Thursday, April 25, 2013

A Thought on Parshas Emor

"...u'shemartem v'asis'em..." "...and you shall observe them and do them..." (22:31) The Torah offers this familiar phrase - we need to keep the mitzvos, and perform them - and we stop and wonder what the difference is between observing and doing, keeping and performing. If the commandments are commanded to us, then obviously we are supposed to do them. What does it mean to "observe" them if not to keep or practice them in action? It sounds almost synonymous and thus has an appearance of redundancy. Rabbeinu Avigdor begins with a practical or instructional midrashic thought. The "observing" of mitzvos refers to the study and learning which must precede implementation. The Torah wants us to perform or act but also requires that we have broader knowledge of what we are supposed to do. The degree of consciousness involved in performing an act, including a fuller awareness of the law and its rules and parameters, makes for a more meaningful involvement in the act. This is what it means to observe and keep a commandment. Rabbeinu Avigdor then goes a step further. If one is not involved in the study of a deed then he cannot really become involved in the performance of the deed! Action presupposes a level of understanding of what we do. Otherwise it is ritual behavior but not necessarily a comprehensive expression of our entire self from mind to heart to soul and then to body. Doing something in ignorance does not lessen the effect of the act i.e. the money still ends up in the charity box, the challah still gets digested, the candles are still lit and the fringes still hang from the corners of the garment. However, the act itself - its process and the experience of the one going through those motions - is not accompanied by a fuller and richer sense of spiritual acuity. The spirit, the feelings, the mind - all of those are dimensions of experience and if they are not stimulated or activated, our act is somehow in a different league than if one enacts that same deed with heightened awareness and informed consciousness. This is, according to Rabbeinu Avigdor, the essence of our verse declaring "you need to do it but first comes the subjective preparation for what you will do." Observe, study, internalize the process of performing a sacred act, and then it will become a holy experience. This, he adds, is the source for the famous declaration made by our Sages in Avos (2:5) - ain bor yar'ae chait v'lo am ha'aretz chasid! An ignorant person can not really know how to be afraid of doing wrong; an uninformed person cannot really achieve piety. Learning is about inspiration. Inspiration is the precursor to turning religious behavior into spiritual conduct. Good Shabbos. D Fox

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

A Thought on Parshios Tazria Metzora

"...mi'chutz le'macha'neh moshavo..." "...his dwelling shall be beyond the camp..." (13:46) In discussing the penalties facing the metzora - the spiritually wayward and physically afflicted person - the Torah orders him into virtual quarantine, exiling him to a place outside of the Jewish community. Our Sages notice the word "moshavo" which can mean both a dwelling place and a place of sitting. It is not unlike the word "yeshiva" which can refer to a place of sitting or a place where one dwells in the Tent of Torah. Given that the word can also mean a "sitting place", Chazal derive a number of halachos, rules governing the ritual status of this metzora. If, for example, he is sitting beneath a tree and another person stands nearby, the latter contracts the ritual impurity of the metzora through contagion. Conversely, if a person sits beneath that tree and a metzora stands nearby, no contagion occurs. These laws are associated with the use of the word "sitting" in determining the status of this impure person. Rabbeinu Avigdor develops these principles through careful halachic analysis: he notes that our Sages differentiate standing from sitting, and that they also consider a person who sits on an animal to be sitting if the animal is still, but moving if the animal is in transit even though the rider is in essence sitting still. Now, there is a halacha that we are bound to show respect when a person of great stature passes by. We offer hidur, which means we rise up partially to acknowledge that he is moving past us. When that great person, however, is in a room with us and stands up, we are not bound to offer that gesture of respect in his honor. We are allowed to remain sitting, assuming that we are engaged in something important such as Torah study. The Sages conclude from analysis of our verse's focus on "sitting" and its accompanying rules about sitting versus standing that here too, in the matter of when to offer hidur, that if that distinguished person passes by while riding (in transit), he is still consider "in motion" and we must stand up and show honor for him. Sitting while in motion is not consider sitting, but is consider "walking" or moving. Rabbeinu Avigdor now extrapolates further with these derived concepts: if you are astride an animal and the animal is in transit, what do you do if you need to daven? You are sitting still in one "place" but your steed is in motion. Are you regarded as a person sitting or as a person walking? If the animal stands still, are you regarded as sitting or as standing? In turn, back to that distinguished rider: if the animal is in motion, then he is also in motion and we must stand up for him. What if the animal stands still? Is the rider regarded as standing or as sitting? Since we consider a riding person as a walking person and not as a sitting person, then a person sitting still on an unmoving animal should also be considered as "not sitting". If that is true, then if you need to pray but are sitting on an unmoving animal, you are regarded not as "sitting" but as "standing" just like the animal! The halacha should follow, then, that you can daven while sitting astride a still animal. That would mean that you do not have to dismount and stand still, but can sit still and commence your prayers. In contrast, once the animal starts walking even though you remain in your sitting-still position, you are regarded as a person in motion and should not pray. This is the position, or stance, of Rabbeinu Avigdor. Other authorities differentiate between a moving animal with a rider versus a moving animal being led by someone else while the rider prays. Once again, Rabbeinu Avigdor Ha'Tzarfati Ba'al haPsakim astounds us with his ability to analyze Biblical verses through the lens of Chazal, and to see within their scope some very practical laws for daily Torah life. Good Shabbos. D Fox