Rabbi Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi, Kehillat New Hempstead
Social Worker, Yeshiva Bais Hachinuch/Ashar
STAM TORAH
PARSHAS EIKEV 5772
“THANKS FOR EVERYTHING”
Rabbi Yehuda Halevi was
born in Toledo, Spain in the latter part of the
eleventh century. He learned Torah from some of the greatest scholars of his
time, most notably Rabbi Yitzchak Alfasi, the Rif.
A master of literary style in Hebrew and Arabic, Rabbi Yehuda Halevi was one of
the greatest liturgical poets of all time.
He famously wrote, “My
heart is in the east (i.e. Jerusalem)
while I am in the farthest end of the west.” One of his most passionate
passages is a kinah (lamentation) recited on Tisha B’av which begins, “ציון הלא תשאלי לשלום אסיריך - O Zion, will you not
inquire about the welfare of your imprisoned”. In it Rabbi Yehuda expresses his
uncompromised love and yearning for Zion
in passionate prose. He depicts his broken heart which mourns the loss of the
glory that once was Jerusalem,
“Who shall make me wings so that I might wander far away? I would cause my
shattered heart to wander amidst your shattered ruins…” He describes the
incredible merit of every parcel of its land, “A breath of life for our souls
is the air of your land…” and he concludes with the hope for its restoration,
“Fortunate is he who awaits, arrives, and witnesses the rising of your light
when your dawn bursts forth over him…”
Rabbi Yehuda Halevi
finally decided that he would himself undertake the arduous journey to travel
and settle in the Holy Land. An ancient
manuscript states that Rabbi Yehuda composed the aforementioned lamentation
when he passed Damascus and was facing Zion. There is also a
legend that when he reached Jerusalem
he fell to the ground in ecstatic fulfillment of the verse, (Tehillim 102:15)
“For your servant had cherished her stones and been gracious to her dust.” At
that moment, while he lay on the ground kissing the ground, an Arab horseman
saw him and trampled him to death. With his last breath he fulfilled his
lifelong passion to glimpse and touch G-d’s Holy Land.
Moshe Rabbeinu
described the greatness of Eretz Yisroel by noting its merit and perfection.
(8:7-10) “For Hashem, your G-d, is bringing you to a good Land; a Land with
streams of water, of springs and underground water coming forth in valley and
mountain. A land of wheat, barley, grape, fig, and pomegranate; a Land of
oil-olives and date-honey. A Land where you will eat bread without poverty – (lo sechsar kol bah) you will lack
nothing there; a Land whose stones are iron and from whose mountains you will
mine copper. When you have eaten and are satisfied, you will bless Hashem, your
G-d for the good land that He has given you.”
The verses speak of the
physical nourishment that the land will provide and the vitality that the
nation would enjoy from consuming the produce of the land. However, it is
peculiar that the Torah mentions the abundance of copper and iron in the middle
of its discussion about the produce of the land. What does iron and copper have
to do with bread and the seven species?
In Birkas Hamazon[1]
the second blessing begins with a recounting of many of the wondrous events
that transpired at the genesis of our history as a people. “Nodeh lecha- We give thanks to You Hashem, our G-d, for Your parceling
out as a heritage to our fathers a Land which is desirable, good and spacious;
for Your bringing us out, Hashem, our G-d, from the land of Egypt…for Your
Torah…for the life, favor, and kindness…and for the provision of food…” The
following paragraph continues, “V’al hakol- For everything Hashem, our G-d,
we thank You and bless You…as it is written, “When you have eaten and you will
be satisfied, you will bless Hashem, your G-d, for the good Land which he has
given you. Blessed are You Hashem, for the land and for the food.”
Toward the end of the
Shemoneh Esrei prayer[2]
there is a somewhat similar expression of gratitude in the Modim prayer. “We are thankful to You Hashem…and recount Your
praise for our lives which are committed into Your Hand…and for Your wonders
and benefactions at all times…The Beneficent One – for Your compassion is never
withheld, and the Merciful One for your kindliness never ceases; we have always
placed our hope in You.” The next paragraph continues, “(V’al kulam) And for all
of them, blessed and exalted be Your Name, our King, constantly, forever and
ever…”
There is a notable
discrepancy in the “follow-up paragraphs” of Birkas Hamazon and Shemoneh Esrei.
In Shemoneh Esrei we list some of the things we are grateful to G-d for and
then we continue that “For all of them” - i.e. for our lives, His goodness, and
all of the goodness just mentioned - we are grateful to G-d. In Birkas Hamazon
however, we list specific examples of His goodness that transpired during the
burgeoning of our nationhood - i.e. the Promise that we would inherit the great
Land, the exodus from Egypt,
the covenant with our forefathers etc. We continue by expressing our gratitude
for the Torah, food, and constant life. But the following paragraph does not
continue, “For all of them”, but rather with a more general expression, “For
everything”.
Why in Birkas Hamazon
is our gratitude more general, “V’al hakol- For everything…we
thank You and bless You”, while in Shemoneh Esrei it is endemic to the
previously mentioned items?
It is well-known that a
certain amount of mineral-intake is integral to our health. One who lacks
necessary minerals will require supplements to boost his system.
Iron helps produce
hemoglobin. Iron-deficiency can cause anemia, a disease causing paleness which
stems from the blood’s lack of adequate healthy red blood cells which carry
oxygen to the body tissues. The lack of oxygenated blood makes the body appear
feeble and pale.
Copper is found in all
body tissue. It helps the body produce collagen[3]
and helps keep the Central Nervous System healthy. Copper deficiencies can also
lead to a slew of health problems including anemia, skeletal defects,
degeneration of the nervous system, pronounced cardiovascular lesions, and
impaired immunity.
Rabbi Shimon Schwab
zt’l explains that when the verse mentions the abundance of copper and iron in
the land, it is not digressing. Rather, it is explaining the extent of the
land’s greatness and how perfect its produce is. When the Torah states that it
is a Land, “Where you will eat bread without poverty – you will lack nothing
there”, it is referring to the bread itself. The bread will not lack anything
in the sense that even the minerals and organic vitamins necessary for one’s
health will be abundant and integrated within it. In other words, because it
is, “A land whose stones are iron and from whose mountains you will mine
copper”, therefore, “You will lack nothing there”.
When we recite the
words, “V’al hakol- For everything…we thank You”, perhaps the word “hakol-
everything” is a reference to the verse which states, “Eretz…asher lo sechsar kol
bah- A land…you will lack nothing there[4]”.
After listing the merit of the land, the exodus, the Torah, and the food which
G-d grants us, we thank Him for “everything”, a reference to the verse which
states that the land encompasses all possible blessing and has “everything” in
it. In fact, the blessing continues with a quotation of the subsequent verse,
“When you have eaten and are satisfied, you will bless Hashem, your G-d, for
the good land which He has given you.” When we eat and enjoy our bread the
Torah exhorts us to bless Him and thank Him for the Land. Thus, when we speak
of the greatness of the land we refer to its completion and perfection. This is
alluded to in the opening two words, “V’al
hakol- For everything”![5]
In our time, despite
what we have accomplished and the unimaginable growth that we have attained, we
must not forget that we are still in exile. Although Eretz Yisroel has once
again become an oasis of physical beauty in a desert wasteland, the land
possesses merely a shadow of the greatness, beauty, and pride that it once had
and will once again have.
The prophet expresses
this idea in his magnificent message to the nation at the conclusion of the
haftorah: “Listen to me, O pursuers of righteousness, seekers of Hashem; look
to the rock from which you were hewn, and the hollow of the pit from which you
were dug. Look to Avrohom your forefather and to Sarah who bore you… For Hashem
shall comfort Zion, He shall comfort all her ruins, He shall make her
wilderness like Eden and her wasteland like a garden of Hashem; joy and
gladness shall be found there, thanksgiving and the sound of music.”
“My heart is in the
east”
“For everything…we
thank You and bless You”
[1] Grace after Meals recited after one eats bread
[2] the Eighteen Benedictions recited thrice daily in our
prayers
[3] a fibrous protein found in bones and cartilage
[4] literally- you will not lack everything there
[5] [Note: In the blessings recited following the
recitation of the haftorah (reading from the prophets), the concluding blessing
added on Shabbos and Yom Tov states, “For the Torah, for the Divine Service,
for the Prophets, and for this…day which You gave us Hashem, our G-d…(V’al hakol)
For everything Hashem, our G-d, we thank You and bless You…”
In tandem with the explanation we offered above,
perhaps the words “v’al hakol” in these blessings refers to the
first post-haftorah blessing which reads, “Blessed are You Hashem…the Al-mighty
and Faithful One, Who says and does, Who speaks and fulfills, (sheKOL devarav emes vatzedek) For ALL his words are true and
right.” When we thank Hashem for “Kol-
everything”, perhaps it is a reference to the previously mentioned “Kol- everything”. It is an expression of
gratitude that everything that He says (which is just and right), we thank Him
and bless Him!]
______________________________________________________________
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Eikev – Pirkei Avos, perek 4
22 Av 5772/August 10, 2012
The yeshiva bochur was late for his close friend’s wedding and he really wanted to catch the chuppah. When he finally neared the hall, to his chagrin, there were no parking spots to be found. Beads of sweat began dripping down his face as he neared the hall but still no spots were available. Then
as he drove up the block of the hall itself, just five feet from the
main entrance, the bochur was ecstatic to find an open spot. He parked his car and quickly grabbed his hat and began rushing towards the entrance. Just then he noticed a police officer writing him out a ticket. When the bochur asked him why he was getting a ticket the cop snapped, “Son, are you blind? There’s a sign right there which says No Parking.” The bochur smiled, “Officer, let me explain. I
also thought that way originally. You see, I was driving around when I
noticed this spot. My immediate thought was that there was no way that could be a legal spot. But then I saw the sign which said, “No (don’t think you can’t park there); Parking!”
We
often fail to appreciate the nuances or the vital importance of proper
punctuation. Those little dots and lines can make all the difference in
the meaning of a statement. One famous example is how two different groups punctuated the words: “A woman, without her man is nothing”. The men punctuated it as, “A woman without her man, is nothing” while the women punctuated it as, “A woman: without her, man is nothing!”
The
New York Times Bestseller “Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: The Zero tolerance
approach to punctuation” was so titled based on the following joke:
“A
panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a
gun and fires two shots in the air. “Why?” asks the confused waiter, as
the panda makes his way towards
the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and
tosses it over his shoulder. “I’m a panda”, he says, at the door. “Look
it up.”
“The
waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an
explanation. “Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to
china. Eats, shoots, and leaves.”
What does this have to do with the post-Tisha-B’av seven weeks of consolation which we find ourselves in?
The sefer Nechamas Tzion is the Ben Ish Chai’s unique commentary on Megillas Eicha. In it, the Ben Ish Chai demonstrates how every phrase in Megillas Eicha can, and will, ultimately be words of consolation. For
example, the opening words which lament how the great bustling
metropolis of Jeruslaem has become barren like a widow, can be read as
an explanation of admiration that such a great city with so many
inhabitants stands alone and in solitude, towering above all other
cities and peoples. The word ‘K’almanah - like a widow’ can be read as ‘k’al manah – as if above count’, because of their spiritual greatness they defy numbers and limitations.
As
another brief example, in pasuk 3, when the prophet speaks of the cause
of ‘galus – exile’, the Ben Ish Chai reads it as an expression of
‘gilui- revelation’.
Thus,
the future consolation is, and has always been, covertly embedded in
the exile itself. It is just a matter of reworking the words and adding
some punctuation to alter the meaning.
So you’re grammar teacher was write, when, she said that grammar; is important. After-awl: they can change the hole thing around.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum
720 Union Road • New Hempstead, NY 10977 • (845) 362-2425
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