Parshat Bamidbar 5783
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in the Medrash Rabbah on this week’s parsha (1,7), בשלשה דברים נתנה התורה, באש, במים, ובמדבר; the Torah was given with fire, with water, and with the desert. The Medrash learns that Torah was given with fire, as the pasuk says by Matan Torah (Shemos, Chapter 19, Pasuk 18), והר סיני עשן כולו. That the Torah was given with water is derived from a pasuk in Shiras Devorah, (Shoftim, Chapter 5, Pasuk 5) which in describing Matan Torah states, גם שמים נטפו גם עבים נטפו מים. Rashi describes the water dripping from the heavens as being a special dew which revived Clal Yisrael. And that the Torah was given with the desert is learned from the first pasuk in our parsha, וידבר ד' אל משה במדבר סיני. As the Medrash explains, one needs to make himself Hefker like the desert in order to receive the Torah.
Though Bnei Yisrael received the Torah at Har Sinai, there were some mitzvos Bnei Yisrael received previously, like at Marah (see Rashi on Shemos, Chapter 15, Pasuk 25). And Shabbos is explicitly mentioned in the Torah beforehand (see Tosfos, Shabbos 87B כאשר), as we read (Shemos, Chapter 16, Pasuk 30), וישבתו העם ביום השבעי. Bnei Yisrael kept the Shabbos. And then they travelled to Refidim, and from there they travelled to Har Sinai (Chapter 19, Pasuk 2) in a state of unity to receive the Torah. We see from this chronology of events, that keeping Shabbos was a necessary perquisite to receiving the Torah.
The Sfas Emes teaches that Shabbos was necessary in the same manner that the Torah was given במדבר. In order to receive the Torah, one must totally submit himself to Hashem and make himself barren of any desires like a desert. So too on Shabbos, one must refrain from doing his regular work and subjugate his will to Hashem. This is why Shabbos had to come before receiving the Torah; Bnei Yisrael were prepared through Shabbos to accept the mitzvos of the Torah. And hence when we say in the Haggadah on Pesach כמה מעלות טובות למקום עלינו in the piyyut of דיינו, we mention first נתן לנו את השבת and only afterwards do we mention קרבנו לפני הר סיני.
The Gemara in Pesachim 105A teaches כבוד יום וכבוד לילה, כבוד יום קודם. If one has limited resources for his Shabbos meal (excluding wine for Kiddush), the meal during the day takes precedence over the seudah of Friday night. One should be careful of this since, as the Mishnah Berurah points out, people typically invest more for the night seudah than the day one. But one might ask, why is there emphasis on the day meal as opposed to the night meal? Kiddush at night is from the Torah, and particularly in the summer, we eat later and are hungrier! Why can’t we make a bigger deal from the seudah on Leil Shabbos?
Rav Tzadok answers that the reason why כבוד יום קודם is because the real devotion for Shabbos only becomes apparent during the day. At night, everyone is home anyway. Eating a meal as a family in the evening is something typically done, regardless of Shabbos. But on Shabbos morning, when instead of the usual routine of going to work and tending to one’s personal needs a Jew sits down to a seudah with his family, this expresses his personal sacrifice. Now he is making himself הפקר כמדבר! This is the meal which should take precedence and express his devotion to Hashem.
When the mitzvah of Shabbos is taught in the Luchos Sheniyos in parshat Va’Eschanan, the pasuk says (Chapter 5, Pasuk 11), כאשר צוך; as you were commanded. As we mentioned, Bnei Yisrael were previously commanded the mitzvah of Shabbos. But the Chasid Ya’avetz adds another meaning to the words כאשר צוך. It is common today to advocate for keeping Shabbos by stating it’s a wonderful idea. One should have one day a week where he rests, where he cuts off from the world, particularly in our world of obsession with technology. The Chasid Ya’avetz says this is not why we keep Shabbos. We keep it because of כאשר צוך; we keep Shabbos as a means of submitting ourselves to Hashem and not because we think it’s a good idea. (He says the same p’shat for כאשר צוך mentioned by כיבוד אב ואם as well).
This Shabbos is the last Shabbos before Shavuos. The Sfas Emes teaches that just as Chazal teach in Vayikra Rabbah (27,10), that a male child must experience a Shabbos before he has a Bris Milah, so too Bnei Yisrael needed a Shabbos before they entered the Bris HaTorah. Therefore, on this Shabbos, it behooves us to strengthen our devotion to Hashem and His Shabbos, and make ourselves הפקר כמדבר, in order to reestablish our Bris with Hashem and properly receive the Torah on Shavuos.
Good Shabbos
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