Thursday, July 12, 2012
Ask the Raavad
9:55 PM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
QUESTIONS
and ANSWERS
QA Responses to your halachic questions
from senior posek
RAV
MOSHE STERNBUCH
Raavad of Yerushalayim
QA Your questions in hashkafah and machshavah
By Rabbi Daniel
Travis based on divrei halacha heard from Rav Moshe Sternbuch, rosh av bais din
of Yerushalayim. Questions may be sent to editor@yated. com and selected
answers will be printed in this column. The answers given here are the general rule,
but each case has its merits and drawbacks and must be referred
to a posek.
Question: I understand that any food
that can be eaten raw does not present a problem of bishul akum. Today,
many people enjoy raw fish in the form of
sushi. Does this mean that the prohibition of bishul akum does not apply to fish?
Another question I have is regarding the halacha of nechal al shulchan
melachim,
i.e., bishul akum only
applies to a food that is served at a stately banquet. What if a food is cooked
in a place where a food is in this category and then brought to a place where
the food does not fit in this category? Does this remove the prohibition of bishul akum?
Thanks.
Asher Sebbag
Answer: In regard to your first
question about cooking fish, the vast majority of fish is not used for
this purpose, so the fact that fish is used
today for sushi does not remove the prohibition of bishul akum. If there is a fish whose
majority use is for sushi, then the prohibition of bishul akum would not apply to it.
As far as your second question is concerned,
if food is cooked by a non-Jew in a place where it is fit to be served at a
stately banquet, then it is considered bishul akum and is prohibited. However,
if that food is taken to a place where it
is not fit to be served at such an affair,
since it is no longer considered to be oleh al shulchan melachim, it is permitted to be
eaten.
The reason for this is that the prohibition of
bishul akum is
eating it, not cooking it, so it is permitted as long as one does not eat it in
a place where it is oleh al Shulchan melachim.
Question: I am a working mother and have
non-Jewish help in our home. I leave the house early in the morning and only
return later in the afternoon, and I would like my non-Jewish help to cook
lunch for my children. Is there anything I can do to avoid the problem of bishul akum?
Very grateful,
Lynn G.
Answer: The Rama (Yoreh Deah 113:7) mentions a number of
ways that Ashkenazim can
avoid the problem
of bishul akum. One way is for a Jew to participate in
making the fire. In this vein, Rav Yisroel Salanter would go to the non- Jewish
bakery and throw a cigarette into the fire.
Another option the Rama mentions is for the non-Jew
to take from a fire started by a Jew. If you have a gas stove with a pilot light
that a Jew lit, then every time you light the fire of the stove, it is as if
you are taking from the
fire lit by the Jew. This makes it as if a
Jew lit the fire. Some factories rely on a heter of putting the equipment on a timer that
turns it on every day.
While this leniency is acceptable for a
one-time use of an appliance, it cannot be relied upon on a daily basis, but
rather one must reset the timer every day that he wishes to use it, and this
way it is as if a Jew turned it on every day.
Some rabbonim, like Rav Eliyahu Falk, do not permit this
method, for they do not consider this to be as if the Jew lit the fire.
Some factories have the mashgiach light the machinery every day
via a cell phone. Since the mashgiach is restarting the equipment every day, this
is an acceptable way to avoid the prohibition of bishul akum. Therefore, this is
considered an acceptable way to avoid bishul akum. The Rama mentions another heter of throwing a small piece
of
wood into the oven. In this vein, some
factories have a light bulb in the oven that adds a minute amount of heat to
the oven. This is not an acceptable way to permit bishul akum, since a new action is not
being performed each day.
Question: Does the prohibition of bishul akum apply to cooking or heating
up food in a microwave oven?
Thank you.
Avraham Dovid
Michael Salasnik
Answer: The halacha of a microwave depends on
whether we consider it to be like kavush, pickling,
which is not considered cooking, or like
regular cooking. Since a microwave can cook food in a
similar and at times equal way as cooking on
a fire, the prohibition of bishul akum applies.
Hashem takes care of the yeshivos
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
Political success
Bolok
the son of Zippor saw… Bolok the son of Zippor was king of Moav at that time (22:2-4)
Why
does it not say straight away that Bolok was the king of Moav? He was not the
king initially, but only became a monarch after he had started spreading
propaganda about the danger posed by the Jews to his nation. Throughout history
any anti-Jewish platform has been a sure recipe for political success.
Similarly, today in Eretz
Yisroel politicians vie with
each other as to who can come up with the most venomous anti-chareidi policy.
Bilom’S Blessing
Whomever
you bless is blessed and whomever you curse is cursed (22:6)
If Billom had the power to bless, why did
Bolok not ask him to bless him for success in his attempts to wage war against
the Jews, instead of asking him to take the circuitous path of cursing the
nation so that they could not succeed?
The urge of anti-Semites
throughout history to witness the downfall and suffering of their (real or
imagined) enemies was stronger than their concern for their own welfare. That
was why Bolok preferred Bilom to curse the Jews rather than bless him.
Alternatively, by
natural standards, Moav had nothing to worry about, since they were situated in
their own territory with a mighty army, as opposed to the Jews who were
isolated in the wilderness, and Bolok’s only fear was from the Might of Hashem,
who in His love for His nation would fight for them supernaturally. Hence, any
blessings by Bilom for Bolok to succeed in his battles with the Jews would be
totally futile, because Hashem was with them. Only by cursing them with his
evil eye, and bringing out some defect in them, was there any chance that Bilom
could succeed in his efforts for Hashem to take away His divine protection from
His nation.
Avoiding blessings from the wicked
You
shall not go with them! You shall not curse the people because they are blessed
(22:12).
Rashi: He said to Him, “If so, I will curse them in my place.” He replied to
him, “You shall not curse the people.” He said, “If so, I will bless them.” He
replied, “They do not need your blessing, ‘for they are blessed.’” As the
saying goes, “We say to the wasp, ‘Neither your honey, nor your sting.’”
Why would Bilom, who
hated the Jews so much, want to bless them?
The so-called blessings
of the wicked are no less detrimental to us than their manifest curses, and no
good can come from them. Bilom’s request from Hashem was that all the blessings
of the Jews should come from him, because that would effectively ruin them as
much as an outright curse from him. Hashem responded that he had no permission
to bless the Jews, because they were themselves the source of all blessings,
and had no need for any of his.
During the Second World War, Rav Moshe
Schneider’s yeshiva suffered terrible financial straits, but even when there
was no bread to feed the boys, Rav Schneider refused offers from mechalalei
Shabbos to come to the yeshiva’s rescue, arguing that in order to ensure
its continued success, the funds supporting the yeshiva had to come only from
pure sources. In a similar vein, Rav Chaim Brisker zt”l , said that the Volozhiner Yeshiva eventually closed down,
because the people responsible for collecting funds for it had not been particular
about the character of the donors, and this had affected the kedusha of
the Yeshiva.
Faith
What
have I done to you that you have struck me these three times (22:28). Rashi: He
hinted to him, “You seek to uproot a nation which celebrates three festivals in
a year”?
Why did Hashem
praise the Jews specifically for this mitzvah?
When the
Jews performed the mitzvah of aliyo loregel three times a year, leaving
their homes exposed to thieves and plunderers in reliance on the divine promise
that "no one shall covet your country", that was the ultimate demonstration of faith
in Hashem. It is this superior quality of faith which has sustained us each and
every generation, and continues to sustain us, whenever anyone seeks to harm or
destroy us.
Hashem was
rebuking Bilom for attempting to uproot a nation with such steadfast faith, and
telling him that no curse by any mortal could have an effect on a nation which
placed its faith in Hashem so fearlessly.
Eternal
Torah
It is a
people (am) that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations
(goyim) (23:9)
Rav Elchonon
Wasserman zt”l hy“d was once in London
Bilom was
saying that the Jewish nation shall dwell alone, it does not need to be an “am”,
because it differs from the rest of the world population in its religion and
customs, and is therefore distinguished as a nation in its own right without
having its own territory. Nor shall it be reckoned as a “goy”, because
territory is not required in order to make it into a nation, and the reason we
yearn to live in Eretz Yisroel is on account of its sanctity and the mitzvos
which can only be observed there, but our national essence is not dependent on
living there.
He
continued to expand on this theme, even though his audience was becoming
sparser by the minute, as the majority consisted of Zionists who walked out in
protest. Rav Sternbuch recalls that by the time he had finished there was
barely a minyan left. Rav Elchonon, who knew from experience about the
likely response to his words of rebuke, and the consequent loss of donors,
explained to his amazed questioners who remained behind that he felt it to be his
duty to increase kvod shomayim (the Honor of Heaven) regardless of the
consequences. Hashem has guaranteed the eternity of Torah and Torah learners,
and He would surely find a way to support his yeshiva.
Here in Eretz
Yisroel, not only our spiritual but our physical existence is dependent on
the undisturbed functioning of the yeshivas and kolelim. Rav
Sternbuch noted at a demonstration two weeks ago that as servants of Hashem, we
have no authority to agree to any “compromises" regarding the issue of
drafting yeshiva or kollel students, who make up the soldiers of
Hashem’s army, and that their task at this time is to reinforce their Torah and
yiroh.
the
Segulo of Kerias Shma
And they were weeping at
the entrance of the Ohel Moed (25:6)
The Targum
Yonoson comments that the bnei Yisroel were saying Kriyas Shma. This
teaches us about the great power of Kriyas Shma recited with devotion.
At a time when the powers of tumoh represented by Bilom achieved some
success in making inroads into the sanctity of the Jewish nation and lowering
their superior level when the nosi of a tribe committed such a serious
transgression, the nation decided to reinforce their kedusha by reciting
Kriyas Shma.
When we
recite Kriyas Shma properly in the mornings or evenings we inject
holiness into all our limbs and destroy the mazikin (evil spirits),
which have been created as a result of our sins. For this reason the gemoro
(Masseches Berochos 12b) says that if it would not have been too much of
a burden on the public, Chazal would
have instituted the recital of parshas
Bolok together with Kriyas Shma
in order to remind us of the power of Kriyas Shma and the
necessity of reciting it with the
appropriate level of concentration. When we are meyached shmo properly
the forces of kedusha are increased and the forces of tumo
disappear on their own.
Tapping into previous generation
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
Educational advice
Have
them take for you a perfectly red unblemished cow, upon which no yoke was laid (19:2)
A
perfectly red unblemished cow is very difficult to come by, and can only be
located after much effort. Clearly, obtaining tahara (purification) from
tumas mes (the impurity of a dead body) was not meant to be an easy
task. Similarly, anyone seeking to purify himself from his evil ways must
realize that his goal can only be achieved after expending a lot of effort.
A cow,
which had a yoke laid on it, was not qualified to serve as a poro adumo.
(the red heifer) This teaches us that if the holy is intermingled with the
secular this diminishes from the potency of the tahara, which is inherent in the holy component.
From the outset all the objects and the actions surrounding the poro adumo
had to be infused with complete kedusho.
If we want
our children to grow up dedicated to serving Hashem and His Torah, we have to
make a point of inculcating unadulterated Torah and yiras shomayim (fear
of heaven) from the outset, without any secular components at all. That way our
efforts to ensure that they acquire a love of Torah and mitzvos are
likely to be crowned with success.
Why we wear yarmulkes
Any
open vessel which has no seal fastened around it becomes unclean (19:15)
This possuk
may be taken as a general instruction to "fasten" our openings. We
must endeavor to maintain control over our mouths and thoughts, and make sure
that we do not speak or even think things contrary to the Will of Hashem. In
the absence of such control tumah will become embedded in our neshomos.
It is
clear from the gemoro (Masseches Shabbos 156b) that the purpose of
covering our heads is to increase yiras shomayim. Rav Shimon Sofer zt”l¸ the Rav of Krakow adds that head
coverings on a Jewish boy or man teach him the lesson that he has to rein in
his thoughts and control his imagination.
Interestingly,
one of the first actions undertaken by the first generations of anti-religious maskilim,
who rebelled against their religious upbringing, was to take off their
yarmulkes. By doing so they demonstrated that their thoughts were no longer
subjugated to any higher purpose, and certainly not to daas Torah and chazal.
Jewish mother
The
congregation had no water (20:2) Rashi: From here we learn that all the
forty years they had the well in Miriam’s merit.
The mon
came down in the merit of Moshe Rabbeinu¸ and the anonei
hakovod hovered above them in the merit of Aharon. Why did they require the
merit of Miriam specifically for water, the most basic commodity of human
existence?
The ideal
Jewish mother is an akeres bayis, a housewife, the mainstay of the whole
household, who is always next to her children, and raises them from the very
first day. She lays the foundations for the continued existence of the Jewish
home, be it in matters of tznius, kashrus, chesed¸
hospitality, and so on. It is within her power to maintain the purity of the
home and to prevent foreign influences from infiltrating into it.
This is the lesson of Miriam’s well. The righteous women of each
generation are the cornerstones of the nation, and they preserve the kedusha and tahara
of their households. Miriam was the role model for Jewish women from her day to
our own times, and the water which the whole nation enjoyed in her merit
symbolized the basic and essential role of the Jewish mother.
Significance of each individual
The
Canaanite king of Arad
They were obligated to wage war for the sake of saving even one
maidservant from the danger of assimilation. Every individual is indispensable,
because all the upper worlds derive their sustenance from the avoda of each and every one of us in
this world, and we cannot imagine the importance and preciousness of each yiddishe neshomo. This should inspire
us not only to improve our own avodas Hashem,
but also to do more to draw even one person closer to his Maker. Anyone who
succeeds in doing so is to be envied.
Wells of TOrah and Yiroh
A well
dug by princes, carved out by nobles of the people (21:18)
Targum Yonoson
writes: “the well which was dug by the forefathers
Avrohom, Yitzchok and Yaakov… was dug by the heads of the nation Moshe and
Aharon”. In other words, the leadership and avodo of Moshe and Aharon
was based on the avodo of our holy forefathers, and without their
preparation and efforts, the Jewish nation would not have merited what they did
in the generation of Moshe and Aharon.
We mentioned above that that is not easy for a person to purify himself from his
evil ways. On the other hand, we must it that if we
persevere we can easily reach extremely high levels, since the generations
preceding us have already dug wells consisting of water filled with Torah and yiras
shomayim from which we can
benefit. All we have to do is to tap into those potential treasure
troves by means of our own avodo.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Respecting talmidei chachomim
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
pride and humility
The medrash says
"What motivated Korach to make a dispute with Moshe Rabenu? He saw
the section dealing with para adumo”. The commentators have difficulties
understanding this medrash.
In the mitzvah of para adumo
we are commanded to use the cedar tree, which symbolizes pride, and, by
contrast, the hyssop, which symbolizes humility. The para adumo was metaher
teme’im and metame tehorim. (it made those who were impure pure and
made impure the ones that were pure) Pride is one of the most severe sins, but
sometimes it is essential to utilize it. If a person, when first embarking on
his avodas Hashem, tells himself that he is nothing, then that can
become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead, he must initially use the qualities
of the cedar tree and strive for greatness. For example, Rav Moshe Schneider zt”l
would point out to each of his students that they had great potential and inherent
greatness. Only once a person has managed to realize some of his potential,
should he start using the qualities of the hyssop, and remind himself of how
far he still has to go to completely fulfill his potential.
Korach learnt from parshas
para adumo that even someone
who has not yet attained the superior levels of holy people should endeavor to
attain them. Although the Rambam does say that everyone is obligated to strive
to attain the level of Moshe Rabbeinu, Korach in his great desire to emulate
Moshe and Aharon, thought that if he would only obtain a position similar to
theirs, he would also be able to reach their high levels. His mistake lay in
assuming that obtaining a high position is a prerequisite for greatness (see
more on this below), and in failing to accept Hashem’s decree regarding the
appointments of Moshe and Aharon.
Alternatively,
Korach was hinting at the fact that the para adumo came to atone for the
chet hoegel, (sin of the Golden Calf) and his argument was that since Aharon had
still not achieved complete atonement for that sin, there was no reason why he
should be more suitable for the kehuna than Korach.
Good intentions not enough
“And Doson and Avirom” (16:1). Rashi: He dressed them with cloaks made
entirely of blue wool. They came and stood before Moshe and asked him, “Does a
cloak made entirely of blue wool require tzizis, or is it exempt?” He replied,
“It does require tzizis.” They began laughing at him saying, "Is it
possible that by a cloak of another material, one string of blue wool exempts
it, and this one, which is made entirely of blue wool, should not exempt itself?”
The talis made entirely of
techeles was an allusion to the argument that since the entire congregation
was holy they did not need a leader. Although not every member of the nation
might be on the level of Moshe and Aharon, their intentions were good, and Moshe
and Aharon had no right to lord it over their coreligionists. Surely, they
concluded, Moshe Rabenu was only
interested in leadership for his own purposes. Moshe replied that even a tallis
is made only of techeiles it was still not exempt from the mitzvah of tzitzis. In other words, good
intentions are not enough, and the nation does need a leader.
The early Christians lehavdil
also argued that a good heart and a person's intentions were the main qualities
which Hashem is interested in, and therefore most of the divine commandments
could and should be dispensed with. Similarly, one still comes across some
not-yet observant Jews who defend their way of life by claiming that they have
a "Jewish heart” and that is the main thing. In reality, of course, the
Torah expects us to combine physical mitzvos with pure intentions, and
both are indispensable.
The art of forgiveness
“Moshe heard and fell on his face
(16:4). Rashi: because of the
rebellion, for this was already their fourth offense. When they sinned with the
calf, “Moshe pleaded”; in the episode of the complainers, “Moshe prayed”; with
the spies, “Moshe said to Hashem, ‘But the Egyptians will hear…” , but now, at
Korah’s rebellion, he became disheartened”.
The gemoro in Masseches
Yomo (87a) relates the
following episode. There was a butcher who offended Rav. On erev yom kippur that butcher did not come to Rav to ask his
forgiveness, and so Rav decided to go to him to give him the opportunity to
appease Rav. However, instead, the butcher told that him that he had nothing to
say to him. After that he suffered a work accident and was killed.
This gemoro teaches us a big chiddush: someone who has
offended another person must degrade himself and beg forgiveness from his
victim. Rav surely forgave the butcher in his heart, but that was not enough. For
that reason he went out of his way to give his "enemy" a chance to
obtain forgiveness, but he lost that chance.
Here too, Moshe made himself available and
waited for Korach to seek his forgiveness. When he saw that this was not happening,
he realized that this was a very problematic situation as far as Korach was
concerned. Although he could ask Hashem once again to forgive Korach’s
rebellion against Hashem, as he had done on three previous occasions, and he
could also forgive Korach in his heart for the offence against himself, he knew
that that would be not be enough until Korach himself would ask Moshe Rabbeinu
for forgiveness. That was why Moshe fell on his face, not knowing what to do.
“Careers" in the TORAH world
“Is it but a small thing for you
that Hashem has separated you from the congregation of Yisroel to draw you
close to Him…” (16:9)
Rav Yecheskel Abramsky zt”l used to apply this possuk
to a ben Torah who dedicates his
entire life to Torah. He said that someone who sits in the Beis Hamedrash and sanctifies himself
through Torah, should not think in terms of obtaining a position in the Torah
world. The best "position" a person can attain is to be a ben Torah and thereby cleave to
Hashem. Accordingly, the possuk is saying the following: “Is the “position”
of being a member of shevet levi, or a ben Torah, through which Hashem
draws you close to Him, such a small thing, that you now also seek the kehuno. Why are you looking for a more important position than to be a member of shevet levi, or to be a ben Torah? You
will not find any better position than that.”
Hashem separated shevet levi, and every ben torah, from the rest of the
congregation, and He has great expectations from them than from the rest of the nation. This position comes with responsibilities
attached to it. Hashem wants a
ben Torah to maintain sacrosanct learning schedules, get up on time, and
not whenever he feels like it etc. If he accepts the yoke of Torah, Hashem will
remove the yoke of making a living from him.
Disgracing talmidei
chachomim
“If one man sins, shall You be
angry with the whole congregation” (16:22)
If only Korach himself sinned,
why was Hashem in fact angry with the whole congregation?
Their sin consisted in not
protesting, or not protesting enough, the way Korach had publicly disgraced
Moshe Rabbeinu with his accusations. Someone who witnesses the disgrace
of a talmid
chachom, and
does not protest it, is considered an accomplice in the very severe sin of bisuy
talmid chachom, which Hashem is very particular about.
Spicing our wealth
“It is like an eternal covenant
of salt before the Lord” (18:19)
Just like salt spices food, so
too do the matnos kehuno and all types of charity spice our possessions.
When we give charity we prove that there is a purpose to our wealth. On the
other hand, the assets of wealthy people who spend all their time aimlessly accumulating
more and more possessions serve no purpose whatsoever. Only someone who observes
the mitzvah of tzedoko properly, and dedicates a tenth of his
assets to needy talmidei
chachomim
or other designations set out in the hilchos maaser kesofim, will be
blessed and can live secure with the knowledge that his assets are serving a
useful purpose.
We cannot know better than Hashem
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
Submitting to the will of Hashem
Send
men that that they may spy out the land of Canaan
The medrash
quoted by Rashi seems difficult to understand, since the spies spoke
slanderously about a country, not about a person.
In fact,
the main thrust of their argument was that although Eretz Yisroel was a
wonderful country, the nation was not on a high enough level to live there in a
natural fashion, and, as for living miraculously, it would be difficult to
maintain a consistently high level of conduct that would make the nation worthy
of direct constant divine protection. They therefore concluded that it would
not be worthwhile to conquer the country, notwithstanding its superior
qualities.
Similarly,
Miriam had the highest respect and was in awe of Moshe Rabbeinu, but she felt
that even though her brother had come as close as possible to becoming an angelic
being, since he was after all human, and the ultimate greatness of a human
being is to sanctify his physical aspects rather than negate them, he should
not have separated altogether from his wife.
The
mistake made both by Miriam and the meraglim was that they should have
submitted themselves totally to the will of Hashem, and disregarded any
theories of their own that contradicted that express Will, however reasonable they
might seem.
Fighting for our principles
And Moshe
called Hoshea the son of Nun Yehoshua (13:16). Rashi: He prayed on his behalf, “May
Hashem save you from the counsel of the spies”.
The Targum
Yonoson says that it was
when Moshe saw his modesty that he called Hoshea Yehoshua. What is the
connection between Yehoshua’s modesty and Moshe Rabbeinu’s prayers stemming
from his fear that Yehoshua would be influenced by the counsel of the spies?
Moshe
Rabbeinu realized that someone with excessive modesty is likely to reach a compromise
with those who seek to go against the Will of Hashem. He therefore changed Hoshea’s
name to Yehoshua in the hope that
this would grant him the required fortitude to fight the majority view of the meragalim.
This teaches us that even though we must be aware that the results of
our actions depend on Hashem, it is His desire that we should do whatever is
within our power to stand up for Torah principles, and when we have to fight
for such principles, we have to shed any inappropriate modesty.
Relying on Hashem
And the
people wept on that night (14:1)
This
episode is difficult to understand. How could the entire congregation have said,
"If only we had died in the land
of Egypt
Although they were gedolei yisroel the meraglim
did not trust in
Hashem's promises and wanted to live a natural existence. When we distance
ourselves from Hashem, he distances Himself from us, leaving us to our own
devices. The more we trust Hashem, the more does He protect us: “He who trusts
in Hashem is surrounded by mercy”.
On the
national level, if we live with the realization that Hashem rules the world
down to the last detail, we will merit siyata dishmaya, but if we think
that everything is dependent on natural causes, that siyata dishmaya
will be removed. On the personal level, chazal tell us that were it not
for Hashem's assistance, we would not be able to withstand our daily struggles
with the evil inclination. It is only when our fortitude is coupled with an
awareness of the indispensability of divine assistance that we can vanquish the
yetzer horo.
Miraculous bread
But you
shall not rebel against Hashem, and you should not fear the people of that land
for they are [as] our bread (14:9)
Why did
Yehoshua and Kolev choose to use the simile of bread?
The “bread”
in the wilderness was mon, and Yehoshua and Kolev were telling the
nation that just as their basic sustenance came in the form of a miracle, so
too Hashem would surely allow them to enter Eretz Yisroel with miracles,
and they must not be disheartened by the statements made by the meraglim.
Palace of the King
They
arose early in the morning and ascended to the mountain top, saying, "We
are ready to go up to the place of which Hashem spoke, for we have sinned” (14:40)
On the
face of it, the ma’apilim who tried to forcibly enter Eretz Yisroel
merely intended to rectify the sin of the mergalim. Why, then, were they
killed by the amoleikim and the Canaanites who came down and smote them?
Their
mistake lay in thinking that Hashem had given us Eretz Yisroel for the
sake of ruling over it, whereas in reality Hashem wanted us to enter the
country which enjoys special divine providence only if we would be imbued with
complete faith and emuno. The ma’apilim felt that the overriding
priority was for us to have our own country at all costs. Moshe warned them: "Why
do you transgress the word of Hashem? It will not succeed”, but they would not
listen. We had to spend another forty years in the desert before reaching the
level required to live in the Palace of the King.
Those of
us fortunate enough to live here must never lose sight of the elevated behavior
which we are expected to maintain in this country, which Hashem cares for, and
Whose eyes are always upon it from the beginning of the year until the end of
the year.
Heretical thoughts
And if
you should err and not fulfill all these commandments (15:22)
Rashi
brings that the transgression involved is that of idolatry. The parsha
goes on to enumerate that first a korbon olo has to be brought, followed
by a korbon chatos. Normally a chatos precedes an olo. Why
is the order different here?
A korbon
olo atones for sinful thoughts, and the general rule is that a thought is
not considered a sinful act requiring atonement. Idolatry, however, is
different. It is considered so severe that even an idolatrous thought is deemed
to be the equivalent of a punishable act (see Maseches Kiddushin 39b).
Therefore, for all other aveiros a chatos is brought before an olo, since a chatos atones for actions, but in the case of avodo zoro since sinful thoughts are already sins in and of themselves so that an
olo has to be brought first to atone for them, and only then a chatos to atone for the additional sin of physical acts of avodo zoro.
This teaches us how careful we have to be to avoid any material containing
heretical ideas, which are so prevalent nowadays.
Sinning for the sake of heaven
They
found a man gathering sticks on Shabbos (15:32)
Chazal
tell us that Zlofchod’s motives were leshem shomayim. He was willing to
die in order to demonstrate to the rest of the nation that even though they
were due to die in the desert anyway following the sin of the meraglim,
they still had to keep the whole Torah. Due to his worthy motive, his name is
omitted from the parasha, unlike the megadef. However, Zlofchod
did not consult with Moshe Rabbeinu, and was punishable by death like any other
mechalel Shabbos. So-called zealousness that goes against the halocho
or daas Torah is sinful, irrespective of any worthy motives.
Holiness not a prerequisite for commencing observance
You shall remember all the commandments of Hashem and perform
them, and you shall not go after your hearts and after your eyes after which
you are going astray… and you shall be holy to Hashem (15:39-40)
On the
personal level, the possuk tells us not to go after our hearts and eyes,
and only then to be "holy to Hashem". Holiness cannot be attained
unless we first divest ourselves of heretical thoughts and immoral behavior and
thoughts.
On the
other hand, for those engaging in outreach the correct approach is to first
encourage the not-yet observant to observe practical mitzvos, even if
they still suffer from a lack of emuno and kedusho, and then
instruct them to improve in those areas until they eventually become
"holy". For this reason, the Torah first says "and you shall
remember the commandments of Hashem, and perform them”, and only then "and
you shall not go after your hearts and your eyes", and finally: “and you
shall be holy to Hashem”.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Types of Emuno
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
Pride of Bnei Torah
Let them cause a razor
to pass over all their flesh (8:7). Rashi: Since they [the leviyim] were
submitted in atonement for the firstborn who had practiced idolatry [when they
worshipped the golden calf], which is called sacrifices to the dead - and one
afflicted with tzaora’as is considered dead - they required shaving like those
afflicted with tzaora’as
It is difficult to understand why the Leviyim had to be shaved,
and not the firstborn, and, in any case, we also do not find anywhere that idol
worshippers are shaved.
A metzora who speaks loshon horo is
sent out of the camp and shaved so that he will become repulsive and other
people will keep a distance from him. That way he will learn to bridle his
speech and refrain from speaking loshon horo in the future. Similarly,
the Leviyim had to shave their hair in order to look different from the rest of the nation. Since they were the
recipients of ma’asros and other gifts some members of the nation
are likely to consider them to be "parasites" living off other people.
By shaving their heads the Leviyim are given the message that
they must be willing to endure humiliation like a metzora, and must not let
this affect their pride at being servants of Hashem who are responsible
for the nation’s continued existence against all the odds.
Nowadays,
as the Rambam tells us, anyone who
dedicates his life to Torah acquires the status of a ben Levi, and they too must have the confidence and
positive pride to be able to swim against the tide of public opinion, and
against warped ideologies and materialism. Only daas Torah guides their actions, regardless of the reactions of
people around them.
Moving and stationary Torah
When
the oron travelled, Moshe said: "Rise up Hashem, and let Your enemies be
scattered; and let those who hate You flee before You (10:35)
And
when it rested, he said: Return, Hashem, to the tens of thousands of the
families of Yisroel (10:36)
The gemoro
(Shabbos 116a) says that these two pessukim constitute two
separate parashiyos in their own right, and for this reason two inverted
nuns appear
before and after them, so that they must be conveying a message of fundamental
importance.
It is only when the oron,
i.e. the Torah, travels, only when it is being disseminated to distant
quarters, to all Jews around the globe, that the Jewish nation is worthy of
defeating its enemies and having them flee before them. It is only when bnei Torah are concerned not
only for themselves, but for the whole nation, that we are saved from
misfortunes. It turns out that outreach is a recipe not only for spiritual
growth, but also for our physical survival.
However, for the shechino to remain
with us, we must ensure that the oron rests, i.e. that the Torah remains
concentrated in and focused on its main abode, the Yeshivos and Kollelim. Without them the nation has no
hope of surviving.
indivisible Torah
This was the form of the
menorah: hammered work of gold, from its base to its flower it was hammered
work (8:7)
The
menorah was chiseled from one whole unit rather than being made piece by piece and
then connected together. Since the menorah is a symbol of the Torah this may be
taken as a reference to its indivisibility. Just like a soldier does not have
any discretion to decide which orders to obey, so too the soldiers of Hashem cannot
pick and choose between different types of mitzvos, because they all have the same divine
source.
The entire
menorah, including its base and
flowers, were part of the chiseled unit. This indicates that hidur mitzvah, the beautification of mitzvos by observing them in accordance with all
their details and embellishments, are part and parcel of the performance of the
mitzvah itself.
Early retirement
From the age of fifty he
shall retire from the service of the work, and do no more work (8:25). Rashi: the
work of carrying on the shoulders; however, he can return to [the work of]
locking the gates, singing, and loading the wagons
Why does
Rashi refer to the work of locking the gates, and not opening them? We can
understand this on the basis of the statement by the Chofetz Chaim zt”l , who said that anyone who has
reached the age of 50 has to slacken his interest in worldly matters to some
extent, and to prepare himself for the world which is completely good. In
addition to "locking" neila also means “closing”. Hence, Rashi’s
reference to locking the gates may be taken as an allusion to the work required
to be intensified as we reach the age of 50 and enter the closing stage of our
lives.
Chesed
He shall minister with
his brethren [literally:
he shall serve his brethren] in the Tent of Meeting to keep the charge, but he
shall not perform the service (8:26)
Sometimes
a person’s main task in this world is to serve his brethren by performing
charitable deeds and the like. A charity overseer once told Rav Yosef Chaim
Sonnenfeld zt”l that he had decided to
resign from his position and dedicate his life to learning Torah. So far from expressing
his delight, Rav Sonnenfeld responded that the gemara says that a levi
with the job of singing, who instead serves as a gatekeeper, is subject to
death by the hands of heaven (Masseches Arachin 11b).
Just like
the work of the leviyim was divided between gatekeepers, guards and
singers, so too some people are required to dedicate their entire lives to
Torah, whereas others are supposed put a greater emphasis on other aspects of avodas
Hashem. The main thing is that
everybody's intention should be to perform the will of our Father in
Heaven. Rav Sonnenfeld told this person that he must continue with his current
activities.
Yisro
And you shall be to us
(instead of) eyes (10:31).
Rashi: you shall enlighten us [with your guidance].
We would
have thought that the generation of the wilderness had no shortage of zekeinim
to enlighten and guide them. Why did they need Yisro?
One possibility is that righteous proselytes and baalei
teshuva who cleave to Hashem following their intellectual searches are in a
better position to teach the rest of the nation about intellectual faith and
serving Hashem with our intellect than those who have been educated from
childhood to follow in the path of Hashem and who have become accustomed to it.
This may be what chazal had in mind when they stated that baalei
teshuva are superior to tzaddikim.
Similarly, nowadays we find that many
of those involved in outreach are themselves baalei teshuva originally,
and this is only natural because they are best qualified to engage in these
activities.
Rav Sternbuch heard an alternative explanation from the late
Satmarer Rebbe, Rav Yoel zt”l. Yisro grew up amongst non-Jews, and had
been one of Paroh’s advisers. He was therefore very conversant with the outlook
and mentality of the erev rav, which were now having such a negative
influence on the Jews and giving them so much trouble and he was therefore best
qualified to advise the nation about how to deal with them.
Simple Faith
Not so is My servant
Moshe; he is faithful in all My house (12:7).
Moshe Rabbeinu, the greatest of the prophets, remained
faithful “in all My house”, i.e. in all matters relating to avodas Hashem he
maintained pure and simple faith performing mitzvos without seeking to
comprehend them with his intellect. Similarly, the Baal Shem Tov zt”l would
say that after everything he had attained, he wished to serve Hashem with
simple faith.
The Chosid Yaavetz, who was born in Spain and was
forced to leave during the Expulsion in 1492, wrote that during the period of
the Inquisition the Jewish philosophers were the first to convert or to become
Marranoes, whereas the non-intellectual population, imbued with simple faith,
refused to succumb. The philosophers just used their philosophical knowledge to
rationalize their actions. Whilst there is room for a philosophical
appreciation of Hashem’s existence, for example in the context of outreach work
as we have just seen, experience shows that simple emuno is the higher
level to strive for.
Vanquishing Evil
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
Yichus
Take a
census of the sons of Gershon, of them too, following their fathers' houses,
according to their families (4:21)
The fathers'
houses must be according to their families, i.e. someone with an illustrious
ancestry must live up to the greatness of his ancestors. Yichus imposes
obligations and should primarily inspire us to become aware of our own inherent
potential greatness and of the ramifications of failing to realize it.
The Shlo
Hakodosh comments that the possuk towards the end of the tochocho
in Bechukosay “then will I remember My covenant with Yaakov, and also My
covenant with Yitzchok, and also My covenant with Avrohom will I remember” is
not a reference to the merit of our forefathers, but, on the contrary, a
reminder of our failure to emulate their deeds, which resulted in the
calamities foretold in that parsha.
AVODO
From the
age of thirty years and upward until the age of fifty years, who are fit to perform
the service for the service (laavod es avodas avodo) (4:47)
How are we to
understand the phrase avodas avodo? Superficially, someone who carries
the poles of the oron does not
seem to be performing a divine service of obvious importance, but in reality
this act is suffused with major kedusho,
because any act enabling an avoda to be performed is itself an act of avodo.
In the same
vein, we see with the poro adumo that atonement is achieved even by
means of something as seemingly insignificant as the ashes of the cow, because
any object used to perform the will of Hashem per se acquires
fundamental significance.
Unintentional sins
When a man
or woman commits any of the sins against man to act treacherously against Hashem
(5:6)
Even sins
committed inadvertently are considered to be treacherous acts which stain the
soul and require atonement. The Vilna Gaon explains that this is because Hashem
arranges events in such a manner that a person will commit an inadvertent act
because his soul has already been damaged due to an intentional sin
committed previously, even in a different area. Had he not committed the previous
sin, Hashem would have saved him from the current unintentional pitfall.
MINUS
Then the
kohen shall write these curses on a scroll and erase it in the bitter water (5:23)
The medrash
says if it is permitted to erase the name of Hashem for the sake of making
peace between husband and wife, all the more so is it permitted to erase books
by minim (people who deny the fundamental articles of faith) even if
they contain the names of Hashem, because they create hostility towards the
Creator.
The din
of the soto is a novelty, because, normally speaking, a woman does not
become forbidden to her husband merely because she secluded herself with
another person, and it is only because of the severe impact that immorality has
on the sanctity of the nation that a special gezeiras hakosuv makes the soto
forbidden until she drinks the
bitter water even though it is very likely that she did not commit actual
adultery.
Similarly, books written by minim
must be destroyed even at the expense of erasing the divine name, and even
though there does not appear to be any obvious fault with the contents, because
the danger of minus is very great, especially when it is wrapped up in
various garbs of supposed kedusha. Only gedolei yisroel, using
their unsullied and unbiased judgment, are in a position to decide what we must
keep a distance from and we must obey their rulings.
Minus
includes publications such as newspapers (even nominally religious ones) which
convey the impression that the world is run by politicians or the laws of
nature, rather than by Hashem, and scientific works written by minim,
even if they contain no manifest minus.
The effect of nezirus
And after
this, the nozir may drink wine (6:20)
Once the nozir
has completed all the actions annulling his status as a nozir it seems obvious that he reverts to his former
status and may once again drink wine, so this phrase seems superfluous.
The Avnei Nezer suggests that
we might have thought that since the nozir initially took a vow to abstain altogether
from wine because he realized the detrimental effects which his addiction to
wine was having on him, he should continue his period of total abstention, even
after he stops being a nozir. The possuk therefore
emphasizes that the experience of keeping the halochos of nezirus with all the associated
humiliation, is sufficient to wean him from this
weakness and he may now drink wine – within halachik boundaries -
without hesitation.
Dependency on torah
This is how
you shall bless the bnei yisroel (6:23)
Hashem decided
that we need the blessings of the kohanim for the sake of both our
spiritual and our material welfare. At the time of the Beis Hamikdosh the
kohanim represented the elite of the nation, the talmidei chachomim. Since
the churbon the nation has become dependent, in addition, on the merits
afforded by talmidei chachomim and bnei Torah as a whole.
At a time of
sundry internal and external problems the issue that seems to evoke the
greatest consensus amongst politicians in Eretz Yisroel is the drafting
of yeshiva bochurim to the army. How tragic it is that they do not realize the extent of their folly.
Without Torah there can be no question of any continued survival in this
country. They may attribute their supposed achievements to the strength of
their own handiwork, the skill and power of the army etc., but that is all a
mere delusion.
TWO TYPES OF PEACE
May Hashem… protect you [Sifri: from the evil inclination] … and grant you
peace (6:24-26)
A person who
is dominated by his evil inclination and subjugated to his desires can enjoy no
peace. This brocho of peace at the end of the birkas kohanim is a
blessing for protection from the yetzer horo and freedom from the
captivity of the desires with which it seeks to allure us.
The Baal
Haturim (parashas Toldos 25:25) notes that Eisov has the same gematria
as sholom. The Avnei Nezer explains that there are two ways of attaining
peace. Eisov achieved peace by not engaging in any battles whatsoever with the
evil inclination, with the result that it did not bother chasing him at all,
and they concluded a bogus "peace pact".
The righteous,
on the other hand, achieve genuine peace only after incessant battles with the yetzer
horo. Although even the righteous cannot vanquish the evil inclination in
this world, and in fact their ever-increasing greatness is dependent on their
battles with it, the blessing of the kohen is that the righteous should be
successful in these battles to such an extent that by using the power of their
good inclination they are completely victorious in one area, so that they can
move on to another areas, thus increasing their nekudas habechira (see
Michtav Mi’eliyohu) perpetually.
Unique contributions
One nosi each
day, one nosi each day, shall present his offering for the dedication of the
altar (7:11)
The Torah is
usually very sparse with its words. Numerous details of halocho such as hilchos
Shabbos are encapsulated in a few words. Why, then, in the parashas
henesi’im are the korbonos of each nosi repeated in such great detail?
If we picture a minyan davening shmone eisre in mincha together everyone appears to be performing
the same act. Everyone is saying the same words. However, in shomayim each person's mincha bears no resemblance whatsoever to his
neighbour’s. One person may be praying with total concentration following years
of avoda dedicated to controlling his thoughts,
whereas the next person may still be struggling unsuccessfully with his level
of concentration. A third person may not even be struggling, but merely
mouthing the words.
The nesi’im were obviously
all men of immense stature, but even they were not clones of each other. Each
one had a unique personality and contribution to make to the avoda of
the korbonos. By describing their korbonos at such great length,
the Torah is teaching us that it is each person's input into the external act
of a mitzvah which constitutes its main component. The joy and
dedication accompanying mitzvos are the elements which elevate them to
superior levels in the upper worlds and completely change their effect and how
they are viewed in shomayim.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)