Rain And Forgiveness

The Gemorah Taanis (7b) says אָמַר רַבִּי תַּנְחוּם בַּר חֲנִילַאי אֵין הַגְּשָׁמִים יוֹרְדִים אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן נִמְחֲלוּ עֲוֹנוֹתֵיהֶן שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר רָצִיתָ ה׳ אַרְצֶךָ שַׁבְתָּ שְׁבִית יַעֲקֹב נָשָׂאתָ עֲוֹן עַמֶּךָ כִּסִּיתָ כׇל חַטָּאתָם סֶלָה.  The Sfas Emes notes that may be why we are judged about  rain right after Yom Kippur, when our sins are forgiven.  What is this dependency between forgiveness and rain? 

As mentioned in the past from the Gra rain is not something that is built into the nature but comes from G-d Himself.  It is an other worldly experience.  The Gra explains in Berashis (2:6) that is why man must pray in order for rain to come down for it is not a natural occurrence but is dependent on the actions of man.  Now we can understand that rain will only come if one is deserving which is when one's sins are forgiven (based upon Yerach L'moadim siman 14.)  Now we can understand why the Mishna in Sukkah says that if rain comes on Sukkot it is like the master rejecting the service of his servant.  Why is that said only regarding rain on Sukkot and not any time one is stopped from doing a mitzvah?  Because if it rains it means that it is not nature stopping one from doing the mitzvah but it is Hashem directly coming to stop people from doing the mitzvah of sukkah that demonstrates His lack of desire for the mitzvah. 

Above Our Heads

Why does the Torah place the mitzvah of lulav before sukkah (in Emor) if sukkah applies at day and night?  

The Emre Emes (5667) says that the Torah places luluv before sukkah because luluv is something one holds and draws toward himself.  ולקחת לכם, the taking of the lulav is for yourself, it has an affect on the individual.  On the other hand, sukkah is above a person's head, it is something that one can not comprehend.  It is only be first having luluv that one can merit to sukkah.  The Sfas Emes (5643) brings from the Chiddushay HaRim that's why the midrash has longer explanations about the lulav and not much about the sukkah because the sukkah's meaning is hidden from us.  It is above our heads.

Why do we beseech Hashem so much on Hoshana Rabbah and why is the specific service of the day with the aravot?  The Sfas Emes (5660) says להו"ר קבעו הרבה בקשות על המים. דאיתא ערבה רומז לאותן שאין בהם תורה ומצות לא טעם ולא ריח. א"כ מה השבח שלהם. רק מה שמצפים לישועת ה'. ערבי נ"חל ר"ת "נפשינו "חכתה "לה'. ומזה נפתח פי הבאר. והנחל נעשה מזה התשוקה שיש נטבע בנפשות בנ"י.  The barren aravah represents those that have no maalot, nothing special to show off, all they have is to yearn and look to Hashem.  That is what we are doing on Hoshana Rabbah.  We are asking Hashem to open our souls, to fill them with the מי הדעת.  The Midrash equates the aravah with the possuk in Tehillim (102:18)  פָּ֭נָה אֶל־תְּפִלַּ֣ת הָעַרְעָ֑ר,  Hashem listens to the desolate cry (the meforshim bring Yermiyahu 17:6 which says כְּעַרְעָ֣ר בָּעֲרָבָ֔ה.)  It the cry of yearning that is symbolized by the aravah (that is why it is shaped liked lips as noted in the Tanchuma Emor 19) which we seek to evoke on Hoshana Rabbah.  Despite our lack of merits we ask Hashem to expand our horizons. 

What is the great happiness of the שחמת בית השואבה? The Sfas Emes (5643) says במשנה ובחג נדונין על המים. לכן מתפללין על הגשם. ומסתמא עיקר הכוונה על התורה שנאמ' כל צמא לכו למים. וכמו שהמים הם מזון וקיום העולם לפתוח הקרקע ולעשות פירות. כן התורה בלב האדם.  The possuk in Yeshayahu (12:3) וּשְׁאַבְתֶּם־מַ֖יִם בְּשָׂשׂ֑וֹן מִמַּעַיְנֵ֖י הַיְשׁוּעָֽה the Targum and Rashi explain is about learning Torah.  The great simcha is about opening our hearts to be ready to accept Torah.  Although understanding the depths of Torah maybe beyond our comprehension we celebrate that we can ask Hashem to give us that which is beyond our capabilities.  As the Yerushalmi says it is called בית השואבה because שמשם שואבין רוח הקודש.  We can reach beyond our normal capacities and see that which we ordinarily are not privy too.  That is the great שמחה of the בית השואבה and of Sukkot in its entirety.  We are given a glimpse of that which is above our head.  For one week we are able to look up at the schach and ask Hashem to reveal that which is hidden.

Song Of Ha'azinu

Why is Ha'azinu called a song?  What is the significance of it being a song?  Why is the shira of Haazenu the binyan av from where we learn out the mitzvah of writing the Torah, כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת and why does the Torah emphasize at the end of Vayelech that the shira of Ha'azinu was written until the end, עד תמם? 

The Ramban (32:40) describes that Haazenu encompasses all of Jewish history.  Even though there are good times and bad times, ups and downs, the Torah promises that in the end Hashem will take us back. He adds there is no condition of teshuva and avodah rather it is a שטר עדות that Hashem will take us back.  What guarantees this return, if there is no repentance of special service, why and how does Hashem guarantee our survival and returning to our heights? 

It must be that there is an intrinsic connection between Hashem and Klal Yisroel that goes beyond reason.  The Maharal in Netzach Ch. 11 says the reason for the choosing of Avraham is not limited to the actions of Avraham but the choosing goes beyond following in his good ways.  ישראל אע"פ שחטא ישראל הוא  (Sanhedrin 44a) is because the being of a Yisroel is not defined by one's actions.  It is an innate connection to Hashem.  That is the explanation of עיצומו של יום מכפר because on Yom Kippur this innate connection comes to the forth front and sin doesn't play a role there (see Likutay Sichos volume 4.)  This is what Ha'azinu teaches us.  The Torah promises that at the end, that is why it emphasizes עד תמם, this connection to Hashem that goes beyond logic will guarantee our returning to the heights of our connection to Hashem.  That is why the mitzvah of writing the Torah is expressed through the shira of Ha'azinu because it is most integral for the perpetual existence of Klal Yisroel to guarantee the continuum of the Torah (see Nesivos Shalom.)

As Lord Rabbi Sacks a'h describes song goes where words cannot touch.  Song is able to reflect the mood of joyous, sad, awesome, horrific and any shade in between.  Songs contain low notes and high notes.  Song was an integral part of the service in the Mikdash and people went to the gas chambers singing.  Song reflects the totality of Jewish history with its highs, lows, peaks and valleys.  Song comes forth from the inner chambers of the soul, it is the only medium of expression in which one can have a taste of the connection to Hashem celebrated by Ha'azenu.

This message is most profound for a Shabbos between Yom Kippur and Sukkot.  It is in these sublime days when one is able to be most in tune with their cleansed soul and feel that profound connection to Hashem which will be celebrated hopefully in the near future.

Yom Kippur Bris

In Pirkay D'rebbe Eliezer (Ch. 29) it says that the milah of Avraham took place on Yom Kippur, אתיא "עצם" מ"עצם" מיום הכפורים, מה להלן (ויקרא כג, כח): "כָּל מְלָאכָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה כִּי יוֹם כִּפּוּרִים הוּא", שביום הכפורים נמול אברהם, ובכל שנה ושנה הקב"ה רואה דם הברית של מילה של אברהם אבינו, ומכפר על כל עונותינו, שנאמר (ויקרא טז, ל): "כִּי בַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם לְטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם".   Why did the bris of Avraham take place on Yom Kippur? And how does that atone for us?  

The possuk in Tehillim (139:16) says יָמִ֥ים יֻצָּ֑רוּ ולא (וְל֖וֹ) אֶחָ֣ד בָּהֶֽם.  Chazal say the one day designated to Hashem, the לו אחד is Yom Kippur.  The קרי of the possuk is לא, to say Hashem is not just is one of the days.  This means that on Yom Kippur it is revealed that it is a day designated for Hashem.  However, that is not merely to be on Yom Kippur but is meant to affect the rest of the days of the year as well.  ועניתם את נפשתיכם בתשעה לחדש בערב מערב עד ערב תשבתו שבתכם.  Chazal ask but we don't fast on the ninth day, we fast on the tenth?  The derash is one who eats on the ninth and fasts on the tenth is as if he fasted both days.  The same can be extended for the next words, עד ערב, the fast is in the day, not in the evening?  If one eats at night, if one takes the joy of Yom Kippur and extends it into the year, its as if one fasted then as well.  The radiance and kedusha of Yom Kippur extends throughout the year if one appreciates its atonement. 

The ערלה represents that which is tumah, klipah, external to one's spiritual growth.  The commandment of milah is reveal one's essence of kedusha.  That is why the limud to tell us that Avroham's bris took place on Yom Kippur is in the words בעצם היום, because it is the עצמיות, the essence of a person, when all the outside factors are removed, that becomes revealed.  That is why the דם ברית of Avraham is what gives us the merit of atonement.  Avraham's bris was not just for himself but his middot became part of his very makeup and were passed down through the genes as described in Tanya Ch. 18-19.  Hashem looks at the essence of a Jew, when the foreskin is removed an sees the pure soul.  Just as the radiance of Yom Kippur can be extended into the year, so too one's kedusha of the bris milah can elevate all the limbs of a person (based on Sfas Emes Yom Kippur 5652.)

Fasting For a Minor

The Mishna in Yoma (82a) as elucidated by the Gemorah says that there is a law to teach kids to fast by a few years before they become obligated in mitzvot training them to fast for a few hours.  The Ritvah in Sukkah (3a) proves from the Gemorah there that the mitzvah of chinuch is to have the minor fulfill the mitzvah with all of its details, it does not suffice to merely do chinuch on the general idea of the mitzvah.  The Steipler (Sukkah siman 28) asks if so, what is the point of doing chinuch for a few hours of fasting?

The Rambam in Shvesus Asor (2:10) brings this law, קָטָן בֶּן תֵּשַׁע שָׁנִים וּבֶן עֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים מְחַנְּכִין אוֹתוֹ לְשָׁעוֹת. כֵּיצַד. הָיָה רָגִיל לֶאֱכל בִּשְׁתֵּי שָׁעוֹת בַּיּוֹם מַאֲכִילִין אוֹתוֹ בְּשָׁלֹשׁ. הָיָה רָגִיל בְּשָׁלֹשׁ מַאֲכִילִין אוֹתוֹ בְּאַרְבַּע. לְפִי כֹּחַ הַבֵּן מוֹסִיפִין לְעַנּוֹת אוֹתוֹ בְּשָׁעוֹת. בֶּן אַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה בֵּין זָכָר בֵּין נְקֵבָה מִתְעַנֶּה וּמַשְׁלִים מִדִּבְרֵי סוֹפְרִים כְּדֵי לְחַנְּכוֹ בְּמִצְוֹת  Rabbenu Manoach notes that the Rambam adds לְחַנְּכוֹ בְּמִצְוֹת and מדברי סופרים only regarding the full fast, not the partial fast.  He explains there is rabbinic mitzvah of chinuch to train a child to do a mitzvah and then there is another law of chinuch which is not a rabbinic commandment but it is something one should do to train their children to go in the right path.  The full fast is the mitzvah of chinuch, to instruct a minor to do the mitzvah.  The partial fast is just a a good training idea but not the rabbinic mitzvah of chinuch.  In the back of Rav Chayim on Shas the Briskor Rav says a similar idea to explain Rabbenu Yonah at the beginning of Berachot.  Rashi says that one does have to do chinuch for krias shema even for kids that have reached the age of chinuch.  Tosfos asks that the Gemorah Sukkah (42a) says that once a kid knows how to speak his father must teach him shema?  Rabbenu Yona answers that the Gemorah doesn't mean it is an obligation but rather that it is to teach the kids to do mitzvot.  What is this distinction?  The Rav explains with this yesod that there are two dinim of chinuch.  There is no rabbinic commandment of chinuch for krias shema but one should still teach there kid to be accustomed to doing mitzvot.  The Ritvah that says that the mitzvah must be done in all its details is referring to the mitzvah of chinuch, but the second din, to accustom a minor to know how to do mitzvot still applies even if not performed exactly correct.  

This law of training a minor to fast is only mentioned regarding Yom Kippur but not for other fasts.  The Briskor Rav (Kovetz Inyaninim Lbeis Brisk) questions why there is this distinction?  He explains the fast of Yom Kippur is different from that of other fast days.  The Rambam  (Lasw of Taanis 5:1) describes the purpose of the fasts is to arouse one to do teshuva.  Since teshuva is not applicable for a katan, there is no law of chinuch for a few hours.  However, the fast of Yom Kippur is for affliction and one can be be mechanach a katan in that mitzvah.

Reenacting Har Sinai

The Rambam in Hilchot Chagigah (3:6) equate the reading of hakhal to a miniature maamad har Sinai. The Rambam in Law 3 delineates what the king read, מֵהֵיכָן הוּא קוֹרֵא מִתְּחִלַּת חֻמַּשׁ אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים עַד סוֹף פָּרָשַׁת שְׁמַע וּמְדַלֵּג לִ(דברים יא יג) "וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמוֹעַ" וְגוֹ' וּמְדַלֵּג לְעַשֵּׂר תְּעַשֵּׂר וְקוֹרֵא מֵ (דברים יד כב) "עַשֵּׂר תְּעַשֵּׂר" עַל הַסֵּדֶר עַד סוֹף בְּרָכוֹת וּקְלָלוֹת עַד (דברים כח סט) "מִלְּבַד הַבְּרִית אֲשֶׁר כָּרַת אִתָּם בְּחֹרֵב" וּפוֹסֵק.  What does the Rambma mean to add with the word ופוסקת just tell us where to read untill?  Rav Hutner (Eigrot pg. 156) explains in light of the previous Rambam that it is necessary to to note that the reading ends with the mentioning of Sinai because that is the whole concept of hakhal.  It is not just that the kria ends there ,but there is a halacha of stopping right there to bring out the point of the mitzvah.  With this he explains the Gemorah in Chagigah (3a) טף למה באין כדי ליתן שכר למביאיהם.  The meforshim ask ממנ"ש if they understand then they should come because they too understand and if they don't understand if there reward for merely carrying additional weight?  Rav Hutner explains just as the children were present at Sinai they must be present at hakhal.  That is what it means to give reward to those that bring them, they help create the situation of a Har Sinai reenactment.

Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank (Mikrayeh Kodesh volume 3 Sukkot #44) brings Rav Yehoshua Leeb asks why does the possuk say וגרך אשר בשעריך, why do we need a special inclusion of coverts?  However, in light of the Rambam it may be understood since converts were not at Sinai one may think they are not included (Yerech L'moadim Sukkot siman 58.) 

The Bach siman 660 says one one is reading the Torah for the tzibbur it must be done standing as the Gemorah Megilllah (21a) learns ועתה פה עמד עמדי that kaviyachol Hashe taught the Torah while standing, so too the one teaching the Torah to the public must be standing.  The Magen Arvaham (141:1) asks that the king read the Torah sitting by hakhal?  However, in light of this Rambam we can defend the Bach.  The krias hatorah which is to teach Torah must be done while standing but the reading of hakhal is not to teach Torah, it is to reenact maamed Har Sinai (Gevurot Yitzhok, Yerach L'moadim.)

Going To The Beis Midrash

The Targum Yonason says at the beginning of the parsha that Moshe went to the beis midrash.  Why did Moshe decide now that he must go to the beis midrash?  The Lev Simcha explains since Moshe at that time lost his supernal wisdom (Rashi,) therefore he had to go learn to rediscover his wisdom.  Where did the Targum see in the verse that he went to the beis midrash?  The answer is that if you are not told Moshe is elsewhere you can assume he is in the beis midrash.  I heard a similar idea from Rav Avrohom Shmulevitz in regard to Yaakov Avenu.  Chazal derive from the calculation of Yishmoel’s age that there are 14 unaccounted for years of Yakov’s life.  Chazal say those years he spent learning in yeshivas Shem Ve’Aver.  How do Chazal know where for those 14 years?  We see from here that the assumption is that a talmud chachom is learning.  Therefore, if were Yaakov went wasn’t identified one can safely assume it was to the beis midrash.