Tzav 5764 Volume XI Number 28 Toras Aish Thoughts From Across the Torah Spectrum the Rav thanked me, but told me the note was RABBI AVI WEISS unnecessary. I responded, "Rebbe I wrote the letter for Shabbat Forshpeis you, but even more important, for myself. I had a need to tell you, 'I love you.'" The Rav nodded and told me his week's Torah portion tells us that one type of that he understood. peace offering (Korban Shlamim) is known as the If only we would learn the message of the Tthanksgiving sacrifice (Korban Todah). (Leviticus thanksgiving offering—to say the simple words to those 7:12) who mean the most to us, but whom we often take for Rashi notes that this type of sacrifice was given granted—words like todah, thank you, to our closest of after experiencing a special miracle. He specifies one kin and, of course, to the ultimate source, God Himself. who has endured a sea voyage, a trip through the © 2004 Hebrew Institute of Riverdale & CJC-AMCHA wilderness, a prison stay or a recovery from an illness. To this day, those who survive difficult RABBI DOV KRAMER situations such as these are obliged to recite the thanksgiving benediction at the Torah (birkat ha-gomel). Taking a Closer Look Jewish law extends the obligation to include those who hen beginning to relate the story of the Exodus are saved from any type of peril. from Egypt, the Mishna (Pesachim 10:4) tells us The Ramban's comments in the Book of Wto "start with disgrace and finish with praise." In Exodus (13:16) can shed light on the importance of the the Talmud (116a), Shmuel says that the "disgrace" we thanksgiving sacrifice. For him, God's intervention in start with is "we were slaves to Paro (Pharaoh) in the supernatural should give one a sense of God's Egypt." This would seem to be rather straightforward; involvement in the everyday. For example, from the we start with the shame of being slaves and end with splitting of the sea, an event in which God was so becoming free. The Rashbatz (author of the Tashbatz), obviously manifest, one should come to recognize the however, in his commentary on the Hagadah, takes a input of God every day in containing the waters within different approach. the boundaries of the sea shore. In the words of "And the disgrace is what is said in the Midrash Nehama Leibowitz, "the unusual deliverances and (Tehillim 10:3): "[G-d said] 'you (the brothers) sold outstanding miracles are there merely to draw our Yosef to be a slave- [I swear] on your lives [that] every attention to the miracle of existence." year they will read 'we were slaves to Paro.'" And the The timing of the reading of the thanksgiving praise is that just as Yosef went out from prison to rule, offering, the Shabbat before Passover, also teaches a so did we go out free. And so will happen in the days of significant lesson. After all, on Passover, we thank God Moshiach, as it says (Micha 7:15) 'as in the days of your for miraculously taking us out of Egypt. The Haggadah going out from Egypt will I show you wonders.' And so comes to its crescendo as we sing Dayenu-which too at the end of the Hagadah do we end with praise: means enough. Some think Dayenu deals with our 'therefore we are obligated to give thanks and to praise, telling God that we have had enough suffering. In etc.'" reality, the song says the reverse. We say to God, had Although he was forced to flee from Spain to you only performed but a fraction of the larger miracle, it Algiers in 1391- and lost all of his wealth in the process- would have been enough. Dayenu is the quintessential it would be difficult to say that this caused the Rashbatz statement of thanks to God. to feel that the "disgrace" of exile had not been lifted The fact that the thanksgiving sacrifice is a type and could therefore not be Shmuel's intent. Why then of peace offering is also clear. When giving to God, the did the Rashbatz explain the "disgrace" to be the sale of human being achieves a level of inner peace. This is Yosef into slavery rather than the more obvious because love is not only a function of receiving, but also "disgrace" of the whole nation being enslaved? of giving. How I remember writing to the Rav, Rav There are other difficulties with the Rashbatz's Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, of blessed memory, upon his approach as well. The sages don't limit the causes of return to class after he lost his wife. After listening to the slavery in Egypt to just the one quoted in Midrash his lecture (shiur), I was so taken that I wrote to him Tehillim: The Talmud (Shabbos 10b) says that because expressing my love and admiration. A few days later, Ya'akov showed favoritism towards Yosef by giving him 2 Toras Aish were to get out of this exile, the infighting would just lead them to become subservient to a different power. Being freed from Egypt would have little meaning if it TORAS AISH IS A WEEKLY PARSHA NEWSLETTER was just a temporary change to being slaves elsewhere. DISTRIBUTED VIA EMAIL AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB. But the nation (eventually) learned its lesson. SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR MORE As it says in Eliyahu Rabbah (21:4) regarding those that INFORMATION EMAIL [email protected] came out of Egypt, "They gathered together until they COPIES OF TORAS AISH ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE formed one group and made a covenant with each FOLLOWING ADDRESS ON THE WEB (WWW) : other to do acts of kindness for one another." Now that HTTP://AISHDAS.ORG they wouldn't mistreat each other- just the opposite, The material presented in this publication was collected from they would go out of their way to help each other- they publicly available electronic mail, computer archives and the were worthy of being redeemed, and were not in danger UseNet. It is being presented with the permission of the respective of being re-exiled. authors. Toras Aish is solely the work of the AishDas Society, and does not necessarily reflect the views of any given synagogue. Perhaps this is why the Rashbatz chose this aspect as the "disgrace" we begin with, and why he TO DEDICATE THIS NEWSLETTER PLEASE CALL compared it to Yosef's ascent to royalty; It was only 973-472-0180 OR EMAIL [email protected] through their experience of slavery that they understood the importance of treating each other properly- learning from the mistakes of their ancestors who had sold Yosef and from the other infighting that had kept them a special coat, eventually our ancestors went down to enslaved for so many years. Egypt. In Nedarim (32a) there is a three-way dispute as "He that performed miracles for our ancestors, to why Avraham was punished with his descendants and redeemed them from slavery to freedom, may he being enslaved in Egypt for so many years; either redeem us soon and gather our exiles from the four because he used religious scholars as soldiers (in his corners of the earth, all of Israel are companions, and war with the kings), because he allowed the king of let us say 'Amen" (from the blessing for the new month). Sodom keep the captives he had freed rather than When we all get along (are "chaveirim"), we can be trying to bring them closer to G-d, or because he worthy of redemption. showed a (slight) lack of faith by questioning how he As we renew our commitment to our Creator, would know that he would receive the land that G-d had recalling all of the wondrous miracles that He did to take promised him. (Interestingly, the latter opinion is that of us out of Egypt, let us also renew our commitment to Shmuel, who says that the "disgrace" we begin with at treating each other properly, so that this becomes the the Seder is the slavery.) If the "disgrace" refers to the month of our ultimate redemption. © 2004 Rabbi D. cause of the slavery in Egypt- and not the actual slavery Kramer itself- why does the Rashbatz choose just the one "disgrace" over the others? RABBI ARON TENDLER Additionally, his comparison of Yosef's climb from being in prison to royalty with our being slaves and Rabbi’s Notebook then being freed seems incongruous. If Yosef had not dditional laws of the Olah (Ascent offering) are been sold by the brothers to be a slave, he would not detailed in this week's Parsha and were have been in Egypt in the first place to become Viceroy. Aaddressed specifically to Aharon and his sons. On the other hand, if we had never been slaves, there (6:2) "Command Aharon and his sons, saying: This is would be no need to free us! From a freedom the law of the ascent offering?" standpoint, we didn't "gain" from the experience; it just The word used by the Torah is "Tzav? brought us to the same place we would have been had command. Additional laws of the Chatas are detailed in there been no slavery. How can the Rashbatz compare this week's Parsha and were addressed specifically to our becoming free to Yosef becoming royalty? Aharon and his sons. (6:17) "Speak to Aharon and his Of all the causes mentioned for the slavery, sons, saying: This is the law of the sin offering..." only one entails the mistreatment of others.