Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our parasha is a continuation of Moshe’s farewell address to the Jewish people. It begins with the words, “Va’etchanan (and I entreated) Hashem at that time...” (Sefer Devarim 3:23, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, with my emendations) As noted in Midrash Sifrei Devarim on our pasuk, va’etchanan is one of the expressions of tefilah in Tanach. Though this, and countless other acts of tefilah are found throughout Tanach, the efficacy of prayer, in general, remains an authentic mystery. The problem is straightforward: How can finite man communicate with the infinite Creator? This difficulty is alluded to in Talmud Yerushalmi, Berachot 1:9:

Levi said: “The distance from the earth until the firmament would take 500 years for a man to traverse. The distance from each firmament to the next [of which there are seven] is 500 years as well. Moreover, the thickness of each firmament is a five-hundred-year journey and so, too, for each and every firmament.” Look how removed Hashem is from His world and [nonetheless] a man enters the synagogue, stands behind the prayer stand, silently prays and Hashem listens to his prayer! (Translation my own)
 
Why does the Almighty listen to our tefilot? This is one of the most spiritually significant questions we can ask, as it speaks to the essence of our relationship with Hashem. My rebbi and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, wrestled with this issue on numerous occasions. Initially, one might think that Hashem listens to our prayers because of zechut Avot (the merit of the Patriarchs). Based on Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 55a, however, the Rav notes that during the time of Yechezkel the prophet (sixth century BCE), zechut Avot ceased to exist. In his view, the merit of the Avot could extend only so far, since, after many generations, we had radically distanced ourselves from the standards of behavior established by Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov. As a result, Hashem no longer viewed us as fitting recipients of their extended merit. (This, and the following material, based upon Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s posthumous work, The Lord is Righteous in All His Ways: Reflections on the Tisha be-Av Kinot, pages 51-56.)
 
If we no longer have zechut Avot, why does Hashem continue to listen to our tefilot? The Rav responded to this question by citing Rabbeinu Tam’s (1100-1171) seminal comment: “Zechut Avot tamah, aval brit Avot lo tamah” (Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 55a, s.v. u-Shmuel), meaning, even though zechut Avot is no longer operable, we will always have brit Avot (the Covenant of the Patriarchs). In contradistinction to zechut Avot, brit Avot is not contingent upon our actions. Instead, the Rav asserts, it is an unconditional legal agreement that cannot be annulled. It represents Hashem’s promise to us that, no matter how far we may stray, we are forever the heirs of Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov. For Hashem, we will always be Knesset Yisrael, the mystical trans-historical entity that began with our forebears at Mount Sinai. Therefore, since each of us is an essential component of Knesset Yisrael, we can be assured the Almighty will listen to our prayers when they are uttered in an earnest and heartfelt fashion. As we say in Ashrei, “Hashem is near to all who call Him, to all who call Him with sincerity” (Sefer Tehillim 145:18).
 
The Rav’s analysis enables us to better appreciate the Shemoneh Esrai’s phrase, “Shema koleinu Hashem Elokeinu” (“Hear our voice Hashem our G-d”). Understanding that the brit Avot guarantees our tefilot will be heard le’olam vo’ed (for all eternity), allows us to utter these words with new confidence. May this promise inspire us to encounter the Almighty through our tefilot as we strive to move closer to Him. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link: The Rav

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our sefer and parasha begin with the celebrated pasuk: “These are the words (aleh hadevarim) which Moshe spoke to all of the Jewish people on that side of the Jordan in the desert, in the plain opposite the Red Sea, between Paran and Tofel and Lavan and Hazeroth and Di Zahav.” (Sefer Devarim 1:1, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, with my emendations)  The Midrash Sifrei on our verse asks a straightforward question:

And is it the case that Moshe prophesied only these words; did he not write the entire Torah?! As the text states: “Then Moshe wrote this Torah…” (31:9)  As such, what is the Torah imparting when it writes, “aleh hadevarim which Moshe spoke?” It is coming to communicate that these were specifically words of admonition, as we find in the verse, “And Yeshurun (the Jewish people) became fat [that is, economically and politically powerful] and rebelled…” (32:15 midrash translation my own)
 
Rashi zatzal (1040-1105) expands on the Sifrei’s statement, “it is coming to communicate to us that these were specifically words of reprimand,” and suggests this explanation as to why the Torah employs the phrase, “aleh hadevarim”:

Since these are words of rebuke and he [Moshe] enumerates here all the places where they angered the Omnipresent, it, therefore, makes no explicit mention of the incidents [in which they transgressed], but rather merely alludes to them, [by mentioning the names of the places] out of respect for the Jewish people (mipnei k’vodon shel Yisrael).
 
In his posthumous Torah commentary, Darash Moshe, HaRav HaGaon Moshe Feinstein zatzal (1895-1986) notes that the concept of mipnei k’vodon shel Yisrael in Rashi’s gloss is quite difficult to understand:

For is it not the case that soon thereafter the Torah mentions the Sin of the Spies at great length? And, so, too, in Parashat Eikev, does not the Torah cite the complete narrative of the Golden Calf? If so, why at the beginning [of the sefer] does it utilize allusion alone and concern itself with the respect of the Jewish people (v’chas al k’vodom)? (Rav Moshe Dovid Yitzchak Tendler zatzal, Rav Dovid Feinstein zatzal, and Rav Shalom Reuven Feinstein shlita editors, Parashat Devarim 1:1, page 140, this, and the following translation and brackets my own)
 
Rav Moshe offers the following answer to his question:
​
…while it is true that this generation, [on the verge of entering Eretz Yisrael,] did not commit these earlier sins, and, therefore, could not be directly reproved for them, none the less, they [that is, these sins] are alluded to at this time (amar b’kan b’remez). For even the new generation needed to be admonished regarding the sins that were done by the previous generation, since it is necessary for each person to know that if they see someone sin, they should never say concerning themselves that it would be impossible to sin [in this manner, simply] because one knows that this matter is proscribed and believes in Hashem and His Torah… And this reproach was based on the notion that they, too, could sin; as such, [at the beginning of Sefer Devarim] they were reprimanded through allusion, to maintain their honor, as they had not yet sinned in actual practice.
 
I believe that Rav Moshe is teaching us a crucial lesson for this Shabbat day before Tisha b’Av: “It is necessary for each person to know that if they see someone sin, they should never say concerning themselves that it would be impossible to sin because one knows that this matter is proscribed and believes in Hashem and His Torah.” Instead, we must be vigilant in studying and fulfilling Hashem’s Torah and ever seek to be His true servants, for this, too, is mipnei k’vodon shel Yisrael. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link: The Rav

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Parashat Mattot begins with the topic of hafarat nedarim (revocation of vows) by a father on behalf of his daughter, and by a husband for his wife. The general outlines of this mitzvah were formulated by the Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) in this manner: “The 95th [positive] mitzvah that we are commanded is regarding the annulment of vows. This does not mean that we are obligated [per se] to annul vows, but rather that there are certain laws to be followed when so doing [wherein their fulfillment constitutes the mitzvah] …The annulment of vows done by a father [for his daughter] and a husband [for his wife] is explained in detail in the Torah.” (This, and the following quote from the Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandment 95, translation, Rabbi Berel Bell, with my emendations)
 
It should be noted that we no longer engage in hafarat nedarim in our time, since it is unclear as to exactly which nedarim may be revoked by the father or husband. Instead, we actively pursue the Torah She'Ba’al Peh (Oral Law) practice of hatarat nedarim (nullification of vows) that may be undertaken by either a recognized Torah scholar or a beit din. The Rambam speaks directly to the role of the talmid chacham in this Rabbinic act: “Furthermore, we know from the Oral Tradition that a Torah scholar can nullify anyone’s vow or oath.” (See, Talmid Bavli, Ketuvot 74b). Rabbi Herschel Schachter shlita aptly summarized the role of the beit din in this process:

Nowadays, when one seeks to nullify a neder, as is done on erev Rosh Hashanah, he stands before a beis din, which performs hataras nedarim (nullification of vows) based on pesach [an opening, that is], his not realizing how problematic observing the neder would be, and charatah, his regret for ever having undertaken the neder. The beis din then declares [three times], “It is permitted to you,” and the neder is annulled. (Rav Schachter on the Parsha: Insights and Commentary Based on the Shiurim of Rav Herschel Schachter, adapted by Dr. Allan Weissman, page 214, brackets my own)
 
While the practice of hatarat nedarim, whether by a talmid chacham or a beit din, is clearly based upon pesach and charatah, the mishnah in Talmud Bavli Chagigah 10a, boldly declares:

The halakhot of the dissolution of vows, when one requests from a Sage to dissolve them, fly in the air and have nothing to support them, as these halakhot are not mentioned explicitly in the Torah. There is only a slight allusion to the dissolution of vows in the Torah, which is taught by the Sages as part of the oral tradition. (Translation and explanation, The William Davidson Talmud, Koren Press, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz zatzal, editor)
 
The notion that the halakhot of hatarat nedarim “fly in the air and have nothing to support them,” since they have no direct textual support, is strong proof of the power invested in Chazal by the Torah She'Ba’al Peh to legislate laws that respond to the practical needs of our people. As such, as Rav Schachter notes, the entire community joins as one during Kol Nidre and performs a public rendition of the dissolution of vows:

We have an old custom to recite Kol Nidre on the night of Yom Kippur, which is really a public hataras nedarim, annulling the nedarim we had taken during the course of the year since the last Yom Kippur… The standard explanation of this custom is based on the following comparison of the Zohar. Just as in the case of hataras nedarim, the beis din serves to uproot the neder retroactively, making it into something that was never binding at all, so too, with powerful teshuvah, the aveiros [sins] will be uprooted from their source, as if they never occurred. (Rav Schachter on the Parsha, page 218, brackets my own)
 
This Shabbat is eight days before Tisha b’Av. With Hashem’s help, as we mourn the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash on this upcoming day, may we engage in heartfelt teshuvah and may our aveiros “be uprooted from their source, as if they never occurred.” This thought is echoed in the words of Megillat Eichah: “Hashiveinu Hashem alecha v’nashuvah, chadash yameinu k’kedem—Cause us to return unto You Hashem and we will return, renew our days as of old.” (5:21)  V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah, Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link: The Rav

 
Rabbi David Etengoff

Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The saddest part of our parasha is Hashem’s declaration to Moshe forbidding him from entering Eretz Yisrael: “Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Go up to this mount Abarim and look at the land that I have given to b’nai Yisrael. And when you have seen it, you, too, will be gathered to your people, just as Aharon your brother was gathered.’” (Sefer Bamidbar 27:12-13, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  One can only imagine the pain and sorrow Moshe felt upon being banned from the Land he longed to explore, his dream lying crushed, in ruins, at his feet.
 
Regardless of his personal misery, however, Moshe’s first response was to seek assurance from the Almighty that the Jewish people would have the fitting leader to bring them into Eretz Yisrael:

Moshe spoke to Hashem, saying: “Let Hashem, the G-d of spirits of all flesh (Elokei haruchot l’kol basar), appoint a man over the congregation, who will go forth before them and come before them, who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of Hashem will not be like sheep without a shepherd.” (27:15-17)
 
In his Commentary on the Torah on these verses, Rashi (1040-1105), citing Sifrei Bamidbar, Parashat Pinchas 138, notes that Moshe’s response to Hashem’s decree is emblematic of the manner in which tzaddikim (truly righteous individuals) react when their death is imminent: “This comes to make known to you the praise of tzaddikim when they are about to pass on from this world, [that is,] they ignore their own wants and actively focus on the needs of the community (v’oskin b’tzorchei tzibbur). (Leipzig manuscript, translation and brackets my own)  Perhaps because of Moshe’s consummate altruism, the Almighty immediately consented to his request:

Hashem said to Moshe, “Take for yourself Yehoshua the son of Nun, a man of spirit, and you shall lay your hand upon him. And you shall present him before Eleazar the kohane and before the entire congregation, and you shall command him in their presence. You shall bestow some of your majesty upon him so that all the congregation of the children of Israel will take heed. He shall stand before Eleazar the kohane and seek [counsel from] him through the judgment of the Urim before Hashem. By his word they shall go, and by his word they shall come; he and all b’nai Yisrael with him, and the entire congregation.” (27:18-21)
 
At first glance, Hashem’s choice of Yehoshua as the next leader of the Jewish people seems perfectly apropos. After all, as we find at the end of Parashat Beshalach, Yehoshua was an outstanding military leader:

So Moshe said to Yehoshua, “Pick men for us, and go out and fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of G-d in my hand…” Yehoshua weakened Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. (Sefer Shemot 17:9 and 13)
 
Moreover, and perhaps even more significantly in the overall view of Jewish history, following the Sin of the Golden Calf, we are explicitly informed of the special relationship that obtained between Moshe and Yehoshua, the latter never leaving his teacher’s tent of Torah learning (Rashi): “…but his [Moshe’s] attendant, Yehoshua, the son of Nun, a lad, would not depart from the tent.” (Sefer Shemot 33:11)  On measure, Yehoshua seemed the ideal candidate to carry the mantle of Moshe’s leadership into a glorious Jewish future.
 
There are, however, passages in Chazal that paint a very different picture of Yehoshua’s worthiness to succeed his rebbe. In Sefer Mishle 21:20 we find: “Precious treasure and oil are in the dwelling of the wise man (chacham), but man's foolishness (uchsile) will swallow it up.” The Midrash Yalkut Shimoni on this verse presents a startling interpretation, “Chacham—this refers to Moshe, uchsile—this refers to Yehoshua, for he was not a Torah scholar. Therefore, the Jewish people called him a fool!” An even more powerful indictment against Yehoshua’s candidacy is found in the following Talmudic passage:

Rab Judah reported in the name of Rab: When Moshe departed [this world] for the Garden of Eden, he said to Yehoshua: “Ask me concerning all the doubts you have [concerning any halacha].” He replied to him: “My Master, have I ever left you for one hour and gone elsewhere? [that is. “I have no doubts.”] Did you not write concerning me in the Torah: “…but his attendant Yehoshua, the son of Nun, a lad, would not depart from the tent?” Immediately the strength [of Moshe] weakened, [since it seemed that Yehoshua no longer needed him,] and [Yehoshua] forgot three hundred laws and there arose [in his mind] seven hundred doubts [concerning various areas of Torah]. Then all the Jews rose up to kill him. (Talmud Bavli, Temurah 16a, translation, The Soncino Talmud, with my emendations)
 
Why, then, did Hashem choose Yehoshua as the next leader of the Jewish people? The previously cited section from the Midrash Yalkut Shimoni provides us with the underlying rationale: “Because he [Yehoshua] was Moshe’s attendant, he merited the appointment as leader of the people (literally, zacha l’yerushato).” What did he do? The Midrash teaches us, “He [Yehoshua] honored him [Moshe] and arranged the covers on the benches [so the classes could be held.] Moreover, he sat at his [master’s] feet.”
 
Why did these behaviors qualify Yehoshua to be the next leader of our people? My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, provides us with a deeply insightful answer to this question:

Often, a leader’s successor was chosen not only because of his intellectual prowess but also because of his devoted service to his teacher. When the Baal Shem Tov passed away, the mantle of leadership was not given to Rav Yaakov Yosef, a Torah giant and the author of Toldot Yaakov Yosef. Rather, it passed to the Maggid of Mezeritch, who had served the Baal Shem Tov with great devotion and loyalty. Similarly, Rav Chaim of Volozhin became the successor to his teacher, the Vilna Gaon, partly because he was not only his student but his confidant. (Chumash Mesoras HaRav, with commentary based upon the teachings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Sefer Bamidbar, edited by Dr. Arnold Lustiger, page 218, underlining my own)
 
The Rav continues his assessment of Yehoshua’s candidacy in the following manner:

Joshua was not a greater scholar than Phineas or Eleazar, but the service of Torah [scholars] is greater than its study] (Talmud Bavli, Berachot 7b). Service does not merely signify physical toil; it also represents a special closeness and friendship between the teacher and disciple, a type of partnership. The chosen disciple not only receives information from his rebbe, but absorbs a way of life, until they are practically identical in their essence. Moses knew that through his student-colleague, the Torah would be transmitted to future generations. (Page 219)
 
Based upon the Rav’s trenchant analysis, we are now better able to understand Hashem’s choice of Yehoshua to be the next leader of the Jewish people. Yehoshua, and not Pinchas, Elazar, or even Moses’ sons, was the one person who had completely absorbed Moshe’s values and way of life to the extent that he was able to emulate his rebbe’s very essence. Little wonder, then, that the Midrash Sifrei famously declares: “The face of Moshe was like the face of the sun, and the face of Yehoshua was like the face of the moon.” (Parashat Pinchas, 140)  This teaches us that Yehoshua’s very being reflected not only Moshe’s knowledge, but his entire persona. As such, he was the one disciple who was truly fitting to lead the Jewish people into Eretz Yisrael.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah, Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link: The Rav

Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The namesake of our parasha is Balak, King of Moab. He correctly believed that his country was existentially threatened by the fledgling Jewish nation. As such, he sought to annihilate us before we could become any stronger and wreak havoc upon his people. In order to achieve his malevolent goal, he hired Bilam ben Beor to curse our people and “stop us in our tracks.”
 
Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 106a focuses on Bilam’s authentic nature: “[It states in Sefer Yehoshua 13:22:] ‘… and Bilam, the son of Beor, the sorcerer (hakosame)…’ Was he a sorcerer? He is a prophet (navi)! Rabbi Yochanan says: ‘Initially he was a prophet, but ultimately, he lost his capacity for prophecy and remained merely a sorcerer.’” (Translation with my emendations, The William Davidson Talmud, Koren Press, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz zatzal, editor)  This passage helps us understand that even though Bilam was labelled a sorcerer in Sefer Yehoshua, he had been an authentic prophet at an earlier time. This transformation is trenchantly analyzed by the Maharal (Rabbi Yehudah Loew ben Bezalel zatzal, d. 1609):

Here is the explanation: He was initially a prophet, as his prophecies were vouchsafed to him prior to the Jewish people having left Egypt; in addition, at that time, he was also a navi to the nations of the world. Afterwards, when the Jewish people left Egypt, Moshe asked [the Almighty] to no longer allow His Shechinah to dwell among the nations of the world, but rather. solely among the Jewish people. Prior to this request, however, it had not been determined that prophecy would be removed from the peoples of the world; as such, Bilam, himself, who was from the nations of the world, agreed to the brachot for the Jewish people. At this juncture, the Shechinah departed completely from the nations of the world forevermore…” (Chidushei Aggadot, Sanhedrin 106a, translation and brackets my own)
 
According to the Maharal, Bilam was, indeed, a prophet prior to Moshe Rabbeinu’s entreaty to Hashem to cease His prophetic involvement with the nations of the world. Subsequently, however, Hashem honored Moshe’s request and Bilam was reduced to an ordinary sorcerer.
 
What kind of navi was Bilam? How did he compare to Moshe Rabbeinu? At least two midrashim speak directly to these questions:

Bilam had three characteristics that Moshe lacked: He knew Who was speaking to him, he knew when the Holy One blessed be He was going to speak to him, and he could speak with Him whenever he so desired. (Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah 14:20)
 
There were three things that made Bilam greater than Moshe: He could look upon the Shechinah (Hashem’s Divine Presence), he could join himself to the Shechinah, and he could immediately open his eyes and speak [at will] with the Shechinah. (Midrash Aggadah 24:17, translations and underling my own)
 
Based upon the metrics in these midrashim, Bilam’s prophetic characteristics, and the nature of his encounters with the Shechinah, surpassed even those of Moshe Rabbeinu.
 
Bilam’s status as an authentic navi, however, has not been universally accepted. One of the earliest sources that rejects this idea is Targum Onkelos. Throughout his interpretative Aramaic translation of the Torah, Onkelos (c.35-120 CE) utilizes the term, “itgali Hashem (Hashem revealed Himself),” in regard to authentic prophets. By way of example, he deploys this phrase ten times in reference to Hashem’s revelations to Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov. In stark contrast, however, there is not one pasuk wherein Onkelos uses a form of “itgali Hashem” in reference to Bilam, this strongly suggesting that he did not recognize Bilam as a bona fide prophet. (See Rambam, Moreh HaNevuchim II:41for the basis of this analysis)
 
In his Commentary on Sefer Yehoshua, the Abarbanel (Rabbi Don Isaac Abravanel zatzal, 1437-1508) explains the phrase, “and Bilam, the son of Beor, the sorcerer,” (13:22) in a straightforward manner in consonance with Onkelos’ approach: “He was a sorcerer in his very nature and true essence (kosame m’tivo v’amitato). For everything that is cited from his prophecy [in Parashat Balak] is simply something that he was gifted—solely for that moment—in honor of the Jewish people so that he could bless them.” (Translation and brackets my own)
 
Ultimately, Bilam attained infamy for having caused the death of 24,000 men of our nation through his nefarious plan concerning the b’not Moab (Daughters of Moab, Sefer Bamidbar 25:1-9). Little wonder, then, that Chazal gave him the appellation, “Bilam HaRasha (Bilam the Evil One, Pirkei Avot 5:19),” the name by which he will be known forevermore.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah, Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link: The Rav

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Chapter five of Pirkei Avot tells a poignant tale: “With ten tests our forefathers tested Hashem in the desert, as is stated (Sefer Bamidbar 14:22), ‘… they tested Me these ten times, and did not listen to My voice.’” (Mishna 4)  In his Commentary on the Torah on this pasuk, Rashi (1040-1105) notes that two of the ten challenges against Hashem concerned the manna that He provided to our forebears for 40 years. One of these instances appears in this week’s parasha: “The people spoke against Elokim and against Moshe, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in this desert, for there is no bread and no water, and we are disgusted with this rotten bread [that is, the manna, Rashi].’” (Sefer Bamidbar 21:5, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
Hashem’s response to this challenge was swift and powerful; “[He] sent venomous snakes against the people, and they bit the people, and many of the people died.” (21:6)  Realizing their fundamental error, the people immediately reached out to Moshe, begging him to intervene on their behalf: “The people came to Moshe and said, ‘We have sinned, for we have spoken against Hashem and against you. Pray to Hashem that He remove the snakes from us.’ So Moshe prayed on behalf of the people.” (21:7)  Hashem then agreed to end the plague of the poisonous snakes and instructed Moshe to undertake the following action in order to achieve this outcome:

“Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Make yourself a serpent and put it on a pole, and all who are bitten will look at it and live.’” As always, Moshe fulfilled Hashem’s mitzvah: “Moshe made a copper snake and put it on a pole, and whenever a snake bit a man, he would gaze upon the copper snake and live.” (21:8-9)
 
A well-known mishnah in Talmud Bavli, Rosh Hashanah 29a presents the classic question regarding Hashem’s solution to end the makkah of the snakes and contextualizes it by noting its parallels to our victory over Amalek as found in Parashat Beshalach:

“And it came to pass, when Moshe held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed” (Sefer Shemot 17:11). It may be asked: “Did the hands of Moshe make war when he raised them or break war when he lowered them?” Rather, the verse comes to tell you that as long as the Jewish people turned their eyes upward and subjected their hearts to their Father in Heaven, they prevailed, but if not, they fell. Similarly, you can say: The verse states: “Make for yourself a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he sees it, he shall live.” (Sefer Bamidbar 21:8). Once again it may be asked: “Did the serpent kill, or did the serpent preserve life?” Rather, when the Jewish people turned their eyes upward and subjected their hearts to their Father in Heaven, they were healed, but if not, they rotted from their snakebites. (Translation, The William Davidson Talmud, Koren Press, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz zatzal editor)
 
The two questions presented in this mishnah, “Did the hands of Moshe make war when he raised them or break war when he lowered them?” and “Did the serpent kill, or did the serpent preserve life?” have the same answer: Salvation from trial and tribulation has but one source, Avinu she’b’Shamayim (Our Father in Heaven). If we raise our eyes, and turn our hearts and minds to Hashem, we will achieve the outcome for which we long. This essential principle of emunah (faith) is reminiscent of one of my favorite chapters from Sefer Tehillim:

A song for ascents. I shall raise my eyes to the mountains, from where will my help come? My help is from Hashem, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to falter; Your Guardian will not slumber. Behold the Guardian of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Hashem is your Guardian; Hashem is your shadow; [He is] by your right hand. By day, the sun will not smite you, nor will the moon at night. Hashem will guard you from all evil; He will guard your soul. Hashem will guard your going out and your coming in from now and to eternity. (121)
 
May these powerful words of Dovid HaMelech ever be our guide as we strive to sanctify the Almighty in our lives. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah, Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link: The Rav

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The primary focus of our parasha is the rebellion of Korach and his minions against Moshe, Aharon, and Hashem:

Korach the son of Yitzhar, the son of Kahat, the son of Levi took [himself to one side] along with Datan and Aviram, the sons of Eliav, and On the son of Pelet, descendants of Reuven. They confronted Moshe... They assembled against Moshe and Aharon, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves…” Therefore [said Moshe], you and your entire company who are assembled are against Hashem, for what is Aharon that you should complain against him? (Sefer Bamidbar 16:1-3 11, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, underlining and brackets my own)
 
These individuals were punished by being swallowed by the earth:

[Moshe said:] “If these men die as all men die and the fate of all men will be visited upon them, then Hashem has not sent me. But if Hashem creates a creation, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that is theirs, and they descend alive into the grave, you will know that these men have provoked Hashem.” As soon as he finished speaking all these words, the earth beneath them split open. The earth beneath them opened its mouth and swallowed them and their houses, and all the men who were with Korah and all the property. (16:29-32)
 
In his interpretation of this narrative in Toldot Yitzchak, Sefer Bamidbar, chapter 17, Rav Yitzchak ben Rav Yosef Karo zatzal (1458-1535), uncle of the author of the Shulchan Aruch, focuses on three specific topics: The identity of those who rebelled, their goals, and the substance of their complaints. He identifies four factions in the rebellion: Korach, Datan and Aviram, the levi‘im, and the bechorot (first born sons), asserting that these distinct groups shared the same objective: to be recognized as bona fide kohanim. He then presents the key elements of each of their claims to the kahuna.
 
According to Rav Yitzchak, the bechorot sought the kahuna, since they had initially been the ones to offer the korbanot. “As a result of the Chet HaEgel (Sin of the Golden Calf), however, the Holy One blessed be He removed the kahuna from them and gave it to the Tribe of Levi.” (This and the following translations and brackets my own)  Moreover, Rav Yitzchak maintains the bechorot did not trust Moshe, “as he was from the Tribe of Levi, and [they] claimed that it was he, and not the Holy One blessed be He, who took the kahuna from them and gave it to the members of his tribe.”
 
In Rav Yitzchak’s view, the group of rebellious levi‘im demanded to be kohanim, since, after all: “They were from the Tribe of Levi and direct descendants of Levi; as such, why were they not kohanim like Aharon and his sons—all of whom were from the Tribe of Levi? They mistrusted Moshe, and claimed that he chose his brother, Aharon, for this position [himself, instead of this having been a direct command from the Almighty].”
 
Rav Yitzchak describes Datan and Aviram as “gedolim b’Yisrael,” in the sense that they had gravitas in the eyes of the nation. He notes that they were from the Tribe of Reuven, who was the bechor of The Tribes of Israel, and that, on this basis, Datan and Aviram insisted that they had full rights to the kahuna. In addition, like the bechorot, and the relatively small group of breakaway levi’im, they believed that Moshe had chosen Aharon and his descendants for the kahuna for nepotistic reasons.
 
In Rav Yitzchak’s estimation, Korach demanded the kahuna based upon two prerogatives: Like Aharon, he was from The Tribe of Levi, and he was a bechor. Korach believed these two “facts on the ground” made him destined for the kahuna, and given his overall egotistical orientation, deserving of being chosen as the Kohane Gadol.
 
Rav Yitzchak’s analysis of Korach’s rebellion is a conceptual tour de force. With penetrating insight, he demonstrates that, while various claims for the kahuna were presented, all four segments of the insurrection were equally blind to the anavah (humility) that was the heart of Moshe’s very being. Moreover, each group failed to comprehend that their participation in the uprising was, in essence, a revolt against the Master of the Universe Who had commanded that the kahuna be entrusted to Aharon and his descendants forevermore.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah, Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link: The Rav

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The namesake of our parasha is found in its second verse: “Send out for yourself (shelach lecha) men who will scout the Land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel. You shall send one man each for his father’s tribe; each one shall be a chieftain in their midst.” (Sefer Bamidbar 13:2, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105) asks the following celebrated question based upon Midrash Tanchuma, Parashat Shelach Lecha 5: “Why is the section dealing with the spies (meraglim) juxtaposed with the section dealing with Miriam?” and answers: “Because she [Miriam] was punished over matters of slander (iskei dibbah), for speaking against her brother, and these wicked people [that is, the spies] witnessed [it], but did not learn their lesson.” Herein, Rashi suggests that just like Miriam spoke slanderously against Moshe and was punished for this act, so, too, should the meraglim have known that if they spoke in a degrading manner about Eretz Canaan they would be punished.
 
Most readers take Rashi’s answer at face value, that both Miriam and the meraglim engaged in speaking iskei dibbah and were punished for their actions; therefore, the narrative of the spies follows Miriam’s ignominious story. Yet, we are left wondering how Miriam and the meraglim could have erred so grievously. My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as the “Rav” by his students and followers, addresses this concern in his novel interpretation (chiddush) of the above-cited passage from Midrash Tanchuma:

[What lesson should the spies have taken from Miriam?] It was not the lesson of lashon hara, of not engaging in slander. Miriam had overlooked the segullah [chosen and unique] element in Moses, and they overlooked the segullah element in the land. Miriam ignored the chosenness of her brother Moses, his numinous character and charisma. The spies, likewise, could not grasp the secret of a segullah land and its unique metaphysical relationship to the people. There was a common denominator in the two episodes, in her protest against Moses and in their report submitted to Moses. The element of segullah was absent from both. (Vision and Leadership: Reflections on Joseph and Moses, David Shatz, Joel B. Wolowelsky, and Reuven Ziegler editors, page 186, brackets and underlining my own)
 
The Rav further expands the concept of segullah when he contrasts Moshe’s perception of Eretz Canaan with that of the meraglim:

Moses regarded the land not only in a political or physical light, but also as an exalted everlasting union. A singular segullah people, special to God, was being joined to a singular land, from which God’s attention is never withdrawn. Destinies were being joined… Moses expected the scouts to note the segullah singularity of the land, to perceive its worthiness in terms of Abraham’s covenant with God.
 
Sadly, the meraglim represented the polar opposite of Moshe’s perspective:

They explored the area from the desert of Zin to Rehob, leading to Hamath, but they viewed the land as one would appraise property. Their report was that of spies, not that of scouts; they balanced debits against credits and declared the entire enterprise hopeless. With grandeur looking down on them, all they could see was the mundane. (Reflections of the Rav: Lessons in Jewish Thought, Vol. I, Rabbi Abraham R. Besdin ed., pages 122-123, underlining my own)
 
As I write these words, many among us are, once again, challenged in their perception of Medinat Yisrael. A great number of Jews today believe that Israel is just another country, a political entity and nothing more. In my view, this is a continuation of the meraglim mentality that, according to Chazal, is inextricably connected to Tisha b’Av, the destruction of the two Holy Temples, and the seemingly never-ending period of Galut. In contrast, I believe the proper response to the miracle of Medinat Yisrael can be found in the stirring words of Yehoshua and Kalev, the two true scouts in the midst of the meraglim, who were the sole individuals to recognize the segullah nature of the Land: “They spoke to the entire congregation of the children of Israel, saying, ‘The land we passed through to scout is an exceedingly good land. If Hashem desires us, He will bring us to this land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey.’” (14:7-8) 
 
May the time come soon, and in our day, when, like Yehoshua and Kalev, our entire people will recognize the segullah qualities of Eretz Yisrael; and may we be zocheh to behold the complete fulfillment of kibbutz galuyot: “Sound the great shofar of our freedom, raise the banner to gather our exiles and gather us together from the four corners of the earth. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who gathers in the dispersed of His people Israel.” (Translation, The Complete ArtScroll Siddur) V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah, Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link: The Rav

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our parasha contains Hashem’s command to Moshe to create the first Sanhedrin (Supreme Court of Jewish Law), to assist him in his juridic responsibilities:

Then Hashem said to Moshe, “Assemble for Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the people’s elders and officers, and you shall take them to the Tent of Meeting, and they shall stand there with You. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will increase the spirit that is upon you and bestow it upon them. Then they will bear the burden of the people with you so that you need not bear it alone.” (Sefer Bamidbar 11:16-17, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
Shortly thereafter, Moshe fulfilled Hashem’s charge: “Moshe went out and told the people what Hashem had said, and he assembled seventy men of the elders of the people and stood them around the Tent.” (11:24)  Hashem, in turn, conferred Moshe’s additional spirit upon them: “Hashem descended in a cloud and spoke to him [Moshe], and He increased some of the spirit (haruach) that was on him and bestowed it on the seventy elders…” (1:25)  This ruach hakodesh immediately enabled them to prophesy: “And when the spirit rested upon them [the 70 elders], they prophesied, but they did not continue.”
 
At this juncture we are met with Eldad and Medad, whose story diverges from the seventy men of the elders of the people: “Now two men remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the second was Medad, and the spirit rested upon them. They were among those written, but they did not go out to the Tent, but prophesied in the camp.” (11:26)  In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105) interpreted the cryptic phrase, “they were among those written,” as “among those chosen for the Sanhedrin.” As such, instead of joining their peers “around the Tent” and vying for a seat in the Sanhedrin, Eldad and Medad remained in the camp, received ruach hakodesh, and began to prophesy.
 
Why did Eldad and Medad elect to remain in the camp? This question is addressed by Rabbi Shimon in Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 17a:

... at the time the Holy One blessed be He said to Moshe, “assemble for Me seventy men of the elders of Israel,” Eldad and Medad said: “We are not fitting for this greatness.” The Holy One blessed be He then said: “Since you have rendered yourselves small [that is, humbled yourselves], I will add greatness to your greatness.” And what greatness did he add to them? All the other prophets [that is, the seventy men of the elders of the people] prophesied and then ceased so doing, they, however, prophesied, continued, and did not stop. (Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 17a, translation and brackets my own)
 
According to Rabbi Shimon, Eldad and Medad did not believe they were worthy of being members of the Sanhedrin; accordingly, Hashem recognized their exceptional anavah (humility) and, like Moshe Rabbeinu, rewarded them with the gift of ongoing prophecy. While the Torah is silent regarding the substance of their prophecy, our Gemara presents three possible answers, in this order:

• Moshe will die and Yehoshua will bring the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. (Anonymous opinion)
• Abba Chanin said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer that they prophesied about the great piles of s’lav (quail) that would soon be found in and around the camp.
• Rav Nachman said: “They were prophesying about the matter of Gog and Magog.” (Sefer Zechariah 14:1-21)

 
These approaches differ both in timeframe and content. Abba Chanin in the name of Rabbi Eliezer focused on the immediate future, wherein the s’lav would be dumped before the lusting people and eventuate in a “makka rabah m’ode—very mighty blow” as punishment for their unfettered hedonism. (11:33)  The anonymous opinion maintained Eldad and Medad prophesied that Yehoshua, rather than Moshe, would lead the people into Eretz Yisrael. In stark contrast to these views, Rav Nachman suggested that Eldad and Medad did not speak about the foreseeable future at all but, instead, gave voice to the violent war and universal upheavals that would precede the coming of Mashiach. On the aggadic level, this plurality of interpretations is an outstanding example of “eilu v’eilu divrei Elokim chayim—these and those are the words of the living G-d,” one of the essential principles of Rabbinic analysis that contributes to the dynamic nature of the Torah.
 
Each of these prophecies reflect the extraordinary level of ruach hakodesh bestowed upon Eldad and Medad. As noted earlier, their divine gift was a spiritual middah k’neged middah (quid pro quo) that resulted from their thoroughgoing humility. As such, they were true students of Moshe Rabbeinu, who is described in our parasha as the master of anavah: “Now this man Moshe was exceedingly humble (anav m’ode), more so than any person on the face of the earth.” (12:3)  I believe this anavah is the key to understanding the radically different ways Moshe and Yehoshua reacted to Eldad’s and Medad’s prophesying:

The lad ran and told Moshe, saying, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!” Yehoshua the son of Nun, Moshe’s servant from his youth, answered and said, “Moshe, my master, imprison them!” Moshe said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? If only all of Hashem’s people were prophets, and Hashem would bestow His spirit upon them!” (11:27-29 with my emendations)
 
The narrative of Eldad and Medad teaches a crucial lesson: Authentic anavah leads to genuine greatness. This idea was given powerful voice by the Ramban (1194-1270) when he declared humility the most valuable middah (behavioral trait) one can cultivate: “When you consistently act with the middah of anavah… the spirit and divine illumination of the Shechinah will rest upon you, and you will [merit] the World to Come.” (Iggeret HaRamban, translation my own)  V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah, Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link: The Rav

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our parasha concludes with the following pasuk:

When Moshe came into the Ohel Moed to speak with Him (l’dabare eto) he would hear the Voice (HaKol) speaking to him from between the two cherubs (me’bain shnai HaK’ruvim) on the ark cover over the Ark of Testimony; He [Hashem] thus spoke to him (vayidabare aluv). (Sefer Bamidbar 7:89, translation, The Living Torah, Rav Aryeh Kaplan zatzal, with my emendations)
 
This verse contains several exegetical challenges: What does the phrase l’dabare eto connote? Why does the Torah write “HaKol--the Voice,” with the definite article, “the?” Why did Hashem speak to Moshe, “me’bain shnai HaK’ruvim,” rather than from a different part of the Ohel Moed? Then, too, what is added by the expression, “vayidabare aluv,” since the beginning of the verse makes it quite clear that it refers to Moshe?
 
Our first question is answered by the Netziv zatzal (Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin, 1816-1893) in his Torah commentary, HaEmek Davar. (Sefer Bamidbar 7:89, s.v. u’v’vo Moshe) He maintained that the expression, “eto,” implies “the two of them [Hashem and Moshe] spoke [directly] to one another.” Moreover, their dialogue focused on “Torah She’Ba’al Peh (Oral Law), wherein Moshe asked [his questions] of the Holy One blessed be He and He responded.” Alternately, the Netziv suggests eto could mean, “Moshe learned through the divine illumination of the holy spirit that went forth from Heaven (b’shefa Ruach HaKodesh min HaShamayim). Both of these interpretations lead the Netziv to suggest, “Moshe’s came to the Ohel Moed on a daily basis[to learn] Torah She’Ba’al Peh [from the Almighty], as it is both boundless and endless.” (Translations my own)  This analysis coincides with the Netziv’s consistent emphasis upon the exceptional import of Torah She’Ba’al Peh.
 
Answers to our second question, “Why does the Torah write “HaKol--the Voice?” were offered by Rashi (1040-1105) and the Sforno (c. 1450-c.1550) in their Torah commentaries on our verse. Rashi writes that “one might have thought that it was a quiet voice; the text, however, states, ‘HaKol,’ the same Voice with which He spoke to him [Moshe] at Sinai,” that Dovid HaMelech describes as powerful and magnificent. (Sefer Tehillim 29:4)  The Sforno also interprets this term as referring to a highly specific voice. He maintains that it was “the very same Voice that he [Moshe] heard prior to the [grievous] actions associated with the Eigel (Golden Calf).” He notes, as well, that this voice was truly unique in the sense that, “it was not present in the first Beit HaMikdash, and all the more so, in the second Beit HaMikdash, as in these cases, a prophet could not go to the Mikdash to prophesize and immediately receive a prophetic vision.” (Translations my own)  While Rashi and the Sforno identify “the Voice” in different ways, both analyses stem from the singularity of Moshe’s prophecy, which was different in kind and degree from that of all other nevi’im.
 
In his Torah commentary, Bat Ayin, the Avritcher Rebbe zatzal (Rav Avraham Dov Baer of Ovruch, Ukraine, d. 1840) directly addresses the question, “Why did Hashem speak to Moshe, “me’bain shnai HaK’ruvim,” rather than from a different part of the Ohel Moed?”

This entire matter is based upon the notion that the indwelling of the Shechinah takes place solely with broken-hearted and people of crushed spirit, as the text states: “Hashem is close to the broken-hearted and He will save the crushed of spirit.” (Sefer Tehillim 34:19) … And this was the level that Moshe Rabbeinu, aluv hashalom, achieved. As such, he merited to receive the Torah, and it is called after his name, as the text says: “Remember the Torah of Moshe My servant.” (Sefer Malachi 3:22)  [Why was this so?] — because he achieved the ultimate level of humility. As the text states: “And the man, Moshe, was exceedingly humble, more so than any other person on the face of the planet.” (Sefer Bamidbar 12:3) … And all our words are hinted at in the text when it states, “…he would hear the Voice (HaKol) speaking to him from between the two cherubs on the ark cover over the Ark of Testimony.” For Moshe was like the shnai K’ruvim [that had faces like young children]… who represented flawless humility. [Therefore, Hashem’s Voice spoke to him from between the K’ruvim whom he emulated on the human level.] (Parashat Behalotecha, s.v. vayitba’er zot, translation and brackets my own)
 
Our final question, “What is added by the expression, ‘vayidabare aluv,’ since the beginning of the verse makes it quite clear that it refers to Moshe?” is explained by Rashi as, “l’ma’ate et Aharon min hadibrot — to exclude Aharon from these words.” This statement is a brief synopsis of a much longer midrashic passage found in Midrash Sifrei Bamidbar 58, wherein Rabbi Yehudah ben Baterah cites “thirteen exclusionary statements [in the Torah] that prevented Aharon from participating in many of the prophetic declarations from Hashem,” one of which is “vayidabare aluv.” In my estimation, Moshe, alone, was vouchsafed these prophecies because of his unequaled status, as illuminated in next week’s parasha:

Hashem descended in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tent. He called to Aharon and Miriam, and they both went out. He said, “Please listen to My words. If there be prophets among you, [I] Hashem will make Myself known to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream. Not so is My servant, Moshe; he is faithful throughout My house. With him I speak mouth to mouth; in a vision and not in riddles, and he beholds the image of Hashem. (Sefer Bamidbar 12:5-8, translation, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with my emendations)
 
On measure, our pasuk bespeaks the true greatness of Moshe Rabbeinu. According to the Netziv, Moshe is Hashem’s dialogical partner in the exploration and understanding of Torah She’Ba’al Peh. For Rashi and the Sforno, he is the sole human being in the post-Har Sinai world capable and worthy of hearing the direct Voice of the Almighty. As we have seen, “With him I [Hashem] speak mouth to mouth; in a vision and not in riddles, and he beholds the image of Hashem.” Then, too, for the Avritcher Rebbe, Moshe emerges as the one person in history with whom Hashem’s Shechinah could always dwell, due to his boundless humility. Little wonder, then, that in the concluding verses of Sefer Nevi’im, Malachi the Prophet urges, “Remember the Torah of Moshe My servant--Zichru Torat Moshe avdi.”
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
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