Parashat Shavua

Hemdat Yamim Parashat Tezave

We are sending you last week's Parshat Tetzaveh, which did not reach you. We hope that you will enjoy it just the same. We are sorry if this inadvertent error has caused you any inconvenience. Shavuah-Tov ========================================= Hemdat Yamim Parshat Tetzaveh ========================================= This edition of Hemdat Yamim is dedicated to the memory of R.Meir ben Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld o.b.m. ========================================= Don't Push Off Till Tomorrow / Harav Moshe Ehrenreich In the story of Amalek, which we read this week, we find the phrase "Asher Korcha Bderech"- who chanced upon you on the way" (Devarim 25:18). Chazal understood that the word korcha hints at the two-pronged strategy of Amalek: to cool off Bnei Yisrael (kar) and to portray events as chance (mikreh). When Hashem took Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt with miracles, nations were full of awe and fear (Shemot 15:14). These fears were "cooled off" by Amalek, who also raised questions about whether the miracles Bnei Yisrael experienced could have been chance. The code word, "mikreh," is a prominent one in Megillat Esther, in the context of Haman, the Amaleki descendant. "Mordechai told him [Hatach] all which chanced upon him (karhu) (Esther 4:7). In other words, Mordechai related how the descendant of the "chance nation" had endangered Bnei Yisrael. As the story unfolded, Haman stuck to the ideology of chance even when Divine Providence turned against him, as it says: "Haman told... all that chanced upon him (karhu) (ibid. 6:13). Similarly, when Haman planned to annihilate the Jews, he picked the date through the chance of a lot. Rav Charlop, quoting Rav Kook z.t.l., says that the idea of cooling off the "heat" of the Jews and the fire of their Torah is hinted at in the original narrative of the story of Amalek. "Tomorrow (machar) I [Moshe] shall stand at the top of the hill and the staff of Hashem will be in my hand" (Shemot 17:9). The cooling off process, which Amalek tried to force upon us, is created when one pushes off the excitement to act on a matter of holiness until machar "tomorrow." Thus, the battle with Amalek was over. Rav Kook finds in the word "machar" an acronym to lowering the pressing nature of good deeds. "Mitzva" (commandment), "Chovah" (obligation), "R'shut" (optional). The commandments and obligations which we fulfill diligently are, in the eyes of Amalek and his followers, optional matters which can be pushed off. To counter the danger of machar, Moshe used the Divine staff to remind the people that everything relates to the Divine. When Pinchas displayed zealotry for Hashem, he held a romach (spear), which inverts the letters of machar to show that even optional ("reish"), good deeds can be seen as obligations ("chet"). Hashem's name is hidden throughout Megillat Esther. Yet, the Rabbis of Kabbalah found the acronym of His name in the pasuk "yavo hamelech v'haman hayom- the king and Haman shall come today" (ibid. 5:4). Through the last word of the phrase, hayom (today), Esther stressed the proper use of the antidote to Haman's machar (ibid.:12). Indeed, the battle against Amalek starts with the desire to serve Hashem with enthusiasm and without delay. ================================================ P'ninat Mishpat - Kiddushin - What Invalidates a Witness? - II The most contentious, invalidating factor for witnesses is p'sul machmat aveirah (invalidation based on sin). One who sins for monetary profit, whether in mitzvot between man and man or between man and G-d is certainly pasul (Sanhedrin 27a, based on Shemot 23:1). Abayei and Rava disagree whether one whose sins are rooted in theological shortcomings is invalid. This is one of the six places in Shas where we pasken like Abayei, who holds that religious shortcomings are also a cause of invalidation. Certainly, it is hard to imagine anyone who hasn't sinned. Is everyone pasul? In order to be pasul on the Torah level, one needs to have sinned in a matter whose punishment is malkot (flogging), which brings about the title of rasha (Rambam, Eidut 10:12). There is a concept of witnesses who are pasul for lesser sins (including rabbinic ones) on a rabbinic level. In such a case, the couple is married on the Torah level and would require a get to separate, while, on the other hand, they should have kiddushin again (Shulchan Aruch, Even Haezer 42:5) without a bracha (Beit Shmuel 42:17). However, in order to invalidate, post facto, the testimony of one whose p'sul is only rabbinic, there must have been a public pronouncement that the person was invalidated (a situation which rarely exists). [More about the circumstances of one who is invalidated because of sin in next issue]. ============================================== Moreshet Shaul (from the works of Hagaon Harav Shaul Yisraeli zt"l) Drasha for Purim (courtesy of R. Yisrael Sharir) Bnei Yisrael accepted the Torah twice. The first time, at Har Sinai, it was accompanied by Divine sounds and sights. It was preceded by the miracles of the Exodus, including the splitting of the sea, and by the daily miracles of the desert. Despite all this, Chazal (Shabbat 88a) tell us, Bnei Yisrael accepted the Torah only through coercion. The same gemara indicates that Bnei Yisrael accepted the Torah willingly at the time of Achashveirosh. Let us contemplate the contrast. Bnei Yisrael were in a foreign land, under the dominion of a capricious king, who at any moment, could and almost did, bring about their annihilation. Specifically at this time, when Hashem's presence was concealed and even salvation came in hidden ways, Bnei Yisrael reaccepted the Torah in a willful manner. How do we understand this? After 400 years of enslavement, Bnei Yisrael go out free with their eyes set on the Promised Land. They are free, independent, and able to chart their own course... just like any other nation. They can appoint their own leaders, decide on national ceremonies, and make up their own constitution. The thought passes through their minds: "Maybe we should learn from the national practices of other countries, in order to live among the nations as equals among equals. Why do we need miracles, when we can now live naturally? Why do we need a Torah from the heavens? Who says that it is feasible to follow it, or that it will fit the needs of our new land? Maybe a Torah from the land will work better than a Torah from the heavens." The Torah counters: "Like the days of the heavens on the earth" (Devarim 11:21). Let us examine another scenario. Jews find themselves in exile again, in Babylon. "How can we sing Hashem's song on a foreign soil?" (Tehillim 137:4). But as time goes on, exile becomes more tolerable. The kingdom shows signs of accepting the Jews. Mordechai even sits in the gateway of the king. Jews are invited to partake in national celebrations and can enjoy instead of crying on the rivers of Babylon. Even if the Persian celebration is on the 70th anniversary of the destruction of Judea, it still seems better to them to be a part of a stable empire than to be a tiny, vulnerable, independent state. All of a sudden, though, the Jews are forced to wake up. A tyrant rises meteorically to power and gets the king to agree to a brilliant plot to have a popular uprising undo the Jewish nation. Where is the liberalism of Persia? Where is the appreciation of the entrepreneurial, Jewish people? Finally, the Jews of Shushan and beyond understand that they cannot depend on the world for national success. Only their unique, spiritual strength, rooted in the eternal Divine covenant with the forefathers and the nation at Sinai is dependable. The nation that escaped Egypt but still suffered from the idolatrous mindset was not ready to fully internalize the lesson of "na'aseh v'nishmah." Only a nation, reawakened by reality from a false fantasy, learned to fully appreciate the spiritual legacy of the nation and reaccept the Torah. ============================================== Ask the Rabbi Question: Does one who cannot make it to shul for the reading of the megillah need to have a minyan in his or her home for this purpose? Answer: Both men and women should make all reasonable efforts to fulfill the mitzva of hearing the reading of Megillat Esther, night and day (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 689:1 - see also Mishna Berura 689:1). Regarding whether this requires a minyan or not, Rav and Rav Asi disputed the point (Megillah 5a). Rav Asi said that a minyan is required, and Rashi (ad loc.) explains that the minyan is needed for pirsumei nisa (publicizing the miracle of Purim), which is part and parcel of the mitzva. Rav held that as long as the reading is done on Purim itself, a minyan is not required. Rashi explains that since everyone is obligated and will be reading in one venue or another, the individual is part of the framework of pirsumei nisa. There is significant discussion among the Rishonim if the machloket between Rav and Rav Asi is l'chatchika (proper course of action) or even b'dieved (after the fact) and how we should pasken (see Beit Yosef, Orach Chayim 690). The Shulchan Aruch (690:18) rules that one should try to have a minyan, but if it's not possible, an individual or small group may read the megillah. The Rama (ad loc.) adds that one makes the berachot on such a reading (the Shulchan Aruch apparently agrees). (On "Purim M'shulash" the situation is somewhat more stringent, although the bottom line for those who cannot find a minyan is the same (Purim M'shulash 2:6)). The Rama also adds that if there already was a minyan in town for megillah reading and, thus, there was pirsumei nisa, the individual has no problem in reading without a minyan. The Mishna Berura (ad loc.:64) cites that this opinion is not universally accepted. Thus, it is still preferable (not mandatory) for an individual to try to find 10 people for his/her reading. However, those who have an opportunity to hear the reading in shul, which is preferable even to a small minyan because of b'rov am hadrat melech (Biur Halacha, ad loc.), need not give up their optimal fulfillment of the mitzva to enable an individual to fulfill his mitzva optimally. If they agree to go or to hear the megillah a second time to form a minyan for the person (male or female) who couldn't come to shul, they are doing a chesed. This is particularly important if, for example, a certain sick person would feel disappointed at not taking part in a "proper reading." =============================================== Tetzaveh-Zachor 11 Adar 5762 תצוה-זכור ================================================ Harav Shaul Israeli zt"l Founder and President Deans: Harav Yosef Carmel Harav Moshe Ehrenreich ERETZ HEMDAH 5 Ha-Mem Gimmel St. P.O.B 36236 Jerusalem 91360 Tel/Fax: 972-2-5371485 Email: eretzhem@netvision.net.il web-site: www.eretzhemdah.org American Friends of Eretz Hemdah Institutions c/o Olympian 8 South Michigan Ave. Suite 605 Chicago, IL 60603 USA Our Taxpayer ID#: 36-4265359

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