Near the end of this week’s Parashah we read, “The man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth.” Rashi z”l writes: “Anav” means humble and Savlan / patient. [Until here from Rashi]
R’ Uri Weisblum shlita (Mashgiach Ruchani of Yeshivat Nachalat Ha’levi’im in Haifa, Israel) writes: What is Savlanut/ patience? The word shares a root with the verb that means to carry a heavy load. (In modern Hebrew, a porter is called a “Sabal.”) Thus, Savlanut means carrying a load and not throwing it off.
R’ Weisblum continues: Savlanut is the foundation of all relationships, for Midrash Tanchuma teaches: “Just as no two people look exactly alike, so no two people think exactly alike.” It is inevitable that a Yeshiva student will be annoyed at times by his Chavruta / study partner or roommate, and that a working person will be by annoyed by his co-workers. Savlanut is the ability to bear that load and carry on, and it is essential to anyone who is interested in spiritual growth.
R’ Weisblum adds: Practicing Savlanut does not mean ignoring or accepting every annoying thing that another person does, and it certainly not require overlooking real hurt. But, a person with Savlanut rebukes his fellow lovingly and pleasantly; he does not cast off the relationship. (He’arat Ha’derech: Avodat Ha’middot p.91)
“There were men who had become Tamei / ritually impure from a Nefesh adam / human corpse (literally, ‘human soul’), and they could not make the Pesach-offering on that day, so they approached Moshe and Aharon [and said], ‘We are Tamei through a human corpse; why should we be diminished by not offering Hashem’s offering in its appointed time among Bnei Yisrael?’ Moshe said to them, ‘Stand and I will hear what Hashem will command you’.” (9:6-8)
R’ Yosef Tzarfati z”l (Adrianople, Turkey; died 1639) asks: What did these people mean by asking, “Why should we be diminished by not offering Hashem’s offering”? Didn’t they immediately answer their own question, acknowledging that they were not eligible to bring the Korban Pesach because they were Tamei?!
R’ Tzarfati explains: The Talmud Yerushalmi (Berachot 3:1) records that when the sage Rabbi Yehuda died, another sage, Rabbi Yannai, announced: "There are no Kohanim today"--in other words: Even Kohanim may come to bury Rabbi Yehuda because (according to Rabbi Yannai) the bodies of Tzaddikim do not transmit Tum’ah / ritual impurity. The deceased with whom the individuals in our verses had come in contact also were great Tzaddikim. Specifically, the Gemara (Sukkah 25a-b) teaches that these Tamei individuals either were Misha’el and Eltzafan, who had buried Nadav and Avihu, or they were the men who were transporting the casket of Yosef Ha’tzaddik from Egypt to Eretz Yisrael.
As such, R' Tzarfati writes, the people in our verses were not certain that they actually were Tamei; perhaps because they were handling “Nefesh adam” / “human souls,” i.e., the bodies of people who had purified themselves to such a degree that they were only “souls,” these individuals were not, in fact, Tamei. Moshe agreed that this was a valid question, so he told them to wait while he presented the question to Hashem.
Hashem answered their question by saying (9:10-11), “If any man will become Tamei through a human corpse or on a distant road . . . he shall make the Pesach-offering for Hashem in the second month.” R' Tzarfati asks: Why did Hashem add “or on a distant road”? No one had asked about that! Hashem was teaching that even if, as Rabbi Yannai holds, a Tzaddik’s corpse does not transmit Tum’ah at the time of death, it nevertheless does so later, when it is “distant.” (Thus, these individuals were Tamei even though they were handling bodies of Tzaddikim, and they had to wait until Pesach Sheni to bring their offering.) (Yad Yosef)
Why did these individuals feel “diminished”? asks R’ Gedaliah Schorr z”l (1910-1979; Rosh Ha’yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Voda’as in Brooklyn, N.Y.). Do our Sages not teach, “Ones Rachamana patrei” / “The Merciful One exempts one who is unavoidably prevented from performing a Mitzvah”?
R’ Schorr explains: The Zohar relates that several Sages of the Mishnah were returning from performing the Mitzvah of redeeming captives when someone said to them, “I see on your faces that you did not recite Kri’at Shema today.” They answered that they were exempt from Kri’at Shema because they were engaged in another Mitzvah. We see from here, writes R’ Schorr, that when a person misses out on performing a Mitzvah, even justifiably, that fact leaves an impression on his soul.
Similarly, continues R’ Schorr, we read at the end of Megillat Esther: “For Mordechai the Jew was viceroy to King Achashveirosh; he was a great man among the Jews, and found favor with most of his brethren.” Why “most” of his brethren? The Gemara (Megillah 16b) explains that some of Mordechai’s contemporaries were displeased with him because his duties in the royal court detracted from his Torah study.
But wasn’t Mordechai busy saving lives and promoting the interests of the Jewish People and, therefore, exempt from Torah study? True, answers R’ Schorr. Indeed, Halachah requires a person to interrupt his Torah study to save lives. Nevertheless, the fact that Hashem places someone in a position to interrupt his Torah study to save lives suggests that Hashem has found a shortcoming in that person’s Torah study.
In this light, R’ Schorr concludes, we can understand our verses as follows: Those who were Tamei and unable to participate in the Korban Pesach were in that situation because they had performed a Mitzvah. Still, being unfit to bring the Korban Pesach, they were missing out, as the above Zohar teaches. They searched their souls for a reason why Hashem would not want their offerings and they could not find one, so they came to Moshe Rabbeinu and cried out: “Why should we be diminished by not offering Hashem’s offering in its appointed time?” And what was the answer? The answer was that because of their great yearning for Mitzvot--demonstrated by their recognition that they were, in fact, missing out--Hashem wanted them to be the vehicle to teach about a new Mitzvah--Pesach Sheni, through which Jews in all generations can have a second chance to come close to Hashem. (Ohr Gedalyahu: Mo’adim)
“Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Yisrael . . . and I shall take some of the spirit that is upon you and place it upon them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, and you shall not bear it alone’.” (11:16-17)
R’ Chaim ben Attar z”l (1696-1743; Morocco, Italy and Eretz Yisrael) writes: Hashem already had given Moshe the strength he needed to lead Bnei Yisrael. But, when Moshe doubted his own abilities and said (verse 14), “I alone cannot carry this entire nation, for it is too heavy for me,” Hashem took some of Moshe’s abilities and gave them to the elders to help him lead. (Ohr Ha’Chaim)
R’ Yosef Yozel Horowitz z”l (1847-1919; the Alter of Novardok) elaborates: Our verses are teaching us that those who refuse to accept communal responsibilities on the grounds that they don’t have the necessary strength or abilities are making a mistake. The reality is that a person who accepts communal responsibilities receives the Siyata D’Shmaya / assistance from Heaven that he needs to succeed. If he then passes off the responsibilities he accepted to other people, the Siyata D’Shmaya he received also will be transferred from him to those others, as happened here to Moshe Rabbeinu. (Madregat Ha’adam: Ma’amar Mezakeh Et Ha’rabim, ch.11)
Shabbat
“On the day of your Simchah / joy, and on your festivals, and on your new moons, you shall sound the trumpets over your Olah-offerings and over your Shelamim-offerings . . .” (10:10)
Midrash Sifra states: “The day of your Simchah” refers to Shabbat.
R’ Yitzchak Arieli z”l (1896-1974; Mashgiach of Yeshivat Mercaz Harav; author of Enayim La’mishpat) writes: We experience Simchah on both Shabbat and Yom Tov, but in different ways. The Simchah of Yom Tov is experienced in physical ways (as our Sages say, “There is no Simchah, except through meat and wine”). In contrast, the Simchah of Shabbat comes from recognizing Hashem’s presence in the world, as we say in the Shabbat prayers: “Yismechu b’malchut’echa” / “They shall rejoice in Your kingship.” (Zemirot Shabbat Shalmei Ariel p.31)
R’ Shabtai Sofer z”l (16th century; Przemysl, Poland; best known for his research into the correct text and pronunciation of the Siddur) writes: Ashkenazim recite “Yismechu b’malchut’echa” only in Mussaf, whereas Sefardim recite it also in Ma’ariv and Shacharit, but not in Mincha. Perhaps, he writes, “Yismechu b’malchut’echa” is not recited in Mincha because Moshe Rabbeinu, Yosef Ha’tzaddik, and King David all passed away at Mincha time on Shabbat; as such, it is not an appropriate time to speak of Simchah. (Siddur Moreinu Ha’Rav Shabtai Sofer Mi’Przemysl, Introduction p.9)
R’ Joseph B. Soloveitchik z”l (1903-1993) writes in the name of his father, R’ Moshe Soloveitchik z”l (1879-1941): The quoted verse and Midrash teach that there is an obligation to experience Simchah on Shabbat in the Bet Hamikdash. This explains why we who pray in Nusach Ashkenaz recite “Yismechu b’malchut’echa” specifically in Mussaf, for Mussaf is the prayer whose text most directly recalls the Temple service. (Shiurim L’zecher Abba Mari II p.78)
The paragraph of “Yismechu b’malchut’echa” has 24 words--one for each hour of Shabbat. (Siddur Avodat Yisrael)
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