B"H
We find four occurrences at in the book of Bamidbar (Numbers) that seem to stand out (from all of scripture) in that Moshe was either unable or unwilling to answer questions put to him.
We find the first occurrence in Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 25:6 which reads:
והמה בכים פתח אהל מועד
Loosely translated:
(When Zimri brought the Midianite women, before Moshe and the entire congregation) they were all crying by the opening of the Tent of Meeting.
Rashi brings a midrash about the reason they were crying:
Zimri brought the Midianite women to Moshe and asked him: "Am I permitted to marry this woman or not? And should you say 'no', who permitted Tziporah to you?!?" Moshe was silent.
We find the second occurrence in Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 27:4-5, which read:
למה יגרע שם אבינו מתוך משפחתו כי אין לו בן תנה לנו אחזה בתוך אחי אבינו
ויקרב משה את משפטן לפני השם
Loosely translated:
(The daughters of Tzlofchad came to Moshe and made the following argument:) Why must the name of our father be removed from his family as he has no sons. Give us a portion of land amongst our Father's brothers.
And Moshe brought their claim to the Almighty.
Rashi again brings the midrash: The daughters of Tzlfchad made the following statement to Moshe: our father was killed for a private sin (=violation of Shabbat). He was not part of Korach's followers and he did not commit trison aginst you. Why must he be punished in the same manner as Korach and his gang by loosing his portion of the land of Israel?!?!
Here again, Moshe did not answer on his own. He went to Hashem to get guidance.
We find the third occurrence in Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 36:2-3,6, which read:
ויאמרו את אדני צוה השם לתת את הארץ בנחלה בגורל לבני ישראל ואדני צֻוָּה בהשם לתת את נחלת צלפחד אחינו לבנתיו
...ומגרל נחלתנו יגרע
זה הדבר אשר צוה השם לבנות צלפחד לאמר, לטוב בעיניהם תהיינה לנשים
Loosely translated:
The tribe of Menashe came to Moshe arguing as follows: Our master (=Moshe) was commanded by the Almighty to portion the land amongst the Jews and our master was further commanded by the Almighty to give the portion of Tzlofchad our brother to his daughters.... and our portion be reduced (when they get married to someone from a different tribe)... Moshe (consulted Hashem and said this is what Hashem commanded to the daughers of Tzlofchad: they shall marry who they desire (so long as they are from the same tribe, thereby not reducing the total portion of the tribe.)
Here again, Moshe did not answer on his own. He went to Hashem to get guidance.
Lastly, with a bit of time-travel we find the fourth occurrence in Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 9:7-8, which reads:
ויאמרו האנשים ההמה אליו אנחנו טמאים לנפש אדם למה נגרע לבלתי הקריב את קרבן יהוה במעדו בתוך בני ישראל
ויאמר אלהם משה עמדו ואשמעה מה יצוה השם לכם
Loosely translated:
(The people from the burial society came to Moshe) and they said: We are defiled with the impurity of death, why should we loose-out by not being able to bring the Pascal sacrifice at the right time with the rest of the Jews?
And Moshe said to them: stand here while I hear what Hashem shall command for you to do.
Evidently, here again Moshe did not answer on his own. He went to Hashem to get guidance.
Obviously the common thread here is that Moshe didn't answer directly when a question was posed to him. Why?!?!
To refine the question, let us look at the following:
In the first instance, Moshe could have answered very simply as follows: Tziporah was permitted to me because 1) we were married before the receiving the Torah and its prohibitions against marrying Midianites, 2) she accepted upon her the yolke of heaven, in other words, she converted.
In the second instance, Moshe could have also answered the daughters of Tzlofchad. The subject matter that we're dealing with here is not a very complicated issue in the laws of inheritance. And Moshe certainly knew the laws pertaining to this situation. He could have paskened (=make a rulling) himself.
In the third instance, Moshe could have replied the very same way without consulting with Hashem, for the answer was very straight-forward. He could have paskened again, on his own.
In the fourth instance (which happens to have occurred first, chronologically) Moshe could have come up with some answer himself. It may be somewhat unlikely that he would have commanded a Second Passover (which is what Hashem commanded) but nonetheless he didn't even try to answer.
Yes in all four instances, Moshe did not answer and did not pasken... Evidently, he was either unwilling or unable....
What's going on?
An explanation:
If we examine closely what transpired in the first two instances we will understand what caused Moshe's inhibition. We will then be able to extrapolate to the last two instances.
In the first instance Zimri ask Moshe a question. But before even giving Moshe the opportunity to answer he also offered criticism (or even an accusation.) Moshe surly had a very good answer (as stated above), but he abstained from presenting it. Had Moshe answered, an outside observer might have concluded that Moshe is attempting to defend his actions in order to maintain authority. In other words Moshe's answer might have been misinterpreted as trying to safeguard his personal interests, G-d forbid.
Moshe then, decided not to give a legal ruling and leave the matter to others, lest it be misinterpreted. Moshe did not want to be involved under these circumstances.
In the second instance the daughters of Tzlofchad came and asked for a legal ruling from Moshe, but along with the problem-statement they also added that their Father was not in the camp of Korach. Had they simply made a she'ela (presented their case and seeked advise) Moshe would have been very likely to give them ruling (as stated above). However, once they mentioned that their father was not on Korach's side (i.e., he was on Moshe's side) Moshe was no longer willing to give them a ruling. Had Moshe paskended a ruling, to an outside observer it may have been misinterpreted as if the daughters of Tzlofchad bribed Moshe to receive their father's portion. In other words, an outside oberserver may have misinterpreted Moshe's answer as a pay-back for their father's support, G-d forbid.
Again, Moshe decided not to give a legal ruling under these circumstances, lest it be misinterpreted. Instead he left it to Hashem to answer.
So, we see how great a leader Moshe was! In either cases, he could have answered and ruled, and yet when there's even a tiny chance that his actions may be misinterpreted he removed himself from the situation and deferred to others. Moshe's integrity is exemplary to the nth degree.
We can now also understand what happened in the last two instances:
In the instnace of the tribe of Menashe approaching Moshe regarding the ruling on the matter of the daughters of Tzlofchad: even though the ruling came from Above, and the matter at hand is only a derivative of the original matter, Moshe told the tribe of Menash: "I cannot hand this file. Because the genesis of this file was not for me to handle, I will not touch it even now." Again, Moshe demonstrating exemplary integrity.
In the last instance of the burial society approaching Moshe because they did not want to loose out on the very special Pascal sacrifice: there are varying opinions as to why their were ritually impure. According to one option they were impure at that point in time because they just handled the burial of Datan and Aviran. According to a different option they were impure because their were carrying the bones of Yosef to the Land of Israel.
If we go with the opinion that the burial society was impure due to handling Datan and Aviran's (i.e., Moshe's nephews') burial, had Moshe benefited the burial society in any way (such as ruling for them a second Passover), an out side observer may have misinterpreted this as payback for their services. In other words, in may have been misinterpreted as Moshe having vested interest in their actions.
If we go with the second option that the burial society was impure due to handling Yosef's bones, had Moshe benefited the burial society in any way, an outside observer may have misinterpreted this as payback for doing Moshe's work for him -- Moshe was handling Yosef's bones at first, and had given the task over to the burial society. Again, Moshe's ruling may have been misinterpreted as a form of payback.
All in all we get a glimpse into Moshe's personality and leadership, specifically by what he wasn't saying. His abstention from matters that may have had a tiny chance of being misconstrued is a true testament of his character and integrity as the proto-leader of the Jewish nation.
Please G-d may we merit many more leaders in Moshe's image, speedily!
Good Shabbos.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Pinchas' gift
B"H
Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 25:11,13 reads:
פינחס בן אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן השיב את חמתי מעל בני ישראל בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם ולא כליתי את בני ישראל בקנאתי
והיתה לו ולזרעו אחריו ברית כהנת עולם
Loosely translated:
Pinchas son of El'azar son of Aaron the Kohen (i.e., priest) has turned away my wrath from the Jewish people in his act of zealousness for Me, and I shall therefore not annihilate the Jewish people in my jealousy... And it shall be to him an eternal covenant of priesthood.
Two questions pop out immediately:
1) Why does the Torah find it necessary to list the entire lineage of Pinchas back to Aaron the Kohen.
2) Why was to covenant of priesthood bestowed upon Pinchas, for priesthood is not something that's transferable, purchasable or giftable -- it's can only be hereditaraly given from father to son. Nowhere else in scripture such an unusual gift can be found.
An explanation, but first some background:
Rashi on 25:11 writes:
The tribes were disapproving of Pinchas' actions saying: have you seen the son of Puti, whose mother's father has fattened calves for idol-worship. This person (=Pinchas) has murdered an prince of a tribe of the Jewish nation. Therefore scripture has traces his linage to Aaron the High-Priest.
Why did Rashi uses the long winded "whose mother's father fattened calves for idol-worship" where it could more simply stated "whose grandfather fattened..."?
Yitro (Pinchas' maternal grandfather) was the high-priest of Midian. In his capacity as high-priest he would take calves and feed them to satiation but he wouldn't stop there. After the calves were satiated he continued to stuff them with food until they could hardly function, and then he stuffed them with more food still. The sole purpose of this exercise was to really fatten the calves. But for what purpose, you might ask... Answer: for the sole purpose of bringing a delicious, fat dribbling, juicy sacrifice to idols.
Essentially, Yitro was performing acts of cruelty to animals just for the loathsome activity of idol-worship. Indeed he embodied the attribute of cruelty. (This, of course, was before he turned away from idol-worship and in fact converted to the Jewish belief.)
There's a known principle (need citation) that a father's character traits are inherited by his daughters, while a mother's character traits are inherited by her sons.
So, in saying "whose mother's father fattened calves for idol-worship", the tribes were claiming that Yitro has given his character trait of cruelty to his daughter and she has given it, in turn, to Pinchas. Indeed, with this line of thought, they reasoned that Pinchas has killed Zimri, the prince of the tribe of Shimon, not out of zealousness to G-d, but rather out of cruelty!!! They were prepared to kill him for that....
To settle the matter, the Torah writes "Pinchas, son of El'azar, son of Aaron the Koeh". This is to say, don't look at Pinchas' pedigree on his mother's side, but rather on his father's side. Who's his father? El'azar son of Aharon the Kohen. About Aharon the Kohen it is stated in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) Ch. 1:12:
אהרון - אוהב שלום ורודף שלום אוהב את הברייות ומקרבן לתורה
Loosely transslated:
Aaron (the Kohen) -- loves peace, chases after peace, loves all creatures and draws them closer to the creator.
So, we find that Aaron's attribute is that of love. Since Aaron is the prototype and first Kohen, we must conclude that this attribute of love is inherited by all priests, since priesthood is modeled after Aaron.
So, the Torah is telling us: one might conclude that Pinchas killed Zimri out of cruelty, but know this: Pinchas has done so only out of love for the Jewish nation, in order to stop the plague that was ravaging the Jewish nation at the time -- his turned away G-d wrath.
This then explains why priesthood was gifted to Pinchas: he always had that attribute of love for the Jewish people, though up to this point it was buried and concealed within him -- it did not manifest in the open. But now, that he has demonstrated his love for the Jewish nation, in the most grandiose way, he essentially taken that attribute of love and pulled it out from obscurity and into plain sight. The most appropriate gift to give him, then, is to officially brand him a Kohen -- "loves peace, chases after pease, loves all creatures...."
Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 25:11,13 reads:
פינחס בן אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן השיב את חמתי מעל בני ישראל בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם ולא כליתי את בני ישראל בקנאתי
והיתה לו ולזרעו אחריו ברית כהנת עולם
Loosely translated:
Pinchas son of El'azar son of Aaron the Kohen (i.e., priest) has turned away my wrath from the Jewish people in his act of zealousness for Me, and I shall therefore not annihilate the Jewish people in my jealousy... And it shall be to him an eternal covenant of priesthood.
Two questions pop out immediately:
1) Why does the Torah find it necessary to list the entire lineage of Pinchas back to Aaron the Kohen.
2) Why was to covenant of priesthood bestowed upon Pinchas, for priesthood is not something that's transferable, purchasable or giftable -- it's can only be hereditaraly given from father to son. Nowhere else in scripture such an unusual gift can be found.
An explanation, but first some background:
Rashi on 25:11 writes:
The tribes were disapproving of Pinchas' actions saying: have you seen the son of Puti, whose mother's father has fattened calves for idol-worship. This person (=Pinchas) has murdered an prince of a tribe of the Jewish nation. Therefore scripture has traces his linage to Aaron the High-Priest.
Why did Rashi uses the long winded "whose mother's father fattened calves for idol-worship" where it could more simply stated "whose grandfather fattened..."?
Yitro (Pinchas' maternal grandfather) was the high-priest of Midian. In his capacity as high-priest he would take calves and feed them to satiation but he wouldn't stop there. After the calves were satiated he continued to stuff them with food until they could hardly function, and then he stuffed them with more food still. The sole purpose of this exercise was to really fatten the calves. But for what purpose, you might ask... Answer: for the sole purpose of bringing a delicious, fat dribbling, juicy sacrifice to idols.
Essentially, Yitro was performing acts of cruelty to animals just for the loathsome activity of idol-worship. Indeed he embodied the attribute of cruelty. (This, of course, was before he turned away from idol-worship and in fact converted to the Jewish belief.)
There's a known principle (need citation) that a father's character traits are inherited by his daughters, while a mother's character traits are inherited by her sons.
So, in saying "whose mother's father fattened calves for idol-worship", the tribes were claiming that Yitro has given his character trait of cruelty to his daughter and she has given it, in turn, to Pinchas. Indeed, with this line of thought, they reasoned that Pinchas has killed Zimri, the prince of the tribe of Shimon, not out of zealousness to G-d, but rather out of cruelty!!! They were prepared to kill him for that....
To settle the matter, the Torah writes "Pinchas, son of El'azar, son of Aaron the Koeh". This is to say, don't look at Pinchas' pedigree on his mother's side, but rather on his father's side. Who's his father? El'azar son of Aharon the Kohen. About Aharon the Kohen it is stated in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) Ch. 1:12:
אהרון - אוהב שלום ורודף שלום אוהב את הברייות ומקרבן לתורה
Loosely transslated:
Aaron (the Kohen) -- loves peace, chases after peace, loves all creatures and draws them closer to the creator.
So, we find that Aaron's attribute is that of love. Since Aaron is the prototype and first Kohen, we must conclude that this attribute of love is inherited by all priests, since priesthood is modeled after Aaron.
So, the Torah is telling us: one might conclude that Pinchas killed Zimri out of cruelty, but know this: Pinchas has done so only out of love for the Jewish nation, in order to stop the plague that was ravaging the Jewish nation at the time -- his turned away G-d wrath.
This then explains why priesthood was gifted to Pinchas: he always had that attribute of love for the Jewish people, though up to this point it was buried and concealed within him -- it did not manifest in the open. But now, that he has demonstrated his love for the Jewish nation, in the most grandiose way, he essentially taken that attribute of love and pulled it out from obscurity and into plain sight. The most appropriate gift to give him, then, is to officially brand him a Kohen -- "loves peace, chases after pease, loves all creatures...."
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Why disguise?
B"H
Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 21:1 reads as follows:
וישמע הכנעני מלך ערד ישב הנגב כי בא ישראל דרך האתרים
Loosely translated:
And the Canaanite king of Arad, who dwells in the Negev, heard that the Jews arrived through Atarim.
Rashi brings an interesting interpretation that the Amalekites were the ones who attacked the Jews at this point, but they disguised themselves as Canaanites by speaking the Canaanite tongue. (Some versions of Rashi, as well as other sources such as Yalkut Shimoni, hold that the Jews also changed their dress to that of the Canaanites.) Whatever the exact disguise was aside, Rashi points out the reason for the disguise: So that the Jews pray to Hashem to save them from the Canaanites and since they were in reality battling Amalek, the Jews' prayers would have no effect.
So a question stands out here:
If Amalek wanted to deceive the Jews so that their prayers are off-target then why did they not employ the same deceptive tactic in Shmot (Exodus) 17:8, as it is written:
ויבא עמלק וילחם עם ישראל ברפידם (=And Amalek came and battled with the Jews in Refidim)? Clearly they didn't attempt to disguise themselves in this case.
So, what's the difference between the first battle in Shmot 17:8 and the second one in Bamidbar 21:1?
An explanation:
In the first battle the Jews were fresh out of Egypt. Ahead of them was 40 years (in hindsight) of miraculous existence: the food was taken care by Mana, the water by Miriam's portable well, the clothing grew with them, the land ahead of them was flattened by the clouds of glory, etc... They were totally exempt from worldly-worries. The analog nowadays is a Jew living his/her entire life in the 4 cubits of Torah study -- shunning away from involvement with the mundane world.
At this time comes Amalek, undisguised, and does battle with the Jews. More than a purely physical battle, this was an ideological battle: the Amalekite's claim was that both Jews and Amalek come from the same forefather Abraham. Their issue with the Jews was the preferential treatment that the Jews are being given. After all the Jews and the Amalekites were cousines, why is it then that the Jews can live this miraculous life and the Amalekites cannot. Perhaps G-d forbid, the Jews don't deserve this either? Perhaps the Jews are like any other nation out there? The attack was on the Jew's belonging in the 4 cubits of Torah.
To make such claims, the Amalekites needed to come as themselves -- the grandchildren of Abraham. They of course lost that battled proving once-and-for-all that a Jew does indeed belong in the 4 cubit of Torah.
However, Amalek was defeated but wasn't out yet. Amalek was just waiting for another opportunity to battle the Jews. The opportunity presented itself in this second battle: the Jews were about to enter the land of Cannaan (=Israel). What's ahead of them is many centuries of working the land, paying the mortgage, selling one's ware at the market place, etc... In other words, mundane daily existence.
Comes Amalek and says, the battle over miraculous existence we lost, but now you're entering a phase of mundane existence. We will do battle again! To make such a declaration they disguised themselves as Canaanites, dwellers of the ארץ כנען (=the land of Canaan), representing ארציות (=mundane life).
Of course they lost the second battle as well. Their mistake: divine providence extends beyond the 4 cubits of Torah, even into the lowest levels (i.e., ארציות) of Jewish existence.
This teaches us that even when a Jew is involved in mundane life he should maintain his connection to the divine, for that's where his protection comes from. As a matter of fact, he/she is given the opportunity to infuse the mundane daily life with the holiness of Torah through the performance of physical mitzvot (commandments) thereby fulfilling the verse "בכל דרכך דעהו" (=Know G-d in all your dealings.)
Good Shabbos!
Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 21:1 reads as follows:
וישמע הכנעני מלך ערד ישב הנגב כי בא ישראל דרך האתרים
Loosely translated:
And the Canaanite king of Arad, who dwells in the Negev, heard that the Jews arrived through Atarim.
Rashi brings an interesting interpretation that the Amalekites were the ones who attacked the Jews at this point, but they disguised themselves as Canaanites by speaking the Canaanite tongue. (Some versions of Rashi, as well as other sources such as Yalkut Shimoni, hold that the Jews also changed their dress to that of the Canaanites.) Whatever the exact disguise was aside, Rashi points out the reason for the disguise: So that the Jews pray to Hashem to save them from the Canaanites and since they were in reality battling Amalek, the Jews' prayers would have no effect.
So a question stands out here:
If Amalek wanted to deceive the Jews so that their prayers are off-target then why did they not employ the same deceptive tactic in Shmot (Exodus) 17:8, as it is written:
ויבא עמלק וילחם עם ישראל ברפידם (=And Amalek came and battled with the Jews in Refidim)? Clearly they didn't attempt to disguise themselves in this case.
So, what's the difference between the first battle in Shmot 17:8 and the second one in Bamidbar 21:1?
An explanation:
In the first battle the Jews were fresh out of Egypt. Ahead of them was 40 years (in hindsight) of miraculous existence: the food was taken care by Mana, the water by Miriam's portable well, the clothing grew with them, the land ahead of them was flattened by the clouds of glory, etc... They were totally exempt from worldly-worries. The analog nowadays is a Jew living his/her entire life in the 4 cubits of Torah study -- shunning away from involvement with the mundane world.
At this time comes Amalek, undisguised, and does battle with the Jews. More than a purely physical battle, this was an ideological battle: the Amalekite's claim was that both Jews and Amalek come from the same forefather Abraham. Their issue with the Jews was the preferential treatment that the Jews are being given. After all the Jews and the Amalekites were cousines, why is it then that the Jews can live this miraculous life and the Amalekites cannot. Perhaps G-d forbid, the Jews don't deserve this either? Perhaps the Jews are like any other nation out there? The attack was on the Jew's belonging in the 4 cubits of Torah.
To make such claims, the Amalekites needed to come as themselves -- the grandchildren of Abraham. They of course lost that battled proving once-and-for-all that a Jew does indeed belong in the 4 cubit of Torah.
However, Amalek was defeated but wasn't out yet. Amalek was just waiting for another opportunity to battle the Jews. The opportunity presented itself in this second battle: the Jews were about to enter the land of Cannaan (=Israel). What's ahead of them is many centuries of working the land, paying the mortgage, selling one's ware at the market place, etc... In other words, mundane daily existence.
Comes Amalek and says, the battle over miraculous existence we lost, but now you're entering a phase of mundane existence. We will do battle again! To make such a declaration they disguised themselves as Canaanites, dwellers of the ארץ כנען (=the land of Canaan), representing ארציות (=mundane life).
Of course they lost the second battle as well. Their mistake: divine providence extends beyond the 4 cubits of Torah, even into the lowest levels (i.e., ארציות) of Jewish existence.
This teaches us that even when a Jew is involved in mundane life he should maintain his connection to the divine, for that's where his protection comes from. As a matter of fact, he/she is given the opportunity to infuse the mundane daily life with the holiness of Torah through the performance of physical mitzvot (commandments) thereby fulfilling the verse "בכל דרכך דעהו" (=Know G-d in all your dealings.)
Good Shabbos!
Friday, June 15, 2007
Fitting fates
B"H
Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 16:31-32 reads:
ויהי ככלתו לדבר את כל הדברים האלה ותבקע האדמה אשר תחתיהם
ותפתח הארץ את פיה ותבלע אתם
Loosely translated:
And when [Moshe] finished speaking all these words and earth split open below them [=Korach and his gang] and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them...
Interestingly enough, the rest of Korach's rebellious gang met its demise differently. We find that 16:35 reads:
ואש יצאה מאת ה' ותאכל את החמשים ומאתים איש מקריבי הקטרת
Loosely translated:
And they fire came from Hashem and consumed the two hundred and fifty men, those who sacrificed incense.
The earth opening its mouth and swallowing Korach and his immediate gang, when put in contrast with the rest of the gang (250 people) who was bringing incense who were burnt up brings up and interesting point:
The whole dispute Korach had with Moshe was as a result of the tragedy with the 10 spies: Korach recognized all along that Moshe is above and beyond everyone spiritually so there was no dispute at first.
However when the spies came back with their report they were rebuked (and indeed punished): while their intentions may have been good, the end does not justify the means. The spies were unwilling to live in the mundane physical world and engage in mundane physical deeds. This was at the root of their desire to stay in the desert. While in the desert they were subjected to constant divine providence: the needed not worry about food (they had manah), they needed not worry about water (they had Miriam's portable well), their clothing grew on them and the path was flattened and "sanitized" by the clouds of glory. Indeed their lived a miraculous life and could be totally immersed in Torah study without a worry in the world.
They reasoned that this miraculous lifestyle is something they would have to give-up upon arriving in the land of Israel. All of a sudden there's something called Mortgage that gets in the way. They will need to work the land. They'll have to go to the market place, etc... In other words, they realized that they'll have to live a mundane life.
So the net effect is that they gave a skewed report with some interpretive comments about the land of Israel, hoping that the whole nation will give-up the idea of entering the land, and they'd be able to continue this supernatural lifestyle in the desert, indefinitely. They succeeded convincing a great majority of this skewed opinion.
They were punished because although ideally a person should aim to study Torah non-stop, nonetheless Torah requires us to be involved in the mundane existence while keeping a finger on our Jewish pulse, and bringing Torah into the mundane existence in order to elevate it to holiness. Korach took this too far though:
When Korach saw the punishment being executed, he said to himself: "At first I thought that existence should be aimed at purely spiritual pursuits and I had no objections to Moshe. But now that I see that the spies were wrong (on the count of spiritual pursuit) and we should also engage in the physical mundane world, Moshe is no better than the rest of us! So, I'm going to go there and get my fair share of leadership!"
So, Korach was more interested in the physical deeds, while the rest of the gang that was offering incests was obviously more interested in the spiritual. Since Korach's argument was more on the mundane physical plain he was swallowed by the earth (in a downward direction.) However since the others' argument was on a spiritual plain, they were consumed by heavenly fire (in an upward direction.)
Everyone got what they were looking for: Korach went down, the other 250 men burned up, the rest of the nation, which agreed that desert life is preferable lingered around the desert for the next 40 years.
What a fine example of how Hashem conducts this world measure-for-measure with how we conduct ourselves.
Good shabbos!
Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 16:31-32 reads:
ויהי ככלתו לדבר את כל הדברים האלה ותבקע האדמה אשר תחתיהם
ותפתח הארץ את פיה ותבלע אתם
Loosely translated:
And when [Moshe] finished speaking all these words and earth split open below them [=Korach and his gang] and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them...
Interestingly enough, the rest of Korach's rebellious gang met its demise differently. We find that 16:35 reads:
ואש יצאה מאת ה' ותאכל את החמשים ומאתים איש מקריבי הקטרת
Loosely translated:
And they fire came from Hashem and consumed the two hundred and fifty men, those who sacrificed incense.
The earth opening its mouth and swallowing Korach and his immediate gang, when put in contrast with the rest of the gang (250 people) who was bringing incense who were burnt up brings up and interesting point:
The whole dispute Korach had with Moshe was as a result of the tragedy with the 10 spies: Korach recognized all along that Moshe is above and beyond everyone spiritually so there was no dispute at first.
However when the spies came back with their report they were rebuked (and indeed punished): while their intentions may have been good, the end does not justify the means. The spies were unwilling to live in the mundane physical world and engage in mundane physical deeds. This was at the root of their desire to stay in the desert. While in the desert they were subjected to constant divine providence: the needed not worry about food (they had manah), they needed not worry about water (they had Miriam's portable well), their clothing grew on them and the path was flattened and "sanitized" by the clouds of glory. Indeed their lived a miraculous life and could be totally immersed in Torah study without a worry in the world.
They reasoned that this miraculous lifestyle is something they would have to give-up upon arriving in the land of Israel. All of a sudden there's something called Mortgage that gets in the way. They will need to work the land. They'll have to go to the market place, etc... In other words, they realized that they'll have to live a mundane life.
So the net effect is that they gave a skewed report with some interpretive comments about the land of Israel, hoping that the whole nation will give-up the idea of entering the land, and they'd be able to continue this supernatural lifestyle in the desert, indefinitely. They succeeded convincing a great majority of this skewed opinion.
They were punished because although ideally a person should aim to study Torah non-stop, nonetheless Torah requires us to be involved in the mundane existence while keeping a finger on our Jewish pulse, and bringing Torah into the mundane existence in order to elevate it to holiness. Korach took this too far though:
When Korach saw the punishment being executed, he said to himself: "At first I thought that existence should be aimed at purely spiritual pursuits and I had no objections to Moshe. But now that I see that the spies were wrong (on the count of spiritual pursuit) and we should also engage in the physical mundane world, Moshe is no better than the rest of us! So, I'm going to go there and get my fair share of leadership!"
So, Korach was more interested in the physical deeds, while the rest of the gang that was offering incests was obviously more interested in the spiritual. Since Korach's argument was more on the mundane physical plain he was swallowed by the earth (in a downward direction.) However since the others' argument was on a spiritual plain, they were consumed by heavenly fire (in an upward direction.)
Everyone got what they were looking for: Korach went down, the other 250 men burned up, the rest of the nation, which agreed that desert life is preferable lingered around the desert for the next 40 years.
What a fine example of how Hashem conducts this world measure-for-measure with how we conduct ourselves.
Good shabbos!
Take two Almonds and call a Kohen in the morning...
B"H
Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 17:23 reads:
ויהי ממחרת ויבא משה אל אהל העדות והנה פרח מטה
אהרן לבית לוי ויצא פרח ויצץ ציץ ויגמלש קדים
Loosely translated:
And it came to be on the following morning that Moshe came to the Tent of Meeting and behold the staff of Aharon from the tribe of Levi has blossomed, and a flower grew out of it, and it budded, and bore Almonds.
A couple of questions come to mind right away:
First, why specifically Almonds?
Also, by picking the Almond, in a way it would seem that G-d diminished from the miracle:
We find in Talmud Yerushalmi, Tractate Taanit, Chapter 4, page 23a:
שקד אני רואה מה הלוז הזה משהוא מוציא את ניצו ועד שהוא גומר את פירותיו כ"א יום
Which indicates that an Almond goes from budding to complete fruit in 21 days.
So, if G-d wanted to make a miracle and make a dry staff bear fruit overnight, why pick the fruit that's already the fastest? Theoretically for the miracle to be "big" G-d should have chosen, say, an Avocado or a Banana or some other slow-to-ripen fruit. So, the second question is: why specifically Almonds?
Rashi answers the Almond question saying that Almonds are the fastest fruits which teaches us that to those who oppose the institution of kehunah (=priesthood), like Korach and his gang, punishment comes quickly and swiftly, much like an Almond's ripening.
However, the reason for the Almond appears to go a bit further with its connection to the kehunah But first, some background:
A general philosophical question is as follows: if G-d Almighty decides what we will be getting in terms of בניי חיי ומזוניי (=offspring, life, and income) for the entire year, all on Rosh-Hashana, and the decision is sealed and signed on Yom-Kippur, then why does a person need to come to shul 3 times a day and pray for the very same things? Are we worried that Hashem will "forget" what was decided?
After all, if it's all been decided on Rosh-Hashana then the person might as well sit at the beach -front, put his/her feet up, seep Margaritas, and just wait for בניי חיי ומזוניי to come pouring down from High. No?!?!
Actually, no! The abundance of בניי חיי ומזוניי that is decided on Rosh-Hashana and sealed on Yom-Kippur is purely spiritual. In other words, each person has sort of a spiritual bank account up High, and on Rosh-Hashana G-d make a deposit for the whole year. However, a person still needs to show up three times in synagogue each day to ask for a currency conversion: please G-d, take some of the abundance that was deposited in my spiritual bank account and convert it into tangible בניי חיי ומזוניי in the physical sense.
Now, there's a rule that no prayer goes unanswered, as we find in Talmud Bavli, Tractate Brachot, Chapter 5, page 32b:
כל המאריך בתפלתו אין תפלתו חוזרת ריקם (=anyone who prays with intent, his/her prayer does not go unanswered.) In other words, a person's prayers ascend to the Throne of Glory up High, and are heard by- and acted upon by G-d.
So, the question can then be asked: if that's the case, why don't we always get what we prayed for? Simply answered, some hold that no prayer goes unanswered, though sometimes the answer is "no!" This is a tongue-in-cheek, answer. What's the real deal?
The real deal is that when G-d hears a prayer He certainly answers by sending abundance down to the petitioner, of whatever the petitioner asks for. However, as the abundance flows down from higher loftier worlds, it makes a few stops at Customs (the borders between the higher worlds.) At each border crossing there are Customs agents (aka administering angels.) When the flow arrives these Custom agents start looking at the books: does the petitioner deserve any of the abundance, and if so how much does the petitioner actually deserve? etc, etc...
So, the net effect is that a person prays for spiritual-to-physical currency conversion, but the flow of abundance sent down from High doesn't always arrive when the petitioner expects it, or even in it's original form or in the manner that a person expects. All this is due to Customs...
To help with that, G-d Almighty, in His infinite mercy, sent us help in the form of the Kohamim (=priests). In fact they are commanded to bless us, as we find in Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 6:23,27:
דבר אל אהרן ואל בניו לאמר כה תברכו את בני ישראל אמור להם...
ושמו את שמי על בני ישראל ואני אברכם
Loosely translated as:
Speak onto Aharon and his sons: so you shall bless the Jewish people, say to them (=the Jewish people).... And they (=the kohanim) shall place My Name on the Jewish people and I shall bless them.
It is interesting to note that there are two opposites, so to speak, built into these verses: on the one hand it's the kohanim who are commanded to bless the Jewish people (verse 23), while on the other hand it's G-d Almighty who blesses the Jewish people (verse 27). So, who really blesses the Jewish people?
It's quite clear that Hashem holds all the abundance, so really the blessing is coming down from High, per verse 27, so what's the role of the kohanim?
To answer that, we look in Talmud Bavli, Tractate Beya, Chapter 2, page 18a, amongst other places, where it states:
כהנים זריזין הם
I.e., the kohanim are "quick" in their sacred duties. Our sages interpret this also as
"מזרזין הם" = "זריזין הם", i.e., not only are they fast (זריזין), but they also cause other things to speed up (מזרזין).
When a person's abundance is held up at Customs pending review by the Customs agents, the blessing of the kohanim (as quoted above from Bamidbar 6:23) speeds things up. When the abundance is rushed through Customs, there's less time and opportunity for the Customs agents to do proper and thorough analysis of the petitioner's worthiness. Things are rushed through so the abundance arrives better resembling its original form when it left the Throne of Glory, less changed, more pristine, more like what was asked of Hashem. This is the secret of the blessing of the kohanim -- to rush the abundance down.
We see from this that the whole concept of a kohen and his blessings, as well as his tasks around the Temple, are intrinsically connected to the concept of speed. In other words, at the the very essence of a kohen is the concept of speed.
It is natural therefore that the staff of the "real kohen" be adorned specifically with Almonds -- the fastest of fruit, for only the "real kohen" affects the speed of the flux of abundance. Once the other tribal leaders saw the Almond fruit on Aharon's staff, it was abundantly clear who possess the attribute of kehunah -- it's all in the Almond.
Good Shabbos with lots of abundance (and Almonds)!
Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 17:23 reads:
ויהי ממחרת ויבא משה אל אהל העדות והנה פרח מטה
אהרן לבית לוי ויצא פרח ויצץ ציץ ויגמלש קדים
Loosely translated:
And it came to be on the following morning that Moshe came to the Tent of Meeting and behold the staff of Aharon from the tribe of Levi has blossomed, and a flower grew out of it, and it budded, and bore Almonds.
A couple of questions come to mind right away:
First, why specifically Almonds?
Also, by picking the Almond, in a way it would seem that G-d diminished from the miracle:
We find in Talmud Yerushalmi, Tractate Taanit, Chapter 4, page 23a:
שקד אני רואה מה הלוז הזה משהוא מוציא את ניצו ועד שהוא גומר את פירותיו כ"א יום
Which indicates that an Almond goes from budding to complete fruit in 21 days.
So, if G-d wanted to make a miracle and make a dry staff bear fruit overnight, why pick the fruit that's already the fastest? Theoretically for the miracle to be "big" G-d should have chosen, say, an Avocado or a Banana or some other slow-to-ripen fruit. So, the second question is: why specifically Almonds?
Rashi answers the Almond question saying that Almonds are the fastest fruits which teaches us that to those who oppose the institution of kehunah (=priesthood), like Korach and his gang, punishment comes quickly and swiftly, much like an Almond's ripening.
However, the reason for the Almond appears to go a bit further with its connection to the kehunah But first, some background:
A general philosophical question is as follows: if G-d Almighty decides what we will be getting in terms of בניי חיי ומזוניי (=offspring, life, and income) for the entire year, all on Rosh-Hashana, and the decision is sealed and signed on Yom-Kippur, then why does a person need to come to shul 3 times a day and pray for the very same things? Are we worried that Hashem will "forget" what was decided?
After all, if it's all been decided on Rosh-Hashana then the person might as well sit at the beach -front, put his/her feet up, seep Margaritas, and just wait for בניי חיי ומזוניי to come pouring down from High. No?!?!
Actually, no! The abundance of בניי חיי ומזוניי that is decided on Rosh-Hashana and sealed on Yom-Kippur is purely spiritual. In other words, each person has sort of a spiritual bank account up High, and on Rosh-Hashana G-d make a deposit for the whole year. However, a person still needs to show up three times in synagogue each day to ask for a currency conversion: please G-d, take some of the abundance that was deposited in my spiritual bank account and convert it into tangible בניי חיי ומזוניי in the physical sense.
Now, there's a rule that no prayer goes unanswered, as we find in Talmud Bavli, Tractate Brachot, Chapter 5, page 32b:
כל המאריך בתפלתו אין תפלתו חוזרת ריקם (=anyone who prays with intent, his/her prayer does not go unanswered.) In other words, a person's prayers ascend to the Throne of Glory up High, and are heard by- and acted upon by G-d.
So, the question can then be asked: if that's the case, why don't we always get what we prayed for? Simply answered, some hold that no prayer goes unanswered, though sometimes the answer is "no!" This is a tongue-in-cheek, answer. What's the real deal?
The real deal is that when G-d hears a prayer He certainly answers by sending abundance down to the petitioner, of whatever the petitioner asks for. However, as the abundance flows down from higher loftier worlds, it makes a few stops at Customs (the borders between the higher worlds.) At each border crossing there are Customs agents (aka administering angels.) When the flow arrives these Custom agents start looking at the books: does the petitioner deserve any of the abundance, and if so how much does the petitioner actually deserve? etc, etc...
So, the net effect is that a person prays for spiritual-to-physical currency conversion, but the flow of abundance sent down from High doesn't always arrive when the petitioner expects it, or even in it's original form or in the manner that a person expects. All this is due to Customs...
To help with that, G-d Almighty, in His infinite mercy, sent us help in the form of the Kohamim (=priests). In fact they are commanded to bless us, as we find in Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch. 6:23,27:
דבר אל אהרן ואל בניו לאמר כה תברכו את בני ישראל אמור להם...
ושמו את שמי על בני ישראל ואני אברכם
Loosely translated as:
Speak onto Aharon and his sons: so you shall bless the Jewish people, say to them (=the Jewish people).... And they (=the kohanim) shall place My Name on the Jewish people and I shall bless them.
It is interesting to note that there are two opposites, so to speak, built into these verses: on the one hand it's the kohanim who are commanded to bless the Jewish people (verse 23), while on the other hand it's G-d Almighty who blesses the Jewish people (verse 27). So, who really blesses the Jewish people?
It's quite clear that Hashem holds all the abundance, so really the blessing is coming down from High, per verse 27, so what's the role of the kohanim?
To answer that, we look in Talmud Bavli, Tractate Beya, Chapter 2, page 18a, amongst other places, where it states:
כהנים זריזין הם
I.e., the kohanim are "quick" in their sacred duties. Our sages interpret this also as
"מזרזין הם" = "זריזין הם", i.e., not only are they fast (זריזין), but they also cause other things to speed up (מזרזין).
When a person's abundance is held up at Customs pending review by the Customs agents, the blessing of the kohanim (as quoted above from Bamidbar 6:23) speeds things up. When the abundance is rushed through Customs, there's less time and opportunity for the Customs agents to do proper and thorough analysis of the petitioner's worthiness. Things are rushed through so the abundance arrives better resembling its original form when it left the Throne of Glory, less changed, more pristine, more like what was asked of Hashem. This is the secret of the blessing of the kohanim -- to rush the abundance down.
We see from this that the whole concept of a kohen and his blessings, as well as his tasks around the Temple, are intrinsically connected to the concept of speed. In other words, at the the very essence of a kohen is the concept of speed.
It is natural therefore that the staff of the "real kohen" be adorned specifically with Almonds -- the fastest of fruit, for only the "real kohen" affects the speed of the flux of abundance. Once the other tribal leaders saw the Almond fruit on Aharon's staff, it was abundantly clear who possess the attribute of kehunah -- it's all in the Almond.
Good Shabbos with lots of abundance (and Almonds)!
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Kosher spies vs. Hoshea's name change.
B"H
Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch.13:3 reads:
כלם אנשים ראשי בני ישראל המה
Loosely translated:
There were all אנשים (pron.: Anashim = men), the heads of the Jewish people.
Rashi interprets "Anashim" in 13:3 to mean that at the time of calling there were all kosher righteous individuals, i.e., proper upstanding leaders of the community and of their respective tribes.
Interestingly in 13:16 we find:
ויקרא משה להושע בן-נון יהושע
Loosely translated:
And Moshe renamed Hoshea son of Nun to Yehoshuah (Joshua)
Rashi (on 13:16) states that Moshe added the leading י to Hoshea's name (thus resulting in Yehoshua) so that "Hashem will protect Joshua from the conspiracy of those wicked spies" (referring to the 10 spies are are destined to produce an evil report about the land of Israel.)
So, the obvious question is this: if these 10 men were indeed wicked, why did Moshe call them "Anashim" (=righteous, proper and upstanding leaders of their respective tribes.) Why indeed did he choose them to lead the mission? If on the other hand they were indeed kosher "Anashim", why did Moshe have to add a letter to Hoshea's name to draw down divine protection from these Anashim?
What were they? Anashim or wicked?
At the literal level, we must conclude that they were indeed "Anashim" as the Torah states, which means that they were kosher at the time the were chosen for the mission. So, the question falls back onto Moshe as to his decision to add a letter to a perfectly valid name.
An explanation, but first some background:
We find that there are two types of righteous individuals, as it states in Tehilim (Psalms) 93:13:
צדיק כתמר יפרח כארז בלבנון ישגה
Loosely translated:
A righteous person will grow like a palm-tree, [and] like a Lebanon-ceder tree he shell become great.
What's the differences between a palm-tree and a ceder? A ceder tree is much bigger, wider, stronger, taller and resistant to the elements. It's a really massive tree, especially the Lebanese variety. A palm-tree, on the other hand is smaller, slimmer and shorter and not as resistant. Though a palm-tree posses one very important quality that a ceder lacks: the ability to bear fruit! Not only does a palm-tree produces dates, but anyone who eats those dates gains sustenances, vitality and strength.
This is likened to two types of Tzakdikim (=righteous individuals):
There are those that are like a ceder: they are massive! the devote 100% of themselves to study of Torah and spiritual pursuit. They are constantly in heavenly involvement and absolutly nothing else. Their entire existence evolves around the axis of Torah.
On the other side of the spectrum there are those Tzakdikim that that are like a palm-tree: their not devoting 100% of their time to Torah study. They are not constantly involved with heaven. In fact they devote some of their time, effort, money and abilities to help other people. They bear fruits -- they're actions and interactions with other individuals -- in the way of spiritual and material help are indeed the "fruits" they produce. The palm-tree tzadikim reach out to the simple folk. Those who consume their fruits indeed gain both physical and spiritual sustenance, vitality and strength.
Though this outreach may come at the expense of these palm-tree tzadikim, because they certainly don't have all the Torah study that the ceder tzadikim have.
Back to the problem at hand:
Moshe sees in the 10 other spies that they are indeed kosher, as Rashi explains, and that they're indeed tzadikim of the ceder variety: they much rather stay in the desert and live a supernatural life where food is miraculously provided daily, the clothing grows with the person wearing them, the clouds of glory provide divine protection and a person is free to pursuit spirituality to their heart's content without interference from the physical realm. On the other hand the Land of Israel represents, to them, a spiritual decent because: a person would have to be involved in manual labor to work the land, go to the marketplace to buy and sell, cook, put food on the table, clean after the meal, change diapers, take the donkey in for an oil-change, take the kids to sand-hockey and be otherwise involved in earthy matters, leaving less time for spiritual pursuits.
Moshe wants Hoshea to become a palm-tree tzadik, on the other hand. Moshe reasons that it's not enough to be all spiritual and lead a completely spiritual life, for if that was the case, the Jewish nation would have not received physical bodies and a Torah that affects (and indeed utilizes and refines) the physical world. For Torah to be truly applied in one's day-to-day life, one must infuse the day-to-day mundane life with Torah -- that is the true purpose of receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai.
Retrospectively we see that Moshe was correct: the 10 spies were punished severely for trying to hijack the divine plan (i.e., to stay in the desert and live an exclusively spiritual life) while Yehoshuah (nee: Hoshea) is chosen by the Almighty as Moshe's replacement and indeed the person who will eventually lead the Jewish people into the Land of Israel. There, in the Land of Israel, under Yehoshua's leadership the Divine Will and Divine Purpose of giving of the Torah (and indeed creation as a whole) can be fulfilled, specifically by affecting, utilizing and refining the mundane with the light of Torah.
Bamidbar (Numbers) Ch.13:3 reads:
כלם אנשים ראשי בני ישראל המה
Loosely translated:
There were all אנשים (pron.: Anashim = men), the heads of the Jewish people.
Rashi interprets "Anashim" in 13:3 to mean that at the time of calling there were all kosher righteous individuals, i.e., proper upstanding leaders of the community and of their respective tribes.
Interestingly in 13:16 we find:
ויקרא משה להושע בן-נון יהושע
Loosely translated:
And Moshe renamed Hoshea son of Nun to Yehoshuah (Joshua)
Rashi (on 13:16) states that Moshe added the leading י to Hoshea's name (thus resulting in Yehoshua) so that "Hashem will protect Joshua from the conspiracy of those wicked spies" (referring to the 10 spies are are destined to produce an evil report about the land of Israel.)
So, the obvious question is this: if these 10 men were indeed wicked, why did Moshe call them "Anashim" (=righteous, proper and upstanding leaders of their respective tribes.) Why indeed did he choose them to lead the mission? If on the other hand they were indeed kosher "Anashim", why did Moshe have to add a letter to Hoshea's name to draw down divine protection from these Anashim?
What were they? Anashim or wicked?
At the literal level, we must conclude that they were indeed "Anashim" as the Torah states, which means that they were kosher at the time the were chosen for the mission. So, the question falls back onto Moshe as to his decision to add a letter to a perfectly valid name.
An explanation, but first some background:
We find that there are two types of righteous individuals, as it states in Tehilim (Psalms) 93:13:
צדיק כתמר יפרח כארז בלבנון ישגה
Loosely translated:
A righteous person will grow like a palm-tree, [and] like a Lebanon-ceder tree he shell become great.
What's the differences between a palm-tree and a ceder? A ceder tree is much bigger, wider, stronger, taller and resistant to the elements. It's a really massive tree, especially the Lebanese variety. A palm-tree, on the other hand is smaller, slimmer and shorter and not as resistant. Though a palm-tree posses one very important quality that a ceder lacks: the ability to bear fruit! Not only does a palm-tree produces dates, but anyone who eats those dates gains sustenances, vitality and strength.
This is likened to two types of Tzakdikim (=righteous individuals):
There are those that are like a ceder: they are massive! the devote 100% of themselves to study of Torah and spiritual pursuit. They are constantly in heavenly involvement and absolutly nothing else. Their entire existence evolves around the axis of Torah.
On the other side of the spectrum there are those Tzakdikim that that are like a palm-tree: their not devoting 100% of their time to Torah study. They are not constantly involved with heaven. In fact they devote some of their time, effort, money and abilities to help other people. They bear fruits -- they're actions and interactions with other individuals -- in the way of spiritual and material help are indeed the "fruits" they produce. The palm-tree tzadikim reach out to the simple folk. Those who consume their fruits indeed gain both physical and spiritual sustenance, vitality and strength.
Though this outreach may come at the expense of these palm-tree tzadikim, because they certainly don't have all the Torah study that the ceder tzadikim have.
Back to the problem at hand:
Moshe sees in the 10 other spies that they are indeed kosher, as Rashi explains, and that they're indeed tzadikim of the ceder variety: they much rather stay in the desert and live a supernatural life where food is miraculously provided daily, the clothing grows with the person wearing them, the clouds of glory provide divine protection and a person is free to pursuit spirituality to their heart's content without interference from the physical realm. On the other hand the Land of Israel represents, to them, a spiritual decent because: a person would have to be involved in manual labor to work the land, go to the marketplace to buy and sell, cook, put food on the table, clean after the meal, change diapers, take the donkey in for an oil-change, take the kids to sand-hockey and be otherwise involved in earthy matters, leaving less time for spiritual pursuits.
Moshe wants Hoshea to become a palm-tree tzadik, on the other hand. Moshe reasons that it's not enough to be all spiritual and lead a completely spiritual life, for if that was the case, the Jewish nation would have not received physical bodies and a Torah that affects (and indeed utilizes and refines) the physical world. For Torah to be truly applied in one's day-to-day life, one must infuse the day-to-day mundane life with Torah -- that is the true purpose of receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai.
Retrospectively we see that Moshe was correct: the 10 spies were punished severely for trying to hijack the divine plan (i.e., to stay in the desert and live an exclusively spiritual life) while Yehoshuah (nee: Hoshea) is chosen by the Almighty as Moshe's replacement and indeed the person who will eventually lead the Jewish people into the Land of Israel. There, in the Land of Israel, under Yehoshua's leadership the Divine Will and Divine Purpose of giving of the Torah (and indeed creation as a whole) can be fulfilled, specifically by affecting, utilizing and refining the mundane with the light of Torah.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Why name the recepients
B"H
Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers), Ch. 1:1 reads:
משה קיבל תורה מסיניי ומסרה ליהושוע ויהושוע לזקנים
וזקנים לנביאים ונביאים מסרוה לאנשי כנסת הגדולה
Loosely translated:
Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and gave it over to Joshua, and Joshua gave it over to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets gave it over to the sages of the great assembly.
Based on a drasha heard from the Rabbi at the pulpit, an interesting דיוק (=clarification) follows:
The obvious question here, which has already been addressed by many mishna commentators already, is: why does it say משה קיבל תורה מסיניי (=Moshe Moshe received the Torah from Sinai) where in fact it should have said משה קיבל תורה מהשם (=Moshe received the Torah from the Almighty) or perhaps משה קיבל תורה בסיניי (=Moshe Moshe received the Torah at Sinai).
However, we can compound it with a question from another angle: why does the mishna goes to such great length to list all the recipients after Moshe -- it could have just as easily stated:
משה קיבל תורה מסיניי, ומסרה לדורות הבאים (=Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to the following generations.) Why does the mishna find it necessary to list the recipients by name or title?
An explanation to both questions follows. But first, some background:
When Moshe was at the scene of the burning bush, Hashem tried to enlist Moshe to go on a rescue mission. Moshe retorted by giving a list of arguments why he's not suitable, and indeed Hashem should choose someone else. Hashem responded with His reasoning, and the whole thing repeated. The midrash and commentators teach us that these negotiations went on for a few days(!)
However, when Hashem tells Moshe to come up the mountain and receive the Torah, there were no such arguments. There was no negotiations. Moshe simply went up and did it. Why is that? Why the difference?
And explanation can be given as follows: according to the midrash one reason why mount Sinai has been chosen as the address to receive the Torah is because it doesn't stand out! As a matter of fact, it's the lowest mountain in the area. Sinai was chosen, in other words, because it represents humility.
So, when Moshe was asked to go up the mountain to receive the Torah he did not object, simply because he figured out: since it's mount Sinai that's chosen, the lowest of all mountains, I have no problem going up that mountain, just don't ask me to go up a taller mountain, because I'm really not worthy. However, mount Sinai is acceptable.
Back to the two questions posed at the top:
The wording מסיניי (=from Sinai) can be understood to mean ממדת סיניי (=from/through the character trait of Sinai.) What is the character trait of Sinai? Answer: humility.
How can a person receive the Torah? Only when he/she has humility. We see this in a number of cases, such as the siddur, end of amidah: "ונפשי כעפר לכל תהייה" (=my soul should be like dust before anyone else) humility and only then "ופתח ליבי בתורתך" (=and open my heart to your Torah._
Another case is the verse (G-d's words about an arrogant person): "אין אני והוא דרים תחת כפיפה אחת" (=I will not dwell with him under one roof.) Bottom line, in the context of transmission of Torah, the beginning needs to be מסיניי = through Humility.
Next the mishna continues to ומסרה ליהושוע (=and transmitted it to Joshua.) What is the meaning of Joshua in the context of Torah transmission? Joshua was not only a student of Moshe, but the commentators record that he has never left אוהל מועד (=the Tent of Meeting) while Moshe was there. Joshua represents astuteness and consistency.
So, a person might receive the Torah with humility and be very astute and consistent in learning it. However, there's just so much that he/she can achieve on their own. So, the mishna continues
לזקנים (=[Joshua transmitted it] to the elders.) What is the meaning of the Elders in the context of Torah transmission? Wisdom is associated with old age. (citation needed). A person needs to approach those who are wiser than him/her -- a great Torah scholar, or sage.
However, human wisdom is still limited regardless to whom one approaches. At this point in time, after receiving the Torah through humility and learning it with exemplary astutenesses and under the tutelage of a wise scholar, one hits the roof of what can be achieved through human effort. To continue to grow Jewishly what's needed at this point is לנביאים (=[the elders transmitted it] to the prophets.) Prophecy represents super-human, super-rational connection to the divine. Just as prophecy came down from High to a prophet after much preparation on the side of the prophet, so to transmission of Torah. After a person goes through the process of receiving the Torah through humility and learning it with exemplary astutenesses and under the tutelage of a wise sage, the next stage is that he/she is helped from High, because one can only rely on סיאתה דישמיה (=Heaven's help.)
Finally, when all is said and done, a person comes to the stage of לאנשי כנסת הגדולה (=[and the prophets transmitted it] to the sages of the great assembly.) The great assembly was responsible for laying-down the foundation upon which Halacha (=practical law) will later be based on. In other words, the sages of the great assembly represent the ability to take Torah learning and apply it in day-to-day living.
Thus both original questions are answered:
1. From Sinai means through humility, but it doesn't stop there, because:
2. The transmission of Torah is restricted to transmission through the generations, but also through one's own life -- one receives it with humility, learns it with astuteness and consistency, gets tutelage from a scholar which brings upon help from above (in order to advance above and beyond human ability) which finally culminates in a person applying his/her studies in daily life -- a Torah-true life.
Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers), Ch. 1:1 reads:
משה קיבל תורה מסיניי ומסרה ליהושוע ויהושוע לזקנים
וזקנים לנביאים ונביאים מסרוה לאנשי כנסת הגדולה
Loosely translated:
Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and gave it over to Joshua, and Joshua gave it over to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets gave it over to the sages of the great assembly.
Based on a drasha heard from the Rabbi at the pulpit, an interesting דיוק (=clarification) follows:
The obvious question here, which has already been addressed by many mishna commentators already, is: why does it say משה קיבל תורה מסיניי (=Moshe Moshe received the Torah from Sinai) where in fact it should have said משה קיבל תורה מהשם (=Moshe received the Torah from the Almighty) or perhaps משה קיבל תורה בסיניי (=Moshe Moshe received the Torah at Sinai).
However, we can compound it with a question from another angle: why does the mishna goes to such great length to list all the recipients after Moshe -- it could have just as easily stated:
משה קיבל תורה מסיניי, ומסרה לדורות הבאים (=Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to the following generations.) Why does the mishna find it necessary to list the recipients by name or title?
An explanation to both questions follows. But first, some background:
When Moshe was at the scene of the burning bush, Hashem tried to enlist Moshe to go on a rescue mission. Moshe retorted by giving a list of arguments why he's not suitable, and indeed Hashem should choose someone else. Hashem responded with His reasoning, and the whole thing repeated. The midrash and commentators teach us that these negotiations went on for a few days(!)
However, when Hashem tells Moshe to come up the mountain and receive the Torah, there were no such arguments. There was no negotiations. Moshe simply went up and did it. Why is that? Why the difference?
And explanation can be given as follows: according to the midrash one reason why mount Sinai has been chosen as the address to receive the Torah is because it doesn't stand out! As a matter of fact, it's the lowest mountain in the area. Sinai was chosen, in other words, because it represents humility.
So, when Moshe was asked to go up the mountain to receive the Torah he did not object, simply because he figured out: since it's mount Sinai that's chosen, the lowest of all mountains, I have no problem going up that mountain, just don't ask me to go up a taller mountain, because I'm really not worthy. However, mount Sinai is acceptable.
Back to the two questions posed at the top:
The wording מסיניי (=from Sinai) can be understood to mean ממדת סיניי (=from/through the character trait of Sinai.) What is the character trait of Sinai? Answer: humility.
How can a person receive the Torah? Only when he/she has humility. We see this in a number of cases, such as the siddur, end of amidah: "ונפשי כעפר לכל תהייה" (=my soul should be like dust before anyone else) humility and only then "ופתח ליבי בתורתך" (=and open my heart to your Torah._
Another case is the verse (G-d's words about an arrogant person): "אין אני והוא דרים תחת כפיפה אחת" (=I will not dwell with him under one roof.) Bottom line, in the context of transmission of Torah, the beginning needs to be מסיניי = through Humility.
Next the mishna continues to ומסרה ליהושוע (=and transmitted it to Joshua.) What is the meaning of Joshua in the context of Torah transmission? Joshua was not only a student of Moshe, but the commentators record that he has never left אוהל מועד (=the Tent of Meeting) while Moshe was there. Joshua represents astuteness and consistency.
So, a person might receive the Torah with humility and be very astute and consistent in learning it. However, there's just so much that he/she can achieve on their own. So, the mishna continues
לזקנים (=[Joshua transmitted it] to the elders.) What is the meaning of the Elders in the context of Torah transmission? Wisdom is associated with old age. (citation needed). A person needs to approach those who are wiser than him/her -- a great Torah scholar, or sage.
However, human wisdom is still limited regardless to whom one approaches. At this point in time, after receiving the Torah through humility and learning it with exemplary astutenesses and under the tutelage of a wise scholar, one hits the roof of what can be achieved through human effort. To continue to grow Jewishly what's needed at this point is לנביאים (=[the elders transmitted it] to the prophets.) Prophecy represents super-human, super-rational connection to the divine. Just as prophecy came down from High to a prophet after much preparation on the side of the prophet, so to transmission of Torah. After a person goes through the process of receiving the Torah through humility and learning it with exemplary astutenesses and under the tutelage of a wise sage, the next stage is that he/she is helped from High, because one can only rely on סיאתה דישמיה (=Heaven's help.)
Finally, when all is said and done, a person comes to the stage of לאנשי כנסת הגדולה (=[and the prophets transmitted it] to the sages of the great assembly.) The great assembly was responsible for laying-down the foundation upon which Halacha (=practical law) will later be based on. In other words, the sages of the great assembly represent the ability to take Torah learning and apply it in day-to-day living.
Thus both original questions are answered:
1. From Sinai means through humility, but it doesn't stop there, because:
2. The transmission of Torah is restricted to transmission through the generations, but also through one's own life -- one receives it with humility, learns it with astuteness and consistency, gets tutelage from a scholar which brings upon help from above (in order to advance above and beyond human ability) which finally culminates in a person applying his/her studies in daily life -- a Torah-true life.
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