RABBI DAVID ETENGOFF: PARASHAT HASHAVUAH
  • Blog: Rabbi David Etengoff: Parashat HaShavuah
  • Sefer Bereishit 5782&5783
  • Sefer Shemot 5782&5783
  • Sefer Vayikra 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5782&5783
  • Sefer Devarim 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bereishit 5780& 5781
  • Sefer Shemot 5780&5781
  • Sefer Vayikra 5780&5781
  • Sefer Bamidbar 578&5781
  • Sefer Devarim 578&5781
  • Sefer Bereishit 5778&5779
  • Sefer Shemot 5778&5779
  • Sefer Vayikra 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5778&5779
  • Sefer Devarim 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bereishit 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bereishit 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bereishit 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bereishit 5771&5770
  • Sefer Shemot 5776&5777
  • Sefer Shemot 5774&5775
  • Sefer Shemot 5772&5773
  • Sefer Shemot 5771&5770
  • Sefer Vayikra 5776&5777
  • Sefer Vayikra 5774&5775
  • Sefer Vayikra 5772&5773
  • Sefer Vayikra 5771&5770
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5771&5770
  • Sefer Devarim 5776&5777
  • Sefer Devarim 5774&5775
  • Sefer Devarim 5772&5773
  • Sefer Devarim 5771&5770

4/29/2019

Parashat Acharei Mot 5779, 2019: "Yom Kippur, the Torah and Time"

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Picture
​
 
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.
 
Parashat Acharei Mot, known as the parasha of Yom Kippur, focuses upon the manner of observing this Yom Tov in the Mishkan and Beit HaMikdash. One of the many constitutive elements of a Beit HaMikdash-based Yom Kippur is the mitzvah of the Sa’ir Hamish’talai’ach (the Scapegoat) that plays a crucial role in the day’s kapparah (atonement) process:
 
And the male goat upon which the lot “For Azazel” came up, shall be placed while still alive, before the L-rd, to [initiate] atonement upon it, and to send it away to Azazel, [that is, into the desert]...And Aaron shall lean both of his hands [forcefully] upon the live male goat’s head and confess upon it all the willful transgressions of the children of Israel, all their rebellions, and all their unintentional sins, and he shall place them on the male goat’s head, and send it off to the desert with a man, a prepared individual (ish itti). The male goat shall thus carry upon itself all their sins to a desolate land, and he [the ish itti] shall send off the male goat into the desert. (Sefer Vayikra 16: 10, 21-22, these and all Torah and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, with my emendations, underlining and brackets)
 
The mitzvah of the Sa’ir Hamish’talai’ach, like all Chukim (mitzvot whose rationales currently elude us), contains many mysterious elements that are difficult to understand. One of these is the meaning of the expression, “ish itti,” which may be translated as “a man, a prepared individual.” (See Talmud Bavli, Yoma 66b)  The key word in this phrase is “itti,” a noun similar in kind to “tzaddik” (righteous one) or “chacham” (wise individual). From a grammatical perspective, each of these stands on their own without the word “ish” preceding them; therefore, why does the Torah combine ish and itti in our verse? (Analysis based upon the exegesis of our term by the Torah Temimah and the Malbim.)
 
Our question appears to be the driving force behind a Mishnaic period statement found in Talmud Bavli, Yoma 66a-b: “Our Rabbis taught: [Why does the Torah write] ‘ish’ — To teach us that even a non-kohane [that is, any Jewish male, can fulfill the obligations of the itti.]” (Translation and brackets my own)  In other words, even though the Sa’ir Hamish’talai’ach is central to effectuating kapparah, and a kohane is necessary throughout the remainder of the atonement process, the itti that brings the Scapegoat to the desert wasteland need not be a kohane. Based upon this approach, itti does not modify ish; rather, the word “itti,” itself, is the essential term.
 
In his article entitled, Sacred and Profane, my rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal, known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, understands the expression ish itti in a very different manner. He maintains that it is actually a compound noun wherein itti modifies the word ish and, therefore, connotes the idea of the “man of the moment,” since the Hebrew root letters of itti are ayin followed by taf, and spell the word “time.”
 
In the course of his explication of ish itti, the Rav notes that there were significant contrasts between the Kohane Gadol in the Beit HaMikdash, who offered the S’air la’Shem (male goat to Hashem) as part of the kapparah process, and the ish itti who transported the Sa’ir Hamish’talai’ach to the cliffs of the desert wasteland. The former, like his sacrificial offering on behalf of the entire Jewish people, was a “symbol of tradition and eternity, of qualitative time,” whereas the latter, like the animal under his charge that was removed from the holiness of the Beit HaMikdash, was a mere “man of the moment, symbol of temporality and quantitative time.”
 
In his posthumous work, The L-rd is Righteous in All His Ways, the Rav expands upon the differences between quantitative and qualitative time in a profound manner. He states that for Kant and other philosophers:

...a day is nothing. Time is nothing more than a frame of reference, part of a coordinate system. For them, an event is registered in the context of space as well as time. You locate or localize an event, separate it, and study it. That is all. But there is no essence, no substance to time...It is a number, nothing whatsoever but a number. (Page 210, underlining my own)
 
In stark contrast to the philosophic view of time, the Rav asserts that Judaism views this dimension of existence as a precious entity with potential value unto itself:
​
In Yahadut (Judaism), time is something substantive. It has attributes. There is a “good time,” Yom Tov. There is something called yom kadosh, “holy time.” Indeed, the whole concept of kedushat ha-yom (holiness of the day) is reflective of our approach. It indicates that there is substance to the day that can be filled with sanctity. Days and hours are endowed or saturated with holiness...The day is not just a number. It is a creation in and of itself. (Page 211, parentheses and underlining my own)
 
Based upon the Rav’s analyses of the ish itti, Kohane Gadol and Judaism’s concept of time, we are in a much better position to understand a life choice that we face on Yom Kippur and, perhaps, each and every day. The Torah, I believe, is subtly asking us to choose between engaging in the ephemeral and fleeting life of the ish itti, for which time is a mere number, or, with the Kohane Gadol, as our model, living in a manner that sanctifies and endows life with meaning and the potential of unlimited possibilities. The choice is truly within our grasp, for if we choose to keep Hashem’s Torah, our entire people can ultimately serve Him as “a kingdom of Kohanim and a holy nation.” (Sefer Shemot 19:6)  With the Almighty’s help and our heartfelt 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:rdbe718@gmail.com.
 
*** 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.


Share

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Details

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Author

    Talmid of Rabbi Soloveitchik zatzal

    Categories

    All
    Parashat Hashavuah

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Blog: Rabbi David Etengoff: Parashat HaShavuah
  • Sefer Bereishit 5782&5783
  • Sefer Shemot 5782&5783
  • Sefer Vayikra 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5782&5783
  • Sefer Devarim 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bereishit 5780& 5781
  • Sefer Shemot 5780&5781
  • Sefer Vayikra 5780&5781
  • Sefer Bamidbar 578&5781
  • Sefer Devarim 578&5781
  • Sefer Bereishit 5778&5779
  • Sefer Shemot 5778&5779
  • Sefer Vayikra 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5778&5779
  • Sefer Devarim 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bereishit 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bereishit 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bereishit 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bereishit 5771&5770
  • Sefer Shemot 5776&5777
  • Sefer Shemot 5774&5775
  • Sefer Shemot 5772&5773
  • Sefer Shemot 5771&5770
  • Sefer Vayikra 5776&5777
  • Sefer Vayikra 5774&5775
  • Sefer Vayikra 5772&5773
  • Sefer Vayikra 5771&5770
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5771&5770
  • Sefer Devarim 5776&5777
  • Sefer Devarim 5774&5775
  • Sefer Devarim 5772&5773
  • Sefer Devarim 5771&5770