Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshimof Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Parshiot Yitro and Beha’alotecha contain two versions of Yitro’s departure from klal Yisrael. The first is quite terse: “Moshe saw his father-in-law off, and he went away to his land (va’yalech lo el artzo).” (Sefer Shemot 18:27)  The second, however, is far more expansive:
Then Moshe said to Chovav the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moshe’s father-in-law, “We are traveling to the place about which Hashem said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will be good to you, for Hashem has spoken of good fortune for Israel.” He [Chovav=Yitro] said to him, “I won’t go (lo alech), for I will go (alech) to my land and my birthplace.” He [Moshe] said, “Please don’t leave us, as you are familiar with our encampments in the desert, and you will be our guide. And if you go with us, we will bestow on you the good which Hashem grants us.” (Sefer Bamidbar10:29-32, all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
The Midrash Mechilta on Sefer Shemot provides the backstory regarding what took place when Yitro left Moshe:
And he [Moshe] said to him [Yitro]: “You have given us excellent advice [regarding the establishment of courts throughout klal Yisrael], and the Omnipresent one, Himself, has agreed to your plan, please do not abandon us.” And he [Yitro] responded to him [Moshe]: “Is it not the case that a small lamp will only be of value in a place that is dark? For, after all, this same small lamp will do absolutely nothing if it is placed between the [shining] sun and the [reflecting] moon. You, Moshe are the sun, and Aharon, your brother, is the moon. Therefore, what will the small lamp [that is, what can, I, Yitro,] do in your midst? Rather, behold, I will go to my land, and I will convert all the people in my country, bring them to talmud Torah, and bring them under the wings of the Schechinah…” (Mesechta d’Amalek II, translation and brackets my own)
 
In sum, Yitro felt that he had given his personal best toward the advancement of klal Yisrael, and that the time had come for the luminaries of the Jewish people to fully shine their light upon the people. Moreover, he felt he could make an even greater contribution to advancing Hashem’s glory in the world by converting his nation, and thereby bring them tachat kanfei HaShechinah (under the divine protection of the Master of the Universe). 
 
In his Commentary on the Torah, the Alshich HaKadosh zatzal (Rav Moshe Alshich, 1508-1593) presents a different backstory than the Mechilta. In so doing, he provides an outstanding analysis of the previously cited verse in ourparasha: “I won’t go (lo alech), for I will go (alech) to my land and my birthplace:
Even though Moshe never questioned his [Yitro’s] allegiance to the Torah, Yitro was concerned and said to himself: “Perhaps Moshe questions whether or not this is the end of me and thinks I have loosened my connection to Hashem’s Torah. Or, perhaps he thinks that even though I will remain strong in my emunah (faith), perhaps when I reside once again among the non-Jews, I will return to my [former] gods.” He [Yitro], therefore, set his [Moshe’s] mind at ease (literally, mareh lo hana’ah) and informed him that he would not abandon Hashem. 
 
According to the Alshich HaKadosh, Yitro subtly shared his true intentions with Moshe through the use of the words, “lo alech,” and “alech:”
He said: “lo alech,” This meant, “I [Yitro] am only refraining and holding back from traveling with the Jewish people, and not, G-d forbid, [rejecting] the Torah, [for I remain a ger tzedek].” And regarding the second [potential concern of his son-in-law, Yitro said:] “But rather, only to my land and my birthplace alech (shall I go)—but not to my gods.”  
 
The Alshich HaKadosh brilliantly unpacks the meaning of lo alech and alech and reveals how these seemingly simple words were meant to dispel any conceivable fears Moshe may have had concerning Yitro’s unbreakable connection to the Torah and Hashem.
 
May we, like Yitro, remain ever steadfast in our love of Hashem, and loyal to His holy Torah, wherever we may go. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
*** My audio shiurim 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: The Rav
​

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshimof Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The concluding pasukim of a parasha often serve as a summation of one or more of the subjects contained therein. In his Commentary on the Torah, the Alshich Hakadosh (Rav Moshe Alschich,1508-1593) notes that this approach is not followed in our sidrah, as the final verse is disassociated from all preceding pasukim:

“When Moshe would come into the Tent of Meeting (Ohel Moade) to speak with Him, he would hear the Voice (va’yishma et HaKol) speaking to him from the two cherubim above the covering which was over the Ark of Testimony (Aron HaEidut), and He spoke to him (va’yidabare aluv).” (Sefer Bamidbar 7:89, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach): Behold, this verse does not appear to have any connection to that which comes before or after. 
 
Since this is the case, I would like to borrow a phrase from Rashi’s Commentary on the Torah on Sefer Bereishit 1:1: “ain hamikra hazeh omare elah darshani—this text certainly calls for a thoroughgoing analysis.” The expression, “Ohel Moade,” is used numerous times in Shemot, Vayikra, Bamidbar and Devarim—without a precise definition. As such, its identity is often confused with the Mishkan. This leads the Abarbanel (Rabbi Don Yitzchak ben Yehudah Abarbanel 1437–1508), in his Commentary on the Torah on our pasuk, to clarify this term: “The Ohel Moade is the sanctuary, [and a section within the Mishkan,] where we find the Shulchan, Menorah and the Mizbeach HaKetoret (the altar upon which the incense was offered).” The Kodesh Kedoshim (Holy of Holies) was behind the Ohel Moade, and the area from which Moshe would hear “HaKol speaking to him from the two cherubim above the covering which was over the Aron HaEidut” when he was standing in the Ohel Moade.
 
Hakol refers to the Voice of Hashem that Rashi and most commentators explain as “HaKol sh’nidabare imo b’Sinai—the Voice with which He [Hashem] spoke with him at Mount Sinai.” In his Commentary on the Torah on our verse, the Sforno (Rav Ovadiah ben Ya’akov, c. 1470–c. 1550) explains the unique manner of Moshe’s communications with the Almighty:

“When Moshe would come into the Ohel Moade to speak with Him, he would hear the Voice (va’yishma et HaKol) …” and this did not take place in the first Beit HaMikdash, and certainly not in the second Beit HaMikdash. For no other navi was ever able to walk into the Mikdash to prophesize and immediately obtain his prophecy…
 
The Sforno’s insight is congruent with one of the Rambam’s (Maimonides, 1135-1204) analyses of the matchless nature of nevuat Moshe Rabbeinu as found in his 13 Principles of Faith: 

And the fourth difference is that prophetic visions did not come to any of the [other] prophets according to their will, but only according to the will of Hashem … Moshe, our teacher, however, [could receive prophecy] at any time he so desired. [This is clearly illustrated in Sefer Bamidbar 9:8:] “Wait and I will hear what Hashem commands for you…” (Perush HaMishnayot, Sanhedrin 10, Principle Seven, Rabbi David Kapach Hebrew translation of the Arabic, English translation my own)
 
The final words of our pasuk, “and He spoke to him (va’yidabare aluv),” are understood by Rashi as Hashem speaking exclusively to Moshe in such a manner as “to exclude Aharon from the divine statements.” A very different and daring approach, however, is offered by Rabbeinu Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (1255–1340) in his Commentary on the Torah on our pasuk:

It is possible to explain, “va’yidabare aluv,” as “and Moshe spoke to Him.” This comes to teach us the greatness of Moshe in contrast to all other prophets, for he was neither reluctant nor frightened to respond directly to the Almighty. As we find in the verse: “Then Hashem would speak to Moshe face to face (panim el panim), as a man would speak to his companion…” (Sefer Shemot 33:11), for it is the manner of a person who is speaking to their friend for one to speak and one to answer. So, too, does it state in our verse, HaKol would speak to Moshe from the two cherubim above the covering which was over the Aron HaEidut, and he [Moshe] would then speak to Hashem at any time he so desired. 
 
In sum, Moshe emerges as the greatest prophet who has ever and will ever live, for he, alone, spoke to Hashem panim el panim, “as a man would speak to his companion,” at any time he so desired. Little wonder, then, that we find in the Yigdal hymn: “In Israel none like Moses arose again…” (Translation, The Complete ArtScroll Siddur, page 14)
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.

Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.

*** My audio shiurim 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: The Rav

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Chazal describe Shavuot as zman matan Torateinu, the time when Hashem gave us His holy Torah. The world-shaping significance of our subsequent acceptance of the Torah (kabbalat haTorah) is given powerful voice in Midrash Tanchuma, Parashat Bereishit I:

And it is taught in a baraita, Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: “Why does it say in [the verses depicting] the Creation of the Universe, day one (yom echad), second day (yom shani), third day (yom shlishi), fourth day (yom revi’i), fifth day (yom chamishi), sixth day (yom hashishi), and what is the reason for the [seemingly superfluous] letter “heh” [in yom hashishi]? [After all,] in all other instances the text only states, yom echad, yom shani and so on. This is coming to teach us that the Holy One blessed be He stated this condition to the entire Universe: ‘If the Jewish people will accept the Torah that is comprised of five books [hinted at by the numerical value of the letter heh =5], then all will be good [that is, all that has been created will continue to exist]. If not, however, I will return everything that exists to its pre-Creation state--tohu vavohu.’” (Translation my own)
 
According to this midrash, the continuation of the Universe was contingent upon the Jewish people accepting the Torah. Little wonder, then, that Chazal consistently emphasize the singular import of Torah study. One of the best-known examples that gives voice to this idea is Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 127a: 

These are the matters that a person does them and enjoys their profits in this world, and nevertheless the principal exists for him for the World-to-Come, and they are: Honoring one’s father and mother, and acts of loving kindness, and bringing peace between a person and another, and Torah study is equal to all of them--v’talmud Torah k’neged kulam. (All Talmud translations, The Koren Talmud Bavli, translation, Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz zatzal)
 
If talmud Torah is k’neged kulam, what is the nature of the relationship between Torah study and other mitzvot? This crucial question is addressed in Talmud Bavli, Kiddushin 40b:

And there already was an incident in which Rabbi Tarfon and the Elders (zekanim) were reclining in the loft of the house of Nit’za, in Lod, when this question was asked of them: Is study greater (talmud gadol) or is action greater (ma’aseh gadol)? Rabbi Tarfon answered and said: Action is greater. Rabbi Akiva answered and said: Study is greater. Everyone answered and said [that is, the consensus was]: Study is greater, but not as an independent value; rather, it is greater, as study leads to action--talmud gadol sh’hatalmud mavi l’yedei ma’aseh.
 
Rashi (1040-1105) interprets the concluding phrase of our passage, “talmud gadol sh’hatalmud mavi l’yedei ma’aseh,” as: “nimtzau shneihem b’yado—both Torah study and action will be within his grasp.” According to this approach, since talmud Torah enables the proper fulfillment of mitzvot actions, it complements ma’aseh. In other words, while Rabbi Tarfon champions the notion ma’aseh gadol, and Rabbi Akiva ostensibly argues and states, “talmud gadol,” they are not actually in disagreement. Instead, both of these Torah giants agree that study is greater, but not as an independent value; rather, it is greater because it leads to action. 
 
In his Chidushei Aggadot on Kiddushin 40b, the Maharal of Prague (Rabbi Yehudah Loew ben Bezalel, 1512 ca-1609) advances our understanding of the ultimate value of mitzvot actions:

Ma’aseh gadol: [This statement of Rabbi Tarfon] means that action is indispensable, whereas the Torah that one learns in order to perform [a particular act] is not as fundamental as the ma’aseh [itself], as the ideal outcome [of Torah study] is the proper fulfillment of [the mitzvot]. This is the case, since man is not exclusively an intellectual entity, for, [only if he was] completely cerebral would his Torah be his very being… therefore, action is the essence [of humankind] … (Translation and brackets my own)
 
According to the Maharal, while talmud Torah is a central part of Jewish living and a powerful component of our intellectual makeup, it is nonetheless insufficient if it does not  lead to mitzvot observance. This is congruent with the well-known axiom in Pirkei Avot: “v’lo hamidrash ikkar elah hama’aseh—Torah study is not the essence, but rather, the deed.” (1:17)
 
With Hashem’s help, may we be zocheh to attain the ideal stated by Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yossi: “V’halomed al manat la’asot—And one who learns in order to do is given the opportunity to learn, teach, observe and do.” (Pirkei Avot 4:5, translation, Rabbi Yosef Marcus). V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** My audio shiurim 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: The Rav
 

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Sefer Vayikra is the only book in the Tanach where we find the expression, “v’yarata m’elokecha,” (“and you shall have awe for your G-d”). 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 have awe for your G-d. I am Hashem. (19:14) 
2) You shall rise before a venerable person and you shall respect the elderly, and you shall have awe for your G-d. I am Hashem. (19:32) 
3) And you shall not wrong, one man his fellow Jew, and you shall have awe for your 
G-d, for I am Hashem, your G-d. (25:17) 
4) You shall not take from him interest or increase, and you shall have awe for your G-d, and let your brother live with you. (25:36) 
5) You shall not work him with rigor, and you shall have awe for 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). Although at first glance, these mitzvot seem to be disconnected, Rashi (1040-1105), basing himself upon the Sifra, the halachic Midrash to Sefer Vayikra, teaches us that v’yarata m’elokecha links these pasukim closely together: 

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 have awe for 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 have awe for your G-d.” (Commentary to Sefer Vayikra 19:14, underlining my own)
 
In sum, Rashi maintains that since each of the actions referenced in our pasukim is indiscernible by people, their underlying intentions remain unknown to observers. Therefore, only the active party knows the truth as to whether or not they were performed for the benefit of others or to their detriment. Nothing, however, 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.
 
In his trenchant analysis of our verses, 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, expands upon Rashi’s gloss with a profound insight into the power of mitzvah actions to engender yirat Hashem:
​
It is obvious that through awe [of G-d] one is able to properly fulfill those matters that are indiscernible 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 awe [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 [the “Chidushei HaRim, 1798-1866] zatzal, on the verse, “And you shall not wrong, one man his fellow Jew, and you shall have awe for your G-d, for I am Hashem, your G-d.” (Sefer Vayikra 25:17) As he noted, through punctiliously refraining from vexing one’s fellow Jew, one will merit [the characteristic of] awe before the Almighty… (Translation and brackets my own)
 
May our heartfelt fulfillment of Hashem’s mitzvot lead us to awe before Him, bringing us ever closer to His holy Torah. V’chane yihi ratzon. 
 
Shabbat Shalom

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

Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.

*** My audio shiurim 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: The Rav
​

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Chapter 23 of our parasha is popularly known as parashat hamoadim. In its introductory verses we find:

And Hashem spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: ‘[These are] Hashem’s appointed [holy days] that you shall designate as holy occasions (mikra’ei kodesh). These are My appointed [holy days].’” (These and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
Based on these pasukim, we would expect that the very next verse should focus on Pesach, the first of the mikra’ei kodesh. This, however, is not the case: “[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 Hashem in all your dwelling places.” On the surface, this pasuk certainly seems to be out of place, since unlike the mo’adim Shabbat is sanctified by Hashem. As we find in a celebrated passage in Parashat Bereishit:

Now the heavens and the earth were completed and all their host. And Elokim 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 Elokim blessed the seventh day, and He hallowed it, for thereon He abstained from all His work that Elokim created to do. (2:1-3, underlining my own)
 
A number of Torah commentators have addressed this 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 this manner:

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 a very significant way, the mo’adim are equivalent to Shabbat, even though it is man, rather than Hashem, who designates their actual calendrical dates.
 
Rabbi Ya’akov Kamenetsky zatzal (1891-1986) takes a different approach in his answer to the question, “Why does the Sabbath appear amidst the festivals?”

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)
 
According to 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 ultimately derives from Shabbat itself.
 
Rabbi Nissan Alpert zatzal (1928-1986) was one of the highly respected 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, Limudei Nissan, Rav Alpert presents an examination of Shabbat’s connection to the mo’adim that at once parallels and expands upon Rav Kamenetsky’s analysis:

[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)
 
Rav Alpert’s response focuses on several major points. He asserts that Shabbat appears in the midst of the festivals because it is the “mother” of the mo’adim. As such, the holiness of the mikra’ei kodesh flows directly from Shabbat and, just as Hashem consecrates Shabbat, we, too, are given the power and permission to sanctify the festivals. Lastly, he explains that the purpose of the mo’adim is similar in kind to that of Shabbat, urging us to utilize the holy moments of both Shabbat and the festivals to strengthen our faith and trust in the Master of the Universe.

May we be zocheh to strengthen our emunah and bitachon in the Almighty as we honor Shabbat and rejoice on the mo’adim. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
*** My audio shiurim 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: The Rav

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Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshimof Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The prohibition of eating blood is one of the best-known mitzvot in Parashat Acharei Mot. In his Commentary on the Torah, on Sefer Vayikra 17:10-11, the Ramban (1194-1270) notes that many of the verses that proscribe the consumption of blood employ the word, “nefesh,” as we see 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)
 
This leads the Ramban (1194-1270) to a deeply insightful analysis of this mitzvah:

… if a person eats the soul of all flesh (that is, blood), and joins it with his blood, they become united in his being; this results in an obdurate nature and arrogance in the soul of man. Moreover, he will enter into 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. Therefore, the text 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. (Commentary on Sefer Vayikra 17:11-12, translation, underlining and brackets my own)
 
The Ramban’s spiritually oriented interpretation of our mitzvah focuses on several 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 untoward to mix the soul that has been cut off with the soul that continues to live.
 
In general, my rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as the “Rav” by his followers and disciples, championed the Ramban’s interpretation of ta’amei HaMitzvot—the “taste” of the mitzvot, such as the one we have discussed, over the Rambam’s (1135-1204) rationalistic and historical explanations, as found in the Moreh HaNavuchim (Guide for the Perplexed). The Rav based this position on, “the incontrovertible fact that such [rationalistic] explanations neither edify nor inspire the religious consciousness.” (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, The Halakhic Mind: An Essay on Jewish Tradition and Modern Thought, page 92)  What, then, are the hallmarks of the religious consciousness? The Rav provides a poetic answer:
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Man seeks God out of a thirst for the freedom of life, a desire to expand and deepen the universe. The search for God 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 God. 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 be zocheh to come ever closer to Hashem. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
*** My audio shiurim 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: The Rav
 

Rabbi David Etengoff
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The first time we are introduced to the mitzvah of brit milah is the 17th chapter of Sefer Bereshit: 

And Hashem said to Abraham, “And you shall keep My covenant, you and your seed after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant, which you shall observe between Me and between you and between your seed after you, that every male among you be circumcised. And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be as the sign of a covenant between Me and between you. And at the age of eight days, every male shall be circumcised to you throughout your generations…” (17:9-12, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
This mitzvah is found once again in the first of our parshiot, Parashat Tazria: “And on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” (Sefer Vayikra 12:3)  This repetition creates a classic exegetical problem: if the Torah gave us this mitzvah in Sefer Bereshit, why is it reiterated in Sefer Vayikra?

An approach to this problem is offered by a rhetorical question found in Talmud Yerushalmi, Moed Katan III:5: “L’maidin davar kodem l’Matan Torah?—Is it possible to learn normative halachic practice from a Torah passage that was stated prior to receiving the Torah?” Tosafot’s use of this question in Talmud Bavli, Moed Katan 20a, s.v. mah chag, strongly suggests that we cannot learn any halachic obligations from Torah portions that preceded Matan Torah. Therefore, in addition to Hashem’s charge to Avraham in Sefer Bereishit, we must have a post-Matan Torah repetition of the mitzvah of brit milah if it is to be a permanent obligation. 

The Rambam zatzal (1135-1204) further elaborates upon the non-binding character of a pre-Matan Torah mitzvah in the first halacha of Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Avel:

It is a positive commandment to mourn the loss of a close relative (krovim). As the text states: “…But [if tragic events] like these had befallen me [Aharon, regarding the deaths of Nadav and Avihu], and if I had eaten a sin offering today, would it have pleased Hashem?” (Sefer Vayikra 10:19)  Aveilut is a Torah obligation only on the first day, that is the day of death and the day of the burial [assuming they are the same]. The rest of the seven days are not a Torah obligation, even though the Torah states [regarding Yosef and Ya’akov]: “… and he made for his father a mourning of seven days.” (Sefer Bereishit 50:10), for once the Torah was given, and the halacha was stated anew, at that point Moshe Rabbeinu established the practice for them [the Jewish people] of seven days of Aveilut and seven days of rejoicing [for the bride and groom]. (Translation and brackets my own)
 
The repetition of mitzvat brit milah post-Matan Torah is an indication of its singular halachic import. As such, what is its meaning? The anonymous author of the Sefer HaChinuch, one of the most celebrated works of mitzvot exploration, suggests that a physical sign is needed to distinguish klal Yisrael from the rest of mankind. In addition, he opines that brit milah symbolically represents the vast spiritual differences that obtain between the Jewish and non-Jewish worlds: 

One root reason for this precept is that the Eternal L-rd, be He blessed, wished to affix in the people that He set apart to be called by His name a permanent sign in their bodies to differentiate them from the other nations in their bodily form, just as they are differentiated in their spiritual form, their very “exits and entrances” [their purpose and way in the world] not being the same. (This and the following quotation, Sefer HaChinuch: The Book of Mitzvah Education, Commandment II, translation, Charles Wengrov, page 85)
 
Basing himself upon a variety of midrashic sources, the Sefer HaChinuch notes that brit milah brings us to physical perfection, a mark of completion (hashlamah) that enables us to join Hashem as partners both in Ma’aseh Bereishit (the act of Creation) and the perfection of the world. As such, this mitzvah teaches us that just as a person can perfect their physical being, so, too, they can perfect their spiritual being. The Sefer HaChinuch concludes with an analytical tour de force:

The Eternal L-rd (be He blessed) desired to perfect the [physical] character of the Chosen People; and He wished that man would effect this perfection. [Therefore,] He did not create him complete and perfect from the womb, in order to hint to him that just as the perfection of his physical form is by his own hand, so does it lie within his means and power to complete his spiritual form through the worthiness of his actions. 
 
With Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may the worthiness of our actions bring us to greater spiritual heights as we strive to draw near to Hashem. V’chane yihi ratzon  

Shabbat Shalom

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

Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.

*** My audio shiurim 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: The Rav

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Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our parasha contains a biblical “Shulchan Aruch” of the laws of kashrut: “This is the law regarding animals, birds, all living creatures that move in water and all creatures that creep on the ground, to distinguish between the unclean (tamei) and the clean (tahor), and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.” (Sefer Vayikra 11:46-47, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) The Torah goes on to provide simanim (physical characteristics) that enable us to determine the tamei (non-kosher) and tahor (kosher) status of “animals…all living creatures that move in water and all creatures that creep on the ground.” This is not the case, however, regarding birds. Instead, we are presented with a catalog of 24 tamei species, leading to the logical inference that the remaining approximately 11,000 species of birds should be deemed tahor.
 
However, Rabbi Ari Z. Zivotofsky Ph.D., in his article, “Is Turkey Kosher?” makes quite clear this is not the case, since: “… today when these [24 species] can no longer be accurately identified, things are quite a bit more complicated.” He also cites a well-known statement of the Minchat Chinuch concerning the matter: “In order to fully explain the identification of kosher birds [it] would take a small booklet of its own (Mitzvah 157).” (https://www.kashrut.com/articles/turk_part1)  Moreover, works by the Chatam Sofer zatzal (Rav Moshe Schreiber, 1762-1839) and Rabbi Yonatan Eybeschutz zatzal (1690-1764), among others, have not met with universal acceptance due to the lack of consensus as to how to interpret the Mishnaic, Amoraic and Rishonic sources upon which these writings are based.
 
In response to these concerns and following the Talmudic statement, “a kosher bird may be eaten based upon mesoret(accepted tradition),” [Talmud Bavli, Chulin 63b] Rashi zatzal (1040-1105) ruled: 
No bird is consumed by us unless there is a mesoret concerning this exact species that was given to us by our forebears attesting that it is tahor. [Consequently,] if no mesoret was given to us, we must question its status. [However,] we may fully rely upon the mesoret. (Talmud Bavli, Chulin 62b, s.v. chaziuah d’drasah v’achlah, translation and brackets my own) 
 
Rashi’s singular import led the most prominent Ashkenazi halachic authority of all time, Rabbi Moshe Isserles zatzal(Rema, 1530-1572), to conclude that the sole factor in determining the tahor or tamei status of a bird is mesoret: 
There are those that say that one may not rely even on this [the simanim presented by Rabbi Yosef Karo zatzal in the Shulchan Aruch], and that one may not eat any bird unless there is a mesoret that has been accepted that it is tahor. And this is the practice to which we are accustomed that must not be altered. (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, 82:3, s.v. v’yash omrim, translation and brackets my own) 
 
Closer to our own time, the Rema’s p’sak was codified by both Rabbi Avraham Danzig zatzal (1748-1820) in Chachmat Adam 36:6, and by Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein zatzal (1829-1908) in Aruch HaShulchan, Yoreh Deah 82:29. As such, within the greater Ashkenazi Jewish community, the kashrut status of a particular bird species is determined by one criterion: the absence or presence of a reliable mesoret from klal Yisrael.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** My audio shiurim 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: The Rav

​
 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
This week’s haftarah is focused on Yechezkel’s well-known nevuah (prophecy) of the “Dry Bones,” that begins:

The hand of Hashem came upon me and carried me out in the spirit of Hashem and set me down in the midst of the valley, that was full of bones. And He made me pass by them round about and behold! they were exceedingly many on the surface of the valley and behold! they were exceedingly dry. Then He said to me; “Son of man, can these bones become alive?” And I answered, “O’ Hashem Elokim, You [alone] know.” (Sefer Yechezkel 37:1-3, this and all Tanach and translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach with my emendations)
 
Hashem commands Yechezkel to prophesize over the dry bones and declare in His Name that they will live once again:

And He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O’ dry bones, hear the word of Hashem.” So says Hashem Elokim to these bones: “Behold, I will cause spirit to enter into you, and you shall live! And I will lay sinews upon you, and I will make flesh grow over you and cover you with skin and put breath into you, and you will live, and you will then know that I am Hashem.” (37:4-6)
 
Yechezkel obeys the Almighty’s command, with the following miraculous outcome: “And I prophesied as He had commanded me, and the spirit came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, a very great army, exceedingly so.” (37:10)  Chazal differ in their understanding of the nature of this resurrection: 

This is as it is taught in a baraita, that Rabbi Eliezer says: “The dead that Yechezkel revived stood on their feet and recited song to G-d and died. And what song did they recite? Hashem kills with justice and gives life with mercy…” Rabbi Yehuda says: “Yechezkel’s depiction of the dry bones that came to life was truth and it was a parable (mashal).” Rabbi Nehemiah said to Rabbi Yehuda: “… In truth, it was a parable.” Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yossi HaGelili, says: “Not only was it not a parable, the dead that Ezekiel revived ascended to Eretz Yisrael and married wives and fathered sons and daughters.” Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira stood on his feet and said: “I am a descendant of their sons, and these are tefillin that my father’s father left me from them.” (Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 92b, Koren Talmud Bavli, translation, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz zatzal with my emendations)
 
Whether we accept the position that the dry bones actually came to life, or the perspective that this description is a mashal, we are left with the question, “Who were the members of this “very great army?” Hashem tells Yechezkel: “Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Behold they say, ‘Our bones have become dried up, our hope is lost (avdah tikvatainu) ...’” (37:11)  In response to the abject hopelessness of the phrase, “avdah tikvatainu,” Hashem comforts and promises: 
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“Behold! I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves as My people and bring you home to the Land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am Hashem when I open your graves and lead you up out of your graves as My people. And I will put My spirit into you, and you shall live, and I will set you on your land, and you shall know that I, Hashem, have spoken it and have performed it,” says Hashem. (37:12-14)
 
May the time come soon, and in our days, when Yechezkel’s vision will be realized and we will witness the ultimate resurrection of the dead and the ingathering of the exiles to Eretz Yisrael. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Kasher v’Sameach
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** My audio shiurim 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: The Rav

​Rabbi David Etengoff

Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.

The name, “Shabbat HaGadol,” has captured the imagination of Torah exegetes since time immemorial. The second Bobover Rebbe, HaRav Ben-Zion Halberstam zatzal (1874-1941), a member of this illustrious group, begins his analysis of this term by citing Tosafot’s explanation in Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 87b s.v. v’oto:

The reason why we call the Shabbat before Passover, “Shabbat HaGadol,” is because of the great miracle (nes gadol) that took place on that day in accordance with the words of the Midrash: When the Jewish people took their paschal lambs on that very Shabbat, all of the first born sons of the nations of the world gathered together before the Jewish people and asked them: “Why are you doing this?” The Jewish people responded: “This is a Passover offering to Hashem Who will go forth and kill the first born of the Egyptians.” They [the first born of the Egyptians] went before their fathers and Pharaoh to ask them to send forth the Jewish people and they refused. As a result, the first born of the Egyptians started a war and killed many of them. Thus, the text states: “To Him Who smote the Egyptians with [by the hands of] their firstborn.” (Sefer Tehillim 136:10, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, brackets my own)

Rav Halberstam now presents a classic question: “If this is the case [that we are commemorating this great miracle on this day], then this Shabbat should be called “Shabbat Nes HaGadol,” as such, why is it called “Shabbat HaGadol?” (Kedushat Tzion, Pesach, Shabbat HaGadol, new edition, page 57, translation and brackets my own). He answers this question with a quotation from Mechilta d’Rabbi Yishmael:

“And I will be glorified through Pharaoh…” (Sefer Shemot 14:4) The text is telling us that when the Omnipresent One punishes the [evil] nations of the world, His Name becomes greater (shemo mitgadel) throughout the world. As it is said: “And I will place a sign upon them, and I will send from them refugees to the nations, Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, the distant islands, who did not hear of My fame and did not see My glory, and they shall recount My glory among the nations.” (Sefer Yeshayahu 66:19) …” (Parashat Beshalach, Mesechta d’Vahayah, Parasha 1, translation and brackets my own)

I believe Rav Halberstam is teaching us a powerful chidush (novel idea) regarding the name Shabbat HaGadol: Instead of translating it at face value as “the Great Shabbat,” we need to translate it as “the Shabbat of the Great One,” namely the special Shabbat of the Holy One blessed be He. As Rav Halberstam so beautifully explained: “According to this [that is, the Mechilta], it is completely proper to call this Shabbat, “Shabbat HaGadol,” since at that time, Hashem rendered judgment against the evil ones and thereby magnified [and sanctified] His Name, may it be blessed, in the Universe.” Truly, then, this Shabbat is “the Shabbat of the Great One.”

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Kasher v’Sameach

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

Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.

*** My audio shiurim 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: The Rav