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These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissochar Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tapes on the weekly Torah portion: Tape # 8, Lifnei Ivair (Accessory to an Aveira). Good Shabbos!
Onkelos Gives Us a New Perspective on "You Shall Live By Them"
Parshas Acharei Mos contains the very famous pasuk [verse] "And you shall keep my laws and my commandments that a person shall do, and you shall live by them, I am HASHEM" [Vayikra 18:5]. As we have said many times, from this verse we learn that with the exception of the three cardinal sins of Idolatry, Murder, and Sexual Immorality, whenever life would be threatened by the observance of a commandment, we are not supposed to observe the commandment. One should violate the laws of Shabbos, eat chazir [pork], or eat Chametz on Pesach, rather than die. The verse teaches us that we are to live by the commandments, not die by them.
A cursory understanding of this verse would seem to indicate that if one has a question of human life versus doing the mitzvos, the Torah is telling us here that in the final analysis human life is more precious than the performance of mitzvos.
Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt"l, in Igros Moshe, says that this is not the correct interpretation of the pasuk. Targum Onkelos translates this verse "... that you may live IN THE WORLD TO COME". The verse is telling us, on the contrary, that the most precious thing in life is keeping mitzvos, so that one can get to Olam Haba [The World To Come]. If I have an option whether to keep Shabbos or die, the Torah, in fact, tells us -- live. But why? Not because life for its own sake is more precious, but life is precious because one can do mitzvos. Therefore, desecrate this Shabbos so that you can keep so many more Sabbaths. Eat chometz on Pesach, because then you will be able to go on and do so many more mitzvos and thereby merit Olam Haba.
This is an entirely different perspective. Life is not valuable per se, just to go and take things to the dry cleaners and go to the ballgame. That is not what makes life worth living. What makes life worth living is Eternal Life (Chayei Olam) which can be gained through doing mitzvos in this life.
As the Rabbis tell us, "Desecrate one Sabbath so that you can fulfill many Sabbaths".
Chassidic "Teitch:" Get Your "Life" Out of Doing Mitzvos
One of the Gerrer Rebbes interprets the above mentioned pasuk in a classic Chassidic 'teitch'.
There is an expression in Yiddish, or in the language of the Yeshivas, "From what does a person get his 'chiyus' [life]?" Meaning, what brightens his life? Why does he get out of bed in the morning? One may respond, a particular bachur gets his 'chiyus' from learning quickly (b'kiyus) or a certain man gets his 'chiyus' from Jewish outreach.
The Gerrer Rebbe interprets the verse, saying: You should do the commandments, and you should live -- i.e. get your 'chiyus', your joy in life -- by doing these mitzvos. Your raison d'etra in this world should not be making money or doing other things. What should be your 'chiyus'? What should keep you going? What should make you tick? The practice and fulfillment of mitzvos.
The reason that a person should, perhaps, try to accumulate money is not for money's sake, per say, but for what he can do with it. A person may have to work for eight or ten hours a day. The person should think "that's what I have to do to make a livelihood". His 'life,' however, should be his children, his family, his community. His 'life' (chiyus) should be his involvement in the needs of the community; his 'life' should be his learning; his 'life' should be his chessed [acts of kindness].
My 'chiyus' should be "the mitzvos that a person should do so that he shall LIVE by them". That is what the Torah is saying -- not mitzvos by rote, but mitzvos that give one his excitement in life.
"Lo Sissa Alav Chet" -- "Chassidic" and Simple Interpretation
In Parshas Kedoshim we have a very difficult mitzvah. The Torah says "...You shall surely rebuke your fellow man, and you shall not bear a sin because of him." [Vayikra 19:17]
When one sees a person doing wrong, he should give him mussar [chastisement, rebuke]. The pasuk tells us concerning this command, "we should not bear a sin because of him".
Rav Gedaliah Schorr once interpreted this expression (lo sissa alav chet) as: Don't magnify the sin ("Sissa" from "Nosea", to lift it up. Don't lift, don't magnify it). To take a classic example: your child does something wrong, and it is necessary to reprimand him. There are two approaches. One can say, "You did THAT?", "You did that TERRIBLE sin?". That would be in violation of "lo sissa alav chet." That would be making the sin big. How does the child feel? The child feels about two inches tall.
The other approach is "YOU did that?", "How could YOU do that?", "That's beneath you, how could YOU come to that?". That is magnifying the person. Not that the sin is a travesty, but a person of the nature of the one who is being chastised is too distinguished to sully himself with such action.
Do not make the sin big, make the person big. Rather than making the child feel like a nothing, destroying his whole self-image, one can make the child feel, "Yes I did something wrong, but I am important and more is expected of me". The latter is proper rebuke.
The simple interpretation of this verse, as Rash"i explains, is that a person should not do a sin himself by chastising another. One should not embarrass a person publicly while giving mussar, but should do it privately and discreetly.
One can give mussar and push the person away, or one can give mussar and bring the person closer. You can yell "SHABBOS! SHABBOS!" at a person and make him hate the Shabbos, or you can say "Shabbos, Shabbos" and make him love the Shabbos.
The Key Ingredient of Rebuke
Did you ever wonder how one can rebuke a person for violating a commandment, and yet make him love the Mitzvah? The following is an amazing, true story.
A certain American Rabbi was a guest speaker in a town and told over a story about a young student, who was caught smoking on Shabbos in the Yeshiva of the Chofetz Chaim in Radin. The speaker mentioned that the Chofetz Chaim took this student into his room for two minutes and gave him mussar. The student came out, and carefully observed the Shabbos for the rest of his life. The Rabbi said, "if only I could know what went on in that room for those two minutes!" As he was telling the story, the Rabbi noticed that there was a person in the crowd who was crying. After the speech, the person who was crying came over and told the Rabbi, "I was that young student".
The Rabbi was ecstatic. He now had the opportunity to find the "key" to draw people near. He would finally be able to find out what the Chofetz Chaim told his student in this famous episode.
The student told the Rabbi what happened. He was caught smoking on Shabbos. He was notified that the Chofetz Chaim wanted to see him in his house. He walked into the Chofetz Chaim's house, trembling. The Chofetz Chaim, who by then was in his eighties and was extremely short (coming up to the boy's chest), walked over to the student, took his hands and said softly "Shabbos..." and started crying. The Chofetz Chaim repeated "Shabbos..." and the hot tears dripped onto the boy's hands. From those two words, the boy became dedicated to observing the Shabbos the rest of his life.
When someone yells "SHABBOS! SHABBOS! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?", you feel holier-than-thou-ness, you feel distance. However, when you see that a person is so moved that he is brought to tears, when he is broken by "Nebech, how could you desecrate the Sabbath? What will be with your neshama [soul]?" -- then you are moved to change.
That is the way to give mussar -- out of sincerity and nearness and concern. It works for any mitzvah. Sincerity draws people near. One can yell and create distance, or speak softly and draw near.
Glossary
Ribbono Shel Olam -- Master of the World
Chillul Hashem -- (the prohibition) of desecrating the Name of G-d
Mechallel Hashem -- the act of committing a Chillul Hashem
Kiddush Hashem -- (the mitzvah) of sanctifying the Name of G-d
Mikadesh Hashem -- the act of making a Kiddush Hashem
Rachmana L'tzlan -- The All Merciful should spare us
bochur -- unmarried young man (Yeshiva student)
Personalities & Sources:
Ramba"m -- Rav Moshe ben Maimon (1135-1204) author of Commentary to
Mishneh; Yad HaChazaka (Halachic Code); and Guide to the
Perplexed.
Kesav Sofer -- Rav. Avrohom Shmuel Binyomin Sofer of Pressburg
(1815-1879), known by the name of his Responsa
collection; son of Chasam Sofer (1762-1839), Rav
Moshe Sofer.
Yalkut Shimoni -- Best known and most comprehensive Midrashic
anthology, covering the entire Tanach; attributed
to Rav Moshe HaDarshan of Frankfurt (13th Century)
Yalkut Yehudah -- three volume Chumash commentary published in 1993
by Rav Yehuda Leib Ginsberg emigrated from Russia
to U.S.; was a Rav in Denver, Colorado.
This week's write-up is adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissochar Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tapes on the weekly Torah portion (#10). The corresponding halachic portion for this tape is: Can Kohanim Visit Graves of Tzadikim? The other halachic portions for Parshas Acharei Mos from the Commuter Chavrusah Series are:
Tapes or a complete catalogue can be ordered from:
Yad Yechiel Institute
PO Box 511
Owings Mills, MD 21117-0511
Call (410) 358-0416 for further information.
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through Project Genesis On-Line Bookstore: http://books.torah.org/
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