Pesach 5778 - Truth Preserved

צֵא וּלְמַד מַה בִּקֵּשׁ לָבָן הָאֲרַמִּי לַעֲשׂוֹת לְיַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ: שֶׁפַּרְעֹה לֹא גָזַר אֶלָּא עַל הַזְּכָרִים, וְלָבָן בִּקֵּשׁ לַעֲקֹר אֶת-הַכֹּל. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: אֲרַמִּי אֹבֵד אָבִי, וַיֵּרֶד מִצְרַיְמָה וַיָּגָר שָׁם בִּמְתֵי מְעָט, וַיְהִי שָׁם לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל, עָצוּם וָרָב.

We are all familiar with this portion of the Haggadah known as ארמי אבד אבי (The Aramean [Lavan] sought to destroy my father). Here Lavan is being presented in contrast to Pharaoh. Lavan was worse than Pharoah, for Pharaoh only wanted to kill the boys, while Lavan tried to destroy Yaakov, and thus the future of the Jewish people.

This contrast is perplexing to the say the least. Firstly, in the פשוטו של מקרא (the plain understanding of the verses) nowhere do we find that Lavan intended to kill Yaakov, only that he swindled and tricked Yaakov endlessly. Furthermore, if anything, the person whom we do find intended to physically harm Yaakov, was Eisav who came upon Yaakov with 400 men to kill him. So why is Lavan singled out as the one who attempted to destroy Yaakov, and by proxy, the entire nation?

There are many answers to this question, an I would like to suggest a particular approach. As mentioned previously, Lavan was engaged in swindling behavior, constantly reneging on his previous agreements with Yaakov. Whether it was regarding the bride to whom Yaakov was to be married, or the payment he was to receive, Lavan was constantly acting in a duplicitous manner.

At a certain point, for the one who is being subjected to this abuse, it is only natural to become “street smart” and respond in kind, inevitably acting just as duplicitous as the one abusing him. Through this process of “standing up for himself,” he is in danger of having his essence altered and losing his תמימות (innocence), leaving himself irrevocably changed for the worse.

Yet Yaakov withstood one act of subterfuge after another, and came out of it whole, able to proclaim to Eisav עם לבן גרתי ותרי״ג מצות שמרתי - Though I lived with Lavan, I did not sway from the Torah's commandments (Bereishit 32:5). Yaakov preserved his trait of Truth despite the constant barrage of lies thrown at him.

This was perhaps the attempt to “destroy my father” - Yaakov, the symbol of pristine truthfulness, as it says in Micha (7:20) תתן אמת ליעקב. For if Yaakov had fallen prey to the pernicious attraction of retribution, he could have lost this midda of ישרות that is so tied in with attribute of Truth. And thus this trait would be lost to us as well. This would be עוקר the essence and spirit of our people, a Nation whose very existence bespeaks the ways of G-d, as it says in the Gemara Shabbat (55a) חותמו של הקב"ה אמת - The seal of G-d is truth.

Pharoah only desired to physically kill the Jews, thereby preventing them from joining his enemies. But Lavan desired to do much worse; he attempted to rot the inner core of the our Nation, rendering us hollow without any moral compass, ensuring the spiritual destruction for millennia to come. Lavan tried to destroy אֶת הַכֹּל, and if successful it truly would have been the destruction of everything.

So, as we go through the portion of Magid in the Haggadah, we mark the special trait of Yaakov and the essence of our people in stark opposition to the evil of Lavan. May we always remember who we are and the power we have ingrained in us against this evil.

Chag Kasher Ve’Sameach

Parshat Vayikra 5778 - The Great Communicator

Parsha Paragraphs

Rabbi Naftali Kassorla

Parshat Vayikra 5778

The Great Communicator

The D’var Torah for this week is dedicated in memory of:

ר׳ אלחנן יעקב בן מו״ח ר׳ שמואל פנחס ז״ל

If you are interested in sponsoring a D’var Torah in honor or in memory of someone, or for any occasion, please email: ParshaParagraphs@gmail.com

This week's parsha welcomes us to a new Sefer and the world of Korbanot. The parsha begins: וַיִּקְרָ֖א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהוָה֙ אֵלָ֔יו מֵאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד לֵאמֹֽר - “He called out to Moshe, and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying” (Vayikra 1:1). Rashi explains that ויקרא, which appears superfluous, comes to teach us a rule – that every statement, saying, and command from G-d to Moshe is preceded with a קריאה (a “calling”) which is a language of endearment, the same language that the ministering angels use.

In communicating with this endearment, G-d does so only with Moshe. The rest of the nation could not hear. Meaning, that this was a prophecy to which only Moshe was privy. Rashi says: “The voice [of G-d] would go, and reach Moshe’s ears, and all of Israel could not hear it.” Rashi continues: “One might have thought that there was a ‘calling’ at breaks (i.e. the breaks in the text indicated by blank spaces).” One might have thought that a break indicates the beginning of a new and distinct prophecy which would be preceded with a new “calling”. The Torah teaches us that no, only when G-d actually speaks is it a new prophecy, but the breaks do not indicate a new prophecy. (Mizrachi, translated by Artscroll.)

If the breaks in the text did not serve the purpose of indicating a new and distinct prophecy, what purpose then did they serve? Rashi continues: “to give Moshe the time for contemplation of one parsha and the next, and between one topic to another. קל וחומר (all the more so) that time between subjects is necessary for a הדיוט (an ordinary person) who learns from another הדיוט.”

Rashi, quoting the Torat Kohanim (1:9), explains that G-d gave Moshe the time to contemplate and to understand the subject, and from the rule of kal vachomer we learn that ordinary people must also give and be given that time to contemplate.

However, what is the logic and reasoning behind this deduction? We can understand that while Moshe was the greatest prophet to have ever risen, and was master of all wisdoms, perhaps even he needed that time to contemplate when learning from G-d Himself. When learning the Torah from G-d, Whose wisdom cannot be fathomed, His essence cannot be grasped, and His grandiosity cannot be comprehended, of course Moshe would need the time to properly digest the concepts. But, who is to say that in the case of two “ordinary” people, where both are on the same level, that time must be given for the other to comprehend? What is the reasoning of the Torat Kohanim?

In truth we have to ask, what is the intention of the Torat Kohanim? Is it trying to tell us that due to the “lack” of the student we must give the רווח (space) to understand? Or perhaps it is telling us that when a teacher teaches, whether or not the student is lacking, he must be careful to teach in a way that the students have the ability to comprehend. If it is due to the lack on the part of the student, then our question stands. But if the Torat Kohanim is giving a lesson about the mark of a good teacher – that a teacher is lacking if he does not giving ample time for his students to comprehend – then we have our answer. From the fact that G-d gives Moshe – the most wise and humble of the prophets – the time to contemplate, we can learn that in our dealings, as “ordinary people” we must present our ideas in a way for them to be comprehended. It’s a lesson about the method of teaching, not the lack of the student.

This idea can be helpful in a myriad of aspects of teaching, including how loud one projects, how slowly one speaks, or a hundred other pedagogical methods which can aid the clarity of the message and comprehension of the student. But this is also a powerful lesson regarding the most basic underpinning of teaching: the teacher’s mindset and motivation for teaching.

A Rebbe is not there for himself; his objectives in teaching should be based solely on the comprehension of the students. And, barring other factors, if the student is not understanding, then he has failed his mission. For if they are not walking away with more clarity and understanding, what then is being accomplished?! That the Rebbe himself said a good shiur? That he felt honored? That he understood the subject?

I was once talking to someone who had a thirteen-year-old son in a “top tier” Yeshiva High School, and he was decrying the amount of sources and analytical approaches the teacher was “cramming” into the students. He felt his son was not understanding. This father, who himself is an accomplished scholar, told me that he was not the only one; other parents had also expressed concern that their children were not comprehending. When the parents finally mustered the strength to confront the Rebbe and express their concerns, he responded, “I teach the students on the level where I am holding. I was the top of my class, and I want them to witness true scholarship.”

When I heard this, I was blown away. How is it possible for someone, who has been entrusted with the holy task of חינוך (education) to think in such selfish terms? How could he get it so wrong? I believe the the truth is that this “Rebbe” is teaching for all the wrong reasons. He is not teaching with the aim of התבוננות and הבנה of his students, which would clearly warrant a tapering down of the level of the shiur. Rather he is involved in a nihilistic and self-serving pursuit under the guise of virtue, all while using the students as his footstool to raise up his own honor. I once heard from a very prominent Rabbi, that this type of teacher would be included in the prohibition of being המתכבד בקלון חברו - putting down others to raise up your own honor; for a teacher that neglects the progress of the students, while using them to honor himself, is the same as one who actively degrades them.

One of my most favorite quotes is in the name of Rabbi Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik זצ״ל who would often remark that his favorite title was not Rav, Rosh Yeshiva, or Posek (halachic expert); rather it was מלמד, just a simple teacher, for G-d Himself is called teacher: המלמד תורה לעמו ישראל. Rabbi Soloveitchik felt that the highest calling, that which emulates G-d himself, is that of מלמד. And we learn from Hashem, in giving that “space” to Moshe to contemplate and comprehend, a demonstration of the proper way to accomplish the holiest of tasks – teaching Torah, with the holiest goal: to better the student.

Shabbat Shalom

Parshat Ki Tisa 5778 - A Stiffnecked People

Parsha Paragraphs

Rabbi Naftali Kassorla

Parshat Ki Tisa 5778

A Stiffnecked People

The D’var Torah for this week is dedicated in memory of:

 ר׳ אלחנן יעקב בן מו״ח ר׳ שמואל פנחס ז״ל

If you are interested in sponsoring a D’var Torah in honor or in memory of someone, or for any occasion, please email: ParshaParagraphs@gmail.com

This week's parsha features one of the most famous and dark episodes in Jewish history: The sin of the Golden Calf, leaving a deep and lasting mark on the future of our Nation. G-d initially desires to wipe out the nation, but relents, after the pleading of Moshe on their

behalf: וַיֹּ֡אמֶר אִם־נָא֩ מָצָ֨אתִי חֵ֤ן בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ אֲדֹנָ֔י יֵֽלֶךְ־נָ֥א אֲדֹנָ֖י בְּקִרְבֵּ֑נוּ כִּ֤י עַם־קְשֵׁה־עֹ֙רֶף֙ ה֔וּא וְסָלַחְתָּ֛ לַעֲוֹנֵ֥נוּ וּלְחַטָּאתֵ֖נוּ וּנְחַלְתָּֽנוּ – If I have gained Your favor, O Lord, pray, let the Lord go in our midst, even though this is a stiffnecked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your own! (Shemot 34:9)

The Torah tells us that the Jewish people are an עם קשה עורף, commonly translated as “a stiff necked people.” However, while that may be the literal english translation, it falls short of the true meaning behind this deep description of our people.

The Malbim (ibid.) quotes the famous French Jewish Philosopher, Rav Levi Ben Gerson (commonly known as the Ralbag), who expounds upon this idea and offers a window into the the spiritual makeup of our People.

The Ralbag says that really, this attribute of the Jewish people is best understood as being skeptical and discerning. We are generally not willing to take anything at face value; rather we have an innate drive to question, investigate and understand things further.

However, says the Ralbag, once we have done a proper investigation and are “convinced,” our acceptance is iron-clad, and nothing will turn us away from the truth. Certainly no argument can convince us otherwise, but even more so – no threat of expulsion, no pogrom, no sword or gun barrel will ever take us away from the truth that we have ingrained in our collective bones. This is the “stiffneckedness” of the Jewish People. We stubbornly cling to what we have determined is the truth.

No other time was this was so clearly displayed as when Jews – faced with the stark reality of evil and depravity – were forced to march to the gas chambers. Knowing that they were walking to their deaths, they sang the traditional song of אני מאמין, declaring their unending faith and dedication to their G-d and their traditions. Such devotion can only come from the powerful knowledge that we intuit in the deepest recesses of our hearts. In the face of such evil, they showed that truth prevails.

While this middah can get us into trouble, and may cause us to be obstinate when we do wrong, nonetheless, Moshe argues on behalf of Klal Yisrael that Hashem should spare us in the very merit of this trait! This is an example of the complicated nature of personality traits; for sometimes the positive and negative can be bound together – forming the wondrous complexity of the human spirit.

I once heard someone speak derogatorily about a certain Torah Gadol of the past, a Gadol to whom we owe almost our entire Torah. He was critiquing this Rabbi for “being so stubborn to the extent that he thought everyone else was stubborn”! Aside from the obvious disrespect to the Gadol, this person totally missed the boat regarding the greatness of this particular Rosh Yeshiva. It was precisely because he was so stubborn that he was able to accomplish so much; This Rosh Yeshiva – facing a post-holocaust world that was apathetic to Torah scholarship – needed to be stubborn to stick to his principles to be able to imagine building and instilling the values that he received from his teachers to the next generation. The very critique was this Rabbi’s praise! (And while our own “stiffneckedness” and “stubbornness” can be utilized for the good, we certainly cannot let it disallow us from seeing the complexity and positive nature of another’s traits.)

May we be zoche to learn how to utilize the best of our talents and traits in the serving Hashem.

Shabbat Shalom