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.
Devarim 22:1-3 contains what is commonly thought of as the rules of hashavas aveidah - returning lost objects to a fellow Jew. During tonight's shiur, Rabbi Frand gave an entirely new meaning to the pesukim.
Devarim 22:1 states "Lo sireh es shor achicha or es seyo nidachim v'hisalamta me'hem, hashev tishive'im l'achicha." Translated into English, this pasuk on a basic level means, "[y]ou shall not see the ox of your brother or his sheep or goat cast off and hide yourself from them, you shall surely return them to your brother." The Or Hachaim Hakadosh asks - why does the Torah use the words "hashev tishivei'm" when the language of "hachzir" (which is normally used in connection with the return of objects) would be more appropriate? The Or Hachaim answers that the language of hashev tashiv is indicative of a deeper meaning - that one should assist others in doing teshuva.
With this introduction, the Or Hachaim puts the pesukim in a different light - when the pasuk mentions "shor" it does not literally mean an animal, it is a code word for a person. Similarly, the use of achicha does not mean your brother, it is a code word for Hashem. Additionally, in 22:2 when the words "v'im lo karov achiya" (if your brother is not near) are used, the allusion is to the times prior to the coming of the moshiach, when it is foretold that the Jews will be distant from Hashem. [Ed note - R' Frand also had an explanation for a few other words in the pasuk, but due to a combination of low volume for the transmission and some talking at the site where I viewed the shiur, I was unable to get them].
When looking at the pasuk from this angle we see that Hashem is actually telling us that if we see other Jews who need direction and who have wandered away from Him, we should get involved in helping them do teshuva and return to Hashem. And if (like in our generation) the people have gotten further away from Hashem, we should certainly assist in helping them find their direction back.
R' Frand drove the point home with a mashal. All parents are familiar with the concept of temporarily losing one's child in a public place such as a mall, museum or amusement park. The parent will get anxious or nervous while looking for the child. If a stranger assists in returning the child to the parent, the parent will be tremendously grateful for the outsider's assistance in returning the child.
The same concept can be said on a greater level of causing others to do teshuva and "return to Hashem." We know that Hashem looks at us as His children and for this reason he has given us many mitzvos through which we can draw close to him. If one of His children has drifted away, it will certainly be troubling to Him. However, if we take note of that lost child and help him return to Hashem, we will get a significant reward for being meishiv the person - causing them to do teshuva.
If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!
Devarim 22:1-3 contains what is commonly thought of as the rules of hashavas aveidah - returning lost objects to a fellow Jew. During tonight's shiur, Rabbi Frand gave an entirely new meaning to the pesukim.
Devarim 22:1 states "Lo sireh es shor achicha or es seyo nidachim v'hisalamta me'hem, hashev tishive'im l'achicha." Translated into English, this pasuk on a basic level means, "[y]ou shall not see the ox of your brother or his sheep or goat cast off and hide yourself from them, you shall surely return them to your brother." The Or Hachaim Hakadosh asks - why does the Torah use the words "hashev tishivei'm" when the language of "hachzir" (which is normally used in connection with the return of objects) would be more appropriate? The Or Hachaim answers that the language of hashev tashiv is indicative of a deeper meaning - that one should assist others in doing teshuva.
With this introduction, the Or Hachaim puts the pesukim in a different light - when the pasuk mentions "shor" it does not literally mean an animal, it is a code word for a person. Similarly, the use of achicha does not mean your brother, it is a code word for Hashem. Additionally, in 22:2 when the words "v'im lo karov achiya" (if your brother is not near) are used, the allusion is to the times prior to the coming of the moshiach, when it is foretold that the Jews will be distant from Hashem. [Ed note - R' Frand also had an explanation for a few other words in the pasuk, but due to a combination of low volume for the transmission and some talking at the site where I viewed the shiur, I was unable to get them].
When looking at the pasuk from this angle we see that Hashem is actually telling us that if we see other Jews who need direction and who have wandered away from Him, we should get involved in helping them do teshuva and return to Hashem. And if (like in our generation) the people have gotten further away from Hashem, we should certainly assist in helping them find their direction back.
R' Frand drove the point home with a mashal. All parents are familiar with the concept of temporarily losing one's child in a public place such as a mall, museum or amusement park. The parent will get anxious or nervous while looking for the child. If a stranger assists in returning the child to the parent, the parent will be tremendously grateful for the outsider's assistance in returning the child.
The same concept can be said on a greater level of causing others to do teshuva and "return to Hashem." We know that Hashem looks at us as His children and for this reason he has given us many mitzvos through which we can draw close to him. If one of His children has drifted away, it will certainly be troubling to Him. However, if we take note of that lost child and help him return to Hashem, we will get a significant reward for being meishiv the person - causing them to do teshuva.
If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!
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