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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