Parashat Shavua

Hemdat Yamim Parashat Mezora 5763

Hemdat Yamim Parshat Metzora - Shabbat Hagadol 10 Nisan 5763 ==================================== This edition of Hemdat Yamim is dedicated to the memory of R' Meir ben Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld o.b.m. =========================================== Eretz Hemdah is the premier institution for training young rabbis to take the Israeli Rabbinate's rigorous Yadin Yadin examinations. Eretz Hemdah, with its distinctive blend of Religious Zionist philosophy and scholarship combined with community service, ensures that its graduates emerge with the finest training, the noblest motivations resulting in an exceptionally strong connection to Jewish communities worldwide. ================================================== Checking the Pocket for Next Year's Grain Harav Yosef Carmel Chazal instituted to read, as the haftara of Shabbat Hagadol, the prophecy of Malachi, which contains the following famous pasuk. "Behold, I am sending to you Eliya[hu] the prophet before the coming of the great and fearful day of Hashem" (Malachi 3:23). There is no need to explain the connection between the upcoming redemption and Pesach. However, another connection between the haftara and Pesach can be found in the siddur of Rav Yaakov Emden (pg. 226a). Another pasuk in the haftara is: "Bring the ma'aser (tithes) to the storage house ... and test Me in this ... if I will not open up the windows of the heavens and pour out for you blessings with no limits" (Malachi 3:10). The navi's words are highly unusual in two aspects, as pointed out in Ta'anit 9a. One is the invitation to test Hashem to see if He will "deliver on" His promise, which is normally forbidden (see Devarim 6:16). The other is the scope of the blessing, which is without limit. It is perhaps for this reason that Chazal spoke in such strong terms about the mitzva of tzedaka, which is so closely related to ma'aser. "One who does charity is greater than all of the sacrifices" (Sukka 49b). "R. Akiva said ... Ma'asrot are a protection of wealth" (Avot 3:13). Even the entry of the kohen gadol into the Holy of Holies was in the merit of ma'aser, as both our pasuk and the one in Acharei Mot, which introduces the description of the kohen gadol's entry, use the word "b'zot" prominently. Chazal teach us that one of the four times a year that the world is judged is on Pesach, in regard to grain (Rosh Hashana 1:2). Grain is the symbol of livelihood, and indeed a person's livelihood depends on the tzedaka he gives. Tosafot (Ta'anit 9a) cites a midrash which says: "'Give ma'aser from all the grain of your planting, which goes out from the field year by year' " (Devarim 14:22). This means that your field will only produce according to the way you gave ma'aser in the previous year. According to all of this, we see that there is an additional level of preparation for the period of Pesach, for which the haftara prepares us. If we desire that the great task of ensuring our livelihood will be successfully accomplished, we should remember that we can test Hashem by giving charity appropriately and waiting for the very special blessings to shower down upon us. =========================================== P'ninat Mishpat - Ownership of Chametz on Pesach During the seven days of Pesach, chametz is not only forbidden to eat but is also forbidden to receive benefit from (asur b'hana'ah) and, consequently, leaves the possession of its previous owner. This creates a paradoxical situation. It is forbidden to have chametz in one's house, but it is permitted to have chametz which is not his own in his house. (The exact parameters of that halacha are complicated and beyond our scope). If chametz is not yours anyway, then how can you violate the prohibition of possessing it, which requires ownership? The gemara (Pesachim 6b) says that this paradox is included in the definition of the prohibition, and, thus, chametz is one of those things which "are not in one's possession, yet the Torah made it considered as if it was in his possession." The lack of possession is significant in a few scenarios and paradoxically makes it more likely that one will violate the prohibition of possession. The primary reason is that one cannot transfer ownership on that which is not his. As long as chametz is mutar b'hana'ah, it can be sold (Pesachim 21a). However, once it becomes asur b'hana'ah, not only is it forbidden to sell it and receive money (=benefit) for it, but it becomes impossible to do so. If someone were to sell the Brooklyn Bridge, he would not be stealing from the owners of the bridge, as there is simply no meaning to selling something which is not yours. This is why the rabbis who do mechirat chametz must make sure that the transaction is complete before the end of the fifth hour of the morning (when the isur hana'ah begins). Afterward, the sale cannot be accomplished. So too, a homeowner who had not intended to sell a certain item and then decided to include it in the mechirat chametz cannot do so after this time. (He must also realize that the rabbi's sale on his behalf was probably completed several minutes before this time.) Another thing which must be accomplished by this time is the bitul chametz (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 434:2). Bitul is either nullifying one's ownership or, as owner, rendering it of no consequence (see Rashi and Tosafot on Pesachim 4b). Either way, this cannot be done after the "owner" no longer has control. This is a common problem for the following reason. We do not do bitul on chametz we are aware of until we physically burn our remaining chametz. This is in order to fulfill the mitzva of burning our own chametz (Rama 434:2). But if we burn the chametz close to the end of the time limit, we wait so that the chametz will be ours until it is rendered destroyed, and certainly if the bitul slips our mind for another few minutes, it can become too late to perform the bitul. ============================================== Moreshet Shaul (from the works of Hagaon Harav Shaul Yisraeli zt"l) "You Shall Surely Know" - (condensed from Drasha of Shabbat Hagadol, 5705, 1945) When Avraham Avinu first asked, "How will I know?" Hashem answered, "You shall surely know"- in the merit of the korbanot (sacrifices) (Rashi on Bereishit 15:6). Avraham's question, which brought about the enslavement in Egypt, raises serious questions of our own. Why is it that when Avraham was told of the miracle of his bearing children he needed no proofs, but by the more natural idea that those children would inherit a land, his question seems to indicate a lack of faith? When Moshe complained to Hashem about the deterioration in Bnei Yisrael's condition since he started the geula (liberation) process, he did not doubt that the geula would come. Rather, he was questioning how valuable that fact was to the people who were still suffering or were still getting killed in the meantime (Shemot Rabba 5). How sweet could geula be when it left behind so many losses? To that, Hashem responded: "I appeared to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya'akov with the name of Kel Shakai..." (Shemot 6:3). What does this mean? There are two ways of looking at the relationship between Hashem and mankind: that He is the Creator and we are the creations; that He created us in His image and blew His spirit of life into our bodies. This duality makes Him, Avinu Malkeinu (our Father and King). "There was no one who called Hashem "adon" (Master) until Avraham did so (Berachot 7b). Avraham came to a realization of Hashem by contemplating nature and figuring out that there must be a master who ensures its running. If there is a physical logic to the running of the world, there must be a moral system of justice as well to it. This brought Avraham to ask, "Can it be that the Judge of the whole world will not do justice?" (Bereishit 18:25). The second relationship is engendered in Hashem's relationship with Bnei Yisrael, which goes well beyond His being a reliable master. We look to Hashem as a father, someone about whom there can be no questions that He is acting for our good no matter how bleak things look. "Even if He shall kill me, I shall look to Him" (Iyov 13:15). With that outlook, man becomes immortal. He cannot cease to exist because he believes in the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the dead. The second promise that Avraham received and which he had difficulty accepting, was that he himself would inherit the land at the ends of days, not only his children. How could he come back after death? The answer to Avraham was, "You shall surely know- in the merit of the sacrifices." This is not referring to animal sacrifice, but the sacrifices of the Jewish nation throughout the generations in order to keep Hashem's name known in the world. The sacrifice included the Ten Martyrs of Roman times and countless others over the centuries who were killed and burnt without provocation. [Ed. note- This was written when the destruction to European Jewry was known, but its magnitude was not yet known.] The enemy would often remain apparently unharmed and the mind and soul called out for an explanation of how that could be. The question is so great as to prove to any believer that life must continue after death, that those whose life was cruelly taken from them would still have the opportunity to "inherit the Land." It was the paternal figure, not the image of master, that appeared to Moshe at the burning bush. Hashem assured Moshe that He was together with His sons in their time of anguish, and He would ensure that the righteous and the wicked would have their lots adjusted to conform to Divine Justice. They then, and Avraham previously, believed not only in Hashem but in the immortality of the soul which would experience that justice. ============================================== Ask the Rabbi Question: It seems that every year we have a conflict between those who want to rush to eat the afikoman by chatzot (astronomical midnight) and those who want to allow the seder to advance at its own pace. What should we do? Answer: It is hard enough to try to decide for someone whether or not to be stringent. In this case, resolve to be stringent on the time of afikoman often causes reduced observance of other elements of the seder. In addition to the feelings of a wife/(grand)mother who slaved to prepare a meal fit for those celebrating liberation, there is the issue of curtailing the mitzva d'oraita of sipur y'tziat Mitzrayim (telling the story of the Exodus) or rushing the children, whom Chazal saw as central figures in the seder experience. So, one cannot compare the situation of those who can easily make it by chatzot with a little planning and those who have understandable difficulty. Study of the sources is needed to put the matter into perspective. There are two main elements to the eating of afikoman. Firstly, it is part of the mitzva to eat matza on seder night, and, according to a minority of Rishonim (Rashi, Rashbam on Pesachim 119b), is the main fulfillment of this mitzva. The Rosh (Pesachim 10:38) puts the stress on the idea that afikoman is a reminder of the korban pesach, which we no longer have, and, therefore, it is eaten on a relatively full stomach and is not to be followed by other food. By when do these elements need to be done? R. Elazar b. Azaria and R. Akiva dispute if the korban pesach needs to be eaten by chatzot or by the morning (Pesachim 120b). Rava (ibid.) says that the time for eating the korban pesach is also the time for eating matza. Thus, both elements of the afikoman depend on this machloket. The Rambam (Chametz U'matza 6:1) and apparently the Rif pasken like R. Akiva, that we have until the morning. Yet, the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 477:1) writes: "One should be careful to eat [the afikoman] before chatzot." This is either out of deference to those who pasken like R. Elazar or because R. Akiva agrees that one should distance himself from possible sin and eat the korban pesach and the matza by chatzot (Gra, ad loc.). Usually, the terminology of "one should be careful" in the Shulchan Aruch is somewhat more than a suggestion but somewhat less than an outright, binding halachic decision, and this is logical based on the sources we have seen. We must remember also that we are not talking about eating the korban pesach itself or our first matza of the night after chatzot, just the additional element of the afikoman (the Mishna Berura 477:6 makes this distinction). Therefore, the following guidelines should provide a good balance. Try to start the seder promptly. Proceed through it without looking at the face of the clock, but at the faces of the children and others who should be learning, sharing in, and enjoying the full experience of the seder. During the meal is when one should start trying to "make it by chatzot." It is best if all concerned get used to the idea that there is usually too much food at the seder. If less is prepared, and we remember that there are 7-8 days to partake in the bounty, there will be less chance of insult if dessert is skipped. Also, while the afikoman should be eaten on a full stomach, it is best that there be some appetite left for eating the afikoman (Rama 476:1; Mishna Berura ad loc.:6). However, habits are hard to break, and feelings should not be ignored. (Some are aware of a sharp halachic trick to obviate the problem. It has both merit and some potential problems and is beyond the scope of our discussion.) =========================================== Harav Shaul Israeli zt"l Founder and President Deans: Harav Yosef Carmel Harav Moshe Ehrenreich ERETZ HEMDAH 5 Ha-Mem Gimmel St. P.O.B 36236 Jerusalem 91360 Tel/Fax: 972-2-5371485 Email: eretzhem@netvision.net.il web-site: www.eretzhemdah.org American Friends of Eretz Hemdah Institutions c/o Olympian 8 South Michigan Ave. Suite 605 Chicago, IL 60603 USA Our Taxpayer ID#: 36-4265359

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