Shelach: Challah as a Consequence of the Cheit ha'Meraglim

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Shelach: Challah as a Consequence of the Cheit ha'Meraglim

The Cheit ha’Meraglim (Sin of the Spies) is recounted in Bamidbar Chapters 13 and 14. Chapter 15 interrupts the narrative to present a series of seemingly random and unrelated mitzvos. One of these is the mitzvah of hafrashas challah (separation of dough). We are obligated by Torah law in the Land of Israel to separate a portion of our dough “for Hashem” (Bamidbar 15:9) – that is, to give to the kohanim.

Sforno explains this sequencing of the chapters by positing that challah – indeed, all the mitzvos mentioned in Chapter 15 – only became necessary as a result of the Cheit ha’Meraglim. He writes:

After the Cheit ha’Meraglim, challah also became necessary in order for [the Israelites] to be worthy to receive blessing in their homes, as it is stated: “you shall give the first portion of your dough to the Kohen, to bring a blessing to rest upon your home” (Yechezkel 44:30).

Sforno’s comments raise two questions: (1) How does challah make us worthy to receive blessing in our homes? (2) Why did this necessity for challah only arise after the Cheit ha’Meraglim?

An answer to the first question is provided by the Sefer ha’Chinuch (Mitzvah #385):

At the root of this mitzvah lies the reason that since man’s sustenance is by food, and most of the world lives on bread, the Foundational Being wanted to make us meritorious through a constant mitzvah with our bread in order that blessing will dwell it in through the mitzvah and we will earn merit for our souls. As a result, the dough is nourishment for the body and nourishment for the soul. Additionally, [the purpose of the mitzvah] is so that the ministering servants of Hashem can live (i.e. be sustained) by it – those who are constantly engaged in His service, namely, the kohanim – without any toil at all. For with the terumah (i.e. the kohen’s portion) from the granary there is toil for them, to pass the grain through a sieve and to grind it, but here [in the case of challah] their allotted portion comes to them without difficulty at all.

The Ralbag (toeles #8) provides two similar explanations which differ slightly from the Sefer ha’Chinuch:

The first benefit that comes from [the mitzvah of challah] is to call attention to the fact that all good things come to us from Hashem; this is why He commanded that we give a portion to Hashem from the first of our dough in the Land of Israel, to teach us that Hashem gave us the Land which yields produce in abundance. The second benefit that comes from [this mitzvah] is common to all the priestly gifts, namely, that Hashem desires that the kohanim be free to be involved in Torah and to grasp its deepest ideas, so that they can teach His judgments to Jacob and His Torah to Israel; for this reason, He desired that their bread and water be provided in a dependable manner.

Although the major fault of the Israelites was their lack of trust in Hashem, they were also guilty of undervaluing the Land He intended to give them. This is clear from their outcry: “Why is Hashem bringing us into this Land … would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” (Bamidbar 14:3), to which Yehoshua and Kalev responded: “the Land that we traversed to spy out is very, very good … it is a land flowing with milk and honey!” (ibid. 14:7-8). In other words, if the Israelites’ only problem was their fear that the inhabitants of the land would kill them, then Yehoshua’s and Kalev’s repeated assertions about the Land’s goodness would be irrelevant. Evidently, they did not adequately appreciate Hashem’s gift of the Land.

The mitzvah of challah is a reminder of the true value of the Land Hashem gave us. It reminds us that we depend upon Him for our physical sustenance, and it also reminds us of the purpose of our physical existence – to live a life devoted to His service. This necessary reminder makes us worthy of His blessings.

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Be sure to check out my YouTube channel and my podcasts: "The Mishlei Podcast", "The Stoic Jew" Podcast, "Rambam Bekius" Podcast, "Machshavah Lab" Podcast, "The Tefilah Podcast"  

Tzfarde’a: The Plague That Lasted Forever

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Artwork: Lurking Crocodile, by Donato Giancola

Tzfarde’a: The Plague That Lasted Forever

Ask the average Jew to identify the species involved in the second of the ten plagues, and they’ll likely answer “frogs.” However, a few commentators interpret the word “tzfarde’a” to mean “crocodiles.” Saadia Gaon bases his interpretation on the account of the plagues in Sefer Tehilim: “He sent wild beasts into them which devoured them, and tzfarde’a which destroyed them” (Tehilim 78:45). He explains: “I interpret tzfarde’a as crocodiles because frogs don’t kill, whereas this [tzfarde’a mentioned in the pasuk] kills.” Ramban (Shemos 10:14) cites this opinion in the name of Rabbeinu Chananel. Ibn Ezra (ibid. 7:27, Second Commentary) brings it up as a possibility which he ultimately rejects. Rabbeinu Bachya (ibid. 10:19) also mentions this view.

The most emphatic crocodile advocate is the Abravanel, who marshals a number of proofs – too many to paraphrase in a 1-page article. His main argument is based on Moshe’s statement: “The crocodiles will depart from you and from your houses, and from your servants and your people; only in the River will they remain” (ibid. 8:7). The Abravanel writes: “How could [Moshe] say ‘only in the River will they remain,’ which indicates that they would remain exclusively in the Nile, when croaking frogs are found throughout all the rivers of Egypt, and also in all the streams and ponds in the world?” He acknowledges that crocodiles eventually made their way outside of the borders of Egypt, but staunchly maintains that prior to the plague of tzfarde’a, crocodiles were not present in the Nile, and were only brought there by the plague. He then goes on to spell out the implications of the pasuk:

Moshe said, "only in the River will they remain" because he saw that Paroh suffered greatly from the crocodiles, and therefore, in order to intimidate him, he said, "only in the River will they remain" – in other words, so that they will occasionally come up by the will of the Creator (blessed is He) as a reminder that the great crocodiles came into the Nile River by the decree of Ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu as a punishment for the Egyptians; for this reason, He wanted the crocodiles to remain in the river of Egypt as a reminder, so that the offspring born to the later generations would know that this is the tzfarde'a that Hashem (blessed is He) brought to the Nile to destroy the Egyptians. This is why Moshe repeated, "only in the River shall they remain," for this was a new phenomenon, that the crocodiles would remain perpetually in the river of Egypt, in the manner of, "a memorial He made for His wonders" (Tehilim 111:4).

We Jews memorialize the events of Yetzias Mitzrayim through the laws of the Torah: Pesach, matzah, maror, and sippur (telling the story). According to the Abravanel, the Egyptians also received a memorial – one that was preserved in the laws of nature: the perpetual presence of crocodiles in the Nile. This stands to reason: we were one intended audience of the plagues: “in order that you recount in the ears of your children and your grandchildren how I made a mockery of Egypt, and the signs that I placed in their midst, and you shall know that I am Hashem” (Shemos 10:2). Egypt was the other audience: “in order to show you My power, and in order that My Name should be proclaimed throughout all the land” (ibid. 9:14). We received reminders for all generations in the form of mitzvos; so too, Egypt received a reminder for all generations in the form of a lasting plague.

Sforno (ibid. 8:6) also holds by the crocodile theory, but offers a different explanation as to why they remained in the Nile after the plague was removed from Paroh and his people:

in order that you know that there is none like Hashem, our God – for there is no power that can introduce a new change in nature except for a limited time, but the crocodiles which [remained] in the River [resulted from] a [permanent] change in the nature of the River.

In short, the Abravanel held that the purpose of this everlasting plague was for future generations – to preserve the fear of Hashem, and to remind them of the plagues. Sforno held that the purpose of this perpetual plague was for the present – to demonstrate that only the Creator can introduce a permanent change in a natural entity.

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If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail.com. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.

If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.com. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.

Be sure to check out my YouTube channel and my podcasts: "The Mishlei Podcast", "The Stoic Jew" Podcast, "Rambam Bekius" Podcast, "Machshavah Lab" Podcast, "The Tefilah Podcast"  For the full guide to all of my Torah content, click here. 

Yom ha'Kippurim 5780: Kaparah as a Means to an End

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"Come, now, let us reason together, says Hashem. If your sins are like scarlet, they will become as white as snow; if they have become red as crimson, they will become [white] as wool" (Yeshayahu 1:18)

Yom ha'Kippurim 5780: Kaparah as a Means to an End

Kaparah as a Means to Taharah

Until this year I've viewed kaparah (atonement) as the goal of Yom ha'Kippurim. This year, however, I noticed that the pasuk (verse) describing the purpose of Yom ha'Kippurim suggests otherwise. After detailing the entire Avodas Yom ha'Kippurim (the Temple Service done on Yom ha'Kippurim), the Torah states:

This shall remain for you an eternal decree: In the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and you shall not do any work, neither the native nor the convert who dwells among you. For on this day, he shall atone for you, to purify you; from your sins before Hashem shall you be purified. (Vayikra 16:29-30)

This is clearer in the Hebrew than it is in the English: "ki ba'yom ha'zeh yechapeir aleichem le'taher eschem." In other words, the kaparah is a means to the taharah (purification), which is the end. 

This raises three major questions:

1. What is this kaparah? The pasuk cited above is referring to the kaparah brought about by the Kohen Gadol's avodah (service). What does kaparah mean in that context? 
   
   
2. What is this taharah? Most instances of taharah in the Chumash are a reference to the detailed laws of tumah v'taharah (halachic impurity and purity). Here this is not the case, since the pasuk explicitly says "from your sins before Hashem you shall be purified." What, exactly, is this "purification from sin"? This is the only instance of such a usage in Chumash. For example, the Chumash never says that bringing a korban chatas (sin-offering) "purifies you from your sin" or that doing teshuvah "purifies you." Yom ha'Kippurim is the only time the Chumash makes reference to taharah from sins.
   
   
3. How does this kaparah facilitate this taharah? The same question we'd ask about any means to an end: how does it work?

I will do my best to answer these questions as best as I can before Yom ha'Kippurim starts. 

Sforno's Explanation

I found only one of the classical commentators who addresses all three questions: the Sforno. Here is a translation of his commentary on the aforementioned pasuk:

for on this day he will atone - The reason that you need shevisah and inui along with this is because the Kohen with his avodah merely brings kaparah, and the concept of kaparah is the diminution of the cheit (sin) and preparing it to receive selichah (forgiveness). 

before Hashem you will be purified - But the attainment of taharah and complete selichah will be "before Hashem" alone, and this is through vidui (confession) and teshuvah (repentance), for He alone knows their reality. 

Let's summarize how the Sforno addresses all three of our questions, and then we'll try to understand what he means:

1. What is this kaparah? According to Sforno, this kaparah includes two functions: "diminution of the cheit" and "preparing it to receive selichah."
   
   
2. What is this taharah? Sforno doesn't explicitly define taharah, but he seems to equate it with "complete forgiveness" which is achieved through teshuvah and vidui before God. 
   
   
3. How does this kaparah facilitate this teshuvah? Apparently, by "diminishing" and "preparing" our sins to receive selichah, in conjunction with inui and shevisah.

As you can see, the Sforno's answers require some clarification. Specifically, what does he mean by "diminution of the cheit"? What does it mean to "prepare" the cheit to receive selichah? How does the Avodas Yom ha'Kippurim accomplish these two functions?

How the Avodas Yom ha'Kippurim Diminishes and Prepares the Cheit for Selichah

There are two ways to diminish something: quantitatively, by reducing its size, and qualitatively, by taking an essence and reframing it merely as an accident (i.e. as a particular). I believe that the Avodas Yom ha'Kippurim diminishes the cheit in this latter sense, as we shall see. 

Unfortunately, the Sforno doesn't offer much of an explanation for the philosophy behind the Avodas Yom ha'Kippurim. However, an explanation given by my Rosh Yeshiva sheds light on the Sforno's framework. Here's an excerpt from a summary of this explanation written by a student of the yeshiva (with minor edits by me):

An understanding of the service of the scapegoat gives us insight into the essential nature of the sanctity of Yom Kippur and its function as a metaher (purifier). The seir la'azazel functioned as an atonement for all the sins of the Jews. Leviticus Chapter 16 Verses 21 and 22 tells us that Aaron placed his hands on the seir la'azazel, confessed all the sins of the Children of Israel and all their transgressions, and placed them on the head of the Azazel goat. How does this goat serve to forgive all the sins of the Jewish people? The Torah is teaching us that the sins of man are really separate and extraneous to his essential nature. Aaron was capable of removing all of man's sins and placing them on the head of the goat. The seir la'azazel as stated, represents the satan, man's evil inclination, the part of man driven by his fantasy. This service signifies that the part of man which is based upon his emotions and fueled by his fantasy is really not reflective of man's true essence, his tzelem elokim, his seichel (intellect). This part of man, his instinctual nature, is severable from his true nature. However, if man follows his fantasies and his evil inclination he is doomed as the seir la'azazel, to face a brutal and lonely death.

This same perspective on human nature was beautifully expressed by Richard Mitchell in the excerpt from The Gift of Fire which I every year before Yom ha'Kippurim:

I imagine some well-informed and largely wise visitor from another world who comes to Earth to study us. He begins by choosing two people at random, and, since time and place are of no importance to him, but only the single fact of humanity, he chooses Socrates and me, leaving aside for the moment every other human being. He begins with an understanding of the single but tremendous attribute that distinguishes us both from all other creatures of Earth. We are capable of Reason. Capable. We can know ourselves, unlike the foxes and the oaks, and can know that we know ourselves. He knows that while we have appetites and urges just like all the other creatures, we have the astonishing power of seeing them not simply as the necessary attributes of what we are, but as separate from us in a strange way, so that we can hold them at arm's length, turning them this way and that, and make judgment of them, and even put them aside, saying, Yes, that is "me," in a way, but, when I choose, it is just a thing, not truly me, but only mine. He sees, in short, what "human" means in "human beings."

It is in this sense that the Avodas Yom ha'Kippurim "diminishes" our sins, thereby "preparing" them for forgiveness. Without the perspective embedded in this avodah, each sin stands as its own essential entity. The task of doing teshuvah on our multitude of sins looms large, and can be quite daunting. Is there anyone who can do complete teshuvah on every single sin, making an honest commitment never to repeat that sin, genuinely regretting the fact that he did it, and transforming himself to the point where he won't do it again? "Who can say, 'I have cleansed my heart; I have purified myself from my sin'?" (Mishlei 20:9). That is a tall order indeed. Theoretically, this might be possible over the course of a long lifetime, but is certainly impossible to accomplish on demand every year at Yom ha'Kippurim for every single Jew in the nation.

But when we view our sins through the lens of the Avodas Yom ha'Kippurim, we recognize that they all stem from one underlying source: the instinctual part of human nature. This paradigm shift results in a "diminution" our sins by reducing them from essential entities to particular expressions of a single aspect of human nature. Rather than seeing each sin in isolation, we view them all as instances in which our yetzer ha'ra (evil inclination) propelled us towards fantasy and away from reality. 

From this angle, the task of teshuvah on Yom ha'Kippurim becomes far more manageable and realistic. Rather than attempting to do full teshuvah on each and every cheit, the Avodas Yom ha'Kippurim allows us to do a generalized teshuvah on this part of our human nature. We do this not by committing ourselves to never giving in to this part of our nature again - which would be inherently impossible - but by acknowledging that "this part of my nature is not the real me." We express remorse for those times we have given in to this part of our nature - a remorse built on the recognition that this path leads to harm and destruction, as symbolized by the seir la'azazel.

My Rosh Yeshiva expanded on this concept by differentiating the kaparah brought about by an ordinary korban chatas from the taharah brought about by the Avodas Yom ha'Kippurim: 

The kaparah of the Avodas Yom ha'Kippurim is unique because it atones for many sins, kalos ve'chamuros (lenient and stringent sins). Whereas a korban chatas is brought for a particular maaseh aveirah (act of transgression), and atones for that particular sin, on Yom ha'Kippurim "lifnei Hashem titharu" - we are purified before Hashem. The essential character of the day brings atonement. This is a different type of forgiveness than a specific korban chatas. Yom Kippur is related to the state of the gavra (individual). The day brings atonement for the individual. A person who appreciates the sanctity of the day demonstrates that he, as an individual, is worthy of forgiveness. Consequently, this new status results in the removal of the particular sins.

This is how the kaparah of the Avodas Yom ha'Kippurim "prepares" our sins to receive the taharah lifnei Hashem (purification before God). But mere recognition of this idea isn't sufficient. In order to attain that taharah, we must do teshuvah and vidui - not on every single sin, but our fundamental error of giving in to the instinctual part of man. 

Support from the Rambam

In the first chapter of Hilchos Teshuvah the Rambam enumerates all of the various requirements for different types of kaparah. He underscores the point that in most cases, kaparah can only be attained if a person did teshuvah. When a person brings a korban on a cheit, he only gets kaparah for that cheit if he did teshuvah. When a person receives the penalties of malkos (whiplashes) or misah (death), he only gets kaparah if he did teshuvah. After expounding on the kaparah of the Avodas Yom ha'Kippurim, the Rambam discusses the state of things in the present era:

During the time when the Beis ha’Mikdash does not exist and we do not have a mizbach kaparah (an altar of atonement), the only thing we have is teshuvah. The teshuvah brings kaparah for all transgressions. Even if someone is a rasha (evil person) for his entire life and he does teshuvah at the end – his evil name will not be mentioned to him, as it is stated: “The wickedness of the evil one will not cause him to stumble on the day he does teshuvah from his wickedness” (Yechezkel 33:12). The day of Yom ha’Kippurim itself brings kaparah for shavim (those who have done teshuvah), as it is stated: “For on this day He will atone for you” (Vayikra 16:30).

Up until this year I thought that when the Rambam says "the day of Yom ha'Kippurim itself brings kaparah for shavim" he meant this in the same way as he did when talking about korbanos, malkos, and misah - namely, that on Yom ha'Kippurim we only receive kaparah on those sins for which we have done teshuvah, but for those sins on which we have not done teshuvah, we do not receive kaparah. 

This always made me view Yom ha'Kippurim in a somewhat bleak manner. Sure, maybe I succeeded in doing a little bit of teshuvah on a handful of sins, but the vast majority of my sins were untouched, so Yom ha'Kippurim didn't do much for me. All it did was remind me of my exceedingly low level. 

This year, after encountering the Sforno's explanation in conjunction with my Rosh Yeshiva's idea, my view has changed. Yes, it is true that kaparah on a specific sin is only possible if one does teshuvah on that specific sin - but this is only true for the kaparah brought about through teshuvah, which applies year-round. The kaparah of Yom ha'Kippurim is a different phenomenon altogether. In order to attain that kaparah, there is only one requirement: you must be a shav - someone who has done teshuvah.

[Disclaimer reminder: this is where the idea isn't 100% finished!]

What does the Rambam mean by shav? I can think of two possibilities. One is that you've done teshuvah on any cheit whatsoever. For example, let's say I've done 100 chataim, but I only enter Yom ha'Kippurim having done teshuvah on one of them. Previously I thought this would mean that Yom ha'Kippurim would only bring kaparah on that one cheit that I did teshuvah on. Now, however, I think that by doing teshuvah on that one cheit, I have the status of being a shav, and I will receive the general kaparah (or, in Sforno's terms, the taharah) of Yom ha'Kippurim as a whole. The other possibility is that when the Rambam says shav, he means someone who has done this fundamental teshuvah on the instinctual part of human nature. Either way, the Rambam states that the kaparah of Yom ha'Kippurim is contingent on being a shav - not on doing teshuvah for every cheit. 

My rebbi pointed out a similar idea in Hilchos Teshuvah Chapter 3. The Rambam begins the chapter by defining "tzadik" (righteous person) as someone whose zechuyos (merits) outweigh their avonos (iniquities), a "rasha" (wicked person) as someone whose avonos outweigh their zechuyos, and a "beinoni" (middle person) as someone whose zechuyos and avonos are equal. Later in the chapter, the Rambam explains the mechanics of the judgment which takes place on Rosh ha'Shanah and Yom ha'Kippurim:

Just as the avonos and zechuyos of man are weighed at the time of his death, so too on each and every year the avonos of each and every member of mankind is weighed with his zechuyos on the Yom Tov of Rosh Ha'Shanah. One who is found to be a tzadik is sealed for life; one who is found to be a rasha is sealed for death; and the beinoni hangs [in the balance] until Yom Ha'Kipurim ...

Now, if we paused here and asked: "What does the beinoni need to do in order to be sealed for life on Yom ha'Kippurim?" You would expect the Rambam to say: "If the beinoni accumulates enough zechuyos or removes enough avonos so that his zechuyos outweigh his avonos, then he is sealed for life, but if not, then he is sealed for death." But no! Instead, the Rambam writes:

and the beinoni hangs [in the balance] until Yom Ha'Kipurim: if he did teshuvah, then he is sealed for life, and if he didn't, then he is sealed for death.

In other words, the sealing in the book of life on Rosh ha'Shanah is based on the weighing of our zechuyos and avonos, but the sealing of our judgment on Yom ha'Kippurim is dependent on one thing, and one thing only: whether or not we did teshuvah - period. Not "whether or not we did teshuvah on ALL of our sins." Not "whether or not we did teshuvah on enough sins to change the balance in our favor." Simply on whether we did teshuvah or not.

Now I realize that the Rambam here is talking about the judgment aspect of Yom ha'Kippurim rather than the kaparah (or taharah), but I would like to suggest that perhaps this is what he means when he says that Yom ha'Kippurim only brings kaparah for a shav. I think it's reasonable to say that just as any teshuvah is enough to seal a person for life on Yom ha'Kippurim, so too, any teshuvah is enough to bring the special kaparah of Yom ha'Kippurim. 

Another support from the Rambam can be seen in his formulation of the vidui of Yom ha'Kippurim, which I wrote about a couple of years ago (and as was pointed out by another one of my rabbeim - the same one whose insights contributed to the ideas I wrote about there). There I noted that unlike the formula for regular vidui, which includes the phrase "and I will never return to this [sin] again," the vidui of Yom ha'Kippurim doesn't include any resolutions never to repeat these sins. I gave another answer there, but perhaps this year's insight provides a different answer. For regular sins, teshuvah requires a person to commit to never doing the sin again. The teshuvah of Yom ha'Kippurim, however, is on human nature - not a particular human error - and it would be ludicrous to say that we will never succumb to human nature ever again. Rather, the essential teshuvah of Yom ha'Kippurim is primarily hakaras ha'cheit (recognition of the sin) and charatah (regret) for the harm it caused - NOT a commitment never to return to the sin. This supports the idea that the kaparah of Yom ha'Kippurim is of a different nature than the kaparah of ordinary teshuvah.

Yom ha'Kippurim as a Day of Hope and Joy

Lastly, I'd like to point out that I never understood how Chazal and the Baalei Mesorah could be so (for lack of a better term) optimistic about the kaparah on Yom ha'Kippurim. There are numerous statements which reflect this positive outlook. 

Consider, for example, the mishnah in Taanis 4:8 says: "There are no days more joyous in Israel than Tu b'Av and Yom ha'Kippurim." The Gemara there explains that the joy of Yom ha'Kippurim is "because it contains pardon and forgiveness." Vayikra Rabbah 30:2 explains that one of the reasons why we pick up a lulav and esrog on Sukkos is to demonstrate that we emerged victorious in the Divine judgment. The Sefer ha'Chinuch (on Avodas Yom ha'Kippurim) explains that if our sins accumulated from year to year, they would prove to be too much and the world would be destroyed. For this reason, Hashem - out of His chesed (kindness) - gave us Yom ha'Kippurim, so that once a year we could achieve kaparah for our sins, and wouldn't be deserving of destruction. I recall another source saying that the joy of Sukkos itself is on the fact that we received kaparah on Yom ha'Kippurim, as indicated by the fact that we encircle the mizbach kaparah (altar of atonement) throughout the holiday of Sukkos. And many more (which I don't have time to list right now). 

If we assume that we only get kaparah on Yom ha'Kippurim for the sins that we did teshuvah on, then none of these glowing statements about Yom ha'Kippurim make sense. It would be sheer naivete to assume that Chazal and the Baalei Mesorah assumed that all of Klal Yisrael would do complete teshuvah every year on all of their sins.

But in light of this year's insight, then these statements do make sense. Yes, there is still a lot of work we need to do on our individual sins, but the kaparah of Yom ha'Kippurim is well within the reach of every Jew. All we need to do is recognize that our instinctual nature is not our true nature, express genuine remorse over our perpetual tendency to be ensnared by this part of our nature, and enter Yom ha'Kippurim having done some teshuvah. Indeed, it can be argued that simply by participating in the observance of Yom ha'Kippurim with the rest of Klal Yisrael, it is a virtual certainty that everyone who participates will attain the kaparah and taharah lifnei Hashem. 

In this sense, Yom ha'Kippurim is an optimistic and joyous day. It is a day when we remind ourselves of what it means to be human, and rededicate ourselves towards that end. 

To Be Continued ...

There is far more to explore here. We still haven't attempted a full explanation of what the taharah of Yom ha'Kippurim is. I also have a theory about how the Yud Gimmel Middos ha'Rachamim fit in, and why they are the centerpiece of the Yom ha'Kippurim davening. 

But alas! Time has run out, as it is wont to do. I hope that this year brings us more learning and more teshuvah, and that we are all sealed in the Book of Life. 

Addendum [9/27/2020]

Shortly after writing this post last year – on Yom ha’Kippurim, in fact – I came across a Tanchuma (Chukas 19) cited by the Avudirham in his commentary on the Vidui Yom ha’Kippurim which I believe supports this approach. It states that “once the people said, ‘we have sinned,’ they immediately received [Divine] favor.” This makes no sense if it’s talking about vidui in the framework of ordinary teshuvah, but in light of everything we’ve said about the special teshuvah, kaparah, and taharah of Yom ha’Kippurim, it makes perfect sense.

17th of Tammuz 5779: Sforno - On the Breaking of the Tablets

Technically speaking, this post can be thought of as the completion of 17th of Tammuz: The Breaking of the Tablets (Unfinished). As it so happens, I completely forgot about that unfinished post when I set out to write this one! That's why I decided to make this a standalone. Perhaps it would have led elsewhere if I wrote it as the completion of the unfinished one, but for now, I'm happy I got the main idea down in writing in some form. 

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Artwork: Karmic Justice, by Ray Lago

17th of Tammuz 5779: Sforno - On the Breaking of the Tablets

Commemorating the Breaking of the Luchos

The mishnah in Taanis 4:6 (Taanis 26a) lists five events which we commemorate by fasting on the 17th of Tammuz:

1. the breaking of the Luchos (i.e. the stone tablets that Moshe Rabbeinu received at Sinai) 
2. the cessation of the tamid (i.e. the daily sacrifice) in the first Mikdash (Holy Temple) 
3. the breaching of the city of Jerusalem prior to the destruction of the second Mikdash
4. the burning of a Torah scroll by Apostomos (a Greek official) during the second Mikdash era
5. the setting up of an idol in the Mikdash 

This year when I sat down to learn about the 17th of Tammuz, I found myself bothered by Event #1 the most. Events #2-5 are all related to the Churban ha'Bayis (destruction of the Temple) in some way, but the breaking of the Luchos doesn't quite seem to jive with the others. The basic question is: Why do we commemorate this particular tragedy with an annual taanis tzibur (communal fast) along with the other four events? Does it share any thematic connection with them at all, or do we commemorate it now simply because it happened on the same calendar date? [1]

Even if we can't answer that question, we at least need to answer the most basic question: What insight are we supposed to get out of commemorating this event? The purpose of these annual commemorative fasts is to promote national teshuvah (repentance), as the Rambam explains in Hilchos Taaniyos 5:1:

There are days on which all of Israel fasts because of the catastrophes that occurred on them, in order to awaken the hearts [of the people] and to open the paths of teshuvah. This will be a remembrance of our corrupt actions and the corrupt actions of our fathers that were like our actions today, which ultimately reached the point that [these corrupt actions] caused these catastrophes for them and for us. Through the remembrance of these things we will return to do good, as it stated, “they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers” (Vayikra 26:40).

What national cheit (sin) led to the breaking of the luchos, which is still extant in our nation today? 

Why Moshe Broke the Luchos

If you ask the average Jew why Moshe broke the luchos, they'll probably say: "Because of the Cheit ha'Eigel (Sin of the Golden Calf)." Although this answer isn't false, the truth is a bit more complicated than that. Let's review the pesukim in Shemos 32 about the Cheit ha'Eigel:

Hashem spoke to Moshe: "Go, descend - for your people that you brought up from the land of Egypt has become corrupt. They have strayed quickly from the way that I have commanded them. They have made themselves a molten calf, prostrated themselves to it, and sacrificed to it, and they said, 'This is your god, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt.'" 

Hashem said to Moshe, "I have seen this people, and behold! it is a stiff-necked people. And now, desist from Me, Let My anger flare up against them, and I shall annihilate them; and I shall make you a great nation."

Moshe then davens for Klal Yisrael, and is successful: 

Hashem reconsidered regarding the harm that He declared He would do to His people.  

Moshe turned and descended from the mountain, with the two Tablets of the Testimony in his hand, Tablets inscribed on both their sides; they were inscribed on one side and the other. The Tablets were God's handiwork, and the script was the script of God, engraved on the Tablets. 

Yehoshua heard the sound of the people in its shouting, and he said to Moshe, "The sound of battle is in the camp!" [Moshe] said, "Not a sound of shouting strength nor a sound shouting weakness; a sound of distress do I hear!"  

It happened as he drew near the camp and saw the calf and the dances that Moshe's anger flared up. He threw down the Tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain.

Interestingly enough, it was not the Cheit ha'Egel itself which angered Moshe and moved him to shatter the Luchos. When he was first informed by Hashem of Bnei Yisrael's cheit, Moshe didn't get angry. When he and Yehoshua heard the sounds of Bnei Yisrael's shouts in the camp, Moshe still didn't get angry. It was only when "he drew near the camp and saw the calf and the dances" that Moshe became enraged and that is when he broke the Luchos. The question is: What was it about the dancing that caused him to respond in this manner?

The Sforno offers an explanation which answers our particular question on Shemos and provides insight into what we are fasting about on the 17th of Tammuz:

When [Moshe] saw that they rejoiced in their disgrace - similar to, "when you do evil then you rejoice" (Yirmiyahu 11:15) - this angered him and he despaired that he would be able to repair the crooked in a manner that they would return to their [former] perfection and be worthy [to receive] those tablets.

The Radak, commenting on the pasuk from Yirmiyahu cited by the Sforno, explains the phrase "when you do evil then you rejoice" to mean that "you lack shame and contrition."  

According to the Sforno, Moshe did not get angry at Bnei Yisrael for the Cheit ha'Egel per se, as we noted in our reading of the pesukim. Rather, he got angry when he saw their shameless joy in their transgression, which revealed that they were beyond the point of teshuvah. That is why he broke the Luchos.

In order to appreciate Moshe's seeming change of attitude upon seeing the dancing, we need to understand why the Cheit ha'Egel itself didn't elicit an angry response from Moshe. The Rav (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik), in his famous shiur On Leadership, provides some context for understanding Moshe's initial take on the Cheit ha'Egel:

The making of the Egel was the result of great primitive fright. The people thought that Moshe was died, they were afraid of the desert, they did not know what the future held in store for them, they were simply overwhelmed by a feeling of loneliness and terror, consequently, they violated the precept of Avodah Zarah (idolatry). There were mitigating circumstances - they wanted the golden calf to substitute for Moshe, as all the Rishonim (medieval commentators) say. 

This would explain why Moshe didn't become enraged when he first learned of the Cheit ha'Eigel. Bnei Yisrael's transgression, though egregious, was not an outright rebellion, but rather a severe lapse of judgment triggered by a national panic. The people were overwhelmed by extreme fear which caused them to temporarily revert back to the primitive religiosity that had been instilled during the Egyptian Exile. 

At least, that's what Moshe thought when Hashem informed him of their cheit. But when he witnessed the dancing, and saw that they related to the worship of the Eigel not in the manner of a scared child clutching a talisman, but in the manner of a wild reveler indulging in an unbridled pagan orgy - at that moment he knew that complete national teshuvah would be an impossible task. This wasn't a brief and temporary regression to an infantile mentality. The joyous dancing was evidence that these were people "who speak of evil as good and of good as evil" (Yeshayahu 5:20), whose obstinacy would doom the nation from the start. [2]

To illustrate this point using a loose analogy: there is a difference between a recovering drug addict who, in a moment of weakness, caves to his craving and relapses, in shame and in private, and a recovering drug addict who joyously leaps off the wagon and throws a drug-fueled house party with music and dancing. Moshe assumed that he would encounter the former, and was shocked to discover the latter.

17th of Tammuz in a New Light

Thanks to the Sforno, we now have a better understanding of the tragedy of the breaking of the Luchos. We aren't just mourning the fact that Bnei Yisrael engaged in avodah zarah so soon after Yetzias Mitzrayim, nor are we just mourning the fact that we lost the symbol of the covenant that Hashem made with us at Sinai (i.e. "the marriage contract" as it were). We are mourning the first time that we, as a nation, reached a point of no return in our degree of transgression. This was the first time that we had become so entrenched in our warped mentality and value system that we actually rejoiced in our degradation. This same phenomenon would occur twice more, in what would prove to be a far more disastrous fashion, in the long series of national iniquities which brought about the destruction of the first and second Beis ha'Mikdash. 

I don't know whether this explanation is sufficient to unify all five events commemorated by the 17th of Tammuz, but at least it gives us something new to reflect on when observing this taanis tzibur. The Jews who worshipped the Eigel crossed a critical threshold in their level of corruption, and we are just as susceptible. Are we close to that point now? Have we already reached it? These are the types of questions we must ask of ourselves as a nation on the 17th of Tammuz. 

[1] I also have a minor question. Maybe it's not even a question, but just something that bothers me. I am 99% certain that the fast of the 17th of Tammuz wasn't instituted until after the destruction of the first Beis ha'Mikdash - an event that took place over 700 years after the breaking of the Luchos. Apparently, the tragedy of the Luchos was not sufficient in and of itself to warrant its own taanis tzibur. If the Beis ha'Mikdash had never been destroyed, we wouldn't observe a commemorative day of mourning for the breaking of the Luchos at all. In this sense, it seems like commemorating the breaking of the Luchos is an afterthought to the essential tragedies associated with Churban ha'Bayis. This just strengthens the question of why we fast for the breaking of the Luchos in the first place.

[2] Rav Hirsch provides a similar explanation of Moshe breaking the Luchos, but with a different emphasis - different enough that I didn't want to include it in the main body of the post, but similar enough that I wanted to at least share it in a footnote. He writes:

As long as pagan delusions, no matter what their form, are based merely on intellectual error and remain confined to the intellect, there is always hope that error will give way to enlightenment, that delusion will give way to truth, and that those afflicted by such notions will readily change for the better. 

Not so, however, when pagan delusion goes beyond intellectual error and corrupts people's character and conduct, and licentiousness is openly worshipped upon the altar of falsehood. In that case, sensuality clings to the roots that offer it such welcome nourishment. Just as it is the character of people sunk in moral corruption, and also difficult to enlighten them.

As long as Moshe knew only of the calf and its deification, he still hoped that he would be able to establish a pure home for the Torah among the people. Hence, when he descended the mountain, he took with him the Testimony of the Torah. But when he saw the calf and the dancing, he realized that the pagan error had already borne its usual fruit - the unleashing of sensuality. He then understood that the nation would have to be re-educated, for the sake of this Torah. So, without hesitation, with both his hands - yadav, the unified plural - he threw down the Tablets and shattered them. By this act he declared in no uncertain terms that the people in its present state was unworthy of the Torah and not fit to receive it. 

Parashas Naso: Birkas Kohanim Kavanah Primer (2017 Update)

This post is designed to be read/reviewed prior to hearing Birkas Kohanim as a means of maximizing the benefit of hearing these blessings. This is an update of last year's Parashas Naso post; the first half is exactly the same, but the second half is expanded and clarified. There is a summary chart at the very end, if you need a quick review. 

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Parashas Naso: Birkas Kohanim Kavanah Primer

Introduction

The parashah of Birkas Kohanim is quite short:

Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying, "Speak to Aharon and his sons, saying: So shall you bless Bnei Yisrael, saying to them: 'May Hashem bless you and safeguard you. May Hashem shine His face towards you, and be gracious to you. May Hashem lift His face towards you, and establish peace for you.' Let them place My Name upon Bnei Yisrael, and I shall bless them." (Bamidbar 6:22-27)

I would like to take up two very basic questions: 

(1) How does Birkas Kohanim work? Am I supposed to believe that these mere mortals somehow "magically" cause these blessings to rain upon me by reciting these pesukim? And if not, then what is the mechanism? 

(2) What, exactly, are the Kohanim blessing us with? Most of the phrases in the berachos seem to be either too general or too cryptic. What do the words mean? 

The Mechanism of Birkas Kohanim

Our first question is addressed by the Sefer ha'Chinuch. [1] He writes:

At the root of this precept lies the reason that in His great goodness, Hashem desires to bless His people through the ministering servants who stay constantly in the Temple of Hashem, whose every thought is attracted to His service, and whose spirit is bound to reverent fear for Him the entire day. In their merit, the blessing would take effect for them; all their deeds would be blessed, and the pleasant goodness of Hashem would be with them.

Now, do not wonder and ask: If Hashem desires that they be blessed, let Him command His blessing [to abide] with them, and there [would be] no need for the blessing of the Kohanim? For I have already told you beforehand, many times, that by force of the worthiness of our acts, blessing will be bestowed upon us. For His hand (blessed is He) is open to every person who asks, as he is worthy and readied for the reception of the good.

Therefore, because He chose us out of all the nations and wished that we should merit to attain His good reward, He adjured us and commanded us to arrange our activities and make ourselves worthy through His mitzvos, to be deserving of the good. Moreover, in His great goodness, He commanded us that we should entreat Him for blessing, and we should beseech it through the pure ministering servants. For this will bring merit to our souls, and as a result we will be worthy to attain His goodness.

Did you catch that? His question is clear, but his answer is so subtle that it's easy to miss. The key is his statement about how God's blessings are allocated in general: "by virtue of the worthiness of our acts, blessing will be bestowed upon us, for His hand is open to every person who asks, as he is worthy and readied for the reception of good." In other words, the Sefer ha'Chinuch - like all mainstream Rishonim - maintains that the closer we are to Hashem, the more beneficence we receive via His hashgachah (providence). To the extent that we align ourselves with His will, the blessings will flow. 

According to the Sefer ha'Chinuch, Birkas Kohanim is a vehicle designed to help us "arrange our activities and make ourselves worthy through His mitzvos, to be deserving of the good." In other words, by understanding and contemplating what the Kohanim are saying, and choosing to live in accordance with the ideas and values reflected in their words and their way of life, we render ourselves more worthy of Hashem's blessing. 

This concept is alluded to in the pasuk immediately after Birkas Kohanim, as the Rambam [2] explains:

Do not be astounded and say, "What benefit is there in a blessing from this commoner?" For the receiving of this blessing is not dependent on the Kohanim, but on Ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu, as it is stated, "Let them place My Name upon Bnei Yisrael, and I will bless them" (Bamidbar 6:27) - the Kohanim do the mitzvah that they were commanded, and Ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu, with His mercy, blesses them in accordance with His desire.

The mechanism is reminiscent of the mishnah in Rosh ha'Shanah 3:8:

“It happened that when Moshe raised his hand Israel was stronger, [and when he lowered his hand Amalek was stronger]” (Shemos 17:11). Do the hands of Moshe wage war or crush the enemy? No! Rather, this teaches us that so long as Israel turned their thoughts upwards and subjugated their hearts to their Father in heaven, they were victorious; but otherwise, they fell. You can say a similar principle about the following: “[Hashem said to Moshe:] Make for yourself a fiery serpent and place it on a pole, and it will be that anyone who was bitten will look at it and live” (Bamidbar 21:8). Does a snake cause death or give life? No! Rather, so long as Israel turned their thoughts upwards and subjugated their hearts to their Father in heaven, they would be healed; otherwise, they would perish.

So too, the Sefer ha'Chinuch and the Rambam are effectively saying: "Do the words of the Kohanim bestow or withhold blessing? No! Rather, so long as Israel turn their thoughts upward to the blessings of the Kohanim and subjugate their hearts to their Father in heaven, they will be blessed." 

In light of this answer to our first question, the need to answer our second question becomes even more urgent. The berachos only function to the extent that we understand their meaning and act accordingly. If we want to be blessed, we'd better understand the meaning of these blessings! Thankfully, the meforshim (commentators) are here to help. I will now summarize the interpretations of three different meforshim - each of whom takes a very different approach.

The Meaning of Birkas Kohanim

I have selected three meforshim (commentators) whose interpretations I will now summarize. I chose them (a) because unlike many other meforshim, these three explain every part of Birkas Kohanim, and (b) these three reflect radically different approaches to the underlying subject or theme of Birkas Kohanim as a whole.

Approach #1: Sforno [3]

Here is a translation of Sforno's commentary on each component of Birkas Kohanim:

• May Hashem bless you. with wealth and possessions, for "if there is no flour (i.e. money), there is no Torah" (Avos 3:17). and safeguard you. from robbers.
• May Hashem illuminate His face towards you and be gracious to you. may He uncover your eyes with the light of His countenance [enabling you] to see wonders from His Torah and His creations - after you have attained your needs through His blessing.
• May Hashem lift His face towards you. for eternal life, in accordance with the idea: "for with You is the source of life; in Your light we will see light" (Tehilim 36:10), and as the Sages say: "the righteous sit with their crowns on their heads and derive enjoyment from the radiance of the shechinah (divine presence)" (Berachos 17a). and establish peace for you. a peaceful repose which is eternal - without any admixture of punishment - which is befitting for every perfected individual for eternal life.

Sforno learns that the first berachah is a request for material success in Olam ha'Zeh (this World): we ask Hashem for an increase in material wealth, and we ask Him to protect that wealth. The second berachah is about spiritual success (i.e. success as a truth-seeking tzelem Elokim) in Olam ha'Zeh: we ask Hashem to grant us insight into the chochmah (wisdom) of His Torah and His universe. The final berachah is about spiritual success in Olam ha'Ba (the World to Come), which is beyond the physical and is everlasting.

According to the Sforno, these three berachos are designed to be viewed as a progression: we ask Hashem for material success in Olam ha'Zeh so that we may attain spiritual success in Olam ha'Zeh so that we may attain eternal spiritual success in Olam ha'Ba. Thus, the Birkas Kohanim as a whole is a reminder of the Torah's take on man's hierarchy of needs. In order to make ourselves worthy of Hashem's berachah, we must have an accurate conception of what we are asking for and why we are asking for it. It would be a distortion to ask for material success without recognizing its proper place (i.e. that it is merely instrumental to spiritual success), or to ask for spiritual success without recognizing that this requires a foundation of material wealth. Reviewing this hierarchy of needs qualifies us to receive them.

Approach #2: Bechor Shor [4]

Here is a translation of the Bechor Shor's commentary on Birkas Kohanim, which has been slightly edited for the sake of brevity:

• May Hashem bless you. in your offspring, in your body, in wisdom, in length of days, in greatness, in your going out and in your coming in, in the city and in the field, in your fruit basket and in your kneading bowl - and with joy, that you should be happy with your lot ... all of these fall under the expression "berachah" ... and safeguard you. He should guard you from all harm, that it not approach you ... Thus, the first blessing is that He should bless you with all of the good, and protect you from all of the bad. 
• May Hashem illuminate His face towards you and be gracious to you. Some may give a gift to a friend without a pleasant countenance, as Ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu gave the quail and then punished them, as it is written, "the meat was still between their teeth, [not yet chewed, when the wrath of Hashem flared against the people]" (Bamidbar 11:33). Therefore Ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu said [in this blessing:] "May Hashem illuminate His face towards you" - that He should bestow this gift with a pleasant countenance. Some may give a gift which causes everyone else but the giver to be resentful. Therefore [He said:] "and be gracious to you" - that it should find favor in the eyes of those who see you, and that they should rejoice over your good. ["be gracious"] also implies that He should bestow this gift with a happy countenance ... and with mercy ...
• May Hashem lift His face towards you. In other words, He should grant it to you with an uplifted face ... b'derech kavod (i.e. in a dignified/honorable manner). and establish peace for you. [In a manner that] does not incite against you the yetzer ha'ra, the satan, the nations of the world, or any affliction, or any type of harm.

Unlike the Sforno, the Bechor Shor learns that all the goods of Olam ha'Zeh - material and spiritual - are included in the first berachah, and the three berachos do not reflect a progression. Instead, he maintains that we only ask for actual tovos (goods) in the first berachah. The second and third berachos qualify the first: we ask Hashem that the tovos He bestows be received in the best possible manner, namely, that they be in line with His will, with the goodwill of our fellow man, in manner that allows us to maintain our dignity, and in a way that doesn't provoke antagonism - neither from internal nor external causes.

Approach #3: Ralbag [5]

The Ralbag's approach diverges entirely from that of the Sforno and the Bechor Shor. I will translate his commentary [6] on the first and third berachos word-for-word, but since his interpretation of the second berachah relies heavily on an Aristotelian model of epistemology, I will paraphrase it in a manner that is more palatable to the non-Aristotelian ear.

• May Hashem bless you. The word "berachah" means "an increase in good." Its meaning here, according to what I think, is that during this lifetime the berachah from Hashem should come to us in our perfection of our rational faculty, which was created without any perfection or wisdom ... and it is through Hashem's influence that we grasp concepts, thereby increasing our perfection throughout our physical lives. and safeguard you. and after we die, this perfection will continue to last (i.e. be "safeguarded") eternally. 
• May Hashem illuminate His face towards you. Although man's rational faculty has the ability to abstract concepts from the patterns we observe perceive via senses, this isn't enough to guarantee conceptual knowledge; rather, we require divine assistance, which is metaphorically described here as "Hashem illuminating His face" towards us; this divine influence is what allows us to grasp concepts. and be gracious to you. Hashem does not grant this assistance by way of necessity or compulsion, but rather, by way of graciousness and kindness. 
• May Hashem lift His face towards you and establish peace for you. In other words, when you are in a precarious situation in which you might err in your analysis, Hashem's kindness may bring you the divine influence [which is necessary for accurate conceptual knowledge] ... and establish peace for you in your ideas.

The subject matter of birkas kohanim according to the Ralbag is clear: the entire berachah is about intellectual perfection - man's true success - and has nothing to do with material success whatsoever. In the first berachah we Hashem to enable us to perfect our rational faculty by gaining as much conceptual knowledge as possible during our lifetime - a perfection which lasts after we die, and will be "safeguarded" in Olam ha'Ba. In the second berachah we ask Hashem for the divine assistance - which is necessary for us, but a chesed from Hashem - in abstracting the correct concepts from the multitude of sensory particulars. In the third berachah we ask Hashem to protect us from error in our analysis, thereby ensuring that we reach a state of peace - that is, harmony between our ideas and reality.

Summary

According to the Sefer ha'Chinuch, Birkas Kohanim effectuates actual blessing to the extent that we understand it and align ourselves with the ideas therein. The three different meforshim offer three possibilities as to what Birkas Kohanim is about: 

• According to the Sforno, Birkas Kohanim is a request for Hashem to provide us with our material needs so that we may pursue spiritual success in Olam ha'Zeh which results in the best possible existence in Olam ha'Ba.
• According to the Bechor Shor, Birkas Kohanim is a request for Hashem to provide us with all good, and to provide it in a manner that is ideal - in the eyes of Hashem, in our own eyes, and in the eyes of our fellow human beings.
• According to the Ralbag, Birkas Kohanim is a request for Hashem oversee our intellectual development and assist us in our pursuit of truth.

The great thing about Birkas Kohanim is that one can have all of these interpretations in mind when being blessed by the Kohanim. The main thing is that we use Birkas Kohanim as a tool "to arrange our activities and make ourselves worthy through His mitzvos, to be deserving of the good." All three interpretations help us towards that end.

In conclusion, here is a chart which summarizes the three interpretations.

[1] Sefer ha'Chinuch, Parashas Naso: Mitzvah #367
[2] Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides), Mishneh Torah: Sefer Ahava, Hilchos Tefilah u'Birkas Kohanim 15:7
[3] Rabbeinu Ovadiah Sforno, Commentary to Sefer Bamidbar 6:24-26
[4] Rabbeinu Yosef ben Yitzchak Bechor Shor, Commentary to Sefer Bamidbar 6:24-26
[5] Rabbeinu Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag / Gersonides), Commentary to Sefer Bamidbar 6:24-26

[6] Ralbag actually provides several possible explanations for each part of Birkas Kohanim. For the sake of brevity and simplicity, I have opted to only summarize one out of each of these possibilities and omit the others. 

17th of Tammuz: The Breaking of the Tablets (Unfinished)

Here's the story. For better or for worse, I decided to begin writing this during the fast. Not only that, but I relied on the assumption that I'd figure it out as I went along (since I didn't get a chance to think it through on Shabbos, as I had originally planned). Unfortunately, I got a little light-headed late in the afternoon, and then my mind just stopped working around three hours before the fast ended. As I write this now, at 9:30pm, the fast still has around 30 minutes to go. Rather than eating and then frantically rushing to finish the post, I'd rather just leave it unfinished. I hope some of you will be able to work out the rest of the post. Who knows? Maybe I'll even be able to finish it later on in the Three Weeks!

17th of Tammuz: The Breaking of the Tablets

Introduction

The Rambam [1] begins his discussion of the national fast days by stating their common objective:

There are days on which all of Israel fasts because of the catastrophes that occurred on them, in order to awaken the hearts [of the people] and to open the paths of teshuvah (repentance). This will be a remembrance of our corrupt actions and the corrupt actions of our fathers that were like our actions today, which ultimately reached the point that [these corrupt actions] caused these catastrophes for them and for us. Through the remembrance of these things we will return to do good, as it stated, “they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers” (Vayikra 26:40).

In other words, the primary purpose of these national fasts is to reflect on the national avonos (iniquities) which brought about these tragedies, and which are still present in the Jewish people today. By understanding these defects - their symptoms, their causes, and their consequences - we will be moved to do whatever we can to correct them, thereby preventing similar tragedies from happening in the future.

Today we are observing the taanis (fast) of the 17th of Tammuz to remember the five events that happened on this day [2]:

1. the breaking of the  Luchos (i.e. the stone tablets that Moshe Rabbeinu received at Sinai) 
2. the cessation of the tamid (i.e. the daily sacrifice) in the first Mikdash (Temple) 
3. the breaching of the city of Jerusalem prior to the destruction of the second Mikdash
4. the burning of a Torah scroll by Apostomos (a Greek official) during the second Mikdash era
5. the setting up of an idol in the Mikdash 

In this post we will examine the first of these events - the breaking of the Luchos - with the goal of gaining some insight into the avonos which led to it.

Facts and Questions

Moshe Rabbeinu had spent 40 days and 40 nights on Sinai receiving the Torah. On the last day the nation panicked, believing that Moshe would not return. This lead to a severe relapse into the darchei avodah zarah (the idolatrous ways of thinking), culminating in the forging and worship of the Eigel ha'Zahav (Golden Calf).

Hashem told Moshe what happened and stated His intent to destroy the entire nation. Moshe pleaded with Him, and He relented. Moshe descended from Sinai with the two Divinely-crafted Tablets in his hand. And that's when it all went down: 

It happened as he drew near the camp and saw the calf and the dances that Moshe's anger flared up. He threw down the Tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it in fire. He ground it to a fine powder and sprinkled it over the water. He made the Children of Israel drink (Shemos 32:19-20).

There are two major questions for us here: (1) Why did Moshe break the Luchos? (2) What insight(s) can we gain that might help us in our national teshuvah? 

I'm sure there are many interesting answers to these questions. This year, I found myself focusing on trying to understand the approaches of only two meforshim.

Rashi vs. Sforno

Rashi [3], citing the Gemara [4], explains that Moshe made a kal va'chomer argument from the Torah's prohibition against allowing an idolatrous apostate to partake of the Pesach-sacrifice:

[Moshe] said to himself: "If regarding the Pesach-sacrifice, which is a single mitzvah, the Torah says, 'no stranger (i.e. idolater) may partake of it' (ibid. 12:43), now that the entire Torah is here, and all of Israel are apostates, how can I give it to them?

Sforno takes a different approach, based on the words, "and he saw the calf and the dances, and Moshe's anger flared up." Sforno explains:

When [Moshe] saw that they rejoiced in their disgrace - similar to, "When you do evil then you rejoice" (Yirmiyahu 11:15) - this angered him and he despaired that he would be able to repair the crooked in a manner that they would return to their [former] perfection and be worthy [to receive] those tablets.

There appears to be a machlokess (disagreement) here between Rashi and the Sforno. According to Rashi, Moshe's breaking of the tablets had nothing to do with his assessment of Bnei Yisrael's ability or inability to do teshuvah. It would appear from Rashi that even if Bnei Yisrael were capable of doing teshuvah, their avodah zarah (idolatry) would have precluded them from receiving the Torah. 

In contrast, the Sforno focuses exclusively on how irreparably far Bnei Yisrael had gone in their sinfulness. He implies that if Bnei Yisrael had been capable of returning to their former state of perfection, then they might be worthy of receiving the tablets, but when Moshe saw that they "rejoiced in their disgrace," he knew that their waywardness was beyond rehabilitation.

I can't say I have succeeded in grasping the root of this machlokess, but I will do my best to expound a bit on each side.

Analysis of Rashi

Interesting is Rashi's emphasis on quantity: "if an apostate is excluded from the Pesach sacrifice, which is a single mitzvah, then certainly Bnei Yisrael should be excluded from the entire Torah." Obviously, one can't take this type of reasoning too literally without running into absurdities. The Baalei Tosfos on the Gemara [7] point out that this wasn't an actual kal va'chomer. Still, we need to understand what Rashi is getting at.

The key to Rashi's explanation lies in understanding the relationship between avodah zarah and the Torah system as a whole. According to Chazal [6], the entire purpose of Torah is to uproot avodah zarah. The Rambam [8] codifies this principle in the Mishneh Torah: 

The mitzvah [prohibition] against avodah zarah is equal to all of the mitzvos in their entirety, as it is stated, “And if you shall err and not do all of My mitzvos” (Bamidbar 15:2) – from the Oral Transmission we learn that the verse refers to avodah zarah. Hence, you have learned [from here] that anyone who affirms avodah zarah has denied the whole Torah in its entirety, and all of the prophets, and everything which has been commanded by the prophets from Adam to the end of the world, as it is stated, “From the day that Hashem has commanded you and onward, for your generations” (ibid.). And anyone who denies idolatry has affirmed the whole Torah in its entirety. The prohibition of avodah zarah is the root of all of the mitzvos in their entirety.

A Jew who worships avodah zarah is equal to a gentile in all matters, and is not treated [merely] as a Jew who violated a transgression punishable by stoning. [Likewise,] an apostate to avodah zarah is considered an apostate to the entire Torah.

An analogy might help to understand Rashi's approach. The purpose of the Environmental Protection Agency is "to protect human health and the environment." Let us say that the EPA was caught dumping chemical waste into a reservoir. Even if this action only violated a single law, that single violation reflects a complete undermining of the entire EPA's enterprise, and would philosophically be tantamount to violating every environmental ordinance. 

The same is true in the case of avodah zarah. To violate any mitzvah is bad, but to violate a mitzvah of avodah zarah is tantamount to going against the entire Torah. It doesn't matter whether that violation is the actual worship of avodah zarah, or allowing an apostate to partake of the Pesach sacrifice (whose entire identity is "the anti-avodah zarah sacrifice"), or worshipping the Golden Calf. All of these actions represent a fundamental subversion of the Torah's mission. 

We will revisit Rashi at the end of the post to complete our analysis. Now let's switch to Sforno.

Analysis of Sforno

[unwritten]

Concluding Thoughts

Judging by their difference in interpretation, it would seem that Rashi and Sforno would have different takes on what tragedy we are supposed to be contemplating on the 17th of Tammuz.

According to Rashi, the tragedy of the 17th of Tammuz is how 

[unwritten]

[1] Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides), Mishneh Torah: Sefer Zmanim, Hilchos Taaniyos 5:1

[2] Talmud Bavli, Maseches Taanis, Chapter 4 Mishnah 6 (daf 26a)

[3] Rabbeinu Shlomo ben Yitzchak (Rashi), Commentary on Sefer Shemos 32:19

[4] Shabbos 87a. For the sake of ease, we will refer to this as "Rashi's interpretation" even though he got it from Chazal.

[5] Rabbeinu Ovadiah Sforno, Commentary on Sefer Shemos 32:19

[6] See Horiyos 8a; Sifrei Devarim 54

[7] Baalei Tosafos, Shabbos 87a d"h u'ma Pesach

[8] Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides), Mishneh Torah: Sefer ha'Mada, Hilchos Avodah Zarah 2:4-5