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From: "Ohr Somayach"
<ohr@virtual.co.il>
To: weekly@vjlists.com
Subject: Torah Weekly - Metzora
* TORAH WEEKLY *
Highlights of the Weekly Torah Portion
Parshat Metzora
For the week ending 10 Nissan 5760 / 14 & 15 April 2000
================================
HAFTARA SHABBAT HAGADOL: Malachi 3:4-24
The Shabbat immediately before Pesach is called Shabbat Hagadol -- the
Great Shabbat. It commemorates the day in Egypt that the Jews each
took a sheep, the Egyptian deity, and tied it to their bedposts,
informing the Egyptians that their god was about to become an offering
to Hashem. In spite of their fury, the Egyptians were powerless to
act, although the Jews did not know this at the time. Rather, they
acted out of trust of Hashem and Moshe, His prophet. Thus the Shabbat
immediately before the first redemption was a day when the faith of
the Jewish People was rewarded with Hashem's protection.
"Behold! I send you Eliyahu the prophet before the great and awesome
day of Hashem." (7:3)
The night of Pesach is called "A night of guardings," when the Jewish
People are guarded from their enemies. "A night of guardings" also
implies that this night, the night of Pesach, is "guarded" -- set
aside for all time -- as a night on which the final redemption can
come. Every year, the night of Pesach has in it the power of
redemption, it has the ability to bring forth the actual from the
potential. Shabbat also has this ability to express and crystallize
the latent power of the week that follows it. Therefore, every
Shabbat Hagadol contains the power of the redemption from Egypt,
already awakened in this Shabbat is the force of "the great and
awesome day of Hashem."
* Maharal
================================
Ohr Somayach International
22 Shimon Hatzadik Street, POB 18103
Jerusalem 91180, Israel
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To: (IL/ROOT &
BRANCH ASSOCIATION, LTD.), rb@rb.org.il
From: "Root & Branch
Association, Ltd." <rb@rb.org.il>
Festivals/Commentary: THE UNIVERSAL MESSAGE OF PASSOVER: THE SECRET
OF HUMAN FREEDOM
by Yosef Ben Shlomo HaKohen [chazon@netvision.net.il]
Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen is the author of "The Universal Jew,"
published by Feldheim, and serves as the editor of the Shema Yisrael
web site: "Hazon - Our Universal Vision".
"Hazon - Our Universal Vision" is a study-program based in Jerusalem
which explores the universal vision of the Torah for Jews, humanity,
and all creation.
To receive Hazon mailings, please contact:
Email: [chazon@netvision.net.il]
Website: http://www.shemayisrael.co.il/publicat/hazon/
JERUSALEM, D.C. (David's Capital) Over the centuries, as knowledge
and awareness of the Hebrew scriptures spread across the earth, the
Passover story became a source of hope and inspiration for those who
were enslaved and oppressed by others. These victims of slavery and
oppression were able to identify with the opening words of the Divine
message to Pharaoh: "Let My people go!" [Exodus 7:26].
Africans enslaved in America can serve as one example. Southern
slaveholders introduced the Bible to a number of slaves -- perhaps
with the hope that a little "religion" would keep them passive and
happy. The slaveholders forgot, however, that the Bible tells the
story of Israel's liberation from the slavery of Egypt. It wasn't
long before the enslaved Africans were singing, "Tell old Pharaoh, let
my people go!"
It is not surprising that people who were physically enslaved and
oppressed would identify with the story of Israel's liberation. One
might assume that in a modern, democratic society where slavery no
longer exists, there would no longer be a need to identify with this
story. Today, however, a growing number of non-Jews in the United
States are rediscovering the Passover story.
Some of these non-Jews have developed a tradition to have a communal
meal on Passover with some of the customs of the traditional Passover
Seder, such as the eating of matzoh, the drinking of four cups of
wine, and a discussion of the story of the Exodus from Egypt. How are
we to understand this development? Most of these people are not
physically oppressed or imprisoned. The majority are middle-class
citizens who have benefited to some degree from the political and
economic freedom which America offers. Why then, do they feel the need
to identify with the story of Israel's liberation from slavery?
Another form of enslavement is the enslavement of the human spirit.
The Hebrew word for "Egypt" is Mitzrayim - a term which refers to a
state of confinement and distress. When people are freed from the
bonds of physical slavery, they often discover that they are still in
"Mitzrayim", for they are confined by the bonds of spiritual slavery.
They therefore seek to discover the secret of how human beings can be
liberated from this place of spiritual confinement and distress.
Unfortunately, despite the growing interest in the Passover holiday,
very few have discovered the "secret". This is because most people
have not heard the entire Divine message to Pharaoh. They will join
together and chant, "Let My people go", but they are unaware that the
complete message is:
"Let My people go that they may serve Me" [Exodus 7:26].
This message also appears towards the beginning of the story of the
Exodus, when God first speaks to Moses at the "burning bush", which
was on the very mountain where the people of Israel would later
receive the Torah. It was here that the Divine Voice proclaimed:
"When you take the people out of Mitzrayim, you will serve God on this
mountain" [Exodus 3:12].
The message appears again in the verse:
"Send out My child that he may serve Me" [Exodus 4:23].
Why do so few people hear the complete message? It is because it
challenges a contemporary definition of "freedom" - to be free of any
restrictions which prevent us from the immediate gratification of our
desires.
Instead of gaining the freedom to do what we desire, we are being
called upon to do what our Creator desires. It seems that we are being
asked to exchange one form of servitude for another! We therefore
ask: "What does this Divine service have to do with freedom?"
The beginning of an answer to this question can be found in a verse
which reveals to us that the human being was created to serve:
"HaShem (G-d) took the human being and placed him in the Garden of
Eden -- L'avdah ule'shamrah -- to serve it and to guard it" [Genesis
2:15].
To serve HaShem -- the Compassionate One -- is to serve the Divine
purpose for which we were created: to serve and to protect the earth
and its creatures.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, a noted sage and biblical commentator of
the 19th century, elaborates on this idea:
"Since everything (in Creation), small or large, constitutes a
God-given force meant to function purposefully, by given means, in its
appointed place, in its assigned environment, and in compliance with
His laws - taking only in order to give, could it be that the human
being alone is excluded from this circle of life, is born only to
take, to indulge or to endure, but not to function productively? Not
to fill a post, but to be his own be-all and end-all? Is it
conceivable that everything is to be of service in the world, of
service to G-d, and only the human being is to be self-serving
throughout?
No, surely not! Your own inner awareness tells you, and the Torah
states, that the human being's purpose is to be a 'tzelem Elokim' -- a
likeness of God. You are to be more than everything else; you are to
exist for everything else. You can know God only through His acts of
love and justice; and in turn, you too are called upon to act with
justice and love, and not merely to indulge or endure. Everything
bestowed upon you -- mind, body, fellowman, material goods, other
creatures, every talent and every power -- all are merely means to
action - 'l'avdah ule'shamrah' -- to further and to safeguard
everything. With love and with justice!"
Rabbi Hirsch then makes the following, additional observation:
"The earth was not created as a gift to you -- you have been given to
the earth, to treat it with respectful consideration as God's earth,
and everything on it as G-d's creation, as your fellow creature, to be
respected, loved and helped to attain its purpose according to G-d's
will. To this end, your mind is able to form the right image of all
that exists; to this end, your heartstrings vibrate sympathetically
with every cry of distress sounding anywhere in Creation, and with
every glad sound uttered by a joyful creature; to this end, you are
happy when the flower blossoms and sad when it wilts." [The Nineteen
Letters, Letter 4]
There are those who would respond to the above teachings with the
following question: "Rabbi Hirsch speaks of great and noble ideas,
but do these ideas lead to freedom? To serve the Creator and all
Creation in every aspect of our existence would impose a discipline
which inhibits human freedom, for, according to this Torah view, there
is no area of life where the human being is free to do what he
desires."
The Torah, however, does not define human freedom as the ability to do
what one desires. Acording to the Torah, the ultimate freedom is the
freedom to fulfill our potential as human beings who are created in
the Divine Image. The Compassionate One gives and serves; thus, we too
have the potential to give and serve.
Our sages discuss this idea in the following story:
"Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, and Rabbi Tzadok were at a celebration
given by their teacher, Rabbi Gamliel. Rabbi Gamliel personally served
them, and his three disciples began to discuss whether it was proper
for them to remain sitting and have Rabbi Gamliel, their teacher,
personally serve them. Rabbi Tzadok said: 'You are talking about the
honor due to people. What about the honor due to the Almighty? He
causes the winds to blow and the rain to fall which enables all forms
of vegetation to grow. The Almighty brings food to people; all the
more so should even the greatest person serve others'" [Babylonian
Talmud, Tractate Kiddushin 32b].
If we are not free to serve and to give, then we are still in the Land
of Mitzrayim. The discipline that is required to be a servant of the
Compassionate One frees us from this place of confinement and enables
us to fulfill our true purpose and potential.
A Torah educator of the previous generation, Irving Bunim, cites one
of the great poets of India to explain this idea. Irving Bunim
writes:
"Whether mankind likes it or not, the realization grows that an
uncommitted life, free of any higher goals or responsibilities, brings
a bondage worse than slavery. The Eastern poet, Rabindranath Tagore,
moved intuitively toward this conclusion when he wrote, 'I have on my
table a violin string. It is free...But it is not free to do what a
violin string is supposed to do - to produce music. So I take it, fix
it in my violin, and tighten it until it is taut. Only then is it
free to be a violin string'". ["Ethics >From Sinai" by Irving
Bunim,
chapter 6]
The above example cited by this great poet of India helped me to
better understand the secret of human freedom. It is a secret that is
contained in the Divine message to every "pharaoh" that enslaves the
human spirit:
"Send out My child that he may serve Me" [Exodus 4:23].
Shalom from Jerusalem,
Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen
[chazon@netvision.net.il]
http://www.shemayisrael.co.il/publicat/hazon/
***********************************************************************
From: JUICE: Jewish University in Cyberspace
To : heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
PASSOVER: THE GREATEST STORY YOU'LL EVER TELL!
At the SEDER meal, the central event of the holiday
celebration of Passover, we read the HAGGADAH -- "The
Telling (of the story of the Exodus)". If you're advanced
in age -- like me, oy!! -- you remember the Manischevitz
Haggadah pamphlets from the old days. Fortunately, their
wine has gotten better and equally fortunate, these days,
you have many more beautiful and highly instructive
Haggadahs to choose from for use at your Seder. I am very
impressed by the ArtScroll Haggadah, which has a
commentary based on the traditional comments. But there
is no shortage of worthy purchases. I try to buy at least
one new annotated Haggadah each year to add to my
collection. I heartily recommend starting a Haggadah
collection if you don't already have one.
Did you know that there have been more commentaries
published on the Haggadah than any other Jewish book?!?
Did you ever think about what drives this multi-thousand
dollar industry? Why should we be so concerned with
telling the story of the Exodus, and why has this concern
generated such an extensive corpus of commentary
literature?
Retelling the story of the Exodus is actually one of the
613 commandments.
And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: "It
is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came
out of Egypt."
(Exodus 13:8)
The Hebrew for "thou shalt tell" is V'HIGAD'TA, which is
based on the same root as the word HAGGADAH -- "telling."
The significance of "that day" is clear -- it refers to
the holiday of Passover. In other words, it is a
commandment from the Torah TO TELL the story of the
Exodus on the holiday which celebrates the Exodus. Of
course, this does not explain how the Haggadah we read
came to take its definitive form. When we refer to the
Haggadah, more or less, the text is the same across the
Jewish globe. Think of it: the text is so well
entrenched that even the folks from Manischevitz (who are
wine-makers and not Rabbis) were able to give us a
reliable edition.
The truth of the matter is the Haggadah is based on an
ancient Midrashic (legendary compendia from the Rabbis of
the Talmud) text which forms the core of the Haggada we
read to this day. The four questions, allowing for some
variances, derive from the 10th Chapter of the Talmud,
Pesachim. The rituals of the Seder are expounded in the
same Talmudic tractate. In fact, some of the Haggadah's
component texts date to the Biblical period. Psalm 114
which is read before the meal, makes specific reference
to the Exodus from Egypt. According to Professors
Finkelstein and Goldschmidt, Psalm 114 may have been
composed especially for Passover use. In short, our
Haggadah is an extremely ancient and revered text, parts
classical Rabbinic and parts Biblical. The ancientness of
the text, therefore, explains how it came to take its
definitive form.
Yet -- there is another trend -- the trend towards
commentary. The Haggadah has generated a mass of
commentary literature which stimulates discussion and
expansion, theoretically and during the recitation at the
Passover Seder. In the Haggadah itself we read the story
of R. Akiva and his colleagues who were celebrating the
Seder in B'nei Brak and passed the entire night
discussing the Exodus. If they were all saying the same
thing, what took them so long? Obviously, the commandment
to tell the story of the Exodus involves RECITATION and
EXPANSION.
THE NUMBER FOUR
Here is something you might use directly or as a pattern
for putting together your own comment for the Seder. A
NUMBER of years ago, I began to wonder about the rather
unusual number FOUR which crops up a number of times in
the Haggadah. Take a brief look through the Haggadah and
you will see what I mean. But there are many numbers in
Jewish lore which have much greater significance. Ten,
for example, is the number of commandments on the Tablets
given to Moses at Sinai. It is the number of men required
in a ritual prayer quorum, a minyan. Seven is number of
days of creation. The Sabbath comes on the seventh day of
a week of seven days. There are seven weeks between
Passover and Shavuot. There are seven years in the
Sabbatical cycle. Twelve is the same way. There are
twelve months to the year, twelve tribes in Israel,
twelve tails in the fur hat some Chassidim wear. These
are all numbers which are normally associated with
completeness.
But on Pesach, the number four is the central numerical
symbol. On Passover we drink four cups, ask four
questions, talk about four sons. There are four verses to
the passage which forms the Scriptural basis for the long
Midrash of the Haggadah (Deuteronomy 26: 5,6,7 and 8).
But how did four become the organizing motif? Somewhere,
there must be some definitive expectation that led the
Ba'al HaHaggadah, the redactor, to infuse the Haggadah
with fours.
Actually, if you look at the passage of the "Four Sons"
you will find the answer before you. In this section, the
Haggadah says the "Torah speaks of four sons" who ask
questions about Passover in different ways. By virtue of
how each son phrases his question, he earns the label of
wise, wicked, simple or one who does not even know how to
ask. An important detail comes out: the Haggadah says the
TORAH speaks of four sons. If we read quickly, we might
not understand that the Haggadah is using a language
borrowed from the Torah to personify four sons -- these
are not the Haggadah's words. The quotations are:
When your son shall ask you saying: 'What are these
testimonies and laws and ordinances which G-d has
commanded you.' (Deut. 6:20)
And it shall come to pass when your children shall
ask you: 'What do you mean by this service?"
(Exodus 12:26)
And it shall be when your son asks in the time to
come, saying: 'What is this?' (Exodus 13:14)
And you shall tell your son in that day, saying: 'It
is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came
out of Egypt.' (Exodus 13:18)
If you look carefully at the Haggadah, you will find that
these are the words which the Haggadah puts figuratively
into the mouths of four different sons. Why FOUR sons?
Because there are four passages in the Torah which
mention the commandment to tell the story of the Exodus.
This is the basis of four as the central numerical and
organizational motif of the Haggadah.
After all, we have four questions. But isn't that
strange? If we are supposed to behave in a way that
encourages the children to ask questions about the
holiday and the Exodus, would we willingly adopt such a
limitation? If we are supposed to stay up all night
discussing the Exodus like R. Akiva and his colleagues,
would four questions last the night? The Haggadah is
preoccupied with fours.
The Talmud Yerushalmi mentions a NUMBER of reasons FOUR
establishing FOUR cups during the Seder. Guess how many?
(The cups) represent four terms used for redemption in
Exodus 6:6-7: V'HOTZEITI, V'HITZALTI, V'GA'ALTI,
V'LAKACHTI.
...representing the four times a cup (KOS) is mentioned
in the story of Pharaoh and the wine steward.
(Gen:40:11,13)
... representing the four kingdoms to which Israel was
enslaved: Kasdim, Medea, Greece and Rome, and it is
hinted in verses that they are caused to drink from
four cups:
'Take this wine-cup of anger, and cause to drink
from it all the nations.' (Jeremiah 25:15)
'Bavel was a golden cup in the Lord's hand which
made all the earth drunk.' (Jer. 51:7)
'Upon the wicked will He rain coals, fire and
brimstone, and a scorching wind shall be the portion
of their cup.' (Psalms 11:6)
'For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, with
foaming wine: it is full of a mixture, and He pours
out of the same; but its dregs shall all the wicked of
the earth drain and drink.' (Psalms 75:9)
(The Meiri notes that these verses are the reason we
recite in the Haggadah, "Pour out you wrath against the
nations," which incidentally gives that ritual a
connection with the number four.)
... representing the four cups of punishment that G-d
will give the nations of the world to drink, which
stand over and against the four cups of consolation
which He will give Israel, in accordance with the
verses:
'The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my
cup.' (Psalms 16:5)
'I will raise the cup of my salvation(s).'
(Psalms 23:5)
(Here, the curiosity of the Hebrew grammar implies
four cups. You will have to check the original to
understand the way the verse is explained.)
What should be of particular interest to us in the
reasons given by the Talmud Yerushalmi for having four
cups, is that they offer a connection between punishment
of the nations that have enslaved us or otherwise harmed
Israel -- and our salvation. Our cup of salvation is a
parallel to their cup of punishment. This all brings an
element of vengeance to the Seder. In fact, the tension
between vengeance and pathos is a theme in the Seder --
for example, when we list the 10 Plagues, we remove ten
drops of wine from our cup so as to diminish our joy.
What am I telling you all this stuff FOUR? Simple. The
Haggadah is a truly wonderful document to study, but if
you get your studying done early enough, you can greatly
enrich your Passover experience!
*******************************************************************
From JUICE: Jewish University in Cyberspace
To: heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
PESACH AS A BASIC
I want to deal with the holiday of
Passover, first with the special dietary laws and next week
with the Passover Haggada. By definition, PESACH is the
pilgrimage holiday which celebrates our deliverance from
Egypt. As the Haggada recalls, "we were slaves unto Pharaoh
in Egypt, and G-d took us out with an outstretched arm and a
mighty hand." But to begin, we have to do a little exercise --
on a chart -- to try to reference for just how much of a BASIC
Passover is.
PESACH, A HOLIDAY
Passover is one of the three pilgrimage holidays commanded by
the Torah. Its historical basis lies in the following: on the
15th of Nisan G-d took the Jews out of Egypt and on the 21st
He split the Red Sea, allowing us to escape the Egyptians in
pursuit. Therefore, between these dates each year we celebrate
Israel s redemption from Egypt. The 1st and 7th days of the
holiday are full holidays, with the intermediate days enjoying
semi-holiday status. In the Diaspora, the 1st, 2nd, 7th and
8th days are full holidays.
There is also a special festive meal known as the SEDER at
which the Haggada, the story of Passover, is recited in
fulfillment of the commandment from the Torah. MATZAH, MAROR
(bitter herbs) and the 4 CUPS are consumed, again in
fulfillment of the requirements of the holiday. In the
Diaspora, Jews perform the Seder twice, on the 1st and 2nd
evenings of the holiday.
DIETARY LAWS and RESTRICTIONS
The single law which does the most to define Passover, the
Feast of Unleavened Bread ("Chag HaMatzot") is actually the
negative command not to keep leavened substance during the
holiday. The commandment is prescribed twice with the Torah's
harshest punishment set out for its abrogation:
Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for
whosoever shall eat that which is leavened shall be CUT OFF
from the congregation of Israel ... (Exodus 12:18 ff)
... and there shall be no leavened bread seen (for seven days)
with you, leavened bread shall not be seen in all your
borders. (Exodus 13:7)
Specifically, CHAMETZ, or leavened products made from one of
the five grains -- wheat, barley, oats, rye and spelt -- are
prohibited. If water came into contact with one of these
grains, the resulting food cannot be eaten, seen, found or
owned during the holiday.
On the up side, we are commanded to eat MATZAH -- unleavened
bread -- for the seven days of the holiday.
Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread ... (Exodus 12:15)
In the first month (Nisan) on the 14th day of the month, you
shall eat unleavened bread... (Exodus `12:18)
The apparent contradiction in the two verses is resolved in
that we MUST eat Matzah on the first day only (second day as
well in the Diaspora).
We are also commanded to eat two other foods as part
of the
celebration of the holiday, vis. BITTER HERBS and the meat of the
PESACH SACRIFICE. The later is no longer in practice among Jews,
although the Samaritans living in Israel continue to slaughter and eat
the Pesach Sacrifice until this very day. In fact, the Samaritan
sacrifice of the paschal lamb is a tourist attraction here in Israel.
I saw it personally about twenty years ago. They do it the way it was
done when the Temple was standing. The Torah prescribes that the
paschal lamb be eaten with Matzah and Bitter Herbs as a kind of
sandwich.
But anyone who has made preparations for a
strict Passover
themselves or seen it done by conscientious Jews, knows that the
avoidance of "chametz" or leavened substance is the key, tangible
concern of the holiday. We clean the house thoroughly and put away
dishes and pots which are used during the year. We bring in kosher for
Passover replacements. We use up all leavened products and bring in
special products prepared under special supervision for the holiday.
Certain types of foods which are not actually "chometz" are avoided
nevertheless -- just to be sure. And all of this derives from the
prohibition of "chometz."
MATZAH, A BASIC HISTORY
I mentioned above that Pesach is the pilgrimage holiday which
celebrates the historical event of our deliverance from Egypt.
Matzah, unleavened bread, has its special historical meaning
within the story of the Exodus. We read:
And they (the children of Israel) baked unleavened cakes of
the dough which they brought out of Egypt , for it had not
leavened... they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay
... (see Exodus 12:37 ff.)
In the Haggada for Pesach, the historical account of the
Exodus which is recited at the SEDER, the question is asked:
"Matzah, what is the reason?" The Haggada offers the verse
above as the reason for the commandment to eat Matzah on
Passover. It is as if the event of our not being able to bake
bread properly gave G-d the opportunity or justification to
command the central ritual of the holiday. This is very
strange!! That we celebrate the holiday because of the G-d
initiated Exodus, or because of the wonders wrought by G-d in
Egypt, or because G-d fulfilled His promise to Abraham --
these are the kinds of reasons that make sense in a G-d
oriented religion. G-d acts and it impacts on us! But here,
the origin of a commandment which brings with it the most
serious of all punishments for non-observance is the curiosity
of our human input. I mean, can you imagine what Pesach would
look like today if the fleeing slaves had grabbed plastic
wrapped, sliced white bread on the way out?
R. Kasher, in his commentary Haggada Sh'leima, says that G-d
foresaw that the Jews would not have enough time to bake
proper bread, and therefore commanded us to eat Matzah in
light of what would happen in the future. This explanation is
supported by the fact that Matzah is commanded in Exodus
12:15, while the reason is given in 12:37 -- after the
command. But even so, whether the reason is because of what
happened to us or because of what would happen to us, our
experience is particularly formative.
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