Va'etchanan Volume XIV, No. 44 11 Menachem Av 5760 August 12, 2000 Today's Learning: Beitzah 2:4-5 Orach Chaim 312:7-9 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Nedarim 24 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Kiddushin 29 In this week's parashah, we find the Aseret Ha'dibrot (the so- called "Ten Commandments") repeated. Chazal say that these Commandments were miraculously engraved on the luchot / tablets in such a way that the writing penetrated all the way through the stone, yet it could be read from whichever side one viewed the luchot. (Naturally, it should have appeared backward from one side, but it did not.) Also, because the engraving penetrated the luchot, another miracle was required to make the centers of some letters (e.g., the samech - " ") float in the air. What do these miracles teach us? R' Samson Raphael Hirsch z"l (Germany; 19th century) explains that the writing penetrated the luchot to teach us that we must make the Torah penetrate to our innermost beings. It should not be superficial. The writing could be read from either side to teach that our dedication to Torah must be seen from all sides. We should not be Jewish at home and something else in the street (as another German-Jewish writer had urged). Finally, the floating stone centers of the letters remind us that the G-d who gives "life-force" to these letters gives it to us as well. (Collected Writings Vol. I, p.281) ********* "Let me now cross ('e-ebrah') and see the good Land that is on the other side of the Jordan . . ." (3:25) R' Yosef Chaim of Baghdad (died 1909) observes that the word "e-ebrah" / "Let me cross" has the same Hebrew letters as "arba'ah" / "four." What is the significance of Moshe's using this word? The gemara (Ketubot 75b) states that one Torah scholar in Eretz Yisrael is equal to two Torah scholars outside the Land. However, says the gemara, when a Torah scholar from outside Eretz Yisrael makes aliyah, he is equal to two scholars who are natives of Eretz Yisrael. If so, says R' Yosef Chaim, then a scholar who makes aliyah becomes four times as great when he reaches Eretz Yisrael as he was before. This is what Moshe was alluding to. He adds: The fact that one Torah scholar in Eretz Yisrael is equal to two Torah scholars outside the Land is a reflection of the general fact that spiritual accomplishment is twice as easy to achieve in Eretz Yisrael as outside. This is the deeper explanation for why those in Eretz Yisrael need to observe only one day of each yom tov, while those in the Diaspora observes two. (Ben Yehoyada: Ketubot) ******** "But you who cling to Hashem, your G-d, you are alive today." (4:4) R' Moshe Chaim Luzzato z"l ("Ramchal") writes that all the rewards for the mitzvot are essentially of one type. This is what the prophets expressed (Yishayah 58:14; Tehilim 37:4), "Find pleasure in Hashem." All the soul wants is to cling to its Cause (i.e., its Creator), and when it clings to Him to the maximum extent possible, that is its greatest joy. When this clinging is permanent, that is eternal life, as is written, "But you who cling to Hashem, your G-d, you are alive today." There also are intermediate levels before one reaches this ultimate level, and these are the different levels of reward that exist. Because the soul's clinging to Hashem must be complete, there are 613 commandments, paralleling the 613 limbs and organs of the body, and the soul also has 613 spiritual "limbs and organs." It also follows that even physical rewards are an outgrowth of this clinging. (Da'at Tevunot II, para. 12-14) ******** "Hashem became angry with me because of you, and He swore that I would not cross the Jordan . . ." (4:21) The verses before and after this contain warnings against idolatry. Why did Moshe mention Hashem's anger against him in the middle of those warnings? R' Meir Simcha Hakohen z"l (Dvinsk, Latvia; died 1926) explains: Had Moshe entered Eretz Yisrael and conquered the Land in a wondrous and miraculous way, there was a risk that the people might have deified him. Therefore, Moshe had to die in the desert. Moshe told Bnei Yisrael: This demonstrates how important it is to distance oneself from any hint of idolatry. "Hashem became angry with me because of you" - to prevent you from erring. (Meshech Chochmah) ******** "And you shall repeat them to your sons and speak of them, when you sit in your homes. . . ." (5:7) R' Daniel Movshovitz z"l (head of the mussar academy in Kelm; killed in the Holocaust) writes in a letter that the reference here to the home does not refer to the wood and stone structure. It refers to the family. The beginning of a person's judgement in Heaven will address whether he set aside times for Torah study and, in particular, whether he dedicated times to study Torah and discuss the subjects of faith and trust in G-d with his family. It doesn't matter so much what one learns at these times. R' Yerucham Levovitz z"l (a leading teacher of mussar; died 1936) used to read from the Tze'enah U're'enah (a Yiddish translation and commentary on the Torah, originally intended for women) at meals. The simple lessons of faith contained in that work often make a more long-lasting impression than do complicated discourses. (Kitvei Ha'Saba Mi'Kelm Ve'talmidav p. 610) ******** This coming week, we observe "Tu B'Av" - the 15th day of the month of Av. In ancient times, the gemara says, this was one of the two happiest days on the Jewish calendar. (The other was Yom Kippur, the day of forgiveness.) One of the reasons for this is that the last donation of wood to the Temple was made on this day each year. Why is this important? Rabbenu Gershom explains that once the wood harvest was over, there was more time for learning Torah. Adds Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg shlita: Look how the sages valued Torah study! Consider how little time and how few people were involved in this wood chopping, yet for the small amount of additional Torah which could be studied after this day, Chazal ordained a holiday. Chazal say, "One who studies more Torah after the 15th of Av-- and especially at night--will have reward added. One who does not will be buried." Why such a stringent punishment? Rav Scheinberg explains (based upon the writings of the Vilna Gaon) that man's mission on earth is not only to study Torah and to do mitzvot, but to do so in a way which overcomes his natural urges and tendencies. As the summer winds down and darkness comes earlier, one would tend to go sleep earlier (especially before the advent of electric lights). Thus, man's responsibility, his mission, is to make an extra effort to stay awake at night and to study Torah. (Derech Emunah U'bitachon) ******** R' Yosef Qafih z"l This week marks thirty days since the passing of R' Yosef Qafih, known to many as R' Yosef Kapach. He was 82 years old. R' Qafih was a leader of the Yemenite community in Israel, and devoted many of his writings to preserving, translating from Arabic into Hebrew, and publishing the Torah legacy of Yemen. Outside the Yemenite community, R' Qafih is perhaps best known for his translations of the Arabic works of two non-Yemenite scholars, R' Saadiah Gaon (9th century; Egypt and Iraq) and Rambam (Maimonides; 12th century; Egypt). Among the works of R' Saadiah that R' Qafih translated are R' Saadiah's commentaries on the books of Daniel, Iyov, Mishlei and on the kabbalistic Peirush L'Sefer Yetzirah. R' Qafih also translated into Hebrew R' Saadiah Gaon's Arabic translation of the Torah; however, rather than publish the entire work, he published only those parts where R' Saadiah's choice of words for his "translation" in effect provided a commentary on the verse as well. This was published under the title Peirushei Rabbenu Saadiah Gaon. From among Rambam's works, R' Qafih translated Moreh Nevochim ("Guide for the Perplexed"), Peirush Ha'mishnayot (Mishnah commentary) and some of Rambam's most famous letters. In the case of Rambam's Mishnah commentary, R' Qafih used a manuscript written by Rambam himself. R' Qafih's teaching day began at 4:30 a.m. In an interview with an Israeli radio station after R' Qafih's death, one of his students described how his teacher sat on a bench while studying many hours a day, barefoot, as had been the custom in Yemen for centuries. R' Qafih maintained all of the Yemenite customs, which, he argued, were the most authentic. Nevertheless, in an essay, he argued for merging the customs of the various geographical branches of Jewry and raising a new generation that would not know the difference between Yemenite, North African and Ashkenazic customs in prayer, Hebrew pronunciation, and other mitzvot. He cautioned, however, that such a merger could not be accomplished by adopting the leniencies of each group; rather, serious analysis of the various customs would be required. (For example, R' Qafih noted that there are parts of an animal that Yemenite Jews eat that all other Jews consider to be non-kosher.) In another essay, R' Qafih wrote (based on Nechemiah 13:25 and R' Saadiah Gaon's commentary to Vayikra 10:1) that one who mispronounces the Hebrew language incurs the penalty of makkot / 40 lashes.