Wednesday, August 21, 2013

A Thought on Parshas Ki Tavo

"...Ki Tavo el ha'aretz..." "...when you come to the Land..." (26:1) Every year we close the Pesach Seder and proclaim "L'shana ha'baa b'Yerushalayim!" Next year in Jerusalem! Jews around the world use this expression during times of joy, during times of hopefulness, and as an almost generic salutation upon ending an event. Ever wonder what people used to say when we were in Jerusalem? Ever wonder what people would use as a general proclamation of joy and hopefulness when our greatest joy and hope were already actualized? Rabbeinu Avigdor cites a midrashic elucidation of the Bringing of the First Fruits - Bikurim - as introduced in our parsha. The midrash explains that a person would bring those First Fruits up to Jerusalem into the Mikdash. Then, before bowing to HaShem and leaving, he would pray for Divine compassion for himself, for the Jewish people, and for the Land of Israel. Then, the person would declare "I shall not budge from here until You announce to me that You shall fulfill all that I ask today, and attend to all of my needs." The midrash then says in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish that a bas kol, an echo, would resound from Above as if in response to those who brought their First Fruits, "May it be His will that you return and offer your first fruits next year! Yehi ratzon sh'tisha'neh v'titen l'shanna ha'baa." It would seem to me that Rabbeinu Avigdor is reminding us that "the Hope" - HaTikva - is not time limited. It does not terminate in getting back to Israel and Jerusalem. The hope lives on, and shall live on even when we are escorted b'chesed Elyon back from galus. No person should ever dream of complacency and expect all of the avodas HaShem to somehow end once we achieve Shivas Tzion.This was an error of some of the early pioneers who felt that the mitzvos could be set aside once we had a homeland to preserve us, as if we no longer required a faith system. Chas v'Shalom! Rabbeinu Avigdor actually contends that when the verse says (26:14) v'lo sasur mi'kol ha'devarim - you must not stray from any of these conditions - it means that one should never think "I have labored most of my life to fulfill HaShem's commandments; my past deeds will all suffice henceforth." Not straying means not concluding that there is ever an end to our role and mission in HaShem's world. So - we now say "Next year in Jerusalem!" In the times to come when we are in fact living our lives in Jerusalem, when shall then proclaim "Next year may we still be here, and still be serving HaShem!" "Next year in Jersualem" will become "Next year may we still deserve to be in Jerusalem". Good Shabbos. D Fox

A thought on Parshas Ki Seitze

"...ki kil'a'las Elokim talui..." "...for cursed Above is the one who must be hung..." (21:23) There were cases in the history of halacha when the Great Court would execute an offender and his corpse would be hung briefly. There was a time limit to that last phase, however, for the Torah tells us here that a hanging corpse defiles his surroundings at many levels. There are a number of drashos associated with the wording of this verse. Rabbeinu Avigdor introduces one which will delight my wife's safety-conscious heart. He first brings a historical note: the paradigm in Biblical history for death by hanging is Haman in Megillas Esther. Haman was from Amalek, a nation who we are bidden to blot out. In that sense, Rabbeinu Avigdor now darshans that we might understand our verse as an allusion to how "the one who was hung (Haman) is cursed." Rabbeinu Avigdor now fortifies this with the Yerushalmi (Megilla 3:7) that instructs us that one must declare on Purim that Haman is cursed. He then makes note of how our verse is contiguous to the reference in the section on ben sorrer u'moreh which speaks about the wayward person's overindulgence and drunkenness. He then observes how the Bavli (Megilla 7b) instructs that one is obligated "l'b'sumae" on Purim, which is usually understood as a requirement to get drunk. This would all fit in to the gestalt of hung person, cursed person, and drunkenness. Hence, the halachic follow-through would be that on the day when we must curse Haman the Hung, we must also indulge in a meat meal and alcohol. So far, we have a taste of Rabbeinu Avigdor the Posek and the Darshan. Now, however, he becomes the MeDakdek - the precise grammarian. We note that in the Sha'iltos (a very early Gaonic work on halacha), the word used to describe our Purim obligation is "l'iv'sumae" which means to get drunk. However, observes Rabbeinu Avigdor, this may be an incorrect spelling, since in our gemara above, our text says l'b'sumae. This latter spelling is not reflexive. It means "to help other people celebrate" (through drinking). It stands to reason, asserts Rabbeinu Avigdor, that the Talmud would not obligate a person to get drunk himself, since a person cannot really do mitzvos nor enjoy himself if he is drunk and disoriented. So, the obligation is to take joy in letting others drink and celebrate, but for a wise and happy person to remain composed himself. The head of the house maintains composure and focuses on the fulfillment of the more cognitive and behavioral aspects of the day. Rabbeinu Avigdor rules that a person who is wise and happy will allow others to indulge while he remains in charge and in control. He is the designated supplier. There may be no basis to the notion that the goal is to become inebriated and raucous. Overindulgence and wild intoxication remain, as the earlier verse says, zolel v'sovae - a disgrace. Good Shabbos. D Fox

Friday, August 09, 2013

Another Thought on Parshas Shoftim

I am always happy to get feedback on my weekly ParshaThoughts. I certainly expected them this week, in that the approach used by Rabbeinu Avigdor was decidedly halachic in focus, and he educated us about the history (and geography) of his time in implementing a challenging psak. He linked this to the opening verse of the parsha, which instructs us to appoint judges and officers in all of our gates. You can re-read the piece if you wish. In short, he was discussing management of one who betrays other Jews and is a catalyst to their sustaining financial losses. Rabbeinu Avigdor was discussing the masur. Now, my learned friend Rav David Derovan shlit'a who left Los Angeles years ago to reside and teach in Israel, was the first to respond. He noted that I used the term masur, rather than the grammatically correct, and colloquially spoken, "moser." My NY based colleague and friend Dr. Asher Lipner shlit'a also noted this. My dear chaver R' Hymie Barber of LA told me that I was "bold" to write what I wrote. I must respond. The word for a treacherous informer is masur. How do I know this? Firstly, because that is what Rabbeinu Avigdor calls him. He refers to him as a masur. Now, how did Rabbeinu Avigdor know this? You will find on daf 62a in Bava Kama that our sages also refer to him as a masur. Now, you might ask, to be moser means to turn someone over or turn them in which is what a masur does. A masur is the one who gets turned in, correct? Well, if you will look in the commentary of Tosfos Yom Tov on Mishnayos Nedarim 10:3, he explains how moser becomes masur and how other Talmudic terms seem to merge from the transitive to the reflexive in order to satisfy certain principles of linguistics. I actually came across a teshuva on this many years ago in Yeshivas Chevron - Geula in a sefer called Rosh Eliahu, volume 3, Choshen Mishpat #41, which examines this closely. [Chevron - Geula has a great Otzar Sefarim where I learn afternoons when I finish in the Bais Din while in Jerusalem.] The author notes that Chazal may have selected the term masur - the one who has been given over - because when a Jew turns against another Jew, he has given himself over to "Sitra Achra" - the ominous unholy Other Side. Others opine that the term masur means that "his fate has already been consigned to Shomayim." TosfosYom Tov offers that he heard a drasha from Rabbi Loewe (probably the MaHaRal) that the traitor is called a masur to teach us that one day, his day will come and he too will be given over; he will have to answer for his treachery. Remember that Rabbeinu Avigdor was French, by the way, where they say,"Oui, Masur." So - the word is masur. The word is not moser, even though we tend to pronounce it moser. I hope that you now understand both the Torah and the Masurah. Good Shabbos. D Fox

A Thought on Parshas Shoftim

"...Shoftim v'shotrim ti'ten lecha b'kol sha'arecha..." "...Judges and officers you shall appoint in all your gates..." (16:8) In the land of Israel in earlier holier times, the judges of the Torah courts ruled with utter authority. The criteria for selecting judges were vast and demanding. In contrast, those who resided outside of Israel were not eligible to serve as judges with that same authority. The Talmud assigned lesser authority to the learned men of the gola - the Diaspora. Later sages disputed the range and scope of authority granted to such judges. A question which arose among the Rishonim in Europe was how to deal with the masor - one who turned on his fellow Jew and caused him unsanctioned financial losses. In the times of the Talmud, this matter had been debated as well, yet the matter remained unresolved even ten centuries later. Rabbeinu Chananel ruled that Diaspora courts could not rule on penalizing the masor for being a catalyst to another's loss. Meanwhile, Rav Hai Gaon ruled that if the victim would take an oath that his loss was caused by the masor, then the masor could be ordered to pay half of the damages. Other Gaonim held that if one could prove that he had sustained a major loss, the Diaspora courts were entitled to rule under the principle of "dina d'garmi" - causing indirect damage. Rabbeinu Tam, the foremost French authority of the Tosafos school, disagreed, considering garmi and knas'os (levied fines) beyond the scope of judges presiding outside of Israel. Rabbeinu Avigdor introduced a novel level of legislation: he asserted that the Diaspora courts were authorized to place the masor in nidui - banning him from further community affiliation, then appointing seven "Tuvei Ha'Ir" - prominent citizens - to assess the damage incurred and to extract payment for this from the masor. This provided a mechanism for collection in those cases which were beyond the authority of those courts. Rabbeinu Avigdor then lines up all of the authorities who supported this ruling. His list illuminates the world of Torah during the 13th century. He writes that using the tool of nidui was approved by Rabbeinu Tam, Rabbeinu Yitzchak, Rabbeinu Yitzchak ben Avraham, "the Elders of Elsor" (near Bordeaux and Alsace), the Rabbis of Allemagne (Provence), all of the Rabbis of France, Champagne, Anjou and Poitou (French provinces), and Rabbeinu Simcha of Speyer, who permitted using this banishment as a means of recovering one's losses through the treachery of the masor. He then added that virtually all of France's rabbis followed this practice, as had Rabbeinu Yitzchak of Fez (the Rif), citing the "two great Babylonian academies" who held that whereas one cannot rule on "penalty" judgements in the Diaspora, a Rabbinic court may excommunicate a non-compliant aggressor until he compensates his victim, or until he agrees to go to Israel to have the matter heard in court there. This helps us understand the meaning of our verse "appoint both judges and officers in all your gates" - when in exile where we have no full judges in our gates, we still can appoint officers to assure that justice is not averted. Thus ruled Rabbeinu Avigdor the Posek. Good Shabbos. D Fox

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

A Thought on Parshas Re'eh

"...v'somachta lifnei HaShem..." "...and you shall rejoice before HaShem..." (16:11) We are familiar with the Torah's instruction to rejoice during the three festivals. The Torah emphasizes this with regard to Shavuos and Sukkos. However, this is not referenced with regard to Pesach. This is puzzling, because we have a lot to rejoice over during the yom tov of Pesach. Why is there no instruction to rejoice, as there is on the other two holy days? Rabbeinu Avigdor suggests that the theme of Pesach is remembering our departure from Egypt. Whereas the exodus is a cause of joy in our collective memory, the harsh exile which preceded our exodus also requires commemoration on Pesach. This means that full simcha cannot take place during that festival. We recall the joy of exodus yet we also relive the trauma of exile. Hence, there is no specific instruction to be purely joyful. In turn, the Torah references the commemoration of exodus with regard to Pesach and also Shavuos. It does not mention the exodus with reference to Sukkos. Rabbeinu Avigdor suggests that since Sukkos is meant to a time of great joy and abject simcha, it is not fitting to introduce the exodus nuance in that it is accompanied with sadder memories of exile and bondage. Rabbeinu Avigdor goes on the note that Sukkos and Pesach are seven-day festivals, whereas Shavuos is only one day. He suggests that the latter two coincide with the end of the planting season and the end of the growing season. Neither require any ongoing labor on our part, so we are "free" to extend our festivals for a full week of pilgrimage and celebration. Shavuos, in contrast, is the beginning of the harvest season. We have much to do. The Torah summons us for a single day because we have much else to attend to. In instructing us to observe the festivals, the Torah says that we should be "ach sameach". This is usually meant to mean "only happy" yet we have a principle that the word "ach" also implies a limitation or a diminution. How does that principle apply to rejoicing on yom tov? How is it that we are commanded to celebrate yet the Torah alludes to a constrained simcha? Rabbeinu Avigdor writes that the Torah is hinting at a reality: we strive for spiritual heights in this existence yet we all face the existential dilemma that our experience in this world, in this life, is transitory and often reveals our failings to actualize our selves and our society. With this in mind, a spiritually ascendant person is also sobered by his mortality and his strife in trying to achieve his or her life purpose. Hence, the Torah subtly hints that we should work towards being joyful yet HaShem knows fully that our finest efforts therein may feel constrained by the travail and pressures that are part of existence in olam ha'zeh. Good Shabbos. D Fox