Chasidut su I Re 18:78
Mevo HaShearim
Now, regarding the phrase “prophecies which were necessary for the generations,” Rashi165R. Solomon Yitzhaki, Troyes, France. 1040-1105 glosses “to teach repentance or [other] instruction.” What is the nature of this ‘instruction?’166Horaah, from the same Hebrew root as ‘Torah.’ It cannot refer to adding or detracting from the Torah, since the passage states they did not issue such instructions. Nor can it mean that they innovated specific rulings regarding Torah law, using prophecy rather than standard legal reasoning or hermeneutics. For Maimonides167R. Moses b. Maimon, Spain and Egypt, 1135-1206 writes (in the introduction to his Mishnah Torah168Maimonides’ legal magnum opus, a comprehensive codification of Jewish law.): “Know that prophecy is legally inefficacious in interpreting the Torah or extrapolating legal details via the hermeneutical principles. Rather, just as Joshua and Phineas utilized analysis and reasoning, so too did Ravina and Rav Ashi.”169For more on the role of prophecy in halakhic interpretation in Maimonides’ system, see his Laws of the Foundations of the Torah, Chapter 10. Maimonides continues on to explain that the prophet had only the additional capacity [over the sage] to temporarily suspend a Torah law, as did Elijah on Mount Carmel, but no more.170See I Kings 18:34-38 and Talmud Yevamot 90b. If so, in what sense is the prophet’s ‘teaching of repentance or other instruction’ superior to that of any other [authority]?
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Kedushat Levi
Deuteronomy 17,3 “or to the sun or the moon or to the celestial constellations that I never commanded you.”
Rashi explains this line as if the words “to worship them,” had been left out at the end of this verse, and the reader is expected to add them himself. The Talmud Megillah 9, appears to take the same approach when it tells us that the Septuagint, the 72 scholars forced by the Greeks/Egyptians under King Talmay to translate the entire Torah into Greek while each was incommunicado with anyone else. They all translated the verse in that way. [The reason they had been separated was for the Greeks to point to discrepancies in the translations, and to use these as a pretext to invalidate the Torah. Ed.]
At that time, each one of these scholars added some words of their own being guided by the Holy Spirit. In the case of our verse, they added the word: לעובדם, “to serve them."
In this instance, Rashi presumably bases himself on the meaning of the word השתחוה, not always meaning “to worship G’d.” In Kings I 18,7 we find that term applied to man, when Ovadiah made an obeisance to the prophet Elijah. Although Ovadiah himself was a prophet, he deferred to Elijah. We even find that G’d Himself on one occasion referred to Yaakov as א-ל, “a divine power.” He did so because Yaakov observed all the laws that later were to appear in the Torah. (Compare comment in Talmud Megillah 18) All the righteous people are entitled to this attribute, so that it is permissible to make an obeisance called השתחוויה to them. The same is not true of sun, moon, or the celestial constellations, seeing that they have not been charged with observing the Torah. The meaning of אשר לא צויתי, “that I have not commanded,” is that seeing that G’d did not command these powerful forces in nature to observe the Torah, they do not qualify for any obeisance to them to be made by man, i.e. Israelites, who have been commanded to keep the Torah. [The problem in our verse is that on the face of it, it seems that the words וישתחו and ויעבוד are used to create the impression that when the Torah did not repeat the specific prohibition to make an obeisance through השתחוויה, this form of obeisance might have been permitted. Ed.]
Rashi explains this line as if the words “to worship them,” had been left out at the end of this verse, and the reader is expected to add them himself. The Talmud Megillah 9, appears to take the same approach when it tells us that the Septuagint, the 72 scholars forced by the Greeks/Egyptians under King Talmay to translate the entire Torah into Greek while each was incommunicado with anyone else. They all translated the verse in that way. [The reason they had been separated was for the Greeks to point to discrepancies in the translations, and to use these as a pretext to invalidate the Torah. Ed.]
At that time, each one of these scholars added some words of their own being guided by the Holy Spirit. In the case of our verse, they added the word: לעובדם, “to serve them."
In this instance, Rashi presumably bases himself on the meaning of the word השתחוה, not always meaning “to worship G’d.” In Kings I 18,7 we find that term applied to man, when Ovadiah made an obeisance to the prophet Elijah. Although Ovadiah himself was a prophet, he deferred to Elijah. We even find that G’d Himself on one occasion referred to Yaakov as א-ל, “a divine power.” He did so because Yaakov observed all the laws that later were to appear in the Torah. (Compare comment in Talmud Megillah 18) All the righteous people are entitled to this attribute, so that it is permissible to make an obeisance called השתחוויה to them. The same is not true of sun, moon, or the celestial constellations, seeing that they have not been charged with observing the Torah. The meaning of אשר לא צויתי, “that I have not commanded,” is that seeing that G’d did not command these powerful forces in nature to observe the Torah, they do not qualify for any obeisance to them to be made by man, i.e. Israelites, who have been commanded to keep the Torah. [The problem in our verse is that on the face of it, it seems that the words וישתחו and ויעבוד are used to create the impression that when the Torah did not repeat the specific prohibition to make an obeisance through השתחוויה, this form of obeisance might have been permitted. Ed.]
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 49,8. “You, o Yehudah, your brothers shall praise;” The word אתה at the beginning of this verse poses a problem. Our author directs the reader to look at Kings I 18,36-37 where the prophet Elijah repeatedly prefaces part of his prayer by addressing G’d in direct speech, i.e. with the word אתה, “You.” The whole idea of a creature addressing the King of the universe with the word אתה “YOU,” as we do in our daily prayers, i.e. ברוך אתה ה' וגו', is hard to understand for us who would not dare to address a mortal king in such familiar, almost insulting language.
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 25,17. Concerning Rashi’s comment based on Rabbi Chiya that the reason that the lifetime of Yishmael was listed in the Torah is to show that Yaakov spent 14 years hiding in the academy founded by Shem and subsequently headed by his great-grandson Ever; surely it is strange that this piece of information was of such significance that the Torah had to write about it, albeit as an allusion! Why did the Torah not simply write that Yaakov hid there instead of adding a paragraph of seven verses detailing Yishmael’s descendants?!
The intention of the Torah was to illustrate the influence of a tzaddik in elevating people in his immediate proximity to a spiritually higher level. It also demonstrates that when a tzaddik loses this ability to elevate his environment spiritually he has to go into hiding instead, as through his failure he arouses G’d’s wrath at the wicked and his remaining in their environment would expose him to the judgment G’d has in store for them. Isaiah 26,20 makes this point when he writes: חבי כמעט רגע וגו', “hide for a brief moment and lock the doors behind you!” (Compare the Zohar’s I 182, comment on this verse) This was also the reason why Elijah hid during the years of famine that he had decreed (Kings I 17,2) so that the ravens had to bring him food. At that time it was beyond Elijah’s powers to spiritually elevate the people of his generation. Eventually, as described in the same Book, Elijah was commanded by G’d to come out of hiding, as by that time the ground had been prepared for his message to resonate among some of the people. His success is recorded in King’s I 18,39, although, alas it was short-lived. It is a fact that for a while at least, Yaakov’s encounter with Esau resulted in a spiritual elevation of his brother Esau, who even wanted to share the world with him. The reason why Yaakov succeeded partially with Esau though failing with Yishmael, was that Esau was his twin brother, as opposed to Yishmael who was only his uncle. [Esau voluntarily vacated the land of Israel (Canaan) in order not to compete with his brother. (Genesis 36,6-8) Ed.] When the Torah lists the years Yishmael lived, it was to inform us that he lived that many years only on account of his nephew Yaakov’s merit. If Yaakov had been able to bring about a spiritual reawakening of his uncle, he would not have had to hide.
The intention of the Torah was to illustrate the influence of a tzaddik in elevating people in his immediate proximity to a spiritually higher level. It also demonstrates that when a tzaddik loses this ability to elevate his environment spiritually he has to go into hiding instead, as through his failure he arouses G’d’s wrath at the wicked and his remaining in their environment would expose him to the judgment G’d has in store for them. Isaiah 26,20 makes this point when he writes: חבי כמעט רגע וגו', “hide for a brief moment and lock the doors behind you!” (Compare the Zohar’s I 182, comment on this verse) This was also the reason why Elijah hid during the years of famine that he had decreed (Kings I 17,2) so that the ravens had to bring him food. At that time it was beyond Elijah’s powers to spiritually elevate the people of his generation. Eventually, as described in the same Book, Elijah was commanded by G’d to come out of hiding, as by that time the ground had been prepared for his message to resonate among some of the people. His success is recorded in King’s I 18,39, although, alas it was short-lived. It is a fact that for a while at least, Yaakov’s encounter with Esau resulted in a spiritual elevation of his brother Esau, who even wanted to share the world with him. The reason why Yaakov succeeded partially with Esau though failing with Yishmael, was that Esau was his twin brother, as opposed to Yishmael who was only his uncle. [Esau voluntarily vacated the land of Israel (Canaan) in order not to compete with his brother. (Genesis 36,6-8) Ed.] When the Torah lists the years Yishmael lived, it was to inform us that he lived that many years only on account of his nephew Yaakov’s merit. If Yaakov had been able to bring about a spiritual reawakening of his uncle, he would not have had to hide.
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