Hemdat Yamim Vayeilech-Shuva

******************************************************* Our prayers and thoughts are with all the missing, injured, and families of the victims of the horrible tragedy in the US. K'tiva V'chatima Tova to all of our readers and K'lal Yisrael. ******************************************************* Gather the People ... and the Lessons of Shmitta The Torah introduces its next to last mitzva, the mass, public reading of the Torah (hakhel) as follows: "At the end of seven years, at the time of the Shmitta year, on the festival of Sukkot" (Devarim 31:10). Our Rabbis learned that this time is actually right after Shmitta (in other words, in a couple of weeks) and is called Shmitta because some of its laws (regulating harvest) linger on (Rashi, ad loc.). The connection between the mitzvot of hakhel and Shmitta is certainly a deep one, not just a technical date. The Kli Yakar notes that after a year when the impoverished and the rich landowner had equal access to the produce of the land, the social divide was sufficiently minimized to allow a cohesive gathering of the entire nation. The Meshech Chochma points out that after a year relatively free from agricultural toil and designed to be used for Torah study, the people were prepared to properly absorb the words of the Torah and implement them imminently when their normal activities would resume. The hakhel Torah reading, recited publicly by the king, consisted of large sections of Sefer Devarim. If we contemplate these facts and perspectives, we can uncover a striking, historical parallel between hakhel and Moshe's parting words of instruction and inspiration during which he presented this mitzva. Bnei Yisrael had been living in an uncultivated, unowned land. Hashem provided their needs in equal portions. Bnei Yisrael were free of most worldly pursuits during this time and spent much of it steeped in Torah study. Their leader/king, Moshe Rabbeinu (see Sh'mot Rabba 40), was addressing them in a mass gathering with the words of Devarim, and they were on the eve of implementing these words in the complex world of activity in Eretz Yisrael. This crucial experience would be relived septennially, when Shmitta prepared the nation for hakhel. While Torah should be studied on an ongoing basis, we need periodic reminders (like hakhel) of the lofty concepts that concern Torah study on a national level. The Torah must be made available to all Jewish social classes and age groups. No one is above the Torah's obligations, certainly not the Jewish king. To the contrary, it is the "political" leadership which is responsible to make sure that the whole nation is exposed to the Torah's beauty. Torah is most deeply appreciated when one sets aside large blocks of time for intense study (like Shmitta). Yet the Torah does not teach us to fear worldly activity; it prepares us to implement the activity properly. ****************************************************************** P'ninat Mishpat - Payment from Joint Areivim (Co-signers) We saw last week that a regular areiv need not repay a loan until reasonable attempts have been made to extract payment from the borrower. This halacha is the rationale for the following paradoxical distinction. If two people borrow money together, then not only is each one responsible personally to pay back his share of the loan, but he is potentially obligated to pay the entire amount. However, the lender must first try to receive payment from each person according to his percentage of obligation (Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 77:1). Regarding two or more who became areivim for a certain loan, the major opinion in the Shulchan Aruch is that the borrower may demand full payment from any of them (if the borrower cannot pay) (ibid. 77:3; 129:3). What is the distinction? The classic answer (see S'ma 77:3) is that two borrowers are considered borrowers on half and implied co-signers on the other half. Since one must first pursue the borrower, each partner pays his half as a borrower before we approach his friend as an areiv. However, multiple areivim's obligation on the entire amount is as co-signers. Thus, it doesn't make a difference which co-signer pays how much. Before Yom Kippur, we should remember that we are directly responsible for our actions and serve as areivim for our fellow Jew. While Hashem is most likely to punish us directly for our actions, when spiritual co-signers need to pay part of the "debt," we can't know who will have to pay what percentage of the national debt and it what form. ******************************************************* Moreshet Shaul (from the works of Hagaon Harav Shaul Yisraeli zt"l) Drasha of Shabbat Shuva, 5716 (adopted from D'rashot Layamim Hanoraim, pg. 70) Chazal (Yalkut Shimoni, Tehillim) relate the following fascinating and difficult Heavenly debate. The Satan tries to convict Yisrael and tells Hashem that they are thieves. Hashem lists Yisrael's virtues and then they erect a scale to measure merits against demerits. Hashem takes misdeeds off the scale and hides them, and the Satan can't find them, as the pasuk says: "the sins of Israel will be sought out, but will not be there" (Yirmiyah 50:20). What does the Satan mean by accusing Yisrael of being thieves, and why does Hashem seem to skew justice by hiding the evidence? The Satan, who could not stand before Hashem if he were devoid of truth, claims that Bnei Yisrael are deceitful. In other words, even when they do good deeds, the deeds are not for Heaven's sake, and their declarations of teshuva are fleeting. Indeed, it is not uncommon for one to repent and regress. Rav Raphael of Hamburg proves from the need of a Cohen Gadol to repeat his admission of guilt that if one continues to sin after repenting, the repentance is void. Indeed, the Rambam (Teshuva 2:2) says that teshuva must be such that He Who Knows The Hidden will testify that he will not return to sin (common translation). The Kesef Mishne and Lechem Mishne explain that it cannot be that Hashem testifies about the future, because that would mean that the repenter would not have free will. Rather, the Rambam suggests to the repenter to call upon Hashem to search the hidden recesses of his soul and testify that the soul of man is a candle of Hashem. In other words, his repentance is sincere, and his permanent, internal nature is good, while the sin is transient. The sins that the Satan put onto the scale after hearing Hashem's approach were new and different ones, belonging to sinners who could trace their sins to the moral imperfections of Yisrael. The term "Yisrael" refers to those who outwardly represent the values of Yisrael. Those who do not identify to the same extent with these values make an excuse for their actions, claiming that even "Yisrael" are insincere thieves, and the Satan wants to hold Yisrael responsible for the others' sins. The Rambam writes that the shofar urges us: "'Wake up, you who are sleeping, from your sleep, and the deeply sleeping, awake from your slumber'...therefore one should see himself and the whole world as if they have equal virtues and sins" (ibid. 3:4). What is the connection between the two parts of the statement? The Rambam means the following. We all have inner, spiritual strength, but it may doze off or sleep deeply. When those who involve themselves in the teshuva process (the light sleepers) demonstrate that their teshuva is a true, sincere expression of their neshamot, the others (deep sleepers) will realize that they should not stand behind the claim that "Yisrael are thieves." Thus, an individual's teshuva can affect many others, as the Rambam hints. When Hashem sees our sincerity, he removes the additional sins that the Satan tried to place against us and makes them disappear. ***************************************************** Ask the Rabbi Question: I have children from age 10 and down. What should my policy be about their fasting on Yom Kippur? Answer: Children Below 9: There are no limitations on these children's eating on Yom Kippur (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 616:2). There is discussion whether this halacha is a result of a fear of danger or because the mitzva to fast does not apply to them (see Mikraei Kodesh (Frank) Yamim Noraim 43). However, the practical halacha is to let such a child eat as much as he wants whenever he wants (Yalkut Yosef V, pg. 92). Even if the child wants to fast, we do not allow him (Rama, OC 616:2). This does not mean that the child must be forced to eat right away, but that any degree of refraining from eating which parents would deem unhealthy under normal circumstances should not be allowed on Yom Kippur. Children 9 and above: The gemara (Yoma 82a) says that healthy children of 9 (or weak children of 10) should fast "for hours" as chinuch. The gemara, explaining the above term, says that he should eat his morning meal an hour after the time he usually does. The Shulchan Aruch (ibid.) adds that the amount of the delay in eating depends on the strength of the child. The gemara discusses delaying the morning meal. Some acharonim understand this as a sign that the child had not eaten until this point, including Yom Kippur night. Only if a child of this age complains of great thirst should he be given to drink at night (Yalkut Yosef, ibid.) Others understand the gemara as meaning that all meals should be delayed during the course of the day (Shmirat Shabbat K'hilchata, ed. I, 32:41). However, it would seem that if the child broke his fast already and will eat the same amount of food anyway, it should not make any difference whether his next meal is earlier or later. (See Shulchan Aruch OC 562, regarding the concept of "fasts for hours"- we cannot discuss the matter further in this forum). In a case where a child is permitted to eat, adults are allowed to feed him (see Mikraei Kodesh (Frank) ibid. and Har'rei Kodesh ad loc., regarding the reason). ************************************************** Join us each week as we take a Glimpse Into The Parasha, Study a Q&A from The Global Ask The Rabbi Project, Take a Gander at a P'ninat Mishpat (Jewish Civil Law) and study a portion of Hemdat Shaul, From The Teachings of HaRav Shaul Yisraeli ZT"L *************************************************** For direct questions or comments regarding this publication please write to Eretz Hemdah