Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Eikev Volume 23, No. 40 18 Av 5769 August 8, 2009 Sponsored by Phyllis and Lewis Fisher on the bar mitzvah of their son Dovid Nachman Today's Learning: Ohalot 12:7-8 O.C. 325:8-10 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Bava Metzia 105 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Shevuot 23 King Shlomo writes in Mishlei (3:1-4), "My child, do not forget My Torah, and let your heart guard My commandments, for they add to you length of days and years of life and peace. Kindness and truth shall not forsake you . . . and find favor and goodly wisdom in the eyes of G-d and man." Rabbeinu Yonah Gerondi z"l (Spain; died 1263) explains: King Shlomo begins with, "My child," for everyone knows that a parent who gives advice has his child's best interests at heart. King Shlomo advises that one not forget the "Torah" - an allusion to the Written Torah - and let his heart guard the "commandments" - an allusion to the Oral Torah, which is not written and is only in one's heart. The former advice is necessary because one might think that he has no need to review the Written Torah, for he can always look it up. R' Yonah continues: King Shlomo advises that remembering the Torah is the foundation of everything, for Torah study is the basis of mitzvah performance. He also teaches us that the mitzvot must be guarded in our hearts, because there is no moment and no activity in a person's life that does not have mitzvot - whether affirmative commandments or prohibitions - associated with it! At home, there are mitzvot such as mezuzah and ma'akeh / building a wall around a roof. On the road, there are mitzvot, such as doing kindness, conducting business honestly, and avoiding immoral temptations. [Ed. note: Perhaps R' Yonah singles out "doing kindness" on the road because one might think that he is exempt from doing kindness while traveling.] One who follows this advice will earn "length of days and years of life and peace." R' Yonah adds: "Kindness" refers to going beyond the letter of the law, since a person will not be punished for not performing acts of kindness [so long as he is not unkind]. "Truth" refers to the law itself. King Shlomo advises that one should aim to "find favor and goodly wisdom in the eyes of G-d and man" - specifically, of men who do not forsake kindness and truth. R' Yonah concludes: These verses parallel the opening verse of our parashah, where we read (Devarim 7:12), "This shall be the reward when you listen to these ordinances, and you observe and perform them; Hashem, your G-d, will safeguard for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers." (Drashot U'perushei Rabbeinu Yonah Al Ha'Torah) ******** "Hashem will remove from you every illness . . ." (7:15) R' Shalom Dovber Schneerson z"l (Lubavitcher Rebbe; died 1920) comments: Our Sages say, on the one hand, that "Everything is in the hands of Heavens except chills and fevers." On the other hand, they teach that "One does not stub his finger unless it has been decreed from Heaven." Presuming that both of these statements refer to illness and injury in general, they appear to be contradictory. He explains: Man has free will, and he is expected to guard his health. If he uses his best efforts to stay healthy, then he is granted extra protection from Above. If he does not, if he gives in to the yetzer hara which encourages him to engage in unhealthy behavior, then he is not protected by Heaven. Our verse, he writes, alludes to both sides of this equation. On the one hand, "Hashem will remove from you every illness." On the other hand, "From you [is] every illness." (Sefer Ha'ma'amarim 5654 p.321) ******** "He afflicted you and let you hunger, then He fed you the mahn that you did not know, nor did your forefathers know, in order to make you know that not by bread alone does man live, rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of G-d does man live." (8:3) R' Yehuda Leib Chasman z"l (died 1936) comments: This verse teaches us G-d's great love for the Jewish People. Imagine a child who refuses to eat the delicious and healthful food which has been prepared for him. The parent may coax the child, saying, "I know it's hard for you, but I will be so proud of you if you eat everything." Should it be hard for a child to eat his mother's delicious cooking? Should it have been hard for Bnei Yisrael to eat the mahn, which could taste like any delicacy and which enhanced the spirituality of those who ate it? Nevertheless, just as a loving parent may make a "big deal" when a child does what should come naturally, so Hashem makes a "big deal" over the smallest things that the Jewish People does. The prophet Yirmiyah says, "So said Hashem, `I remember for your sake the kindness [you showed] in your youth, when you followed Me into the desert, into a land which was not planted'." Did we really do a kindness for Hashem? Even the lowliest of the Jews attained prophecy at the Red Sea, so it is hardly surprising that they followed Hashem. Also, does it matter whether the "desert" is "planted" when one's traveling companion- Hashem- can bring the ten plagues and split the sea? Surely He can provide! Again, what Hashem's words to Yirmiyah reflect is His great love for the Jewish People, such that He makes a "big deal" over nothing. (Quoted in Haggadah Shel Pesach Knesset Yisrael Chevron p.169) ******** "You will eat and you will be satiated, and you shall bless Hashem, your G-d . . ." (8:10) The Gemara (Berachot 45a) states that three men who have eaten together should begin their bentching with special introductory phrases that one person does not recite when he has eaten alone (or with a second person). One of these phrases is, "Let us bless He of Whose we have eaten." If ten have eaten together, they modify this phrase and recite, "Let us bless Elokenu (i.e., our Elokim) of Whose we have eaten." Why was the Divine Name "Elokim" chosen, as opposed to some other Name? R' Natan Shapira of Horodna z"l (died 1577) offers the following insights: The halachah is that G-d's Name is mentioned in this part of bentching only if ten males over thirteen years old have eaten together. Ten men form a "kahal" / "congregation," and the gematria of "kahal" is 135. This is also the gematria of "Elokenu" in the form of gematria where each letter is substituted with the letter following it, as below: aleph -> bet = 2 lamed -> mem = 40 heh -> vav = 6 yud -> kaf = 20 nun -> samech =60 vav -> zayin = 7. (2+40+6+20+60+7=135.) The requirement that each of the ten men have attained the age of 13 also is alluded to in this Divine Name. The root of "Elokenu" is "Elokim." If each letter of that Name is spelled out (for example, "aleph" = "aleph, lamed, feh"; "lamed" = "lamed, mem, dalet"), the word will have 13 letters in all. The combined gematria of those 13 letters is 295, which is the gematria of the words: tzarah / trouble, retzeh / desire, and tzohar / light. We thus pray that even though eating often brings trouble / tzarah, Hashem should desire / retzeh our bentching and brings us "light" / tzohar. Also, this Name alludes to the fact that a group that has eaten together is obligated to share Torah thoughts at their meal. The gematria of "Elokim" is 86, which can be represented by the letters peh-vav. The letters which correspond to those two letters if one begins at the end of the aleph-bet and counts back are the two very same letters: vav-peh. If one takes the "hidden" gematria of the letters peh-vav-vav-peh, the result is 22. This is calculated as follows: "Peh" is spelled peh-heh. The "hidden" part is the heh, which equals 5. "Vav" is spelled vav-vav. The hidden part is the vav, which equals 6. This alludes to the 22 letters of the aleph-bet which are the building blocks of the whole Torah. Finally, the Name "Elokim" alludes to G-d's attribute of Strict Justice. By using that Name in our bentching, we remind ourselves that, were G-d to measure us using that attribute, we would not be deserving of the food which we have just eaten. (Seder Birkat Hamazon Im Peirush R' Natan Shapira Me'Horodna) ******** This Week in History, Halachah, and Minhag 18 Av: The Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 580:2) records a practice to fast on this day because the eternal western lamp of the menorah was extinguished on this date during the reign of King Achaz, in the First Temple period. Another view is that this event occurred on 17 Av. (Mishnah Berurah 580:6) For the above reason, some have a custom to leave a burning candle on the table on these dates. (Luach Davar B'ito p. 1255) In 5689 (1929), beginning on this date, Arabs massacred 133 Jews in Chevron and Tzefat, effectively ending the centuries-old Jewish settlement in Chevron until after the Six Day War. 20 Av: Today is 40 days before Rosh Hashanah. Some Sephardic communities have the custom to recite Hatarat Nedarim / annulment of vows every day beginning today. (Luach Davar B'ito p. 1255) 21 Av: R' Chaim Soloveitchik z"l, better known as R' Chaim Brisker or simply "Reb Chaim," passed away on this date in 5678 (1918). Reb Chaim a relatively small written record of chiddushei Torah, yet his style of learning was among the most influential in the past two centuries. R' Aharon Rokeach z"l, the Belzer Rebbe, whose miraculous escape from the Holocaust is retold in the book, Rescuing the Rebbe of Belz, passed away on this date in 5717 (1957). 22 Av 5058 (1298): R' Mordechai ben Hillel z"l Hy"d was massacred with his family. His halachic work, known simply as "The Mordechai," is printed in the back of the standard edition of the Talmud. 23 Av 5745 (1985): R' Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky z"l, known as the "Steipler Gaon," passed away.