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, 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.


Remember (Zachor) the Sabbath day to sanctify it. (Sefer Shemot 20:8)

Keep (Shamor) the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the L-rd your G-d commanded you. (Sefer Devarim 5:12, these and all Bible and Rashi translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)

The Aseret Hadibrot (Ten Commandments) are stated twice in the Torah. The first instance is in Sefer Shemot, Parashat Yitro, and the second is in our parasha. While there are a number of relatively minor differences between these formulations, there is one textually substantive disparity that has been the focal point of countless analyses by our Sages, namely, the verses referring to Shabbat. As cited above, our Torah portion states, “Keep (Shamor) the Sabbath day to sanctify it...” whereas the verse in Sefer Shemot reads, “Remember (Zachor) the Sabbath day to sanctify it.” This raises an obvious question. If our parasha’s statement of the Aseret Hadibrot is supposed to be a recapitulation of that which initially appeared in Sefer Shemot, how is it possible to have such radically divergent Shabbat-based texts? In other words, how can both texts be accurate and authentic if they entail two very different commandments and outcomes?

One of the earliest sources to address our question is the Mechilta d’Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai on Sefer Shemot (20:8). According to scholarly consensus, this work is from the school of Rabbi Akiba (executed in 135 CE):

[The words,] zachor and shamor were said [simultaneously] regarding the same matter [i.e. Shabbat] – something that is impossible for the mouth to pronounce or for the ear to hear. Therefore the text states, “G-d spoke all these words…” (Sefer Shemot 20:1) and in addition, “G-d spoke one thing, I heard two…” (Sefer Tehillim 62:12, brackets my own)

This approach focuses upon the miraculous nature of Hashem’s single utterance that was comprised of two separate and distinct words, namely, “shamor” and “zachor.” It has been repeated multiple times throughout Rabbinic literature, in the Midrashim and the Talmud Yerushalmi and Bavli. Little wonder, then, that Rashi (1040-1105) utilized it twice in his glosses on our two initial verses:

Remember: Heb. זָכוֹר [The words] “remember (זָכוֹר)” and “keep (שָׁמוֹר)” (Sefer Devarim 5:12) were pronounced with one utterance… This [occurrence of G-d saying two phrases simultaneously in one utterance] is the meaning of what is said: “G-d spoke one thing, I heard two” (Sefer Tehillim 62:12)

Keep [the Sabbath day]: But in the first set [of Ten Commandments] (in Sefer Shemot 20) it says: “Remember [the Sabbath day]!” The explanation is: Both of them (“Remember” and “Keep”) were spoken simultaneously as one word and were heard simultaneously.

500 years later, the Mechilta d’Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s interpretation became permanently imprinted in the Jewish psyche through “Lecha Dodi,” the universally recited liturgical poem of the renowned 16th century Kabbalist, Rabbi Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz of Safed, Israel: “Keep” and “Remember” – in a single utterance the One and Only G-d made us hear.” (Translation, Artscroll Hebrew/English Siddur, page 317, with my emendations)

Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar (1696-1743), known as the “Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh (the holy one)” after the name of his famous work of Torah exegesis, offers a strikingly unique, and even radical, interpretation as to why the Torah utilized the terms “zachor” and “shamor.” In fact, his approach is so iconoclastic that it would probably be labeled heretical by the standards of our time:

It is possible that in reality Hashem only stated “zachor” [and never actually said “shamor” in Parashat Vaetchanan]. [If this is the case, however,] one term [namely, “shamor,”] may be derived from its cognate term [i.e. “zachor’] for those who have deep and abiding understanding [of the Torah]. As a result of Hashem having stated “zachor,” we should have the intention that it should be understood (literally, “remembered”) in such a manner as to enable ourselves to apply our total cognitive abilities (literally, “knowledge”) regarding the term in order to avoid any capricious understanding. The resultant outcome you will then be able to achieve (literally “learn) is that Hashem also commanded that which is found afterwards [i.e. “shamor” within the word “zachor” that was actually stated]. This, then, was Moshe’s explanation regarding when he said “shamor,” namely, that it is included in the word “zachor.” Note: All that I have written is written purely on the theoretical level (b’derech efshar). (Sefer Ohr HaChaim on Sefer Devarim 5:12, translation, underlining, bolding, brackets and parentheses my own)

Allow me to explicate the two main points of the Ohr HaChaim’s avowedly theoretical interpretation:

1.     It is possible that Hashem never actually said, “shamor.” Instead, it is to be understood as an extension of “zachor,” even though it remains a mitzvah in its own right.

2.     Moshe said the word “shamor,” as found in our parasha, to teach us that it is incorporated in “zachor.”

In my estimation, the Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh did not just teach a lesson regarding hypothetical parshanut (Torah analysis); instead, he bravely pushed the accepted boundaries of conventional wisdom in his relentless search for Torat emet (the truth of the Torah). In doing so, he embodied the oft-quoted and well-known words of Chazal (our Sages of blessed memory), “Shivim panim l’Torah” (there are 70 different ways to analyze the Torah).

With Hashem’s help, may we also pursue Torat emet, and ever grow in our love and understanding of His holy Torah. Moreover, may each of us be zocheh (merit) to fulfill the sacred words of the second bracha (blessing) of the daily Birchot HaTorah (Torah blessings):

Please, Hashem, our G-d, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouth and in the mouth of Your people, the family of Israel. May we and our offspring and the offspring of Your people, the House of Israel – all of us – know Your Name and study Your Torah for its own sake.  (Translation, Artscroll Hebrew/English Siddur, page 17)

V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org

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. They are available here: http://tinyurl.com/82pgvfn.

**Follow new postings on my Twitter accounts: @theRavZatzal and @Torahtech613.

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, 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 haftarah, “Chazon Yeshayahu” (“the Vision of Isaiah”), like our parasha, always precedes Tisha b’Av (the Ninth of Av). Yeshayahu’s main message is one of poignant despair in response to the appalling actions of our eighth century B.C. ancestors. Indeed, Isaiah goes so far as to declare:

An ox knows his owner and a donkey his master's crib; Israel does not know, my people does not consider. Woe to a sinful nation, a people heavy with iniquity, evildoing seed, corrupt children. They forsook the L-rd; they provoked the Holy One of Israel; they drew backwards. (Sefer Yeshayahu 1:3-4, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach )

In Yeshayahu’s view, our ancestors were even lower than beasts of burden, for they had forgotten their very Master, the Creator of the Universe. Indeed, one would be hard pressed to find a more dire and foreboding prophecy.

The final verses of our haftarah, however, evoke an entirely different theme. Herein, Yeshayahu declares that the ultimate future of our people will be built upon morally upright judges and counselors. As a result, Jerusalem will once again become the faithful city of righteousness:

And I will restore your judges as at first and your counselors as in the beginning; afterwards you shall be called City of Righteousness, Faithful City. Zion shall be redeemed through justice and those who return in repentance through righteousness. (1:26-27, with my emendations) 

The sentence, “Zion shall be redeemed through justice and those who return in repentance through righteousness,” certainly brings us much needed solace, since it promises, “yeish tikva l’am Yisrael” (“there is hope for the Jewish people”). At this point we might well ask: “How can we turn these idealistic words into practical reality?” I believe that the best means we have is to fulfill the commandment, v’halachta b’drachov (emulating Hashem’s actions, i.e. imitatio Dei). In my estimation, this mitzvah enables us to achieve authentic rapprochement with our Creator, something for which our souls so deeply long.

What are the constitutive elements of this mitzvah? The Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) formulated these in the following manner:

We are commanded to walk in these intermediate paths - and they are good and straight paths - as [Sefer Devarim 28:9] states: “And you shall walk in His ways.” [Our Sages] taught [the following] interpretation of this mitzvah: Just as He is called “Gracious,” you shall be gracious; Just as He is called “Merciful,” you shall be merciful; Just as He is called “Holy,” you shall be holy; In a similar manner, the prophets called G-d by other titles: “Slow to anger,” “Abundant in kindness,” “Righteous,” “Just,” “Perfect,” “Almighty,” “Powerful,” and the like. [They did so] to inform us that these are good and just paths. A person is obligated to accustom himself to these paths and [to try to] resemble Him to the extent of his ability. (Sefer Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Deot 1:5-6, translation, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger, with my emendations)

Thus, as Maimonides so clearly reveals, the Torah, the Sages and our overall massorah (tradition) place a remarkable emphasis upon our emulating the actions of the Master of the Universe. In sum, what Hashem does, we must become. As such, we are obligated to be gracious, merciful, holy, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, righteous and just. These ethical traits, and the moral actions that stem therefrom, thereby emerge as the hallmarks of the authentic Jewish persona.

May it be Hashem’s will and our fervent desire that both as a nation, and as individuals, we will fulfill the mitzvah of v’halachta b’drachov, and thereby witness the ultimate fulfillment of Yeshayahu’s stirring words: “Zion shall be redeemed through justice and those who return in repentance through righteousness.” 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

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. They are available here: http://tinyurl.com/82pgvfn.

**Follow new postings on my Twitter accounts: @theRavZatzal and @Torahtech613.

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, 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 Three Weeks preceding Tisha b’Av (the Ninth of Av) are preeminently a period of national mourning. We mourn for the loss of the Beit Hamikdash (the Holy Temple), we mourn for the loss of the Land of Israel, and we mourn the deaths of countless Jews who were slaughtered al Kiddush Hashem (as martyrs) throughout the millennia.
 
Given the pronounced emphasis on national mourning, there is another element of the Three Weeks that is far too often overlooked, namely, the introspective nature of this time. In my view, the Three Weeks are the ideal period to look into the mirror of our souls and reflect upon where we have been, where we are, and where we may be going. Then, too, we should examine our thoughts and actions, and measure them against the bar of judgment of unflinching and uncompromising truth. In sum, this is the time to prepare ourselves to become better than who we are today, in order to live more spiritual and authentic lives.

One way we can begin our introspective journey is to focus upon two well-known passages in the Talmud Bavli:

R. Johanan said in the name of R. Simeon b. Jehozadak: By a majority vote, it was resolved in the upper chambers of the house of Nithza in Lydda
 that in every [other] law of the Torah if a man is commanded: ‘Transgress and do not suffer death’ he may transgress and not suffer death, with the exceptions of idolatry, forbidden physical relations and murder. (Sanhedrin 74a, translation, The Soncino Talmud with my emendations)

The first Holy Temple, why was it destroyed? This took place because of three different things that had become part of its being: idol worship, illicit physical relations and murder... The second Holy Temple wherein they were involved with Torah study, mitzvot observance, and acts of loving kindness, why was it destroyed? It was because of groundless and baseless hatred (sinat chinam). This comes to teach us that baseless hatred is the equivalent of the three cardinal prohibitions of idol worship, illicit physical relations and murder. (Yoma 9b, translation my own)

Sinat chinam clearly emerges from these two Talmudic sections as the moral equivalent of idol worship, forbidden relations and murder. While at first blush it appears to be the sole cause of the destruction of the second Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple), it is more likely that it was the makeh b’patish (metaphorically, “the last straw”) in a long series of prohibitions that our ancestors violated at this time. No matter how we view it, however, sinat chinam represents the potential for consummate evil that lurks in the hearts of men.

Rav Avraham Yitzhak Hakohen Kook zatzal (1865-1935), the first Chief Rabbi of Palestine under the British Mandate, famously suggested the antidote for sinat chinam: “If we were destroyed, and the world was destroyed with us, due to baseless hatred - sinat chinam, we must return to rebuild ourselves, and the world with us, with love without cause - ahavat chinam…” (Orot HaKodesh vol. III, p. 324, translation, http://ravkooktorah.org/TISHA-AV-70.htm, with my emendations) Not too surprisingly, Rav Kook’s writings are filled with singular love for the entire the Jewish people – past, present and future. One powerful example is found in his work, Shemonah Kevatzim:

Listen to me, my people! I speak to you from my soul, from within my innermost soul. I call out to you from the living connection by which I am bound to all of you, and by which all of you are bound to me. I feel this more deeply than any other feeling: that only you — all of you, all of your souls, throughout all of your generations — you alone are the meaning of my life. In you I live. In the aggregation of all of you, my life has that content that is called ‘life.’ Without you, I have nothing. All hopes, all aspirations, all purpose in life, all that I find inside myself — these are only when I am with you. I need to connect with all of your souls. I must love you with a boundless love....  Each one of you, each individual soul from the aggregation of all of you, is a great spark from the torch of infinite light, which enlightens my existence. You give meaning to life and work, to Torah and prayer, to song and hope. It is through the conduit of your being that I sense everything and love everything.

(Vol. I, sec. 163, translation, http://ravkooktorah.org/TISHA-AV-70.htm, underlining my own)

Significantly, Rav Kook did not limit his love for his fellow Jews to a unique group of people who honored his scholarship and personally followed his high ethical values and moral behavior. Instead, he unhesitatingly embraced “all of you, all of your souls, throughout all of your generations.” Indeed, it was only through the grand trans-historical community of Kenneset Yisrael, the Jewish people for all time, that Rav Kook was able to find “the meaning of my life.” Little wonder, then, that so much of his life was spent sharing his ultimate message: “I must love you [the Jewish people] with a boundless love.”

With Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may this period of the Three Weeks be transformed into the Three Weeks of Introspection for each of us. In that way, may we boldly follow Rav Kook’s lead by rejecting sinat chinam, and once again become “k’ish echad b’lav echad” (“like one person with one heart,” Rashi, commentary to Sefer Shemot 19:2) V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org

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. They are available here: http://tinyurl.com/82pgvfn.


**Follow new postings on my Twitter accounts: @theRavZatzal and @Torahtech613.

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, 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.

There are many poignant passages in the Chumash (Torah). Perhaps one of the saddest of all appears in this week’s parasha, in which Moshe was told that he was irrevocably banned from entering Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel):

The L-rd said to Moses, “Go up to this mount Abarim and look at the land that I have given to the children of Israel. And when you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother was gathered. Because you disobeyed My command in the desert of Zin when the congregation quarreled, [when you were] to sanctify Me through the water before their eyes; these were the waters of dispute at Kadesh, in the desert of Zin.” (Sefer Bamidbar 27:12-14, this and all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, underlining my own)

 Rashi (1040-1105), in his comment on the phrase, “these were the waters of dispute at Kadesh, in the desert of Zin,” notes: “these [waters] alone; they [Moses and Aaron] had no other sin to their name.” In other words, the sole reason why Moshe was denied entry into Eretz Yisrael was because he had struck, rather than spoken to the rock, thereby diminishing the magnitude of Hashem’s miracle. (Sefer Bamidbar 20:8, 11) Tragically, this sin was sufficient reason to permanently bar his entry into the Promised Land.

Moshe’s one aspiration at this juncture in his life was to follow the footsteps of Avraham Avinu (our father, Avraham) and see the plains, valleys and mountains of Eretz Yisrael. Surely most people would react with utmost misery if their life’s dream was suddenly shattered, echoing David Hamelech’s (King David’s) famous cry: “My G-d, my G-d, why have You forsaken me? [You are] far from my salvation [and] from the words of my moaning. My G-d, I call out by day and You do not reply...” (Sefer Tehillim 22:2-3)

Moshe, however, was different in kind and degree from most of mankind. Instead of focusing upon his own feelings of loss and despair, his sole concern was the future of the Jewish people:

Moses spoke to the L-rd, saying: ‘Let the L-rd, the G-d of spirits of all flesh, 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 the L-rd will not be like sheep without a shepherd.’” (Sefer Bamidbar 27:1-17, underlining my own)

In truth, we are incredulous at Moshe’s selflessness and single-minded dedication to the Jewish people at this time of crushing personal sorrow. Yet, in order to guard the future of the Jewish people and guarantee we would one day become a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Sefer Shemot 19:6), Moshe felt it was crucial for the torch of Torah leadership to be passed to a wise, capable and discerning leader. As Rashi explains, “[Here we can readily see that Moshe embodies] the virtues of the righteous, for when they are about to depart from the world, they disregard their own needs and occupy themselves with the needs of the community.” (27:15, brackets my own)


Hashem, in turn, immediately acceded to Moshe’s heartfelt request:

The L-rd said to Moses, “Take for yourself Joshua the son of Nun, a man of spirit, and you shall lay your hand upon him [i.e. invest him with your glory]. And you shall present him before Eleazar the Kohen 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. (Sefer Bamidbar 27:18-20)

Yehoshua was the perfect leader to follow Moshe Rabbeinu (our teacher Moshe). The Torah bears witness to his assiduous Torah learning: “Then the L-rd would speak to Moses face to face, as a man would speak to his companion, and he would return to the camp, but his attendant, Joshua, the son of Nun, a lad, would not depart from the tent.” (Sefer Shemot 33:11, underlining my own) Therefore, even though our Sages teach us that Yehoshua was like the moon to Moshe’s sun (Talmud Bavli, Baba Batra 75a), his spiritual greatness was nonetheless manifest to one and all. Here, then, was the next generation’s G-d-intoxicated man to lead the Jewish people to Eretz Yisrael, and continue the grand historical march toward the fulfillment of our nation’s ultimate mission.

With Hashem’s help, may we be zocheh (merit) to witness biat hamashiach (the coming of the Messiah), who will lead us in the rebuilding of the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) and the ingathering of the exiles. May we all bask in the glow of his authentic Torah leadership, and 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

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. They are available here: http://tinyurl.com/82pgvfn.

**Follow new postings on my Twitter accounts: @theRavZatzal and @Torahtech613.