Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz "It's a Local Call" Ha'azinu Volume 24, No. 47 3 Tishrei 5771 September 11, 2010 Sponsored by Aaron and Rona Lerner in memory of mother Faiga Reva bat Yoel Aharon a"h (Fay Lerner) The Greengart family in memory of father Zvi ben Ben Zion a"h (Harry Greengart) Today's Learning: Daf Yomi (Bavli): Avodah Zarah 28 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Terumot 27 The Midrash Tanchuma comments on the verse in our parashah (32:4), "The Rock! -- perfect is His work," as follows: The prophet Yeshayah said (55:6 - in the haftarah for fast days, including Tzom Gedaliah), "Seek Hashem when He can be found; call Him when He is near." [This implies that He is sometimes not found and not near.] Why then did King David say (Divrei Hayamim I (16:11), "Search out Hashem and His Might, seek His Presence always"? This teaches that Hashem is sometimes seen and sometimes not seen; sometimes He hears and sometimes He is not willing to hear. Sometimes He answers and sometimes He does not answer. Sometimes He is sought out and sometimes He is not sought out. Sometimes He can be found and sometimes He cannot be found. Sometimes He is close and sometimes He is not close. [His behavior towards us depends on our behavior toward Him; therefore, we should seek Him always. (Based on Be'ur Ha'amarim).] The midrash continues: When Bnei Yisrael were in Egypt toiling as slaves, it says (Shmot 2:24), "G-d heard their moaning." After they sinned we read (Devarim 1:45), "Hashem did not listen to your voice and He did not listen to you." When Yisrael repents, Hashem can be found by them, as it is written (Devarim 4:29), "From there you will seek Hashem, your Elokim, and you will find Him, if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul." We read further (Yirmiyah 4:14), "Cleanse your heart of evil, [people of] Yerushalayim, so that you may be saved." But if not, then (Yirmiyah 2:22) "Even were you to wash yourself with detergent, and use much soap upon yourself, your iniquity is as the mark of a stain before Me." Therefore Yeshayah said, "Seek Hashem when He can be found; call Him when He is near" [i.e., when you have repented (Be'ur Amarim)] ******** "Yeshurun became fat and kicked." (32:15) R' Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook z"l (1865-1935; Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael) writes: We have a tradition that there will be a spiritual revolt in Eretz Yisrael and among the Jewish People in the very era in which the national life of our People reawakens. The reason is that the material tranquility that part of our nation will experience will lead it to believe that it already has attained its ultimate goal, thus causing the soul to become smaller, so-to-speak. Yearning for lofty and holy ideals will cease, and, as a natural consequence, the spirit will sink. Eventually, a storm will come and cause a revolution, and then it will be apparent that Yisrael's strength lies in the Eternal Holy One, in the light of His Torah, and in the desire for spiritual light. (Orot p.84) ******** "Were they wise they would comprehend this, they would discern it from their end." (32:29) R' Simcha Zissel Ziv z"l (the Alter of Kelm; died 1898) writes: It is human nature that simple folk follow the lead of wealthy individuals. What the wealthy declare to be good, the simple folk will desire. What the wealthy declare to be undesirable, the simple folk will disdain. In contrast, very few individuals pay attention to what the King of the Universe desires. We are called upon to have Yirat Hashem / Fear and Awe of G-d, which Rashi interprets (in his commentary to Shabbat 31a) as despising that which G-d despises. Why is this the case? Simply because we are not aware of our obligations. Such knowledge can come about only through deep study and analysis. This is what our verse refers to when it states: "Were they wise they would comprehend this." If man would apply sufficient study and analysis to the matter, he would be very conscious of his eventual end and he would discern what his real task in this world is. The Gemara (Shabbat 153a) relates that Rabbi Eliezer taught: "Repent one day before you die." His students asked, "Does one know when he will die?" "Therefore, one must repent every day," Rabbi Eliezer replied. To whom was R' Eliezer speaking? R' Ziv asks. His students were not simpletons; rather, they included the likes of Rabbi Akiva. Therefore, there must be a deeper message in his words, specifically that one must always reflect on the approaching day of death. Only this can instill in a person proper Yirat Hashem. (Ha'sefer Ha'kattan ch.19) ******** "For I shall raise My hand to Heaven and say, `As I (Anochi) live forever'." (32:40) R' Moshe Hager shlita (the Vizhnitzer Rebbe in Bnei Brak, Israel) observes: Raising one's hands to Heaven refers to prayer. This verse teaches that one's prayer should be primarily motivated by a desire to increase G-d's honor, the honor of "Anochi" (a reference to G-d, as in the first word of the Ten Commandments). We are taught that the Shechinah shares in our pain (see Tehilim 91:15). [One way to understand this concept is that G-d created the world as an act of kindness, and He is disappointed (so-to-speak) when our deeds prevent Him from practicing kindness toward us.] Therefore, if we pray for the Shechinah's pain to end, any pain or suffering we are experiencing will necessarily end as well. (Sichot U'ma'amarei Kodesh p.213) A related thought: R' Mordechai Schwab z"l (1911-1994; mashgiach ruchani of Mesivta Bais Shraga in Monsey, New York) writes: We read in Shir Ha'shirim (5:2), "Open your heart to Me, My sister, My love, My dove, tamati / My perfection." The midrash comments: Read "tamati" as "te'omati" / "My twin." Just as one twin feels the other twin's pain, so Hashem feels our pain. (On other occasions, R' Schwab analogized Hashem's reaction to our suffering to the pain a surgeon would feel if he operated on his own child.) R' Schwab adds: R' Yosef Karo z"l (1488-1575; author of the Shulchan Aruch) used to be visited regularly by an angel, whose teachings to R' Karo are recorded in the work Maggid Meisharim. The angel told R' Karo: If you knew and felt the pain that the Shechinah feels when you sin, you would be so saddened that you would be unable to enjoy the taste of food. Furthermore, if we would focus all of our prayers solely on ending the suffering of the Shechinah (so-to-speak), we would be assured of being answered, and the Final Redemption would occur. (Kovetz Sichot Ma'amar Mordechai Vol. I, p.9) Another related thought: R' Chaim of Volozhin z"l (a leading student of the Vilna Gaon; founder of the first yeshiva in the format known today; died 1821) observes that much of the Shemoneh Esrei prayer on the High Holidays is not, as we might have expected, about our personal needs and requests, but rather is about our desire that G-d's Name be revealed to the entire world. That is what should actually be the focus of our prayers. (Nefesh Ha'chaim II, ch.11) ******** Shabbat and Teshuvah This Shabbat is known as "Shabbat Shuvah," a name derived from the first word of the haftarah that is read today. Some refer to it as "Shabbat Teshuvah" / "The Sabbath of Repentance." Indeed, there is a close relationship between Shabbat and Teshuvah. R' Menachem Benzion Sacks z"l (rosh yeshiva in Chicago; died 1987) observes that there is a phonetic similarity between the words "Shabbat" and "Teshuvah." In addition, the midrash relates that when the first man, Adam, first learned that the possibility of Teshuvah exists, he exclaimed the verse that later became Tehilim 92:1, "Mizmor shir l'yom ha'Shabbat" / "A song to the Sabbath." What lies at the essence of the connection between Shabbat and Teshuvah? R' Sacks explains: Shabbat brings a new soul to the one who observes it--the so-called "Neshamah Yetairah." When observed properly, Shabbat lifts a person out of the vale of tears and raises him to a place of holiness. The halachah requires that Sheva Berachot for a bride and groom be recited after the wedding night only if someone is present who was not present for Sheva Berachot on a previous day. The exception is on Shabbat, because Shabbat brings about "panim chadashot" / "new faces." It is not Shabbat that is the "new face," as some understand, but rather each of us who has a new face on Shabbat. All of the above is accomplished by Teshuvah as well. Teshuvah raises its practitioner from the lowest depths and brings him close to G-d exactly as Shabbat does. (Menachem Zion: Yerach Ha'eitanim p.101-102)