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Akeidat Yitzchak

Sefaria · Jewish Thought > Rishonim · 1,212 sections

1. _.65.1.10

   One need only remember that the absence of a harmful substance by no means implies the presence of a beneficial substance. If one does not feel hot, it does not follow that one feels cold. On the other hand, it is true that the more extreme the description of a virtue or failing respectively, the more extreme will be its opposite. It follows then that some "opposites" are much closer to one another than others. The opposite of a moderately sinful individual, would be a moderately pious one. The opposite of a thoroughly depraved individual, would be a person who is pious and saintly in the extreme. We understand then that just as sinful conduct occurs in varying degrees of extremes, so all attempts at pious conduct are found in corresponding degrees of intensity. When the Torah lists a string of depravities at the end of the last Parshah, it is natural that the call for holiness comes hard on its heels. The Torah lists a variety of commandments, which while representing abstinence from sinful conduct, are not yet the height of saintly conduct either. The more extreme the description of a negative trait in a human being, the more superior is its counterpart as a positive virtue. Achievement of holiness and purity then, are the opposites of all the negative traits listed. The categories of unsatisfactory conduct can be classified as follows: a) sinful conduct, i.e. violation of ritual laws; b) wicked conduct, i.e. anti social behaviour; c) immoral, immodest conduct, i.e. violation of the laws of incest, sodomy and bestiality. The opposite of the above categories would then be: a) piety; b) social responsibility; c) G'dliness. The middle category, i.e. socially acceptable human conduct, is not yet G'dliness. Not acting in the worst way of bestiality is still a long way from becoming saintly, holy.

2. _.65.1.11

   The Midrash quoted at the outset is trying to teach this point also. Since nothing had been created without prior planning, the names that the angels used to praise G'd, reflected the activities that had as yet not been carried out by G'd. Nevertheless, since they were going to be carried out, they constituted some of His attributes. The idea of angels praising G'd before creation of the universe, means then that the angels acknowledged what G'd was going to do. Just as in the case of the name "Israel," they had not yet seen that nation or that person, it is easy to understand that when the first person (human being) appeared on the scene, they wondered if he corresponded to the name they had been using to praise the Lord with. G'd had to tell them that alas, that human being was not the one, since he had been found guilty of stealing. This was a grievous shortcoming, since it was a sin committed for the purpose of indulging oneself. Not only did he commit a sin, but there were no extenuating circumstances. Noach, on the other hand, although he had become drunk, did so only because he overindulged in something which was basically permitted. He had merely failed to abstain from the permissible, when partaking had not been necessary for his well being. Abraham, though he did not sin in either sense, was born of sinful parents, and could not attain ultimate holiness. Isaac, though born of fine parents, sired a son who succumbed to both kinds of sin. Only when Jacob appeared on the scene of history, did a human being exist that suffered from none of the failings of previous generations. He could, therefore, represent the finest that humanity could aspire to achieve on the moral plane. For this reason, he was called "Israel," and his name was given to the Jewish people, since the latter were to represent nationally what Jacob represented individually. In formulating the sentence "wherever you find a fence around immorality, you find holiness," our Rabbis taught therefore, that it is the removal of oneself from immorality that puts one on the path towards holiness. Our Parshah is indeed the beginning of that ascent towards holiness, and we read at the end "when you have sanctified yourselves, you will become holy since I am holy." Progress is achieved in stages. It begins with refraining from the most bestial kind of behaviour, continues with the acquisition of a variety of virtues etc.

3. _.65.1.12

   When perusing our Parshah, we are confronted with a number of difficulties. 1) In order to convince someone to work on perfecting himself, one would expect the demands to be made on such a person to increase gradually, not to shock the student by listing all the demands that are made upon him all at once. That this is sound psychology, is attested to by the Torah itself, where we read (Deuteronomy 30, 11-14)) "for this commandment which I command you this day is not too hard for you, neither is it far away; it is not in Heaven so that you could say "who shall go up to the Heavens for us and bring it to us? For it is very close at hand, in your mouth and in your heart to perform." On the other hand, what can frighten someone off more than a command such as "be holy for I am holy?" 2) Why do the commandments in our Parshah that parallel the ten commandments appear in a different order? ("Honour your parents," is listed as the first instead of the fifth commandment; "keep the Sabbath," is listed as number two instead of as number four. "Do not worship idols," is listed in third position instead of in second place) 3) After the Torah has completed the list, and concluded by saying "sanctify yourselves," (20,7) why begin once more with such commandments as "not to curse parents, not to commit adultery etc?" 4) Why is the matter of attaining holiness mentioned three times?

4. _.65.1.13

   (1) There are two groups of people observing mitzvot. One group is so preoccupied with trying to understand the will of G'd, that even if the mitzvot had not been given, they would have divined most of them themselves, and proceeded to observe them. This is the group of people from whom potential leaders are drawn. They are,alas, few in number. The second group is the group that comprises the vast majority of people. These people observe the mitzvot because they are afraid that non observance will make them liable to punishments, to physical afflictions. They are not really concerned with any considerations beyond that. Among these two categories, some will attempt to understand the deeper meaning behind the mitzvot, whereas others content themselves with simply performing them, fearing retribution. Even among the latter group, some will be more afraid of retribution for non observance of certain commandments. They will be less concerned with the fear of retribution for transgressing some other injunctions in the Torah. It is in the nature of things that if one expects people to observe the commandments out of comprehension, the objectives should be stated first. The specifics of the observances should follow afterwards. For those who observe out of a sense of fear, the presentation of what is demanded of them should be stated first, the objectives of the legislation would be mentioned only at a later stage. Since the revelation at Mount Sinai was the site at which all of the people were assembled, the order of the prohibitions was directed first and foremost at this largest group of people, and in G'ds own words. This was to instil fear in them. Here, in Parshat Kedoshim however, when Moses is to address the beney yisrael, i.e. the elite of the people, the positive aspect of what is to be accomplished is stressed first, namely the objective of achieving holiness. Subsequently we progress to the relationship between father and mother, a subject which had been mentioned at Sinai only after conclusion of the obeisances that related to poor relationship vis a vis G'd. (2) When one uses logic, the respect due to parents leads one to respect the Creator and the Sabbath which testifies to the work of the Creator. This in turn leads one to deny the claims of any other deities. The testimony offered by not working on the Sabbath extends to total recognition of the Creator, and it brings in its wake reminders not to serve or fabricate images, not to have recourse to them in any shape or form. The prohibition not to make images, also extends to the minting of images on coins, which are treated by so many as objects of worship. Truly good Jews, of course, will not make gold their idol nor glory in their material wealth. When they offer a sacrifice, they will be sure to do so from pure motives. All of these things are the outcome of an approach to the service of G'd that does not stem from fear of punishment. (this accounts for the sequence 19, 1-6) When we are told by the Mishnah in Avot 2,4, "make His will like your will, so that He will make your will like His will," the meaning is as follows. If you carry out His wishes with the fervour that you normally reserve for carrying out your own wishes, then He will help you divine what is really His will. The daily practice of performing His mitzvot with understanding, will eventually enable us to know instinctively what His will would be (in matters we have not yet been taught) The Mishnah in Avot goes on to say "set aside your will in favour of His will, so that He may set aside the will of others on account of your will. In matters of wishes for mundane matters, such as your desire for women, property to be acquired illegally or immorally, curb your wishes, since such a desire is really an expression of your evil urge, and turn your wishes into permissible channels. In turn, He may influence those who possess the objects that you desire, but refuse to part with them, and you will find former obstacles to your attaining your desires removed. Biblical examples of vain attempts to achieve objects of one's desire by illegal means, are Adoniah's bid to succeed to his father David's throne. (Kings I 1,5-45). Another example is Absalom's rebellion. (Samuel II chapter 17) On the other hand, the fact that David suffered initial setbacks at the hands of Saul, but became king, shows that the prescription offered in Avot is valid. Batsheva, who had acted prematurely, almost came to fatal grief in her haste to meet her destiny. In Psalm 37, David expresses it in these words "seek bliss for yourself with the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Since the Talmud in Zevachim 29, tells us that the offerings mentioned here are discussed in terms of the motivations that prompted them to be offered, this proves the thrust of the whole Parshah in the direction we have stated. In all these undertakings, once you have embarked on your career i.e. farming, you will be concerned with those who are less fortunate, sharing with them part of your harvest. (19,9-10) Once you have been trained to give away some of what is yours, you will certainly not be likely to steal from others, cheat, swear false oaths and thereby desecrate the name of G'd. (verses 11-13) On the contrary, because of your highly developed sensitivity towards the need of the poor, you may have become prejudiced in favour of the poor, and need to be reminded not to err in that direction either. (verse 15) Inactivity in the face of evil is not enough, (verse 16), even silent hatred of the evildoer (verse 17) is not enough. You have to speak out against evil, you must intervene actively to prevent violence. Unless you do these things, you will not achieve the objective of the Torah, i.e. to become a saintly person. The Torah's attitude to collective responsibility requires that we point out to delinquents that they must share the burdens of the community. If a heavy load can only be lifted by concerted effort, he who fails to help shoulder the burden, endangers the success of his colleagues, and may even become responsible for their losing what they had already achieved. Rebuking people is reserved for the intelligent and responsible, (verse 17) He who is a scoffer, will not respond to lectures etc; on the contrary, efforts in this direction can be counterproductive. Proverbs 9,8, is quite explicit on that subject. The Talmud in Ketuvot 105, tells us that the young scholars who seem to enjoy popularity,- more so than their elders,- have achieved this popularity because they fail to preach to their congregants on the proper modes of religious conduct. The true reason for not rebuking the scoffer is to avoid burdening him with the additional sin of hating the preacher. By the same token, however, pointing out errors of one's fellow man in a constructive manner adds to his appreciation of his peer or his teacher. Refraining from acts of revenge, (verse 18) are further steps in the direction leading to saintliness. It is a Divine attribute, as we read in Jeremiah 3, 12 "I will not frown upon you, because I am pious, nor will I bear a grudge against you forever." The culmination of the chapter is the injunction "Love your fellow man as yourself." (again verse 18) One needs to refrain from committing the type of acts against one's neighbour that one would consider hateful if they were perpetrated against one's own self. Since one's closest bonds are usually with one's brother, who is one's own flesh and blood, the Torah frequently uses the term "brother" as an example par excellence when it describes certain attitudes to be displayed. For instance: "when your brother becomes poor, let your brother live with you." "When your brother sells himself to you" etc. etc. Brotherliness is the key to our conduct vis a vis a fellow Jew. It is only via this route that saintliness which is our goal can be approached. The exact meaning of the moral imperative "love your brother," has been dealt with in chapter twenty three. Having completed injuctions of a a social nature, the Parshah turns to injunctions governing our conduct vis a vis G'd Himself. The introduction "My statutes you shall observe," precedes laws designed to prevent unions that are not compatible from G'ds point of view. If one is to avoid mixing different seed, i.e. when planting a vineyard, and one must not work together animals of different physical capabilities since they are unmatched, it is obvious that the sexual pairing of freemen and slaves constitutes an even greater breach of such a rule. These people are not compatible, do not even share the need to observe the Torah laws in the same manner. This law applies even to slaves who are already in the process of becoming freemen, (verse 20). Perhaps the underlying reason for these regulations is a reminder that nature is not the result of accident, that all species have been carefully planned, and that we are not to upset the calculations and purpose of their Creator. Compare the commentary of the Sifri on the tzitzit legislation, (Menachot 43) that when we see tzitzit, we are to remind ourselves of the mitzvot adjoining. Shaatnes, is a form of blending wool and flax (linen) which is forbidden under the heading of pairing incompatibles. (see our commentary in chapter ninety) The realisation that blue reminds one of the Heavens, the Creator, leads one to understand that we must not interfere with the rules G'd has established in His universe. The shifcha necherefet, a bondsmaid already betrothed to a man, combines a dual status in her very person, since on the one hand she is forbidden as someone else's wife, whereas on the other hand, union with her is permitted since as a slave, she has not yet qualified for marriage with an Israelite. After this, the Torah discusses which plants are not available for our use until they have attained a certain age. Possibly, a certain degree of maturity is needed before one can make certain judgments. Attaining such maturity requires time. The laws of orlah may be a reminder to await such maturity, and the laws against various kinds of soothsayers etc. (verse 26) are corollaries for this line of thought. It is in the nature of the impetuosity of youth to want to know what the future holds in store, and to go to some length to have it revealed to them. They believe that preparedness to sacrifice themselves or part of themselves for a cause, may hasten the attainment of wisdom, knowledge of the future etc Therefore the Torah warns insistently against any practices related to such endeavours. (verses 28-29) Since it is a sign of immaturity to be overly concerned with one's hairdo, the Torah legislated concerning treatment of hair in order to help bring about maturity through the observance of the relevant mitzvot. Immaturity is not confined to those who are young in years, but is a state of mind. Therefore, even if one is old enough to grow a beard, this is no guarantee that one has attained a degree of maturity. The law not to profane one's daughter to a life of harlotry, is aimed primarily at discouraging a father from giving a daughter in marriage to a much older man, since as a result of subsequent incompatibility in physical vigour, there is a chance that the daughter (wife) will seek fulfilment of her urges in extramarital relationships, in harlotry. (Sanhedrin 76) The underlying idea of all legislation is to minimise opportunities and temptations to transgress the law. Placing the injunction to treat the temple property with respect, next to the injunction not to consult soothsayers, (verse 30-31) again displays deep psychological insight. Since it is understandable to want to know the future, this is allowed only via the urim vetumim, a device on the breastplate of the High Priest, which enables the latter to receive answers to requests from G'd. In his partial review of Torah legislation in Deuteronomy, Moses makes the point in chapter 18,13, "be wholehearted with the Lord your G'd," i.e. not like the gentiles mentioned in the very next verse. For all the reasons listed above, namely efforts to counteract immaturity, the Torah demands respect for the aged and the learned, those who have achieved maturity of years or the mind, (verse 32) As the Talmud in Kiddushin 33, explains, once one shows respect for the Torah scholars, how much more respect must one show for the author of Torah? Since at the time the Talmud was edited, it was a widespread custom to rise in the presence of a Torah scroll, but to remain seated at the approach of Torah scholars, the Talmud Makkot 22, castigates this practice as foolish. The argument is that if one pays homage to the Torah, based on a logical conclusion, then certainly those who interpret Torah, without whom much of Torah would remain a mystery to most of us, deserve at least equal honour and recognition. Not only that, but the Torah specifically commands that we respect the scholar. There is therefore no contradiction between the two statements in the Talmud quoted. There follows a string of commandments dealing with fair weights and measures, both items that can be violated easily without anyone noticing. Even the person violating the injunction may not realise that he is not giving fair measure. The Torah reminds us that when G'd took us out of Egypt, He had to make a very fine distinction between who was a Jewish firstborn and who was an Egyptian firstborn. Without such a careful distinction, Jewish firstborns would have died. It is incumbent upon us to make such fine distinctions to ensure that our weights and measures are not fraudulent, even if such fraud is not evident to our fellow man. The passage ends with the comment that all the foregoing are both chukkim and mishpatim, statutes and social laws. This means that each of the ordinances combines elements of a social nature as well as elements that defy our reason, and therefore need to be obeyed merely because the law is Divine in origin. The point of forbidding the practice of such abominations as child sacrifice to the Moloch, is less the prohibition per se, than the demand that anyone who is guilty of such a practice must be apprehended and brought to justice. Failure to play G'ds policeman in such instances, will result in dire consequences for those who choose to turn a blind eye when they observe such conduct in others. (Chapter 20, 3-6) Attaining holiness requires not only one's own effort at perfecting oneself in one's character and observances of the mitzvot, but one's active participation in eradicating perversions by others. Attainment of holiness on a nation wide basis, is unthinkable any other way. (4) Whereas in chapter nineteen, most injunctions were followed by some rationale, be it only the repetition of the Torah's ideal for man, chapter twenty does not dignify its commandments with reasons, and only lists penalties provided for non observance. This shows clearly that the Torah considers these statutes as so fundamental that anyone not abiding by them is guilty of animalistic, not human behaviour. The nation who had lived in the land of Israel prior to our taking over, was spewed out by the land precisely because they had sunk so low, to a sub human level. Our own success in the land then would depend on our living up to a higher moral standard. It is the ability to make proper distinctions, havdalah, between the forbidden and the permissible, which alone can lead man to become holy, elevated, (closing verses of chapter twenty)

5. _.65.1.14

   The repeated references not to tolerate soothsayers, and the sudden switch to discussing impurity caused by the consumption of forbidden foods, requires further elaboration. Vayikra Rabbah 26, describes King Saul's search for the witch of Endor as a violation of his own efforts to eradicate witchcraft. His quest is compared to a ruler who enters a town, decrees the killing of all roosters the same evening, and then wishes to be awakened by a rooster next morning. Various statements in that Midrash all represent Saul as guilty of the very sin he had been so diligent in eradicating. Whereas it is possible to imagine that in an hour of distress, while of unbalanced mind, Saul could have been capable of such conduct, and while, if the Midrash is authoritative in its view that Saul transgressed the commandment of ov and yidoni we must accept such tradition, the lack of evidence for such tradition compels us to pursue a different approach. The thought that a human personality, especially the immortal remains, should be subject to recall at will by an oracle or soothsayer, is intolerable. Even more intolerable is the thought that the soul of a prophet of the calibre of Samuel would answer the summons of such an ov, even if such a summons had occurred within the first twelve months after such a soul had departed its body. Even stranger is the approach of some ge-onim, who describe all the doings of the witch of Endor as merely sleight of hand, fraud, makebelieve, suggesting that Samuel was being impersonated. Such an approach, if true, would denigrate holy scripture, and cast doubt on other reported occurrences of supernatural character. It would also elevate the witch to the status of a prophet who had correctly foretold the course of events that would befall Saul. The conclusion of Kimchi that G'd Himself resurrected Samuel for the express purpose of this encounter with Saul, is even stranger, seeing that the same G'd had previously refused to communicate with Saul at the latter's request, even in a dream. Why should G'd resort to this extraordinary effort to revive Samuel? For all these reasons, we follow a different approach to the subject. Some of the questions that need to be answsered.

6. _.65.1.15

   1) From what is known of the practice of an ov, it seems that the witch manipulates the bones of the dead, as a result of which a low voice communicates with the witch answering an enquiry directed at the dead. (Isaiah 29,4) Your voice will be as that of the ghost out of the ground, and your speech will chirp out of the dust." This sound then is considered as the dead having risen in response to the question. There is absolutely no basis for assuming that the questioner will see an image. There is certainly no question of spiritual beings responding by becoming visible as happened in the case of Saul at Endor. (Samuel I 28,12 )

7. _.65.1.16

   2) It is reasonable to assume that the questioner of the ghost would be the witch, not her customer. In our story, however, it is Saul who does the asking and the listening.

8. _.65.1.17

   3) Why would the witch be so frightened when Samuel appeared? After all, Saul had asked her to make him appear!

9. _.65.1.18

   4) Why did G'd not answer Saul previously through the urim vetumim, a prophetic message, or in a dream? Even if Saul had not deserved reassurance from G'd, at least he could have received a negative message, as had other kings who had been told of their impending punishment!

10. _.65.1.19

    5) Why did not Samuel criticise Saul for having used witchcraft to summon him, as seems apparent from Chronicles I 10,13, "also because he asked to consult by means of witchcraft?" Samuel here only refers to Saul's sin regarding Amalek.

11. _.65.1.20

    6) There is an apparent contradiction in Samuel I 28,15, when compared with Chronicles I 10,14. We are told in Samuel, "the Lord departed from me, and did not answer me either through the prophets or in my dreams." In Chronicles we are told "he did not seek out G'd; therefore He killed him." (10,14)

12. _.65.1.21

    In addition to the problems listed, there are also a number of difficulties in the manner in which the whole episode is related. a) The account could have been abbreviated considerably by omitting the conversation between Saul and the witch, b) Why did Saul say to the witch "enchant for me?" Why not simply "consult for me?" The Torah seems to distinguish between three different terms, i.e. kessem, kessamim, me-onen and menachesh. c) Saul should have said immediately "raise Samuel!" Why did he say "raise whomever I shall tell you?" d) When Saul reassured the witch on oath that she would not be guilty of a crime doing what he asked her to do, he appears to have spoken carelessly. He could indeed have guaranteed her impunity, but how could he have guaranteed her innocence? Who knew better than he, since he had gotten rid of all the witches? e) According to the text, the witch did not do anything at all, since Samuel appeared immediately Saul requested his appearance by name. Moreover, Samuel's remonstrating with Saul, shows that he did not materialise in response to her machinations, f) The expression va-ekra-ehoo with the letter heh at the end, is extremely strange, and the vowel pattern in the word even more so g) Why is Saul scored in the account of the episode in Chronicles both for "asking," and for "seeking" illumination via an ov?

13. _.65.1.22

    We propose to proceed along two premises in answering all the questions raised. First of all, it is clear from Torah, the books of Prophets and the holy scriptures, that whenever beings that are purely spiritual appear to someone in our world, such beings appear garbed in human clothes. Hagar, Manoach, Gideon, all had encounters with angels dressed in human garb, and on that very account had doubts as to the identity of the party that addressed them. Similarly, whenever our sages speak of malachim mamash, such as the angels that Jacob sent to divine if Esau had hostile intentions towards him, what are meant by that expression are spiritual beings appearing in human form. Since we are not equipped to behold pure spirits, it is necessary to provide these beings with a shell, so that they can become visible to our eyes. The appearance of the prophet Elijah, with whom innumerable encounters are described, is then also an encounter with a spirit in human garb. Samuel's appearance then is bound to be of the same kind, and he would have to appear in human form. (The story in Ketuvot 105, further supports our theory) All of this is part of G'ds kindness in arranging for communication with the spiritual world for those who deserve it in varying degrees. The appearance of Samuel, dressed in a cloak, such as he used to wear while still on earth, is no surprising phenomenon then.

14. _.65.1.23

    The second premise is, that granted that kessem, enchantment is as far from real prophecy as right is from left, it still shares a common denominator with prophecy in that it is an attempt to divine events in the future. It had served such men as Bileam as a stepping stone towards reading the future. (Numbers 22,7, and other examples) The Torah testifies that after Bileam had employed these devices a number of times, he eventually dispensed with them, being confident that he was already on the right wave length without having to employ these gadgets as "tuning dials." At any rate, by means of nechashim and kessamim, he would be able to tune in to "G'ds transmission" This proves that these devices serve a useful function, are not entirely fraudulent. When we keep these two premises in mind, we will find that all the difficulties mentioned earlier are resolved quite easily. Accordingly, I feel that Saul's iniquity consisted in that though he knew that not having killed all the Amalekites, he had estranged himself from G'd, he had failed to humble himself and to do teshuvah, repentance. This is so especially, since he faced a hostile Philistine army of large dimensions. He should have prayed, fasted and repented until the gates of repentance would have been opened to him. No doubt, he would have succeeded. If even such hardened sinners as Achav (Kings 121) and Menashe king of Israel (Chronicles II,33,19) were given a reprieve and the latter was even restored to his throne, surely Saul's repentance would have been accepted. However, Saul, confident of his good standing, went to consult the urim vetumim. Failing to obtain a response, he expected word from a prophet. At least, he thought, he would receive a communication in a dream. He received neither, because he did not yet qualify for good news. His doom however, had not yet been decreed. Therefore, he did not receive any bad news either. It was still hoped in heaven that he would be penitent. In desperation then, and because he had run out of time, he resorted to the use of the kessem, in order to achieve contact with a prophetic message. Saul hoped that Samuel's spirit would have pity on his plight, and would communicate with him in a manner described in our first premise. When he said to his companions "seek me out a woman who communicates with ghosts, I will go to her and I will enquire through her," he deliberately refrained from saying that she would enquire on his behalf, but stated that he himself would enquire. The text in Chronicles I 10,13, confirms that the "asking of the ghost to enquire," refers to two different activities. The "asking" was for the purpose of facilitating the "enquiry." This explains why initially the woman felt she had been asked to commit a crime, whereas Saul knew she was not going to have a chance to commit a sin. He was therefore able to reassure her. The prophet never spoke to her, nor did she ask him anything. Saul had not said "ask the ghost on my behalf," but only "enchant" ' for me, which is merely a preliminary stage before actual necromancy. Since Saul knew that if he requested the appearance of the prophet Samuel, she would ridicule his request, he asked for "Samuel," without title. The name Samuel must have been borne by other men, not only the prophet. By prefacing his request simply by saying "make the person that I will tell you arise," he wanted to make her think that the person in question was of no particular significance. When he then asked for Samuel, it did not occur to the woman that he was referring to the prophet. The latter had been commonly referred to as "the Seer," "the Judge," or "the Prophet." She had assumed that some other Samuel was meant. This was so especially, since the woman was not aware that it was king Saul who made the request. Due to the woman's psychological readiness to see an apparition, she saw Samuel before Saul did. We find that even Bileam's ass saw the angel before Bileam himself did. (Numbers 22,23) The woman's consternation was due both to the unexpected appearance of the prophet Samuel, and to her sudden realisation that it had been the king in disguise who had commanded her to establish this contact. Who else could have had the nerve to request the prophet Samuel's presence in such a fashion? She now felt that the whole encounter had simply been designed to trap her. When she replied to Saul's question as to what she had seen, and said "G'd has arisen," she emphasized that what had occurred was not the usual type of necromancy. As stated previously, in necromancy the ghost does not arise, but only deep voices are heard from the earth. In order to eliminate any doubt, Saul questioned her about the appearance of the vision, and when she described Samuel's mode of attire, Saul knew that Samuel had indeed complied with his request. Under no circumstances is his appearance to be credited to the woman's activities. Saul explains that he had no other alternative anymore than to call on Samuel to guide him. Samuel's reply "what good is asking me, when G'd has departed from you and become your adversary," means "how can you expect good tidings under such circumstances?" Samuel proceeds to explain to Saul once more why G'd had turned away from him, namely because of his failure to take G'ds revenge on Amalek. He did not accuse him concerning the sin of consulting ov, since he assured Saul immediately afterwards of immediate entry into the world to come, on a footing comparable to his own. (Berachot 12) It is inconceivable that someone who knowingly resorts to consulting ov would rank equal to the prophet Samuel in the hereafter. The language used in the Torah to castigate people who consult and turn to ov is too unmistakable to allow for such sins to be forgiven. (Leviticus 20,6) The criticism of Saul expressed in Chronicles I 10,13, refers to the method Saul had chosen to establish communication with Samuel, not to the act of consulting ghosts. The reference in verse fourteen about his failure to seek out G'd, is to be understood as similar to the sin of King Assa, (Chronicles II 16,12) who is scored for not seeking out G'd, but relying on his doctors to heal him. The sin did not consist in calling in medical aid in the form of doctors, as pointed out in chapter twenty six. Samuel is quite correct when he says that Saul's fate was sealed on that day because of his sin with Amalek, even if it is true that if Saul had repented, his repentance would have been accepted. When a sick person dies, not having partaken of medication prescribed for him, we do not ascribe his death to the failure to take the medication, but we consider his illness the cause of his death. Here too, failure to seek out G'd is not the cause of death, but this merely failed to reverse the decree for the prior sin committed. Our Parshah decrees death for those who harbour ov and yidoni amongst them. (Leviticus 20,27.) The wording clearly absolves Saul and the woman from culpability, since all they had been involved in was the attempt to procure a departed prophet in the manner used to procure information from the dead. The woman had reportedly been the mother of Avner and Amassa, who had been leading Torah scholars and thoroughly familiar with what was forbidden and what was not. Saul could reassure the woman since he was accompanied by the senior members of the Supreme Court, Sanhedrin. (5) By means of its many injunctions, the Parshah points out that the way to holiness which leads from the many tum-ot, impurities and defilements one can become enmeshed in, is indeed lengthy; ergo the reminder in the beginning, in the middle, and again at the end, that our goal is holiness comparable to that of the Almighty. (2) Vayikra Rabbah 24, illuminates our Parshah by the following parable. A king who owned a wine cellar, appointed guards to protect same against theft. Some of these guards were notorious drunkards. Others were known to be total abstainers. When it came to paying these guards their wages, the king paid the drunkards twice as much as he paid the abstainers. To the latter's complaint that surely they had performed the same service as the drunkards and should therefore receive equal pay, the king pointed out that the drunkards had to fight twice as much temptation as had the abstainers when they were exposed to so much opportunity to drink. Therefore, when describing Heavenly beings, the expression kedushah holiness is used sparingly. Human beings, however, being comprised of both matter and spirit require a double dose of "holiness." We are therefore like the drunkards in the parable, steeped in our primal desires, pursued by the intoxicating wine of our passions. Concerning denial of intoxicating wine, the Torah enjoins us to sanctify ourselves. The second step is the one that leads to "you will become holy," i.e. to apply ourselves to guard the treasure, having practiced abstinence.

15. _.66.1.2

    In Vayikra Rabbah 26, the repeated admonition at the beginning of our Parshah, namely emor ve-amarta "say, and you shall say," is explained by Rabbi Berechyah by means of a parable. A priest and an ordinary Israelite suffered from the disease of epilepsy. The doctor handed both of them a proven remedy. He instructed the Israelite to use that remedy, but gave no instructions concerning its use to the priest. The priest said to the doctor: "Sir, did you not hand us both the same remedy? Why are you asking my friend to use it, whereas you did not give me any instructions?" The doctor replied that since the Israelite had occasion to walk in the cemetry, he needed the remedy as protection. The priest however, who has no business in a cemetry, did not need to use the remedy. Similarly, angels who are not subject to the evil urge, do not need to have things repeated to them. (Daniel 4,14) But we lesser creatures, seeing that we are subject to the urgings of our evil instinct, will hopefully listen to G'ds instructions when same are addressed to us twice. This is the meaning of the first instruction in our Parshah "say to the priests the sons of Aaron, say to them not to defile themselves through contact with the corpse of a fellow Jew."

16. _.66.1.3

    The meaning of the above seems to be that since the Jewish people as a whole are capable of rising high above the moral level of the gentile nations, surely the elite of that people, the Priests, will be able to rise to still loftier moral plateaus.

17. _.66.1.4

    All phenomena in our world share three characteristics. 1) They are composed of matter. 2) They appear in a certain shape or form. 3) They have had a previous existence of some kind. In other words, nature arranges constant metamorphosis of one phenomenon into another. In all these, matter is the common denominator. Form is what makes a specific phenomenon individualistic. The previous existence has a bearing on the present value of the phenomenon in our scale of things. An inferior existence does not suddenly convert into a very superior existence. Phenomena in the "upper" world, the world of space, being direct creations of G'd, nature not having been interposed in their creation, lack the third item that we have mentioned. They have not had a previous existence, are not the result of metamorphosis, but are enduring in the original form G'd has created them. Abstract, spiritual beings in the celestial regions, having no body altogether, therefore exist only as form. When our sages define "heaven" as consisting of eysh umayim, fire and water, we must be careful not to misunderstand that statement. They do not mean that "heaven" is a composition of two kinds of matter, but rather that just as lightning and rain are perceived as descending from "above," they are perceived as descending from "heaven." The term "heaven" does not however, suggest the presence of any matter.. (Bereshit Rabbah 4.) Since other elements are not observed as travelling to earth from outer space, we have the well known saying torah kilshon beney adam medaberet,” that Torah employs syntax with which we humans are familiar, in order to help us understand strange concepts. Since G'd is the ultimate cause of all Creation, He is devoid of any tzurah, form, and cannot be conceived of in these terms at all. When the prophet Isaiah 6,1, describes G'd in these words: "I beheld the Lord sitting on the throne, high and exalted," it means that even the world of spirits merely serves as a stool for the Almighty Himself. When the angels proclaim "holy, holy, holy" in this threefold manner, they testify that He is beyond any of the three criteria that we have described as forming all or part of the universe. Since, as humans, we belong to the category that comprises two inferior ingredients, i.e. matter and our previous metamorphosis, (meaning we have already lost our identity at least once previously) G'd in His mercy has given us the Torah to help overcome the need for a further metamorphosis, or death of our personality. G'd said to the Jewish people: "sanctify yourselves and you will become holy" i.e. I will enable you to rise above two of the ingredients that constitute the limitation of all that has been created. This is another way of saying that we can become part of the world of pure spirits. G'd had to reserve for Himself one layer of kedushah by the very nature of things, since only He lacks any beginning at all. "Sanctify yourselves, means by performing good deeds." "And you will become holy," by the survival of your souls, personalities.

18. _.66.1.5

    One may describe the relationship of Israel to the family of nations, as akin to the relationship of the world of outer space to our world. The relationship of the priests to the rest of the Jewish people, on the other hand, may be described as akin to the relationship that exists between the world of pure spirits and the world of outer space. The tum-ah, impurity legislation reflects symbolically that a priest is to be removed from contact with whatever reminds one of the body's limitation, i.e. decay etc.

19. _.66.1.6

    Reflecting the high standard of Israel, the opening Midrash described the disease as epilepsy, a temporary affliction, of brief duration. The remedy quoted, the kami-a, amulet, is considered spiritual in nature, not something organic, (in Talmudic and Midrashic parlance) This suggests that the aberration had been brief, subject to prompt correction by proper spiritual orientation. Angels achieve their shleymut, perfection, by means of a single expression, i.e. experience. (Daniel 4,14), whereas man requires two expressions, i.e. experiences. The first was "let Us make man in Our image," at the time man was being created. The second expression, a further stage leading to complete perfection was the revelation at Mount Sinai. Hopefully, the two experiences between them will achieve mankind's refinement, and convert our potential into the actual achievement of the finest our species is capable of.

20. _.67.1.2

    "These are the times appointed for G'd." (holy days)

21. _.67.1.3

    Man's actions can be the result of three distinct causes. They can be the result of free choice made intellectually; they can be the result of man liking the activity he performs, or they can be the result of the immediate benefit he expects to derive fom his action. A further cause prompting man to act, is an inner urge, which does not bother to rationalise the purpose and sense of one's actions, as long as the action serves to gratify the urge that has prompted it. When a sailor, whose ship is about to founder, throws the cargo overboard in order to lighten the weight of the ship, and in order to avoid sinking the whole ship, he acts from a choice made intellectually, despite the fact that he resents either of the two options that had been open to him. This is similar to the halachic dilemma faced by people who need to violate a commandment in order to survive. Some such decisions must be based on the principle of yehareg ve-al ya-avor, rather be killed than become guilty of that violation; others will be based on the principle ya-avor ve-al yehareg, better to sin and survive than forego the chance of performing other mitzvot through having permitted himself to be killed. These options are discussed in Sanhedrin 76. If Isaac loved Esau because the latter would bring him venison, then an activity which would result in Isaac receiving such venison can be said to have originated in a feeling of love. Such an activity involves more of one's desire plus planning, than the one described previously. When a person is in the grip of lust or similar emotion however, he becomes so irrational that he will pay any price to satisfy his lust or greed. Chamor and Shechem are examples of people who made unreasonable concessions on behalf of their townspeople in order to satisfy the lust to possess Dinah, Jacob's daughter. (Genesis 34,11-19) In order to better comprehend the last example, picture a driver, a carriage and horses. Although the driver is in charge of the carriage, should the horses become unmanageable, the carriage will be drawn in the direction the horses want, and the driver will be powerless to prevent this, as long as carriage and horses are coupled together. In this parable, the horse represents the will, the lust, the urge; the carriage represents the person; the driver represents the choice made intellectually, the ability to discriminate, the gift man has been equipped with. The relationship of G'd to Zion is not based only on bechirah, choice between relative evils, but as the Psalmist 132, 13, terms it "for G'd has chosen Zion because He wanted it as His residence." The choice of the Jewish people as the chosen people, was dictated by intellectual considerations, but it was re-inforced by the Divine equivalent of ta-avah, an almost overpowering urge. This is underlined in the verse that follows "This is My rest forever, here I will dwell for I have desired it." In Deut. 10,15, Moses describes it as follows: "G'd took a strong liking to your forefathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, more than all other nations, as of this day." This shows that the love sprang from a strong liking G'd had developed towards them, based on their conduct. However, the love for the descendants is due to His choosing them (bachar) in comparison with other nations who were on a lower level, morally. That this is so, is confirmed in Song of Songs, where we read that Israel is "like a lily among thorns, so is My partner among the daughters." (Song of Songs 2,2) The terms chashak, love, choice, are used in descending order of preference. The first one is natural, unreasoning; the second one is deliberate, planned, but based on sound reason for the attraction. The third one is something forced upon one, in which one makes the best of a given situation. Of the many expressions of G'ds love for the Jewish people which are recorded in the Torah, some stem from relatively mild forms of love. None express a stronger bond of love than the setting aside of the mo-adim, the holydays that enable us to commune with G'd, and be in the presence of the shechinah, like children in the company of their father in joy and happiness.

22. _.67.1.4

    Our sages have characterised the three stages of our relationship with G'd, when they formulated the benediction describing the holiness of the day in our amidah, central prayer, commencing with the words attah bachartanu, You have chosen us. The expression "You have chosen us," refers to the selection of the Jewish people as the relatively better choice. This is why veromam-tanu You have elevated us, You have raised us from all the other nations. Ahavta otanu, You have loved us, is the second stage, which gives rise to vekidashtanu, You have sanctified us with mitzvot. Just as a man who selects a bride and establishes an exclusive claim on her, these commandments are performed willingly, they are chores whose performance is rooted in feelings of love of the bride for her groom. Finally, veratzita banu. You really wanted us for our own sake, therefore, vekeyravtanu la-avodatecha, You have established a close relationship with us so that we can truly be of service to You. As a result of establishing this relationship, G'd performed three acts. He allowed us to be identified with His great name. This corresponds to the paragraph in that prayer "and You have proclaimed Your great and holy name upon us." You have given us in love and goodwill the holydays for enjoyment." This corresponds to the part of the relationship characterised as veratzita banu ...When we conclude this benediction, we again recite in this order: "for us You have chosen, us You have sanctified and holidays You have allowed us to inherit." The visible expression of G'ds extreme goodwill is expressed by His assigning these holydays, so that women and children who are unable to study the holy writ, can comprehend the meaning of Torah by means of the ceremonies based on historical events performed on the Sabbath and the other holydays, i.e. "days of holy convocations." In this manner, women and children too can achieve a high level of bitachon, faith in G'ds individual Providence. Every child, after all, can answer questions as to why we observe certain holydays.

23. _.67.2.1

    Cahpter One

24. _.67.2.3

    Concerning the authority vested in the Sanhedrin, Supreme Court to fix the dates of the new moon and the new year, Midrash Shocher Tov on Psalms 4, comments on Psalms 57,3, "I will call unto G'd the most High, the One who confirms for me."

25. _.67.2.4

    G'd agrees with the decisions made by Israel, in contrast to earthly rulers. When an earthly ruler promulgates a law, his parliament cannot revoke it, but the king himself is at liberty to cancel his decree. Not so with G'd. He accomodates Himself to the laws enacted by the Sanhedrin. For instance, if the Sanhedrin decides to proclaim New Year's day on a certain day, G'd assembles His Court to arrange to sit in judgment of mankind on that day. "G'd arose when there is blowing of the teruah,"(shofar). (Psalms 47,6) The Torah says "it will be a day of teruah for Me." (Numbers 29,1) It also says "These are the appointed times for G'd, which you will proclaim." (Leviticus 23,2) This means that Israel is the final arbiter concerning the dates of these holydays. "These," implies that "I, G'd have no other holydays but these." The concept expressed in the above Midrash is extremely puzzling. Both solar and lunar orbits determine anniversaries, i.e. new years, new moons etc. as is well known from antiquity; it therefore seems quite irrelevant whether or not the Sanhedrin gives its sanction to the dates on which these anniversaries occur. The Talmud Rosh Hashanah 25, interpreting the word otam, them as attem, you, as the basis for the authority of the Sanhedrin to make such halachic rulings, is even stranger. Moreover, the Talmud broadens the authority of the Sanhedrin to include both wilful and erroneous decisions to change the apparent calendar dates for either the holydays or new moons. Surely, G'd does not have to adjust His conduct to human error, and even less so to human caprice! Furthermore, what can be the meaning of G'd saying "I have no holydays but these?" Is time in Heaven measured then in a similar manner to the way we measure time on earth?

26. _.67.2.5

    We need to keep four premises in mind in order to gain a proper understanding of what is meant by the Midrash quoted above. Since G'd in His wisdom has seen fit to create man equipped with a free will, this free will and the way it expresses itself must be respected. It makes no difference whether these free will decisions are in keeping with G'ds will or not. Were it otherwise, this freedom of choice would not really have any meaning. We have explained this in greater detail in chapter three, in connection with the Mishnah in Avot which states that the universe was created in ten stages, though G'd could have created it in a single phase. For the reasons cited, G'ds guidance is twofold. On the one hand natural law determines our fate; on the other hand, our own avtivities are the architects of our fate, signalling differences in the lives experienced by good and evil persons respectively.

27. _.67.2.6

    2) There are rules for the broad manner in which hashgachah peratit is employed. "If you will walk in My statutes...I will provide your rain in its proper season." See discussion in chapter twelve. Just as there are rules of natural law, i.e. seasons, years etc., so the times appointed for our holydays in the Torah have special significance for the dispensation of hashgachah peratit Divine Providence. When the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16, describes the world as being judged on four separate dates, Passover for the harvests, Pentecost for the harvest of the fruit trees, orchards; human beings on New Year's day, and Tabernacles for the forthcoming water supply, this implies that our conduct influences the respective judgment at the respective times.

28. _.67.2.7

    3) The third premise is that not all mankind qualifies for the special attention G'ds Providence may exercise over man's fate. The generations prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai had angered G'd, until the arrival of Abraham on the stage of history. G'd approved of him as well as of his descendants. This is why G'd told the Jewish people at Sinai that provided they would hearken to His commandments, He would relate to them in a special manner. (Exodus 19,5) "If you will surely listen...you will be special to Me." To this, the Jewish people responded with the famous "we will do and we will hear." From that moment on, G'ds preoccupation with the other nations came to an end, and He concentrated His efforts on the Jewish people. Not only is the Midrash full of statements to the effect that G'ds purpose even at the time of Creation had already been directed towards that nation, but, more significantly, the Torah in its very first act of legislation for the Jewish nation, changes the natural world order and designates the first day of Nissan as the New Year's day of the Jewish nation. Up to then, New Year's day had been the first day of Tishrey for all mankind. Now, at the start of the history of the Jewish people as an independent nation, as G'ds people, even the significance of such universally important dates had been changed. This was in order to facilitate understanding of the fact that the new dates were indeed subject to manipulation by the Jewish legislative body. We have elaborated on this in chapters thirty seven and thirty eight.

29. _.67.2.8

    4) The fourth premise is appreciation of the fact that even the most advanced and most knowledgeable people are apt to err occasionally in matters pertaining to astronomy. This is because astronomy is subject to such precise timing, that even Moses had difficulty knowing the exact moment when the lunar cycle would renew itself. (Talmud Menachot 29) G'd instructed him by showing him, using a finger, "when it is in this position, exactly, sanctify!" It is therefore perfectly reasonable that G'd would make allowance for human error in the calculation of the arrival of the new moon. After all, the Torah was not given to angels, but to humans who are apt to err. There are altogether three causes for not declaring the new moon, or new year respectively, at its astronomically correct time. 1) Human error, due to miscalculation. 2) Deliberate falsification of the facts by the witnesses who claimed to have seen the moon, (as related in Rosh Hashanah 22) 3) Deliberate change of date by the Sanhedrin, for overriding social considerations, or even for considerations involving the proper performance of other calendar related mitzvot. If, for instance, spring is late, harvests are delayed, adding a month to the old year in order to make Passover occur in springtime,- as expressly stated in the Torah, could be such a consideration. Or, if due to an unusually long rainy season, pilgrims would be prevented from coming to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival, an artificially delayed date for the beginning of Nissan would serve to resolve the problem. (Sanhedrin 11)

30. _.67.2.9

    We see from the above that the statement that our sages may wilfully change the dates refers only to instances when they do so in order to facilitate Torah observance. They do not have authority when their intention would be- G'd forbid- the frustration of mitzvah observance due to their calendar manipulations. The use of the word zadon, intentional, is clearly defined in the Torah (Mechilta Mishpatim 58), as referring to a father who kills his child while administering punitive corporal punishment. (Exodus 21,14) Since it had been the father's intention to do something within the law, the miscarriage of such intent is not construed as wilful murder. Similarly, Rabbi Joshua who thought that Rabbi Gamliel had erred in fixing the date for the first of Tishrey, was consoled by Rabbi Akiva when he realised that Rabbi Gamliel's decision served a grand purpose, regardless of its astronomical merit. (Rosh Hashanah 25) Our Rabbis go so far in empowering the Sanhedrin to change the date of the new moon, that even physical phenomena are affected. According to the Talmud, a virgin whose hymen has been penetrated, will grow it back if she had been under three years old when it happened. If she had been older, then she does not grow it back. The length of the three years, however, is made conditional on the determination of the calendar by the Sanhedrin, not on the solar cycle of three times 365 days. (Talmud Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 1,2) The interplay of the two methods of running the world, is described by Solomon in Kohelet 3,11, in these words: "He has made the universe to function beautifully, at its appointed time;" this refers to the laws of nature governing events. However, the verse continues: "He has also given an enigma in their hearts, so that man cannot comprehend what G'd had planned at the beginning to occur at the end." This refers to the authority vested in man, -at least chosen men-, to influence predetermined events by their actions and decisions. Between the natural laws and man's ability to influence events, much of the mystery of G'ds ways has been removed. This has been discussed in chapters three and twenty six.

31. _.67.3.1

    Chapter Two

32. _.67.3.3

    "Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day" etc.

33. _.67.3.4

    Subscribing to the concept of a disembodied Creator, does not make one a believing Jew. Judaism's dogmas can only be those that are exclusive to Jews, not those shared with other religions. Since, if we were to use the thirteen articles of faith of Maimonides, we would have to exclude some (in order to comply with this definition) the first and foremost that remains is the belief in chidush ha-olam, the creation of the world ex nihilo by G'd. This is indeed the first item on the agenda in our Parshah, when we read about the Sabbath legislation. This mitzvah reflects our belief that G'd created the universe in six days and rested on the seventh day.

34. _.67.4.1

    Chapter Three

35. _.67.4.3

    (Leviticus 23,5) "In the first month, on the fourteenth of the month, is the Lord's Passover."

36. _.67.4.4

    The events leading to Passover demonstrated G'ds ability not only to create a universe, but to remain in complete control of it even after its completion. He was able to change the rules the universe operated by. The plagues demonstrated the ongoing power of G'd. In order to believe in this power of G'd, it is necessary to believe in the fact that G'd created the universe ex nihilo, and that it is this which is the source of His power over the universe. These two beliefs are so closely bound up with each other, that our sages tell us in Rosh Hashanah 25, that zachor ve-shamor bedibbur echad ne-emru, that the words "remember and observe" were said simultaneously. They refer to the dual significance of the Sabbath both as the Sabbath of creation and its other function, that of the Sabbath of the Exodus. This reminder is spelled out in the second set of tablets: "Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your G'd took you out,.. therefore He commanded you to observe the Sabbath." (Deut. 5,15) The Torah clearly emphasized the hashgachah peratit aspect of G'ds rule, whereas the "for in six days the Lord created the universe" in the first set of tablets, emphasized the rule of natural law that G'd had established at that time. By observing the Sabbath, we testify to our belief in both aspects of G'ds guidance, contradictory though they may appear.

37. _.67.5.1

    Chapter Four

38. _.67.5.3

    "When ye are come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap" etc.

39. _.67.5.4

    From the belief in G'ds power, we proceed to the belief in Torah prophecy as being of Divine origin. This was proved by the collective experience at Mount Sinai, on the occasion of which Israel exclaimed "today we have seen that it is possible for G'd to speak with man, and for man to survive such an encounter alive."(Deut. 5,21) Before dealing with that experience in detail, in remembrance of which we observe Shavuot, Pentecost, we read about the mitzvah of Omer, the offering of the new barley harvest, and the counting from that day. This adds to our appreciation of what had transpired at Sinai. Teaching us the proper appreciation of Torah and what it stands for, involves three preliminary phases. Firstly, while Torah knowledge without physical and material well being is difficult to achieve by the average person, (see Mishnah "im eyn kemach eyn Torah," where there is no flour there is no Torah Avot, 3,17) this material blessing is necessary, but at the same time its function must be clearly delineated. Before matan Torah, the giving of the Torah, we read about the Omer "when you come to the land which I give you and you will reap its harvest, you shall bring the Omer, the first of your harvest, to the Priest." (Leviticus 23,10) Already Isaac had used this formula when he blessed Jacob i.e. "and may the Lord give you." (Genesis 27,28) The conjunctive letter vav indicated the subordinate nature of material blessings to spiritual rewards. Though the latter had not been spelled out, the former is introduced merely as an addition to the spiritual reward which had not been specified. When Solomon says in Proverbs 3,16, concerning Torah and its rewards, "long life is at its right, wealth and honour at its left," he emphasizes the greater reward which will be handed out by the right hand. The reward to be handed out by the left hand, being temporal in nature, is of course, inferior. Oredi chayim, long life, or better "length of life,” refers to the life in the world to come, a world of infinity. Elsewhere, Kohelet, 10,2, contrasting the wise man and the fool, says "the heart of the fool is on his left, the wise man's heart is on the right side." He who prefers the rewards that originate from the left side is foolish, because he does not have his priorities right. Our striving must be directed towards obtaining the rewards that originate from the right. The fool, in his folly uses wisdom as an instrument to gain transient values, whereas the wise strives for material wealth, transient though it is, to enable him to pursue gains of enduring, eternal value. Psalm 67, which is recited when we count the Omer, contains forty nine words, paralleling the symbolism inherent in the seven arms of the menorah, candelabra in the tabernacle.

40. _.67.5.7

    We must remain aware that all our possessions are only gifts, i.e. "which I will give you," and that these gifts must be employed lirtzonchem, so that you will merit G'ds goodwill.

41. _.67.5.9

    The second phase that winds us up towards proper appreciation of matan Torah, is the ceremony of the seven weeks of counting. When one desires something inordinately, one counts the days towards realisation of one's dreams. The closer that day approaches, the more intensely aware does one become of its impending realisation. Similarly, such count reflects the pain and anguish all the time the desired state has not yet been achieved. In the case of a woman suffering from flux, (Leviticus 15,28) even after the medical symptoms have disappeared, seven days must elapse before readmission to society from the state of isolation she has been in. If a seven day count is mandatory in order to enable her to rejoin ordinary society, the preparation for the revelation of G'd at Mount Sinai would obviously take longer, especially since the disease from which the Jewish nation recovered at the time of the Exodus, had left far deeper scars on the national body than the brief (sometimes lasting only three days) illness of the woman with the flux. The fact that this spiritual preparation could have been achieved in the brief space of seven weeks, is evidence of the help the Jewish people received from G'd. "I carried you on the wings of eagles." (Exodus 19,4.) G'd Himself speeded up the process and telescoped the time normally required into a minute fraction thereof. Since the feeling of not yet being worthy of the revelation is one of pain, we do not recite the benediction she-hecheyanu, "who has let us live to this day to fulfil etc." when performing the mitzvah of counting the Omer. A bride awaiting her wedding will hardly recite she-hecheyanu when informed that she is not yet spiritually pure enough to stand under the wedding canopy.

42. _.67.5.10

    The third phase of preparedness and progress towards the revelation at Sinai is revealed by the difference between the Omer offering which was offered immediately after Passover, and the shtey halechem, the two loaves of wheat bread offered on Shavuot, Pentecost. The former consisting of barley, is a food used for both man and beast, and ripens in early spring. (Exodus 9,31) Since at that time, Israel had not yet attained their specific maturity symbolised by wheat, a food exclusive for human consumption, the benediction she-hecheyanu is not yet in order until that status has been achieved. That benediction is recited over an accomplishment, something achieved, not over something towards which we strive, something yet to be realised.

43. _.67.5.12

    There are numerous examples of Israel being compared to wheat. (Baba Batra 114, Midrash Tehillim Shocher tov 2) Offering two loaves made of wheat on Pentecost known as "the two breads," is symbolical of Israel having matured to the point of receiving both Torahs, the written as well as the oral law. Each Torah performs a separate function. Therefore, two separate loaves are used in the offering. The Talmud Menachot 94, describes the kneading and baking of each of these loaves as being a separate operation, symbolising the different nature of the two parts of the Torah. The achievement of the necessary status indicated by offering of the "two breads," led to the eventual offering of the "show breads," a steady diet on the table in the tabernacle/temple, the preparation of which required tremendous skill. The Talmud relates about the unwillingness of a certain family who possessed this skill, to teach it to anyone else. (Yuma 38) When the Mishnah in Avot 5,5, mentions ten miracles that were manifest in Jerusalem during the time the temple was standing, three of them relate to the Omer, the showbreads and the two loaves that were offered on Pentecost. None of these offerings were ever disqualified for any reason. This may indicate special hashgachah merited by the fact that each of these offerings was symbolic of the people's efforts to elevate themselves spiritually. The fact that these offerings were subject to very stringent regulations, making some disqualification at one time or another likely, underlines the special Providence that alone prevented such disqualification. It is noteworthy that the mussaph offering on Shavuot, was not accompanied by a sin offering, something that does not occur on any other occasion. This is symbolic of the fact that the spiritual growth that had taken place since Passover was such that there was no need at a time when that growth was being recalled,- to add a sin offering. (Midrash Chazit Song of Songs 4)

44. _.67.5.13

    The fact that no mention is made of the Torah being received in connection with the Shavuot festival, indicates that a commandment which is ongoing, applies on all three hundred sixty five days a year, at all hours during day and night, unlike other commandments, cannot appear to be tied to one particular date only, such as is the case with Passover or Tabernacles, for instance. Since all of mankind accepts the concept of Divine justice, i.e. retribution, in what way are the Jewish people unique? How does embracing that concept constitute a specific Jewish article of faith?

45. _.67.6.1

    Chapter Five

46. _.67.6.3

    "In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall be" etc.

47. _.67.6.4

    (Sifrey on Numbers section 42) Why does the Torah say concerning offerings on New Year's day etc. (Numbers 10,10) "they will be for you as a remembrance before the Lord your G'd, I am the Lord your G'd?" Since the Torah had said earlier in Leviticus 23,24, "on the first of the seventh month will be a Shabbaton for you, remembrance of shofar sounding, a holy convocation." On that occasion G'ds majesty is not mentioned. Therefore, it says in Numbers 23,21, "the Lord his G'd is with him, and the shofar sounding of the King accompanies him." So here you have mention of G'ds majesty and the blowing of the shofar side by side. It also says "it will serve for you as a remembrance;" so you have mention of "remembrances" already. The end of the line "I am the Lord your G'd," completes the picture, and we have "majesty." If this is so, why did the sages arrange in the liturgy of our prayers that we first recite "majesty," i.e. malchiyot, then "remembrances," zichronot, and finally shofarot? It is logical that one first acknowledges G'ds majesty, malchut, only afterwards does one ask Him to be remembered by means of the ram's horn, signalling freedom. How do I know that the ram's horn signals freedom? Compare Isaiah 27,13, "On that day a great horn will be blown and the outcasts (10 tribes) that were lost in the land of Ashur will come, as well as those who had been dispersed all over Egypt; they will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem." Still, from this I do not know who does the actual blowing of the shofar? Therefore, the prophet Zachariah 9,14, says "the Lord G'd will blow the shofar." Still, I do not know whence the sound emanated (if the invisible G'd does the blowing) Therefore Isaiah 66,6, states "the voice of the uproar comes from the city, emanates from the temple."

48. _.67.6.5

    Our intelligence dictates that human behaviour does not escape the attention of the Creator, that reward and punishment will occur sooner or later. If this were not so, there would be no advantage in being human rather than a beast, and one's self confidence and self respect would decline to nil. For this reason the concept of reward and punishment by supernatural forces has always been widely accepted amongst mankind. To remove the sense of futility man might feel, Solomon has these words of comfort at the end of Kohelet 11, 9-10. "Rejoice young man in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of youth; walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes." The reference made here to "ways of our heart," indicates that more than one objective is to be pursued. The first objective is attention to your physical needs in life; the second is the pursuit of eternal life, referred to as "the life and goodness" in Deut. 30,15. When these are being pursued, then in the words of Kohelet 11,9, "remove vexation from your heart, put away evil from your flesh, know that concerning all these G'd would bring you to your judgment." This philosophy of Heavenly judgment is so widespread, that in all countries where human justice fails, people pin their hopes on obtaining justice from on high. Even the concept that earthly justice is predicated on Heavenly judgments, is more or less universally accepted, (in the author's time) The term "truth" is applied to human judgments that are in accord with Divine principles of justice. Divine justice is termed tzedek, righteousness. The psalmist who proclaims "truth grows on earth, and righteousness looks down from the heavens," has this in mind. (Psalms 85,12) The difference in terminology is to indicate that what originates in Heaven does not require anyone's confirmation in order for it to be considered true and objective. The Jewish contribution to this awareness is threefold. 1) We were the first to tell the world of the one Creator, His power and His interest. (in human affairs) This information subsequently began to circulate amongst mankind. 2) The knowledge that the day of judgment was the first day in Tishrey, more so than any other day of the year, as well as the purpose of this judgment. This is the meaning of "it is a day of sounding teruah for you." It is a statute for Israel, a social legislation of the G'd of Jacob." (Psalms 81,5) 3) We alone determine when this day occurs. In this manner, Israel controls the effective dates of all "holy convocations," as explained earlier.

49. _.67.6.6

    Having established that this is the day of judgment and sounding of the shofar, three things should be explained. A) The nature of the judgment. B) The order of the blowing of the shofar during the recitals of the three central benedictions of the mussaph amidah, the central prayer, and the other shofar blowings on that day. C) The reason for this judgment. As explained in Aristotele's ethics, since man's relationship to his Creator is like that of son to father, or slave to master, in that he really has no claim on his master since he is his master's property, so man has no claim upon G'd, seeing he is merely His creature. Any benefit conferred upon man therefore is an act of kindness and not an act of justice. The rights the Torah has conferred upon a father vis a vis his daughter are indicative of the father/daughter legal position. Surely G'ds rights vis a vis us are no less! The rights of an owner vis a vis a slave are similarly comprehensive. It is only logical that a creator has complete freedom of action relative to the things he creates, and therefore any creature of his cannot possibly go to litigation with him, since the creature has no legal standing. The judgmental relationship that does exist is expressed in the liturgical poem hayom harat olam, "this is the birthday of the universe..." Either we qualify for mercy, or, if we are like slaves, we plead for chaninah, grace." At any rate, G'd has singled us out by revealing only to us that he sits in judgment. (Psalms 147,20) "He has told His words to Jacob, His laws to Israel; He has not done so for any other nation." All the quotations in the Bible referring to this judgment, confirm that the Almighty deals with us as if we were equals and had claims upon Him. In Psalms 89,15, we read "Righteousness and justice are the abode of Your throne, kindness and mercy precede Your Presence." All this is an acknowledgment that G'd has freely subjected Himself to such rules. There had been no legal reason for Him to do so. Our approach therefore, is to stress G'ds majesty rather than His overlordship, ownership etc. by means of the shofar, to remind Him of those of our meritorious deeds which He should not ignore. The psalmist saying "hail the people who understand the meaning of teruah, the sound of the shofar; they can expect to walk in the light of Your favour" is thus vindicated. (Psalms 89,16) The meaning of zichron teruah in Leviticus 23,24, is bringing ourselves to the fore by means of the teruah. Rabbi Nathan finds all these concepts in one single verse, (Numbers 10,10), since he views the shofar procedure from the point of view of the one who blows it. That person intends from the outset to remind G'd of the person who blows the shofar. In his view, the shofar takes precedence over the zichronot, since it is the shofar which "gets the ball rolling," so to speak. Of course, unless there is an awareness and appreciation of "majesty" malchut, and remembrances zichronot, the shofar blowing itself would be meaningless.

50. _.67.6.9

    The reason the Talmud discusses the exact nature of the teruah sound at great length, (Rosh Hashanah 32) is to show the importance attached to the value of external stimuli to achieve a certain frame of mind. Just as we are told in Kings II 3,15, that a certain frame of mind is necessary to achieve prophetic visions, -Elisha had to listen to music to achieve that frame of mind,- and just as we find David playing music when transporting the holy ark, (Samuel II 6,5) the frame of mind we are supposed to be in on Rosh Hashanah requires the sounds of a different instrument, i.e. the shofar. Since the prophet Amos proclaims "who does not tremble when the shofar is sounded?," we get the idea. (Amos 3,6) Blowing trumpets is not prescribed for this day. In fact, if someone manages to blow the shofar in such a manner that its sounds would be like real music, he has not fulfilled his duty. All this lends weight to the discussion in the Talmud about which is the right sound to be produced. Its is a wailing sound, kind of a sigh; the halachic decision is to arrange all the sounds in such an order as to insure that at some stage or other the correct sequence of tekiyah -teruah-tekiyah has been blown.

51. _.67.6.10

    Attah zocher, is the paragraph in the mussaph prayer dealing with the zichronot, remembrances. At the time of the revelation at Mount Sinai, when G'd appeared and the people heard the sound of the shofar, they also attained the highest moral level they were capable of. G'd Himself said of that moment "who would give that they could remain like this!" (Deut 5,25) Since the shofar contributed to Israel achieving such a lofty spirituality, whenever a shofar is sounded by the Jewish people it will recall to G'd that beautiful moment in time. He will be appeased remembering the grandeur of that moment. The reason that a keren, bull's horn is unfit for blowing on Rosh Hashanah, is because the bull uses the horn in a bellicose manner. He gores with it, batters with it; not so the ram's horn, (compare Psalms 69, 31-32) See also our comments in chapter nine in connection with “the woman You have given to me.” As the sound of the shofar then is distinct in instilling fear, so the different notes blown on it also reflect different emotions. Already in Numbers chapter ten, the Torah tells us that the call to arms or assembly is sometimes the teruah sound and sometimes the tekiyah sound. It depends on the nature of the occasion. The plain unbroken tekiyah sound, is associated with “the day of your joy.” However, whenever Israel breaks camp, teruah is blown, since departure always involves an element of nostalgia. The need to move testifies to the fact that the place one moves from was somehow imperfect. If the teruah by itself, signals being troubled, being sad, and the tekiyah by itself signals joy, then a combination of these two notes i.e. shevarim signals a state of mind which is somewhere between the other two emotional states.

52. _.67.6.11

    If the assumption about the emotions represented by the sequence of tekiyah-shevarim -teruah respectively is correct, then the custom of blowing tashrat during malchiot, tashach during zichronot, and tarat during shofarot, makes sense. This in addition to the consideration that it would impose needless diversion of the congregation from concentrating on the prayer itself, and that therefore a minimum of sounds are being blown during the actual amidah prayer. Malchiot, i.e. proclaiming G'ds Majesty, is welcomed by the completely righteous who can afford to react to these sounds with joy and equanimity, i.e. tekiyah. The completely wicked person, on the other hand, shrinks from such an encounter and is represented by the teruah sound of the shofar. The great majority of people who fall somewhere between those two categories, view the coming of a reward for their meritorious deeds with a certain feeling of gladness, while trembling at the thought of the impending retribution for the sins they have committed. We are, after all, enjoined by the Psalmist “serve the Lord with fear, but rejoice while trembling.” (Psalms 2,11) In order to emphasize the worthwhile nature of the mitzvot, tekiyah is blown both at the beginning and at the end of each sequence of blasts, and the tekiyah gedolah, the long final blast underlines the desire to recall those events that reflect our good deeds. The binding of Isaac on the altar was one such event. If we were to blow a teruah gedolah, this would represent the exact opposite feeling on our part, and is therefore completely out of place. The reason for blowing the shevarim, which is considered a median teruah sound, is twofold. Having to rely on citing the good deeds of our ancestors rather than our own, is not so complimentary to ourselves. There is also the fear that setting in motion the process of reminding G'd of the outstanding deeds of our ancestors, He might recall our own misdeeds instead. Shofarot, the last of the three central benedictions of the mussaph amidah, qualifies for blowing the teruah sound, since the objective of that benediction is to bring home to us the frightening aspect of the shofar. The teruah, after all reflects that type of the shofar blast during the amidah. It is significant to realise that G'd Himself uses the shofar as an instrument of proclaiming freedom, and that He blows it Himself, (see opening Sifrey) Therefore, when the proper person blows the shofar, he can turn it into an instrument that confuses Satan and confounds him. The question raised in the Sifrey, "I still do not know who blows it," as well as the answer "it is the Lord G'd who blows it," suggests that the person most qualified to blow the shofar is he who is close to G'd. Just as the High Priest- if not free from sin-, cannot serve successfully in representing the nation, so the baal tokey-a, the shofar blower who is not a G'd fearing individual cannot accomplish by his blowing the shofar what the congregation expects of him, i.e. to rebut our accusers, (see Zohar Leviticus on verse two chapter four)

53. _.67.6.12

    Concerning the traditional view that on Rosh Hashanah the righteous are inscribed for life, the wicked for death, and the ones whose conduct is in balance are given grace until Yom Kippur, (based on Yuma 16) the author rejects the usual answers to the vexing problem of "the wicked seem to enjoy a good life, while many of the righteous frequently suffer greatly." The problem is highlighted by our judging from visual observations from the outside only.

54. _.67.6.13

    We assume that in front of G'd there are two books for each individual. One contains a list of his good deeds, merits; the other contains a list of his sins, debits. Since the individual in question has escaped human justice, his deeds will be judged by the celestial tribunal instead, and death of the person found guilty will atone for his sin, just as death by a human tribunal would have done, had such judgment been pronounced and executed. We derive this from Joshua 7,25, "may the Lord sadden you this day" The words "this day," are to emphasize that physical death will atone for Achan, and he will not forfeit his life in the world to come. Our sages in Yuma 86, explain that death will atone for what repentance had only been able to "arrest judgment of." King Saul's death is a prime example of this result of celestial judgment, since Samuel had promised him immediate olam haba, share in the world to come. (Samuel I 28,19)

55. _.67.6.14

    From the aforegoing we can stipulate three things: 1) On Rosh Hashanah, G'd considers only deeds already committed previously. 2) Only fitness to survive is judged on that day, just as would be the function of a human tribunal. This eliminates the thoroughly wicked people who, having already lost their share in the hereafter, could not regain it by submitting to the death penalty decreed on them in the physical world. 3) Since death decreed on man on Rosh Hashanah is due to the evil nature of his deeds, such death will not be due to natural causes when it occurs, since death is something that is part of everyone's fate anyways. Keeping this point in mind, we can approach the solution of the apparent paradox of tzaddik ve-ra lo, rasha ve-tov lo, the righteous and his misery and the wicked and his being well off. When G'd makes mankind parade before Him on Rosh Hashanah, the nations that have not stood at Mount Sinai are excluded. "All the nations are like nothing vis a vis Him." (Isaiah 40,17) Of the Jews, all who have sinned but have merits offsetting the sins, or have repented their sins, and all those whose sins are not the kind that deserve death, are immediately inscribed for a year of life. This is what is meant by the expression tzaddikim gemurim; they are now considered righteous. Those whose mortal sins are not offset by merits or repentance, are inscribed for death. Naturally, these sentences are not carried out at once, so as not to arouse the feeling that the judgment is cruel. However, the Personal Divine Providence is withdrawn from these guilty people, and from that moment on every one of them is subject to the caprice of natural law. Should natural law not result in their death, G'd despatches a messenger to terminate the guilty peson's life, as we read in Samuel I 26,10, "or the Lord will smite him, or his day will come and he will die, or by warfare." Since the judgment had been based on past conduct, one may assume that a change of conduct on the part of the person under sentence of death would change the sentence, possibly even cancel it. Just as the person who has been inscribed for life, would not be kept alive were he foolishly to attempt to commit suicide, so a person who has been inscribed for life did not buy an insurance policy permitting him to commit felonies, and remain free from death until the following Rosh Hashanah. By the same token, repentance is acceptable even from persons who are under sentence of death, irrespective of whether they are aware of such sentence or not. The exceptions to this rule are those sins that cannot be expiated for by repentance alone, as per Isaiah 22, 14, "this sin will not be atoned for you until you die." We learn that remission for people under sentence of death is possible, from Achav king of Israel. (compare Kings 1 21, 29) Also king Chiskiyahu's sentence of death was revoked. (compare Isaiah 38, 5 and our comments in chapter 36.) It pays to read chapter eighteen in Ezekiel, where the process of guilt and punishment is discussed in detail, as well as the reversal of evil decrees. When we encounter an apparently thoroughly wicked person, who enjoys long and successful years, it is clear that he has not been judged on Rosh Hashanah. This is so, a) because he no longer qualifies for hashgachah peratit, b) presumably he has some merits to his credit which, since they cannot be compensated for in the hereafter, must be compensated for in this life, i.e. el panav yeshalem lo. "G'd will pay him off to his face," (Deut. 7, 11) This is also what David means in Psalm 92, 8, “when the lawless spring up like grass, where all the abusers of might flourish, in order to be destroyed in the end. When an apparently righteous person dies prematurely, we assume that although he had been righteous last Rosh Hashanah, something that he has done since last Rosh Hashanah caused a change in his judgment. Examples are both Moses and Aaron, and Nadav and Avihu, who surely on the Rosh Hashanah prior to their respective deaths had been inscribed for life, but whose specific actions resulted in their deaths before the year was out. Other examples would be Gedalyah ben Achikam, who ignored warnings of danger (Jeremiah 40, 13), or Achitofel, who committed suicide, (Samuel II 17, 23), or people who chose to die on kiddush hashem sanctification of the Lord's name. These deaths come under the heading of "everything is in the hands of Heaven except the common cold," i.e. they are the direct result of free volition of the party involved, not due to prejudgment on Rosh Hashanah of sins committed in the past. Similarly, old people do not die from the effects of a decree issued on account of their sins, on the contrary, they enjoy both "tables," i.e. they have had a good life in this world and can look forward to their full share in the world to come. The principle that once G'd has decreed something good, positive, He does not revoke it, is not in conflict with the position we have taken, since a) nowhere is it stated that the inscription on Rosh Hashanah "for life," covers the entire year. It merely means that since the person examined had not at that time deserved the death penalty for past errors, he is confirmed for continued life. There cannot therefore be a question of G'd having reversed Himself, should that individual have become guilty of a capital offence prior to the next day of judgment. b) The rule of G'd not reversing a decision favourable to an individual or individuals, is generally misunderstood. This will be dealt with in detail when we discuss false prophets in chapter ninety six. There we address the question "how will we know that G'd has not spoken to him?" Should one argue that this latitude on the part of G'd would make the day of judgment quite meaningless, since decisions taken on that day are subject to all kinds of reversals, the answer is simple. It is the kindness of G'd who endeavours to treat all His children like a clever doctor. He is not only concerned about restoring his patients to health, but also engages in the practice of preventive medicine. "For I the Lord am your Healer" (Exodus 15, 26.) A doctor may prescribe preventive treatment to forestall many minor disorders. Nevertheless, when a particularly violent strain of disease hits a person, special measures are called for. Most sins, committed daily, are not each in itself deserving the death penalty. However, if allowed to accumulate, they would combine to attract the death penalty. It is similar with the function of Rosh Hashanah. The day of judgment, in conjunction with repentance, disposes of myriads of minor sins. However, should a person have committed a major crime during the year, stern measures may be called for immediately. Anyways, the call of the shofar is to warn each of us to regain our spiritual health by taking the pertinent drugs, and cleansing our system to prevent future contamination. The spring, Passover time, is reserved for our physical renewal, whereas the autumn, i.e. Rosh Hashanah, is reserved for our spiritual renaissance. Spring being nature's renewal season, is suitable for physical renewal. Fall, on the other hand, is the period when due to harvesting, man considers himself most independent and he is at the height of his self reliance. It is at that time that he needs to be reminded that he is still in need of G'ds protection. Making the day of the shofar occur at this juncture, is most appropriate in counteracting man's frivolity at that time of year. "Yeshurun waxed fat and kicked," Deut 32, 15, or "lest you eat, be satisfied and your heart become haughty." Deut 8, 14. Encouraging man to repent before the day of judgment is ever so much more helpful than to wait for the judgment, and then attempt to reverse it. Therefore, the knowledge of when the day of judgment occurs, affords us a chance to prepare for that day. When David proclaims "hail the nation that knows the teruah, they walk in the light of Your countenance," (Psalms 89, 16), he merely points out how fortunate we are to be able to put this knowledge to our advantage. The Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16, discusses timing of celestial judgments. Rabbi Yossi emphasizes that daily judgment of man occurs also, whereas Rabbi Yochanan makes the point that repentance even tears up the evil decree. When the question is raised that even myriads of sacrifices, if they are offered after the Day of Atonement, can no longer change the evil decree, the answer given is that this is so only in the case of individuals. Collective repentance of a congregation is accepted at all times. Since we have the opinion of Rabbi Meir that prayer, i.e. repentance is effective even after G'd has passed sentence, then the original opinion offered by him, that man is judged on Rosh Hashanah, does not mean that Rosh Hashanah is the only day judgment can be pronounced on man. He therefore, does not disagree with Rabbi Yossi and Rabbi Nathan who claim that the judgment process can occur any day, even at any hour. We rely on scriptural proof from the verse "to carry out the judgment of His servant as a daily matter." (Kings 1, 8, 59) There remains to be explained the status of the beynonim, the people whose actions leave them hanging in the balance, and how they are being dealt with. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is reserved for this category of people as the day when their status is examined and a decision is made whether to inscribe them (seal) in the book of life. The discussion in Rosh Hashanah 16, between Rabbi Avin and Rabbi Nachman, centers around the fine point whether having been inscribed (on Rosh Hashanah) they might need to be erased from the book of life (or the book of death as the case may be), or whether there is no need for that since people of that category had not been inscribed at all on Rosh Hashanah. A practical difference between these two viewpoints would occur only, if the person who was a beynonion Rosh Hashanah, still remains a beynoni by the time Yom Kippur has arrived. According to the view that he had never been inscribed for life on Rosh Hashanah, such a person would have nothing to look forward to, since he had not improved his status during the days of penitence.

56. _.67.7.1

    Chapter Six

57. _.67.7.3

    A Midrash quoted in Menorat Hama-or states "G'd roared aloud at the head of His army," (Yoel 2, 11) that this refers to Rosh Hashanah, that the words "for His camp is very great" refers to Israel, "numberless are those who do His bidding for great is the day of the Lord and very frightening," refers to the Day of Atonement as stated by Rabbi Kruspadai "three books are open before Him on the day of judgment."

58. _.67.7.4

    Although the holy days and their significance mentioned up to now are extremely useful in guiding man on the path of observing the ways of the Lord and His Torah, there are only few people who are so free from the evil urge that they never fall prey to its temptations and find themselves committing sins of omission as well as sins of commission. Therefore, even with the legislation that we have just read about, most people will not really be helped in their salvation. There remains the danger that man in his inadequacy will despair and abandon any efforts to be good, if there were not a chance for forgiveness and pardon for his transgressions. The result would be a string of sins, since these people reason that they cannot die more than once. Subsequent sins therefore, would go unpunished according to their view. This is why G'd, in His great kindness instituted general atonement and forgiveness on the day of judgment on the tenth day of the seventh month. The verse quoted from Yoel in the Midrash, is best explained by the following parable. A group of sailors travelling on a lengthy sea voyage, espied a beautiful piece of land, full of orchards, shady trees etc. They expressed the desire to drop anchor and to enjoy the fruit of the orchards on that island. The captain agreed, cautioning them that when the ship's whistle would blow, everyone would have to rejoin the ship which would sail forthwith without regard for stragglers. The latter would be sure to die on that island if left to their own devices. A few of the ship's passengers declined to visit the island, fearing they might not hear the whistle when it would signal that it was time to return to the ship. Most of the remainder of the crew and passengers landed on the island and returned to the ship at the sound of the whistle. Some returned even ahead of the ship's whistle being blown. Some ignored the whistle, and were left behind when the ship sailed on. Similarly, the journey of life may be filled with plans to visit places to indulge oneself, and the warning signals to return to the main purpose of the voyage ring loud and clear, unmistakably. Those who heed the signals may continue towards their original destination. Those who ignore the warnings do so at their peril. The institution of atonement then has as its purpose to create yirah, reverence, since when there is no atonement, even yirat shamayim, fear of Heaven, becomes pointless for the condemned. Thus when we read in Psalm 130, 4, "for forgiveness rests with You in order that You may be revered," this is G'ds assurance to us that He will relate to us after repentance just as He related to us before sin. This is why the four lettered name of G'd is repeated at the beginning of G'ds list of thirteen attributes. (Rosh Hashanah 17)

59. _.67.8.1

    Chapter Eight

60. _.67.8.3

    "On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD"

61. _.67.8.4

    The Rabbis taught in Sukkah 20, that he who sleeps beneath the bed in a sukkah, has not fulfilled his duty of sleeping in the sukkah. Rabbi Yehudah says, that there was a custom for students to sleep underneath the beds of their respective teachers. Rabbi Shimon relates that the slave Tobi, the manservant of Rabbi Gamliel slept under the bed of his master in the sukkah. Rabbi Gamliel used this incident to demonstrate that his servant Tobi was so well versed in the halachah, religious law, that he slept under the bed since he was not obliged to sleep in the sukkah at all, seeing that he was a slave. A Baraita states that we learn two rules from the conversation of Rabbi Gamliel. 1) Slaves are not obligated to observe the mitzvah of sukkah 2) He who sleeps under the bed of the sukkah has not fulfilled the duty of dwelling in the sukkah. Why is this learned from this conversation? Why does the baraita not refer to the "words of Rabbi Gamliel," instead of referring to "the conversation?" This is to teach us that even the casual conversation of scholars has to be examined carefully for their possible halachic content. "Even its leaves will not wilt." (Psalms 1, 3)

62. _.67.8.5

    Since the principal purpose of the belief in reward and punishment of a spiritual nature after death of the body, is to prevent man from spending too much of his time and effort in the pursuit of things of merely transient value, we will examine how the mitzvah of sukkah is designed to further our appreciation of these truths.

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    The Torah frowns on excessive pursuit of material goods. Therefore we read "if you will listen to My commandments...you will gather in your harvest." This means you engage in necessary activities to assure yourself of your livelihood. Selling oneself to another person in order to gain financial security, and to escape one's responsibilities, is frowned on. The fact that even the most private possessions such as wife and children acquired during servitude, continue to belong to the master, demonstrates that the Torah's message to us is to rely on G'd and not on man. After all, it is He who has commanded the children of Israel "for to Me are the children of Israel servants." He did not take us out of Egypt in order for us to become slaves again. The pursuit of worldly goods is a waste of time, since we leave the world as naked as we came into it. (Job 1, 21, "I came naked out of my mother's womb, and naked will I return there.") The whole paragraph dealing with the Jewish servant can be understood allegorically as reflecting man's experience in this world. He enters alone, leaves alone, leaves his acquisitions behind, and when he expresses the desire to attach himself to a human master, he is brought to elohim, to be forcefully reminded of his error. In the seventh decade of his life, his vitality ebbs, and as he approaches his death, i.e. the time he returns to the grave, he does so chinam, chofshi, without any encumbrance. This is either due to physical decline or because of lack of energy to go on living. The wheel has turned, as a wheel is always apt to do. What had once been thought to be a continuous upward curve, has peaked and become a downward movement. (compare Exodus 21, 2-6) Man will wind up as a servant "forever" to his "Master" in the world of infinity. The purpose of the Torah has always been to liberate mortal man from the inevitable and depressingly terminal state of merely physical existence here on earth. Accepting the yoke of Torah is an incomparably easier burden than living with the thought of the futility of all earthly existence. One of the ways to achieve freedom from the obsessive character of the greed to amass more and more material, i.e. useless wealth, is the Torah's emphasis that one should be satisfied with the necessities of life. All the Torah's promises of reward for performing G'ds commandments are of this nature. "I will grant you rain at the appropriate time;" "you will gather in your grain harvest." "You will eat, be sated and bless the Lord." Performance of G'ds commandments will enable us to feel "satiated" when we have eaten. The greatest lesson in this respect was the experience of man, the heavenly bread the Israelites ate in the desert. This taught reliance on G'd, the futility of amassing for the future as long as one is under the loving care of G'ds Personal Providence.

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    The symbolism expressed in the various rites performed on the festival of Tabernacles, are all designed to remind us of the lessons outlined above. We leave the house, symbol of our security and wealth, and move to a temporary dwelling without a firm roof overhead. We entrust ourselves to G'ds immediate and direct protection.

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    The flimsy roof makes it impossible for us to maintain the fiction that the quality of the roof shelters us from the elements. Generally speaking, the Sukkah contains only the most rudimentary furnishings, emphasizing the temporary nature of our sojourn therein. Thereby we underline that life in this world is only of a transient nature, the palace still awaiting us in the world to come. (Avot 4, 21) The halachic details surrounding the mitzvah of sukkah, seem to confirm the overall concept symbolised by the sukkah itself.

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    1) The minimum dimensions of seven by seven handbreadths by a height of ten handbreadths, suggest that man should make do with the very minimum in earthly comforts.

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    The requirement that the roofing material be directly under the sky, emphasizes that we need to rely directly on G'd, not on any intermediaries. The need to employ only materials that cannot become impure in their present state, i.e. nature's unimproved products, indicate that impurity is rooted in the imposition of man's will and tools on natural products. All the things which man finds it necessary to improve in nature, are apt to create a gulf between man and his G'd.

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    The requirement that the covering should afford more shade than sunlight, also suggests that though our welfare in this world is based both on the sun, i.e. natural law and the "shade" i.e. G'ds Personal Providence, we express our confidence by placing ourselves primarily under His Providential guidance, instead of relying on our mazzal. For this reason, a covering which is too thick and does not allow sunshine to penetrate, is not permissible. This would demonstrate our reliance on miracles rather than participating with our own efforts to provide for our families. On the other hand, too much sunshine filtering through the covering material is also not permissible, as it would signify too much reliance and pursuit of material wealth, something described by Solomon as tachat hashemesh, under the "auspices" of the sun, whenever Solomon refers to earthly pursuits in the book of Kohelet.

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    Halachah requires two complete walls and one wall of minimal dimensions. The total corresponds to the three kinds of human aspirations, endeavours. Man seeks the good, the expedient and the pleasant. Concerning the good, a relatively small effort is required to counteract the urges of our yetzer hara, temptation to do evil. Concerning the other two aspirations, a vigorous effort has to be made not to allow the yetzer hara to sway our judgment. The concept of the walls having to be strong enough to stand up to a wind of average velocity, is symbolic of the erection of spiritual defences against the onslaught of temptation. Since that which serves our pleasure or our convenience is important to us, so that our judgment relative to its permissibility is easily influenced, the fence against misjudgment must be high, allegorically speaking. Concerning the objective good however, we can be more evenhanded in our judgment, and a fence of smaller dimensions will suffice to reinforce our judgment. When Rabbi Gamliel explained that even his outstandingly brilliant slave was not using the sukkah according to halachic norm, by sleeping under the bed, he wanted to get two points across. 1) Since it is the nature of a slave not to be serving his G'd as his immediate Master, but rather to serve a human master who in turn is G'ds servant, the slave cannot be obligated to fulfil the mitzvah of sukkah which demonstrates the opposite approach to life. 2) It is not in order for a Jew to sleep under the bed in the sukkah. He would not then fulfil the commandment of living in the sukkah. Rabbi Gamliel illustrated this to our sages by telling them that his slave Tobi curled up under the bed, seeing the obligation of sukkah did not apply to him. The final sentence in the Torah concerning this commandment reveals that our ancestors were taught to make do with minimal facilities when they were taken out of Egypt. "For I made you dwell in huts when I took you out of Egypt." For forty years G'd did not deny the Jewish people any of their needs. Yet, He provided only their needs, not luxuries. This is the way to educate the Jewish nation to appreciate what true service of the Lord entails. The seven days of the festival symbolise the seven decades of man's normal lifespan on earth. U-vayom hashmini, atzeret, on the eighth day there is a halt. The eight's day represents the hereafter, when one communes only with G'd, and therefore no special observances are needed. The hereafter cannot be symbolised by mitzvot ma-assiyot, deeds to express one's obedience to G'd. That day is symbolic of the menuchah, absolute rest achieved in that world. As the Rabbis say in Avot (chapter 4,22) "better a single hour of serenity in the world to come, than the entire lifespan in this world." The progressive decline in the number of bulls offered on the seven days of the festival until on the eighth day only a single bull is offered, suggests that we have to train ourselves to progressively make do with fewer and fewer material comforts. Finally, on the eighth day, the single bull, single ram etc. points to our union with the ONLY ONENESS in the hereafter. The recital of the hallel (Psalms 113-118) during all the eight days of the festival which is called "the season of our joy," indicates that when we approach successful completion of our purpose on earth and approach the world of the hereafter, we become progressively more joyful. This joy is based in part on the certainty that we are properly equipped for our role in the new and permanent abode. At the beginning of this journey, on Passover, our joy had been only partial. Therefore we recited the hallel only partially. Now that our joy is complete, we recite the whole song of jubilation.

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    The reason that the regular offerings as well as those offered on the new moon are not mentioned in this Parshah,- as opposed to Parshat Pinchas,- is the fact that here we concentrate only on the special days which through their work prohibition become holy convocations of a national character. During these days we try to make a whole nation concentrate on its function in life. The reason that the usage of the term chag and tachog are different on Passover and Sukkot respectively, is that the former, since it recalls slavery, hard labour, is best remembered by quiet contemplation, no forced activities, etc. The Sukkot festival however, follows the joy of having brought in the harvest, a time that is normally allocated to restful enjoyment, and a feeling of contentment, security. At such a time, and in order to remind us that the bounty came from Heaven and is not due only to our toil, we are bidden to leave the security of our homes and remind ourselves where it all came from. Having done this, the Torah is confident that the eighth day can be lachem (23,36) for us. (literally "for you," meaning us) Not so Passover. On that occasion, the whole festival is described as "for G'd all seven days." (23,26) This is much more pronounced in Parshat Re-ey, when the seventh day of Passover is described as being "for G'd," the other days not having been so designated. The use of the word ach, only, when introducing the tabernacle festival celebration (23,39) is to emphasize that this celebration is oriented towards G'd, as distinct from the Passover celebration which was primarily oriented towards ourselves. Reminders of this aspect of the celebration are "the four species." Each is an instrument of thanksgiving to G'd. Although the "four species" must be owned only on the first day of the festival, their use during all the seven days continues, as the statement "and you shall rejoice" is connected to their use. Each of the species represents a different kind of Jew, from the most accomplished both religiously and socially, to the most ignorant in either field. The unforgettable lesson lies in the fact that as long as they are part of the whole, even completely ignorant people have a role to play. By including him in the fabric of Jewish society, the environment the ignorant finds himself in, will sooner or later be an incentive for him to raise his sights both spiritually and socially. At the same time, when looking at the "four species," we are also reminded of four types of existence in the universe. 1) The One and Only Incomparable Oneness, the Almighty. 2) Purely spiritual creatures, i.e. angels. 3) Bodies which are of an enduring nature, apparently lasting forever, i.e. the stars, the planets. 4) The world we are part of, containing a mixture of body and spirit, therefore subject to death and decay. The etrog, represents the highest form of existence seeing that it is perfect from all aspects. It is therefore held apart from the other three species, not bound up with it in a single bunch. We hold it in the left hand so that it is opposite our hearts, just as we lay the tefillin phylacteries, on our left arm. For this reason such care is taken to secure the most perfect specimen of that fruit which can be obtained. The lulav, palm frond, represents the angels, being the most honoured of the remaining three species. The world of the angels is considered a "higher" world. The lulav is taller than the other plants in that bunch, as a reminder of that fact. The hadass, myrtle branch, represents the stars, the planets, the nine leaves, (three times three stems with three leaves each) hint at the nine planets which make up our galaxy. The aravah, willow branch, by its very lack of attractive features, describes man and his inadequacies. Moreover, the leaves of the aravah resemble the shape of the human mouth, man being the most advanced creature in his particular world. The fact that the benediction over the mitzvah mentions the lulav rather than the etrog, is to remind us of our purpose to achieve the level of service to G'd that is performed by the angels. Since our sages tell us that the first day of Sukkot is referred to as rishon, the first, because it is the first day in the new year that our sins begin to be counted again, the significance of not performing the mitzvah with a stolen lulav is obvious. Simchah, joy, is our destiny when we perform the mitzvah properly, and earn merits. Spending money in order to perform the mitzvah, indicates that we appreciate that material wealth must be placed in the service of G'd, else it is a corrosive influence.

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    In fact, the moral lesson of the observance of sukkot is such that the prophet (Zecharyah 14,16-end) describes it as the mitzvah which in messianic times will be mandatory for all nations to observe. Non observance by any nation at that future time would result in that nation being deprived of the means of its livelihood, of its physical existence. Thus, our concept that observance of this mitzvah signals our readiness to subordinate the amassing of material wealth to the accumulation of spiritual values, seems born out. In those days it will be the homage paid to G'd by the nations that have survived the onslaught on Jerusalem, that will display their spiritual maturity by observing the festival of Sukkot.

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    "they bring unto thee pure olive" etc. "And the son of an Israelitish woman" etc.

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    Concerning the function of the menorah in the holy tabernacle, we are told in Vayikra Rabbah 31, that Bar Kapparah used to open his lecture on the subject with a reference to Psalm 18,29, "you are to kindle My light." G'd said to man "your light is in My hand, and My light is in your hands." "The light of G'd is the soul of man." (Proverbs 20,27) What is the meaning of "My light is in your hands?" It means that you are to kindle the eternal flame. If you do that, says G'd, "I will keep your light burning."

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    Sunlight is a gift bestowed on everyone, yet, unless one is equipped to receive it through normal channels, one may not benefit from it. Anyone whose eyes are defective, may fail to benefit from the rays of the sun and remain blind. Torah, i.e. spiritual light, is provided for man, but it too requires channels that are primed to receive it, understand it and make use of it. Ner mitzvah, the commandment being a lamp, refers to the local illumination achieved through performance of an individual mitzvah, whereas Torah or, the Torah is Light itself, refers to the spiritual illumination provided by Torah in its entirety, since it has the ability to bathe the whole human personality in its spiritual light. Priming one's antenna, however is necessary, else the impact of all that spiritual light goes to waste. When we are told that the unborn infant is exposed to the total teachings of Torah, only to forget same the moment he is born, this means that while as yet unborn, man's potential is unimpeded by negative influences, and he can absorb all the spiritual light offered. Entry into our world however, poses a formidable screen, nullifying at least temporarily the lessons previously absorbed. Only application by man can restore the former ease for receiving Divinely inspired teachings. The infant is sworn to become a tzaddik and not a rasha. Whatever is acquired by man's intellect, is no more than the recollection of what he had learned while still in the womb of his mother. When one tells a wealthy man that he is rich, this does not prevent him from trying to amass still greater wealth. Similarly, when a person is told that he is a tzaddik, righteous person, he must continue to view himself as being almost a rasha, and keep up his efforts to become even more perfect spiritually. Our sages advise that one should strive for refinement of one's character traits with the same energy that one applies to the effort to acquire transient values. The soul has five characteristics that liken it to the Almighty. (Berachot 10) David praised G'd in respect of these five characteristics of the soul in Psalms 103 and 104. 1) G'd sees without being seen; similarly, the soul sees without being seen. 2) Just as G'd fills the universe, so the soul fills the body. 3) Just as G'd feeds the universe, so the soul feeds the body it inhabits. 4) Just as G'd is pure, so the soul is pure. 5) Just as G'd resides in the innermost chamber, so does the soul. May he who possesses the above five characteristics come and bless Him who possesses these five characteristics. We are commanded in Deut. 4,15, "take good care of yourselves, for you have seen no manner of form on the day the Lord spoke with you at Chorev out of the fire." This means that we are to kindle His light, the invisible one, to perfect it, so that G'd in turn who holds our life in His hands (your light) will preserve it. Concerning the soul sustaining the body, compare Psalms 146,4, "when his spirit departs, he returns to his soil." G'd is called the chay olamim, the "eternally living," in the words of Maimonides, since He is to the world what the soul is to the body. The essential difference between Jewish philosophy and that of other religions is that we believe that the soul starts out by being pure, and needs to be kept that way by means of observing G'ds commandments. This is facilitated by reverence for G'd, belief in His existence, His power etc. Other religions believe that man is equipped with a tainted soul, (due to the sin of original man) and has to be cleansed and purified. The order of the ten commandments supports the view of Solomon in Kohelet 12,13, "fear the Lord, and observe His commandments." First there has to be a fundamental reverence for the Lord, only afterwards can the observance of His commandments become meaningful. For that reason, the decalogue starts with the statements "I am the Lord your G'd," and "you must not have any other deities."

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    Our philosophy is reflected in our daily morning prayer which commences with the words "My G'd, the soul You have placed within me is pure. You have created it, You have formed it, You have breathed it into me." In Deut, 4,4-7, Moses describes the need to preserve a state of purity, when he refers to the nations describing Israel as "this great nation clever and full of insights." All the above explains the last line in the book of Psalms "the whole soul praises the Lord." When we read in Avot that man is beloved because he was created in G'ds image, this too refers to the pure soul that man has been endowed with. All of the foregoing was meant by Bar Kapparah when he described the soul as "the Divine illumination."

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    Some problems in the text of the Parshah. 1) Why does the Torah discuss the oil for the menorah, candelabra, in this Parshah, and not in Tetzaveh where the fashioning of the menorah is commanded? 2) Why is the making of the showbreads discussed in this Parshah instead of in Tetzaveh where construction of the table is discussed? 3) What does the mekallel, blasphemer, have to do with the two previous subjects in the Parshah? If he is mentioned in this Parshah already, why is he not lumped together with the mekoshesh, the person who desecrated the Sabbath flagrantly by collecting firewood on the Sabbath? 4) Since the blasphemer was sentenced only for having cursed, why does the Torah introduce the report with the quarrel between two men? (24,1) 5) Since the death penalty had not yet been decreed for that offence, why was the man brought to be tried by Moses? 6) Why does the Torah in this instance require that all witnesses have to place their hands on the condemned man, in contrast with other offences for which the death penalty is applied? (Maimonides hilchot avodah zarah chapter 2) 7) Why is this legislation introduced with the words "any person," when later on it says anyways "anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord etc.?" 8) What is the conceptual connection with the legislation following about "anyone who strikes someone with fatal results?" 9) Why is there an apparent contradiction between "anyone who slays an animal must make financial restitution," and "life for life?" 10) Why is the legislation dealing with bodily injuries repeated, when it has already been dealt with at length in Parshat Mishpatim? 11) Why, after the sentence had been carried out, does the Torah have to write "the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded?"

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    (1) After completing the legislation about the various offerings that have to be brought in the tabernacle at various times of the day or year, and a list of whose function it was to bring these sacrifices, the Torah concludes by giving details of a fundamental service, i.e. the preparation of the menorah mornings and evenings by the priest. In Parshat Tetzaveh the service of the menorah is mentioned only to account for the need of priestly garments. We are told there that one does not appear in the tabernacle without proper garments for the service. (2) Similarly, once the menorah service has been mentioned, the service of the shulchan, table, is mentioned also. This is in line with what our sages mention on frequent occasions, "the menorah is in the South, the Table in the North," i.e. these two furnishings of the tabernacle perform functions which are mutually complementary, on opposite sides of the sanctuary. They are like opposite sides of a human being, one is unthinkable without the other. Or, as Solomon says in Proverbs 3,16, "long life on its right, glory and riches on its left." (3) Since the book of Leviticus deals with the superior character of the Jewish people, the way we have to refrain from contact with impurities more than any other nation, culminating in the special laws about foods, physical purity, holy days etc., the story of the blasphemer explains what could be the background of a person who does not fit the mould of the Jew, as envisioned by the whole book of Leviticus. If a Jewish woman forms a liaison with a gentile, such results as the blasphemer are possible. The Torah wishes to teach the functional wisdom of being selective in the choice of one's life partner. In other words, if we preserve G'ds light, we need worry less about the results of our marriages. (4) The quarrel between the two men concerned their rights of inheritance based on their respective ancestry. We find Yiphtach being chased away by his half brothers for similar reasons. (Judges 11,1-3) It is reasonable to assume that the blasphemer, having lost his claim before the tribunal of Moses, was not content to curse his antagonist or the judge, but vented his rage against the system, i.e. against G'd the legislator. Thus we get an insight into the background of the sin. (5) Since cursing G'd is certainly worse than cursing one's parents, a sin which carries the death penalty, there was a prima facie case for the death penalty. Since however, mere logic is not sufficient reason to impose a death penalty, and such a penalty must be stated in the Torah explicitly, they had to bring the blasphemer before Moses to enquire what precisely his penalty should be. Possibly, since he was a proselyte, being the issue of an Egyptian father and a Jewish mother, there had been some question whether Jewish law applied to him in every respect. This is the reason it is emphasized later, that the penalty is identical for both stranger and natural born citizen. (6) The placing of the witnesses' hands on the victim, expresses their conviction that not the witnesses cause the death of the victim but his own sin has caused it. (Rashi) The major reason however, is that since the witnesses had perforce to repeat the exact words used by the blasphemer when they gave their testimony, something extremely distasteful to them but required by halachah, (Sanhedrin 56) they symbolically return that utterance to the head of the accused. In this way they can feel free of the sin of having themselves uttered the words of the blasphemer. (7) Since it is a cardinal sin in any religion or nation to curse its deity, ish ish, anyone, wherever, whenever, it follows that for a Jew to do so when it involves the only true deity, the perpetrator will be executed, etc. The emphasis "the stranger and the natural born citizen alike," is to underline that someone should not think that this man had been so severely dealt with only because he was a stranger. (8) Our sages stipulate that murder is less serious than causing someone to commit a sin. (Sifrey Ki Teytze 31, section 872) In the former case, one only kills the body; in the latter one causes death to both body and soul. (9) The juxtaposition in our Parshah of killing a person, and killing an animal, emphasizes that causing death may involve more than killing the animalistic soul in man; one may terminate one's nefesh, soul. The Torah is thus talking about someone who causes the other person to sin, thus leading him to this dual death. Since it is inconceivable that the killer should wind up in olam haba, the world to come, whereas his victim should be condemned to eternal oblivion, the penalty for such cases is mot yumat, execution of the machti, the one who caused the death through having caused the victim to sin, as well as the simultaneous loss of olam haba of the machti, the one who caused the sin. However, when an act of murder is merely like that of killing an animal which has no olam haba to lose in any event, then the payment exacted is only nefesh tachat nefesh, animalistic life in return for animalistic life. In other words, only the body of the killer is executed, since his victim has not lost his share in the hereafter through the deed of the killer. The sequence of the verses is clear then. The blasphemer is a machti, since those who hear him and do not react are grossly guilty themselves, both in body and in soul. They have to remove that guilt by testifying and placing their hands on the sinner. Once we deal with the levels of punishment that fit the level of the crime, the remaining verses also fit into the picture. (10) In Mishpatim, the personal injury legislation deals only with material losses sustained, i.e. earning capacity, loss of dignity etc. Here we deal with loss of stature of a person due to injury inflicted. A priest, for instance, cannot perform service in the temple once his body has become blemished. Therefore, considerations such as pain due to burning and other personal injuries are not mentioned in this context. The payment for an animal includes not only the value of the meat, but must include replacing the animal with one of comparable work capacity. The words "you shall have one law," refer to a comparison for restitution purposes between killing an animal and killing a human being. The equality before the law of both stranger and natural born citizen, extends both in regard of capital offences and in respect of offences involving financial or property damages. (11) The verse "and the children of Israel did as the Lord had commanded them," refers to the acceptance by Israel of the newly enacted legislation from that time onwards.

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    "When ye come into the land which I give you" etc.

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    Vayikra Rabbah 34, reports that they said about Hillel the elder, that whenever he took leave of his students, he would walk with them for a short distance. When the students used to enquire where he was going, he told them that he went to perform an act of loving kindness for a guest in his house. Upon the enquiry of the students if he then had guests in his house every day, Hillel said "is not the soul a guest in the body? One day it is here and the next day it is gone." To this phenomenon, he applied the verse "he who does his soul a favour, is a pious man." (Proverbs 11,17)

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    Since material possessions are a handicap to one's efforts to determine true values, the Torah lays down guidelines how such material values are to be used. When followed, these guidelines ensure that such material possessions have beneficial impact on our lives, instead of vice versa. To the extent that material possessions free man from being totally preoccupied with his physical survival in this world, they afford him the opportunity to try and acquire spiritual values. To this extent, material wealth can almost be considered a necessity. Whereas osher (with the letter alef,) i.e. happiness by definition is a state of mind that is not necessary in order for man to achieve his purpose in life, osher with the letter ayin, i.e. material wealth, is. The Mishnah in Avot 3,21, says "when there is no flour, there cannot be any Torah either." Torah and all it stands for cannot flourish unless there is a sound economic foundation. On the other hand, the same Mishnah says "where there is no Torah, there cannot be any flour, i.e. economic well being." This means that unless material wealth is used correctly, as a means towards the spiritual elevation of man, such spiritual elevation will not be achieved.

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    From the above, it follows that being given the land of Israel and all the material wealth that this entailed, was a prerequisite for Israel to attain its spiritual objectives both nationally and individually. Cleaving to one's piece of land as a basis for one's financial security therefore, became very important. Pious people's habit of jealously guarding what is rightfully theirs, is understandable for that very reason. Also, the Torah seems especially protective about the material wealth of religious leaders. The reason is to shield them against temptation to acquire wealth by dubious means. If halachah teaches that a High Priest or prophet must be of independent means, or even be given that financial independence, this reflects the idea just discussed. It seems strange that the prophet Jeremiah is asked to waste his money by redeeming the land of an impecunious uncle, when such land is doomed to fall into the hands of foreigners. (Jeremiah 32,5-15) Although Jeremiah is not specifically commanded to purchase that piece of land to forestall it falling into the hands of his uncle's creditors, the thrust of the story is clearly that it was expected of him. Jeremiah, by his action, teaches that he carefully abided by what he perceived to be the will of G'd, even if there was room to doubt the matter. Also, Jeremiah was prepared to spend any amount of money to fulfil G'ds will, since he was certain that G'd would not want him to waste his money. Having done what he perceived to be G'ds will, he asked for some illumination. This was because he wanted to be certain that what he had done did indeed correspond to G'ds wishes. G'd told him that he had indeed interpreted His will correctly, that the money was not wasted however, since the eventual return to Zion was just as certain as the destruction which was about to happen. (verses 37-44)

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    The shemittah sabbatical agricultural year legislation, referred to in the Torah in several places, (Parshat Mishpatim, Behar, Re-ay) is therefore of extreme importance. Disregard of it brings in its wake a host of punishments including national exile. This is somewhat difficult to understand, since if the purpose of the legislation is agricultural, i.e. teaching us that working the soil in rotation restores the earth's fertility, non observance would produce poor crops and be a punishment in itself. On the other hand, it is difficult to fathom why G'd should be more jealous of the state of the earth, than of sins which appear far more serious. It seems therefore, that the shemittah legislation is to alert us to the important truth that ownership of the land is an asset to our development towards our national and individual spiritual goals only, when such ownership is used in the way the Torah wishes it to be used. Just as the week, i.e. six working days plus one Sabbath testify to the fact that there is one Creator, so do six years of work on the land plus one year of rest, shemittah, remind us that ownership rests with G'd, and that we have to fulfil His commandments. Once one accepts that creation had been ex nihilo, it follows that the Creator is entitled to be the lawgiver. The Torah spells out that the purpose of shemittah is "for G'd," and that our function in taking advantage of the land is basically le-ochlah, to fulfil our physical needs, not as in the case of the gentile, our greed. Chamor, the king of Shechem refers to the purpose of land, when he describes it as "being capable of accomodating all the requirements of the sons of Jacob." (Genesis 34,21). This is an attitude which is quite different from the Torah viewpoint. The requirement in that year to release all monetary debts, is a further clear indication that material wealth must never be allowed to become an end in itself. The seven times seven years yovel legislation is representative of an entire "world," a complete cycle. "He shall serve him le-olam, means until the completion of the cycle, until the yovel year. This is a reminder to man that just as he has to return to the earth at the end of his life, so the idea of a rejuvenation of the land, restoring it to original ownership, keeps alive the idea that we ourselves are not on this earth litzmitut, permanently. The commandments concerning treatment of "slaves" who had become such due to having lost their financial independence, is stated here to enlist our empathy. Once we have realised that our own hold on life is tenuous, that our possessions are transient, we can appreciate better that the "slave" deserves humane treatment from us. The same applies to the laws governing unfair financial dealings, overcharges etc. The fact that G'd is prepared to demonstrate that He supervises our welfare by providing excess yield by our fields in the year preceding the shemittah, is further encouragement to observe the commandment. Ignoring the shemittah, legislation then, expresses disregard of our entire philosophy. This is why the consequences are commensurate, not disproportionate to the sin committed. The Talmud Erchin 30, draws our attention to the fact that the consequences of disregarding even regulations that are only peripheral to the actual shemittah observance, can be most severe. If someone deals in produce that has been grown illegally during the shemittah year, he may wind up having to sell himself into slavery to keep body and soul together. Our long national exile is due to our having failed to observe the shemittah legislation.

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    After all these lessons, the Torah repeats that instead of extending help only in return for interest charges, a relationship of mutual brotherhood or partnership is expected from Jew towards fellow Jew. (25,35-37) Love is an emotion that loses in intensity the more all embracing and comprehensive it becomes. If the common denominator between people is only the fact that they belong to the same species, that cannot be too strong a bond, although it is still a stronger bond than that between man and other parts of nature. When Ruth, the Moabite, was amazed at the kindness Boaz showed her, this was because she felt she had absolutely no claim on him, seeing the was an alien. (Ruth 2, 10) Love between people who know each other is stronger; love between relatives is still stronger. Self love is strongest and least complicated. Therefore, the Torah asks that one loves one's fellow Jew in the same manner as one loves oneself. In this instance, even the resident stranger is included in the yardstick the Torah asks us to apply to our love relationship with fellow Jews. We had stated elsewhere that the verse "if you loan money to any of My people, the poor, you must not be to him like a creditor; neither shall you impose interest charges" (Exodus 22,24), is to be understood as follows. If you do not do your duty and give to your fellow Jew, but you merely loan him, then at least you must not charge interest. Else, you would be treating him like a gentile. The reason that making a charge for lending tools, animals etc. is in order, whereas taking interest on money loaned is not, is quite simple. Money is given to be spent. It is usually required to repay debts or to supply urgent necessities of life. If an interest charge is imposed, the borrower will wind up owing even more than before. Instead of having helped him, one may cause the borrower to wind up in a worse position than before he had accepted the loan. The lender, on the other hand, expects his reward to come from G'd, not from the borrower. (Proverbs 19,17) "He who is gracious to the poor, actually lends to G'd, who will recompense him." When the Torah warns "you shall fear the Lord your G'd," it addresses itself to those who refuse to lend free of interest, and thereby exhibit their lack of faith in G'ds promise that He will recompense the lender for the advance that he made on G'ds behalf.

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    Hillel's discomfiture at having to attend to mundane matters such as earning his livelihood, was expressed by his accompanying his students whenever they departed from him. The guest he referred to as requiring his attention, was the body that craved food for survival, and that by its very definition was only transient, doomed to die, in spite of being provided for. Nevertheless, he considered such attention lavished on the body as a mitzvah, seeing that only in this way can man achieve his tachlit, purpose on earth. Reward is assured even for attention given to the body, when this is designed to assist performance of other mitzvoth.

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    We read in Vayikra Rabbah 35, "what is the meaning of the verse in Psalms 119,59, "I concentrated on my path, but I returned my feet to Your statutes?" David said facing G'd: "though I had planned certain activities, saying that I would go to such and such a place, I found myself winding up going to synagogues and houses devoted to Torah study." Rabbi Hunna said in the name of Rabbi Chiyah: "as soon as I consider the rewards for performing mitzvot and contrast them with the loss incurred when committing a transgression, I turn my feet towards Your statutes." Rabbi Menachem, son-in-law of Rabbi Eleazar, said: "When I consider the rewards offered for observing the commandments of the Torah in this portion of the Torah, and I contrast them with the penalties threatened for non observance, I turn my feet toward Your statutes." Rabbi Chiyah in the name of Rabbi Yochanan said: "I consider the list of blessings and the list of curses. The blessings range throughout the letters of the aleph bet, whereas the curses commence with the letter vav and continue to the letter heh. Not only do the curses appear in the reverse order, but the message is that if we but deserve it, the curses will also be converted into blessings. This is the meaning of the words "if you will walk in My statutes."

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    It is a sacred duty for a teacher who wants to succeed, to acquire two qualities. 1) He must be competent in the subject he teaches, possess pedagogical skills, and 2) he must sincerely like the pupil. Failing these preconditions, he is not likely to succeed in his task. The wisdom of someone who hates him, will not benefit a person much, nor will the love of a fool. The brilliant Achitofel who hated David is an example of point number one, whereas the love of Eve in persuading Adam to follow the advice of the serpent illustrates point number two. G'd is described as a loving father in many verses in the Bible. He is also described as teaching us. We have then in G'd the ideal teacher, since as father He has our best interests at heart, and since He is the source of all knowledge, He is the teacher, pedagogue par excellence. The question arises why He offers material rewards rather than spiritual rewards in our Parshah? Why does the Torah treat us like small children who are offered candy by their teacher to encourage them to study? David,- as per our opening Midrash,- realised that when he wanted to find a reliable teacher to guide him, to help him realise his potential, he had to turn to G'ds eydot, testimonies. When Moses had asked G'd for additional knowledge, he prayed "teach me Your ways, so that I may be able to understand You." Since the greatest success one can achieve in study is to acquire knowledge to ensure one's soul's survival in a world of abstract spirits, the reward offered by the Torah for observance of its statutes should have been just that, not the transient material values listed in our Parshah. Mankind is divided into three categories. A) There are people who do not believe in any G'd, do not believe that their very existence is due to anything but chance. B) There are people who are very religious. They believe in a variety of deities, powers, but fail to recognise G'd as the Creator and primary Cause. C) Those who believe in the true Creator. The first group will not question why no mention is made of the soul or its survival. This is because as far as they are concerned, they cannot imagine any abstract intelligence at all, or because they feel that if there were such abstract intelligences, they would be subject to totally different rules of existence from those governing human life. The second group admits that there is a survival of the soul, but they do not consider observance of Torah laws the vehicle by means of which one attains such an objective. An example is Islam which considers after life the exclusive domain of members of that religion. The third group, Jews, are of course entitled to ask why Torah does not describe the survival of the soul as the reward for observance of its statutes. We need not answer group one, since they believe in the eternity of matter, and do not believe in the existence of a living Creator. On the contrary, had Torah promised survival of the soul, they would have ridiculed such a promise. Even the most advanced of that group consider that the advantage man enjoys over other creatures lies only in the fact that some of us possess superior intelligence enabling us to unravel some of the mysteries of nature. The Kuzari discusses all this. See also our commentary in chapter fifty three. (in the original Hebrew) To sum up, that group views everything from a strictly material point of view. People of such orientation could never be persuaded by the promise of anything that could not be verified in this life. The promise of the soul's survival would not motivate them to perform mitzvot then. Just imagine what would have been the impact on a man such as Naaman the Syrian general who was healed of tzora-at by the good offices of the prophet Elisha, i.e. by bathing himself in the river Jordan. Had he been promised eternal life in return for believing in the prophet and the G'd of Israel, this would not have impressed him. Being cured of his affliction however, instantly made a convert out of him. (compare Kings II chapter 5) The Parshah "if you will walk in accordance with My laws," refers to conduct in consonance with natural law established by G'd. Freedom of choice has been given to man to enable him to live either in accordance with natural law, or to defy it. The result of exercising this freedom negatively, can be catastrophic, as described in Avot 5,11. No fewer than seven natural disasters will come upon the world in retribution for seven kinds of violations of G'ds natural order. (compare chapter 12)

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    It is more difficult to explain the Torah's promise of material rewards to the second group of people, i.e. those who do believe in spiritual rewards as the result of adhering to their respective religions. According to them, how can the Torah remain silent about life after death? It is not surprising that adherents of those religions argue that since Judaism apparently cannot lead you to the world in which spiritual values predominate, it is only a preliminary stage for the messianic age. When that age arrives, Judaism would have to be redefined for those people who have reached the niveau Torah wishes them to achieve by means of mitzvot ma-assiyot, performance of the commandments. The justification of the whole attitude of Christianity towards Judaism is anchored in this apparent failure of Torah to promise survival of the soul as a reward for following the lifestyle prescribed by Torah. Since man's activities consist of either fulfilling the will of G'd, or the reverse, visible results of having fulfilled G'ds will are a necessary incentive. For this reason, our sages say that it is quite in order to fulfil Torah laws for the wrong reason, since chances are that eventually one will do so for the right reasons. (Pessachim 50) David says in Psalm 57, 11, "Your mercy is great unto the Heavens," whereas in Psalm 108,5, he says "Your mercy is great beyond the Heavens." The former statement refers to people whose horizon is limited to the physical world, whereas the latter refers to people who do not see their entire purpose in their physical existence. The Torah offers much broader hints concerning the forfeiture of such privileges as the soul's survival, when the kind of transgression involving the karet penalty is discussed. Being "cut off" from one's people, and similar terminology would be meaningless, were it to refer merely to physical death. Indeed, it would be ridiculous to decree a penalty that could not even be noticed. Onkelos feels that if the presence of the shechinah in our midst confers spiritual benefits upon us, once our soul is no longer encumbered by our body, such benefits would be greatly enhanced.

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    Clearly, all the exhortations of the Torah to train oneself to become holy as G'd is holy, cannot have as their purpose anything other than to encourage conduct that will ensure a continued existence of our spiritual centre, i.e. our soul.

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    The third group of people, namely believing Jews, who while steadfast in their belief, would still welcome specific statements in the Torah concerning afterlife, need to appreciate the following. Afterlife is much more than a promise held out in return for specific religious observances. Man's superiority over other creatures on this earth could hardly be demonstrated by anything other than the survival of his soul. Solomon grapples with the problem in the book of Kohelet, and concludes that this is the only thing which makes man stand out over the animals. "Who perceives that the spirit of man is the one that ascends on high, while the spirit of the beast descends down into the earth?" (Kohelet 3, 21) David and many others do not tire of expressing their longing for the blissful state of afterlife. Abigail refers to it, the Talmud is full of references to it. When one reads the promise of reward in our Parshah, one finds at the end, after the mundane rewards have been listed, "I will place My Residence amongst you." For the believers this is enough. For the scoffers nothing would be enough, since they only believe what their own eyes have seen, anyways.

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    Some problems in the text of our Parshah. 1) Why are the curses in Parshat Ki Tavo so much longer than the ones in Bechukotai, and why are the blessings shorter in our Parshah, when compared with Ki Tavo? 2) What is the relationship between feeling secure and the earth's yield? (verse 5) 3) Why the disproportionate description of five putting a hundred to flight, (ratio of 1-20) whereas one hundred put ten thousand to flight (ratio of 1-100)? 4) Why does the Torah commence the curses with the severe punishments? There seems a lack of order in the list of punishments! 5) The word az in verse 41, is hard to understand! 6) Who are the rishonim whose remembrance causes G'd to recall the covenant? (verse 45) 7) Verses 34 and 35 describing the land making up for neglected shemittah observance, seems awkwardly phrased!

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    Man's achievements are basically in two separate spheres. 1) He can achieve moral perfection, something that the Torah expresses by saying "you who are cleaving to the Lord your G'd are all alive this day" (Deut. 4,4.) The second sphere in which man can achieve accomplishments is that of material and physical well being. This in turn, in order to be meaningful, comprises three parts. A) good health; B) possession of an adequate amount of the material needs to support a comfortable life. C) peaceful surroundings, absence of the threat of war. We find in Samuel I, 12,6, that David hinted at these three blessings when he sent greetings to Naval, saying to him "may you be at peace, may your household be at peace, and may all that is yours be at peace." The reverse of these three accomplishments apply when punishments are under discussion. When David, in Samuel II 24, 12, is offered the choice of three categories of punishment for having subjected the nation to a census, something that the Torah had forbidden, he is offered the choice between a) famine, i.e. lack of life's necessities and comforts, b) War, absence of peace, c) Pestilence, i.e. absence of good health. We see from the above that there are four categories of reward. One is spiritual in nature, the other three are material in nature.

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    Since Torah observance intensifies in three stages, so do the rewards for such observance. Stage one of observance, is the general movement in line with G'ds natural law, i.e. "if you will walk in My ways." Stage two is to refrain from violating specific injunctions, i.e. "you will guard My laws." The third category is the carrying out of specific commandments i.e. "and you will perform them." In response to this conduct, the Torah promises (1) rainfall; something that is a natural prerequisite for all specific material blessings. Next the Torah promises bountiful harvests of the field, i.e. your toil will be rewarded, you will enjoy the necessities of life. (2) Next the Torah promises the harvest of the trees, i.e. luxuries rather than necessities. Then comes the promise of dwelling securely, enabling you to enjoy the blessings that have been bestowed on you. You will neither have to fear attack from predators nor from hostile neighbours. (3) When the Torah describes the heroism displayed in chasing off would be attackers, the point is made that such gevurah, bravery, is not handed out to each person in equal measure. Some people can put to flight twenty times their number, others even one hundred times their number. (4) When the Torah adds in verse 11, "I will set My residence amongst you, and My soul will not abhor you," referring to spiritual reward, the last few words need clarification. When a renowned and handsome king marries a lady who seems plain, and comes from a nondescript background, the cultural gap between them may cause the king embarassment on occasion. When said king's wife acquires her husband's cultural refinements however, there will be no cause for the king ever to feel embarassed in her company. The ideal relationship between G'd and Israel is similar. The words "My soul will not abhor you" is an intensification of the prior blessing "I will place My residence amongst you." It means "I will never have occasion to be embarassed by keeping your company." Amos 7,7, may be understood in similar fashion. The whole Song of Songs, similarly extols the Jewish people's role as a partner fit for G'd to keep company with. In verse thirteen, G'd simply states that His right to demand all this from us, stems directly from the fact that He took us out of Egypt, broke our yoke and gave us human dignity. The new yoke G'd placed upon us enabled us to walk upright for the first time. As long as we shoulder this yoke, we are free from the wiles of the yetzer hara, the angel of death etc. The Torah continues that should we, however, fail to observe all that is expected of us, G'd will not punish us immediately, but only after seven fundamental sins have been committed. This is the list contained in verse 14 and 15. Once G'd does react, He will bring samples of the three basic punishments David was given a choice of, in order to alert people to what may be in store for them if they persist in their evil ways. The diseases quoted are not fatal, but leave one at the threshold of death. The planting of seeds, many of which will go to waste, does not yet result in complete starvation. Your enemies, while inflicting defeat on you, are not yet annihilating you. (verse 17) All this so far is in the nature of a warning of what my befall you if you persist in your corrupt ways. Should Israel ignore these warnings, the full force of these three punishments will be unleashed. The sevenfold retribution mentioned in verse eighteen, is to be understood as being seven times the scale of the sample punishment mentioned in verse sixteen. These various punishments do not occur simultaneously as do the blessings mentioned earlier in the Parshah, but in stages, one after another. For this reason we have the constant repetition "if you still do not listen." In verses 21, 23„ 24, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33, a chain of events will be set in motion of which each is practically a corollary of the one preceding it. The basic tenor of the punishments is that laxity in observing Torah due to not taking the time required, will result in the pressures of time becoming so overwhelming that there really will be felt to be no time for religious observances. This because of the pressing need to do something for one's physical survival. If the four escalations of retributory measures produce no results, then even though there is such a thing as the merit of the ancestors, the need to make up for all the shemittah years that have not been observed in the land, outweighs even the former, and exile continues. (7) Although this merit of the ancestors is not powerful enough to rescind the decree of exile, it does help to prevent total annihilation of the Jewish people while they are in exile. The covenant with G'd will therefore not be broken completely. Finally, G'd says, the one covenant I will remember, is not to nullify My name by the destruction of My people, as Moses had argued after the sin of the golden calf. These are the rishonim, the early ones. We observe this idea reflected in the first benediction of our amidah, central prayer, where we state "He remembers the kind deeds of the forefathers, and brings redemption to their children's children for the sake of His name, in love." When our sages formulated this benediction, they drew attention to the fact that though G'd does indeed remember the deeds of the forefathers, this may not be enough to guarantee the ultimate redemption. Failing all else, only the need to preserve His own image will guarantee that the redeemer will come. (5) Verse forty one, referring to some kind of humility az on the part of persecuted Jews, means that the humility is not sincere, only lip service due to the plight of the people.

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    To come back to our opening Midrash. Rabbi Menachem is concerned with the arguments of those who ask to see the evidence of reward and punishment. He points to our Parshah as proof that there is such visible evidence. Rabbi Hunna addresses himself to those who deny a system of reward and punishment altogether, and points out that our Parshah implies that life would not make sense at all unless there was such a thing as reward and punishment. Rabbi Chiyah addresses himself to another aspect of the blessings and curses in our Parshah.

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    "When a man shall clearly utter a vow of persons unto the LORD, according to thy valuation" etc.

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    Vayikra Rabbah 37,quotes Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai as saying that the commandment not to renege or be tardy in fulfilling one's vows, applies equally to the rules of erchin, laws about valuations for temple treasury purposes. This is why Moses warns Israel "if you neglect to make vows, you will not be considered as having sinned." (Deut. 23,23)

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    Man attains his ideal state via a threefold process. 1) He must fulfil his duties towards himself. 2) He must fulfil his duties towards his fellow man. 3) He must fulfil his duties towards G'd. The prophet Michah, in chapter six, describes man's tasks as follows: "What is it that the Lord asks of you, except a) to do justice, b) to practice loving kindness, and c) to walk humbly with the Lord your G'd." Duties towards oneself are easily understood, therefore the prophet refers to them by the word mishpat. When Manoach was told about the impending birth of Samson, he asked the angel "what is the mishpat of the boy, and how is he to be treated? (Judges 13,11) He meant "how can one ensure the boy's survival?" Duties towards oneself are to ensure one's survival. Performance of duties towards one's fellow man consists of putting acquired good character traits to practical use. David asked his son Solomon (Chronicles I 28,9) "and you my son Solomon, know the G'd of your father, serve Him with a perfect heart and a willing soul." Our sages display a negative attitude towards people who make vows. Prompt fulfilment of the vow is equated with offering a sacrifice on a private altar at times when private altars are forbidden. (Gittin 56) The reason is that though there clearly is a good intention, the venue is unwelcome. This is so when the subject of the vow is a devar mitzvah, something desirable in the eyes of G'd. When the subject matter of the vow is merely a devar reshut however, i.e. something merely permissible, the vow itself is viewed as reprehensible, since it presupposes that by accepting the gift, G'd indicates His need of it. What could be more laughable? Since vows are subject to annulment, the question why some famous vows have never been annulled is in order. Why was the vow of Yiphtach who offered the life of the first living thing that would come towards him when he would return from war victorious, and which resulted in his own daughter being that sacrifice, not annulled? Our sages blame the pride of both Yiphtach and the High Priest Pinchas. Supposedly, each waited for the other to make the first move. Both were punished for their pride. Pinchas no longer enjoyed the ear of G'd. (Chronicles I 9,20) Yiphtach's body was scattered all over the place, as parts of it were buried in different part of Gilead. (Judges 12,7) In the case of the aftermath of the pilegesh be-givah, Judges chapter twenty one, one must ask why the annulment procedure was not used to cancel the vow to kill all the men of Yavesh Gilead? Surely, this would have been even more important than to save the life of a single person, the daughter of Yiphtach at the time? Surely a lesson could have been learned from the former event? Also, why was the vow not to give daughters in marriage to the the remnant of the tribe of Benjamin not annulled? One of the main reasons for this national paralysis, could have been the absence of a central authority at that time. After all, the era has been characterised by the book of Judges as "in those days, there was no king in Israel." (Judges 19,1) Again, at the end of the book of Judges (Judges 21,25) we read "in those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in." When an entire nation had vowed a vow, only an even greater authority can absolve from such a vow. Since many of the people had died since the vow had been made, it could not even have been annulled by an equal number of people. (Moed Katan 17) For that reason they had to resort to the subterfuge described there, i.e. letting the young men of Benjamin kidnap their brides to be. (see commentary by Kimchi) All of the above illustrates the severity of the laws concerning vows, once they have been made. Surely then it is preferable not to make vows in the first place. Man's tendency not to make payment promptly when he pledges a donation, is a sign that he overestimates his own value, and his effort to compensate for this when the time comes to make payment. The Torah, therefore, provides objective valuations, so that the person who promised a value to the temple treasury that equals his own value, would not shortchange the temple treasury. When the vow concerns a devar mitzvah, a duty that had to be fulfilled anyways, even if no vow had been made at all, the Torah warns "do not be tardy to pay it, the Lord will surely demand it from you." (Deut 23,22) For that reason the Torah continues: "if you fail to make vows, this will not be counted a sin against you."

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    "Count every head!"

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    Midrash Rabbah Numbers 2, comments in connection with Psalm 20,6, "we shall shout for joy and rally around our banner in the name of G'd," that at the time G'd revealed Himself to Israel at Mount Sinai to give them the Torah, twenty two thousand angels descended with Him. The Midrash quotes Psalms 68,13, as proof for its assertion. All of these angels were waving banners, flags, as it says (Song of Songs 5,11) "surrounded by myriads of banners." As soon as Israel saw these flags, they became anxious to make flags for themselves, similar to those of the angels, as it is written in Song of Songs 2,4, "He brought me to the house of wine, and waved the banner of love over me." G'd responded to this request by saying "Indeed, I shall make flags for you as you desire." It says in Psalms 20,6, "the Lord will fulfil all your requests." Immediately thereafter, G'd said to Moses: "Make flags for them just as they want." This is the meaning of "each according to his flag and his ensign."

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    Purpose and function of the flags. 1) In order for even the most illustrious people to attain their objective in life, a mental image of their common purpose needs to remain constantly before their spiritual eye. 2) Ordinary people do not only need a mental image of their goals in order not to become distracted from them, but they require a visible symbol, illustration of such goals and purposes. The artist needs to concentrate on a model and to exclude peripheral vision so as to avoid the danger of distorting what he draws. The marksman needs to concentrate his entire field of vision exclusively on the target, if he does not want to miss. It is a fact that extremes are usually taboo in the philosophy of Judaism, and we have a string of scriptural quotations supporting the view that the golden mean is the way of life to be pursued. When concentrating on the image representing our purpose, the fact that peripheral vision is excluded, symbolises the exclusion of extremes either to the right or to the left. Whenever we polarise a particular activity, - if polarisation is for the sake of Heaven-, it becomes acceptable in G'ds eyes. Similarly, apparently negative forces, phenomena such as the angel of death, Satan, the yetzer hara, are necessary, because they fulfil a useful function and advance the cause of G'd. The Talmud Baba Batra 16, says that even Peninah's needling of her sister -in-law Chanah, was due to a constructive motivation, since it bestirred Chanah to pray for a child. (Samuel I chapter 1) Similarly, Satan, who subjected Job to all his afflictions served G'd in what he did, since otherwise Job would have appeared as more pious and devout than Abraham. (Job chapter 2) The result of employing such normally negative character traits is not a coarsening of one's personality, and does not turn us into slaves of these bad traits, but, on the contrary, it strengthens our mastery over the yetzer hara, evil impulses. This is the meaning of Baba Batra 16, saying that the angel of death kissed Chanah's feet. "He," i.e. the yetzer hara ended up as her slave, not vice versa. The fact that the angel of death=Satan= yetzer hara are identical, is proved by a string of scriptural quotations from the book of Job. Various statements in our Mishnah have to be understood in a similar vein. "Any quarrel which is for the sake of Heaven, will endure." (Avot 5,17) The meaning is that although the venue, i.e. quarrelling, is normally a forbidden venue, it does advance G'ds causes when it is employed for that purpose. (interpreting Torah) The Talmud Berachot 6, states "he who fixes a makom, spot, for his prayer, will be assisted by the G'd of Abraham. Beyond the halachic meaning, that one should have a regular spot from which to offer up prayer, the meaning is that he who concentrates on the one and only source, (makom is also a name for G'd) from which ultimately all prayers will be answered, will enjoy the help of the G'd of Abraham. When Solomon dedicated the Temple, he went to great lengths to emphasize that all prayers must be directed to the central spot, the holy of holies, the Western Wall. As we read "Here He stands behind our wall" (Song of Songs 2,9). This epitomizes what our sages had in mind when they said "anyone who fixes a spot for his prayer etc." The Kabbalists understand the aggadah that G'd has withheld the key of rain from His agents, as illustrating the idea that we must address ourselves to G'd directly for our needs. We must polarize our concentration on the source of our salvation to the exclusion of agents, assistants. Azzut, effrontery, can be a serious enough misdemeanour to result in the death penalty,- compare the Amalekite who bragged to David about having administered the coup de grace to a dying King Saul-. (Samuel II chapter 1) Halachically speaking, this act was not even culpable, since no one can be convicted of a capital crime on the basis of his own testimony. Besides, it was not even true. Nonetheless, David had the lad in question executed. The reason is that his brazenness in claiming to have killed the one whom G'd had anointed, was a conduct that deserved the death penalty. As David said to him, "your own mouth has convicted you." On the other hand, we find Yehudah ben Teyman exhorting us "be az like a leopard in fulfilling the mitzvot! (Avot, 5,23) This indicates that even normally despicable traits can on occasion be employed constructively. The whole of Psalm 20, underlines that when we concentrate on receiving aid from Jerusalem, Zion, the seat of the shechinah, we "will rise and find ourselves encouraged." Similarly, David was granted confidence when he faced Goliath. (Samuel 1,17,36). To sum up: exclusive concentration on the source of our salvation is necessary for successful completion of one's purpose. The crux of the matter is that both our observances and our studies should be lishmah, for the sake of the subject matter, for its avowed purpose. Rabbi Meir says that many attributes are conferred on the person whose preoccupation with Torah is lishmah (Avot 6,1). Since true love is based on the two people having many likes and dislikes in common, family members are apt to love one another because they have so much in common both by heredity and by common environment. True friendship also is based on this community of interests. When we act lishmah, we qualify for this community of purpose with our Creator, we become His partner, so to speak. If we do not act in this way,- though wicked people also often have much in common-, the nature of their self interest dictates a diversity of approach, competition etc. Therefore, their purposes will not be achieved in the long run. Similarly, even a Torah scholar who is motivated by selfish considerations will ultimately not achieve his goal, and does not qualify for the complimentary attributes listed by Rabbi Meir. The Talmud Pessachim 49, states that the worst kind of individual is he who studies Torah, and forsakes its path. He demonstrates thereby that whenever his goals seem attainable by other means, he neglects and abandons Torah. He is called nazuf, excommunicated. The Talmud Horiot 10, tells us that a sin committed for a pure motivation is morally superior to a mitzvah observed for unworthy motivations. The encampment of the children of Israel reflected a) the limitation placed on them at Mount Sinai, i.e. they were not to be too close to the shechinah .Therefore, the camp of the Levites as well as the camp of the priests was interposed between them and the tabernacle, b) Since they faced the tabernacle from all four directions, it made the tabernacle the central points towards which all thoughts and hopes were directed. Torah was given to Israel free of charge, just as fire, water and desert are free of charge. (Midrash Rabbah Numbers 1) Furthermore, the comparison with fire is to indicate that the "fire" of physical passions had to be sublimated by "fire" of moral and spiritual values offered by Torah. When the Jewish people saw the mountain afire without burning itself into a heap of ashes, that lesson was learned. The fire had become one of purification. Excess water in the bloodstream is apt to cool anyone's enthusiasm. It causes people to seek their fortunes by crossing the oceans. At the same time, excess fluid produces lethargy, laziness lack of enterprise. The desire for financial success (desert, earth, i.e. matter) is implanted within us as an antidote to lethargy caused by thinned out blood (watery). Just as all these three items are part of our basic make up, so the Torah has been made available free, naturally, without the need for an extraordinary effort on our part to secure its wisdom. Lo bashamayim hee, She is not in Heaven, i.e. difficult of access. Or, in the words of Maimonides, the more basic and vital our need for a life preserving element, the more readily available did G'd make such elements. He granted them indiscriminately. The Midrash relates that when Israel saw the angels and their flags, and realised their significance, they developed a desire for a similar means of preserving their concentration on the source of their welfare, i.e. G'd. They realised that without such a symbol to look at, they would not be able to sustain the lofty moral niveau they occupied at the time of the revelation. Creatures of the spiritual world are distinguished by their constancy. The weakness of creatures in this physical world of ours is their constant changeability. The Israelites had wanted to preserve as much of this constancy as possible. They sought to do this by concentrating on symbols that represented their moral purpose in this world. This is why they wanted flags. By counting the people on fixed dates, i.e. maintaining a degree of constancy, the basic changeability of human beings would be stabilised to a degree. Rosh Hashana, i.e. New Year's day, would be the date fixed to concentrate on their moral niveau. By counting people of a certain age group, excluding those who had reached the age of sixty, the annual variations in the total number of people counted would be kept to a minimum. This accounts for the fact that on several occasions, as much as 38 years apart, the Torah reports practically the same total number for all the tribes combined, excluding the tribe of Levi. The counts on the occasion when the half shekel levy was raised, and the count of the people when the tabernacle had been erected, comes out identically the same for the above mentioned reason.

100. _.72.1.4

     Some problems in the text of the Parshah. 1) What need is there for the introduction "take the sum of the entire congregation etc." (Numbers 1,2), if the objective is merely to count them and mention the flags of the encampment? 2) Why was the camp of Ephrayim, a son (grandson) of one of Jacob's major wives assigned the Western position to move third in order, whereas the camp of Dan in a Northern position moves last, an apparently superior position? 3) Why does the Torah describe the significance of the birthright as dating from the day G'd smote the firstborn in Egypt? Had such birthright not been significant already at the time Jacob bought it from Esau? 4) Why were some of the sacred vessels carried by the family of Kehat, wrapped in blue woollen covers, whereas others had to be wrapped in red covers? 5) Why are all the details about Israel's wanderings reported? It would have sufficed to state "they camped at the behest of G'd, and they travelled at G'ds command!"

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Akeydat Yitzchak by Eliyahu Munk. Via Sefaria (sefaria.org), Sefaria-Export. Version source: http://www.urimpublications.com Licence: CC-BY. Source.