A Thought On Parshas Sh'lach
A Thought On Parshas Sh'lach
"...asher nosati es Yadi..."
"...which I swore with a raised Hand..." (14:30)
HaShem pledged that we would enter the Promised Land. Earlier in the parsha (verse 27) this is referred to as HaShem's oath (asher nishbati) and here the oath is in idiomatic form, "with a raised Hand."
Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel ponders the meaning of such a vivid image in HaShem's referring to His oath. What might it teach us?
He first establishes that the image of a "hand" is found elsewhere regarding oaths. He notes that in Yeshiyahu 62:8 we find the expression nishba HaShem b'yamino - HaShem swore with His "right Hand."
He then suggests that "right hand" symbolizes the Torah itself, as it says mi'yamino esh das lamo - from His right Hand comes the fiery faith (Devarim 33:2), as explained by Chazal in Berachos 6a.
So what does all this lead to? Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel learns from here that this is also the basis for the way that we mortals make promises and commitments to one another.
We shake hands. The right hand. Shaken, not stirred. That means we extend our five fingers, which symbolize the Five Books of the Torah (remember: "right hand" in the above verse is a reference to Torah). When your five right fingers interlock with the five fingers of your fellow deal-maker, that totals ten fingers, which represent the Ten Commandments. It is a serious gesture.
And, writes Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel, such a hand-shake promise is binding and cannot be annulled. He notes that in Yechezkel 17:18, the prophet proclaims u'boza alah l'hafer bris v'hinae noson yado...lo yimalet - and the one who spurned the oath after giving his hand... shall not be released. This, he concludes, demonstrates that you cannot back out of a deal once you have shaken on it.
With this lesson, we see another side of our master Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel: he is able to draw upon drasha to extract a halachic principle. We must keep our word, and we must recognize that the gestures which accompany our promises have a deeper meaning, which can at times be detected through the symbolic message of an act. Good Shabbos. D Fox
"...asher nosati es Yadi..."
"...which I swore with a raised Hand..." (14:30)
HaShem pledged that we would enter the Promised Land. Earlier in the parsha (verse 27) this is referred to as HaShem's oath (asher nishbati) and here the oath is in idiomatic form, "with a raised Hand."
Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel ponders the meaning of such a vivid image in HaShem's referring to His oath. What might it teach us?
He first establishes that the image of a "hand" is found elsewhere regarding oaths. He notes that in Yeshiyahu 62:8 we find the expression nishba HaShem b'yamino - HaShem swore with His "right Hand."
He then suggests that "right hand" symbolizes the Torah itself, as it says mi'yamino esh das lamo - from His right Hand comes the fiery faith (Devarim 33:2), as explained by Chazal in Berachos 6a.
So what does all this lead to? Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel learns from here that this is also the basis for the way that we mortals make promises and commitments to one another.
We shake hands. The right hand. Shaken, not stirred. That means we extend our five fingers, which symbolize the Five Books of the Torah (remember: "right hand" in the above verse is a reference to Torah). When your five right fingers interlock with the five fingers of your fellow deal-maker, that totals ten fingers, which represent the Ten Commandments. It is a serious gesture.
And, writes Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel, such a hand-shake promise is binding and cannot be annulled. He notes that in Yechezkel 17:18, the prophet proclaims u'boza alah l'hafer bris v'hinae noson yado...lo yimalet - and the one who spurned the oath after giving his hand... shall not be released. This, he concludes, demonstrates that you cannot back out of a deal once you have shaken on it.
With this lesson, we see another side of our master Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel: he is able to draw upon drasha to extract a halachic principle. We must keep our word, and we must recognize that the gestures which accompany our promises have a deeper meaning, which can at times be detected through the symbolic message of an act. Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 6:03 PM
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