כתבתם על מזוזות ביתך ובשעריך" HKB H Sits Outside and Guards His Servants Sitting Inside

Transcription

1 Rabbi Pinches Friedman Parshas Vaeschanan 5776 Translation by Dr. Baruch Fox כתבתם על מזוזות ביתך ובשעריך" In the Merit of the Mezuzah the Shechinah Dwells at the Doorway of the House in the Merit of a Deserving Husband and Wife the Shechinah Dwells inside the House In this week s parsha, parshas Vaeschanan, we find the first passage of Krias Shema. At the conclusion of this passage, one of the most important of the taryag mitzvos given to us by HKB H appears the mitzvah of writing a mezuzah and affixing it to the doorposts of our homes. Besides exploring the mitzvah of mezuzah, we will also examine HKB H s rationale for juxtaposing the mitzvah of mezuzah with the mitzvah of וקשרתם לאות על ידך והיו 8): tefillin. For it is written (Devarim 6, bind them as --לטוטפות בין עיניך, וכתבתם על מזוזות ביתך ובשעריך a sign upon your arm and let them be totafot between your eyes; and write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates. It is apparent that these two mitzvos differ greatly from one another. Clearly, tefillin are worn on a man s body on his arm and on his head; whereas, the mezuzah is affixed to the doorpost of a man s house. Furthermore, HKB H commanded that both the tefillin shel yad and shel rosh house four קדש לי כל בכור, והיה כי יביאך, שמע ישראל, והיה אם passages: For, the mitzvah of tefillin is mentioned in each of these.שמוע four passages. On the other hand, HKB H commanded that שמע ישראל, mezuzah: only two passages be housed in the For, the mitzvah of mezuzah is mentioned in. והיה אם שמוע each of these passages. We learn this fact from the following Mishnah (Menachos :(28a פרשיות שבמזוזה מעכבות זו את זו the -- שתי two passages in the mezuzah are essential to one another. Rashi comments: והיה אם and שמע The two passages in the mezuzah are The Beis Yosef writes (Y.D. 285): This is an obvious.שמוע fact; for, it states in each of them: And you should write them on the doorposts of your house... In other words, because both of these passages mention the mitzvah of mezuzah, it indicates that these passages must be written on the doorpost. So, it behooves us to explain the juxtaposition of the mitzvah of mezuzah which requires only two passages with the mitzvah of tefillin which requires four passages. Additionally, why, in fact, do we only inscribe two passages in the mezuzah versus four passages in the tefillin? HKB H Sits Outside and Guards His Servants Sitting Inside We will begin to shed some light on the subject by introducing a passage in the Gemara depicting the exemplary רב ששת כל תלתין יומין 68b): practice of Rav Sheishes (Pesachim מהדר ליה תלמודיה, וקאי בעיברא דדשא ואמר, חדאי נפשאי חדאי נפשאי, לך Rav Sheishes routinely reviewed his studies קראי, לך תנאי. every thirty days. Then he would lean on the door latch and declare: Rejoice my soul, rejoice my soul; for you I ve learned Torah, for you I ve learned Mishnah. Clearly, as one of the foremost scholars in the Talmud, Rav Sheishes, due to his immense kedushah, learned Torah l shma solely for the sake of Hashem. So, it is surprising that he would tell his soul that he was learning Torah for her sake. Additionally, let us endeavor to understand to some small degree the profound intent of Rav Sheishes s practice. Why did he routinely review his Torah studies every thirty days, and then lean on the doorpost and always proclaim the same mantra: Rejoice my soul, rejoice my soul; for you I ve learned Torah, for you I ve learned Mishnah? Parshas Vaeschanan

2 I was struck by a wonderful idea regarding the deeper significance of Rav Sheishes s practice. As we know, the mitzvah of mezuzah is a wonderful segulah for protecting the inhabitants of a house from all evil. For, we have learned in the Gemara (Menachos 33b): אמר רבי חנינא, בוא וראה שלא כמדת הקב ה מדת בשר ודם, מדת בשר ודם מלך יושב מבפנים ועם משמרין אותו מבחוץ, מדת הקב ה אינו כן, עבדיו יושבין מבפנים, והוא משמרן מבחוץ, שנאמר )תהלים קכא-ה( ה שומרך ה צלך על יד ימינך. Rabbi Chanina said: Come and see how the way of HKB H differs from the way of human beings. With regards to human beings, the king sits inside and the people guard him from the outside. This is not the way of HKB H; His servants sit inside, and He guards them from outside as it says: Hashem is your Guardian; Hashem is your protective shade at your right hand. Regarding this passage, we find a fascinating tale involving Onkelos, the convert, in the Gemara (A.Z. 11a). The Caesar was enraged by his conversion. This prompted him to send a Roman, military regiment to apprehend Onkelos and bring him to trial. When the first regiment arrived to apprehend Onkelos, he enticed them with divrei Torah and they all converted. The Caesar sent a second regiment, but warned them not to converse with Onkelos. When they met up with Onkelos, he skillfully engaged them in mundane conversation; they were captivated by his wisdom and they, too, converted. The Caesar sent a third regiment, and advised them not to speak with him at all. They apprehended him and as they were exiting his house, he touched the mezuzah. The soldiers were curious and inquired about the mezuzah. Onkelos responded by quoting מנהגו של עולם, מלך בשר ודם :(11a Rav Chanina s teaching (A.Z. יושב מבפנים ועבדיו משמרים אותו מבחוץ, ואילו הקב ה עבדיו מבפנים והוא It is the -- משמרן מבחוץ, שנאמר ה ישמר צאתך ובואך מעתה ועד עולם way of the world that a human king sits indoors, while his servants stand guard outside; whereas with HKB H, His servants sit inside, while He stands guard outside... Immediately, they, too, all converted. After that, the Caesar did not bother to send any more regiments. Apropos this phenomenon, the Darkei Moshe (Y.D. 286, 4) writes in the name of the Shu t of the Maharam of Rottenburg (108): I am certain that any house that is equipped with a proper mezuzah, cannot be influenced by any harmful force. It Is Imperative that the Shechinah Dwell Both at the Doorway of a House and inside the House Seemingly, we can raise a question regarding the statements of Rabbi Chanina and Onkelos, the convert, from the following דריש רבי עקיבא, איש ואשה זכו שכינה ביניהן, :(17a Gemara (Sotah Rabbi Akiva elucidates: If a husband and --לא זכו אש אוכלתן wife are deserving, the Shechinah dwells among them; if they are not deserving, they are consumed by fire. Rashi explains that that the Hebrew word for man,,איש contains the letter yud ; while the Hebrew word for woman,,אשה contains the letter hei. So, we see that Hashem divided up His name between a man and a woman. Consequently, if their י-ה marriage is successful, the Shechinah dwells among them. י- If, however, their marriage is unsuccessful, and the name consisting of the letters yud and hei, is removed, what,ה remains is אש and אש two conflicting bodies of fire. Now, according to Rabbi Akiva s elucidation, if a husband and wife are deserving, the Shechinah dwells within a house, as well. That being the case, how do Rabbi Chanina and Onkelos assert that the mezuzah indicates that HKB H resembles a king sitting outside the house in contrast to a human king who sits within? Let us demonstrate that both claims are correct and true. In reality, it is essential to perform two functions in order to successfully establish a proper Jewish home imbued with Torah and yiras Shamayim. Firstly, it is essential to fix a mezuzah at the entrance to the house, so that HKB H will stand guard outside, preventing the yetzer hara and the forces of tumah from entering the house. Without this vital protection at the entrance to the house, the entire house will undoubtedly be corrupted both materialistically and spiritually. In addition, it is essential to make every effort to sanctify the house with Torah-study and the performance of mitzvos. Upon further consideration, it is evident that these two functions aimed at ensuring the presence of the Shechinah both outside and inside the house can be characterized as (Tehillim 34, 15): מרע ועשה טוב avoid סור evil and do good. The protection afforded by the mezuzah at the entrance to the house constitutes an act of מרע avoiding סור evil; it is a protective measure preventing any form of evil from entering the house and harming its inhabitants. On the other hand, drawing the Shechinah into the house to dwell among Parshas Vaeschanan

3 a husband and wife constitutes an act of טוב such ועשה as engaging in Torah-study and the performance of mitzvos so that the Shechinah will also come inside the house. י ה Uniting the Husband and Wife s ו ה with the Mezuzah s I would like to present upon the royal table a wonderful allusion explaining the fascinating connection between these two acts. Let us return to Rabbi Akiva s elucidation, איש ואשה commentaries: which has occupied many of the if זכו a husband and wife are deserving, the שכינה ביניהן Shechinah dwells among them. As Rashi explained, HKB H split his name י ה between the man and the woman. This name, however, represents only half of the holy four-letter name Havaya. To complete the holy name, the letters ו ה must be supplied. Many solutions and answers have already been provided to explain this phenomenon. I would like to propose a novel approach to this matter based on the teaching in the Zohar hakadosh (Mishpatim 119b) that the four passages housed in the tefillin correspond קדש לי to the four letters of the ineffable name. The passage והיה כי corresponds to the letter yud ; the passage כל בכור שמע ישראל corresponds to the first hei ; the passage יביאך והיה אם שמוע corresponds to the letter vav ; and the passage corresponds to the last hei. Accordingly, the Zohar hakadosh (Nasso 140a) applies this notion to the passuk (Devarim 28, then וראו all the כל עמי הארץ כי שם ה נקרא עליך ויראו ממך :(10 peoples of the earth will see that the name of Hashem is proclaimed over you, and they will fear you. This passuk alludes to the mitzvah of tefillin; they house four passages corresponding to the four letters of the holy name; therefore, donning them instills fear and reverence in the hearts of the other nations. שמע ישראל of: Thus, when we inscribe the two passages and אם שמוע והיה in the mezuzah, we are supplying the two missing letters.ו ה Based on our current discussion, this is י ה marvelous. As we have learned, HKB H placed His name with the deserving couple inside the house, leaving the two letters ו ה absent. Therefore, HKB H gave us the mitzvah of mezuzah at the entrance to the house, providing the husband and wife living there the opportunity to unite and complete the name Havaya with all four of its letters. This explains very nicely the juxtaposition of the pesukim describing the mitzvah of tefillin and the mitzvah of mezuzah. אמר רבי 118b): For, we have learned in the Gemara (Shabbas Rabbi יוסי, Yossi מימי לא קריתי לאשתי אשתי... אלא לאשתי ביתי said: In all my days, I have never called my wife my wife... rather, I call her my house. Rashi explains: Because she is the essential component of the house. In this manner, וקשרתם pesukim: we can interpret the juxtaposition of the On the one hand, you should.לאות על ידך והיו לטוטפות בין עיניך inscribe in the tefillin four passages corresponding to the four וכתבתם על hand: letters of the ineffable name; on the other you --מזוזות should only inscribe two passages ביתך ובשעריך --.ו ה in the mezuzah, corresponding to the letters As to why HKB H only commanded us to write half of His name in the mezuzah, we find an allusion in the passuk itself: על מזוזות ביתך because וכתבתם you reside there in the house with your wife, who is called. ביתך Hence, the name already dwells there with the two of you; now, by writing י ה a mezuzah, containing the two passages corresponding to the letters,ו ה you will be able to unify the name completely.ו ה with the י ה uniting the The Chasam Sofer s Chiddush Following this line of reasoning, let us elaborate further on this incredible concept the ability to draw the Shechinah inside the house, not just to the doorway of the house. Regarding this concept, we find a tremendous chiddush in the Derashos Chasam Sofer (Chanukah). He explains that this notion regarding the mitzvah of mezuzah touted by Rabbi Chanina and Onkelos only held true after the churban of the Beis HaMikdash. During the times of the Beis HaMikdash, HKB H sat, so to speak, inside the house, in the Kodesh HaKodashim. His servants, the kohanim and leviim, stood guard over Him outside. After the churban, however, HKB H stood guard like a king outside the house, watching over His servants sitting inside. Here are his sacred words: הנה ענין מזוזה עבדיו יושבים בפנים והוא משמרם מבחוץ, הענין בזה, כשעושים רצונו הרי הקב ה בחינת מלך יושב בפנים בדביר קדשו הארון והלוחות וכו, ומשרתיו סובבים מבחוץ, )מדות פרק א משנה א( בכ ד מקומות הכהנים והלוים שומרים בבית המקדש. אמנם כשאינם עושים רצונו ח ו ורק נשארה האמונה, וחס ושלום הקב ה מבחוץ )ישעיה נז-ח( ואחר הדלת והמזוזה שמת זכרונך, זה רמז ב פרשיות אמונה שבמזוזה שקובעים בחוץ על הדלת, מכל מקום הוא יתברך שמו שומר אותם, )ויקרא כו-מד( ואף גם זאת בהיותם בארץ אויביהם וגו אני ה אלקיהם. Parshas Vaeschanan

4 Now, while it is true that in times of galus, HKB H stands outside, so to speak, next to the mezuzah, watching over us. Nevertheless, it is incumbent upon us to bring Him into the house. We are all familiar with the holy Alshich s commentary on the passuk in parshas Terumah (Shemos 25, and they shall make Me a -- ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם 8): sanctuary so that I may dwell among them. He points out that the passuk employs the term sanctuary in מקדש the singular; hence, the passuk should have concluded with the term בתוכו also in the singular. So, why does the passuk? בתוכם employ the plural term He answers that HKB H intended to teach us a vital lesson regarding the Beis HaMikdash. The ultimate goal is for HKB H to rest His Shechinah within each and every Jew. Afterwards, the presence of the Shechinah extends from each individual Jew to the Beis HaMikdash. Once the presence of the Shechinah from every individual Jew is gathered together in the Beis HaMikdash, there is an immense concentration ועשו לי passuk: of kedushah. This then is the message of the make מקדש Me a Mikdash, but My ultimate goal and desire is: בתוכם to ושכנתי dwell within each and every Jew. So, it is true that in the aftermath of the churban, we suffer a tremendous loss; HKB H no longer rests His Shechinah in the Kodesh HaKodashim with the loyal kohanim and leviim watching guard outside. Nevertheless, the ultimate purpose of the Beis HaMikdash is: בתוכם to ושכנתי dwell within each and every Jew. Therefore, even in the aftermath of the churban, every Jew has a sacred obligation to bring the Shechinah into his house to dwell between the husband and wife. Thus, the Jewish home will represent a miniature sanctuary a Mikdash m at in which HKB H rests His Shechinah. From the Inception of the World HKB H Desired a Dwelling Below To fully comprehend the extent of this matter, let us introduce a statement from our blessed sages in the Midrash Tanchuma (Nasso 16): בשעה שברא הקב ה את העולם, נתאווה שיהא לו דירה בתחתונים כמו שיש בעליונים, ברא את האדם וצוה אותו ואמר לו )בראשית ב-יז(, מכל עץ הגן אכול תאכל ומעץ הדעת טוב ורע לא תאכל ממנו, ועבר על צוויו, אמר ליה הקב ה, כך הייתי מתאווה שיהא לי דירה בתחתונים כמו שיש לי בעליונים, ודבר אחד צויתי אותך ולא שמרת אותו, מיד סילק הקב ה שכינתו לרקיע הראשון. From the moment of creation, HKB H desired to have a dwelling below among us just as He has in the heavenly realm. Nevertheless, due to the cheit Eitz HaDa as, He removed His Shechinah from this world. As the Midrash (ibid.) explains, the situation was rectified when the Mishkan was erected, and HKB H rested His Shechinah in it, as it is written: לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם. ועשו Unfortunately, it was only temporary. Ever since the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, as a result of our numerous transgressions, the Shechinah has been exiled from place to place without a place to rest, as we תניא רבי שמעון בן יוחי אומר, :(29a learn in the Gemara (Megillah בוא וראה כמה חביבין ישראל לפני הקב ה, שבכל מקום שגלו שכינה עמהן, גלו למצרים שכינה עמהן... גלו לבבל שכינה עמהן... ואף כשהן עתידין ליגאל שכינה Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai states that it is a testament to עמהן. how much HKB H loves Yisrael; wherever they were exiled to, the Shechinah accompanied them. In similar fashion, when they will be redeemed in the future, the Shechinah will be with them. Elsewhere, in the Tikunei Zohar (Introduction 1b), the divine Tanna Rashb y teaches us that this in fact is the allusion ולא מצאה היונה מנוח לכף רגלה :(9 in the passuk (Bereishis,8 but the dove could not find a resting place for the sole of her foot. The dove alludes to the Shechinah that is unable to find a resting place while in exile. Hence, it is imperative that we find Her a resting place by engaging in Torah-study and אין חסיד אלא המתחסד עם קונו דעביד ליה קן mitzvos: performing the only true chassid is one who is benevolent toward his Maker, providing Him with a resting place. Thus, it should be evident that even in galus, we are obligated to fulfill נתאווה שיהא לו דירה בתחתונים כמו שיש wish: HKB H s original to בעליונים provide Him with an earthly abode comparable to His heavenly abode. We can accomplish this feat by איש homes: drawing and welcoming the Shechinah into our.ואשה זכו שכינה ביניהן This is the implication of Shlomo HaMelech s statement אני ישנה ולבי ער קול דודי דופק פתחי לי אחותי :(2 (Shir HaShirim,5 I רעיתי let my devotion slumber, but my heart יונתי תמתי was awake! A sound! My Beloved knocks! He said, Open your heart to Me, My sister, My love, My dove, My perfection. The Midrash Rabbah (ibid.) expounds this אני ישנה מבית המקדש ולבי ער galus: passuk as referring to the my לבתי slumber and waning devotion כנסיות ובתי מדרשות refer to the Beis HaMikdash, while my alertness and state of wakening refer to Batei Kenesses and Batei Midrash. In Parshas Vaeschanan

5 this vein, we can interpret the continuation of the passuk as follows: דודי דופק פתחי לי, HKB H קול Who stands outside, at the doorway to our house, next to the mezuzah, pleads with us not to leave Him standing outside at the doorway like a beggar or a poor person. Instead, let us open our doors, so that the Shechinah can dwell inside our homes, in keeping. איש ואשה זכו שכינה ביניהן of: with the notion So, how than can we, lowly creatures of flesh and blood, who are here one day and gone the next, shamelessly turn a deaf ear פתחי לי אחותי us: to HKB H s knocking on our doors beseeching And how do we then dare daven the words?רעיתי יונתי תמתי pleading with Hashem to heed, שמע קולנו ה אלקינו חוס ורחם עלינו" our pleas when we don't heed His? Who can be so ungrateful toward He Who has provided us with everything--leaving Him outside and not welcoming Him into our homes?! Let us welcome Him into our homes thereby fulfilling His simple, age-. שיהא לו דירה בתחתונים כמו שיש בעליונים request: old Rav Sheishes Stood by the Mezuzah to Converse with HKB H Now, we can rejoice! For we can shed some light on Rav Sheishes s exemplary behavior. As we have learned in the מיום שחרב בית המקדש אין לו להקב ה בעולמו :(8a Gemara (Berachos since אלא the destruction of the Beis ד אמות של הלכה בלבד HaMikdash, HKB H has to be content with a mere four cubits of halachah. Prior to the churban, the dwelling place of the ועשו לי written: Shechinah was the Beis HaMikdash, as it is.מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם When the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, the Shechinah vacated the premises. Yet, a person who studies Torah merits the presence of the Shechinah, as we learned above in the Mishnah (Avot 3, 6). This then is the message of the Gemara: since מיום the Shechinah left the Beis שחרב בית המקדש אין לו להקב ה בעולמו אלא ד אמות של הלכה בלבד -- HaMikdash HKB H rests His Shechinah upon those engaging in Torahstudy. This is why Rav Sheishes studied Torah in his house; he was establishing four cubits of halachah in his home in order to provide the Shechinah with a resting place. To explain his rationale for doing so every thirty days, let us introduce a halachic ruling pertaining to ordinary rental agreements. The term of a generic rental agreement is thirty days. The source for this ruling is the Gemara (B.M. 101b). As דהשוכר סתם שלא פירש זמן הוי שכירות שלשים explains: Rashi there if יום it is not specified otherwise, a standard rental is for thirty days. Similarly, the Gemara teaches us elsewhere (R.H. :(7b טרח איניש למיגר ביתא לבציר מתלתין יומין people דלא do not bother to rent a house for less than thirty days. This explains why Rav Sheishes would review his Torah studies every thirty days; he wished to renew his monthly lease with HKB H, insuring that the Shechinah would remain inside his house in the merit of his Torah-study. In this manner, we also explain very nicely why Rav Sheishes would lean on the doorpost, where the mezuzah was located, at the conclusion of each thirty-day period of learning. For, HKB H stood there, outside the house, watching over those living inside the house. There he would exclaim to HKB H: my soul is gladdened, my soul is, חדאי נפשאי חדאי נפשאי gladdened ; and he would explain to HKB H the reason for his joy: קראי, לך תנאי I לך learned Torah in your honor and I studied Mishnah in your honor; in this merit, you no longer need to remain outside. Please rest Your Shechinah inside the house! This is why my soul is happy because I have been privileged to fulfill HKB H s wish to have a dwelling down below among us. Donated by Family Madeb for the Refuah Shelimah of Lea bat Virgini To receive the mamarim by mamarim@shvileipinchas.com Parshas Vaeschanan