Friday, October 30, 2026

Chesed And Din

וְלֶ֨ךְ־לְךָ֔ אֶל־אֶ֖רֶץ הַמֹּרִיָּ֑ה Rashi says המוריה – ירושלם, וכן קורא אותה בדברי הימים: לבנות בית י״י בהר המוריה  ורבותינו פירשו: על שם שמשם הוראה יוצאה לישראל.ואונקלוס תירגם: על שם קטורת, שיש בו מר וסמים

The Gemarah Taanis (16a) says מַאי הַר הַמּוֹרִיָּה? פְּלִיגִי בַּהּ רַבִּי לֵוִי בַּר חָמָא וְרַבִּי חֲנִינָא. חַד אָמַר: הַר שֶׁיָּצָא מִמֶּנּוּ הוֹרָאָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, וְחַד אָמַר: הַר שֶׁיָּצָא מִמֶּנּוּ מוֹרָא לְאוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם. Rashi says in the first peshat חד אמר הר שיצא הוראה – תורה לישראל כי מציון תצא תורה (ישעיהו ב׳:ג׳) יורו משפטיך ליעקב (דברים ל״ג:י׳) ולשכת הגזית שבה עמדו הנביאים המוכיחים לישראל and the second peshat מורא לעובדי כוכבים – ששומעין גדולות ישראל וירושלים ומתפחדים עליהם שמעתי לישנא אחרינא הר המוריה הר סיני מורא לעובדי כוכבים במתן תורה דכתיב (תהילים ע״ו:ט׳) ארץ יראה ושקטה. How can Rashi possibly say in the second peshat of the Geamrah (in his second peshat) that הר המוריה in Yerushalayim refers to Har Sinai (see Tosfos Rid wonders this.) The Divrey Yatziv CM 92:13 cites the Yismach Moshe in our parsha quotes some say הר המוריה moved to Sinai and became Har Sinai. 

The Torah Temimah asks on the Rashi in the first peshat of the Gemarah why does he say it was the neviem who gave rebuke in the לשכת הגזית and not the Sanhedrin who actually gave piskey dinim which is the classical way of understanding הוראה? Why does Rashi here add the peshat of the ketores? And why the ketores as opposed to the korbanot?

Later on in the parsha Avraham calls the spot of the akedah ה יראה. The Midrash says Avraham called it יראה and Melchizedek called it שלם Hashem said I will call it ירושלים. What is this combination? Rav Shlomo Fisher explains that the two names are the names of שלם which is the middah of שלום, and יִרְאָה, the middah of fear. In other words, the city of Yerushalayim is the fusion of the middot of chesed and din. 

Why did Avraham feel the need to add a name if the place was already called שלם? To infuse the middah of yirah with the middah of chesed. Avraham could only due this after the akedah when he demonstrated an expression of יראה as opposed to his normal chesed mode. Once Avraham was able to accomplish this fusion, he was able to add this dimension to the name of Yerushalyim . 

Many of the Chassidc books (see Sfas Emes 5658, Meor Einayim Lech Lecha) say the essence of the akedah was to bind together the middot of chesed and gevurah. This is fusion gave Yerushayim its name. 

In the same vein, the name of מוריה also reflects this duality. Therefore, Rashi in Taanis explains it is the prophets who give rebuke, the middah of din who are included in Moria. This goes along with the ketores which has the middah of shalom to negate the middat hadin (based upon article.) This may be why Hashem used the name Moria here in his directions to Avraham in order to allude to the point of the mission to bind the two middot together. 

I saw a halachik explanation of why is Moria named for the ketores specifically. The Briskor Rav in Kli Midash distinguishes between korbanot which are an obligation on the tzibbur offered by the kohanim to achieve kaparah  vs. ketores which is just a חיוב הקטרה. It is just an obligation to enhance the Mikdash with ketores. Therefore, it is only the ketores which is brough specifically lekovod Mikdash and therefore the name מוריה reflects the offering done in it's honor. 

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