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5/30/2012

Parashat Naso, 5772, 2012: How to Perform the Mitzvot

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                                 Parashat Naso, 5772, 2012:

                             How to Perform the Mitzvot

                                   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, my sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, and Shifra bat Chaim Alter, and the refuah shlaimah of Yosef Shmuel ben Miriam, Yehonatan Binyamin Halevy ben Golda Friedel, and Moshe Reuven ben Chaya.

Our parasha is the source for one of the most dramatic and stirring acts in the entire Tefilah (Prayer) experience: Birkat Kohanim (the Blessing of the Kohanim):

The L-rd spoke to Moses saying:

Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: This is how you shall bless the children of Israel, saying to them:

“May the L-rd bless you and watch over you.
May the L-rd cause His countenance to shine to you and favor you.
May the L-rd raise His countenance toward you and grant you peace.”
They shall bestow My Name upon the children of Israel, so that I will bless them. (Sefer Bamidbar 6:22-27, translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)

Chazal (Our Sages of blessed memory) were sensitive to every nuance of language that appears throughout the Tanach (the Hebrew Canon of Scripture). The verse “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: This is how you shall bless the children of Israel, saying to them,” offers a telling example of our Sages insightful analysis of the phrase “saying to them” (“amore lahem”). They note that the word “amore” (“saying”) is spelled in its complete grammatical form (maleh, with the Hebrew letter “vav”), rather than in the more usual form (chaser, without the Hebrew letter “vav”). Midrash Tanachuma (Buber) Parashat Naso section 18 finds deep and abiding significance in this seemingly minor grammatical change:

[Amore] is spelled maleh in the phrase “amore lahem”(“speak to them,” i.e. to the Kohanim). The reason why you [the Kohanim] should bless the Jewish people is not merely because I [G-d] have told you to do so [as if this act was some kind of onerous chore.] Therefore, you should not bless them as if you were forced to do so (Hebrew-Greek b’angaria) and in a rapid [unthinking and automatic] fashion. Instead, you [the Kohanim] should bless them [the Jewish people] with complete intention (b’kavanat halev) in order that the blessing should totally encompass them (she’tishlot habracha bahem). This is why the Torah writes: “amore lahem” [in the maleh form].

Rashi (1040-1105), the Prince of Torah Commentators, summarized the above source in the following manner: “The word ‘amore’ is written in its full form [i.e., with a “vav”], indicating that they should not bless them hastily or in a hurried manner, but with concentration and with wholeheartedness.” (Translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)

I believe that an essential aspect of our relationship with Hashem and His Torah, as well as with our fellow man, may be readily derived from the Midrash’s and Rashi’s analysis of the phrase “amore lahem.” In addition, it appears to me that Chazal’s statement speaks to our ethical and moral behaviors in the broadest possible terms. Moreover, it seems to me that the deeply kavanah-filled manner in which the Kohanim are told to approach blessing the nation, serves as a “binyan av” (a “general rule”) for all of our mitzvot-based actions.

To illustrate the above idea, let us briefly focus on one of the most difficult to fulfill of all commandments, kibud av v’ame (honor your father and mother). The following well-known vignette depicts the true extent of this mitzvah’s obligation:

R. Eliezer [himself] was asked: To what extent is honoring one's father and mother to be practiced? He answered: Go forth and see how a certain idolater of Ashkelon, Dama the son of Nathina by name, acted towards his father. He was once approached about selling precious stones for the ephod [one of the High Priest’s unique garments]. at a profit of six hundred thousand [denarii] (R. Kahana's version is eight hundred thousand); but the keys were lying under his father's head-pillow, so he would not disturb him! … In a subsequent year a 'red heifer' was born in his herd, and some of the Sages of Israel called on him. Said he to them: From what I know of you [I am aware] that if I were to demand of you all the money in the world, you would give it to me, but all I ask of you now is that money that I had lost because of my father! (Talmud Bavli, Masechet Avodah Zarah 23b-24a, translation, Soncino Talmud with my emendations for readability. Compare the original source in Talmud Bavli, Kiddushin 31a )

Chazal’s inclusion of this story in no less than two places in the Talmud speaks volumes. Just as we saw in the passage from the Midrash Tanchuma, our Sages were trying to teach us a derech hachaim, a pragmatic approach to fulfilling the Torah. Clearly, if the non-Jew, Dama the son of Nathina, who was not commanded to observe this precept, could act with such pure respect for his father, all the more so are we obligated to do so. Let us analyze exactly what Dama did. It is crucial to note that he did not get angry, frustrated or react in any negative way whatsoever – even though he potentially could have lost a major fortune. He was driven by the obligation of honoring his father; that was his prime imperative. He did not act as if this was a burden. Most importantly, this was not a dry formalistic obligation in his mind. Instead, his most heartfelt desire was to fulfill this responsibility in the most holistic possible sense - both in regard to its content and intent. He was successful and, therefore, achieved greatness. Then, too, since he conquered his passion for immediate financial gain, he was rewarded with the birth of a Parah Adumah (Red Heifer) and the ability to sell it for the same price that he would have received for the precious stones for the ephod.

In reality, whether we are Kohanim about to publicly bless the Jewish people, or we are standing privately by our parent’s bedside, the manner in which we are obligated to fulfill the mitzvot is the same. We must invest every mitzvah gesture with every fiber of our being. We must make certain that the action we are about to undertake represents the highest standards of which we are capable. We must strive to invest each commandment with the full potential inherent therein. As such, a mitzvah must never become a burden, or something to be done “in a hurried manner.” Instead, as the Midrash and Rashi teach us, each mitzvah act should be viewed as a unique and meaningful opportunity to serve Hashem “with concentration and with wholeheartedness.” With G-d’s help, may we be zocheh (merit) to achieve this level of Torah observance. 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 rdbe718@gmail.com.

My audio shiurim on Tefilah and Haskafah may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/7sp5vt3

*** I have recently 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.

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2 Comments
How to Find Volume link
5/23/2013 07:36:04 pm

Nice article as for me. It would be great to read something more concerning this theme.It seems to be a great fun, I am love in this kind of entertainment.

Reply
Moishela
12/28/2014 09:43:01 pm

BS”D
Discussion with Moishela (with his family)
A Handicapped child 5775 #3
20 Kislev 5775 (Dec 11, ‘14)

(from: http://ladaat.info/showgil.aspx?par=20141227&gil=1713)

“Why Are We Living”

Time is moving on and we are definitely getting very close to the Geula Shelaima. I think every true Jew, whether he is close to Hashem or a bit farther away, feels now is the time that the world is going to change completely. The Frum, the believing Jew will feel a kind of closeness to Hashem that he never felt before, even though every morning when he gets up he can feel a strange and frightening foreboding of what’s going to be in the future.

The Jew that is not so close to Hashem will also feel the fear and he will start thinking what this life is about. What do I have? What are my goals? What does it matter if I go to a football game or not? What does it matter if I get the job exactly that I want or get into the right university just right for me? What does it matter? What really matters in this life? All the entertainment? All the social life? What is life all about? Why are we living? Is it just one big accident, Chas Vesholom, an accident that brought us into life against our will to suffer, Chas Vesholom? The fear of what’s coming in the near future together with the suffering that we are already going through, are bringing some people, some Jews to question, at least to stop for a moment from their partying to ask what is this about, why is this happening.

These questions are not usually asked here in Eretz Yisroel because we are used here in Eretz Yisroel to go through many crisis and then the crisis disappears and we continue going on. Of course a certain amount of people are killed Shelo Naida and so on and so forth, but the ones that are left are the great majority and they can continue on with the life that they left, the life of enjoyment, of entertainment, of flying off to Europe, to Thailand, to who knows where, and enjoying themselves. As for the Frum we continue with our grand Bar Mitzvas and weddings and our own type of social entertainment. We continue with our restaurants, of course the most kosher, and all our entertainments with the best Hechsherim, our non-Tzniusdik dress with the best Hechsherim, and so on and so forth. Now however many people feel inside that we are not going to come out of this frightening projection of future events so easily. It’s not just going to pass.

There is going to be a tremendous change in the world, a tremendous change that will in the end destroy much of the world, and therefore there are those, that are starting to feel great fear, have bad dreams, unnerving dreams and wake up very many times with a choking feeling with a fear that grabs a person and makes it difficult to breathe, a fear that makes a person want to jump up out of bed and feel alive again and this is all from the fear and the spiritual pressure of the world that is about to explode, a world that is about to change completely. This world of ours is going to disappear the way it is now, and we must change also, so that we can survive the greatest change since the creation of the world. All the dire predictions that are being made for the near future should be taken seriously if we want to be part of what’s going to be, be part of the Geula Shelaima, and a much more spiritual life. We have to become close to Hashem. We have to do Hashem’s will. We have to be Yidden the way we are supposed to be.

We must! We must do Hashem’s will completely in every aspect, to bend ourselves completely to Hashem, to His Ratzon. Otherwise we will never be able to go into the new world of Moshiach Tzidkainu.

I’ve many times spoken to you again and again on the subject, and maybe you are tired of hearing this even though I’ve tried saying it in a different way each time to make you understand better and better. I will try again anyway. I will try to make you understand that this is a great year. This year is a great and frightening year. This year is when many things will change in the greatest way. The wars have already begun. Blood is flowing freely. We are not even impressed anymore when the barbarians cut people’s heads off, but we are terribly disturbed or will be terribly disturbed when we won’t be able to get a kosher hamburger or coca cola or just plain food. We will be terribly disturbed when we see great cities falling, destroyed together with their population, Shelo Naida, all disappearing.

We will be greatly disturbed to say the least. How will we be able to overcome our feelings? How will we be able to get through all of this because even if we don’t actually see this happening next to us it will be such a shock when we know so many people in those places and even if we don’t know them still it will be a shock. It will be a terrible shock. I don’t think that any generation before ours since the Creati

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