must reach the stage where he can say this, since the Torah expects it of us, answers Rav Sher. Indeed, later in this very parashah there is a mitzvah that each of us can fulfill completely. Most of this parashah is taken up by the blessings and the rebukes which Hashem promises for keeping or not keeping the Torah. But they are not the reward or punishment for doing mitzvot or committing sins, explains Rav Sher; rather, the Torah calls them a berit/covenant. We have made a deal with G-d: If we do mitzvot, He will bless us; if we sin, He will (G-d forbid) curse us. It turns out that by accepting these blessings or rebukes joyfully when they come, we are keeping our end of the deal that we made with G-d. This is itself a mitzvah. And, it should be relatively easy to accept G-d's rebuke joyfully, because Chazal teach that when one accepts rebuke joyfully, all of his sins are forgiven. (Lekket Sichot Mussar. This lesson was given by Rav Sher in 1944, after much of his family and yeshiva had been destroyed in the Holocaust.) ****************** "I have given it to the Levi . . . I have not transgressed Your commandments and I have not forgotten." (26:13) The midrash relates that Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair (the son-in-law of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai) once passed through a town which was plagued by mice. In response to the townspeople's plea for help, he told them that if they would keep the mitzvah of ma'aser/tithing, the mice would leave. And so it was. What is the source for a connection between mice and ma'aser? Rav Abele Gombiner z"l (the "Magen Avraham") explains: The gemara (Horiot 13a) says that eating food that a mouse nibbled on causes forgetfulness. In contrast, our verse, which speaks of tithing, says, "I have given it to the Levi and I have not forgotten." It follows that if one is careful to tithe, he will not be plagued with mice. (Quoted in Chiyuchah Shel Torah) ****************** "But Hashem did not give you a heart to know, or eyes to see, until this day." (29:3) What happened on that day? Rashi writes that when Moshe gave the sefer Torah which he had written to the tribe of Levi, the other tribes came to Moshe and complained, "Why will you cause the tribe of Levi to lord over us?" On that day Moshe said (31:9), "On this day you have become a nation." "On this day I see," said Moshe, "that you all desire to cleave to G-d." Rav Elya Meir Bloch z"l explains: The Torah scroll was given to the Levi'im because they are the teachers of Torah. Moshe understood that the other tribes resented this because they all wished to come close to Hashem. This is what entitled the Jewish people to be called a nation, for a nation is a group of people who share a common spirit or goal. It is true that within each nation there are unique roles for each participant just as the Levi'im were chosen to be the primary teachers of Torah and just as in any battle, some soldiers fight at the front and others provide support behind the lines but it is the shared desire to make an equal contribution to the shared goal that makes a people into a nation. (Peninei Da'at) ****************** Parashat Ki Tavo in Halachah * Six of the Torah's 613 mitzvot appear in this parashah. (Sefer Hachinuch) * "You shall rejoice in all the goodness that Hashem, your G-d, has given you and your household . . ." (26:11) The phrase "the goodness" refers to song, teaching that the bringing of bikkurim is to be accompanied by music. (Erachin 11a; Sifri on this verse) How did Chazal know this? Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk z"l explains as follows: The halachah is that a husband may annul his wife's vow if that vow relates to a "quality of life" issue ("innui nefesh"). And, the Shulchan Aruch rules that a man may annul his wife's vow if she vows not to hear music. We see, therefore, that a good "quality of life" includes listening to music. It further follows that "the goodness that Hashem has given you and your household," i.e., your wife, includes song. (Meshech Chochmah) ****************** From the Humor of Our Sages . . . "Just as Hashem rejoiced with you to do good for you so Hashem will cause others to rejoice in your destruction." (28:63) [The Torah commentator Rav Avraham Ibn Ezra z"l was unsuccessful in every line of work that he tried. He used to say, "If I had been an undertaker, no one would die."] It is said that when he reached the above verse he recited the verse in Tehilim (48:9), "Just as we heard, so we saw." What did he mean by this? He meant: The promise of "Just as Hashem rejoiced with you to do good for you," we have only heard of. In contrast, the promise of "so Hashem will cause others to rejoice in your destruction" we have actually seen with our own eyes. ****************** Rav Yehuda Muscato z"l born before 5300 (1540) - died 20 Elul 5350 (1590) Rav Yehuda was born in Assina, Italy, but, because of pogroms, his family moved to Mantua. At the head of the Jewish community of Mantua at that time were three brothers, Rav Moshe, Rav David and Rav Yehuda Provencali. Rav Moshe was a leading mekubal, and it was he who authorized the first printing ever of the Zohar. (The noted Italian posek, Maharam of Padua, opposed making the Zohar generally available.) Also living in Mantua at that time was a leading Jewish philosopher, Rav Azaryah Min Ha'adomim, author of Meor Enayim. Although Rav Moshe Provencali and Rav Azaryah were fierce opponents, Rav Yehuda appears to have been on excellent terms with both, and he was expert in both kabbalah and philosophy. Rav Azaryah writes that Rav Yehuda reviewed parts of Meor Enayim before it was published. (Rav Azaryah's work caused immense controversy because of his assertion that one may disagree with the gemara in matters that have no halachic bearing, e.g., regarding history.) At some point, Rav Yehuda became rabbi and av bet din/chief justice of Mantua. He also was a popular darshan/preacher, and 52 of his derashot are collected in Nefutzot Yehuda. Rav Yehuda's best known work, however, is Kol Yehuda, perhaps the most important commentary on the Kuzari. Rav Yehuda writes that he wrote the work after he was pressed to do so by three brothers, Rav Avigdor, Rav Rephael Tzodiali and Rav Yehuda Sroel. (The Kuzari is a work on the fundamentals of Jewish belief, written in the form of a conversation between a Jewish scholar the "Chaver" and the King of the Khazars, a nation which is said to have converted to Judaism en masse. Scholars have debated whether this is a true story or only a literary device employed by the Kuzari's author. For Rav Yehuda, however, there is no question: "Why would the author lie?" he writes. In addition, Rav Yehuda identifies the Chaver of the story by name Rav Yitzchak Hasangeri and writes that descendants of the Khazar king studied Torah in Toledo, Spain.) ****************** Donations to Hamaayan are tax-deductible