Friday- Shabbat, October 14 - 15
Torah Reading: Ha'azinu (Deuteronomy 32:1 - 52)
Haftorah: Shmuel II 22:1 - 51
Shabbat Candle Lighting: 5:58 PM
Shabbat Ends: 6:56 PM
| Halachic Times |
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Earliest Tefillin: 6:24 AM (latest of the week)
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HA’AZINU
THREE GENERATIONS-THREE DIMENSIONS
Eternal Guarantee
“Ask your father and he will relate it to you, and your elders and they will tell you. When the Supreme One gave the nations their inheritance…”
Ba’al Haturim commented on the juxtaposition of the verse about asking your father and elders with the verse that speaks of an inheritance.
In his inimitable style, the Ba’al Haturim (in a commentary that focuses on Torah hints) says that this alludes to the statement in the Talmud (Bava Metzia 85a):
“If someone is a Torah scholar and his son is a Torah scholar and his son’s son is a Torah scholar the Torah will not cease from his offspring forever, as it says, ‘And as for Me, this is My covenant… shall not be withdrawn from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,’ said G‑d, ‘from this moment and forever.’”
This verse in our Parsha, Ba’al Haturim notes, also refers to three generations of Torah study, Your elders, your father and yourself. The very next verse speaks of an eternal inheritance, alluding to the idea that three consecutive generations of Torah study guarantee the continuity of Torah study in that family.
Contradiction?
This statement needs to be reconciled with a statement in Ethics of the Fathers (2:17): “Apply yourself to study Torah because it isnot yours by inheritance.
Maharsha notes this apparent contradiction and resolves it by qualifying the Talmudic statement. The Talmud does not suggest that Torah will remain with that family forever without effort on their part to study Torah. Rather, the comparison to an inheritance is meant to suggest that with personal effort, the caliber of Torah will remain on the high level of the first three generations.
Three Generations: Three Aspects of Torah
Using homiletic license we may interpret the three generations metaphorically as a representation of three levels of Torah knowledge. The word for generation in Hebrew is dor¸ which can also be rendered “row,” which can also convey the meaning of a level.
We can now reinterpret the teaching of our Sages: When we possess three rows-levels of Torah knowledge we are guaranteed that the Torah will never depart from us.
What three levels can be meant?
Fasting to Forget
To understand these three rows/levels/aspects of Torah we must first consider the continuation of the Talmudic passage.
Immediately following Rabbi Yochanan’s statement, the Talmud relates how Rabbi Yosef fasted several series of 100 (in some versions: 40) fast days to achieve the promise of Torah remaining in his family. Once he succeeded in getting a promise covering three generations he said he no longer needed to continue to fast for the future beyond those three generations because the Torah had already given its promise that it would never depart.
Immediately after this, the Talmud relates how Rabbi Zeira also fasted 100 (or 40) days to forget the Babylonian Talmud when he decided to relocate to Israel and study the Jerusalem Talmud. He did not want the inferior style of logic of the Babylonian Sages to cloud his ability to comprehend the more abstract learning that characterized the Sages in Israel.
On the surface these two stories of rabbinic fasting have nothing in common other than the fact that they fasted 100 (or 40) days to achieve a certain goal.
However, in light of the fact that every word in the Talmud is precise in its meaning and placement, the juxtaposition of these two fasting incidents suggests that there is also a thematic connection between them.
The reason Rabbi Zeria fasted, as mentioned, was predicated on the notion that Torah comprises multiple levels.
All Given at Sinai
To understand this concept we must review a fundamental Jewish belief that all parts of Torah, which include all of Jewish knowledge based on the Torah, are equally Divine. Indeed, the Talmud states, “[Even] all the novel insights of a worthy student [which shed light on any other part of Torah] were given by G‑d at Mount Sinai.”
So while all areas of Torah knowledge are Divine, they nevertheless differ in the way they reflect the Divine. For example, when one studies criminal law the mind is engaged with criminal behavior. Now, while these teachings constitute G‑d’s wisdom and His will, and as Maimonides writes, “He and His wisdom are one,” the nature of the subject matter obscures its Divine character. We need to be reminded periodically that we are studying G‑d’s wisdom.
Let’s now contrast the study of criminal law with the study of Jewish mysticism, particularly Chassidic thought, which describes the relationship between G‑d, us, our soul, the Mitzvos and our mission in this world plus many allied topics. These teachings are unambiguously Divine. They not only have a Divine origin but their subject is unabashedly about the Divine.
To determine the nature of any work we must examine three aspects: Its author, its content and its methodology.
All parts of Torah share the same Divine Author but they do not necessarily express that origin equally nor do they share the same overt Divine content or methodology.
Difference between Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud
Within Jewish law—the primary subject matter of both Talmuds—there is a divergence of methodology, which reflects a difference in the way G‑d’s light is channeled through these Divine teachings.
As discussed in the preceding essay (Parsha Vayeilech), the Babylonian Talmud’s methodology is to “bombard” the student with questions. When a Sage answers the question he is met with a counter question, which may even continue for several pages. In addition, the Talmud is full of arguments and lively debates.
In the Talmud, G‑d’s will and wisdom can be clouded by all the questions and debates. The Divine character of the law is less obscured in the Jerusalem Talmud, where those elements of questions and debates are mostly absent.
Jewish Mysticism and Chassidus
Within the teachings of Torah, Mysticism, particularly Chassidus, is the most dramatic expression of the Divine because all three elements of the Divine are present:
Origin: Mysticism, like all matters of Torah, derives from G‑d and was given at Mount Sinai. However, the preeminence of this part of Torah is that it is quite obvious that this knowledge could not have originated in a human mind. How could a human being determine how many G‑dly attributes there are, or the nature of our soul, or the hierarchy of spiritual worlds that connect G‑d’s essence to our physical world, or the process of tzimtzum, where G‑d contracts Himself etc., etc. These teachings had to be revealed to the Kabbalists and masters by Divine revelation and passed down from one mystic to another.
Content: Unlike, most matters of Torah, these teachings are overtly about G‑d and spirituality.
Methodology: Owing to the spiritual nature of these mystical teachings, they are presented in a more abstract, ethereal or other-worldly approach. One who studies these subjects may feel transported to another intellectual/spiritual realm.
The Intermediary
Between every extreme there are intermediary levels. It may be suggested that the intermediary between the Babylonian Talmud (in which its Divine origin, content and methodology are greatly obscured), and the teachings of Chassidus (where one comes face to face with Divinity on all three counts) is the Jerusalem Talmud, where, at least, the approach is more abstract and hence less filtered and constrained in its Divine character.
Hence when Rabbi Zeira wanted to graduate from the Babylonian style to the Jerusalem style he had to undergo a transformation to be receptive to a higher, more overt, expression of the Divine within Torah.
Fasting to Achieve Higher Levels of Torah
We can now understand why Rabbi Yosef fasted an equal number of fasts as Rabbi Zeira did to warrant the promise of three generations of Torah scholars.
In light of our novel translation of “generation” as “row, level or aspect of Torah,” we can now understand the meaning of three aspects of Torah and why it would take great effort and sacrifice to achieve those three levels.
These three levels, as mentioned, are the awareness of the Divine origin of Torah, its Divine content and a more abstract approach.
It may be suggested that Rabbi Yosef was endeavoring to reach the most sublime level of Torah knowledge, which is contained in its inner mystical dimension. Upon reaching the top he knew that Torah would not depart from him because the level of Torah he had accessed could not degenerate or be compromised.
When we study the inner dimension of Torah we master all three “generations” (read: aspects) of Torah. This mastery opens a window for us to see its most unadulterated, unfiltered and infinite aspect, reflective of the most unadulterated, unfiltered and infinite aspect of G‑d. In this area of study, no cover or screen dims the radiance of the Torah as can be true of other parts of Torah which filter these three components to one degree or another.
Blessing on the Torah
This understanding of the three aspects of Torah is reflected in the blessing we must recite before learning Torah, the source of which is found in this week’s parsha.
First, in these blessings we make reference to the Divine origin of the Torah. In fact, we mention that the giving of the Torah to us from G‑d is a continuous process. We therefore use the expression “Who gives us the Torah” and not “who gave us the Torah.”
Second, we speak of learning Torah as the equivalent of “knowing G‑d’s name.” This reflects the Divine content of Torah. As the Zohar says, G‑d’s name, His imprimatur is on every page and in every word of Torah.
Third, these blessings also speak of the “sweetness” of Torah. This reflects Torah methodology which makes it sweet and delightful to study. One can struggle to navigate Torah’s winding paths. We therefore ask G‑d to provide us with a sweet methodology and approach to learning.
To be sure, all parts of Torah possess these three components, but as stated they are most pronounced in the Chassidic teachings, which help to illuminate all the other parts of Torah so that they too should reflect all three aspects of the Divine.
Three Generations of Moshiach
It may also be suggested that these three generations are hinted at in an enigmatic statement of the Talmud (Sanhedrin 99a) that there are three generations associated with Moshiach.
One way of explaining that statement is that Moshiach will reveal the deepest aspects of Torah, the sampling of which we enjoy today when we study the inner dimension of Torah, specifically the teachings of Chassidus.
Moshiach is not only a leader who will usher in an age of peace and rebuild the Bais Hamikdash (although Dayenu!). Moshiach is also a master teacher through whom these three aspects of Torah will reach their zenith.
Moshiach’s teaching will illuminate the Torah’s origin so that when we study it we will feel the continuous flow of Torah from G‑d to us in its every word.
Moshiach will reveal the most esoteric and sublime G‑dly knowledge.
Moshiach will transform us with the unprecedented sweetness and sheer heavenly delight in the Torah that he will teach us.
Moshiach Matters:
Today, as we stand at the threshold of the ultimate redemption, it is once again the woman whose song is the most poignant, whose tambourine is the most hopeful, whose dance is the most joyous. Today, as then, the redemption will be realized "in the merit of righteous women." (Talmud, Sotah 11b) Today, as then, the woman's yearning for Moshiach - a yearning which runs deeper than that of the man, and inspires and uplifts it-forms the dominant strain in the melody of redemption.
