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Yom Kippur And Vezos Haberachah - Callous Confessions

Yom Kippur

And

Vezos Haberachah

Note: Vezos Haberachah is not read this Shabbos

Callous Confessions

By: Daniel Listhaus

יְחִי רְאוּבֵן וְאַל יָמֹת וִיהִי מְתָיו מִסְפָּר: וְזֹאת לִיהוּדָה וַיֹּאמַר שְׁמַע ה' קוֹל יְהוּדָה וְאֶל עַמּוֹ תְּבִיאֶנּוּ יָדָיו רָב לוֹ וְעֵזֶר מִצָּרָיו תִּהְיֶה

“May Reuvein live and not die, and may his men be in the count. And this to Yehuda, and he said: Listen Hashem, to the voice of Yehuda, and to his people shall You bring him; may his hands fight for him and may You be a Helper against his enemies.”

-Vezos Haberachah 33:6-7

The mishna¹ describes the process that the Beis Din HaGadol (The Supreme Court) would go through with a woman who is a sotah. Before having her drink the mei hamarim (literally- bitter waters), the beis din would try to convince the suspected sotah to just admit that she indeed was with the man that her husband warned her not to be with. After all, the mei hamarim itself as well as its potential effect was no laughing matter. The vital ingredient of the mei hamarim was that they would dissolve the parsha of sotah into it – which contains Hashem's name. A sotah who would not admit would have to drink this water as a test. If indeed she had done what we suspect her of doing, her insides would blow up and she would die.

The gemara² elaborates that one of the steps of the persuasion process was that beis din would tell her stories of people in Chumash who did improper things (similar to the sotah) but were not embarrassed to admit to them. So too, they try to tell her, she should learn from them and not let her embarrassment overpower her to stop her from admitting what she did. The two examples of stories that the gemara says that beis din would use to illustrate their point are the ones which involves Reuvein and Yehuda. Reuvein switched the beds in Yaakov's tent after Rachel died, deciding to take action when he saw that Yaakov had chosen Bilhah (Rachel's maidservant) to take her place instead of Leah. Beis din would relate this story to the sotah and then say that Reuvein stood up to his actions, did teshuva (repentance), and admitted to his father that it as he that switched the beds. Beis din would then mention the episode of Yehuda and Tamar. Yehuda was mezaneh (had marital relations) with Tamar without knowing who she was. When Yehuda was later informed that Tamar had zenus with someone, his reaction was that she should be put to death, However, when he realized that she had the items that Yehuda had used to pay for her services, he admitted “tzadkah me'meh'nee” - declaring that Tamar was righteous. Beis din would then again suggest to the sotah that she too should admit to her actions like Yehudah did.

The gemara continues to mention that we see from the juxtaposition of passukim (verses) in this week's parsha that it was Yehudah who actually caused Reuvein to admit what he did. Rashi³ elaborates that Moshe was davening that the shevet (tribe) of Reuvein should live in this world and “not die” in the next world – meaning that the incident of him switching the beds in Yaakov's tent should not be remembered to his detriment, because, as we see from the juxtaposition of the aforementioned passukim, when Reuvein saw that Yehuda stood up and admitted, he took the opportunity to do so as well.⁴

The important thing to keep in mind though is that admitting one's sins to people is not something that is so obvious that could be done. Unlike other religions, confessions to a Rabbi is not a part of our teshuva process. We must confess personally to Hashem. As a matter of fact it is not simple at all for someone to admit to his own sins in public. After all, one is not allowed to say lashon harah even about oneself unless it is serving a constructive purpose which falls within the guidelines of hilchos lashon harah or if he is speaking to someone he trusts who could help him conquer his nisyonos (moral tests). Furthermore, as the gemara itself points out, we are not permitted to go around announcing our aveiros – doing so would demonstrate that we do not take our aveiros seriously. The gemara therefore asks that granted Yehuda was allowed to admit what he did because in the absence of doing so, Tamar would have been killed. However, how was Reuvein able to admit? What he had done was long over with no such severe ramifications, so what purpose did Reuvein's admitting serve? The gemara answers that Reuvein admitted in order that Yaakov should not suspect his other brothers. In other words, until Reuvein publicly admitted there was a little thing that bothered Yaakov every time he spoke to one of his sons because in the back of his mind he would wonder if perhaps this was the son who had switched the beds. Therefore after Yehuda stood up to admit, Reuvein followed suit.

We could see from this whole gemara a fantastic concept. Here we have a sotah who will face a most unpleasant death by not admitting what she did, as well as be responsible for having the Name of Hashem be erased. The beis din, tries to convince her to admit and does so by bringing stories of people who admitted even in order to save someone else's life and even to save others from merely being suspect in their father's eyes. Indeed admitting publicly is an incredibly scary thing. Yet, during the y'mei slichos, aseres y'mei teshuva and especially on Yom Kippur itself, we find ourselves admitting to whole lists of things that we have done. How could it be that a sotah, who is already in all the headlines as a suspect having been warned by her husband and witnessed by eidim (witnesses), and who is now facing death, needs to be persuaded to admit in order not to have a Name of Hashem be erased but yet we are able to show up comfortably in Shul alongside our friends and spend all day asking forgiveness for aveiros we have done? The gemara had said that one who is able to just admit his sins is someone shameless and a mechatzef. So how could we come before Hashem in public and admit to the things we have done?

There is no question that indeed this is the method that must be used, we have so little of our own zechusim and depend so heavily on Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov and the 13 Middos of Rachamim (attributes of mercy), which Hashem promises He will never return empty⁵, as well as the power of coming as a tzibbur (community) to ask Hashem to help us do teshuva. However, the big question is on us who when we admit to the things we have done, it is with such callousness. Such an absence of feeling while admitting to such horrible things could only be because of one of three reasons: One reason could be that we look around us and see that everyone is saying the same words. Yom Kippur is part of our yearly calendar. It is not like we were caught “red handed”, rather we are doing this on our own, just part of the routine of being a Jew. Therefore, perhaps it does not seem as personal to us. A second possible explanation is that we do not feel that the things we are saying are relevant to us. After all, some of the things we admit to seem a bit extreme and we may think to ourselves, “well, I may have done 'x', and given the opportunity I would probably be willing to do 'y', but 'z' I would never go so far to do.” The distance we may feel to the aveiros we are admitting to may make us feel more relaxed and think that the tefillos and viduy are not so relevant to us. A third possible explanation is that perhaps we have given up. We stand in Shul and do a drum-roll on our chest by “ashamnu” and the “al-cheit's” as we think to ourselves – I am who I am and there is no way for me to change now.

However, these three fatal diseases – for that is precisely what they are – as causes for our callous teshuva, could not be further from the truth. First, the Chovos Halevavos⁶ writes that beyond what we could term as “chovas ha'eivarim” - the responsibilities we have in using our bodies to do mitzvos, there is another area of avodas Hashem which is chovas ha'leiv – what we are expected to feel inside us constantly. The Chovos Halevavos offers the following parable: The personal servant of a king is expected to take care of every single need in the kings house at all times. It happens to be that sometimes he is required to take care of the gardening, mowing the lawn, raking leaves, etc. but those are not chores which are constantly present, but rather tasks which are seasonal. So too we have mitzvos we do once a year, we have mitzvos we do once a month, we have mitzvos we do once a week, we have mitzvos we do once a day, and we have mitzvos we do multiple times a day. However, there is also a category of mitzvos in the heart which must be active every second. This is the realization that Hashem exists and is the Ruler of the world, and that he knows our thoughts. So as much as we could convince ourselves that we were not caught “red-handed” and that we are just joining together in Shul for our yearly ritual, we are dead wrong. Hashem knows what we did and what our intentions were. Therefore when we admit to having done aveiros, it should feel real to us and we should try to get at least a small feeling that we were really caught red-handed, but are now given the chance to repent.

Second, although it may be true that some of the parts of viduy sound extreme, it was intentionally designed this way to include any aveirah we may have done. Every aveirah fits into one of the categories in the al cheit's. Additionally, the Orchos Tzadikkim⁷ writes that when we say “ashamnu...” and go through the aleph-beis, we have the ability to personalize the viduy and insert our own aveiros according to the aleph-beis, that we are aware of and want to do specific teshuva for.

In response to the third cause of callous confession, there is no such thing as giving up. As a Jew there is no option to stay at a stagnant level. A person who stops growing hurts himself exponentially because not only does he stop growing, but he starts falling. So the one who convinces himself that he cannot change is lying because either way he is changing – just for the worse and not for the better. What he really means to say is that he is not capable of improving as a person according to the Torah. However, such a despair is completely false. In Netzavim the Torah⁸ states, “ For this commandment that I command you today, it is not hidden from you and is not distant. It is not in the heavens...nor is it across the sea....Rather, the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to perform it.” The Ramban⁹ learns that these passukim refer to the mitzva of teshuva. It is very near to us. We just have to make sure that we are doing it with more than our mouth alone, but rather as the passuk describes, “with your mouth and with your heart”.

Hashem has given us the opportunity to join together as a tzibbur and do teshuva. Let us utilize the opportunity to also make it more personal, even if it means taking just one thing that we have done and think about it, regret it, admit to it, and to wok hard on not doing it again. Perhaps in this way we will have a productive and real Yom Kippur.

May Hashem help us not fall into the traps of thinking that it is part of the routine, that it is not relevant, or that it is too late. With this new focus may k'lal yisroel be zocheh to do teshuva sh'leimah this Yom Kippur and may Hashem respond by bringing Mashiach as we blow the shofar after Ne'ilah.

1Sotah 1:4, Gemara Sotah 7a

2Sotah 7b

3Devarim 33:6 and 33:7 as well as in the Gemara Sotah 7b

4See Chizkuni - Devarim33:6

5Gemara Rosh Hashanah 17b

6In the introduction

7Orchos Tzadikkim:Sha'ar HaTeshuva

8Devarim 30:11-14

9Ibid.

Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech and Rosh Hashanah - Ignorance is Not Bliss

Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech

and

Rosh Hashanah

Ignorance is Not Bliss

By: Daniel Listhaus

וְהָיָה בְּשָׁמְעוֹ אֶת דִּבְרֵי הָאָלָה הַזֹּאת וְהִתְבָּרֵךְ בִּלְבָבוֹ לֵאמֹר שָׁלוֹם יִהְיֶה לִּי כִּי בִּשְׁרִרוּת לִבִּי אֵלֵךְ לְמַעַן סְפוֹת הָרָוָה אֶת הַצְּמֵאָה

“And it will be that when he hears the words of this oath, he will bless himself in his heart, saying, 'I will have peace, though I go as my heart sees fit' – thereby adding the drunk with the thirsty.”

-Nitzavim 29:18

The Torah tells us that despite us being at Har Sinai to accept the Torah, and despite us accepting upon ourselves the covenant with Hashem along with the berachos (blessings) and k'lalos (curses) on Har Grizim and Har Eivel, still there perhaps will be someone who thinks to himself that it is all one big bluff. The S'forno¹ elaborates that while receiving the Torah and accepting the berachos and k'lalos, this person was being a bobble head, just nodding in agreement with a smile to everything that was being said, while in his heart he was thinking, “There is nothing to worry about. These things cannot really happen to ME.”

In economics, there is a simple relationship between quantity and price. The greater the supply of something, the cheaper it becomes. The same negative correlation often exists between kamus (quantity) and eichus (quality). The more accessible something is, the less unique it becomes, and consequently, it loses the attention it would have received had it not been so accessible. Without a doubt this balance is one which many are presented with on a daily basis. Halachik challenges which we, as a nation, have struggled with for centuries have suddenly become extremely easy in our times to the point that they rarely test our steadfastness to the Torah. For example, carrying on Shabbos is something that hardly crosses anyone's mind because so many cities have an eiruv. As a matter of fact, keeping Shabbos in general is not as hard of a challenge anymore being that many offices are anyway closed on Saturdays. Additionally, with crock pots, warming trays, air conditioners, lights, and timers, Shabbos is no longer misconstrued as our weekly Amish day. Keeping kosher is also something which has become so easy because not only is there a vast variety of kosher foods accessible across the world in supermarkets, there are even imitations of non-kosher foods which we have available.

However, as great as this is and the tremendous ease that it allows us to achieve mitzvos, it is also easier for someone to live in this system absentmindedly and ultimately hurt oneself. A person could be so used to just going with the flow and keeping to the general routine that he becomes ignorant to the rules and concepts themselves. Then, when a question comes up, this person will not even know to ask but instead make decisions by himself based on rationalizations and false logic.

During this time of year, as the month of Elul comes to an end and Rosh Hashanah is literally around the corner, it is definitely a season which, despite not fazing us in any means that it should or that it used to, so many Jews, from those spending the day in shul to those who are most distant from keeping the mitzvos, stop to think. On a most basic level, we think about the fact that Rosh Hashanah is more than just a “New Year's party”, but rather a judgment day for all of mankind. At the same time, although we may mouth those words, discuss the concept with a friend, or merely think about it for a second, it is often followed by a very dangerous thought: “Granted, today is Rosh Hashanah and that Hashem is king of the world, but I have nothing to worry about. As soon as Yom Tov is over I will continue living my normal life and go back and catch up on work.” Similar to the person the Torah speaks of in this week's parsha, such a person lives his life going with the flow, pretending to respect the things that he thinks others view as important. However, as the S'forno comments, this person is a bobble head. He is saying and doing one thing, but in his head he is thinking to himself that there is nothing to worry about and that there is no reason to change what he has been doing his whole life.

Our task, though, is to set our minds on a very different track. The Gemara² relates that Rebbe Eliezer used to say that one should do teshuva (repent) one day before he dies. His talmidim (students) asked him, “How is that possible, a person does not know when he is going to die?” Rebbe Eliezer responded, “Precisely, therefore one should do teshuva every single day!” Similarly we find in Pirkei Avos³: “They used to teach three things. Rebbe Eliezer says...repent one day before your death.”

When it comes to the Nobel Peace Prize, there is always a group of people or countries who raise an eyebrow at the yearly recipient. However, the weirdest fact about the Nobel Peace Prize is how it started. Alfred Nobel was a know genius chemist. He owned factories with very dangerous chemicals and explosives. Therefore, it was never a surprise to read in the headline's of the Stockholm, Sweden newspaper in the 1860's that another one of Nobel's factories containing nitroglycerin or explosives of some sort, exploded killing the employees inside. Despite this, Nobel continued to build more factories inventing modern dynamite as well as many other dangerous tools.

In 1888, Alfred's brother, Ludvig, died. When he died, a French newspaper, thinking that it was Alfred who had died, published an obituary stating, “Le merchand de la mort est mort” - which means “The merchant of death is dead”. The newspaper supposedly continued to read, “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.” One could only imagine the look on Alfred Nobel's face when he read his own obituary, which portrayed him in such a negative light. This unexpected shock caused him to rethink his goals in life and to contemplate how he would go down in history. So, he decided to start the Nobel Peace Prize so that his name be forever associated with recognizing those who strive to bring peace to the world, as opposed to being remembered as the merchant of death.

It is not often that someone is given the opportunity to read his own obituary to know what people really think about him and what he could do to change the way he is perceived. Furthermore, being that our birth certificates do not come with expiration dates, there is no way of knowing when Hashem will decide that our time here is up and that a snapshot of our life must be taken for final judgment. However, we do have the opportunity to learn what is expected of us and contemplate the fact that it is real and that there will be a real judgment, which will take all of our actions into consideration.

The Orchos Tzadikkim⁴ writes that there are seven things that a person must understand before beginning to do teshuvah. The first step he writes is the following. The type of people who we refer to as “ba'alei teshuva” is often limited to those who have come from transgressing on the most serious aveiros (sins) but have now chosen the correct path. However, the truth is that the definition is a lot broader than that. Even transgressing on the smallest aveirah, or at least what we consider a “light” aveirah, is still a slap in the face of the King who declared the rule. It is therefore our job to take note on the many things we have done wrong and respond by becoming a “ba'al teshuvah”. The Orchos Tzadikkim continues to write that there is so much we do wrong we may not even be aware of. After all, it makes sense that someone who does not take the time to understand the mitzvos is bound to make mistakes. Therefore, it is each person's duty to study the halachos and ask questions so that he should not be ignorant, correct his mistakes, and know what he did wrong in order to do a proper teshuva.

Rosh Hashanah and the Eseres Y'mei Teshuva is a time with a triple purpose. First, it serves as an opportune time to reflect on what we have done over the past year and regret the actions we did improperly. Second, it is a time for accepting upon ourselves a better future in the right direction. The combination of these two elements brings forth the ikkur (main) theme of Rosh Hashanah – which is to declare on the day that Adom was created, that Hashem is the only King of the universe. After all, this is what we were created for, to come to this realization and understand our place as servants of Hashem. However, all of this could only be achieved if we take the first step and show that we want to be more sensitive to the mitzvos, thereby better realizing the mistakes that we have made and be able to use that as a springboard to improve in the future.

May this Rosh Hashanah be one of only K'siva V'chasima Tovas for all of B'nei Yisroel and may we be zoche to use the opportunity to declare Hashem as the Melech and set the stage for Mashiach when – “V'haya Hashem l'melech al kol ha'aretz, bayom ha'hu y'hiyeh Hashem echad u'shemo echad” (“Then will Hashem be King over the entire world - on that day shall Hashem be One and His Name be One”).⁵

1Devarim 29:18

2Shabbos 153a

3Avos 2:15

4Orchos Tzadikkim: Sha'ar Ha'Teshuvah

5Zechariah 14:9

Photo Credit: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/nobel-peace-prize.html

Parshas Ki Savo - The Three Lively Hallows: Reign in the Rain Versus Formation Skydiving

Parshas Ki Savo

The Three Lively Hallows:

Reign in the Rain Versus Formation Skydiving

By: Daniel Listhaus

יִפְתַּח הֹ' לְךָ אֶת אוֹצָרוֹ הַטּוֹב אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם לָתֵת מְטַר אַרְצְךָ בְּעִתּוֹ וּלְבָרֵךְ אֵת כָּל מַעֲשֵׂה יָדֶךָ וְהִלְוִיתָ גּוֹיִם רַבִּים וְאַתָּה לֹא תִלְוֶה

“Hashem shall open for you His storehouse of goodness, the heavens, to provide rain for your land in its time, and to bless all your handiwork; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.”

-Ki Savo 28:12

Immediately after the Torah lists the curses of those who violate various mitzvos, the Torah writes about the goodness that comes when we in fact listen to the word of Hashem and follow His commandments.¹ The passuk describes that one of the rewards we receive from listening to Hashem is that Hashem will open His storehouse and allow it to rain. The Torah here is clearly communicating the connection between the world of ruchniyus (spirituality) and gashmiyus (material). The fact that there are physical ramifications based on whether we listen to Hashem or not, is no doubt a promise that only Hashem Himself could guarantee.

The Gemara² quotes Rabbi Yochanan as saying that there are three keys which Hashem has kept in His own hands and has not entrusted to any messenger:³ the Key of Rain, the Key of Childbirth, and the Key of techiyas ha'meisim (the Revival of the Dead). The mishna⁴ says that we mention the power of rain in the second beracha of shemoneh esreh – the beracha known as 'gevuros' (G-d's might). It is no coincidence that the other two main topics we mention in this beracha are the facts that Hashem is the One Who sustains life and Who is able to revive the dead. We refer to Hashem as gibbur (strong) because of His power to sustain life, control rain, and revive the dead.

What is the connection between these three powers of Hashem? And why is rain different than other areas of nature in that it comes only during times when we are following the word of Hashem?

The Gemara vaguely explains that the reason the power of rain is mentioned specifically in this beracha is because it is equivalent to resurrecting the dead. The meforshim (commentaries) explain that the common denominator between the three keys of reviving the dead, childbirth, and rain is that they all provide life. However, even with this commonality, if one were asked to design a logo representing the power of Hashem, certainly of these three things one would choose to depict an image representing techiyas ha'meisim. After all, revival of the dead is something completely out of this world! It is something beyond comprehension and any scientific explanation. Childbirth may be a close second-place but leaving aside the miraculous aspects of childbirth, starting with where the neshama (soul) comes into the picture if it is external to DNA, most of the process is understandable and predictable. Rain seems by far the “easiest” feat for Hashem to do. Rain is just so normal and happens so often that it almost seems ridiculous to associate this with Hashem being a “gibbur”. So is there perhaps a deeper understanding in the connection of these three keys which we use to define Hashem as the ultimate gibbur?

Additionally, the mishna⁵ states, “Who is strong (gibbur)? One who conquers his personal inclination”. Is there a connection between why we refer to Hashem as the ultimate gibbur and what the mishna states defines a person as a gibbur?

There is no question that skydiving is quite a thrilling sport. However, those who just do not get excited enough while free falling through the air and remain clear-headed and bored, often enjoy to go skydiving in groups and do what is called formation skydiving. A group of people jumping out of a plane right after another will be falling pretty close to each other and could easily collide. The game is to instead turn in different ways in the air to direct yourself and catch up to the rest of the group and then hold hands or grips on the skydiving suits to form various mid-air formations. Although the risks of this sport are obvious to all, when it comes to “sky diving” raindrops, it is a completely different story. The medrash⁶ relates that Hashem appoints a malach over each and every drop of rain. Despite the fact that the drops fall a great distance from very high up, the drops never attach to each other. Rather each and every droplet of rain is controlled by a specific ratzon (will) of Hashem to serve a unique purpose in the exact location it falls in. There is not even one drop of rain that falls without a specific instruction and intention from Hashem.

This is precisely the common denominator between the three keys. All three represent the fact that all of life is dependent on nothing other than Hashem Himself. In order for anything to exist at any given point it has to be connected to Hashem's ratzon to exist – for Hashem is the only source of life, as He is Life itself. These three keys demonstrate this point that Hashem is the ultimate gibbur on Whom everything else is dependent. He intentionally sustains us by willing us to be in this world, and could bring a person back even after death, as well as is the source of life for every aspect of all His creations. Everything is here for a purpose and everything is here only because of Hashem's ratzon.

With this understanding, we could perhaps better appreciate the connection in this week's parsha between the spiritual realm and the physical world. If we listen to Hashem and keep His mitzvos, we become attached to Hashem Himself and He in turn showers us back with life. Indeed the Torah and mitzvos are our life as we say every night during ma'ariv,⁷ “...For they [the Torah and mitzvos] are our life and the length of our days and about them we will contemplate day and night....” Our task is to keep the Torah and mitzvos, conquer our yetzer harrah (evil inclination) and become a gibbur. In turn, Hashem deals with us as a gibbur and allows us to attach ourselves to Him.

As we head into the second half of the month of Ellul and get closer to Rosh Hashanah we must start thinking about the fact that Hashem is the Melech (King) over the entire world. Not merely a Ruler Who has subjects that must listen because they live within His land, but a King whose people must obey because they exist only through His will. We must utilize our bechira (free choice) to want to become gibborim and choose life as the passuk⁸ says, “u'v'charta b'chayim” - and you should choose life.

With this in mind may we merit to achieve what we ask Hashem for in Shemoneh Esreh during the eseres y'mei teshuvah (10 days of repentance from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur) – “zachreinu l'chayim melech chafetz ba'chayim, v'chas'veinu b'sefer ha'chayim, l'mancha Elokim chaim” - Remember us for life, O King Who desires life, and inscribes us in the Book of Life – for your sake, O Living G-d.

1This is then followed by the main part of the tochacha, which describes the horrors that will come if we do not listen to the mitzvos.

2Ta'anis 2a

3The rishonim ask that we see in tanach that there were indeed people who who seem to have had control over one or more of these 'keys'. See Rashi there who learns that Hashem never gave over all three keys at the same time to one person. Tosfos maintain that the Gemara means that although Hashem has granted some people control over these keys, He never gave a key indefinitely. Others learn that Hashem never gave more than one key to the same person at the same time.

4Berachos 33a (Mishnayos Berachos 5:2)

5Avos 4:1

6Devarim Rabbah 7:6

7Evening Prayer

8Devarim 30:19

Parshas Re'eh - Baseless Beliefs

Parshas Re'eh

Baseless Beliefs

By: Daniel Listhaus

אֵת כָּל הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם אֹתוֹ תִשְׁמְרוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת לֹא תֹסֵף עָלָיו וְלֹא תִגְרַע מִמֶּנּוּ

“The entire matter that I command you, you shall guard it to do; you shall not add to it and you shall not subtract from it.”

-Re'eh 13:1

Rashi¹ explains that when the Torah here commands us not to add to the mitzvos, it means that we are prohibited from adding to the mitzvos themselves, such as bringing a fifth species on Succos with the lulav or adding in a fourth beracha (blessing) to birkas kohanim (the blessing that the kohanim give which is divided into three parts). Presumably we could assume that Rashi would similarly explain that when the passuk (verse) says not to subtract from the mitzvos it means not to, for example, bring three species on Succos or recite only two berachos of birkas kohanim.

The question we must ask, though, is what compelled Rashi to explain the passuk in this way? Certainly a more obvious explanation of the Torah would be that Hashem gave us 613 mitzvos and we are not allowed to add or subtract from those mitzvos? The words of the passuk sound like they are talking to the person who wants to stand up and declare a new mitzva which would benefit society, to which the Torah is telling him that it is forbidden to add mitzvos. So, why does Rashi explain the passuk as not adding or subtracting to the details of each particular mitzva?

The S'forno² also seems to understand the passuk slightly differently. When the Torah writes not to add to the mitzvos, the S'forno comments, “Do not add to the mitzvos because perhaps you will be adding something which is disgusting in the eyes of Hashem. For example, perhaps you may decide to add a new form of worshiping Hashem such as burning children, which is disgusting in the eyes of Hashem.”

This S'forno seems a bit extreme. He is explaining that the Torah was afraid of people making up their own ways to serve Hashem – such as burning children in fire. Is this really a concern? The S'forno is not dealing with someone looking to serve avodah zarah (idols), but rather a regular orthodox Jew looking for more ways to serve Hashem. What would be so bad with someone choosing to serve Hashem in his own personal way? Also how is the S'forno addressing this by taking it to an extreme?

The S'forno continues to explain that when the Torah says not to subtract from the mitzvos it means the following. Sometimes a person could look at a particular mitzva and say that the reason for the mitzva is not applicable and therefore the mitzva is no longer necessary. Sometimes such a claim is general – that the mitzva as a whole no longer applies, and sometimes it is a claim that an individual could make for himself, that for whatever reason the reason behind the mitzva does not apply to him and therefore he is exempt from the mitzva.

The S'forno continues to mention that this was precisely the mistake that Shlomo HaMelech made. The passuk³ states, regarding a Jewish king, “And he shall not have too many wives,⁴ and his heart shall not turn astray...” The Medrash⁵ describes that Shlomo learned this passuk and figured that it did not apply to him. After all, the passuk seems to be saying that the reason a king cannot have too many wives is because the Torah is concerned that it will cause his heart to go astray. Shlomo thought that because of his gift of abundant wisdom he was different from everyone else and therefore felt he could go ahead and marry additional wives.⁶ However, as the S'forno writes, this was a big mistake. The Torah forbids us from subtracting mitzvos even if it seems to us that the reason is not applicable.

This S'forno is also difficult to understand. Shlomo HaMelech read the Torah and its reason for not having too many wives. He made a personal calculation that it was not relevant to him and acted upon that feeling. What did he do wrong? The S'forno is saying that even if we see that the reason does not apply anymore, we should do it anyway. Why? If in fact the reason does not apply, what is the point of playing along and keeping unnecessary restrictions? If the S'forno would say that there is an external reason why one should keep the mitzva, such as not to confuse others to think the mitzva is completely non-existent, or in order that others should not think that such a person is specifically revolting against Hashem, then we could perhaps understand why it would be important to do a mitzva, despite its non-applicable reason. However, the S'forno does not give these answers as the explanation, but rather simply writes that even if it appears that the reason for the mitzva does not apply to you, you must do it anyway. Why is that so?

Imagine you were to walk into an ethics class at a university and are immediately swept into a series of thought provoking and interesting questions. You sit in the back and listen as the professor presents a famous question known as the Trolley Problem. There are many versions of the question but the basic gist is the following: There is a trolley out of control speeding down the tracks. Ahead on the tracks lay five people who are tied down, unable to move out of the way. You happen to be standing on the side of the tracks next to a lever. If you were to pull the lever, the trolly would be redirected onto a different set of tracks. However, you notice that there is one person laying tied down on that track as well. Therefore, the two options are to either do nothing and allow the trolly to continue its course and kill the five people, or pull the lever and divert the trolly onto the other set of tracks where it will only kill the one person. The professor then turns to his class and challenges them: which option do you choose? As you remain observing in the back, you begin to witness the most fascinating debate amongst the students. One person stands up and declares that it is so obvious that you need to pull the lever. After all, how could you allow the five people to die for the sake of a single individual. Suddenly another member of the class jumps up and shouts back, “You mean you think it is better to actively kill someone? Better to just let nature take its course and allow the five people to die than for it to be on your hands that you actively killed the single person on the other track.” Another classmate then stands up and says, “Well I think it should matter who these people are. Perhaps the five people are anyways all sick and elderly people, while the individual on the track happens to be a baby.” Another student then stands up emotionally charged and says, “What difference should it make? Who are you to play the role of God? Maybe the healthy guy will die tomorrow and the sick, elderly people will live until 120!”

As your head is bouncing back and forth digesting the various arguments and interjections by the professor pointing out the various defined schools of thought, you wonder to yourself what are all these ethics based on? The first student who stood up made a valid point: One should do what is best for the majority. However, without a doubt if you were to ask him why, he would have nothing to respond other than, “Because that is the correct thing to do. It is something that just feels right.” With this approach it is important to keep in mind that if one believes that a moral code is just based on gut feeling and emotions, then one has to be ready to accept the moral code of others based on their personal feelings and emotions. The response of “it just feels right” is arbitrary. Who says that what you think feels right is in fact right? For example, imagine someone who believes that if there is something a person wants for himself, he is ethically permitted to go any distance to get what he wants. Such a person could argue that if someone else has something he is jealous of and wants it, he has the right to demand it from him; and if he refuses, he could even kill for the item he desires. If one were to challenge this person and ask why such a mentality makes sense, he too could respond, “Because it is honestly just something that feels right to me. I was put in this world and it is my job to do whatever it takes to make myself happy.” Despite the two very different approaches to life, these two people have the same reason why they do what they do. Their response is incontestable and could be used by anyone to rationalize any action.

One of the things we have to think about everyday is the fact that not only must we be grateful to Hashem for creating us, and not only must we thank Him for creating us as humans, we must also thank Him for the fact that He, as Creator of the world did not leave us here alone.⁷ He gave us the Torah. The Torah is more than a history book, more than a scroll of rules, and more fundamental than a perspective on life. It is insight into Hashem Himself. Just like in order to optimize a board game, one must read the instruction pamphlet, so too when it comes to knowing how to live, think, and even things as personal as how to feel emotionally, the only way to act and respond correctly is through understanding what Hashem wants from us. This could only be done by someone who is close to Hashem, which is only possible by someone who has spent the time learning His Torah.

It is known that there are two categories of mitzvos – mishpatim and chukim. Mishpatim refer to the mitzvos which are easy for us to understand. For example, not to steal or kill are things which are obvious to us that they should not be done. Chukim refer to the mitzvos which we cannot begin to fully comprehend. The whole concept of tumah (impurity) and tahara (purity) and especially the details within those concept such as parah adumah are more than just complex. They are ideas that are way beyond us.

However, despite this difference between the two terms, it is important to keep in mind that in reality every single mitzva is a chok (singular for chukim). Even the mitzvos which make sense to us and we think we comprehend, are not things that we should do solely because they make sense to us, nor are they right or wrong based on our personal understanding or emotions. Rather things are only good or bad because Hashem declared them as such. For example, the fact that killing is wrong is not just because it feels wrong, rather it is because Hashem declared it as wrong. However, if there would be a time that the Torah would demand someone or a nation to be killed, whether we understand the reason or not, and whether we personally believe that death is deserved or not is completely irrelevant. Everything has its time and place. The person who studies the ways of Hashem through His Torah shel b'chsav (written Torah) and Torah shel ba'al peh understands on a much deeper level what makes things right and wrong using the tools of reason that Hashem gave us on Har Sinai to use.

Perhaps now we could better appreciate Rashi and the S'forno's explanations on the passuk of not adding or subtracting to the Torah. As mentioned above, Rashi gave examples as to what the Torah means when it says that one could not add to the Torah. He wrote that one cannot add another species to the lulav, esrog, haddas and aravah, or add in a beracha to birkas kohanim. Perhaps Rashi chose this explanation as opposed to simply writing that the Torah gave 613 mitzvos and we cannot add to that number because that would not be completely true. Part of the Torah's system is to leave room for those in-tuned to what Hashem wants to be able to create safety precautions to protect the Torah or create other decrees as they see fit.

The S'forno too is coming to explain that the Torah is teaching us the following. Even if someone thinks that the thing he is adding is enhancing his avodas Hashem, do not do it without consulting someone who has insight into the ways of Hashem, for perhaps he will be doing something disgusting in the eyes of Hashem such as burning children. The S'forno is not exaggerating, he is simply stating a fact. Indeed one who makes up way of serving Hashem, no matter how good it seems in his eyes, it is repulsive to Hashem. If it does not have roots in the Torah then it is completely baseless like the person who sacrifices children. Although you may think that the two are not even comparable, you must keep in mind that if you are willing to argue that what you feel is good avodas Hashem is valid, then you are also saying that whatever anyone else feels is good avodas Hashem is valid as well. And yes, that baseless argument could rationalize anything – even the burning of children.

One cannot make up mitzvos based on what he feels is right and wrong. In the end of the day unless one is in-tuned to da'as elyon by thoroughly studying the Torah to the point that one is trained to think, so to speak, like Hashem, one has no right to declare what is good or bad. One cannot just say that because he feels something is right that therefore it must be the case. For, just like the trolly problem, every s'vara (logic) one way will have a counter s'vara against it by someone else does not share the same feelings and therefore ends up with a completely different moral code. Rather, when it comes to the Torah we must keep in mind that even the mitzvos we think we know the reason for, we really do not and at some level every mitzva we do – even those as basic as not killing or being nice to one another – is a chok, a decree from Hashem. This was Shlomo's mistake. He saw that the Torah specified a reason for why a king should not marry too many wives and he took that at face value.

As we enter into the month of Elul, may Hashem help us realize that His telling us in the Torah what to do and not to do is the only reason that anything becomes inherently good or evil, and that alone is the only solid base for a belief system with a valid moral code. With this in mind we will be zoche (merit) to a real teshuva (repentance) and a complete kapparah (atonement).

1Devarim 13:1

2Ibid.

3Devarim 17:17

4See Gemara Sanhedrin 21a. A king cannot marry more than 18 wives.

5Shemos Rabbah 6:1

6He married 1000 wives!

7See Orchos Tzadikkim: Sha'ar HaZechira

Parshas Chukas - Real Responsibility

Thoughts on the Parsha
Parshas Chukas

Real Responsibility

By: Daniel Listhaus

וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל משֶׁה עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף וְשִׂים אֹתוֹ עַל נֵס וְהָיָה כָּל הַנָּשׁוּךְ וְרָאָה אֹתוֹ וָחָי: וַיַּעַשׂ משֶׁה נְחַשׁ נְחשֶׁת וַיְשִׂמֵהוּ עַל הַנֵּס וְהָיָה אִם נָשַׁךְ הַנָּחָשׁ אֶת אִישׁ וְהִבִּיט אֶל נְחַשׁ הַנְּחשֶׁת וָחָי

“Hashem said to Moshe, 'Make yourself a burning one and place it on a pole, and it will be that anyone who had been bitten will look at it and live. Moshe made a snake of copper and placed it on the pole; so it was that if the snake bit a man, he would stare at the copper snake and live.”

-Chukas 21:8-9

As hard as it is to believe, we read through this week's parsha only to find that the B'nei Yisroel once again complained about their experience in the midbar (desert), saying that they remembered their time in Mitzrayim being more pleasureful than their current situation. In response to this, Hashem sent burning nechashim (snakes) to bite those who had complained. This was followed by the B'nei Yisroel doing teshuva (repentance) and approaching Moshe to ask him to please daven on their behalf. Moshe did so and Hashem gave him instructions to build a snake on a pole. Anyone who looked up at the model would be cured from his snake bite.¹

Rashi² is bothered that the passuk (verse) specifies that the snake that Moshe built was made of copper, yet nowhere in the passukim does it say that Hashem commanded him to make it of any specific material. Rashi writes that Moshe thought to himself that because the word for snake (nachash) is the same as the root for copper (ne'cho'shes), he realized that that was the material Hashem expected him to use with which to construct the snake.³

On the surface this whole story passes under the radar. After all, it sounds like yet another classic chapter of the B'nei Yisroel in the midbar (desert). They complained, they got punished, Moshe davened to Hashem, and the day was saved. However, there is an extremely important fact here which gets overlooked but is very worthwhile to focus on and think about.

In the time-line of this parsha, immediately prior to this episode with the copper snake, was the story of Moshe hitting the rock. Something that Moshe and Aharon did at that particular point was considered a cheit (sin), and because of their tremendous closeness with Hashem, much was expected of them and the repercussions were heartbreaking. It was decreed that Moshe and Aharon were to die in the midbar and not be allowed to enter Eretz Yisroel. It is impossible to fathom what it must have felt like for Moshe rabbeinu. After taking B'nei Yisroel out of Mitzrayim, receiving the Torah, and always being there to save the day for B'nei Yisroel, Hashem told him that he will not be able to enter Eretz Yisroel. All his life's work had been to prepare B'nei Yisroel to fulfill the mitzvos in Eretz Yisroel, and all of the sudden, because of what was seemingly a small misunderstanding, Hashem took away Moshe's life-long dream.

Most people after having gone through such a traumatic time would be completely beside themselves. Whether the response would be suicide, ultimate depression, or rebellion, one thing is for sure – chances would be pretty slim that a person in such a circumstance would ever have the same relationship with the one who took away his life's dream from him. Yet, not only did Moshe rabbeinu continue his role of leader over the very people who he could have easily blamed as being the primary cause of him losing his dream of entering Eretz Yisroel, and not only did he even daven on their behalf, he even maintained the same exact relationship with Hashem that he was able to understand clearly the material that Hashem intended he use for the nachash without it having to be explicitly communicated.

It is quite interesting how different the roles of a Jewish religious is from a regular government politician. When it comes to the political headlines, they either read that someone is running for some government position, or that a certain politician is shirking his responsibility. Yet, in Chumash and Tanach we find that the righteous religious leaders never ran for office, but rather ran away from office⁴, as the Mishna⁵ says, “Despise lordliness and stay away from government”. And when it comes to responsibility, even after having all his dreams swept away for a minor mistake because of a stressful moment, Moshe rabbeinu's responsibility did not waiver one iota. His responsibility of taking care of B'nei Yisroel was completely unaffected, and his close relationship with Hashem, with his deep understating of what Hashem wanted of him, remained fully in tact.

Although this precise level of responsibility may be unrealistic to be expected of us, the concept is definitely something that we must strive for to the best of our ability. We learn from Moshe that anger or a distance in relationship from Hashem is completely improper no matter what happens. We must keep in mind that beyond the goals we set for ourselves, and more important than anything that could happen to us, is the absolute necessity to remain unwavering from our emunah (trust) and bitachon (faith) in Hashem.

1See Rashi Bamidbar 21:8 who brings from the gemara Rosh Hashanah 29a that obviously a copper snake has no power to heal. Rather, the intent was that the B'nei Yisroel would look up to the sky to Hashem and subject their heart to Him.

2Bamidbar 21:9

3See Ramban 21:9 who offers a possible explanation as to what Moshe's exact calculation was.

4Moshe rabbeinu was very reluctant to accepting the position of manhig (leader) kk'lal Yisroel. Also, Shaul HaMelech was very reluctant to accept becoming king.

5Pirkei Avos 1:10