The Weekly Shtikle - Emor

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my Oma, Chaya Sara bas Zecharia Chaim, a"h.

 

This week's shtikle is dedicated for a refuah sheleimah for my father.

Please include Reuven Pinchas ben Yehudis in your tefillos.

 

The very first comment of Rashi in this week's parsha deals with the seemingly redundant phrase, "Emor el hakohanim b'nei Aharon, ve'amarta aleihem." To explain the double-instance of amirah, Rashi quotes from the gemara (Yevamos 114a) which interprets that this is a commandment to the men to be watchful of the younger ones. This might seem, at first, to be merely an extension of the mitzvah of chinuch, the general requirement that a father has to educate his son in mitzvos. However, Tur (YD 373) writes with regard to this commandment that a kohein is required to keep his son away from tum'ah, and even to remove him from tum'ah. If a young kohein is found in a graveyard, for instance, he must be removed immediately. This is slightly more stringent than the regular laws of chinuch. As far as the d'oraysa aspect of regular chinuch is concerned, a father is not allowed to feed his child forbidden foods but once the child is actually in the act of eating it, he is not required to remove him. Also, the traditional chinuch requirement does not kick in until the child is of an educable age. This commandment would seem to apply regardless of age. Why is this different?

 

R' Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky, zt"l, answers that the general requirement of chinuch is a matter of education which is specific to the father-son relationship. The father must teach the son the mitzvos. As such, it was not deemed necessary to actually remove one's child from a situation in which he is already engrossed and certainly not necessary to act if the child is too young to internalize the lesson. It is sufficient for the purpose of education to make sure that a father does not lead his son into such a situation.

 

When it comes to the laws pertaining to the kehunah, it is different. The requirement of a kohein to keep his son away from tum'ah is not only part of his obligation to teach his son the mitzvos but it also relates to the sanctity of the kehunah. A kohein is charged with preserving this sanctity and that includes keeping his son away from tum'ah under all circumstances. Even a young child coming in contact with tum'ah is an active desecration of this sanctity and therefore, he is to be removed at once. It would seem, according to this, that it is not only the father of the boy who is commanded in regards to his son but perhaps every male kohein (but not necessarily every Jew.) Note that Rashi does say "lehazhir hagedolim al haketanim," and not "al habanim."

 

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: Ner Tamid

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The Weekly Shtikle - Acharei Mos / Kedoshim

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my Oma, Chaya Sara bas Zecharia Chaim, a"h.

 

This week's shtikle is dedicated for a refuah sheleimah for my father.

Please include Reuven Pinchas ben Yehudis in your tefillos.

In perek 19 (9‑10), we are taught four different mitzvos with regard to the poor: peah, leket, peret and olalos. The required quantity for these mitzvos is quite small. For instance, the mishna in Peah (6:5) teaches that one or two stalks constitutes leket, shichchah, etc. but three do not, i.e. if one dropped as few as three stalks, it is still considered too much and may be retrieved by the owner.

R' Moshe Mintz of Ner Yisroel asks why the Torah commanded us a number of mitzvos of such small quantity instead of perhaps commanding us one mitzvah of greater quantity. He answers that perhaps we can understand this with Rambam's interpretation of a mishnah in this week's perek of Pirkei Avos, perek 3. Mishnah 19 teaches "hakol l'fi rov hama'aseh." Rambam explains that it is better for a person to give a little tzedakah at a greater frequency than to give a larger amount of tzedakah less often (assuming the total amount is the same.) For example, he explains that giving one donation of 1000 gold coins, meritorious as it may be, does not have the same effect on the giver as giving one gold coin a thousand times. Doing mitzvos more often has a more profound impact on a person, even if the quantity of the mitzvos is small. Therefore, the Torah specifically commanded us to do many different acts of tzedakah in the field in smaller quantities, rather than less acts in larger quantities.

It is ironic that this lesson be taught in parshas Kedoshim. Although it is certainly among the smaller parshios, at 64 pesukim, it actually boasts the highest rate of mitzvos per pasuk. 

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: A Revealing Note
Dikdukian: Stand up, goat!
Dikdukian: Mitum'os: Watch that plural

Dikdukian: Qualification of the AHOY rule

Dikdukian: Sukas David

Daily Leaf:

.ב Deliberate טומאה

:ד Need to Know Basis

:ו A Slight Correction

:ח Sprinkling on Day 3

:ח A Sprinkling Every Day... Almost

:ט Let the Building bear witness

ירידת הדורות ט

.יב The Big City Synagogue

 

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The Weekly Shtikle - Tazria / Metzora

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my Oma, Chaya Sara bas Zecharia Chaim, a"h.

 

This week's shtikle is dedicated for a refuah sheleimah for my father.

Please include Reuven Pinchas ben Yehudis in your tefillos.

 

This year has already seen a number of unique circumstances in the calendar. Yet another consequence of this rare configuration is the fact that the 5^th of Iyar, the anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel, lands on Shabbos. Of course, the actual commemoration is moved (as it is most years) to avoid chilul Shabbos. It seems the most glaring lesson to be gleaned actually comes from the haftarah – certainly one of the more captivating stories we read.

The story of the haftarah has its own interesting backstory, some of which is covered in the haftarah of Tazria which is very seldomly read (approximately 16% of years, credit: Shaarei Zemanim.) There is an important preamble which is only read in the Yeminite tradition. The prophet Elisha declares in the midst of a terrible famine and a siege from the nation of Aram that tomorrow there will be such bounty that the price of wheat and barley would drop to unbelievably low rates. So unbelievable, in fact, that one of the king's aides declares it impossible, at which point Elisha informs him that it will happen but he will not get to enjoy it.

The rest of us then pick up the story with the 4 metzoraim (traditionally assumed to be Geichazi and his sons) who have been left outside the city as per the rules stated in the parsha. In an act of desperation, facing what they believed to be a die-or-die situation, they dangerously entered the camp of Aram, only to find that it had been completely abandoned due to some miraculous delusions of an impending attack. The entire camp was there for the taking, including more than enough produce to alleviate the famine in the city. The skeptical aide was appointed to guard the gates where he was trampled to death, thereby fulfilling Elisha's prophecy.

With imminent death by hunger along with the sword of Aram at their throat, one is inclined to be somewhat sympathetic to the skepticism of the king's aide. But there is still no excuse to doubt the word of HaShem. One can only imagine a navi walking into Auschwitz on January 26, 1945 and proclaiming that not only will you be liberated tomorrow by none other than the Soviet Red Army but in just a matter of years, the nations of the world will decide to grant the Jews an autonomous homeland in Israel. Who would have had the strength to believe it? But so it happened, further evidence of what we proclaim every year at the seder – vehaKadosh Baruch Hu matzilaynu miyadam.

The haftarah ends in a rather puzzling manner. The introductory story which us non-Yemenites had skipped is repeated nearly word-for-word as we are told of the demise of the king's aide. Why is this necessary? What is the purpose of the last three pesukim? Perhaps, the lesson is that when the going is good, even after a great salvation, it is all too easy to forget our previous circumstances and how far we've come. As I have noted previously, the maror at the seder is meant to remind us of the bitterness of the subjugation in Mitzrayim. But it is clear (Shemos 12:8) that even the korban Pesach eaten on their way out of Mitzrayim was eaten with maror! Remembering our previous dire circumstances and how distant salvation seemed helps us continue to appreciate the deliverance that ensued.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Al Pi Cheshbon: Counting the Omer in Different Bases
Dikdukian: White Hair

Dikdukian: Meaining of "kibus" by Eliyahu Levin

Dikdukian: Various Dikduk Observations by Eliyahu Levin

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The Weekly Shtikle - Shemini

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my Oma, Chaya Sara bas Zecharia Chaim, a"h.

 

This week's shtikle is dedicated for a refuah sheleimah for my father.

Please include Reuven Pinchas ben Yehudis in your tefillos.

The beginning of this week's parsha recounts the proceedings on the eighth day of the consecration of the mishkan. After preparing a series of korbanos, Aharon raises his hands, blesses the nation and then steps down from preparing the chatas, olah and shelamim sacrifices (9:22). Rashi writes that the blessing that Aharon gave to the nation was the traditional birkas kohanim (Bemidbar 6:24-26).

Ba'al HaTurim offers a concise, yet interesting insight into the relevance of birkas kohanim to this specific occasion. Aharon HaKohein had just completed the preparation of three korbanos and the three blessings of birkas kohanim each correspond to one of the sacrifices. The first blessing, "Yevarechecha HaShem veyishmerecha," is the berachah of shemirah, watching over. We find the theme of watching over in connection with prevention of sin, as in the song of Chanah (Shemuel I 2:9) "Raglei chasidav yishmor," He guards the ways of the pious. This is traditionally interpreted as HaShem guarding the righteous from unintentional sin. This blessing, therefore, corresponds to the korban chatas, brought for inadvertent transgressions.

The second blessing is connected to the korban olah by means of the pasuk referring to the trek to Yerushalayim for the shalosh regalim, (Shemos 34:24) "Ba'alosecha leiraos," when you go up to be seen. The going up to Yerushalayim facilitates our "being seen" before HaShem. The olah, all of which goes up to the Heavens, warrants the second blessing that HaShem will illuminate His countenance towards us.

The final blessing of birkas kohanim, "veyaseim lecha shalom," is the bestowing of peace. The root of the word shelamim is shalom, peace, as Rashi (3:1) explains. The shelamim brings peace to the world and peace to all the parties involved in the korban because each one gets a portion. This establishes the most obvious connection of the three between the shelamim and the final blessing. Aharon invoked birkas kohanim not as an arbitrary series of blessings but one that was specifically related to the service he was performing.

Have a good Shabbos and chodesh tov.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: Lehavdil

Al Pi Cheshbon: Omer Counting in Different Bases

 

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The Weekly Shtikle - Shevi'i shel Pesach

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my Oma, Chaya Sara bas Zecharia Chaim, a"h.

 

This week's shtikle is dedicated for a refuah sheleimah for my father.

Please include Reuven Pinchas ben Yehudis in your tefillos.

 

On the seventh day of Pesach, we commemorate the great miracles that HaShem performed at Yam Suf. Although the festival of Pesach in general seems more centered around the actual exodus which occurred six days prior, the splitting of the sea is the center of attention as Pesach draws to a close. As we relive this momentous time in our history, a few fundamental questions come to mind. How does keriyas Yam Suf fit into the grand scheme of yetzias Mitzrayim? Why was it necessary? Why couldn't B'nei Yisrael simply have left Mitzrayim, never to hear from those wretched Egyptians again?

 

One thing seems relatively certain: B'nei Yisrael did not need the Egyptian army to be decimated in order for their freedom to be complete. It would seem, therefore, that the main purpose of keriyas Yam Suf was not as much the saving of the Jews as it was the destruction of the Egyptians. And surely there is a lesson we must take from it as well.

 

To delve further into the matter, we need to rewind to the very beginning of sefer Shemos. Rashi (1:10) explains the strategy behind Paroah's master plan. He was aware that HaShem had sworn never to bring destruction through water again. By orchestrating his semi-genocide through water, Paroah believed he was handcuffing the Almighty, so to speak, into being unable to exact revenge. This is a very extreme level of blasphemy - perhaps even worse than the denial of HaShem's existence - the recognition of HaShem and the assertion of some degree of inferiority.

 

Perhaps the 10 plagues were a direct punishment for the enslavement and treatment of B'nei Yisrael. The crimes committed against man were accounted for. However, the crimes against God had heretofore gone unpunished. Keriyas Yam Suf and the subsequent demise of a significant contingent of the Egyptian nation therefore represents the Divine retribution meted out against the Egyptians coming full circle. At the same time, it teaches us a very valuable lesson. We are constantly given little hints as to HaShem's ways and how He runs the world. But we must realize that these are nothing more than hints and what lies beneath is a design far too complex for human understanding. We find a similar theme in the story of Purim  (see Megillah 11b regarding Belshatzar and Achashveirosh's erroneous calculations as to the supposed end of the Babylonian exile) and now we find it again in the story of Pesach. These lessons and ideas provide insight into how the events at Yam Suf fit into the story of yetzias Mitzrayim and as well, our observance of the chag of Pesach.

 

Have a good Shabbos and chag samei'ach.

 

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:
Al Pi Cheshbon: Omer Counting in Different Bases

Dikdukian: Exceptions Ahoy!

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