Close To Torah

There is a well known gemara in Yevamos 62b that discusses the passing of the students of the great and illustrious Rebbi Akiva. The gemara says that they did not show respect to each other. Such a tragic event to befall Bnai Yisroel. Not due to the wicked or the heretics, but to those who were the pillars of the world. The ones who would continue the transmission of the Torah. To do something so terrible that would warrant their death, there must be much more than appears.

We know that the time in which the students passed on was between Pesach and Shavuos. During that time we count the omer. We count seven weeks of seven days from the day following the first day of Pesach. On the night that would be the fiftieth we celebrate Shavuos.

During that time period we undergo a transformation. On Pesach we bring an offering of barley, which is primarily considered animal feed. On  Shavuos we bring the Shtai HaLechem an offering of bread, which is food that a human will consume. That is as if we ascend from a level of animal to that of human.

Every night of this seven week period we count another day toward the fiftieth day. Every night we take a stride closer to purifying ourselves of the beastly urges that we have. We make a berachah and count the day of the omer. We use our mouth to say the berachah and to count the days and weeks of the omer.

The Arizal says that the word Pesach can be looked at to be Peh Sach which may mean the mouth that speaks. The idea of this is that on Pesach there are many ideas of speech. We have a mitzvah to discuss the events of the exile from Egypt. We also have the Hallel that we recite on the night of Pesach. We also use our mouth to say the omer which begins following the first day of Pesach.

The mouth is very interesting as it is the same vessel that is used for consuming food as well as breathing as well as speech and finally as a place for intimacy. How can one place be used for all those things? A place that is used for eating, doing that which is one of the most animalistic actions as well as intimacy which may also be considered animalistic. Through the same place we say beautiful words of Torah and daven as well!

I think this is the lesson of Sefiras HaOmer. We are obligated to use our mouths for kedushah on the night of Pesach and then the next day the students of Rebbi Akiva were killed for their lack of respect to their fellow. It must be that during this time period we are held to a very high standard of kedushah. We are coming from a high of Pesach where we must embrace the levels of kedushah and ascend to prepare for Kabbalos HaTorah on Shavuos. Where there is great room for kedushah and growth there is also chas v’shalom room for the opposite. Wherever Hashem allows for tov there must be an allowance for rah as that is the nature of the world after the chayte of the Aitz HaDaas. It is for this reason that we must sanctify ourselves. We must learn from the students of Rebbi Akiva who tragically were cut short of their lives. We must embrace this time period as a time to use our words with kindness. To use our mouth for kedushah not just within our friends but internally as well. We must focus on our tefillos and on our learning. This is a time where we ascend to levles of kedushah that are free from animalistic urges. We must count the omer and look up above and take the next step. May we all be zocheh to use our mouths with care and truly use this time to rise above and make the potential the reality!

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Sefiras HaOmer Ben Adom L’chavaro, Growth, Ruchnius / Gashmius, Yetzer HaRa

Pesach is the time where we find the most interesting customs and stringencies. Pesach has two prohibitions given to it, and the great punishment of kares. Pesach is no more stringent than Shabbos…in fact it is less. Why is it that we treat Pesach with such meticulous care? So you may answer me right away that by Shabbos and Yom HaKippurim the shiur of issur is either a k’zayis or a grogeris…whereas by Pesach its even a ma’shehu. That is true! At the same time, Shabbos comes every seven days and Pesach once a year. It is obvious that the great excitement for Pesach enables us to keep up our best behavior whereas by Shabbos…we start slacking off.

The fact that Shabbos occurs every seven days and Pesach only once a year is because it was needed more often than Pesach. In other words, the affect of Pesach can last us a year and then we need a refresher. By Shabbos…we need it every week. The fact remains that if Shabbos is obligated every week that means that we need it every week. As it is well known from the Chazal, that a Shabbos kept “K’tikunah” would bring the g’eulah. That must mean that we don’t keep Shabbos the way it can be. I still think that means that we would be obligated to keep Shabbos every week, but it is clear that Shabbos has room for improvement.

Where am I going with all of this? I am bothered with the fact that the world goes upside down for Pesach but Shabbos is “just Shabbos”. I had written an article recently on Close To Torah, for Parshas Vayakhel where I made an interesting observation on the beginning pasukim. The Torah says that you should work for six days and the seventh you should rest. I noted that the rest cannot occur without the six days of work. That means that if you do “nothing” for the six days, the rest won’t seem very significant. It is the way that you approach your work during the week that gives more kedushah to Shabbos. What that means is, that when you work during the week with intention to work, and then on Shabbos we rest…that’s not good enough. You should work with intention to rest on Shabbos! What I mean to say is that Shabbos is the purpose of the Creation. That means that all was intended for the sake of Shabbos. In the same vein we should keep this in mind when we are totally involved in our weekly activities. I’m not talking about just doing things for the sake it, I’m talking about that the we should do our work in order so that we can do our rest on Shabbos. Resting on Shabbos isn’t the absence of work, it is an active rest.

The difference between Yomim Tovim and Shabbos, is that on Yom Tov we work…we like to work. We have a hard time resting. Resting!? I love to rest! No, I don’t just mean to sleep, or to lounge around. Rest means to rest from all of the existence of Olam HaZeh, to rest from the constant war of the Yetzer HaRa. To rest by completely involving oneself in a glimpse to the World to Come.

Now on Pesach, we should “work” so that we may rest on Shabbos. May Hashem Yisborach help us to keep all of the laws of Pesach. Not just the laws of Pesach, but the work of Pesach. Ah! The work in this case is the work of growing with the Yom Tov. Going through a Yitzias Mitzrayim, going through a Hallel. Feeling as though we were completely in the chains of our Yetzer HaRa and left in a world without purpose. On Pesach we work to grow in emunah and to extend our relationship with Hashem. On Shabbos we will then take that work and internalize it, to make ourselves fresh to work again. To rest from the work so that we may rest as we awaken to the day that Mashiach Tzidkaynu ends this bitter galus which is a constant reminder that we are not working or resting enough!

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Pesach

ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש שבת שבתון לה’ כל העשה בו מלאכה יומת – Kodesh is given to you. How do you get kedushah only by working six days and the seventh day shall be for you kodesh. It isn’t kodesh just by being sanctified itself, rather through the work of the week can you create the kedushah of Shabbos. Shabbos is not an absence of work but an active state of not working. There is a difference between not working and taking a break. Not working is when you are supposed to work and you choose not to. Taking a break is a time set aside for rejuvenation. Can you have a break if you don’t work? It isn’t only that you cannot have a break without working but the contrast between the two gives more meaning to each. That is kedushah. Kedushah is taking the mere mundane and elevating it by using it for a purpose beyond the ordinary. While we may seem to exist primarily in the mundane world, we are really well beyond a realm of constriction and boundaries. The vast plains of toil in the physical world comprise the corridor to a great existence. The usage of this world is in order that we may be able to do the will of the Almighty in its glory. The greater purpose of our lives is revealed through the lens of Shabbos. Shabbos is the gift that makes everything have a purpose. It is a glimpse to the future which had been the past.

Why is it that the desecration of Shabbos is punishable by death? Perhaps an understanding of this idea is because the purpose of the weekdays are to bring out the Shabbos. Their whole purpose is to create Shabbos. By desecrating the Shabbos you are undoing the reason for the week all together therefore you have taken away your life in that world. That is of course true in the positive as well. When you keep Shabbos it is as though you have given purpose to life once again.

Why is Shabbos the first aspect of this parshah which is specifically directed at the congregation of the Jewish people? The Rokaiach gives a very fundamental answer to this question which seems to be based on the midrash brought in the Yalkut Shimoni. He says for six days we work and are involved in our work, but on Shabbos we must only be involved in the learning of Torah. Shabbos is the time given to be fully immersed in the learning of Torah which will enable the overall observance of mitzvos. It seems from the yalkut that the role of the learning on Shabbos is in order to ensure that the people will keep the mitzvos.

The major subject of this parshah is the tabernacle therefore there must be a reason why the parshah begins with Shabbos. It is well known that the laws of Shabbos are derived from the building of the tabernacle. That means that there is an inherit connection between the building of the tabernacle and the sanctity of Shabbos. The Sages learn from the pasuk אלה הדברים the thirty-nine different labors prohibited on Shabbos. אלה is gematriah thirty-six, דברים which is plural adds another two and the ה adds another one resulting in thirty-nine. Therefore the prohibited acts on Shabbos are enumerated from the pasuk that begins our parshah.

Shabbos is an אות and a ברית. An ose means it is a sign, a bris means a binding relationship. Ose which also literally means a letter is the formation of the thought that is represented in that letter. There are twenty-two different ways of expressing thought in the Torah and each one of those letters contain every single thought. Shabbos is one of the few sets of laws that are learned from gematriah. Perhaps an explanation is because the idea of gematriah is that each letter contains a numerical value. That numerical value is not arbitrary rather it is an expression of the thought behind the letter itself. That is Shabbos. Shabbos represents the completion of the world. Shabbos is one of the things that binds us through a bris to Hashem that makes us unique from the nations. Shabbos contains the deep fundamental ideas that define the Jewish people which qualify to be called an ose. It is an ose because it goes back to the source of the world which is the six days of creation and the day of rest, Shabbos. The gematriah for Shabbos teaches us the amount of the activities done in the building of the tabernacle which also are the prohibitions on Shabbos. The actions that create a place for the divine presence to rest in this world are the same actions which also create a time that is special to Yisroel. Shabbos is the relationship with Hashem through time just as the Land of Yisroel is through place. The Land of Yisroel is of course given its kedushah due to the holy temple. The tabernacle is the first initiative for a place for such a relationship. The kedushah found in the tabernacle is like that which is found on Shabbos. The ose which is the letters of the Torah are what binds the Torah together. The letters of the Torah are the names of the Almighty. The divine presence rests upon anyone who mentions His name, this is through Torah. The Shabbos is the inner thought of the Torah, just as the Torah is just for Yisroel so is Shabbos. Torah is that which transcends time and place. It binds us to Hashem both in the evening and the morning.

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Parshas Vayakhel Kedusha, Limud HaTorah

Some ideas on the Kedushas Seudas Purim.

It is clear from the gemara in Megilah that part of the decree of Achashvayrosh was due to the fact that Bnei Yisroel benefitted from the meal of Achashvayrosh. I found it odd that the gemara doesn’t call it the seudah  of Achashvayrosh rather “אותו הרשע”  while that means Achashvayrosh…it still may hint to other  things.  This seudah embraced every taaveh of every individual. As the pasuk states:

“…על כל רב ביתו לעשות כרצון איש ואיש”

That is to say that every single thing that one of the guests wanted was severed to them. It is said from the Gr”a that this seudah is keneged the Seudas Levyasun, the seudah that will be in the time of Mashiach in the near future. It must be that the seudah that we have on Purim is a bechinah of the seudah that we will be having im yirtzah Hashem soon. It must also be a tikkun for Seudas Achashvayrosh.

It is well known that Purim is keneged Yom Kippurim. One being kolo l’chem the other being kolo l’shem. It is known that the concept of teshuvah is also connected between the two. It is another interesting thing that Erev Yom HaKippurim there is a mitzvah of eating a lot, where as traditionally speaking the day before Purim is a taanis.  It happens to be that this year that isn’t the case, but generally speaking it is, and that is enough to show that they are in fact connected.

I have said it for many years and recently have found that the Sefas Emes says the same. The month of Elul is the end of the year in relation to Midas HaDin whereas Adar is the end of the year in relation to Midas HaChessed. Just as there is a Kabbalos HaTorah in Adar, Purim there must be a Kabbalos HaTorah in Elul. Whereas in Adar it is through Chessed by Elul it will be through din. The same would be true regarding teshuvah. Since Elul is a time for teshuvah so too Adar is a time for teshuvah.

Yom HaKippurim is the only chag that has issuray kares. Whereas by Purim, the Kedushas HaYom is only D’Rabunun. The ikkur Avodah for Yom Kippurim is the Avodas HaKarbonos whereas by Purim the chag is based upon being in galus. On Yom HaKippurim the ikkur mitzvas hayom is teshuvah whereas by Purim it is Simchah. The truth is that the two are really the same. The root of din is chessed. We see that regarding Mes Mitzvah, as it takes precedence to Krias HaMegilah. In other words, that which is called the “chessed shel emes” because the person can never repay you back, is the utmost expression of Midas HaDin, misah. This great madraygah of chessed comes through the greatest of din. That is Yitzchak Avinu, midas hadin. The concept of tzchok which is connected to Sarah Imaynu is Midas HaDin. Ester HaMalkah is of course keneged Sarah Imaynu and there by completing this thought. While I haven’t explained this idea it can be taken in many different ways.

The concept of Havdalah by the end of Shabbos and Yom Tov is being mavdil between Kodesh and Chol. The nature of daas is to be able to separate that which can normally be seen unified but really are separate. The pasuk:

“ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה וששון ויקר”

Is found in Megilas Esther as it is clearly connected to the idea of Seudas Purim. The mitzvah of shtiah ad sheloh yuduh is the expression of אי דעת. This אי דעת is still connected the concept of Havdalah which expresses using daas to separate.

Fraylichin Purim!

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Purim

The gemara in Pesachim says a general ruling that “אין מוקדם ומאוחר בתורה”, there is no before and after in the Torah. This means that the order in which the pasukim are written in the Torah is not necessarily related to the sequential order. It is clear that the gemara has to say this rule because had it not been said it would not have been known. The intention of the gemara wasn’t to say that every pasuk in the Torah is not related to the sequential order, rather that there can be times that they are out of order.

It seems odd to ask, but why does the Torah normally write things in the sequential order? I have heard from Rav Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg Zt”l the former Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel of Baltimore say very enthusiastically that the Torah is not a history book! My understanding of his statement was that the Torah isn’t simply a record of all that had happened to the Jewish People like a history book. It serves a greater purpose than recording history, it is the past, present and future. The Torah is the blueprint from which the World was created. In that case…why is it important that the Torah be written in sequential order to the extent that the gemara must state this rule that it is not always in that order.

Perhaps we can understand this idea through delving in deeper. What would be the “inspiration” of the Torah to change the order from sequential order to non-sequential order? It must be that there is something that can be learned from this order more than had it been in sequential order.

Every letter in the Torah is divinely positioned, with every single letter in mind. That means that the impact of one letter in a pasuk in Sefer Bereishis is affected by the letter in a pasuk in Sefer Devarim. Every pasuk has a connection to the preceding and following. Each pasuk also relates to the pasukim found in the same parshah. There is even a relationship between opposite pasukim, meaning the first pasuk and the last pasuk of the Torah, as well as the second and second to last. Everything is connected and blended together in an infinite web.

After thinking about that perhaps the sequential order is less relevant, or is it more relevant? While the Torah has all of its deep connections. It also has the simplest understanding. The Torah is said to be in “לשון בני אדם” or the language of people. That means that the simple understanding of the pasukim should be clear as well.

One of the things that many commentators discuss at each parshah as to how the end of the previous parshah relates to the beginning of the current parshah. There is often an explanation as to how the two are connected or how an element from one is learned to the other. Even when we learn an element from one to the other, there should still be an explanation that flows in the simplest fashion.

There is a discussion among many as to the order of Parshas Mishpatim. Rashi says that from the pasuk “ואל משה אמר עלה אל ה’” in perek twenty-four up until the end of the parshah actually occurred prior to Matan Torah. The Ramban quotes Rashi and strongly argues with him bringing several proofs to support his opinion. Without getting into the details of that discussion let us look at its outcome. According to Rashi who holds that in fact the pasukim found at the conclusion of Parshas Mishpatim did occur prior to Matan Torah, in that case the question must be asked as to why would the Torah place this parshah here.

There is another discussion among the Rishonim which is in fact rooted in two different statements of the Chazal one from a Midrash, the other from a Zohar. The Midrash understands that the Chet HaEgel came prior to the obligation of the Mishkan (found in the beginning of the next parshah, Parshas Terumh). While the Zohar understands that the obligation came prior to the Chet HaEgel and the construction of it followed.

If we follow the opinion of Rashi throughout who follows that of the Midrash, then directly after the laws of Parshas Mishpatim comes the Chet HaEgel then the obligation to make the Mishkan. Where as the opinion of Ramban who follows the opinion of the Zohar then there are the laws of Parshas Mishpatim then the end of the parshah with Na’aseh V’Nishma. Following that is the obligation of the Mishkan then the Chet HaEgel.

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Parshas Mishpatim, The Four Parshiyos Torah Min Shemyaim

I would like to welcome Rabbi Daniel Yaakov Travis, Rosh Kollel of Kollel Toras Chaim, a halacha kollel in Yerushalayim. He has published ten seforim in Hebrew and English, six of them with Feldheim. His popular articles aim to deepen our understanding of the mitzvos and minhagim we take for granted as Jews through the presentation of fascinating original sources and stories. His writings have often appeared in Hamodia and Yated Ne’eman. He plans on writing what he hears from Rav Moshe Sternbuch shlita on the parshah. May it be with the zchus of this Divrei Torah that Moshiach Tzidkainu comes one step closer.

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Announcements

We have been introduced the our great leader Moshe Rabbeinu. The Torah accounts for small select parts of his upbringing. We are told about his birth, we are also told about how he left Egypt. Then we are told the first encounter that Moshe has with Hashem Yisborach, with the burning bush. There is so much to discuss on all of that but one thing specifically that seems to be so essential to Moshe seems to be left out of the Written Torah. We see that a constant response of Moshe Rabbeinu is that he is “כבד פה” he also says that he is “ערל שפתים” among other similar phrases. I must remind myself that Moshe Rabbeinu was well beyond anything that I could possibly comprehend. We see that Hashem comes to Moshe telling him all that he must do and yet Moshe can still insist that he is not qualified. You can say, wow such an unuv, such a modest individual. At the same time you can say, how can you possibly suggest that you cannot do that which Hashem has asked of you!? Is there a nisayon that we cannot withstand? No. There must be something more to the constant insisting of Moshe Rabbeinu than meets the eye. I cannot dare say that he was challenging Hashem, as that is silly.

Every year after having gone through Parshas Shemos I am always left a little confused, feeling as though I have missed something, and indeed I have. At the end of shishi it is written:

ויאמר ה’ אל משה בלכתך לשוב מצרימה ראה כל המפתים אשר שמתי בידך ועשיתם לפני פרעה ואני אחזק את לבו ולא ישלח את העם: ואמרת אל פרעה כה אמר ה’ בני בכרי ישראל: ואמר אליך שלח את בני ויעבדני ותמאו לשלחו הנה אנכי הרג את בנך בכרך: (שמות ד, כא-כג)

We see that Hashem says that after all the incredible things that Paroh will see, he will still not send the nation of Yisroel to exile. We see that Hashem will strengthen his heart. What does that mean? It is written after everyone of the makos that Hashem strengthened the heart of Paroh causing him not to sending Bnei Yisroel out. Why is that so?

I would like to suggest that it was essential for Klal Yisroel then and now that there be the Asuruh Makos. Since we see that Hashem had to strengthen the heart of Paroh perhaps that means that even after the first of the makos he would have given in, but that I am unsure of. It is clear that the last of the makos, Makos B’churim is the final step. Whatever the reason for the makos it seems that it would be completed by that point. It may have also been that the Egyptians needed a certain amount of kapuruh for their actions, but I don’t think that is the main reason.

It seems to me that the main reason for the makos was that Klal Yisroel needed them to strengthen their emunah, in order to be Bnei Yisroel. Through the makos and the actual Yitzias Mitzrayim, Klal Yisroel grew in their emunah and became capable of saying Na’aseh V’Nishmah as Kabalas HaTorah. Without having gone through all of this it would not have been possible!

Today we keep the Torah and Mitzvos, without having seen these nisim. How is it that we do so? How is that there are things that are done in the midbar that seem to be below us, but are clearly not! Perhaps the reason is that we have inherited the emunah of our avos. Through the experiences that Klal Yisroel went through they grew. Today we have thousands of years of nisyonos deep within our heritage. It was Moshe Rabbeinu and the Dor Dayuh who had to go through all of that for us. We would never have been able to stand up to the challenges that they faced, not a chance.

It is with this thought that we can begin to understand this weeks parshah. The beginning of the makos that befell Egypt in awe and wonder. These are the abc’s of emunah and bitachon for the Jewish People. It is my brachah that we all take these words of Torah into our hearts and strengthen them. Just as Hashem strengthens the heart of Paroh so to these events can strengthen our hearts to bring us closer to Hashem. May we all grow closer to walking in the ways of Hashem and constantly embrace all the amazing gifts that lay before us.

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Parshas Va'eira

It is my understanding that the title of a book should encapsulate its essence. Each of the Five Books of the Torah have names that refer to its essence as well. Sefer Bereishis is not just called Bereishis because it contains the beginning of the world but also because it contains the beginning of the People of Yisroel. Why is Sefer Shemos called Shemos? Why does Shemos begin by listing the names? Why is this deemed the essence of Sefer Shemos? What is the connection between the last pasuk in Sefer Bereishis and the first pasuk of Sefer Shemos?

The Baal HaTurim writes that the connection between the last pasuk of Sefer Bereishis and the first pasuk of Sefer Shemos is the tzivoi of Yosef to Bnei Yisroel, to not change their names. He said to them even though they changed my name and called me Tzafnas Panaiach you should not change your name.

There is a Midrash Tanchuma that says that there are three names that Man is called. The first is the name that HaKadosh Boruch Hu called him. The second is the name that his mother and father called him. The last is the name that he calls himself.

My understanding of this midrash is that the name that HaKadosh Boruch Hu called him is in the past tense which is coming to say that is the raw individual. The second name that is called by his parents is the attributes that were given to him at birth. The last name is the name that he calls himself, the way that he identifies himself through his freewill.

It seems that there could be a fourth name, what other call him. The name that Hashem and one’s parents call him are out of his control. The name that he calls himself is up to him to decide. For a person to accept being called a different name can be view as if he accepted it as his name in some respect. Even if he would never introduce himself that way, to respond to a name that one calls you indicates that you have made that a part of you. True, there are times where someone will mispronounce your name and you know that they are referring to you, but for Chaim to be called John, there is no mistake.

What’s so special about a name? A name is not just a word that is used in order to reference someone. A name is the essence of a person. Perhaps this is the reason why Sefer Shemos is called Shemos. The tzivoi of Yosef HaTzaddik was for Bnei Yisroel to not change their name. That is because one’s name is who you are. The nisoyon of galus is to remain Bnei Yisroel in the midst of the Umos HaOlam. Yosef HaTzaddik is the one who was able to remain standing in galus. The Klai Yukur points out that we see that Yosef HaTzaddik kept his name when he revealed himself to his brothers he said “Ani Yosef”.

There is another Baal HaTurim on this pasuk, he writes a notrikun for the pasuk. He writes:

“ר”ת ואדם אשר לומד הסדר שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום בקול נעים ישיר, יחיה שנים רבות ארוכים לעולם” (And Man should learn the order of two reading and one translation in a sweet voice it shall be sung, he will live many long years forever).

Why is the mitzvah of Shnaim Mikrah V’Echod Targum hinted in this pasuk?

The Zohar HaChadush (49a) says that galus mitzrayim was due to the chet of Mechiras Yosef. Since Yosef could not see his father’s face for 22 years each of the shevatim (that were involved in the chet) were sentenced to ten years of galus (220 years). However since the shevatim passed away in a land of impurity and that caused them great pain and anguish ten years of the total was deducted, resulting in 210 (רד”ו) years of galus.

The gemara in Nedarim tells us that really we could have had just the Torah and Sefer Yehoshuah but due to our sins the additional seforim were needed. I have heard several times from my Rebbi Rav Nochum Lansky Shlita that Lashon Arami is in between Lashon HaKodesh and Lashon Chol. It is therefore the purpose of Shneim Mikrah V’Echod Targum to take emphasize the kedushah over the chol. That is the way to withstand the challenge of galus. That is why the mitzvah of Shneim Mikrah V’Echod Targum is hinted to in the very beginning of Sefer Shemos. This chizuk is essential to being able to succeed in galus.

May our Shneim Mikrah V’Echod Targum shed light on our long galus. Help us to keep the proper ratio when approaching kedushah and chol. To never lose sight of who we are, what is our name. Remember that the there are only three names that Man is called. A name from Hashem and a name from parents. The last name is what you call yourself, not what others call you. You are in control of who you are and what your name is.

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Parshas Shemos

On behalf of the Close To Torah family I would like to welcome Binyomin Finkelstein.

May he inspire all of us with his beautiful words of wisdom.

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Announcements

The great Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel in Baltimore Rav Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg zt”l said on several occasions that the Moadim that we experience annually are not anniversaries. They are reliving that initial experience once again. I heard from the Rosh Yeshiva of the Telshe Yeshvia in Cleveland Rav Mordechai Gifter zt”l that Moed comes from the word vaad, a meeting or commencement. That means that every Moed that we have is a chance to have a meeting with the Ribono Shel Olam in a way that we cannot have the rest of the year. That means that through a Moed we come to embrace something that we cannot gain the rest of the year. We then take that newly found treasure and incorporate it in to our lives. Just as we must breath constantly so too we must go through the year with these breaths of closeness constantly. We are both physical and very much spiritual. That means that just as we need physical nourishment so too we need spiritual nourishment. That nourishment is found through the toil of Mitzvos and the learning of Torah. The Mitzvos exist in several manifestations, i.e. in a location, in a time or through a physical action. Those are the three different natures of Mitzvos that we find. Some are capable of being observed throughout the year, while some are limited to certain time periods. On the other hand, some are all year long but are only in certain locations. The last group being to only certain people and certain aspects of the person. The Moadim incorporate these three natures of Mitzvos and utilize all of them in combination with the Holy Shabbos to give sustenance to Man and allow him to do his duties of this World.

These meetings with us and the Almighty are our opportunity to grasp the essential nutrients that we need for the year and this moment itself. That means that each Moed of the year has its own special aspects to give us. Therefore, it is logical to say that each one of these aspects must come in a certain order. As we said in the previous article the revelation of the aspects of each Moed are very particular and unique to each one. Therefore each Moed must come the same time every year to allow us to grab those nutrients at the right time.

The Rabbinical Moadim are slightly different. The Biblical Moadim were commanded at the same time. That means that they were all essential to us at the time of their commandment. The Rabbinical Moadim (Purim and Chanukah) were enacted after each other with due time in between them. If that is the case then the aspect that we need to grab by the later one must have not been necessary by the first one. In fact the Moed of Purim occurred several hunded of years prior to Chanukah. That being true whatever had been needed for the Moed of Chanukah to occur it was not needed at the time of Purim. With that said we have a deeper question. Within the order of the Moadim the Moed of Chanukah comes prior to the Moed of Purim. As per what we said before that whatever aspect we needed to grab by Chanukah it was not needed by the time of Purim. If that is true why is it needed for us to relive the experience of Chanukah prior to Purim!?

I believe that this question can become much clearer by looking at another question. It is clear that Yitzchak Avinu is written of the least out of the three Avos. Why is that? Perhaps we can suggest the following reality for this question. Generally speaking, Mankind has a desire to see his accomplishments immediately. Waiting to see the results of your hard work is a very difficult task for many as it requires great belief that you are doing that which is necessary to produce the result you want. When you see the results immediately you get the satisfaction of knowing your work paid off. To our dismay, this shortcoming is something every one of us deals with daily. This is found both in our physical and spiritual lives.^[1] It is the Mesiras Nefesh that we put in to all of our lives that defines who we are. Such emphasis on one point for one’s entire existence is a great deal. That is as I have said in the past the act of giving up your chance to continue to do that task that is greater than all of them. The greatest possible benefit we can have is through the observance of Mitzvos. Those Mitzvos provide us with Life and purpose. To give up that benefit by giving up your Life for its greater cause is surely greater than all that you could have been granted in this world. You are cutting yourself off from further benefit by performing the greatest act of glorification of the name of the Almighty possible. You are giving up your chance to exist for yourself, to rise to an existence past Life itself! That is the reason why Yitzchak Avinu need not be written in the Torah at length. His Life personifies the midah of Din. The ultimate din is through purging your existence from this world. The other Avos represent much more complex midos that require a greater precedent. Giving up your life for Kiddush Hashem is the top of the levels that you have reach in your observance.

Now we can take this understanding and apply it to our question about Chanukah and Purim. The chag of Purim deals with the genocide of the entire people of Yisroel, regardless of there beliefs. The chag of Chanukah has nothing to do with a nation, rather it is purely against the culture of Yisroel. The Greeks wanted to assimilate the People of Yisroel not destroy them. Thus killing the definition of the Jewish People, as we are a chosen nation that is not among the other nations. Purim came prior to Chanukah because there lives at stake were first put into question. It is much easier to be willing to give up your lives for the sake of something as great as Torah but its even easier when it is for yourself. The Jewish people were given the miracle of Purim to appreciate the lives that they have for being a separate nation from the rest of the world. That led to a new acceptance of the yolk of the Torah and its Mitzvos on the chag of Purim. The chag of Chanukah is the miracle that we withstood the force of the nations to assimilate to be one people. We won the battles against the Greeks, but above all the kedushah of the Holy Temple remained. That pure oil started the flame of Torah that exists on Chanukah. It is much easier to give up your life by Purim than keep your standards of living by Chanukah. Though it was below the People of Yisroel as the time of Purim to assimilate among the nations as they only needed inspiration in the mitzvos. The People of Yisroel at the time of Chanukah were battling the pressures of the Greek Culture which was much more difficult to keep, as they are more deeply rooted in minus.

On this Chanukah may we all take in the bright lights that lay before us. May we grasp the great ohr that is revealed to us that had been reserved for the righteous. May we internalize that light and allow it to shine through our actions from this year to the next. Through this Chanukah we can light the dark path that lay before us, the path that is so evident. Let that light direct us to the new mikdash, to fill it with a new light of Torah and Avodah.

1. I really don’t like to split that as the goal is to make them one. Though whenever I mention physical and spiritual it doesn’t mean that everything should be done for the sake of the spiritual. I am emphasizing that the activities that we do in there raw form exist in both platforms. [↩]

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Machshuvah, Moadim / Tekufos Limud HaTorah, Shviras HaMidos, Zman