From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, June 17, 2005 2:49
AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas
Beha'aloscha, 5765
It's
Not Just About Cheesecake
By
Rabbi Joshua (carnivorously known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
Usually, the Torah reading for the week following Shavuos
is parshas Naso, which, amounting to one hundred seventy-six verses, is the
longest parsha of the year. Rabbi Eliyohu Kitov, in his Sefer HaToda'ah, or Book
of Our Heritage, writes that the reason we read this parsha directly after
Shavuos is to demonstrate our desire, after celebrating the day on which the
Torah was given, to continue our learning. This year, however, because of the
vagaries of the Jewish calendar, we read parshas Beha'aloscha on the Shabbos
after Shavuos, so that, at first blush, one may think that we do not get a
similar chance to demonstrate out devotion to Torah through the character of the
parsha read on the following Shabbos. However, the same message can actually be
derived from a comment of the rabbis in regard to a verse we will read this
week.
The Torah tells us that, after staying at Mt. Sinai for
almost a year after the Torah was given there, " And they journeyed from the
mountain of God (Har HaShem)" (Bamidbar 10:33). The Talmud (Shabbos 116a) says
the verse indicates that the nation journeyed away from God. As the commentator
Maharsha explains, the rabbis noted the unusual name used for Mt. Sinai - Har
HaShem - referring to it with the four-letter name of God, rather than the usual
name Har HaElokim. This indicated to them that the people moved away, not only
from the mountain, but from God, as well. Tosafos there explain, based on a
midrash, that the people had learned a great deal of Torah at Mt. Sinai, and now
they ran from it, as a child runs from school, thinking that they may have to
learn more. This attitude to Torah began a chain of events, as described in the
parsha, which brought about a severe punishment from God. Perhaps, then, one of
the messages of parshas Beha'aloscha is that, after the intense learning we have
done on Shavuos in commemoration of the giving of the Torah, we should not make
the same mistake as the people did in the wilderness, and slacken off in our
learning as soon as Shavuos ends. When I was studying in the Skokie Yeshiva, my
teacher Yosef Leff z'l told our class, in fact, that while he was impressed by
our learning on Shavuos night, he did not see that it had carried over into the
period following Shavuos. We need to learn from the mistake of the b'nei Yisroel
after leaving Mt.Sinai to actually intensify our learning after Shavuos,
carrying the experience of the Yom Tov into the rest of the year. I believe,
however, that there is another message in parshas Beha'aloscha that can provide
us with a link between Shavuos and the days that follow.
There
is a popular, well established custom to eat, on Shavuos, dairy items,
especially cheesecake (and/or blintzes !) at some point during the holiday. Many
reasons are given for this custom, but one of the most well-known reasons is
that since, at Mt.Sinai, the nation received the laws of kashrus, and therefore
the eating of meat became very complicated, halachically, the people were not
yet equipped to provide meat dishes for their meals, so they ate dairy items
instead. Interestingly, as soon as they left Mt. Sinai they began to complain
that they wanted to eat meat. Rabbi Shlomo Goren, in his commentary Toras
HaMikra, deals extensively with this complaint, trying to explain its nature,
since the people did, in fact, have animals with them, as Rashi points out.
Although Rashi, based on the midrash, writes that they were merely looking for a
pretext to complain, Rabbi Goren argues that the pretext itself needs to be
explained, since it was so obvious that the people did in fact, have animals
which they could use to satisfy their desire for meat. Therefore, he writes,
based on a verse in pashas Re'eh (Devorim 12:20), as explained in the Talmud
(Chulin 16b) that, in the wilderness, anyone who wanted to eat meat had to bring
an animal as a private shelomim sacrifice, and comply with all of the laws and
time restrictions involved with eating it. These sacrifices could only be
brought while the mishkan was standing, and not after it was dismantled for
travel or actually traveling. In addition, the prohibition of decreasing the
amount of time that the meat of a sacrifice can be eaten was already in effect
at that time. As long as the people were encamped before Mt. Sinai, they
basically knew their schedule, and could plan for a shelomim barbecue whenever
they felt like having one. However, once they left the mountain and embarked on
their journey, they had to follow the divine time schedule, as described earlier
in the parsha. They could stay in one location for only one day, or for many
years. This kind of schedule did not lend itself to the efficient 'execution' of
a shelomim barbecue, which allowed one to eat the animal's meat for two and a
half days. Since they did not know when they would have to travel, they were
never able to bring a shelomim sacrifice, out of fear that they would reduce the
amount of time that the meat could be eaten. In effect, the people were not able
to bring any private shelomim sacrifices in the wilderness, once they left
Mt.Sinai. This is the reason that they complained about a lack of meat, even
though they did have animals readily available.
According to
many authorities, on Shavuos, even though we have a custom to eat cheesecake, we
also need to eat meat in our meals, as required on Pesach and Sukkos, as well,
in order to conform with the requirement of rejoicing on the holiday. Finessing
the eating of cheesecake as well as meat in the same meal, or in close proximity
to each other, requires some halachic expertise, and, therefore, an opportunity
to demonstrate our dedication to observing the laws which we received at Mt.
Sinai, even under difficult circumstances. In parshas Beha'aloscha, we learn,
according to Rav Goren, that the people complained because of the halachic
difficulties they faced as a result of the journey they embarked upon after
leaving Mt.Sinai. This kind of schedule did not lend itself to the efficient
performance of a shelomim barbecue. Reading this parsha on the Shabbos
after Shavuos, then, should teach us to rededicate ourselves to finding ways,
under all circumstances, of following the mandates of the Torah. On Shavuos, we
ate meat as well as cheesecake in order to comply with a time-honored Jewish
custom while still observing the requirement to rejoice on the festival. On a
wider scale, we need to follow the laws of the Torah in face of all of the
vicissitudes of life, in the spirit of the description we find in parshas
Beha'aloscha, "according to the word of God would the children of Israel
journey, and according to the word of God would they encamp" (Bamidbar 9:18).
Please
address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following
address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.
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