Sponsored by the Parness family in memory of Anna Parness a"h Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Volume XII, Number 1 24 Tishrei 5758 October 25, 1997 Bereishit R' Yonah z"l writes: The Torah is made up of three parts. The first is the commandments, both positive and negative. The second includes all of the Torah's statements regarding reward and punishment. The third is made up of the Torah's stories. To what may this be compared? To a doctor who tells a patient, "Take this medicine [i.e., a positive commandment], do not eat certain foods [i.e., a negative commandment], lest you die [i.e., a threat of 'punishment'] as so and so did [i.e., a story to support the lesson]. Reward and punishment take place primarily in the World-to-Come, R' Yonah writes. Any reward or punishment which is meted out in this world is nothing short of miraculous, for why should good things befall righteous people except through Divine intervention ("hashgachah peratit")? The stories in the Torah teach us character traits, R' Yonah continues. They also teach us to love working, just as Yaakov and Moshe worked. (They were shepherds.) Indeed, we are taught in this week's parashah, near the beginning of the entire Torah, that people worked (see 4:20-22). The greatest story of all, the one which has the greatest consequences and which upholds the entire Torah, is the story of creation. It comes first in the Torah to teach that one should not ask for proof that it occurred. No wisdom can comprehend it or answer your questions about it, because it preceded everything. This is alluded to by the Torah's first letter, which has its closed side towards the beginning. (Derashot U'Perushei Rabbenu Yonah Al HaTorah) ****************** R' Levi ben Gershom z"l ("Ralbag") writes that the Torah is divided into several parts. Two of these parts teach us the laws and good character traits, respectively. Why are all good character traits not included among the mitzvot? Ralbag explains that if character traits were mitzvot, people would be lax in the performance of mitzvot. Why? Because mitzvot are meant to be kept in their entirety, whereas character traits are goals or aspirations. Since it is nearly impossible to perfect a character trait, one might wrongly assume that it is nearly impossible to perform any mitzvah properly. Therefore the Torah did not make character traits mitzvot, so that people would recognize a difference between the two. (Peirush Al HaTorah Bederech HaBe'ur) ****************** R' Chaim Vital z"l offers another answer to the above question. Character traits, he writes, are not among the mitzvot because they are the foundation of mitzvah observance. Chazal teach that each mitzvah corresponds to an organ of the body, while character corresponds to the soul, which gives life to the body. Thus, without good character, one cannot keep the 613 mitzvot. (Sha'arei Kedushah) ****************** The midrash relates that Kayin met Adam, and Adam asked, "What was the outcome of your judgment (for killing Hevel)?" Kayin answered, "I repented and I was forgiven in part." Immediately, the midrash continues, Adam said, "Teshuvah is so great and I had no idea." R' Avraham Pinso of Sarajevo z"l explains that Adam had been uncertain of the law in a matter that would later be disputed by Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yose Hakohen (see Rosh Hashanah 17b). In an attempt to explain two apparently contradictory verses, Rabbi Yose Hakohen maintains that one can atone for sins against G- d, but not sins against man. Rabbi Akiva holds that one can atone for all sins, but only before one's judgment is sealed, not afterwards. Adam's sin was against both G-d and man, for he disobeyed G-d and caused death to be decreed against all future generations. When he saw that Kayin, who also sinned against man, was forgiven (at least in part), Adam said, "I never realized that the power of teshuvah is as great as Rabbi Akiva maintains, i.e., one can atone even for a sin against his fellow man." But was not Adam's judgment already sealed? How then could he atone? The answer is that Rabbi Akiva's view is qualified by the gemara: "This applies only to an individual, but a congregation can always achieve atonement." Adam, because he was the ancestor of all people, was akin to a congregation. (Katit LaMaor) ****************** An Astonishing Midrash -- Midrash Peliah One of the young rabbis said to a certain old man: "Explain to me the meaning of the verse (1:3), 'Elokim said, "Let there be light"'." "What disturbs you about it?" the old man asked. The young rabbi answered, "Based on this verse, Pharaoh was correct when he said (Shmot 10:11), 'Let the men go now, and serve Hashem.' What could Moshe answer him? And if you will say that Moshe answered (Bemidbar8:3), 'Aharon did so; toward the face of the menorah he kindled its lamps, as Hashem had commanded Moshe," this cannot be, for that verse comes later!" The old man answered, "It is written here, 'Elokim saw that the light was good,' and it is written there (Shmot 2:2), 'She saw that he [Moshe] was good.' From these two appearances of the word 'good' we learn (Zechariah9:11), 'Through the blood of your covenant, I sent away your prisoners'." This midrash may be explained after the following introductory points: (1) The Divine name Elokim typically represents the Divine Attribute of Justice, while the Divine name Hashem (in its ineffable four letter form) typically represents the Divine attribute of Mercy. We are also taught that a prophecy which begins with word "vayomer"/"He said" typically is harsher than one which begins with the word "vayidaber"/"He spoke." (2) In Shmot 10:10, the verse before the verse quoted above, Pharaoh said to Moshe, "Behold, ra'ah/evil is before you." Our sages explain that there was a star known as ra'ah which was an omen for blood and death. Pharaoh calculated that this star would be ascendent at the time at the time of the Exodus. (3) Finally, on the verse, "She [Moshe's mother] saw [at Moshe's birth] that he was good," our sages comment that Moshe was born circumcised. Given the first introductory point, the verse, "Elokim said, 'Let there be light'," appears to teach that light is an instrument of harsh Justice. And light was one of the first creations, suggesting that Justice is fundamental to the world. If so, Pharaoh argued: Behold, the world is an evil place. (Note that the Hebrew word "re'u"/"behold" is an anagram of the word for light.) Therefore, you will certainly encounter blood and death after you leave Egypt. What could Moshe answer? It's true that when Aharon was commanded to light the menorah, the gentle word "vayedaber" and the Divine name "Hashem" are used. While this might indicate that light is an instrument of mercy, and that kindness and mercy do exist in this world, this verse was not inserted into the Torah until much later than the Exodus. Presumably, therefore, Moshe did not recite this verse to Pharaoh! The old man answered: The Torah says (Bereishit 1:4), "Elokim saw that the light was good." Moreover, on the verse, 'She saw that he [Moshe] was good," Chazalsay that the whole house was filled with light. Therefore, light must be good, and the world must not be as evil as Pharaoh claimed. This was Moshe's answer. And what of the star that Pharaoh saw? That alluded to the blood of circumcision, as is it written, (Zechariah 9:11), "Through the blood of your covenant, I sent away your prisoners." (Binat Nevonim) ****************** R' Yitzchak ben Shlomo HaYisraeli z"l born circa 832- died circa 932 Although very little of his writings have come down to us, we know that R' Yitzchak greatly influenced his contemporaries. His disciple, R' Donash ben Tamim, writes that R' Saadiah Gaon often addressed questions to Rav Yitzchak. R' Yitzchak was born in Egypt, but settled in Kairouan, Tunisia. There he served as court physician in the court of the caliph, at whose request he composed several medical treatises in Arabic. These were later translated into Hebrew, Spanish and Latin. The Rashba (14th century) referred to R' Yitzchak as "one of the great physicians of our nation." R' Yitzchak's lengthy Torah commentary (including two volumes on the first chapter of Bereishit alone) has been lost. R' Avraham ibn Ezra quotes fragments of the work, and sharply disagrees with R' Yitzchak's method of interpretation. (Specifically, Ibn Ezra complains that R' Yitzchak's commentary is too long, and for no good reason. He asserts that R' Yitzchak, R' Saadiah Gaon and others wrongly relied on sources outside Judaism to explain the Torah. "If one wants to learn secular studies," Ibn Ezra writes, "let him use textbooks written in those fields.") Nevertheless, in the introduction to his commentary on the Torah, in which he outlines the methods of other commentators and explains his own, Ibn Ezra states, " . . . This is the path followed by the great men who are the sages of the yeshivot in the Ishmaelite kingdoms, such as R' Yitzchak . . ." A commentary on Sefer Yetzirah also has been ascribed to R' Yitzchak (e.g., by Rashba), although many entries were the work of his disciple, R' Donash. Although R' Yitzchak lived almost 100 years, he never married. (Sources: The Artscroll Rishonim, p.49; Hakdamat Ibn Ezra; She'eilot U'teshuvot HaRashbaVol. I, No. 418)