Wanna Do It?
‘If you sacrifice a Todah offering, it is be to your Ratzon. On that very day it must be eaten, none left over till morning; I am Hashem.’ What is this ‘Ratzon’ we are urged to? Why remind us that He is Hashem?
Often, a person brings a korban out of obligation. This willl never do for Todah, the thanksgiving offering. For Todah must be offered with gusto, energy and thrill. A sullen Thank-You is worthless. Yeah! power – thats ‘Ratzon’.
And that may be why its eaten all in one day, because this is showing appetite and enthusiasm in the korban. Be all into it!
We too thank Hashem a few times a day; Modim, benching, brachos and so on. Look a bit alive, will ya?
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TimeSpace
The Sforno explains the pasuk: ‘It is Shabbos before Hashem in all your dwellings’ that each part of the world has a different time zone. The Torah tells that Shabbos starts at each location at its time, not for the entire world at once.
Shabbos has no specific time? Does it not affect all the world at the same time?
It would seem that time itself is not absolute – the same in all places – rather it is tied to place, similar to any physical object. Time exists as a point in the universe, and as the world spins, we pass through time, much as we pass through place.
For example: the hour of ‘exactly four hundred hours’ since creation of the world exists at different places in different times. As the world spins, it becomes that time progressively around the world.
This seems difficult to conceptualize: when the world was created every part of it came into existence at once, presumably. An hour later, each and every part was exactly an hour old, no matter where it stood. So how can it be that different parts of the world reach the four hundred hour mark at different times?
Perhaps it needs to be explained a bit differently: Time, in fact, is an aspect of matter. Matter exists as a time-object. Time is a property just like heat and cold is. We can say that this part of the globe is cold right now, and the next part of the globe will become cold when it reaches that place too. So too, it becomes Shabbos in different places at different times.
Time and space are interdependent. Something Einstein would say?
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Accomplished And Happy
What is the nexus between keeping from pleasure on Yom Kippur, and refraining from doing work on Yom Kippur? The Torah goes back and forth between the two, indicating connection. What might that be?
The idea behind Yom Kippur is humbling oneself; acting meek and guilty. Its power lies in the posture we assume, not in the fasting itself. Fasting is referred to here as ‘humbling’, for that is what it embodies here. Acting humble and contrite brings forgiveness. Even a sworn enemy who humbles himself is forgiven! When we humble ourselves before Hashem, He forgives us.
Accomplishment is related to feeling power and ability. Doing makes us feel good about ourselves. Feeling powerful, and feeling meek don’t mix. So not working and fasting are related; they foster meekness, which makes Hashem forgiving.
What’s the takeaway? 1. Its good to feel low before Hashem, and 2. to feel good about ourselves we need to accomplish!
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Believing In Hashem Too Much
“…The Man ‘went out’ and cursed Hashem”
Why did he do it? Rashi explains the Torah’s intro, ‘he went out…’, in three ways;
1. He left (= lost!) his share in the world to come,
2. He ‘came out’ of the previous parshah where it instructs putting bread on the shulchan table a whole week before being eaten. He said ‘A king eats fresh bread. How is it that Hashem gets week-old bread?’
3. The curser had a disagreement with other Jews, and ‘he went out’ of Beis Din the loser. Why curse Hashem if his quarrel was with Bes Din?
The kinderlach suggested that he blamed Hashem, whose laws made him lose in court.
We suggested that when people ruin their own lives, they usually turn around and blame Hashem. Wicked people curse Hashem for their bad luck, tzaddikim piously accept Hashem’s judgment; neither realizing that it has much to do with their own behaviors. They caused their troubles, not Hashem. “From Hashem’s mouth does not come the good and the bad, [rather] Man ought to consider his own actions” – Meggilas Eicha.
People accept ‘Hashem’s judgment’ even when it had nothing to do with Him. And the flip side is that someone lost a court case and cursed Hashem! Please, lets not be so frum…!
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Curses!
“…and he went out and cursed Hashem’s Name…” What’s the background story? Why curse Hashem?
One version: when he heard that leave bread an entire week before Hashem he laughed; Only fresh bread is brought to a king, can the King of Kings have week-old bread?!’. So he went ahead and cursed Hashem.
What does laughing have to do with cursing? Perhaps it does seem strange that week-old bread is before Hashem, but what of it?
Human response is strange. Confronted by a strange-seeming mitzvah, we do not take the obvious path – that the weirdness indicates that Moshe made it up – rather we reject the Mitzvah even if its Word of Hashem. Small little people, taking on lord Hashem Himself…!
Tell a feminist about seemingly masculine Mitzvos and she responds ‘I cannot accept that’. Not – mind you – ‘Are you sure its the absolute Word of G-d?’. Rather that be it so or not, it’s unacceptable. A human rejecting G-d.
This is normal behavior. It makes no sense, but we are wired to feel entitled to accept or reject Hashem based on if He makes sense to us.
The curser rejected Hashem. He heard a Mitzvah that made no sense to him and rejected G-d Himself. Later on, when faced with difficulty, he went on to curse Him, for he had already rejected Hashem in his heart.
Part of our mission here is to sell ourselves on Hashem. To accept Him, to embrace Him. To convince ourselves that its okay not to understand. To relinquish our ego. Its not easy.
How can we accept our limitations? Perhaps consider all the other things we don’t understand and allow that we are perhaps a teeny weeny bit fallible…
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Its Not How You Say It, Its What You Say…
How was the curser punished?
‘Take the person who cursed and stone him.
And tell the Jewish people: he who curses will bear heavy sin.
The one who has cursed Hashem is to be killed etc.
And the man who kills his fellow shall die. If he kills an animal he shall pay for it etc.
And should he wound his fellow man as he did shall be done to him etc.’
Why is this talk of damages pertinent here? This belongs in Mishpatim, where damages are discussed; why does it appear here?
The Torah places cursing Hashem into context: A person cursing Hashem has attacked Hashem. It’s actually pretty hard to attack Hashem; who is invisible and intellectually incomprehensible. Yet using words – speech – to curse Him, constitutes a hit on Hashem.
So it’s part of a series; hurting Hashem, hurting a fellowman, and hurting an animal.
The legal definition of cursing Hashem is saying ‘May Yossi hit Yossi!’ (e.g. substitute Hashem’s name for ‘Yossi’). Anything less is frivolous, for who besides Hashem can hurt Him? Although wishing Him to hit Himself sounds odd (- do you expect Him to carry this out?!) yet this works; For Man has been given power, truly awesome power.
Rethink our tongue’s power! And rethink the power in our blessing and praying; our words do effect!
P.S. Often, we daaven quickly, anxious to get back to work, to get stuff done. Ironically, this is like a crew arming up a tank or fighter jet before battle and saying ‘Lets get going! All this missile loading is so pointless – lets fight already!’ I don’t think so. Without ammo, your tank action will be kinda ineffectual…
Sam, the newbie salesman: Visiting a business, he shmoozes with the clerk, instead of spending his time pitching the boss upstairs. He reasons that the clerk actually writes out the order, so he better get onto his good side. Silly! The clerk writes what the big boss tells him to. Go upstairs and chat up the boss!
At prayer we are granted direct appeal to the Boss. That’s where the real action is. The workplace, however, is the clerk, merely writing out the check. Focus more on the boss, and less on the clerk!
Shabbos too. Shabbos is not down-time. Rather, Shabbos is the source of bracha for the entire week. Its when we fuel up and load the missiles. Shouldn’t we make an effort to get into Shabbos early, and leave it late?
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WhoDunIt?
One fellow wanted to put his tent with Dan. They shooed him away. He took the case to Beis Din and was found .to be in the wrong. He cursed Hashem. He was executed for his efforts. Ah, what an altogether unfortunate episode.
That Dannite who protested, and caused the generation of so much pain: Why did he do it? Was he correct in speaking up?
The kinderlach had several thoughts;
1. Perhaps there was a limited area granted to Dan. Another family moving in, meant less space for the rest of them. There was no real need or justification for Mr. Curser to move specifically there: there was ample place assigned for those with no family. (- Where the Eruv Rav lived)
It would be wrong – because it was damaging to others – to welcome him in!
1. As events later proved, he was thoroughly rotten. His low lineage was reflected in his actions and words. Mr Dan may have already known of him, and did not want this bum’s kids teaching his own swear-words or bad behavior. So he threw him out. I can understand that.
2. The Torah wanted Shvatim living separately; each as a tribe. An admixture of outsiders would spoil the scheme of things. Much as they personally welcome outsiders into their community, this was not what the Torah had wanted from them, at this time.
3. A related idea: Hashem had wanted people defined by patriarchal lineage. Mr. Wannabe Dannite presented his matriarchal lineage. The Dannite rebuked him for contravening and undermining the Torah dictate by moving in. Rebuking a sinner is a Torah value.
4. The Dan person was simply selfish, keeping outsiders out. It would indeed have been much better had he been gracious about it. Yet for all that, he was within his rights. He was not nice, but cannot be faulted for the outcome.
5. Or was he truly guilty in this sorry episode….?
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The Secret Code
When one sinner cursed Hashem, he was jailed until Hashem decreed judgment. The Gemarah tells us that we cannot learn Halachik principle from this story because it was irregular (“chiddush hu”). Rashi explains that there was no legal basis to jail him, because cursing Hashem had not yet been defined as a sin! (And in modern legal terms, a crime is defined by its consequences. This had not been!)
So why did they lock him up?!? Although unstated, certain things go without saying. The people felt in their bones that this cannot be tolerated. Their reaction proved correct. Indeed, he was sentenced to death. In any event, they needed to react and stand for Hashem, even were there no punishment.
This is a SIXTH chelek of shulchan aruch; besides the standard four, and besides the fifth one – common sense,- another code exists, though written nowhere. This is the Code Of Devotion to Hashem. Its real, and it exists in the hearts of people devoted to Him. And it justifies things that are stated nowhere, but are understood by anyone with a heart aflame with love to Hashem.
I can think of many instances where this code is evinced. Can you?
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We spoke about Rashi’s axiom that one who is sticks out his neck on behalf of Hashem, yet is sure that Hashem will save him, will indeed not be saved. No miracle will be offered him. The logic seems to be, that this fellow who is sure of salvation has indeed not sacrificed himself, for he is quite sure that he is safe. And miracles can only be granted in merit of self-sacrifice.
Paradoxically, one’s trust in Hashem’s salvation proves to downgrade the level of ones dedication. So is one not to trust in Hashem’s salvation??
The simple answer is that one needs to know that Hashem can always help. He is boss. But we submit to His will, and we do not know what it will be. And we accept it nonetheless. That is true acceptance.