The Weekly Shtikle - Pekudei

This coming Tuesday, 2 Adar, is the yahrtzeit of my Zadie, Rabbi Yaakov Bulka. The shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmaso, Chaim Yaakov ben Yitzchak, z"l.

The pasuk (40:22) recounts the placing of the shulchan in the north before the placing of the menorah in the south. However, points out R' Chaim Brisker, the mishkan was arranged from the kodesh hakadashim and out, i.e. they began in the west and moved eastward. There is a general rule in matters pertaining to the holy service, kol pinos she'atah poneh, lo yehu ela derech yamin.(Sotah 15b and various other sources). This is to say that any time there is a choice between turning to the left or to the right, one must turn to the right. If so, when facing east, one should theoretically turn right to the south and place the menorah first and then place the shulchan in the north.

R' Chaim answers that we find in the layout that Moshe was commanded (26:35) that aside from being in the south, the menorah should be nochach hashulchan, opposite the shulchan. Therefore, it had to be placed after the shulchan so that it would face it immediately. This is also the reason why the outer altar was put in its place before the kiyor which was closer to the mishkan for in the description of the kiyor (30:18) we find it is to be placed bein ohel moed uvein hamizbeiach, between ohel moed and the altar which is only possible if both are in place beforehand. R' Chaim Kanievsky gives this answer as well.

Ironically, the Mishan Yomis program has just completed the 10th perek of Zevachim which discussed various different matters of precedence and the complicated hierarchy that determines which process comes before the other, beginning with the source well-known adage, "tadir veshe-eino tadir, tadir kodem." There are numerous aspects that may determine the proper sequence such has whether a korban is brought to atone for sin and how many times the blood is sprinkled on the mizabeiach. As we see from the above, there are many different rules involved and one must know when one trumps the other. We even see this to some extent in the laining of the haftarah. With Rosh Chodesh on Sunday, we would usually read the special haftarah of Machar Chodesh. Even though this is read more often than the haftarah of Shekalim, the rule of tadir is trumped by the rule that the haftaros of the four parshiyos can never be pushed aside. 

Chazak, chazak venischazeik!

Have a good Shabbos. Mishenichnas Adar Marbim beSimchah!

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

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The Weekly Shtikle - Vayakheil

A very special Weekly Shtikle Mazal Tov to my cousin Esther Rochel Jakobovits on her marriage this week to Yehuda Biron of LA. A special Mazal Tov to the extended Jakobovits/Meyer mishpachos. May they build a bayis ne'eman b'Yisrael.

In this week’s parsha, (35:30-35) Moshe Rabbeinu informs B’nei Yisrael that Betzalel will be in charge of overseeing the construction of the mishkan. He states that HaShem has instilled in him a special spirit of wisdom and understanding (chachma tevunah, da'as, etc.) After explaining this wisdom in more detail, Moshe adds (35:34) ulhoros nasan belibo, and to teach He has placed in his heart. It was not sufficient for Betzalel to be familiar with all the crafts necessary for the construction of mishkan. He needed to be able to teach it to others so that they may participate as well.

 

In examining this pasuk more thoroughly, there are two very important lessons that are taught in this seemingly simple phrase. The first is that no wealth of knowledge ever guarantees the ability to teach. Betzalel was brought to the highest levels of knowledge and understanding but that was not enough. In addition to the wisdom vested in him by HaShem he also required a separate Divine inspiration for the ability to teach. The art of teaching is a necessary wisdom unto itself. This point is made by the Ohr HaChayim and R’ Moshe Shternbuch on this pasuk.

 

This pasuk also teaches us that while other areas of wisdom are specific to the brain, the essence of teaching is in the heart. It is not even enough for one to spend day and night learning how to teach. No matter how much knowledge one is able to place in his brain, without a teaching heart it just doesn’t work. Therefore, in addition to enriching Betzalel’s intellect with the wisdom and knowledge to perform all the necessary tasks, HaShem instilled in him all the necessary components to make the training process as smooth as possible.

Have a good Shabbos. Mishenichnas Adar Marbim beSimchah! (applicability to Adar I a matter of dispute.)

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:
Dikdukian: Ve'asa Vetzalel

Dikdukian: Kikar Zahav

Al Pi Cheshbon: Pi in the Torah

Daily Leaf: Follow up to Pi related to recent Daf Yomi

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The Weekly Shtikle and related content are now featured on BaltimoreJewishLife.com

The Weekly Shtikle - Ki Sisa

    In pasuk 32:26, following the sin of the Golden Calf, Moshe calls out "Mi laShem elai!" Who is for HaShem, come to me! And all of Shevet Levi joined him. They then proceeded to wipe out all those who participated in the worshiping of the Golden Calf. It is known that the sinners in the episode of the Golden Calf represented a small minority of Bnei Yisrael (3000 men were killed). How is it then, that only the tribe of Levi joined Moshe in carrying out the punishment? B'chor Shor suggests that there were really many others from other tribes who did not worship the calf and also answered Moshe's call. The reason that Levi was singled out by the pasuk is, as the pasuk says "kol b'nei Levi", all of the sons of Levi. It was only Levi whose tribe completely separated itself from this great sin and joined Moshe in meting out justice. Each of the other tribes had at least part of the tribe worshiping the calf.

 

    Netziv in Hemek Davar suggests a very novel interpretation. Moshe and his followers were about to carry out a great mitzvah. We know that a sheliach mitzvah is protected from any damage. This, however, does not apply in a case where there is evident danger (see Kiddushin 39b). How then could Moshe bring people together to carry out this task which surely included the danger of being killed by a Golden Calf worshipper defending himself? Netziv suggests that this applies only to those who do a mitzvah in the regular, natural manner that humans perform mitzvos, with at least some sort of a personal interest, be it a reward in this world, or be it a reward in the next world. However, someone who has dedicated himself solely to the service of HaShem with the lack of any personal desires, even in the case of evident danger, need not fear to perform any mitzvah. Therefore, Moshe exclaimed "Mi l'haShem, elai!", Who is for HaShem and HaShem only. Who has dedicated himself completely to the service of HaShem. Only Shevet Levi, who were not subjected to servitude by the Egyptians but rather left alone to serve as spiritual leaders (Ramban), only they were able to reach this level of service of HaShem. Therefore it was only they who were on the spiritual level to join Moshe in carrying out justice in such a dangerous manner.

 

    R' Yosef Miller, of Yeshivas Merkaz HaTorah in Yerushalayim, in his sefer Hadras Kodesh, suggests that this idea may be used to answer a famous question in parshas V'zos haBerachah. In Levi's blessing it says uvris'cha yintzoru. Rashi comments that this refers to the fact that while Bnei Yisroel did not perform the mitzvah of bris milah in the desert, Shevet Levi did. The obvious question is that the reason why B"Y did not do milah in the desert is because there was a specific Northern wind that was not present in the desert which made a bris a very dangerous operation. How then could Levi go ahead and give their kids a bris? With this idea of the Netziv, however, we can understand that Shevet Levi were on a level higher than the rest of the nation. They were able to perform the mitzvah of bris milah without any fear of the inherent dangers.

Have a good Shabbos.
Mishenichnas Adar Marbim beSimchah (applicability to Adar I a matter of dispute.)

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: Kol Annnos

Dikdukian: Yeiaseh vs.Taaseh by Ephraim Stulberg

Dikdukian: Velo Shasu

Dikdukian: Minimizing Sin

Dikdukian: Need to Bring this Up

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The Weekly Shtikle - Tetzaveh

    In the listing of the stones on the choshen (28:17-20) there is a difference between the last row and the other three. The last row is "Tarshish ve'shoham ve'yashfeh." There is a vuv before the second stone as well as the third. In the other three rows, the vuv appears only before the last stone. Meshech Chachma points out that the reason for this is as we find in Kriyas Shema, that certain groups of words where the first word ends with the same letter as the second word begins, such as "al levavchem" and therefore must be very carefully differentiated. So, too, here tarshish and shoham have the same problem. Therefore, in order to differentiate between the two, HaShem told Moshe "Tarshish ve'Shoham" so he would not get mixed up. The difficulty is, however, that in Parshas Pekudei (39:13) the list does not contain a vuv before Shoham. Although Meshech Chachma does make mention of this fact he does not clearly indicate why that is. R' Boruch Epstein, in Boruch She'amar, gives an answer. In Tetzaveh, HaShem is talking to Moshe. Therefore, it was important there to differentiate between the two so that there is no confusion. In Pekudei, however, the Torah is merely giving its own recount of events so it was not imperative to place a vuv in the middle.

 

    I heard this at a chaburah on parshas hashavuah where one of the attendees brought up an interesting point. At the beginning of Shemos we seem to find a similar phenomenon. When listing the sons of Yaakov a vuv is only used for the last name in each pasuk. Except for pasuk 1:4, where there is a vuv before Naftali. It would seem that this is to differentiate between the nun at the end of Dan and the nun at the beginning of Naftali. However, here it seems only to be giving a recount and there is no one speaking to anyone. See the comments on this Dikdukian post for further discussion.

 

Have a good Shabbos. 

Mishenichnas Adar Marbim beSimchah (applicability to Adar I a matter of dispute.)

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:
Daily Leaf: Cutting off the Angles

Dikdukian: Ner Tamid

Dikdukian: The Lord and the Rings

Dikdukian: Sham and Shamah

Please visit the new portal for all Shtikle-related sites, www.weeklyshtikle.com

The Weekly Shtikle and related content are now featured on BaltimoreJewishLife.com