Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Bemidbar Volume XVII, No. 34 29 Iyar 5763 May 31, 2003 Sponsored by Mrs. Rochelle Dimont and family on the bar mitzvah of grandson Avraham Mordechai Ginsburg Yitzchok and Barbie Lehmann Siegel in memory of father Dr. Manfred R. Lehmann a"h The Katz family on the yahrzeit of Avigdor Moshe ben Avraham Abba Hakohen Katz and the other kedoshim of Oyber-Visheve, Hungary Today's Learning: Kelim 2:5-6 O.C. 32:39-41 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Horiot 4 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Yoma 39 Ramban writes: After the Book of Vayikra has taught us what to do in the Mishkan (i.e., the laws of the sacrifices), Bemidbar describes the organization of the camps around the Mishkan. This, says Ramban, is reminiscent of the way Bnei Yisrael encircled Har Sinai at the time of Matan Torah / the giving of the Torah. The parallelism noted by Ramban is not coincidental; the Shulchan Aruch states that Bemidbar is always the parashah which precedes Shavuot. (There are, however, two exceptions to this rule.) The midrash finds a related connection, noting that the arrangement of the camps around the Mishkan was based on the groupings of angels that Bnei Yisrael "saw" at Har Sinai. It is also interesting to note that Parashat Bemidbar is one of the few parashot (outside of Sefer Bereishit) which teaches no new mitzvot. And, Ramban observes that the vast majority of the commandments in Sefer Bemidbar are of a temporary nature, applying only to the sojourn in the desert or to the first generation thereafter. Similarly, in the absence of the Bet Hamikdash, there are no unique mitzvot for Shavuot. In fact, the Mishnah (Mo'ed Kattan 19a) entertains a view that in certain respects, Shavuot no longer has the status of the other Torah- ordained holidays, though the halachah does not follow this view. ******** "Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, . . . `Take a census of the entire assembly of Bnei Yisrael . . .'" (1:1-2) Rashi comments: "Because of G-d's love for the Jewish people, He counts them repeatedly. Here, He counted them in honor of His resting His Shechinah among them in the Tabernacle." [In chronological order, this parashah belongs earlier in the Torah, shortly after the dedication of the Mishkan.] R' Raphael Baruch Sorotzkin z"l (1917-1979; Rosh Yeshiva of Telshe) observes that this may be understood in light of the Talmudic teaching that the first ten men who come to davening receive reward equal to the combined rewards of all the other men who come. Why? The commentary Maharsha explains that it is these ten men who cause the Shechinah to rest on the congregation; therefore, they deserve special reward. The Shechinah rested on the Mishkan in the merit of all the Jewish people. In order to emphasize this, Hashem counted Bnei Yisrael after the Mishkan's dedication. (Ha'Binah Ve'haberachah) *** "You hafkaid / shall appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of the Testimony . . ." (1:50) R' Yaakov ben Asher z"l (14th century; the Ba'al Ha'turim) notes that the word "hafkaid" appears in only one other place in Tanach - in Tehilim (109:6), "Hafkaid / Appoint a wicked man over him." This, writes the Ba'al Ha'turim, alludes to Chazal's teaching that no one becomes an officer below unless he is considered a wicked person Above. (Here, the Levi'im were appointed officers over the Tabernacle.) This is a wondrous statement, writes R' Moshe Yechiel Halevi Epstein z"l (1890-1971; the Ozhrover Rebbe). It certainly cannot be taken literally! He explains: The Gemara (Niddah 30b) teaches that before a baby is born, his soul is made to take an oath, "Even if the whole world tells you that you are a tzaddik, view yourself as if you are a rasha." This is a way to protect oneself from haughtiness. This is what the Ba'al Ha'turim means as well: "G-d does not wish to appoint a person to a position of authority below unless he considers himself to be wicked in the eyes of Heaven." (Be'er Moshe) *** "Behold! I have taken the Levites from the midst of Bnei Yisrael . . ." (3:12) R' Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld z"l (rabbi of the Edah Ha'charedit in Yerushalayim; died 1932) notes that whenever the Torah speaks of the fact that the Levi'im were counted separately from the other tribes, it also says that they were taken "from the midst" of Bnei Yisrael. The Torah wishes to emphasize that, despite being different in some ways, the Levi'im remain an integral part of the Jewish people. R' Sonnenfeld notes that this is alluded to in the very words "Levi'im" and "Yisrael". Yisrael is spelled: "Yud, sin, raish, aleph, lamed." If the names of each of those letters is written out, we have: Yud = Yud, *vav*, dalet Sin = Sin, *yud*, nun Raish = Raish, *yud*, shin Aleph = Aleph, *lamed*, feh Lamed = Lamed, *mem*, dalet If we take the middle letter (highlighted above) "from the midst" of each of those "words", we have the letters of the word Levi'im. (Chochmat Chaim) ******** Pirkei Avot Rabbi Yose ben Kisma said, "Once I was walking on the road, when a certain man met me. He greeted me and I returned his greeting. He said to me, `Rabbi, from what place are you?' I said to him, `I am from a great city of scholars and soferim.' He said to me, `Rabbi, would you be willing to live with us in our place? I would give you thousands of golden dinars, precious stones and pearls.' I replied, `Even if you were to give me all the silver and gold, precious stones and pearls in the world, I would dwell nowhere but in a place of Torah'." (Chapter 6) R' Zvi Yehuda Kook z"l (died 1982) comments: If our Sages use a story to teach a particular lesson, we must examine what we can learn from the story that we would not have known if the story's moral had simply been stated as an imperative - e.g., "One should always dwell in a place of Torah!" Rambam, too, chooses sometimes to cite a story rather than to simply state the halachah (see for example, Hil. De'ot 7:13), and there must be a reason. What does this story teach? First, it teaches that "Dwell only in a place of Torah" is not merely an abstract ideal. It is a something that every person can realize. Who was Rabbi Yose ben Kisma? The Gemara teaches that he was deeply involved in the secular world and was on good terms with many Roman noblemen. Despite having one foot planted solidly in the Roman world, he chose to live only in a community that was noted for its Torah scholars. This story teaches some incidental lessons as well. They include: (1) Rabbi Yose ben Kisma taught the above lesson when he was on the road. Even the road is a place where Torah lessons can be learned. (2) Rabbi Yose ben Kisma met an anonymous person, not noted for any particular good traits. Nevertheless, the meeting was pleasant. "He greeted me and I returned his greeting." (3) Rabbi Yose ben Kisma said, "I am from a great city of scholars and soferim." Every great city must have scholars - sages who specialize in the Torah Sh'be'al'peh -- and soferim, sages who specialize in the Torah Sh'bichtav. One additional point: Was Rabbi Yose ben Kisma's answer meant to disassociate himself completely from the man he met and from the man's town? Certainly not! says R' Kook. We say in the prayers that follow the Torah reading on Monday and Thursday, "May it be the will of our Father Who is in heaven to preserve among us the sages of Israel . . . in all their dwelling places." Even when the sages are in their dwelling places, not in our towns or neighborhoods, it is incumbent upon us to view them as being among us. (Kinyan Torah) ******** R' Shmuel Shmelke G］tzler z"l R' G］tzler was born in Satoraljaujhely, Hungary (known to the Jews as "Uhel") on 7 Cheshvan 5595 / 1834. When he was about six, he was blessed by the rabbi of Uhel, R' Moshe Teitelbaum (the Yismach Moshe) that he would grow into a "tall tree." Young Shmuel studied under his brother-in-law, R' Avraham Laib Hakohen, the future rabbi of Beregszasz, and before his marriage was awarded the title "Moreinu." (In Hungarian yeshivot, this title was often given to young scholars who had excelled in their studies but had not yet been ordained as rabbis.) R' G］tzler married Rivka Fradel Kahana and moved to her hometown, Oyber-Visheve, where he spent the rest of his life. Beginning in 1866, R' G］tzler served as rabbi of Oyber-Visheve. He passed away on 5 Iyar 5671 / 1911. The following year, his grandson published some of R' G］tzler's Torah commentaries and derashot in Meishiv Nefesh. R' G］tzler related that he once traveled to Tarnopol for a joyous occasion, and he visited the town's rabbi, R' Yosef Babad (author of Minchat Chinuch) and asked that sage to test him and grant him ordination. R' Babad responded that it was his practice not to grant semichah to anyone. "However," he said, "come back tomorrow morning and enjoy the Talmud lecture." When R' G］tzler arrived the next morning, R' Babad welcomed him and invited him to give the lecture. (They were studying the fifth folio of Tractate Makkot.) R' G］tzler agreed, and he engaged the assembled scholars in a heated discussion for two hours while R' Babad paced back and forth listening silently. R' G］tzler said that so lively was the debate that by the end of the session his clothes were dripping with perspiration. When the lecture ended, R' Babad took R' G］tzler into his study and ordained him.