[Par-reg] For Parshat Kedoshim

Thu May 3 21:05:22 EDT 2012

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     THE TANACH STUDY CENTER
[http://www.tanach.org]

          In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag

     Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem
Leibtag

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              PARSHAT KEDOSHIM  -shiur #1

     PARSHAT KEDOSHIM & THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

     It's not very difficult to find the Ten
Commandments

'hiding' in Parshat Kedoshim, at least most
of them.  [See

Ramban, Ibn Ezra, and Chizkuni on 19:2.]

     In the following shiur, we study the
nature of this

parallel (and its 'missing links') in an
attempt to uncover

its deeper meaning.

INTRODUCTION

     In the first four psukim of Parshat
Kedoshim, the

parallels to some of the 'dibrot' [the Ten
Commandments] are

rather obvious [e.g. honoring one's parents,
keeping Shabbat,

idol worship etc.].  However, as the Parsha
continues, the

parallels become less obvious, and as we will
see, some of the

parallels to the dibrot become rather
'stretched' and others

appear to be missing!

  Nonetheless, it would be logical to assume
that there must

be a deeper reason for these parallels, and
the manner of

their presentation.

  We begin our shiur by taking note of an
interesting internal

pattern within Parshat Kedoshim, that may
help us 'crack the

code'.

THE ANI HASHEM DELIMITERS

     As you review the first 18 psukim of
Parshat Kedoshim,

note how the 'refrain' ANI HASHEM is repeated
EIGHT TIMES (at

the end of just about every other pasuk).
Note as well how

this refrain appears in two different forms:

  ANI HASHEM ELOKEICHEM - the first four (see
19:1-10);

  ANI HASHEM - the next four times (see
19:11-18).

     This pattern suggests that these mitzvot
divide into TWO

groups.  The distinction between them is also
rather obvious:

  .    The ANI HASHEM ELOKEICHEM group
contains primarily

     mitzvot 'bein adam la-Makom' (between
man & God) and hence is

     parallel to the first five DIBROT;

.    The ANI HASHEM group contains primarily
mitzvot which are

'bein adam le-chaveiro' (between man and his
fellow man), and

hence is parallel to the last five DIBROT.

     To verify this, note how the ANI HASHEM
ELOKEICHEM group

contains obvious parallels to four of the
five first DIBROT:

.     I.   ANOCHI (see 19:2);

.     II.  LO YIHIYEH (see 19:4);

.     III. LO TISA - [no apparent parallel]

.     IV.  SHABBAT (see 19:3); &

.     V.   KIBBUD AV (see 19:3).

     Note, however, that we have two
problems.  First of all,

we did not find any obvious parallel for the
third

Commandment.  But we also did not find any
parallel for the

laws discussed in 19:5-10 [i.e. the laws of
'pigul' and 'pe'a'

etc.].  Before we return to this question,
let's take a look

at the second group:

     In the ANI HASHEM group (see
19:12,14,16,18) we find a

variety of mitzvot bein adam le-chaveiro, the
most obvious

parallels to the last five DIBROT being:

.    VI.   LO TIRTZACH - 'lo ta'amod al dam
re'echa' (19:15)

.    VII.  LO TIN'AF - the laws of 'shifcha
charufa'(19:20-22)

.    VIII. LO TIGNOV - 'lo tignovu...' (see
19:11)

.    IX.   LO TA'ANEH be-re'acha ED SHAKER -
'lo tishav'u bi-

                      shmi la-SHAKER..." (see
19:12).

.    X.  LO TACHMOD - 'lo ta'ashok et re'acha
...' (19:18).

     Even though some of these parallels are
a bit stronger

than others, all of the mitzvot in this
section can definitely

be categorized according to one of the last
five DIBROT.

     Let's return now to our question, i.e.
we are missing a

parallel for the third DIBBUR - LO TISA ET
SHEM HASHEM

ELOKEICHA LA-SHAV - in the ANI HASHEM
ELOKEICHEM group.

     Bothered by this question, Chizkuni
(based on Vayikra

Rabba 24:5) suggests that LO TISA is parallel
to 'lo tishav'u

bi-shmi la-shaker' (see 19:12).  However,
that parallel would

'violate' the pattern that we discerned
above, for the

parallel should be found within the ANI
HASHEM ELOKEICHEM

group, i.e. in the first ten psukim.

     Furthermore, based on the context of
19:12 - Lo tishav'u

bi-shmi la-SHAKER - and noting the use of the
word 'shaker' -

its parallel to 'lo taaneh be-re'acha ed
SHAKER' (Commandment

#9) appears to be much more convincing.
[This also keeps it

in the ANI HASHEM group.]

THE MISSING 'LINK'

     Let's return to the pattern set by the
phrase "ANI HASHEM

ELOKEICHEM".  Using the 'process of
elimination', the parallel

to the third Commandment [LO TISA] must be
located somewhere

within the mitzvot discussed between 19:5 and
19:10.  However,

these psukim simply discuss primarily the
laws of 'pigul', a

law that contains no obvious parallel to 'not
stating God's

Name in vain'.

     On the other hand, the pattern that we
have seen thus far

'begs' us to look for a connection; so let's
give it a try.

To do so, we must first explain the law of
pigul.

     The korban SHLAMIM is a voluntary
offering that can be

eaten by the owner; however, its meat must be
consumed on that

same day or the next (see Vayikra 7:16-18).
Parshat Kedoshim

presents this law once again (see 19:5-8),
adding the

information that the punishment for eating
the meat outside of

this time frame is 'karet' - being 'cut-off'
from the people

of Israel (see 19:8!) - one of the most
stringent of Biblical

punishments.

     Interestingly, Chazal [our Sages]
interpret this

prohibition in an even more stringent manner.
They claim that

the primary prohibition is not necessarily
eating the korban

on the third day, but rather simply THINKING
about eating the

KORBAN outside of its time frame!  In other
words, if at the

time of offering this sacrifice, one merely
thinks about

eating its meat outside of its time frame -
the offering is

rendered PIGUL - and he who does so will be
punished with

KARET!  [Even if the meat is never eaten at
the wrong time.]

     This strange law raises two questions.
First of all, why

would someone think of doing so in the first
place?  Secondly,

let's say he does, why is the punishment for
simply 'thinking

about it' so severe?  And finally, what is so
terrible if one

eats from this korban for an extra day?  Is
it really better

that he should let the meat 'go to waste'?

'THINKING' IS WORSE THAN EATING!

     To understand the logic behind the law
of PIGUL, we must

consider that is quite impossible for a
single person to

consume the meat of an entire animal in a day
or two.

Therefore, practically speaking, the Torah's
prohibition

against eating the meat of a shlamim outside
its time frame

forces the individual to SHARE the meat of
this korban with

others!

  [Recall as well that the korban must also
be consumed

  within the walls of Yerushalayim.
Therefore, the option of

  bringing the korban 'home' to share with
his family is also

  precluded.]

     Let's say that are assumption is correct
that the owner

of the KORBAN has no choice other than to
share his korban

SHLAMIM with other visitors in Yerushalayim.
Consequently, we

now have a logical reason for one to think of
when he will eat

this KORBAN at the time of its offering.  The
very THOUGHT of

eating a korban outside its time frame
implies that the owner

does not want to SHARE his korban with
others.  In other

words, this person offering the korban is
being selfish, for

he wants to save the meat for himself.

     Clearly, being selfish is a bad trait.
But is it so evil

that it deserves the punishment of KARET - to
be totally cut

off from the people of Israel?

A NECESSARY BALANCE

     This law of PIGUL may contain an
extremely important

'mussar' (moral message) concerning the
necessary balance

between our relationship with God and our
fellow man.

     Recall that the Korban SHLAMIM is a
voluntary offering

where one wishes to express his closeness to
God, to re-affirm

his commitment to the covenant of HAR SINAI
(see TSC shiur on

Parshat Vayikra).  If at the height of one's
spiritual

experience, as he stands in front of God
offering his KORBAN

SHLAMIM, a selfish thought can still enter
his mind - i.e. he

does not want to share his korban with others
- God becomes

'disgusted' with this person, and the korban
becomes PIGUL.  A

person who has yet to inculcate the basic
trait of sharing,

has no right to stand in front of the
MIZBEIACH and offer a

voluntary korban to God!

     To support this understanding, note how
the next pasuk in

Parshat Kedoshim contains a law that stems
from a similar

reason.  The obligation of the farmer to
leave over a part of

his field for the poor ['pe'a', 'shichecha',
and 'leket' / see

19:9-10] teaches the owner not to be so
selfish as to keep all

of its produce for himself.  Here we find yet
another mitzva

that requires the sharing of prosperity, and
thus supports our

interpretation of the underlying reason for
the law of pigul.

PIGUL & LO TISA

     If 'sharing' is indeed the underlying
reason for PIGUL

and PE'A, then the parallel between Parshat
Kedoshim and the

Ten Commandments, as discussed above, would
suggest that these

laws should be in some manner related to the
third Commandment

of LO TISA - not to proclaim God's Name in
vain.  To uncover

that connection, we must return to our study
of the meaning of

God's Name in Sefer Breishit, and its
connection to the laws

of the MIZBEIACH and hence to korbanot in
general.

SHEM HASHEM & THE MIZBEIACH

     Recall from Parshat Lech Lecha how
Avraham Avinu,

immediately upon his arrival in Eretz Canaan,
built a

MIZBEIACH and 'calls out in God's Name' in
BET EL [lit. the

HOUSE of God] (see Breishit 12:8 & 13:4).  As
we explained in

our shiur on this topic, Avraham's MIZBEIACH
served as a

vehicle enabling him to 'call out in God's
Name', or as Ramban

on 12:8 explained, teaching mankind
concerning their need to

recognize God and His Creation.

     Later at Har Sinai we find a similar
connection between

the mizbeiach and 'shem Hashem' [God's Name].
Immediately

upon the completion of the Ten Commandments,
God commands Bnei

Yisrael:

   "An earthen MIZBEIACH you shall make for
Me... where ever I

   CALL OUT MY NAME I will come and bless
you" (Shmot 20:21).

  [Note that the psukim in Shmot 20:19-23 can
also be

  understood as parallel to the first three
DIBROT, while the

  remaining DIBROT are parallel to the
mitzvot which continue

  in Parshat Mishpatim (very similar to what
happens in

  Parshat Kedoshim).  According to that
parallel, the law of

  MIZBEIACH  is clearly the parallel to LO
TISA!  (Read 20:22-

  23 carefully to verify this.)]

     As the above examples show, the concept
of 'shem Hashem'

relates directly to the MIZBEIACH.  In fact,
the bet ha-

mikdash itself is consistently referred to in
Sefer Devarim as

'ha-Makom asher yivchar Hashem leshaken SHMO
sham' - the place

that God will choose to allow His Name to
dwell (see for

example Devarim 12:5-12, 16:1-17, and
26:1-2).

  As the very purpose of the bet ha-mikdash
and the mizbeiach

is to properly publicize the Name of God, any
law relating to

the proper offering of a sacrifice could be
considered as

parallel to LO TISA, especially the laws of
pigul.

  If so, then our parallel between the DIBROT
and opening

psukim Parshat Kedoshim is complete, as pigul
becomes the

parallel for Lo Tisa in the 'Ani Hashem
Elokeichem' section!

     This parallel also follows the
differentiation between

the mitzvot bein adam la-Makom (first five)
and the mitzvot

bein adam le-chaveiro (last five).  It should
not surprise us

now to find that the Torah's presentation of
the of law of

PIGUL includes the phrase -'et kodesh HASHEM
chillel' - for he

has desecrated that what is holy to God (see
19:8).

     As the primary concept of the Third
Commandment is not to

desecrate God's Name, then its parallel could
include any law

that may cause God's Name (or reputation) to
become tainted.

An individual who comes to the bet ha-mikdash
to express his

special closeness to God - by offering a
korban shlamim, yet

at the same time thinks selfishly about
himself, causes God's

Name to be desecrated.

SHNEI LUCHOT HA-BRIT

     One could suggest that this may be the
underlying message

of the two sections of the Ten Commandments,
[i.e the two

LUCHOT of BRIT SINAI].  The mitzvot bein adam
la-Makom' of the

first five DIBROT come 'part and parcel' with
the mitzvot bein

adam le-chaveiro of the last five DIBROT.

  In fact, the law of pigul forms a
meaningful transition

between these two sections, for it is a law
relating to both

man & God, and his fellow man.  This
necessary blend between

one's worship of God and his respect and care
for his fellow

man, so typical of the other laws of Parshat
Kedoshim, should

be the most prominent character of the Jewish
nation.

     When Am Yisrael act in this manner, they
become a true AM

KADOSH, a holy nation that truly testifies
that God is KADOSH

and His Name is KADOSH.  By doing so, they
facilitate bringing

'shem Hashem' God's Name (and hence His
reputation) to

mankind.

                              shabbat shalom,

                              menachem

FOR FURTHER IYUN

A.  Can you suggest a reason why ANI HASHEM
ELOKEICHEM relates

to the mitzvot bein adam la-Makom while ANI
HASHEM relates to

the mitzvot bein adam le-chaveiro (at least
in the first 18

psukim)?  [Hint: Which mitzvot are more
universal, and which

are more special for Am Yisrael?]

B.  In Parshat Kedoshim, we find a pattern
where there appears

to be no or very little connection from one
mitzva to the

next.  Do you think that this is intentional?

     If so, based on the above shiur, what is
its

significance?

     See Ibn Ezra in 19:3-18.  Do you agree
with all of his

associations concerning the flow of the
parsha?

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