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The Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection is the one-stop shop for the Torah inspiration shared by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe in one simple feed. The Jewish Inspiration Podcast, Parsha Review Podcast, Thinking Talmudist Podcast, Living Jewishly Podcast and Unboxing Judaism Podcast all in one convenient place. Enjoy!
You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of TORCH in Houston, Texas. This is the Parsha Review Podcast.
Good morning, everybody. Welcome back to the Parsha Review Podcast. This week's Parsha is Parshas Chukas, but this week's Parsha is also Parshas Balak. So it's a combined Parshas, two portions, Chukas and Balak. We're gonna focus a little bit on the beginning of Parshas Chukas of Haidaber HaShem El Moshe Ve'el Aharon Leymor, and the beginning of the portion, which is also the beginning of chapter 19 in the book of Numbers,
says as follows, Hashem spoke to Moshe and to Aaron saying, Zos Chukas HaTorah Sher Tziva HaShem Leymor. This is the decree of the Torah which Hashem has commanded, saying, Daber El Bnei Yisroel, speak to the children of Israel, Ve'yikru Eylecha Porah Aduma, and they shall take and they shall bring to you a Porah Aduma, a red heifer, a completely red cow, Tamima, Asher Ein B'mum, that has no blemish, Asher Lo Ola Oleh Ha'ol, that no burden, no yoke has ever been placed upon it. Ve'nasatem Osa
El Azar HaKohen, and you shall give it to El Azar HaKohen, and then the verses continue giving us the exact process of how this works, and then in verse number 14 says, Zos HaTorah, this is the law, Odam Ki Yamus Be'ohel, regarding a man who has died in a tent, Kol HaBo El HaOhel, anything that enters into the tent, Ve'chol Asher Be'ohel, and anything that is in present in the tent, Yitzmo Shivas Yamim, shall be contaminated for seven days. Okay,
so this is referring anybody who comes into a contact of a deceased human, becomes contaminated for seven days, and this would be part of the process of how the person becomes healed from that contamination, is that he would be sprinkled with the ashes of this red heifer. Okay, very interesting. What's the reason for it? Anybody know? No reason for it. What does Rashi say? Rashi says something beautiful. Rashi says, Lefi Sha'asotem Ve'umos Olam Monin Es Yisrael Lomar,
Ma Mitzvah Azos Ve'Ma Tam Yeshba, because the nations of the world and the Satan come and constantly badger the Jewish people, asking them, what's the reason for this mitzvah? Why do you, why do you have this mitzvah? Lefikach Kasav Ba'Chuka, therefore the Torah specifically says, it is a decree. A decree, we don't know the reasons for it. It's not like a law. It's, it's a chok, it's a decree. Gezei Rahi Melefonei, Ein Lechoroshus Lahara Achareh.
God says, this is my will, and you don't have a right to start pondering its reasons. You don't have a right to start questioning its meaning. So the question that needs to be asked is, it says, Zos Chukas HaTorah, this is decree of the, of the Torah. You know what it really should say? Zos Chukas Parah Aduma. This is the chok, this is the decree of the red heifer. What does it mean, the chuka of the Torah? Why the Torah?
It's the red heifer. And then we say, what do we say further? Odam Ki Yamus Ba'ohel, when a person dies in a tent or in a building, obviously, so anything in that building becomes contaminated by the impurity of the deceased. So, our sages teach us that the objective of the Torah, and this is why it says specifically Torah, and not only the Parah Aduma, not only the red heifer, because this is the essence of Torah. The essence of Torah is
not that we fulfill the mitzvahs because we understand their meaning. We fulfill the mitzvah because this is God's divine decree. God gives us a decree, whether we understand it or we don't understand it, it's irrelevant. We do it because God wills it, because God decided that this is the way we should conduct our lives. So, when it says, Odam Ki Yamus Ba'ohel, when a man dies in a tent, so there are many explanations given to this in an allegory, that not that a man dies a
death in a tent, but rather you should kill yourself to study Torah. Odam Ki Yamus Ba'ohel, that you should sit in the study hall of Torah and invest your life, your entire life, till death, to the Torah. But our sages tell us also that it's referring to a person subordinating himself to the Torah, to the will of Hashem. Odam Ki Yamus Ba'ohel means that a person should subordinate himself to the Torah.
So the obvious question is, and the Talmud asks this, why do we blow a shofar on Rosh Hashanah? The Talmud explains, because Hashem commanded us, because Hashem said so. We, there's one reason why we blow the shofar, because Hashem said so. So, Rebbe Elimelech of Lezhensk, one of the great Hasidic masters, would say that the Gemara asks, why do we blow the shofar? Meaning, what's the reason, what's the meaning behind it? What is the kavana that we should have when we
blow the shofar? What's the kavana, what's the intention that one should have? He says, but the Talmud answers, Rachmana omar tikku, because G-d says, blow the shofar, that is the kavana, that is the intention that one should have. That this is the will of Hashem, and that's why we're doing it. Why it's so important on a new year of the Jewish people, on Rosh Hashanah, for us to fulfill a mitzvah of blowing the shofar for one reason, and one reason alone.
Because Rachmana omar tikku, because G-d says, blow the shofar. That's the only reason we blow the shofar. Now, we can give many reasons, we can connect it to the Akedah, to the binding of Isaac, and to the ram that was stuck in the, you can give thousands of reasons. But what does the Talmud say? The Talmud says, because Rachmana, because the Almighty, Merciful G-d said, blow the shofar. That's the reason, and that's the intention
that we're supposed to have when we hear the shofar. We're doing the will of Hashem. We're doing the will of Hashem, the Creator of heaven and earth. They say, you know, there's a verse in Psalms, the verse in Psalms 138, it says, that you have raised above your name, your word. You have exalted your word, even above your name. What does it mean, your word? Meaning, when we do the will of Hashem, what we're actually doing, we're fulfilling Hashem's
desire in this world. More than his name is the will of Hashem. You know, there's an amazing story told in the Mishnah, that, I'll read it to you, and I'll translate it. The Mishnah says, one should not read on Shabbos to the light of a candle. And the Gemara explains, Because there, perhaps someone is gonna get so immersed in his Torah study, and he's not going to realize that it's Shabbos. He's gonna forget that it's Shabbos. And he'll adjust the light,
the candle, on Shabbos, so that he can read from the Torah better. They used to learn all night, to the light of a candle. On Shabbos, you're not supposed to do that. Perhaps he's gonna be immersed in his Torah study. He's not going to realize that it's Shabbos, and he's gonna adjust the light, so he can see better. And perhaps he will transgress a biblical prohibition of lighting a fire, because by adjusting it, you'll make it burn better, and you'll have more light.
You're not allowed to do that. So that's what the Talmud says. That's exactly what the Mishnah is saying, that because someone is so immersed in his study, he'll forget that it's Shabbos. But that's what the Talmud is concerned about. The Talmud is specifically giving you this ordinance, telling you, don't even read to the light of a flame, because you're gonna adjust it. You're gonna come... The Talmud is referring to a story where, we'll see in a second, where Abishmo ben Elisha,
Ani ekro le'ora ner, he says, I'll light, I'll light a candle, I will learn, v'lo et, and I'm not gonna get confused that it's Shabbos, and I'm not gonna adjust it. The Mishnah is concerned for everyone, and the Mishnah, therefore, gives us the guidelines so that a person not fall into a trap of a transgression. So the Gemara now says a story of Eishmo ben Elisha, that he said about himself, I will
read from the light of a candle, and I'm not gonna adjust it. And what happened, v'shochach, and he forgot, v'hito, and he adjusted the light, kosov alpinkoso, he wrote on a document, Ani yishmol ben Elisha korosi v'hiteisi, I, Eishmo ben Elisha, read to the light of a candle, and I adjusted the light, le'kishi yibona beis hamikdosh av yichatos shmeino. He says, when the temple is rebuilt, I need to bring an offering, a sacrifice, to atone for my sin.
Omar, kam agdolim div rechachomim, how great are the words of our sages, that they understood, she'omru lo yikra lo oraner, that the Talmud says, our sages teach us, don't read to the light of a candle, because you may get carried away, and adjust it, even on Shabbos, you'll forget that it's Shabbos, and you'll adjust it. She'omru lo yikra lo oraner, you know, so Chazal tell us, the Golan of Vilna says, kam agdolim div rechachomim, how great are the words of our sages,
she'osru lechalutim b'li nesinas tam, they didn't give a reason for it, they just said, don't do it. That's what the Mishnah says, lo yikra lo oraner, the Gemara explains, the Gemara is the one who explains, because you're going to adjust it, but the Mishnah didn't need to explain it, it gives you what to do, without an explanation. You know, I'll tell you something even more, the Gemara, the Gemara makes many statements, the Mishnah makes many statements, and the Torah gives us many decrees, many decrees, that are,
sometimes, we question it, and we wonder, how is it possible? How is it possible, that the Mishnah gives such a decree? I'll give you an example. There are many decrees that are given by our sages, that, seemingly, in our generation, people say, what are the rabbis, the rabbis are just making up a bunch of rules, they don't understand the nature of mankind, we understand the nature of mankind, so I'll give you a couple of them.
We have a decree from our sages, that a man and a woman who are not married, should not be alone in a room. Why? Because they can come around to doing things, that should only be done between a man and a woman, who are married to one another. Because our sages understood the nature of mankind, and therefore made a decree to protect us from falling into a trap of a biblical prohibition, they made a rabbinic prohibition, so that we don't come to a more greater transgression.
We see the same with the laws of nidah. The laws of nidah is that when a woman menstruates, she has to separate from her husband. Our sages added to it something called har chakos. Har chakos are what we call in practical English, distances, that you need to refrain, a husband and a wife, who are married, need to refrain from any type of physical contact, even non-sexual contact. Why? So that they don't come to the trap of a physical contact, sexually.
So, what are the types of har chakos? For example, they don't sleep in the same bed, they don't pass things to one another, you put it down, he takes it from there, he puts it down, she takes it from the table. They don't have a dinner together, just the two of them, without a separation in between them. So that they don't come to having a romantic outcome from an ordinary experience. So many people ask, wow, that's crazy. I don't understand.
What? Well, look at the nature of mankind. Look at what goes on in the world. We look at the last five governors of the state of New York that all left in disgrace because they had an affair with their assistants. Why? Because if you don't follow what the sages taught us, that there should not be seclusion of a man and a woman who are not married. They should not be in a room alone. Our sages understood the nature, the sages understood the nature of mankind.
They don't need to explain it. The Talmud goes on to explain it. By the way, our sages today derive even further in a conversation that a man has with a woman on a private text on the phone. Our sages say it's also yichud. It's also seclusion. Why? Because it's the two of them privately conversing. We see that when the Torah was given to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, God, after the Jewish people said nasa v'nishma, we will do and we will listen,
we will accept the entire Torah, we're in. We're in in this relationship. So what happened? God then takes the mountain and puts it on top of the people. It says kegigis, like a pot. Basically, if you accept the oral law, I will put the mountain down and everything will be fine. But if not, I will drop it on you and you're done. Why? Because there are many, many, many laws in the Torah that we will not understand just by the words of the Torah.
There are many, many words in the Torah that without the explanation of the oral tradition, of the oral dissemination of the explanations from Moshe to Joshua, to the elders, to the sages, to the scholars, to the Tanayim, to the Amorim, to the early sages, to the later sages, to us today, we wouldn't understand how to incorporate the Torah into our lives. So we must have the oral Torah attached with the written Torah. They say a story of a priest
who had it out for the Jewish people. He goes over to the ruler of his city, of his state, and he says to him, I have a great idea. He says, you know that bridge right on top of the river? He says, that bridge, we should make an event where I'll challenge, this priest says, I'll challenge any Jew with any question, and the first one who says, I don't know, throw him right off the bridge. This is what people did. It was sport to kill Jews, you know.
So the ruler says it's a great idea, and they informed the rabbi of the community, telling him, on this and this date, this is what's going to happen. The rabbi hears this, and he realizes exactly what the intention is, and he decrees that that day should be a day of fasting, a day of mourning, and that's what happens. They decree that on this and this date, there's going to be a fasting and a day of prayer. So there's someone who lived in a distant village,
comes to the main town to sell his wares, to sell his stuff, and all the Jewish shops are closed. He's like, is there a holiday I'm not aware of? I don't know. He's really concerned. He figures he's gonna go to the synagogue and see if there's, he goes into the synagogue, everybody's in the synagogue, and everybody is wailing their voices, and he's like, oh my goodness, there's a holiday I didn't know about.
You know, he lives in a distant village. He's like, there must be some holiday. So he goes over to the rabbi. He's like, am I missing, what holiday is it today? Like, why don't I know about this? So he says, no, it's not a holiday. It was this decree that we're gonna have this challenge, and he tells him, explains to them the whole thing, and this peasant says, I'll challenge him. He wasn't a very wise man, but he says, I'll challenge him.
So he goes over to the ruler, and he says, I'm ready. I'm ready to challenge the priest. And all the townspeople come out, and they're cheering on their priest that the Jews are now gonna be gonna be killed. They're gonna be taken care of once and for all. We're gonna get rid of them, throw them down the river, and goodbye. They make a big stage in the middle of the bridge, that people on both sides of the bridge, of the river, that they're listening, and they're hearing everything, and
the ruler is there, the priest is there, and this peasant is there, and the priest is so excited by this opportunity, and he says to the person, he says, okay peasant. He said, the first is they mocked him, they laughed, you're the guy, you're the guy they sent. I guess they don't really care much about your life. See, he says to him, you ask the first question, so that way while you're asking, you still have a chance to live.
You still have a chance to live for another, for another minute. So the, the, the, the, the, he says, no problem. He says, what is the translation of the words, and he says it in Hebrew, loyadati pirusho, I don't know its explanation. That's what he asked him in Hebrew. So the priest says out loud, I don't know the explanation. They take him, and they throw him off the bridge. The priest.
So the rabbi was like in shock. He's like, this is unbelievable. He calls over the peasant, and he says to the peasant, where did you learn this from? Like, how did you know this? You're like, you're not a big scholar. Like, you know, how did you think about this? He says, what do you mean? He says, I learned Chumash, and Rashi, and the Targum, and the, and the translation every single week. He says, and on the verse in
Leviticus, one of the verses over there, Rashi says, I don't understand the explanation. And the Targum over there says, I don't understand the explanation. See, he said, it's, it's a virtue for us Jews that we don't only do things because we understand. Sometimes we have to know how to say, I don't know. I don't understand. We don't only do things because we understand it. We do things because this is the will of Hashem. If Hashem decrees it in his Torah,
whether we can say, well, I was born this way, so therefore I have to live this lifestyle. I am this way because this is my nature. No. Hashem tells us, just because you were born a certain way, doesn't mean you have to stay a certain way. Just because you have certain tendencies, doesn't mean that that's the way you have to be. You can change it because God decrees that you change it.
And it's not going to be easy. And there is going to be challenges. And a person will have to overcome those challenges. Why? Because this is the will of Hashem. This is the will of Hashem. And even if I don't understand it, I have to understand that there is a divine Word of God. And when God is the manufacturer of this world, he's telling us this is the great... So, yeah, I'll tell you the problem with it. You know, the Reform Movement
did a terrible, terrible thing in telling its members that the reason why God says in the Torah not to eat pork is because of trigonosis. First is the Torah doesn't say that, but they put their reasoning to it. Today that we know how to clean the animal and there's no trigonosis, therefore, the Reform Movement says you can eat pork. So that's the challenge. And this is a big, big, big problem
that, you know, we have in our beautiful Levitt Library here in the Torch Center, we have the Book of the Mitzvot. Artschool did a magnificent job in translating it and making it available for each and every one of us. When the Chinuch was written, people were very opposed to it. Because he gives reasons for the mitzvah. He gives... Now, why does he give? And he talks about this in his introduction. He says, use caution. We don't do mitzvahs because of its reasons.
We do mitzvahs because it's the commandment of Hashem. The only reason we observe the mitzvahs is because God commanded it to us. We mentioned this from Rabbi Nachman when we talked about it in our schmooze room class. When we talked about simplicity. Sometimes people overcomplicate their Judaism. Don't overcomplicate it. You know why we put on tzitzit? Oh, we can give many reasons, the beautiful reasons of this and that. No, very simple. Hashem commanded us to. You know why we put on tefillin every day?
Oh, there's many hints and secrets. No, no, no. It's much simpler. Hashem commanded us. Every mitzvah that we have, we have 630 commandments in the Torah. You know why we don't eat non-kosher? Not because it's not healthy. Not because there are health benefits to keeping kosher. Not because of the spiritual reasons. Not because of... Because God commanded us. It's very simple. There is a divine word of Hashem in his Torah. And whether we understand it or don't understand it, we are protected because it's Hashem's word.
And this is so critically important for us to realize that reasons are great. They add meaning to, they add layers and layers and layers of value to the expression of how we perform the mitzvah. But that's not why we do it. We do it because it's the divine will of Hashem. So even if a person doesn't understand the meaning, you should be performing it with the same alacrity, with the same excitement as someone who understands the reasons. Because it's the will of Hashem.
So, Lashon Hara. There are 17 biblical prohibitions to speaking Lashon Hara. So whether or not I learned through the laws in the Chafetz Chaim's book, whether or not I learned through all the meanings about it, it's irrelevant. It's irrelevant. It's the divine will of Hashem that that not be the way we speak. So I can give you all the reasons of the world. Oh, it's not this and it's not that and because of this and because of that, this benefit, that benefit, this issue, this
complication because of Lashon Hara. That's not why we observe it. We observe it because it's Hashem's will. And it's so fundamental for us to have a single mitzvah in the Torah, like the red heifer in our Torah portion, that we do not know the reason for it. We don't know the reason for it. No idea. Hashem says you have to perform all the mitzvahs like this one, because I commanded you. Now again, our culture where people are very uncomfortable with this,
people are very uncomfortable with this because everything, you know, people write articles in newspapers and they try to give reasons for why they're writing what they're writing and why they're saying what they're saying and we're seeing more and more now that articles are written, defamatory articles, with unnamed sources. Right? Unnamed sources. We have a source. HaShem is the source. Hashem spoke to Moshe and Aaron saying as follows. We know the source. The source is the will of Hashem.
My dear friends, Hashem should bless us all that we should merit to fulfill every word of his Torah. Every word of his Torah. Why? One reason. Because it's the will of Hashem. Not because we understand it. Not because it means so much to me and it makes me so all warm and fuzzy and because it's my excitement and my connection to this mitzvah. You can have a favorite mitzvah. It's not a problem.
We see the sages in the Talmud talk through many different sages that they had a certain energy that they would have as they would perform a certain mitzvah. They would have a certain excitement, a certain powerful connection with a certain mitzvah. But I can guarantee you that every other mitzvah they performed, they performed it with the same intention, with the same focus. Because they're all the will of Hashem. Hashem should bless us all that we should merit to observe each and every mitzvah
only because it's the will of Hashem. Have a great Shabbos.
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