Parshas Shoftim



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:



"When you lay siege to a city and wage war against it a long time to capture it, do not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them, for from it you will eat, and you shall not cut it down; is the tree of the field a man that it should enter the siege before you? However, if you know that a tree does not produce food, then until you have subjugated [the city], you may destroy [the tree] or cut off [what you need] to build siege machinery against the city waging war with you" (Deuteronomy 20:19-20, translation according to Rashi).



Elsewhere in Scripture we see humans and trees discusses together. See for example Job 14:7-14 and Psalms chapter 1. So are we like trees or not like trees?







Judaism, Faith, and the Future



"Among you, there shall not be found anyone who passes his son or daughter through fire, who practices stick divination, who divines auspicious times, who divines by omens, who practices witchcraft, who uses incantations, who consults mediums and oracles, or who attempts to communicate with the dead. Anyone involved in these practices is repulsive to God, and it was because of repulsive practices such as these that God your Lord is driving out [these nations] before you. You must be totally whole-hearted with Hashem your G-d" (Deuteronomy 18:10-13).



The last verse of the passage, comprising the powerful requirement "to be whole-hearted (tamim) with Hashem your G-d" ( תָּמִים תִּהְיֶה עִם יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ) is the source for my blog's name ( http://tamimah.blogspot.com/).



What exactly does it mean to be "whole-hearted with Hashem"?



Rashi says:



Be wholehearted with Hashem, your G-d: Conduct yourself with Him with simplicity and depend on Him, and do not inquire of the future; rather, accept whatever happens to you with [unadulterated] simplicity and then, you will be with Him and to His portion. — [Sifrei]



[[See also the Ramban who regards this as a positive commandment. However, while I think one can read him as agreeing with Rashi, it seems to me that Reb Moshe certainly understands Rashi in way that makes him distinct from and irreconcilable with the Ramban.]]



From this, the great Reb Moshe Feinstein comments "[W]e must overcome our natural curiosity to know what the future holds. Not only may we not query diviners, sorcerers, or astrologers, but we actually do not have any permission to know what will happen" (Reb Moshe, 246)



[[While one could say that Reb Moshe would distinguish between "astrologers" who learn the future through supernatural means and say meteorologists (weathermen) who use science, I am unsure he would make such a distinction, however, see first question. It would be very worthwhile to see the Hebrew. This is especially the case because the Artscroll flap says the Reb Moshe actually wrote Darash Moshe, it was not transcribed by students. From the way it is written, Reb Moshe says that there is a natural course of events. (See also Ramban as a Guide by R. Moshe Eisemann, p 79 where he discusses the Chazon Ish.) Even if he held that we can listen to scientists, he would not give it absolute certainty. One must also ask if Reb Moshe holds like the Chazon Ish or like the Chovos HaLevavos/Rabbenu Yona/Rabbenu Bachya ben Asher.]]



A corollary of this is that "A person may not hold back from attempting an urgent and important task, such as founding a yeshiva, just because common sense tells him that he cannot possibly raise enough money that such a task requires, and he may not despair from doing anything. If it is an urgent and important need, he must do it, even though he knows that in the natural course of events there is no future in it" (ibid. 246-247, emphasis added).



I remember reading somewhere that when asked to found the Gateshold Kollel (center for advanced Talmudic students for married men) in England, Rav Dessler agreed saying that it was too important not to try.



It would seem to me that Reb Moshe would say we must emulate Queen Esther, who, regarding the danger in speaking to the king Achashverosh, she said "Go, assemble all the Jews who are present in Shushan and fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, day and night; also I and my maidens will fast in a like manner; then I will go to the king contrary to the law, and if I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16).



G-d frequently demands of us and we must do His bidding, despite the fact that we have no idea whether we will succeed or fail.



Food for Thought and Discussion:



Reb Moshe has stated that for important tasks, we must take action regardless of the chances of success. However, many prohibitions are based upon slim chances of success and possible future problems. For example, there is a rule that one cannot give over 20% of his or her income to charity because we fear that the giver may become poor and require charity. (I even read that Reb Moshe did not waive this prohibition for rich individuals because they too could become poor.) Where do we draw the line and say one must act and where do we say to other issues into consideration?
Are there any actions that you could do but don't because you are worried about failure?


[[Reb Moshe cites Chazal who say that one who asks about food the next day is of weak faith. Reb Moshe certainly understood and lived this Chazal literally. See Rav Aharon Lichteinstein soft of discuss this Chazal at http://www.vbm-torah.org/archive/ral2-hes.htm. If we take this Chazal literally, (and I have strong urge not to but it could be my yetzer harah) it seems to be one could say that the disagreement over hesder is to what extant we acknowledge a bediavad situation. Rav Aharon says people don't have that faith and thus must serve. Others say, true, we don't have that faith but we should capitulate and make sure that we never have that faith.]]



[[See also http://tamimah.blogspot.com/2006/03/purim-this-is-in-merit-of-my.html and http://tamimah.blogspot.com/2006/05/parshas-beharbechokosai-this-is-in.html and http://tamimah.blogspot.com/2005/11/parshat-lech-lecha-question-this-week.html]]



Sources:

Artscroll Darash Moshe, Volume 2, by Reb Moshe Feinstein, translated by Rabbis Eliezer Eisenberg and Yisroel Weiss, prepared for publication by Rabbi Yosaif Asher Weiss



Have a good Shabbas
Mordechai