Prophets for a Day

Hashem tells Moshe Rabenu that He wants the Jewish people to become a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Shmot 19:6).  The Jewish people respond: "everything that Hashem has spoken we shall do" (ibid. 8), "'vayashev Moshe' - and Moshe brought back - the words of the people to Hashem".  Shortly thereafter Hashem tells Moshe "Behold! I come to you in the thickness of the cloud, so that the people will hear as I speak to you, and they will also believe in you forever" (Shmot 19:9).  The Torah then writes "'vayaged Moshe' - and Moshe related - the words of the people of Hashem" (ibid.).   The change in verbs signifies a change in the people's response.  Rashi elaborates on the meaning of the second verb vayaged: "I heard from them a response to this matter - that they want to hear directly from You, for one who hears from the mouth of the messenger cannot be compared to one who hears from the mouth of the King Himself.  They said: 'it is our wish to see our King'".  In this instance they did not simply respond "everything that Hashem has spoken we shall do", as they did before, but there was a point of contention here - they were not satisfied with Hashem speaking only to Moshe Rabenu.

Hashem heeds their request and instructs Moshe Rabenu: "go to the people and make them ready today and tomorrow" (ibid. 10) - before Hashem speaks to them they must undergo the required preparation.  On the third day, Hashem speaks directly to the people however they became frightened and request of Moshe Rabenu: "You speak to us and we shall hear, let Hashem not speak to us lest we die" (Shmot 20:16).

The people had attained a very high level of prophecy but they were afraid to remain on that level.  Although the degree of sanctity did not last, it was worthwhile for the nation to have had it even if only for a short time.  The Gemara relates that when R' Elazar ben Azariah was offered the position of nasi "He said to them: 'I will go and consult with the members of my household.  He went and consulted with his wife, she said to him: 'perhaps they will eventually remove you from the post. He said to her: 'let a person use a precious glass cup one day and the next day let it break'" (Brachot 27b). According to R' Elazar ben Azariah it was worthwhile to accept the position even if it did not end up being long-lasting. By the same token, it was worthwhile for the people to attain that level of prophecy even if for just one day.

Attaining the Emunah that Ein Od Milvado

We sing at our Pesach Seder "ilu kervanu lifnei Har Sinai velo natan lanu et haTorah, dayenu" "Had He brought us to Har Sinai and not given us the Torah it would have sufficed".  What is so special about Har Sinai if not for being the place where we received the Torah?  In fact two things happened at Har Sinai. Firstly, we received the Torah, as we mentioned; secondly, it was there that "ata hareita ladaat ki Hashem Hu HaElokim ein od milvado" "You have been shown in order to know that Hashem, He is the G-d! There is none beside Him!" (Devarim 4:35).  Hashem opened up all the heavens, so to speak, to show us that among all the angels, in all the spheres, among all the heavenly bodies "ein od milvado" "there is none beside Him", only Hashem (see Rashi there).  This belief had been passed down from our forefathers, yet in Egypt the Jewish nation almost lost this belief.  A short period of time after leaving Mitzrayim Hashem raised them to the level of prophets.  Even had we not received the Torah, attaining the realization that ein od milvado would have been sufficient reason to assemble at Har Sinai.  It was only after we were imbued with emunah, through visions which even the prophet Yechezkel did not merit, that we were given the Torah as our guide for how to live our lives in this world.

What purpose would there be to meticulously adhering to all the halachot of Shabbat if we did not believe that Hashem created the world in six days?  The entire purpose of Shabbat observance is to reinforce the realization that the world was created in six days.  There is no point in keeping Shabbat, kashrut, kibud av vaem, and all other mitzvoth if we believe that there are other forces in the world.

Preserving the Tzelem Elokim

What I am saying relates not only to mitzvoth bein adam laMakom - between man and G-d, but bein adam lachavero - between man and his fellow man - as well.  Why is it forbidden to kill another human being?  Because we believe in The Creator and man was created in His image.  The Torah tells us: "Whoever sheds the blood of man by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of G-d He made man" (Bereishit 9:6). Which man "created in G-d's image" is the pasuk referring to?  There are three ways of understanding this: The simple understanding of the verse is that the Torah is referring to the murder victim, for like any other man, he was created in the image of G-d.  By his action, the murderer has killed an image of Hashem, and has thus detracted from Hashem's image. Destroying a likeness of a human king is viewed as a rebellion against the king's sovereignty and is punishable with death.  By the same token the murder of a human being is the destruction of the likeness of The King, so to speak, and is a rebellion against the Kingdom of Heaven punishable with death.

My father z"l suggested that the "man" referred to in the pasuk is not the victim but the judge.  From where does a human being have the authority to judge his fellow man in such a harsh manner?  Because "in the image of G-d, He made man" - man was created in the image of G-d and was thus given G-d's ability to judge (the Torah uses the expression "tzelem Elokim", Elokim connotes the attribute of justice).

With all due respect to my father z"l, perhaps we can offer an additional interpretation to the pasuk.  "For in the image of G-d, He made man" refers to the murderer himself.  When man murders, he destroys his own G-dly image and it is for this that he is punished.  In what way does a murderer destroy his G-dly image?  The Tomer Devora tells us that man resembles Hashem in body as well as in action.  One who is only similar in body has ridiculed this image.  Man's task in this world, is to "shape" himself as closely as possible to His Creator.  In other words, we are required to emulate the A-mighty by our actions as much as possible: "'this is my G-d and I will beautify Him' (Shmot 15:2), be like Him, just as G-d is gracious and compassionate, you also should be gracious and compassionate" (Shabbat 133b).  The murderer did the opposite of this, he totally destroyed his G-dly image and it is for this that he is punished.

Sanctity of Unity Between Man and Wife

This idea of preserving the image of Hashem has other applications as well.  The unity between man and wife must remain sanctified because it parallels the unity between Hashem and Knesset Yisrael.  For this reason adultery is counted among the cardinal sins that a person must die rather than commit.  In fact, if there is even a question regarding the faithfulness of the union, this is verified by a special miracle: psukim containing the Shem HaMeforash - Hashem's holy Name - are written on a megilla.  This is then dipped in water causing the Holy Name to be erased.  The sotah water is then drunk by the alleged adulteress.  If she has indeed been unfaithful - her belly will swell up.  Many miracles were performed over the generations by Moshe Rabenu and others, but drinking the sotah waters is the only mitzvah where we are commanded to produce a miracle. This mitzvah was given for eternity and is in effect whenever the Beit HaMikdash is standing.  This comes to teach us how holy the unity of man and wife is.

Sanctity of Place

There is a category of mitzvoth which are dependent on the sanctity of the Land - the mitzvoth of trumah, maaser, and others, this year we are observing shmitta.  Here we affirm that although Hashem is King of the entire universe and "the whole world is filled with His Glory", there is a special sanctity to Eretz Yisrael and an even greater sanctity to the Beit HaMikdash.

Rashi explains briefly in Parshat Ekev, and the Ramban elaborates on this in Parshat Acharei Mot that Eretz Yisrael is the only place where one can truly serve Hashem.  Rashi writes: "'You shall place these words of mine upon your heart' (Devarim 11:18) - even after you will go into exile, be distinguished through performance of commandments; put on tefillin, make mezuzot so that they should not be new to you when you will return, similarly it says 'erect markers for yourself' (Yirmiyahu 31:20)" (Rashi Devarim 11:18).  True service of Hashem can only take place in Eretz Yisrael.  Certainly people living in the Diaspora are as obligated regarding Shabbat and other mitzvoth as are those of us in Eretz Yisrael, yet it is still only from the perspective of "erecting markers for yourself" in order that we should not forget how mitzvoth are observed in
Eretz Yisrael.  If a person does not observe Shabbat in chutz la'aretz he will not know how to keep the mitzvah in Eretz Yisrael, we see how difficult it is for new immigrants to learn how to properly observe mitzvoth associated with the Land such as trumah, maaser, and shviit. One of the reasons I know how to observe Shabbat properly is because my parents and grandparents observed it in chutz la'aretz. Eretz Yisrael, however, is the ultimate place for Torah and Yirat Shamayim.

One of the major differences between our Torah and avoda zara is this idea of places of sanctity.  We believe, as we just mentioned, that the Beit HaMikdash is the only place where korbanot may be offered.  Other nations bring their offerings wherever they wish: "on the high mountains and on the hills, and under every leafy tree" (Devarim 12:2).   Avoda zara implies hefkerut - lawlessness - they do not wish to be bound by any regulations.  Their offerings may be brought anywhere and do not require the services of a descendant of Aharon HaKohen.

The story is told about a Jewish chaplain who, during World War II, served on an American army base alongside a Catholic priest.  At the conclusion of the war they both attended a farewell gathering. The priest approached the Rabbi and commented how heartwarming it had been for him to meet someone who was able to truly serve G-d even though he was married. The Rabbi responded: "I too enjoyed working with you as you served G-d in your own way while I served G-d in His way".

Today's modern world attempts to show that all people are equal.  This is not the ideal - the Torah stresses unity not equality.  Every person has his own special share in avodat Hashem - the Kohanim, the Leviim, as well as each tribe has their own role.  We can compare this to construction of a machine.  If each component of the machine had the same function, it would not work.  The idea is for the different parts to work in unison. 

Striving for Unity not Equality

In the Shmone Esrei of Mincha on Shabbat we say "mi ke-amcha Yisrael goy echad ba'aretz" "who is like Your people of Israel, one nation on earth".  Are the French not a nation - what about the English and Japanese?  What makes the Jewish people different from the other nations?  The idea of "one nation" implies one unified nation.  In the other nations, different roles can be filled one day by one person and another day by someone else.  Today one person is king, tomorrow there may be a revolution and he will either be replaced by someone else, or a democracy will be formed.  Today one person is president of the United States, tomorrow it may be someone else.  In Am Yisrael, the kingdom will always remain within the family of David while the priesthood will always remain within the family of Aharon.  Each tribe has their role based on the blessings bestowed upon them by Yaakov Avinu and Moshe Rabenu.  We must work together to create the machine known as Klal Yisrael.  Sometimes equality can be the opposite of unity - our goal is to promote unity throughout the nation by realizing the importance of each person's role.   We are one nation - goy echad ba'aretz.

The Torah in its entirety, as well as Eretz Yisrael, are Am Yisrael's inheritance from Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.  We know that although Eretz Yisrael belongs to the entire nation, each tribe was apportioned their special share. For example: Yaakov blessed Zevulun: "Zevulun shall dwell by the seashores" (Bereishit 49:13), and they therefore dwell by the sea.  Naftali was blessed with "the sea and its south shore".  The same may be said regarding learning Torah - there are yeshivot following the Lithuanian path, Sephardic, and Yemenite.  Each group plays its role in serving Hashem and learning Torah. We must work together to learn and to fulfill the entire Torah to fulfill true unity among the Jewish nation.  And remember - it is unity we strive for, not equality.