The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand in his shiur this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this vort to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistencies are the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
As anyone who has attended (live or by satellite) R' Frand's Thursday night shiur knows, the shiur is usually split into two sections. The first forty minutes is spent discussing a contemporary halachic issue that is referenced in the parsha. The last twenty minutes are thoughts and divre Torah that are directly related to the parsha.
Although this week's parsha is Tazria, there was no vort said about the parsha this evening. Instead, R' Frand devoted the halacha portion of the shiur to the mitzva of kiddush hashem - of giving up one's life and being killed because a person is Jewish. This was done because tonight is the shloshim (30 day commemoration) of the eight young Jewish men who were killed at Yeshiva Mercaz Harav in Jerusalem for the "crime" of being Jewish. I would like just to repeat one part of a thought that R' Frand said on this topic.
The Rambam discusses how the mitzva of kiddush hashem is for all of "Beis Yisrael." Various commentators have views as to what the Rambam meant by saying that the mitzva applies to all Beis Yisrael. The Mahari says that the Rambam meant to include children who are also included in this mitzva, despite the fact that children are generally not obligated to fulfill mizvot until they turn bar or bat mitzva. The Mahari quoted the following poignant Midrash Eicha to demonstrate his point.
The Midrash Eicha tells the story of Miriam Bat Nachtom who was taken captive along with her seven sons. The king asked the first son to bow down to an idol. The son refused. When asked why, he said that the Torah says that "I am Hashem your G-d." The king ordered that he be killed. The king then moved on to the next son and said, will you bow down? This son refused as well and was executed. When asked why, he responded that the Torah says that "Thou shalt have no foreign gods." They then took the third son out and he too refused to compromise his faith, stating that the Torah says that "You shall not bow down to other gods." He too was killed.
Eventually, they came to Miriam's seventh son who was two and a half years old. He too refused to bow to idols. When asked why, he quoted the line from the Aleinu prayer that you shall know and take to heart that there is no other g-d. The king said - do you want to die, you have not yet lived. This did not influence the child. They engaged in additional conversation, but the child was steadfast.
Having seen six of her sons killed, Miriam asked the king to kill her before he was to kill the seventh son. He cruelly denied her wish saying that your Torah says that you can't kill a mother cow or sheep on the same that you kill its offspring. She then instructed her son, when you get up to heaven -- tell Abraham that I have done greater then him. Abraham was ready to sacrifice one son for Hashem, I have lost seven.
To me personally, the story of Miriam Bat Nachtom and the deaths of the eight students at Mercaz Harav underscore the principle that sometimes Hashem allows people to exercise their free will and act in ways that are morally bankrupt. There can be no other logical explanation for the deaths of these kidoshim - these holy individuals who were killed for the crime of being Jewish. The only comfort that can be found is that these holy individuals have acheived the greatest mitzva and are no doubt receiving heavenly reward for not compromising on their faith.
As anyone who has attended (live or by satellite) R' Frand's Thursday night shiur knows, the shiur is usually split into two sections. The first forty minutes is spent discussing a contemporary halachic issue that is referenced in the parsha. The last twenty minutes are thoughts and divre Torah that are directly related to the parsha.
Although this week's parsha is Tazria, there was no vort said about the parsha this evening. Instead, R' Frand devoted the halacha portion of the shiur to the mitzva of kiddush hashem - of giving up one's life and being killed because a person is Jewish. This was done because tonight is the shloshim (30 day commemoration) of the eight young Jewish men who were killed at Yeshiva Mercaz Harav in Jerusalem for the "crime" of being Jewish. I would like just to repeat one part of a thought that R' Frand said on this topic.
The Rambam discusses how the mitzva of kiddush hashem is for all of "Beis Yisrael." Various commentators have views as to what the Rambam meant by saying that the mitzva applies to all Beis Yisrael. The Mahari says that the Rambam meant to include children who are also included in this mitzva, despite the fact that children are generally not obligated to fulfill mizvot until they turn bar or bat mitzva. The Mahari quoted the following poignant Midrash Eicha to demonstrate his point.
The Midrash Eicha tells the story of Miriam Bat Nachtom who was taken captive along with her seven sons. The king asked the first son to bow down to an idol. The son refused. When asked why, he said that the Torah says that "I am Hashem your G-d." The king ordered that he be killed. The king then moved on to the next son and said, will you bow down? This son refused as well and was executed. When asked why, he responded that the Torah says that "Thou shalt have no foreign gods." They then took the third son out and he too refused to compromise his faith, stating that the Torah says that "You shall not bow down to other gods." He too was killed.
Eventually, they came to Miriam's seventh son who was two and a half years old. He too refused to bow to idols. When asked why, he quoted the line from the Aleinu prayer that you shall know and take to heart that there is no other g-d. The king said - do you want to die, you have not yet lived. This did not influence the child. They engaged in additional conversation, but the child was steadfast.
Having seen six of her sons killed, Miriam asked the king to kill her before he was to kill the seventh son. He cruelly denied her wish saying that your Torah says that you can't kill a mother cow or sheep on the same that you kill its offspring. She then instructed her son, when you get up to heaven -- tell Abraham that I have done greater then him. Abraham was ready to sacrifice one son for Hashem, I have lost seven.
To me personally, the story of Miriam Bat Nachtom and the deaths of the eight students at Mercaz Harav underscore the principle that sometimes Hashem allows people to exercise their free will and act in ways that are morally bankrupt. There can be no other logical explanation for the deaths of these kidoshim - these holy individuals who were killed for the crime of being Jewish. The only comfort that can be found is that these holy individuals have acheived the greatest mitzva and are no doubt receiving heavenly reward for not compromising on their faith.
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