Slow Decent

Rav Hirsch: 

חמס הוא גזל שאינו יוצא בדיינים. החומס אינו נידון בבית דין, אך מי שחומס וחוזר וחומס, סופו שהורס את חברו (ראה בראשית רבה לא, ה). כך, ״יַחְמֹס כַּגֶּפֶן בִּסְרוֹ״ (איוב טו, לג): גפן המשיר את פרי הבוסר שלו, עושה חמס לפרי. החמס אינו נעשה בבת אחת, אלא מעט מעט נפסקת יניקת הפרי מהגפן עד שהפרי נושר. בדומה לכך: ״וַיַּחְמֹס כַּגַּן שֻׂכּוֹ״ (איכה ב, ו), המתאר את היחס שבין הגן ובין מחיצת השיחים המקיפה אותו [צמחי הגן מתפשטים ו״חומסים״ את היניקה של שיחי הגדר, עד שגורמים לשיחים לנבול]. ״חמס״ קרוב ל״חֹמץ״, שכן היין אינו מחמיץ בבת אחת, אלא מעט מעט הוא נהפך לחומץ.

והנה אומר כאן הכתוב: ״ותשחת הארץ לפני האלקים ותמלא הארץ חמס״. תחילה באה השחתה רוחנית – חטאים שהחברה האזרחית אינה חוששת להם. אנשים סבורים, שאף בעת שהנוער מופקר וחיי הנשואין רקובים, יפרחו עדיין התעשיה והמסחר, והעסקים יוסיפו להתנהל ביושר. אך משנשחתה הארץ ״לפני האלקים״ עצמו, לא יועילו כל חוקי החברה ומוסדותיה להציל את החברה מאבדון.

Pangs Of Conscience

If the generation of Noach were wicked and did not repent because they laughed off his warnings, why would they wish to stop him from entering the ark if the whole thing was just a hoax in their minds?  The Midrash and Gemarah says that the people in the generation of the flood did not steal outright but rather every individual stole less than a perutah so that they could not be held culpable in court.  If they did not care about having morals, why not just steal outright?  We see that even though the generation was not righteous, they had a guilty conscience.  They didn't just openly steal for they would have felt bad doing so.  Therefore, they only stole an amount that can't be prosecuted which they could justify to themselves.  That is why they felt the need to stop Noach from entering the ark for they knew in their hearts that his prediction was true.  Their conscience knew the truth even if they wouldn't admit it outwardly (Pneneyeh Daat.)  

On the one hand this demonstrates man's inability to do the right thing despite the pains of conscience but on the other hand it means there is a place to start from which the person can get better. 

Why was the rainbow chosen as the sign of the peace treaty of Hashem?  Rav Solevetchik explains that Hashem was teaching Noach.  You couldn't convince the people to do teshuva because you did not believe in them.  You believed they were rotten through and through and could not improve.  (To get someone to repent, you must believe they can.)  You only saw the dark clouds of their behavior.  You did not see how the pains of conscience are a small drop of water that when exposed to the proper light can turn into a bright rainbow (see here and here.)  

Rashi says the mabul was delayed for seven days to allow for time for the eulogy of Meshushelach.  Why is that a reason to delay the flood?  I think the point may be that the hope was the inspiration from hearing the eulogy of such a great man would inspire them to do teshuva.  It was a last hurrah to give the ability to turn things around.  Rav Elyashiv credited some of his greatness to being inspired in his youth from hespidim given for the Ostrovska gaon. 

Rav Leeb Gorvitz says along the lines of the previous idea.  If they are giving hespedim for the loss of Meshushelach, it means the people feel a connection, albeit remote, to Meshushelach's way of life and that connection is reason to delay the flood.

Make The Man

Why does it say נעשה אדם by the creation of man?  Why were all the animals created with a partner but man was given a wife only later on? 

וייצר ה אלקים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה.  This possuk describes that there are two aspects to man.  On the one hand man is merely a glob of earth fashioned into a specific shape.  On the other hand, man has a G-dly soul placed in him and he can rise to great heights.  These two opposite forces pull at a person all the time.  Therefore, it is the creation of man about whom it is said נעשה אדם for man is not complete on his own, but has to be made into something better depending on his actions.  That is the difference between man's and the animal's partners.  Animals need partners to merely keep the species alive.  The partner of man is part of the נעשה אדם, is part of making man a better person.  As such, he had to desire and ask for a being to perfect himself. 

Bound Together

The Gemarah Sukkah (11b) says תניא לולב מצוה לאוגדו ואם לא אגדו כשר אי ר' יהודה כי לא אגדו אמאי כשר אי רבנן אמאי מצוה לעולם רבנן היא ומשום שנאמר (שמות טו, ב) זה אלי ואנוהו התנאה לפניו במצות.  Usually, הדור מצוה is something added to the mitzvah, why then does the beratah indicate there is something lacking in the mitzvah if the lulav is not tied to the other species?  Rashi Sukkah (33b) is of the opinion that the Rabbanan also hold that one needs a real tie of the four species.  Why does one need a real tie if the point is just hiddur mitzvah?  The Gemarah explains the machlokes is that R' Yehuda learns a גז"ש from אגודת אזוב that one needs a tie and the Rabbanan don't accept the gezerah shava.  Even the Rabbanan that don't accept the gezerah shava hold the yesod of the hiddur is in the maaseh לקיחה for the species one is taking to be tied in a bundle.  It is not a hiddur in the cheftah of the lulav but rather in the לקיחה of the lulav.  That is why Rashi holds it needs to be a real tie in order to define it as a אגודה.  This may be why the Rambam never cites the general law of hiddur mitzvah but he does cite the law of tying the lulav (Lulav 7:6) because this is not the regular law of adorning the cheftzah of a mitzvah but adorning the לקיחה.  

What is the idea of binding everything together?  The Midrash says (Emor 30:9) the 4 species all represent Hashem.  We demonstrate through the binding of the species that we are totally bound to Hashem. 

Why is it only after the holiday of Sukkot does Hashem say קשה עלי פרידתכם and we add a day to the holiday?  And how does it help to add a day, that will just make the departure even harder?  Why do we have 7 hakafot on Simchat Torah? 

The Gemarah Taanit (7a) says אמר רב יהודה: גדול יום הגשמים כיום שניתנה בו תורה, שנאמר: "יערוף כמטר לקחי", ואין לקח אלא תורה, שנאמר: "כי לקח טוב נתתי לכם תורתי אל תעזובו". רבא אמר: יותר מיום שניתנה בו תורה, שנאמר: "יערוף כמטר לקחי", מי נתלה במי? – הוי אומר: קטן נתלה בגדול.  What is the comparison between rain and Torah?  The Kozhnitzer Maggid says the Gemarah is referring to Shemini Atzeret, the day we are judged for rain, which is as great or greater than Mattan Torah.  Again, what is the comparison? 

The holiday of Sukkot is the one holiday where we include the gentiles.  We offer sacrifices for them as well.  [The reason being that as opposed to the other festivals which commemorate our leaving Egypt and receiving the Torah which is unique to us, Sukkot also is an agricultural holiday celebrating the harvest and the celebration of nature is something the gentiles can appreciate as well - Meshech Chachma Pinchas.]  Therefore, it needs to be emphasized at the end of the holiday that only we innately matter to Hashem.  How does it help to add a day?  The Shem MiShmuel explains that there are two types of kinyanim.  There is a normal transaction between buyer and seller where the transaction happens and the two parties then walk away.  That is the meeting of the gentiles with Hashem on Sukkot.  They meet and move on.  However, there is another type of kinyan.  That is the kinyan of marriage.  In such a type of kinyan, the parties do not turn around and walk away from each other, on the contrary they are now bound together wherever they go.  That is our relationship with Hashem.  Yes, eventually the music stops, but we take the energy of the Yom Tov with wherever we go.  We designate one day to be alone with Hashme after the guests leave and we take that closeness with us.  That may be the idea of the hakafor on Simchat Torah.  Just as a bride encircles her husband seven times, so too we become united with the Torah and Hashem in the circle 7 times.  

The Gemarah Taanit (10a) says א"י משקה אותה הקב"ה בעצמו וכל העולם כולו ע"י שליח שנאמר (איוב ה, י) הנותן מטר על פני ארץ ושולח מים על פני חוצות.  The rain of E.Y. is called מטר, for other lands it's called מים.  The word מטר is like the word מטרה, there is a target, a purpose.  The rain that comes to E.Y. is a chesed from Hashem.  The rain comes for its own purpose.  The other lands get מים, they get water because they need to exist, it is not a chesed from Hashem.  That is why the coming of rain or Shemini Atzeret is compared to Mattan Torah.  Just as by Mattan Torah, Klal Yisrael was singled out to receive the Torah, the rain is targeted specifically for the needs of people.  S.A. is the time when we are singled out above everyone else in the world to have a special closeness with Hashem and therefore it is likened to Mattan Torah (see Zeav Yitrof Sukkot simanim 70-71.) 

Don't Smell The Hadas

 The Gemarah Sukkah (9a) says that we learn from the possuk 'חג הסוכות שבעת ימים לה that כשם שחל שם שמים על החגיגה כך חל על הסוכה to tell us one is prohibited to benefit from the sukkah.  Tosfos asks that the Gemarah Betzah (30) indicates that the issur is a rabbinic issur because the sukkah is designated for the mitzvah.  Tosfos explains why we need both sevarat of being an issur Torah learned from the possuk and the rabbinic issur of muktzah.  

The Gemarah (37b) says one is allowed to smell an etrog on sukkot since it is designated for eating but not smell a hadas for that is what it is designated for.  Rashi explains that the issue with smelling the hadas is that we learn from sukkah that there is a prohibition to benefit from something designated for a mitzvah.  We see from the Rashi that the yesod of the issur of שחל שם שמים is the issur of הוקצה למצותו not like Tosfos that learns they are two different dinim.  According to Tosfos the issur of שחל שם שמים is a unique issur of hekdesh on a sukkah, according to Rashi it is an issur of being designated for the mitzvah.  This machlokes and נ"מ are further elaborated on in Moadanay Moshe siman 70. 

There is a third approach to the Gemarah (37b) as well.  The Shach (Yoreh Deah 108:22) cites a Mordechai in Pesachim that says we see from the Gemarah that issuray hanah are only prohibited to smell from if they are generally used for smelling.  The Shach asks what is his proof, the Gemarah is an issur of huktzah limitzvato, that is why it is only muktzah for the normal usage but issuray Hanah are always prohibited?  It must be the Mordechai learned the Gemarah is an issur Torah like Rashi but he held the geder of the issur of שחל שם שמים is not like Rashi, a geder of huktzah limitzato, rather like Tosfos that it is an issur of kedusha and yet the Gemarah says it is only assur if it is the normal usage so we see that prohibited things are only assur to smell if it's the normal usage.  The issue is the Rashba Teshuva 849 suggests like the Mordechai.  However, in Teshuva 189 (cited in Aruch Lenair,) he understands that we do not learn out from sukkah to hadas.  So, how did he entertain bringing a prof to issuray hanah from this Gemarah, וצ"ע. 

Lulav And Hallel

In the past, my father discussed the opinion of the Gr"a that one can say a beracha on the lulav without turning the esrog over.  In fact, the Gr"a holds it doesn't help to turn the esrog over since the beracha is on the lulav and the law is one does not need to hold all the species together (651:12,) one has already fulfilled the taking of the lulav before the beracha.  

The Gra (646:1) says the reason the Shulchan Aruch says to take the lulav right before hallel is because the Gemarah Pesachim (117a) says אפשר ישראל נוטלין לולביהן ואין אומרים הלל.  Therefore, one should fulfill their obligation of lulav at the time of hallel.  In the Maaseh Rav with miluim in the back they want to suggest a chiddush based upon this Gra that if one did not have a lulav when saying hallel, when one obtains a lulav they should have to say hallel because lulav is its own מחייב of hallel irrespective of the hallel of the yom tov.  

Holiday Of The Future

למען ידעו דרתיכם כי בסכות הושבתי את בני ישראל בהוציאי אותם מארץ מצרים.  The fact that it says תדעו means that they will know in the future, why do we sit in the sukkah so the future generations should know, we should sit so we should know?  Why is Sukkot a holiday of such joy?    בסכת תשבו שבעת ימים כל האזרח בישראל ישבו בסכת, why use the term אזרח?  Why is sukkah the mitzvah that the gentiles will be tested with? 

Sukkot is the holiday where we appreciate the journey to the end.  The sukkah is a temporary hut reminding us that our time is this world is just a temporary gateway to the ultimate world.  We are on a journey and it is a process to reach the end.  My great-grandfather wanted to say that is what Kohelet means הבל הבלים , not that the world is meaningless which seems to contradict what the Torah says elsewhere, but that everything must be realized a just a means to the end, not an end in it of itself.  

Sukkot is the holiday which embodies the times of Mashiach.  That is why we offer korbanot even for the gentiles for they will become included in our service in those times. That is why the Torah uses the term אזרח which refers to the shine of the soul because it is those times the soul will radiate.  That is why the Torah stresses the knowledge of the future generations for that is when Sukkot can fully be appreciated.  The great joy of sukkot is that we recognize even now that we have not reached that stage, in our hut outdoors we are able to contemplate that we are on the journey toward reaching that goal.  The gentiles will be tested with sukkah because the message is you want a quick fix, there is a process that must be gone through to appreciate the times of the Mashiach.  Can you appreciate the temporary stages to get there, can you go out in a sukkah?  The gentiles don't want to build up toward the end and they fail the test.  We do understand that we are gazing at the stars looking toward a bright future.  

Raise Yourself Up

The Sifri (306) says ד"א יערף - ר' אליעזר בנו של ר' יוסי הגלילי אומר: אין יערף אלא לשון הריגה, שנא' (דברים כא) וערפו שם את העגלה בנחל. מה עגלה מכפרת על שפיכות דמים - כך דברי תורה מכפרת על שפיכות דמים:

There is another derash later in the Sifri ד"א יערוף כמטר לקחי - היה ר' בנאה אומר: אם עשית דברי תורה לשמם - דברי תורה חיים הם לך, שנאמר (משלי ד) כי חיים הם למוצאיהם ולכל בשרו מרפא; ואם לא עשית דברי תורה לשמן - דברי תורה ממיתים אותך, שנא' יערף כמטר לקחי. ואין עריפה אלא הריגה, שנא' וערפו את העגלה בנחל,  The second derash is understandable that that מטר, referring to the Torah, will יערף, kill someone who doesn't learn lishma.  But how does the first derash make sense in the possuk, how does it fit in the words that the Torah atones for killing? 

The Shem MiShmuel (5678) cites his father that the Torah is called לקח because how much you get out of it depends on how much you put in, how much you take.  His father also said it is called לקח because it raises a person up like ולקכתם לכם by lulav where the Gemarah says one fulfills the mitzvah by merely picking it up. The S.M. says the two interpretations go hand in hand.  According to how much one puts in, one is raised up.  

With he explains how learning Torah is מכפר.  When one raises themselves, the evil forces sustaining life form the averot one has done get left behind and cut off from their life force.  With this idea he explains the Gemarah Rosh Hashana (18a) בחטא בני עלי בהא דכתיב אם יתכפר עון בית עלי בזבח ומנחה, ואמרו ז"ל בזבח ומנחה אינו מתכפר אבל מתכפר בתורה.  Why does Torah work but nothing else?  Because the decree can't be removed through means of atonement.  However, Torah works from a different angle.  One doesn't try to clean up the evil within themselves but moves above them.  This form of nullifying the decree does work.  

That is what the Sifri means.  By killing the evil forces within one's self, one obtains a כפרה. (The S.M. interprets the שפיכות דמים of the Sifri as to the sin which the Gemarah Niddah (13a) equates to שפיכות דמים.)  

יערוף כמטר לקחי תזל כטל אמרתי.  The S.M. says according to his peshat it is read as when one kills the evil forces within themselves, then one awakens the חיות within a person just as dew brings out the water inside the plant. 

These two types of atonement may be the transfer between the first half of Tishre and the second.  The first half we focus on repentance, on cleansing our sins.  Sukkot is the time we start to move on to the kapparah of Torah.  The ניסוך המים is the celebration of Torah as the mefarshim say on the possuk ושאתם מים בששון and obviously the culmination of the entire holiday is Simchat Torah.  It is a time where we focus on ולקחתם לכם, raising ourselves up above any sins. 

Two Types Of Yom Kippur

The Alter Rebbe notes a few distinctions in the pessukim of Emor discussing Yom Kippur vs. those of Acharei Mot.  In Emor (23:32) it says שַׁבַּ֨ת שַׁבָּת֥וֹן הוּא֙ לָכֶ֔ם וְעִנִּיתֶ֖ם אֶת־נַפְשֹֽׁתֵיכֶ֑ם בְּתִשְׁעָ֤ה לַחֹ֨דֶשׁ֙ בָּעֶ֔רֶב מֵעֶ֣רֶב עַד־עֶ֔רֶב.  Compare to Acharei (16:31) שַׁבַּ֨ת שַׁבָּת֥וֹן הִיא֙ לָכֶ֔ם וְעִנִּיתֶ֖ם אֶת־נַפְשֹֽׁתֵיכֶ֑ם חֻקַּ֖ת עוֹלָֽם.  Why the switch from היא to הוא?  Why does it say בתשעה לחדש it one and not the other?  And why does it say חקת עולם is Acharei but not in Emor?  Why does it say בתשעה לחדש, it should have said בתשיעי לחדש?  This alludes to the idea that it means one has complety vanquished the 9 traits of the נפש הבהמית.  Just as a fast weakens the body, one has used the 9 days of repentance before Yom Kippur to weaken the animal traits of the soul.  The focus of the parsha in Emor is the avodah one has done to prepare him/her self for Yom Kippur.  That is why it is says הוא, masculine, because one is an active participant in the avodah.  The parsha in Acherei is the Yom Kippur taharah that Hashem provides.  Even though there was no avodah on the traits of the soul, it is חקת עולם, even when we are not deserving, that Hashem provides taharah.  That is why it uses the feminine terminoligy, היא, for we are accepting the taharah from Hashem. 

The last Mishna in Yoma says אָמַר רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, אַשְׁרֵיכֶם יִשְׂרָאֵל, לִפְנֵי מִי אַתֶּם מִטַּהֲרִין, וּמִי מְטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם, אֲבִיכֶם שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יחזקאל לו), וְזָרַקְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם מַיִם טְהוֹרִים וּטְהַרְתֶּם. וְאוֹמֵר (ירמיה יז), מִקְוֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל יְיָ, מַה מִּקְוֶה מְטַהֵר אֶת הַטְּמֵאִים, אַף הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְטַהֵר אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל.  Many seforim point out that there are two different questions addressed in the Mishna.  One is לפני מי and the other is ומי מטהר.  The question of לפני מי presupposes a person in trying to purify themselves and the question is before whom.  The question of מי מטהר אתכם is who purifies you even when you don't purify yourself.  The Mishna answers with the possuk of וזרקי עליכם, which is a sprinkling of water on a person.  That is an act of Hashem to purify the person.  Even if a person doesn't properly prepare themselves for purification, Hashem purifies the person.  The other question is answered with the possuk of מקוה ישראל ה, just as one needs to enter a mikvah, one who enters into the purification process is purified before Hashem.  (The only thing that bothers me is why the Mishna answers out of order, the second question before the first.)  Even beyond what we can do ourselves, Hashem purifies us, וזרקתי עליכם.

Close It In

The Midrash on Shir Hashirim (7:2) says בנעלים. שתי נעלים, נעילה בפסח ונעילה בסכות, אמר הקב"ה לישראל, אתם – נועלים לפני בסכות ואני נועל לפניכם בפסח  

The Sfas Emes Pesach (5637) says  כתיב מה יפו פעמיך בנעלים דרשו חז"ל על הרגלים נעילת החג ונעילת הפסח כו'. כי נעל הוא שמירת הרגל. כמו כן הקב"ה פורס סוכת שלום ברגלים הללו על בנ"י להצילם מהתערובות שנמצא בעולם השפל הזה. כמו ששומרין הרגל מטיט ושאר דברים ע"י שהוא תחתון שבאדם. [ואיתא ברמב"ם (פי"ג מה' אישות) שצריך כל איש ישראל לעשות לב"ב מנעלים חדשים בכל רגל והיא רמז לסוד הזה].  That is what we are doing in נעילה on Yom Kippur.  During Yom Kippur we are on the level of angels.  That has to be able to be locked into ourselves.  Therefore, we have an added prayer of נעילה to lock in the prayers into ourselves.  The prayer serves as a נעל to illuminate even the lowest part of our body, the feet and imbue it with kedusha that will let us rise above the tumah of the world.  After thar we are able to bring that kedusha into the world which is celebrated during Sukkot where we go out into the sukkah.  

A halachik thought on נעילה I saw in the name of Rav Soloveitchik.  He said that just as in Shemone Esrai there is a beracha of שמע קולנו that our prayers should be accepted, so to נעילה is a prayer that our prayers that our prayers should be accepted and therefore he ruled that if one had not prayed the earlier prayers in the day, one cannot pray נעילה.  This goes in line with the above thought.  נעילה functions as a prayer to fuse the loftiness of the day into the person, without that experience, נעילה would not have any energy to lock in.