Parshat Mishpatim 5779-An ‘amazing’ Ibn Ezra

וַיָּבֹ֥א מֹשֶׁ֛ה בְּת֥וֹךְ הֶעָנָ֖ן וַיַּ֣עַל אֶל־הָהָ֑ר וַיְהִ֤י מֹשֶׁה֙ בָּהָ֔ר אַרְבָּעִ֣ים י֔וֹם וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים לָֽיְלָה (פ)

Moses went inside the cloud and ascended the mountain; and Moses remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Ibn Ezra comments:

ויהי משה בהר. שלא ירד וכתוב על אלה הארבעים יום לחם לא אכלתי ומים לא שתיתי. וזה פלא גדול לא נהיה כמוהו לפניו

“ Moshe was up on the mountain for 40 days and nights……….and this was a great ‘wonder’, which had not happened in any way prior to this event..”

This comment of the Ibn Ezra creates much speculation. Surely there were even more amazing miracles than this that had already taken place (Yam Suf, 10 plagues etc.) so what does he find so incredible with Moshe being on the mountain, that it outweighs all the other miracles in sefer Shemot?

Rabbi Bernstein zal quotes the answer he was given to this question by R.Chaim Kreiswirth zal, of Antwerp Belguim and later of Jerusalem. Rav Kreiswirth points out that when Moshe was told it was his time to die, he pleaded to be allowed to remain alive for a few moments longer, even in a non-human form, so as to be able to benefit from this world and possibly to do more Mitzvot, which will become impossible to do in the next world. Every second of life to Moshe was so precious and not to be wasted.

On the basis of this approach, we now understand the wondrous action of Moshe as referred to by the Ibn Ezra. Moshe went up to heaven during the 40 days and nights, to receive the Torah. This dedication was so incredible as Moshe had to give up 40 days of his life in this world to receive the Torah and we know how precious each second of life was to him. This is an amazing sacrifice which Moshe made on behalf of the Jewish people and on this , the Ibn Ezra comments, that this was a  ‘wondrous ’ act, to which nothing compares from before. For Moshe to give up so much time in this world was an incredible thing and Ibn Ezra emphasizes this point. The obvious message is about the importance of time and how precious each second should be to us.

A famous story is related about the Chafetz Chaim, R’Yisroel Meir Kagan (Poland ,d.1933) who was a great ‘masmid’(learning at every given moment) in his youth. Around his 18th birthday he became very ill and the doctors told him not to study for a long period of time to recover his health. He realized that the learning schedule he had was too intense and he took the doctor’s advice and his health improved. When recalling this period of his life Rabbi Kagan would say that this helped him to understand the real definition of a ‘masmid’.It is not someone who learns all the time without limits, but it is someone who learns at the ‘right’ time and he also rests at the ‘right’ time and exercises also and does all his other requirements at the correct time. The use of structured time is his true definition of a masmid and fits perfectly with Rabbi Kreiswirth’s interpretation of the Ibn Ezra. Time is a gift to be used wisely and if all actions which are needed to be done in the day, as well as learn, are done in good time, then this is not wasting time but using it to its maximum potential, as confirmed by the Chafetz Chaim’s definition of the ‘masmid’.

This is a good thought to mention in the week of R’Yisrael Salanter’s yahrzeit which always falls in the week of parshat Mishpatim. He was also a man who understood the importance of time and especially in interpersonal relationships, where wasting another person’s time is considered like an act of stealing.

I am also remembering at this time my rebbe and teacher, Dayan Gershon Lopian zal, whose yahrzeit is on 29th Shevat. He came from a long Lithuanian tradition of Gedolei Yisrael,who were famous for embodying all the ideals of 'bein adam lechavero' and his humor and clear piskei halacha are sorely missed. May his memory be for a blessing.