Parshas Tzav

Parshas Tzav






Chapter 1: Mishna 18: Part 1



Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Upon three things the world is sustained: On judgment ("din") on truth ("emeth") and on peace ("shalom"). As it is written (Zechariah 8:16) "Truth, and judgment of peace [you should] judge in your gates.





We need to understand why the world is sustained specifically on these three things. Furthermore, we learned earlier in the chapter (Mishna 2) that the world stands on three things -- and they weren't these three! (The word used there was "omed," which means to stand; the word used here is "kayam," which means to be sustained. Please refer back to the shiurim on Mishna 2 (DC1_021 through DC1_025). It will be very important in appreciating the problems being raised, as well as helping to get a fuller understanding of what the Maharal is writing here.)



G-d created man with individual components that can be considered to belong to him. There is an intellectual component, where man acquires wisdom and Torah, as Chazal teach us: A "zaken" (literally an elder, but referring to any wise person) is one who as acquired ("kanah") wisdom (Kidushin 32b). The second component is man's own human (intelligent) life force. And finally there are man's economic acquisitions, his money and property.



The human life force is the essence of the person himself. The other two are acquired from outside of himself, which makes them subject to variation. One person may be lacking in intellectual acquisitions, and another lacking in financial acquisitions. But all three need support, so three pillars are required to prevent them from toppling. This is the meaning of the world being supported by three pillars.



Truth is one of the supports, for if falsehood prevails in the world this eradicates the intellectual component. G-d created the world with an intellectual dimension (which compels truth) and it is the pursuit of truth which ensures that this dimension exists in the world as it was meant to be.



Judgment (law) is a second support, for it ensures the integrity of the property which G-d has given to each man. Each person is given the material possessions G-d deems fitting for him and for his personal challenges and mission in the world, and it is improper for any person to impinge on the resources that G-d has prepared for another. Without the rule of law and strict judgment, the system of personal property and resources would disintegrate, for the property of one person would end up in the possession of another. This is totally at odds with the way G-d wants the world to run.



This does not negate the possibility or justification of people having financial litigation. There are many cases where two people have a dispute, each one claiming in good faith to be in the right. No one is purposely lying, and no one is trying to acquire that which does not belong to him. True judgment awards the disputed property to the rightful owner, and the resources are in the possession of the one to whom G-d allocated them in His creation plan.



It is for this reason that we are taught (Shabbath 10a): "Every judge who reaches a truthfully correct verdict is considered a partner with the Almighty in the creation of the world." G-d created the world with a precise view of how every resource should be allocated to enable the purpose of the world to be accomplished. The judge who ensures that every person has exactly the resources that befit him and his purpose, rectifying any deviations from G-d's intended allocations, becomes a partner with G-d in His creation.



The language of the Talmud in Shabbath should be noted. It refers to a judge who is "dan din emeth l'amito," literally meaning one who judges a true judgment to its truth. Can there be a true judgment not "judged to its truth?" Is there more than one kind of TRUE JUDGMENT? It is possible that based on the claims that were entered by the litigants, the judge made a correct legal decisions. But this decision could lack absolute truth, if the claims were not entered properly by one of the sides, leading to a situation where the money didn't really belong to the person to whom it was awarded. The judge made the correct legal decision. But he has not become a partner with G-d in creation, since there is still a deviation from G-d's original view of how the resources should be allocated. (How this can happen touches on the scope of man's free will, which we won't discuss now...) Only judgment which is correct in the absolute does that, and it is one of the pillars which sustain s the world.



(We have discussed before that when the Rabbis say "Doing X is equated with Y" they are not simply using Y to illustrate how good (or bad) X is. That could be done by simply saying that doing X is a wonderful thing. Rather, they are revealing an underlying and fundamental commonality between X and Y. In this case, a judge who renders a proper legal decision has done the correct thing. But only in the case when the money reaches the absolute owner can the judge be considered a partner in creation, for the reason explained above.)



Finally, the world is sustained on the pillar of peace, which is necessary to support the person and his human life force. The tendency of the human being is to want to be the center of existence, negating and invalidating all others. This is the source for strife and argument, "machloketh." (This emanates from uniquely human qualities, which in fact are contradictory. Man is created as a reflection of the Divine, and each human being is so great as to be considered an entire world, instructed to say "For me was the world created." (See Sanhedrin 37a.) Yet a person's insecurities, caused by his failure to recognize his greatness, motivates him to arrogance leading to conflict with other people. The connection between arrogance and insecurity, as well as that between humility and self-awareness of one's true greatness, are dealt with in a truly masterful fashion by Dr. Abraham Twerski in his classic work "Let Us Make Man.")



(Peace is the ability of human beings, in all their greatness, uniqueness and individuality, to coexist. It is easy for people who are all identical to be at peace with each other. No one has a very well developed character or sense of self, so one views any one else as an infringement on the way they want to be. This is the source of much of the apparent peaceful coexistence in very conformist societies. It is when I recognize that you are different than me, that your agenda is different than mine, that your responsibilities may conflict with mine, that we need to WORK at peace, forging harmonious coexistence. Each of us must recognize and validate perspectives that are different, even threatening, to our own. This does not mean compromising on our uniqueness or on our responsibilities. When thought about deeply, it seems like an insurmountable paradox, which is why Chazal (Bamidbar Rabbah 11:18, that the name of G-d is "Shalom", and in many other places) tell us that it is G-d Himself who is the only one who can bring true peace. What this means is that only a shared commitment and absolute devotion to fulfill the true will of G-d enables an existence that contains peace. The one Creator is the only force around which everything can truly unite. The word for peace, "shalom" has its root in the word "shalem" which means complete and perfect. The Maharal discusses the entire topic at length in Netiv HaShalom. One who wants to develop a Torah perspective on how to deal with the divisiveness that is tearing our nation apart in these times would do well to study it in depth.)



These three pillars ensure that the world is sustained. They differ from the three foundations taught to us by Shimon Hatzadik at the beginning of the chapter. Those foundations were the reason and purpose for which G-d created the world, the cause for its existence. Without them, the world's initial creation is nullified. The three pillars of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel are what support the continued existence of the world once it has been created. Without them, the world would be the cause for its own destruction. They are what ensure its orderly and purposeful functioning.

Shimon HaTzadik was of the remnants (last members) of the Great Assembly

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Chapter 1: Mishna 2: Part 3






Shimon HaTzakik was of the remnants (last members) of the Great Assembly. He used to say: On three things the world stands. On Torah, on Service of G-d, and on deeds of kindness.



After understanding the concept of the pillars upon which the world stands, we can now better understand the Gemara in Sanhedrin (74a) that teaches us: There are three cardinal sins in Judaism that require "yeihareig v'al ya'avor," give up your life rather than violate. The three are:



1. "Avodah zarah" -- Idol worship;

2. "Giylui arayoth" -- Incestuous sexual relations and adultery;

3. "Shfichuth damim" -- Murder. Why should these three specific sins require one to forfeit his life (while in the rest of the Torah we have a principle (Vayikra 18:5) "v'chai bahem," that the Mitzvoth are given in order to live, and if they lead to death, G-d's preference is that they be violated -- Sanhedrin 74a, Yoma 85a)?



Each of these three sins is the polar opposite of one of the three pillars upon which the existence of the world stands.



"Avodah Zarah" is obviously the opposite of "Avodah." Rather than devoting himself to service of the Creator, he devotes himself to service of false gods and values.



"Sfichuth damim," where one KILLS another human being, depriving him of his most basic possession, his life, is obviously the polar opposite of "gemiluth chassadim" where one gives of himself and his possessions to another, something which he is not required to do.



"Giylui arayoth" is the polar opposite of Torah. Sexual impropriety is man behaving in his most animalistic form, deviating from his humanity, while Torah is the elevation of man's humanity to the Divine. The Torah considers the fundamental source of sexual deviance to be the animal and material side of man (the "chomer") which is illustrated by the type of sacrifice a woman suspected of adultery must bring. (Instead of wheat, which is considered human food, she brings barley, which is the food of animals. See Bamidbar 5:15 and Sotah 9a.) Chazal also see an allusion to the abdication of intellectual control that accompanies any sin, but particularly one of a sexual nature, in the verse (Bamidbar 5:12) "Ki thisteh..." which introduces the crime of adultery. The word "thisteh" has at its root "shoteh" which means a fool, devoid of intelltual clarity, indicating that it is a loss of the intellect, the indentifying trait of man over an animal, that precedes submission to sexu al temptation. Sexual deviation, an act emanating from the purely materialistic side of man, stands in direct opposition to Torah, which embodies the most intellectual/spiritual side of man.

Man's entire being depends on the existence of the three foundations of the world. Since each of these three sins undermines one of those foundations, violating any one of them would be man destroying his own existence. His violation would be simply another form of death (a classic lose-lose situation...). So the preference is that he leave this world without sinning, rather than "leave the world" through sin. Yeihareig -- he should (passively) allow himself to be killed -- v'lo ya'avor -- and he should not actively violate a prohibition that undermines his entire existence.




From the above we understand why the "dor hamabul," the generation of Noach that was destroyed by the flood, was not destroyed until they had committed all three of these cardinal sins, thereby undermining every aspect and justification of their existence. Chazal teach us (Sanhedrin 57a) on the verse (Breishith 6:11) "Vatishacheit ha'aretz lifnei Ha'Elokim," -- the land was "destroyed" before G-d -- that the word "hashchatha" refers to sexual deviance and idol worship. (See Devarim 4:17 and Breishith 6:12.) Here was the undermining of two pillars of the world, Torah and Avodah. In addition, there was "gezel," robbery, as it is written "vatimalei ha'aretz chamas." This is the opposite of "gemiluth chassadim." Rather than giving someone from your resources, you take his resources for yourself.

When the generation had uprooted all three foundations of the world's existence, through behaviour that contradicted them, there was no means of support for the world, and destruction resulted.



There is one seeming inconsistency which needs to be explained. Earlier we stated that the opposite of gemiluth chassadim was murder, while here we have stated that it is robbery.



When the Torah speaks about the society undermining the foundation of gemiluth chassadim, this refers to robbery. When we speak about the individual opposing that foundation, it refers to murder. It is impossible to have the ENTIRE society undermine the foundation of gemiluth chassadim through murder, for this would be an overt destruction of that society, and the Torah describes an existing society involved in underming that foundation of the world. It must refer to a less serious activity that also stands in opposition to gemiluth chassadim, which would be robbery. It is very possible for the entire society to be involved in robbery, where everyone is stealing from everyone else, and this is the only way that the entire society can be undermining that foundation. The INDIVIDUAL's action which stands in direct opposition to that foundation, however, is the complete destruction of another, murder.



(A note should be added here about a seeming inconsistency in the discussions about the verses in Breishith 6:11 and 13. The Torah writes that the earth was filled with "chamas." The halachic definition of chamas refers to a person FORCING another to SELL him one of his possessions, paying full price for it. "Gezel," robbery, is when one takes the object without compensating the owner; chamas is when one takes the object while providing compensation. (See Bava Kama 62a.) So it is difficult to understand how Rashi comments on verse 11, which states that the world was filled with "chamas." by explaining that it means "gezel." They are two very different activities! And in his explanation of our Mishna, the Maharal, too, seems to ignore the very real difference between the two crimes.

(The Maharal, in "Gur Aryeh," his commmentary on Rashi, raises the question and provides a wonderful and precise answer. It is unlikely that the members of the society were so meticulous as to always pay for the objects that they violently took. They certainly took what they wanted without providing compensation. But since the next day the victim would turn around and steal something else from the person who stole from him, this victim actually did receive compensation. The accepted norm of the society which tolerated robbery ensured that every victim recieved compensation by virtue of his being able to steal from someone else. Every robber ultimately provided compensation to his victim through his own property which was stolen from him. So Rashi is telling us that the "chamas" that was filling the land was actual "gezel" -- on a mass scale.)