Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chaim Mordechai Hakohen ben Natan Yitzchak, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, HaRav Yosef Shemuel ben HaRav Reuven Aharon, David ben Elazar Yehoshua, the refuah shlaimah of Devorah bat Chana, and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our parasha presents shalom (peace) as one of the greatest rewards that we will receive when we live lives dedicated to Hashem’s holy Torah: “And I will grant peace in the Land, and you will lie down with no one to frighten [you] … and no army will pass through your land.” (Sefer Vayikra 26:6, this and all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) Significantly, this statement is preceded by these pasukim (verses):
If you follow My statutes and observe My commandments and perform them, I will give your rains in their time, the Land will yield its produce, and the tree of the field will give forth its fruit. Your threshing will last until the vintage, and the vintage will last until the sowing; you will eat your food to satiety, and you will live in security in your land. (26:3-5)
 
In a very real sense, this passage serves as a preamble to our pasuk, with its focus upon the promise of a robust physical existence in our Promised Land. As such, it emphasizes ample rain, bountiful produce, abundant fruit, vast quantities of grain, great amounts of wine and “food to satiety.” At the same time, however, the phrase, “and you will live in security in your land,” seems to be almost an afterthought. Therefore, the Torah utilizes our pasuk, “And I will grant peace in the Land, and you will lie down with no one to frighten [you] … and no army will pass through your land,” to underscore the importance of peace in our land. Rashi (1040-1105), basing himself on both the Talmud and Midrash, expands upon this idea in the following fashion:
 
And I will grant peace: You might say, “Here is food, and here is drink, but if there is no peace, there is nothing!” Scripture, therefore, states, after all this [blessing], “I will grant peace in the Land.” From here, [we learn] that peace is equal to everything else. And so, [too, this is illustrated in our morning prayers,] when we say: “[Blessed are You, O L-rd…] Who… makes peace and creates everything” [a paraphrase of the verse] (Sefer Yeshiyahu 45:7).
 
In a word, Rashi is teaching us that all the bounty of the world is as naught without shalom, since “it is equal to everything else.” Little wonder, then, that the word, “shalom” is found over a dozen times in the Five Books of the Torah, and many hundreds of times in the words of our Sages.
 
One of the clearest sources within Rabbinic literature that speaks of the ultimate import of shalom is found in the Rambam’s (Maimonides, 1135-1204) Mishneh Torah:

If [a person has the opportunity to fulfill only one of two mitzvot,] lighting a lamp for one's home [i.e., Sabbath candles] or lighting a Chanukah lamp - or, alternatively, lighting a lamp for one’s home or reciting kiddush [over wine] - the lamp for one’s home receives priority, since it generates peace within the home (shalom bayto).
 
Herein, given its overarching significance, shalom bayit trumps both the lighting of the Chanukah candles and the recitation of Kiddush that ideally should be said over a glass of wine. Maimonides’ straightforward halachic presentation, however, does not complete his discussion of shalom. Instead, and quite uncharacteristically, he poetically praises the singular significance of peace:

[Peace is of primary importance, as reflected by the mitzvah requiring] G-d’s name to be blotted out to create peace between a husband and his wife [in the Sotah rite]. Peace is great, for the entire Torah was given to bring about peace within the world, as [Sefer Mishle 3:17] states: “Its ways [i.e. the Torah’s] are pleasant ways and all its paths are peace.” (Sefer Zemanim, Hilchot Megillah v’Chanukah, 4:14, translation, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger, underlining my own)
 
Long ago, Iyov declared, “He [G-d] makes peace in His heights.” (Sefer Iyov 25:2) At some point and time, our Sages added to Iyov’s statement until we have the present-day closing words of many recitations of the Kaddish: “[May] He Who makes peace in His heights, may He, in His compassion, make peace upon us, and upon all the Jewish people.” (Translation, The Artscroll Siddur, with my emendations) Today, in the shadow of the Holocaust, and in the midst of an explosion of nearly universal vitriolic anti-Semitic diatribe, we long for Hashem’s compassion and mercy, and the fulfillment of this prayer, and our pasuk, “And I will grant peace in the Land, and you will lie down with no one to frighten [you] … and no army will pass through your land.” May this time come soon and in our days. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom,
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on YUTorah.org using the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].

*** My audio shiurim for Women on “Tefilah: Haskafah and Analysis,” 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.
 

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chaim Mordechai Hakohen ben Natan Yitzchak, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, HaRav Yosef Shemuel ben HaRav Reuven Aharon, David ben Elazar Yehoshua, the refuah shlaimah of Devorah bat Chana, and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Sefer Vayikra is the sole book in the Tanach wherein the phrase “v’yarata m’elokecha” (“and you shall fear your G-d”) is found. It appears three times in Parashat Behar and twice in Parashat Kedoshim:

1) You shall not curse a deaf person. You shall not place a stumbling block before a blind person, and you shall fear your G-d. I am the L-rd. (19:14)
2) You shall rise before a venerable person and you shall respect the elderly, and you shall fear your G-d. I am the L-rd. (19:32)
3) And you shall not wrong, one man his fellow Jew, and you shall fear your G-d, for I am the L-rd, your G-d. (25:17)
4) You shall not take from him interest or increase, and you shall fear your G-d, and let your brother live with you. (25:36)
5) You shall not work him with rigor, and you shall fear your G-d. (25:33, these and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, underlining my own)
 
Our five verses refer respectively to: the prohibition of purposely misleading someone to your own financial advantage (lifnei ivare), the obligation to rise before and treat the elderly with respect (mipnei saivah takum), the injunction against vexing your fellow Jew through painful words (ona’at devarim), the ban against charging interest to a fellow Jew (rivet) and the sanction against mistreating a Jewish slave by forcing he or she to perform worthless and unpleasant work (avodah b’farech). At first glance, these mitzvot seem to be conceptually distant and disconnected from one another. Yet, Rashi (1040-1105), basing himself upon the Sifra, the halachic Midrash to Sefer Vayikra, teaches us that the use of v’yarata m’elokecha inextricably links these pasukim (verses) one to another:

and you shall fear your G-d: [Why is this mentioned here?] Because this matter [of misadvising someone] is not discernible by people, whether this person had good or evil intentions, and he can avoid [being recriminated by his victim afterwards] by saying, “I meant well!” Therefore, concerning this, it says, “and you shall fear your G-d,” Who knows your thoughts! Likewise, concerning anything known to the one who does it, but to which no one else is privy, Scripture says, “and you shall fear your G-d.” (Commentary to Sefer Vayikra 19:14, underlining my own)
 
Let us briefly review the salient points in Rashi’s gloss:

1. Each of the actions referenced in our pasukim are not “discernible by people,” i.e. the actions are essentially hidden from others.
2. Therefore, the underlying intentions inherent in these behaviors remain unknown to observers. As a result, only the active party knows the truth as to whether or not they were performed for the benefit of others or to their detriment.
3. Nothing is hidden from the Almighty – including our very thoughts. As such, one must be continuously in awe of the Master of the Universe and meticulous in his/her mitzvot observance.

 
The great Chasidic rebbe, Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (1847-1905), known as the “Sefat Emet” after the name of his commentary on the Torah, analyzes and expands upon Rashi’s analysis of v’yarata m’elokecha in the following manner:

It is obvious that through fear [of G-d] one is able to properly fulfill those matters that are not discernible by others. [What is less evident,] however, is that these mitzvot which are solely contingent upon one’s private intentions, will, through their proper performance, enable one to acquire fear [of the Almighty]. This is the case, since when each mitzvah is fulfilled, it alters a person’s actions in a positive fashion. As such, these mitzvot that are contingent upon a person’s innermost thoughts, [when performed correctly,] will repair [any negativity that lurks] in the mind of the one [who performs such a commandment]. So, too, did I hear from my teacher and rebbe [Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, 1798-1866, known as the “Chidushei HaRim,”] zatzal, on the verse, “And you shall not wrong, one man his fellow Jew, and you shall fear your G-d, for I am the L-rd, your G-d.” (Sefer Vayikra 25:17) As he noted, through punctiliously refraining from vexing one’s fellow Jew, one will merit [the acquisition of the characteristic of] fear before the Almighty… (Translation and brackets my own)
 
In many important ways, the Sefat Emet’s explication of Rashi’s commentary on our phrase parallel’s the words of the Rambam (Moses Maimonides, 1135-1204) in The Guide for the Perplexed:

This purpose to which I have drawn your attention is the purpose of all the actions prescribed by the Law [i.e. the Torah]. For it is by all the particulars of the actions and through their repetition that some excellent men obtain such training that they achieve human perfection, so that they fear, and are in dread and in awe of, G-d, may He be exalted, and know Who it is that is with them and as a result act subsequently as they ought to… I refer to the fear of Him, may He be exalted, and the awe before His command. It [i.e. the Torah] says: “If you do not observe to fulfill all the words of this Torah, which are written in this scroll, to fear this glorious and awesome name, the L-rd, your G-d.” (Sefer Devarim 28:58) Consider how it is explicitly stated for your benefit that the intention of all the words of this Law is one end, namely, in order that you will fear the Name. The fact that this end is achieved through actions, you can learn from its dictum in this verse: “If you do not observe to fulfill all the words of this Torah…” For it has already been made clear that this refers to actions prescribed by commandments and prohibitions… fear is achieved by means of all actions prescribed by the Law, as we have explained. (Moses Maimonides, The Guide for the Perplexed, III:52, translation, Shlomo Pines, pages 629-630, brackets and underlining my own)
 
In sum, for both the Rambam and the Sefat Emet, mitzvot actions lead to the acquisition of the spiritual and behavioral quality of yirat Hashem. The Ibn Ezra (1089-1167) notes that the word “nora” (“awesome”) precedes David Hamelch’s famous statement, “The beginning of Torah knowledge is yirat Hashem…” (Sefer Tehillim 111:10). Therefore, he suggests that one may legitimately translate yirat Hashem as “awe,” as well as “fear,” of Hashem. As such, may it be His will and our fervent desire that our authentic and heartfelt fulfillment of Hashem’s commandments will lead us to view Him in awe, and bring us closer to His holy Torah. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on YUTorah.org using the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].

*** My audio shiurim for Women on “Tefilah: Haskafah and Analysis,” 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.
 

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chaim Mordechai Hakohen ben Natan Yitzchak, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, HaRav Yosef Shemuel ben HaRav Reuven Aharon, David ben Elazar Yehoshua, the refuah shlaimah of Devorah bat Chana, and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
One of the most unusual textual juxtapositions in our parasha occurs at the onset of the Torah’s discussion of the Mo’adim (the Festivals, Sefer Vayikra, chapter 23). The first two verses state:

And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: ‘[These are] the L-rd's appointed [holy days] that you shall designate as holy occasions. These are My appointed [holy days].’” (These and all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
Since the Jewish people are commanded to designate certain specific days as holy occasions (mikra’ei kodesh), one would naturally expect the following verse to speak about one of the festivals, such as Passover or Succot. The very next pasuk (verse), however, focuses upon Shabbat: “[For] six days, work may be performed, but on the seventh day, it is a complete rest day, a holy occasion; you shall not perform any work. It is a Sabbath to the L-rd in all your dwelling places.” On the surface, this pasuk certainly seems to be out of place. After all, G-d, not man, sanctifies Shabbat, as we find in a very famous passage in Parashat Bereishit:

Now the heavens and the earth were completed and all their host. And G-d completed on the seventh day His work that He did, and He abstained on the seventh day from all His work that He did. And G-d blessed the seventh day and He hallowed it, for thereon He abstained from all His work that G-d created to do. (2:1-3, underlining my own)
 
Not too surprisingly, a number of Torah commentators have addressed this exegetical problem. Rashi (1040-1105), based upon the Sifra, the halachic Midrash to Sefer Vayikra, explains the placement of Shabbat at the beginning of the presentation of the Mo’adim in the following fashion:

Why does the Sabbath [designated by G-d,] appear here amidst the festivals? To teach you that whoever desecrates the festivals is considered [to have transgressed as severely] as if he had desecrated the Sabbath, and that whoever fulfills the festivals is considered as if he has fulfilled the Sabbath, [and his reward is as great].
 
In sum, Rashi presents the classic opinion that, in some very significant ways, the Mo’adim are equivalent to Shabbat, even though it is man, rather than G-d, who designates the actual calendrical dates of the mikra’ei kodesh.
 
Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky zatzal (1891-1986) takes a different approach than that of Rashi in his response to “Why does the Sabbath appear amidst the festivals?” His answer is at one and the same time sociological and spiritual in nature:

It appears to me that all nations and ethnicities have their different festivals and appointed times. Given that this is the case, in order to prevent us from erring and thinking that our festivals are no different in kind or degree from those of the other nations of the world, the Torah begins with the notion that without the Shabbat there would be no importance whatsoever to the Mo’adim. The reason for this is eminently clear – for without the declaration of the holiness of Shabbat [by Hashem], no holiness would inhere in the Mo’adim. (Emet l’Yaakov, Parashat Emor 23:2, translation and brackets my own)
 
Thus, for Rav Kamenetsky, the holiness of Shabbat imbues the Mo’adim with their singular status and holiness. True, the Jewish people declare the dates for the onset of the mikra’ei kodesh; yet, their kedushah (holiness) ultimately derives from the Shabbat itself.
 
Rabbi Nissan Alpert zatzal (1928-1986) was one of the great roshei yeshivah of Yeshivat Rabbi Yitzhak Elhanan and one of the greatest students of Rav Moshe Feinstein zatzal (1895-1986). In his posthumously published work of Torah analysis entitled Limudei Nissan, Rav Alpert presented an independent examination of Shabbat’s connection to the Mo’adim that at once parallels and expands upon Rav Kamenetsky’s conceptualization:

[The reason why Shabbat appears in the midst of the festivals] is to emphasize that it is the mother of all the Mo’adim, and the holiness of these [appointed] times flows from Shabbat. By way of explanation, this means that it is possible to extend the holiness of Shabbat to the other Mo’adim. It is as if Hashem said, “I have sanctified the Shabbat, now, I give you [the Jewish people] the power and the permission to consecrate the rest of the appointed times.” Moreover, just as it is the purpose of the Shabbat to cease from the creative activities of the workweek through complete and total [spiritual] relaxation in order to draw near to Hashem, so, too, this should be our orientation on the other yamim tovim. In other words, our actions and behaviors on these days should be aimed at strengthening our faith and trust in Hashem. (Parashat Emor, page 50, s.v. v’nireh li, translation and brackets my own)

Let us briefly review the far-reaching themes in Rav Alpert’s compelling answer to our question:

1. Shabbat appears in the midst of the festivals because it is the “mother” of the Mo’adim.
2. The holiness of the mikra’ei kodesh flows directly from Shabbat.
3. Just as Hashem consecrates the Shabbat, we, too, are given the power and permission to sanctify the festivals.
4. The purpose of the Mo’adim is similar in kind to that of Shabbat, namely, we should utilize the holy moments of both the Shabbat and the festivals to strengthen our faith and trust in the Master of the Universe.

With Hashem’s never-ending beneficence, may we be zocheh (merit) to draw closer to Him each and every Shabbat and Yom Tov as we rededicate ourselves to the holy task of strengthening our faith and trust in Him. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on YUTorah.org using the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].

*** My audio shiurim for Women on “Tefilah: Haskafah and Analysis,” 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.
 

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chaim Mordechai Hakohen ben Natan Yitzchak, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, HaRav Yosef Shemuel ben HaRav Reuven Aharon, David ben Elazar Yehoshua, the refuah shlaimah of Devorah bat Chana, and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Rabbi Chiya, in Midrash Vayikra Rabbah 24:5, teaches us that our parasha was taught to the entire nation (b’hakhal) “since the majority of the Torah’s fundamental principles may be found therein.”  In contrast, Rabbi Levi suggests a different reason as to why Parashat Kedoshim was stated b’hakhal, “Because the Aseret Hadibrot (The Ten Utterances) are contained therein.” He proves his contention by quoting verses in our parasha that correspond to the Aseret Hadibrot as found in Sefer Shemot, Parashat Yitro, chapter 20. One telling example will suffice: Sefer Shemot 20:2 contains the mitzvah of believing in the existence of Hashem: “Anochi Hashem Elokecha” (“I am the L-rd your G-d”). Our parasha has the very similar phrase of “Ani Hashem Elokechem” (Sefer Vayikra 19:2, “I am the L-rd your G-d”). The Midrash presents this parallelism on a commandment-by-commandment basis. While there are substantive grammatical and hence, exegetical differences between these two formulations, there is little doubt that this is a recapitulation of the Decalogue.
 
The repetition of these commandments in our parasha led the famous Spanish Bible commentator, Rabbi Yitzchak ben Yehuda Abravanel (1437-1508), known as “the Abarbanel,” to ask the following question:
What induced the Blessed One [G-d] to command Moshe to speak to the entire assemblage of the Jewish people and motivate them (vayazhiram) regarding the Aseret Hadibrot? They had already heard them at Mount Sinai and they were written on the Tablets of the Law. Moreover, they already knew them. [Therefore,] what was the purpose of their repetition?
 
His two-part answer is quite fascinating:

It is proper that the Holy One commanded Moshe to gather the entire assemblage of the Jewish people together, motivate them regarding all of these commandments, and remind them of the Ten Utterances and the essence of the commandments, since all of this was preparation for the enactment of the covenant [into which they entered] as found at the end of this sefer, in Parashat Bechukotai.
 
Next, the Abarbanel notes the difference in presentation of the Aseret Hadibrot in our parasha from that in Parashat Yitro. This difference allows him to analyze the fundamental purpose of mitzvot observance:

The order of the Aseret Hadibrot in our parasha is different than that found in Parashat Yitro. This was to explain to them [the Jews who heard our parasha in full assembly] that the Ten Utterances and the essential principles of the Torah are not to be followed because of the inherent logic found therein - as based upon the apprehension of our intellect. Rather, [they are to be followed] because the Holy One Blessed be He commanded us to walk in His ways (lelechet b’drachov) and to cleave to Him (u’ldavkah bo). [Moreover, we are duty bound to do] all that is good and perfect – not because of any other reason or logical conclusion [but rather, simply because G-d commanded us to do so].
 
At this juncture, the Abarbanel asks a deeply insightful question regarding our parasha: “Why then, does the Torah write “Kedoshim t’hihyu?” (“You should be holy…?”) His answer reveals a penetrating and holistic understanding of the Torah: “One ought not to think that kedoshim t’hihyu refers solely to forbidden physical relations [as its juxtaposition to the presentation of these laws, as found at the conclusion of the preceding parasha, Parashat Acharei Mot, might seem to indicate]. Instead, this phrase refers to each of the [Ten] Utterances. [This means the Jewish people] should be holy and sanctify themselves in all matters…  (Translation, brackets and emphasis my own)
 
In sum, the Abarbanel focuses upon three different ideas in his analysis of the phrase, “kedoshim t’hihyu” and the repetition of the Aseret Hadibrot in our parasha:

1. The repetition of the Aseret Hadibrot prepared the Jewish people to accept the covenant that was subsequently enacted in Parashat Bechukotai.
2. The order of the Aseret Hadibrot differs in our parasha from that found in Parashat Yitro in order to teach us that our intellect is not the arbiter of the efficacy of Hashem’s commandments. Instead, they stand on their own, as guiding lights on our journey toward walking in His ways and cleaving to Him.
3. The phrase “Kedoshim t’hihyu” must be applied in the widest possible sense, since it refers to the entire Torah and our obligation to be sanctified by and through it.

 
The great Chasidic master, Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter (1847-1905), known as the “Sefat Emet” after the title of his monumental work of Torah exegesis, suggests a different reason as to why our parasha was stated before the entire Jewish people:

This comes to hint to us that as a result of unity amongst the Jewish people, we come to merit holiness. This is the meaning of [the verse in Sefer Devarim 23:15] “For the L-rd, your G-d, goes along in the midst of your camp…” [When will this be the case?] If your camp is a singular entity, complete, and united, [then Hashem will go along “in the midst of your camp.”] (Translation my own)
 
For the Sefat Emet, unity among our people (achdut) leads to holiness within our people. Unfortunately, in our generation, achdut is a fleeting goal. As such, we long for the time when we will be, once again, as we were at Mount Sinai when we first heard the Aseret Hadibrot: Am echad, b’lev echad (one people unified in body and innermost spirit). If we can recapture this feeling of love and devotion for our fellow Jews, simply because they are our fellow Jews, then we will once again fulfill the phrase “Kedoshim t’hihyu.” May this time come soon and in our days. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.YUTorah.org using the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email [email protected].

*** My audio shiurim for Women on “Tefilah: Haskafah and Analysis,” 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.
 

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chaim Mordechai Hakohen ben Natan Yitzchak, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, HaRav Yosef Shemuel ben HaRav Reuven Aharon, David ben Elazar Yehoshua, the refuah shlaimah of Devorah bat Chana, and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The prohibition of imbibing blood is one of the well-known mitzvot found in our parasha. (Sefer Vayikra 17:10-11) In this context we find the unusual expression, “v’natati panai,” which is explained by both Onkelos (first century CE) and Rabbeinu Saadia Gaon (882-942) as “I [G-d] will place My anger.” V’natati panai is found one other time in the Torah, namely, in the Tochacha (Sefer Devarim 28:15-68), the admonition to the Jewish people as to what will transpire if we fail to keep Hashem’s mitzvot. Since the expression is used in these two contexts, and the second instance refers to the entire Torah, we may logically deduce that the prohibition against eating blood must be exceptionally important, an idea that is strongly supported by the multiple times the Torah warns against consuming blood (Sefer Bereishit 9:4, Sefer Vayikra 7:26-27, 17:10-11, 19:26 and Sefer Devarim 12:23-24 among others).
 
The Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204), as he often did in matters of this nature, adopted an anthropological/historical explanation as to why the Torah forbade the ingesting of blood:

Know that the Sabians [a group briefly mentioned three times in the Koran] held that blood was most unclean, but in spite of this used to eat of it, deeming that it was the food of the devils and that, consequently, whoever ate it fraternized with the jinn [supernatural creatures in Islamic mythology, and the source for the word, “genie”] so that they came to him and let him know future events – according to what the multitude imagine concerning the jinn… Consequently, as they deemed, these jinn would come to them in dreams, inform them of secret things, and be useful to them… Thereupon the Law [i.e. the Torah], which is perfect in the opinion of those who know it, began to put an end to these inveterate diseases [i.e. practices]. Consequently it prohibited the eating of blood, putting the same emphasis on this prohibition as on the prohibition against idolatry. For, He, may He be exalted, says, I will set My face against that soul that eateth blood, and so on (Lev. 17:10) just as He has said with regard to him who gives of his seed to Molech (cf Lev. 20:4-6): I will even set My face against that soul, and so on. No such text occurs regarding a third commandment other than the prohibition of idolatry and of eating blood. This is so because the eating of blood led to a certain kind of idolatry, namely, to the worship of the jinn. (The Guide of the Perplexed, translation, Shlomo Pines, volume II, III: 46, pages 585-586, brackets my own)
 
In sum, Maimonides presents the prohibition of eating blood as G-d’s strategy for deterring us from adopting an existing avodah zarah-based (idol worshipping) ritualistic behavior.
 
The Ramban (Nachmanides, 1194-1270) on Sefer Vayikra 17:10-11 suggests that the while the Rambam’s presentation is sound (“v’alu devarim miyushavim”), it nonetheless is lacking all manner of textual support (“aval haketuvim lo yoru kane”), i.e. the Torah never mentions the Sabians and their perverse practices in its presentation.  Moreover, he notes that many of the verses that mandate the prohibition of eating blood consistently employ the word, “nefesh” (soul), as seen in the following examples:

For the soul of the flesh is in the blood…
 
For [regarding] the soul of all flesh its blood is in its soul, and I said to the children of Israel: You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the soul of any flesh is its blood; all who eat it shall be cut off.
 
However, be strong not to eat the blood, for the blood is the soul; and you shall not eat the soul with the flesh. (Sefer Vayikra 17:11, 14 and Sefer Devarim 12:23, all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
Nachmanides’ recognition of the Torah’s emphasis of the term, “nefesh,” leads him to a 13th century statement of “you are what you eat,” and to an insightful exploration of the underlying rationale of our mitzvah:

It is further known that what is eaten becomes part of the body of the one who has eaten the food material and they merge into one entity. Therefore, if a person eats the soul of all flesh (i.e. blood), and joins it with his blood, they become united in his being; this results in a thickness and arrogance in the soul of man. Moreover, he will enter (literally, “return”) to a [spiritual] state that is close to the animal soul that has been eaten… and the man’s soul will be combined with the blood of the animal. [This is intimated in the text] that states: “Who knows that the spirit of the children of men is that which ascends on high and the spirit of the beast is that which descends below to the earth?” (Sefer Kohelet 3:21) Therefore it states, “For [regarding] the soul of all flesh its blood is in its soul…” (Sefer Vayikra 17:14) for in all the flesh of both man and the animals – the soul is to be found in the blood. [Moreover,] it is not fitting to mix the soul that has been cut off [that of the animal that has been killed] with the soul that continues to live [that of the man] … And this is the reason why I [Hashem] have said to the Jewish people [not to eat blood], since the blood is the soul – and it is not fitting for a soul to eat another soul [i.e. the blood of an animal]. (Commentary on Sefer Vayikra 17:11-12, translation, underlining and brackets my own)
 
In short, the Ramban’s spiritually oriented explication of our mitzvah focuses upon the following major elements:

• Ingesting blood results in a thickness and arrogance in the soul of a person
• Eating blood will cause a person to enter a spiritual state that is similar in kind to that of the animal he/she has eaten
• It is not fitting to mix the soul that has been cut off [that of the animal that has been killed] with the soul that continues to live [that of the man]

 
Nachmanides’ repudiation of Maimonides’ analysis of our mitzvah is part of a much larger struggle in Jewish philosophy that ultimately became two radically opposing camps, the Maimunists and the Anti-Maimunists. The former advocated on behalf of the Rambam’s rationalistic approach in the Guide to the Perplexed, whereas the latter rejected it in its entirety. My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as the “Rav” by his followers and disciples, persuasively explains why the Anti-Maimunists ultimately held sway in this crucial conceptual controversy:

Judging Maimonides’ undertaking retrospectively, one must admit that the master whose thought shaped Jewish ideology for centuries to come did not succeed in making his interpretation of the commandments prevalent in our world perspective. While we recognize his opinions on more complicated problems such as prophecy, teleology and creation, we completely ignore most of his rational notions regarding the commandments. The reluctance on the part of the Jewish homo religious [religious being] to accept Maimonidean rationalistic ideas is not ascribable to any agnostic tendencies, but to the incontrovertible fact that such explanations neither edify nor inspire the religious consciousness. They are essentially, if not entirely, valueless for the religious interests we have most at heart. (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, The Halakhic Mind: An Essay on Jewish Tradition and Modern Thought, page 92, brackets and underlining my own)
 
In a word, the Rav’s understanding as to why Maimonidean rationalistic explanations of the mitzvot were rejected by the majority of Jewish thinkers asserts that “such explanations neither edify nor inspire the religious consciousness. They are essentially, if not entirely, valueless for the religious interests we have most at heart.” At this juncture we might well ask, “What, then, are the hallmarks of the religious consciousness and the religious interests we have most at heart?” Rav Soloveitchik provides a poetic answer to this question in his analysis of why man ultimately seeks G-d:

Man seeks G-d out of a thirst for the freedom of life, a desire to expand and deepen the universe. The search for G-d means liberation from the burden of tyrannical nature weighing heavily upon him, release from the blind forces besetting man’s life. Weary from the travail of dull life, man flees to the region of complete liberty and conjoins with G-d. Man desires peace of mind and seeks to wipe the tears of sorrow from his face. Out of the totality of spiritual experience that flows from the inner uniqueness and independence of the creative spirit that rises ever higher, the religious experience is revealed. (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, And From There You Shall Seek, translation, Naomi Goldblum, pages 41-42)
 
May we ever be zocheh (merit) to have “a thirst for the freedom of life, [and] a desire to expand and deepen the universe” as we seek Hashem and strive to keep His mitzvot. V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom

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