Book of Ruth on Shavuot

On Shavuot, it is customary to read the Book of Ruth. There are three reasons why we read this book. The first is that the story takes place at the time of קציר החיטים, the harvesting of wheat. And one of the names of Shavuot is חג הקציר, the harvest holiday. The second reason is that Ruth was a convert and accepted upon herself the observance of all of the Mitzvot. On Shavuot, we received the Torah on Mount Sinai, and the entire Jewish nation accepted upon themselves the observance of all of the Mitzvot. And the third reason is that King David died on Shavuot. We end the book by being told that Ruth was the great grandmother of David. Just to throw in a little Zionism, the Gemara in בבא בתרא has a novel interpretation to the words, הזאת נעמי. The usual interpretation is that the people of בית לחם were shocked to see how Naomi had aged and lost her wealth. They asked, “Could this be the same Naomi that we once knew? The Gemara explains הזאת נעמי, to mean, “Is this what happens to a Jew who leaves Israel to seek comfort in a foreign land?” חג שמח

Role of the Levite

This coming Shabbat after Shavuot is unusual in that we will be reading the regular Torah reading of נשא in Israel, but outside of Israel, it will be the second day of Yom Tov. For several weeks, this will go on, until a double Parsha will get things on track. Parshat Nasso speaks of the special role of the Levites and their service to עם ישראל. They were to maintain a high level of sanctity. It was their job to teach the masses, the paths of justice and righteousness. For this reason, they did not inherit land and they were to remain separate from the rest of the nation. The Rambam, at the end of the Shmitta laws, gives a Shavuot-like message. He writes that every Jew is capable of reaching the same spiritual heights as the Levi. He only needs to apply himself by connecting to the world of קדושה, and separating from the mundane, material world. He will feel Hashem close to him just as the Kohanim and Leviim, were able to merit. Certainly, Shavuot is the time to re-think and re-connect to the world of holiness and service of HaShem.

חג הביכורים

Shavuot has three other names: זמן מתן תורתנו, the time of giving the Torah, חג הקציר, the Harvest Holiday, and חג הביכורים, the Holiday of First Fruits. The offering of first fruits needed to come from the seven species: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranate, olives, and dates. They were to come from the first and choicest fruits. They were placed in a basket and brought to Jerusalem during the Shavuot holiday. People would sing and play instruments to accompany those bringing their ביכורים. This was an extremely joyous ceremony as each individual would feel how fortunate was his lot. They realized that they were living the ultimate Jewish dream. Not only were they living in Israel, but they were blessed with an abundant crop from their own land. They shared this joy with the Kohein in the בית המקדש. The section in the Torah describing ביכורים, ends with the words, ושמחת בכל הטוב, that you should be happy for all of the good that Hashem has bestowed upon you. All of the חגים were very happy. But Shavuot and ביכורים made it uniquely a holiday of Divine bliss.

Rebbe Like a Father

In פרשת במדבר, we learn of the special role of the teacher of Torah. This is pointed out when it is written about the generations of Moshe and Aharon. Only the sons of Aharon are mentioned, and not Moshe’s own sons. This is explained in מסכת סנהדרין where it says that when one teaches Torah to the son of his friend, it’s as if he fathered him. One’s parents bring a person into this world, but a Torah teacher brings him into the next world. We see this that the Prophet Elisha referred to his Rebbe, Eliyahu Hanavi, as אבי אבי, my father my father. Although Moshe Rabbeinu taught Torah to all of Israel, he gave special attention to his nephews. And he was considered like a father. This tradition is carried on today in a special Rebbe-Talmid relationship. It is very common for students to see their rabbis as real father figures. Moshe was the first to fulfill that role.

תפקיד

The word related to פרשת במדבר, is תפקיד. This refers to an individual figuring out what his purpose is in this world. The three Levite families of גרשון, קהת, and מררי, each had their specific תפקיד in transporting the Mishkan in the desert. Gershon carried the curtains. Merari were in charge of the קרשים, the wood beams. And Kehat carried the holy vessels of the Mishkan. The Talmud points out Hashem’s brilliance. He places in the hearts of each individual to choose his respective occupation. This is how all of the needs of society are taken care of. We need specialized craftsmen such as plumbers, electricians, just as we need doctors, engineers, and accountants. Aside from what we decide to do for our livelihood, we must also do our best to reach our full spiritual potential in serving Hashem and the Jewish people. This is our תפקיד in this world.

Humility and Inheriting the Land

Shavua Tov. The Netivot Shalom makes a distinction between במספר שמות, according to the number of names, mentioned in today’s Parsha, and בית אבותם, the houses of the fathers, mentioned in Parshat Pinchas. The first census related to the generation that left Egypt, and the second census to the generation about to enter Israel. The term מספר שמות alludes to Jews who thought a lot of themselves. Because of their lofty status, they were not worthy to enter Israel. The name כנען, represents הכנעה, or surrender. Only someone from the old crowd was worthy of entering, because of his humility. He referred to Israel as טובה הארץ מאוד מאוד, that it was a very, very, good land. One of the only other times we say מאוד מאוד, is from פרקי אבות that says one should be מאוד מאוד שפל רוח, be very, very, humble. The message of the נתיבות שלום is that only those with great humility, are worthy of living in this land.

Strive for Torah

This week we begin the fourth book of the Torah, במדבר. The Jewish calendar is set up so that we read this Parsha on the Shabbat before Shavuot. Last week’s second Parsha, בחוקותי, had the message of תהיו עמלים בתורה, that we are to struggle with the study of Torah. This was an important lesson about how to acquire Torah. Because it represents such a precious gift, it is not meant to come easy. One must not only make Torah a priority, but he must also be prepared to make sacrifices, in order to be worthy of this gift. Bamidbar teaches that one needs to make himself desolate like a מדבר, desert, in order to be a כלי, receptacle for Torah. The message here is that humility is a prerequisite and necessity in order to allow Torah to become an integral part of our lives. Shavuot is a celebration that we were chosen to be the people to receive this precious gift, called Torah. We must cherish it and struggle to acquire it.

Nature Will Behave

The Netivot Shalom has an interesting explanation to פרשת בחוקותי. He asks why the Torah tells us of all of the rewards for keeping the Mitzvot. It seems to be clear that all kinds of great results will come to one who carefully follows all aspects of the Torah. The Netivot Shalom is bothered by the apparent contradiction to what we are promised over and over again. That is, that true justice and real reward is in the next world and not in this world. The contradiction is answered by looking more carefully at the specifics of the promise. We are told that if we do as we are instructed, NATURE will act as it is supposed to. There will be rain in its proper season and there will not be any plagues or epidemics. In other words, the rewards we will see in this world, is that nature will behave as it is supposed to. This implies that epidemics in the world come from abandoning the way of the Torah. Hopefully, with the current epidemic nearly behind us, we will learn the valuable lessons taught in the Torah.

Taking Interest

Parshat בהר speaks of the prohibition to take interest from another Jew. Aside from calling interest, ריבית, it is also referred to as נשך. The word נשך also means, “to bite.” When one charges interest, it takes a bite out of the person paying back his debt. The שערי תשובה of Rabbeinu Yona, points out just how grievous this sin really is. A Pasuk from יחזקאל says that one who takes interest, לא יחיה, shall not live. This is not to say that one receives the death penalty for taking interest. But what it does mean is that when one is in need of an angel in Heaven to defend an individual and his worthiness of deserving עולם הבא, and he has the sin of interest taking on his record, that angel will not be inclined to speak on his behalf. One needs to be very careful with this Mitzva and be certain he does not take interest on any level.

אונאה

In פרשת בהר, we are taught the Mitzva of אונאה. This refers to a form of mistreatment of another individual. There are actually two types of אונאה. One is called אונאת דברים, that refers to mistreatment of another individual with words. It includes belittling another person with insults, calling him by a nickname that he does not like, or reminding him of his embarrassing past. One may not call a person a Baal Teshuva or convert, in a derogatory manner. The second time of אונאה, is אונאת ממון. This refers to monetary fraud and price gouging. One should not earn more than a sixth of profit in the sale of movable objects. One must take great care to be honest in all of his financial dealings. A story is told of Rav Safra, who negotiated selling a certain item to a non-Jew. The Gentile made an offer to Rav Safra that was acceptable. The Rav couldn’t accept the offer because he was in the middle of reciting Shema. The Gentile thought his offer was too low and offered more money. When Rav Safra finished Shema, he insisted on accepting the lower offer. In his mind, he agreed to that offer. He did not wish to be guilty of אונאה in any form. He performed a great Kiddush Hashem in his behavior.

No Shmitta-More Problems

The Gemara in קידושין further elaborates on the danger of not following the Shmitta laws. Such a transgression sets off a chain reaction of declining events. The outcome of such behavior is hinted to in the order of cases brought in פרשת בהר. If one doesn’t keep Shmitta, he will be forced to sell his מטלטלים, movable objects. If he doesn’t realize the cause for such a sale, he will be forced to sell his fields. The Torah spoke of one impoverished, because he sold his possessions. It them speaks about one forced to sell his home in a walled city. His poverty is so bad that he cannot support his young daughter and is forced to sell her as a Hebrew maidservant, אמה עבריה, in the hope that her master will provide for her and marry her off to his son. The final humiliation comes when he sells himself as an עבד עברי, hired hand. And he may only find a גר תושב, resident stranger, who is not Jewish, who is willing to purchase him. All of these misfortunes began by not observing Shmitta. Perhaps we should see this as a warning that we must put our faith in Hashem especially when it affects money and our livelihood.

Shmitta and Faith

Shavua Tov. Today we learned the importance of the Mitzva of שמיטה, the observance of the Sabbatical year and the requirement to leave the land fallow. In פרקי אבות it’s written that Galut comes to the Jewish people for four sins: murder, immorality, idol worship, and the violation of Shmitta. Shmitta was chosen as an example of the law given on Mount Sinai. This is because, it may require more faith than most of the Mitzvot of the Torah. We put our absolute faith in Hashem that He will provide us with a livelihood, even though we do not work the land. The Netivot Shalom says that we demonstrate this faith every single week when we observe Shabbat. On a smaller scale, we put our faith in Hashem by not working one day a week. It’s all about faith as the Prophet חבקוק says, צדיק באמונתו יחיה, that a righteous person shall live by his faith.

Living in Israel Securely

This week’s double Parsha of בהר-בחוקותי, each have the Pasuk that speaks of וישבתם לבטח בארצכם, “And you will live securely in the Land.” The Rabbis explain this verse and clarify, בארץ אתה יושב לבטח ולא בחוץ לארץ, “In your Land, you live securely, but not outside your Land.” The Gemara in בבא בתרא 91b, says that it is forbidden for a Jew to leave Israel, unless there is a terrible famine in the Land. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (of Lag B’Omer fame) explained the Pasuk in מגילת רות that said, הזאת נעמי, “Is this Naomi?” as proof that Machlon, Chilyon, and Elimelech were all punished with death because they were the heads of the generation and they left Israel. When the people of בית לחם saw Naomi, they were expressing their shock at what happens to someone who leaves Israel. She left a wealthy, beautiful woman, and came back a poor, broken old lady, in a very short time. We must pray that our Jewish brethren will come home so that they, too, can live securely in the Land.

Magic of Shabbat

In keeping with his ongoing theme of the importance of Shabbat, the Netivot Shalom connects this idea with the Mitzva of waiting eight days before an animal can be offered as a sacrifice. This was one of the many laws mentioned in פרשת אמור. The Torah tells us that a newborn animal must wait until at least the eighth day after birth, before it is viable and worthy to be offered on the altar. The Netivot Shalom connects this law with the law of Brit Mila, which is also on the eighth day. The reason for the eighth day, applies to both cases. Circumcision and sacrifices are holy rituals done to a Jewish baby boy and kosher animal. Both need to be prepared for their respective Mitzva, by living in this world for at least one Shabbat. The sacred nature of this day elevated and prepares the baby Jew and baby animal for the Mitzva they will be involved in. This is the magic of the effects of Shabbat. And this is why we must cherish the most special day of the week.

Lag B’Omer

Lag B’Omer represents a day of a great deal of hope. It is most appropriate today as we are dealing with this Corona Pandemic. At the time of רבי עקיבא, the epidemic of his 24,000 students dying, ended on Lag B’Omer. It symbolized a new beginning and an end to death and sadness, replaced by hope and an optimistic future. When we add to the equation, the influence of רבי שמעון בר יוחאי, Lag B’Omer indicates a new phase for the Jewish people. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was in lockdown for twelve years with his son, Rabbi Elazar, as they hid from the Romans. They did not pray in a Shule, and their isolation allowed רבי שמעון to reveal the deep secrets of the Torah as he wrote the Zohar. Even though Lag B’Omer is not being celebrated as usual, its message rings loud and clear!

Shabbat

We have now completed nearly three of the five books of the Torah. Our primary commentator this year has been Netivot Shalom. It seems that wherever possible, the Netivot Shalom inserts the holiness of Shabbat in numerous commentaries. Apparently, it was felt that sincere observance of Shabbat, leads to all kinds of great things to the individual and the Jewish nation. In פרשת אמור, there is a long section related to the מועדות, festivals. The surprising aspect of this section, is that the first of the festivals is Shabbat! Shabbat is a pillar of the Jewish people. Everything centers around Shabbat. Each week we are rejuvenated spiritually, as we spend one day refraining from our daily activities. Instead, we focus on family, prayer, and Torah. The festivals are centered around Shabbat. There are thirty-nine מלאכות that we are forbidden to do on Shabbat. Yom Tov also has the same prohibitions of מלאכה as Shabbat. There are a few exceptions because of our being allowed to cook on Yom Tov. The Netivot Shalom certainly realized the importance of Shabbat observance. This knowledge should motivate us to give this special day more emphasis, so that we fully reap its benefits.

Judaism’s Varied Demands

It is interesting that in last week’s Parsha, we had the word’s וחי בהם, “and you should live by them.” And this week we had the Pasuk of ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל, “And I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel.” In the first instance, we learn the laws of פיקוח נפש, that where there is a potential danger to one’s health, that takes precedence over the potential violation of a Mitzva. The demands of קידוש ה׳, on the other hand, sometimes requires us to give our lives for the sanctification of Hashem’s name, rather than violate a specific commandment. This just shows the diversity of Judaism and its varied demands. There is a time and place for everything. This only shows the importance of intense Torah so that we are clear as to what is expected of us. It is very easy to error and make erroneous conclusions due to lack of knowledge.

וקדשתו

Shavua Tov. Today we read פרשת אמור that has over sixty of the 613 Mitzvot. The beginning of the Parsha discusses specific laws related to Kohanim. Aside from the Halachot that deal with whom a Kohein is allowed to marry, and how a Kohein must not serve in the Temple if he has one of 140 blemishes, (מום), we also learn of the positive commandment of וקדשתו. The מצוה of וקדשתו, “and sanctify him, requires to treat the Kohein with a greater amount of respect. The obvious ways we do this is by giving the Kohein the first Aliya to the Torah, and we ask the Kohein to lead the “Benching”, ברכת המזון. It is also written that when sitting down at a meal, the Kohein is served first. When I studied at Mercaz Harav in 1971, my roommate was Eliezer Chirqui, the brother of Rav Chirqui of Machon Meir. He used to say to me, “If you weren’t a Kohein, and I didn’t have the Mitzva of וקדשתו, I would tell you to clean up your part of the room.” I got the hint.

Sefira Purifies

This week, we read פרשת אמור. A big section of the Parsha, deals with the various festivals in the Jewish calendar. Upon discussing Pesach and Shavuot, the Torah also discusses ספירת העומר. The Netivot Shalom describes how the counting of the Omer was meant to be an act of purification. He writes that ספירה comes from the word, ספיר, sapphire, a precious stone. The proof that Sefira purifies comes from the prayer that many say each night after reciting the ברכה. We say say the following: Master of the Universe, You commanded Your servant, Moshe to count Sefira in order to purify us from our Klipa (shell), and impurity, as Sefira’s intention is to purify עם ישראל from its pollution. We pray that we be cleansed from our own impurities, and will merit receiving the שפע, abundance from above. The goal of the purification process is to prepare us for receiving the Torah on Shavuot. Clearly, Sefira is meant to elevate and purify.

ערלה

Parshat קדושים also spoke of the Mitzva of ערלה. This law forbids us from eating the fruit of a tree during its first three years of growth. The fourth year, the fruits are holy and must be brought and consumed in Jerusalem, just like מעשר שני. The fourth year fruits are called נטע רבעי. There is a Halacha regarding ערלה outside of Israel that is called הלכה למשה מסיני, that this is a Halachic tradition from Moshe Rabbeinu. This tradition states that there is a different standard outside of Israel as opposed to the Mitzva of ערלה in Israel. In Israel, we are more strict with this law, and even when there is a doubt if the fruits are within the first three years or not, we must not eat such fruit. In חוץ לארץ, the tradition is that when in doubt, we are lenient. We do not need to inquire when purchasing fruit, if they are within the first three years or not. It is only when we are certain that they are such fruit, that we must not eat such fruit. This is a little known Halacha as to the difference between ערלה in Israel, and ערלה in חוץ לארץ.