Parshat Emor
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Parshat Emor 13 Iyar 5776 /May 21, 2016 Daf Yomi: Kiddushin 71; Nach Yomi: Isaiah 10 Weekly Dvar Torah A project of the NATIONAL COUNCIL OF YOUNG ISRAEL SPONSORED BY THE HENRY, BERTHA AND EDWARD ROTHMAN FOUNDATION ROCHESTER, NY,CLEVELAND, OHIO, CIRCLEVILLE, OHIO Parashat ha-Moadim Rabbi Chaim Wasserman Rabbi Emeritus, Young Israel of Passaic-Clifton, NJ In Parashat Emor, there contains a section, parashat ha-moadim, (Emor 23:1-43) in which the Torah lists all five Holy Days. It begins as follows: “These are the appointed seasons you must celebrate as sacred holidays to G-d: Six days (Pesach 2 days; Shavuot 1 day; Rosh haShanah 1 day; Sukkot 2 days) there shall be no work done (except for what is permitted to be done elsewhere). But on one day it shall be observed as a day of solemn rest (shabbat shabbaton). The inclusion of Shabbat in such a list is problematic. The sanctity of Shabbat derives from the creation of the world, not from the kedushat hazmanim, the sanctity of seasons the Torah gave to the Jews to determine for themselves. Rashi (1040-1105) is sensitive to the problem and quotes midrash Torat Kohanim: “Why is Shabbat listed here with all of the other moadim? This is to indicate that one who observes the moadim properly is considered as though he has kept every Shabbat, and one who violates the moadim is considered as having violated every Shabbat.” Here the observances of Shabbat and yom tov are equated despite the fact that there are some notable exceptions to that equation allowed by the Torah. Basically, it seems that chazal intended to teach that Shabbat and yom tov are to be treated with equal sanctity but for the exceptions the Torah itself builds in to the scheme of holy days. The Vilna Gaon (1720-1797), however, saw this parashat ha-moadim differently. His opinion was that the Shabbat mentioned in this section has nothing to do, on a level of p’shat (literal meaning), with what is being said here about all the other holy days. He reminds us that among these moadim, there is one day, Yom Kippur, which is different in degree of observance from the other four. The Torah designates that fifth one as a shabbat shabbaton with stricter observances than the other holy days. Therefore, the Vilna Gaon says to understand the parashat ha-moadim (23:1-3) as follows: G-d spoke to Moshe, telling him to speak to the Jews and say to them: “There are special times you must celebrate as sacred holidays to me, which are as follows: You may do (only certain specified) work during the six days of the holidays (2-Pesach; 1- Shavuot; 1- Rosh haShanah; 2-Sukkot, for a total of six days). But, on the seventh day, Yom Kippur, that shall be a Shabbat Shabbaton, a sacred holiday to G-d, when you shall not do even the work permitted by the Torah on any other yom tov. It shall be observed fully as if it were Shabbat. Clearly, there is no halachic dispute between Rashi and the Vilna Gaon as to the meaning of these opening pesukim to parashat ha-moadim. We have here two opinions demonstrating the beauty and diversity in understanding the p’shat of the Torah’s text. Shalosh Regalim: A Historical Continuum RaMBam in his Moreh Nevochim (3:43) explains the spiritual continuum attached to the shalosh regalim (three pilgrim festivals) — Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. Pesach — z’man cheruteinu. We celebrate the spiritual value of human freedom from physical bondage. A slave (eved) just has to perform work for a master but has little thinking to do other than to produce the work his master demands. His time is not his own nor does he have the right to make decisions or to even own property. Therefore, an eved is exempt from all the mitzvot she-hazeman g’rama — mitzvot that are time bound, because his time belongs strictly to his master. And, the halachah is concerning property, Mah shekanah eved kannah rabbo — whatever a slave acquires is the property of his master. Shavuot — z’man matan Torateinu. We celebrate having received the Torah, that source of values (arachim) that constitute our way of living. That is the reason the Torah is referred to as our derech ha-chayim with the 613 mitzvot we acquired. Now that we are free of the bondage to our masters and far from their environment and their values, we need our own constitution, our own rule book. This is what is meant by kabbalat haTorah, We celebrate the acceptance of a way of living with all of our specific values. Sukkot. RaMBaM seems to say it is the celebration of our returning home to our promised national homeland. Those forty years in the Sinai desert, shifting from place to place, would for all times serve as a reminder that those of the generation of the Exodus were always on their way back home, returning to the homeland that Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov spent their lives developing family as a small clan that rejected the values of the Caananites and started to develop their own ways. Sukkot, therefore, is the celebration of homecoming, for only here in G-d’s Promised Land, Torah as a derech ha-chayim, becomes a comprehensive way of life for the Jewish nation. And so, with the shalosh regalim, we celebrate that seminal period in our history when we left the servitude of Egypt, received our Torah at Sinai and, with that in hand, we marched on to return to our Promised Land. Pesach Joy and Sukkot Simchah R. Yitzchak Arama (c.1420-1494) in his Akeidat Yitzchak, distinguishes the joy experienced on Pesach from that of Sukkot. He asserts that Pesach, when we recall the tragic slavery we encountered in Egypt and our miraculous freedom at the time of the Exodus, is when the joy is focused on our own selves. We feel joyful that we are not still in Egyptian bondage. Not so Sukkot. The Torah describes it as chag la-Hashem shivat yamim (Pinchas 29:12). Sukkot is HaShem’s holiday during which we offer our unbridled thanksgiving unto the Lord for the forty years in the desert on our way to Eretz Yisrael. The Tishrei Holy Days Rabbi Yehudah haLevi (1076-c.1140) in his Kuzari (2:5) suggests that the Torah’s mitzvot were designed to be observed from one of three basic human emotions: fear (possibly awe), love and joy. With this in mind, ponder the three Tishrei holy days. Rosh haShana is referred to as yom ha-din — the day on which HaShem sits on his throne of judgment. Recall what we say in the exalted description of Unesaneh Tokef: “All mankind passes before You as You fix their lifetime and inscribe their destiny. On Rosh haShanah their destiny is inscribed and on Yom Kippur it is sealed… how many shall pass away and who shall be brought into existence…” Even the angels above, shuttering with fear, declare ‘The day of judgment is here…” Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement is when we read that the word, at-one-ment is an entire day during which we beseech HaShem to accept our return unto Him. “Open for us the gates of prayer and let us enter into Your gates.” The process of, of coming together, is for us an act of love. Sukkot, during which the Torah bids us “ve-hayita ach same’ach.” It is a week for rejoicing and joy. Tishrei, then, is the month when, within three weeks, we are taken through Rabbi Yehudah haLevi’s three emotional moods of mitzvah observance: fear, love, and joy. Shabbat Shalom. The Weekly Sidra “A Little Exercise Into The Obvious” Rabbi Moshe Greebel Associate Member, Young Israel Council of Rabbis The story is told of the M’lamaid (tutor) who once stated to his wife, “If I were Rothschild, I would be richer than he is!” “But, how could that be?” posed the wife. “Wouldn’t you both have the same amount of money?” “Yes,” responded the M’lamaid, “but, I would do some teaching on the side.” During the course of diligent Torah study, there are those inevitable times when what may at first seem to be a major difficulty, is in the end very easily resolved, since the answer is staring us right in the face (‘Rothschild is Rothschild, while I am also a M’lamed’). Of course, to satisfactorily resolve such Torah complexities a major Talmid Chacham (Torah scholar) is always a necessity. If one assiduously does his research, he will find those scientific opinions which claim that men outlive women, and others which hold just the opposite. As far as our own Rabbanim of blessed memory are concerned, we shall shortly examine an opinion of who outlives whom, based on this Passuk (verse) in this week’s Sidra, which speaks of Kohanim who become mourners: “But for his kin, who is near to him, that is, for his mother and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother. And for his sister a virgin, who is near to him, which has had no husband; for her may he be defiled.” (Vayikra 21:2-3) Hence, a Kohain Hedyot (ordinary Kohain) attends the L’vaya (funeral) of seven relatives: 1. Kin (wife) 2. Mother 3. Father 4. Son 5. Daughter 6. Brother 7. Unmarried Sister Based on this Passuk, the Even Ezra (Rav Avraham Ben Meir Ibn Ezra 1089– 1164 of blessed memory) learns that since the Kohain’s deceased mother is mentioned prior to his father, in the majority of situations, men outlive their wives.