Parshas Pinchas
This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.
A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.
Question:
“Moses spoke to Hashem, saying,
'May the Hashem, G-d of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the community. Let him come and go before them, and let him bring them forth and lead them. Let Hashem’s community not be like sheep that have no shepherd'” (Numbers 27:15-17).
“Korah rallied his whole party to the Communion Tent entrance and Hashem’s glory suddenly became visible to the entire community.
Hashem spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
'Separate yourselves from this community, and I will destroy them in an instant.' [Moses and Aaron] fell on their faces. They prayed, 'G-d of the spirits of all flesh. If one man sins, shall You direct divine wrath at the entire community?'” (Numbers 16:19-22).
As far as I know, this reference to G-d is found only in these two places. What is its significance and how is Moses looking for a successor related to Korah’s rebellion?
A Living Tradition
In response to Moses’ request:
“God said to Moses, 'Take Joshua son of Nun, a man of spirit, and lay your hands on him.
Have him stand before Elazar the priest and before the entire community, and let them see you commission him. Invest him with some of your splendor so that the entire Israelite community will obey him. Let him stand before Elazar the priest, who shall seek the decision of the Urim before God on his behalf. By this word [Joshua], along with all the Israelites and the entire community shall come and go.'
Moses did as God had ordered him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Elazar the priest and before the entire community. He then laid his hands on him and commissioned him. [It was all done] as God had commanded Moses” (Numbers 27:18-23).
The Oral Torah is a fundamental part of Judaism and an essential component of the Torah. From the following passage, we can learn two fundamental ideas regarding the Oral Torah.
The following is some background about the Oral Torah and both textual and logical proofs for its existence and is not essential to the main devar Torah:
That there was an Oral Torah is quite obvious. I’ll offer a comparison to Shakespeare. Because there are multiple ways to understand a given passage of Shakespeare and since his work is significant, literary experts spend much time debating the proper interpretation. Presumably, some interpretations are simply wrong and although we may not know which understanding is correct, Shakespeare himself certainly knew the meaning of his words! So too G-d. When G-d gave the Torah, He taught Moses the correct interpretation.
It is true that the Torah, like good poetry, has multiple correct interpretations. See http://tamimah.blogspot.com/2006/07/parshas-korach-this-is-in-merit-of-my.html
And Shakespeare himself might have intended that some passages could be interpreted in different ways. However, just because there are multiple interpretations does not all interpretations are correct. Some, especially those of poor scholarship, are simply wrong. Moses knew all the possible correct interpretations of the Torah.
There are also three major scriptural proofs for there being an external body of knowledge that accompanied the Torah.
1. “And if a man entices a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins” (Exodus 22:16-17).
What is the dowry of virgins? How much is it? The Written Torah is silent on this point. The answer must be found in an oral tradition.
2. “If the place the Lord, your God, chooses to put His Name there, will be distant from you, you may slaughter of your cattle and of your sheep, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat in your cities, according to every desire of your soul” (Deuteronomy 12:21).
Nowhere in the Torah does G-d give any details regarding this command and yet it says that G-d commanded us. It is found in the Oral Torah.
3. “So said the Lord: Beware for your souls and carry no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring into the gates of Jerusalem. Neither shall you take a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day nor shall you perform any labor, and you shall hallow the Sabbath day as I commanded your forefathers” (Jeremiah 17:21-22).
The laws of Shabbat are rather vague in the Torah and nowhere is a prohibition of carrying mentioned explicitly. If this law was not contained in the Oral Torah, then Jeremiah would have been adding to the Torah which is forbidden. Thus, we see that Jeremiah references the Oral Torah.
Back to our parshah. We can learn two ideas about the Oral Torah from Joshua’s appointment.
1. That this Oral Torah, the extra body of knowledge needed to understand the Written Torah, was handed down. Moses evidently had taught Joshua and now it was Joshua’s turn to use his knowledge that he learned from Moses to lead the nation. (Regarding Talmudic dispute see http://hirhurim.blogspot.com/2004/06/approaches-to-midrash-halakhah.html)
See http://www.yashanet.com/studies/judaism101/sidebars/transmission.htm for a chain of teacher to student from Moses to the end of the Talmud. There are lists that go from the end of the Talmud to modern times; I am looking for a good one.
2. That the generations decline. Moses was told “Invest [Joshua] with some of your splendor” (Numbers 27:20).
Rashi writes:
“But not all of your majesty. Thus, we learn that the face of Moses was [radiant] like the sun, whereas the face of Joshua was like the moon” — [Sifrei Pinchas 23, b.b. 75a]
The farther away a generation is from Sinai and Moses, the less it knows and the less is its total piety.
The Talmud says “If the earlier generations are regarded as angels, then we are like humans. If they are like humans, then we are like donkeys” (Shabbat 112b).
This does not mean that we cannot disagree with previous generations but that we must do so with humility. Furthermore, there are some exceptions. For example, Rabbi Rabbi Hershel Schachter said that Reb Moshe, Rabbi Moses Feinstein, could have been the preeminent scholar 150 years ago and my teacher, R. Yehoshua Hershberg, heard from one his teachers from a student of the Seridei Eish, Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg, that the Seridei Eish said that Reb Moshe was one of the greatest legal experts in many generations.
And in each generation, G-d gives us the scholars that we need. They may not be as great as previous scholars but they are what we need.
Biography of Reb Hershel Schachter http://www.yutorah.org/bio.cfm?teacherID=80153
Biography of Reb Moshe Feinstein http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/feinstein.htm
Biography of the Seridei Eish http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/weinberg.htm
Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai
This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.
A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.
Question:
“Moses spoke to Hashem, saying,
'May the Hashem, G-d of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the community. Let him come and go before them, and let him bring them forth and lead them. Let Hashem’s community not be like sheep that have no shepherd'” (Numbers 27:15-17).
“Korah rallied his whole party to the Communion Tent entrance and Hashem’s glory suddenly became visible to the entire community.
Hashem spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
'Separate yourselves from this community, and I will destroy them in an instant.' [Moses and Aaron] fell on their faces. They prayed, 'G-d of the spirits of all flesh. If one man sins, shall You direct divine wrath at the entire community?'” (Numbers 16:19-22).
As far as I know, this reference to G-d is found only in these two places. What is its significance and how is Moses looking for a successor related to Korah’s rebellion?
A Living Tradition
In response to Moses’ request:
“God said to Moses, 'Take Joshua son of Nun, a man of spirit, and lay your hands on him.
Have him stand before Elazar the priest and before the entire community, and let them see you commission him. Invest him with some of your splendor so that the entire Israelite community will obey him. Let him stand before Elazar the priest, who shall seek the decision of the Urim before God on his behalf. By this word [Joshua], along with all the Israelites and the entire community shall come and go.'
Moses did as God had ordered him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Elazar the priest and before the entire community. He then laid his hands on him and commissioned him. [It was all done] as God had commanded Moses” (Numbers 27:18-23).
The Oral Torah is a fundamental part of Judaism and an essential component of the Torah. From the following passage, we can learn two fundamental ideas regarding the Oral Torah.
The following is some background about the Oral Torah and both textual and logical proofs for its existence and is not essential to the main devar Torah:
That there was an Oral Torah is quite obvious. I’ll offer a comparison to Shakespeare. Because there are multiple ways to understand a given passage of Shakespeare and since his work is significant, literary experts spend much time debating the proper interpretation. Presumably, some interpretations are simply wrong and although we may not know which understanding is correct, Shakespeare himself certainly knew the meaning of his words! So too G-d. When G-d gave the Torah, He taught Moses the correct interpretation.
It is true that the Torah, like good poetry, has multiple correct interpretations. See http://tamimah.blogspot.com/2006/07/parshas-korach-this-is-in-merit-of-my.html
And Shakespeare himself might have intended that some passages could be interpreted in different ways. However, just because there are multiple interpretations does not all interpretations are correct. Some, especially those of poor scholarship, are simply wrong. Moses knew all the possible correct interpretations of the Torah.
There are also three major scriptural proofs for there being an external body of knowledge that accompanied the Torah.
1. “And if a man entices a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins” (Exodus 22:16-17).
What is the dowry of virgins? How much is it? The Written Torah is silent on this point. The answer must be found in an oral tradition.
2. “If the place the Lord, your God, chooses to put His Name there, will be distant from you, you may slaughter of your cattle and of your sheep, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat in your cities, according to every desire of your soul” (Deuteronomy 12:21).
Nowhere in the Torah does G-d give any details regarding this command and yet it says that G-d commanded us. It is found in the Oral Torah.
3. “So said the Lord: Beware for your souls and carry no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring into the gates of Jerusalem. Neither shall you take a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day nor shall you perform any labor, and you shall hallow the Sabbath day as I commanded your forefathers” (Jeremiah 17:21-22).
The laws of Shabbat are rather vague in the Torah and nowhere is a prohibition of carrying mentioned explicitly. If this law was not contained in the Oral Torah, then Jeremiah would have been adding to the Torah which is forbidden. Thus, we see that Jeremiah references the Oral Torah.
Back to our parshah. We can learn two ideas about the Oral Torah from Joshua’s appointment.
1. That this Oral Torah, the extra body of knowledge needed to understand the Written Torah, was handed down. Moses evidently had taught Joshua and now it was Joshua’s turn to use his knowledge that he learned from Moses to lead the nation. (Regarding Talmudic dispute see http://hirhurim.blogspot.com/2004/06/approaches-to-midrash-halakhah.html)
See http://www.yashanet.com/studies/judaism101/sidebars/transmission.htm for a chain of teacher to student from Moses to the end of the Talmud. There are lists that go from the end of the Talmud to modern times; I am looking for a good one.
2. That the generations decline. Moses was told “Invest [Joshua] with some of your splendor” (Numbers 27:20).
Rashi writes:
“But not all of your majesty. Thus, we learn that the face of Moses was [radiant] like the sun, whereas the face of Joshua was like the moon” — [Sifrei Pinchas 23, b.b. 75a]
The farther away a generation is from Sinai and Moses, the less it knows and the less is its total piety.
The Talmud says “If the earlier generations are regarded as angels, then we are like humans. If they are like humans, then we are like donkeys” (Shabbat 112b).
This does not mean that we cannot disagree with previous generations but that we must do so with humility. Furthermore, there are some exceptions. For example, Rabbi Rabbi Hershel Schachter said that Reb Moshe, Rabbi Moses Feinstein, could have been the preeminent scholar 150 years ago and my teacher, R. Yehoshua Hershberg, heard from one his teachers from a student of the Seridei Eish, Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg, that the Seridei Eish said that Reb Moshe was one of the greatest legal experts in many generations.
And in each generation, G-d gives us the scholars that we need. They may not be as great as previous scholars but they are what we need.
Biography of Reb Hershel Schachter http://www.yutorah.org/bio.cfm?teacherID=80153
Biography of Reb Moshe Feinstein http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/feinstein.htm
Biography of the Seridei Eish http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/weinberg.htm
Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai
posted by Mordechai18 at 10:22 AM
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