1. Matot- Show Me the Way How to Give Really Good Advice

Dedicated in in loving memory of Dr. Gary Toback, .marking his yahrtzeit on 14 Tamuz ,אפרים גרשום בן ישראל ע״ה

May the merit of the study accompany his soul in the world of everlasting life and be a source of blessings to his family with much health, happiness, nachat, and success. [ 2 ]

PARSHA OVERVIEW Matot–Masei

Moses conveys the laws the condition that they first governing the annulment join, and lead, in Israel’s of vows to the heads of conquest of the lands west the tribes of Israel. of the .

War is waged against Mid- The forty-two jour- ian for their role in plotting neys and encamp- the moral destruction of ments of Israel are listed, Israel, and the Torah gives a from the Exodus to their detailed account of the war encampment on the plains spoils and how they were of across the river allocated amongst the peo- from the land of Canaan. ple, the warriors, the Lev- Also in Masei: The bound- ites, and the High Priest. aries of the The tribes of Reu- are given, and cities of ben and Gad (later joined refuge are designated as by half of the tribe havens and places of exile of Manasseh) ask for the for inadvertent murderers. lands east of the Jordan as The daughters of Tzelaf- their portion in the Prom- chad marry within their ised Land, these being own , so prime pastureland for that the estate that they their cattle. is initial- inherit from their father ly angered by the request should not pass to the but subsequently agrees on province of another tribe.

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I. ASYLUM SEEKERS Cities of Refuge

TEXT 1a BAMIDBAR (NUMBERS) 35:9–11

וַ ְידַּבֵ ר ה' אֶ ל מֹשֶ ׁה לֵאמֹר: דַּבֵר אֶל ְּבנֵי ְיִשׂרָאֵל ְו ְּתָאָמַר אֲלֵהֶםּכִי אַּתֶם ְעֹברִים אֶת ְהַיַרדֵן אַ ְר ה צָ ְּכ ָ נ עַ ן : ְוהִ ְקרִ יתֶ ם לָכֶ ם עָרִ ים, עָרֵ י מִ ְק טלָ ּתִ ְהיֶ ינָה לָכֶ ם, ְונָס שָ הׁמָ רֹצֵחַ מַ ּכֵ ה נֶפֶ ׁש ּבִ ְש ׁ גָ גָ ה : ְוהָ יּו לָכֶם הֶעָרִ ים ְלמִ ְקלָט מִ גֹאֵ ל, ְוֹלא יָמּות הָ רֹצֵחַ עַ ד עָ ְמדֹו ְלִפנֵי הָ עֵ דָ ה לַמִ ְש ּפָׁ ט :

G-d spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross the Jordan to the land of Canaan. ‘You shall designate cities for yourselves; they shall be cit- ies of refuge for you, and a murderer who killed a person unintentionally shall flee there.’ These cities shall serve you as a refuge from an avenger, so that the murderer shall not die until he stands in judgment before the congregation.”

LESSON 1 / Show Me the Way [ 4 ]

TEXT Shlomo Yitzchaki 1b () RASHI, AD LOC. 1040–1105

Most noted biblical and Talmudic commentator. Born in Troyes, France, Rashi studied "מגואל". מפני גואל הדם שהוא קרוב לנרצח. in the famed yeshivot of Mainz and Worms. His commentaries “From an avenger”: From the avenger of the blood, a kins- on the Pentateuch and the , which focus man of the murder victim. on the straightforward meaning of the text, appear in virtually every edition of the Talmud and Bible. A Place of Asylum

TEXT 2 SEFER HACHINUCH, 520

Sefer Hachinuch

A work on the biblical שרש מצוה זו ידוע וברור, שהוא כדי שלא יומת ההורג שוגג על commandments. Four aspects ידי גואלי הדם. of every mitzvah are discussed in this work: the definition of the mitzvah; ethical lessons The reason for this mitzvah is readily apparent: so that the that can be deduced from the mitzvah; basic laws inadvertent slayer does not get killed by the redeemer of pertaining to the observance of the mitzvah; and who is the blood. obligated to perform the mitzvah, and when. The work was composed in the 13th century by an anonymous author who refers to himself as “the of Barcelona.” It has been widely thought that this referred to Rabbi Aharon Halevi of Barcelona (Re’ah); however, this view has been contested.

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II. TICKET TO TIKUN

TEXT 3 IBID., MITZVAH 410

מכיון שבאת תקלה גדולה כזו על ידו שיצטער עליה צער גלות ששקול כמעט כצער מיתה שנפרד האדם מאוהביו ומארץ מולדתו, ושוכן כל ימיו עם זרים.

Inasmuch as this great tragedy took place through the actions of the perpetrator, he ought to suffer the pain of exile, which is considered a mild form of death, whereby the individual is separated from his loved ones and from his birthplace and must dwell all his days among strangers.

A Means of Atonement

TEXT 4 Rabbi Menachem THE REBBE, RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL Mendel Schneerson SCHNEERSON, LIKUTEI SICHOT 30, P. 107 1902–1994

The towering Jewish leader of the 20th century, known ”,as “the Lubavitcher Rebbe כידוע בענין עונשי התורה, שאין מטרתם העונש עצמו ח"ו, ”.or simply as “the Rebbe אלא כדי למרק ולזכך את האדם עד שיתכפר לו החטא, שלכן כל Born in southern Ukraine, the Rebbe escaped Nazi-occupied התורה — כולל עניני העונש שבה — נקראת "תורת חסד". Europe, arriving in the U.S. in June 1941. The Rebbe As is well known regarding the punishments in the Torah, inspired and guided the revival of traditional after their purpose is not, G-d forbid, to punish. Rather, they the European devastation, impacting virtually every cleanse and refine the individual until the sin is atoned for. Jewish community the world over. The Rebbe Therefore, the entire Torah—including the punishments— often emphasized that the performance of just one is called “a Torah of kindness.” additional good deed could usher in the era of Mashiach. The Rebbe’s scholarly talks and writings have been printed in more than 200 volumes.

LESSON 1 / Show Me the Way [ 6 ]

TEXT 5 TALMUD TRACTATE MAKOT, 2B

Babylonian Talmud

A literary work of monumental ליגלו כי היכי דליהוי להו כפרה. proportions that draws upon the legal, spiritual, intellectual, ethical, and historical Let the false witnesses also be exiled so that they be traditions of Judaism. The 37 granted atonement. tractates of the Babylonian Talmud contain the teachings of the Jewish sages from the period after the destruction of the 2nd Temple through the 5th century CE. It has served as the primary vehicle TEXT for the transmission of the 6 Oral Law and the education TALMUD TRACTATE MAKOT, 11B of over the centuries; it is the entry point for all subsequent. legal, ethical, and .theological Jewish scholarship משנגמר דינו מת כהן גדול, הרי זה אינו גולה . . . מאי טעמא? אמר אביי קל וחומר: ומה מי שגלה כבר יצא, עכשיו מי שלא גלה, אינו דין שלא יגלה?! ודלמא האי דגלה איכפר ליה, האי דלא גלה לא מידי, גלות קא מכפרא? מיתת כהן הוא דמכפרא? — האי דגלה איכפר ליה.

If after the unintentional murderer’s verdict was decided and he was sentenced to exile, the High Priest died, he is not exiled. . . . What is the reason? Abaye says, “It is a kal vachomer: if one who was already exiled now emerges with the death of this High Priest, with regard to one who was not yet exiled, is it not right that he should not be exiled?”

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[The Talmud rejects this reasoning:] And perhaps with re- gard to this one, who was already exiled, his sin was atoned for by his exile, [and therefore the death of the High Priest facilitates his return,] but that one who was not yet exiled, no, [his sin was not atoned for, and the death of the High Priest should not prevent his exile]? [The Talmud rebuts:] Is it his exile that atones for his sin? It is the death of the High Priest that atones for his sin, [and the High Priest died].

TEXT 7 THE REBBE, RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL SCHNEERSON, IGROT KODESH 11, P. 403

במה שכתוב אודות עונשי התורה ענינם ומטרתם, הנה על פי המבואר בחסידות ענינם לתקן את הפגם שנתהווה על ידי העבירה.

I will comment regarding what you wrote about the pur- pose and meaning of punishment in Torah: in light of what is explained in Chasidic thought, the very purpose of punishment is to repair the damage that came about through the sin.

LESSON 1 / Show Me the Way [ 8 ]

TEXT 8 THE REBBE, RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL SCHNEERSON, TORAT MENACHEM 5710:1, PP. 195–196

"ימים יוצרו ולו אחד בהם". לכל אדם נקבע בבית דין של מעלה זמן מוגבל של ימים כדי למלא תפקידו ושליחותו, וכל רגע ורגע בימי חייו צריך לנצל למילוי תפקידו ושליחותו, ולכן, אי-אפשר להענישו בישיבה בבית-כלא שעל ידי זה מונעים ממנו למלא תפקידו ושליחותו בחיים. בכל מעמד ומצב שהוא, גם אם חטא ופגם ועבר את הדרך, מוטל עליו החיוב להמשיך במילוי תפקידו ושליחותו בחיים, ו"בהדי כבשא דרחמנא למה לך" . . . ומזה מובן שתוכנה של ישיבה בעיר מקלט למכה נפש בשגגה אינו עונש של ישיבה בבית-כלא — כי, גם בהיותו במעמד ומצב ש"גואל הדם" יכול להרגו מוטל עליו החיוב למלא תפקידו ושליחותו, ובמילא, אי-אפשר להושיבו בבית-כלא ולמנוע ממנו למלא תפקידו ושליחותו — כי אם עונש של גלות, כמו שמבאר החינוך "שיצטער צער גלות . . . שנפרד האדם מאוהביו ומארץ מולדתו כו'", אבל, ביחד עם זה, צריכים ליתן לו כל הדרוש למילוי תפקידו ושליחותו כאדם חפשי, ועד כדי כך ש"תלמיד שגלה מגלין רבו עמו", היינו, שעם היותו תלמיד שאינו הגון, מכל מקום, מגלין רבו עמו, כדי שיוכל ללמוד תורה מרבו כמקודם.

[Scripture states,] “Days have been formed, and one of them is His.” Every person is allotted a limited amount of days by the Heavenly court to perform his purpose and mission, and every single moment of life must be utilized to fulfill that purpose and mission. Thus, it is a crime to punish a perpetrator with sitting in prison, thereby holding him back from fulfilling his mission in life.

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In any given situation, even if one has sinned and went astray, he retains the obligation to continue fulfilling his life mission, and “What do we know of G-d’s secret plans?” . . . From this it is evident that living in the city of refuge is not equivalent to being imprisoned in jail. Even while stuck in a situation that permits the next of kin to kill him, the perpetrator still retains the obligation to fulfill his purpose and mission, and therefore, we cannot imprison him and rob him of the opportunity to fulfill his life mission. In- stead, we punish him with exile, as the Chinuch writes that “He ought to suffer the pain of exile . . . that he is separated from his loved ones and from his birthplace, etc.” But at the same time, he must still do all that is necessary to fulfill his life mission in the same manner as a free man, to the extent that “a student who is exiled, his master is exiled with him.” This means that although the student is not fitting, still, the teacher is exiled with him, in order that he will learn from his teacher as before.

LESSON 1 / Show Me the Way [ 10 ]

Refuge Even for the Protected

TEXT 9 SIFREI, SHOFTIM 181:2

Sifrei

An early rabbinic on מכלל שנאמר ״פן ירדף גואל הדם אחרי הרוצח״, אין לי אלא the biblical books of Numbers רודף וגואל. רודף ואינו גואל, גואל ואינו רודף, לא רודף ולא גואל, and Deuteronomy. Sifrei focuses mostly on matters of מנין? תלמוד לומר "רוצח" "רוצח", ריבה. law, as opposed to narratives and moral principles. According to , From this that is stated, “lest the redeemer of blood pursues this halachic Midrash was authored by Rav, a 3rd-century the murderer,” I only know when there is a pursuer and a Babylonian Talmudic sage. redeemer. But a pursuer without a redeemer, or a redeemer without a pursuer, or one without a pursuer or a redeemer, from where? It is derived from the extra instance of the word “rotzeach.”

Run for It!

TEXT 10a TALMUD TRACTATE MAKOT, 9B

ומכוונות להן דרכים מזו לזו שנאמר: "תכין לך הדרך ושילשת וגו'".

And they directed for them a road from this city to that city, as the verse states, “Prepare for yourself a road and divide into three.”

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TEXT 10b MAIMONIDES, , LAWS OF MURDERERS AND THE PROTECTION OF LIFE 8:5 Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam) וחייבין בית דין לכוון הדרכים לערי מקלט, לתקנם ולהרחיבן. 1204–1135 ומסירין מהן כל מכשול וכל תקלה, ואין מניחין בדרך לא ,Halachist, philosopher, author תל ולא גיא ולא נהר, אלא עושין עליו גשר כדי שלא לעכב and physician. Maimonides .was born in Córdoba, Spain את הבורח לשם, שנאמר: ״תכין לך הדרך״. ורוחב דרך After the conquest of Córdoba by the Almohads, he fled ערי מקלט אין פחות משלושים ושתיים אמות. ומקלט Spain and eventually settled מקלט היה כתוב על פרשת דרכים כדי שיכירו הרצחנים in , Egypt. There, he became the leader of the ויפנו לשם. Jewish community and served as court physician to the vizier of Egypt. He is most noted The Jewish court is obligated to construct roads leading to for authoring the Mishneh the cities of refuge. They should be maintained and wid- Torah, an encyclopedic arrangement of Jewish law; ened. Any stumbling block and obstacle should be removed and for his philosophical work, Guide for the Perplexed. from them. His rulings on Jewish law are integral to the formation On these roads neither a hill, a valley, nor a river should of halachic consensus. be left. Instead, a bridge should be built across so as not to impede a person fleeing there. This is all implied by the verse that states, “You shall prepare the road for yourselves.” The width of the road to the city of refuge should not be less than thirty-two cubits. Signs stating “Refuge, refuge” should be written at intersections, so that killers would be aware of the way and turn there.

LESSON 1 / Show Me the Way [ 12 ]

Always a Way Back—with Directions

TEXT 11 THE REBBE, RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL SCHNEERSON, LIKUTEI SICHOT 2, P. 366

מצד בחירה חפשית וואס מען האט געגעבן יעדן איינעם, אז ער קאן אויסקלייבן חס ושלום אויך דעם רע, מוז יעדער איינער אנקומען צו דעם עזר שלמעלה, דער אויבערשטער זאל אים זאגן "מקלט מקלט": גיי אין דעם וועג וואס פירט צו חיים וטוב ווארום . . . קאנען זיי א ודאי ניט וויסן אין וועלכן דרך זיי גייען און זיי מוזן אנקומען צו דעם עזר שלמעלה אז דער אויבערשטער זאל זיי זאגן וואוהין צו גיין.

G-d granted human beings with free will, including the ability to choose evil, G-d forbid. As such, everyone needs a little help from Above, that G-d should tell them, “Refuge here, refuge here—go down this path that leads to good- ness and life.” . . . No one can be completely confident that they are headed down the right path, and at times, we all must fall back on a little divine assistance, for G-d to come in and tell us where we should go.

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TEXT 12 RABBI SHNEUR ZALMAN OF LIADI, TANYA 13

Rabbi Shneur המכריע הוא הקדוש ברוך הוא העוזרו להיצר טוב, כמאמר רז"ל: Zalman of Liadi (Alter Rebbe) "אלמלא הקדוש ברוך הוא עוזרו אין יכול לו", והעזר היא ההארה 1812–1745 שמאיר אור ה' על נפש האלקית, להיות לה יתרון ושליטה על

Chasidic rebbe, halachic סכלות הכסיל ויצר הרע. authority, and founder of the Chabad movement. The Alter The final verdict comes from the Arbitrator—the Holy Rebbe was born in Liozna, Belarus, and was among the One, blessed be He, Who comes to the aid of the good principal students of the Magid of Mezeritch. His numerous nature, as our sages said, “If the Almighty did not help him, works include the Tanya, an early classic containing the he could not overcome his evil inclination.” The help comes fundamentals of Chabad Chasidism; and Shulchan by means of the glow radiated by the divine light, which Aruch HaRav, an expanded and illuminates the divine soul so that it may gain the upper reworked code of Jewish law. hand and mastery over the folly of the fool and evil nature.

LESSON 1 / Show Me the Way [ 14 ]

III. GIVING REAL HELP Giving Good, Empathetic Advice

TEXT 13 SIFRA 2:14

"ולפני עור לא תתן מכשול". לפני סומא בדבר . . . היה נוטל ממך עצה — אל תתן לו עצה שאינה הוגנת לו. Sifra (Torat Kohanim) [Scripture states,] “Do not place a stumbling block before An ancient rabbinic exegesis the blind.” Before one who is blind in this matter, . . . if he is on the . The subject matter of this work taking advice from you, do not give advice that is not fitting is predominately Temple- era-related laws inasmuch for him. as much of the Book of Leviticus focuses on the Temple service. According to Maimonides, the compiler and editor of this work was the “Show Me How” Talmudic sage Rav (175–247 CE). Others attribute it to an earlier redactor. The work is quoted often in the Talmud. TEXT 14 THE REBBE, RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL SCHNEERSON, LIKUTEI SICHOT 2, P. 366

מען מוז ארויסגיין אויף דער פרשת דרכים וואו עס שטייען אידן און ווייסן ניט אין וועלכער זייט צו גיין, מען דארף גיין צו זיי און שרייען: מקלט, מקלט, גייט צום רעכטן זייט וואס פירט קיין מקלט, דארטן איז א מקלט פון גואל הדם, פון דעם שטן וואס איז יורד ומסטין עולה ומקטרג, גייט ניט חס ושלום אין דער לינקער זייט, וואס פירט אין שאול ואבדון . . . און דורך דעם וועט דער אויבערשטער אים ווייזן די וועג וואס פירט צו חיים וטוב.

TORAH STUDIES / SEASON FOUR 5780 [ 15 ]

We must go out to the crossroads where Jews who do not know which way to go are found. We must go there and shout, “Here is refuge, here is refuge! Go down the right path that leads to refuge, refuge from those who seek blood, namely the Satan who seeks negative influence. Do not go down the wrong path that leads to destruction!” . . . By doing so, G-d will, in turn, show him the right path that leads to positivity and life.

Conclusion

TEXT 15 TALMUD TRACTATE MAKOT, 10B

רב חמא בר חנינא פתח לה פתחא להאי פרשתא מהכא: "טוב וישר ה' על כן יורה חטאים בדרך", אם לחטאים יורה, קל וחומר לצדיקים.

Rav Hama bar Hanina introduced this portion with an introduction from the following verse, “Good and upright is G-d; therefore He directs sinners along the way.” If He directs sinners, then how much more so for the righteous.

LESSON 1 / Show Me the Way