Shabbat-B'Shabbato – Parshat Korach
No 1529: 23 Sivan 5774 (21 June 2014)
AS SHABBAT APPROACHES
A Disagreement in the Name of Heaven - by Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg, Rosh
Yeshiva, Kerem B'Yavne
"Every disagreement that is in the name of heaven will continue to exist,
while any disagreement that is not in the name of heaven will cease to
exist... an example is the dispute of Korach and all of his community."
[Avot 5:17].
There is a simplistic approach that defines peace as complete agreement in
opinions and in actions. But this is not right. The sages have taught us
that Torah scholars increase the level of peace in the world. This does not
mean that there are no disagreements and that everybody holds the same
opinion. Rather, "the increase of peace comes from the fact that all the
sides and the different approaches can be seen, so that it will become clear
that they all have a place in the world, each according to its own value,
proper place, and context." [Rav A.Y. Kook, Olat Re'iyah].
The sages illustrated this in a remarkable commentary on the verse, "You
cause a grapevine to leave Egypt" [Tehillim 80:9]. They tell us that Yisrael
can be compared to a grapevine. "The clusters are the Torah scholars, the
leaves are the simple folks, and so on. And that is what is written: The
clusters will pray for the leaves, because without leaves there will be no
clusters of grapes." [Chulin 92]. Rashi explains that without the leaves
heat or cold would destroy the flowers, and no fruit would grow later in the
season.
The nation of Yisrael consists of many different parts, and each and every
group and party has a unique role that it alone can fulfill. If any of the
parts is missing the nation will be missing something. Indeed, there are
different levels, but even the most important parts must internalize the
fact that without the weaker sections the important ones would not be able
to fulfill their role properly. Thus, Torah scholars must recognize the
importance of simple folks, farmers, soldiers, scientists, and so on. In the
same way, those at the lower level must recognize the senior positions of
the prominent ones. In this way, everybody will fulfill their proper roles,
as in a flowering grapevine.
This is what Sforno writes at the beginning of the Torah portion of
Behaalotecha: The people "on the right," who are involved in spiritual
matters, must recognize the value of the people "on the left," who help them
achieve a physical livelihood. And the result is that the Menorah will be a
single unified utensil.
"Rabbi Chanan said, three subjects in a dream are indications of peace: a
river, birds, and a pot" [Berachot 56b]. The river consists of separate
drops of water which have been gathered together. However, this combination
has a fault in that each drop completely loses its own identity. A higher
level of unity is achieved by birds which join together into a flock, where
each bird maintains its own individuality. But the highest level of unity is
achieved in a pot. The cook takes ingredients that are different from each
other and that sometimes even clash, and combines them into a product that
is both tasty and pleasant. That is real peace, which can unite opposites.
In the peace of Torah scholars neither side cancels out the other one, but
the good of every side is utilized.
"He makes peace in His heights" [Iyov 25:2]. The sages explain, "Between
Gavriel and Michael, the angel of fire and the angel of water." Peace
between the most contrasting elements can be found in the heights, in
heaven. But what is the root of the word heaven ("shamayim")? It is "eish –
mayim" (fire-water)." [Chagiga 12]. These are two opposites, but they are
able not to destroy each other but rather to find the good in each one and
to create something new – heaven.
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A dispute in the name of heaven is the same as creating heaven from a
combination of fire and water. The dispute of Korach and his community was
not of a type that was related to heaven, and therefore their dispute was
destined not to continue.
POINT OF VIEW
Annex the Scene of the Kidnapping: Start with Gush Etzion! - by Rabbi Yisrael Rozen,
Dean of the Zomet Institute
I am writing this article at the end of Shabbat, after the kidnapping of
three yeshiva students. I am here in Alon Shevut, not far from the scene of
the terrible crime, in an atmosphere of national ingathering and unending
prayer for the return of all three victims safe and sound, with the help of
G-d, who battles for Yisrael. At this moment, at the end of Shabbat for the
Torah portion of Shelach, our entire nation dwelling in Zion and all of the
Jewish nation in the Diaspora eagerly await any bits of information. We are
paying rapt attention to the media, both broadcast and on the internet,
which so often fills our world with meaningless reports and analyses. I pray
to the Master of the Universe that when these words are published at the end
of this week we will be engulfed in an atmosphere of good news, salvation,
and consolation.
Since we do not know all the facts at present and we certainly cannot
predict future events, I will make some comments about secondary issues
related to this affair.
The Disastrous Concept of "Two Countries"
Even though we cannot tell what the results of this kidnapping will be, it
is eminently clear that if we currently had "two countries for two peoples"
the status would be much worse than it is. It would clearly be an impossible
situation, in that our security forces would not be able to move around and
carry out house-to-house searches in a neighboring country. In Chevron and
the surrounding area, and in the rest of the area of Yehuda and the Shomron,
even though the area is densely populated with hostile inhabitants, the IDF
soldiers can still move around without having to cross any international
borders, without having to fear decisions by the Security Council, and
without any need for a declaration of war. It is not necessary to be an
expert in military intelligence to realize that gathering information,
handling agents, and operating sophisticated intelligence procedures are
much easier in areas under our own military control than they would be
across enemy borders.
These thoughts alone are sufficient to totally reject the policy of "two
countries for two peoples." Mortal danger takes precedence over everything,
even international condemnation and even demographics. Therefore, the idea
of "one Jewish nation for two peoples" is to be preferred, even if it means
absorbing a million Moslems into our sovereign land, and a consequent
increase in the demographic problem within Israel. There are even times when
mortal danger takes precedence over democracy... Certainly, before a change
in sovereignty it will be necessary to pass laws of "The Jewish Country" and
"Loyalty to the State," along with some criminal laws to cope with hostile
terrorist acts, including the ability to rescinding a person's citizenship,
expulsion, and forfeiting his or her property.
Slow Annexation
Independently of the kidnapping, after the "peace talks" ground to a halt
calls went out for one-sided annexation and the granting of sovereignty to
the settlement blocs. The slogan "Start with Gush Etzion" has already been
thrown into the air, since this area is the subject of a large national
consensus. In my opinion the timing of the kidnapping presents a good
opportunity – sad and forlorn, but appropriate – for a reaction of indeed
annexing Gush Etzion to the State of Israel. In fact, I am confident that
during the coming week, between when I write these lines and their
publication, there will be some political figures who will suggest that such
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annexation is "the proper Zionist reaction" to the kidnapping. I will be
happy to join these politicians! As far as I am concerned, this act of
annexation must be carried out immediately and announced as the "price" paid
for the kidnapping. The world will accept this, and I hope that even the
Israeli left will come along (for example, after the Australian Prime
Minister will agree to such a move as "a necessity"). In addition, I would
quietly add with respect to the timing that the world is busy right now with
the World Cup Games and with Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Maybe nobody will notice any
moves we make!
Annexation of settlement blocs is not really a direct reaction to kidnapping
and it does not exact a price from terrorist organizations whose sole desire
is to ignite the area. But it is a price to exact from the Palestinian
Authority which bears overall responsibility for the crime. In addition, a
continued policy of creeping sovereignty, dunam after dunam, for every
tragedy that we are forced to endure, might influence the "other side,"
including our worst enemies. Also, and this is the main point, a creeping
annexation of the areas of Yehuda and the Shomron with their populations is
a way to advance the concept of "one nation for two peoples" and to block
the option of "two nations for two peoples." As noted above, with the
kidnapping in Gush Etzion in the background, we will be able to stand up
against international censure and the outcries of the Israeli left. In any
case, annexation of Gush Etzion has a broad base of approval, even if we do
not announce a policy of creeping annexation. Let's go ahead with it!
The IDF at the Center of the Consensus
Many national myths have been shattered in the post-Zionist era. The last
one that has survived, for the good, is the IDF – also known as the Security
Forces. The operational arm of the IDF and the Security Forces in general
are broadly accepted among all sectors of the public. This is an asset that
must be nurtured and carefully guarded! We should note that the Chareidi
sector also agrees to this appreciation – and perhaps even admiration – as
can readily be seen by surfing their websites. It seems to me that the
raving dispute about the Conscription Law and the increasing number of
Chareidim who join the army have dulled the declared policy of the Chareidi
sector to turn its back on the country and its parts. The next step that we
can expect is for the Chareidim to begin to say a prayer for the welfare of
the "Security Forces" and for "Zaka" (their own emergency rescue teams).
A WOMAN'S ANGLE
In Honor of Israel Book Week - by Terza Frankael, a teacher in "Tehilla" – Evilena de
Rothschild, Jerusalem
I will never forget the moment when my oldest daughters, twins who were then
three or four years old, managed to move the mouse on the computer and were
able to understand the connection between their hand movement and what they
could see on the screen. I thought that it was a veritable miracle, that I
was seeing young computer geniuses... Lots of water has flowed under the
bridge since then, and by now we all understand that this movement is very
easy to understand and that everybody does it skillfully, young and old
alike.
What we have not managed to understand are the ramifications of the era of
the personal computer with respect to our cultural habits – that this little
miracle is an example of blessed technological advance, but that it is also
a harbinger of significant and difficult changes to our understanding and
wisdom. These are changes which we must take into account, in an effort to
make their damage as small as possible. What television started to do thirty
years earlier was enhanced by a large factor by the computer with the flick
of a wrist – many of us, and especially the children who absorb the computer
together with their mother's milk, have stopped reading books. We are fast
becoming the "nation of the book" without any books.
Together with the many obvious advantages of the situation, which we could
not do without today, there are also ramifications of this fact that are too
heavy to bear. The world of the imagination of the children has changed, and
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perhaps it has shrunk, because everything is revealed and exposed. The
images are there in the computer for all to see. There are no longer stories
in books which prompt the reader to imagine the pictures.
Reading skills have declined drastically. Today children can finish grade
school without knowing how to read fluently. The pleasure and the ability to
draw information out of reading material are lost arts. Students are experts
in the technology of cut-and-paste, but they do not know how to read a text
and pick out the main concepts in order to use them in their own work. And I
haven't yet mentioned the widespread lack of skill in writing, including
writing by hand. They do not know how to write a letter or an essay, what is
the proper treasury of words for every occasion, how to begin and end a
sentence properly. Do you know how many special teachers have sprung up to
teach "corrective education?" This is a new profession which was born as a
result of the basic lack of skills in studying and language use, which have
become so common recently.
I have not researched this phenomenon in detail, but I have an intuitive
feeling that the level of intellectual curiosity has also decreased. An
example is in the study of holy subjects, which is based solely on reading
and analysis of printed texts. As far as I am concerned, this is a cultural
disaster, especially for a wise people which maintained its intellectual
high level for hundreds of years, based on its traditions of study. But now
everything depends on the computer. Sources for school work are in the
computer, just cut-and-paste, videos are in the computer, games are in the
computer – it's all there, in the little box which is a magical door to an
entire universe.
I know, I sound like an annoying woman who wants only to complain about and
weep for the past instead of welcoming improvements and advancement with all
of their blessings. But that is not the point. I am very well aware of the
amazing benefits of the new technologies. We are in a world whose average
life span increases every year, where the quality of life is at its highest
ever, where the global communications capabilities are tremendous, where
information sources are readily available to everybody with great ease, and
so on. But, even so, we must pay attention to phenomena which threaten to
harm us as human beings and as the Jewish nation. We should not cancel out
our progress, but we must learn to cope with the implications that are not
so good for us.
I feel that we have not yet reached a point where we have stopped shouting
the praises of our technological world. The time has come to stop and to
declare openly – there are some very significant dangers ahead. One of the
first ones is the danger to reading skills, and the harsh result of the loss
of these skills. And until some alternate cognitive strategy is invented to
take the place of reading and to fill the void of its important role in our
understanding, we must do everything we can to return to actively reading
books. Parents should read books as a personal example, we should give our
children a prize every time they finish reading a book, we should have
quizzes at parties based on books that the children have read, we should
fill bookshelves in our home. We must invest in rescuing the art of reading.
Perhaps we will even learn to enjoy it!
Good luck to all!
EDUCATING THE YOUTH
Don't Abandon the Girls – by Eliyahu and Hila Fargeon, "The Jewish Tent"
"What is the best path for a person to follow? Rabbi Yossi says, have a good
friend. Rabbi Yehoshua says, have a good neighbor." [Avot 2:9].
Is it at all reasonable to think that a good neighbor, somebody who is there
to ask for a cup of milk when you haven't gone to the store, is preferable
to having a good friend?
The answer to the above question is that a good friend is an important
element of a person's internal light, but a neighbor gives meaning to the
atmosphere in which we live. In this week's Torah portion, this is seen in
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the relationship between the family of Korach and the children of Reuven,
and in the house of On Ben Pelet, whose lifelong friend helps him understand
that following Korach is going too far. In order to balance out unwanted
influences, the people of Yisrael in the Diaspora joined together into
communities. Exceptions to this rule are those who go out on an individual
mission – "Jewish Homes," Chabad "shelichim," Torah seed groups, and more.
These people get their strength from the fact that they are on a mission.
They are backed by a person or a concept which allows them to be connected
all the time (from the root "chaver") to their point of origin. It turns out
that this point has unique significance for our youth after they finish
their studies and go out on a mission to the next stage of their lives,
either in the army or in the national service - Sheirut Leumi. Almost every
institution in the religious camp encourages taking such steps, even if they
don't always give complete answers to every question. The close proximity to
people with a heightened sense of values has a positive effect on the
atmosphere while the person reaches maturity, even if nothing explicit is
ever said. But when these young people go out into the "real world" for the
first time in their lives, they find themselves spending large amounts of
time in a very different atmosphere. They come from a protected environment
of a hothouse, they think that they know what awaits them, and they want to
contribute to society. But sometimes just the opposite happens.
In this article we want to focus on the subject of Sheirut Leumi, and we
have asked Moriah, who is married and has children of her own, to think back
about her experience:
"I took a job in one of the hospitals where our help is very important. We
all arrived with a tremendous desire to contribute, and the girls sometimes
forget what they might lose along the way. I was forced to cope with
situations what were not simple in my relationship to the staff in general
and to the minority workers in particular. I will tell you briefly about
some examples: In the department where I was sent to work there was a man on
the cleanup staff who was a bit too friendly. He was always pleasant, he
paid me compliments, he put candies in my locker every day. At first you
feel very strong, but after a while you become weaker... There really is no
place to run away, after all you and he work in the same department... And
to top it all off, the rest of the staff do not see any problem with his
'nice' attitude.
"Every morning, before I went into the department, there was another Arab
cleaning man in the entrance who would playfully block my way with his mop.
One morning, he tripped me with the mop and stopped my fall with his body! I
went to complain to the social worker in the hospital. She was skeptical and
said that some of the girls make up stories in order to gain attention. In
the end, she told me that he would be fired. But about a month after I
finished I went there for a visit, and I found that the same worker had been
reinstated as soon as I left. The doctors have the authority in the place,
as part of their status they turn to the girls of Sheirut Leumi however they
want to, including making them offers that are not always in their best
interests..."
It is important to note that Moriah's story is not unusual. Like other girls
who served in Sheirut Leumi, she feels that she did not know how to judge
the significance of the incidents which she experienced. The Sheirut Leumi
organizations provide support through their area directors, by organizing
regular lessons, and more, but the level of success differs from one place
to another. In addition, it is a good idea for the parents to pay a visit at
the site of the service now and then (if necessary, they can always find
some excuse for a visit). Unfortunately, many parents are not familiar with
the site where their daughters serve, and the result is that they can help
mainly with issues that the girl herself raises. Additional help should be
available from the institution where the girl studied. The staff of this
school knows the girls well, and it has people that they look up to, and to
whom they can turn for advice even after leaving the school. Some facilities
have regular contact with their graduates, and we recommend that every
school should assign a specific teacher to maintain this contact, as part of
his regular duties.
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A FAMILY NAMED "YISRAELI"
Everybody Forgot Me - by Rabbi Yikhat Rozen, Director of the Or Etzion Institute –
Publishing Torah Books of Quality
Naama's Story:
What fun! Next week is my birthday!
What really excites me are all the "little things" that I get on such an
occasion from my family and from my close friends. It is nice to have one
day when I know that I will be in the middle of everything. It makes me feel
good to know that they thought about me, that they took the trouble to make
me a birthday card, that I am important to them...
I wait impatiently, one day follows another ever so slowly. And then, here
it is!
Today is my birthday!
In my class I had a ball. Orit made a very big card and put it on my desk.
Ziva hid a lollipop for me in my bag. And at recess some girls celebrated
with me and asked me what plans I had for my birthday. Even my teacher knew
what was going on, and she wished me a happy birthday.
I went home, expecting the celebrations to continue. I went into the house,
and I declared in a loud voice, "Shaaaalom to everybody!"
And Yehuda answered in a quiet voice, "Shalom," and he kept on playing his
game on the computer. Natanel barely nodded his head, he was in the middle
of reading a book. Nobody else was home.
But what about my birthday? Nothing! Not at all! For them, this was just a
regular day!
I went into my room, quite mad, and I slammed the door shut. But nobody
seemed to be upset or even notice that anything was wrong. I sat on my bed,
thinking about how upsetting it was when your own brothers didn't care about
you, and when they even ignored your birthday.
A little while later, Abba came home. Maybe at least he would remember?
Maybe he would say something to me? He said "shalom" to me and asked how the
day went in school. He was nice, as usual. But what did he have to say about
my birthday? Nothing at all! Like it didn't exist!
I tried to give him a hint. "Abba, when is Imma's birthday?"
"Imma's birthday?" Abba scratched his head, and it looked like it took a
real effort for him to answer. "It's nice that you are thinking about her
birthday, Naama, but it's not now. Her birthday is ... wait a minute ... on
the thirteenth of Tishrei ... no, wait, on the fourteenth of Tishrei. We
have a long time before it comes." What, did he really think I don't know
when Imma's birthday is? I really shouldn't have asked him that. But he
didn't get the hint!
Boy, oh, boy!
After a while I decided to stop pitying myself. If nobody in the house
about me, at least I could pamper myself! With tears in my eyes I went
the kitchen, and I decided to make a birthday cake. While I was mixing
ingredients, the door of our apartment opened, and Imma and Tamar came
cared
into
the
in.
"Shaaaalom," Imma cried out, still in the doorway. "Naama, Happy Birthday!"
"Happy birthday to you!" Tamar sang with gusto.
Okay, at least somebody remembers that I exist!
And then Imma came into the kitchen. "What do I smell here? Is it a cake?"
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"Yes, it is," I said bitterly. "And I am making it myself, because nobody
else thought of doing it!"
Imma gave me a great big hug, and looked at me in surprise. "Why are you so
upset, Naama'le, and here it is your birthday?"
"That's just it, I am upset because it's my birthday! Do you think anybody
here noticed? You are the first one who even mentioned it! Not Netanel, not
Yehuda, and not even Abba. They didn't say anything, they didn't remember,
they didn't notice!"
Imma sighed. "Boys, boys. I stopped being upset by that a long time ago.
There was a time when I did expect something, when I was disappointed, mad,
upset... But today I know the truth! You have a wonderful Abba, and great
brothers. But they are not perfect in everything. Everybody has some faults,
and you should respect everybody for what they have and not worry about what
is missing. In general, there are some things that are characteristic of
boys and other things that are more typical of girls. What can we do, we are
not exactly the same. Boys, at least many of them, have a tendency to forget
dates. They don't notice birthdays or other dates when something special
happened. It's not that they want to be bad, heaven forbid, or that they
don't care about you. How can I put it? It's just that this is not something
that interests them."
And at that moment Abba came into the kitchen. He saw the cake, and then
something must have clicked. "Hey, Naama, isn't today your birthday? Mazal
tov!" He gave me a hug full of love, and I felt his warmth.
And at that moment I made a lasting decision. Even if Abba would forget my
birthday every year for thousand more years – I would never replace him with
any other father!
NOW AVAILABLE: The stories of the Yisraeli family published as a book. You
can also purchase the book "Mashmiya Yeshua" for children. To order a copy,
in Hebrew, contact: 054-6340121.
(Note: The stories of the "Yisraeli" family are based on true events or on
stories that could have been true.)
Reactions and suggestions for stories: yikhat@gmail.com
RESPONSA FOR OUR TIMES
Delaying a Circumcision until the Afternoon - by Rabbi Re'eim Hacohen, Rosh
Yeshiva and Chief Rabbi, Otniel
Question: Many family members are busy during the morning and can only come
to a Brit in the afternoon. Should the ceremony be put off so that the
number of participants will be larger?
Answer: This question is related to the definitions of the rules that
"careful people perform mitzvot early" and that "the glory of a king is seen
in a multitude of people" [Mishlei 14:28], and in how they are related to
the mitzva of a Brit.
"Careful People Do a Mitzva Early"
We have been taught the following:
"The entire day is suitable for circumcision, but those who are careful do
the mitzvot early, as is written, 'And Avraham rose early in the morning'
[Bereishit 22:3]." [Pesachim 4a].
The Rambam defines this obligation as a mitzva. "All day long is suitable
for a Brit, but it is a mitzva to advance it to the start of the day, since
those who are careful do the mitzvot early." [Hilchot Mila 1:8]. When
discussing bringing a sacrifice, the Rambam does not use the word mitzva:
"In general, whenever a mitzva has been given to be performed during the day
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it is valid all day long... However, in spite of this rule careful people
perform the mitzvot early." [Hilchot Maaseh Hakorbonot 4:6]. From the Rambam
it is clear that the requirement of being early is a mitzva for the case of
a circumcision (as in the above verse, "Avraham rose early"). This is the
opposite of the opinion of Mahari Engel in "Gilyonei Hashas" in Pesachim,
who derives from the Meiri that it is not an obligation but merely the way
of the Patriarchs.
The Rule that "the Glory of a King is in a Multitude"
There are three examples given for the concept of "a multitude."
(1) With respect to the Mincha sacrifice, it is written, "He shall bring it
to the sons of Aharon, the Kohanim, who will scoop out a fistful from there"
[Vayikra 2:2]. Torat Kohanim comments as follows: "The sons of Aharon, even
if there are many of them, as is written, 'The glory of a King is in a
multitude". And this is explained as follows: "That is, as many as can be
involved in the Mincha should perform the mitzva. For example, one Kohen can
bring it forward for the sacrifice and three others might be involved in the
fistful."
A similar example is seen in the Mishna with respect to carrying the blood
of the Pesach Sacrifice: "One from Yisrael slaughters it and a Kohen catches
the blood, and the Kohen gives it to a colleague, who gives it to another,
and so on." [Pesachim 5:6]. The Talmud explains that the use of many Kohanim
is related to the rule of glory in a multitude (Pesachim 64b). The same idea
can be seen in the Talmud with respect to the Shelamim Sacrifice.
The Chayei Adam summarizes the situation as follows:
"Every mitzva that can be performed by a group of people should be done by a
group and not as an individual, as is written, 'the Glory of a King is in a
multitude.' And in Menachot it is implied that three is called a multitude."
[Principle 68].
(2) The Talmud suggests that one of the reasons the blowing of the shofar on
Rosh Hashanah is delayed until the Mussaf prayer (and is not done earlier,
in Shacharit) is because "the glory of a king is in a multitude." (Rosh
Hashanah 32b). Turei Even explains that for Mussaf there will be more people
attending. This would seem to apply only to mitzvot that are performed in
public, such as blowing a shofar in a synagogue. However, the conclusion of
the Talmud is that the rule "careful ones start early" takes precedence, and
that the reason for the delay is historical, related to time periods when
the government authorities forbid blowing the shofar.
(3) It is noted in the Talmud that the first fruits are brought to Jerusalem
in the midst of a multitude:
"How are the Bikurim brought up to Jerusalem? All the towns in the Maamad (a
family group of Yisraelites who serve in the Temple for a week at a time)
gathered together in their central city, and they would sleep in the town
square and they would not enter the buildings. The person in charge would
draw them in by saying, 'Let us rise and ascend to Zion, to the House of our
G-d'" [Bikurim 3:2].
The Rambam explains, "This is so they will not ascend as individuals, as is
written, 'the glory of a king is in a multitude'" [Hilchot Bikurim 4:16].
The Radbaz concludes from this that the need for "a multitude" in public
observance takes precedence over the rule, "let us strive to know G-d"
[Hoshaya 6:3], from which Rav Zira derives that a person should run to
observe the mitzvot (Berachot 6b). However, in my humble opinion, the case
of Bikurim has a special rule, and in this case the rule of a "multitude" is
part of the way to encourage the people to ascend to Zion, to the House of
G-d.
"Careful Ones start Early" or "A Multitude" – Which Takes Precedence"?
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As noted above, the Talmud in Rosh Hashanah explicitly states that for the
matter of blowing shofar in public "starting early" is more important than
"a multitude of people." Many later commentators derived from this that a
Brit should not be delayed in order to increase the number of people who
will attend. Examples are: Chayei Adam (68); Sedei Chemed (7, rule 3); Rav
Chaim Palagi (Tochachat Chaim Lech Lecha; Ruach Chaim 229); the Chida
(Birchei Yosef Orach Chaim 1; Machzik Beracha 229). Aroch Hashulchan, in a
very harsh text, writes:
"With respect to circumcision, which is the seal of the holy covenant and
serves as the entrance into holiness, it is very important not to delay the
act... We should complain about the current custom of delaying the Brit for
a few hours in the day for the silly reason that not all the invited guests
have come and other similar foolish reasons. There are even places which
delay a Brit until after noon of the day, and this is a grave sin." [Yoreh
Dei'ah 262:8].
As opposed to this, in responsa Makor Chaim, Rabbi Shlomo Hakohen from Vilna
praises those who delay a Brit, because he feels that "careful ones are
early" and "a multitude" are of equal value. He explains that the passage in
Rosh Hashanah is referring to a case when there is a doubt whether more
people will arrive for Mussaf or not. However, his approach was rejected by
a number of prominent rabbis.
In the book "Ve'ahleyhu Lo Yiv'ol" it is written that Rabbi Shlomo Zalman
Auerbach was asked if a Brit could be delayed until the afternoon to take
into account the needs of relatives, setting aside the rule of not delaying
a mitzva. Rabbi Auerbach replied, "Act like a human being." It is clear that
there are personal and human considerations that can override the law of
"careful ones" under certain circumstances.
Should the relatives be rushed in order to observe the rule that "careful
people are early?" I can reply from my own experience. About thirty years
ago, I asked Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach to be the "Sandak" for the Brit of
my son, which was scheduled to be performed right after "Vatikin" (early
morning prayers, as the sun rises). He refused to change from his regular
custom of not rising for the early prayer. He said that even if we would
perform the Brit at 8 o'clock we would still be observing the rule of being
careful and having the Brit early. I gave in to the rabbi's opinion. There
can be no doubt that his approach is an important foundation of halachic
rulings, and the "the ways of the Torah are pleasant."
(Yoreh Dei'ah 262:8).
SOMETHING ABOUT BOOKS
Rav Saadia Gaon's Siddur - by Rabbi Yoseph Leichter, The National Library of Israel,
Jerusalem
An Unusual Format
One of the most remarkable creations by Rav Saadia Gaon is his Siddur, which
includes both the laws of the prayers and their text. However, I would not
suggest to any of my readers to try to take this Siddur to the synagogue and
use it for prayers. Rav Saadia designed his Siddur in a very special way.
The laws, which were written in Arabic, for the benefit of the users, are
interspersed between the prayers and the blessings. The prayers are in
separate sections for weekdays and holidays, and weekday prayers are divided
into private and public prayer.
To use this Siddur one must turn the pages all the time because, for
example, there is only one copy of the Shemonah Essrei. And even on Shabbat
and the holidays, the written text only contains special parts that are
added that day to the prayers. The early morning blessings do not appear at
the beginning but only after the prayers for an individual and for the
congregation. At that point Rav Saadia lists all the blessings, such as the
Grace After Meals, the shorter version after eating grains or fruit, other
blessings related to sleeping and waking up, such as "Hamapil" and "Hamaavir
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Sheina," the blessing for washing the hands, and then the morning blessings
which are recited on waking up. Each of these blessings is linked to a
specific activity. "Every morning when one stretches he should say, 'He who
releases prisoners,' and when he opens his eyes 'He who opens the eyes,' and
when he stands up 'He who straightens those who are bent over'..." The
blessing "Hanotain lasechvi bina" – He who gives a rooster (or the heart)
the wisdom to differentiate between day and night - appears with blessings
about good or bad news. The prayers for Yom Kippur do not appear after Rosh
Hashanah but rather at the end of all the prayers for the holidays, at the
beginning of a section for fast days.
In previous articles, I discussed the responsa of Rav Naturai Gaon about the
requirement to recite a hundred blessings each day and about the "Seder" of
Rav Hai Gaon. What, then, was the innovation of Rav Saadia Gaon? The Seder
of Rav Amram presents the traditional texts of the two yeshivot. Rav Saadia,
on the other hand, makes decisions based on his own analysis. As he writes
in the introduction to his Siddur:
"Since the text of the prayers of Bnei Yisrael and their blessings to G-d
are not written down in the Torah... it is necessary to gather together all
the prayers and blessings that are in use at the present time – that is, in
our exile, and to write them down. Three issues that are especially
important are: what has been ignored, what has been added, and what has been
removed. Because of this there is a danger that matters will be forgotten
and that the changes will become permanent, for in the lands where I went I
saw examples of all three of the above phenomena."
Daylight or the Light of the Days of Mashiach?
Not all of the halachic decisions by Rav Saadia have been widely accepted.
For example, he wrote: "One who ends the blessing of the creation of the
heavenly globes with the phrase, 'Let him light Tzion with a new light' is
making a mistake. The sages did not intend for this blessing to refer to the
future light of the Mashiach but rather to the light that shines every day."
However, Rav Sherira Gaon wrote, "The custom of the permanent Batei Midrash
in Nehardaa and Sura is to continue saying 'Or Chadash.' And even though Rav
Saadia was the head of the yeshiva in Sura, this was not even accepted in
his lifetime, and they did not stop saying the prayer. And it is still
recited to this day."
The Siddur of Rav Saadia was not as widely distributed in the Diaspora as
the "Seder" of Rav Amram, both because the Arabic that it used was not
understood by the people of Ashkenaz and because of its complex structure.
But in Egypt and the surrounding lands the Siddur was widely used, as can be
seen from the hundreds of fragments of the Siddur that were found in the
Cairo archives. Often the sequence has been modified from the one written by
Rav Saadia. In Persia and in Yemen the Siddur also influenced the
traditions. Many early commentators quote from Rav Saadia's Siddur. One
prominent example is Rabbi David Abudraham, who very often quotes items from
Rav Saadia's Siddur, often from sections that are not known to us.
A manuscript containing most of the Siddur was preserved in the community of
Chalb (Aram Tzova). It was bought by a priest, Hungtington, and transferred
to the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Three men cooperated in publishing the
Siddur from the manuscript: Prof. Yisrael Davidson (5630-5699, 1870-1939),
who studied poetry and liturgical poetry and was famous for his work "Otzar
Hashira V'Hapiyut"; Prof. Simcha Assaf, an expert on the lives of the Geonim
(5649-5714, 1889-1953); and with contributions by Dr. Yissachar Yoel (56605737, 1900-1977), who was an expert on the Middle East and for many years
was the Chief Librarian of the Israel National Library. The liturgical
poetry of Rav Saadia was added to the Siddur, including what he originally
put into his Siddur (such as requests, "Hoshanot," and warnings) and other
poems by Rav Saadia that were found in the Geniza. The work on the
liturgical poetry was started by Prof. Davidson and then continued after his
death by Dr. Menachem Zulai (5661-5715, 1901-1954), who worked for many
years in the Institute for the Study of Poetry and Liturgical Poetry. During
the years 5696-5715 (1936-1955), he wrote a regular column on liturgical
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poetry in Haaretz. These articles were collected by Prof. Shulamit Elitzur
into her book, "Mipi Paitonim V'Sofchei Siyach," Jerusalem 5765 (2005).
E-mail: Yosephl56@gmail.com
HOLY AND SECULAR
What can We Do? - by Rabbi Amichai Gordin, Yeshivat Har Etzion
Before the IDF spokesman even finished announcing the kidnapping of the
young boys, the festival of guilt was going strong. It was the fault of the
Prime Minister for releasing terrorists. It was the fault of the Minister of
Economics for not providing the Palestinians with a political vision. It was
the fault of the police who did not report the matter immediately. It was
the fault of the captive boys for hitchhiking. It was the fault of the Yesha
Council for bringing settlers to the area. Everybody was guilty.
This festival of guilt, at which we are so skilled, prevents us from
learning any useful lessons from any event. Every lesson that we learn
assumes that in the past we made mistakes. If we were wrong, we are guilty.
This ugly dance of pointing guilt leads to only one thing – becoming static
and taking a stubborn stand.
Everybody can be blamed for everything. The left can be blamed for fighting
tooth and nail against subsidizing public transportation in Yehuda and the
Shomron. And Peace Now can be blamed for distributing a declaration that
asked why the ride to the settlement Talmon (where one of the kidnapped boys
live) is subsidized, and why the authorities encourage the use of public
transportation to get to the settlements.
We can also blame Zahava Galon, the head of the Meretz Party, who claimed
that because of the calm situation in the areas there is no longer any
justification to continue the discrimination in the price of bus tickets
(Haaretz 26/7/2011). There is no reason to continue subsidizing public
transportation, she wrote, because "the situation in the areas is perfectly
calm."
But the truth is that we cannot blame Zahava Galon, who thought that the
situation is calm, or on the settlers, who allow a culture of hitchhiking.
The only ones who are really to blame for the current situation are the evil
and wicked terrorists. It is all their fault, and theirs alone.
* * * * * *
However, it is still necessary for us to do our own reckoning. We must think
if there is some other way to do things. The one who got me thinking in this
way is R, a senior officer in a very elite army unit. R is one of the best
sons of this land of ours, and he is an integral member of the national
religious camp.
I spoke to R in the aftermath of the kidnapping. He said to me, "You must do
something about this. You don't understand how dangerous the situation is.
We are struggling with all our might against the culture of hitchhiking. A
soldier of ours who hitchhikes is put into jail. Our problem is with the
civilian population."
He continued, "The most serious warnings we have today involve kidnapping.
The Minister of Defense spoke about forty-four kidnapping attempts that we
managed to thwart. The Security Service makes a huge effort to prevent
kidnapping. Please contribute your part to this great effort."
* * * * * *
Certainly, we settlers live in faraway and lonely towns, and like in the
other areas where there is a lack of public transportation hitchhiking is
almost a necessity in order to sustain a reasonable lifestyle. However, this
doesn't mean that the dangers cannot be minimized. We must put some thought
into how we can dramatically decrease the danger.
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We must build a good travel network between the settlements, even if it will
be very expensive. If we want to prevent hitchhiking, we must give people an
alternative means of transportation. The country provides protection for the
settlements and it is willing to provide protection for the roads. We cannot
allow a new lonely settlement to be built without providing a reasonable
number of rides. If there are not enough rides, people will hitchhike.
Even if Peace Now will scream and claim that we are drying up the public
treasury, it does not matter. The subsidy for public transportation in
Yehuda and the Shomron must be increased fourfold, and the number of lines
must be increased substantially. It is not enough for the Prime Minister to
tell our boys not to do any hitchhiking. If there is no alternative they
will continue to travel. If we want to prevent this, we must provide minimal
and reasonable transportation. I am sorry to say that in spite of what Galon
claims the situation in our area is far from being "calm."
* * * * * *
Then, once there is a satisfactory alternative, we must differentiate
between a ride starting within a settlement, which is relatively not so
dangerous, and a ride from outside of any settlement. No hitchhiking should
ever be permitted outside a settlement. This must be fought in every way
possible, nobody should ever accept a ride at a crossroad on the outside. If
the only way to do this is to make it illegal by a command of the army, then
let it be done. If it means never to stop for hitchhikers outside of the
settlements, we will demand that all of the drivers follow this rule. After
we have arranged for an alternative, we can be as tough as necessary in
fighting hitchhiking outside the settlements.
We can fight against the problems of hitchhiking, but nothing will happen in
response to empty declarations by important people.
* * * * * *
I want to emphasize again – None of us, neither on the right nor on the
left, are the evil people here. The evil people are the bloodthirsty
terrorists. They are the only ones. But we must also do all we can, in view
of the new situation, so that the evil people will fail in their attempts.
Let G-d send us salvation and good news quickly.
For reactions and comments: benkodesh@gmail.com
INSIGHTS FOR THE SHABBAT TABLE
An Electrifying Story - by Bar-on Dasberg
Were Korach and his community swallowed up in the earth as the result of an
earthquake? This seems to be the opinion of Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra: "Many
lands developed cracks in the past, and the inhabitants descended into the
depths." Perhaps this is what the Mishna is hinting when it writes that the
"mouth of the earth" was created in the Six Days of Creation (Avot 5:6 – see
the commentary of the Rambam).
We can also suggest a natural explanation for the fire that burned the other
250 leaders. An earthquake is one element in a chain of energy exchange
effects. It is caused by an outburst of energy, as is written, "The valleys
will split - like wax before a fire" [Micha 1:4]. Or, the earthquake can
cause a fire to take place, "And after the quake there was fire" [Melachim I
19:12].
The leaders died in circumstances similar to the deaths of Nadav and Avihu,
while burning incense. The Talmud describes this as "burning the soul while
the body remained intact." We wrote for the Torah portion of Shemini that
this could be describing electrocution. Perhaps electrical energy that was
created in the earthquake was discharged through the copper pans which were
good conductors, and electrocuted the people holding them.
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Such an explanation does not detract from the miraculous power of the Holy
One, Blessed be He. Just the opposite – an unnatural explanation for an
event implies that G-d "broke" the laws of nature that He Himself had
created. A miracle that operates within natural laws shows the greatness of
G-d in that He was able to use the nature that He created as a tool in
guiding the world.
RIDDLE OF THE WEEK
by Yoav Shelosberg, Director of "Quiz and Experience"
Korach
On the forehead and on the staff.
Answers for last week, Shelach: (What they wanted at first to do to two men,
they did in the end to one man.)
In the beginning of the portion of Shelach, the entire nation wanted to
stone Yehoshua and Kalev: "And the entire community said to stone them with
stones..." [Bamidbar 14:10]. And at the end, they stoned the man who chopped
wood on Shabbat: "And the entire community took him out of the camp and
stoned him, and he died" [15:36].
* * * * * *
Do you have a bar/bat mitzva coming up? Are you looking for a special quiz?
To order: www.hidonim.com
e-mail: info@hidonim.com
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
SHABBAT-ZOMET is an extract from SHABBAT-B'SHABBATO, a weekly bulletin
distributed free of charge in hundreds of synagogues in Israel. It is
published by the Zomet Institute of Alon Shevut, Israel, under the auspices
of the National Religious Party.
Translated by: Moshe Goldberg
To subscribe: http://www.zomet.org.il/eng/?pg=subscribe&CategoryID=165
Visit the Zomet Institute web site: http://www.zomet.org.il
Contact Zomet with comments about this bulletin or questions on the
link between modern technology and halacha at: zomet@netvision.net.il
Or: Phone: +972-2-9931442; FAX: +972-2-9931889 (Attention: Dan Marans)
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