Rabbi Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi, Kehillat New Hempstead
Social Worker, Yeshiva Bais Hachinuch/Ashar
STAM TORAH
PARSHAS DEVORIM
SHABBOS CHAZON 5772
“IT’S ALL IN THE APPROACH”
On one occasion, the Chofetz
Chaim, Rabbi Yisroel Meir Hakohain Kagan zt’l, was traveling on a train
together with Rabbi Meir Don Plotzky zt’l, the Keli Chemdah. At one of the
train-stations in Poland
a tremendous crowd amassed hoping to catch a glimpse of the saintly Chofetz
Chaim. When they reached that station a message was sent to the Chofetz Chaim
asking if he could disembark from the train for just a few moments so the crowd
could greet him. The Chofetz Chaim adamantly refused. When Rabbi Plotzky asked
him why, the Chofetz Chaim poignantly replied, “How could they beseech of an
old man to accept such honor? When one is accorded honor it is a spiritually
dangerous test for the person!” The Chofetz Chaim then quoted Rabbi Yehuda
HaChassid who stated that the pleasure one enjoys in this world does not
necessarily detract from the eternal reward that one receives in the World to
Come. The reason is that the physical pleasures of this world are diametrically
different from the spiritual pleasures of the next world. However, when one is
accorded honor, which is more of a spiritual benefit, it indeed does detract
from one’s eternal reward.
Rabbi Plotzky replied, “Although
I understand the Rebbe’s hesitation, I would like to offer two refutations of
the Rebbe’s argument. Firstly, I would venture to say that despite the peril of
honor, it is worth it for the Rebbe to lose some of his eternal portion in order
to accede to the request of a group of Jews. Secondly…” Before Rabbi Plotzky
could continue, the Chofetz Chaim interjected, “Stop! You need not continue!
Your first reason was sufficient! Your opinion is ‘da’as Torah’[1]
and I am prepared to accept it despite my own opinions and premonitions.” With
that, the Chofetz Chaim stood up and made his way toward the waiting crowds.
The entire book of Devorim is
Moshe Rabbeinu’s last will and testament to his beloved Klal Yisroel, and was
recited during the final five weeks of his life.
Moshe commenced his discourse by
recounting the many sins that the nation had committed during the previous
forty years. However, in order not to embarrass or offend his listeners, Moshe
did not mention the sins explicitly, but rather alluded to them discreetly.
There were however, two sins that Moshe recounted candidly, explicitly
mentioning both sin and consequence. First, Moshe lamented his inability to
deal with the burdens of the nation on his own. “I said to you at this time saying:
I cannot carry you alone…How can I alone bear your contentiousness, your
burdens, and your quarrels? Provide for yourselves distinguished men, who are
wise, understanding, and well-known to your tribes, and I shall appoint them as
our heads.[2]”
Moshe was pained that the nation requested and required judges and officers who
could transmit the Word of G-d to them. Now the people would be taught by
‘students’ instead of the ‘teacher’.
Moshe also addressed the
pernicious sin of the spies. “All of you approached me and said, ‘Let us
send men ahead of us and let them spy out the Land, and bring word back to
us’…the idea was good in my eyes, so I took from you twelve men, one man from
each tribe…But you did not wish to ascend and you rebelled…You slandered in
your tents and said, ‘Because of Hashem’s hatred for us did He take us out of
the land of Egypt, to deliver us in the hands of the Amorite to destroy us’…[3]”
The night when the spies returned
and delivered their slanderous report, causing the nation to weep and lose
faith, was the ninth of Av. Rashi relates that G-d responded, “You cried tears
for nothing, I will cause you to cry for generations.[4]”
The ninth of Av became a harbinger of the numerous tragedies we would suffer
throughout the exile. The endless rivers of tears that our nation has shed in
exile are compensation for the unwarranted tears that our ancestors shed on
that night.
Rashi notes that the tragic
outcome of the debacle was rooted in their approach. The nation approached
Moshe in a disorderly and disrespectful manner, with the youth pushing ahead of
the elders, and the elderly pushing ahead of the leaders. S’forno adds that
while their request was not completely outlandish, it should have been broached
by the sages and leaders, not demanded by a raucous and rambunctious mass.
Rabbi Yitzchok Sorotzkin zt’l
notes that Rashi’s insight is the key to understanding why both of these
particular events were explicitly stated. Both sins are interconnected, in that
they both essentially resulted from the same initial mistake, i.e. their
approach! In both instances, they were convinced of the veracity of their
arguments and they demanded compliance. Both times they undermined the
leadership of the nation and sought to enervate the authority of Moshe
Rabbeinu. When Klal Yisroel loses respect for its leaders it is a tragedy of
utmost proportions. Therefore in referring to these two particular sins Moshe
chose to be clear and unequivocal.
Twice a year during the liturgy
of our prayers we recount in detail the tragic debacle of the Asarah Harugei
Malchus – the Ten Martyrs. On Yom Kippur, after reciting the procedure for
the Service in the Bais Hamikdash, we recite a piyut (liturgical poem)
beginning with the words “אלה אזכרה – These I
shall recall.” On Tisha B’av too, we recite a kinah (lament) detailing their
tragic deaths, that begins with the words “ארזי לבנון אדירי התורה – Cedars of Lebanon, Mighty ones
of Torah.”
Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik zt’l[5]
explained that although the basic story is the same, there is a difference in
our reason for mentioning it during the prayers of these two days.
On Yom Kippur however, our focus
is on repentance and forgiveness. The gemara[6]
states that the death of the righteous effects atonement for the sins of Klal
Yisroel tantamount to the sacrificial service. After reviewing the procedure of
the Service that was performed in the Bais Hamikdash on Yom Kippur, we recount
the story of the Ten Martyrs in order to further bolster our prayers and hopes
that G-d will grant us atonement. Therefore, throughout the piyut of Yom Kippur
there is constant beseeching that G-d forgive us[7].
The gemara[8]
also states that the death of a righteous person is a tragedy tantamount to the
destruction of the Bais Hamikdash. On Tisha B’av when we mourn the epic loss of
the Bais Hamikdash we also mourn the untimely and tragic deaths of these ten
great men, each of whose passing was a loss equivalent to the loss of the Bais
Hamikdash. On Tisha B’av we mourn our lost glory, which includes the loss of
our Torah leaders. This is why the kinnah opens by depicting the great sagacity
and scholarship of the Ten Martyrs, and refers to them with glowing adjectives,
e.g. “The most desirable in Israel;
the holy vessels”.
The Medrash[9]
states, “Rabbi Akiva said: Klal Yisroel is analogous to a bird. Just like a
bird cannot fly without its wings, so too Klal Yisroel can accomplish nothing
without its elders.”
The ninth of Av symbolizes and
encapsulates all of our national and personal pain and tears. It is a day of
lamentations, national remembrance, and mourning. At the root of it all was our
unwitting failure to appreciate our leadership. That was the sin that set the
trajectory of the tragedy of Tisha B’av into motion.
When Moshe lamented his inability
to bear the burdens of our nations it portended Yirmiyahu’s anguished cry
centuries later, “Alas! She sits in solitude; the metropolis that was bustling
with people has become like a widow.[10]”
The destruction of the Bais Hamikdash could have been averted had Klal Yisroel
hearkened to Yirmiyahu’s message. There too the tragedy began because of the
nation’s unwillingness to heed the cry of its leader.
The Chofetz Chaim noted that the
final redemption is imminent. Just a few more decades, years, perhaps even days
or hours before the Messianic era will be ushered in. Our descent into exile
was rooted in failure to rally to the call of our leaders; the key to
redemption lies in our strengthening our respect and appreciation for their
leadership.
This week Klal Yisroel suffered
the loss of Rav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv zt’l, the 102 year old venerated Torah
leader and halachic authority. Tisha B’av and Yom Kippur simultaneously arrived
early this year. Another piece of the glory and splendor of our people has been
lost from our world, leaving us bereft. But if we seek to internalize some of
the greatness he epitomized we can achieve atonement from our epic loss and in
so doing we can restore some of the greatness for which we still mourn.
“How can I alone bear your
contentiousness…?”
“Like a bird cannot fly without
its wings”
[1] i.e. the opinion of a great a venerated Talmudic
Scholar to whom one is obligated to subjugate his own opinions to
[2] 1:9-13
[3] 1:22-27
[4] Tehillim 106:27
[5] Harerei Kedem Vol 2, p. 309
[6] Mo’ed Katan 28a
[7] In addition, in the Yom Kippur piyut there is a long
introduction which details how Rabbi Yishamel Kohain Gadol ascended to heaven
to ascertain whether their death was a decree from Heaven. Once he was informed
that it was indeed a heavenly decree, he the other martyrs willingly accepted
their bitter fate. We invoke their subjugation to the Will of G-d in our pleas
for forgiveness.
[8] Rosh Hashana 18b
[9] Vayikra Rabbah 11:8
[10] Eichah 1:1
_________________________________________________________________________
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Devorim – Pirkei Avos, perek 3
Shabbos Chazon - Tisha B’av 5772/July 27, 2012
Rabbi Mordechai Finkelman shlita, our Mashgiach in Camp Dora Golding (as well as the Mashgiach in Yeshiva Ohr HaChaim in Queens, NY),
related that at a Torah Umesorah Convention he attended some years ago,
he was privileged to hear a lecture from Rav Shimon Schwab zt’l on the topic of educating children. Rav Schwab mentioned that he felt that a parent should give an occasional potch to their child when necessary, to demonstrate disapproval. He added that the
point of the potch is not to hurt, in fact once it does so it may
defeat the purpose. Rather it is for the child to see that his behavior
needs to be corrected.
[It must be noted that Rav Schwab strongly opposed
ever embarrassing a child. He insisted that the misbehaving child be
(respectfully) separated from his peers before the ‘potch’ is administered.]
Rabbi Finkelman then noted that shortly after hearing that lecture he was preparing a lecture of his own in his home office with limited time, when his young son decided to play ‘Ocean Parkway’ with his little matchbox cars on the floor of the office. Rabbi Finkelman gently explained to his son that the noise of his playing with all the little cars driving
(and probably honking and double parking) was disturbing. His son
ignored him and continued playing. Remembering Rav Schwab’s advice,
Rabbi Finkelman walked over to his son and softly but firmly said ‘I
told you that it was disturbing and you didn’t listen, so now I have to
give you a potch”, whereupon he took his hand and gave him a soft potch.
The boy’s immediate response was almost to be expected “Didn’t even hurt!” Rabbi Finkelman
replied “It wasn’t supposed to hurt. I just wanted you to know how
bothered I am by your disrespectful behavior.” A minute later the young
son picked up all of his cars and quietly moved Ocean Parkway into the other room.
The laws of the Three Weeks, particularly of the Nine Days, are somewhat austere and restricting. However, sometimes people will comment that ‘it’s not such a big deal’. They like milchigs better anyway, they don’t really like swimming, their clothes feel dirty five minutes after they put them on during the summer anyway, and they like a good cold shower.
The point of the laws, and all of halacha generally, is not to ‘hurt’ or ‘punish’ us. During this time period it behooves us to focus on the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash, and all of our national losses, and halacha abets that process by helping us maintain that focus. [This surely does not mean that it is within our purview to decide whether those halachos are necessary.
We are obliged to follow the laws whether we agree with them or not,
but it is helpful to realize that there is an underlying goal and
direction to it all.] Similarly, the laws of
the Yomim Noraim and Yom Kippur help us maintain our focus on our
primary avodah during those days – of teshuvah and cheshbon hanefesh.
There is no question that at times it can be arduous and cumbersome to keep some of these halachos. But halacha serves as a guide to help us achieve the underlying purpose of every times period, and of every day of our lives.
This
year we have a Tisha B’av of the future – a Tisha B’av when we eat
meat, drink wine, and sing zemiros in a state of Shabbos joy.
Here again halacha dictates our behavior. On the actual day of Tisha
B’av the intense laws of mourning are deferred in honor of the holy
Shabbos.
We
wait and pray for the day when Tisha B’av will be a Yom Tov in its own
right, and always have the spirit of Shabbos, even during the week.
Perhaps we will merit it this coming Sunday.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos
An easy and meaningful Fast,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum
720 Union Road • New Hempstead, NY 10977 • (845) 362-2425
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