‫בס“ד‬

Toronto Torah Beit Midrash Zichron Dov

Parshat Ki Tisa/Parah 20 Adar 5770/March 6, 2010 Vol. I Num. 21

What’s that Sound? R’ Meir Lipschitz

After Moshe received the Luchot, he distress; hearing Jews blaspheme and Rav Shimon Schwab, in his Maayan Beit
and Yehoshua began to descend the worship the golden calf inflicted great haSho’evah commentary to Chumash,
mountain, and then they heard the emotional pain on Moshe. offers a third, amalgamated, approach.
sounds of the Jews around the golden Seforno, like Rashi, reads the words Rav Schwab reads the words kol anot to
calf. Their enigmatic conversation is kol anot to mean sounds which distress mean a sound of distress like Rashi, but
recorded in Shemot 32:17-18: the listener, but differs slightly in his also accepts the Ramban’s approach
-‫ אֶ ל‬,‫ ְׁב ֵרעֹה; וַ יֹאמֶ ר‬,‫קוֹל הָ עָ ם‬-‫יז וַ יִּ ְׁשמַ ע יְׁ הוֹשֺ עַ אֶ ת‬ understanding of what caused that that Moshe was rebuking Yehoshua for
‫ אֵ ין ק וֹל‬, ‫ יח וַ יֹאמֶ ר‬. ‫ בַ מַ חֲ נֶה‬, ‫ ק וֹל ִּמלְׁ חָ מָ ה‬, ‫מ ֶֹשה‬ distress. Seforno suggests that it was his lack of understanding.
, ‫לּושה ; ק וֹל עַ ּנוֹת‬
ָ ֲ‫ עֲנ וֹת ח‬, ‫ וְׁ אֵ ין ק וֹל‬, ‫בּורה‬ ָ ְׁ‫עֲנ וֹת ג‬ the celebratory sounds around the calf, However, Rav Schwab’s version of kol
. ַ‫ָאנֹכִּ י שֹמֵ ע‬
specifically, that pained Moshe. It was anot is different from Rashi’s; Rashi
17: And when Joshua heard the noise of not the worship of the idol that sees it as Moshe’s distress upon
the people as they shouted, he said distressed him, but the fact that they hearing the jubilant sounds of idol
unto Moses: 'There is a noise of war in were rejoicing in their idolatry. worship, whereas Rav Schwab
the camp.' 18: And he said: 'It is not the understands kol anot as the nation’s
voice of them that shout for mastery, R a mb a n offer s a n a lt er na t iv e
perspective, reading the words kol own distress in their newfound state, a
neither is it the voice of them that cry lack of direction and leadership. It
for being overcome, but the kol anot anot to mean ―sounds of merry-
making.‖ He explains that while would be easy to think, as Yehoshua
that I hear.' did, that the sounds emanating from the
Yehoshua thought a war was being
We must confront two basic questions waged, Moshe understood that it was a scene around the golden calf were
when trying to understand this different sound: Rejoicing [around the those of people rejoicing, being merry,
dialogue: (1) What do the words kol calf]. Ramban, based on and enjoying their newfound freedom
anot mean? These words have several Kohelet Rabbah 9:11, suggests that from their leader and engaging in all
possible interpretations which affect Moshe was rebuking Yehoshua, as if to sorts of depravity. Moshe, on the other
the whole nature of the dialogue. And say ―How can one who will be the hand, was able to perceive the deeper
(2) What is the importance of Moshe leader of the nation not know how to emotional level of the people despite
correcting Yehoshua and explaining distinguish between one sound and the appearance of their actions; while it
the true nature of the sounds? another?‖ It wasn’t the sound itself that looked and sounded like a joyous
Moshe was focusing on in his response occasion, the people’s actions were
Rashi understands the words kol anot
to Yehoshua; rather, Moshe was actually covering up their own
to mean a sound of distress, which he
concerned about Yehoshua’s inability emotional pain. Moshe, therefore,
explains as distress of the listener.
to understand the tone - and actions - needed to correct, rebuke, and
Moshe heard sounds of blasphemy
of the people. educate Yehoshua, the future leader of
and vilification, which caused him
the people, to help him understand and
discern the different cries of the nation.
Parshah Questions R’ Meir Lipschitz What a powerful lesson Rav Schwab is
teaching us! As parents, rabbis,
(Sources are provided to help the reader research answers)
teachers, educators, siblings, friends,
 For what sin was the half-shekel meant to atone? (Tanchuma Ki Tisa 10) and all other forms of listeners, we deal
 What is meant by the words ‫חרות על הלחות‬, describing the manufacture of the with people who are making sounds—
luchot? And why is that manufacturing practice important? (Rashi, Rashbam, Ibn of merrymaking and distress—and it is
Ezra and Chanukat HaTorah to Shemot 32:16, and Avot 6:2) incumbent upon us to understand what
those sounds really represent. Moshe,
 Why did Moshe challenge HaShem’s potential punishment of the Jews by invoking as the paradigm of Jewish leadership,
what Egypt might say about the events? (Rashi, Rashbam, Ramban, Mizrachi,
is teaching not only Yehoshua but all of
Targum Yonatan, Kli Yakar, Ohr HaChaim, and Meshech Chochmah to Shemot
32:11-12, Beit HaLevi derush 2, and Berachot 32a) his students the tremendous
importance of listening to, and
 For children: How much greater is the reward for good deeds than the punishment discerning, the sounds of the people.
for bad deeds? mlipschitz@torontotorah.com
(Rashi to Shemot 34:7) mlipschitz@torontotorah.com

Yeshiva University
Center for the Jewish Future
 ‫איתמר זולברג‬
‫נקראים מים חיים ‪ ,‬הם נותנים חיים למוצאיהם‬
‫ונראה שיש להם חיים בפני עצמם‪ ,‬הם מפכים‬
‫ועולים מתוך מעבי האדמה ‪ .‬המים טהורים ‪,‬‬
‫בראשיתיים ‪ ,‬נקיים מכל השפעה זרה ‪ .‬המים‬
‫מסמלים את התורה‪ ,‬המים מסמלים את האמונה‬
‫בה'‪" -‬אותי עזבו מקור מים חיים"‬
‫ודרך עשייתה ‪ .‬הפרה היא בהמה טהורה ‪ .‬בהמה‬
‫החיבור בין אפר הפרה לבין המים החיים מבטא‬
‫מפגש בין ביטול החומריות ומקור השפע‬
‫הרוחני ‪ -‬התורה ‪ ,‬וברגע שהם נפגשים יש להם‬
‫את הכח לטהר את החמורה שבטומאות‪ :‬טומאת‬
‫מת‪.‬‬
‫שלא עלה עליה עול ואין בה מום‪ .‬הפרה צריכה‬
‫זהו הסוד של " זאת התורה ‪-‬אדם כי ימות‬
‫באהל "‪ .‬הביטול של חיי המעשה ‪ ,‬אין חיים‬
‫מחוץ לישיבה ‪ ,‬מחוץ לתורה ‪ ,‬עכשיו שקועים‬
‫בתוך עולמה של התורה‪ -‬מקור המים החיים‪ .‬זה‬
‫מה שמקיים וזה הפך ההעדר‪ ,‬היאוש והחידלון‬
‫שיש היום בעולם ‪ ' .‬המתה בעולמה של תורה '‬
‫היא הנותנת לנו את הכח והחיות לטהר את‬
‫העוה " ז ‪ ,‬כאשר יוצאים החוצה ‪ ,‬אל החיים ‪.‬‬
‫ושמא יאמר אדם‪ ,‬הן אני כבר עזבתי את הכולל‬
‫והישיבה לפני שנים רבות‪ ,‬כיצד אוכל‬
‫להתמודד עם החומריות ולהזות מעט מים חיים‬
‫לטהר אותי מההשפעות החיצניות ? כל אדם‬
‫מחויב בלימוד תורה‪ ,‬לפחות פעמים ביום ובזמן‬
‫קב וע ‪ .‬א ם א ת מ סג ר ת הז מ ן ה זה ‪ ,‬ק בי ע ת‬
‫העיתים ‪ ,‬אדם ידע לממש בצורה טובה ‪ ,‬בלי‬
‫הפרעות והיסח הדעת‪ ,‬הרי הוא חוזר לאוהלה‬
‫של תורה וממית באותו הזמן את עצמו‪ ,‬את חיי‬
‫המעשה ומטהר‪.‬‬
‫אדם כי ימות באוהל‬
‫עדיין נשאלת השאלה‪ ,‬מה ראו חז"ל לקשור את‬ ‫השבוע נקרא את פרשת פר ה ‪ .‬בכל שנה ‪,‬‬
‫עולמה של תורה לפרה אדומה ? יש כאן דרוש‬ ‫לקראת חג הפסח ‪ ,‬תיקנו חכמים לקרוא את‬
‫נאה אך נראה כי אינו ממין העניין‪.‬‬ ‫פרשת פרה אדומה בכדי להזכיר לטמאי מתים‬
‫להיטהר לפני בא הקרבת קורבן פסח‪.‬‬
‫מהי בעצם פרה אדומה? ננסה להבין קצת מתוך‬
‫התהליך שהפרה עוברת מהו עצם משמעותה‬ ‫פרה אדומה הינה חוק ‪ ,‬הלכה שאיננה מובנת‬
‫בהגיון האנושי ‪ ,‬שלמה המלך ניסה להבין את‬
‫טיבעה הוא שכולה מצויה לפניך‪ ,‬בה ‪-‬מה‪ ,‬הכל‬ ‫פישרה אך ללא הצלחה " אָ מַ ְר ִּתי אֶ חְ ָכמָ ה וְ הִּ יא‬
‫נמצא בה כבר ואין עוד מעבר לזה ‪ .‬הבהמה‬ ‫חוקָ ה ִּמ ֶמ ִּני " ( קהלת ז‪,‬כג)‪ .‬אכן מסתורית היא‬ ‫ְר ֹ‬
‫מסמלת את החומריות ‪ ,‬הפרה שהינה בהמה‬ ‫הפרה הזאת ‪ ,‬על כל חוקיה השונים ‪ :‬מטהרת‬
‫טהורה מסמלת את הצד החיובי של החומריות ‪.‬‬ ‫טמאים אך מטמא טהורים‪ .‬היא מיוצרת בתהליך‬
‫אנו מחפשים פרה מיוחדת ‪ ,‬נדירה‪ ,‬אחת תמימה‬ ‫משונה ויש לה גדרים מיוחדים של טהרה‪.‬‬
‫להיות נקיה מכל השפעה חיצונית וגם שלמה‬ ‫חז " ל דרשו פסוק אחד מתוך הפרשה ‪ " .‬זאת‬
‫חיצונית ופנימית ‪ .‬התמימות הזאת היא בעצם‬ ‫התורה אדם כי ימות באהל " ‪ ,‬אין התורה‬
‫הדרישה מן האדם‪ -‬החומריות שלך צריכה להיות‬ ‫מתקיימת אלא במי שממית עצמו באהלה של‬
‫תמימה וטהורה בלי פסולים ונגיעות ובלי‬ ‫תורה‪ .‬בקרב בחורי ישיבות ואברכים ישנו ביטוי‬
‫השפעות חיצוניות מכבידות כמשא עול ‪ .‬את‬ ‫" לצאת לחיים " שמשמעו לסיים את פרק‬
‫החומריות הטהורה נטולת ההשפעות והשעבודים‬ ‫הישיבה או הכולל‪ ,‬שנים של הקדשה מלאה של‬
‫אנו מצווים לשרוף!‬ ‫כל הכוחות ללימוד תורה ‪ ,‬ולהתחיל את חיי‬
‫המעשה ‪ .‬רוב התלמידים עומדים בפני השאלות‬
‫יש גדרים רבים ומיוחדים בפרה אדומה שלא‬ ‫הרבות הקשורות ליציאה זו ; ענייני שידוכים‬
‫קיימים במקום אחר ‪ ,‬במיוחד בדיני הטהרה‬ ‫(לרווקים) ‪,‬איזה מקצוע ללמוד‪ ,‬מהיכן הפרנסה‪,‬‬
‫המיוחדים רק לפרה אדומה ואף היא קיבלה‬ ‫כמה " עיתים " לקבוע ועוד על זה הדרך ‪ .‬כל‬
‫מדרגת טהרה בפני עצמה‪.‬‬ ‫הדילמות הללו נובעות מה " יציאה לחיים "‪.‬‬
‫באמת יש הבדל בין עולם הישיבה לבין העולם‬
‫אחרי שריפת הפרה נשאר רק אפר‪ .‬אפר מסמל‬ ‫שמחוצה לו ויפה הביטוי של " יציאה לחיים "‪.‬‬
‫ביטול‪ ,‬כמו שלימדנו אברהם אבינו ע"ה "ואנכי‬ ‫כמו ראש הישיבה שלי הרב דוד פנדל שליט"א‬
‫אפר ועפר"‪ .‬הביטול הזה נעשה מתוך החומריות‪,‬‬ ‫נוהג לאמר ‪ -‬בישיבה מספקים לכם את כל‬
‫מה שהיה פרה חיה ובועטת הפך לערמת אפר ‪-‬‬ ‫צרכיכם; מלון ‪ 5‬כוכבים‪ ,‬אוכל‪ ,‬שתיה‪ ,‬שיעורים‬
‫יש כאן העדר של חיים‪.‬‬ ‫טובים ולכם נשאר רק ללמוד‪.‬‬

‫‪izolberg@torontotorah.com‬‬ ‫בשלב הזה נפגש האפר עם מים חיים ‪ .‬מי מעיין‬ ‫חיי החול נפסקים לכאורה בזמן שאדם נמצא‬
‫בישיבה כאילו ‪ .‬בתוך הישיבה אין תוצרים‬
‫מדידים‪ .‬מה יוצא לכם מזה? לומדים כ"כ הרבה‬
‫‪The 613 Mitzvot – Mitzvah 26 :‬‬ ‫שנים ‪ ,‬לפחות בסוף יש תעודה ? אתם לומדים‬
‫להיות רבנים ? ועוד שאלות כאלו שאנשים‬
‫‪Not to believe in foreign gods‬‬ ‫בעולם העשייה‪ ,‬מחוץ לעולם הישיבה שואלים‪.‬‬
‫אכן ‪ ,‬בתקופה זו לא חיים בעולם הזה כי אם‬
‫במעין עולם הבא ‪ .‬הניתוק מחיי המעשה ‪-‬‬
‫‪Mitzvah 26, coupled with Mitzvah‬‬ ‫‪in the plural, indicating that they‬‬
‫‪were not attempting to supplant Gd‬‬ ‫הסוחפים‪ ,‬המלאים פעילות ותוצרים‪ ,‬שכל דבר‬
‫‪25 (believing in the Creator who‬‬
‫‪entirely.‬‬ ‫נבחן במבחן התוצאה ‪ -‬משאיר את הלומדים‬
‫‪took us out of Egypt),‬‬ ‫‪is the‬‬
‫בישיבה במעין שלווה אך מאידך גם מתח פנימי‬
‫‪foundation for all of Judaism; a Jew‬‬ ‫‪Of course, this is also one of the‬‬
‫‪who believed in another god could‬‬ ‫‪ -‬החיים בהמתנה‪ ,‬זוהי למעשה ההמתה באהלה‬
‫‪Noachide mitzvot; a non-Jew is not‬‬
‫‪simply follow some other system.‬‬ ‫של תורה!‬
‫‪permitted to believe in other gods.‬‬
‫)‪The gemara (Sanhedrin 63a‬‬ ‫‪However, many authorities‬‬
‫‪suggests that the builders of the‬‬ ‫שמא ‪understand Tosafot Bechorot 2b‬‬ ‫‪Mazal tov to our fellows R’ Netanel‬‬
‫‪Golden Calf were trying to join‬‬ ‫‪to teach that a non-Jew may believe‬‬ ‫‪Javasky and R’ Meir Lipschitz on‬‬
‫‪Judaism with belief in another god.‬‬ ‫‪in other gods along with HaShem.‬‬ ‫‪their upcoming Chag haSmichah‬‬
‫‖‪They said, ―These are gods, Israel,‬‬ ‫!‪at Yeshiva University this Sunday‬‬
‫‪torczyner@torontotorah.com‬‬

‫‪2‬‬ ‫‪Visit us at www.torontotorah.com‬‬

 Ha’Am V’Ha’Aretz
Rav Zalman Sorotzkin
Torah in Translation
“KiHa Lachma Anya – Like
this bread of oppression”
Haggadat haShir v’haShevach
The practice of uprooting the table when
saying KiHa lachma anya (―Like this bread
of oppression‖) is meant to explain why
matzah, the bread our ancestors ate in
Egypt, is called ―bread of oppression.‖ The
Jews were given into the hands of the
Egyptians, who could destroy their
livelihood and uproot their table, for the
hands with which they would earn their
living were bound to the Egyptians.
To remember this reality we uproot the
table when we recite the Haggadah,
saying, ―Like this bread of oppression
which our ancestors ate in the land of
Egypt,‖ meaning that our ancestors
anticipated, at every moment and every
instant, that their table might be uprooted –
that the Egyptians might say to them,
―Work for us, and we will not feed you.‖…
I have seen those who ask why this holiday
is different from all of the other Jewish
holidays, such that we declare, ―All who
are hungry, come and eat,‖ and we
distribute ,‫מעות חטים‬money for wheat. Why
do we not distribute and worry about the
needy on Shavuot and Succot as well? We
are instructed to gladden the needy and
the orphans, etc, on all of the holidays, as it
is written (Devarim 16:11-12), ―And you
shall be happy before HaShem your Gd,
you… and the stranger and the orphan and
the widow in your midst… and you shall
remember that you were a slave in Egypt!‖
The purpose of this mitzvah is that we
remember our lowly situation in Egypt. All
of the other holidays involve remembering
our departure from Egypt, but they also
have other reasons: On Shavuot we
remember the receipt of the Torah and our
offering from the new grain, and on Succot
we are judged for the year’s rain. Failure to
recall, ―You were a slave in the land of
Egypt‖ on these holidays does not harm
the holidays themselves and their basic
nature.
Pesach, though, is exclusively about the the house of slaves. Therefore, we are
departure from Egypt. Therefore, one who especially careful to feed and gladden
forgets that he was a slave in Egypt, and the needy, the stranger and the orphan
who does not have mercy upon the slaves and the widow, beyond the care we
and the needy, forgets the essential reason take on other holidays.
for Pesach – the time of our freedom and
Visit us at www.torontotorah.com
R’ Mordechai Torczyner
Rav Zalman Sorotzkin was born in
Lithuania in 1881; his father and
mentor, Rabbi Ben Zion Sorotzkin, was
the rabbi of their town of Zagarine.
Trained in Volozhin and Slobodka and
married to the daughter of Rabbi
Eliezer Gordon (the Telzer Rav), Rav
Zalman Sorotzkin was considered the
obvious choice to take over the Telz
yeshiva when his father-in-law passed
away in 1910. Rav Zalman Sorotzkin
declined this option, though, and
instead became rabbi of Voranava,
Belarus, where he developed a close
bond with Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski,
one of the premier halachic authorities
of the early twentieth century.
Rav Zalman Sorotzkin then became the
rabbi of Zhetel, birthplace of the
Chafetz Chaim, and, indeed, the
Chafetz Chaim referred to him as ―My
Rav.‖ During World War I he moved
temporarily to Minsk, where the
Chazon Ish rented a room from him. In
1930 Rav Sorotzkin became rabbi of
Lutzk, where he served until he moved
to Israel at the start of World War II.
Rav Sorotzkin served as Vice Chairman
of Israel’s Agudath Israel after the
passing of Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer,
and became the first head of Chinuch
Atzmai in 1953. He passed away on the
9th of Tammuz in 5726.
Rav Sorotzkin published on diverse
areas of Torah, always with an easy-to-
read style despite the complex
concepts he sought to transmit. Among
Rav Zalman Sorotzkin’s popular works
are volumes of his derashot (HaDe’iah
v’haDibbur), his HaShir v’haShevach
Haggadah, the Oznaim laTorah
commentary to the Torah and Tehillim,
and responsa in a work entitled
Moznayim laMishpat. The latter work
covers a diverse array of topics, from
Eruv to Gittin to Omer restrictions to
Torah sheb’Al Peh for women.
HaDei’ah v’haDibbur may be found at
http://www.hebrewbooks.org/38552,
and Moznayim l’Mishpat may be found
at http://www.hebrewbooks.org/973
our departure from the land of Egypt,
torczyner@torontotorah.com
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv is the first all-Jewish city in modern
times. Considering its size and importance
today, it comes as a surprise that Tel Aviv
was nothing but a sand dune 100 years ago.
Tel Aviv actually began as a suburb of Jaffa,
the adjoining city with which it
amalgamated in 1950.
Tel Aviv was founded by 60 families on the
20th of Nissan, 5669 (April 11, 1909); a
group of Jews decided to leave Jaffa’s lively,
noisy and dirty environs to create a garden
suburb which would become Tel Aviv. They
bought uninhabited sand dunes north of
Jaffa, formed an association called ―Ahuzat
Bayit‖ and divided property into parcels of
land by drawing lots.
The romantic name Tel Aviv (―Hill of
Spring‖) was chosen for the new
community in 1910 because of its
associations with rebirth and revitalization,
and because it recalled the vision of
Ezekiel3:15, ―...and I came to the exiles at
Tel Aviv,‖. In the biblical Tel Aviv of
Babylon, the exiled prophet saw the vision
of animated dry bones, which drew him
back to Israel. Furthermore, the title of
Theodor Herzl’s visionary book
―Alteneuland‖ in its Hebrew translation was
―Tel Aviv‖.
Though Tel Aviv’s founders once banned
commercial enterprise in the city, after the
First World War the town made enormous
commercial strides. In 1921 it became a
separate township and the first modern
Jewish city in the world. The population of
Tel Aviv gradually swelled, particularly
from Jews who left the predominantly Arab
Jaffa due to unrest in the 1920’s. By 1924 Tel
Aviv’s population was 35,000, which grew to
over 200,000 by 1948.
Arab forces in Jaffa shelled Tel Aviv in 1948
prior to the beginning of the actual war.
Jewish forces responded by capturing the
city two days before declaring
independence. The declaration was made
in the home of the city’s mayor Meir
Dizengoff. Because of Jordanian
occupation of Jerusalem after Israel
became an independent state in 1948, Tel
Aviv was the temporary capital and home
of the government offices. Several
government offices remain there and Tel
Aviv is still home to foreign diplomats from
countries that don’t recognize Jerusalem as
Israel’s capital.
Adapted from an article originally published
by Torah miTzion.
3
Shiur in Review: Punishment or Consequence? R’ Azarya Berzon

In the Hashkafa of two of the leading
Roshei Yeshiva of the previous
generation, HaRav Chaim Shmuelevitz,
Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Mir-
Yerushalayim, and my rebby the Rav,
HaRav Yosef Dov Soloveichick, we find a
fundamental distinction between two
types of results of our actions. On the one
hand, we are subject to Divine retribution
for the sins we commit. It is a fundamental
principle of our faith that no action of man
passes unheeded; we are responsible for
our actions and will receive our due
punishments meted out by the Divine
attribute of justice. But at times, we suffer
the impact of our actions not as a result of
HaShem’s active role in apportioning
punishment, but rather as a natural
consequence of our actions. As the
phrase goes, ―the punishment is built into
the crime‖. The image that demonstrates
this concept is that of a man jumping off a
high roof; he will destroy himself not as a
result of a Divine act of retribution, but by
virtue of the physical laws of nature.
The Rosh Yeshiva establishes that a sin
against one’s fellow man is like touching
a flame; it matters not what his
motivations are, he will be burnt! Thus
Penina was punished severely for causing
her sister Chana psychological anguish
despite her good intentions (i.e. to
encourage Chana to pray). (Sichos
Mussar, Parshas Korach, 5731).
According to the Midrash, Moshe will not
be buried in Eretz Yisrael because he
said nothing when the daughters of Yisro
call him an ―Ish Mitzri‖. Rav Chaim
Shmuelevitz proves that Moshe was
justified when he avoids revealing his
true identity as an ―Ish Ivri‖; nevertheless
it is a natural law that only one who
identifies with the Land is buried therein
(ibid. Parshas Dvarim, 5733). The
daughters of Moav will act immodestly
after Balaam’s fiasco because of the
natural predisposition they inherited
from the older daughter of Lot who
initiated the relationship with her father.
This despite the fact that her intentions
were praiseworthy. Immoral behavior
generates natural consequences (ibid.
Parshas Nitzavim, 5732).
The Rav addresses the question of
defining the unique nature of the Aseret
HaDibrot. Based on Rashi’s comment that
the Dibrot were legislated with the Divine
Name Elokim, the Rav establishes that the
penalty for violating the Aseret HaDibrot
will follow inevitably, just as it does for
violating the laws of nature. The seed of
destruction is inherent in the act of
violation. It is not an extraneous penalty.
Similarly, the Rav develops the concept
of the double power of Yom HaKipurim to
effectuate both Tahara and Kappara. The
latter two dimensions parallel the double
effect of sin. On the one hand, sin
contaminates the personality of the doer.
As a natural result of sin, the sinner
becomes ―Tamei‖. At the same time, sin
generates Divine punishment. For the
first impact, man needs Tahara; for the
second Kappara. (See Al HaTshuva, Chap.
I). The Rav’s uncle, the Brisker Rav,
established that one who – based on a
justifiable error in interpreting the Torah –
concludes that God is corporeal, will be
denied entry into the world to come. This
is not a matter of punishment; rather one
whose level of knowledge is so limited
cannot possibly experience the intellectual
bliss of Olam HaBa. (―A nebach apikoris is
an apikoris nevertheless‖.)
It would seem that the warning of the Torah
regarding immoral behavior in Eretz
Yisrael culminating in the Land vomiting
forth its inhabitants is not about
punishment but rather about the spiritual
atmosphere of the Land which is intolerant
of certain illicit behavior. Similarly, the
need for a Tzaddik to be spared any
partaking of forbidden foods, even if only
by accident (see Chulin 6a), has nothing to
do with Divine retribution but rather the
spiritual ―poison‖ inherent in forbidden
foods.
As we inspire ourselves to respect
Hashem’s law and avoid desecrations, we
should keep in mind these two systems of
retribution: the Divine and the natural.
This Shiur was delivered as part of our weekly
Sunday Morning Community Bet Midrash
program. Every week a mini beit midrash is
created in a different shul, to prepare for a
shiur klali by one of our members.

Schedule for the Week of March 6, 20 Adar

Shabbat, March 6
7:50AM R’ Azarya Berzon, Ramban al haTorah: When, why and
Wednesday, March 10
how were the People of Israel Counted? Or Chaim
9:15AM R’ Mordechai Torczyner, Weekly Torah Class (Haggadah), 239
Following Hashkama R’ Azarya Berzon, Clanton Park
Franklin, Babysitting provided Women
Following Youth Minyan: R’ Mordechai Torczyner, ―Aharon’s
7:30PM R’ Meir Lipschitz, Ramchal’s Derech Hashem, Kehillat Shaarei
Choice, BAYT
Torah Men and Women
4:35PM R’ Azarya Berzon, Masechet Kiddushin: Circumstantial
8:00PM R’ Azarya Berzon: Masechet Pesachim: Lashes for a Passive
Evidence, Mizrachi Bayit
Violation (Lav sh’ein bo ma’aseh), Clanton Park Men
Sunday, March 7 9:00PM R’ Azarya Berzon: The Structure and Secrets of the Haggadah, Part I
9:15AM Itamar Zolberg: Shiur in Hebrew, Zichron Yisrael Men of III, Or Chaim
and Women ‫בעברית‬
8:30PM R’ Azarya Berzon: Masechet Kiddushin: The Halachik Thursday, March 11
Status of non-Jewish Marriage, Shaarei Shomayim 11:00AM R’ Azarya Berzon: Masechet Sukkah (Advanced): Defining Bittul
and Tashbitu, Clanton Park Men
Monday, March 8 3:40PM R’ Azarya Berzon: Hilchot Muktzah (Advanced), Clanton Park Men
1:00PM R’ Mordechai Torczyner: Foods of the Seder, JCC Must 7:00PM R’ Azarya Berzon: Shiur for Fathers at Or Chaim: Defining a
RSVP to 416-638-1881x4106 Brachah
8:30PM R’ Azarya Berzon: Rambam’s Hilchot Talmud Torah: 8:30PM R’ Azarya Berzon: Halachah and Life Issues: Torah and Parnassa:
Salaries for the Teachers of Oral Law, Clanton Park Men Find the Balance, Clanton Park Men
8:30PM Russell Levy: Abortion and Halachah, 30 Manorhaven Rd. 9:15PM R’ Azarya Berzion:Halachik Man and the Lonely Man of Faith,
Tuesday, March 9 Clanton Park, Men
11:00AM R’ Azarya Berzon: Masechet Pesachim (Advanced): Who Pesach Programming:
does Bedikah, Landlordor Tenant?, Clanton Park Men
March 13/20: R’ Torczyner: Two Part Shabbat Series in Thornhill
7:00PM R’ Mordechai Torczyner: The Thought of Rav Kook and
the Laws of Pesach,, 15 Palm Dr. Women March 14 at the Thornhill Community Shull
7:30PM R’ Azarya Berzon: Shiur in Parsha, Westmount March 17 at Shaarei Shomayim
8:00PM R’ Netanel Javasky: Medical Halachah, Shaarei Tefillah Please consult future bulletins for more information.
8:00PM Rav Yosef Carmel, Kollel Eretz Chemdah, BAYT

4 We would like to thank koshertube.com for filming our shiurim! Visit us at www.torontotorah.com