Parshat Devarim / Chazon

9 Menachem Av, 5775/July 25, 2015

Vol. 6 Num. 42

This issue of Toronto Torah is sponsored by Esther and Craig Guttmann and Family
in honour of the yahrtzeit of Sheila Guttmann
and

in honour of the upcoming wedding of Leah Klapisch to Judah Guttmann

From Remembering to Re-living and Back

The start of our parshah presents a
long description of the exact place in
which Moshe spoke to the nation. The
location is said to be, Beside the
Jordan, in the desert, on the plains,
opposite the Red Sea, between Paran
and Tofel, and Lavan and Chatzeirot
and Di Zahav. Eleven days journey
from Horeb, on the way to Mount Seir,
to Kadesh Barneia. (Devarim 1:1-2)
Our sages noted that it would be very
difficult to take this description at face
value; how, for example, can you
describe the same place as being both
in the desert and on the plains?
As cited in Rashi, our sages took a
novel approach to address these
questions. They suggested that these
verses are to be read not as describing
the place in which the Children of
Israel were now camped, but as hints
and encrypted messages referencing
various stations and events
experienced in the forty years journey
in the desert and specifically, the
locations of their sins. Thus, the
desert stands for the nations
constant protestations that they had
been taken out of Egypt just to die in
the desert. The plains reminds us of
the sin with the Moavites, on the
plains of Moav. The Red Sea stands
for the nations complaints before the
parting of the sea. And so on.
This explanation solves the problem
with which we began this article, but it
also gives rise to another. It was just
last week that we read the full account
of the Jews journeys in the desert a
long list of places and of movement
between them. (Bamidbar 33) Why do

we need another such list, and why is it

embedded enigmatically in what seems
to be a mere description of one place?
Before answering this question, let us
note an interesting and perhaps
parallel phenomenon in the Book of
Eichah. My mentor and teacher, Rabbi
Mosheh Lichtenstein shlita, has
remarked that the first four chapters of
Ei chah gi ve the impre ssi on of
lamentations written soon after the
events themselves. The horrors are
detailed and vivid, and told as
something that has happened, and
continues to happen, to the writer
himself. The fifth chapter, on the other
hand, is of a different character it
gives the impression that the writer is
looking back on the destruction from a
later time. He needs to remind G-d of
what has happened (5:1); he is an
orphan with a widowed mother, hinting
that he was a child at the time of the
destruction (5:3), and the sins that
caused it are blamed on the fathers
generation. (5:7) Even more, the end of
the chapter speaks about a long period
of suffering, and longing for distant
good days. (5:20-21)
It seems that the Book of Eichah is
trying to instill in us two distinct
perspectives on the destruction:
The major perspective is of re-living it;
we are thrown, as it were, into the
burning city of Jerusalem in the
dreadful summer of 70 CE. We
witness the sorrow and pain befalling
our ancestors, its citizens, and we
share the experience with them. We
feel, in the words of our sages, that
every generation in which the Beit
haMikdash is not built is as though it

Rabbi Baruch Weintraub

had been destroyed in their time.
(Yerushalmi Yoma 1:1)
The second perspective, added in the
last chapter, is from the future
which is our present. Here, the main
theme is not the immediate horror of
the destruction, but its residue in our
very being. Now that the events have
been re-experienced, we are called to
integrate them into our existence, so
that every experience from now on
will be filtered through them. In the
words of our sages (Berachot 31a),
One should not fill his mouth with
joy in this world for every joy is
marked with the acute knowledge of
that which we miss.
The same process, it seems, is at work
in the connection between our parshah
and last weeks Parshat Masei. The long
list of journeys in Bamidbar 33 was
meant to enable to the people to
remember what happened in each
place; they retold the stories, and by
that, re-lived them. But in the opening
verses of Devarim, there is a different
goal to understand what the sojourn
through the desert had left inside the
people. Therefore, the different stations
are again re-told - but not explicitly as
something that happened in the past,
but in an implicit way, as something
which affects the peoples (spiritual)
location in the present.
bweintraub@torontotorah.com

OUR BEIT MIDRASH

ROSH BEIT MIDRASH
RABBI MORDECHAI TORCZYNER
AVREICHIM RABBI DAVID ELY GRUNDLAND, RABBI JOSH GUTENBERG, YISROEL
MEIR ROSENZWEIG
COMMUNITY MAGGIDEI SHIUR
RABBI ELAN MAZER, RABBI BARUCH WEINTRAUB
CHAVERIM DAR BARUCHIM, YEDIDYA FISCHMAN, SHMUEL GIBLON, YOSEF HERZIG,
MICHAEL IHILCHIK, BJ KOROBKIN, RYAN JENAH, SHIMMY JESIN, CHEZKY MECKLER,
ZACK MINCER, MITCHELL PERLMUTTER, JACOB POSLUNS, ARYEH ROSEN, ARIEL
SHIELDS, EFRON STURMWIND, DAVID SUTTNER, DAVID TOBIS, EYTAN WEISZ

We are grateful to
Continental Press 905-660-0311

Book Review: The Emergence of Ethical Man

The Emergence of Ethical Man
Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik
Ktav, 2005
What is this book about?
In a 1958 letter, Rabbi Yosef Dov
Soloveitchik wrote, [M]y interest, at
present, lies in the field of religious
anthropology, the doctrine of man,
within the philosophical perspective of
Judaism. It is virgin land. Nothing has
been written about the most central
problems of human existence, fate and
destiny. As Rabbi Michael Berger
writes in his introduction to The
Emergence of Ethical Man, this book is
one of Rabbi Soloveitchiks lifelong
attempts to articulate the concept of
man as he saw it embedded in the Bible
and the halakhic tradition.
In other words, The Emergence of
Ethical Man seeks to answer some of
the most basic questions we can ask:
Why did G-d create us? What are we
meant to accomplish in life? Why do
human beings die?
To begin to address these questions,
Rabbi Soloveitchik develops a close read
of the Torahs account of G-ds creation
of the world. The author highlights the
common language used to describe
creation of plants, animals and human

beings, to show that human beings, as

creatures, are part of nature rather
than transcendent. Only when G-d
addresses human beings with ethical
instructions are we elevated. G-d
instructed us not to eat from the Tree
of Knowledge of Good and Evil, telling
the first human beings to put ethical
purpose before pleasure and eating
from the prohibited fruit was an act of
treason against that ethical imperative.
The Emergence of Ethical Man
continues to describe the goals of G-d
for human beings, the consequences of
sin, the nature of the covenant
between G-d and human being, and
the models of Avraham and Moshe.
The missions of the human being, the
Jew and the Jewish People are
articulated, set in the context of
Jewish thought and Jewish law.
The ideas presented in the book are
thought-provoking, and inspiring. A
sample passage: While the
background of mans existence is his
involvement in the natural biological
occurrence, his vistas are almost
endless. His origin is the earth, the
mother of the wildflower and the
insect; his destiny, destination and
goal are placed in the sublime heights
of a transcendental world. Man is a

613 Mitzvot: #451: Shechitah

Before entering the Land of Israel, the Jews were told that in
their spacious new land, they would be allowed to eat meat
even without the context of bringing a korban in the Beit
haMikdash. However, this would require vzavachta, a
prescribed form of slaughter. (Devarim 12:21) This is the act
that we call shechitah; Sefer haChinuch counts it as the
Torahs 451st mitzvah.
Birds and animals which die of anything other than
shechitah are not kosher. (Mitzvah 73) The sole exception is a
bird brought as a korban; this bird undergoes melikah, a
different procedure. (Mitzvah 124)
Sefer haChinuch suggests two benefits which emerge from the
act of shechitah. One benefit is the removal of blood, which
one may not eat; as Sefer haChinuch writes regarding the
mitzvah of covering blood after shechitah, we avoid
consuming blood in order to forestall descent into
carnivorous cruelty. (Mitzvah 187) A second benefit is that
this method minimizes pain for the slaughtered creature.
Rabbi Yaakov Yechezkel Greenwald (Vayaged Yaakov) saw
lessons in personal growth in the five mistakes which
disqualify shechitah:
Shehiyah (pausing) - Shechitah is disqualified if the
shocheit (slaughterer) pauses during the act. So, too, we
who would improve ourselves must act with alacrity, not
pausing and not allowing ourselves to be distracted.
Derasah (pressing) The shocheit must slice the trachea
and esophagus in a sliding cutting motion; if he becomes
impatient and presses down into the neck, the shechitah is
disqualified. In the same vein, we must be on guard

Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner

simply creature ontically, but a very
complicated one ethically. (pg. 13)
How to read this book
The Emergence of Ethical Man
addresses questions that are of
interest to most people, but it will be
most useful to the patient student.
This reader needed to review
repeatedly, pencil in hand to underline
and make marginal notes, in order to
d ige st the m ore ph ilosop hi cal
passages. There isnt a lot of technical
jargon here, but the nature of the
material is deep, and it does not make
for easy reading.
The editing of this book
The Emergence of Ethical Man was
produced from handwritten notebooks
left behind by Rabbi Soloveitchik. The
editor, Rabbi Michael Berger, was
tasked with dividing it into chapters
and section headings, choosing
chapter titles, locating citations and
filling out references, determining what
should be text and what should be
footnotes. (pg. xxi) Unfortunately,
Rabbi Soloveitchiks last notebook was
left incomplete, right after beginning to
address what the editor describes as,
mans existential relationship to
death.
torczyner@torontotorah.com

Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner

against impatience with our own growth. We are expected
to learn patiently. Further, one who sacrifices his ethical
growth in pursuit of rapid intellectual growth is guilty of
derasah, pressing and trampling upon important
components of self-development.
Chaladah (tunneling) - The shechitah knife must be
visible to the shocheit as he cuts; tunneling into the neck
so that the knife is hidden from view disqualifies the
shechitah. Similarly, we must not hide our selfimprovement from the public; our commitment to Hashem
and to Torah must include pride in our beliefs.
Hagramah (veering) - Shechitah must be performed
within a specific space along an animals neck, and
veering out of that space invalidates the shechitah. The
same applies to our development - a Jew must recognize
that certain sites are better suited for growth than others.
Ikkur (uprooting) - There is some debate regarding the
proper definition of ikkur; Rabbi Greenwald explained it as
shechitah with a flawed knife, such that the trachea or
esophagus is pulled rather than sliced. Rabbi Greenwald
adjured us to aspire to flawlessness in our actions, since
each defect will affect our results.
As Sefer haChinuch notes, there is no obligation to perform
shechitah; it is simply a way to permit meat. Indeed,
according to some authorities, shechitah is not even to be
viewed as a mitzvah; rather, it is simply a procedure to
remove the non-kosher label from a bird or beast. (Tosafot
Shevuot 24a haocheil)
torczyner@torontotorah.com

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Biography

Torah and Translation

Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch

Fasting when Tishah bAv is Deferred

Rabbi Netanel Javasky

Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch, Teshuvot vHanhagot 2:252

Born in London in 1926 and orphaned at

a young age, Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch
spent his formative years learning in
yeshivot in both England and Eretz
Yisrael. For many years, he was a rabbi
in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he
delivered acclaimed Torah lectures on
business ethics. His renown grew while
there, and he returned to Jerusalem to
join the Beit Din of the Eidah
haChareidit, where he served as the Av
Beit Din.

Translated by Rabbi Josh Gutenberg

A proud descendant of the Gra [the

Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna], he
compiled what is considered the
authoritative book on his ancestors
practices and rulings, Hilchot haGra
uMinhagav. Additionally, he has written
many other works; he is most renowned
for Moadim uZmanim, a set of books
discussing the Jewish holidays. His book
of responsa, Teshuvot uMinhagim, is also
widely quoted.
Though an anti-Zionist, Rav Sternbuch
believes that there is a mitzvah of moving
to the Land of Israel. He is known to
quote his father that it is better to live in
the Diaspora and dream of the Land
than to live in the Land and dream of the
Diaspora.
taneljavasky@gmail.com

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This is
the final issue of
Toronto Torah
for this year.

Thank you for

learning with us!

Look for us again

with
Parshat Ki Tetze
August 29.

The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim

559:9) says that when Tishah bAv is
deferred [from Shabbat to Sunday], one
who is involved in a circumcision fasts
but does not complete his fast, because
it is his personal festival. The source is
from the Tur (Orach Chaim 559)
quoting Rabbi Yaakov bar Yitzchak
haLevi, who proved this from the
talmudic statement (Eruvin 41a) that
when the festival of the wood offering
(for they had [designated] times [when
different families brought] the wood
offering during the Temple period, and
they always held a festival on that day)
fell on Tishah Bav which was deferred,
they fasted but did not complete [the
fast] for it was their personal festival.
Such is the case regarding the festival of
a circumcision, too. Examine Beit Yosef
and later authorities [who say] that the
Sandak and Mohel are also included as
those involved in the circumcision, and
they fast but do not complete it...
For regarding the pregnant woman and
those similar to her, no fast was
instituted when [Tishah bAv] is
deferred, the same way it was not
instituted for [pregnant women] to fast
on the three fasts [i.e. 17th of Tammuz,
3rd of Tishrei, 10th of Tevet] even when
they are observed on their regular
dates, which are more stringent than a
deferred Tishah bAv. Behold, when the
three fasts [are observed] on their
regular dates. those involved in the
circumcision fast and complete [the
fast], but pregnant and nursing women
do not fast. If so, when Tishah Bav is
deferred and those involved in the
circumcision fast but do not complete it,
and it is more lenient than the three
fasts, pregnant and nursing women who
were not [included in the] decree to fast
the three fasts certainly were not
[included in the] decree to fast when
Tishah bAv is deferred...

However, this leniency only applies to a [woman in] pain, and in hotter climates like
Israel where the fast is long and hot, and causes her much pain. [Then,] she is not
obligated to fast. But here, in South Africa, where Tishah bAv is in the winter,
when it is cold and the day is short, I have said they too should fast. It could be
claimed that the sages were only lenient for a woman in great pain, and here she is
not in great pain and she should be strict until she feels the fast and it is difficult
for her, and then she can stop [fasting]...
In truth, as far as practical law, today the practice is that even on a deferred Tishah
bAv the people involved in a circumcision, who are healthy, also fast and complete
the fast...

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Our Kayitz Zman semester concludes on Monday; watch for more in Elul!
Time

Speaker

Topic

Location

Yisroel Meir Rosenzweig

Flavour in Kashrut

Clanton Park

R Josh Gutenberg

Derashah

Zichron Yisroel

5:15 PM

R Mordechai Torczyner

Daf Yomi

BAYT

After minchah

R Mordechai Torczyner

Gemara Avodah Zarah:

Egg-Worship?

BAYT

Special Notes

July 24-25
After hashkamah
Before musaf

Sun. July 26

Tishah bAv

After late
minchah

R Mordechai Torczyner Tishah bAv v. Tzom Gedalyah

After late
minchah

R Mordechai Scheiner The Goal: Rambam & Kuzari

If Mashiach arrives
in time

Clanton Park

R David Ely Grundland Visions of the Beit haMikdash Shaarei Shomayim

Mon. July 27
10:30 AM

R Mordechai Torczyner

Prozbul Implementation

Yeshivat Or Chaim

Advanced

R Mordechai Torczyner

Copyright Infringement:
Kahlua vs. Kahfua

SLF
2300 Yonge St

Lunch served; RSVP

jonathan.hames@slf.ca

Wed. July 29
12:30 PM

Please reserve Wednesday evening September 2 for our Supporting Member Event
A Panel Discussion on Judaism and Journalism Ethics with
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