Double Punishment

There is a principle in Halacha called, קים ליה בדרבה מיניה. This is an Aramaic phrase indicating that when one commits a double sin, he only receives the more severe punishment . For example, if one steals an object on Shabbat, and carries it from a private domain to a public domain, he is punished for desecrating Shabbat (סקילה)and not for stealing. In general, there is never a situation where one can receive two punishments for the same offense, either. There are two exceptions to this rule, both mentioned in פרשת כי תצא. The first is the בן סורר ומורה, the rebellious son. In addition to receiving the death penalty, he also gets lashes. And the second case is מוציא שם רע, accusing one’s wife of being promiscuous before the marriage when she was Halachically engaged. The husband receives both lashes and pays a penalty of 100 silver. The בן סורר ומורה is difficult to understand and never actually happened. But the מוציא שם רע case shows that words alone are capable of creating irreparable damage.

כלאיים

One of the important principles of the Torah, is the orderliness of the universe. Everything G-d created has its specific purpose and role. This is the reason for the laws of כלאיים, that refers to forbidden mixtures. In actuality, the Torah lists five such forbidden mixtures. The strictest of these mixtures, is the prohibition of כלאי הכרם, mixing grapes and wheat. This applies both inside and outside of Israel. There is also כלאי זרעים, a mixing of various seeds that should not be planted together. This applies only in Israel. The third type is כלאי בגדים, better known as שעטנז, which represents a mixture of wool and linen. This requires us to check new suits and other clothing for this mixture. The last two types are related to animals. One prohibition related to cross breeding animals of different species. And the final type of כלאיים, is working two animals of the field of different strength. We may not muzzle an ox and donkey while plowing. We must never tamper or attempt to alter the beautiful world that Hashem created with His great wisdom.

Paradox of יפת תואר

There is a paradox related to the story of the יפת תואר, the woman taken captive in battle. On the one hand, the Rabbis say, דיברה תורה כנגד יצר הרע, that the Torah speaks against one’s evil inclination. If we would not allow this process, she would be taken anyways. Such a union might end in her being the hated wife, and they will give birth to the rebellious son. This view looks very negatively at the יפת תואר. On the other hand, the Netivot Shalom says that the יפת תואר might actually be a Jewish soul lodged in a non-Jewish body. Such non-Jews who are meant to be Jewish, would otherwise not be discovered. This is a completely different approach to this very unusual situation. We must be aware that things are not always the way that they seem. The realization must be that Hashem’s running the world, is far beyond our comprehension.

Educate by Example

Shavua Tov. Rav Elazar Abuchatzeira זצ״ל asked an interesting question regarding today’s Parsha. We learn that the בן סורר ומורה, the thirteen year old rebellious son, is put to death at his young age. It is better that he die with minimal sins rather than wait until he’s older and commits much worse sins. Yet, when Yishmael was a young boy and dying of thirst, he was saved. The angels asked Hashem why he should be saved, when in the future his children would cause terrible grief to the Jewish people. Hashem answered with באשר הוא שם, that right now he hasn’t sinned. What is the difference between the two? Rav Elazar answered that the difference was in their חינוך, education. Yishmael had Avraham Avinu as his teacher, and there was always hope that he would act as his father taught him. The בן סורר ומורה became that way because his parents set a bad example. Based on his behavior as a youth, there was no chance he would change his ways. We see the importance of real חינוך. The greatest education parents can give their children, is by the example they set. No such thing as “Do as I say, but do not do as I do.” Such an attitude, can bring catastrophic results.

The Real Battle

This week we read פרשת כי תצא. The Netivot Shalom points out a grammatical problem in the first Pasuk. It says, כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך, “When you go to battle against your enemy.” The wording should have been באויבך, “with your enemy,” and not על אויבך, symbolizing a known enemy. This small discrepancy is meant to teach a lesson appropriate for the month of Elul. We are to recognize that we have a constant battle with our known enemy, the יצר הרע. There is a famous story of a battle that the Jewish army fought and won. They came back to tell their spiritual leader of their victory. The Tzaddik told the soldiers that now the real battle began. We are never to allow ourselves to let down our guard against this constant enemy. The יצר הרע is relentless and does everything possible to weaken us and fill us with doubts. The month of Elul is חדש הרחמים, the month of mercy. This is the time of serious soul searching. The Netivot Shalom suggests that in this battle, we take the initiative and put up our defenses before it can attack us. Winning this war allows us not only to achieve atonement, but it is our guarantee that we merit all of Hashem’s blessings.

זרוע לחיים קיבה

Parshat שופטים speaks of some of the gifts given to the Kohanim. Among these gifts are the זרוע, arm, לחיים, cheeks, and קיבה, stomach, from any animal that was not slaughtered as a קרבן, sacrifice. These were among the twenty-four gifts given in order to help sustain the Kohanim. One was able to choose any Kohein he wanted, to receive these sections of the animal. The consensus of opinion among the rabbis is that this law does not apply outside of Eretz Yisrael. The consensus also ruled that this Mitzva does apply today in Israel. The Sefer Hachinuch says that this obligation cannot be enforced, as no Kohein can claim that it is his. It is likely that this obligation is circumvented nowadays by creating some kind of partnership with a non-Jew. If animals are jointly owned, the obligation also falls. (This method is also used in order to avoid the sanctification of a בכור, first born animal.

Sorcery and Witchcraft

Parshat שופטים discusses various types of sorcery and witchcraft. The Torah warns against getting involved in such practices as well as consulting the dead. This particular section ends with the words, תמים תהיה עם ה׳ אלוקיך, that we are to be trusting of Hashem and not rely on these practices. The word “תמים” is also a word that describes someone who is naive. This shows how we are to place our absolute trust in Hashem without any reservation. This trust also demands of us that we have patience. We must not make assumptions on when we think we are entitled to the results we are seeking. Hashem acts as He sees fit. Consulting sorcery and witchcraft is an attempt for a shortcut to immediate results. This is especially true today in a world of fast foods and e-mail. People lose their patience. Our faith requires us to work hard and realize that everything comes in its proper time. No impure intermediaries need to be consulted.

King Agrippas

Parshat שופטים has the Halachot related to a king. One of the laws is that a king must not come from another nation, but must be a Jew who is מקרב אחיך, “From the midst of your brothers.” The Gemara in סוטה says that when King Agrippas read this Pasuk, he began to cry. Other Jews comforted him and said, אחינו אתה, “You are our brother.” Rashi wrote that they said this because his mother was Jewish. There is an opinion in the Gemara that strongly reprimanded these people for giving undo flattery to an unworthy king. They assumed that both of the parents of Agrippas were not Jewish. And this was the reason they felt he was unfit to be king. The conclusion of this story teaches that one can be king if only his mother was Jewish. He would then qualify as מקרב אחיך, “From the midst of your brothers.” This an interesting Halacha related to kings.

זקן ממרא

This week’s Parsha has the case of זקן ממרא. This refers to a local judge in one of the cities in Israel who consults the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, regarding a Halachic problem. This judge is asking for a decision from the Sanhedrin on an issue that he was seeking their advice. The obligation of this judge was to follow exactly according to this decision. Instead, the judge acted in a rebellious manner, and acted against the Sanhedrin. This is viewed as a grievous sin which is punishable by death. This case is brought in the same chapter that discusses the obligation to listen to the teachings of the Rabbis. The Torah gives authority to the Rabbis to protect and safeguard the Torah. They are also allowed to make decrees for the benefit of the Jewish people. The זקן ממרא is punished so severely, because he disrespected the highest court in the land. The role of the Rabbis must never be compromised.

צדק-קושטא

Shavua Tov. In today’s Parsha, we have emphasis on the importance of setting up a legal system enforced by judges and policemen. The Torah tells us צדק צדק תרדוף, that we should pursue righteousness. We do this by being sure to have honest judges who will see to it that the laws be carried out justly. It is interesting that אונקלוס translates צדק צדק as קושטא קושטא. The word קושטא means “truth.” We have this word in the prayer recited when we take out the Torah in בריך שמיה דמרי עלמא. We also have this word in the text of a Ketuva, where the husband pledges to be truthful to his new wife. We cannot have justice, without truth. In Parshat Yitro, Moshe is told to seek out judges who are אנשי אמת, men of truth. We are to strive for truth in all of life’s pursuits. Truth must never be compromised. We do not believe that truth is relative. There is one truth, and that is Hashem and the Torah. Everything else is false.

Elul-Fixing Midot

Parshat שופטים always comes with the beginning of the month of Elul. The first Pasuk of שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך בכל שעריך, “Judges and policemen shall you place upon your gates,” has a classic Chassidic interpretation. The “gates” actually refers to the openings in our bodies, that we need to monitor. These gates refer to our senses, seeing, hearing, smelling, speaking, and touching. These “gates” can be used for Mitzvot or Aveirot. What we look at, listen to, how we speak, what we touch, and even smelling, can have positive or negative implications. The Netivot Shalom uses a play on words when the Torah says, לא תנאף, “Thou shall not commit adultery.” The wording should actually be, לא תהנה אף, that your nose should not derive benefit. (There is a Halacha that men should not even smell the perfume of women forbidden to them.) The Netivot Shalom continues by emphasizing that the month of Elul is meant to be the time when we work at improving our Midot, character development. The Prophet Isaiah says, יעזוב רשע דרכו, that the wicked should forsake “his ways.” This refers to negative character traits, and it can be learned from this Pasuk that someone with bad Midot, is called a רשע, evil person. So we are to begin to take advantage of the next forty days from Rosh Chodesh Elul to Yom Kippur, to work on ourselves with the intent of achieving real דבקות בה׳, clinging to G-d. חודש טוב

Giving Charity

Parshat ראה has a discussion of the importance of giving Tzedaka. First we have the commandment of עשר תעשר, that we shall surely tithe. The classic interpretation is עשר בשביל שתתעשר, give your tithe in order that you become wealthy. We are given a kind of guarantee that we will not only become poor from the charity that we give, but we will also be blessed. The Parsha also addresses how we are to treat a poor person. The Torah tells us, לא תאמץ את ידך, that we should not turn away our hand. If a poor person reaches out his hand for help, we should not reject him. Contemporary authorities distinguish between the street, the synagogue, and our home. This is in response to the problem that “shnoring”or begging, no longer carries the shame it once did. We should never leave the one who comes to our home empty handed. But the street and synagogue are optional, and is up to our discretion. It is important to emphasize from time to time, the importance of the Mitzva of giving charity. Although there are three opinions as to what the Halachic obligation is regarding מעשר כספים, tithing of monetary income, this must not be taken lightly. (Some say מעשר כספים is a Torah obligation, others say it is rabbinic, and still others say it is מנהג, only a custom.) Just as Hashem is incredibly generous with us, we must emulate His ways, and be generous with the less fortunate.

King, Amalek, Beit Hamikdash

There is a reference in the Parsha that deals with the three Mitzvot we are commanded to observe when we enter Eretz Yisrael. We are to appoint a king, destroy Amalek and build the Beit Hamikdash. The Gemara asks whether or not there is a specific order to these three Mitzvot. It is obvious that the appointment of a king should come first. But it is not clear what follows. Can the Temple be rebuilt without Amalek being destroyed? The answer to this question comes from the description of the future in the Parsha. First we are told that we must remove our enemies from the Land. Only then will we be able to build a dwelling place for the שכינה, Divine Presence. Amalek represents all that is evil and impure in the world. The Temple represents what is sacred and pure. The two extremes collide and the קדושה cannot tolerate such impurity. It must be erased before the Temple can be built.

אתרוג שחיטה גט תפילין

Parshat ראה speaks about what is called, בשר תאוה, lust meat. This refers to the permission granted to eat meat outside of the בית המקדש. Originally, any meat that was eaten, had to be part of a קרבן. But when the land was settled, meat could be eaten everywhere as long as it was slaughtered properly. The Parsha speaks of ritual slaughtering with the words, וזבחת כאשר צויתיך, and you shall slaughter as I commanded. It is interesting that the word, שחיטה, is not found anywhere in the Torah. Similarly, the words, תפילין, גט, and אתרוג, are not found anywhere in the Torah. Yet, everyone, even with a minimum knowledge of Torah, knows what these four words mean. This is a very strong proof of the Oral Law, תורה שבעל פה. The meaning of these words, was handed down orally from generation to generation, just as the rest of the interpretations of the Torah were handed down orally. One must never say that he only observes the Written Law and not the Oral Law.

היתר במות

There is a reference in the Parsha to what is referred to as היתר במות, permission to offer sacrifices on private altars. This refers to a brief period of our history when there was no Mishkan or Beit Hamikdash. There was a period of time in a place near Jericho, called Gilgal, where there was a היתר במות, until they established the Mishkan at Shilo for 369 years. After Shilo, there was a היתר במות at נוב and גבעון. This was an interim period until Shlomo’s Temple was built. Once the בית המקדש existed, there was no longer a היתר במות. When the היתר existed, it was only for נדרים and נדבות, free will offerings. This is learned from the words, כי לא באתם עד עתה אל המנוחה ואל הנחלה, for you have not yet reached the inheritance or peacefulness. The word מנוחה refers to שילה, and מנוחה refers to ירושלים.

Removing Idol Worship

Shavua Tov. Parshat ראה speaks of the importance of removing from the Land of Israel, all symbols of עבודה זרה, idol worship. The idea here is that the Land was defiled by those who worshipped foreign gods, aside from their immoral behavior. Any symbol of such defilement had to be eliminated from Eretz Yisrael. The Rambam in הלכות מלכים clearly points out that although Christianity and Islam are false religions, it is better that the Gentiles worship something rather than nothing. This way, they will be better prepared for the real Mashiach when he comes. Therefore, it appears that until that time, we must respect and tolerate the religious freedom of the other religions. We should view this as a temporary situation and see things as the Rambam did. When the time is right, all symbols of idol worship will, indeed, be removed from the Land.

תפקיד

This week’s Parsha is ראה. The Netivot Shalom points out that the very first Pasuk of ראה אנוכי נותן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה, “See that I am giving you today, a blessing and a curse.” The problematic word in the Pasuk is “נותן”. Usually, the word נותן would mean a מתנה, a gift. A blessing could be a gift, but how could a curse be a gift? The Ari ז״ל is quoted here who explains that there is a very definite message to be learned. The ברכה mentioned here, refers to one who fulfills his תפקיד, purpose, in this world. The קללה refers to one who does not put his G-d given gifts to work in this world. This is a very serious question we will need to answer when we leave this world. Did we reach our potential and try to achieve all that we could. One of the stories that already came out regarding Rav Shteinzoltz, זצ״ל, is that he said on numerous occasions that he realized he was blessed with a brilliant mind. He was merely trying to use this gift fully, when writing and sharing his Torah with others. This is what is meant by ״נותן״. Blessings if we fulfill our תפקיד, and curses if we don’t.

Success

Parshat עקב has a very stern warning about becoming complacent and taking things for granted. Moshe warns that one must never think, כוחי ועוצם ידי עשה לי את החיל הזה, “My strength and the strength of my hand, has brought me this success.” Such thoughts come with arrogance and a lack of recognition that all of our success is not ours, but is Hashem’s kindness. We may come up with brilliant ideas that seem not only promising, but look like a definite success. However, Hashem may decide things differently. There are absolutely no guarantees of anything in this world. It does not matter how much it looks like the, “sure thing.” There is no such thing as a sure thing. Often something we might view as trivial in comparison to what we see as the big money maker, but it is the trivial or incidental, that becomes big. Moshe Rabbeinu wants us to be clearly aware that Hashem controls our success and it is only because of Him, that we succeed or fail.

ערלת לבבכם

There is a strange Pasuk in פרשת עקב that needs explanation. Moshe Rabbeinu says, ומלתם את ערלת לבבכם, “And you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart.” The Netivot Shalom says that this refers to one who is אטום, or closed up. It is very difficult to reach such a person. All of the proofs in the world, will not move such a person. The circumcision of the heart opens a person’s eyes and allows him to see. The word for fear of Hashem, is יראה. And if we change around the letters of this word, we get ראיה, which means, “to see.” Moshe Rabbeinu was privileged to see the greatness of Hashem. This is what made him so humble and in awe of G-d. When one is not אטום, and is able to marvel at all of the wondrous acts of G-d, he will acquire true יראת ה׳. When we circumcise our hearts, our eyes will be open to see the difference between good and evil, and the holy and the profane.

Bircat Hamazon and Zionism

The commandment to recite ברכת המזון is mentioned in פרשת עקב. Many do not realize how Zionistic the benching really is. There are three Torah blessings connected with Bircat Hamazon. The first Bracha is praising Hashem for giving us sustenance. But the second blessing is all about Israel. We thank G-d for giving us the Land of Israel. It is referred to as the ארץ חמדה טובה ורחבה, a nice, good, and spacious land. We bless Hashem for the food and the land. The third blessing focuses on the rebuilding of Jerusalem. We ask Hashem to have pity, רחם, on Israel, Zion, and on Jerusalem. We conclude this blessing with a request to rebuild the holy city of Jerusalem. So if we pay attention to what ברכת המזון is saying, we see how strong the emphasis is on Israel and Jerusalem.