HaRav Nebenzahl asks that his Divrei Torah are not read during Tefillah or the Rabbi's sermon
SIMCHAT YOM TOV -
MAKING SURE OTHERS CAN REJOICE
We find at the end of this week's parsha two separate commandments to eat matzah for seven days. The first pasuk states: "shivat yamim tochal matzot" "for a seven-day period shall you eat matzos" (Shmot 13:6), while the very next pasuk states: "matzot ye-achel et shivat hayamim" "matzos shall be eaten throughout the seven-day period" (ibid. 7). Why must the Torah repeat this commandment in two consecutive psukim? Furthermore, in the first pasuk the word matzot is written without the letter vav separating the tzadi from the tav (chaser - lacking), while the latter pasuk spells the word with the letter vav (malei - full).
Perhaps we can explain the repetition and the difference in spelling as follows: the initial pasuk commands us to eat matzot and as with any form of eating we should certainly fulfill the minimum required for the mitzvah but we must be careful not to overeat - to limit our intake. Therefore the word is "lacking". Perhaps we can add that although the word matzot even without a vav is the plural form of the word matzah,the missing vav is an allusion to the lesser singular form. The second pasuk refers not to our commandment to eat matzah, but to the fact that matzot must be eaten - the focus is not on the obligation of the individual, but rather on the nation as a whole. The Torah is teaching us that not only are we each obligated to eat matzah, but we must insure that matzot are eaten by every member of the Jewish nation.
A drasha often includes a kashya on a ruling of the Rambam and a suggested terutz. In keeping with this tradition I would like to cite the Rambam's ruling that every Jew is required to eat meat, drink wine, and do whatever else is required in order to fulfill the mitzvah of simchat Yom Tov. I would like to pose the following question: how does one who cannot afford meat or wine fulfill this mitzvah? When it comes to other mitzvoth such as tefillin we are not obligated to purchase a pair for a person who does not have the means to purchase his own - we must teach him or inspire him to fulfill the mitzvah, but we are not obligated to purchase a pair for him.
When it comes to simchat Yom Tov, however, we are required to make sure that the poor has whatever he needs to fulfill the mitzvah of simcha. Providing for the needs of the poor is not only a fulfillment of the mitzvah of tzdaka but a fulfillment of the mitzvah of simchat Yom Tov. It is not sufficient to worry about the needs of ourselves and our immediate family, Hashem wants us to make sure that the poor have what to rejoice with.
This is not the case with regards to Shabbat. One can fulfill his mitzvah of oneg Shabbat without worrying about the needs of his poor brother - albeit the mitzvah is not complete and certainly giving to the poor is fulfillment of a mitzvah and praiseworthy indeed.
The halacha states that there is no aveilut, mourning, on Yom Tov. The Gemara explains because the public mitzvat asei of simcha supersedes the individual mourning. Why should a person's private aveilut interfere with the public Yom Tov simcha? Based on what we have discussed we can posit that the mitzvah of simcha on Yom Tov requires all Jews to rejoice, if there is even one Jew who is in mourning then not only is the public simcha not fulfilled, but neither is my own private simcha.
Shabbos is a personal mitzvah, it is the development of a relationship between the individual and Hashem. Yom Tov, on the other hand, is a celebration of the nation as a whole - part of my fulfillment of the mitzvah is making sure that the entire nation rejoices. On Shabbat we conclude our brachot with mekadesh HaShabbat "Who sanctifies the Shabbat", while on Yom Tov we include Klal Yisrael "mekadesh Yisrael vehazmanim". Shabbat is Divinely ordained, while Yom Tov depends on the sanctification of the New Moon by the Sanhedrin. Shabbat is between the individual and Hashem while Yom Tov is for the entire Klal Yisrael. On Purim we celebrate the entire nation being saved from the threat of Haman. In celebration we eat, drink, and deliver mishloach manot. With all that, the simcha is not complete without matanot laevyonim - providing the poor with their Purim needs. This is what Hashem wants, and this is how a nation celebrates.
Shabbat is me-ein olam haba, a portion of the Next World. Yom Tov on the other hand is symbolic of the days of Moshiach. According to one view, the days of Moshiach will not only signal the return of the Beit HaMikdash, korbanot, and the Sanhedrin, but the Moshiach's arrival will be with lights and pomp and circumstance. There is no such opinion with regard to Olam Haba - Olam Haba is the individual relationship between man and Hashem, there is no need for any additional light.
Regarding Olam Haba, the prophet writes: "on that day Hashem will be One and His Name will be One" (Zecharia 14:9). In the Shmone Esrei of Mincha on Shabbat, we recite "Ata echad veShimcha Echad" "You are One and Your Name is One" - Hashem is already One, we need not wait for "that day" because on Shabbat we are already in Olam Haba.
There are three things which are doche Shabbat - supersede the Shabbat - korbanot, brit milah, and pikuach nefesh - offerings, brit milah, and the saving of a life. Shabbat is our neshama yeteira, we must give up our neshama yeteira to fulfill three mitzvoth which correspond to the three sins in which we are required to give up our life rather than violate. Korbanot are mitzvah which corresponds to the sin of avoda zara, while brit milah corresponds to gilui arayot, and the saving of a life is the opposite of shfichut damim - the spilling of blood. By saving the life of a Jew we are insuring that he will be able to observe Shabbat and other mitzvoth.
When we learn in Yeshiva we must have in mind that we are learning for the merit of Klal Yisrael. Our prayers are in the plural "chonenu me-itcha de-ah bina vehaskel", hashivenu avinu leToratecha because we must think and care about other members of Klal Yisrael. We recite daily "ve-ahavta et Hashem Elokecha" but part of this love for Hashem includes love of His people - the Jewish nation.
With the exception of the daily tamid and the mussaf offering of Shabbat, all the offerings enumerated in Parshat Pinchas contain a chatat - a sin offering. Why is there no Korban Chatat offered with the daily tamid or musaf of Shabbat while there is with the musafim of Yom Tov and Rosh Chodesh? The daily sacrifices and the Shabbat offerings are dependent on the sun (a day is defined from sunrise to sunset, Shabbat occurs every seven rising and settings of the sun), whereas the appropriate times for the festival offerings are determined by the moon. It was the moon that sinned during creation and thus it is specifically the festival mussaf offerings that are brought along with a sin offering.
The daily rising and setting of the sun are determined only by Hashem. The Shabbat is testimony to the completion and perfection of the creation, the Shabbat moves us to proclaim: "tov lehodot laHashem" "it is good to thank Hashem" (Tehillim 92:2). Festivals, on the other hand, are a response to the shortcomings of the creations. Rosh Chodesh is the result of the moon's complaint. Rosh Hashana resulted from Adam Harishon's eating from the tree, necessitating a day of judgment. On Rosh Hashana we say "udvarcha emet vekayam laad" "Your word is true and endures forever", pointing out Hashem's promise to accept our repentance the way
He did that of Adam Harishon. Yom Kippur was a result of the chet haegel, the sin with the Golden Calf.
The festivals of Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot all relate to the exile in Egypt. The exile in Egypt came about as a result of Yoseph's being sold by his brothers. In addition, Hashem had already decreed to Avraham Avinu: "yadoa teda ki ger yihye zaracha" "know with certainty that your offspring shall be strangers" (Bereishit 15:13). Some commentaries explain that this was punishment for Avraham Avinu's statement: "bama eda ki irashena" "Whereby shall I know that I am to inherit it" (ibid. 8), giving the outward appearance of a lack of faith, G-d forbid. Others explain that it was punishment for Avraham's returning the people to Sodom, yet another explanation is that it was due to his enlisting the Yeshiva students to fight in the war against Amrafel: "vayarek et chanichav yelidei beito" "he armed his disciples who had been born in his house" (Bereishit 14:14). Whichever explanation is the correct one, the common denominator is that the decree that Avraham's descendants be exiled to Egypt was in response to a sin committed by Avraham.
The forefathers were able to observe the Torah in its entirety without it even being given to them. It was only due to our sins that we descended to Egypt, thus necessitating the exodus that we celebrate on Pesach, the receiving of the Torah that we celebrate on Shavuot, and the dwelling in the Sukkot in the desert that we commemorate on the festival of Sukkot. Had we been more meritorious perhaps the Torah would have been an internal part of us as it was with Avraham Avinu and we would had been able to enter the land of Israel directly without the need for wandering in the desert and dwelling in Sukkot. The festivals restore that which was diminished from the creation as a result of the sins of the creations. It is for this reason that Hallel is only recited on festivals and not on Shabbat. Shabbat symbolizes the completion and perfection of the creation, there is no need for miracles and thus no need for Hallel.
The Shabbat is the sum total of the perfection of the creation, whereas Rosh Chodesh, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and the three festivals, all came about in response to various sins.
We cannot begin to comprehend in our terms what it means that the moon sinned, does the moon really have free will? I am not familiar with the hidden parts of the Torah, but based on what is revealed to us by Chazal, we can explain that had the moon really felt: "vechi efshar lishnei melachim sheyishtamshu beketer echad" "Is it possible for two kings to use the same crown?" (Chullin 60b), it should have offered to lessen itself, rather than diminish the power of the sun. Hashem only gives to His creations. The creations on the other hand have a natural need to receive. When a person is born, he has a need for air, then milk, food, and a place to live. The more we give to others, the closer we come to Hashem. Had the moon's request been that the sun be made greater, rather than distancing itself from Hashem, it would have become closer.
The lesson we are to extract from this is that a desire to take away from others serves to widen the distance between us and our Creator. May we merit to fulfill true simcha by rejoicing not only ourselves but seeing to the needs of all our brethren - this is the simcha which Hashem desires.
|
As the drama of the mass exodus from Egypt builds its way up to its crescendo on the shores of the Yam Suf, the Torah seems to detour from its narrative, and teach various mitzvos that are in some way intricately tied to the momentous occasion. One such example is the mitzvah of tefillin.
The following story appears in the Zohar HaChadash: A Jew was terminally ill and had exhausted all possible medications and treatments. There was nothing left for him to do. He had heard of a house of idol worship where people with any illness would enter at night, and leave in the morning miraculously cured. Although he knew he would never resort to actually worshiping idols, he saw nothing wrong with spending one night there. So he made his way towards the house and waited outside with the rest of the people until his turn came to enter. He did not know exactly what was expected of him so he waited to see what everyone else would do. Surprisingly they all just lay down and went to sleep, so he did the same. He was awakened in the middle of the night by the sight of what appeared to be an angel making its way through the crowd pouring unidentified liquids from a variety of flasks into the mouths of the sleeping worshippers. As the liquid entered the mouth of each person, he woke up completely cured and left the house unaware of the presence of the angel beside him. The angel finally made its way to Jewish man and to his surprise, rather than attending to him, it simply passed him by and proceeded towards the next person in life. The man, confused and visibly upset, called out to the angel asking why it did not cure him. The angel replied "all these people are giving up their merit in the Next World in order to be cured in this world, I cannot do that to a Jew, it is not worth remaining in this world if it means giving up your share in the Next World - there is nothing I can do to help you."