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Parsha Perspectives

by OZER ALPORT

אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה

“These are the words that Moses spoke.” (Devarim 1:1)

There is a mystical idea that the content of the parsha read each Shabbat is connected to the events of the coming week. It is interesting to note that Parshat Devarim is traditionally read on the Shabbat preceding the fast day known as Tisha B’Av (the ninth day of the month of Av), which commemorates the tragic destruction of both Temples, and which begins this year immediately upon the conclusion of Shabbat. What could be the connection between them?

One day in Jerusalem, two old friends encountered one another on the bus. Excited at the opportunity to catch up with one another, they sat down together and began talking. In the course of their conversation, one of them casually mentioned the name of an old friend. The other replied, “You didn’t hear? She just got engaged last week to so-and-so!”

This news left her friend both elated and shocked. “That’s so wonderful that she finally got engaged…but to him!? Who would have ever thought that she would settle for a person with so many problems?” Taking the bait, the one who shared the news agreed and proceeded to list problems not only with the groom, but also with his family’s reputation. The conversation went back-and-forth, with each of them heaping more and more question-marks on the match.

After five minutes, a woman who was sitting behind them turned to them and remarked, “I know you didn’t realize this, but I’m the aunt of the bride you’ve been discussing. We obviously didn’t know about these serious allegations against the groom and his family. As soon as I get home, I’m going to call my niece to convince her to break the engagement.”

Aghast at the unexpected turn of events, the friends begged her not to do so. They explained, “We were just innocently chatting about recent events. We didn’t mean many of the things that we said, and most of them were exaggerated. Please don’t break-up this engagement because of our poor judgment.” Just then, the bus reached the woman’s stop. The wise woman paused before exiting and taught them an invaluable lesson. “You have nothing to worry about. I’m not really her aunt…but I could have been!”

The Talmud (Yoma 9b) teaches that one of the reasons for the destruction of the Temple was the sin of baseless hatred between Jews. Many times such hatred has its origins in forbidden forms of speech, such as gossip and painful words. Many people who speak negatively justify their behavior by rationalizing that mere words cannot cause any real damage to other people, a mistake made by the two women in our story.

Since the outcome of such erroneous thinking led to baseless hatred and eventually, to the destruction of the Holy Temple, we allude to the importance of rectifying this sin by beginning the week in which Tisha B’Av falls with the reading of Parshat Devarim, as “Devarim” means “words”. As Tisha B’Av draws near, it would be appropriate to use the days ahead to contemplate this lesson about the significance of our words and to attempt to rectify the sins which caused the Temple’s destruction.

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Parsha Talking Points

1. PANIC ATTACK

“And you approached me all together and you said, ‘Let us send men before us and they will scout out the land.’” 1:22

And you approached me all together– All of you came before me in a panicked and agitated state, and with a complete lack of decorum. Children pushed aside their elders, and the elders jostled the leaders. – Rashi

And you all approached me all together – You had leaders who were supposed to handle such requests on behalf of the people. Instead, you completely ignored their presence and took matters into your own hands. – Sforno, Toldos Yitzchak

Although Moses’s point was certainly correct, why didn’t he stick to criticizing only their disastrous plan and feel a need to rebuke them for their faulty approach, as well? Certainly when viewed as part of the larger story, this aspect of the tragic incident of the Spies would seem to be rather minor and unworthy of mention? Rabbi Yitzchak of Volozhin zt”l explained that had they approached Moses respectfully, and in a properly arranged fashion, that would have been an indication that their intentions were pure and that the blame lay with the spies for corrupting their mission. By reminding them of their thoroughly disrespectful attitude from the onset of this plan, Moses was hinting to them that there was something rotten about it from the start, even before the spies were chosen. When the situation later went completely sour, they could not point to the spies and lay all the blame at their feet. Everyone was guilty, and bore the blame equally.

2. JUST TRUST US

“And they took in their hands from the fruit of the Land, and they brought them down to us, and they brought back word to us and they said, ‘The land that God give us is very good.’” 1:25

They said the land is very good – Which of the spies spoke kindly of the land? Only Joshua and Calev. – Rashi

They said the land is very good – If only Yehoshua and Calev spoke kindly of the land, how could the people possibly be expected to believe their words over the words of the other ten spies? – Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, Nachmanides)

Maharal Diskin explains that the reason Joshua and Calev should have been believed over the other ten spies is because the course of action they were proposing would have immediately whether they were right or wrong. Had their advice to proceed to the land been heeded, they would soon be proved charlatans if the land was not what they claimed. The others, however, insisted that the people return to Egypt, a plan that eliminated any possibility of being proven wrong, since they would never actually see the Land of Israel to determine whether it was as bad as they claimed. When a person issues a claim that cannot be disproved, his credibility is not nearly as strong as one who is willing to put his words to the test. Only Joshua and Calev laid their credibility on the line, which should have convinced the people that they were confident in their assertions.

3. DEEDS FOR ETERNITY

“We then turned and traveled along the road to the Bashan, where Og and his troops came to confront us in battle at Edrei. God said to me, ‘Do not be afraid of him, since I have turned him over to you along with all his people and his land. You will do the same to him as you did to the Amorite king Sichon, who lived in Cheshbon.’” 3:1, 2

Do not be afraid of him – Concerning Sichon, it was not necessary to say, “Do not fear him,” But concerning Og, Moses was troubled that he not benefit from the merit of having been of service to Avraham, as it is said, ‘the one who escaped came,’ and that was Og. – Rashi

Hundreds of years prior to this incident, Og had escaped from the four powerful kings who’d waged ward against the five kings, and he informed the Patriarch Abraham of the capture of his nephew, Lot. Our sages tell us that his intentions at the time were anything but pure. He’d hoped that Abraham would die in battle and Sarah would be his to marry. Yet, when the time came for the Jewish people to defend themselves against Og many years later, Moses feared that the merit of this act would stand him in good stead and place the Jews in danger, and he had to be reassured by the Almighty that He would look after us and protect us from danger. Rabbi Reuven Grozovski zt”l would point to this incident and proclaim, “If this is the power of a selfishly motivated good deed – imagine how powerful our altruistic good deeds are! Is there anything that can stand in their way?”

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Partner Talk

WELL FED AND WELL BREAD

by RABBI ELAZAR MEISELS

Dear Rabbi,

I attend grad school in a small town that’s more than 100 miles from the closest Jewish community and I can’t afford a car so my access to the community is limited. I keep strictly kosher and the local supermarket carries many kosher products so I’m well fed, but I’m having trouble finding fresh kosher bread around here. I was wondering whether it was possible for me to purchase plain rye or pumpernickel bread from the local bakery? These are simple products that I don’t imagine have any non-kosher additives and it would be great if I could buy them. What do you say?

Sammy M.

Sammy,

I applaud your efforts to observe the laws of Kashrut even under obviously difficult circumstances. When I used to visit campuses earlier in my career, I had a list of students whom I would call in advance of my visits to find out whether they needed me to bring anything for them. This way, they had a steady supply of kosher meat and chicken, and my car had a steady odor that repulsed even hitchhikers. It would be wonderful if you could work out a similar kind of arrangement with a visiting rabbi, if there is one on your campus.

Interestingly, bread and rolls have long been the subject of misconceptions regarding the need for kosher supervision. Many people assume that only pastries and specialty bakery items need this supervision, while basic bread items are acceptable without. In simpler times, this may have once been the case, but for reasons that I’ll explain in a moment, it no longer is. Nowadays, according to experts in the Kashrut field, all bread, rolls, and bagels must have a reliable hechsher [seal of kosher supervision] and should not be consumed without one.

It used to be that a local baker produced only a limited amount of bread, and little emphasis was placed on ensuring consistency of product. Today, even small, locally owned bakeries produce large quantities of bread, and a great deal of emphasis is placed on ensuring consistently high quality dough. This is accomplished through the use of dough conditioners and pre-formulated bread mixes which contain all the necessary ingredients, including fats, oils, di-glycerides, and stabilizers in fixed proportions. These items ensure freshness and consistency that it impossible to achieve through homemade production processes which makes them attractive to manufacturers. The problem is that many of these items are not necessarily kosher and only careful supervision can guarantee that a kosher variety is used.

Another problem with bread is the fact that even when the ingredients are kosher, often manufacturers add dairy ingredients to the mix because they feel this produces a much higher quality dough. Concerned that a person may eat bread that is dairy together with meat, our sages forbade the preparation of such bread unless it is clearly identifiable as such. When purchasing bread from an unsupervised bakery, one cannot know for certain whether it is made with dairy products, and there is a great likelihood that it is.

Yet a third difficulty with commercially prepared bread is the issue of pan liners and greases, which are used to ensure that the bread does not adhere to the baking pans. While some of these release agents are produced from vegetable oils, many are produced from animal tallow and are definitely not kosher. Since these are not classified as ingredients, they don’t appear on an ingredient list and you have no way of knowing which type of grease was used.

Taken all together, this means that that innocent looking loaf of bread sitting on the bakery shelf may not be so innocent after all, and one concerned with kashrut would be well advised to insist on purchasing only bread with an acceptable hechsher. If your efforts to find that in your neighborhood prove fruitless, may I suggest that you purchase a bread machine which produces some of the finest and freshest bread imaginable. I’d also recommend that at the first chance you get, consider relocating to a Jewish community, because after all, what good is kosher rye, without kosher corned beef to adorn it?

All the best,
Rabbi Elazar Meisels

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Soul Talk

Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen (in Tzidkas HaTzaddik §230-231) discusses leadership. He says that meriting leadership is contingent upon the spiritual level that a person achieves. The different attributes Jethro told Moses to look for in potential judges were actually also the measure of what tier of leader the candidate could be: Would he be appointed as a leader of ten, or a leader of one thousand?

Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen elaborates, saying that fitness for elevated position and leadership comes through Torah. [He explains that that is why the story of Jethro and the leaders is situated in Parashas Yisro, immediately before the narration of the Giving of the Torah.]

He explains that in truth, there should be no such thing as leadership, or having people on different levels (such as leaders of ten vs. leaders of fifty), because each person in the Jewish nation has his own portion in the Torah. He notes that every Jewish soul is linked to a letter of the Torah, and a Torah scroll that is missing even one letter is not usable according to halachah (Jewish law). We can therefore conclude that just as the entire Torah needs that single letter, so too does that letter need the rest of the Torah. The whole of the Torah is dependent on every single part of it, and every Jew who has a portion in the Torah is dependent on every other Jew who has a different portion in the Torah. Even if someone has a larger portion, he still does not have the lesser scholar’s portion. If so, then all Jews are equally necessary, and none should be considered more essential than any other!

Rabbi Tzadok continues his elucidation by explaining that in the generation of Moses, the Jewish nation was called the דור רעה, the Generation of Knowledge, and they were on a very high spiritual level. That is why the suggestion to make tiers of leaders did not come from one of them; they could not imagine a reason to delineate different levels, as they knew that every Jew is unique and has his own share of Torah. It was only Jethro, a convert, who was able to comprehend the benefits of such an arrangement. [R’ Tzadok explains that the reason for this is because a convert’s portion in Torah is not specifically delineated, thus making the concept of levels applicable.]

Hashem agreed with Jethro, that in this world it is necessary to have different levels. This is because the Torah contains secrets that may be imparted only to a select few, so that they will not be misused or treated disrespectfully (see Chagigah 11b). In fact, there are people whose portion of Torah is something that may not be revealed at present, and because of that they cannot even access it themselves, and they appear as ignorant.

However, in the World to Come, everyone’s portion of Torah will be revealed, and, as the verse states: No one will teach his friend or brother saying, “Come, know Hashem,” for they will all know Me (Yirmiyah 31:33).

With permission from Artscroll’s Daily Dose

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Table Talk

FOR DISCUSSION AROUND THE SHABBAT TABLE

א) Rashi writes (1:3) that Moses waited to rebuke the Jewish people until close to his death. As it is a mitzvah to rebuke a fellow Jew, why would Moses have waited so long to perform this mitzvah? (Sifsei Chochomim)

ב) Why would Moses devote significantly more time to rebuking the Jewish people for the sin of the spies than for the sin of the Golden Calf?

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Hey I Never Knew That

Amazing Insights About the Weekly Parsha

by OZER ALPORT

1) Q: Parshat Devarim begins with the words אלה – and these are (the words which Moses spoke). Which other Torah portions begin with the letter א, and what is the significance of this fact?

A: There are 5 books in the written Torah, and 6 sections of the Mishnah – the Oral Torah. The Paneiach Raza writes that there are 6 portions in the written Torah which correspond to the Mishnah, each of which begins with the letter אלה תולדות נח, אלה פקודי, אם בחוקתי, אלה מסעי , אלה הדברים, אתם נצבים – א. This is because the spelling of the letter “אלף– ”א – comes from the root meeting to study, and the word Mishnah also means to learn. Of the 6 portions, four begin with the word אלה, which alludes to the four sections of the Mishnah on which we also have Talmudic commentary, as the gematria (numerical value) of the word אלה is 36, which is also the number of tractates in the Babylonian Talmud! The last book of the Torah, Devarim, begins with one of these four portions in order to teach that in reviewing the Torah and its laws with the nation before his death, Moses reviewed not only the written Torah but the entire Talmud and Oral Law as well. Similarly, there are 5 tractates in the Mishnah which begin with the letter אלו דברים – א שאין בעה אבות נזיקין בבא שיעור פאה אור לארבעה עשר פסחים ארבעה ראשי שנים הם ראש השנה אר קמא אבות הטומאות כלים which hint to the 5 books of the written Torah and teach that every component of Torah is deeply intertwined.

2) Q: In the middle of his rebuke of the Jewish nation, Moses blessed them that Hashem should increase their numbers 1000-fold. On this verse, the Midrash cryptically comments that our verse is what King David had in mind when he wrote (Psalms 5:8), “And I (David), through Your tremendous kindness, will come into Your House, and I will prostrate myself toward Your Holy Sanctuary in awe of You,” a verse which has no apparent connection to Moses’s blessing. What is the meaning of this Midrash?

A: Rabbi Elyakim Devorkes notes that the Talmud (Yoma 22b) rules that it is forbidden to count the Jewish people, even for the purpose of performing a mitzvah, as doing so could make them subject to an ayin hara (evil eye) which may reduce their numbers. Although one may not perform a head-count of Jews, it is permitted to count them via proxy, as was done in the desert when the census was taken by counting the half-shekels contributed by each person. Before beginning the daily prayer services, one often must look around the room to make sure that a minyan (quorum) of ten adult men is present. However, it is forbidden to do so by counting the individual people present. Rather, it has become customary to choose a verse which has ten words and to recite one word of the verse when pointing to each person present in the room. If one is able to finish the entire verse, this is an indication that the required quorum is present. One such example of a verse with ten words is the aforementioned verse in Psalms which is quoted by the Midrash. Rabbi Devorkes explains that when Moses blessed the Jewish people that they should become numerous, the Midrash questioned how this blessing can be fulfilled. Since Jews are required to pray with a minyan, one who performs a head-count to see if the required ten men are present will inadvertently invite an ayin hara to strike the people and reduce their numbers, thereby nullifying Moses’s blessing. The Midrash resolves this dilemma by answering that instead of counting the individual Jews present, one may count them using the words of the verse in Psalms, which will spare them from the threat of the ayin hara and indeed allow Moses’s blessing to come to fruition!

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Parsha Summary

Parsha Summaries are coming soon!