[Avodah] insight from a MO mechaneich

[Micha Berger]

On Sat, Jun 02, 2018 at 11:49:06PM -0400, Michael Poppers via Avodah wrote:
: If from nothing else, one should learn the importance of constancy from two
: recent Torah readings: the *chanukas-hamizbeiach* offerings of the N'si'im;
: and "vaya'as kein Aharon."

But knowing as an idea that constancy is a value is different than being
relate to constancy in one's practice.

Y-mi Nedarim 9:4 (violna ed. 30b) has the famous machloqes between R'
Aqiva and Ben Azai about whether the kelal gadol baTorah is "ve'havta
lerei'akha" or "zeh seifer toledos adam".

In the version in the introduction to the Ein Yaaqov, he quotes Ben Zoma,
attributes Rav Akiva's opinion to Ben Nanas, and then adds a new opinion:

    Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi says: We have found a more inclusive verse than
    that, and it is, "The first lamb you shall sacrifice in the morning
    and the second lamb you shall sacrifice in the evening."
    
    Rabbi Ploni stood up and said: The halachah is like Ben Pazi as it
    is written, "As all that I show you, the structure of the Mishkan
    and all its vessels: so shall you do."

That makes constancy kind of important.

FWIW, here is how my discussion (ch 2. sec. 3) of that quote goes:

    There are two interesting implications to Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi's
    and Rabbi Ploni's words.

    First, Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi could be making the point that Rabbi
    Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov found in Ben Azzai's position -- the role of
    personal development. After all, there are a number of verses that
    discuss this offering; Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi chose a verse that
    discusses its constant and regular nature. In his opinion, this is
    the most important verse in the Torah -- even in his or our day,
    after the destruction of the Second Beis HaMikdash and there are
    no korbanos. Perhaps the point here is consistency in avodas Hashem
    in-and-of-itself, not limited to this one mitzvah. Just as service
    in the Mishkan has its schedule and routine, so too our observance
    must be a discipline with well-defined structure and consistency.

    Second, the anonymous rabbi endorses this view by quoting a verse
    about the Mishkan and its vessels' structure, their composition, not
    their service. Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi statement is about something done
    in the Beis HaMikdash as part of its daily service, but the proof
    is about its structure. This rabbi is relating "so shall you do"
    not only to following the description of that structure Hashem gave
    us when building it but also to the discipline of the ritual within
    it. The discipline in avodas Hashem of the previous implication
    is a taken as fundamental part of what the building is. At least
    homiletically, we can say this is true of both microcosms -- not
    only the Mishkan, but also the human soul, as Rav Shimon ben Pazi
    is giving importance to structure and consistency even in our era,
    without a Mishkan or Beis HaMikdash. Discipline in avodas Hashem
    is not only part of the structure of what the Mishkan is, but also
    our own soul's structure. This homily would be consistent with Rav
    Shimon's statement ...

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             You are not a human being in search
micha at aishdas.org        of a spiritual experience. You are a
http://www.aishdas.org   spiritual being immersed in a human
Fax: (270) 514-1507      experience. - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin