Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Beha'alotecha Volume 23, No. 32 21 Sivan 5769 June 13, 2009 Today's Learning: Keilim 26:7-8 O.C. 310:7-9 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Bava Metzia 42 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Bava Metzia 32 King Shlomo writes in Mishlei (13:9), "The light of the righteous will rejoice, but the lamp of the wicked will flicker out." Rabbeinu Bachya ben Asher z"l (Spain; 14th century) explains: King Shlomo compares the soul of a tzaddik to light because the soul, like the concept "light," is eternal and is independent of the life-span of the tzaddik's body. In contrast, the soul of a rasha is like the light of a lamp; when the candle or wick is snuffed out, the light is gone. So, too, when the rasha's body dies, nothing remains of him. In reality, R' Bachya continues, a soul never dies. However, the soul of the wicked will suffer eternal punishment, which is a fate worse than death. This comes about because the rasha did not pursue "light" during his lifetime. Therefore, King Shlomo says that the lamp will "flicker out." A faint memory of the light that could have been will remain, but it will not give light. In contrast, "the light of the righteous will rejoice." This rejoicing is the tzaddik's reward, and it refers to attaining levels of understanding of G-d that one could not attain in his lifetime. Because tzadikim serve Hashem with joy, they merit to rejoice in the World-to- Come, for the trait of happiness causes the soul to draw sustenance and exist forever. R' Bachya continues: Another reason why the soul is compared to light is that they both were created on the first day of Creation. Unlike a human who lights a candle from an existing candle, Hashem created light out of nothingness. Nevertheless, although He is "light" and He does not need our light, He commanded us to light a menorah in His Temple for the honor of the Shechinah, as described in our parashah. (Beur Al Ha'Torah) ******** "Zeh / This is the workmanship of the menorah, mikshah / hammered-out gold, from its base to its flower it is hammered out; according to the vision that Hashem showed Moshe, so did he make the Menorah." (8:4) The Midrash Rabbah comments on this verse that Moshe Rabbeinu could not visualize the menorah and Hashem had to point it out to him, saying, "Zeh / This is the workmanship of the menorah." The midrash continues that Moshe toiled mightily to understand the menorah until, finally, Hashem told him to throw a block of gold into the furnace, and the menorah emerged. R' Yitzchak Ze'ev Yadler z"l (Yerushalayim; late 19th century) explains: Our Sages say that each of the wicks on the menorah's seven branches was supposed to point toward the center lamp. This signifies that, although Hashem appears to us through a variety of attributes, He is One and His attributes are an indivisible part of that One. This is what we mean when we affirm, "Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad / is One." Although He sometimes appears as Hashem, signifying mercy, and sometimes as Elokim, signifying justice, He is One. No human being, not even Moshe Rabbeinu, can truly grasp this concept. Although we profess to believe that everything Hashem does is good, everything is for a purpose, etc., our view of history is too limited and short-sighted to appreciate how this is true. Moshe Rabbeinu could not construct the menorah and imbue it with its full meaning (kavanah) because he could not grasp that meaning. When Moshe asked Hashem (Shmot 33;13), "Make Your ways known to me, so that I may comprehend You," Moshe was asking to have this matter explained to him. [Elsewhere, our Sages explain that he was asking why the righteous suffer, which is, in essence, the same question.] Hashem answered Moshe that no mortal can grasp Hashem's ways. This, continues R' Yadler, is what the midrash means when it says that Hashem pointed with His finger. People use their fingers to point at distant objects or landmarks. So Hashem told Moshe: Only in the distant future, with hindsight, will man understand My ways. Despite being rebuffed, Moshe continued to try to understand the full meaning behind the menorah. However, it was "mikshah," from kasheh / difficult. Finally, Moshe told Hashem: If I cannot imbue the menorah with its complete kavanah, I would prefer not to make it at all. At that point, Hashem told him to throw a block of gold into the furnace, and the menorah emerged. (Tiferet Zion) ********* "But a man who is pure and was not on the road . . ." (9:13) R' Akiva Eiger z"l (1761-1837; rabbi of Posen; one of the most important Talmud commentators and halachic authority of the past 250 years) observes that this verse contains a lesson "al derech melitzah" (metaphorically, bearing no connection to the literal meaning of the verse): Who is pure? One who is not on the road. A person who is at home is more likely to observe the mitzvot in all of their details than is a person who travels. A person who is traveling is more likely to cut corners or rely on leniencies. Such a person must take extra care not to fall into the snare of the yetzer hara. (Quoted in Mi'drushei V'chiddushei R' Akiva Eger Al Ha'Torah) In a similar vein, R' Chaim ben Betzalel z"l (rabbi of Friedberg, Germany; died 1588; commonly known as "R' Chaim brother of the Maharal") writes that the Torah refers to ritually impure animals as "sheratzim," literally, "those that run around." He explains that this is meant as a rebuke to those who sacrifice their spiritual "purity" in order to travel without end for the purpose of amassing greater and greater wealth. (Sefer Ha'chaim ch.5) ********* "We remember the fish that we ate . . ." (11:5) R' Chaim Palagi z"l (1788-1868; rabbi of Izmir, Turkey) writes: I once had to rebuke a scholar who disparaged the dvar Torah that another scholar had said during a meal. I said to him: Why do we eat fish as an appetizer? To remind us that Torah scholars should learn from fish and emulate them. Specifically, the Midrash Rabbah observes that, although fish live in water and can drink as much as they want, they nevertheless rise to the surface when it rains and swallow the rain drops. So, too, even a Torah scholar who is immersed in the sea of Torah should welcome a fresh insight with a great thirst befitting one who had never learned Torah before. Certainly, one should not disparage another scholar's dvar Torah in front of house-holders. [Ed. note: By saying, "in front of house-holders," R' Palagi presumably means that in a gathering of Torah scholars, one is permitted and even encouraged to debate other scholars in order to arrive at a correct understanding of the material. In front of less learned people, however, one must defer to the speaker in order to preserve the honor of Torah scholars.] (Quoted in Haggadah Shel Pesach Pninei Rav Chaim Palagi p.360) ******** This Week in History, Halachah, and Minhag 20 Sivan was a day of multiple tragedies in Jewish history and some communities recite selichot and piyutim that mark various events connected with this date. According to Seder Olam, the 30 days of eating slav ended on this day. Our parashah describes this event with the words (11:20), "Until an entire month of days, until it comes out of your nose, and becomes nauseating to you, because you have rejected Hashem . . ." On this date in 4931 (1171), the massacres associated with the Second Crusade culminated with the burning of the entire Jewish community of Blois, France. The Tosafist Rabbeinu Tam z"l decreed that this day be observed as a fast for all time. On this date in 5408 (1648), 6,000 Jews of the community of Nemirov, Ukraine were massacred by Cossacks during the Chmielnicki Massacres. Among those killed was the sage R' Yechiel Michel of Nemirov z"l hy"d. (Some say he was killed on 22 Sivan.) In all, the number of Jewish murdered by Chmielnicki's troops during the Ukrainian uprising against the Poles has been estimated at 50,000 to 100,000 or more. Some communities with Hungarian origins observe this date in commemoration of the extermination of Hungarian Jewry during World War II, which occurred primarily during the months of Iyar, Sivan and Tammuz 5704 (April-June 1944). Some contemporary halachic authorities suggested that even those who do not fast or otherwise observe this date should limit joyous activities such as holding weddings, moving into a new home, vacationing or going to the beach on this date. (Luach Davar B'ito pp. 1089-1090) 23 Sivan: On this date, Yerovam ben Nevat, the first king of the Ten Tribes that seceded from the kingdom of Rechavam (son of King Shlomo) imposed a blockade to prevent his subjects from taking Bikkurim to Yerushalayim. Also on this date, Mordechai and Esther sent letters to the Jewish People informing them that Achashveirosh had granted them permission to defend themselves against their enemies.