Sunday, June 24, 2012

A Thought on Parshas Korach

"...v'k'malay'a min ha'yakev..." "...and as the fullness of the wine vat..." 18:27) This week we shall observe the Bechor Shor's unique understanding of how the Torah's use of atypical words can shed light on their fuller meanings. The uncommon word in our verse is malay'a which seems to come from the word malae, which means full or filled. It appears to be a synonym here, in context, for wine (and oil). The verse is discussing the tithes which are given to the Levites, who in turn must separate a portion for the Kohanim. The Levite's acquisitions are treated like any other tithe-able food, and thus must have another tithe removed from them. As the verse instructs, they are like any other "grain from the granary and (wine)(oil) from the vat." Other commentaries understand malay'a to be another word for wine, or high quality wine, or oil. What is not clear, however, is how a word for "fullness" came to imply wine/oil. Vat is going on? The Bechor Shor describes this for us: Solids, such as grains or flour are rather easy to tithe. One can go to a full basket or jar or box of those foods and scoop off the top layer. Picture the mincha offering, where the Kohen takes a handful of grain or flour. He places that amount in his palm or clutches it in a few of his fingers, then the remainder is smoothed off and the container looks full again. The basket may have been overflowing with grain, and now that the tithe is removed, the basket remains full, but not overflowing. Not so liquid. There is no way to over-fill a cup with wine. To do so would be, as Dovid HaMelech sings in Tehillim 23:5, to have a cup running over. Rather, a cup can be filled to the brim, and that is as much as you can fill it. If you then tithe that container of wine, you are taking off that portion which makes it full. Once tithed, the container of wine is no longer full. Hence, the Torah captures this reality by referring to the tithe as "that which gave the vat it's fullness." It is not that wine is called malay'a, but rather, when oil and wine and whatever other liquids are tithed, it is the fullness of the vat which becomes the tithe portion. That leaves the vat partially empty, or partially full, depending on your perspective. May our lives be filled with fullness. Good Shabbos. Chodesh Tov. D Fox

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

A Thought On Parshas Sh'lach

A Thought On Parshas Sh'lach "...Sh'lach lecha anashim..." "...Send out men for yourself..." (12:2) The Torah begins the passage of Moshe and the scouts with the above commandment. He was instructed by HaShem to send out scouts to do a reconnaissance on the Promised Land. The word "lecha" (for yourself) seems unnecessary and has been interpreted for us by our Sages. The common understanding is that Moshe was given a hint by HaShem that sending out spies was his decision, but not one which HaShem endorsed. Our Sages point out elsewhere how doing what we are commanded to do can provide a certain level of security that all will turn out well. After all, when HaShem tells us to do something, we have His support and backing. When we opt to do things according to our own judgment, however, we cannot bank on things working out. My great rebbe HaGaon Rav Simcha Wasserman zt'l felt that this seems to be the rather ominous view associated with Moshe being told that it was up to him whether or not to commission spies. Nothing good came of that decision, and this might be linked to that decision having been volitional. There is no shmira when what you do is not a real mitzvah. The Bechor Shor has a somewhat different spin on the true meaning of the drasha of "Sh'lach lecha - l'daatcha" than "its up to you, Moshe." He suggests that the intention of the drasha that interprets the word "lecha" as "l'daatcha" means "be sure to send the scouts out according to your own plan, and not according to their plan!" He points out that Moshe had intended for the men to scout out the way, and to bring back encouraging words about how HaShem's promise would be fulfilled. The spies, however, went with the intention of deciding whether or not the nation should even continue on the journey to Israel. Kalev and Yehoshua recognized that this had become the opinion and plan of the other spies, and parted ways with them in order to preserve the integrity of Moshe's mission (this is why a subsequent verse (14:24) points out that Kalev had "a different view." The Bechor Shor suggests that this does not mean that Kalev had his own view, but "a different view" means that he retained Moshe's original view of scouting for the sake of encouraging the nation to follow.) According to the Bechor Shor, the message of "send out for yourself" actually means "send out the men according to your plan, but not according to any other agenda." It is not at all as if HaShem was not backing the mission; He was structuring the nature of the mission so that Moshe would be attentive to any other latent agendas among the scouts. When Moshe said "va'yitav b'ainay ha'davar (Dvarim 1:23) - "this seemed like a good plan to me", the Bechor Shor writes that this signifies that Moshe had assumed that the scout's plan was the same as his own. Know your agenda. Know your hidden one as well. Good Shabbos. D Fox

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

A Thought on Parshas B'halo'secha

A Thought On Parshas B'halo'secha "...lo ken avdi Moshe b'kol Baisi ne'eman hu..."" "...not so My servant Moshe - he is trusted throughout My house..." (12:7) Upon hearing concerns about Moshe and his judgment, HaShem declares that Moshe is at a different level than other prophets who receive the word of HaShem. In the midst of differentiating the visions of Moshe from those of other holy persons, HaShem adds that His servant Moshe is ne'eman - trusted - in all of HaShem's house. The difficult expression here is "HaShem's house." To what does the verse refer when it states that HaShem considered or regarded Moshe as having a closer tie to Him and a more direct mode of communication with the Divine because "Moshe is trusted in My house?" Where is that "house"? How does one access it? What takes place there - is that where prophecy originates or is that some higher realm where only certain prophets can enter? Who else inhabits that house where only Moshe would be able to earn the trust of the house or its inhabitants? Does this refer to angels, the famiglia shel ma'ala? The Bechor Shor offers a challenging thought: if we look into the Targum Yerushalmi here, one of the interpretative Aramaic translations of the Torah, the phrase "b'kol Baisi" (in all of My house) is rendered "b'kol Bais Yisroel Ami" - among all of My Nation the House of Israel." The Bechor Shor expounds: How could anyone complain about Moshe being so constantly devoted to HaShem? All Jews recognized that HaShem communicated with him, and this convinced them that all that he said and all the things which he did were reliable. Those who mattered, the Jewish people who "occupy" HaShem's "House", accepted Moshe, acknowledging that HaShem spoke to him. It is true that there were times when the people challenged Moshe, and times when they seemed to doubt him. Yet, when he communed with the Divine and received the Word of HaShem, people were certain that his words were from Above. That communication established Moshe as valid and trusted as a prophet and leader. This was known throughout all of HaShem's "house". An important aspect of this Bechor Shor is that his interpretation shows us that HaShem regards us as His House. We refer to ourselves as Bais Yisroel - the House of Israel - but we see here that when we adhere to the words of Torah and follow our Torah sages, we are upgraded to being Bais HaShem. We are His family and His household when we act like His family. When we feel at home with HaShem, we become His house. Occupy His house! Good Shabbos. D Fox