From: JoshHoff@aol.com
Sent: Friday, July 04, 2008 2:48 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort:parshas Chukas,5768
All's Well That Ends Well
By Rabbi Joshua (aquatically known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
In memory of my
cousin,Moshe Porush,who passed away in Jerusalem on Wednesday. May his family
be comforted among the mourners of Zion and may his memory be a
blessing.
In this week's parsha,we
read of the death of Miriam,and a subsequent lack of water supply
for the people.Chazal explain that for the entire forty year sojourn of
the nation in the wilderness,they were accompanied by a well in the
merit of Miriam. When Miriam died,the well stopped providing water,but
was later restored through the merits of Moshe and Aharon. What was it
about Miriam that generated this steady supply of water for the people? Why was
it specifically water that Miriam's actions connected to? On a simple
level,we can suggest that it was Miriam's caring attitude toward her
brother Moshe after he was thrown into the Nile floating in a basket that was
behind this merit. as the Torah relates, in parshas Shemos,Miriam stood in the
water waiting to see what would happen to her brother. However,I would
like to suggest a different explanation, based on the symbolic
meaning of water as explicated by Rabbi Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik , zt,of
Boston and New York.
Rav Soloveitchik
recalled that when he was a child and first went swimming in the Baltic,he was
overwhelmed by its beauty, and was reminded of the heavens and,ultimately,of
God. However,after repeated swimming trips, the effect of the water on
him cooled off, until he was barely moved by it at all. However,he said,when we
come to think of it, water is a complete wonder, without which life could
not continue.This was what was celebrated in the Temple on Sukkos,at the
'simchas beis hashoeivah, ' or the celebration of the drawing of the water.What
was the nature of this celebration?One opinion in the Talmud says that the
celebration was for the water drawn,to be used as a libation on the altar-
i.e., for the nissuch hamayim. Another opinion is that what was drawn was
'ruach hakodsh,' or the holy spirit,which is a level of inspiration
preceding prophecy. Moreover,says the midrash, the prophet Yonah first achieved
ruach hakodesh at a simchas beis hashoeivah.Rav Soloveitchik said that the two
views are not in conflict,because someone who does not have a sense of wonder
over the so-called ordinary aspects of life,and fails to see God's workings
behind them,will never be able to attain ruach hakodesh and prophecy.
In parshas Chayei Sarah, the Torah tells us that God blessed Avraham with
everything- 'bakol.' The midrash, cited by Ramban,says that he had a daughter
whose name was 'bakol.' The Ramban explains that Avraham had the character
trait represented by the word 'bakol,'which is the eighth trait among
the traits,or midos, of God. Although one kabbalistic commentator on the
Ramban explained these traits as referring to the ten sefiros, my
teacher,Rav Aharon Soloveichik,zt'l, explained that they refer to the thirteen
attributes of rachamim,or mercy,and that this eighth trait is that
of 'rav emes,'or,an abundance of truth.The meaning behind this according
to Rav Aharon, is that God infuses abundant truth into
everything in the world,even the minutest item. The trait of emes,explained Rav
Aharon, is a feminine one,and that is why the midrash says that Avraham
had a daughter named 'bakol,'because he had the trait of finding meaning
in even the smallest things in life.Although Rav Aharon based his contention
that it is women who are the ones who are best able to find meaning in even
the simple ordinary things on his own observation of women,I
believe that, in the case of Miriam and her mother Yocheved, proof can be
brought for this contention from a midrash on parshas Shemos.
The Midrash Rabbah
to parshas Shemos tells us that the two midwives appointed by Pharoe to
tend to the Jewish women, referred to in the Torah as Shifra and Puah, had
other names,as well.. Shifrah, it says, was really Yocheved, the wife of Amram
and the future mother of Moshe. She was called Shifra because she beautified -
was meshaper - the infants. Puah was really Miriam, Moshe's future sister, and
she was called Puah because she used to ease the infants with cooing noises,
similar to 'pooh, pooh.' This explanation of the midrash raises a question. We
can understand why, according to commentators such as
Shadal, who contends that the women were Egyptian and the names
recorded were Egyptian names, the Torah records these names the way
it does. However, given that,according to this midrash, they were Jewish
and the names denote the actions they did as part of their job, why doesn't the
Torah tell us their real names, which are more familiar to us, so that it would
be clear who it was that saved these infants? Why do we need to know the
seemingly minor details of what they did in their jobs as midwives?
Rabbi
Yerucham Levovitz, who was the mashgiach ruchani, or spiritual guidance
counselor, of the Mir yeshivah in Europe, explains that it is exactly because
what the midwives did was seemingly minor that the Torah refers to them the way
that it does. These women, he explains, understood that nothing is really
small, in God's perspective. They were needed to comfort the Jewish infants as
they were born, and this defined their existence, at that stage. A name, Rabbi
Levovitz says, is a reflection of the nature of a person. These women were
named after their tasks as midwives because they understood the significance of
their seemingly minor task. For a great person, says Rabbi Levovitz, there is
nothing small in life. Whatever station in life they are given, they understand
that it can be used in the service of God, and therefore has great
significance. To memorialize their approach to life, the Torah calls them by
the names that denote these seemingly minor tasks, which they used to achieve
greatness. Perhaps,then,since Miriam exhibited this trait of finding meaning in
even the small, ordinary things in life while she was still a young
girl in Egypt,it was through her merit that the nation was provided with
water,which is the classic example of the ordinary in
life, during their years in the wilderness.
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