Today's Learning Ketubot 13:7-8 O.C. 188:4-6 Sanhedrin 61 Yerushalmi-- Yevamot 49 Hamaayan/The Torah Spring edited by Shlomo Katz Naso Vol. IX, No. 35 (419), 12 Sivan 5755, June 10, 1995 One section of this week's parashah deals with the sotah, a woman whose husband has warned her to avoid the company of a certain man, and she is seen with him nevertheless. The Torah describes the miraculous way in which she (and at the same time, her husband and the other man) is tested for sin, and the reward which she will receive if she was wrongly suspected. The following section of the parashah presents the laws of the nazir, one who takes a vow of abstention. Why are these sections juxtaposed? Chazal answer: One who witnesses the downfall of a sotah should abstain from wine as a precaution for himself. Rav Yerucham Levovitz zatz'l explains that most people would say, "What does her downfall have to do with me? I may not be perfect, but I am far from being an adulterer!" "No," the Torah is teaching. "Do you think that the sotah became an adulteress overnight? When a person falls from the highest peak to the lowest pit, there are steps along the way. The sotah's first step--as well as the first step in many great downfalls--probably was overindulgence in material pleasures, something to which every person is susceptible." (Da'at Torah) ************************************ "A man or a woman or a woman who shall dissociate ('yafli') himself by taking a vow of abstinence. . ." (6:2) The word "yafli" ("dissociate") also means "will do something wondrous." It really is wondrous when someone takes such a vow because most people would rather indulge their desires. (Ibn Ezra) ************************************ "He shall not come near a dead person." (6:6) Ba'al Haturim explains the reason: So that if the nazir experiences Divine revelation as a result of his abstinence, he will not be suspected of black magic (which uses human bones in a ritual which mimics prophecy). Rav Yehuda Ze'ev Segal zatz'l elaborates: The Ba'al Haturim is teaching us that one who controls his appetites can in fact reach the level of Divine revelation. The gemara (Nedarim 9b) states that Shimon Hatzaddik (the kohen gadol) never ate from the sacrifices of a nazir until a met a certain young man. Shimon met a nazir who had the most beautiful locks of hair, and Shimon asked him: "What brought you to shave this beautiful hair?" [A nazir who completes his term must shave his hair.] The nazir explained, "I saw my reflection in a pond and realized my own beauty. Momentarily, I thought of sinning, but I said to my yetzer hara, 'You evil one--why do you take pride in a world which is not yours, and in which you will end up as dust. I swear I shall shave your hair for the sake of heaven'." This story teaches, says Rav Segal, that a person must speak to his yetzer hara and tell him that he doesn't agree to go along with him. One must literally shout at his yetzer hara. (Yir'ah Vada'at) ************************************ "Speak to Aharon and his sons, saying, 'Thus you shall bless Bnei Yisrael, say to them'." (6:23) The verses which follow set out the text of "Birkat Kohanim"--the priestly blessing. Rav Moshe Isserles ("Rema") zatz'l notes that the custom in the diaspora is that the kohanim perform this mitzvah only on yom tov. In most communities in Israel, Birkat Kohanim is performed daily. The reason for this distinction, says Rema, is that the Jews of the diaspora find it too difficult to concentrate on the performance of this mitzvah. This explanation is astonishing, writes Rav Moshe Sternbuch shlita. Since when can we excuse ourselves from performing a Torah mitzvah by saying that we can't concentrate? Besides, don't we want G-d's blessing? Birkat Kohanim was one part of the daily service that the kohanim performed in the Temple. Today, when the Bet Hamikdash does not stand, our prayers take the place of the Temple service. This is why Birkat Kohanim is recited as part of the chazzan's Shemoneh Esrei. However, not all prayers are equal. In fact, there are three categories of prayer. The lowest is "tefilat yachid"-- the prayer of an individual. The second is "tefilah betzibur"-- prayer with a congregation. The third and highest level is "tefilat hatzibur"-- the prayer of the congregation. What is the difference between the second and the third? The former is found when ten individuals pray together as a minyan, each reciting his own prayer silently; the latter occurs when one person prays and the others stand silently and listen. Only the last type of prayer truly parallels the Temple service, says Rav Sternbuch, for not every person brought the "korban tamid" (daily offering) in the Temple. Rather, the kohanim, as agents of the nation, brought one sacrifice on behalf of all Jews. It follows, therefore, that only in the context of "tefilat hatzibur" (the third type of prayer) can Birkat Kohanim be recited, for only then does the blessing parallel that which was recited in the Bet Hamikdash. However, Rema is teaching, we in the diaspora, being unable to concentrate on our prayers, never attain the level of "tefilat hatzibur" on a weekday. While the chazzan is repeating the Shemoneh Esrei, each member of the congregation is off in a world of his own. One is reading from a sefer, another is talking to his friend, a third is dozing, many are planning the work day ahead. Only on yom tov, when the shul is full, are we sure to have at least a minyan that is paying attention to the chazzan. Then, having achieved the level of "tefilat hatzibur", we can perform Birkat Kohanim. The situation in Israel is different for several reasons. Before this century, the Jewish community in Israel consisted of two groups: Sephardim whose ancestors were in Israel long before the practice arose for every member of the congregation to pray silently (they had only "tefilat hatzibur") and Ashkenazim whose ancestors had arrived with one of the "yeshiva-based" immigrations (e.g. the students of the Vilna Gaon) or with the early chassidic leaders, all of whom abandoned all material concerns and established communities in the Holy Land that adhered to the highest standards of observance. Both of these groups had no difficulty maintaining a sufficient level of concentration to allow for "tefilat hatzibur" and Birkat Kohanim. (Mo'adim U'zmanim: "Yom Tov" section 31) ************************************ [This week we reprint from four years ago one of the editor's favorite articles, which answers the question that has baffled many a school child: Since we "cannot" learn gemara without Rashi's commentary, how did Rashi and his teachers learn gemara?] The experienced student of gemara immediately recognizes the phrase "peireish hakuntreis"-"The notebook explained"-as the way that the "Ba'alei Tosfot"-the Ashkenazic scholars of the 12th-14th centuries-refer to the Talmud commentary of Rashi (1040-1105). In fact, the "Kuntreis" and the "Tosfot" represent the two primary contributions of medieval French and German scholars to the history of Torah study. According to an ancient tradition, there were Jews in Germany even before Shaul became the first king of Israel (circa 876 B.C.E.). (See note in Rashi, Shoftim 20:45.) However, it was to be 1600 years before the first yeshiva opened in northern Europe. This occurred in either 787 or 876 C.E., at the instigation of one of the Carolingian kings (either Charlemagne or Charles the Bald). Two more centuries passed before this yeshiva produced its greatest son--Rav Gershom ben Yehuda (960-1040), popularly known as Rabbenu Gershom "Me'or Hagolah"-"The Light of the Exile." (Rabbenu Gershom authored Talmud commentaries which are still studied today and was also one the most important teachers in the history of Ashkenazic Jewry. However, he is best known to the layman as the author of the ban on bigamy which is observed among Ashkenazic Jewry.) In the yeshivot of the Rhineland (i.e. the border between France and Germany), the common method of study was through "kuntreisim". Because the Talmud reflects both a language and a lifestyle which were unfamiliar to Ashkenazic Jews, it was the teacher's obligation to explain not only the intricate give-and-take of the gemara's discussion, but also the meaning of the words and the underlying concepts. (Thus, for example, Rashi states repeatedly in his commentaries to Eruvin and Sukkah, "The Babylonians have flat roofs, unlike our sloped roofs.") For their part, the students valued every lesson that they heard and sought to retain not only the lesson's content, but the key terminology as well. For this reason, each student recorded the lessons, in minute detail, in his notebook or "kuntreis." These notebooks were used in several ways. Firstly, each student used his own notebook to review the lessons that he had heard. Secondly, it was apparently common for students to exchange notebooks and to insert therein comments regarding each "author's" understanding of the lessons. Also, when a student studied a tractate for a second time, he would return to his earlier notebook and answer questions that he or his friends had noted there, clarify the material, and otherwise improve his grasp of the Talmud. Finally, these notebooks could be sent from one yeshiva to another in order to compare the explanations of different teachers, and could be used by students who transferred from other yeshivot in order to "catch-up" to their new colleagues. Many of these notebooks survived the deaths of their authors and were studied by future generations. The best known of these are "Kuntreis Magenza" from Rabbenu Gershom's yeshiva in Mainz, and the notebooks of Rashi's teachers, Rav Yaakov ben Yakar and Rav Yitzchak ben Yehuda. Rashi's notebook was not the only one, but became the kuntreis par excellence. ************************************ Donations to Hamaayan are tax-deductible.