The Weekly Shtikle - Pinechas

Throughout chumash, we find examples of gratitude and compassion some of which are rather surprising. The most significant that come to mind are Moshe's not smiting the ground or the water which facilitated his survival and our instruction not to show undue hostility towards the Egyptian because we were "guests" in their land. At the beginning of this week's parsha, Moshe is commanded regarding the eventual destruction of the nation of Midyan for their role in seducing the nation towards the worship of Ba'al Pe'or and the illicit encounter involving Kuzbi. But Midyan was the nation that provided a place of refuge for Moshe when he fled Egypt. He spent a number of formidable years in Midyan and it is not inconceivable to suggest he enjoyed some form of protection and immunity from the crime he had committed back home. Why, then, are the Midyanites not afforded some degree of consideration when facing their Divinely commanded retribution.

I found that the Tur, quoted in Shaarei Aharon, does touch on this point. First, Rashi explains that the commandment of "tzaror" denotes not a directive for a singular campaign but a constant and present enmity towards Midyan for what they had done. Tur understands that there are two distinct commandments. Tazror is in the singular and directed at Moshe specifically for he very well have been the target of the Midyanite plot as the midrash recounts that Kuzbi was instructed to attempt to seduce the greatest among them. The subsequent commandment of "vehikisem osam," referring to the ultimate destruction of the Midyanites was specifically stated in the plural, not directly to Moshe, because he grew up in Midyan.

Malbim writes the justification of the commandment given here actually refers to three separate aspects justifying the defeat of Midyan. "Ki tzorerim heim lachem" refers to the present. "Asher nikelu lachem" in the past tense refers to the plot they devised. "Ve'al devar Kuzbi" is indicative of a current plan to exact revenge on B'nei Yisrael for the killing of Kuzbi. With this analysis, the military campaign against Midyan was not simply a war of revenge and retaliation. The nation of Midyan was still plotting further attacks and constituted a clear and present danger. Perhaps for that reason there was no room for a compassionate allowance.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: Pinechas: What's in a Name?

Dikdukian: Keves vs. Kesev

Dikdukian:  Shabbas be'Shabbato

Dikdukian:  I say Yericho, you say Yereicho
Dikdukian:  All of the brothers

Al Pi Cheshbon: Probability of the Goral

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The Weekly Shtikle - Balak

This past Thursday, 15 Tammuz, was the yahrzeit of my wife's grandmother, Mrs. Shirley Yeres, Chaya Sheindel bas Alexander.

The previous day was the yahrzeit of R' Yaakov Yitzchack Ruderman, zt"l, the first Rosh HaYeshivah of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel. 

Shabbos, 17 Tammuz, is the yahrzeit of R' Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg, zt"l, Rosh HaYeshiva of Ner Yisroel.

The shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmasam.

 

When inquired as to the identity of his visitors, Bilam responds (22:10) "Balak ben Tzipor, the king of Moav sent them to me." Rashi delves into the motivation behind Bilam's statement. His intent was, "even though I am not dignified in Your eyes, I am dignified in the eyes of kings." R' Ruderman, zt"l, points out that is a perplexingly ridiculous statement for Bilam to make. Why should it matter one bit to HaShem what the kings think of Bilam? What could he possibly have intended to accomplish with this?

 

The Rosh HaYeshivah answers that Bilam's intention was to incriminate Bnei Yisrael. His claim was as follows: "HaShem, You know that I am really not significant whatsoever. Nevertheless, I am significant in the eyes of kings. However, even though Moshe is held so highly in Your eyes, he is so gravely mistreated by Bnei Yisrael!" Therefore, when HaShem finally lets Bilam go along to Moav, he instructs Bilam (22:20) "go with them, but only do that which I tell you to do". This is meant as a rebuttal of his charge against B'nei Yisrael. "The reason why you are revered by kings is because you tell them what they want to hear. Moshe tells Bnei Yisrael what I tell him to say. That is why his popularity is not always so high. Now you go to the kings and tell them what I tell you, and see how they treat you now." Sure enough, this proved to be quite a lesson for Bilam.

 

This theme sees particularly apropos as we are now in the thick of this year's elections season (here in the US) where so much of any candidate's popularity seems to be based so much less on actual truths and more on what he or she says that the people want to hear.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: I say Yericho, You Say Yereicho

Dikdukian: The Dead of the Plague

Al Pi Cheshbon: Counting the Judges

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

The Weekly Shtikle - Chukas

Today, 9 Teves, is the first yahrtzeit of my sister-in-law, Batsheva Yeres. The shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmasah, Batsheva Blima, a"h bas HaRav Moshe Yosef HaLevi, ybl"t.

I was trying to find a theme from the parsha appropriate to the day. Indeed, the parsha is filled with much sorrow with the death of both Miriam and Aharon and the profound impact those two losses had on B'nei Yisrael. However, there is another very positive theme that is found as the parsha progresses and continues for the rest of the sefer. After the episode of the spies, the dream of entering Eretz Yisrael fades away from the nation, for the most part. It seems to get even worse at the beginning of this week's parsah with Moshe and Aharon also being informed that they too will not enter the land. But finally, we read about the sweeping defeat of Sichon and Og. The nation moves ever closer towards the land that will soon be theirs and the conquest of Eretz Yisrael has begun. We will soon read about the boundaries and specific pieces of land that each tribe will inherit as well as other items specifically pertaining to the nation's inhabitance of the land. The topic of this week's haftarah as well is Yiftach standing up for the defense of the land and defending every inch of its borders.

This was definitely one of the many things that stood out about Batsheva. Her love of Eretz Yisrael brought her to make aliyah despite the many challenges and hurdles involved. She was also known to capitalize on even the slightest opportunity to convince people to do the same. Even though in Eretz Yisrael they are actually up to Balak, the timing is nevertheless fitting.  

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: What land was Sichon king of?

Dikdukian: Watch out for that Chirik
Dikdukian: Yahtzah, what is your real name?

Dikdukian: It wasn't thrown

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

The Weekly Shtikle - Korach / Bar Mitzvah Edition

Here is Efrayim's pshetl in text form, followed by the pre-recorded video that was shown at the Bar Mitzvah:
 



Here are a few of my own thoughts, expressed during the speeches at the Bar Mitzvah:

I was debating how much attention to draw to the fact that the Bar Mitzvah was on July 4^th. Indeed, the way the calendar works, it is not often that Independence Day falls out in the week of parshas Korach. The last time it happened was actually the year Efrayim was born. The midsrash recounts that Korach approached Moshe with two quandaries – does a garment made completely of techeiles  require tzitzis and does a house full of seforim require a mezuzah. Moshe answered in the affirmative on both counts, to the objection of Korach. R' Nosson Adler explains that these were not random cases Korach brought to Moshe to start up. They were very much in line with the theme of the argument he expressed in the pesukim – "ki chol ha'eidah kulam kedoshim." If we are a nation of holy people, is there any need for one man to lord over us? I have always felt that this exchange can be understood, on some level, to be a debate on the place of democracy in the society of the dor hamidbar and perhaps in Judaism in general.

I once heard Benjamin Netanyahu quote a profound thought from Winston Churchill regarding democracy. "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others." Indeed, as the Rav of our shul often points out, we enjoy today a level of religious freedom and flourishing of limud haTorah and shemiras haMitzvos which perhaps we haven't seen since the first beis haMikdash. The advancement of the principles of democracy have certainly played a significant role in allowing this growth. However, at the same time, the ideas behind democracy have also given rise to a unique set of challenges we as Jews have not encountered in previous generations. We have seen society corrupted to a degree that not only can people say and do whatever they feel, they claim a right to be acknowledged and celebrated for it. There are times – especially considering recent events here in Baltimore – where one really starts to wonder if certain citizens believe they have a constitutional right to break the law. Independence Day coinciding with Korach provides a unique opportunity to reflect on both the positives and negatives that American democracy has brought upon us.

In truth, the ideas of independence – in contrast to those of freedom – are also very much apropos to a Bar Mitzvah. Independence doesn't simply mean that one is free to do what they want but also that they now must take full responsibility for those decisions. American independence meant that the nation was now free to govern themselves as a sovereign nation but with that was the reality that they could no longer blame the British for slavery or civil war and the like. A Bar Mitzvah as well now gain the freedom to make some of his own decisions. It is our hope and our tefillah that our Bar Mitzvah, Efrayim, learn to make these choices wisely as he becomes a man a true ben Torah.

The Weekly Shtikle - Shelach

Last week, I neglected to mention the yahrtzeit of R' Ephraim Eisenberg which was on Sivan 16. The delay is somewhat apropos as our son, Efrayim, just turned 13 this week. We will be celebrating his Bar Mitzvah this Monday here in Baltimore.  (I hope to include the text of some of the speeches next week.) The shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas Ephraim Zalman ben Chayim HaLevi and lichvod the Bar Mitzvah, Efrayim Zalman.

 

Of course, the most significant of events that takes place in this week's parsha is the sin of the spies. Ten of the spies delivered bad reports about Eretz Yisrael while only Yehoshua and Calev delivered positive reports.  My Zadie, R' Yaakov Bulka, z"l, points out, though, that if you look at the positive components of each of the reports, there doesn't seem to be much difference.  In pasuk 14:8 Caleiv describes Eretz Yisrael as "eretz zavas chalav udvash" But the ten spies also describe it as such in 13:27 "vegam eretz zavas chalav udvash hi". What is the difference? Also, why did the ten spies use the word "vegam".

 

My Zadie answers that we observe in next week's parsha (16:13) that part of Dasan and Aviram's complaint to Moshe was "hame'at ki he'elisanu mei'eretz zavas chalav udvash", this referring to Egypt. We see clearly that they considered Egypt to also be an "eretz zavas chalav udvash". Therefore, the spies are rebuked for saying "vegam..." because what they meant was that Eretz Yisrael is also nice, like Egypt, but no better. Caleiv, however, worded it differently, saying "eretz zavas chalav udvash hi." IT is an eretz zavas chalav udvash like no other.

 

To add to this thought, we see a similar concept in the gemara Sanhedrin 104a. The gemara describes how Sancheirev was rewarded for praising Eretz Yisrael and Bnei Yisrael were rebuked for speaking badly about it. The gemara goes on to explain the specifics, that when Bnei Yisrael were exiled and they came to their new lands they said, "This is just like we had in Eretz Yisrael". The lesson learned from all of this is a great one. For we know that the principal lesson in this week's parsha is the gravity of the sin of talking badly about Eretz Yisrael. It is obvious that this includes direct criticism of Eretz Yisrael, but now we see that even putting other lands on the level of Eretz Yisrael is a grave sin which falls under the same category.

 

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Dikdukian:

What's Different About Efrayim? Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

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