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Ki Seitzei 5778

A mitzvah drags another mitzvah with it[1]

כי יקרא קן-צפור וגו’ והאם רבצת על-האפרחים או על-הביצים לא-תקח האם על-בנים: שלח תשלח את-האם ואת-הבנים תקח-לך למען ייטב לך והארכת ימים: כי תבנה בית חדש ועשית מעקה לגגך ולא-תשים דמים בביתך כי-יפל הנפל ממנו: לא-תזרע כרמך כלאים וגו’ לא-תחרש בשור-ובחמר יחדו: לא תלבש שעטנז צמר ופשתים יחדו‏
When you chance upon a bird’s nest…and the mother bird is crouched on the chicks or on the eggs, don’t take the mother bird [with]2 the children. [Rather][2], send away the mother bird, and take the children for yourself. This is so it will be good for you and it will lengthen your days. When you build a new house, make a fence for your roof. Don’t place blood in your house, since a person will fall from [the roof without one]. Don’t sow your vineyard with mixed crops…don’t plow [your field] with an ox and donkey together. Don’t wear sha’atnez, [which is] wool and linen together[3]

This week’s parsha contains within it more mitzvos than any other, totaling seventy-three. Sometimes it’s easy to understand why the Torah grouped certain mitzvos together, and other times not as much. There are a series of mitzvos that describe forbidden mixtures in this week’s parsha, and they are understandably grouped together. There is a prohibition on sowing mixed crops together in the same vineyard. There is a prohibition against doing field work with two different animals together. There is a prohibition for our garments to be made of a mixture of wool and linen. However, the mitzvos that precede these mixture-mitzvos seemingly have no connection to what follows them. First, the Torah describes how to interact with a mother bird and her children. If the passerby wants the chicks[4], they have to first send away the mother bird. Subsequently, the Torah commands building a fence on our roof when we get a new house. This will prevent any mishaps from occurring. Afterwards is the above-mentioned mixture-mitzvos. What can we learn from this confusing juxtaposition[5]?

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Shoftim 5778

Rabbi Reznick requested that I remove all divrei Torah that I wrote up from him. He didn’t want them in a public forum. If you would like to see a copy from this week’s parsha, please email contact@parshaponders.com.

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Re’eh 5778

The fence for wealth[1]

עשר תעשר את כל-תבואת זרעך היוצא השדה שנה שנה
You shall surely tithe your produce, that which comes from the field every year[2]

Pirkei Avos is a collection of ethical statements and guidelines by our Sages. One of them is by Rabbi Akiva, who teaches[3] how a person can safeguard the Torah, their wealth, their asceticism, and their wisdom. He says our tradition[4] is “a fence”[5], i.e. the way to protect, the Torah. Giving tithes is a fence for one’s wealth. Making vows is a fence for one’s asceticism. The fence for wisdom is silence. How is giving tithes a way to protect one’s wealth? Rashi explains[6] because of a verse in this week’s parsha. The Torah commands: עשר תעשר, you shall surely give tithes[7]. Since the Hebrew word for tithe and the word for wealth are spelled the same, the way to read the verse homiletically is עשר בשביל שתתעשר, give tithes in order that you become rich[8]. Hashem promises us that if we are generous with our tzedakah, we will see our wealth increase. However, this verse doesn’t seem relevant to Rabbi Akiva’s lesson. His entire teaching is how a person can protect their attributes[9]. Yet, this verse teaches how a person can increase their wealth. Why didn’t Rashi instead pick a verse[10] which teaches how a person can avoid losing their wealth[11]?

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Eikev 5778

Hashem’s exacting judgement[1]

ובאהרן התאנף יקוק מאד להשמידו ואתפלל גם בעד אהרן בעת ההיא
Hashem became very angry with Aharon, to the point of almost destroying him; I even prayed for Aharon at that time[2]

While Moshe was recounting to the people the sin of the Golden Calf[3], he mentioned his brother Aharon’s complicity in the sin. When Moshe was late returning from Mount Sinai, the people thought he had died. They demanded Aharon make them a deity to worship. Aharon complied, and the Golden Calf was created. In this week’s parsha, we learn that Moshe sensed that Hashem was going to “destroy” Aharon. Rashi explains[4] this means that his children would die. Moshe prayed that Hashem have mercy, despite Aharon’s sins. Hashem complied, allowing two out of four of Aharon’s sons to survive. Only his sons Nadav and Avihu perished, during the inauguration of the Mishkan. However, this explanation is inconsistent with a different one Rashi provides[5]. The Torah describes[6] how a vision of Hashem appeared before the dignitaries[7] of the Jews. This included Aharon’s sons. The verse says that they acted without the proper respect; their sin was so great that they should have died instantly. However, Hashem didn’t feel the time was appropriate, and waited until the inauguration of the Mishkan[8]. If so, they died by their own sin[9]; it wasn’t because of their father’s sin with the Golden Calf. How can these two statements be reconciled[10]?

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Vaeschanan 5778

Prevented from performing a mitzvah[1]

ואתחנן אל-יקוק בעת ההיא…ויאמר יקוק אלי רב-לך אל-תוסף דבר אלי עוד בדבר הזה
I pleaded to Hashem at that time…Hashem said to me: “There’s a lot for you. Don’t continue to speak to Me about this matter any more”[2]

Moshe, shortly before his death, explained to the people why their leader would not take them into the land of Israel. Instead, his successor Yehoshua would take charge. Moshe was punished for his prior transgression[3] with dying before ever entering the land. He couldn’t take this quietly, and repeatedly prayed to Hashem to forgive him; to allow him to at least enter the land. Finally, Hashem responded with the phrase: “רב לך! There’s a lot for you! Don’t continue praying for this, as you will not enter.” Chazal pick up[4] on this unusual expression “רב לך”, and note that Moshe used this exact same phrase to Korach and his band of rebels. He said “רב לכם בני לוי, There’s a lot for you, Levites”[5]. In addition to noting this similarity, Chazal say ברב בישר ברב בישרוהו, because Moshe said רב לכם to Korach, Hashem said to him רב לך. This sounds like some sort of punishment. Chazal say[6] similarly about Yehudah, who said: “הכר נא, Identify this” to his father Yaakov, trying to trick him into thinking his son Yosef was killed. Yehudah subsequently had his daughter-in-law say to him: “הכא נא, Identify this”. In that context, it’s clear that Yehudah committed a sin by saying this to his father[7]. However, what was Moshe’s transgression? Korach and his band were trying to usurp Moshe’s Divinely given authority. Moshe had every right to rebuke them. Why was he subsequently punished with Hashem telling him: “רב לך, you will not enter the land of Israel”[8]?

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Devarim 5778

The necessity of unity[1]

לא תוסיפו הביא מנחת-שוא קטרת תועבה היא לי וגו’‏
sDo not continue to bring worthless Mincha offerings; incense offerings are abominable to me…[2]

Parshas Devarim always occurs on Shabbos Chazon, the shabbos before Tisha B’Av[3]. This shabbos got its title from the first word of its haftarah: the chazon, or vision, of Yeshayahu (Isaiah). The theme of this time of year is reflecting on the twice destroyed Temple and its subsequent exiles, as well as their underlying causes. Yeshayahu prophesied during the period leading up to the first exile. His mission was to try to inspire the people to change their ways. But alas, the people didn’t listen. They went about their daily routine, while committing heinous crimes on the side. Chazal say[4] that the first exile was due to idol worship, murder, and illicit relations. Despite these horrific sins, the Jews continued to bring Temple offerings. While they were in fact fulfilling a mitzvah by bringing them, the Temple service is meant to bring the people close to Hashem. By committing these horrible crimes, considered the worst possible[5], they in fact distanced themselves from their Creator. As such, this week’s haftarah describes Yeshayahu’s rebuke of the people. Their G-d was no longer interested in their offerings. Their hypocrisy had made their offerings despised. But why did Yeshayahu specifically single out the Mincha and incense offerings, as opposed to any other part of the Temple service?

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Mattos Masei 5778

Rabbi Reznick requested that I remove all divrei Torah that I wrote up from him. He didn’t want them in a public forum. If you would like to see a copy from this week’s parsha, please email contact@parshaponders.com.

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Pinchas 5778

A lasting festival[1]

ביום השמיני עצרת תהיה לכם
The eighth day will be an atzeres for you[2]

The end of this week’s parsha lists[3] the offerings that are brought on the various festivals throughout the year. The holiday on the eighth day of Sukkos is called Shemini Atzeres, based on the verse describing the holiday as an “atzeres”. What does this term mean? Rashi says[4] that it means to refrain, indicating that we should refrain from creative work on this festival. The verse is teaching a positive commandment[5]. However, we see elsewhere that the word shabbason is used[6] as a positive injunction to refrain from creative activity. If so, why does the Torah change the word it normally uses, and describes this mitzvah as atzeres? Also, if atzeres merely means to refrain from creative activity, this description would also fit the first day of Sukkos, not only the last. It too prohibits these activities. We also see the last day of Pesach is called atzeres[7], but not the first. Why is this so[8]?

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Balak 5778

Personalized rebuke[1]

ותאמר האתון אל-בלעם הלא אנכי אתונך אשר-רכבת עלי מעודך עד-היום הזה ההסכן הסכנתי לעשות לך כה ויאמר לא
The donkey said to Bilaam: “Am I not your donkey which you have ridden upon from when you first started[2] until now? Have I ever been in the habit[3] of doing this to you?” [Bilaam] replied: “No”[4]

As the wicked gentile prophet Bilaam was on his way to curse the Jewish people, an Angel of Hashem blocked his path[5]. He could not sense the Angel, unlike the donkey he was riding on. As the donkey kept trying to change course, Bilaam hit it. A miracle happened, and his donkey spoke to him. She asked him why he would hit it. This donkey had served him faithfully all these years, and surely this change in behavior was for some yet-unknown reason. Bilaam couldn’t deny the donkey’s logic. Chazal note[6] that there are two instances in the Torah were a person was rebuked and became speechless; they had no way to respond. These instances are to teach us to heed the final day of judgement, where Hashem will show us our failings, and we will be unable to respond. The first instance is with Yosef and his brothers[7]. Despite having his brothers sell him to slavery, Yosef became the viceroy in Egypt. When he finally revealed his identity to them, they were speechless. The second is with Bilaam and his donkey. When Chazal teach this lesson, they phrase it in a strange way. They say that when Hashem will rebuke us, He will do so in a manner that is in accordance to each person. What does this phrase mean?

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Chukas 5778

The mystery of the red heifer[1]

וידבר יקוק אל-משה ואל אהרן לאמר: זאת חקת התורה אשר-צוה יקוק לאמר דבר אל-בני ישראל ויחקו אליך פרה אדומה תמימה וגו’‏
Hashem spoke to Moshe and Aharon, saying: “This is the decree of the Torah, that Hashem commanded to say: ‘Tell the Jewish people to take towards you a perfectly[2] red heifer’”[3]

The Torah teaches us[4] about the laws of spiritual impurity caused by contact with the dead. There is a single remedy for a person to purify themselves: the ashes of a perfectly red heifer. The Torah details its preparation, and how and when it is applied to a person. We are taught that this mitzvah is the prototypical chok, or decree, from Hashem. This category of mitzvos are those to which the underlying reasoning alludes us. What is the chok of the red heifer? All those who prepare and apply the ashes of the red heifer become spiritual impure, whereas the person who is treated with them becomes pure[5]. How could these two opposites coexist? This is something only[6] Moshe understood fully[7], until the End of Days when its secrets will be revealed to all[8]. For us now, it is viewed as a chok; something we have to accept and await the day when we will finally understand it[9]. One could ask a basic question on this idea: since the red heifer does in fact have an underlying reason, why is it eluded from us? Why reveal it only to Moshe, especially since it will eventually be explained to everyone[10]?

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