Crying for Your Brother

And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.                                          Genesis 45:14

“And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept” – (Joseph) wept for the two Temples which will be in the portion of Benjamin and are destined to be destroyed; “and Benjamin wept upon his neck” – for the Tabernacle at Shiloh, which will be in the portion of Joseph and is destined to be destroyed.                     Rashi

            Ḥassidic Master, Rabbi Yeḥezkel of Kazmir (1775 – 1857) raises two questions:

1) Why did Joseph and Benjamin cry at the time of their joyful reunion? (Without in any way denigrating the answer that the Master will present below, the simple answer seems to be that it is an expression of “raising Jerusalem above their greatest joy.” [Psalms 137:6]);

2) Why did each cry for the other’s sorrow and not their own?

            Rabbi Yeḥezkel explains that when Joseph and Benjamin met after being separated for twenty-two years, they felt that their separation was caused by baseless hatred, and thus they cried since baseless hatred would cause the Temple’s destruction.

            The antidote to baseless hatred is increasing mutual love to the point where each experiences the other’s pain and sorrow more acutely than his own. Thus each of the brothers cried for his brother’s sorrow.

            The Master adds that though the Temple in the portion of Benjamin could be built only after the destruction of the Tabernacle in Joseph’s portion, nonetheless Benjamin cried over its destruction, believing that it would be better to not have the Temple built if his brother’s Tabernacle would not be destroyed.

            The Master concludes that the mutual love demonstrated by Joseph and Benjamin indeed should serve as the rectification of baseless hatred.

 

 

Presaging David's Monarchy

Now it came about at that time that Judah went down from his brothers, and he turned to an Adullamite man, named Hirah.                             Genesis 38:1

            Many commentators wonder why Hirah is mentioned, as Ḥassidic Master Rabbi Zvi Elimelech of Dinov phrases it: “I do not know what purpose is served by informing us that Judah turned to an Adullamite man.”

            Akeidat Yitzḥak (Rabbi Yitzḥak Arama, 1420 – 1494) writes: “The proximate reason (for mentioning Hirah) is that he is connected to Judah’s taking Tamar as a wife, since her home was there (in Adullam).” That is, Hirah is seen as the matchmaker between Judah and Tamar (even if only indirectly and unintentionally). Thus, Akeidat Yitzḥak asserts that Hirah’s role was decidedly positive.

            In contrast, Don Yitzḥak Abravanel is of the opinion that Hirah’s role was not positive, but intended to stress the depth of Judah’s descent from his brothers:

Judah’s friendship with Hirah constituted a descent in status compared to his friendship with his brothers, thus the verse states “Judah went down from his brothers,” that is he descended from friendship with his brothers and turned to an Adullamite as a friend.

The fact that Judah left the society of his brothers and instead chose that of an Adullamite gentile, constituted a true descent in his status.

            Based upon Midrash Breishit Rabba, we can understand the role of Hirah as an example of “the events of the fathers presaging the events of the sons.” Thus comments the Midrash:

“And he turned to an Adullamite man named Hirah” – the rabbis say Hirah is identical to Hiram, who lived in the days of King David, as the verse states; “for Hiram always loved David.” [I Kings 5:1] This man (Hirah/Hiram) was used to loving this tribe.

            Quite clearly, the Midrash is not intended to be taken literally, since a literal reading would require that Hirah lived more than one thousand years.

            Rashi comments;

Midrash Breishit Rabba states “This man (King Hiram of Tyre) was used to loving the tribe of Judah” as Hirah the Adullamite loved Judah. [Commentary on I Chronicles 14:1]

That is, the intention of the Midrash is to note that the common thread between Hirah and Hiram was love of members of the tribe of Judah.

            In a similar manner, Rashi’s spiritual descendants, the Tosafists wrote:

Hiram was of the family of Hirah and the entire family loved the tribe of Judah, and therefore Hiram loved Solomon, who was of the tribe of Judah.

            Ḥassidic Master Rabbi Zvi Elimelech answered his own astonishment by suggesting that Hirah’s figure points us to the future. When David, the tenth generation from Judah, [I Chronicles 2:1-15] ran away from King Saul, his first hiding place was the cave of Adullam. [I Samuel 22:1] While David was in the cave, “Every man who was in distress, and every man who had a creditor, and every man of embittered spirit, gathered themselves to him, and he became a chief over them; and there were about four hundred men with him.” [Ibid., 2:2] That is, David’s status as a leader began at the cave of Adullam, as Rabbi Zvi Elimelech phrases the point, “There was the beginning of the blossoming of David’s governance.” The Master notes that according to some commentators, the verse in Psalms “A maskil (some translate the word as “A cry to the Lord,” others as “An instruction”) of David, when he was in the cave” [Psalms 142:1] refers to the cave of Adullam. In this cave, writes Rabbi Zvi Elimelech:

David was aware of what happened with his ancestor Judah, when he “went down from his brothers” he came to Adullam and there “A shoot of monarchy sprang forth.” [based on Isaiah 11:1]

That is, just as the basis for the Israelite monarchy was established by Judah and Tamar in Adullam, so David took his first steps towards realizing that monarchy specifically in Adullam.

            Rabbi Zvi Elimelech suggests that the name “Hirah” is related to “ḥerut” (freedom) and writes;

The name of the man is Hirah, and he is from the city of Adullam, teaching that it is there that the redeemer of Israel (i.e. Messiah, a descendant of King David), who will bring freedom to the entire world,  will be “born.”

This being the case, the role of Hirah is truly significant.

            The primary lesson of the episode of Hirah is that despite the low state Judah had reached when he parted company with his brothers, He Who foresees history from the onset guided events towards the ultimate redemption.

 

Unity of the Sons of Jacob and the End of Days

Jacob called for his sons and said, "Gather (hei’asfu) and I will tell (va’agida) you what will happen to you at the end of days.”

                                                                                           Genesis 49:1

            Rashi quotes Midrash Aggada which states that Jacob wanted to reveal the end of days, that is, the era of Messiah [Naḥmanides], to his sons, but the Shechina departed from him.

            Tzror haMor understands the words “hei’asfu” and “va’agida” (which are consecutive in the Hebrew) as referring to imparting wisdom. In preparation for presenting Torah at Sinai, God commanded Moses to “say to the house of Jacob and tell (va’agida, the same root word as “va’agida”) the sons of Israel,” [Exodus 19:3] and in the review of Torah, the Master of Prophets relates that God “ told you (vayaged) His covenant which He commanded you.” [Deuteronomy 4:13] The root word “asaf” as well is connected to wisdom, as we read “The sayings of the wise are like goads, and those from masters of collections (asufot) are like firmly embedded nails,” [Ecclesiastes 12:11] and “Assemble (isfa) for Me seventy men of the elders of Israel.” [Numbers 12:11]

            Indeed, gathering Israel together “as a single person” is the factor which prepared the Children of Israel to hear God’s words at Mount Sinai, as the Sages elucidate the verse “And Israel camped (singular) there opposite the mountain” [Exodus 19:2] – “as one person, with one heart.”[Rashi, quoting Midrash Lekaḥ Tov]

            Based upon these introductory comments, Tzror haMor explains the meaning of Jacob’s call to his sons to “gather” to be: “unite as a single band, without hatred or envy,” which is the sole means for the sons of Jacob and for us, the Children of Israel their descendants, to merit experiencing the era of Messiah.

            Tzror haMor’s words are a precursor to Rabbi Kook’s famous phrase “Given that we were destroyed and the entire world with us, as the result of unfounded hatred, we shall be rebuilt and the entire world rebuilt with us by virtue of unbounded love.”

 

 

The Land of the Deer

And behold, the Lord was standing over him, and He said, "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac; I will give you and your offspring the land on which you are lying.                                                                                       Genesis 28:13

upon which you are lying: (Chullin ad loc.) The Holy One, blessed be He, folded the entire Land of Israel under him. He hinted to him that it would be as easily conquered by his children (as four cubits, which represent the area a person takes up [when lying down]). [From Chullin 91b]The land on which you are lying: The Holy One, blessed be He, folded the entire Land of Israel under him and hinted to him that it would be as easy for his children to conquer as four cubits (the area a person takes up while lying down).

                                 Rashi, based upon Babylonian Talmud, Ḥullin 91b

            Rabbi Yehonatan Eybschutz finds a hint of an additional agadda in the Talmudic comment cited by Rashi.

            One of the appellations of the Holy Land is “Eretz haẒvi.” [Jeremiah 3:19; Ezekiel 20:6,15; Daniel 11:16] While the word “ẓvi” is variously translated as “praise” [the Aramaic translation attributed to Yonatan ben Uziel], “glory” [Radak, Ezekiel 20:6] or “splendor and beauty” [Meẓudat Ẓiyon, Ezekiel 20:6], our Sages understood the word in its typical meaning as “deer,” and teach:

The Land is called “Land of the deer;” just as the skin of the deer cannot hold its flesh (Rashi: if the deer is killed its skin shrinks), so the Land of Israel when inhabited expands but when not inhabited contracts.                                                  Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 57a

That is, the Land expands or contracts as a function of the presence or absence of Israel within her.

            Rabbi Yehonatan writes that in folding the Land under Jacob, God hinted to him that the Promised Land will expand in accordance with the needs of his descendants who will settle her. In so doing, God also showed Jacob “the importance of the Land of Israel … which is a spiritual land and this is the reason Eretz Yisrael is the choicest of lands, for she is entirely a spiritual land.”

            It is clear that the Land’s ability to expand and contract is super-natural. The Ḥassidic Master of Sochotchov writes [Shem miShmuel, Parashat Sh’mot] that this quality hints that the earthly Eretz Yisrael is located opposite the Heavenly Land, as Zohar [Parashat Kedoshim 84a] comments:

There is another Eretz Yisrael, sublime and holy, which the Holy One, blessed be He, has which is also called Eretz Yisrael.

            Thus Maharal explains our Sages’ words “The skin of the deer cannot hold its flesh:”

When the skin is taken from the deer, the spirit of life is taken from it, and without life all that is left is the body and the skin can no longer hold the flesh. So it is with the Holy Land, her inhabitants being within her constitutes the vitality of the Land, (emphasis mine), which was given (to Israel) by God, and then she achieves the spiritual level of sanctity … and when her inhabitants are not within her, the spiritual level departs and the Land shrinks.

That is, the Land’s vitality is dependent upon her sons’ presence within her and when that happens, the Land’s vitality allows her to expand; when her sons are absent from her, the Land loses her vitality and necessarily shrinks. Maharal concludes his comments with the statement “These are truly deep matters.”

 

The Blessing of the Attribute of Justice

And they (Rebecca’s family) blessed Rebecca and said to her, "Our sister, may you become thousands of myriads, and may your seed inherit the cities of their enemies (son’av)."                  Genesis 24:60

            Interestingly, Jewish tradition is to recite the blessing given to Rebecca by her family when the groom covers his bride’s face with a veil, prior to the ḥuppa.

            Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal [Mishne Sachir, Parashat Ḥayye Sarah] wonders:

Why our tradition chose to accompany a bride to her with the blessing of the evil Laban, rather than with the (similar) blessing of God’s angel. (Following the binding of Isaac, God sent an angel to convey His blessing to Abraham: “I will surely bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand that is on the seashore and your descendants will inherit the cities of their enemies (oyvav).” [Genesis 24:17])

            Rabbi Teichtal’s answer is based upon a comment of Alshikh on the verse in Psalms [67:2] “God will be gracious to us and bless us; He will cause His countenance to shine with us forever.” Alshikh writes that a blessing which originates from the Attribute of Mercy will not necessarily be permanent, since by definition, such a blessing is a function of grace and benevolence. Therefore, the Attribute of Justice can argue for nullification of such a blessing and invalidate it. On the other hand, a blessing is given “with the consent of the Attribute of Justice,” is guaranteed to be permanent.

            Rabbi Teichtal suggests that Laban represents the Attribute of Justice (since we never find him demonstrating mercy towards his family). Therefore, the blessing which Laban gave his sister Rebecca originates from the Attribute of Justice and will be permanent. In contrast, the blessing which Abraham and Isaac received on Mount Moriah (Rashi [22:17] comments that the repetitive language of the angel’s words “I will surely bless you” [the Hebrew repeats the verb “barech”] intends “One [blessing] for the father, one for the son.”) originated with the Attribute of Mercy (the blessing was delivered by an angel of God [the Hebrew uses the Tetragrammaton, which connotes the Attribute of Mercy]). Therefore, Laban’s blessing, which is guaranteed to be permanent, is preferred to the angel’s blessing.

            Rabbi Teichtal wrote these words in 1942, in the midst of the Holocaust and concluded his comments with a prayer:

As Laban blessed Rebecca “May your seed inherit the cities of their enemies,” and the Attribute of Justice agreed with this, so may this blessing be fulfilled in our days, and may it be God’s will that this blessing be realized and that we merit inheriting our enemies’ cities, speedily in our days.

The Goodness of the Land and Her Nation

And there was a famine in the Land, aside from the first famine that had been in the days of Abraham, and Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Philistines, to Gerar.            Genesis 26:1

Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch notes that “Since the time the Land had been promised to Abraham for his ultimate possession, we see it repeatedly visited by famine” (indeed, the Land suffered famine during the life of each of the Forefathers), and this fact conveys the irony that this Land is destined to “overflow with milk and honey.”

However, explains Rabbi Hirsch:

The blossoming of this Land is not to be dependent merely on the work of man and the favor of nature, but in the first place, on the morality and integrity of its inhabitants. Just as the nation who were to possess it were by a nature a “hard,” obstinate, intractable people, who through the power of Torah became the People of God, so was their Land, in itself hard and unfruitful, subject to famine, and just through the power of that selfsame Torah was to become a Land of abundance and blessing.

That is, the Promised Land as “a Land flowing milk and honey” is not an inherent trait, but is dependent upon the behavior of her sons within her.

Rabbi Hirsch consistently follows this approach. In his commentary on Exodus 3:8, the first time the Torah refers to Israel as a Land flowing milk and honey, Rabbi Hirsch writes:

“Flowing milk and honey” does not seem to describe a land that develops this abundance in accordance with natural fertility, but a land that does so under special conditions (emphasis in the original). The Land of Israel … can blossom and flourish only when “The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.” [Deuteronomy 11:12] It is a Land which makes it necessary for its inhabitants to be good.

In truth, Or haḤayyim preceded Rabbi Hirsch (by about a century) when he wrote [commentary on Leviticus 20:24] that when Israel will inherit its Land, “(God) will make it flow milk and honey at a greater level than it had before.” As well, in times of the Land’s destruction, when her sons are not within her, the Land “will no longer flow milk and honey, as those who know the Land report in our times, through our sins.”

That is, the quality of the Land as flowing milk and honey depends upon the presence of her children within her, as per the approach of Rabbi Hirsch. (We can note an apparent difference in nuance between the approach of Or haḤayyim that the Land “will flow milk and honey at a greater level than it had before” and that of Rabbi Hirsch that the Land does not inherently flow milk and honey. However, this does not alter the essential point.)

            Rabbi Hirsch’s contemporary, Malbim [commentary on Exodus 3:8], also writes  that the Land will flow milk and honey with the arrival within her of the Israelites, while the Land did not flow milk and honey when the Canaanites controlled her.

            Meshech Ḥochma [commentary on Deuteronomy 6:3], too, presents the same concept as Rabbi Hirsch and writes:

The blessing of the Land of Israel is dependent upon the choices made by her sons, when they listen to God’s voice, then the Land will flow milk and honey.

Based upon this approach, the Israelites’ presence within the Land is the basic condition for the Land flowing milk and honey. However, it is not a sufficient condition. The second necessary condition is fulfilling mitzvot within her.

The famine in Abraham’s days was one of the ten Divine tests he had to face. Midrash Aggada on our verse teaches that the famine in Isaac’s days was a test for him, and as Abraham succeeded in his test, so too Isaac succeeded in his:

This famine was to test Isaac to determine if he would complain or not, and he withstood the test and did not complain.

Naḥmanides’ approach, followed by most, if not all, commentators, is that the experiences of the Forefathers are signs for their children. Thus, the contemporary lesson of the famines is that we, the descendants of Abraham and Isaac, must understand that the goodness of the Land of Israel (not only on the agricultural level, but on all levels) depends upon us, upon our presence within the Land and our fulfillment of mitzvot within her.

This  Dvar Torah is dedicated to Gloria’s memory. Gloria understood the connection between the nation of Israel and its Land and she both benefitted from and contributed to the goodness of the Land.

The Lesson of the Average Child

And she (Ḥanna) was bitter in spirit, and she prayed to the Lord, and wept. And she vowed a vow, and said: “Lord of Hosts, if You will look upon the affliction of Your handmaid, and You will remember me, and You will not forget Your handmaid and You will give Your handmaid a man-child, then I shall give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”                          First Samuel 1:10-11

            The haftara of the first day of Rosh haShana is the opening chapter of First Samuel through the end of the prayer of Ḥanna, Samuel’s mother [2:10]. This choice is based upon our Sages’ tradition that Sarah, Rachel and Ḥanna (each of whom was barren) were remembered by God on Rosh haShana. For the same reason, the Torah reading for the day is “And the Lord remembered Sarah,” etc. [Genesis 21:1-34]

            In fact, the haftara includes two prayers of Ḥanna; the first is her request that she be blessed with a son, the second her prayer of thanksgiving after her request was granted. In truth, the verses do not specify the content of Ḥanna’s prayer of request, however, the verses we quoted, which are Ḥanna’s vow should her request be granted, convey the content of her prayer.

            Our Sages presented a variety of explanations for Ḥanna’s request to be given “a man-child:”

“And You will give Your handmaid a man-child” - What is meant by “a man-child?” Rav said: “A man among men;” Samuel said: “Seed that will anoint two men, namely, Saul and David;” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: “Seed that will be equal to two men, namely, Moses and Aaron, as it says, ‘Moses and Aaron among His priests and Samuel among them that call upon His name;’” [Psalms 89:6] the Rabbis say: “Seed that will be absorbed among men.” When Rabbi Dimi came (from Israel to Babylonia) he explained this to mean: “Neither too tall nor too short, neither too thin nor too corpulent, neither too pale nor too red, neither clever nor stupid.”

                                                      Babylonian Talmud, B’rachot 31b

            At first glance, the opinion of the Rabbis is astonishing. What mother would not want her son to be clever? Rather – Rashi explains – “Not overly clever, lest others consider him amazing and he be subject to the evil eye.” Rashi is sensitive to a psychological aspect: a woman who gives birth following a period of being barren will no doubt tend to be extremely protective of her child and fear that he be especially vulnerable to the evil eye. For this reason, Ḥanna requested having a son who’s physical and intellectual traits are average.

            A simple reading of Scripture indicates that God answered Ḥanna’s request fully; when Ḥanna brought her son Samuel to Shiloh after weaning him, she informed Eli the High Priest “I prayed for this child, and the Lord gave me what I asked Him for.” [Verse 27] Rabbi Ḥayyim Shmulevitz (1902 – 1979 head of the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem) comments:

It is thus clear that Samuel, who is equal to Moses and Aaron is “neither clever nor stupid,” teaching that even one who is “absorbed among men, neither clever nor stupid,” who does not stand out among people and who was not born clever, has the ability to become the Prophet Samuel.

The practical lesson is that “one must not say ‘I do not have the ability to accomplish great things with the wisdom that has been granted me.’ Learn from Samuel what an individual can achieve and the heights he can attain.”

            This lesson is sufficient reason for the first chapter of Samuel to have been chosen as the haftara of Rosh haShana, independent of our Sages’ tradition that God remembered Ḥanna on this day.

           

 

 

Propaganda Then and Now

And the Egyptians did us (otanu) evil, and afflicted us, and imposed on us hard labor.       Deuteronomy 26:6

                                 

            While this translation seems cumbersome, it is more faithful to the Hebrew than the standard translation: “And the Egyptians treated us cruelly and afflicted us, and they imposed hard labor upon us.”

            Indeed, Netziv comments that, if the standard translation were correct, we would expect the verse to use the word “lanu” as does the verse in Parashat Ḥukkat: “And the Egyptians mistreated us (lanu) and our forefathers.” [Numbers 20:15] Based upon the unusual wording, Netziv understands the verse to mean “The Egyptians made us evil and ungrateful;” that is, the Egyptian propaganda presented the Israelites as an evil nation which plotted against the country which welcomed them in at their time of need.

            Netziv wrote these words more than one-hundred-twenty-five years ago and the verse itself was first stated more than three-thousand years ago. The overlap between Netziv’s understanding of the verse and Nazi propaganda of eighty years ago is astounding!

 

The Mother Bird and Jerusalem

If you come across a bird's nest with fledglings or eggs, on any tree or on the ground along the road, and the mother is sitting on the fledglings or eggs, you must not take the mother along with the young. You shall send away the mother, and (then) you may take the young for yourself, in order that it should be good for you, and you should lengthen your days.                                        Deuteronomy 22:6-7

            Thus the Torah presents the mitzva to send the mother bird away before taking her fledglings or eggs.

            Rosh (Rabbi Asher ben Yeḥiel 1250 – 1327), in his commentary on the verses, offers a fascinating homiletic interpretation:

“You shall send away the mother” – this is Jerusalem, which is the mother of the nation of Israel. “And (then) you may take the young for yourself” refers to Israel, for when they sinned Jerusalem was destroyed and God sent them away from Him, as the verse states “and your mother was sent away because of your transgressions.” [Isaiah 50:1], and so Jeremiah said “The Lord has exhausted His wrath, poured out His burning anger; He has ignited a fire in Zion, and it has consumed her foundations.” [Lamentations 4:11] When Israel sinned, the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to destroy His entire world, as Scripture states “If not for My covenant (understood as God’s covenant with Israel that they observe Torah) with the day and the night, I would not place the statutes of heaven and earth.” [Jeremiah 33:25] Instead, God said “I will destroy My house and assuage my anger on the wood and stones of the Temple.” “That it should be good for you.”

            The mitzva of sending away the mother bird hints at God’s mercy; rather than taking out His anger on His chosen nation He took it out on the wood and stones of the Temple.

            Indeed, our Sages [Midrash Eicha Rabba 4:14] connected the verse in Psalms [79:1] “A song of Asaph: God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance, desecrated Your holy temple, and turned Jerusalem into ruins” to the verse in Lamentations which Rosh quoted:

This is what is stated “The Lord has exhausted His wrath, poured out His burning anger; He has ignited a fire in Zion, and it has consumed her foundations;” it is written “A song of Asaph: God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance” should it not have stated Asaph cried and wept and lamented? Yet the verse says “a song of Asaph.” The parable is of a king who built a wedding canopy for his son, who then fell into bad ways; immediately the king tore the curtains and broke the poles of the canopy. The prince’s tutor took a flute and sang. Everyone said to the tutor “The king has destroyed his son’s wedding canopy and you sing!?” He answered “I sing because the king destroyed the canopy rather than taking out his anger on the prince.” Similarly, they said to Asaph “The Holy One, blessed be He, destroyed the Temple and you sing?” Asaph answered “I sing because God poured out His anger on wood and stone, and not on Israel.” This is what the verse says “He has ignited a fire in Zion, and it has consumed her foundations.”

            We may point out that what is said of the Holy City applies also to the Holy Land in general. Rabbi Moshe Ḥagiz (born in Jerusalem 1672, spent close to fifty years abroad as an emissary, returned to Israel, died in Zfat c. 1750) ) wrote that for the nation of Israel, the Land of Israel is like a mother, being struck and suffering for us, and she gives life to her sons. For this reason, she is called ‘’the Land of the Living.” [Psalms 27:13]

            In light of the approach of Maharal, that the sanctity of the Holy Land is derived from the presence within her of the Holy City, it is not surprising that both the City and the Land protect the nation of God who live within them. Truly, the City and the Land are the “mother of the nation of Israel.”

Justice, the Land and the City

Justice (ẓedek), justice shall you pursue, that you may live and possess the Land the Lord, your God, is giving you. Deuteronomy 16:20

     

While the Torah requires that we pursue justice in all places, as Rabbi Ovadya Sforno comments, our verse teaches that there is a unique connection between practicing justice and possessing the Land, in his words “The pursuit of justice is a greater imperative in the Land, for the failure to do so will prevent possessing the Land.” Indeed, Midrash Tanḥuma [Parashat Shofetim 7] states explicitly that our verse makes it clear that the pursuit of justice is the necessary condition for possessing the Land:

As the verse states: “Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and possess the Land” – if you do not pursue justice you will not possess the Land.

            Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch adds that the Torah teaches the connection between justice and Israel’s nationality:

Justice is the highest unique goal, and the sole goal of the national entity of Israel … The concept of justice is forming all private and public matters in accordance with God’s Torah. Israel’s one task is to pursue this goal unceasingly with all devotion, “that you may live and possess the Land;” through this Israel will have done everything to secure its physical (“that you live”) and political (“and possess the Land”) existence. Here the political security of the Land, which is based upon acknowledging and caring for right and justice, is called “possession,” even after possession of the Land has been completed. The significant truth is thereby laid down that the possession of the Land comes into question every minute, and the Land has to be taken into possession afresh every minute by the Jewish state acknowledging tribute to “right and justice” and realizing this in the Land.

We may comment that what is true of the Land in general is equally true of her capital. Isaiah [1:26] prophesies that Jerusalem will be called “The city of justice.” However, Rashi comments that this will not be a new name given to the city, but a return to Jerusalem’s beginning, as Isaiah already referred to the Holy City as “full of justice.” [1:21]

The connection between justice and Jerusalem is so strong that her early kings, well before David turned the city into Israel’s eternal capital, had “ẓedek” as a component of their names. The first king of Jerusalem mentioned in the Bible is Malki- ẓedek [Genesis 14:18], and the city’s king at the time of the conquest of the Land by Joshua was named Adoni-ẓedek. [Joshua 10:3] In fact, Rashbam [Genesis 41:10] comments that just as “Pharaoh” was the name of all Egyptian monarchs and “Avimelech” of Philistine kings, so too “Malki-ẓedek” or “Adoni- ẓedek” was the official name of the kings of Jerusalem. Ibn Ezra [Ecclesiastes 1:1] explains simply that the meaning of the royal names is the king (Malki) or master (Adoni) of the place of justice.

            (The last king of the Davidic dynasty until the arrival of Messiah was named “Ẓidkiyahu.” While the name he was given by his father King Josiah was Matanya, and Ẓidkiyahu is the name the Babylonian king gave him when he installed him as king in place of his nephew Yehoyachin, nonetheless, the Bible consistently uses the name Ẓidkiyahu.)

            It should be noted that in Psalms [110:4] King David is referred to as “Malki-ẓedek,” as ibn Ezra writes: “The simple meaning (p’shat) of the psalm is reference to David.”

            Malbim [Isaiah 1:26] focuses our attention on the fact that “justice” refers to interpersonal relations (bein adam l’ḥavero). This comment explains both our Sages’ statement [Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 9b] that the Second Temple was destroyed because of unfounded hatred and Rabbi Kook’s insight that we will merit the rebuilding of Jerusalem when we reach the level of “unbounded love.” Since justice (bein adam l’ḥavero) is an essential aspect of the definition of the Eternal City, necessarily her existence depends upon bein adam l’ḥavero.

 

 

 

 

Teaching Our Children and Their Having Great Peace

All your children will be taught by God; your children will have great peace (shalom).   Isaiah 54:13  

                                                                  

            This is the third verse of the third of the seven haftarot of consolation.

In the opinion of Rabbi Hamnuna (a second generation Talmudic sage – late 3^rd century C.E.), “Jerusalem was destroyed only because they neglected (the education of) school children;” [Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 119b] while the Sages teach in Tractate Yoma [9b] that the Second Temple was destroyed as the result of unfounded hatred.

            Rabbi Ḥayyim Yosef David Azulai (1724 – 1806) notes that our verse comforts Israel with the declaration that the redemption will surely arrive, and God promises, through Isaiah, that the causes of Jerusalem’s destruction will be removed:

“All your children will be taught by God” – the Torah education of your children will not be neglected; as well “your children will have great peace” – peace and unity will prevail among you and there will be no hatred.

            We may add that realizing “All your children will be taught by God” depends upon God and us, for if we do not take advantage of God’s readiness to teach our children, nothing will be gained. In contrast, realizing “your children will have great peace” is dependent solely upon us; God will not create the spirit of brotherhood and unity for the nation of Israel, only we ourselves can accomplish this.

            May we merit doing our part in order to hasten the arrival of the Righteous Redeemer.

The Building Blocks for the Third Temple

 

            Ḥafetz Ḥayyim wrote:

If it were possible, every Israelite would willingly spend money and invest himself body and soul in helping to rebuild the Temple for the name of God. However, it is not necessary to spend any money, or to travel to Jerusalem for this purpose; all that is necessary is to guard one’s tongue and language to prevent blemishing them.  One who does this necessarily distances himself from lashon hara, arguments and anger, and from deceiving or embarrassing one’s fellow, all of which hinder the rebuilding of the Temple. Those who accomplish this certainly have great merit and through their positive behavior, they help rebuild the Temple.

            In his booklet Avodat Yemi Bein haMeẓarim v’Tisha b’Av, Rabbi Yoḥanan Eliyahu Rosenberg quotes Ḥafetz Ḥayyim, preceding his words with the heading “Between man and fellow-man: the building blocks for rebuilding the Temple.” Since the Second Temple was destroyed because of interpersonal sins (bein adam l’ḥavero), specifically as the result of sin’at ḥinam (unfounded hatred), the remedy and therefore the building blocks for the Third Temple is within the realm of bein adam l’ḥavero.

            The words of Ḥafetz Ḥayyim provide practical expression of Rabbi Kook’s comment:

Given that we were destroyed and the entire world destroyed with us due to unfounded hatred, we shall be rebuilt and the world rebuilt with us through unbounded love.

 

Mourning, Consolation and Repentance

 

            The spiritual content of the Jewish calendar from the seventeenth of Tammuz through Yom Kippur, a period of eighty-two days, consists of mourning, consolation and repentance. This content is expressed in customs and in the haftarot which are read on the Shabbatot of this period.

            Rabbi Yehuda Leib Tzirelson (1859 – 1941, chief rabbi of Bessarabia) notes that the order is exact and meaningful. The significance of mourning lies in understanding and recognizing that which is missing, what was and is no longer. One who does not understand what is lacking cannot begin the process of repentance since he does not understand the need to repent.

            Upon completion of the three week period of mourning the destruction of the Temples, following the fast of Tisha b’Av, we commence the period of consolation. For the seven weeks until Rosh haShana, the haftarot are the “Seven of Consolation.” Consolation, explains Rabbi Tzirelson, is the ability to see the strong points which remain and to understand that these are to be used to recover from the mourning and to build anew. This perception indeed is encouraging and comforting and paves the way towards repentance.

            Repentance is the actual work of rebuilding, abandoning the path which lead to loss and destruction and choosing a new path which will facilitate rectification and rebuilding.

            Indeed, our calendar presents a graduated program for the process of repentance.

Israelites in the Jewish Quarter

Command the children of Israel and say to them: My offering, My food for My fire offerings, a spirit of satisfaction for Me, you shall take care to offer to Me at its appointed time.                                                                                                   Numbers 28:2   “You shall take care” - The Kohanim, Levi’im and Israelites shall stand over the offerings; hence they instituted the ma’amdot.               Rashi, based upon the Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 26aThe Kohanim , Levites, and Israelites shall stand over them [to watch them]; hence they instituted the ma’amodoth [representatives of the people who were present at the sacrificial services].

            Rashi’s comment brings us back to complete our virtual tour of the alleyways of the Jewish Quarter. For Parashat Naso we toured in the footsteps of the Levi’im, and Parashat Beha’alotcha in the footsteps of the Kohanim, we now return to the Quarter in the footsteps of the Israelites.

            Since the purchase of the daily perpetual sacrifices (t’midim) was financed by the half-shekels contributed by every adult male Israelite, the Israelites are the owners of the sacrifices, and therefore offering the t’midim required presence of all classes of Israelites: Kohanim, Levi’im and Israelites. In order to facilitate this, in parallel to the twenty-four mishmarot of Kohanim, the “early prophets” (Samuel and King David [Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 27a]) established twenty-four “ma’amdot” of Levi’im and Israelites, with each ma’amad paired with a specific mishmar of Kohanim.            When the mishmar’s week to work in the Temple arrived, the Kohanim and Levi’im ascended to Jerusalem and Israelites of the ma’amad “Gathered in their own cities, and read the narrative of creation.” [Mishna, Ta’anit 4:2]

            Maimonides writes that not all the members of the ma’amad “gathered in their own cities,” but:

Those (living) in Jerusalem or close to it would enter the Temple with the mishmar of Kohanim and Levi’im of that week; those members of the ma'amad who (lived) in distant places would gather in the synagogues of their locale. 

                                                            Laws of Temple Vessels 6:2

From Maimonides’ wording, it seems that there were not necessarily members of the ma’amad who resided in Jerusalem. However, Rashi [commentary on the Mishna] writes that “every ma’amad had members who were set in Jerusalem to be present at their brethren’s offerings,” implying that each ma’amad included residents of Jerusalem.

            As the mishmarot of Kohanim worked for one week and rotated on Shabbat, so it was with the ma’amad of Israelites. The job of the members of the ma’amad was not simple, as Maimonides defines it:

What would those who gather together - both in Jerusalem and in the synagogues - do? They would fast on the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of their week. They would not fast on Friday out of respect for Shabbat and not on Sunday, so they would not make a transition from the pleasure of the Shabbat to a fast. [ibid. 6:3]

Monday through Thursday (inclusive) of their week, the members of the ma’mad fasted (from dawn until stars were visible).

            Whether in Jerusalem or in their own cities, members of the ma’amad did not engage in their own work, but “Their intention and their purpose was to deal with (Divine) service and prayer, and their minds and thoughts were focused on the sacrifices.” [Maimonides Commentary on the Mishna, Ta’anit 4:2]

            Aruch haShulḥan heAtid adds that “The essence of the ma’amad was not the fixed prayers, rather the supplications, requests and seeking favor which the members of the ma’amad devoted themselves to at length.” [Laws of Temple Vessels 26:17]

            In Maimonides’ opinion, members of the ma’amad prayed four daily prayers (in addition to the evening prayer, which takes place after the completion of the daily service in the Temple):

On every day of the week that was their ma'amad, they would recite four prayer services: the morning service, the afternoon service, the neilah service (the “closing service,” similar to the last prayers of Yom Kippur) and another prayer service between the morning service and the afternoon service which was additional (and unique) for them. [Laws of Temple Vessels 6:4]

Ra’avad differs with Maimonides and asserts that the ma’amad did not have an additional prayer, though he agrees that there was a neilah prayer. Thus, in Ra’avad’s opinion, there were three daily prayers, not four. Aruch haShulḥan heAtid proves that Maimonides decided the law in accordance with the opinion of the Jerusalem Talmud, while Ra’avad follows the Babylonian Talmud.

            As the Mishna notes, the prayers of the ma’amad included reading the Biblical narrative of creation, this in order to stress that “(Divine) service constitutes the perfection of existence, and for us, true service is the sacrifices; as our Sages taught if not for sacrifices, heaven and earth could not be maintained.” [Maimonides Commentary of Mishna, ibid.] During the morning and additional prayers, the narrative was read from a Torah scroll, with three men being called to the Torah, while at the afternoon prayer, the narrative was recited by heart. [Maimonides Laws of Temple Vessels 6:1] Maimonides follows his approach that the ma’amad prayed four times; in Ra’avad’s opinion, the narrative was read from a Torah scroll only once daily.

            Not every Israelite was worthy of being chosen as a member of the ma’amad, but they “selected Israelites who are fit, upright and sin-fearing.” [Maimonides, ibid.] Given the function of the ma’amad and its responsibility as “the agents of all Israel” these criteria are certainly understandable.

            The above comments highlight the significance of the fact that Parashat Pineḥas is read during the three weeks of mourning the Temples’ destruction; it is likely that reflecting on Ma’amdot Yisrael constitutes yearning for the period of Jerusalem’s greatest glory, the time when the Temple stood.

            “Bring back the Kohanim to their service, Levi’im to their song and music, and the Israelites to their habitation.” [From the Additional Prayer for the Festivals] Amen