Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Acharei Mot-Kedoshim "Blessings from Zion" Volume 24, No. 27 10 Iyar 5770 April 24, 2010 Sponsored by Alan Broder and Jeff Lawrence in honor of the many volunteers and supporters who are making the new mikvah in Silver Spring a reality Today's Learning: Nach: Tehilim 13-14 Machshirin 3:4-5 O.C. 461:3-5 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Sanhedrin 71 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Pe'ah 34 The Midrash Rabbah on Parashat Kedoshim cites the verse (Tehilim 20:3), "May He dispatch your help from the kodesh / sanctuary, and support you from Zion." The midrash comments: Rabbi Levi said: All good things, blessings and consolations which G-d will give Yisrael in the future will come from Zion. Salvation [comes from Zion], as it is written (Tehilim 14:7), "O, that out of Zion would come Yisrael's salvation." Strength comes from Zion, as it is written (Tehilim 110:2), "Hashem will dispatch the staff of your strength from Zion." Blessing comes from Zion, as it is written (Tehilim 134:3), "May Hashem bless you from Zion." The shofar [of redemption] comes from Zion, as it is written (Yoel 2:1), "Sound a shofar in Zion." Dew, blessing, and life come from Zion, as it is written (Tehilim 133:3), "Like the dew of Chermon descending on the mountains of Zion, for there Hashem has commanded the blessing. May there be life forever!" Torah comes from Zion, as it is written (Yeshayah 2:3), "For from Zion the Torah shall go forth." And, [Divine] aid and assistance come from Zion, as it is written, "May He dispatch your help from the kodesh, and support you from Zion." Your thoughts come from kodesh / holy places, and your deeds from Zion. Hashem said to Moshe, "Go tell Yisrael my sons, `Just as I am separate, so you shall be separate; just as I am holy, so you shall be holy'." Thus our parashah states, "You shall be holy." [Until here from the midrash] R' Yitzchak Ze'ev Yadler z"l (1843-1917; Yerushalayim) explains several aspects of this midrash. What does it mean that good things, blessings, etc. will come from Zion in the future? Zion is the place of Divine revelation. Thus, the midrash is telling us that, in the future, we will see in a clearly revealed manner that everything comes from Hashem. What does the midrash mean when it says, "Your thoughts come from holy places, and your deeds from Zion"? Beliefs, good character traits and the thoughts that accompany mitzvah performance reflect the holiness of the heart, for the degree to which one thinks proper thoughts will depend on the holiness of his heart. Deeds are connected to Zion, which is related to the word which means "to stand out," for it is our performance of mitzvot that most causes us to stand out from the nations, R' Yadler explains. Finally, R' Yadler writes, the midrash ends with a promise. If we will sanctify ourselves to the greatest degree that we can through our Torah and mitzvot, Hashem will sanctify us even more in the future. (Tiferet Zion) ******** "And the he-goat designated by lot for azazel shall be stood alive before Hashem, to provide atonement through it, to send it to azazel to the wilderness." (16:10) This mitzvah is very difficult to understand, for we appear (G-d forbid) to be offering a sacrifice to a force other than G-d. R' Moshe Cordevero z"l (1522-1570) explains as follows, as elaborated upon by R' Mordechai Scheinberger shlita (Yerushalayim): It is Hashem's Will that anything associated with sin be eradicated from the world. This is the reason why an animal that was used for an immoral act is killed (Vayikra 20:15), and why the stone or sword that was used to execute a criminal is buried. This is also the reason why evildoers like Pharaoh and Haman were killed or died as soon as their tasks were finished. While they lived, they were Hashem's rods to punish Bnei Yisrael, but as soon as Bnei Yisrael repented and the missions of the oppressors were completed, Hashem did not want the oppressors to exist any longer. One reason is that when Bnei Yisrael repent, our sins cease to exist, and the tools for punishing us have no reason to exist. This is symbolized by the he-goat designated for azazel. When we sin, our sins themselves become rods to punish us. [Most simply, we can understand that the sins punish us by distancing us from G-d.] Thus, when we repent, all memory of our sins must be eradicated. Accordingly, the goat bears our sins to the wilderness, and there it is destroyed. (Tomer Devorah, ch.1, middah 9; Va'yomer Moshe p.75) ******** "Every man-[your] father and mother you shall revere, and My Sabbaths you shall observe; I am Hashem, your G-d. Do not turn to the idols, and molten gods shall you not make for yourselves; I am Hashem, your G-d." (19:3-4) Why are these verses adjacent to each other? R' Eliyahu Capsali z"l (Crete; 1490-1555) explains that one cannot attain kedushah / holiness if he does not first feel yirah / awe toward his parents. The Torah teaches (Bereishit 8:21), "The inclination of man's heart is evil from his youth." Thus, if not that a person's parents guide him step-by-step toward mitzvot and good deeds in general, he would certainly rebel against his King. [Ed. note: Even if one's parents are not strictly-speaking Torah-observant, they have likely guided him toward good deeds and even many mitzvot.] R' Capsali writes further: We read (Devarim 27:15-16), "Accursed is the man who will make a graven or molten image, an abomination of Hashem, a craftsman's handiwork, and emplace it in secret; and the entire people shall speak up and say, `Amen.' Accursed is one who degrades his father or mother; and the entire people shall say, `Amen'." Why are these curses adjacent to each other? It is as if the Levi'im are stating: What kind of person would deny G-d and worship an idol? A person who would curse his parents. (Me'ah She'arim ch.5) ******** Pirkei Avot "If two people are sitting and there are no words of Torah passing between them, this is called a session of scorners, as it is written (Tehilim 1:1-2), `[Praiseworthy is the man who did not walk in the counsel of the wicked . . . ] and did not sit in a session of scorners. [Rather, his only desire is the Torah of Hashem.]'" (Avot, Ch. 3) R' Moshe Sofer z"l (1763-1839; the Chatam Sofer; foremost rabbi and rosh yeshiva in 19th century Hungary) asks: The verse that praises the tzaddik for not sitting "in a session of scorners" implies that a tzaddik may sit with one scorner. Can this be? He answers that the verse must be understood as follows: Man is a combination of two competing parts--the intellect and the body. The body is naturally drawn toward joining forces with the yetzer hara, while the intellect remains aloof. The intellect is the tzaddik, and the yetzer hara and the body are the two scorners. Only through Torah study can the intellect / tzaddik attract the body / scorner to his side. Thus, if a person is not studying Torah, his intellect is like a tzaddik sitting among two scorners. "Praiseworthy is the man who did not sit in a session of scorners." Says our Mishnah: If two people are sitting and no words of Torah are passing between them, each of them is sitting in a session of scorners. (Masechet Avot Im Peirush Ha'Chatam Sofer) ******** A Proclamation from the Chafetz Chaim Regarding "Taharat Hamispachah" / "Purity in Family Matters" Behold! The foundation of the House of Israel is the Torah and the mitzvot which are our inheritance from our ancestors, and our nation is not a nation except when it keeps the Torah and mitzvot (as R' Sa'adiah Gaon wrote). The foundation of the holiness of our nation is [reflected in the blessing recited at a wedding], "He sanctified us through His mitzvot and instructed us regarding improper relationships." [This refers to] the purity of the family and the purity of the daughters of Israel, a matter regarding which the daughters of Israel were always very meticulous, taking extreme care with every law and custom. Historically, they were never suspect, G-d forbid, of transgressing the laws of this matter, which carries the penalty of karet. But, how very much the heart hurts, for in our present times [i.e., 5688 / 1928], due to our many sins, the boundaries have been crossed even regarding this matter. Lines have been crossed which lead ultimately to assimilation such as could never have been imagined. The laws of purity in family matters and immersing in a mikvah are completely disregarded. Woe to us that this occurred in our days! The new movements, which deny everything holy, the poor state of Jewish education, and general ignorance [of Torah knowledge]--they have brought about this dangerous state. . . We have heard terrible things from Russia regarding this subject. The pogroms and persecution which have destroyed so many beautiful homes and holy places have likewise destroyed the mikvaot. In many communities, there is no mikvah at all. In those towns where a mikvah remains, it is closed by the thugs of the Yevsektia [the Jewish section of the Soviet Communist party], whose only goal is to uproot the foundations of our religion; therefore, they have sought pretenses for closing the mikvaot. Now is the time to act for Hashem's sake. It is our holy duty, and that of all of the rabbis and the communal workers who are loyal to Hashem and His Torah, to awaken our brethren wherever they are with words that will pierce them like fire, to clarify the seriousness of the matter of taharat hamishpachah, and the great danger that arises from neglecting proper immersion in a mikvah. Be strong, and strengthen yourself more, to restore taharat hamishpachah to its former status. . . Signed: Yisrael Meir Hakohen of Radin [Rabbi] Chaim Ozer Grodzenski, Vilna