A thought on Parshas Vzos Habracha
"u'l'Levi...l'aviv u'l'imo lo r'isiv...yoru mishpatecha l'Yakov...""...and as for Levi...he said about his parents "I cannot see them"...
he will instruct Your justice to the Jews..." (33:8-10)
Moshe captures the history of each tribe within the words of his blessings for their destiny. He connects Levi's history of saying "I cannot see my parents" with the blessing that they will guide the Jewish people in law and justice. What do these cryptic words presage?The Chezkuni offers that this is a reference to the Cohen branch of the Levites who were forbidden to venture out of the Temple even to tend to the burial of a family member (VaYikra 21:11-12). They had to conduct themselves with purity, even when this would seem as if they were saying "I am not permitted to see my parents", averting their eyes and hearts from family anguish. That was a great feat and clearly not an easy one. Remaining focused on their avoda took precedence even over a funeral. What were the ramifications, or rewards and consequences of such devotion to their sacred work?
The Chezkuni answers that this is, in fact, the meaning of the verse that follows:
"they will instruct Your justice to the people".
One role and function of the priests of Levi was to instruct and judge the nation (see earlier 17:9 - "...and you will come to the Levite Kohanim and they will rule for you...") By demonstrating their ability to stay focused and set aside family allegiance and partiality, they proved their ability to remain objective without being swayed by personal issues and feelings. If so, Moshe's bracha to Levi flows clearly for us:
"since you were not affected by personal demands,
you are fit to serve as impartial, fair judges"
So many times we find ourselves in the position of having to assess a situation, rendering a judgement or an opinion that may affect other's future, property, life... and yet it is often difficult to remove our own "negios" and to determine what is fair, what is valid, what is true, what is right.
Some will contend that the sense of fairness is almost inborn, meaning you either have it or you don't. Some will contend that you need to develop it by studying ethics. Others claim that one must have role models who they can observe and study in order to develop that sense of knowing what is right and what is wrong.
The Chezkuni is not taking a stand on the matter, but he is saying that the Levitic Cohanim worked on developing this ability through great personal sacrifice in being able to set aside strong personal and familial feelings. Even with such practice, they still required a bracha from Moshe that they would be able to channel that self-containment into judicial objectivity.
Hearing, seeing, thinking and reasoning with emes and clarity are challenges.
I once read an anecdote about a man who went to a high power attorney to discuss a case. "My partner did this, this and that and when I tried to respond by saying such and such, he turned around and did this and that. What should I do?" The attorney answered "this is an open and shut case. Every thing he did was illegal and you have an air-tight claim against him that any judge will support. He cannot win and you cannot lose!" The man thanked the lawyer and got up to leave. "But wait, are you going to hire me and bring him to court?" asked the lawyer. "No point," the man answered, "all of the things that I said that my partner did were really things that I did to him. As you just said, his case against me is air-tight. I cannot win."
It is so hard to detect the bias that creeps in when we evaluate and judge!
With this parsha we come to the end of the Torah and I will be saying goodbye to the Chezkuni. He has been an enlightening mentor to me this year and I will miss his depth, his creative insights and his manner of brining nuances to light by careful analysis of words and context. May HaShem bless us and may the merit of learning from Rabbeinu Chezkiah ben Rav Manoach be a great zechus for us and may he be a melitz yosher for us and for our people.
Good Shabbos and good yom tov. D. Fox
he will instruct Your justice to the Jews..." (33:8-10)
Moshe captures the history of each tribe within the words of his blessings for their destiny. He connects Levi's history of saying "I cannot see my parents" with the blessing that they will guide the Jewish people in law and justice. What do these cryptic words presage?The Chezkuni offers that this is a reference to the Cohen branch of the Levites who were forbidden to venture out of the Temple even to tend to the burial of a family member (VaYikra 21:11-12). They had to conduct themselves with purity, even when this would seem as if they were saying "I am not permitted to see my parents", averting their eyes and hearts from family anguish. That was a great feat and clearly not an easy one. Remaining focused on their avoda took precedence even over a funeral. What were the ramifications, or rewards and consequences of such devotion to their sacred work?
The Chezkuni answers that this is, in fact, the meaning of the verse that follows:
"they will instruct Your justice to the people".
One role and function of the priests of Levi was to instruct and judge the nation (see earlier 17:9 - "...and you will come to the Levite Kohanim and they will rule for you...") By demonstrating their ability to stay focused and set aside family allegiance and partiality, they proved their ability to remain objective without being swayed by personal issues and feelings. If so, Moshe's bracha to Levi flows clearly for us:
"since you were not affected by personal demands,
you are fit to serve as impartial, fair judges"
So many times we find ourselves in the position of having to assess a situation, rendering a judgement or an opinion that may affect other's future, property, life... and yet it is often difficult to remove our own "negios" and to determine what is fair, what is valid, what is true, what is right.
Some will contend that the sense of fairness is almost inborn, meaning you either have it or you don't. Some will contend that you need to develop it by studying ethics. Others claim that one must have role models who they can observe and study in order to develop that sense of knowing what is right and what is wrong.
The Chezkuni is not taking a stand on the matter, but he is saying that the Levitic Cohanim worked on developing this ability through great personal sacrifice in being able to set aside strong personal and familial feelings. Even with such practice, they still required a bracha from Moshe that they would be able to channel that self-containment into judicial objectivity.
Hearing, seeing, thinking and reasoning with emes and clarity are challenges.
I once read an anecdote about a man who went to a high power attorney to discuss a case. "My partner did this, this and that and when I tried to respond by saying such and such, he turned around and did this and that. What should I do?" The attorney answered "this is an open and shut case. Every thing he did was illegal and you have an air-tight claim against him that any judge will support. He cannot win and you cannot lose!" The man thanked the lawyer and got up to leave. "But wait, are you going to hire me and bring him to court?" asked the lawyer. "No point," the man answered, "all of the things that I said that my partner did were really things that I did to him. As you just said, his case against me is air-tight. I cannot win."
It is so hard to detect the bias that creeps in when we evaluate and judge!
With this parsha we come to the end of the Torah and I will be saying goodbye to the Chezkuni. He has been an enlightening mentor to me this year and I will miss his depth, his creative insights and his manner of brining nuances to light by careful analysis of words and context. May HaShem bless us and may the merit of learning from Rabbeinu Chezkiah ben Rav Manoach be a great zechus for us and may he be a melitz yosher for us and for our people.
Good Shabbos and good yom tov. D. Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 6:03 PM
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