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epar60051.doc PARASHAT HASHAVUA בס"ד PARASHA :NITZAVIM-VA'YELECH Date :23 Elul 5760, 23/9/2000 “The Best of Parashat HaShavuah” Articles taken from list subscriptions on the internet, edited, reformatted and printed for members of Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu (Editor: Arieh Yarden) Dedicated to the loving memory of Avi Mori Moshe Reuven ben Yaakov z”l Please respect the Holiness of these pages These pages are also sent out weekly via the internet in MS Word format. Anyone interested in receiving them, please feel feee to contact me at the following email address: [email protected] Arieh. 1 - SHABBAT B’SHABBATO (Tzomet) Extract from SHABBAT-B'SHABBATO, published by the Zomet Institute of Alon Shevut, Israel "TO ACCEPT THE COVENANT OF G-D" [Davarim 29:11] by Rabbi Baruch Gigi, Yeshivat Har Etzion, and Rabbi of the Sephardi Synagogue, Alon Shevut "You are standing today ... You stand today ready to fulfill His covenant .... It may be that He made a new covenant with them, like the first one at Sinai" [Ramban]. This covenant, agreed to on the Moav Plain right before entering into Eretz Yisrael, had a new element - mutual responsibility. "The secrets remain for our G-d, and the revealed things are for us and our descendents for ever" [Devarim 29:28]. Rashi explains this, according to the opinion of Rabbi Nechemia (in Sanhedrin), that there is no punishment for hidden sins, while for overt sins everybody took on responsibility for the others after they accepted the oaths at Mount Gerizim and Mount Eival. According to the Mechilta, the covenant at Sinai also had an element of mutual responsibility. "Rebbi said: This is praise for Bnei Yisrael. When they stood at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, they joined together with one heart to receive the kingdom of heaven with joy. Not only this, but they took on mutual responsibility for each other." Rebbi's comment is based on the fact that the first commandment was given in the singular: "I am your G-d" [Shemot 20:2]. It is also probably related to another verse written in the singular, "And Yisrael camped there across from the mountain" [19:2] - as one man, with one heart. However, if this is the case, what innovation was there in the mutual responsibility taken on at Moav, over and above the same obligation which already existed at Sinai? It would seem that there is a basic difference between the two covenants. The agreement on the Moav Plain was initiated by the Almighty, who insisted that the people be responsible for each other. On the other hand, the covenant at Sinai was initiated by the people, who reached this level because of their exalted spirits. In fact, the difference between the two covenants is deeper than this. On the Moav Plain, the description of the event is in the plural You are standing, the revealed things are for us and for our descendents. In this case, one part of the nation agrees to be responsible for stopping the others from sinning. At Sinai, on the other hand, the language is singular - Yisrael camped there, I am your G-d. This is related to the fact that the people are not totally separate but are a single entity, the community of Yisrael. And the mutual responsibility among the people is a natural consequence of understanding this point. At this time, as we approach the start of the new Shmitta year, let us strengthen our feelings of mutual responsibility for one another, not only in the sense of the Moav Plain but in the deeper meaning of Sinai. From this recognition of unity - "All of the people were as one heart, to joyously accept the kingdom of G-d" - we can hope for fulfillment of the verse from Shir Hashirim: "You are completely beautiful, my beloved, you have no blemish" [4:7]. EDUCATION IN THE TORAH: Education in the Presence of the Community give a reward to those who bring them. It may be suggested that the deep impression left on very young minds is in itself the reward for those who brought them. When Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakai listed the praises of his students, he said about Rabbi Yehoshua, "The one who gave birth to him should be blessed" [Avot 2:10]. According to the Talmud Yerushalmi, this is because "his mother would take his crib to the synagogue so that his ears would be inspired by the words of Torah" [Yevamot 1:6]. As a baby, Yehoshua certainly did not understand what he heard in the synagogue, but the impressions he retained maintained him as a youth in his determination to study and become an illustrious rabbi. And in this way, his mother received her proper reward. Thus, the young children brought to the event may not have understood what was said, but they would be inspired for many years afterwards. And this itself is the reward given to the parents. POINT OF VIEW: UNcivil Reform by Rabbi Yisrael Rozen "It is indeed so, the inclination rules us ... let the merit of a citizen blossom" [from the Ashkenazi prayer "Omnam Ken" on Yom Kippur eve]. Perhaps one of my readers can explain how to reconcile some contradictory statements. On the one hand, there is a declaration to the whole world, "The Temple Mount is the most important of our national holy places, and we will never relinquish our holy sites." On the other hand, the following slogan has been proposed for civil reform: "We will march with heads held high towards the twenty-first century, by deleting 'nationality' from our ID cards and, on Shabbat, by instituting El Al flights in the heavens and commerce and public transportation on the ground." And perhaps somebody can explain another contradiction. Today, instituting civil marriage and marriage records that will lead to a division in the nation. On the very same day, it was decided to establish a "togetherness council" in order to instill a feeling of unity in the nation. And with a third paradox, my point has been proven (see Amos, chapters 1 and 2 - "Al arba'a lo ashivenu"). The chief is infused with megalomania reminiscent of Ben Gurion, acting as one on a higher level than the people, even though he was chosen by them. On the other hand, the very same chief does everything in his power to destroy Ben Gurion's "historic covenant" and attempts to wipe out every vestige of a common national heritage between the labor movement and the religious sector. There might be some people who claim that what we are seeing cannot be understood or explained. The popular reaction would be something like, "The chief has gone mad." Others would blame misguided advisors who surround the Big Boss, leading him to err with a "new agenda," in order to turn the public eye away from political failures. But I say that neither of these approaches is right. What we are seeing is a well thought out tactical plan, similar to the legend about the wise rabbi and the overcrowded cabin. The chief is opening our crowded homes to let the sheep in, only to expel them later, for the price of abandoning the Temple Mount and parts of Jerusalem, Yesha, and the Golan. However, we must beware, for a "reform" can develop its own dynamics, and marginal items within it may come true, whether we like it or not. The unwelcome sheep leave behind droppings and unpleasant odors. And even if the animals are removed from the house, the filth remains. Do I have to spell out the moral of this story in terms of current events? Even if the "civil reform" dissipates, and the sheep are removed from the altar of "UNcivility", following the lead of "the Number One Soldier of the Nation," the plan will still leave its mark. There is no way to erase the ideas which have been voiced: to remove "nationality" from the ID cards, to secularize the public atmosphere of Shabbat, and to institutionalize mixed marriages, thus wiping out the public institutions related to marriages and the Jewish family. In addition, even if the Arab whispers die down for now, and the snake waits quietly in its lair, we have heard ideas about making Jerusalem an international city, about transforming the Temple Mount into a "B" area (joint sovereignty), about freeing prisoners with hands tainted in blood, about forcing settlers to move, about the return of Arab refugees, and about Syrians returning to the 1967 borders. The phrase "civil reform," similar to "citizenship privileges," is considered as opposed to a nationalistic approach. The citizen is at the center, the individual "little pawn" who worries us most. But this is a mistake. When the word "citizen" appears in the Torah it does not refer to individuality. Rather, the "citizen" is always part of a community. "There should be one Torah both for the citizen and for the stranger" [Shemot 12:49]. "Let him be a citizen of the land" [12:48]. And there are many similar examples. One memorable example is in the section relating to Succot. "Every citizen in Yisrael shall sit in succot" [Vayikra 23:42]. And the Midrash adds, "This teaches us that all of Yisrael are worthy of sitting in a single succa" [Succot 27b]. Thus, the essence of citizenship is to be part of a community. Let us return the cart to its rightful place after the horses, and put our own "civil reform" into place. Let us put our nationalistic feelings in proper perspective and emphasize "Jewish citizenship," striving for a single unified community of all of Yisrael (as on Succot), including each and every person. by Rabbi Yehuda Shaviv The Torah commands that after the seventh year of Shemitta, "men, women, and small children" should gather together in the place that G-d chooses, to hear the leader read the words of the Torah (Devarim 31:10-12). Rabbi Elazar Ben Azaria said, "Men come to study, and women come to hear. But why bring the young children? They are there to give a reward to those who bring them" [Chagiga 3a]. However, his entire question is not clear. Doesn't the rabbi know the educational value of having small children participate in such a great and impressive event? Even if they do not understand anything that happens, they will retain the memory for many years afterwards. This is evidently the reason that the small children participated in the ceremony of signing the covenant, as related in the beginning of the portion ("and your small children" [29:10]). FROM THE HAFTARA: "I Have Placed Guards It may be that Rabbi Elazar's question is based on the fact that Around Your Walls, Jerusalem" the Torah explicitly gives the reason of the gathering, "so that they by Rabbi Amnon Bazak will hear, and they will learn to fear G-d" [31:12]. The same is written This is the last Haftara of the year, and it is also the last of the about the sons, "And their sons who do not know will hear and they Seven Haftarot of Consolation. It is near the end of the book of will learn to fear" [31:13]. Rabbi Elazar therefore asks about the Yeshayahu, "I will rejoice in G-d" [61:10-63:9]. It contains a very well young children, who cannot be expected to learn anything at this known verse, "I have place guards around your walls, gathering. Why should they be brought? And his answer is, to 1 Jerusalem, all day and all night. They will never be silent." [62:6]. Targum Yonatan explains that this refers to early ancestors, righteous men who lived in Jerusalem and defended it like a wall. RADAK quotes other commentators who feel that this refers to the mourners of Tzion, who pray day and night about Jerusalem. However, it would seem that the most straightforward explanation is that of Rashi, based on the sages, that the verse refers to angels. There are other cases in the Tanach where angels are said to keep watch over Jerusalem. Here is the way Yechezkel describes the part that they played in the symbolic destruction of the city. He first hears the cry, "the officials of the city approach" [9:1]. Six people appear, one of them wearing a uniform and carrying a scribe's slate, and they are figuratively commanded to kill all the sinners in Jerusalem. The people are called officials of the city, like the real guards, who also caught Yirmiyahu: "And behold he was at the gate of Binyamin, and there was an official there named Yiriyah" [Yirmiyahu 36:13]. Thus, in parallel with the earthly guards of the city there are also heavenly guards, and they participated in the destruction. However, G-d promises that in the future guards will be appointed who have the opposite task. "Do not be silent and do not give Him silence, until it will be rebuilt and Jerusalem will be a source of praise for the world" [Yeshayahu 62:6-7]. A MITZVA IN THE TORAH PORTION: "Hakhel" and the King's Torah Reading by Rabbi Binyamin Tabory "At the end of seven years, on the occasion of Shemitta, on the holiday of Succot ... read this Torah in front of all Yisrael" [Devarim 31:10-11]. What is unclear in the verse is who should read the Torah. According to Chizkuni, Moshe commanded Yehoshua to do this, and since Yehoshua had the status of a king, it is clear that the king is the one who should do the reading. In the Sefer Hamitzvot, the Rambam lists this as one of the 613 mitzvot but he does not mention who reads the Torah (mitzva 16). In Hilchot Chagiga, the Rambam writes that there is a positive mitzva to gather all of Bnei Yisrael together and read to them sections "which will encourage them to perform mitzvot and strengthen their belief in the true religion" [3:1]. But here again he does not mention who does the reading. Further on, in describing the mitzva, the Rambam writes, "the king is the one who reads to them." This implies that there is no special commandment for the king to read, but that this is simply a detail of the more general mitzva. However, the Sefer Hachinuch, which usually follows the approach of the Rambam, quotes his words but adds the following. "And one who transgresses this, whether a man or a woman, and does not come to hear the words of Torah, and also a king who refuses to read - has avoided a positive mitzva." Thus, the Sefer Hachinuch agrees with the Rambam that there is a positive mitzva to gather the nation but he feels that there is a specific command for the king to read the Torah. At first glance, this might imply that there are two mitzvot and not just one. The Yerai'im in fact lists a specific mitzva of "reading by the king" (266). This is a mitzva for the king and not for the community as a whole. He proves that the king is obligated to read from a verse about King Yoshiyahu. "The king sent out messengers and the people were gathered ... And he read to them the entire book of the covenant which had been found" [II Melachim 23:1-2]. The Yerai'im also lists an additional mitzva, that "when the king reads the Torah, all the people must come and listen" (433). In 1889, Rabbi Aderet printed a pamphlet anonymously, called "In Memory of the Temple." He explained the foundations of the mitzva of "Hakhel" and proposes instituting a ceremony in its memory. He gave two reasons why this mitzva is not binding in modern times. (1) Perhaps the obligation is only when "all of Yisrael comes" [Devarim 31:11]. (2) It may be that there is an obligation only at a time when Shemitta is a Torah obligation, and there are many sages who feel that in modern times Shemitta is only a rabbinical decree. Rabbi Shlomo David Kahane suggested two other reasons. (1) The reading must take place in the Women's Section of the Temple, which we are not permitted to enter today. (2) The king must do the reading, and today we have no king. Rabbi Aderet suggested that even if the king is required to read, the people might be able to fulfil the mitzva by listening to some other leader reading the Torah. This might be especially true according to the Yerai'im, who feels that the requirement for the king to read is a separate mitzva. NOTES ON IBN EZRA: The Beginning or the End of Shemitta by Rabbi Uri Dasberg "At the end of seven years" [Devarim 31:10], refers to the mitzva of "hakhel," gathering Bnei Yisrael. Ibn Ezra interprets this as, "the beginning of the year." That is, he feels that the mitzva should be observed in the beginning of the Shemitta year, during Succot (about two weeks from now). This is not the accepted halacha, which rules that "hakhel" is at the end of the seventh year, at the beginning of the eighth year. According to Ibn Ezra, the reading of the Torah during this ceremony should be linked to the beginning of this special year, when every man is free of obligations to the land and can devote all his time to studying Torah. And that is why the verse continues, "so that they will study" [31:12]. According to Ibn Ezra's "long" commentary on Shemot (20:8), Shabbat should similarly be considered as the beginning of the week and not the end. This gives a person an opportunity to store up the energy required to face the coming week. Ibn Ezra brings a proof of this interpretation in his "long" commentary, Shemot 21:2, where we are taught that a Hebrew slave "should work for seven years, and go free in the seventh year." In Yirmiyahu, it is written, "Set them free at the end of seven years" [34:14] (using the same wording as in our verse in the Torah, 2 "mikeitz sheva shanim"). As Ibn Ezra explains, "Every object has two ends ... sometimes the word 'keitz' refers to the beginning, and sometimes it means the end." In Yirmiyahu and with reference to Shemitta, the meaning is the beginning. Ibn Ezra gives a similar explanation with respect to canceling loans on Shemitta, which is also described with the same phrase, "At the end of seven years" [Devarim 15:1]. Here again he feels that this refers to the beginning of the year and not the end. Thus, according to his ruling, we should write a "pruzbul" to avoid cancellation of debts this week and not wait another year. The ROSH has an approach which seems somewhat similar. According to this, the cancellation of debt occurs at the end of the Shemitta year, but from the beginning of the year it is already forbidden to make a claim for a debt. However, his source for this is evidently not "mikeitz," which he interprets as the end of the year, just as the other sages do. Rather, it is the verse, "Let him not pressure his colleague ... for it is called Shemitta for G-d" [Devarim 15:2]. When Shemitta has been declared, that is, at the beginning of the year, it is forbidden to make a claim. According to the "Knesset Hagedola," Ibn Ezra and the ROSH both agree. In order to satisfy this opinion, some people write a "pruzbul" before the beginning of Shemitta, in addition to writing one at the end of the year. For example, on Friday, Chabad Chassidim will give a "pruzbul" to the "judges" at the ceremony of annulling their vows, saying or writing the following: I hereby transfer to you all debts owed to me, so that I will be able to collect them whenever I want to. SCIENCE IN THE TORAH: "Sulfur and Salt Burned all its Land" [Devarim 29:22] by Idit Gamliel One of the items mentioned as part of the destruction of the land is damage done by sulfur. Sulfur is a nonmetallic element which easily catches fire, and it was thus always known as a flammable substance. For many generations, sulfur was an important factor in fire, and the alchemists considered it the only element which burns in all of its forms. Even in modern times, the simplest way to light a fire is with a match, which at first were made with sulfuric acid. However, sulfur is not only a dangerous substance. It has useful properties in many areas of our life. For example, it is an important component in the process of sulfurization of rubber. In this process, sulfur is added to natural rubber, transforming it from a soft and pliable material to something hard but flexible, which can be used for making tires. Sulfur is also an important ingredient in sprays used for protecting trees against insects and molds. In addition, it is a significant ingredient in the manufacture of blasting powder and is used in the manufacture of sulfa drugs. Sulfur is very abundant in nature. It occurs as a compound with metals, in sulfur salt beds, and in natural gas, and it can be extracted from petroleum. Deposits which are not in a chemical compound can be found in volcanic areas, such as Sicily and Texas or Louisiana in the USA. In Israel, sulfur can be found mostly in the northern Negev area. IN THE RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS: "This Poem will Declare Before Them" [Devarim 31:21] by the Center for Religious Education in Israel The Torah is a guide for all walks of life, and it is relevant to the most advanced areas of science. The Torah-science religious school "Moria" in Karmiel sees for itself a task to study the connection between science and the Torah, in an effort to encourage research and an integrated outlook. The program aims to bring the students in contact with human, technological, and written sources. This should enhance their ability to form a complete and balanced result. The students have been organized into groups of mixed ages, according to which topics interest them. The school has joined forces with the "Lehava" Institute in Jerusalem, headed by Rabbi Mordechai Halperin. The institute provides halachic authority for the teachers and the students by pointing out the halachic sources relevant to various scientific questions. The students can turn for advice to the school rabbi, Rabbi Ofir Krisfal, to a consultant from Lehava Institute, Rabbi Shmuel Strauss, and to Hadas Tza'adi, from the Department of Research Techniques of the Ministry of Education. For more details, contact the principal of the school, at 049986116. A TALE TO BE TOLD: "For it Will Not be Forgotten by their Descendents" [Devarim 31:21] by Yeshayahu Gantz "Even the shallowest of them are full of mitzvot like a pomegranate has seeds" [Sanhedrin 37a]. This is clear from a story told by the "Grandfather" of Shpoli, a rabbi who was even able to make contact with the sinners and evildoers in his city. Yossele, one of the quickest and most experienced of the thieves in the town, once felt a craving for the treasures of diamonds in the local church. In the middle of the night, he crept into the church and filled a sack with all his eyes could see. But when he stood at the window to jump clear with his loot, he was caught by the police, and indicted for the very serious crime of stealing "from the sanctity." At his trial, Yossele pleaded as follows: "Recently, I found myself in a very serious financial situation, and in my great despair I entered the church. I stood in front of the cross and I spilled out my heart to the crucified one, my eyes overflowing with tears. Suddenly, he turned to me and said, Yossele, why are you crying? Here is a large pile of precious stones, take all you need for your worthy family. I did as I was told. How can you possibly punish me for this?" When the judges heard this plea, they were upset and left the room for consultation. In the end, they sentenced Yossele to death. However, they left him one way to escape his fate, if he would renounce his Jewish faith and convert. When Yossele heard the verdict, his reply was: "I may be a thief, but you are asking me to convert! This is something I will never do!" On the appointed day, a huge crowd gathered in the town square to see the Jewish thief burn at the stake. Moments before he lost his life, the priests once again turned to Yossele and offered him the opportunity to save himself by converting. They promised to give him great honor and riches. With the last of his remaining energy, he cried out: "I may be a thief, but I remain a Jew!" And these were the last words he said. And the "Grandfather" of Shpoli would end this tale with the words of Rabbi Zeira in Sanhedrin: "He smelled the fragrance of his clothing" [Bereishit 27:27]. 2 - MACHON MEIR MACHON MEIR - http://www.virtual.co.il/education/machon-meir/parasha.htm WOMEN ARE NOT STINGY. Rabbi Shlomo Aviner Question: I was insulted when I read in our sages’ writings that “women are stingier towards guests than men” (Bava Metzia 87a). My husband invites guests and I go to a lot of trouble for them and do not resent them. I also do not understand how our sages derived this from the verse, “Hurry! Three measures of the finest flour!” (Genesis 18:6). They remark, “‘Finest flour’ is expressed by the words ‘kemach solet’” [when “kemach” means regular flour and “solet” means fine flour]. Rashi explains, “Sarah wished to use regular flour but Abraham said ‘fine flour’.” How do our sages know this? Surely it was all Abraham’s utterance. Answer: You are justified in feeling insulted. Obviously, we believe in the words of our holy sages, but you are still justified. Let us first deal with your second question. There are several interpretations to this verse: 1. Abraham said: “Three measures.” Sarah asked, “Regular flour?” and Abraham responded, “Fine flour” (Shvut Ya’akov). 2. Our sages show that Abraham “said little but did much.” Surely he was not a stingy person. Yet there is an old manuscript of Rashi with the opposite wording: “He wished to use regular flour but Sarah said ‘fine flour’” (Haggadat Pesach, Ma’aseh Nissim, by Rabbi Akiva of Lisa). 3. Some explain that if the Talmud is emphasizing that Sarah suggested fine flour, it shows that women generally did not use it and that most women are stingy (Ba’al Shem Tov). 4. We learn in Avot 1:5, “Let your home be open wide. Let the poor be members of your household. Engage not in much talk with your wife.” What connection is there between these three pronouncements? If one listens to one’s wife, she will restrict one’s hospitality. Thus, Sarah used the expression “fine flour” to hint to Abraham that guests are expensive (Maharam Alshech). 5. The expression “kemach” includes all types of flour, even the least fine. Therefore, since Sarah was stingy, Abraham stressed “fine flour” (Torah Temimah). The basic question is asked: Why are women accused of resenting guests when it is they who do all the work for them? The Maharal from Prague explains that the wife is jealous of guests. She asks herself, “Why shouldn’t I be treated like a guest as well? Why shouldn’t my husband relate to me nicely, as to a guest?” Moreover, a guest eats for free and then leaves, and she works so hard! Therefore, when she sees how much her husband honors guests, she grieves and she envies the guest, and rightly so (Chidushei Agadot, Bava Metzia). Unfortunately, in fact, the husband sometimes honors the whole world except for his wife. She devotes herself body and soul to her family’s well-being, and suffers insults in silence, and her husband takes advantage of this. Consider how much the Patriarch Jacob was punished for insulting Rachel, as is mentioned in Mesilat Yesharim: “Jacob was punished for getting angry at Rachel when she said to him, ‘Give me children!’ (Genesis 30:1). The Midrash taught: ‘G-d asked Jacob: Is that the way we respond to the downtrodden?’” (Ch. 5). If the Patriarch Jacob was punished for this, where does that leave us? Very often the husband has a false sense of superiority. According to psychologists, male arrogance stems from an inferiority complex. It is therefore better that husbands should take hold of the trait of modesty and recite the blessing thanking G-d “for not making me a woman” in a quiet voice. In fact, such advice is given by one of our medieval sages from Provence, born seven hundred years ago, Rabbi Klonimus ben Klonimus ben Rabbi Meir HaNasi, at the end of his poem, “He who finds a wife, finds goodness”: Father in Heaven, who performed miracles for our ancestors with fire and water / who transformed the heat of Kasdim, lest Abraham be burnt by it / who transformed Dina [from male to female] in her mother’s womb / You turned the staff into a serpent before the eyes of millions / You turned the pure hand [of Moses] white / You dried the Sea of Reeds / and made the soil under the Jordan dry and hard / You turned a boulder into a pool of water / and a flint into a fountain / Would that You would turn me from male to female! / If I merited this, what a gift it would be! To be the woman of the house! / But what can I say? / Why should I cry and be bitter if my Father in Heaven has so decreed upon me a permanent blemish that I cannot remove? / Fretting over that which cannot be brings great pain and is a waste / Vain consolation will not help me / I said that I should just suffer and forebear / until I pass away / Later on I learned from the Talmud / “We bless G-d over both good and bad” / Hence I will bless G-d with a low voice / “Blessed are You O L-rd, who has not made me a woman!” LIFE’S PURPOSE 30:15). At the end of this choice comes a divine recommendation as well: “Choose life!” (v. 19). At first glance, however, the reason provided for this recommendation does not stand the test of logic: Why must we choose life? “In order that we should live!” (Ibid.). This seems illogical. If G-d desires to convince us to choose life, He must present us with other reasons that will explain why life is something good and death is something bad. How can He suggest to us to choose life only in order to live? The commentaries focused on this difficulty, and I shall trace their remarks. Targum Yonatan distinguishes between two levels of life: “Choose life” -- preserving the way of the Tree of Life, the Torah -- in This World, here and now. “In order that you should live” (Ibid.) -- in the World-to-Come, in the future. Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra, and other commentaries in his wake, read the last two verses, 19 and 20, as a contiguous unit. The first verse directs us to choose life: “Choose life, in order that you should live.” And what is the content of that life which G-d recommends? The second verse answers this, stating that the recommended life indeed has rich and varied content -- “to love the L-rd your G-d, heed His voice and cling to Him.” The verse goes on to explain why loving G-d, heeding His voice and clinging to Him constitute the content that make life worth living: “For they are your life and your length of days.” Following this same approach, Ohr HaChaim explains the end of the verse, which ascends from the life of the individual to the life of the nation. The word of G-d does not just afford profound content to the life of the individual, but also to the life of the nation that sets out “to dwell in the land that the L-rd swore to your ancestors.” A still deeper message emerges from the words of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (Orot HaTorah, Ch. 6, letter 7): “A healthy person desires life, and he does not seek reasons and proofs for this. The mentally ill, suicidal individual, by contrast, is full of doubts about the purpose of life.” Thus, the true, profound reason for the recommendation to “choose life” is indeed “in order that you should live.” You must choose life because life has value. That value does not derive from anything outside of life itself, but only from that which life itself contains. The proof of this is those values that exist in life. Human life stems from the divine. “For it is your life and your length of days.” The life of the individual is one small spark out of the divine vitality that envelops all of Creation. As a direct result of this, there is no real life save that which gives expression to the fact that life comes from G-d. It is this which requires us “to love the L-rd our G-d, to heed His voice and to cling to Him.” Therefore, Rabbi Kook writes regarding that same healthy individual who desires life: “By the same token, the person with the healthy spirit loves the Torah... and one teaching from the Torah... is worth more to him than any wealth.” It is the same regarding our national lives. A nation that desires life naturally wishes “to dwell in the land that the L-rd swore He would give to our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” As Ohr HaChaim wrote, “The mitzvah to settle the Land is one that encompasses the whole Torah.” It is on this background that we stand in the Ten Days of Repentance and ask: “Remember us for life, King who desires life. Inscribe us in the book of life, for Your sake, O Living G-d.” MESSAGE FOR TODAY Dov Bigon “Let the old year and its curses be done! Let the new year and its blessings begin!” “The couriers went out in haste by the king’s command, and the decree was given in Shushan the capital... The city of Shushan was perplexed” (Esther 3:15). When the harsh decrees awaiting the Jewish People became known, it was a rough moment. The Jews were worried and perplexed. Today, there is talk of separating religion from state, the equivalent of tearing the soul out of our national body. Moreover, “surgeons” from within and without are placing Jerusalem, the nation’s heart, on the operating table and deliberating amongst themselves about how best to tear it apart and to divide it up with foreign nations and religions. At this time, such plans and such talk, and such deeds, cause many many Jews from the whole spectrum of society to be worried and perplexed. Throughout two thousand years of exile, we prayed and looked forward to returning to Eretz Yisrael and to Jerusalem, to renewing our days as of old, to living as a free people in our land, not just politically but spiritually and Jewishly as well. And just now, when we are succeeding in realizing our dream, harsh voices are being heard that we have to blot out the Jewish fabric of the State -- G-d forbid -- and to divide up Eretz Yisrael and Jerusalem and hand them over to a foreign people. Such words and such actions tear up our hearts and bring us to sorrowful tears. Yet the Jewish People are believers and the sons of believers. We, who in the past suffered so much for thousands of years, remaining loyal to our religion and our land, will with G-d’s help overcome. We know for certain that the words we are hearing are just the peel concealing sweet fruit, a descent for the sake of an ascent. The day is not far off when the whole nation and its leaders will understand that the glue that has united the Jewish People throughout the generations and that gives it its might and strength is Jewish tradition. They will see that it is impossible to separate between the religion and State of Israel, and certainly, between the Jewish People and Jerusalem, heart of the nation. May we all merit through this together to a good and sweet year. “Let the old year and its curses be done! Let the new year and its blessings begin!” “YOU SHALL RETURN TO THE L-RD YOUR G-D” (DEUTERONOMY 4:30). Rabbi Azriel Ariel Rabbi Ya’akov HaLevi Filber The Master of the Universe sets a choice before us: “Before you I In his book, “Tales of the Hassidim” (Moadim, page 43), have placed life and death, good and evil” (Deuteronomy 3 Rabbi Zevin writes: “On the Sabbath following Rosh Hashanah, the Maggid from Metzerich expounded on the verse, ‘You shall return unto the L-rd [Hashem] your G-d [Elokecha],’ commenting that one must repent until one makes Hashem his G-d [Elokim]. Hashem represents G-d’s ineffable name and carries the idea that G-d transcends all worlds. By contrast, the word for G-d ‘Elokim,’ whose Hebrew letters have a numerical value of 86, corresponds to nature, ‘teva,’ which has the same numerical value. “The entire holy convocation that was present were stirred up greatly by this teaching, and the saintly Reb Zusia from Anapol who was also present said, ‘I cannot reach this level of repentance described by our master. Therefore, I will divide up repentance into five parts, according to verses beginning with the five letters of the Hebrew word for repentance, ‘teshuvah’: (Tav) ‘Remain totally faithful to the L-rd your G-d’ (Deuteronomy 18:13). (Shin) ‘I set the L-rd before me always’ (Psalm 16:8). (Vav) ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Leviticus 19:18). (Bet) ‘In all your ways acknowledge him’ (Proverbs 3:6). (Hei) ‘Walk humbly with your G-d’ (Micah 6:8).” Seemingly there are two distinct understandings here of repentance: The Maggid from Metzerich views repentance as relating to the whole span of the universe. The repentance that preceded the universe (Pesachim 54a) operated until the universe was created. Henceforth, repentance addresses not just the personal sin of the individual, committed of his own free will, but also sets out to rectify the world’s fall at the time of Creation and mankind’s fall when Adam sinned. Thus, every infant that comes into the world, even before it has committed any sin, is already in the midst of two cycles of falling - that of the universe at the time of Creation, and that of mankind through Adam’s sin. According to the Maggid, therefore, repentance does not serve only to rectify man’s free-will sins. Rather, it serves also to restore mankind to its status prior to Adam’s sin, and to restore Creation to its original state that existed when Creation was a divine idea that had not yet been fulfilled. It was to this that the Maggid was referring when he said that our repentance must be “to Hashem your G-d” -- until the divine source and His revelation to man reunite -- as it says, “On that day will the L-rd be one and His name One” (Zechariah 14:9). Is Reb Zusia suggesting an alternative to the repentance of the Maggid, or just a supplement? Truth be told, their opinions not only do not contradict each other but actually supplement each other. Rebbe Zusia would concur that repentance in its fullest sense has to relate to the whole universe. Such is the repentance that will be revealed in the end of days when the earth is filled with knowledge of G-d the way that water fills the seas. When that day arrives, every creature will know that G-d made him. Yet this idea is lofty and it is impossible to reach such a high level unless we first start climbing up to it by mundane steps. What is special about the five examples from which Reb Zusia builds his redemption foundation? Apart from their being general mitzvot that encompass the whole Torah, what characterizes them is that when a Jew fulfills them, he nullifies his independent being. When a person “remains totally faithful to G-d,” then all of his actions are exclusively for G-d, rather than serving to benefit him or to advance his own interests or those of his family. Likewise, when someone “sets G-d before him always,” he, too, is not looking at what benefits will derive to him from his actions. For example, if he heads a yeshiva, and nearby are other yeshivot, it will make no difference to him whether students study in his Torah institution or in another (such a person was Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neriah). For him the main thing will be that G-d’s name be publicized on earth. If someone loves his neighbor as himself, it will be all the same to him whether good things happen to him or to his fellow man. The same will be true if someone “acknowledges G-d in all his ways” or “walks humbly with G-d.” This the way Reb Zusia viewed the foundation of repentance. When human society achieves this, they will then be prepared to be exalted and to climb to the pinnacle of repentance. Then through us will be fulfilled, “You shall return to the L-rd your G-d,” as in the words of the Maggid. ourselves is never beyond our grasp. The gathering in of the exiles, national unity and the return to our homeland are all predicated on one movement - tshuva. Repentance is the only elixir for our spiritual and physical woes. But before Moshe concludes his farewell address, he reinforces the accessibility of one mitzva. "For this mitzva that I command you today-it is not hidden...and it is not distant. It is not in the heaven, for you to say 'Who can ascend ... and take it for us?' Nor is it across the sea for you to say 'Who can cross to the other side...so that we can listen to it...?' Rather, the matter is very near to you - in your mouth and your heart- to perform it." (30:11-14). Famous last words. The Gemara in Masechet Eruvin (55a) does not take them as mere hyperbole. "Rav Avdimi bar Chama said: What is the implication of 'this mitzva is not in heavens?' For if it were indeed in heaven we would have to ascend there to bring it back." The mystery remains which mitzva is Moshe Rabbeinu referring to? A mitzva so invaluable that no excuses could possibly justify its absence from our lives. Not surprisingly, Rashi understands the reference to be that of Torah itself. Its study and observance will always serve as the beacon light in the darkness of galut. Without it we have no chance at survival. This is why the Jewish people would never be absolved from finding it. Desperate situations call for desperate actions- even if it literally means traveling to the heavens. The Ramban however explains that the mitzva is directly related to Moshe's immediate remarks. The mitzva which is so close to us - in our mouths and hearts- is none other than tshuva. And it therefore follows that even if "repentance" would be perched in the heavens, we would have to find a way to bring it back to earth. If we entertain the Ramban's approach, a quandary begins to take hold. In this hypothesis, when tshuva is almost beyond our reach in the heavens, then where is the Torah? It is undoubtedly with us in its totality, safe and sound on firm ground. If that's the case, then why bother rocketing to heaven to bring back tshuva? Surely the Torah in all its Divine perfection could offer us the remedy for our mistakes. When the life source of the Jewish soul is here, why bother looking elsewhere for answers? Perhaps the following Midrash can shed some light. "They asked 'Wisdom': What is the fate of the sinner? It answered: 'Sinners pursue evil'. They asked 'Prophecy' the same question. She responded in kind: 'There is no hope but death itself'. They asked of the Torah: What remedy is there for the sinner? It answered: 'Bring a sacrifice for atonement.' Finally the question was posed to G-d Himself. And the answer was none other than tshuva. 'Let the sinner find atonement through repentance." (Yalkut Shimoni, Psalms 22) Evidently, the true power of tshuva is locked away with HaShem. Somehow, tshuva can work miracles that even defies the logic of the Torah itself. " Last night this sinner was separated from G-d; his prayers were ignored, his mitzvot were thrown back in his face. And today, he is clinging to the Shchina; his tfilot are answered immediately. There is a craving for his mitzvot... (Rambam, Hilchot Tshuva 7:7) A perfect cure for all our mistakes can be achieved overnight. It all sounds too good to be true ; but make no mistake - it can be done. This is the magical power of tshuva. It does more than just cleanse away the stains left from poor choices. tshuva, if done properly, can instantly transform us into brand new beings; erasing the past and opening up new horizons all in a moment's time. Just as the case with Torah, nothing would have stopped us from climbing to the heavens and bringing it back. We could not exist without it. The important message to remember is that it is not beyond our grasp. Every Jew in earnest really wants to come back. Intuitively we understand that "enough is enough". It is high time for some changes. K'lal Yisrael needs to return home - home to our Creatorhome to a life of Torah- home to our homeland. The decision is up to us. As we prepare for the last week of 5760- let us hold on to the eternal words of our teacher, Moshe: "Rather, the matter is very near to you- in your mouth and in your heart- to perform it." 4 – RAV RISKIN Rabbi Shlomo Riskin: http://www.ohrtorah.org.il/index.htm#top 3 - NYCI (Block) NCYI Weekly Divrei Torah, From:Kenneth Block ([email protected]) Rabbi Jonathan Rosenberg Young Israel of Colombus / Ahavas Sholom, Ohio No one other than Moshe Rabbeinu could so eloquently put into perspective the meandering course Jewish history would take as K'lal Yisrael struggles to come to terms with its true identity as the Chosen Nation. As is the case with much of the Book of Dvarim, Parshat Nitzavim is a moving homily that forewarns of the pain and suffering that comes along with poor choices. Galut- exile, assimilation, hemorrhaging statistics of intermarriage are all the results of sin. On the last day of his life, Moshe reminds us that just as the observance of mitzvot yields unprecedented blessing and superior quality of life, conversely, a lifestyle which ignores the primacy of Torah produces the exact opposite. Sometimes the most effective messages are simplest in form. It is by no means a coincidence that on the last Shabbat of the year we find ourselves reading from Moshe's last words in Parshat Nitzavim. (see Tosafot to Megilla 31b). The predominant concept that has occupied our collective hearts and minds since the shofar was sounded three weeks ago is that of tshuva- our return to HaShem. However the Jewish People decide to chart their course, the option of coming back will always be available. This is the emotional crescendo of Moshe's words. No matter how bleak the national situation may seem, the possibility to redeem 4 Efrat, Israel -- "It's my nature to be jealous; it's part of my make-up to become angry and shout invectives; no matter what I do, I'll never be able to go on a diet and keep the weight off." How often do we hear such statements from others - and even from ourselves! Such plaints are understandable enough, and certainly fit very well with a deterministic or Calvinist philosophy of life and religion. But Judaism, especially during this Elul period of Repentance leading up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with their message of freedom of choice and ability to change, seems to be imparting a very different expectation of human nature. Is it really fair to ask individuals to do what may very well be beyond their ability to achieve? Do we really have the power to overcome our weaknesses? My Rebbe and mentor, Rav Yosef Soloveitchik ztz"l, suggests a fascinating interpretation of the following verse (as well as of the entire contextual passage) in this week's Torah portion: " I bear witness against you this day the heavens and the earth: life and death do I set before you, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, in order that you and your seed may live." (Deuteronomy 30:29). After all, argues the Rav, we have already received the charge to choose commandment and blessing rather than transgression and curse some twenty chapters earlier (in the portion Re'eh), the Torah has already declared: "Behold, I give you this day a blessing and a curse: the blessing, when you shall obey the commandments of the Lord your G-d... and the curse if you do not obey the commandments. .."(Deuteronomy 11:26-28) Why does G-d present us with this choice again in the portion Nitzavim? The Rav suggests that there are in actuality two separate experiences of choice, two different expressions of free will: one is the ability of the individual to choose the correct path before he/she has sinned, and this is the interpretation of the first passage Re'eh; the other is the ability of the individual to accomplish that which is almost impossible, to go against his/her basic nature and choose the correct path even after he/she has succumbed to a character weakness and has already sinned - and this is the interpretation of the second passage in Nitzavim (see Doresh Tzion, Jerusalem 5760, pages 344, 345). I would however go one step further in order to take into account the human difficulty in overcoming one's weakness. Indeed, our Torah portion in Nitzavim still presents the choice - and insists on the individual's power of freedom of choice -after he/she has already transgressed, "saying it will fare well with me even when I follow the (evil) stirrings of my heart" (Deuteronomy 29:18). But our Torah portion also adds one more dimension to the choice, which does not appear previously in Re'eh. While the individual is expected to begin the process of repentance, to start to re-direct his passions even after he has transgressed ("And you shall return to your heart among all the nations where the Lord your G-d has scattered you there, and you shall return to the Lord your G-d and obey His voice" Deuteronomy 30:1,2), G-d Himself -as if aware of the almost insuperable difficulty of changing one's nature and overcoming one's inherent weakness - will step in and complete the process on behalf of the penitent ("And the Lord your G-d will circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed to love the Lord your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul in order that you may live." Deuteronomy 30:6) >From the perspective of the Sacred Zohar, the mystical interpretation of the Bible, this is precisely the higher meaning - and the difference between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah falls on the first day of the month of Tishrei, when the moon - symbol of G-d's light and grace - is hidden and barely visible (alma d' it kasia); the individual approaches the Synagogue with trembling anticipation, aware, when the moon is evolving and is glowing brightly in order to imbue the darkened skies with light and hope (alma d'it galia); the individual is then ecstatically reborn, cleansed, transformed and purified by the grace of Divine love and forgiveness. Indeed, we repent again and again throughout the penitential prayers of the Day of Forgiveness the words of the Prophet Ezekiel: "And I shall sprinkle upon you the purifying waters and you shall be purified... and I shall give you a new heart, and a new spirit shall I place in your midst .. "(Ezekiel 36:25,26) With this understanding we can appreciate anew the enormous power of the Day of Forgiveness, the one time during the year when the Almighty grants us not only forgiveness, but also the renewed inner strength to overcome our inborn weaknesses and foibles. And so we may better understand the terse interpretation of Rav Menachem Mendel of Kotzk on the verse immediately following the command - as well as our ability - to repent after one has transgressed: "This commandment which I have commanded you today is not ... faraway from you." (Deuteronomy 30:11) Says the Kotzker, "It requires only one small turn" (Yiddish: nur ein klein drei). What he apparently meant was that the penitent is only expected to make a change in direction, to turn his back on his temptations and begin to face G-d and His Torah. The penitent must merely take the first step; the Almighty will then give Him a hand to help him/her complete the journey. As we recite during the Closing Prayer: "Your right hand is extended to accept the penitent." An individual once came to a Rebbe, bitterly complaining that he beat his breast each Yom Kippur for a litany of transgressions, only to continue to repeat the same sins all over again once the new year got underway. The Rebbe smiled sympathetically and walked the petitioner over to a window. "Do you see the baby playing in the yard? He is my grandson, just learning to walk; he continually attempts to get up only to fall on his face. Eventually, however, he will stand by himself. And if he will only cry out to his father, and turn to him for a helping hand, he can shorten the process considerably!" 5- UNITED SYNAGOGUE Copyright 1999 United Synagogue Publications Ltd. Torah Le'am - The Root of Jewish Continuity Rabbi Lawrence Littlestone The apogee of Moses' valedictory address to the Jewish people is reached in Chapter 30 of Deuteronomy (11:14): The classical commentators are divided as to what the words this commandment refers. Ramban suggests that it refers back to the obligation of repentance, the subject matter of the preceding verses. His approach may be summarised as: wherever you find yourself, under whatever circumstances, the road to returning to a relationship with G-d is never far away. R'Yosef Albo in Sefer Haikarim shares the view that the passage is dealing with the mitzvah of teshuvah. However, all other commentators are of the opinion that this assessment is not viable. From the Talmud on, they maintain that this commandment refers to the entirety of Torah law. Rav Avdimi bar Hama, in the context of a discussion on the need for set Torah study, suggests that even were the Torah to be in heaven or over the seas we would still be obliged to strive to grasp it (Eruvin 55a). Rashi's comments echo this sentiment and go further by saying that the phrase 'this Word is very close to you' (verse 14) 'refers to the Torah which has been given to you in writing and orally.' R.Chaim ben Attar, author of Ohr HaChaim, asks a number of pertinent questions. Once we have been told that the Torah 'is not hidden from you', is it not clear that it is not very distant? Why did the Torah have to remind us that it is not beyond the seas, after all, even if it were, could we not send ships to retrieve it? The Ohr HaChaim suggests that perhaps the Torah refers to two factors contributing to the failure of Torah observance: 1) ignorance of what is written in the Torah and 2) the difficulty of keeping the mitzvot. Moses told the people that, although prior to the Revelation at Sinai, the Torah had indeed been in the Heavens, since that seminal event it was no longer in heaven but accessible to all. Moses' comment that the Torah is not in some distant land or over the sea obliquely refers to his inability to enter the Land of Israel to fulfil the mitzvot hatiuyot ba'aretz (those mitzvot that pertain to the Land). It is as if he were saying: 'I, who have been privileged to ascend to heaven to receive the Torah am nevertheless not privileged to cross the river into the Land. By contrast, you, who have not ascended as far, will be privileged to enter the Land and fulfil all mitzvot.' Do not let this opportunity pass you by. There is nothing in the Torah that is not attainable by the Common Man. The Torah is not the preserve of the clergy or the closeted scholar, it is available and close to every single Jew. It is yours for the taking. There is no need for an enlightened intermediary to bring new instalments or a new covenant. R.Samson Raphael Hirsch pointedly tells us that the teachings and actions which the Torah has in mind to not 'move in the sphere of the supernatural or the heavens and nothing that was necessary for its being understood and accomplished remains in heaven.' You do not need to find 'a mind superhumanly enlightened' to reveal its hidden secrets. 'Rather is it in your mouth and your heart to do it.' The pursuit of Torah is no mere intellectual study for the cerebrally minded. It is to be spoken about, exchanged, debated and internalised. It is to become part of the very fabric of our being. In truth, Moses did more than bequeath us Torat Moshe, he handed us something of inestimably greater value - Torah Le'am - Torah for the People. Shouldn't we - the People - reach out, take it, and make it our own? HALACHAH IN PRACTICE Erev Rosh Hashanah * On the Sunday before Rosh Hashanah, we commence saying Selichot early in the morning. * Selichot should be recited calmly and with devotion according to the order in the editions of the Selichot and according to local custom. Some stand throughout the Selichot. * Whilst an Avel must daven at home, he may go to Shul on Erev Rosh Hashanah because of the many Selichot which are said. * Before Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to visit the graves of the righteous, a custom based on the visit of Caleb, one of the twelve spies sent by Moses, to the graves of the Patriarchs at Hebron. We also visit the graves of parents and other relatives to pray and give charity. * On Erev Rosh Hashanah, one should occupy oneself with the study of Torah, the Mitzvot and Teshuvah. The latter especially in connection with sins between one person and another, and not wait until Erev Yom Kippur to seek forgiveness from other people. * It is customary to say Hatarat Nedarim (Annulment of Vows) that a person made in the heart, awake or in a dream, and then through forgetfulness did not keep them. The purpose of this is to enter the new year 'clear of debts'. (SY Agnon) SEPTENNIAL ASSEMBLY Rev Bernd Koschland At the end of the first day of Succot i.e. Chol Hamoed - there being only one day in Eretz Yisrael - the people were to assemble to hear the Torah being read to them. This ceremony was called Hakhel, after the first word in Devarim 31:12. Who was to read? According to Abarbanel (15th century), it was the most important person of the people, a Judge, prior to the first king, Saul, and then the kings thereafter, or much later Ezra (Nehemiah 8). The reading was taken from sections of Devarim, as detailed in the Mishnah. Why only read once in seven years? Whilst the Torah was taught all the time, it was thought that a splendid ceremonial occasion would impress the Torah on the people, but this had to be at regular longer intervals or else it would lose its impact. Hence it was carried out immediately after the end of the Shemittah year, and at the beginning of the new seven year cycle, when the people would not yet be pre-occupied with work on the land. Some commentaries observe that in fact the process of teaching the Torah began with the Shemittah and the public reading at the end was a type of Siyyum, conclusion. The Talmud describes the ceremony. Trumpets would be sounded in Jerusalem to assemble everyone. A platform was set up from which the king, seated, read the Torah. The Chazzan (Beadle or Shammash) of the Temple Synagogue handed the Torah to the 'President' of the Synagogue, he to the deputy High Priest, to the High Priest and on to the king, who stood to receive it. After the reading, seven extra brachot were recited. The Mishnah mentions a King Agrippa as shedding tears when he came to 'a foreigner may not rule ...' The people comforted him with: 'you are our brother'. The king was probably Agrippa I (37-44 CE), grandson of Herod and a descendant of the Hasmoneans on his mother's side. The Temple was not destroyed in his time, as mentioned by the commentaries e.g. Rashi, but in the time of his son Agrippa II, whose rule was little concerned with the Jews of Judea; if it is the latter, the last Hakhel would have been in the year 70 CE, as the previous Jewish year was a Shemittah. HOW WE GOT HERE Simon Goulden - Director, Community Services Group of the United Synagogue No-one is quite sure exactly when the first Jews arrived in England. Some historians believe the Phoenician traders regularly plied between the Eastern Mediterranean coast and Cornwall, where there was tin mining and the crews of their ships may have contained Jewish sailors. They claim that the Cornish town of Marazion, near Penzance, gets its name from the Hebrew words 'the bitterness of Zion', given to it by refugees from the destruction of the Second 5 Temple. Others note that the small number of Roman coins, minted in occupied Judea and found in Britain, might have been left by Jewish merchants now living in this northern outpost of the Roman Empire. To date, insufficient evidence has been found to prove a Jewish presence in Roman Britain, but it is perhaps interesting to imagine a small community of traders and merchants and their families, living in London, St Albans or other important civic centres. By the same token, some historians feel that there were probably small Jewish settlements in Dark Ages Colchester, York, Cambridge and Exeter as well. We know that Viking travellers and traders arrived in Constantinople, having made their way from Scandinavia via Muscovy, the river systems of Russia and the Ukraine and through the Black Sea. Why, they argue, could Jewish traders not have made their way through North Western mainland Europe to arrive on English shores? After 1066, a much clearer picture began to emerge. The main Jewish settlement came about because Jews from Rouen in Normandy and from Northern France appear to have come to England in the period after the Conquest. We know this because Jews are mentioned in William of Malmesbury's chronicle, which was written in the eleventh century. In a relatively short time, communities were established in such places as London, Oxford, Cambridge, Lincoln, Norwich and York. It is said that William the Conqueror invited the Jews to come to England. This is unlikely, but he did encourage them to come to England, because he needed their services to help him impose Norman rule on the Anglo-Saxons. To the Jewish settlers, the Norman conquest of England gave them the chance to live in a country which must have seemed like a haven and a land of opportunity. Adapted from 'From Arrival to Expulsion' by Marilyn Nathan; AJE Publications 1999 6 -PROJECT GENESIS The Jewish Learning Network Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.torah.org/ A). PG LIFELINE: "And it will be, when he hears the words of this curse, that he will bless himself in his heart, saying, 'I will have peace, for I am ruled by my own heart,' in order to satisfy his thirsts." [29:18] These are frightening words. Anyone, as my teacher Rabbi Asher Rubenstein pointed out, can fall into the trap of complacency. One who decides to follow his own heart, rather than attempting to improve and better fulfill his obligations, falls under a curse! But of course, we must examine the opposite side as well simply admitting our defects, recognizing that our actions have been inadequate, is a major step forward. Maimonides and the Sha'arei Teshuvah, outlining the necessary steps for return to G-d, both begin with admitting error. This is the prerequisite for the entire process. I first told the following story several years ago -- and I think it provides a good illustration of the value of admitting error as the first step in return. One evening, I started home from the office unusually late - and my lateness was foremost in my mind. I took a shortcut down a rural road in Owings Mills (where our office was located at the time), which at one point is just the sort of road "intended" to be driven at 50 mph (that's about 80 kph), but which the powers that be have posted at 30 mph instead. Baltimore County' Finest are well-aware of both the posted speed, and the speed which the road seems to encourage in most drivers. As soon as I saw the brake lights go red on the large car parked off to the side, I knew those lights were meant for me. By the time the flashers began rotating, I was already pulling off just ahead of him. Why make him follow me down the road? And when he walked over, leaned down, and said, "I pulled you over because you were doing 50 mph in a 30 mph zone," I looked down at my speedometer and said "I'm sure that's exactly what I was doing." I mean, what else was I going to say? I told him that I had come out of work late, just around the corner (this was maybe 300 yards (meters) from my office), and had not been paying attention. Some three (extremely long) minutes later, the officer returned with a warning. After receiving it, I had the chutzpah to ask why he had given me that rather than a well-deserved, $85, four-point, insurance-raising ticket. His answer? "You were polite, and you admitted you were wrong. The guys who argue with me will get a ticket every time." It's such an obvious lesson! The first thing we must do is: admit we were wrong! How can we correct our actions if we don't recognize first that... they aren't correct already? Now, admittedly, not every police officer works this way. But he was right - I have been more careful since. Maybe I learned my lesson without the punishment. And here in the parsha, G-d is telling us that He created the world this way, and made this part of human nature. Admit you are wrong, He tells us, and you are already on the road to recovery. Have you ever heard someone say, "I'm a good Jew?" This expression bothers me no end. If one is ready to say publicly, "I'm good," it means "I am good as I am. I don't need to improve." It has been my pleasure to meet some extremely "good Jews," models of kindness, consideration, charity, and prayer and learning as well. And I've never heard one of them ever using this expression on him- or herself. "I'm trying" they say, which sends an entirely different message. Our very first obligation is to realize that sometimes we aren't so good, after all. This isn't negative, it's a huge step in the right direction. Because now that we realize something is broken... we know something needs to be fixed! B). RAV FRAND: YOUTHFUL DISCRETION Children play a major role in this week's double portion. In Nitzavim, Moshe tells the nation, "You are standing today, all of you, before Hashem." He enumerates the different categories of people, from elders to water-carriers, and he makes sure to include everyone, even the small children (cf. Deuteronomy 28:9-10). In Vayeilech as well, the Torah is cognizant of the youth. Moshe commands that every seven years "the men, the women, and the small children, and your stranger who is in your cities shall gather in Jerusalem to hear the king read the Book of Devorim" (ibid 31:12). Commentaries expound that the aforementioned children are those who are too young to understand. But Moshe also talks about youngsters who have a basic grasp as well: "And their children … they shall hear and they shall learn to fear Hashem, your G-d, all the days that you live on the land to which you are crossing the Jordan, to possess it." The Ohr HaChaim explains that this verse refers not to toddlers, but rather to children who are old enough to learn the fear of Hashem. What troubles me is the end of the posuk, " they shall learn to fear Hashem, your G-d, all the days that you live on the land to which you are crossing the Jordan, to possess it." Shouldn't the Torah say "all the days that they live on the land to which they are crossing the Jordan"? After all, we are teaching them, not the adults! Why does the Torah tell us to teach the children, for all the days that their parents live on the land to which you are crossing the Jordan, to possess it? Lieutenant Meyer Birnbaum was one of the only Orthodox US army officers commissioned during World War II. Last year, he spoke at our yeshiva, and though I was enraptured by the harrowing tales of his war-time activities, one small incident that occurred to him as a young boy growing up in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn during the Depression did not escape me. In those days, few young men attended yeshiva or were committed to vigorous Torah observance. Meyer went to public school as well, but his parents wanted to raise him as an observant Jew. His friends would often make fun of his yarmulka, and few attended his bar-mitzvah. But that did not deter him. In fact, from the time he was old enough his mother would make sure that he attended the mincha service. Imagine the sight. A young boy coming to pray together with a group of elderly men who were hanging on to their tradition while their inheritors looked for newfound freedoms outside the decaying walls of the synagogue. Even the men who came to pray were only there to say kaddish for a dearly departed. So when young Meyer entered the portals of the shul for the very first time their eyes widened in amazement. Their shock turned to pity as they assumed the young boy came to shul for the same reason that most of them came, and for the very reason that they prayed their children would one day come the sole purpose of saying kaddish. The moment came when the kaddish yossum, the mourner's kaddish, was to be recited, and the congregation began in a cacophonous unison the hallowed words, "Yisgadal V'Yiskadash." Meyer just stared up into space, waiting to answer the first responsive Amen. He was startled by the jab in the ribs by a crooked finger, which left his searing side and began pointing to the correct place in the prayer book. "Nu!" shouted the man, "They are saying kaddish!” "I know that they are saying kaddish!" answered Meyer. "So, what are you waiting for? Say along!" Meyer did not understand where the conversation was heading. But he had no time to think when another old man looked his way, motioning for him to join the mourners in the kaddish recitation! "But I don't have to say kaddish!" answered Meyer tearfully, "my parents are alive!" "Your parents are alive?" asked the old-timer incredulously. "Yes, thank G-d, they are both alive! Why do you think that they are dead and that I should say kaddish?" They gathered around him as the final Amen was said and explained their actions. "We could not imagine someone your age coming to shul for any other reason!" The Torah tells us that children must be trained and taught not for post-parental existence, but rather it tells the parents "all the days that you live on the land to which you are crossing the Jordan." You must teach them to practice while you can enjoy the nachas as well! Torah is a living entity, not only to pass from dying embers to rekindle new flames, but rather to pass a vibrant torch with leaping flames onto the youth whose boundless energy will inspire new generations, when even you live on the land that Hashem has given you! C). PARSHA PARABLES (Rabbi M Kamenetzky) 'HAKHEL' REENACTS THE RECEIVING OF THE TORAH AT SINAI This week's parsha contains the mitzvah of 'Hakhel'. Once every seven years, following the end of the Shmita year, the King gathered all of Israel (who were already in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Succos) and read to them portions from the book of Devorim. The Sefer HaChinuch writes, concerning any person who neglects this mitzvah (for example a Jew who fails to attend or a King who fails to read the Torah) "...their punishment is very great, for this command is a fundamental pillar of the religion..." One would probably not have assumed that Hakhel is such an important mitzvah. Hakhel is a positive command (mitzvas aseh) that is only performed once every seven years. We might have assumed that Lulav or Matzah or Tefillin or Krias Shma are more important mitzvos. Yet, regarding those mitzvos, the Sefer HaChinuch does not write "and their punishment is very great..." What significance does the Chinuch see in this mitzvah? Rav Hutner, zt"l, in a lengthy introduction to a reprint of a sefer of the Ram"o (Darkei Moshe HaAruch) gives us an insight into what the mitzvah of Hakhel is really all about and why it is so important. Rav Hutner bases his thesis on two separate inferences from the Rambam. The Rambam [Hilchos Chagiga 3:3] lists the sequence of 6 the chapters in Devorim that were read at Hakhel: Read "From the beginning of the book of Devorim until the end of the parsha of 'Shma' [Hear Oh Israel]. Then read 'V-haya im Shamoa' [And it will be if you will listen], followed by 'aser t- aser' [You shall surely tithe]. Then, continue in sequence until the end of the 'Blessings and Curses' until the words 'besides the Covenant which He entered into with them at Chorev' and then stop (u'posek). Rav Hutner asks, why does the Rambam need to write the word "u'posek"? If the Rambam writes that we must read from here to there, specifying the last words, then obviously, that is where we stop. Why does the Rambam make a point of telling us "and that is where he stops"? [Rav Hutner's answer to this question will be explained together with his explanation of the second inference from the Rambam.] Rav Hutner's second inference from the Rambam is as follows: The Rambam in Hilchos Chagiga [3:7] refers to Hakhel as "Yom Hakhel" [The Day of Hakhel]. This is a strange expression that is not mentioned in the Talmud. What is the Rambam trying to tell us? Rav Hutner says that the essence of the ceremony of Hakhel is supposed to be the reenactment of ma'mad Har Sinai [the standing at Mt. Sinai]. It is the reenactment of the Kabalas HaTorah [receiving the Torah]. The Accepting of the Torah is THE seminal event in Jewish History. We are to reenact Kabalas HaTorah every seven years in order to impress upon the people the importance of what Torah means to the Jewish People. We want the people to feel as though they have experienced another Kabalas HaTorah. A few weeks ago, Baltimoreans celebrated the reenactment of the Battle of Baltimore, a seminal event in American history -- the composition of the Star Spangled Banner. For Baltimoreans, and for all Americans, that was a very important event. How does one commemorate that event? How does one make it live? How does one make future generations feel how important it was "that the flag was still there"? The answer is by reenacting it. L'Havdil, we have something that is unbelievably important to us. That something is Kabalas HaTorah. We want everyone to relive that 'Standing At Har Sinai'. How do we do that? We gather everyone together and read the Torah. That is why the Rambam says the word "u'posek" (the first inference). The words immediately prior to "u'posek" are "besides the Covenant He entered into with them at Horeb [Mt. Sinai]". We want those words to remain ringing in the people's ears! We want to conjure up lasting memories of Chorev, of Har Sinai. Therefore, the King must dramatically stop his reading right there. To read one more word beyond 'Chorev' would have diluted the impact, destroying the whole point of Hakhel. That is also why the Rambam refers to Hakhel as 'Yom Hakhel' (the second inference). Rav Hutner points out that if we take away the vowels of 'Yom Hakhel' it is precisely the same letters as 'Yom HaKahal' [the Day of the Congregation] which the Torah repeatedly uses [Devorim 9:10, 10:4, 18:16] to refer to the ma'mad Har Sinai. This is Hakhel -- the living and the reenactment of Kabalas HaTorah. Why? Because as Rav Sadyah Gaon tells us, "Our Nation is not a Nation except through Torah". For some, the idea that 'We Are A Nation Because of Torah' is a great novelty (chiddush gadol). There have been thousands and millions of Jews who have not always believed that. There have been Jews who have believed that we are a Nation by virtue of a land -- that without a land we are not a Nation. Says Rav Sadyah Gaon, "No; We are a Nation only through Torah." There are some people who believe that we are a nation through our language. There were some people that believed that the key to the Jewish people was Yiddish -- Yiddish plays and Yiddish songs and Yiddish events. They are no longer around. The only people who still, in fact, read or speak Yiddish are the people that they thought would never make it. There are a people who have thought that we are a Nation through our culture. No! Our Nation is not a nation except through Torah. That is what makes us a people. That is what binds us together. The Standing Together at Sinai; Accepting Torah; Learning Torah. The Torah, the mitzvos, nothing else. Not culture, not language, not history, nothing -- except Torah. This is what Hakhel tries to accomplish. The Centrality of Torah Now we must wonder... If the point of this mitzvah is to emphasize the centrality of Torah to the Jews, when would we expect to schedule this event which occurs once in seven years? I'll tell you the year in which I would not schedule Hakhel. I would not schedule Hakhel immediately following the Shmita year. That is seemingly when we need Hakhel the least. What did Jews do during the Shmita year? What happened to an agrarian society in a year when one could not plant or sow or harvest? Jews spent the entire year learning. That is what the Shmita year was all about. The Jews recharged their spiritual batteries, learning most of the day. There was nothing else to do. So, after Jews have just finished an entire year of learning and they now recall the importantance of learning -- is this the time when they need a Hakhel? Is this the time when we need to read the Torah to them? Is it not enough that they have been learning Torah for this entire year? Is now the time when they need to learn more? There is a lesson in this. The lesson is that a person, who really loves something, can never get enough of it. One may have learned the entire year, but this -- G-d says -- is when I want you to learn more Torah; it is precisely now that you can learn the lesson that there is never such a thing as getting enough of Torah, or getting tired of Torah. I hate to give this example, but come and see. "We toil and they toil..." We know what happens in America on December 31 and January 1. People sit down and watch the first football game. They go to sleep, having just finished one game. Then they get up the next morning and they watch the first Bowl game of the day. Then 7 by 12 o'clock they watch another game and by 4 o'clock another game. And then that night of January 1 -- there is another game! One has seen the Cotton Bowl, one has seen the Sugar Bowl, and one has seen the Rose Bowl. Who really needs the Fiesta Bowl? And yet millions and millions of people, after having watched football for an entire day, want one more game. And people pay millions of dollars to advertise on that last game because they know that people will watch it! Why? The reason is because if one loves football, one can never get enough of football. If one really loves something, he can never get enough of it. That is what Hakhel is all about. Hakhel says "Yidden! Torah is central to being a Jew. Our Nation is not a Nation without Torah. And we need to love it, to almost be addicted to it. Even if we have had a solid year of Torah, still we want another vort [Torah thought], another shiur, another kashe [question] and teretz [answer], we want more -- because Torah is so central to our lives." At the time of the year when we think, "How can we make next year better?" there is always one area that is open to everybody: One can always find more time for learning. That is what the message of Hakhel is -- there can never be enough of Torah Learning; because it is so central, so vital, because Our Nation is not a Nation except through Torah. 7 - HAR ETZION (VBM) Virtual Beit Midrash, Alon Shevut, Gush Etzion 90433 e-mail: [email protected], Home Page: http://www.virtual.co.il/education/yhe A) INTRODUCTION TO PARSHAT HASHEVUAH THE COMMANDMENT TO WRITE A TORAH SCROLL By Rabbi Michael Hattin Introduction As Rosh HaShana fast approaches, and the Book of Devarim winds down, we read the double portion of Nitzavim- Vayelekh. Having concluded his review of the mitzvot, Moshe now exhorts the people to follow them, and then proceeds to renew the Sinaitic covenant. Warnings of doom are followed by the promise of redemption, and in language that ranks among the most poetic and moving of the Hebrew Bible, Moshe then goes on to offer the people the precious gift of Teshuva. In a marked departure from our conventional understanding of this term, the repentance described in Moshe's address transcends the failures of the individual and instead embraces the mandate of the nation of Israel. With prophetic insight, Moshe foretells the tribulations that will befall the people of Israel during the dark night of their exile, but also sees the dawn of reconciliation, when Bnei Yisrael shall reflect on their checkered history and commence the process of Return. This 'return,' initially nothing more than an undefined ethereal awakening stirred by a subconscious awareness of God's patient beckon, will find its subsequent tangible expression in the physical restoration of the people of Israel to their land. The dynamic process will steadily unfold and intensify, culminating in the complete and irrevocable spiritual rapprochement between God and His people Israel, who will finally achieve security and peace. Moshe concludes the section by emphasizing the central role of man in the unfolding of the events, for freedom of choice, the ability to discriminate and to select between 'life and good, and death and evil,' is the exclusive preserve of the human being. "This day, I call heaven and earth as witnesses. I have placed life and death before you, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, so that you and your descendents shall live. Love God your Lord, hearken to His words and hold fast to Him, so that you will have life and length of days upon the land that God swore to give to your ancestors Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaacov" (Devarim 30:19-20). The Approaching End Finally, the day of Moshe's demise draws near. For a final time, he speaks to the people, offering words of encouragement as the sun of his selfless leadership begins to sink. Yehoshua is formally installed as his successor, and charged by his mentor with mission and purpose. Moshe completes the writing of the Torah and surrenders the scroll to the care of the Kohanim, to be safeguarded with the Tablets housed in the Ark of the Covenant. Intensely conscious of the moment's national dimension, Moshe further commands the people to once in seven years fulfill the mitzva of 'Hakhel' or 'Assembly,' at the time of the Sukkot festival. At that time, the people of Israel are to gather as one at the national shrine and, in a scene reminiscent of the receiving of the Torah at Sinai, are to hear the words of the Torah's instruction. "Their children, who do not know, will thus listen and learn to fear and revere God your Lord, as long as you live upon the land that you are crossing the River Jordan to possess" (Devarim 31:13). At last, God informs Moshe that his end has come. By His command, Yehoshua is summoned to the Tent of Meeting and there, in Moshe's presence, he is invested with the onerous responsibility of leadership. God describes to Moshe the people's imminent infidelity, and spells out the harsh consequences of their attachment to idolatry. "On that day, I will surely hide My face from them, because of the evil that they have done by turning to alien gods" (Devarim 31:18). The text continues: "Now, write for yourselves this Song and teach it to Bnei Yisrael that they might recite it, so that this Song will serve as My witness for Bnei Yisrael. For when I bring them into the land that I swore to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, and they shall eat and be satisfied and wax fat, they shall then turn to alien gods and serve them. They will despise Me and violate My covenant. When many great troubles come upon them in consequence, this Song shall serve as a witness before them, for it shall never be forgotten by their descendents...Moshe wrote this Song on that day and taught it to Bnei Yisrael..." (Devarim 31:19- 22). The 'Song' – a Reference to 'Shirat Ha'azinu' According to the straightforward rendition of the above verses, the 'Song' is none other than a reference to the 'Song of Ha'azinu,' or 'Hearken.' This elegy that constitutes next week's parasha (Devarim 32) is a succinct but charged depiction of the history and destiny of Bnei Yisrael, and is in fact written in poetic form. It begins with a description of God's perfect justice, and goes on to outline His providential care of the Jewish people, notwithstanding their unfaithfulness. Mirroring themes of our parasha, the Song of Ha'azinu lyrically traces the tragic consequences of abrogation of God's covenant, but concludes with the promise of redemption and national renewal. Among the classical commentaries, the Ramban (13th century, Spain) adopted this explanation, remarking that: "'write for yourselves' (in the plural) refers to Moshe and Yehoshua, for both of them were commanded to write it. This is because God wanted Yehoshua to already function as His prophet while Moshe was yet alive. Moshe wrote the Song while Yehoshua stood by his side and read it...The expression 'this Song' refers to the Song that I (God) will now tell you, namely Ha'azinu. The verse refers to it as 'Song' for Bnei Yisrael shall always recite it as a musical composition. Also, it is composed with the structure of a Song, for the textual divisions parallel the musical breaks" (commentary to 31:19). The 'Song' – A Reference to the Entire Torah In contrast to this reading, the Talmud offers an interpretation that appears to be at odds with the plain sense of the text, for it maintains that 'this Song' refers not to the 'Song of Ha'azinu,' but rather to the entire Torah: "Rabbah said: even though a person may have inherited a scroll of the Torah from his ancestors, it is nevertheless a commandment for one to write his own, as the verse states: 'Now, write for yourselves this Song.'" (Sanhedrin 21b). This opinion is further amplified by another Talmudic passage that relates: "Rav Yehoshua bar Abba said in the name of Rav Giddel, who reported in the name of Rav: a person who purchases a Sefer Torah in the marketplace has snared a mitzva for himself, but one who writes his own scroll, it is as if he has received the Torah from Mount Sinai. Rav Sheshet added: one who corrects even a single letter in a defective scroll, is likened to one who has written the entire scroll" (Menachot 30a). The foregoing Talmudic excerpts are not mere homilies, for according to Jewish tradition, they in fact serve as the source for the final positive commandment recorded in the Torah, the commandment to write a Torah scroll. Rambam (12th century, Egypt), in his Book of the Commandments, where he painstakingly records the six hundred and thirteen commandments of the Torah, says: "The Torah commanded that each person should write a Sefer Torah for himself. If he writes it by his own hand, it is if he has received it from Mount Sinai. But if he is unable to write his own, he may purchase one or hire a scribe to compose it for him. This mitzva is derived from the verse 'Now, write for yourselves this Song.' Since one is not permitted to write a scroll of the Torah that is composed of only some sections, the term 'Song' must therefore refer to 'the entire Torah that contains this Song' (Book of Commandments, Positive Commandment #18). In his Laws of the Sefer Torah from the Mishneh Torah, Rambam records the remainder of the Talmudic ruling: "...although one may have inherited a Torah from his ancestors, it is nonetheless a mitzva to write one's own." He concludes: "If one writes it by his own hand, it is as if one received it from Mount Sinai. If he is not able to write it, others may write it for him. One who corrects even a single letter of a scroll, it is as if they have written the entire scroll" (Laws of Sefer Torah, 7:1). Rambam's Reading Clearly, Rambam was confronted with the difficulty of reconciling the reading of the verse that spoke of writing a 'Song,' with the received Oral Tradition maintaining that 'Song' meant 'the entire Torah.' Rambam offered an interpretive solution predicated upon a Halakhic principle: since we know from other traditional sources that it is forbidden to write a scroll composed of an anthology of Torah passages, it is inconceivable that the Torah would command us to write a scroll containing ONLY the Song of Ha'azinu. The meaning of the text must therefore be 'write an entire scroll of the Torah that will of necessity include this Song.' On the one hand, Rambam succeeds in preserving the plain meaning of 'Song' as a reference to 'Ha'azinu,' for that parasha is certainly poetic, rhythmic, and lyrical. On the other hand, his interpretation is somewhat forced, for it is based upon assumptions that are not at all stated in the passage. The Interpretation of the Netziv In more recent times, the Netziv (Naphtali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, 19th century, Lithuania) addressed the same textual issue, but offers a different explanation that is compelling as well as profound. The problematic word is, as we have seen, 'Song.' In the third section of the introduction to his commentary to the Torah, the Netziv considers the meaning of 'Song,' and contrasts it with its natural analogue, prose. Typically, he suggests we tend to distinguish the two according to strict linguistic criteria, by describing prose as factual narrative, and poetry as metrical verse. This is, of course, true, but there is an interpretive distinction as well. Thus, prose writing relates events in straightforward terms that in and of themselves contain no allegorical or hidden explications. Prose writing attempts to convey facts or observations without 8 embellishment. Poetry, on the other hand, is more allusive, for its rendition of events is concisely couched in emotive language that has as its purpose the communication of numerous messages of import. Additionally, poetry tends to have more pronounced structural constraints that paradoxically result in a larger number of possible interpretations. By employing rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, acrostic and other literary devices, clarity of expression is often sacrificed for the sake of artifice, and shades of ambiguity are thereby introduced. The final result of these differences is that a poetic rendition conveys subtleties of thought and various layers of meaning that a prose rendition is not able to communicate. However, only one who is well-versed in poetry can be truly appreciative of these effects. The uninitiated, in contrast, failing to grasp the power and profundity of the poetic expression, will take the words at their face value and thereby misconstrue and misinterpret them. In a similar vein, says the Netziv, the entire Torah is a form of poetry. Even the narrative passages that appear to be 'prose' in terms of their structural form are actually 'poetry' in disguise. They therefore contain in their concise and condensed words penetrating insights of singular import. To return to our text, the command of 'Now, write for yourselves this Song' really is a reference to the entire Torah, just as the Talmud maintains. As the Netziv explains, all of the Torah from beginning to end, is actually composed as a 'Song,' and it is therefore our precious mission to uncover and to unravel those deeper dimensions of the text. Text and Context We have thus far analyzed two attempts to explain the connection between an Oral Tradition and a passage that appears to be at odds with it. Let us consider the matter from a wider perspective in an attempt to pinpoint the inspiration for the Talmudic assertion that cryptically embedded in a verse of our parasha is the Torah's final command. Let us recall that the parasha began with an exhortation, and a renewal of the covenant. The passage of Teshuva and the hope of redemption followed. Moshe then appointed Yehoshua, the writing of the Torah was completed and the commandment of 'Assembly' was introduced. God spoke to Moshe and Yehoshua, foretold the people's abandonment of Him and their consequent downfall, and bid them to write 'this Song.' It will immediately be noticed that every one of the above incidents revolves around the pivot point of national continuity. Thus, as the old generation finally expires and the new one rises to take its place, there is a need to renew the Covenant between God and the people of Israel, to impress upon them the eternal relevance of their mission. Though they may stray mightily from their objective, the national Teshuva that the next passage outlines is a reflection of God's faith that indeed the people of Israel will one day return to Him. The tenets of the Torah will never be forsaken forever, and the desolate and barren land that once had flowed with milk and honey will someday come back to life. In other words, though the special task that God had entrusted to His people may appear to be in danger of dissipation, it will never perish completely. Rather, it will remain alive in the hearts of their descendents as a glowing ember, passively waiting to be fanned by the Divine Spirit into a conflagration of commitment. The appointment of Yehoshua was about the transfer of leadership, with the new generation now ready to take its rightful place as the bearers of the tradition. The commandment of Assembly followed, and stressed the initiation of the children into the covenant of the Torah, much as their ancestors had stood at Sinai to hear God's word. It is at this juncture that God brings Moshe and Yehoshua together, and enjoins upon them the writing of the 'Song.' Moshe and Yehoshua as Paradigms What is the significance of the relationship between Moshe and Yehoshua? More than simply signifying leader and successor or even selfless mentor and devoted student, Moshe and Yehoshua symbolize the idea of TRANSMISSION. Moshe speaks to God and Yehoshua learns from Moshe, but taken together they create a dynamic that is greater even than the sum of its parts. That dynamic is the mechanism of transmission, the critical notion that no matter how veritable and transformative a tenet may be, unless it can be faithfully preserved and propagated across the generations, it will die. The transfer of leadership that seems to preoccupy our parasha can now be restated as the embodiment of this ideal, and the rest of the parasha's episodes are nothing but variations of this theme. Considering God's directive to Moshe and Yehoshua to record the words of the 'Song,' we now appreciate that this is a commandment about continuation, for the perpetuation of God's word is the vehicle for ensuring the survival of the people of Israel. Moshe and Yehoshua are the microcosm of that people, for they represent in the most evocative terms the ideal of encountering God and preserving the account of that encounter, so that its effects can live forever in the hearts of sensitive people. The 'Song' that they are told to record can therefore only mean the entire Torah, for that is the most logical extension of the complementary themes of continuity and transmission of which our parasha so eloquently speaks. B) INDEPTH PARSHAT SHEVUAH ISRAEL'S REPENTANCE (DEVARIM 30:1-10) By Rav Elchanan Samet A. THE COVENANT OF DEVARIM Parashat Nitzavim is always read on the last Shabbat of the year, and the ten verses with which chapter 30 opens – generally called "parashat ha-teshuva," the section on repentance – thus serve to prepare us for the days of judgment and atonement that await us. Let us examine this parasha more closely. Parashat ha-teshuva depicts Israel's future return to God and God's return to them. This parasha is a continuation and conclusion of the lengthy section of "the blessing and the curse" enumerated previously in parashat Ki-Tavo, as is easily demonstrated by a linguistic comparison between them. Together, they form "the covenant of Sefer Devarim." On the basis of a close analysis of the differences between the "blessings and curses" in Sefer Vayikra (parashat Bechukkotai) and in Sefer Devarim, the Ramban (Vayikra 26:16) concludes that the curses in parashat Bechukkotai refer to the first exile (to Babylonia), while "the covenant in Mishneh Torah (Sefer Devarim) hints at our present exile and the redemption from it." Regarding the covenant in our Sefer, he continues as follows: "At first glance, it seems that there is no hint at an end or conclusion, and that no redemption is promised; it is dependent solely on teshuva... The redemption in this second covenant is a more complete and elevated redemption than the others... and the things promised for the future redemption are a more complete promise than all the visions of Daniel." B. PRECONDITION OR PROMISE? Let us now closely analyze the first three verses of chapter 30. These contain a clause of precondition and a clause of result, but the distinction between them is unclear. The syntax of the Torah gives rise to certain instances where only exegetical considerations, based on the content of the verses, can aid us in deciding whether a certain clause is to be understood as the condition or as the result. A sentence beginning with the letter "vav" can be interpreted either way. Such is the case in our instance. Let us examine the various interpretive possibilities and their ramifications. I.CONDITION: "And it shall happen when all these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have given before you, RESULT: You shall recall them to your heart among all the nations where God has driven you... And you shall return to Hashem your God and listen to His voice, and God will return your captivity and have mercy on you..." According to this analysis, the condition defines the timeframe for the consequence. But the consequence itself can be understood in two different ways: i."And you shall recall them to your heart," "and you shall return to God" – this is a prophetical promise as to what will occur at that time. The Rambam (Hil. Teshuva 7:5) seems to adopt this understanding. ii. "And you shall recall them," "and you shall return" – this is a commandment, and it becomes obligatory in exile, when the blessings and curses have been realized. This is the Ramban's understanding. II. CONDITION: "And it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse... and you recall them to your heart... and you shall return to Hashem your God and listen to His voice... CONSEQUENCE: Then Hashem your God will return your captivity and have mercy on you, and come back and gather you from among all the nations..." According to this analysis, the condition defines both the timeframe and the circumstances for the consequence: only if in exile you engage in soul- searching and then return to God and listen to Him, THEN you will merit redemption from that exile. This would seem to reflect the understanding of the Ibn Ezra (beginning of chapter 30). The variety of interpretive possibilities for these verses, and their ramifications concerning the teshuva of Am Yisrael in exile – whether it be a promise or a mitzva – are quite confusing. It seems that this characteristic of biblical style, which sometimes blurs the distinction between a conditional clause and a consequent one, is employed intentionally in order to create different exegetical possibilities and intentional equivocations. (This applies in particular in places where there is a string of verbs, some of which represent the consequences of preceding ones, while simultaneously serving as preconditions for subsequent ones.) There is no qualitative contradiction between these two readings: it may be that the teshuva of Israel in exile is a mitzva, and at the same time that the fulfillment of this mitzva represents a precondition for their redemption. It may even be that the teshuva of Israel in exile is a promise, but only after this promise is fulfilled can the process of redemption and the ingathering of the exiles begin, and therefore this promise is a precondition for the fulfillment of the other promise. It appears, therefore, that all the possibilities raised by the various commentators quoted above are indeed included in these verses, and that the verses are intentionally formulated in such a way as to allow for different readings among which some compromise should be sought. C. ISRAEL'S RETURN AND GOD'S RETURN This stylistic feature continues to characterize parashat hateshuva up until just before the end. The parasha contains a series of verbs beginning with the letter "vav" which is simultaneously both conversive (changing the tense of the verb from past into future) and also conjunctive (adding each new verb onto those that precede it). Thus each action described in this parasha is both the consequence of its preceding one and the condition for the subsequent one. In this way the Torah describes two processes which promote one another and are interdependent: a human act – the teshuva of Israel, and a Divine act – their redemption. Let us present parashat ha-teshuva in such a way as to highlight the distinction between the human act of teshuva and the Divine act of redemption, and at the same time to highlight the alternating order of verbs and the order of their connection with one another. We will assign a capital letter to each section (section A, 9 section B, etc.), and will denote human action by (i) and divine action by (ii). "And it will be when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I give before you, (i) A. And you RECALL them to your hearts among all the nations where Hashem your God has driven you, And you RETURN to Hashem your God and listen to His voice in all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your hearts and with all your souls, (ii) B. Then God will RETURN your captivity and have mercy on you, and HE WILL COME BACK and gather you from all the nations where Hashem your God has dispersed you. Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the heavens, from there Hashem your God will gather you and from there He will take you, and Hashem your God will bring you to the land which your forefathers possessed, and you shall possess it, and He will perform good for you and multiply you more than your fathers. (i) C.And Hashem your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants to love Hashem your God with all your hearts and with all your souls, in order that you may live. (ii) D. And Hashem your God will place all these curses upon your enemies and upon those who hate you, who have persecuted you. (i) E. And you will RETURN and obey the voice of God and perform all His mitzvot which I command you today. (ii) F. And Hashem your God will make plentiful all your endeavors; the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your animals and the fruit of the land – for the good, for God WILL AGAIN (lit., return to) rejoice over you for good, as He rejoiced over your fathers." (i) G. If you will listen to the voice of Hashem your God, to observe His mitzvot and statutes written in this book of the Torah, (and) if you will return to Hashem your God with all your hearts and with all your souls." D. UNDERSTANDING THE PROGRESSION Let us now try to understand the development of this dual process described in parashat ha-teshuva, stage by stage, with the assistance of the above table. Firstly, let us look at the general structure of the parasha. It begins with a sort of introduction, containing the only clause which we can say with certainty is a conditional one: "And it will be when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse..." This lays the groundwork for all that follows: the realization of the blessing and – more importantly – the curse will give rise to the process of Israel's teshuva in exile, while the process of their redemption is aimed at nullifying the curse and bringing back the blessing. Subsequently, parashat ha-teshuva continually alternates between Israel's teshuva towards God and their redemption by God's hand, because these two processes are interdependent. Note that the process described in the parasha begins and ends with Israel's teshuva, denoted by (i). The root "sh-u-v" (return) is repeated seven times in the parasha and serves as a leading word. Four of these seven appearances are to be found in the "teshuva" section ('i'), while three occur in the "redemption" section ('ii'). Nevertheless, the use of a common root for the description of these two processes indicates their reciprocity: Israel returns to God, and God returns to Israel and returns them to His land – as summarized by the prophet Malakhi: "RETURN to Me and I SHALL RETURN to you." Another leading word in the parasha is God's name, which appears 14 times (of which 12 are in the form of "Hashem your God"). Here, interestingly, there is equality between the two halves. Let us now look at each stage of the process independently as well as in context: SECTION A: The starting point for the process is Israel's teshuva in exile. Whether this teshuva is defined as a mitzva or as a divine promise, it nevertheless simultaneously serves as the precondition for the beginning of the process of redemption in stage B. The root "sh-u-v" appears twice here, but with different meanings. We first encounter it in the causative case – "And you shall recall it to your hearts," meaning that "You shall take it to heart, to observe with attention." But the object of the sentence is absent: what is it that we are to recall to our hearts? The answer is to be found in the "introduction" to the parasha: you shall take to hearts that all the things concerning which you were forewarned, the blessing and the curse, have come upon you. This observation of the historical fate of Israel gives rise to the conclusion that, as we say in our prayers, "Because of our sins we were exiled from our country." This national soul-searching then brings about the second appearance of the root "sh-u-v," namely, Israel's teshuva: "And YOU SHALL RETURN to Hashem your God and listen to His voice... YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN, with all your hearts and with all your souls." SECTION B: Although section A and section B each contain two appearances of the root "sh-u-v," seeming to set up an equivalence, in truth God's movement towards Israel exceeds their movement towards Him. "Open for Me one opening of teshuva as small as the eye of a needle, and I will open for you openings through which entire wagons will enter" (Shir Ha-Shirim Rabba 5:3). While only the second verb in section A expresses a movement of Israel towards God, in section B both verbs express a movement of God towards Israel. There are several additional verbs which express this even more strongly: "He will have mercy on you... He will gather you up... He will take you... He will bring you... He will perform good for you and multiply you." The Divine action for the benefit of Israel in section B is comprised of many stages, encompassing a vast scope of time and space. This action includes the ingathering of ALL the exiles - from every place to which they have been dispersed, bringing them to Eretz Yisrael, causing them to possess the land and multiplying them there for the good. The superiority of B. over A. is expressed quantitatively in the number of verses and the number of words (38 vs. 27), as well as in the number of times that God's name is repeated (4 vs. 2). SECTION C: The inclusion of part C in section 'i' of the parasha at first seems incorrect: it appears to be a direct continuation of the Divine action towards Israel that was described in part B. But the content of this part justifies its placement here: God's action towards Israel here is not in the sphere of their physical redemption (as it was in part B), but rather in the spiritual realm. "Circumcision of the heart" means removal of the covering that seals it; it is a metaphor for spiritual freedom to open the heart to positive spiritual action. This action is "to love Hashem your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live." Clearly, love of God is an action undertaken by Israel of their own free will, and therefore this part properly belongs in the half of the parasha that describes Israel's teshuva. The vocabulary of this part likewise indicates this: "Your hearts and the hearts of your children" corresponds to what was said in part A – "you and your children;" "with all your hearts and with all your souls" is an expression that is repeated in A. and in F. Thus, all three of its appearances occur in section 'i' of the parasha. Why, then, is Israel's teshuva at this stage attributed to God Who has "circumcised their hearts?" The answer to this is connected with the fact that part C follows part B: the spiritual change that occurs in Israel in C. is the result of the same bold Divine action on behalf of Israel and their redemption. The ingathering of the exiles and the good that God brings to Israel in their own land are what lead to the "circumcision of their hearts." Israel, in returning to the land of their forefathers, "recall to their hearts" (as in A.) all the good that God has bestowed upon them, and their hearts are opened to LOVE God. Here we notice the difference between the teshuva that took place in exile (in A.) and that that takes place later in Eretz Yisrael (in C.): in exile, observation of Israel's historical fate – the troubles and suffering that God brought upon them – brought about teshuva towards God and listening to His voice. Although this teshuva is wholehearted and sincere, it is born of fear. But in Eretz Yisrael the observation of the great good that God has bestowed upon Israel – in bringing them to their land and granting them great favor – brings about an opening of the hearts, and renewed love on the part of Israel: love of God with all their heart and soul. SECTION D: Parallel to the "circumcision of the hearts" in the sphere of Israel's teshuva, referring to a sort of surgical procedure, as it were, to remove that which is redundant and harmful, there is a similar action that takes place in the sphere of redemption: "And Hashem your God will place all these curses upon your enemies and those that hate you, and have persecuted you." Israel's return to the land and their dwelling in it surrounded with good and comfort does not erase the injustices shown towards them by their enemies while in exi The process of teshuva and redemption described here rests on the basis of continuous contemplation of the past. Not only Israel are required to do this, but God too, in coming to redeem His people, remembers the hatred and persecution suffered by Israel in exile, and He transfers "these curses" suffered by Israel to their enemies and those who hate them. God's revenge on the enemies of Israel who have spilled their blood is a central foundation of the descriptions of redemption in the Torah, starting with our parasha, continuing through the song of Ha'azinu (32:40-43) and up until the visions of redemption in the Prophets. The root "sh-u-v" does not appear in part D, nor in the preceding part C. The reason for this may be that what is described in these parts is not a RETURN to what happened in the past, but rather new levels of teshuva and redemption, unique to the process described in our parasha. SECTION E: The similarity between part E and part A is confusing. Where is the progress here in the teshuva process? In A. we read, "And you WILL RETURN TO GOD," and in E. we are told, "You will AGAIN (lit. "come back and") obey God's voice." Here the use of the word "come back" means a return to a previous stage. When in the past were Israel in a situation of obeying God's voice and performing His mitzvot? The answer is that this previous time refers to A., when Israel were still in exile! SECTION F: Israel's RETURN to the situation of previous generations – obeying God and performing His mitzvot – causes God in turn to AGAIN relate to Israel as He related to their forefathers in the early generations, before they sinned and were punished: "For God will AGAIN rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your forefathers." The practical significance of this attitude on the part of God towards Israel is described in the first part of verse 9: "And God will make you plentiful in all your endeavors; in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your animals and in the fruit of your land, for the good." At this stage there are two developments – a promise of the good that God will perform for Israel, and a specification of the areas in which it will be expressed. But more important than these is the relationship revealed here between God and Israel: "to rejoice over you for the good." An expression of a "psychological" relationship with Israel is to be found at the beginning of the description of the redemption (C.): "And He will have mercy on you," and at its conclusion – "to rejoice over you." Thus all the actions that God performs for His nation in coming to redeem them are surrounded by prior mercy and subsequent rejoicing over them. SECTION G: The final part of the parasha is comprised of two sentences that start with the word "if" (ki): "If you listen" and "if your return." The true meaning of this word here seems to be 1 0 "since," and if this is so then this part contains a reason for God's actions towards Israel as described in the previous part, and perhaps in all the preceding parts (B., D., F.). This reason is set out in chiastic order in contrast with the description with which the process opens, in A.: A: "And YOU WILL RETURN to HASHEM YOUR GOD, AND OBEY HIS VOICE in all that I command you... G: "Since YOU SHALL OBEY Hashem your God, to observe His mitzvot... Since YOU SHALL RETURN to HASHEM YOUR GOD..." The return to the same idea with which the parasha opened (although in reverse order) is a common biblical technique for the conclusion of a literary unit. Nevertheless, a careful reading shows that the conclusion describes a stage higher than that depicted at the start: teshuva TOWARDS ('el') God expresses a greater degree of closeness to God than teshuva TO ('ad') God. This greater closeness of Israel to God is obviously the result of God's closeness to Israel in the previous stages. C) HAFTORA text D) SICHAT ROSH YESHIVA Harav Yehuda Amital Shlit"A "NEEDY AND DESTITUTE, WE KNOCK AT YOUR DOOR" The laws of Rosh Ha-shana in the Shulchan Arukh begin with a custom: We rise, during the final stages of night, and beg God for forgiveness. Sha'arei Teshuva, after criticizing people who recite the evening selichot before chatzot (midnight), adds an intriguing comment: "...on Motzaei Shabbat, the recital of selichot is FORBIDDEN until after chatzot, because of the holiness of Shabbat." A puzzling statement. Havdala has been recited, all work is permitted - why then is the recital of "viddui" (confession) still forbidden? Perhaps we can divine the answer through the message of the midrash: "'I am black and comely, daughters of Jerusalem' (Shir Hashirim 1:5). 'I am black' - on the weekdays. 'And comely' on the Shabbat. 'I am black' - all year long. 'And comely' on Yom Kippur. 'I am black' - in this world. 'And comely' - in the world to come." Our personalities contain elements of Shabbat, of Yom Kippur, of the world to come. All is not dark. Bright spots within us abound: morality, spirituality, purity, "me'ein olam ha-ba." However, Chazal remind us, materialism, envy, hatred, lust and selfishness have their share in us as well. Elements of darkness and shadow exist in us alongside the bright glow of Shabbat. We are forbidden to confess our sins on Shabbat, because on Shabbat we are meant to develop and express our own Shabbat-like qualities. The problem is that we tend to emphasize our bright spots, and to neglect our darker sides. The essence of viddui involves highlighting those deeds which require confession. While still immersed in the holiness of Shabbat, with the songs of praise still echoing in our ears, while the taste of Shabbat lingers on, we might fail to notice and consider those thoughts and deeds that we must confess. Therefore, Sha'arei Teshuva maintains viddui may be recited only after chatzot on Saturday night, for fear that earlier we may yet be steeped in the aspect of "comeliness" of Shabbat, and blind to the element of "blackness" of the weekdays. Our self-perception during viddui constitutes a central motif of the selichot. "Needy and destitute, we knock at your doors." Needy and destitute! The Chassidim tell the story of a beggar who came to complain to his rebbe: "Master, how is this possible? When I come before you, you see me for only a few short moments, and yet so-and-so, the rich landowner, remains with you for over two hours!" The rabbi responded, "My precious son, when you come before me, I can immediately discern that you are a beggar. That rich landowner remained in my presence for two hours until I realized that he, too, was a beggar!" There are times when man views himself as needy and destitute, and other times when he must search and examine himself for hours until he discovers that he is indeed needy and destitute. Outwardly, we have performed numerous mitzvot over the course of the year. Why then do we call ourselves "needy and destitute?" The actions have been accomplished; however, the spiritual worth of those actions is ultimately measured by the degree of awe and love of God which inspired their performance. This is the soul, the essence, of every mitzva. If we examine all our actions based on their inner spiritual intensity, the results are often strikingly meager. Our state is comparable to that of a man who possesses a tremendous sum of money, however, the currency has become valueless. He is left with a pile of worthless papernotes. We are "needy and destitute" in a similar manner. We have performed mitzvot, but their ultimate worth is meager indeed. In the Mussaf prayer of the high holidays, we say, "For the remembrance of all actions come before you, ma'aseh ish UPEKUDATO." What does "u-pekudato" mean? The word should shake us to our foundations! It means one's role, his mission. Each person's mission in life comes before God. We must honestly examine whether we have fulfilled our God-given task. One hundred thousand Jews have joined us in Israel this year, Jews who are Jewishly needy and destitute. Are God's demands of them equal to his demands of us? According to the Rambam, God alone is versed in the act of weighing virtue against vice. For the most part, we yeshiva students have been fortunate enough to experience Torah and fear of heaven, belief in God and mitzvot, from infancy. We learned to keep mitzvot from our surroundings. Torah was presented to us on a silver platter. We must discover the true worth of this tremendous investment! This week, the yearly budget of one of the largest factories in Israel was published. The incoming revenue was twelve million dollars, and yet the overall balance concluded with a loss of nineteen million dollars. Why? The explanation is quite simple: the factory had debts to pay. So it is with us. Yes, we keep the mitzvot, but how much of the investment do we owe to others? How much is actually the fruit of our own labor? Moshe Rabbenu, the humblest of men, wrestled with this dilemma. Perhaps that simple Jew, crying out for his portion of meat, was on a higher spiritual plane than himself. He was not granted the life of luxury which Moshe took for granted in Pharaoh's palace. Perhaps, if this same Jew had grown up in Moshe's surroundings, he would also have reached the spiritual status of Moshe Rabbenu! With all of our good deeds, are we not still needy and destitute? "Ma'aseh ish u-pekudato:" who can be sure what mission God has chosen for him, having been privileged to be raised here in Israel, and not in Russia? What are God's demands of you personally? Thus, without doubts or illusions, we open the book of selichot and proclaim: "Needy and destitute, we knock at your doors. You, God, are righteous, and we are ashamed." And yet - this very neediness and poverty of spirit can also serve as a source for God's mercy, if we are indeed aware of our spiritual emptiness, and reach the appropriate conclusions. The midrash (Shemot Rabba 45:6) states: "'I will spread all my goodness before you...' At that moment, God showed him all the treasures reserved for the righteous. He asked: Lord of the Universe, to whom does this treasure belong? To raisers of orphans. To whom does this treasure belong? To the masters of Torah. And to whom does this treasure belong? To those who honor the masters of Torah. And so on, for each treasure. He saw a treasure larger than all the others, and asked: To whom does this great treasure belong? He responded: He who has good deeds is paid accordingly; and to he who has none - I give treasures for free." When a person approaches God with a sense of poverty, and says, "Lord of the universe, I have nothing. I come before you emptyhanded" - this is a mainspring of mercy. However, our recognition of our spiritual poverty must be sincere. If we are indeed destitute of mitzvot, we must act. What are the conclusions and ramifications of this sense of emptiness? If the emotion is sincere, it can become the source of bounty. Let me give you a word of advice for the days of judgment: We have said that mitzvot are measured by the degree of fear of heaven involved. The spiritual content and motivation are the essence of the mitzva. However, some mitzvot have intrinsic worth regardless of the doer's intentions. These are mitzvot between man and his fellow man. This is true to such an extent, that if a person gives charity "in order that [his] son will live," he is considered a totally righteous person. The Talmud (Sota 46b) deals with the ceremony of "egla arufa" and the elders who declare: "Our hands have not spilled this blood and our eyes have not seen [tmurder]:" "Could we possibly imagine that the elders have spilled blood? [The meaning of the verse therefore is that the elders declare:] 'It is not the case that [the victim] came to us and we sent him away without food; it is not the case that we saw him but did not accompany him on his way.' R. Meir said, We coerce accompaniment, for there is no limit to the merit of accompanying someone, as it is written (Shoftim 1:24- 25): 'And the watchmen saw a man leaving the city, and said to him, show us the city gate and we will be kind to you... and he showed them the city gate.' What was the kindness? That they slew the entire city, and sent this man and his family to safety." That selfsame man, who showed them the gate, merited the building of the city of Luz, which was never destroyed thereafter, and to which the very angel of death was denied admittance. The Talmud concludes: "This Canaanite, who did not speak with his mouth or walk with his legs, saved himself and his family for generations. How much more worthy is the man who exerts himself to accompany another!" And the Talmud adds: "How did he show them [the gate]? Chizkya said, He signaled with his mouth. Rabbi Yochanan said, He showed them with his finger... Because this Canaanite pointed with his finger, he saved himself and his family for generations." Chazal are trying to teach us something. When a person finds himself in strange surroundings, and someone helps him, even with the smallest thing, by simply pointing his finger - there is no greater mitzva than this. Ours is a time with many strangers in our midst, who find themselves in unfamiliar surroundings. Often, all the help they need is a finger to point them in the right direction. According to Chazal, smiling at someone is equivalent to giving him a glass of milk to drink. This is true both in the yeshiva and outside. There are so many new students who are in unfamiliar surroundings, who have not yet made the yeshiva their home. Chazal tell us: There is no limit to the obligation to help these newcomers find their way, with practical advice and personal warmth. None of us can be certain of his God-given mission in this world. We all must continue to search. However, one thing is clear: It is part of our role and obligation to help the newcomers in our midst. If we are looking for points of merit to gather before the day of judgment, this is the easiest type to acquire. There is no need for lofty spiritual intentions - only for positive actions. 1 1 Needy and destitute, we approach God. We must make every effort to bring some merit with us. Each one of us must come with the sense of spiritual poverty, and accept upon himself to be better. "God is close to all who call him, to all who call Him sincerely." With this firm belief, with confidence that God comes close to all who call Him with sincerity, we prepare to stand before Him. We approach the selichot to ask for mercy for ourselves, for all the Jewish people all over the world and especially for our holy land. May God grant us a year of life and peace, in both material and spiritual spheres. May we be blessed with peace from our enemies without and tranquillity within, for ourselves and all of Israel, Amen. 8 BAR ILAN UNIVERSITY A project of Bar-Ilan University's Faculty of Jewish Studies, Paul and Helene hulman Basic Jewish Studies Center, and the Office of the Campus Rabbi. Sponsored by Dr. Ruth Borchard of the Shoresh Charitable Fund (SCF). Published with assistance of the President's Fund for Torah and Science.Web Site: http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha THE COMMANDMENT TO WRITE A TORAH SCROLL Dr. Alexander Klein Department of Mathematics "Editor's Note: For additional views on this subject, see Prof. Eric Zimmer, Parashat Vayelekh 1998." The last commandment in the Torah is to write a Torah scroll. Maimonides, following the gemara, ruled on this commandment as follows:[1] It is positive precept for each and every Jewish man to write himself a Torah scroll, as it is said: "Therefore, write down this poem" (Deut. 31:19), in other words, write yourselves a copy of the Torah containing this poem, since one does not write excerpted passages of the Torah. Even though his fathers may have left him a Torah scroll, it is a commandment to write a scroll of his own; and if he writes it with his own hand it is as if he received it at Mount Sinai. If he does not know to write, others write it for him. Anyone who proofreads a Torah scroll, even a single letter, is considered to have written one in its entirety. Sefer ha-Hinukh (commandment 613) cites Maimonides and further explains this commandment: The Lord commanded each and every Jew to have a Torah scroll ready at hand so that he can read it at any time and will not need to go to a neighbor for one, so that he learn to fear the Lord... and even if his fathers left him a scroll, [one should write a new scroll] so that there will be many scrolls, making it possible to lend a scroll to those who cannot afford to buy one, and also in order to read from a new scroll lest people tire of reading from the old scrolls left by previous generations. Maimonides and, following him, the author of Sefer ha-Hinukh both are of the opinion that one is commanded to write a Torah scroll, and that this commandment applies to every male Jew. According to Sefer ha-Hinukh, the rationale for this commandment is to increase the number of Torah scrolls in order to encourage and make it easier for people to study the Torah. I would like to address two questions that arise in this regard: 1) How can one deduce from the verse, "Therefore, write down this poem" that it applies to the entire Torah and not simply to Ha’azinu (Deut.32), as Rashi actually interprets the verse, which is in fact entirely (save the last four verses) a poem? 2) How should this commandment actually be performed in our day, when the rationale given for it by Sefer ha-Hinukh--to encourage the production of Bibles-- is no longer relevant? Maimonides argues that the verse "write down this poem" does not relate to Ha’azinu alone on the grounds that "one does not write excerpted passages of the Torah." This prohibition is elucidated by him further on (halakhah 14), where he explains that every passage must be given due respect. From this he concludes that the verse is not to be taken at face value, but rather as pertaining to the entire Torah. The author of Torah Temimah (Deut. 31:19, par. 26) challenges this view of Maimonides: In my opinion this [argument] is insufficient; for if it had been the intention of the Holy One, blessed be He, that every Jew have a written copy of Ha’azinu, it would not fall under the prohibition against writing excerpts of the Torah, since it is a special commandment, just as the excerpted passages in tefillin and mezuzot are written by themselves. According to the argument in Torah Temimah, if it were a specific commandment to write out the poem Ha’azinu, the prohibition against writing excerpted passages of the Torah would not apply in this case, just as there is no such prohibition when it comes to writing the passages that are in tefillin and mezuzot. Therefore, he suggests another rationale for this commandment, alongside explanations offered by earlier and later rabbinic authorities.[2] The objection raised by Torah Temimah can be removed if we understand Maimonides' rationale differently: we are not dealing here with a commandment pertaining to a specific ritual, such as that of tefillin or mezuzah, but with a commandment whose purpose, according to the continuation of the verse, is to preserve the Torah from generation to generation, so that it never be forgotten by the people of Israel. Accordingly, the prohibition against writing a single excerpted passage of the Torah is understandable, since there is the danger that doing so would detract from the wholeness of the Torah. In other words, if preservation of the Torah is precisely what the commandment is about, clearly one should refrain from writing individual excerpts. The Tur cites the opinion of his father, the Rosh (R. Asher), who has reservations about taking this commandment in its plain and literal sense, in view of the changes that have taken place in the way of life of the Jews over the centuries (Yoreh De’ah 270): My master and father, the Rosh, wrote that this applied only to early generations, when it was the practice to write a Torah scroll and study from it; but in our day, when Torah scrolls are written and left in the synagogue for reading at public worship, it is a positive commandment for every Jew who can afford it to write Pentateuchs [humashim], Mishnahs and Gemaras and their commentaries, and to study them, he and his sons. The commandment to write the Torah is for the purpose of studying it, as it is written, "teach it to the people of Israel; put it in their mouths." Through the gemara and its commentaries one learns to interpret the commandments and laws properly, therefore these are the books that one is commanded to write. Thus the Rosh believes that in the light of circumstances in his day, and all the more so in our times, the commandment to write a Torah should not be interpreted literally, but should be viewed in accordance with the times. Since scrolls were no longer used for studying the Torah, other books that are used by those who study Torah should be written, and thus the commandment would be properly fulfilled. Beit Yosef (commentary on the Tur written by R. Yosef Karo) expressed surprise at the approach of the Rosh: One wonders how the Rosh could exempt one from the commandment of writing a Torah scroll and substitute writing Pentateuchs and Mishnahs, etc. Therefore, it seems to me that he did not intend to introduce a new requirement, namely to write Pentateuchs and Mishnahs... for this is also part of the commandment to write a Torah. Indeed, Sefer ha-Hinukh writes as follows: Even though the main requirement is not only a Torah scroll, there can be no doubt that also with respect to other books written on the Torah each person should do his best ... and this was the way of all eminent persons who preceded us: to establish a House of Study in their homes for scribes to write many books. Both Beit Yosef and Sefer ha-Hinukh understand from the remarks of the Rosh that he had no intention of abrogating the command to write a Torah scroll, rather of adding to it, including the writing of other books that could serve for Torah study. However the Derisha maintains that this was not what Rosh had in mind, and that it clearly follows from his words that today there is no longer any requirement to write a Torah scroll: "Follow the reason that the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded us to write a Torah scroll: to learn from it. Since in these times no one studies from the scroll, it is no longer a positive commandment." Possibly, the controversy between Beit Yosef and the Derisha whether one must write a Torah scroll can be better understood in the light of the question over "whether or not one should try to explain ta’ama de-kera, the rationale behind Scriptures." The Encyclopedia Talmudit[3] defines the concept of ta’ama de-kera as follows: "Commandments or laws learned from the reasons given in the scriptural text; sometimes the reason is explicitly stated in them, sometimes the reason is midrashically explicated by the Talmud -- in order to make fine distinctions within the laws or to add greater strictures (humrot) to them." Here too the controversy revolves around whether we are to explicate the reason for writing a Torah as given in the verse itself to include writing the Oral Law in place of actual Torah Scrolls. Essentially it is ruled that one is not to delve into the reasons for scriptural commandments, so that in principle we are not to derive any additional laws from the rationales that are given for a specific commandment. From this it would seem to follow that we are to accept the commandment of writing a Torah scroll literally as an edict of Scriptures, and are not to change this commandment or restrict it according to the circumstances. Nevertheless the Hatam Sofer is of the opinion that there is room to introduce additional elements to the commandment of writing a Torah scroll which are also considered part of the commandment, for even though the halakhah follows those who hold that one must not delve into the rationale of the commandments, nevertheless one may consider the reason behind a commandment in order to interpret it more strictly.[4] Opposing him, the author of Imrei Shefer believes that if the reason for writing a Torah scroll is clearly in order to study it -- and this is the straightforward sense of the text -- all would agree that one can explain the reasons behind scriptural commands.[5] Thus, according to Imrei Shefer the Rosh was correct in ruling that today the commandment is not necessarily to write a Torah scroll. The author of Hayyei Adam, who lived after the invention of printing, sums up the discussion as follows (rule 31.50): Some say that in this era the commandment is to acquire a Bible, Mishnah, Gemara, and works of posekim, and that this takes precedence over writing a Torah scroll; for in those days it was actually the custom to learn by heart from the Torah scroll, but in our times it is better to learn from printed books. Some say that all the same there is still a positive command to write oneself a Torah scroll, and G-d--fearing Jews fulfill all these obligations if it is within their reach. If it is beyond their reach and striving for it would lead to abandoning Torah studies -- for a person might not have books of Gemara and posekim -- it seems patently clear to me that these works take precedence over a Torah scroll, for surely studying the Torah is more important than writing a Torah, insofar as one may sell a Torah scroll in order to afford to study Torah. It also seems to me that providing [books] to those who study the Torah takes precedence over writing a Torah, contrary to the masses who believe that writing a Torah scroll is the very most elevated of commandments and that through this alone can one assure oneself of the world to come, and who do not contribute to equipping those who wish to study the Torah. Therefore they walk in darkness, and what is more, when the scroll is given to the synagogue they squander money on feasts and candles and many expenses, and if they only listened to the words of the Sages they would realize that it is better to spread around their money to the poor and to those who study Torah. The author of Hayyei Adam says in no uncertain terms that it is better to support those who study Torah than to spend considerable sums of money on writing a Torah. If the object of the 1 2 commandment is to encourage study of the Torah and to have more people study, then in every era one must find the most appropriate ways to fulfill the intention of the commandment, even at the cost of putting aside the literal sense of the commandment. This example shows how the halakhah has evolved in the case of one of the 613 commandments -- commandment 613. [1] Hilkhot Tefillin u-Mezuzah ve-Sefer Torah, ch. 7., halakhah 1. [2] Cf. Yehudah Nahshoni, Hagut be-Parshiyot haTorah, Bnai Brak 1989, pp. 829-832. [3] See under Ta’amah de-Kera. [4] Resp. Hatam Sofer, Yoreh De’ah 254. [5] Imrei Shefer 34.5, in accord with Tosafot Ha- Rosh, Bava. Metzia 90a. 9- AISH HATORA (C) 1999 Aish HaTorah International - All rights reserved. Email: [email protected] Home Page: http://www.aish.edu MI-ORAY-HA-AISH (Rabbi Ari Kahn) email: [email protected] or [email protected] URL:. http://www.jewishsoftware.com/kahn/index.html ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL You stand this day all of you before the Lord your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel. Your little ones, your wives, and your stranger who is in your camp, from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water. That you should enter into covenant with the Lord your God, and into his oath, which the Lord your God makes with you this day. That he may establish you today for a people to himself, and that he may be to you a God, as he has said to you, and as he has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And not with you alone will I make this covenant and this oath. But with him who stands here with us this day before the Lord our God, and also with him who is not here with us this day. (Deut. 29:9-14) Thus Moses addresses the people on the banks of the River Jordan. The context and time of the talk is obviously of great importance as is evidenced by the amount of times the term "this day" is used. Rashi makes note of this peculiarity, explaining that this was indeed a day of monumental importance: We learn that Moses gathered them in front of God on the day of his death, in order to have them enter the covenant. (Rashi) Moses who had been the leader from the very beginning of the Exodus was now to leave his charges, on the threshold of the Promised Land. This day was, therefore, a day of epic significance, for it would mark the day when the reins of leadership would be passed on to Joshua. BUILDING A MONUMENT Rashi, when noting the significance of the day, adds that with Moses gone, a new covenant will need to be established. This second point is not immediately clear. Why would the demise of Moses, tragic as it may be, require a new covenant? Leaders come and go, why would it be necessary to reestablish a covenant at this juncture? Rashi comments on this first verse, explaining it according to the Aggada: Because Israel was leaving from one leader to the next leader, from Moses to Joshua, therefore he made them as a monument in order to inspire them. (Rashi 29:12) Note that the opening “you stand”, in Hebrew atem nitzavim, is interpreted by Rashi according to its more literal meaning as “monument” from the Hebrew matzeva. The Shem Mishmuel, offers a intricate explanation of this Rashi, assuming the term refers to a “monument” and we will follow that assumption, (although we must note that Rashi could be understood as simply referring to the idea of a “gathering”). But what is this monument? Furthermore, we recall that earlier on in the Torah we are told of a prohibition against building a matzeva, for it is "hated by God." (See Deut. 16:22.) Why would Moses' parting gift contain either a prohibited action, or even a literary reference to one? Rashi complicates matters for us by adding another explanation for the term "today": As this day is here, and is cloudy and light, so too, will (the day) enlighten you (now), and in the future it will enlighten you … (Rashi 29:12) This comment of Rashi is somewhat obscure, but, from what we can gather so far, on this day: Moses dies, Joshua takes over, a new covenant is forged, some type of monument is established, and, it is bright yet cloudy. DEATH OF MOSES Let us consider the reaction that the people must have had to the death of Moses. It was Moses who had given them hope, it was Moses who led the valiant march out of Egypt, it was Moses who taught them Torah. Losing a leader and teacher like Moses was certainly traumatic. This day, despite the coronation of Joshua, was not a happy day. “The king is dead, long live the king” is at best a bittersweet cry. Perhaps this is what Rashi is referring to when he speaks of the light and clouds. Perhaps also, the light and relative light refer to Moses and Joshua, respectively. Elsewhere, Rashi uses the metaphor of light, when referring to Moses and Joshua. The context is when Moses is told of his impending death, and he responds a replacement must be found. God then directs: ‘Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is spirit, and lay your hand upon him. And set him before Eliezer the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. And you shall put some of your honor upon him, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may be obedient.’ (Numbers 27:17-19) As Rashi explains, this is the formal coronation of Joshua; and "some of your honor" means: This is the ray of light on his face. (Rashi Bamidbar 27:20) We, of course, recall the light which permeated the countenance of Moses when he came down from Sinai with the tablets the second time. Moses was instructed to give a part of this glory to Joshua, as a symbol of the leadership which he would soon assume. Rashi continues: Of your honor but not all of your honor; we find it taught that the face of Moses was like the sun while the face of Joshua was like the moon. (Rashi Bamidbar 27:20) SUN AND MOON We see how different degrees of light are an appropriate description of the personalities of Joshua and Moses. Rashi’s comments about the sun and the moon is a paraphrase from the Talmud. The passage reads as follows: The elders of that generation said: “The countenance of Moses was like that of the sun; the countenance of Joshua was like that of the moon. Alas, for such shame! Alas for such reproach!” (Shavuot 39a) Here, the fact that Joshua was compared to the moon is not seen as something great, rather it is a lament of the people of that generation who had been privileged to see the glory, the sun, of Moses. The light which emanated from Joshua was surely bright, but it did not shine like the light of Moses. For those people an era had ended, the generation of Moses had come to an end. The death of any great leader creates a vacuum. Moses, the greatest leader and prophet whom the Jewish people ever had, was the defining factor of his generation -- a dor daayah, a “generation of knowledge.” (See Zohar Shmot 62b.) Now the people have become the flock of Joshua, a great leader in his own right, the closest student of Moses, but nonetheless less than Moses. This caused the people to lament the ascension of Joshua to leadership -- he was great but he was not Moses. What they may or may not have realized was that the death of Moses marked the end of this glorious generation -- a generation which had witnessed the plagues, the parting of the sea, the encounter with God at Sinai and countless other events. The new generation led by Joshua, the one who would soon cross the Jordan, had undergone a subtle change with philosophical and legal implications. ONE NATION There is a principle in Jewish law that all Jews are responsible for one another. This is not simply an expression of mutual concern and care, but includes such things as blessings as well. The implication is clear, the spiritual state of one Jew is interdependent with the spiritual state of the second Jew. This spiritual reciprocity began as the Jews crossed the Jordan. It is part of the definition of the new generation which will capture and live in the Land of Israel. It is an expression of common destinies of a people. It is a characteristic of Joshua's generation. The Ritva, when explaining this idea, writes: All Jews are mutually responsible … all of Israel constitutes one body. (Ritva commentary Rosh Hashana 29a) The Or Hachaim Hakadosh explains the new covenant formed at this point, along the same lines: The objective of Moses in this covenant was to create mutual responsibility. Now, as the Jews take leave of Moses, a new chapter will begin, one which includes the implementation of a new ideal. According to the Or Hachaim Hakadosh, this idea of mutual responsibility, also explains the words at the conclusion of the covenant: The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this Torah. (Deut. 29:28) The Or HaChaim Hakadosh notes that mutual responsibility clearly includes that which is known -- in the open. The secret acts on the other hand, are of God's concern. ONE STONE VS. MANY This idea of mutual responsibility can explain the reference to the matzeva, which Rashi alluded to. In Parshat Shoftim, where Rashi explains the difference between a matzeva, “a monument,” and a mizbayach, “an altar,” he states that a monument is made of one stone, while an altar is made of many stones or components. During the time of the forefathers, a matzeva was acceptable, now in the Torah, in the times of the children it has become unacceptable. The explanation is as follows: a monument signifies one, an individual approaching God, while an altar signifies the totality of the Jewish people, all sorts of individuals gathered together, to form a beautiful mosaic. During the time of the forefathers, individuals reflected the totality of Jewish life -- the generation of Abraham was Abraham. Spiritual giants who were individuals were able to approach God as individuals. But once the Jewish people become a nation, a matzeva became inappropriate. Arguably Moses was the last individual, who represented the entire nation, as the Talmud teaches: As a rabbi was once expounding the Scripture, the congregation became drowsy. In order to rouse them he said: “One woman in Egypt brought forth six hundred thousand at a birth.” There was a certain disciple there named Rabbi Ishmael son of Rabbi Jose, who said to him: “Who can that have been?” He replied: “This was Yocheved who bore Moses who was counted as equal to six hundred thousand of Israel, for so it says, Then sang Moses and the children of Israel (Exodus 15:1); And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses (Numbers 1:54); And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses (Deut. 34:10).” (Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs 1:65) Moses represents the entire nation, but once he dies, the entire nation becomes responsible for one another spiritually. It is true that the nation is still made up of many individuals, who will need to coalesce in order to form a cohesive whole, but one of the last lessons which Moses teaches is that ultimately we are one people, gathered together, to reflect the unity and interdependency. The one body described by the Ritva is mirrored by the matzeva described by Rashi (and the Shem MiShmuel). MAKING THE LIGHT SHINE 1 3 With Moses gone, perhaps the light does not shine as brightly, and this is what depresses the people. On the other hand, Rashi points out: As this day is here, and is cloudy and light, so too, will (the day) enlighten you (now), and in the future it will enlighten you… (Rashi 29:12) On the day of Moses' death, the light of Moses shining like the sun could be seen, and the light of Joshua shining like the moon could be seen as well. Perhaps this is what Rashi meant by the clouded light. But the people were told that now the light will be on them, and in the future it will be on them. The light of Moses was diffused, surely much of the discernible light now was to be seen on the face of Joshua. But the light of Moses -- the greatness of Moses -- was his status as representative of God. With his death that light would be spread out among the people. The only way to get the light to shine forth, was for the people to gather and form a whole. The light had now become the domain of the entire nation. This is represented by the mutual responsibility, and the spiritual reciprocity which it implies. In the future, the light of Moses will once again dazzle us with its splendor. To bring this light forth, we must fulfill the commandments. Each and every Jew is involved in this process, for bits of light are spread about among all our people. (See the introduction of the Kitzot Hachoshen, for a similar concept). If we look around and it seems cloudy, or dark, it is simply because we have not as of yet succeeded in making the light shine. Indeed: "Let there be light"! MAYANOT (by Rabbi Noson Weisz) THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Some of the most powerful verses in the entire Five Books of Moses are in this week’s Torah portion. The way the Jewish calendar is set up, in most years we always read this section right before Rosh Hashana. Consequently, we generally go into Rosh Hashana and face the Day of Judgment with these inspiring words still ringing in our ears. For this commandment that I command you today -- it is not hidden from you and it is not distant. It is not in heaven, to say, ‘Who can ascend to heaven for us and take it for us, so that we can listen to it and perform it?’ Nor is it across the sea, to say, ‘Who can cross to the other side of the sea and take it for us, so that we can listen to it and perform it?’ Rather the matter is very near to you -- in your mouth and in your heart to perform it. (Deut. 30, 11-14) According to Nachmanides the commandment referred to here is the commandment of teshuva, “return to God” or “repentance,” which is stated immediately prior to this passage. Thus the Torah is telling us that teshuva is very near and accessible. But is it really? If so, then why haven’t we all done it? Why are we facing Rosh Hashana desperately attempting to make ourselves feel something uplifting? God goes on to explain: See -- I have placed before you today the life and the good, and the death and the evil, that which I command you today, to love the Lord, your God, to walk in His ways, to observe His commandments, His decrees, and His ordinances … But if your heart will stray and you will not listen, and you prostrate yourself to strange gods and serve them … (Deut. 30:15-20) In other words, the reason that teshuva is so near is that observance is tantamount to “life and the good,” whereas nonobservance is equal to “death and evil.” Surely, anyone faced with having to choose between such clear alternatives as life and death, or good and evil will be able to make his selection without having to experience much inner torment. Thus repentance should be very near and accessible. If it is not, that is because the correlation between observance and life is itself not obvious and clear. Why is Torah observance equivalent to life and good, and how is a life of non-observance congruent with evil and death? Without understanding these correlations, we are not able to take much inspiration from these powerful verses. Nor will it suffice if we unearth these correlations in some obscure, esoteric manner. In order to take advantage of the inspiration offered by God’s words, as He clearly intended for us to do, we must also demonstrate how these correlations are glaringly obvious for all human beings to see, given only the information that everyone already possesses. After all, that is what God is saying here: “You yourself know the correlation between Torah observance and life, and therefore it is obvious that you should choose life!” THE OBVIOUS TRUTH When we look around our world we are faced with an amazing phenomenon that surely requires analysis. What would happen to our world if only those people whose old car broke down would purchase a new one? If no one who had a good suit in his closet would see the need to buy a new suit even if the fashions have changed? What if people would choose to live in houses that only contained rooms that they actually needed to use? In short what if we would only purchase items that were a true necessity? The answer is that if we behaved this way the inevitable result would be instant world-wide economic collapse and deflation. All companies would have to cut their production and downsize, throwing millions out of work. The people who lost their jobs could no longer keep up their mortgage payments and would also lose their homes. Everyone would have to withdraw his savings causing the collapse of the banking system. The snowball effect would reach into all areas of the economy in ways that are totally obvious to anyone who ever took an elementary economics course, and even farther. The lack of extra money would mean that we could no longer subsidize pure scholarship and research. The advances in science and technology that stretch the frontiers of human knowledge and allow us to constantly increase productivity would also come to a halt. Indeed, the world has actually experienced precisely such a catastrophe. When the Roman Empire collapsed it took 500 years for mankind to work itself out of the Dark Ages. And yet, does it make sense for us to be so dependant on people leading lives of such conspicuous consumption? Why aren’t we worried that they will come to their senses and bring our entire world crashing down? The answer is simple and we all know it from within ourselves. We know people will keep consuming because they need to find pleasure. After all, what else is there to life except to work and to spend one’s money? Why do we live? To work? Surely not! Work is something we must do to survive, not something we want to do. Of course there is the odd person who lives for his work, or is driven by great idealistic zeal, but there aren’t enough of those kinds of people around to be able to upset the economy. So if not work, what else is there to live for? The answer is to fill our lives with pleasure and sensation, to experience the thrill of being alive. The thrill of a new car, a new house, a trip to an exotic place, the thrill of shopping. This also solves the problem of staving off boredom for long periods of time, as all these activities require intensive research, preparation and planning. We know in advance how transitory the thrill that is produced by these activities really is. We know how quickly it evaporates and how rapidly the problem of contending with boredom sets in again. But, of course, there is nothing else worth living for. And the thrills are not illusory, they are really there. Do we think they are important? Do we think that any of them make a difference in the long run? Not really. Indeed do we think our lives themselves are important except to ourselves? Not really. We are born to die, just as all those before us have died and just as all those after us will die. As we only live for such a short time, all we can do is to keep ourselves stimulated with new experiences and adventures, to experience the thrill of being alive while it lasts. This is the human condition. The real quest of our lives is avoidance. We are busy avoiding starvation, failure, boredom, and awareness of approaching death. We are fully cognizant of the lack of significance and importance of our pleasures and our thrills, but it is only through them that we can avoid all the negatives that constantly threaten to encroach and engulf us in their embrace. God is saying, “I an offering you something better than a life whose significance is avoidance. Life is important! Don’t settle for a negative life. If life is given meaning only by what you are avoiding you are really living for death. Live positively. Live to be alive!” THE PURPOSE OF OBSERVANCE Let us look at the purpose of observing the commandments. They offer no thrills. Some of them are quite boring. Even as one is busily engaged in them, one is often fighting off boredom and distraction. They are not in themselves absorbing; it takes a great deal of work to become absorbed in them. They are clearly not designed to deliver thrills. On the other hand, they aren’t exactly like work either. Work is obviously necessary for physical survival, whereas the observance of the commandments is not. There is no obvious connection between their performance and one’s state of well-being in the natural world. In short, the only reason to carry them out is because it is worthwhile to observe them for their own sake. They must be important. But why are they important? Suppose I woke up one morning and decided that I would like to be a soul instead of just a body. I would like to get out of thinking of myself as a transitory being stretching its wings for a brief period like some glorified Monarch butterfly before disappearing for good. I want to live forever. What would I do as a soul? How would I live? What would I do with my time? Some things are fairly obvious. I would dedicate myself to be helpful to my fellow man, to bring cheer and happiness to the world. But how would I buy my suits as a soul? What kind of car would I drive? What kind of house would I live in, and what kind of vacation if any would I plan? How would I eat and drink and educate my children or fill my empty hours? To all these questions I would have no answer. For I do not know myself as a soul. For this I need the Torah’s commandments. There is nothing surprising in this. Even to live successfully as a body I need much education. I need to go to school to learn how to read, to high school and even to university to truly open all of life’s possibilities, even as a body. It is certainly no less complicated to be a soul and should surely require at least as much instruction. This is what God offers us in the Torah. If we learn to observe the commandments, we learn to be self conscious as souls. We learn to think, speak, and behave as souls. We learn to conduct all of life’s activities in a spiritual way. THE ENDLESS LIFE OF A SOUL Souls live forever. That is a long time indeed. Let us imagine that we could live forever as we are. Does any of us seriously think that it would be possible to satisfy ourselves through eternity with a life based on the pursuit of bodily satisfactions? If we have such a difficult time keeping ourselves stimulated and feeling alive during the brief span of years that we spend here on earth, how much more difficult would this become if we lived longer, much less forever. The life we live without the Torah is only suitable for someone who is going to die. If life isn’t too long then we are creative enough to just barely fill it with enough interesting experiences to keep ourselves feeling alive and appreciating life. But if you stretched this life much further it would surely run out of steam. Theoretically, it could be possible to put off worrying about this problem until after death. We could be taught to live as souls after we die. Let each life take care of itself. Why is all this important now, today? At last we can understand God’s full message. To live forever we need to know how to live as souls -- an education that is only available through the observance of the commandments of the Torah. The life we can learn how to live without the commandments is only suitable for someone who plans to live for only a relatively short time and then die. This is what God is saying exactly. The message is not obscure and esoteric. All the ideas contained in this essay are obvious and clear to all human beings of average intelligence without exception. There is nothing profound or hidden here. It is truly not up in the heavens or over the oceans. But there is a sharp, painful jab to the heart contained in these words. God tells us that He has placed all this before us “today.” We cannot wait until we are born again as souls. We are souls already. We have to make this choice now, today. Whatever we choose is final. We can fit into the life of souls right here by living like people who plan to live forever, or we can choose to live our lives in a fashion that is only sustainable for people who will die after their brief moment of glory in the sun. So why is this such a difficult choice? The natural life of the body is brief but chock full of sensation. It may not be very important but it is certainly quite stimulating while it lasts. The other life, that of the soul is important but boring. It is based on giving up sensation. It requires a person to live according to the dictates of pure reason and often suppress and ignore his feelings and emotions. The contest may be between the important and everlasting, and the insignificant and transitory, but it is also between sensation and stimulation and discipline and thought. In our day and age, this is even more complicated. When these words were first spoken to the Jewish people by our teacher Moses, they were addressed to those who had experience in both lifestyles as insiders. The people to whom Moses was speaking had stood at Mount Sinai. In all of human history, there were never again people who had such a clear taste of life as a soul as the people in Moses’ original audience. But all of us are born non-observant. The first taste of life in our mouths is always the taste of the life of sensation. Many of us alive today have never had a taste of the Torah life from the inside. When such Jews look at observance they can only see what they would be giving up, but they have no clear idea of what they would be gaining. The solution to this dilemma is provided by the need to face judgment. The reason this Torah portion is read before Rosh Hashana is that the solution to the moral dilemma presented by this fateful choice is the easiest to make when life comes up for renewal. The Torah was given to all Jews -- observant and non-observant. God promised to place this choice between life and death and good and evil in front of us all, and He promised to do it “today” when we are still alive to be able to make it. Those of us who manage to confront this choice through the vehicle provided by Rosh Hashana are the fortunate ones. Alternative ways of facing judgment are bound to be more painful. FAMILY PARASHA FROM THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION Real life has a lot to offer -- from the beauty of nature (even in our own back yard) to the warm feelings of being part of a family and a community. The simple pleasures of our daily encounters with the people around us can make our lives feel happy and rich. Yet nowadays with so many types of entertainment to choose from, and all the exciting new gadgets that seem to be springing up everyday, we can get lost in fantasy and almost forget about our real lives. The Torah portion this week reminds us to “choose life” -- to choose to fully live and appreciate the specialness of the real lives that God had given us; to realize that there is a lot to enjoy for each of us everyday. In our story, a boy helps his brother to choose life and realize it has a lot to offer. STORY “Smoke Screen” by Nesanel Safran "DO NOT DISTURB -- DEFENDER AT WORK!" read the sign in bold black letters hanging on the door to Eitan's room. Eitan would lock himself alone in there for hours at a time and submerge himself in what he liked to call his "control center." His “control center” included a surround-sound audio system and a state of the art large screen computer/video hook-up complete with the latest interactive game software. His grandparents had given it to him for his birthday and lately it seemed to be all he was interested in. One afternoon his older brother Doron knocked on the door. There was no answer. He knocked again, harder, causing the do not disturb sign to swing back and forth on its hook. "Go away earthling," barked out an annoyed sounding voice from with the room. "Hey, come on out, Eitan," Doron shouted. "I need to talk to you." Finally the door opened a crack and Doron could make out his younger brother's silhouette from behind it. He was wearing his new silver and day- glow wireless virtual space helmet. "Eitan, I could use your help. I'm putting up screens on the windows. It's getting to be bee season and they're coming in. One even stung Rachel," he added, referring to their kid sister who could be heard crying in the background. "Forget it!" answered the younger boy. "First of all I told you my name's not Eitan anymore, its 8-N. And secondly I'm busy with something much more important right now -- saving the world!" "What do you mean?" asked Doron, incredulous. 1 4 "I mean," said Eitan, "That the Zilgons have practically entered our atmosphere. If I don't monitor the situation there will be a total invasion." Doron rolled his eyes. "That's just a video game," he said. "It isn't really happening. Come on out and help me, or at least help Avi rake the leaves, you know how mom's allergic. Besides," he added, "It's beautiful outside. The fresh air will do you good." "Rake the leaves!" gasped Eitan. "How can you worry about such trivia while the future of the galaxy is at stake?!" "Listen, brother," said Doron in an understanding tone. "I know you're really into your video games. I like to play too sometimes. But there's more to life. You live in a real family, with real people who care about you and expect you to be part of us. If you care about invasions, come help me with the real-life bee invasion that's going to happen soon if we don't get these screens up." Eitan was quiet. He opened the door, took off his space helmet, looking a little embarrassed. "I guess I am getting a bit carried away," he said. "It's just that the games are so … exciting. Real life is boring," he sighed. "Only if you let it be," countered Doron. "Believe me it was pretty exciting when that bee was chasing me a few minutes ago. And when I finally managed to trap it and looked at it up close, it really looked like something from out of this world. God created an amazing world -- right here, right now. And you don't need any special helmets to enjoy it. So what do you say, 8-N?" The younger boy chuckled. "You can call me Eitan," he said. "My real name is exciting enough too, I suppose. Hand me a force-field … er, a screen, and let's get going!" DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Age 3-5 Q. How did Eitan feel when his brother first asked him to stop playing the video game and help out in the house? A. He was upset because he felt that what he was doing was more important. Q. Was Eitan really helping more people by pretending to “save the world” on his video game or helping his family in the house? A. By helping his family. Q. Why? A. Because even though his game was fun and exciting for him, it wasn’t real. But helping out his family was something real he could do to actually help people. Age 6-9 Q. Would it really make any difference in the lives of Eitan and his family if the “Zilgons” in his video game invaded the Earth or not? A. No. Q. So why do you suppose Eitan was so caught up as to sit for hours in front of the screen in order to “defend the world?” A. Things like video games, TV, etc., are designed to get a person excited.. They simulate situations that, if they really happened in our lives, would be terrifying. (Imagine if aliens really had invaded!) But since in the end, these games aren’t really a part of our real lives, a person ends up getting all excited about nothing. These games can be fun for a while. But sooner or later, we all want more. We find that we want to put our energy into things with real meaning, and that when we do, it’s much more interesting than any video game. This is called “choosing life.” Q. Would you say that it’s necessary to be exposed constantly to new and different people and things for life to be interesting and exciting? Or can a person still feel that way around the same people and places everyday? A. When we see the same people and places everyday it’s easy to get used to them. But in reality we only have to look deeper and we can see the wonders that God has put into the everyday. Next chance you get, pick up a flower or even a leaf and look at. Really look at it. You might be amazed at the awesome detail and incredible design that you see. Poets and artists are able to see this way and find the spectacular within the everyday things. Scientists teach us that the inner workings of the most simple flower or insect contain wonders that boggle the mind. Each person you meet is like a world waiting to be discovered. Life around us is amazing once we open our eyes. Ages 10-13 Q. Unfortunately we often hear of people who become caught up in dangerous habits and self-destructive behavior. They claim that they engage in this behavior in order to “escape.” From what do you think they’re trying to escape? Do you think they succeed? A. Life can be challenging. God put us in the world and designed our lives to include many challenges. When we face these challenges and try our best to meet them, we grow as people. This is spiritual growth and while at times it can be uncomfortable or even painful, it can be the most valuable and meaningful part of life. Of course, there is always the temptation to try to escape or sidestep these challenges by blurring our minds and numbing ourselves to what is uncomfortable in reality. But ultimately this technique is about as effective as the ostrich who buries its head in the sand when it sees a lion. Sooner or later all challenges must be faced in order to grow.. How much better to face them with our eyes open. Q. In your opinion, who do you think is doing a more important job: a teacher who spends long days helping physically challenged (handicapped) kids learn how to walk and talk to live happier and fuller lives, or a big movie star, who spends his free time on the beach? A. The teacher. Q. Which one do you think receives more money and fame? A. The actor. Q. How do you explain this? A. It can happen that those who are the real heroes of our society can be overlooked and at the same time somebody else doing something that in a real sense is not very important is considered a “star.” One of the reasons is that the work that the real 1 5 heroes are doing, although more important, doesn’t always seem as glamorous as the movies. Also, people who are genuinely interested in helping others and helping to make the world a better place often aren’t so concerned about their own fame and fortune. They know that what they are doing has real meaning in their eyes and in the eyes of God. This is enough of a reward for them. People like this, even if nobody ever hears of them, really make the world go around. 10- HALACHA (Gross) Selected Halachos Relating To Parshat HaShevua By Rabbi Doniel NeustadtDustributed by The Harbotzas Torah Division of Congregation Shomre Shabbos SELICHOS AND EREV ROSH HASHANAH: COMMON QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS QUESTION: May the Selichos prayer be recited at night before going to sleep or must it be recited only upon awakening in the morning? ANSWER: Ideally, Selichos should be said at the end of the night, since that is an eis ratzon, a "time of appeasement1." But it is permitted to recite Selichos anytime from midnight on. Before midnight it is prohibited to recite Selichos(2). Under extenuating circumstances ??if one cannot recite Selichos at any other time ??Selichos may be recited once a third of the night has passed(3). But this leniency should not be relied upon on a regular basis. QUESTION: Must Birchos ha-shachar be recited before Selichos? ANSWER: Birchos ha-Torah should be recited before Selichos(4). The other blessings need not be recited before Selichos, but may be recited then even though it is before alos ha-shachar(5). [If Al netilas yadayim is recited before Selichos ??as recommended by some poskim(6) ??one should be sure not to repeat it after Selichos from force of habit.] QUESTION: Are women obligated to recite Selichos? ANSWER: Since the recitation of Selichos ??even for men ??is not an obligation but an ancient custom which has been practiced for many centuries, we are not obligated to do more than what custom dictates. Customarily, women did not go to shul to recite Selichos. If they wish to do so, however, women may go to shul to recite Selichos, or they may recite Selichos at home. But the following rules apply when reciting Selichos without a minyan [for both men and women]: 1) When reciting E-l melech, some poskim hold that the words Zechor lanu ha-yom bris shelosh esrei are omitted(7). 2) The 13 midos are omitted(8). 3) Machei u'masei (recited towards the end of the Selichos) and any other segment which is in Aramaic is omitted(9). QUESTION: Must a person who fasted [half a day] on erev Rosh Hashanah in the past, continue to do so every year(10)? ANSWER: The Shulchan Aruch(11) writes that it has become customary(12) to fast on erev Rosh Hashanah(13). Many people, especially during their younger years, adopt this custom but find it difficult to maintain as they get older. The process for giving up fasting on erev Rosh Hashanah depends on how the custom was adopted originally. There are three possible cases: If the custom was accepted initially as a lifelong commitment, one must annul his vow. If the custom was accepted initially on a year-by-year basis, no hataras nedarim (annulment of vows) is required. If the custom was accepted initially without specifying the length of the commitment, then one follows the general principle that any proper custom which was accepted without a b'li neder stipulation, automatically becomes a neder and may not be dropped without hataras nedarim. [Note that this halachic problem is not unique to the custom of fasting on erev Rosh Hashanah. Any proper custom, once accepted and followed, may not be dropped without undergoing hataras nedarim. People who adopt even "simple" customs which they are not really obligated to practice, like reciting Tehilim daily or studying the daf yomi(14), without making the b'li neder stipulation, require hataras nedarim should they decide to discontinue their practice. An exception to this rule is when one undertakes a practice which he thinks is obligatory, but later finds out that it is not. In that case, he may drop his practice without hataras nedarim(15). For instance, a person who ate chalav Yisrael butter only because he thought it was absolutely required, but later found out that this is not the case, may discontinue his practice without being matir neder.] A possible solution to the problem of discontinuing a custom may be found in the concluding declaration that is recited after the hataras nedarim ceremony that takes place every year on erev Rosh Hashanah. The declaration states that "I cancel from this time onward all vows and oaths that I will accept upon myself... and that all of them are totally null and void, without effect and without validity." Harav S.Z. Auerbach rules that this declaration can also cover any proper custom that was undertaken without a b'li neder(16). QUESTION: Can anyone be a member of the court for the purpose of annulment of vows (hataras nedarim)? ANSWER: Any male adult(17) can be a member of the court, even if he is related to the other members or to the petitioner(18). Three judges suffice for hataras nedarim. Some poskim prefer ten judges(19) and some insist on eleven(20), but it has become customary to have only three. QUESTION: Must women officially annul their vows on erev Rosh Hashanah? ANSWER: Hataras nedarim on erev Rosh Hashanah(21), even for men, is a custom, not an obligation. It was never customary for women to annul their vows on erev Rosh Hashanah, and there is no compelling reason to begin such a custom now. Many men are accustomed to include their wife's vows at the time that they annul their own(22). L'chatchilah, a wife should appoint her husband to be her emissary for annulling her vows. If, however, she forgot to do so, her husband may annul her vows for her without being expressly appointed as her emissary, as long as he is absolutely certain sure that she wants him to annul her vows for her(23). A woman who has a specific vow that she must annul should do so in front of a court of three judges. Although her father and brother [or any other relative] may be members of that court, her husband may not(24). A daughter cannot appoint her father [or anyone else] to petition the court on her behalf (25). For the annulment to be valid, the petitioner and the members of the court must understand exactly what is being said. A woman [or a man] who does not understand the published Hebrew text, should annul her vows in English(26). Minors, even a boy over the age of 12 and a girl over 11, need not perform hataras nedarim(27). FOOTNOTES: 1 O.C. 581:1 and Mishnah Berurah. 2 Mishnah Berurah 565:12. One who finds himself in a shul where Selichos are being recited before midnight should not recite the Thirteen Attributes along with the congregation; Sha'arei Teshuvah 581:1 quoting Birkei Yosef. 3 Igros Moshe O.C. 2:105. See Yechaveh Da'as 1:46, who advises reciting Selichos before Minchah as the better alternative. 4 Mishnah Berurah 46:27. 5 Rama O.C. 47:13. See Mishnah Berurah 31 who writes that asher nassan la-sechvi binah should l'chatchilah not be recited before alos ha-shachar. 6 Sha'arei Teshuvah 6:5; Aruch ha-Shulchan 4:5; 6:10. Chayei Adam 7:6 and Mishnah Berurah 4:4 and 6:9, however, recommend that it be recited right before davening, after using the bathroom. 7 Be'er Heitev 565:6; Mateh Efrayim 581:21; Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 128:9. 8 O.C. 565:5. It is permitted, however, to read them as if reading from the Torah, with the proper cantillation marks. See also Igros Moshe Y.D. 3:21 who allows them to be chanted to any melody, as long as it is different from the melody used in davening. 9 Based on O.C. 101:4, quoted by Mateh Efrayim 581:21. Even when reciting Selichos with a minyan, the Aramaic segments should not be recited unless there are ten men present in the shul and at least six of them reciting this segment; Harav S. Y. Elyashiv (quoted in Nitei Gavriel, pg. 27). 10 If one is not feeling well, he is exempt from fasting on erev Rosh Ha-shanah. It is proper to mention this problem to the members of the court who are going to annul his vows on erev Rosh Hashanah after Shacharis. 11 O.C. 581:2. 12 Although Mishnah Berurah 16 writes that women also fast, this is not widespread today. 13 In most communities the fast is only for half a day, or until after Minchah Gedolah. 14 See Teshuvos Ohr ha-Meir 75 (Harav M. Shapiro), who remains undecided as to whether one may switch his study schedule from the study of daf yomi. See also Yechaveh Da'as 6:52, who rules that one who switches from studying the daf yomi to studying practical halachah does not need any hataras nedarim, since he is raising his level of learning. 15 Y.D. 214:1. See Igros Moshe Y.D. 1:47. 16 Minchas Shelomo 91 based on Teshuvos Salmas Chayim 2:38. See also Yabia Omer 2:30 and 4:11-9 who relies on this as well. [Although women do not customarily petition for hataras nedarim on erev Rosh Hashanah, as discussed later, it would be advisable for any woman to recite this declaration, even to herself, thus preventing questionable situations in the future.] 17 An adult is defined as being over thirteen if he has visible beard growth, and at least over eighteen if no beard growth is noticeable; see Magen Avraham, Shulchan Aruch Harav and Pri Megadim 39:1, and Chayei Adam 14:1. See also Beiur Halachah 39:1, who is even more stringent. See also Shevet ha-Levi 4:54-4. 18 Y.D. 228:3. 19 Since vows which were undertaken during a dream can be annulled only by ten judges; see Mateh Efrayim and Elef ha-Magen 581:49. 20 Since a court should not be made up of an even number of judges; see Mishnas Ya'avetz O.C. 53. 21 If not done on erev Rosh Hashanah, it may be done anytime during the week, even at night (Y.D. 228:3), until Yom Kippur; see Mateh Efrayim 581:49. 22 This is the custom in Israel and other places. Harav S. Wosner is quoted (mi-Beis Levi, Tishrei, pg. 18) as dismissing this custom. 23 See Hebrew Notes, pg. 576-581, for an explanation of this halachah. 24 Y.D. 234:57. 25 Y.D. 228:16. 26 Chayei Adam 138:8; Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 128:16. 27 She'arim Metzuyanim b'Halachah 128:24. See Shevet ha-Levi 5:129-3. See Hebrew Notes, pg. 580. 13-D'VAR TORAH U'MADA Jerusalem College of Technology - Machon Lev 21 Havaad Haleumi St., POB16031 Jerusalem, 91160 ISRAEL http://www.jct.ac.il e-mail: [email protected] Tel: 972-2-675-1193 Fax: 972-2-675-1190 mitzvot on which the world is based. (4) In his "free time", the Torah permits each man to devote himself to any of these - or other mitzvot, as he chooses. Alternatively, he may choose to devote himself to tend to his own needs - physical, mental, or spiritual - in preparation for doing his duty. Each man's choice at any one moment will be dictated by his understanding of what is more urgently needed just then and where he is more likely to succeed. In a beautiful parable our sages explained why there is no way of knowing which is the most valuable mitzvah: because each one is dear to G-d and He does not wish any of them to be neglected. This situation is compared to a king who wishes to have an orchard planted. Each worker is to be paid for what he plants. When asked to provide a detailed pay scale, the king refuses. The publication of such a pay scale would result in an orchard of just one type of tree - the one carrying the highest reward. A beautiful orchard must have variety, and the value of a tree depends on its situation and its surroundings. (5) Rabbenu Yonah comments on this: "Our sages said: He who occupies himself with Torah alone is like one who has no G-d, even though they also said [concerning a number of mitzvot] that the study of Torah equals all of them." (6) When a man has fulfilled all his legal and halakhic obligations and provided for his essential needs, he must continue serving G-d; but the manner in which he is to serve G-d is his own decision. (7) The better he knows the Torah, his own capabilities, and the world around him, the better is his choice likely to be. If he wants to provide for his own further development, and is intellectually inclined, he may choose Torah study; if he is emotionally sensitive and wants to serve G-d directly, he may choose avodah; and if he is of a practical bent and wants to help his fellow man, he may occupy himself with gemilut chasadim. He may not neglect any of these completely, but the emphasis is his choice. In any event, he will be serving his Maker and never, never need he be bored or feel that he is worthless, his life without meaning. "For [the Torah] is your life and the length of your days." (8) SOURCES 1. Proverbs 3:6 2. Tractate Berakhoth 63a 3. Mishnah Peah 1:1 4. Mishnah Avoth 1:2 5. MR V 6:2 6. Rabbenu Yonah, Sha'arey Teshuvah III 10 7. Individual differences in personality as determinants of the time to be spent on Torah study - see the following: Ge"RA on Proverbs 14:2; Ne"TzYV, Ha'amek Davar, on Numbers 15:41; Rabbi Meir Simchah, Or THE PROBLEM OF LEISURE TIME Sameach on MT Talmud Torah 1:2. For a general review see Ref. 26 in Chap. 2 above, Pt. 3, Sec. 2.1 8. Deut. 30:20. CF. By Professor Yehuda Levi Ibn Ezra's commentary and daily evening prayer As science and technology develop more and better means of producing our necessities, man is more and more freed from the burden of providing a livelihood. The six-day week becomes a fiveday week, and eventually a four-day week, with the daily working hours decreasing simultaneously. Indeed, in today's affluent Western society, it is possible to survive quite well without working altogether, a situation giving rise to such "luxuries" as the hippie-movement and socially-oriented terrorist organizations. Man needs challenges, and if the need to survive or a moral code do not provide them, he has to invent new ones. Leisure activities: enjoying theatre, television, spectator sports, belles lettres, music, and art; travel and hobbies - all these are attempts to fill spare time with more or less harmless activities. Unfortunately passive participation in such activities deadens the creative powers in man, as it tends to become boring; as time goes on, it becomes more and more difficult to put on a show of enthusiasm. Let us take just one "small" example - the microprocessor and its long-term social implications. Fantastic pocket-computers do not exhaust its potential. In the supermarket it is beginning to automate billing and even collection, keeping track of inventory: ordering, storing and retrieving it. In the form of "word-processors" it streamlines office work, including the composing and typing of letters and agreements and, by means of radio-communication systems, their instantaneous transmittal to any spot on earth. In the form of computer-assisted instruction, it replaces teachers even at the elementary school level - outdoes them in giving individual "attention" and letting each pupil progress at his own pace, to a degree impossible for the classroom teacher. In news and pressrooms, it replaces the majority of the employees. In the factory, the microprocessor automates production, measuring components as they tumble off the production lines, detecting incipient inaccuracies and making the required adjustment in the machine tool. On the farm, the robot-tractor works the fields. Even in the hospital, computerguided examinations lead to computerized diagnosis - not to speak of the record keeping and updating. On surveying this scene, it is hard to avoid the impression that soon the world population will be divided between computer programmers and consumers -- and what will happen when computers start doing the programming as well? People are beginning to worry about the psychological and sociological implications of such a state of society and the tremendous increase in leisure time it implies. What to do with leisure time is becoming a progressively more serious problem. The reactions of its victims vary. Some become addicted to TV, others turn to mind numbing drugs or antisocial behavior, and still others become depressed or suffer from other emotional disturbances. This is another of the serious problems caused by technological advancement. Here, too, the Torah provides guidance. It teaches man that he was created to do a job. The Sages teach us that the verse: "in all your ways you shall know Him" (1) is the foundation of all essentials of Torah. (2) Man is not privileged to squander any of his time or energy. On the other hand, the detailed execution of this fundamental obligation is, to a great extent, left to the discretion of the individual. The Torah does prescribe certain rigidly defined obligatory mitzvot; however these normally require but little time - the rest is "free time." But, in addition to these mitzvot, the Talmud lists a number of mitzvot which "have no prescribed measure." (3) Concerning these, each man must use his judgement in deciding how he can best serve his Creator. Among these mitzvot are the study of Torah, service of G-d (Avodah), and doing kindness (Gemilut Chasadim), the three 1 6