The Weekly Shtikle - Toledos / Machar Chodesh

This week's shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my rebbe and Rosh HaYeshivah of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel, Harav Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky, zt"l (Yaakov Moshe ben Refael Nissan Shlomo) whose 24^th yahrtzeit is this coming Wednesday, 3 Kisleiv.

With Rosh Chodesh falling on Sunday (and Monday), we do not read the regular haftarah for Toledos but rather, we read the special haftarah for the day before Rosh Chodesh, from Shmuel I (perek 20.) Yehonasan tells David that tomorrow is Rosh Chodesh and there will be a seudah. (For a discussion on how exactly Yehonasan knew it would be Rosh Chodesh since it was based on testimony, see the AstroTorah link below.) They devise a whole plan to confirm whether Shaul still bears mortal enmity towards David. R' Shimon Schwab, in Maayan Beis HaShoeiva, is bothered, is it only because of the fact that Yehonasan mentions the words "machar chodesh" that we read this haftara? Surely there is a greater reason to push aside the regular haftara in favour of this one. 

Rav Schwab explains, Yehonasan's intentions in telling David not to escape until after the seudah of Rosh Chodesh were because Rosh Chodesh, as the moon enters a new cycle around the Earth, symbolizes a time of renewal, on opportunity for repentance and atonement. Yehonasan was telling David to wait and see if Rosh Chodesh will possibly have this positive effect on Shaul and he will change his mind. Therefore, we read this haftara to impress upon the masses this important aspect of Rosh Chodesh. Additionally, Rosh Chodesh is a time destined for geula which is why we recite in Mussaf, Mizbeach chadash b'Tzion tachin. And if Moshiach doesn't come, we are left wondering "why has ben Yishai not come, not yesterday and not today" (20:27, a pasuk in the haftara.) The Navi remarks, vayipaked mekom David, David's place was vacant, an allusion to the fact that we, too, are lacking the presence of ben Yishai. And just as it was gratuitous hatred that caused David's absence from the party, it is exactly that that causes Moshiach to be absent today.

This reading of machar chodesh, heralding the coming commemoration of rosh chodesh, is perhaps made slightly more significant by the intriguing halachic quirk that comes along with it. According to Mishnah Berurah (55:45) based on a teshuvah from the BA"CH, someone who was born 13 years ago on 1 Kislev would become a bar mitzvah this year not on 1 Kislev but rather, the day before, 30 Cheshvan, which is the first day of rosh chodesh. For a detailed discussion, see R' Yehudah Spitz's Insights into Halacha.

 

Have a good Shabbos and Chodesh Tov.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: (From the) The Fats of the Land

Dikdukian: Be'er Sheva / Shava

Dikdukian: I will eat, You will eat

AstroTorah: Yaakov and Eisav's Interesting Birthdays by R' Ari Storch

AstroTorah: When is Rosh Chodesh? by R' Ari Storch

AstroTorah: Fighting in Kislev by R' Ari Storch

AstroTorah: Sweet Fifteen by R' Ari Storch

 

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The Weekly Shtikle - Vayeira

This week's shtikle, as per tradition for parshas Vayeria, is dedicated le'ilui nishmas my brother Efrayim Yechezkel ben avi mori Reuven Pinchas, whose 48^th yahrtzeit is next Tuesday, 18 Cheshvan.

 

At the end of this week's parsha, Avraham faces the ultimate challenge of akeidas Yitzchak. It is certainly not unreasonable to consider this the greatest of Avrhaham's 10 tests on a number of different levels. It is certainly worth noting that this is the one time the Torah actually refers to the episode as a test, (22:1) "VehaElokim nisa." However, Rashi, based on a gemara (Sanhedrin 89b) cites a deeper meaning of the beseeching nature of HaShem's request which seems, at first glance, to border on hyperbole. HaShem uses the word "please" as if to say, "Please stand up to this test so that people do not say of the first tests that there was nothing to them." Suppose Avraham had difficulty with this command. Suppose he had questions about this daunting, impossible task. Would that really have detracted from the utter devotion he showed in the previous tests?

 

R' Schwab, in Ma'ayan Beish HaSho'eiva, explains that while the first 9 challenges were all great in their own right, there was one very important element missing – the involvement of his progeny. Passing these tests were of great significance on a personal level for Avraham. But that, on its own, would not be enough to pass on to the great nation of which Avraham was to be the father. We often speak of Avraham as having instilled the will and the strength of self-sacrifice in all future generations. But this is not accomplished simply through genetics. Akeidas Yitzchak was a trial of sacrifice that Avraham and Yitzchak would experience together as father and son. Only through enduring this test and persevering together could this virtue be passed on. Indeed, if Avraham were to have failed this test in any way, his previous accomplishments would be of much lesser value to the generations that followed. This explains the urgency of HaShem's request.

 

Have a good Shabbos.

 

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

AstroTorah: A Scratch on the Wall

AstroTorah: Witnesses to Sedom's Destruction

AstroTorah: The Mysterious Midrash by R' Ari Storch

AstroTorah: Lot's Twilight Escape by R' Ari Storch

AstroTorah: I Can't Believe it's not Fresh by R' Ari Storch

Dikdukian: Different Forms of Yirash

Dikdukian: Be'er Shava

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The Weekly Shtikle - Lech Lecha

After leaving Mitzrayim and returning to Eretz C'na'an, the shepherds of Lot and Avraham engage in a dispute as the land they were occupying was not vast enough to accommodate all of them. The pasuk recounts (13:7) that there was a riv between the shepherds. When Avraham attempts to settle the dispute with Lot, he beseeches him, "Al na sehi merivah beini uveinecha." Avraham uses the word merivah, rather than riv, to refer to the dispute. Malbim explains that riv refers to the actual act of dispute, while merivah refers to the factors that caused the dispute. Avraham was indicating to Lot the cause for the friction between the shepherds. The country was surely large enough for both of them to settle peacefully. However, this was only possible if they would separate. It was due to their brotherly relationship, being anashim achim, that they had chosen to travel together. But their togetherness was the root of their difficulties. Therefore, Avraham had to explain to Lot that it was time for them to split up.

SHEL"AH offers an interesting approach to the change in wording. He interprets merivah simply as the feminine form of riv. The female, as opposed to the male, is the species that produces offspring. A riv therefore symbolizes a minor disagreement, while merivah implies a festering dispute, with the potential to spawn a more serious altercation. Avraham was warning Lot, while the dispute was still in its minor stage of riv, that something must be done before it develops into something graver.

This is generally a very valuable, national lesson for klal Yisrael. But somehow, it seems even more apropos in the Unites States this week as we all recover from a rather contentious election season. There will always be divides among us and strong differences of opinion. Let us not allow them to become a merivah.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: King #5

Dikdukian: Vekoyei (le'iluy nishmas Dedi, a"h)

AstroTorah: Quality not Quantity by R' Ari Storch

AstroTorah: The Uncountable Stars

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The Weekly Shtikle - Noach

This past Wednesday, 28 Tishrei, was the 23^nd yahrtzeit of my dear friend, Daniel Scarowsky, z"l.

This week's shtikle is dedicated leiluy nishmaso, Daniel Moshe Eliyahu ben Yitzchak.

 

A special Weekly Shtikle mazal tov to my nephew Yaakov Yeres of Cherry Hill on his bar mitzvah this Shabbos. Mazal tov to the extended Yeres and Stark families.

There are many questions surrounding Noah's sending of the two birds at the end of the episode of the mabul. Last year, we explored what the actual purpose was in the first place. Another interesting issue that is discussed is whether Noach was even permitted to send these birds out. After all, he was commanded to enter the teivah and waited explicitly for HaShem's direction to leave.

One of the most fascinating approaches comes from Netziv in Ha'amek Davar. He suggests that this raven and dove were actually not from the pairs of animals brought along for survival. Rather, as a member of the nobility, Noach possessed these birds as pets which was evidently customary even in earlier times. Therefore, these birds were allowed to be let out. (See a further discussion there as to why these specific birds were chosen.)

It occurred to me that this interpretation might explain another nuance in the pesukim. Both the raven and the dove are referred to (8:7-8) in the definite form – ha'oreiv and ha'yonah. If Noach just took any one of those birds, it should have just said, for example, vayeshalach yonah. But if these were his own special birds that he owned, the use of the definite form is much more understandable.

*****

On the lighter side (since, as illustrated below, the teiva was quite heavy): A good friend of mine and noted author, Mordechai Bodek, wrote a homourous book called Extracts From Noah's Diary. Every year since, I have forgotten to insert a plug for the book. This year (with his help,) I finally remembered.

Have a good Shabbos and Chodesh Tov.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Al Pi Cheshbon: The Weight of the Teiva and The Constant Rate of Recession 
AstroTorah: Sailing the Friendly Skies by R' Ari Storch

AstroTorah: The World's First Boat?

AstroTorah: Interesting Calendrical Facts About the Mabul

Dikdukian: Noach's Three Sons

Dikdukian: Different Ways to Wake Up

Dikdukian: Take it Easy

Dikdukian: Geshem vs. Gashem

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