The Weekly Shtikle - Shofetim

So, what is the connection between this past Monday's solar eclipse and this week's parsha?

As we were reading from the beginning of parshas Shofetim this Monday, I couldn't help but notice the glaring irony. People all across the country were readying themselves and preparing their special eyewear to ensure they don't become blinded by the dangerous rays of the sun. Meanwhile, we read in the second pasuk of the parsha of the great dangers of bribery which are so great that they surely (16:19) "blind the eyes of wise men."

Indeed, many of our body parts have, in addition to their literal, physical manifestation, a figurative existence as well. Just last week, we were taught (15:8) of the importance of opening one's hand to help his brother in need. This does not necessitate any physical opening of one's hand but rather, acting in a charitable manner. This idea isn't even necessarily unique to the Torah. For example, even in the secular world, one talks of a broken heart which rarely involves any actual physical damages to any organs. So while we were all wrapped up in taking the proper precautions to protect our literal, physical eyes, the Torah was reminding us how equally important it is to protect ourselves from figurative blindness caused by bribery.

The events of this week coincided, of course, with the new moon and subsequent Rosh Chodesh of Elul, a month in which we do our utmost towards shleimus leading up to the yamim nora'im. It can be said that it signifies our beginning on the path to totality.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Weekly Shtikle: Additional Symbolism of the Shofar

Dikdukian: Two of a Kind

Dikdukian: Not necessarily a dumb correction

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The Weekly Shtikle - Re'eih

A Weekly Shtikle mazal tov to my niece and nephew, Fraidy and Shmuel Clinton of Lakewood on the birth of their daughter, Malka Bracha.

An additional Weekly Shtikle mazal tov to my niece Kayla Levy on her engagement to Yosef Marx of Passaic, NJ. Mazal Tov to the extended Shonek, Levy, Bulka & Jakobovits mishpachos.

 

As we draw nearer to the much-hyped full solar eclipse across the United States, please see my essay on eclipses: Eclipses in Halachah and Machshavah

 

This week's parsha contains a number of sections related to various types of avodah zarah. Nowadays, it is very difficult for us to comprehend the strong inclination towards idol worship that existed in those times. This is because, as the gemara (Sanhedrin 64a) explains, the yeitzer hara for avodah zarah was destroyed during the early years of the second Beis HaMikdash through some supernatural process. However, certain nuances in the pesukim offer us an insight into avodah zarah which perhaps may help us combat the pseudo-avodos zaros of our day.

 

First, the Torah warns us (12:30) "lest you inquire after their gods, saying: 'How do these nations serve their gods? I shall do likewise.'" The Torah is clearly warning against the dangers of what might be disguised as "intellectual curiosity." One is only permitted to study the ways of the nations if it is clearly done in order to know how to answer their challenges or the challenges of another who is arguing their point of view. To simply explore their gods and their worship out of curiosity is unfortunately where it all begins.

 

The Torah then proceeds to discuss three different examples of how idolatry might come to infiltrate the community. First, there is the false prophet. Then there is the meisis, the friend or family member who privately attempts to lure another towards idolatry. Last, we have the city which turns as a whole towards other gods. In each case we find a common term used by the seducer:  "Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them." Again, we find that the idolater is always looking to appeal to the curious side of his victim. He is not attempting to lure you into worshiping a deity with whom you are somewhat familiar. He uses the mystery of the unknown to pique your interest. Throughout these sections, the Torah is repeatedly reminding us to keep our intellectual curiosity in check.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:
Dikdukian: Don't Feed the Animals

Dikdukian: Jewish Milk

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

The Weekly Shtikle - Eikev

In this week's parsha, we find the second paragraph of keriyas shema. Once again, (11:18) the mitzvos of tefillin and mezuzah are mentioned. Rashi, on the words "vesamtem es devarai eileh," makes a rather startling comment. "Even after you are exiled, still be excellent in mitzvos. Put on tefillin and make mezuzos so that they are not new to you when you return to Eretz Yisroel." The implication is that tefillin and mezuzah are mitzvos that are not biblical obligations outside of Eretz Yisrael but are only performed so as not to be forgotten. However, the gemara (Kiddushin 36b) clearly states that all mitzvos that are not based on the land are practiced both in Eretz Yisrael and outside.

 

The GR"A raises this question and gives an answer in the name of Masa'as Moshe. He posits that the words in Rashi "hanichu tefillin va'asu mezuzos" are a mistake. The original text of Rashi had an abbreviation "heh-tuv, v'ayin-mem" which really stood for "hafrishu terumah v'isru ma'aser." Terumah and ma'aser are mitzvos which are land-based and apply only in Eretz Yisrael but were practiced while B'nei Yisrael were in exile as well, in order that they not be forgotten. Somewhere along the line, a printer made the error of thinking that Rashi's abbreviation stood for "hanichu tefillin vasu mezuzos." (I'm not sure what the relevance would be to this pasuk, based on this approach.)

 

Ramba"n, however, suggests that this midrash is actually hinting to a deep secret which he has previously referred to (Vayikra 18:25.) Gur Aryeh here explains based on Ramba"n's commentary in parshas Toledos on why the forefathers kept the mitzvos only in Eretz Yisrael, that the actual reason why the Torah commanded us to keep the mitzvos outside of Eretz Yisroel as the gemara teaches us, is because of the reason Rashi gives here. In other words, it is true that we have a full-fledged requirement to keep all of the mitzvos even outside of Eretz Yisrael. However, the ultimate reasoning behind it is to ensure that when we return to the Land where these mitzvos were meant to be performed, they are not forgotten. (I suggest, for a clearer understanding of the issue, going through the actual texts of the Gur Aryeh and the aforementioned Ramba"ns.)

 

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:
Dikdukian: To Afflict the Corrector

Dikdukian: To Make a Misnaged Cringe

Dikdukian: Those Bad Egyptians

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

The Weekly Shtikle - Va'eschanan / Nachamu

This Monday, the 15th of Av, marks the yahrtzeit of my Opa, Mr. George Jakobovits. This week's shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmaso, Tovia Yehudah ben Yoel, a'h.

Although the yearly Torah reading cycle has not always followed its current pattern, it has a tendency to have the parshah of the week correspond quite neatly with the calendar. For example, we read Moshe Rabbeinu's exclamation of "Eichah!" in Parshas Devarim (1:12) which always falls on the Shabbos before Tish'ah B'Av. We always read Parshas Nitzavim, which speaks of teshuvah, as we approach Rosh HaShanah and the aseres yemei teshuvah. This week is known as Shabbas Nachamu, after the beginning of this week's haftarah which begins with the words "Nachamu, nachamu ami..." be comforted, be comforted My nation. The haftarah is specifically directed at the theme of comfort and consolation, but surely, this theme should present itself in the parshah as well. If anything, Va'eschanan deals with more ominous circumstances as it is the source for the reading on Tish'ah B'Av, discussing the various repercussions of straying from the path. There seems to be no mention of the week's theme whatsoever.

 

Perhaps, the theme is hinted to in the very passage that is read on Tish'ah B'Av. After reading of all the terrible consequences of our evil deeds, we are assured (4:29-31)

"And from there, you will beseech HaShem, your God, and you shall find, if you seek Him with all your heart and all your soul. Amidst your tribulations when these things have been visited upon you, in the end of days, when you shall return to HaShem, your God, and listen to His voice. For Hashem, your God, is a merciful God, He will not forsake you and He will not destroy you, nor will He forget the covenant of your fathers which He has sworn to them."

These words remind us, after we have mourned the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash which came about as a result of our awful sins, that no matter how deep we sink, no matter how much it seems that HaShem has distanced Himself from us, we may always return at a moment's notice and HaShem will answer us. This passage encourages us never to lose hope amidst our exile, as HaShem will never forsake us, a veritable paradigm of the theme of "Nachamu." As well, its presence in the reading for Tish'ah B'Av fits nicely with the theme we discussed last week – that Tish'ah B'Av is not just about mourning the destructions of the past but about looking forward and focusing on rebounding from our tragedies towards a path to redemption.

 

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: You were shown

Dikdukian: Raise the Valleys

Al Pi Cheshbon: Moshe's Pleas

Al Pi Cheshbon: Gemtrias off by 1

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