Dei'ah veDibur - Information &
      Insight
  

A Window into the Chareidi World

7 Teves 5777 - January 5, 2017 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
NEWS

OPINION
& COMMENT

OBSERVATIONS

HOME
& FAMILY

IN-DEPTH
FEATURES

VAAD HORABBONIM HAOLAMI LEINYONEI GIYUR

TOPICS IN THE NEWS

POPULAR EDITORIALS

HOMEPAGE

 

Produced and housed by
Chareidi.org
Chareidi.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEWS
Asoro Beteves — Strengthening Torah Shebaal Pe

By Rav Arye Leib Hakohen Shapira shlita

"If one would say, `Who am I and what am I worth that I should pray for Yerushalayim? Will the exiles be gathered in and will salvation sprout because of my prayer?' his answer awaits him. As we learned (Sanhedrin 37a), "Man was created individually so that each man should say, "The world was created for my sake.'" (Messilas Yeshorim, Ch.19, "The divisions of chassidus").

Every person is an individual, having his own unique part and role in avodas Hashem. The effect of an individual's acts in the light of this unique role cannot be matched by any other individual. The sum total of all the acts of all individuals result in kvod Shomayim and the coming of the geula. Whatever one person effects through his prayers, another person is not capable of achieving through his, because each person has his own unique part in bringing about the geula. Therefore, even though the geula has not yet happened, this does not exempt a person from praying in accordance with his specific and unique role in speeding up the redemption.

The Ramchal continues with another reason: "It gives Hashem pleasure that His sons desire and pray for this". Praying for the redemption is an end in itself. Hashem's wish is that we should long for the revelation of kvod Shomayim, and the very act of our prayers and requests regarding the Beis Hamikdosh and Yerusholayim is a source of pleasure for Him. "And though their desire may not be fulfilled, because the proper time has not yet arrived, or for some other reason, they will have done their part, and Hkb"h rejoices in it." Hkb"h rejoices when the Jewish people desire to witness the revelation of kvod Shomayim. Whether Hashem will fulfil their requests is of secondary importance and not relevant to our avodas Hashem. We have to aspire to see Hashem's name glorified, and this aspiration itself is a sign of valuable progress in our avodas Hashem.

Yeshaya Hanovi gives a thundering rebuke over the absence of this attitude (59:16), "And he saw that there was no man and he was amazed that there was no contender" and (ibid. 63:5), "And I looked and there was no helper, and I was amazed and there was no supporter." The Ramchal understands this last phrase to refer to the absence of prayer. That is how Hkb"h runs the world, and when we pray, we become partners in His administration of the world.

This also explains why we mention the thirteen midos shel rachamim. Obviously, Hashem runs the world and knows which traits to apply in different times and situations, but His wish is that we become partners in ruling His creation, by understanding the way he applies His middos and by activating them through our prayers. By requesting Hashem to activate a certain middo, we are helping Him kivyochol. (See the Sifsei Chaim vol.1, where he discusses this at length in Nisatef Hkb"h Kishliach Tzibbur). When we pray for the redemption, we become partners in Hkb"h's administration of the world, and provide Him with help kivyochol, but when we fail to pray properly, then Hkb"h looks "and there was no helper."

On This Very Day

The Ramchal's explanation helps us to get an insight into what Asoro Beteves is about. According to the Rambam, we fast on that day in order "to arouse us, and open the paths of repentance and that it may be a remembrance of our evil deeds, which resemble those of our ancestors, and which have resulted in all those calamities for them and for us. Remembering this should stir us into repentance." (Hilchos Taaniyos, ch.5).

The Avudaram writes (in Tefillas Taaniyos), "The four fasts are sometimes postponed when they fall on Shabbos, except for Asoro Beteves which never falls on Shabbis, but sometimes falls on Fridays, and then we fast on that day. Even if it would fall on Shabbos, we would not be able to postpone it to another day, because it says (Yechsekel 24:2) `on that very day', as on Yom Kippur."

Why is the fast of Asoro Beteves such a severe one? The siege only started on that day, and lasted for two and a half years. You would think that destruction of Yerushalayim is worse than the beginning of its siege. Why, then, is Tisha Beav postponed when it falls on Shabbos, and we do not fast when it falls on a Friday, whereas we do fast on Asoro Beteves when it falls on a Friday?

The Chasam Sofer has some frightening things to say about this (in the drush for the 7th of Adar, and also cited in Toras Moshe, end of parashas Vayikro, pg.9b): "Why was a fast day fixed to commemorate this siege, after all Yerushalayim was under siege several times? The city was besieged for two and a half years, because on that day, while the king of Bovel was approaching Yerushalayim, the Heavenly Court sat in judgement. The defence and the prosecution both had their say, but the prosecutors won the day, and the Beis Hamikdosh was [eventually] destroyed. Now, `there is no year whose curses do not exceed the previous year's curses in severity', and every generation during which the Beis Hamikdosh is not rebuilt, it is as if it has been destroyed during its lifetime. This means that every year a new destruction takes place.

"Every time this fast of Asoro Beteves comes round, this day on which the Divine judgement started, in each generation the Heavenly Court again sits in judgement decreeing destruction for each year. This matter is hinted at somewhat in the Sefer Hakarnayim! We know that if the anniversary of a calamity, such as the death of a father or mother, occurs on Shabbos, we do not fast, but it is permitted to fast a taanis chalom on Shabbos, because the satisfaction a person derives from preventing a calamity from happening in the future means that he is not considered to be afflicting himself through his fast. Therefore, if Tisha Beov falls on Shabbos, we do not fast, because it is only commemorating a past calamity, but the fast of Asoro Beteves whose purpose is to prevent a future calamity, if it were to fall on Shabbos, would override Shabbos, and we would fast on that day, because fasting would be a source of pleasure for us."

This explanation teaches us that there is a fundamental difference between Asoro Beteves and Tisha Beov. The main fast day which was instituted to commemorate the destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh is Asoro Beteves, and every year at this time a new case is heard in Heaven about whether the Beis Hamikdosh is to be rebuilt or chas vesholom destroyed again during the coming year. The judgement is handed down on Asoro Beteves and executed on Tisho Beov. Asoro Beteves overrides Shabbos because on that day a decree is handed down relating to the coming year as to whether the Beis Hamikdosh will be built or destroyed during the coming year. These are indeed frightening concepts.

Reasons for Asoro Beteves

Asoro Beteves was instituted because of four events that occurred during the month of Teves at different periods in history. "On the eighth of Teves the Torah was written in Greek in the days of Talmai Hamelech and darkness descended upon the world for three days" (Megillas Taanis). "And this day was as grave a day as the day the golden calf was worshipped, because it was impossible for the Torah to be translated in a satisfactory manner." (Maseches Sofrim 1:7). What is the connection between the translation of the Torah with the darkness that ensued (which we commemorate on Asoro Beteves) and the chet haegel (which we commemorate on Shivo Osor Betamuz)?

"Our rabbonim have not told us why we fast on the ninth of Teves" (Megillas Taanis). The Shulchan Oruch O.Ch. 580:2) writes, "It is not known which calamity happened on the ninth of Teves." The Taz (ibid.) already expresses his amazement, "This is a very surprising statement, because in the selichos of Asoro Beteves it says explicitly that on the ninth of Teves Ezra Hasofer died. This matter needs to be considered very carefully."

For an explanation of the mechaber's statement, we turn to the commentator on Megillas Taanis who writes, "A fast was instituted, because on the 9th of Teves `that man' (the founder of Christianity) was born, and that is why our rabonnim did not write what happened, because they were afraid to write that a fast had been fixed on that day." (He goes on to bring proofs from the calendar for his statement). It also says in Megillas Taanis that "on the tenth of Teves the king of Bovel set his hands on Yerushalayim to destroy it."

To summarize: Asoro Beteves commemorates four different events which happened during the month of Teves. They are, in chronological order: the siege of Yerushalayim during the First Beis Hamikdosh, the death of Ezra Hasofer, the translation of the Torah by the Greek king Talmai, and the birth of "that man". We shall iy"h go on to show the connection between these four events on the one hand and the chet haegel and Shivo Osor Betamuz on the other hand.

Translation of the Torah

Regarding the devastating effects of translating the Torah, the Chasam Sofer writes (in Drush Lechodesh Teves pg. 204), "The translation of the Torah into Greek or into any other language is a major calamity, because the Torah, having been written in a language written by Hkb"h, is like `a hammer that breaks the rock into pieces'. Each possuk has several different meanings, and one should not explain a possuk according to its simple meaning in a way that rules out other explanations of the words, since the Jewish people have to follow the expositions of the chachomim. When the Torah is translated into another language, on the other hand, we are left with no choice but to choose one simple explanation and formulate the thought in the target language, because in other languages we cannot use the same words to express different ideas. Moreover, we do not possess the same wisdom and discernment which Hkb"h used when writing the Torah. Consequently, when the Torah was translated into Greek, the Jewish people started to have a taste of peshuto shel mikro, and that was when epikorsus began to flourish and people stopped obeying the chachomim and their interpretations. Unfortunately, there are still such people amongst us, because of our many sins."

We see from the Chasam Sofer's explanation that the translation of the Torah shebichsav into Greek was considered such a disaster, because it meant the uprooting of Torah shebaal pe. Apart from providing us with an insight into chazal's attitude to the Septuagint, this also clarifies what we find in the seforim hakedoshim that the Greeks specifically wanted to obliterate the Torah shebaal pe. Many have tried to find a source in chazal for this, but according to the Chasam Sofer, it is contained within the stement in Maseches Sofrim about the Septuagint. (See also the Or Hachaim Hakodosh, on Vayikro 22:1, where he writes that the fundamental purpose of Torah shebaal pe is to show how Torah shebbal pe has its source in Torah shebiksav. According to the Chasam Sofer, it is this very point which was affected by the translation of the Torah into Greek.)

The Chasam Sofer's explanation also helps us to understand the statement which follows in maseches sofrim, that after the Greek translation, "darkness descended upon the world! And this day was as grave as the day the golden calf was made." Torah shebaal pe specifically is referred to as "light", as it says in Medrash Tanchuma on parashas Noach (section 3), "'The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light' refers to the Talmudists who have seen a great light." Also, on the possuk in megillas Esther, "the Jews had light and gladness and joy and honour", chazal say, "'light', refers to Torah". According to the above Tanchuma, we said naase venishmo with regard to the written Torah, but were forced into accepting the Torah shebaal pe, so that when chazal say, "Afterwards [at the time of Achashverosh] they accepted it willingly" this must refer to the Torah shebaal pe and the "light" too is referring to the oral Torah. When the Torah was translated into Greek, "darkness descended upon the world", because as a result of it the light of Torah shebaal pe was disregarded.

How does the sin of the golden calf fit into all of this? It says in Eiruvin (54a), "If the first luchos would not have been broken, the Torah would not have been forgotten by the Jewish people." This statement is elucidated by the explanation we find in the introduction to Shaarei Yosher about the difference between the first and the second luchos:

"The first luchos contained the special attribute that if a person learnt something once, he would remember the material for ever. Moshe Rabbeinu felt that this could result in a terrible chillul Hashem, because you could have the situation of a morally depraved and corrupt person being conversant in the whole Torah. Therefore Moshe rabbeinu thought it advisable to break these luchos and attempt to get another pair. The first luchos, being the handiwork of Hashem, were eternal. The second luchos, however, being the work of man, only existed under certain conditions and restrictions. When Hkb"h told Moshe to prepare two tablets of stone, this was an indication to anyone who accepts the Torah, that he must prepare tablets for himself on which to write the word of Hashem. The more effort a person puts into preparing tablets for himself, the greater will be his acceptance of Torah. If at any stage, his luchos become damaged, his Torah will not last. If a person's spiritual level descends, the level of his forgetfulness in Torah will rise accordingly. Thus we also find chazal telling us about several matters which cause our Torah learning to be forgotten rachmono litzlon." (See also similar material in the Beis Halevi drosho 18).

The day the Torah was translated into Greek "was as grave a day as the day the golden calf was worshipped," because both events resulted in Torah shebaal pe being forgotten: The Septuagint, as the Chasam Sofer explains, made inroads into the accepted approach to Torah shebaal pe, and the breaking of the first luchos was followed by a decree which introduced the element of forgetfulness to Torah learning. This is the connection between Asosro Beteves and Shivo Osor Betamuz.

Write on the horn of an ox

The main aim of the Greeks was to make us forget the Torah. This must refer to the Torah shebaal pe, because Torah shebiksav, being in written form, cannot be forgotten. This sheds light on the drosho of chazal on the possuk, "And darkness was upon the face of the deep": "this refers to the kingdom of Greece, which darkened the eyes of the Jewish people with its decrees, saying to them, `Write upon the horns of an ox that you have no share in the G-d of the Jews'" (B.Rabbo 2:2). Rashi (on the Medrash) as well as the Rokeach (in his explanation of al hanisim) say that they chose the horn of an ox as a way of accusing and denouncing us for the chet hoegel.

Why did chazal single out this strange decree from the other terrible decrees as the one which created darkness? Since the main aim of the Greeks was to make us forget the Torah shebaal pe, they felt it appropriate to denigrate us by recalling the chet hoegel, which is the original reason why the Jewish people started to forget the Torah.

The phrase "I have no share in the G-d of Israel" is also very carefully chosen, and is another indication that their main motive was to destroy the Torah shebaal pe specifically. It says in Brochos (58a), "On seeing chachmei yisroel one should say, `Blessed be He who has shared His wisdom with those that fear Him.' On seeing wise men of other nations, one says, `Who has given of His wisdom to His creatures.'" We can gain an insight into what chazal had in mind when differentiating between the wisdom Hashem "shares" with Jewish chachomim and the wisdom "given" to non-Jewish ones by consulting the introduction to the Ktos Hachoshen:

"The Torah has not been given to ministering angels, but to man with his human mind. Hkb"h, in His great mercy and kindness, has given us the Torah to make rulings using our human intellect, even if they do not accord with the absolute spiritual minds." The Ktos goes on to quote from the Droshos HaRan (Drush 11): "Hashem has not selected a prophet or a bas kol to make rulings regarding doubts that arise in the interpretation of the Torah. Only the chachomim of each generation have been entrusted with this task. This is why in the birkas hatorah we say, `who has `given' us the Torah of truth', meaning that we should have the authority to decide the truth." (See also the Beis Halevi on parashas Yisro, the end of the Haggodas Maase Nissim of the Nesivos, and the hagohos R.Eliezer Moshe on Brochos 5 dibbur hamaschil "odom").

This is why Hashem "gave" of His wisdom to non-Jewish wise men, but kivyochol "shared" His wisdom with chachmei yisroel, in the sense that they have been granted the power to make rulings on the "truth" of the Torah, since "it [the Torah] is not in heaven". Chazal say that Kudsho Brich Hu, the Torah and Yisroel are one, and the chachomim as Yisroel have a share kivyochol in Kudsho Brich Hu.

The decree to write on the horn of an ox which was meant to remind us of when we sinned with the egel hazohov and the formula which we were forced to write about not having a "share" in the G-d of Israel both had as their aim the weakening of the link between us and the Torah shebaal pe. This is what chazal meant when they said, "'And darkness was upon the face of the deep' — this refers to the kingdom of Greece which darkened the eyes of the Jewish people". The chachomim are known as the "eyes" of the nation (einei hoeido), and darkness is the opposite of light, which stands for Torah shebaal pe. It was because they wanted to "darken the eyes of the Jewish people" that they enacted this decree about writing on the horn of an ox that they have no share in the G-d of the Jews. Thus it turns out that the Greeks were only concerned with this one theme of creating a chasm between us and the Torah shebaal pe. Consider this matter carefully and you will understand it.

Ezra Hasofer

If we are correct in assuming that the main reason for our fasting on Asoro Beteves is the destruction of the Torah shebaal pe, the main aim of the wise men of Greece, it follows that the second reason for the fast is also connected with this point. As it says in the selicho, "Ezra Hasofer."

The Chasam Sofer (in the drush cited above) answers the point made by the Taz (see above) on the mechaber's statement that it is not known which calamity took place on the 9th of Teves, even though the selicho explicitly states that Ezra died on that day. He says, "Chazal said (Sanhedrin 21b), `Had Moshe not preceded him, Ezra would have been worthy of receiving the Torah for the Jewish people. And even though the Torah was not given through him, its writing was changed through him.' In the beginning the holy writing which we use now was hidden away in the sefer Torah that was inside the oron hakodesh and the hedyotim used the ksav livono'o [see Rashi and Tosfos ibid. on these terms], and Ezra came and handed over the holy writing to the whole Jewish people.

"The reason for this is that the letters of the Torah, their shapes, coronets, and tittles are all hinted at in the Torah shebaal pe, as well as everything that all future students are going to expound. We find also that Rabbi Akiva expounded upon each tittle heaps and heaps of halochos (Menochos 29b). For as long as the Jewish people had a complete command of Torah shebaal pe, they had no need to consult this holy ksav itself, and only the prophets and the chachomim looked at it whenever necessary. The rest of the nation needed no more than the ksav livono'o. However, when, because of our many sins, the Shechinoh went into exile and forgetfulness descended upon the world in the days of Ezra, it was deemed necessary to transmit the signs of the Torah and its hints to the Jewish nation as a whole, so that they would be able to deduce rulings from hints within the pesukim. In his generation it seemed as if the Torah had been given through him. Eventually, in Rebbi's generation, there was no choice but to commit the whole of Torah shebaal pe into writing.

"[After the Torah was translated into Greek, and people acquired a taste af peshuto shel mikro (see above)] kofrim had the distorted view that nothing had been gained by Ezra's acts, and his death should not be considered such a calamity. The statement in Megilas Taanis that "we do not know which calamity happened on the 9th of Teves" is to be understood figuratively. In other words, although the 9th of Teves had been fixed as a fast day because Ezra died on that day, after the Torah was translated into Greek, and people started to prefer peshuto shel mikro, they stopped appreciating the significance of Ezra's death for the Jewish people and Torah shebaal pe."

It is clear from the Chasam Sofer's explanation that the fast commemorating Ezra's death is also fundamentally connected to inroads that were made into the heart of Torah shebaal pe. This was the reason Ezra's death was looked upon as such a tragedy. Several generations later, a further churbon took place when the Torah was translated into Greek. The fact that Ezra's death was no longer considered such a calamity was itself the greatest calamity, signifying as it did that the Torah was beginning to be distorted and forgotten. We can now see what the Septuagint, the breaking of the luchos and Ezra's death being "forgotten" all have in common.

I know My real sons

Taking a close look at some statements of chazal, we discover that the fourth reason brought for Asoro Beteves, the birth of "that man" (according to the commentator on Megilas taanis) is also connected to the uprooting of Torah shebaal pe.

The Medrash Tanchuma on parashas ki siso (section 34) says, "Hkb"h foresaw that the nations would one day translate the Torah into Greek, and read it in Greek, saying, 'We are Israel' Hkb"h said to the nations, `You say that you are My sons, but only those in possession of my secret treasure are My sons.' This is referring to the Mishna which was given orally, and you have the authority to expound on all of it."

The Etz Yosef (ibid.) says in the name of the Yefe Toar that the nations mentioned in this Medrash, who would in the future translate the Torah shebichsav, are "Edom, Amon and Moav, who claim that Hashem has chosen them to replace us and given them the Torah. They have taken all the ethical parts of the Torah and incorporated them into their invented religions. If they would be in possession of the Torah shebaal pe, there would be a slight possibility of being misled by them into thinking that Hashem has given them the Torah. Since, in practice, they do not have the Torah shebaal pe, and therefore lack a real understanding of the Torah, the falsehood inherent in their religions is transparent, because they do not accord with our Torah."

We have already proved in our article on Chanuka (in the third article) that when chazal talk about the umos ho'olom they are not referring to the kings of Greece, because Greek heretical philosophy denies the existence of Divine Providence altogether, and they would surely not claim to have been chosen by Hashem> or to be His sons. This Medrash can only be talking about "that man" and his followers, who distorted the written Torah and claimed that they had been chosen by Hashem. Chazal, in the above Medrash, tell us that the oral Torah proves that we are the Chosen Nation. The founder of Christianity and his followers were mainly opposed to the Torah shebaal pe, because it was the main obstacle to their heresy. Now we can understand how the birth of Yeshu is connected to the destruction of Torah shebaal pe, the common theme of all the reasons given for the fast of Asosro Beteves.

Why was the country destroyed?

The fourth reason given for Asoro Beteves is that "on that day the king of Bovel set his hands on Yerushalayim to destroy it." We will find out bs"d that the destruction of the First Beis Hamikdosh also had important ramifications on the continuity of Torah shebaal pe.

The gemoro says in Nedorim (81a), "Rav Yehuda said in Rav's name, `what is meant by, `Who is the wise man, that he may understand this [and for what reason was the land destroyed etc.']? This question was put to the chachomim and the prophets, but they could not answer it until Hkb"h Himself did so, as it is written, `And Hashem said, Because they have forsaken My Torah which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, neither walked therein'. Is not `have not obeyed My voice' identical with `neither walked therein'? Rav Yehuda said in Rav's name, `They did not first recite a brocho over the Torah.'"

The Taz (siman 47) explains this gemoro at length: "'They have not walked in it', because `The Torah only becomes a permanent part of someone who "kills himself" for its sake' meaning someone who studies bepilpul and intensively, as it says, `If you walk in My statutes', that you may toil in Torah. On the other hand, those who learn Torah in a comfortable way and do not toil in it, will not absorb the Torah. Thus the possuk says, `They have not walked in it", meaning that they have not studied it by way of intensive deliberation which is compared to "walking". They did not first recite a brocho over the Torah, because the birkas hatorah specifically refers to the effort that has to be invested in one's Torah studies: laasok bedivrei Torah This is the correct way of understanding this statement of chazal, and it illustrates the superiority of those who study Torah with great effort and intensity."

It is specifically Torah shebaal pe that has to be studied with great effort. The Medrash Tanchuma in parashas Noach (section 3) states that it was because of the difficulties involved in studying Torah shebaal pe that we only said naase venishmo with regard to the written Torah.

Rav Elchonon Wasserman ztv"l, hy"d writes in Kovetz Maamorim that although the gemoro says in Yoma (9) that the First Beis Hamikdosh was destroyed because of three cardinal sins, the fundamental defect which brought about these three sins was the failure to recite a brocho over the Torah. In other words, the king of Bovel's attack on Yerushalayim was also brought about by a deficiency in our relation to Torah shebaal pe.

The Yearos Dvash (1st chelek, 4th drush) — basing himself on the Ramban at the end of Sefer Hageula (third shaar) — explains that although the Jewish nation returned to eretz yisroel and rebuilt the Second Beis Hamikdosh, this did not mean that the sins which had caused the destruction of the First Beis Hamikdosh were rectified. Permission was given to return and rebuild in order to provide us with a temporary period of grace, during which we would be able acquire the tools necessary to give us the strength to survive the long golus: the takkonos and gezeiros of chazal, most of which were enacted during the period of bais sheini. The Vilna Gaon points out that the presence of the shechino during the Second Beis Hamikdosh was of the "Rochel" kind. (See the likutim at the end of Safra Detzniuso dibbur hamaschil Leo Verochel).

The lesson to be derived from all the events connected with our fasting on Asoro Beteves and our duty to repent for them, is that we must reinforce our intensive yegio in Torah shebaal pe.

 

All material on this site is copyrighted and its use is restricted.
Click here for conditions of use.