From: "netvort@aol.com" <netvort@aol.com>
<br>To: "joshhoff@aol.com" <joshhoff@aol.com>
<br>Sent: Friday, July 29, 2016, 05:32:28 AM EDT
<br>Subject: Netvort, Pinchas 5776

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Charge!
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By Rabbi Joshua (militarily known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
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  After God tells Moshe to appoint Yehoshua as his successor, He commands him concerning the sacrifices to be brought on Shabbos and Yom Tov. The list of sacrifices to be brought, however, begins with the twice-daily sacrifice of a burnt-offering, the olas tamid. What is the connection between the appointment of Yehoshua and the burning of these sacrifices, and specifically the burning of the korbon tamid?
<p>  Rav Dovid Feinstein explained that Yehoshua would be the one to lead the nation in battle to capture eretz Yisroel from the thirty-one Canaanite kings. At the bris bein habesarim, as recorded in parashas Lech Lecha and explained by the rabbis (see Rashi there), God indicated to Avraham that it would be in the merit of the sacrifices that the nation would receive the land. This applied specifically to the korbon tamid, and that is why, at the beginning of our morning prayers, we recite the verses of that section of the Torah. That is why it is mentioned after the appointment of Yehoshua.
<p>Perhaps we can carry this explanation further by mentioning an often neglected opinion, in an otherwise well-known midrash. The midrash asks, what is the major principle of the Torah? Rebbi Akiva says it is the verse “you shall love your friend as yourself,” and Ben Azai says that a greater principle is the verse that tells us that man was created in the image of God. A third opinion, brought in some versions of the midrash, is that the major principle of the Torah is the verse in our parsha, commanding us to bring the twice-daily korbon tamid. In what way is this a major principle of the Torah? What message does it convey that has relevance to all other mitzvos?
<p>My teacher, Rav Aharon Soloveichik, zt’l, explained that even though the Rambam in his Moreh HaNevuchim offers a rationale for the bringing of sacrifices in the Beis HaMikdash, in his Mishneh Torah he says that all the sacrifices are in the category of chok, mitzvos whose reason is not apparent. Many attempts have been made to reconcile this discrepancy in the Rambam. We suggested, in an early Netvort, that when learning Torah, one can speculate on the rationale of the korbanos, but, when actually performing the mitzvah, it must be treated as a chok. This necessity to treat korbonos as a chok, said Rav Aharon, applies to all the mitzvos of the Torah. Just as, in regard to a circle, there is no reason for it having three hundred sixty degrees, rather, it has three-hundred sixty degrees because it has three-hundred sixty degrees, so too, we must bring the korbon tamid because we must bring the korbon tamid. This approach, said Rav Aharon, must be taken to our performance of all the mitzvos, and that is why the verse commanding this korbon is a major principle of the Torah. With this midrash in mind, we can better understand the connection between the korbon tamid and the appointment of Yehoshua.
<p>Yehosha’s major task was to lead the battles against the Canaanites. These battles entailed eliminating previous populations that didn't go along with the Israelites. We know that later in Jewish history, Shaul, in his battle against all of Amalek, men, women and children, out of misplaced compassion failed to wipe out everyone. Unfortunately even today we have voices of those who say they are “uncomfortable” with this mitzvah. Yehoshua, was called upon to lead battles in which entire populations were to be wiped out, and, therefore, he had to know that just as the korbon tamid is a chok, that must be carried out simply because we are told to carry it out, so, too, the battles against the Canaanites are a chok, and feelings of compassion should not be allowed to interfere with their implementation.