Comments on Parshat Vayeira

The following are some comments and insights I wrote on this week's Parsha.

Full Disclosure - They have appeared previously in some form in my other publications...

Hope you have a wonderful Shabbat and enjoy.

Parshat Lech Lecha - Minhagim at a Brit Milah

Just before Shabbat, I wanted to point out two minhagim relating to a Brit Milah that find their roots in our Parsha:

1. The Matteh Moshe (a student of the Maharsha"l) writes that we wait until just after the Brit Milah to give a baby boy his name because Avraham Avinu received his name (Avraham) after performing his Brit.
   
   
2. After Avraham Avinu performed his Brit Milah, the Torah tells us that Hashem gave him the entire land of Eretz Yisrael. I have seen written in the name of Rav Yaakov Emden that our common practice of giving a gift to the baalei simcha at a Brit has its source in this gift that Hashem gave to Avraham. When we give a gift to the ba'alei simcha, we are mimicking the actions of Hashem who was the first to bring his gift to the very first Brit.
   
   I have not yet found this R' Yaakov Emden in writing... but when I do I will let you know where you can find it.

Shabbat Shalom

Summer Plans

Now that Tish'a B'av is behind us, it's hard not to look ahead to the rapidly approaching months of Elul and Tishrei just around the corner.

I have always found this to be the most difficult time of year in terms of raw preparation and review of halachot for these chagim. There are so many chagim in such close proximity to one another and so many halachot to review, that I usually end up with a late start, an even later attempt to make up for lost time and and not much to really show for it in the end.

That's why this year I've decided to try and be a little more organized and methodical. After (quickly) crunching a few numbers this is what I've come up with:

89 = Simanim contained in Shulchan Aruch O.C. Hilchot Rosh Hashana, Yom HaKippurim, Sukka and Lulav.

166 = Single side pages of the standard edition Mishna Berura contained in the aforementioned halachot.

62 = Days until Sukkot.

2.68 = Approximate number of single-side pages in the Mishna Berura that one would need to cover per day in order to review the aforementioned halachot before the beginning of Sukkot.

Keep in mind that the last several simanim of hilchot Sukka/Lulav pertain to chol hamoed, Hoshana Rabba and Shmini Atzeret so it is not critical to finish those before Sukkot Starts. If you recalculate the daily pace without these simanim included, it comes out to approximately 2.5 pages per day.

With a pace of 2.5 sides of a page per day you would to cover hilchot Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur in approximately 25 days (around the first week in Elul) with the rest of the time for Sukkot prep whose halachot are much longer in Shulchan Aruch. 


Hopefully this pace/schedule will prove to be more productive this time around.

Some Thoughts on Rav Elyashiv zt"l

Throughout the week of  shiva for Rav Elyashiv zt"l I have read several articles attempting to describe who this legendary person was and how he lived. Much of what I have read was expected and nonetheless inspiring - wonderful stories of piety, genius and total dedication to the Torah.

One of the themes that stands out for me is the unbelievable extent to which Rav Elyashiv tried to take advantage of his time. I have often heard stories of great people who utilize every minute, but Rav Elyashiv was someone who monitored his every second. Each moment was calculated and measured. There was literally no time to waste.

I merited meeting Rav Elyashiv in person several times, but approximately 11 years ago, I had the privilege to spend a few moments with Rav Elyashiv one on one in his home in Mea She'arim (how I got in is a story for another time). Because of the limited time allotted to each of his visitors, I intended to simply ask for his blessings and be on my way. When my turn came, I entered his study and sat at the table to his left. I immediately noticed that he had 2 sefarim on the table - A gemara (Zevachim/Menachot) and a Rambam (Sefer Avoda). I was told that this was his "seder" for learning during the free seconds he had between visitors (!). Although our meeting lasted only a few moments, I felt a sense of awe that this great man whose every moment was calculated and measured had dedicated a few of those moments to me. I still look back on that brief exchange as a very inspiring encounter.

The night of the levaya, I found a printed quote from Rav Elyashiv himself discussing this very theme - the importance of every moment of a person's life (in a sefer called "Asrei Ha'ish"):

The consensus among Jews from all over the political and religious spectrum is that Rav Elyashiv lived and breathed Torah and a pure dedication to it. We can debate his opinions and associations, but one thing that cannot be denied is that to him - Learning and living Torah reigned supreme. This is a message that crosses all party lines and doesn't fit into any of our polarized boxes - it is something that all Jews can relate to and strive for. 

It is no wonder then, that hundreds of thousands of men, women and children from every community packed the streets of Yerushalayim late on a hot summer night to bid him farewell. 

[The following is a video I took on my phone from the middle of the Bar-Ilan and Shmuel Hanavi intersection during the funeral. This was only a fraction of the crowds that attended]:

Causing the Churban - Then and Now

The following is the introduction to Sefer Bereishit, written by the Netzi”v as part of his masterful commentary to the Torah

In this piece, the Netzi’v describes the tone of Jewish society at the time of the destruction of the second Beit Hamikdash, and particularly of the infighting that plagued the Jews at that time and eventually led to their demise 

I will let the Netziv speak for himself in the original Hebrew, but in case you don’t catch his description  in Hebrew of what the Jewish people did to cause the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, you can read an article in English about an eerily similar repeat performance (reportedly) happening in our times

זה הספר הנקרא "ספר בראשית" - נקרא בפי הנביאים: "ספר הישר", כדאיתא במסכת עבודת כוכבים (כה ע"א) על שני מקראות: בספר יהושע (י יג): "הלא היא כתובה על ספר הישר", ובספר שמואל (ב א יח): "ויאמר ללמד לבני יהודה קשת, הנה כתובה על ספר הישר". ומפרש רבי יוחנן: זה ספר אברהם יצחק ויעקב שנקראו "ישרים", שנאמר: "תמות נפשי מות ישרים" (במדבר כג י)

ויש להבין הטעם למה קרא בלעם את אבותינו בשם "ישרים" בייחוד, ולא "צדיקים" או "חסידים" וכדומה. וגם למה מכונה זה הספר ביחוד בכינוי "ישרים", ובלעם התפלל על עצמו שיהא אחריתו כמו בעלי זה הכנוי.

והענין דנתבאר בשירת האזינו על הפסוק "הצור תמים פעלו... צדיק וישר הוא" (דברים לב ד), דשבח "ישר הוא" נאמר להצדיק דין הקדוש ברוך הוא בחֻרבן בית שני, שהיה "דור עקש ופתלתל" (שם פסוק ה); ופירשנו שהיו צדיקים וחסידים ועמלי תורה, אך לא היו ישרים בהליכות עולמים. על כן, מפני שנאת חנם שבלבם זה אל זה, חשדו את מי שראו שנוהג שלא כדעתם ביראת ה' שהוא צדוקי ואפיקורס. ובאו על ידי זה לידי שפיכות דמים בדרך הפלגה, ולכל הרעות שבעולם, עד שחרב הבית.

ועל זה היה צדוק הדין, שהקדוש ברוך הוא ישר הוא ואינו סובל צדיקים כאלו, אלא באופן שהולכים בדרך הישר גם בהליכות עולם, ולא בעקמימות אף־על־גב שהוא לשם שמים, דזה גורם חֻרבן הבריאה והריסוּת ישוב הארץ.

וזה היה שבח האבות, שמִלבד שהיו צדיקים וחסידים ואוהבי ה' באופן היותר אפשר, עוד היו "ישרים", היינו: שהתנהגו עם אומות העולם, אפילו עובדי אלילים מכוערים; מכל מקום היו עמם באהבה, וחשו לטובתם, באשר היא קיום הבריאה. כמו שאנו רואים כמה השתטח אברהם אבינו להתפלל על סדום, אף־על־גב שהיה שנא אותם ואת מלכם תכלית שנאה עבור רשעתם, כמבואר במאמרו למלך סדום. מכל מקום חפץ בקיומם!

ובבראשית רבה פרשת וירא (פרשה מט) איתא על זה שאמר הקדוש ברוך הוא לאברהם אבינו : "אָהַבְתָּ צֶּדֶק וַתִּשְׂנָא רֶשַׁע" (תהלים מה ח) - "אהבת להצדיק את בריותי, ותשנא להרשיען..." והיינו ממש כ"אַב הֲמוֹן גּוֹיִם" (בראשית יז ד, ובפסוק ה), שאף־על־גב שאין הבן הולך בדרך מישרים - מכל מקום שׂוחר שלומו וטובו. וכן הוצק חן ודרך ארץ נפלא, על דבר אברם את לוט, כמו שנתבאר בפרשת "לך".

וכן ראינו כמה נֹח היה יצחק אבינו להתפייס ממשנאיו, ובמעט דברי פיוס מאבימלך ומרעיו - נתפייס באופן היותר ממה שבקשו ממנו, כמבואר במקומו.

ויעקב אבינו, אחר שהיטב חרה לו על לבן, שידע שבקש לעקרו לולי ה', מכל מקום דבר עמו דברים רכים. עד שאמרו על זה בבראשית רבה (פרשה עד): "קַפְדָנוּתָן של אבות ולא עַנְוְתָנוּתָן של בנים" (עיין שם), ונתפייס עמו מהר.

וכן הרבה למדנו מהליכות האבות בדרך ארץ מה ששייך לקיום העולם, המיוחד לזה הספר שהוא ספר הבריאה. ומשום הכי נקרא כמו כן ספר הישר על מעשה אבות בזה הפרט.

ובלעם בשעת רוח הקודש - לא היה יכול להתפלא על רוע מעשיו, שאינו צדיק וחסיד כאברהם יצחק ויעקב, אחרי שהוא נביא אומות העולם וראשו במקור הטומאה. אכן התפלא על רוע הילוכו בדרך ארץ, שאם שראוי היה לו לשנוא את ישראל תכלית שנאה, באשר שהמה בני אברהם יצחק ויעקב וראשם במקור הקדוּשה, אבל מכל מקום לא היה ראוי לפניו לבקש לעקר אומה שלימה. ואינו דרך ישרה בקיום העולם. ועל זה צעק "תמות נפשי מות ישרים", היינו: מקיימי הבריאה.

Parshat Pinchas - Halacha & Aggada

The following are some thoughts on the halachot of  "Mashuach Milchama" - the special Kohen that would escort the Jewish people out to war... This is relevant to Parshat Pinchas because the Gemara in Sota says that Pinchas himself was a Kohen Mashuach Milchama.

Note: This is simply a copy/paste from my (unedited) notes. I try not to apologize for things I choose to share with others, but in this case I feel like I should warn you that there might be typos/errors. This excerpt is actually part of a larger project that is worth explaining, but maybe we'll save that for another time...

If you are interested in some divrei Torah (aggada) in English, please feel free to look back at what we wrote last year.

Shabbat Shalom

בענין מינוי משוח מלחמה

Parshat Balak - Moshiach! (by R' Herschel Schachter)

I didn't have a chance to write up anything of my own on the Parsha (you can check out our thought from last year if you'd like), so I am just going to copy an article by R' Herschel Shachter shlit"a. The source of the article is here at toraweb.org.

I thought this article was worthwhile not only because Rav Shachter is a phenomenal talmid chacham, but also because he briefly discusses a fascinating Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh on the Parsha, and yesterday was his yahrtziet:




The Rambam (towards the end of his commentary to Mishnayot Sanhedrin) lists what he considers to be the thirteen principles of our faith, the twelfth of which is to believe in the coming of Moshiach. This point is not unique to Lubavitch groups; it is part of the beliefs of all Jews. We believe that G-d did not forsake the world after the six days of creation. He continuously sees to it that history should unfold in the way He wants. "In the end of days" His kingdom will be accepted by all mankind, and the Melech HaMoshiach will represent Him.

This point of faith appears throughout the books of the prophets from the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu to the nevua (prophecy) of Malachi. One of the two places in the Chumash (Five Books of Moses) where the principle of Moshiach is spelled out is in Parshat Balak. The Torah records the prophecy of Bilam who speaks of King David as well as his descendent - the Melech HaMoshiach.

Towards the end of the Mishneh Torah, the Rambam dedicates two chapters to the topic of Moshiach. He writes that the exact details of the coming of Moshiach are very unclear, and are at present not that important. A tendency to dwell on these details will lead one to neither a greater love for G-d, nor a greater fear of G-d. The important point is that we believe in the principle of the coming of a human being, who will be a descendent of King David. In another essay the Rambam points out that the Moshiach will be highly intelligent, a tremendous prophet, and admired and respected by all. He will be an unknown figure until the time he is "revealed", and his debut will take place in Eretz Yisroel.

We all have an obligation to hope for the coming of Moshiach daily, and to do whatever we can to hasten his coming. But what can we possibly do? The matter is not under our control? The Rambam explains that what we can do is daven (pray) to Hashem who does have control. This is formally done in the weekday shmoneh esrei where there is a special bracho (es tsemach dovid etc.) through which we plead with G-d to hasten the coming of Moshiach.

In the days of the Talmud it was optional to recite the bracha of "es tsemach dovid" either as a separate bracho, or as part of the preceeding bracha - "Veliyerushalayim ircha". Today the accepted practice is that these two themes are separated into two separate brachos. The reason it was originally considered acceptable to combine these two themes into one was that a complete rebuilding of Yerushalayim consisted of both a. rebuilding the Beis HaMikdash, and b. reestablishing the office of the government of Malchus Beis David there. The Rambam writes in the beginning of Hilchos Melachim that no other king (other than those of Beis David) may have their official palaces or official government offices in Yerushalayim. Yerushalayim is the official capital of Medinat Yisroel, especially reserved for the official government of that country. In fact, the generally accepted view in Shulchan Aruch is that the special rabbinic requirement to tear kriah upon seeing the old city of Yerushalayim in a state of destruction relates not so much to the fact that the city was the site of the beis HaMikdosh, but rather because it was the political capital of the Jewish medinah and the kriah represents symbolically our mourning over the loss of that medinah. Therefore, most have the practice not to tear kriah today when visiting the Old City, because it has become again the capital of the Jewish medinah.

There are those who argue that one can not establish a Jewish medinah in Eretz Yisroel before the coming of the moshiach. However, the Ohr Hachayim Hakadosh on this week's sedra offers a novel interpretation of the pasuk, "Darach Kochav MeYaakov, vekam shevet meYisroel". He explains it to mean that if Klal Yisroel wil be worthy, we would witness the emergence of the Jewish government in Eretz Yisroel in miraculous and supernatural fashions, similar to a shooting star. But if we will not be zoche, then an inferior quality government will emerge in Eretz Yisroel, lacking the charm and the luster of the shooting star.

Even though we may be dissatisfied with the memshala (the individuals running the Israeli government), we are overjoyed and thankful to have a Jewish medinah in Eretz Yisroel.

"Food" for Thought on the 4th of July

Every July fourth for the last 97 years, a popular event is held in Coney Island, New York to mark the 4^th of July (U.S. Independence Day) – I refer to none other than the world famous Nathan’s hot dog eating contest. 

Contestants that have made it to the finals are given ten minutes to eat as many hot dogs (including the buns) as they can. 40,000 people cram the surrounding streets to cheer on their favorite speed-eaters and more than one million viewers are expected to tune in on TV (you can catch the live nationally televised  broadcast on…. you guessed it… ESPN). As I write this I see the breaking news that Joey Chestnut (yes, his real name) has defended his title for the sixth consecutive year by tying his own world record of a (disturbing) 68 hot dogs in ten minutes...

This whole event brought to mind the halacha in the Gemara about feeding one’s animals....In general, a person’s must feed his animals before he feeds himself at meal time (See Brachot 40a and Gittin 62a based on the passuk in Devarim 11:15. Also check out the Magen Avraham in O.C. 167:18 who holds that this only applies to food, not drink).

The Yad Efraim in his commentary to Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 167) suggests that the reason for this is that it is quite possible that our merit and worthiness of receiving the food from Hashem is no less than that of an animal and it could be that the animals are the source of our meriting food in the first place. It is therefore the animals who take precedence.

We also know that the Torah requires us to elevate our act of eating in various ways. We acknowledge and thank Hashem before and after each and every meal and snack with brachot. We are also obligated to go out of our way to provide food to those less fortunate (see Rambam hil. Yom Tov perek 6).

All of this together makes for an interesting contrast of perspective - on the one hand we need to show ourselves that our eating is no greater than that of an animal and we do this by feeding our animals before ourselves. At the same time, we have halachot in place to help us raise our act of eating to become a vehicle for thanking Hashem and doing kindness for others.

In reality though, these are really just two sides of the same coin. The act of eating is indeed a physical, animalistic need and our fulfillment of this need is comparable to that of an animal. The Torah’s mandate is to make our eating part of the bigger picture of serving Hashem in a dignified, proper way.

My intent is not to bash the hot dog eating contest. Who am I to denounce a long standing American tradition. Just consider this a reference to a couple of interesting halachot and maybe some "food" for thought...

The "Bottom Line" - Business vs. Torah

When one makes  a siyum, it is customary to recite the "hadran". One of the themes that runs through the hadran is the contrast between those who put their efforts into learning and those who invest all their time and energy into other, trivial things.

In the middle of the text we recite:
"We [those who learn Torah] work hard and they [those who spend their time on trivial things] work hard. We work hard and receive a reward for our efforts while they work hard and do not receive any reward..."

The Chofetz Chaim is reported to have explained this comparison as follows - in the physical world it's all about results. If you work and work but don't produce - you don't get paid. When it comes to learning however, it is specifically the effort and the investment of self that generates the reward - regardless of the bottom line of actual progress and accomplishment. If someone barely knows how to read Hebrew but he struggles to get through a few pesukim with Rashi, he will be rewarded like a more advanced student who pushes himself to finish a long masechta.

But that seemingly leaves us with a question - why would we emphasize this point specifically at a siyum which in and of itself is a celebration of objective accomplishment? Why do we announce that the Torah doesn't consider the juice-to-squeeze ratio at the very moment when we're enjoying this milestone that has been reached?

The passuk in Shemot (18:20 to be exact) refers to the Torah as a "Derech" - a "Path":

 וְהִזְהַרְתָּה אֶתְהֶם אֶת-הַחֻקִּים וְאֶת-הַתּוֹרֹת וְהוֹדַעְתָּ לָהֶם אֶת-הַדֶּרֶךְ יֵלְכוּ בָהּ וְאֶת-הַמַּעֲשֶׂה אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשׂוּן.

The very nature of a "path" is that it is a place where people move and progress. Stopping for a break on the side of the path is totally within reason, but this does not fulfill the ultimate purpose of the path which is to facilitate constant movement of its travelers. 


Perhaps at a siyum we stress that while we are taking a quick break on the side of the proverbial road to celebrate the completion of this leg of the journey, we must remember that this is not the final stop and our objective must be to continue as far as we can go. 


This is the difference between "us" and "them" as we say in the "Hadran". In the material world it is often all about meeting a deadline and completing a specific project or task. Meet the objective satisfactorily and you will be rewarded. Miss it and you will have to deal with the consequences. Often there is no "A for effort".

Torah however, is meant to be a "Derech" - an ongoing path for improvement and progress. You didn't daven so well this morning? Don't worry - you'll do better at Mincha. Didn't understand the answer of Tosafos? You'll give it another shot next time you review this perek. Do the best you possibly can and if you stumble don't stop to feel sorry for yourself because going forward you'll do even more and even better. One who lives with this outlook is truly worthy of his reward in the eyes of the Torah.

I pride myself on being a "balabus" who strives for effort and excellence at work, at home, in Shul and int he Beit Midrash. I don't see working and learning as "two worlds" that run in parallel but rather different aspects of a complete Avodat Hashem. Sometimes however, the "what-have-you-done-for-me-lately" attitude in the business world causes to me take a step back and try to keep things in some sort of perspective...

Perhaps this is all obvious to whoever takes the time to read it, but even the most obvious things are worth repeating once in a while

Talmud Yerushalmi vs. Talmud Bavli

I started a new chavrusa learning Gemara Brachot from the beginning. It's going great and it's amazing how sometimes a Gemara and a Rashi that you've learned many times before can suddenly start looking a lot more complex and interesting than you remember it...

While learning last night, my chavrusa asked an interesting question - why do we spend so much time learning the Talmud BAVLI??? Don't we also have a Talmud Yerushalmi? After all, we are in Israel and it would make sense to learn the local Torah. And don't Chaza"l say - "Ein Torah k'torat Eretz Yisrael"?? Why did the Bavli become the main focus of our Torah Sheba'al Peh?
precedence over the Yerushalmi.

After a bit of research, here are a few reasons suggested throughout the generations:


The Rif, at the end of Eruvin says that halachic preference is given to the Bavli because it came after the Yerushlami, and the Amoraim of the Bavli were fluent in the Yerushlami and nonetheless came to their conclusions which often differ from those Yerushlami.

Rav Yitchak Isaac Halevi Rabinowitz zt"l, in Dorot Rishonim (Chap. 20) offers an historical reason based on the opinions of some of the Geonim, that since there were persecutions on Eretz Yisrael at the time that the Yerushlami was compiled, the relevant halachic discussions were ended abruptly and were not fully developed. We therefore rely upon the Bavli which whose discussions were developed fully.

The Netziv in his commentary to the Torah, Ha'amek Davar (Shemot 34:1) compares the two Talmuds to the first and second luchot. On the one hand, the first set of luchot had a higher level of kedusha since they were formed by Hashem Himself, but the second luchot are still the ones which remained intact forever. Similarly, the Talmud Yerushalmi has a higher level of kedusha since it was written by earlier chachamim and it has the merit of being written in Eretz Yisrael, but the Bavli is the Torah that guided the Jewish people through the exile to Bavel and allowed us to maintain our traditions through a period of darkness.

It should also be noted that the chachamim and poskim throughout the generations still held the Yerushalmi in very high regard. Anyone who has learned the Aruch Hashulchan for example, knows that he makes reference to the Yerushalmi on almost every page. Also take a look at thw Bi'ur HaGr"a (Orach Chaim 235:13) who discusses the Rambam's view.