From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, April 16, 2004 3:44
AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas Shemini,
5764
At
the Zoo
By
Rabbi Joshua (animatedly known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
The first half of this week's parsha deals with the eighth day of the
dedication of the mishkan and the events surrounding it. This includes the
sacrifices that were brought that day, the death of Nadav and Avihu, and the
laws given following their deaths. The latter part of the parsha deals with the
laws of kosher animals, birds and fish, and the laws of forbidden creeping
things (sherotzim). At first glance, there seems to be no connection between
these two sections of the parsha. However, it is reasonable to assume that there
is, indeed, some connection between one part of the parsha and the other. As
Rabbi Asher Ben-Zion Buchman notes in his work on the unity of the weekly
sidrah, Bedibur Echad, the rabbis did not divide the Torah into fifty-four
approximately equal sections, one to be read each Shabbos, based on length,
because we find that the parshiyos vary in length from thirty to one hundred
seventy-six verses. Therefore, it would seem more logical to say that the
division was made on the basis of some thematic unity within each parsha. Why,
then, do these laws of kashrus follow the recording of the dedication of the
mishkan?
Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin, in his commentary Oznayim LeTorah,
explains that once the Torah recorded all of the sacrifices brought at the
inaugural ceremony, the laws of korbonos were basically completed. The Torah
therefore wanted to note that the animals permitted for general consumption are
more numerous than the limited number that are qualified to be used as
sacrifices in the mishkan. This explanation, however, is very technical, and one
would think that a topic as important and all-pervasive in Jewish life as
forbidden foods would carry a more profound message as far as its relation to
the Torah section which precedes it. Rabbi Alexander Simcha Mandelbaum, in his
work MiMa'amakim, which is based on the teachings of the Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi
Moshe Shapiro of Yerushalayim, cites many sources to show the deleterious
effects that the consumption of non-kosher animals has on a person's soul.
He concludes that since the mishkan is meant to bring the divine presence down
to dwell among the people, the Torah teaches us, after describing in detail the
dedication of the mishkan, how to maintain God's divine presence within our
daily lives, avoiding foods that prevent Him from dwelling among us. However,
according to this explanation, these laws could just as well have been given at
the time of the commandment to build the mishkan. I would like to offer an
explanation that, on the one hand, has wider significance than the one offered
by Rabbi Sorotzkin, and, at the same time, relates specifically to the moment in
time at which these laws were given-after the dedication of the mishkan.
The Midrash Tanchuma to parshas Shemini relates that when God taught
Moshe the laws of kosher and non-kosher animals, he held up each animal for
Moshe to see, just as he brought all the animals before Adam to look at and give
names to. What is the connection between Moshe's learning the laws of kashrus
and Adam learning the characteristics of the animal in order to name them? Rabbi
Henoch Leibowitz, in his Chidushei HaLeiv, explains that Adam needed to have a
clear idea of the nature of the animals in order to give them their appropriate
names. In a similar way, Moshe needed to have a clear idea of each animal in
order to know how to apply the appropriate laws to each of them. Rabbi Leibowitz
concludes that in learning Torah, clarity of understanding is of utmost
importance, and one should not hesitate to put in extra effort to clarify even
the small details. I believe, however, that there is a deeper significance to
the reference in this midrash to God's display of the animals to Adam at the
time of creation.
We have mentioned in the past the notion that the
exodus from Egypt constituted a recreation of the world, or perhaps a
completion, in a spiritual sense, of the original creation of the worlds (for
more on this concept, see Netvort to parshas Bo, 5760, available at
Torahheights.com). That is why we find, in kabbalistic sources, that the ten
plagues brought upon the Egyptians corresponded to the ten sayings with which
God created the world. The redemption from Egypt culminated with the giving of
the Torah and the subsequent dwelling of the divine presence over the mishkan,
as explained by Ramban. Thus, the dedication of the mishkan constituted the
spiritual completion of the universe. This idea is reflected in the Midrash
Rabbah, cited and expanded upon by Rabbi Gedaliah Schorr in his Ohr Gedaliyohu
to parshas Shemini, that God rejoiced on the eight day of the dedication
of the mishkan as He rejoiced at the end of the original creation of the
universe. Seen in this context, we can better appreciate the analogy between
God's bringing the animals to Adam to name and His bringing them to Moshe to
understand the laws of kashrus.
Ramban in his commentary to parshas Bereishis
says that the creation of the universe was completed only after Adam had
assigned names to the animals that were brought before him. Although he goes on
to explain his comment in a somewhat esoteric way, perhaps we can present it
using a different approach. Harvey Cox, in his book The Secular City, writes
that when one names something, he is rely defining it, assigning it its function
within his universe of discourse. Thus when God brought the animals to Adam to
name, He was telling him to understand the place of the animals within his own
life. Following this explanation of what happened in regard to Adam, we can
perhaps go on to explain that after the completion of the mishkan, which
constituted the culmination of the redemption process and the spiritual
completion of the universe, there was a need to understand the function of the
animal kingdom in that universe in a spiritual sense. For that reason, just as
God brought the animals to Adam so that he could define their meaning within his
universe, God brought the animals before Moshe, to explain to him the way in
which God wants His people to define their function within their spiritual
universe.
Following our explanation of the connection between
the two sections of the parsha, perhaps we can say that it also informs the
comment of Rashi on the verse at the end of Shemini, "For I am God Who brings
you up from the land of Egypt to be a God unto you ; you shall be holy, for I am
holy" (Vayikra 11:46). Rashi, noting the use of the word 'ma'aleh' - Who brings
you up - rather then 'hamotzi' - who takes you out - cites a teaching of the
house of Rabbi Yishmael, brought in the Talmud , Bava Metzia, 61 b. God tells
the Jewish people, explains the Talmud, that had He not brought them out of
Egypt for any reason other than their not making themselves impure with creeping
things (sherotzim), as do the other nations, it would have been sufficient cause
for them to have been redeemed. Such abstention, Rashi continues, is an
elevation for them, and that is why the expression 'hama'aleh' is used in the
verse. This verse comes at the end of the section in Shemini that lays out for
the nation which animals, birds and fish they may indulge in and which they nay
not. Moreover, the following two verses, the last in parshas Shemini, read,
"This is the law of the animal, the bird, every living creature that swarms in
the water, and for every creature that creeps on the ground; for distinguishing
between the impure and the pure, and the creature that may be eaten and the
creature that may not be eaten." Therefore, we can view this comment of the
Talmud as referring to this entire section of the parsha. We can then understand
this verse as saying that by defining the function of these various living
things on the basis of God's Torah and indulging only in those that God permits
to us, we are able to bring God's presence into our daily lives, and thereby
realize the ultimate purpose of the redemption from Egypt.
Please
address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following
address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.
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