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, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, the Kedoshim of Har Nof and Pittsburgh, and the refuah shlaimah of Yakir Ephraim ben Rachel Devorah, Mordechai ben Miriam Tovah, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The first three words of our parasha present a significant interpretative challenge. The phrase, “Im bechuchotai taleichu,” could readily be translated as: “If you will walk after (or follow) My chukim.” According to this approach, “chukim” refers to those commandments whose reasons remain unknown. This class of mitzvot is most often contrasted with mishpatim, commandments whose rationale can be logically deduced. The difference between these two categories is clearly presented in the following well-known Talmudic passage:

Our Rabbis taught: “You should perform my mishpatim” (Sefer Vayikra 18:4). These are matters that were they not actually written [by G-d] it is logical that they would have been. These are some examples: the prohibitions of idol worship, illicit sexual behavior, murder, stealing, and cursing Hashem. “… and you should guard my chukim” [Ibid.] These are matters wherein the Satan [Rashi, yetzer harah, the “evil inclination”] attempts to disprove their validity and veracity. These are some examples: the prohibitions of eating pig flesh, wearing garments comprised of a mixture of linen and wool threads, the act of relieving a brother-in-law of his obligation to marry his widowed sister-in-law (chalitzah), the ritual purification of the individual afflicted with tzarat, and the scapegoat rite [of Yom Kippur]. [Since you cannot understand them] perhaps you will say that they are completely worthless and devoid of meaning! Therefore the Torah states [ibid.]: “I am the L-rd your G-d.” I am He who has decreed it [i.e. the chukim] and you do not have permission to question them. (Talmud Bavli, Yoma 67b, translation, my own)
 
Rashi (1040-1105) takes a different approach, however, and does not translate bechuchotai as referring to chukim and the fulfillment of the Torah’s precepts even when their rationale is elusive. Instead, he explains our term as a synonym for intense involvement in Torah study:

If you follow My statutes I might think that this refers to the fulfillment of the commandments. However, when Scripture says, “and observe My commandments,” the fulfillment of the commandments is [already] stated. Therefore, what is the meaning of “If you follow My statutes [chukim]?” It means that you must toil in the study of Torah (Commentary on the Torah, Sefer Vayikra 26:3, this and all Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, with my emendations)

Rashi’s deviation from our above-cited Talmudic passage is based upon Midrash Torat Kohanim 26:3:

“If you follow My statutes (chukim)” — I would have thought that this refers to the mitzvot. This, however, is the case when the Torah writes: “…and My mitzvot you will keep and perform them” — this is, indeed, referring to the mitzvot. [If so,] how do I fulfill “If you follow My statutes (chukim)?” — this refers to intense involvement in Torah study (amalim ba’Torah). (Translation and emphasis my own)
 
At first glance, it appears strange that the Midrash would interpret the word chukim in this manner.  The Malbim (Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yechiel Michel, 1809-1879) notes, however, that our Sages explained the term in this manner on a number of occasions. By way of illustration:

Our Sages, however, explained the term “chukim” many times as referring to Torah study. This is noted in the Midrashim. [This explanation of our term] is based upon the numerous Torah laws and interpretations that result from the standard rules of exegesis and grammar, and upon the explanatory principles [such as Rabbi Yishmael's 13 hermeneutic principles] that are as authoritative [literally “fixed”] as the statutes pertaining to the heavens and the earth [i.e., the Laws of Nature] that Hashem established in His world. (Commentary on the Torah, Sefer Vayikra 26:3, subsection 2, translation my own)
 
In the Malbim’s estimation, this connotation of the term “chukim” is “based upon the standard rules of exegesis and grammar, and upon the explanatory principles.” Rashi’s interpretation of chukim as referring to intense involvement in Torah study is, therefore, congruent with the midrashic analysis of this term.

Based upon our passages from Midrash Torat Kohanim, Rashi and the Malbim, we are in a much better position to understand one of the key elements for rebuilding and strengthening our relationship with Hashem. May our dedication to depth-level Torah study send a glimmer of light to penetrate the spiritual darkness that so often surrounds our souls, and envelopes our time. With the Almighty’s help and our heartfelt desire, may each of us renew our commitment to the study of His holy Torah and thereby encounter Him anew, and relieve our finest moment at Mount Sinai. V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom

Dear Chevra,
A number of people have asked to dedicate one or more drashot in honor of a life-cycle simcha, refuah shlaimah, or in memory of a loved-one. In the future, these dedications will appear immediately following the drasha.
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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 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 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.

 
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, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Chana bat Shmuel, Peretz ben Chaim, the Kedoshim of Har Nof and Pittsburgh, and the refuah shlaimah of Yakir Ephraim ben Rachel Devorah, Mordechai ben Miriam Tovah, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our parasha begins with the following famous words: “And the L-rd spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying.” (Sefer Vayikra 25:1, this and all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  They are immediately followed by a pasuk (verse) focusing on the mitzvah of Shemittah (the Sabbatical Year of the Land) that has captured the attention of midrashim and meforshim (commentators) throughout the ages: “Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them: When you come to the land that I am giving you, the land shall rest a Sabbath to the L-rd.”  In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105) cites the Midrash Torat Kohanim on this verse and asks the following famous question: “What [special relevance] does the subject of Shemittah have with Mount Sinai? Were not all the commandments stated from Sinai?” His answer, drawn from the same source, teaches us an overarching concept inherent in the transmission of the Torah from Hashem to Moshe: “[This teaches us that] just as with Shemittah, wherein its general principles and finer details were stated at Sinai, likewise, all of them [the mitzvot] were stated — their general principles [together with] their finer details — at Sinai.”
 
In his work of Torah exegesis, Me’ain Beit Hashoavah, Rabbi Shimon Schwab zatzal (1908-1995) takes issue with the Torat Kohanim’s answer, and asserts that “it would have been quite possible to have referenced any other mitzvah in its connection to Mount Sinai in order to teach this selfsame idea.” (Parashat Behar, s.v. behar Sinai, number one, this and the following translations and brackets my own)  In other words, the Midrash  does not teach us why Shemittah was specifically singled out regarding the Revelation, rather than another mitzvah.  Rav Schwab proceeds to address this problem and, in so doing, provides us with a trenchant teirutz (response) to his kashah (objection) that illuminates the inherent import of Shemittah and the divine nature of the entire Torah:

And it seems that Shemittah is different in kind and degree [from other mitzvot], since the very essence of the commandment teaches us that it must have been commanded on Mount Sinai — and that it is [incontrovertibly] Torah min hashamayim (Torah from Heaven).   
 
Next, Rav Schwab provides us with the conceptual underpinning as to why Shemittah definitionally represents Torah min hashamayim:

Perhaps one might think that the commandments of the Torah were invented by the Sages of the Jewish people and were based upon their own intellectual efforts — just as those who deny the G-d-given nature of the Torah mistakenly believe. Yet, were that to be true, there would never have been a commandment such as Shemittah in the Torah! This is the case, since man’s intellect naturally withdraws from the very idea of this mitzvah...for [from a purely logical perspective,] the Sages never would have decreed that all fields and vineyards should simultaneously lay fallow during the same year — as this would naturally cause a famine in the Land, and bring about a financial crisis!
 
At this juncture, Rav Schwab further explains why Shemittah, and Shemittah alone, was singled out by the Torah:
​
Based upon the above, [we have a better insight as to why] the Torah specifically emphasizes Shemittah and its connection to Mount Sinai, rather than any other of the Taryag Mitzvot (613 Commandments), namely, this particular mitzvah has the seal of Mount Sinai imprinted upon it. As such, everyone must admit that it represents the words of Hashem from Heaven itself — since [it is counterintuitive to man’s basic needs, and, therefore,] it is virtually impossible that it was invented as a result of man’s intellect. [Now we can understand why our Sages said,] “Just like Shemittah was stated at Mount Sinai with all its general principles and finer details, so, too, were all the other mitzvot.”
 
In Rav Schwab’s estimation, Shemittah emerges as the proof case of the divine nature of the Torah. In addition, its pivotal status informs our understanding of all of the mitzvot, for each of them were revealed by Hashem to Moshe, in all their glorious “general principles and finer details,” at Mount Sinai. As a result, each time we perform a mitzvah, we recognize that it is divrei Elokim emet — the authentic words of the Almighty, and that we, like our ancestors before us, are responding to and communicating with the Voice that ever emanates from Mount Sinai. May this always be so, 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 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 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.

 
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, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, the Kedoshim of Har Nof and Pittsburgh, and the refuah shlaimah of Yakir Ephraim ben Rachel Devorah, Mordechai ben Miriam Tovah, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
One of the most prominent segments of our parasha is known as Parashat HaMoadim (Section of the Festivals). Its 44 pasukim (verses) comprise the 23rd chapter of Sefer Vayikra and serve as an encyclopedic presentation of the biblically-based Moadim (Festivals). It begins exactly as we would expect: “And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: The L-rd's appointed [holy days] that you shall designate as holy occasions. These are My appointed [holy days]’” (23:1-2, this and all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  Following the words, “these are my appointed [holy days],” we would naturally anticipate a listing and exposition of the Moadim ─ beginning with Pesach and concluding with Succot. Yet, the next verse almost inexplicably refers to 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.” (23:3) This, in turn, is followed by the introduction to the Festivals that we originally expected: “These are the L-rd's appointed [holy days], holy occasions, which you [i.e. the Sanhedrin] shall designate in their appointed time.” (23:4)
 
Rashi, based upon several Midrashic passages, notes the anomalous nature of the inclusion of Shabbat in the midst of the Moadim and asks: “Why does the Sabbath [designated by G-d,] appear here amidst the Festivals [designated by man, the Sanhedrin?]” (23:3) His answer is a classic example of Rabbinic analysis: “To teach you that whoever desecrates the Festivals is considered [to have transgressed as severely] as if he has desecrated the Sabbath, and that whoever fulfills the Festivals is considered as if he has fulfilled the Sabbath [and his reward is as great].” As such, in Rashi’s view, the placement of Shabbat at the outset of our chapter is meant to convey the singular import of the Moadim by noting their close equivalence to Shabbat.
 
Rabbi Nissan Alpert zatzal (1928-1986) was one of the great roshei yeshivah of Yeshivat Rabbi Yitzhak Elhanan, and perhaps the most celebrated student of Rav Moshe Feinstein zatzal (1895-1986). In his posthumous work of Torah analysis entitled Limudei Nissan, Rav Alpert presents a deep insight regarding the connection between Shabbat and the Moadim that informs our understanding of Rashi’s gloss:

[The reason why Shabbat appears before the festivals] is to emphasize that it is the mother of all the Moadim, 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 Moadim. 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 Moadim. 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)
 
Rav Alpert teaches us four important lessons regarding the special connection that obtains between Shabbat and the Moadim:

1. Shabbat is stated before the festivals because it is the “mother” of the Moadim.
2. The holiness of the Moadim extendsdirectly from the holiness of Shabbat.
3. Just as Hashem consecrates the Shabbat, the Jewish people are given the power and permission to sanctify the festivals.
4. The purpose of the Moadim 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.

 
A parallel approach toward solving our problem was offered by the leading 14th century Talmudist and posek (halachic decisor), Rabbi Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin, known as the Maharil (1365-1427). He offers a beautiful kabbalistically-infused explanation as to why Shabbat precedes the Torah’s discussion of the Moadim:
​
We find in the Zohar (Emor 95:1): “Shabbat is called “kodesh” (“holy”) but not “mikra kodesh” (“holy occasion”). Yom Tov (a festival day), however, is called a mikra kodesh [by the Torah].” [Yet,] there is a contradiction here! It states in Parashat Emor: “[For] six days, work may be performed, but on the seventh day, it is a complete rest day, a holy occasion (mikra kodesh); you shall not perform any work. It is a Sabbath to the L-rd in all your dwelling places” ─ Shabbat is also called a “mikra kodesh!” This seeming contradiction, however, can be explained in the manner that we have already written: Yom Tov receives [kedushah, holiness] from Shabbat. This means that within Shabbat there is an aspect of Yom Tov to enable Shabbat’s [kedushah] to positively flow into Yom Tov… Now we understand why Shabbat is called “mikra kodesh” ─ in order to allow Shabbat’s [kedushah] to flow into and affect the Festivals. (Likutei Maharil, Sefer Devarim, Parashat Vayelech, s.v. v’nireh li, translation and brackets my own)
 
In my estimation, the Maharil’s answer to our question is the most spiritually edifying of all. He teaches us that the Yom Tovim, though consecrated by man, are nonetheless infused by kedushat Shabbat (the holiness of Shabbat). Therefore, each festival day has the potential to draw us closer to our Creator so that we may experience the sanctity of Shabbat on yet another level. With Hashem’s help, may we be zocheh (merit) to feel G-d’s presence every Shabbat, every Yom Tov, and every day of our lives. 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 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 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.

 
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, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, the Kedoshim of Har Nof and Pittsburgh, and the refuah shlaimah of Yakir Ephraim ben Rachel Devorah, Mordechai ben Miriam Tovah, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
One of the most celebrated mitzvot of our parasha is “v’ahavta l’reicha kamocha” — “and you shall love your fellow Jew like yourself.” (Sefer Vayikra 19:18)  Rashi (1040-1105), citing the Midrash Sifra to Sefer Vayikra, notes: “Rabbi Akiva said: ‘This is an all embracing principle of the Torah.’” (19:45, translation my own)  Perhaps it is Rabbi Akiva’s unparalleled intellectual stature, or his heroic gesture of teaching Torah to his students during the height of the Hadrianic persecutions (130’s CE), that caused his words to become part of the moral fabric of the Jewish nation. Either way, whenever we think of our personal responsibility towards one another, the Torah’s verse, and Rabbi Akiva’s expression, are writ large in the collective consciousness of our people.
 
Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 31a, is one of the best-known sources in Rabbinic literature wherein we find a restatement and implicit discussion of the phrase, “v’ahavta l’reicha kamocha:”

On another occasion it happened that a certain non-Jew came before Shammai and said to him, “Make me a convert, on the condition that you teach me the entire Torah while I stand on one foot.” Thereupon he repulsed him with the builder’s staff which was in his hand. When he went before Hillel, he converted him and said to him, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor: that is the entire Torah, while the rest is commentary; [now] go and learn it.” (Translation, The Soncino Talmud with my emendations)
 
 
In his commentary on the Torah, Kli Yakar, Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim ben Aaron Luntschitz (1550 –1619), maintains that the Talmud’s phrase, “what is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor,” is a reformulation and, in some ways, an interpretation of “v’ahavta l’reicha kamocha.” In addition, Rav Luntschitz carefully examines the interaction between Hillel and the would-be convert, and, in so doing, reveals the underlying intent of the latter’s famous words, “teach me the entire Torah while I stand on one foot.”
 
According to Rav Luntschitz, the non-Jew who came before both Shammai and Hillel was no prankster or joker — even though Shammai apparently viewed him as such. Instead, and this is apparently how Hillel perceived him, the aspiring convert was a potential ger tzedek, a truly righteous individual, who deeply desired to accept the Master of the Universe and His Torah, live according to His mitzvot and join the ranks of our people. As Rav Luntschitz suggests: “[The potential ger tzedek] absolutely wanted [the essence] of all of the Torah’s mitzvot presented to him in such a manner that they would have one [unifying] principle, and this is what he actually meant by the words “on one foot.”  (This and the following translation and brackets my own)  At this juncture,  Rav Luntschitz analyzes the ger tzedek’s ultimate purpose in making his request:
​
As a result of this [“on one foot” notion,] he would be able to understand all of the mitzvot [with particular emphasis upon the proper ethical behaviors that the Torah commands between man and his fellow man]. He desired this so that he would never forget [the meaning of the mitzvot,] since this would be all too easy for a convert who had not studied anything whatsoever regarding the commandments during his youth...Thus, his intention [when he deployed the unusual phrase, “teach me the entire Torah while I stand on one foot,”] was for [Hillel] to teach him something that could be said quickly and was comprised of few words. This, then, would be the fundamental concept of the Torah, and “the one foot” that he needed; for as a result of this idea, he would be able to remember [and understand] all of Hashem’s mitzvot.   
 
In Rav Luntschitz’s estimation, the ger tzedek was driven by the highest religious ardor to appear before Hillel in order to understand the authentic meaning of the mitzvot, and ever remember their paramount importance.  In many ways, therefore, he serves as an ideal role model for us all, since, far too often, we become overwhelmed by the challenges of daily living and forget that the Torah and mitzvot should appear to us as holy gifts from the Almighty. The ger tzedek helps us refocus our priorities, so that we may redouble our energies and create a vibrant, dynamic and spiritually-infused relationship with the Master of the Universe. With His help, and our fervent desire, may this be so. 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 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 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.