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Meaning in Mitzvot -
Lesson 15

Siman 23 - Weekday Torah Reading

21.09.2014
Text file

 

At the very beginning of their sojourn in the desert, the Jewish people could not bear to go three days without a source of water (1).  Since the Torah is likened to water, we similarly conclude that as Jews we can not bear three full days without Torah (2).  For this reason, the Torah is read on Shabbat, on Mondays, and on Thursdays.

 

We will learn in siman 27 that, in fact, we can not even bear a few hours without Torah, and every Jewish man is obliged to study Torah every day and every night.  But this learning does not require a Torah scroll.  What is the special significance of hearing the Torah read from a Sefer Torah?

 

The Torah scroll is not a mere book, a record of the words of the Five Books of Moses in written form.  Such is the status of a "Chumash," a Pentateuch or printed Five Books.  A proper Torah scroll is considered the very embodiment of Torah itself - "Torah" referring to the entire Jewish tradition of how we conduct our lives in accordance with God's revealed will.

 

Although HaShem made a covenant with our people back in the time of the Patriarchs, our side of this covenant - in which we would keep "My vigil, My commandments, My statutes and My teachings [Torot]" (Bereshit 26:5) was only given detailed content when we received the beginning of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai directly from HaShem, and then received the rest through our forty years in the desert from Moshe, who received it directly from HaShem.  At the beginning of our history as a Torah-observant people, our status as a people who possess a detailed KNOWLEDGE of what acts God wants us to perform is grounded in our status as a people who have a living experience of instruction from God!

 

The revelation of God's word which we experienced in the desert was not an episode; rather, this revelation is a continuing experience.  It is not enough to learn God's will as we do when we learn Torah; it is also necessary to hear God's word.  Congregational reading from a fit Torah scroll functions as a continuation of our experience in the Sinai Desert hearing HaShem's word from Moshe.

 

To a great extent, it is the detailed laws of writing a Torah scroll which create this continuity, ensuring that each sefer Torah is not merely a COPY of the original Torah given by Moshe but rather a descendant of that scroll.  But these laws are not mentioned in the Kitzur so we will not discuss them further.

 

This insight gives us the foundation for understanding many halakhot of the Torah reading.  First of all, many halakhot are directly learned from the Sinai experience - see for instance se'if 7.  Second of all, this explains the difference between our treatment of ordinary books of Torah learning, which we have to treat respectfully as they are objects which help us learn God's ways, and the sefer Torah, which we have to honor as HaShem's "emissary" (siman 28 se'if 3 and se'if 4).  Ordinary Torah books serve us, but regarding the Sefer Torah it is we who must adopt a position of subservience.  This is why we may not bring a Torah scroll to the congregation, rather the congregation must go to the Torah scroll (se'if 30).

 

ROUTE TO THE PLATFORM (se'ifim 1-2)

 

The Kitzur explains that we approach the Sefer Torah and the reader's platform via the shortest way (and preferably along the right side), and leaves the long way.  We want to display our eagerness to approach the Sefer Torah and our reluctance to part from it.

 

TALLIT (se'if 2)

 

The Kitzur mentions the custom for the person called to the Torah to wear a tallit.  On one level, this is just a question of putting on a dignified and traditional garment before standing in front of the congregation.  On a somewhat deeper level, it suits the fact that the mitzva of tzitzit is meant to remind us of all of the commandments (3) and is weighed against all the commandments (4). 

 

Developing the symbolism further, we can recall the connection of tzitzit to extension and emanation of spirituality.  We explained this symbolism above (on siman 9 se'if 3): a person's body is a "garment" for his soul, allowing the soul to act in the physical world and imbue it with spirituality; a tallit is an actual garment for the body, providing a further vehicle for spirituality since our clothes allow our bodies to express our unique human dignity; the tzitzit are affixed specifically to the edges of the garment in order to extend the reach yet further, allowing our garments to express our allegiance to God.

 

BEFORE I ascend to the Torah, I'm an ordinary private person.  But when I read the Torah before the congregation, I become a vehicle to broadcast and project Godliness - much like Moshe's face which would radiate as he transmitted God's word to the people (5).

 

BLESSING ON THE TORAH READING (se'if 3)

 

We say the blessing on the Torah each morning, only after which one is permitted to study Torah - a law many authorities consider to be of Scriptural origin (see siman 27 se'if 5).  Even so, we say this blessing AGAIN before public reading from the Torah.  Even someone who has NOT said the ordinary blessing on Torah learning before being called up to the Torah should make efforts to say it so that the blessing he says on the Torah reading will be an additional blessing! (siman 7 se'if 8.)

 

This practice emphasizes the qualitative difference between this Torah reading and ordinary Torah study, as we mentioned above.  Even if I already said a blessing on LEARNING the Torah, I need to say an additional blessing on RECEIVING the Torah.

 

RE-ENACTING THE MOUNT SINAI EXPERIENCE (se'ifim 5-8)

 

The Kitzur explains that during the reading, the reader and the one called to the Torah must stand and that preferably the congregation should also stand.  There is no requirement to stand when studying Torah (a Torah academy is referred to as a Yeshiva - literally "place of sitting"), but when reading the Torah we want to recreate the atmosphere of awe which existed at the giving of the Torah (6).

 

For the same reason, the congregation must be completely silent as the Torah is read (7).

 

In addition, the person reading from the Torah should always have a companion (someone by his side) - either the one called to the Torah or some other person.  The Kitzur explains, based on the Yerushalmi (8), that just as the Torah was given by an intermediary (Moshe), we also have to provide an intermediary.  

 

In the Yerushalmi this refers to the former custom of having a translator who would translate each verse into the vernacular Aramaic, just as Moshe spoke to God face to face (9) in prophecy and afterwards transmitted God's word to the Jewish people in ordinary human language.  But this idea is also applicable to our current custom of having one person bless and another read - it demonstrates that there is so much depth, so much awe in this experience that one human being can never encompass its power.

 

GIVING PRECEDENCE TO THE KOHEN, AND "THE WAYS OF PEACE" (se'ifim 9-12)

 

There is a special mitzva to honor and sanctify a kohen, as the Torah says, "Sanctify him" (10).  Interestingly, the mishna gives a different reason for giving a kohen the first aliya: because of "the ways of peace".  Since the first aliya must be given to a kohen, there will be less wrangling over this special honor.  (The gemara harmonizes the two reasons: usually when we honor a kohen, the kohen may demur if he so wishes.  But in this case we do not let the kohen waive his right to be first because this would merely open the door to the kind of dispute we are trying to avoid.)

 

The gemara further asserts, "The entire Torah is based on the ways of peace, as it is written (Mishlei 3) 'Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths peace'" (11).

 

We can easily see that the concept of "darkhei shalom" is one of the most important principles of the Torah.  Let us study it a little more carefully.

 

The simplest application of the principle of "darkhei shalom" involves SUPPLEMENTING Torah law.  For instance, the mishna mentions that even though, according to Torah law, a minor can not make a legally valid acquisition (for instance, if a child picks up a lost object that object does not technically belong to the child but rather maintains its ownerless status), we recognize a minor's acquisition in order to create order and peace.  Likewise, according to Torah law, the "forgotten sheaves" are designated only for Jews, but we allow poor non-Jews to benefit from them as well in order to create peace.

 

Rav Lichtenstein has pointed out that this consideration is much different than that of "eiva" - enmity.  Various leniencies were made by our sages to prevent creating enmity among our non-Jewish neighbors.  Darkhei shalom is not meant merely to PREVENT enmity but rather to go further in actually CREATE a sense of brotherhood and good will.  This is a very important value in the Torah, to the extent that the gemara can say "The entire Torah is based on the ways of peace."

 

A more subtle application involves the INTERPRETATION of Torah law.  In a few isolated instances, competing interpretations of a verse are decided using the principle of "ways of pleasantness" - if one interpretation of the law violates human dignity, it is presumed that this interpretation could not be correct.  For instance, the gemara uses this principle to demonstrate that it is impossible that the Torah could obligate a man to marry a woman who is repulsive to him (12).

 

From our siman, we can discern yet another level in this principle: our very CONCEPTION of Torah law.  

 

Liberal philosophy takes for granted that choice brings happiness.  The individual person as well as society as a whole have the best opportunity for improving their prospects when all avenues are open to them.  Our siman provides a counterexample: precisely when we PREVENT choice, by not allowing the kohen to waive his privileged position, we make things better for everybody by averting destructive conflict.

 

What is true for the community is true for the individual as well.  Judaism certainly esteems free will and the importance of free choice, and indeed this most human trait is one of the most basic aspects of our Divine Image.  (See what we wrote on siman 131 se'ifim 4-5.) The Torah emphasizes that we have choice: "Life and death have I placed before you today, blessing and curse" - but then tells us WHAT to choose - "now choose life (13)!

 

Just as rules which limit the community's freedom can reduce communal conflict, rules which restrict our inner freedom can reduce inner conflict.  This doesn't mean that we are supposed to relinquish our sense of judgement; any gabbai (synagogue sexton) can tell you that despite all of the restrictions placed on his aliyot, deciding how to allot the honor of ascending to the Torah is one of the most difficult and conflict-ridden parts of his job, and likewise the observant Jew finds that most life choices which are most important to people - whom to marry, what profession to enter, where to live - provide him or her with plenty to think about.  But the many restrictions which DO exist keep us from achieving freedom and might eventually lead to feelings of alienation (14).

 

 

Endnotes:

 

(1)  Shemot 15:22-24.

(2)  Bava Kama 82a.

(3)  Bamidbar 15:40.

(4)  Nedarim 25a.

(5)  Shemot 34:29-35.

(6)  Yerushalmi Megilla 4:1.

(7)  Zohar Vayakhel II:206b.

(8)  Yerushalmi Megilla 4:1.

(9)  Shemot 33:11.

(10)  Vayikra 21:8.

(11)  Gittin 59a and 59b.

(12)  Yevamot 15a.

(13)  Devarim 30:19.

(14)  Ultimately, there is a way around almost any rule.  A mighty "gvir" (donor) from the generation before the war used to give a very handsome donation to any synagogue he visited on Shabbat in his extensive travels - but he demanded to be called up to the Torah first.  The kohanim were politely asked to excuse themselves for a few moments just before the first person was called up to the Torah, so that there would be no problem calling up a Yisrael.  I don't think anyone minded giving up their privilege occasionally for so distinguished a guest, especially since he was so generous.  This gentleman did not cause conflict either, since it was clear to everyone who the appropriate person was to summon first to the Torah.

 

 

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