dsc@mtgzz.UUCP (d.s.chechik) (08/28/85)
Dvar Torah - Ki Saytsay This week's parasha contains 74 mitzvos (48 negative, 25 positive). One of the negative commandments in this weeks sedra is not to "turn away an Egyptian [from converting] because you lived in his land". Rashi tells us, "Even though they threw your males into the sea. Why? Because they were your hosts in a time of need." The torah obligates us to overlook our negative experiences in Egypt and to be grateful for the hospitality shown to us by the Egyptians during our bondage there. The torah places value on the results of one's actions despite any lack intention or even reverse intention. The theme of receiving credit for the results of one's actions even if one did not intend them is a common theme running throughout the torah. We list several more examples. In Bereshis when Moshe saves Yisro's daughters from the shepherds, they report back to there father, "Ish Mitzri...", An Egyptian saved us. The Medrash Rabbah asks, "Was Moshe an Egyptian"? The Medrash answers with a parable to a man that is bitten by a snake and runs to the river to wash his wound. There he finds a child drowning and saves him. The child is very grateful for having been saved but the man says, "Do not thank me, thank the snake. For if it were not for the snake, I'd not have found you." Similarly, Moshe was only able to save Yisro's daughters because he was running away after having killed an Egyptian. So his daughters were giving some of the CREDIT for their being saved to the Egyptian that was the cause of Moshe being there. The idea that one is responsible for the results of one's actions even without intent is demonstrated clearly by the story of Dovid and Yonasan in the haftorah normally read on Shabbos when Rosh Chodesh is on Sunday. In it, Dovid and Yonasan devise a plan to find out whether Shaul intends to harm Dovid. Yonasan, at great personal risk, finds that Shaul intends to harm Dovid, secretly meets him in the fields and tells him of Shaul's plans and helps him to escape. Dovid runs away and starving goes to Nov, a city of Kohanim, where he is given food. Shaul finds out that Dovid has been helped by Nov and kills the Kohanim that live there. This causes Shaul and Yonasan to later be killed. The gemorah in sanhedrin, places some of the blame for the dire consequences on Yonassan, because he did not supply Dovid with food when he helped him to escape. Despite his intentions, he bears some of the responsibility for his actions. Later on in the book of Shmuel, we are told that there is a famine. Dovid the king finds that the cause of the famine is the unavenged death of the Givonim. And the story goes on to how Shaul's decendants suffer cruelly for Shaul's killing of the Givonim. The talmud tells us that Shaul did not himself kill the Givonim but that they were the suppliers of the city Nov and when Shaul killed the residents of Nov, he removed the source of their livelyhood and is therefore as responsible for killing them as if he did the dirty deed himself. The lesson of all these stories is the same, the torah holds us responsible for and also gives us credit for our actions despite what our intentions are. It isn't sufficient to mean well. Dovid Chechik AT&T Information Systems Labs Lincroft, NJ (201)576-6393 mtgzc!dsc
dsc@mtgzz.UUCP (d.s.chechik) (08/28/85)
Dvar Torah - Ki Saytsay This week's parasha contains 74 mitzvos (47 negative, 27 positive). One of the negative commandments in this weeks sedra is not to "turn away an Egyptian [from converting] because you lived in his land". Rashi tells us, "Even though they threw your males into the sea. Why? Because they were your hosts in a time of need." The torah obligates us to overlook our negative experiences in Egypt and to be grateful for the hospitality shown to us by the Egyptians during our bondage there. The torah places value on the results of one's actions despite any lack intention or even reverse intention. The theme of receiving credit for the results of one's actions even if one did not intend them is a common theme running throughout the torah. We list several more examples. In Bereshis when Moshe saves Yisro's daughters from the shepherds, they report back to there father, "Ish Mitzri...", An Egyptian saved us. The Medrash Rabbah asks, "Was Moshe an Egyptian"? The Medrash answers with a parable to a man that is bitten by a snake and runs to the river to wash his wound. There he finds a child drowning and saves him. The child is very grateful for having been saved but the man says, "Do not thank me, thank the snake. For if it were not for the snake, I'd not have found you." Similarly, Moshe was only able to save Yisro's daughters because he was running away after having killed an Egyptian. So his daughters were giving some of the CREDIT for their being saved to the Egyptian that was the cause of Moshe being there. The idea that one is responsible for the results of one's actions even without intent is demonstrated clearly by the story of Dovid and Yonasan in the haftorah normally read on Shabbos when Rosh Chodesh is on Sunday. In it, Dovid and Yonasan devise a plan to find out whether Shaul intends to harm Dovid. Yonasan, at great personal risk, finds that Shaul intends to harm Dovid, secretly meets him in the fields and tells him of Shaul's plans and helps him to escape. Dovid runs away and starving goes to Nov, a city of Kohanim, where he is given food. Shaul finds out that Dovid has been helped by Nov and kills the Kohanim that live there. This causes Shaul and Yonasan to later be killed. The gemorah in sanhedrin, places some of the blame for the dire consequences on Yonassan, because he did not supply Dovid with food when he helped him to escape. Despite his intentions, he bears some of the responsibility for his actions. Later on in the book of Shmuel, we are told that there is a famine. Dovid the king finds that the cause of the famine is the unavenged death of the Givonim. And the story goes on to how Shaul's decendants suffer cruelly for Shaul's killing of the Givonim. The talmud tells us that Shaul did not himself kill the Givonim but that they were the suppliers of the city Nov and when Shaul killed the residents of Nov, he removed the source of their livelyhood and is therefore as responsible for killing them as if he did the dirty deed himself. The lesson of all these stories is the same, the torah holds us responsible for and also gives us credit for our actions despite what our intentions are. It isn't sufficient to mean well. Dovid Chechik AT&T Information Systems Labs Lincroft, NJ (201)576-6393 mtgzc!dsc