The Meat of the Matter
Posted on August
13, 2020 (5780) By Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky | Series: Drasha |
Level: Beginner
In this week’s portion, the Torah allows us to partake in our
material desires, but only according to Torah proscriptions. The Torah clearly
allows the consumption of meat, albeit with a few caveats. The Torah states “If
the place that Hashem, your God, will choose to
place His Name will be far from you, you may slaughter from your cattle
and your flocks that Hashem has given
you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat in your cities according to your
heart’s entire desire. Even as the deer and the ayal are eaten, so may you eat
it, the contaminated one and the pure one may eat it together: Only be strong
not to eat the blood — for the blood, it is the nefesh — and you shall not eat
the nefesh with the meat” (Deuteronomy 12:21-23).
Nefesh has various meanings, simply stated it is the life
force of the animal — perhaps what we would call “the soul of the matter.”
Clearly, the consumption of blood is a despicable act in the Torah view (a fact
conveniently overlooked by the centuries of libelers who had us drinking,
mixing, baking and cooking with it.) In addition, the process of extricating
all blood from the animal is clearly and
intricately defined through the Talmud and Shulchan Aruch. However, delineating
the prohibition as one of combining the consumption of the nefesh with the meat surely goes beyond the prohibition of eating or drinking blood.
Surely there is a deeper connotation to the prohibition of
the strange concoction of nefesh and meat.
Rav Yehuda Laib Chasman was considered to be one of
the luminaries of the mussar movement. Before he immersed himself completely in
the world of Torah and mussar, he had a business that sold flour to bakers. He
would devote a portion of his day to his
business and the remaining time he would spend at the famed Talmud Torah of
Kelm under the tutelage of Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, the illustrious Alter of
Kelm. One day on the way into the Yeshiva, Rav Ziv called Reb Yehuda Laib over
to the side and pointed to the white powder that covered the sleeve of his
jacket. Rabbi Chasman took this observation to be a clear moralistic evaluation.
“Rabbi Ziv is
pointing out that the flour is becoming part of me. If it is already all over
my garments, and it is still with me when I leave my store, then it has become
too much a part of me.”
With that, he
made a personal decision that changed his life completely. He returned home,
and figured out together with his wife that the amount of their current assets
would more than cover any outstanding debts and allow them to sustain
themselves. They sold the business, and
Rabbi Chasman enrolled full-time at the Volozhiner Yeshiva, eventually emerging
the great luminary whom we all revere.
Some of us like meat: whether it is the actual beef or the
proverbial materialistic affairs in which we indulge. And that’s OK to a point.
After all, we are only human.
But the Torah tells us to be careful to separate the soul
from the meat. The holy from the mundane. It wants us to understand that other
than the quest for the prime rib, which we wish to consume, there are more
noble pursuits that should consume us. Therefore, the Torah tells us to clearly
delineate the difference and tells us that although we may indulge in worldly pleasure we should be careful not
to allow the soul to become devoured with the meat. Thus, it clearly commands,
“Do not eat the nefesh with the meat.” A good meal is totally permissible. It
even lifts the spirit. However, materialistic indulgences as such should surely never become our obsession or
sole desire. For then, it will become part of
our nefesh. It will become tantamount to our soul desire.
Good Shabbos
Dedicated in memory of R’ Yitzchak ben R’ Meir Thurm
by Dr. and Mrs. Myron Thurm and family.
Copyright © 2002 by Rabbi M. Kamenetzky and Project Genesis, Inc.
If you enjoy the
weekly Drasha, now you can receive the best of Drasha in book form! Purchase Parsha
Parables at
a very special price!
The author is the Dean of the Yeshiva of South
Shore.
Drasha is
the e-mail edition of FaxHomily, a weekly torah facsimile on the weekly portion
which is sponsored by The Henry and Myrtle Hirsch Foundation
The Tree of Knowledge
Posted on July
29, 2013 (5773) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: Legacy |
Level: Beginner
Since the dawn of human history, mankind has faced, in one
guise or another, the same temptations that confronted the very first man and
woman, Adam and Chava. After giving us
the details of their creation, the Torah describes the challenge they faced in
the blissful spiritual existence Hashem provided for them in the Garden of
Eden. They were expressly prohibited to eat from the eitz hadaas, the tree of
knowledge, yet its delightful fruit proved irresistible to Eve. The Torah
describes the nature of the temptation. “It was desirable to be eaten and
beautiful to behold”! The challenge Adam and Chava faced echoes and re-echoes
as each and every generation confronts its unique ‘eitz hadaas’ in an
ever-changing and often bewildering
variation of guises.
Our generation has its own enticing ‘tree of knowledge’ that
glistens alluringly, urging us to sample its illicit fruits. Its appeal has
tragically proven irresistible to so many of our youth. Can they be blamed for
surrendering to the tantalizing attraction? Religious rules seem so onerous,
rigid and inhibiting to a generation that has been nurtured with an inherent
sense of personal entitlement. Don’t we deserve it, and don’t we deserve it
now? Freedom of expression and freedom of choice have been elevated to the
highest status in society’s scale of values.
How then
are we to protect both ourselves and our children from the shimmering ‘tree of
knowledge’ whose fruits appear ‘so good to eat and so delightful to the eye’?
In the first verse of this week’s Torah portion, Moshe
Rabbeinu in his parting message to the
Jewish people provides them with an eternal answer. “Behold! I have placed
before you today the blessing and the curse. The blessing is that you shall
listen to the words of Hashem your G-d,
and the curse is when you do not hearken to His voice”.
Living in our
Creator’s embrace and following His dictates is defined as a life of blessing.
Living outside its pale is defined as a life of curse. Herein Moshe Rabbeinu
frames the arena of life and articulates
the challenge that we mortals in every age and in every society are forced to
grapple with.
But
how can we imbibe this important message when all our senses and feelings
experience and see just the opposite?
Perhaps we can explain this with a verse in last week’s Torah
portion. (Chapter 10 verse 12): “And now, Israel, what does Hashem your G-d ask
of you? Only to see/fear Him, to walk in all His ways, to love Him and to serve
Him with all your heart and all your soul”. The Talmud questions the word
“only”; is this long list such a simple request? Isn’t it
|
|
The Meat of the Matter
Posted on August
13, 2020 (5780) By Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky | Series: Drasha |
Level: Beginner
In this week’s portion, the Torah allows us to partake in our
material desires, but only according to Torah proscriptions. The Torah clearly
allows the consumption of meat, albeit with a few caveats. The Torah states “If
the place that Hashem, your God, will choose to
place His Name will be far from you, you may slaughter from your cattle
and your flocks that Hashem has given
you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat in your cities according to your
heart’s entire desire. Even as the deer and the ayal are eaten, so may you eat
it, the contaminated one and the pure one may eat it together: Only be strong
not to eat the blood — for the blood, it is the nefesh — and you shall not eat
the nefesh with the meat” (Deuteronomy 12:21-23).
Nefesh has various meanings, simply stated it is the life
force of the animal — perhaps what we would call “the soul of the matter.”
Clearly, the consumption of blood is a despicable act in the Torah view (a fact
conveniently overlooked by the centuries of libelers who had us drinking,
mixing, baking and cooking with it.) In addition, the process of extricating
all blood from the animal is clearly and
intricately defined through the Talmud and Shulchan Aruch. However, delineating
the prohibition as one of combining the consumption of the nefesh with the meat surely goes beyond the prohibition of eating or drinking blood.
Surely there is a deeper connotation to the prohibition of
the strange concoction of nefesh and meat.
Rav Yehuda Laib Chasman was considered to be one of
the luminaries of the mussar movement. Before he immersed himself completely in
the world of Torah and mussar, he had a business that sold flour to bakers. He
would devote a portion of his day to his
business and the remaining time he would spend at the famed Talmud Torah of
Kelm under the tutelage of Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, the illustrious Alter of
Kelm. One day on the way into the Yeshiva, Rav Ziv called Reb Yehuda Laib over
to the side and pointed to the white powder that covered the sleeve of his
jacket. Rabbi Chasman took this observation to be a clear moralistic evaluation.
“Rabbi Ziv is
pointing out that the flour is becoming part of me. If it is already all over
my garments, and it is still with me when I leave my store, then it has become
too much a part of me.”
With that, he
made a personal decision that changed his life completely. He returned home,
and figured out together with his wife that the amount of their current assets
would more than cover any outstanding debts and allow them to sustain
themselves. They sold the business, and
Rabbi Chasman enrolled full-time at the Volozhiner Yeshiva, eventually emerging
the great luminary whom we all revere.
Some of us like meat: whether it is the actual beef or the
proverbial materialistic affairs in which we indulge. And that’s OK to a point.
After all, we are only human.
But the Torah tells us to be careful to separate the soul
from the meat. The holy from the mundane. It wants us to understand that other
than the quest for the prime rib, which we wish to consume, there are more
noble pursuits that should consume us. Therefore, the Torah tells us to clearly
delineate the difference and tells us that although we may indulge in worldly pleasure we should be careful not
to allow the soul to become devoured with the meat. Thus, it clearly commands,
“Do not eat the nefesh with the meat.” A good meal is totally permissible. It
even lifts the spirit. However, materialistic indulgences as such should surely never become our obsession or
sole desire. For then, it will become part of
our nefesh. It will become tantamount to our soul desire.
Good Shabbos
Dedicated in memory of R’ Yitzchak ben R’ Meir Thurm
by Dr. and Mrs. Myron Thurm and family.
|
Copyright © 2002 by Rabbi M. Kamenetzky and Project Genesis, Inc.
If you enjoy the
weekly Drasha, now you can receive the best of Drasha in book form! Purchase Parsha
Parables at
a very special price!
The author is the Dean of the Yeshiva of South
Shore.
Drasha is
the e-mail edition of FaxHomily, a weekly torah facsimile on the weekly portion
which is sponsored by The Henry and Myrtle Hirsch Foundation
|
The Tree of Knowledge
Posted on July
29, 2013 (5773) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: Legacy |
Level: Beginner
Since the dawn of human history, mankind has faced, in one
guise or another, the same temptations that confronted the very first man and
woman, Adam and Chava. After giving us
the details of their creation, the Torah describes the challenge they faced in
the blissful spiritual existence Hashem provided for them in the Garden of
Eden. They were expressly prohibited to eat from the eitz hadaas, the tree of
knowledge, yet its delightful fruit proved irresistible to Eve. The Torah
describes the nature of the temptation. “It was desirable to be eaten and
beautiful to behold”! The challenge Adam and Chava faced echoes and re-echoes
as each and every generation confronts its unique ‘eitz hadaas’ in an
ever-changing and often bewildering
variation of guises.
Our generation has its own enticing ‘tree of knowledge’ that
glistens alluringly, urging us to sample its illicit fruits. Its appeal has
tragically proven irresistible to so many of our youth. Can they be blamed for
surrendering to the tantalizing attraction? Religious rules seem so onerous,
rigid and inhibiting to a generation that has been nurtured with an inherent
sense of personal entitlement. Don’t we deserve it, and don’t we deserve it
now? Freedom of expression and freedom of choice have been elevated to the
highest status in society’s scale of values.
How then
are we to protect both ourselves and our children from the shimmering ‘tree of
knowledge’ whose fruits appear ‘so good to eat and so delightful to the eye’?
In the first verse of this week’s Torah portion, Moshe
Rabbeinu in his parting message to the
Jewish people provides them with an eternal answer. “Behold! I have placed
before you today the blessing and the curse. The blessing is that you shall
listen to the words of Hashem your G-d,
and the curse is when you do not hearken to His voice”.
Living in our
Creator’s embrace and following His dictates is defined as a life of blessing.
Living outside its pale is defined as a life of curse. Herein Moshe Rabbeinu
frames the arena of life and articulates
the challenge that we mortals in every age and in every society are forced to
grapple with.
But
how can we imbibe this important message when all our senses and feelings
experience and see just the opposite?
Perhaps we can explain this with a verse in last week’s Torah
portion. (Chapter 10 verse 12): “And now, Israel, what does Hashem your G-d ask
of you? Only to see/fear Him, to walk in all His ways, to love Him and to serve
Him with all your heart and all your soul”. The Talmud questions the word
“only”; is this long list such a simple request? Isn’t it
disingenuous to request from us the relatively simple
assignment of seeing and thus fearing Hasher, immediately followed by a string
of complex and challenging spiritual demands?
A doting father and mother were tearfully watching their sick
son’s vitality drain from him as he lay in bed. His temperature continued to
soar. His burning fever robbed him of his appetite; he steadfastly refused the
delicious food they put before him as well as all medicine. All their
exhortations and pleas were futile. They begged a specialist to come to their
home to treat their beloved son. The specialist came and saw that the
child’s prognosis was very serious. He
extracted a strong medicine from his briefcase and told the child that he will
only ask him to swallow the medicine a single time. Hearing that this was only
a one- time request, the child acquiesced and reluctantly sipped a measure of
the life giving elixir. As the doctor walked towards the door, the child’s
mother burst out crying. “Dr.” she exclaimed, “he has only agreed to take it
this one time, what will we do tonight when you’re gone?”
“‘Don’t worry,” the doctor reassured her. “‘Now that he has
drunk from this medicine, his appetite will be restored. Once he begins
ingesting food, he will regain his appreciation for its taste. Before long you
can be assured that he will be willing to take the necessary medicine every day
until he is fully recovered”.
With this parable, the Dubna Maggid explains the meaning of
our verse about the Torah’s expectation: We are asked “only” to “see” and fear
G-d. If we only ‘see and fear’ our Creator
a single time, we will be naturally inclined towards continuing our
pathway towards spiritual growth. We will be primed and ready to see the blessing in living a spiritual
life.
Once we experience the sublime joy of ‘seeing’ Hashem and
having a heart-to-heart dialogue with Him; once we taste the pleasure of a true
Shabbat; once we absorb the self- fulfillment that overtakes every fiber of our
being as we extend ourselves to the less fortunate, we will encounter His
precious blessings. The allure of tree of knowledge’s artificial stimulants
will no longer exert their magnetic draw. At that point, the distinction
between the blessing and the curse will be abundantly clear.
This then, is perhaps what Moshe meant at the beginning of
our Torah portion. Re’eh, ‘see’ that I present you today with a blessing and a
curse. Only after we have seen and
experienced the light and delight of a spiritual life pathway will we be
able to make a crystal clear
distinction in our life choice. How true the maxim that “a little light
banishes a great deal of darkness.” By infusing our homes with a joyous life in
the presence of Hasher, we will ensure that we will always delight in the kosher fruits of our Garden of Eden.
Wishing you
a wonderful Shabbos, Rabbi Naftali Reich
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