A beautiful thought on פרשת שופטים
"...v'noshal ha'barzel min ha'etz...""...and the metal slips off of the wood..." (19:5)
The Torah reintroduces here the concept of Ir Miklat - the City of Refuge for those who must flee after bringing about accidental death. In this passage, we find an illustration of how that tragedy might occur. The Torah spells out a hypothetical case of someone in the forest chopping wood. As he wields his ax, the metal hatchet tip slips off of the wooden handle and strikes someone else. Accidental death. The metal slipped off the wood.
The example given in the parsha seems so specific. It is well detailed, right down to the description of what happened to the ax and how that resulted in an injury. It is true that Chazal derive important halachic parameters from some of the words used here, yet one might wonder what else lurks beneath these vivid verses. The metal slipped off the wood.
The Recanati helps us here. In our mystical mesora, metal is a symbol. We learn later on (27:5) about the law prohibiting metal on the altar. Metal is a symbol of din and its harshness does not belong in a setting of mercy. Wood is also a symbol. We learned in Shemos (15:25) that a tree represents rachamim, compassion.
Our verse is intended as more than an illustration. It is a profound perspective on how the Torah depicts our experience of accidental tragedy. In HaShem's realm, there is only the midda of rachamim. All of the attributes which mortal man might associate with the Above are in fact embedded in Divine compassion. Even middas ha'din is but a subset of this higher rachamim.
When tragedy strikes r'l, we are confronted, from our perspective, with abject din. That is all that we perceive. That is what we feel and experience. We do not see the mercy. We do not feel the love. We do not sense the compassion nor believe that this is "kindness."
This is the metaphor: the wood symbolizes the compassion Above. The metal symbolizes the harsh justice. From Above, that metal is really attached to and embedded within the wood. The ax is a wooden ax and the metal head is subsumed within that ax. However, when that ax chops, down below in the human experience, sometimes the "metal slips off of the wood". The damage is done by the metal. In the symbolic abstraction, tragedy is when, from our perspective, the din has separated from the rachamim. As the verse hints, the tragedy occurs when "the metal slips off of the wood."
Here in Los Angeles, our community has endured a tragic loss. We have seen the metal slip off of the wood. We have seen and experienced the appearance of din in an accident which overwhelms us, which troubles and confuses us. We do not understand it and we are in pain as we try to absorb the loss of someone dear to so many of us.
The metal slipped off of the wood. May all of those who mourn and ache among our nation find counsel and consolation. May our community serve as a City of Refuge for those who need us and may we soon envision the return of Rachamim.
Naftali ayala sh'lucha (Bereishis 49:21) Naftali is a deer sent away....
Good Shabbos. D Fox
The Torah reintroduces here the concept of Ir Miklat - the City of Refuge for those who must flee after bringing about accidental death. In this passage, we find an illustration of how that tragedy might occur. The Torah spells out a hypothetical case of someone in the forest chopping wood. As he wields his ax, the metal hatchet tip slips off of the wooden handle and strikes someone else. Accidental death. The metal slipped off the wood.
The example given in the parsha seems so specific. It is well detailed, right down to the description of what happened to the ax and how that resulted in an injury. It is true that Chazal derive important halachic parameters from some of the words used here, yet one might wonder what else lurks beneath these vivid verses. The metal slipped off the wood.
The Recanati helps us here. In our mystical mesora, metal is a symbol. We learn later on (27:5) about the law prohibiting metal on the altar. Metal is a symbol of din and its harshness does not belong in a setting of mercy. Wood is also a symbol. We learned in Shemos (15:25) that a tree represents rachamim, compassion.
Our verse is intended as more than an illustration. It is a profound perspective on how the Torah depicts our experience of accidental tragedy. In HaShem's realm, there is only the midda of rachamim. All of the attributes which mortal man might associate with the Above are in fact embedded in Divine compassion. Even middas ha'din is but a subset of this higher rachamim.
When tragedy strikes r'l, we are confronted, from our perspective, with abject din. That is all that we perceive. That is what we feel and experience. We do not see the mercy. We do not feel the love. We do not sense the compassion nor believe that this is "kindness."
This is the metaphor: the wood symbolizes the compassion Above. The metal symbolizes the harsh justice. From Above, that metal is really attached to and embedded within the wood. The ax is a wooden ax and the metal head is subsumed within that ax. However, when that ax chops, down below in the human experience, sometimes the "metal slips off of the wood". The damage is done by the metal. In the symbolic abstraction, tragedy is when, from our perspective, the din has separated from the rachamim. As the verse hints, the tragedy occurs when "the metal slips off of the wood."
Here in Los Angeles, our community has endured a tragic loss. We have seen the metal slip off of the wood. We have seen and experienced the appearance of din in an accident which overwhelms us, which troubles and confuses us. We do not understand it and we are in pain as we try to absorb the loss of someone dear to so many of us.
The metal slipped off of the wood. May all of those who mourn and ache among our nation find counsel and consolation. May our community serve as a City of Refuge for those who need us and may we soon envision the return of Rachamim.
Naftali ayala sh'lucha (Bereishis 49:21) Naftali is a deer sent away....
Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 10:46 PM
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