Today's Learning: Kereitot 3:3-4 Sponsored by O.C. 540:4-6 the Belsh family Me'ilah 3 on the graduation of Meir Simcha Belsh from JEC Kenny and Lilly Schor on Yael's engagement to Ari Rosenthal The Siegel family in memory of Jamie Lehmann z"l brother of Barbie Lehmann Siegel Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Naso Vol. XI, No. 35 (518) 9 Sivan 5757, June 14, 1997 Among the laws in this week's parashah are the laws of the nazir, who takes a vow not to drink wine, eat grape products or cut his hair for a certain period. These laws are introduced by the verse, "A man or a woman who will 'yafli' to take a vow . . ." While some understand the word "yafli" to mean "disassociate himself," Ibn Ezra understands it to be from the root "pele," meaning "to do a wondrous thing." Rav Yerucham Levovitz (the "Mirrer Mashgiach") z"l explains: Many people claim that they can readily change any of their habits, but that they just don't want to. This verse says that this is not so; it truly is a "wonder" when a person makes a fundamental change in his habits. [Therefore, a person who wants to change cannot expect to work on himself casually. Rather, supreme effort is required.] (Da'at Torah Vol. IV, p.41) Rav Eliyahu Dessler z"l came to understand man's ability to fool himself by reflecting on his own battle to quit smoking. Every evening, as he suffered from terrible chest pains, he promised himself that the next day he would not smoke. But in the morning he said, "One cigarette won't hurt." And, before he smoked the second cigarette he said, "This, too, is only one cigarette." Before he knew it, he had smoked all day long, and again was suffering from terrible chest pains. And so it is when man evaluates any of his deeds. (Michtav M'Eliyahu Vol. I, p.111) ****************** "Take a census of the sons of Kehat among the sons of Levi, according to their families, according to their fathers' households." (4:2, in last week's parashah) "Take a census of the sons of Gershon, as well, according to their fathers' households, according to their families." (4:21) Why does the second verse use the phrase "as well," implying that Gershon was secondary to Kehat? And, why does the second verse reverse the order of "according to their families, according to their fathers' households"? Rav Yitzchak Isaac Weiss (the "Spinka Rebbe"-- see page 4) z"l explains as follows: Arguably, Gershon's family should have been counted before Kehat's, because Gershon was the bechor among Levi's children. However, the family of Kehat was counted first because it carried the Ark, which contained the Torah, and the "Crown of Torah" precedes all other crowns, including the "Crown of Bechorah." In this respect, the family of Gershon really was secondary to the family of Kehat, and therefore the verse says, "Take a census of the sons of Gershon, as well . . ." The "Crown of Torah" must be earned, says the Spinka Rebbe, while the "Crown of Bechorah" obviously is unearned. One just happens to be born into it. This difference is alluded to by the differences between the two verses quoted above. The importance of the sons of Gershon derives from their place "in their fathers' households," i.e., the fact that Gershon was the firstborn. The importance of the sons of Kehat comes from "their [own] families," i.e., their own accomplishments. (Chakal Yitzchak) ****************** "Everyone who comes to perform the work of service . . . in the ohel mo'ed/tent of sanctuary." (4:47) Chazal say: "Work of service" refers to the song of the levi'im in the Temple. Why is this called "work"? You see, says Rav Yosef Shaul Nathanson z"l, that the joy which accompanies the service of G-d is part of that service. (Divrei Shaul: Mahadura Revia'ah) ****************** Parashat Naso in Halachah * This parashah contains 18 of the Torah's 613 mitzvot. (Sefer Hachinuch) * "It was on the day when Moshe finished erecting the mishkan . . ." (7:1) Rashi writes: "It does not say, 'On the day when Moshe erected [the mishkan].' This teaches that during each of the seven days of the dedication he raised it and dismantled it, but on this day he raised it and did not dismantle it. Therefore it says, 'On the day when Moshe finished erecting it'." Rav David Shperber (the "Brashover Rav") z"l observes: When Moshe erected and dismantled the mishkan the first seven times, it was all in preparation for the final raising of the mishkan. Nevertheless, the Torah saw fit to allude to it, thus indicating the importance of the preparations that one makes before performing a mitzvah. (Michtam L'David) ****************** "And to the sons of Kehat he did not give [any wagons]; since the sacred service was upon them, they carried on their shoulder." (7:9) Rambam writes: The kohanim are commanded to carry the Ark on their shoulders whenever they want to transport it from place to place, as the verse says, "Since the sacred service was upon them, they carried on their shoulder." Even though this commandment actually was addressed to the levi'im at that time, this was only because the kohanim were too few in number. However, we see that when the Ark was transported again in the books of Yehoshua, Shmuel, and Divrei Hayamim, it was carried by the kohanim. (Sefer Hamitzvot, Mitzvot Aseh #34) Ramban disagrees. He writes that the levi'im never stopped being eligible to carry the Ark. In the first place, the mitzvot of the Torah do not change. Secondly, we find levi'im carrying the Ark in the Book of Shmuel as well. Rather, both kohanim and levi'im are allowed to carry the Ark. After all, the verse says, "the sons of Kehat," and kohanim to are descendants of Kehat. [Aharon's father, Amram, was a son of Kehat.] (Hasagot Haramban, Shoresh Shlishi) ****************** From the Humor of Our Sages . . . "From new and aged wine he shall abstain . . ." (6:3) A mitnaged (opponent of chassdim) challenged Rav Yisrael, the rebbe of Ruzhin: "How come, after the prayers, mitnagdim sit down to learn mishnah, while chassidim gather to drink schnapps?" Rav Yisrael explained, "The davening of the mitnagdim is cold like death, and it is customary to learn mishnah in memory of the dead. The prayers of chassidim are warm and alive, and the living need an occasional drink." ****************** Rav Yitzchak Isaac Weiss hy"d z"l (The "Chakal Yitzchak") died 13 Sivan 5704 (1944) Rav Yitzchak Isaac, the Spinka Rebbe, considered himself to be, first and foremost, a rosh yeshiva and teacher. Until his old age, he taught the young men of his yeshiva (called "Bet Yosef," after his father) seven days a week, including immediately after havadalah on Motzai Shabbat (Saturday night). Although that is traditionally a time for chassidim to speak with the rebbe -- in particular, those chassidim who came for Shabbat enter the rebbe's room to take their leave -- the Spinka chassidim had to wait until the rebbe's lecture to the students concluded. On Fridays, Rav Yitzchak Isaac tested his students, as was customary in Hungarian yeshivot. The students said that they never "caught" Rav Yitzchak Isaac not learning. Even a traveler who arrived in town on a midnight or early morning train could expect to find a light burning in the rebbe's room and to hear the sounds of his Torah wafting into the street. His main gemara lecture was given in the yeshiva from 4 to 6 in the morning; then the younger students prayed quickly, ate breakfast and returned to their studies, while the older students were permitted to join the rebbe and chassidim for a longer davening in the typical chassidic manner. Rav Yitzchak Isaac demanded that his chassidim learn at least one daf (two-sided page) of gemara a day. When a chassid came to lay his request for a blessing before the rebbe, the chassid could expect to be asked, "What tractate are you learning now?" Rav Yitzchak Isaac also was a renowned halachic authority. His correspondents included Lithuanian sages such as Rav Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, Sephardic scholars such as Rav Chaim Chizkiyah Medini, and chassidic authorities such as Rav Shalom Mordechai Schwadron of Brezhan. World War I forced Rav Yitzchak Isaac to flee Spinka. At his first stop, Muncacz, he suffered from many opponents. (When one of those opponents asked a Spinka chassid, "What do they say about me in Spinka?" the chassid replied, "In Spinka, they are too busy learning Torah to speak about you.") After several years of wandering, Rav Yitzchak Isaac settled in Sevlus, Hungary. The period between the wars was to be the most glorious era of Spinka chassidut. Rav Yitzchak Isaac was murdered in the crematoriums of Auschwitz, reassuring his chassidim to the end that their deaths would hasten the arrival of mashiach. (The date of his death was recorded by Rav Moshe Wurzburger, the dayan/rabbinical judge of Orsheva, who was forced to clean the crematoriums and who kept records of rabbis and tzaddikim who went to their deaths.) A PICTURE OF RAV YITZCHAK ISAAC WEISS Z"L MAY BE FOUND AT: http://spanky.osc.cuny.edu/~rich/yivo/ruman54.html ****************** Donations to Hamaayan are tax-deductible