Shabbat-B'Shabbato – Parshat Devarim

No 1434: 9 Av 5772 (28 July 2012)

AS SHABBAT APPROACHES

Mourning for the Temple - by Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg, Rosh Yeshiva, Kerem B'Yavne

The mourning for the Temple leads us to thoughts about sacrifices, but the prophets disparaged their significance, as we read in this week's Haftorah, "Why do I need all of your sacrifices, G-d says" [Yeshayahu 1:11]. It is written with respect to Shmuel and David, "They sat in Nayot... they are at Nayot, in Ramah" [Shmuel I 19:18, 19:22] – How is Nayot connected to Ramah? The answer is that they sat and were occupied with the beauty of the world" (From the word "noy," beauty, referring to the Temple). [Yalkut Shimoni, Yehoshua 24]. As Rav Kook wrote, "They were involved in matters pertaining to the Temple, which would transform the world from its ugly state and make it beautiful."

It is written that when the world was created the Almighty took Adam aside and said to him, "Look how beautiful My works are, take care not to ruin My world." [Kohellet Rabba 7]. That hour is described by the verse that tells us that G-d "was walking in the garden" [Bereishit 3:8]. The presence of the Shechina in the world is what makes it beautiful, but mankind has ruined the world and made it ugly by causing the Shechina to leave. The purpose of the Temple is to bring the Shechina back to the world and to make it beautiful once again. For this to happen, the world needs that the nation of Yisrael will be in Eretz Yisrael. As the Ramban wrote, if the nation of Yisrael would not exist in the world, "all of creation would have been in vain" [Devarim 32:26].

The world is indeed developing from the technological and scientific point of view, and we are all happy about that, but the nation of Yisrael is not happy because we know that the world remains far away from its ultimate objective. As Rav Kook wrote:

"The community of Yisrael knows deep within itself... that all the progress of the world and of mankind... from the time of the destruction of the Temple... is merely an external and technical advance."

This is not what will bring the world to its ultimate goal. And that is why we mourn so for the Temple and eagerly await the return of the beauty of the world. That is why the daily prayers begin with matters pertaining to the Temple and ends with a prayer, "Let it be Your will that the Temple will be rebuilt..."

"A voice is heard at Ramah, the cry of weeping, it is Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be consoled for her sons who is no longer there" [Yirmiyahu 31:14]. What is the connection between Rachel crying and Ramah? Wasn't she buried on the road to Efrat, in the heritage of the tribe of Yehuda, while Ramah is in the heritage of Binyamin? Based on the above Midrash, Rav Kook explains that the main reason for Rachel's weeping is not the suffering of her children but rather the ideal of Yisrael and the Temple. Who will be able to transform the ugly world into a beautiful one while Yisrael remains in exile? This explains why the above verse ends in the singular, "who is no longer there," while logically it should be in the plural, "who are no longer there." The GRA says that this in fact is a reference to the Holy One, Blessed be He, who no longer appears in the world. And that is the main reason for the weeping.

The following appears in Naomi Shemer's song, Jerusalem of Gold: "Look how the cisterns have dried out / The market square is empty." A leftist poet complained about this line, claiming that the market is not empty but is full of Arabs. And this was Shemer's reply:

"In my eyes, Jerusalem without Jews is a desolate city in mourning. Not only is this so, but Eretz Yisrael without Jews appears to me to be a spiritual desert. In addition, if the entire world would be empty of any Jews, it would be a black hole in the universe."

POINT OF VIEW

The Talmud for Separate Groups - by Rabbi Yisrael Rozen, Dean of the Zomet Institute

"Why was the land destroyed? ... It was because they abandoned My Torah" [Yirmiyahu 9:11-12]. "Rav Yehuda says in the name of Rav: They did not make a blessing before studying the Torah" [Bava Metzia 85b].

"Moshe wrote the entire Torah by his own hand before he died, and he gave one scroll to each and every tribe, and he put one scroll in the Ark as testimony" [Rambam, Introduction to the Yad Hachazaka].

Study

This week marks the end of the twelfth cycle of the Daf Yomi, daily learning of a single page of the Talmud. This project was established 89 years ago in Poland by Rabbi Meir Shapiro of Lublin and consists of the "study" of the 2711 pages of the Shas – the Talmud. (This is based on the Vilna edition of the Talmud, which has taken on a sanctity that will never change. All Torah references cite the Talmud according to this number scheme which was established by the publishing house of "The Re'em Widow and Brothers.") The full cycle takes about seven and a half years to complete, and it "unifies" all those involved in Torah study all over the world, as described in the vision of Rabbi Shapiro:

"Here is a Jew who goes on a journey for two weeks, and under his arm he carries with him the tractate of Berachot. When he arrives in the United States he enters a Beit Midrash where he finds Jews studying the very same page that he himself reached this very day, and he gleefully joins them. He starts a lively discussion with them and they reply, and the result is the great name of G-d is glorified, is enhanced, and increases in holiness. Can there be any more concrete expression of the exalted alliance between the Holy One, Blessed be He, the Torah, and Yisrael?"

In the first paragraph above I put two words in quotes. The first is "study." Based on my own personal experience, in large segments of the Talmud this consists of superficial reading by rote, often with large skips for personal reasons and to keep in step with the schedule. In spite of this, we should not belittle the great enterprise, which provides its own reward, and involves being "occupied" with the Torah (and this does not necessarily mean study), "maintaining a regular Torah schedule," and keeping an open channel to the main focal point of the oral Torah – the Babylonian Talmud. And we should not forget that something does get absorbed, and quite often not just a small something! And this is certainly important too.

Unification?

The second word in quotes in the first paragraph is that this enterprise "unifies" – as described in the vision of the founder, establishing "the exalted alliance between the Holy One, Blessed be He, the Torah, and Yisrael." Does it really enhance the unity among different sectors of Bnei Yisrael? I want to point out that there will be four (or more) giant productions marking the end of the Daf Yomi cycle (aside from another one in English and many more outside of Israel). The lines of separation seem to follow the accepted segmentation of our people: Chassidim, "Lita'im," religious Zionists, and those from the Eidot Hamizrach. It can be assumed that in all the gatherings very similar and even exactly the same things will be said, and the appearance of the leadership at each affair will be very similar. I assume that in all the meetings, the speakers will not forget to emphasize the praise of unity and gathering together around the Torah, and they will all be very careful not to give any hints that "others" have also gathered under very similar circumstances.

To tell the truth, it could not be otherwise. As a realist, I do not have any expectations, not even in a dream, that such a gathering will give us the privilege of seeing a presidium made up of all the segments of the religious community, which is so divided across political and ideological lines. The question of who will lead the meeting, and the organization of the seating and sequence of speakers, are absolutely unsolvable problems. I have always wondered how it would be possible to reestablish the Sanhedrin, where the rabbis sit "according to their level of wisdom" (Rambam Hilchot Sanhedrin 1:7). This demand alone would lead to immediate failure of any attempt of appointing a Sanhedrin before the arrival of the Mashiach, who will "refine and purify" all disagreements in Bnei Yisrael.

Honor

In essence, there is no event that is as "neutral" from an ideological point of view as the end of a Daf Yomi cycle. If the matter depended solely on the participants of these programs, they could easily sit around one table and find many common topics related to their study. However, the focal point of these events is not to honor the Torah and those who are studying it but rather to honor the prominent personalities who sit at the "eastern" wall of their communities. And here, in the matter of honor, there is no room at all for any compromise. What's more, a public show of mutual respect for a "great" man from another sector might be interpreted, G-d forbid, as legitimizing a (slightly) different world outlook. And that is something that can never be tolerated in the world of Torah.

Possession

In the beginning of this article we quoted a declaration by the sages that is worthy of being repeated on the Ninth of Av: "Why was the land destroyed? ... They did not make a blessing before studying the Torah." This can be viewed as relevant to the topic we are discussing here, to the attempt of a specific sector of the nation to take possession of the Torah. To "bless" means to view something favorably. To "bless the Torah" means to recognize that "others" have a part in the same Torah. But, as we all know, in the end the Temple was destroyed because of unfounded hatred...

With respect to divisions and separations in Torah matters, these evidently began from the days of Moshe – or, more accurately, from the moment of his death. We quoted above the introduction by the Rambam to his monumental work – that on the day he died Moshe wrote thirteen copies of the Torah "and gave one Torah scroll to each and every tribe" (the source for this is Devarim Rabba 9:9). In this description I see not only dissemination of the Torah after Moshe's death but also a separation of the Torah among the various sectors and communities, tribe by tribe. "There shall be one Torah for the inhabitant and the stranger" [Shemot 12:49]. Evidently this refers to plain folks but not to Torah masters. Moshe gave the leaders of the tribes identical but separate Torah scrolls. Only when the Mashiach comes will we be privileged to reveal once again the thirteenth scroll, which was placed "in the Ark for testimony" but for the time being has been hidden away.

So be it! The main thing for now is that the Torah should never leave our lips and shall not be forgotten by our offspring forever and ever.

SOMETHING FOR THE SOUL

Showing the Uniqueness of G-d in His World - by Rabbi Shlomo Levy, Rosh Yeshivat Hesder Rishon Letzion and Head of the Torah Garin

This week we mark the fast of the Ninth of Av. This day encompasses two themes: First is the awesome sorrow and the feeling of great lack because of the destruction of our holy and glorious Temple. Our second emotion is yearning and hope, together with our belief in the construction of the Third Temple, which will never be destroyed, as is described in the Midrash – on the day the Temple was destroyed the Mashiach was born. We are at a point in time which is in an intermediate period after the terrible destruction, but our eyes are fixated on the day when the Temple will be rebuilt. Therefore, we must try to understand what the Divine guidance demands from us and how we are meant to express these two themes on the Ninth of Av. How will we fulfill the desire of the sages, to "bring about the days of the Mashiach" [Berachot] in the sense understood by Chassidic thought? What must we do in order to bring the days of the Mashiach closer?

The Prayers of Moshe and Menasheh

The Midrash describes two instances of prayer, one which was accepted and the other which was not. The prayer by Moshe broke through all the levels of heaven, but then a heavenly voice declared in the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He, that Moshe's request to enter Eretz Yisrael would be denied. Why was this so? Or Hachaim explains that the Holy One, Blessed be He, knew in advance that Bnei Yisrael would sin, and if Moshe had entered the land with them and built the Temple, G-d would never have destroyed it. The result would be that G-d's anger would be vented on people and not on stones.

On the other hand, the sages describe the prayer of the King of Israel, Menasheh, who said: Master of the Universe, if you accept me that is good, but if not I will return to worship idols. All the angels wanted to block this prayer, but the Holy One, Blessed by He, decreed that it would be accepted. As the sages state, "He dug himself a channel underneath the Throne of Glory" [Ruth Rabba 5:6]. Thus, Menasheh succeeded where Moshe failed!

What can we learn from the impudent dialogue of Menasheh with the Almighty, such that G-d accepts his remarkable plea? We might say that on a deep level what happened is the following: Menasheh stands before G-d and says to Him, if you will not accept Menasheh, the King of Israel, who sinned and caused others to sin, because such a person cannot be accepted by G-d, it is clear that Your mercy has some limit. But then You are not infinite, and I might just as well worship the idols. The Master of the Universe wants to show all the creatures that His mercy has no limit. The Holy One, Blessed be He, accepts Menasheh's repentance, but not because Menasheh is at the center of the matter – his role is that of a channel to demonstrate the unlimited mercy of the Creator. In the same way the Holy One, Blessed be He, refuses to accept Moshe's prayer - but Moshe is not the main issue, he is used as a channel to show G-d's infinite mercy for Yisrael.