Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Contributing Editor: Daniel Dadusc Tzav Volume XIII, No. 24 10 Nissan 5759 March 27, 1999 Today's Learning: Sponsored by Demai 5:3-4 Aaron & Rona Lerner Orach Chaim 72:1-3 on the yahrzeits of their fathers Daf Yomi: Yoma 82 Avraham ben Yaakov Hakohen a"h and Yerushalmi Ta'anit 7 Yaakov Yonah ben Yisrael a"h Mr. and Mrs. Moshe Cohen on the yahrzeit of his father R' Chaim ben R' Zvi Hakohen a"h This week's parashah continues the laws of the korbanot/sacrifices from last week's parashah. R' Elazar M. Shach shlita observes that we pray daily for the return of the sacrificial service. Yet, the haftarah for our parashah seems to downplay the importance of that service! There we read (Yirmiyah 7:22-23): "For I did not speak with your forefathers nor did I command them on the day I took them out of the land of Egypt concerning olah-offerings or shelamim-offerings. Rather, I commanded them only regarding this matter, saying, 'Hear My voice that I may be a G-d unto you and you will be a people unto Me . . . '" [Note: Most congregations will not read this haftarah today but will replace it with the haftarah for Shabbat Hagadol.] Why does the prophet downplay the importance of the sacrifices? Moreover, what is the significance of the fact that Hashem did not command our forefathers "on the day [He] took them out of the land of Egypt" concerning the sacrifices? Didn't He command them regarding the sacrifices when He gave the Torah? R' Shach explains: The purpose of the Exodus was to make us Hashem's nation. Thus we read (Shmot 19:4): "You have seen what I did to Egypt and that I have borne you on the wings of eagles and brought you to Me." As a result of the Exodus, we are charged with coming close to Hashem and with maintaining that closeness. The laws of the Torah, including the laws of the sacrifices, are the tools that Hashem has given us to bring us close to Him. While we are not free to substitute other tools for Hashem's Torah - in any case, no other tools will work - we also should not confuse the tools - the mitzvot - with the goal - being close to Hashem. This is the prophet's message: "Do not confuse the sacrifices, which are the means, with the end." Our sages teach that the Bet Hamikdash was destroyed because our ancestors studied Torah without reciting a blessing, i.e., as a wisdom rather than as the word of G-d. Torah must be studied as the word of G-d. Mitzvot must be performed with religious feeling, not by rote. This is the lesson of the above verses, and this was the purpose of the Exodus. (Haggadah Shel Pesach Avi Ezri p.14) ******** "If he shall offer it as a todah/thanksgiving-offering, he shall offer with the todah unleavened loaves . . . With loaves of leavened bread shall he bring his offering." (7:12-13) The above verses teach that a todah/thanksgiving-offering must be accompanied by loaves of both chametz and matzah. R' Don Yitzchak Abarbanel z"l (15th century) asks: Since the Korban Pesach seems to be, in essence, an offering brought in thanksgiving for the Exodus, why is it not accompanied by both chametz and matzah? R' Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer z"l (the "Ketav Sofer"; 19th century) answers that the Korban Pesach is not a todah-offering. Rather, it is more like another set of sacrifices described in our parashah - the inaugural sacrifices brought at the dedication of the mishkan. Those sacrifices were accompanied by matzah, but not by chametz. He explains further: Chazal instructed that when we relate the story of the Exodus at the Seder, we should begin with disgrace, with the fact that our ancestors were idolators, and conclude with praise. Why? This may be understood through a parable: When one gives a garment to a laundry in order to have a stain removed, the laundry applies soaps and chemicals which first make the garment dirtier than it was before. Of course, when the customer pays the laundry, he does not intend to pay for the labor that was expended in dirtying the garment; he intends to pay for the cleaning of the garment. Similarly, we do not praise Hashem at the Seder for redeeming us from Egypt. Who asked Him to take us to Egypt in the first place? Rather, we praise Hashem because He cleansed the stain of idolatry from our souls. Just as the laundry cleanses the garment with vile chemicals, the process by which Hashem cleansed us was our enslavement in Egypt. It follows, that we do not owe Hashem a debt of gratitude for the Exodus, and the Korban Pesach is not a todah offering. Rather, the Korban Pesach is a sacrifice brought upon our inauguration into Hashem's service. (Haggadah Shel Pesach Ketav Sofer p.18a) ******** "Take Aharon and his sons with him . . . Hakhel/Gather the entire assembly to the entrance of the ohel mo'ed/Tent of Meeting." (8:2-3) Rashi writes: "Take Aharon with persuasive words." R' Baruch Sorotzkin z"l (1917-1979; rosh yeshiva of Telz in Cleveland) explains as follows: Being Kohen Gadol means giving up all semblance of a "normal" life. This is a momentous commitment to ask of a person, even a person of the caliber of Aharon. One has to be persuaded that being Kohen Gadol is the greatest fortune possible, notwithstanding the inconveniences involved. Therefore Moshe had to "take Aharon with persuasive words." To ease Aharon's transition, he was to be appointed be'hakhel/in an assembly of the entire congregation. Very few mitzvot had to be done be'hakhel, but Aharon's appointment was done before all of the Jewish people so that he would see that they accepted him. A leader who is not accepted by a segment of the people cannot influence the people. (For similar reasons, Pirkei Avot teaches, "Make for yourself a teacher." Only if you accept the teacher upon yourself can he influence you.) (Ha'binah Ve'ha'berachah pp. 216 & 204) ******** Pesach Thoughts The day before Pesach (this coming Wednesday) is Ta'anit Bechorim/the Fast of the Firstborn. The usual explanation for this fast is that it commemorates the fact that Hashem killed the firstborn of Egypt but spared the firstborn of Bnei Yisrael. However, observes R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach z"l (1910-1995; one of the foremost halachic authorities of the second half of this century), there are several serious objections to this explanation. These are: (1) If the fast commemorates the plague of the firstborn, why is it observed on the day before that plague occurred and not on the day of the plague itself? (2) Erev Pesach is itself a yom tov (equivalent to Chol Ha'moed). Why was it made into a fast day? (3) The plague of the firstborn struck both males and females, and it struck both the firstborn of the mother and the firstborn of the father. Why, then, are only the male firstborn of their father required to observe Ta'anit Bechorim? (4) Notwithstanding its popular name, the plague of the firstborn struck not only firstborn children, but also the oldest child in each household. Why, then, are only the firstborn required to observe the fast? (5) If the fast is a way of thanking Hashem for the fact that the Jewish firstborn were saved in Egypt, why do present-day firstborn fast? The fast should rather be observed by descendants of those firstborn who participated in the Exodus! (6) Why has it become customary to excuse the firstborn from fasting if they participate in a mitzvah-meal such as a siyum/completion of a Talmudic tractate? In answer to all of these questions, R' Auerbach explains that the common understanding of the fast of the firstborn is incorrect. Before the sin of the golden calf, the firstborn, not the family of Aharon, served as kohanim to Bnei Yisrael. The firstborn attained this status because Hashem so-to-speak acquired them as His own when He spared them from the plague of the firstborn. (This priestly status was reserved, however, for the male firstborn of their fathers.) How great then is the embarrassment of the firstborn every Erev Pesach, when each Jew brings his Korban Pesach and the firstborn can only watch as the kohanim, who are descendants of Aharon, perform the service that once was reserved for the firstborn themselves! (Their embarrassment is particularly acute on Erev Pesach because it was in connection with the Korban Pesach, whose blood was placed on the doorposts to identify Jewish homes, that the firstborn were originally sanctified as priests.) This explains the custom that the firstborn eat at a siyum instead of fasting, for what the firstborn are doing is drowning their sorrows in Torah study. (Quoted in Haggadah Shel Pesach Arzei Ha'levanon, Vol. II, p.8) ******** A Pesach Parable We read in the Haggadah: "If Hashem had not taken our forefathers out of Egypt, we, our children and our grandchildren would be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt." R' Chaim Elazar Shapira z"l (the "Munkatcher Rebbe"; died 1937) writes that the purpose of this statement is to answer the question: Why is our present exile so long and drawn out? Why doesn't Hashem redeem us in the same dramatic way that He redeemed our ancestors from Egypt? The following parable provides the answer to these questions: A doctor was once rushed to the bedside of a sick man and, seeing the condition of the patient, he performed an emergency appendectomy that saved the patient's life. Within days, the patient was up and about, and he thanked the doctor accordingly. Several years passed, and again this man took ill, this time with painful kidney disease. The same doctor was called and he prescribed a regimen of diet and medication. "If you follow these instructions," he said, "you will be cured in several months." "A few years ago, I was sicker than this - was I not?" the patient asked. "You were," the doctor answered. "And on that occasion you operated and I was cured in a matter of days - was I not?" "Yes," said the doctor. "Then why have you chosen to give me a gradual cure that will leave me suffering for several months rather than operating and curing me immediately?" the patient inquired. The doctor explained: "Surgery is a drastic measure that is performed as a last resort. Had I not operated then, you would have died shortly. Now, however, there is no immediate danger to your life. Although you may suffer for a time, this diet and these medications will cure your illness at its source and you will remain healthy." The Exodus was a "dramatic rescue" because the Jewish people were on the verge of total assimilation. This is what the above excerpt from the Haggadah is teaching us. The present exile, though painful, can be "cured" more gradually and less dramatically. (Sha'ar Yissaschar: Ma'amar Aggadeta De'Pisacha, No. 22 quoted in Haggadah Shel Pesach Sha'arei Armon p. 43)