Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Chukat Volume 21, No. 35 7 Tammuz 5767 June 23, 2007 Sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Irving Katz on the yahrzeit of his mother Sarah bat Yitzchak Hakohen Katz a"h Martin and Michelle Swartz and family on the yahrzeit of Martin's grandfather John Hofmann a"h Rikki and Nat Lewin on the yahrzeit of Nat's grandfather, Harav Aharon ben Harav Noson Lewin (the "Reisher Rav") z"l hy"d Today's Learning: Bava Kamma 9:8-9 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Yevamot 51 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Beitzah 5 We read in this week's parashah that Hashem told Moshe to speak to the rock to bring out water, but Moshe hit the rock instead. As a consequence, Moshe was told that he would not enter Eretz Yisrael. How was this consequence middah k'negged middah, i.e., how did the punishment fit the crime? Moreover, what was wrong with hitting the rock? In fact, almost 40 years earlier Hashem had told Moshe to hit a rock to bring forth water! (See Shmot 17:6.) The Midrash Yalkut Shimoni answers the second question as follows: When a teacher is teaching young students, he may sometimes be justified in using corporal punishment. However, with older students, this is never appropriate. So, too, Hashem said to Moshe: "When the stone was young, you were right to hit it, but now the stone is older, and you should have spoken to it." R' Mendel Bluming shlita (rabbi in Potomac, Maryland) explained the parable of the midrash as follows: An entire generation had passed between the first time Moshe hit the rock and the second time. The "tough" leadership that the generation of the Exodus required was not the same type of leadership needed by the generation that would enter Eretz Yisrael. This is why it was wrong for Moshe to hit the rock. And, this is why Moshe could not enter Eretz Yisrael. Moshe's actions did not detract from his righteousness, and he was still the greatest prophet who ever lived. However, his actions marked him as not being the right leader for the new generation. Therefore he could not enter Eretz Yisrael. This midrash is a lesson for parents and teachers in general, R' Bluming added: Different children require different types of attention and different types of discipline. There is no "one-size-fits-all" method of child-rearing. [Note that this lesson does not require taking the midrash literally as advocating corporal punishment.] (Heard from R' Bluming, 27 Sivan 5765) ******** From the Parashah . . . "Give drink to the assembly and to their animals." (20:8) Rashi comments: "From this we may see that the Holy One, Blessed is He, has concern for the possessions of Yisrael." R' David ben Shmuel Halevi (1586-1667; author of Turei Zahav) asks: How does this prove that G-d is concerned for the Jewish People's possessions? Maybe His concern for the animals was motivated by the animals' thirst and pain? He explains: Had G-d's concern been for the animals themselves, the verse would have said, "Give drink to the assembly and to the animals." It does not, however. Instead it expresses concern for "their animals." Still, how does this prove that G-d is concerned for the Jewish People's property? Maybe He mentioned the animals because Bnei Yisrael had said in their plea for water (verse 4), "Why have you brought the congregation of Hashem to this wilderness to die there, we and our animals?" R' David answers: Perhaps Bnei Yisrael mentioned their animals because they feared that they did not have sufficient merits to obtain water for themselves. However, Hashem had no reason for speaking thus, unless His intention was to demonstrate His concern for Bnei Yisrael's property. (Divrei David) ******** "They are the waters of strife, where Bnei Yisrael contended with Hashem, and He was sanctified through them." (Bemidbar 20:13) Rashi z"l comments: "These are they that were alluded to, though unwittingly, on another occasion. It was these waters [which caused Moshe's death] that Pharaoh's astrologers foresaw, saying that Israel's deliverer would be punished through water. For that reason they had decreed (Shmot 1:22) `Every son that is born shall you cast into the river'." R' Menachem Ben-Zion Zaks z"l (rosh yeshiva in Chicago) observes: The evil Pharaoh could not kill Moshe. Indeed, Pharaoh's own daughter made a mockery of his decree by raising Moshe in the royal palace. But the "waters of strife" -- the infighting of the Jewish People -- were able to kill Moshe. This, writes R' Zaks, is a recurring problem in our history. Whereas our enemies fail to destroy us and to implant seeds of impurity within us, we manage to inflict these wounds on ourselves. This is true in particular when we attack our own leaders, actions which have far-reaching consequences and which cause lingering hatred. This characteristic of our People was noted long ago by the prophet Yeshayah (49:18), "Those who cause your ruin, and your destroyers, are from you." We read in Tehilim (81:8), "I will test you at the waters of strife, selah." This is the ultimate test that G-d places before us constantly: Can we overcome that failing which led to the "waters of strife" and killed Moshe and Aharon? (Menachem Zion) ******** From the Haftarah . . . "So Yiftach fled because of his brothers and settled in the land of Tov . . ." (Shoftim 11:3) The Talmud Yerushalmi (Shevi'it 6:1) teaches: "Why was the land called "Tov" ("good")? Because it was [outside of Eretz Yisrael and therefore] exempt from ma'aser / tithes." How is this to be understood? R' Moshe Yechiel Epstein z"l (the Ozhorover Rebbe; died 1971) writes in the name of R' Chaim Yosef David Azulai z"l (Chida; 1724-1806): Perhaps our Sages are informing us of Yiftach's strength of character. Had he remained in Eretz Yisrael, he would have been obligated to ascend to the mishkan on the festivals -- the Bet Hamikdash had not yet been built -- or when he wanted to eat ma'aser sheni, the tithe that farmers are obligated to bring to the holy city to eat there. On those occasions, he might meet his brothers or the elders of his hometown, and end up fighting with them. To avoid controversy, he chose to leave Eretz Yisrael entirely. R' Epstein continues: Now we can understand why the place where he settled is called Tov. Midrash Rabbah asks, "Why did Hashem not declare `ki tov' / `it is good' on the second day of creation? Because machloket / division was created on that day" [i.e., the upper and lower waters were divided; also, the number "2" represents the possibility of division]. In contrast, the absence of machloket is called "Tov." (Be'er Moshe) A related thought from the same work: "Then Yiftach declared a vow to Hashem, and he said, `If You will indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand, then it will be that whatever emerges, what will emerge from the doors of my house to greet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall be to Hashem, and I will offer it up as an olah / elevation-offering'." (Shoftim 11:30-31) We read in Mishlei (11:30), "The fruit of a righteous person is a tree of life, and a wise man acquires souls." Midrash Tanchuma comments: If a person is righteous, but he has not studied Torah, he has nothing. The fruit of the righteous is only from the tree of life, i.e., the Torah. And, if he is a ben Torah, he will know how to take (i.e., lead) other souls. The midrash continues: This lesson is exemplified by Yiftach, who was not a Torah scholar, and who therefore lost souls, specifically his daughter. [She was the first creature to emerge from his house upon his return. Because she had been sanctified as a korban olah, Yiftach sent her to live a solitary life away from society.] R' Epstein adds: We learned above that Yiftach had exemplary character traits. Nevertheless, not being a Torah scholar (as our Sages teach about him), he did not know how to act in accordance with the Torah's expectations [and he made a frivolous vow]. This, in turn, led him to haughtiness, which prevented him from asking Pinchas, the elder sage of the generation, to annul his vow. ******** R' Yechezkel Mordechai Wiesel z"l Hy"d R' Yechezkel Mordechai Wiesel, a direct descendant of R' David ben Shmuel Halevi (Poland, 1586-1667; author of Turei Zahav), was briefly known in the years preceding the Holocaust as the "Second Ba'al Shem Tov." [The Ba'al Shem Tov was R' Yisrael ben Eliezer (1698-1760), the founder of the chassidic movement.] Overnight, R' Wiesel went from being an obscure shochet in the tiny Hungarian village of Polyen-Kobletsky (today in Ukraine) to being recognized as a chassidic rebbe and miracle worker. Reportedly, tens of thousands of Jews, as well as a large number of non-Jews, came to him for blessings, and many wondrous tales were told about him. Numerous people were helped by his blessings, whether they suffered from physical ailments or other concerns. R' Wiesel was particularly known as a master of the mitzvah of tzedakah. Virtually every penny that was given to him by his thousands of visitors was distributed to the poor, while R' Wiesel himself lived the life of a pauper. Just as suddenly as he had become known as a miracle worker, he suddenly stopped performing miracles and visitors stopped arriving. His final years, before the Holocaust, were spent traveling throughout Europe, and he was known to have visited Frankfort, Germany. R' Wiesel was killed in the Holocaust in Szolles, Hungary in 1944. (Sources: Encyclopedia La'chassidut; Sefer Marmarosh)