A Thought On Parshas Nasso

A Thought On Parshas Nasso "...mazkeres avon..." "...her offering recalls her iniquity..." The Sotah, the adulteress, brings a mincha offering. Unlike most sacrifices of this type, which include wheat meal as a "fragrant" gesture, her offering consists of barley. She is also given a beverage which consists of ash and water. Many of us are familiar with the interpretation that coarse barley is animal food, and symbolizes the animal-like crudeness of her misconduct. There are fewer interpretations of the meaning of the water and ash. The Bechor Shor proposes a different understanding of the s'orim - the barley. He regards the "animal food" interpretation as drash - homiletic meaning - but believes that the word itself can be understood at the pshat, or essential level. The word s'orim is translated as "barley" but the word still means something beyond its translation. He observes that the word actually means "to remind" or "to designate", as we see from the fact that the Hebrew word "pok'ed" or designate (Shmos 20:5) in the Targum is "m'sa'er". Therefore, when the Torah demands that the sotah bring an offering of barley, it is to signify that the offering which represents her is not one of high or even standard quality but is a notch down. It is not one which sends a pleasant fragrance the way that baking wheat might, but one that is plain and unadulterated. This is to suggest that she cannot presumptuously assume that there is a favorable feeling of compassion and kindness for her on High but rather she must demonstrate her sense that she has fallen below standard. Her s'orim are m'sa'er this, making clear to her that she is not in a position where she can expect a favorable view. As our verse says, "her offering recalls her iniquity." As for the water and ash, the Bechor Shor suggests that water is the basis for life and for survival. If she overcomes her challenge, she can look forward to renewed life. Ashes represent destruction and termination. If she succumbs to her challenge, she faces a future which is bleak and desolate. Our paths are strewn with challenge and with opportunity. Blessed are those who adhere to standards of stability and fidelity. May the renewed commitment to Torah following our Shavuos holy day upgrade our own allegiance to all that is life-giving and pure. Good Shabbos. D Fox

A Thought On Parshas BaMidbar

A Thought On Parshas BaMidbar "...Ki Li kol bechor..." "...the firstborn are all mine..." (3:13) At one time, each family's firstborn son was designated to serve HaShem. This changed following the Golden Calf incident in the desert, and a segment of the tribe of Levi, those who were the sons of Aharon, became the "kohanim" and took over the role that had once been given to firstborn sons. In our times too, anyone who can trace his lineage to that line of Kahuna takes on certain responsibilities which pertain to Kohanim. On the other hand, one of the realities of being a kohen and for that matter a Levite was that they did not inherit a share in the land of Israel. When the land was dispensed among the tribes, the tribe of Levi and its cohort, the kohanim, did not get a share. They were sustained largely through the tithes which the Torah allotted to them, but had no real property or livelihood other than serving in the Temple. The Bechor Shor offers two insights. He sees the "no-inheritance" rule of the kohanim as being intertwined with their exclusive "Temple service" designation. That is, he suggests that having to deal with property and livelihood-worries would distract a kohen from focusing fully on his sacred Temple tasks. So, not having an inheritance was not really a detriment. It was an asset for Kohanim, in that it served to facilitate their having fuller concentration with what really mattered - their undivided attention to a life of devotion. The second insight pertains to a Talmudic adage. In a number of instances, we are told that "Kohanim zerizim heim" - one can rely on the meticulous conscientious care shown by the Kohanim in all aspects of their devotional work. Some understand that this attribute of "zerizus" was somehow inborn within those kohanim. Others suggest that it was the gravity of where they worked and all of its awesome responsibilities which kept them on their toes, or zerizim. The Bechor Shor suggests that their zerizus was also intertwined with the fact that they had no property or financial preoccupations. Being free of those concerns gave them the time and the tranquility to dedicate themselves fully to studying and knowing the laws and the methods for thorough involvement in the Temple avoda. So, zerizus was an offshoot of having no material preoccupations or mundane distractions. As we prepare for Shavuos, the commemoration of the giving of the Torah, perhaps we too can get our minds off of the worldly matters which draw so much of our time and attention. Besides allowing us to devote this festival to the beauty of serving HaShem through learning and knowing His Torah, we might also find ourselves becoming more zariz - more conscientious of how we live our lives, spend our time, channel our energy and set our values. Good Shabbos. D Fox

A Thought On Parshas Emor

A Thought On Parshas Emor "...Atzeres hu..." "...It is an assembly..." (23:36) Following the seven days of Sukkos, the Torah commands us to observe an eighth day, Shemini Atzeres, which is a holy day independent of the prior week of Sukkos. The word atzeres can be translated as assembly or retreat. It has something to do with the root word atzor which means to stop or withhold. Rashi has immortalized the sages' explanation of how we can view this "added on" day as if HaShem has dismissed all of the other guests and visitors and is asking his dearest ones to tarry, to stay over one last day. I can remember the loving tone of my great rebbe Rav Simcha Wasserman zt'l as he would relate to us the image of HaShem's fondness for His people, as if beseeching us to delay our departure one more day just to commune with Him. The Bechor Shor, however, offers a very different perspective of "atzeres." He offers a somewhat different allegory. He compares it to a man whose children are coming to visit. On that visit, he asks them how soon they plan to visit again. They say it will be in fifty days. He then bids them goodbye. Following that next visit, he asks again when they plan to return, and they say in four months. He bids them goodbye. At their third visit, he inquires again as to their next trip home and they reply that they have a lot going on, and may not be back for six or seven months. The father reacts to this, saying "since it will be a long while until I see you again, please stay on one more day so that I can savor my time with you". This allegory plays out with our Torah calendar. After Pesach, HaShem says "you can leave and return to your homes" (Devarim 16:7) because He knows that we will be back (in Jerusalem and/or celebrating Shavuos) in fifty days. Not such a long wait. After Shavuos we also go back to our homes, since the time until Sukkos is only four months. But then, as our Sukkos visit ends, the rainy season starts. We would not be traveling up to Jerusalem again for half a year, on Pesach. It is six months until the next yom tov. Thus, the bid to tarry and stay on following Sukkos reflects more than HaShem wanting us to linger after the festival is over. It is HaShem wanting us to stay on in order to hold us close before the long, pending separation. It is not as a sequel to Sukkos, but as a precursor to next Pesach for which we stay back a little longer. Atzeres is the Torah encouraging us to savor the closeness a little longer so that we not let go, in mind or soul, of the attachment we feel for HaShem. It is a means of concretizing for us the knowledge that He seeks for us to know that He awaits us, longs for our return, and will remain close to us. Good Shabbos. D Fox

A Thought On Parshios Behar-Bechukosai

A Thought On Parshios Behar-Bechukosai "...v'Nosati Mishkani b'sochachem..." "...and I shall put My shrine in your midst..." (26:11) We have learned throughout many parshios about the Mishkan, the shrine in the desert which was a forerunner to the Mikdash, the Sacred Temple, later to be built in Jerusalem. During our wandering in the desert, we served HaShem in the Mishkan, which was a mobile structure. Once our nation was secure in Israel, the Mikdash served as a permanent shrine. The difference between the two places is apparent. The differences between the words is apparent also, with Mikdash meaning designated sacred place, and Mishkan meaning Dwelling Place for the Sacred. It seems strange here that the passage preceding our verse is talking about all the good which will be given to us once we are established in Israel. Why does HaShem promise us that He will place His mishkan in our midst? By that point in our history, the mishkan was passe. Rashi hastens to write here that in this instance, mishkan actually refers to the Mikdash. Still, that is not what the verse says. That is not the straight translation of the word. According to Rashi, the Torah should have written "and I shall place my Mikdash in your midst." The Bechor Shor writes that the word does not refer to the Mikdash, nor does it refer to the Mishkan! The verse is not talking about any structure or any place. The word Mishkani means "My Divine Presence". The concept of the verse translates as "you will sense My Presence within yourselves as long as you merit it." HaShem does not depict that sense as "my Mikdash" - My Sacred Presence, because mikdash is permanence, and no one of us can claim that we will, at all times and in all situations, deserve to be crowned with a permanent sense of the Sacred. Rather, the promise is conditional, just as the mishkan was portable. We might merit to feel that closeness with HaShem but that requires constant work on our parts. The Bechor Shor says that we are given this promise in the manner that malachim - angelic messengers - have the Presence within and around them. Their mission is temporary and once complete, they vanish. In a similar way, our internal Mishkan sense is impermanent. If we do not retain it, that sense of Presence will vanish from us. Wishing you a good Shabbos. D Fox

A Thought on Parshios Acharei-Kedoshim

A Thought On Parshios Acharei-Kedoshim "...u'le'challel es Shem Kadshi..." "...and has profaned my Holy Name..." (20:3) The Torah describes the Heavenly view of one who desecrates the commandments. Our verse says that HaShem "faces off" with him (nesinas Panim) because he has made the sacred impure and "profaned the Holy Name." The Bechor Shor interprets the usage of these vivid terms, and gives us firm admonition: "It is because he is a Jew that people assume that whatever a Jew does, he does because that is what HaShem has commanded. When a Jew acts profanely, people conclude that HaShem wants our people to behave in abominable ways. Word gets around when someone does things which are disgusting or cruel. It may be that onlookers will attack the perpetrator. If not, HaShem will punish him." The Bechor Shor admonishes us further. He looks at some of the adjectives used to describe sinful acts. The Torah refers to these acts as tevel, as zima, as to'eva (18:22,23). In context, each of those words means something despicable yet Chazal find in them contractions of other expressions: tevel also means a flavor (tavlin), as if the Torah is shouting "is that distasteful act going to leave behind a good flavor for you?" Zima hints at zu mah - what value does this have? You will not benefit from this in any way that would be better than legitimate, legal pleasure. To'eva alludes to to'eh ata bah - you are misleading yourself. That road leads nowhere. There is a spiritual dimension of misconduct as well as a personal dimension. Personally, the Torah implores us to examine the risk-benefit of straying from mitzvos and to avoid them for our own sakes. Spiritually, the Torah asks us to consider the bigger picture. Our actions leave an impression. When the social or societal perception is that decadent Jews are adhering to an immoral system of beliefs and practices, this reflects horribly on us. What the Bechor Shor adds is that it reflects horribly on HaShem, the One Who has chosen us and Whom the nations of the world accept as the G-d Whose will we follow. They expect Jews to emulate the Way of HaShem. When we abandon that Way, some assume that our misconduct is actually what HaShem and His Torah are really all about....... Good Shabbos. D Fox