A thought on פרשת כי תצא
"...ki yi'pol ha'nofel mi'menu...""...when someone falls from it..." (22:8)
The Torah commands us to avoid danger, including danger to others. The mitzva of placing a guard-rail around a roof, or another spot which poses a precarious drop, assures that one not put others at risk should they ascend to an unguarded, unprotected place.
The above verse emphasizes that we must avoid these situations, causing harm "when someone falls." There are two curious nuances to the actual words here. "...ki yi'pol ha'nofel..." The verse does not say "lest" someone fall, but when someone falls. Moreover, the words say, "when the one who falls will fall." Here we are being commanded to build a rail to prevent an accident, and not bring about death "when the falling one falls." Surely, if we build a rail, the falling one is not going to be a falling one, and even if there is no rail, there is not necessarily going to be a "falling one."
When we study the words of Chazal (Shabbos 32a), we also find a difficult thought. Our sages say that the meaning of "the falling faller" is that "this one was fit to fall from the six days of creation." Now, if we put up the railing, no one falls, so how could that person be fit to fall from the onset of creation? If he did fall, what does it mean that he was supposed to fall? If he was supposed to fall, then how would building a rail prevent something destined to happen since the dawn of creation from doing just that?
There are a number of theological questions raised by these words, as well as some questions as to the plain meaning of the verse.
The Recanati ponders the verse from another line of inquiry, asking "how can a person be "fit to fall" from the beginning of time if he has not been born yet? How can something which is not yet in existence be destined to anything? How can someone who has never done anything wrong (because he has not been created), be bound to fall off of an unguarded roof? How does that idea fit within our mesora? How can there be a human destiny before there are people?
The Recanati writes that our confusion will be settled when we look back into his teachings on parshas Bereishis. He explained there that the Six Days of Creation were the only days of creation. Everything that would ever exist, would ever occur or ever happen was put into place during genesis. When the Torah tell us, as we recite in Shabbos kiddush, that in six days HaShem created the universe and on the seventh day He "rested", this informs us that from that moment onward, it is the flow of HaShem's "goodness" or shefa bracha which sustains all of life and existence. When Shlomo HaMelech reminds us (Kohelles 1:9) that there is "nothing new under the sun, " he captures the same thought. Ours is not a world of novelty and newness. There is no creation taking place anymore. All that ever was and is and will be has been set into motion during the days of genesis.
There is no way in which we ourselves can shake loose of our mortal reality that we help author our own destiny, and we are at least the ghost-writers of our autobiographical lives. This is true and this is our experience. Nonetheless, the person who will one day walk a path of integrity has had his role set into the chain of universal events from the onset of time. The one who is fit to fall has begun that fall long before there was a place to fall from.
The countdown leading to the end of this year is in motion, and it is sad to think that we will soon be completing this year's study of Rabbeinu Menachem Recanati. It was destined to happen.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
The Torah commands us to avoid danger, including danger to others. The mitzva of placing a guard-rail around a roof, or another spot which poses a precarious drop, assures that one not put others at risk should they ascend to an unguarded, unprotected place.
The above verse emphasizes that we must avoid these situations, causing harm "when someone falls." There are two curious nuances to the actual words here. "...ki yi'pol ha'nofel..." The verse does not say "lest" someone fall, but when someone falls. Moreover, the words say, "when the one who falls will fall." Here we are being commanded to build a rail to prevent an accident, and not bring about death "when the falling one falls." Surely, if we build a rail, the falling one is not going to be a falling one, and even if there is no rail, there is not necessarily going to be a "falling one."
When we study the words of Chazal (Shabbos 32a), we also find a difficult thought. Our sages say that the meaning of "the falling faller" is that "this one was fit to fall from the six days of creation." Now, if we put up the railing, no one falls, so how could that person be fit to fall from the onset of creation? If he did fall, what does it mean that he was supposed to fall? If he was supposed to fall, then how would building a rail prevent something destined to happen since the dawn of creation from doing just that?
There are a number of theological questions raised by these words, as well as some questions as to the plain meaning of the verse.
The Recanati ponders the verse from another line of inquiry, asking "how can a person be "fit to fall" from the beginning of time if he has not been born yet? How can something which is not yet in existence be destined to anything? How can someone who has never done anything wrong (because he has not been created), be bound to fall off of an unguarded roof? How does that idea fit within our mesora? How can there be a human destiny before there are people?
The Recanati writes that our confusion will be settled when we look back into his teachings on parshas Bereishis. He explained there that the Six Days of Creation were the only days of creation. Everything that would ever exist, would ever occur or ever happen was put into place during genesis. When the Torah tell us, as we recite in Shabbos kiddush, that in six days HaShem created the universe and on the seventh day He "rested", this informs us that from that moment onward, it is the flow of HaShem's "goodness" or shefa bracha which sustains all of life and existence. When Shlomo HaMelech reminds us (Kohelles 1:9) that there is "nothing new under the sun, " he captures the same thought. Ours is not a world of novelty and newness. There is no creation taking place anymore. All that ever was and is and will be has been set into motion during the days of genesis.
There is no way in which we ourselves can shake loose of our mortal reality that we help author our own destiny, and we are at least the ghost-writers of our autobiographical lives. This is true and this is our experience. Nonetheless, the person who will one day walk a path of integrity has had his role set into the chain of universal events from the onset of time. The one who is fit to fall has begun that fall long before there was a place to fall from.
The countdown leading to the end of this year is in motion, and it is sad to think that we will soon be completing this year's study of Rabbeinu Menachem Recanati. It was destined to happen.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 11:56 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home