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href="http://www.aishdas.org/asp/for-the-jews-there-was-light-ver-2">For the
Jews, There Was Light (ver. 2)</a>'<br />
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<p>Related to the Ramban’s position, about holiness being about
following the Torah’s ideals, and not stopping at the letter of its
laws…</p>
<p>There is an enigmatic statement in the Talmud (<a class="external"
href="https://www.sefaria.org/Nedarim.81a.4?lang=bi" target="_blank"
rel="noreferrer noopener">Nedarim 81a, Koren edition<span
class="screenreader-only"> (Links to an external site.)</span></a>, original
in bold, with translations of Rabbi Edin Steinsaltz’s explanatory
insertions):</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Ravina says:</strong> They are punished <strong>because they do
not first recite a blessing over the Torah</strong> before commencing their
studies. <strong>As Rav Yehuda said</strong> that <strong>Rav said: What
is</strong> the meaning of that <strong>which is written: “Who is the wise
man that may understand this,</strong> and who is he to whom the mouth of the
Lord has spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land is perished and
laid waste like a wilderness, so that none passes through” (<a
class="refLink" href="https://canvas.instructure.com/Jeremiah.9.11"
data-ref="Jeremiah 9:11">Jeremiah 9:11</a>)? <strong>This
matter,</strong> the question as to why Eretz Yisrael was
destroyed, <strong>was asked of the Sages,</strong> i.e., “the wise
man,” <strong>and of the prophets,</strong> “he to whom the mouth of the
Lord has spoken,” <strong>but they could not explain it.</strong></p>
<p>The matter remained a mystery <strong>until the Holy One, Blessed be He,
Himself explained</strong> why Eretz Yisrael was laid waste, <strong>as it
is written</strong> in the next verse: <strong>“And the Lord said: Because
they have forsaken My Torah</strong> which I set before them, and have not
obeyed My voice, nor walked therein” (<a class="refLink"
href="https://canvas.instructure.com/Jeremiah.9.12" data-ref="Jeremiah
9:12">Jeremiah 9:12</a>). It would appear that <strong>“have not obeyed My
voice” is</strong> the same as <strong>“nor walked therein.” Rav
Yehuda said</strong> that <strong>Rav said:</strong> The expression “nor
walked therein” means <strong>that they do not first recite a blessing over
the Torah,</strong> and they are therefore liable to receive the severe
punishments listed in the verse.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Note the quote of Jeremiah and the mention of the prophets being puzzled.
They are discussing the destruction of the first Temple. Jeremiah witnessed
its destruction. And prophecy ended centuries before the fall of the second
Temple.</p>
<p>But the obvious question is: Really? The Temple destroyed, the commonwealth
ended, uncountable people killed. For what? Because they didn’t say the
blessing before studying Torah. I mean, it implies they were even studying
Torah! The scale seems entirely off kilter.</p>
<p>However, the Talmud gives another reason for the destruction of the first
Temple, one that doesn’t seem so surprising. Yoma 9b:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The <i>Tosefta</i> continues with a discussion of the sins of the Jewish
people over the generations: <strong>Due to
what</strong> reason <strong>was</strong> the <strong>First Temple
destroyed?</strong> It was destroyed <strong>due to</strong> the
fact <strong>that there were three matters</strong> that
existed <strong>in</strong> the First Temple: <strong>Idol worship,
forbidden sexual relations, and bloodshed.</strong>…</p>
<p><strong>However,</strong> considering that the people during <strong>the
Second Temple</strong> period <strong>were engaged in Torah</strong> study,
observance of <strong>mitzvot, and acts of kindness,</strong> and that they
did not perform the sinful acts that were performed in the First
Temple, <strong>why was</strong> the Second
Temple <strong>destroyed?</strong> It was destroyed <strong>due
to</strong> the fact <strong>that there was wanton hatred</strong> during
that period. This comes <strong>to teach you that</strong> the sin
of <strong>wanton hatred is equivalent to the
three</strong> severe <strong>transgressions: Idol worship, forbidden sexual
relations and bloodshed.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>(<em>Sin’at</em> <em>chinam</em>, which the Koren Edition translates
as “wanton hatred”, and is often translated as “baseless
hatred” literally means “free hatred”. I like the
translation “pointless hatred”, as it includes even hatred that
has a valid cause, but I am carrying it around for not useful purpose.)</p>
<p>Okay, so destruction of a society of idolatrous lecherous murderers seems
just. And why would G-d want their worship at His Temple? Yes, that all
fits.</p>
<p>So what’s this about not saying the blessing before studying
Torah?</p>
<p>I think the sages traced things back to the first point of departure. How
did we get to the point where society had rampant idolatry, sexual immorality
and murder? It all started when people studied Torah without the blessing
first. In other words, they didn’t bring the right attitude to their
Torah study.</p>
<p>And to recall something we saw in section 2.1 — Rava is twice quoted
in the Talmud as teaching that someone who “goes to the left” can
turn the Torah into a poison. Torah study and observance is not a guarantee.
They give us a tool-set; but we have to choose to use the tool-set for
Hashem’s aims. Torah can be a medicine or a poison — it is up to
how we use it.</p>
<p>Going back to our opening Ramban… The culture of the First Temple
stopped paying attention to the purposes of the Torah, Hashem’s Plan for
our lives, and even their Torah study became part of a culture laden with the
worst sins.</p>
<p>Now let’s look at a verse in the <em>megillah </em>(Esther 8:16,
which may be familiar from Havdalah):</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="he" dir="rtl" lang="he"><span
class="queryTextHighlight">לַיְּהוּדִים</span> הָיְתָה
אוֹרָה וְשִׂמְחָה וְשָׂשֹׂן וִיקָר׃</p>
<p class="en" lang="en">The Jews enjoyed light and gladness, happiness and
honor.</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="en" lang="en">Which the Talmud expounds (Megillah 16b, I will gain
be eliding the talmud’s proof-texts):</p>
<div class="segment" data-ref="Megillah 16b:8" aria-controls="panel-2"
aria-label="Click to see links to Megillah 16b:8">
<blockquote>
<p class="en" lang="en"><strong>Rav Yehuda said: “Light”;
this</strong> is referring to the <strong>Torah</strong> that they once
again studied…. <strong>“Gladness” [<i>simḥa</i>];
this</strong> is referring to <strong>the Festivals</strong> that they once
again observed…. <strong>“Joy” [<i>sasson</i>]; this</strong> is
referring to <strong>circumcision,</strong> as they once again circumcised
their sons. <strong>“Honor”; this is</strong> referring
to <strong>phylacteries,</strong> which they once again donned. <strong>And
it was taught</strong> in a <i>baraita</i>: <strong>Rabbi Eliezer the Great
said: This</strong> is referring to <strong>the phylacteries worn on the
head.</strong> Haman had banned the fulfillment of all the mitzvot mentioned,
but upon Haman’s demise the Jews returned to their observance.</p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p class="en" lang="en">But this teaching is also cryptic. If the megillah
wanted to say “And the Jews again had Torah study, the Jewish festivals,
circumcision, and tefillin” why didn’t it just say so? Why the
cryptic, if poetic, language?</p>
<p class="en" lang="en">The story of Purim happens around the time of the
building of the Second Temple. Exactly how the two relate involves thorny
questions of dating the whole period. But there wouldn’t have been a
Second Temple if we hadn’t fixed the problems of the first.</p>
<p class="en" lang="en">Which means that the flaw to be fixed wasn’t the
letter of the law, but the attitude toward the law.</p>
<p class="en" lang="en">So, had the megillah just said that the Jews now had
Torah, holidays, beris milah and tefillin, it wouldn’t have made the
desired point. Yes, the Jews went back to Torah study. But now they made the
blessing first. The Torah was a light for them. The holidays were taken up
again not just as dry observances, but with simchah. Circumcisions were
occasions of joy and doning tefillin was done with a feeling of glory.</p>
<p class="en" lang="en">This is, after all, Nachmanides’ key to
holiness.</p>
<p class="en" lang="en">And as the verse concludes…<br /><br />SO MAY IT
BE FOR US!</p>
<hr />
<p>(This is the version I sent my webinar <em>va’ad</em> on Sunday,
written to emphasize points we were studying from Rav Shimon Shkop’s
introduction and Widen Your Tent. <a
href="http://www.aishdas.org/asp/purim">Version 1</a> focuses more on
Purim’s relationship to Shavuos.)<br /><br /><br /></p>
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