A Thought on Parshas Sh'lach
A Thought On Parshas Sh'lach
"...va'yomer HaShem salachti ki'dvarecha..." (14:20)
"...and HaShem said "I forgive", as you have asked..."
"...v'nislach l'kol adas Benei Yisrael..." (15:26)
"...and the Children of Israel shall all be forgiven..."
Something powerful and magnificent happens in our parsha. HaShem promises that His people will be granted forgiveness following their straying, and He offers a process for our repentance and remediation. That process in later history was our communal offerings. In particular, the Day of Atonement became a turning point in our relationship with the One Above.
The Rambam (Commentary to Mishna Nedarim 10:8) presents a procedure which generalizes on this Yom Kippur theme. He writes that when a person has made a vow and must be released from its confines, he gathers a tribunal of three elders and seeks to end the self-imposed limitations which his vow created. This process is well known in halacha.
The surprising addition of the Rambam, which is not mentioned by other great Poskim Rishonim, is that following that judicial proceeding, the senior judge announces
"you are released, you are forgiven
in the heavenly court and in this
earthly court, as it is written
"and the Children of Israel shall be forgiven."
Many of us recognize that passage from the evening prayers of Yom Kippur. You will find similar words, and the same Biblical quotation, in the Machzor, before and after the Kol Nidrei. The Rambam introduces the passage as part of the encouraging remedy which is available at those other times when we seek forgiveness. We recite those words and conjure the promise made to us in our parsha. One can count on forgiveness even at others times, since forgiveness is a conceptual rule symbolized by Yom Kippur. We mention the Yom Kippur symbol when forgiveness is sought at other times and circumstances.
* * * * *
The Rosh (Rabbeinu Asher ben Yechiel) quotes a midrash that when HaShem proclaimed to Moshe here that He had forgiven us as Moshe had asked, this established that day as a day of forgiveness and atonement. The midrash continues by citing our second verse which confirms that Yom Kippur will always be the Day of Atonement, "as Moshe had asked."
The Rosh ponders, however, how these verses can be linked. We know that Moshe's final descent from the mountain was on Yom Kippur. However, our second verse was said following the incident of the spies, the meraglim, which does not appear related to Yom Kippur. What is the connection between the two "forgiveness events", which have no temporal synchronicity?
The Rosh suggests that our verse's reference to "I will forgive them as you have asked" really means as you have said. In verse 19, Moshe Rabbeinu says, "Forgive this nation in the way that You have forgiven them since they left Egypt." That reference to "since they left Egypt" alludes to the events at the foot of Sinai, which HaShem forgave back then, sealing Yom Kippur as a day of forgiveness and atonement.
When HaShem now says to Moshe that He forgives us "as you have said", this means that just as Moshe mentioned the events which led to our guarantee of a Day of Atonement, so too could our people rely of the possibility of forgiveness at this later event. Yom Kippur serves its stated purpose, but it also represents the eternal concept that our people, upon begging sincerely for Divine mercy, will be listened to and pardoned. That is the promise of Yom Kippur which extends and generalizes to other circumstances, other events, other times when we need to turn to Him and recall His pledge to His wayward people.
According to the Rosh, then, the Yom Kippur concept can be applied at other times when one has regrets and seeks release. This sets the framework for the Rambam's chidush that we echo an aspect of the Yom Kippur process even in the unrelated matter of a rabbinic court helping remedy the plight of a remorseful person who has become entangled by his misdirected vows. In that case as well, we emphasize that HaShem has granted the gift of slicha in times of distress and repentance. Both the Rambam and the Rosh view the Yom Kippur concept as an ongoing symbol that HaShem is forgiving, and we draw on that reality whenever we need Him.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
"...va'yomer HaShem salachti ki'dvarecha..." (14:20)
"...and HaShem said "I forgive", as you have asked..."
"...v'nislach l'kol adas Benei Yisrael..." (15:26)
"...and the Children of Israel shall all be forgiven..."
Something powerful and magnificent happens in our parsha. HaShem promises that His people will be granted forgiveness following their straying, and He offers a process for our repentance and remediation. That process in later history was our communal offerings. In particular, the Day of Atonement became a turning point in our relationship with the One Above.
The Rambam (Commentary to Mishna Nedarim 10:8) presents a procedure which generalizes on this Yom Kippur theme. He writes that when a person has made a vow and must be released from its confines, he gathers a tribunal of three elders and seeks to end the self-imposed limitations which his vow created. This process is well known in halacha.
The surprising addition of the Rambam, which is not mentioned by other great Poskim Rishonim, is that following that judicial proceeding, the senior judge announces
"you are released, you are forgiven
in the heavenly court and in this
earthly court, as it is written
"and the Children of Israel shall be forgiven."
Many of us recognize that passage from the evening prayers of Yom Kippur. You will find similar words, and the same Biblical quotation, in the Machzor, before and after the Kol Nidrei. The Rambam introduces the passage as part of the encouraging remedy which is available at those other times when we seek forgiveness. We recite those words and conjure the promise made to us in our parsha. One can count on forgiveness even at others times, since forgiveness is a conceptual rule symbolized by Yom Kippur. We mention the Yom Kippur symbol when forgiveness is sought at other times and circumstances.
* * * * *
The Rosh (Rabbeinu Asher ben Yechiel) quotes a midrash that when HaShem proclaimed to Moshe here that He had forgiven us as Moshe had asked, this established that day as a day of forgiveness and atonement. The midrash continues by citing our second verse which confirms that Yom Kippur will always be the Day of Atonement, "as Moshe had asked."
The Rosh ponders, however, how these verses can be linked. We know that Moshe's final descent from the mountain was on Yom Kippur. However, our second verse was said following the incident of the spies, the meraglim, which does not appear related to Yom Kippur. What is the connection between the two "forgiveness events", which have no temporal synchronicity?
The Rosh suggests that our verse's reference to "I will forgive them as you have asked" really means as you have said. In verse 19, Moshe Rabbeinu says, "Forgive this nation in the way that You have forgiven them since they left Egypt." That reference to "since they left Egypt" alludes to the events at the foot of Sinai, which HaShem forgave back then, sealing Yom Kippur as a day of forgiveness and atonement.
When HaShem now says to Moshe that He forgives us "as you have said", this means that just as Moshe mentioned the events which led to our guarantee of a Day of Atonement, so too could our people rely of the possibility of forgiveness at this later event. Yom Kippur serves its stated purpose, but it also represents the eternal concept that our people, upon begging sincerely for Divine mercy, will be listened to and pardoned. That is the promise of Yom Kippur which extends and generalizes to other circumstances, other events, other times when we need to turn to Him and recall His pledge to His wayward people.
According to the Rosh, then, the Yom Kippur concept can be applied at other times when one has regrets and seeks release. This sets the framework for the Rambam's chidush that we echo an aspect of the Yom Kippur process even in the unrelated matter of a rabbinic court helping remedy the plight of a remorseful person who has become entangled by his misdirected vows. In that case as well, we emphasize that HaShem has granted the gift of slicha in times of distress and repentance. Both the Rambam and the Rosh view the Yom Kippur concept as an ongoing symbol that HaShem is forgiving, and we draw on that reality whenever we need Him.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 7:15 PM
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