Thursday, March 4, 2021

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Ki Sissa

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

In Shemos 33:7, the Torah states וּמשֶׁה֩ יִקַּ֨ח אֶת־הָאֹ֜הֶל וְנָֽטָה־ל֣וֹ | מִח֣וּץ לַמַּֽחֲנֶ֗ה הַרְחֵק֙ מִן־הַמַּֽחֲנֶ֔ה וְקָ֥רָא ל֖וֹ אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וְהָיָה֙ כָּל־מְבַקֵּ֣שׁ יְהֹוָ֔ה יֵצֵא֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד אֲשֶׁ֖ר מִח֥וּץ לַמַּֽחֲנֶֽה  - that Moshe took the Ohel Moed and pitched it outside the encampment and called it the Ohel Moed and it was whomever wanted to seek out Hashem would go out to the Ohel Moed that was outside the encampment.

The Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel said that the words כָּל־מְבַקֵּ֣שׁ יְהֹוָ֔ה  refer to those people who needed to do Teshuva for the Egel.

R' Frand quoted R' Tzadok HaCohen M'Lublin who mentioned the concept of Teshuvas HaMishkal. The people at Har Sinai knew the entire Torah and thought that they did not need a leader like Moshe. Instead they fashioned the Egel which was not a manhig because they did not think they needed a Rav. In order to do Teshuva for their actions, they needed to make the effort to leave the camp to find Moshe at the Ohel Moed.

This is why afterwards everyone was afraid of the shining countenance of Moshe Rabbeinu, because you need a Rav that instills fear and awe in others.

R' Frand then quoted the Sefer Be'arah Shel Torah which mentioned a letter that R' Hutner had written to a community which had chosen a great Rabbi to be their Rav. He wrote that cities have a city clock which sits atop of a high tower and everyone looks up to the clock to set their watches. This was not done merely so that it would be visible to all. Rather, if the clock was lower down, people could reset the city clock if they felt their watches were correct. 

So too said R' Hutner, there are cities where people want their Rav to follow the kehilla's dictates instead of his own view. Therefore this city should be congratulated for choosing a great man who they will look up to.

R' Frand closed this part of the vort by quoting the Meiri on Pirkei Avos, who explains that Aseh L'cha Rav means that even if a person is already a great Rav and perhaps even a greater Talmid Chacham then the Rav of the shul, it is still important to have a Rav for the community and to look up to him.

R' Frand said a second vort on the pasuk in Shemos 34:3 - וְאִישׁ֙ לֹא־יַֽעֲלֶ֣ה עִמָּ֔ךְ - that when Moshe went to get the second luchos there was not the same fireworks and ceremony as when he received the first luchos as no one went up with him.

Rashi explains that when the first luchos were received, there were great sounds and celebration, but it created an ayin hara which culminated with the breaking of the luchos. However the second luchos were received without the same ceremony and these luchos remained intact, because there is no greater middah than tznius.

R' Frand told a story about R' Meir Shapiro and his Yeshivas Chacmei Lublin. When the building was going to be dedicated, R' Meir went to his Rebbi and asked whether he should make a large ceremony. His Rebbi said - no, this was the reason the first luchos were broken, because the ayin hara was sholet on them.

However R' Meir Shapiro disagreed. I will prove it to you - when Moshe broke the luchos there was a concept of shichka haTorah - people forgot their learning and if they had not been broken that would never have happened. Yet, Hashem still made a great ceremony because the greatness of the Torah required it. 

R' Meir Shapio continued - the yeshiva bochrim were looked down upon in the community and they needed a great ceremony for the dedication of the yeshiva so that their status would be elevated in the eyes of the community. R' Meir said that he accepted upon himself if there would be an ayin hara and they had 100,000 people at the ceremony.

R' Meir Shapiro passed away as a young man at the age of 38. At his funeral, R' Zalman Sorotskin said that he died because of ayin hara, but he accepted it upon himself, because the bnei yeshiva needed to be elevated. Much the way Hashem made the first luchos public, despite the fact that there would be an ayin hara, because the greatness of the Torah required it, so too said R' Sorotskin, R' Meir Shapiro made the great ceremony for the dedication of the yeshiva, because the yeshiva bochrim needed it.

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