Kaisipang Hudyo sa Mga Awit 106:4: Akeidat Yitzchak

The upshot of all this (David's outpourings in Psalm 119) is that mitzvah performance must become as automatic to us as life itself. Therefore, the Mishnah in Avot 3, 10, says that "whosoever forgets part of his studies has sinned gravely," since the Torah has provided memory joggers. The word "Talmud" in that Mishnah refers to knowledge of the commandments and their performance. Unless a person has tried and failed to remember, he is guilty of a sin. If he did the latter, he is subject to the saving grace of pen yassuru mi -levavcha, lest they depart from your heart, as long as he did not contribute to forgetting them. (Deut. 4,9) G-d lays tefillin, phylacteries, or created the rainbow, so that His memory should be jogged by visible symbols. If, in the words of the Midrash, it is good enough for Him to jog His memory, it is certainly incumbent upon us to do so. The concept of "G-d’s Torah is perfect," (Psalms 119,8) implies that the law of G-d is beyond blemish at any time in history; nothing in it can therefore be devoid of purpose at any time. This is so even if the application of a particular commandment is restricted to certain individuals such as priests. Even the occurrence of a million to one shot such as a ben sorer umoreh, an obstinate gluttonous teenager whose parents take him to Court to be executed, or a commandment which by definition could only be performed once in history in the desert, has significance far beyond that unique opportunity to perform it. David assures us in the first of the Psalms that he who truly desires Torah and studies same, is like a tree securely planted next to a never failing water supply. Such a tree will not wilt etc. If this is true of the person who studies Torah, how much more must Torah itself be meaningful in all its details. This is the reason that the mitzvot of the tabernacle and priestly garments which are of limited duration, emphasize again and again "it is an eternal statute in front of Me forever," or the use of the word tzav. The Talmud in Kiddushin 29, states that any commandment associated with the word tzav is a commandment that applies forever. Examination of those laws reveals that there are many instances where this rule simply does not stand up in the light of history. We must understand the Talmud to mean that though the details of the commandments in question helped us fulfil them at times when they proved physically capable of fulfilment, we derive the major benefit from these commandments through the lessons we learn from the concepts that these mitzvot represent. It is these concepts that remain valid forever. This is the meaning of Deuteronomy 29,8, "observe the words of the covenant, carry them out so that you will gain insights from all that you do." Similarly Deut.4,6, "it is your wisdom and your insight." Unfortunately, as the Rambam already observes in his "Moreh," most people never concern themselves with such matters and want to get close to the king without ever having seen the king's palace, as it were. Granted that performance of the mitzvah, since it is G-d’s command, is praiseworthy. Nevertheless it is far from the ultimate that we are capable of achieving. Whatever the tabernacle teaches is as relevant today as ever, just as basic concepts do not lose their relevance because they cannot always be applied instantly. If the Torah commands that we help an enemy load his beast, thereby teaching important moral lessons, these lessons do not lose their relevance because we have no enemies or because we never encountered an enemy in circumstances where this commandment could be performed. David says in Psalms 51, 19, "the (real) sacrifice to G-d is a broken spirit." It is the spirit in which G-d is approached that matters. The Talmud Menachot 106, explains the verse in Leviticus 7,37, "this is the teaching of the Torah concerning the total offering, the gift offering and the peace offering," as meaning that he who labours studying the laws of these offerings, does not actually have to bring them in order to achieve the personality development that these offerings are meant to help us achieve. The idea is that just as performance plays its part in awakening the mind to what, why and how one is doing, so the study of the laws pertaining to these observances accomplishes the same thing. We should not therefore bemoan earlier times when through the performance of mitzvot such as yovel, the Jubilee year, we could come closer to G-d. Let us look now at the "memory" element surrounding the commandments of the priestly vestments. Concerning the ephod, apron it states "Aaron should wear the names of the children of Israel before G-d on his shoulders as remembrance." Concerning the choshen, the breastplate, we find a similar quote. A similar purpose is common to all the priestly garments. Clothing as such is symbolic of acquired traits. Already in the wording of the commandments there is a reference to the concepts of midot, character traits, which we discussed at the beginning of this chapter. (Leviticus 6,3) mido bad; or in Judges 3, 16, "under his madim;” or in Psalms 133,2, "descending according to midotav." So we observe the term midah being used for garments, illustrating the essential nature of garments, at least when worn by priests. The first impression that one receives when meeting another person is that of the clothes he wears. It suggests his occupation, certain of his behavioral traits etc. Even our prophets in praising the Lord, use the simile " You are garbed in Splendour." (Psalms 104, 1) Or, "resplendent in His garments" (Isaiah 63, 1) Secondly, people wear different sets of clothing for the Sabbath and weekdays. Even in ancient times, Esau had "his precious clothes" (Genesis 27, 15) or (Ruth 3,3) Ruth who put special garments for a special occasion. By wearing different clothing on the Sabbath, every Jew signals that he assumes different character traits on the Sabbath. In Hilchot Derech Eretz, the halachah stipulates that ordinary clothing be worn for the performance of mundane tasks, whereas festive clothing should be worn when performing mitzvot between man and His Maker. This is the meaning of Isaiah chapter 58. Compare also chapter 63. Thirdly, just as man is never completely nude, so he is never completely devoid of mitzvot. Therefore, all of Israel, priests and ordinary Israelites alike, have the duty to be garbed in special garments. This is why a whole nation is referred to as a kingdom of priests, to imbue all garments with a reminder of the symbolic significance of garments as such. Therefore, the Torah says in connection with the tzitzit, fringes, "when you see it, you will remember the commandments" (Numbers 15,39). "A garment adorned with tzitzit will remind you of all the commandments of G-d to carry them out, ibid." Whenever white garments are mentioned by our sages, it refers to the moral condition of the wearer of such garments. For instance, we have the parable of the king who invites his servants to partake of a meal in his palace without specifying the date and hour the meal is to take place. The intelligent servants remained within the vicinity of the king’s palace, saying that it would be foolish to roam around elsewhere since they had no urgent business elsewhere. The foolish ones carried on business as usual, citing as their reason that they would not receive any food for which they had not worked. Suddenly, the king issued a summons for his servants to attend the party. The intelligent ones entered the palace suitably attired, whereas the foolish servants arrived dirty and dishevelled. The king was well pleased with the first group, of course, but was very angry at the second group. Therefore, he seated the first group and left the second group to remain standing and watch the others partake of the feast. This is how Rabbi Meir's son-in-law explained the following verse in Isaiah 65, 13, "My sons will eat, and you will starve; My sons will drink, but you will remain thirsty." Another version explains the meaning of Kohelet 9,8, "at all times your garments should be white, and oil should be on your head," as referring to tzitzit and tefillin respectively. The Aggadah in Baba Batra 74, concerning the meal of the righteous in the future, featuring salted meat of the female leviathan and well aged wine, may also be understood allegorically as referring to the garments worn by the tzaddikim in their lifetime, namely Torah and Mitzvot. More about this Aggadah in chapter 60.

The Midrash quoted by Rashi on the verse is well known. (3) When the Torah admonishes in Ki Teytze "remember what Amalek did to you," that warning is a reminder of the conditions under which an Amalek feels encouraged to pounce upon Israel. Israel's own conduct is a provocation . When Joshua is told to choose anashim, i.e. tzaddikim, this is to serve as evidence that there are people amongst Israel who by dint of their lifestyle can face an Amalek without fear, secure in the knowledge that they can count on G-d’s support. Moses assured Joshua that on the morrow he would add the power of prayer to that of the courage of the tzaddikim (5) The visible evidence of Moses’s hands raised in prayer was a psychological prop to the warriors engaged in battle. When Moses’s hands were resting, due to fatigue, this prop was absent inducing fear amongst the Israelites, thus giving Amalek the advantage. Moses’s own physical strength was affected by the knowledge of the weakness of Israel's moral case, as demonstrated by their most recent behaviour. (4+6) Therefore Moses was in need of a physical prop to convey the illusion of superhuman strength and endurance. Viewing Moses’s posture, the Israelites realised that only Moses’s prayer ensured their ascendancy at that particular moment in history. The Talmud Rosh Hashanah 29, compares this happening to the incident with the copper snake, which had the power to heal when the Israelites looked at it. (Numbers 21,6-10) That look also symbolised one's faith in G-d and did not mean that the snake had any power at all. (7+8) For the reasons cited, Israel could not achieve more at that time than to weaken Amalek, not destroy it. This campaign could not be compared to the conquest of the Canaanite nations, since here the warriors had to rely on their own strength, though G-d assisted indirectly in order not to ignore Moses’s prayer. On the one hand G-d wanted to prove to Israel that they had been wrong in questioning His Presence; on the other hand, G-d wanted Israel to know that He was still angry at them. For that reason He commanded Moses to "write this in a book and tell Joshua." Only the latter was deemed worthy at that juncture to be told that the ongoing fight against Amalek was indeed G-d’s fight, and that He would not forsake Israel when the latter would come under attack by Amalek. (9) The revelation that Hashem Himself would in future destroy Amalek, warranted that Moses would build an altar which he named "G-d is My banner." This served as proof that G-d had approved the manner in which Moses had acted on his own when Amalek attacked. The very thing that G-d approved of was Moses’s taking the initiative. G-d was aware that if Israel would be left to its own devices, they would not complete the destruction of Amalek, just as they did not complete the destruction of the seven Canaanite nations despite G-d’s warning that leaving any of them alive or in the country, would prove a destabilising influence to Israel's society. (Numbers 33,55) It was Moses who proclaimed "for as long as there is a hand raised against the throne of G-d, He will be at war with Amalek." (Exodus 17,16) It was Moses’s conviction that the importance of wiping out Amalek warranted that G-d personally would continue to take an active part in such endeavours until they would be crowned with total success. This is the reason we read in Samuel I 15,30, after Saul's failure that "Israel's eternity will not be denied." The ultimate success does not depend on any particular leader of Israel who may or may not carry out G-d’s wishes wholeheartedly. (10) Although G-d commands Israel to wage this war of extermination against Amalek, He Himself will complete whatever has not been accomplished by Israel. This is also the meaning of Bileam's statement "Amalek is the first of the nations, therefore its end must be utter destruction." (Numbers 24,20.) When referring to "nations," Bileam means the first nation to rebel against G-d as a nation. Another reason may be that Amalek committed two wrongs 1) They disregarded the agreement made between their respective ancestors Jacob and Esau. 2) They attacked G-d’s chosen people at a particularly sensitive moment. In the words of the Midrash, Amalek put his hands on a scaldingly hot bathtub, meaning right after a clear demonstration of G-d’s power on behalf of Israel. Therefore, both G-d and Israel would share in the task of punishing Amalek. In Parshat Ki Teytze we read about Israel's part, whereas in Parshat Beshalach we read about G-d’s part. These two portions are complementary to one another. This brings us back to our opening Midrash. Once the Messiah will come, Israel will no longer display the usual human inadequacies, i.e. fulfilling G-d’s will only in part. At that time we will be granted G-d’s direct guidance, and will not have to be led by men, who, though G-d’s instruments, are chosen for their relative merit only. In those latter days the salvation will endure eternally, because intermediaries no longer need to be employed by G-d.