The Weekly Shtikle - Ki Seitzei

Early on in the parsha, we are taught of two different mitzvos between man and his neighbour which share a common warning.  We must expend great effort to return a lost object to its rightful owner, be it an inanimate object or an animal. Immediately following, we are told that we must help our fellow Jew who is having difficulty loading his animal. In both cases, we are warned against ignoring the situation. (22:1-4)

What is curious about these warnings is the specific words used by Targum Onkelos. You shall not see the lost object - vehis'alamta. You shall not see the struggling animal - vehis'alamta. In both cases, Onkelos renders vesiskeveish. This is in line with  Rashi who translates it as a closing of one's eye as if he does not see. But for the lost object, the pasuk repeats at the end - lo suchal lehis'aleim. The word seems to be the same but here Onkelos renders l'iskasa'ah. One might translate this to mean you cannot conceal yourself. Interestingly, this is the same word that Onkelos uses in last week's parsha in the introduction to the case of the zakein mamreh - 17:8 ki yipaleh mimecha davar - when a certain case is baffling. The targum is arei yitichsei, when the matter is concealed from you.

Unfortunately, I haven't come to a clear understanding as to why the translation changes in our case. However, I did reveal a significant clue. This root does appear many times in the Torah (see Concordance.) There appears to be a pattern as to how Onkelos translates the word. Any time it is used in a passive sense such as referring to something being forgotten, he uses kasah. When the pasuk refers to an active ignorance, such as our cases and the case of a nation refusing to prosecute the crime of giving one's child to the molech, (Vayikra 20:4), the word kavash is used. The Commentaries on Rashi make quite an issue of the fact that Rashi repeats the same commentary on the second instance. Perhaps, their understanding of Rashi sheds some light on how Onkelos understood these two phrases. 

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

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The Weekly Shtikle - Shofetim

This week's parsha discusses a wide range of topics. Among them are the unique laws of eidim zomemim, the false, plotting witnesses who are given the exact punishment they planned to cause to the defendant. The manner in which they are refuted must be very specific as well as the timing of their disproof. The mishnah (Makkos 1:6) teaches that the refutation must come after the defendant had been sentenced but before the sentence was carried out in order for these laws to take effect. This is the famous conundrum of eidim zomemim, that the false witnesses are punished accordingly only if they ultimately fail but not if they succeed. The mishnah learns this law in cases of capital punishment from the pasuk (19:19) "And you shall do to him as he plotted to do to his brother." The fact that the Torah refers to the defendant as his brother indicates that he is still alive. If he has already been given the death penalty, the punishment referred to in this pasuk does not apply.

Similarly, the gemara (Sanhedrin 10a) learns from the pasuk (25:3) "And your brother shall be flogged before your eyes" that the punishment of lashes must not result in death for after the lashes, he must remain your brother.

Many commentaries question this understanding of the word ach, brother. After all, the pasuk (Vayikra 21:2) teaches us that a regular kohein may become tamei for the purpose of the burial of an immediate family member. There, the word ach is clearly referring to someone who is no longer alive. How can the aforementioned sources assume ach to be a living person?

Rasha"sh on the gemara in Sanhedrin offers an interpretation. The Torah uses the word ach in two different contexts. Sometimes it used to refer to an actual brother with a familial relationship. In this case, the relationship is not broken by death and thus, he remains a brother even after passing on. However, when the Torah uses the word ach to refer to a fellow Jew, the rationale is that he is your brother in mitzvos. He shares the same obligations as you. When he dies, he is absolved of his obligation to perform mitzvos and this brotherly relationship is severed. Therefore, the gemara justifiably extrapolates from the usage of ach that we are referring to someone who is still alive.

Have a good Shabbos and chodesh tov.
 
Eliezer Bulka 
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com 
 
Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup: 

Weekly Shtikle: Additional Symbolism of the Shofar 

Dikdukian: Two of a Kind 

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The Weekly Shtikle - Re'eih

A special Weekly Shtikle mazal tov to my nephew, Tovia Yehuda Bulka of Yerushalayim on his bar mitzvah this shabbos.

In this week's parsha a word not used anywhere else in the Torah (although it is found 20 times in NA"CH) appears twice. The inhabitants of the ir hanidachas, the city that has been led astray, are referred to (13:14) as b'nei beliya'al. Later, when discussing the requirement to reach out to the needy and lend them money, we are warned (15:9) lest there be an inclination of beliya'al in your hearts not to lend to the needy since the shemitah year is approaching. This unique word is used to describe idolaters as well as those who refuse to lend money as shemitah approaches. The gemara (Kesubos 68a) draws a parallel between the two based on this one word and declares that one who averts his eyes from the mitzvah of tzedakah is as if he has engaged in idol worship. But what is the intrinsic connection?

I have purposely left beliya'al untranslated. It is difficult to attach an exact meaning to the word and we must therefore turn to the commentaries for the etymology of the word. Rashi writes that it is a contraction of b'li ol, without a yoke. It refers to someone who has thrown off the yoke of the service of HaShem. Clearly, one may only throw off a yoke if it was once upon him. This presents a difficulty regarding the reference to tzedakah as we are referring to someone who manages to completely escape the situation. Perhaps we may explain in the second case that it is referring to one who has thrown off the yoke of communal responsibility. The Torah is talking of someone who might very well appear to appreciate the importance of charity. But when push comes to shove and his loan is in danger of having to be forgiven, he is unwilling to fulfill his duty to society. He bears the yoke when it suits him, but is quick to unload it when it does not.

Another insightful rendering of the word is given by Rav Hirsch. He explains that it is a contraction of bli al, without one above, someone who acts as if there is no one above him. This may also be applied to the apprehensive lender. The shemitah year is one of the primary tests of faith. A farmer is required to put all his faith and belief in HaShem that despite the land being unworked for a full year, he will still pull through. The lender has to have a little faith as well. Someone who fears that the shemitah will interfere with his financial dealings fails to see HaShem's Hand and considers himself a master of his own destiny. It is this behaviour specifically that is labelled as beliya'al and is, by association, likened to avodah zarah.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:
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