Preface
From Sefer Hazikaron Lemaran Baal Pachad Yitzchok
ztvk'l, pp.129-130
In retrospect, it is striking that on the last Shavuos of his
life he dwelt on the fact that, "Every generation loses a
Moshe Rabbenu, with whom three thousand halachos are also
lost" (they were forgotten during the mourning period of
Moshe Rabbenu). However, we also received a special gift from
Moshe, something that preserves tradition with its power to
retrieve forgotten teachings — pilpul. Osniel
ben Kenaz's retrieval, through pilpul, of the halachos
that were forgotten during the mourning for Moshe set a
precedent for future generations. Besides the actual Torah
that Moshe taught Yisroel he generously shared this means of
preservation so that Torah would always remain with those who
received it.
The essence of the trait of giving generously is the
underlying wish to confer permanence, as the Ramban comments
on the posuk, "and He saw that it was good."
Everything in creation was first brought into being by
Hashem's utterance and then given permanence through His
"seeing that it was good." It is therefore fitting that
generosity was the key to the transmission of pilpul.
Looking upon something with benevolence makes it permanent
and eternal. Pilpul ensures the permanence and continuity of
tradition by making possible the retrieval of what has been
forgotten.
Our teacher continued by noting that the task of
disseminating Torah includes transmitting the ability, "to
continue carrying oneself even when he (the teacher) is no
longer there." This represents Moshe's presence in each
generation. Torah dissemination in every generation must be
like that of Moshe Rabbenu. It must include transmitting
learning together with the ability to preserve Torah.
There was nothing coincidental about the ideas that our
teacher expressed on that occasion. They reflected the
different stages of his own service. The brimming wellsprings
of Torah that he disseminated were inseparably linked to his
generosity and benevolence. How very significant it is that
the last ma'amar that he delivered on his last Shavuos
was on this very subject, on the trait of generosity, which
is the key to retrieving what has been forgotten and to
continuity after the mourning period.
Our teacher also said, quoting the Vilna Gaon, that the last
mitzvah in the Torah, to write a sefer Torah,
corresponds to "seeing that it is good" with respect to
receiving the Torah in its entirety, for committing something
to writing stems from the wish to accord it permanence.
Moshe's Torah
"Remember the Torah of Moshe, My servant" (Mal'achi
3:22). This posuk comes at the end of the last
sefer of the recorded prophecies. The role of a
prophet in Yisroel, the Rambam writes, is not, "to
modify the law but to instruct about divrei Torah and
to warn the people not to transgress it, as the last of them
said, `Remember the Torah of Moshe, My servant' " (Hilchos
Yesodei Hatorah 9:2).
The term "the Torah of Moshe, My servant," lays down a
general principle applying to all prophecy.
The Sound of the Shofar
The posuk describes Hashem's voice at Sinai as "a
mighty sound that did not cease" (Devorim 5:19).
In his commentary the Ramban points out that we are told that
the sound of the shofar at Sinai, in contrast, "was
continually growing much stronger" (Shemos 19:19).
Chazal say that the shofar's blast was gentle to begin
with in order to allow the people to get used to the sound
gradually.
"That may have been the case with the sound of the
shofar," writes the Ramban, "but Hashem's voice, while
delivering the ten Dibros, was unchanging."
There is certainly a hidden meaning in this but we shall
explain it on our own level.
Teaching Talmidim
"And you shall learn them (ulemadetem),"
(Devorim 5:1);
"Teach them (velimadetem) to your sons that they
should speak about them," (11:19);
"And you shall teach them thoroughly (veshinantom) to
your sons," (6:7, Rashi: "`Sons' means disciples").
Whether or not these three pesukim are counted as
three separate mitzvos, they certainly impose three distinct
obligations. [Ed. note: see Sefer Chareidim 12:15 and
Sefer Yereim 25-30.]
The third mitzvah differs from the first two, however, in
that the command is expressed in the singular form rather
than in the plural.
Moshe's Gift Brings Back His Torah
"The Torah was only given to Moshe and his descendants
— as it says, `Write for yourself' (Shemos
34:27) . . . `Hew for yourself' (Ibid. posuk 1). Just
as [the surplus stone from the] hewing is yours, the writing
is also yours — but Moshe was generous and gave it to
Yisroel. The posuk, "A generous spirited person will
be blessed for he shared his bread with the pauper"
(Mishlei 22:9) applies to him" (Nedorim 38).
The gemora queries this statement, showing from
pesukim that Moshe was indeed told to convey the Torah
to Yisroel. It concludes that it refers "just to
pilpul." Rashi explains pilpul as being, "the
deduction from one piece of knowledge of a further one; this
was [originally] given [just] to Moshe and he was generous
and gave it to Yisroel."
"I was standing between Hashem and between you at that time,
to tell you Hashem's word . . ." (Devorim 5:5). This
posuk thus has a double meaning. Moshe acted as a go-
between in the giving of the Torah and, in addition, he
generously shared the dimension of Torah known as
pilpul which had been given to him, with Yisroel.
[Each mitzvah carries four supplemental obligations. These
are,] "to learn, to teach, to guard and to practice,"
(Sotah 37, Rashi). The Maharsha shows that "guarding"
cannot be understood here in the sense of guarding oneself
from transgressing a negative commandment (as Chazal do when
it appears as an imperative in a posuk). Here, he
says, it relates to practice, that is, imposing a distinct
obligation to protect oneself through constant review from
forgetting what one has been taught. The Brisker Rov (on
parshas Voeschanon) explains that "guarding" refers to
preserving the tradition that is transmitted from generation
to generation and specifically applies to the Oral Torah (See
Pachad Yitzchok, Shavuos, ma'amar 38).
"Three thousand halachos were forgotten during the
period of mourning for Moshe Rabbenu . . . When Moshe Rabbenu
departed to Gan Eden . . . Yehoshua's strength
diminished and he could not recall three hundred
halachos . . . The beraissa learns, `One
thousand and seven hundred halachos of varying
difficulty . . . were forgotten during the period of mourning
for Moshe Rabbenu . . . yet Osniel ben Kenaz retrieved them
with the power of his pilpul' " (Temurah
16).
The power of pilpul is such that it brought back Torah
that Moshe had given to Yehoshua that had been forgotten.
Benevolence and Permanence
"G-d saw the light, that it was good" (Bereishis 1:4).
The Ramban and the Vilna Gaon explain that here, "seeing" a
thing [on the part of Hashem] represents its being given
permanence. The Ramban says that every part of creation was
initially brought into being through Hashem's utterance and
then made enduring through His "seeing that it was good." He
writes, " . . . their existence depends on His will and if
His will is removed from them for a moment they become
nothing. When it says about every day's deeds, `And G-d saw
that it was good . . .' [it means that] He wanted them to
exist forever . . ."
The Ramban explains that the verb `to see' is used here in
the sense of `to approve,' or, `uphold:' "Hashem approved of
the light . . ." He points out that this is the way it is
used in the Mishnah, "I see Admon's opinion," i.e. I
approve of and uphold it (Kesuvos 12:1). [Ed. Note.
See Nefesh HaChaim, Shaar III, perek 11.]
With man's creation on the sixth day Hashem saw, "all that He
had made and behold, it was very good" (1:31). The Ramban
writes, "This refers to the conferral of permanence, as I
explained . . . Some explain that because of man's exalted
level [an] extra [word] is added in praise of his creation,
`that it was very good.' The higher a creature's level
the more "sight" needed to give it permanence [hence the
additional word].
The source of the trait of benevolence is Hashem's "seeing"
that "the light was good" and that "everything He had made"
was `very good.' " [See Reshimos Lev, Succos 5734, Ushpiza
deYaakov.]
The Ramban (on Bamidbor 1:45) gives the following
explanation for Hashem's command to count bnei
Yisroel. "And, coming before the father of all prophets
and his brother, Hashem's holy one, and becoming known to
them by name [through the counting process] is a merit and a
source of life for a person, for he [thereby] becomes part of
the people and enters the record of bnei Yisroel . . .
There is merit for all in the counting before Moshe and
Aharon for they look upon him with benevolence." [See
Reshimos Lev, Pesach 5734, first day of Chol
Hamoed.]
By the same token, Chazal also mention an "evil, maligning
eye" (Bava Metzia 107) and "damage caused by seeing"
(Bava Basra 2). "A person may not wait in his friend's
field when it is full of standing crops" (Bava Basra
ibid. ) All of these are harmful and represent the
opposite trait to that mentioned in the posuk, "a
person who looks with benevolence," which accords
permanence.
"Write for yourselves" (Devorim 31:19). This mitzvah
— to write a sefer Torah — is the last of
the Torah's 613 mitzvos. [The Vilna Gaon explains that] the
command to write down the Torah corresponds to "seeing that
it was good" — looking favorably on receiving Torah in
its entirety, for writing something down is a consequence of
the wish to accord it permanence [which a benevolent look, or
contemplation, confers]. [See Sefer Hazikaron, end of
Zichronos.]
Retrieving Forgotten Torah and Ensuring Torah is not
Forgotten
"I was standing between Hashem and between you at that
time, to tell you Hashem's word . . ." Here Moshe
implemented the trait of "looking with benevolence" —
if any part of the tradition would be forgotten, his
generosity in having shared pilpul would make its
retrieval possible.
"Just as [the surplus stone from the] hewing is yours, the
writing is also yours." The extra stone that fell away
after Moshe hewed the Luchos corresponds to those
parts of Torah that could fall away from the rest and become
forgotten.
"Yet Osniel ben Kenaz retrieved them with the power of his
pilpul" — because when Moshe was on the mountain he
received Torah pilpul and generously shared it with
Yisroel.
"A generous-spirited person will be blessed for he shared
his bread with the pauper" — this posuk
applies to Moshe Rabbenu.
This is why the obligation `to guard' Torah refers to
guarding the tradition that relates specifically to the Oral
Torah, for it embodies the retrieval of Torah through Torah
pilpul.
Disseminating Torah, which is Torah's transmission [to future
generations] must follow Moshe Rabbenu's example.
"And you shall teach them thoroughly (veshinantom) to
your sons," (6:7, Rashi: " `Sons' means disciples") —
because Torah pilpul brings back halachos that
have been forgotten with the passage of time.
[See Pachad Yitzchok Chanukah, ma'amar 10:6, where a
principle of the Vilna Gaon's (in Aderes Eliyahu, Nitzovim
28:19) is mentioned: When the Torah speaks in the second
person singular, all of Klal Yisroel is being
addressed as a unit, while the plural speaks to each
individual separately.
Thus, "teach them thoroughly (veshinantom) to your sons,"
written in a singular form, addresses Knesses
Yisroel at each generation's level and refers to ensuring
that Torah is not forgotten by future generations.
By contrast, "Teach them (velimadetem)," is a plural
and refers to each individual. ]
All Torah dissemination must follow Moshe Rabbenu's example;
every Torah disseminator must possess the trait of
benevolence.
"In the future, Torah will be forgotten by Yisroel"
(Shabbos 138) is a feature of our nation's life that
will remain with us until the end of days. The same applies
to, "Yet Osniel ben Kenaz retrieved them with the power of
his pilpul." Despite being contradictory and conflicting,
both these features remain with us.
"Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says, `Chas vesholom that
Torah should be forgotten by Yisroel, as it says, "For it
will not be forgotten by their descendants" (Devorim
31:21)' " (Shabbos ibid..)
End of Part I
