Toronto Torah

Yeshiva University Torah MiTzion Beit Midrash Zichron Dov

Parshat Mishpatim/Shekalim

25 Shevat, 5775/February 14, 2015

Vol. 6 Num. 22

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Of Hornets and Drones

Rabbi Baruch Weintraub

After the detailed laws in the beginning

of our parshah are spelled out, the
Torah describes G-ds side of the
covenant with Israel. (Shemot 23) He
will bless our food and drink, He will
remove illness from our midst and
t h e n , a m on g th e se w on d e r f ul
promises, a somewhat mysterious one
is hiding: And I will send the tzirah
before you, and it will drive out the
Hivvites, the Canaanites, and the
Hittites from before you. (23:28)

conquest, does mention the tzirah, he

merely says And I sent the tzirah before
you, and it drove them out from before
you the two kings of the Amorites,
seemingly hinting that the tzirah did not
help against the others. Perhaps the
apparent omission of the tzirah from the
book of Yehoshua is what led our sages
to the surprising statement, The tzirah
did not cross the Jordan River. (Tosefta
Sotah 11:9, and see Torah Temimah
here)

What is this tzirah? Commentators

have advanced different opinions:
Ibn Ezra explains the word tzirah as
a derivative of tzaraat, the infamous
illness.
Some suggest it means fear, as in
fear from attacking hornets.
(Malbim, Yehoshua 24:12)
A third, highly original explanation
is that tzirah represents Egyptian
forces fighting the Canaanite kings
and weakening them before the
Israeli invasion. (Rabbi Hertz) This
view relies on archaeological findings
of bee carvings on Pharaohs crown.
The mainstream opinion, it seems, is
the one mentioned by Rashi here: A
species of flying insect which
injected poison into them [the
Canaanites].

The Talmud (Sotah 36a) finds the idea

that the tzirah did not enter Israel
troubling. How could we contend that
the tzirah did not cross the Jordan, if
the Torah promises explicitly, And I will
send the tzirah before you? The
Talmud offers two answers:
1. The tzirah hovered on the eastern
side of the Jordan and shot its
poison toward the western side,
killing the Canaanites from afar.
2. There were two groups of tzirah. The
first one was Moshes weapon, and it
did not cross the Jordan. The second
one was Yehoshuas, and this group
did enter Israel.

Invisible Tzirah?
Rashis explanation seems very likely,
but why dont we hear about these
insects when the conquests are carried
out? We have detailed descriptions in
the book of Yehoshua regarding
various wars, including the war on
Yericho, the city of Ai, the five
southern kings and more - and in
none of them can we find a hint to the
existence of the tzirah. Furthermore,
when Yehoshua, in his summary of the

The limited mission of the tzirah

This answer is expanded upon by the
Vilna Gaon. (Aderet Eliyahu to Devarim
7:20) He explains that the Torah
actually presents two different roles for
the tzirah:
1. Completely removing the enemy
(Shemot 23:28), and
2. Hunting and destroying the enemies
who remain and hide. (Devarim 7:20)

type. That would explain why they are

not described as taking part in
Yehoshuas wars; they performed only
supplementary missions.
This explanation seems to fit a general
paradigm manifest in other instances of
the Jewish entry into the land of
Canaan. Divine intervention becomes
less apparent, remaining more behind
the scenes as the Jews proceed. At first,
in Egypt, the Jews are completely
passive, and G-d strikes Egypt. Then, at
the sea, G-d requires the people to
make the first step. Later, against
Amalek, there is already a man-made
war; but still the battle miraculously
follows Moshes prayer. The same can
be said regarding the difference between
Yehoshuas war against Yericho and his
subsequent war against the city of Ai.
And the reduced role of the hornets,
seems to fall into line with this
progression.
One question, though, hovers in the air:
should we see this shift as essentially
bad, a result of our sins preventing us
from meriting full Divine support; or is
it good, a sign of our maturity and of
G-ds trust in us?
bweintraub@torontotorah.com

The latter role implies that Israel would

carry out the main burden of defeating
the enemy, and the Vilna Gaon
concludes that the tzirah that crossed
the Jordan were only of this second

OUR BEIT MIDRASH

ROSH BEIT MIDRASH
RABBI MORDECHAI TORCZYNER
AVREICHIM RABBI DAVID ELY GRUNDLAND, RABBI JOSH GUTENBERG, YISROEL
MEIR ROSENZWEIG
COMMUNITY MAGGIDEI SHIUR
RABBI ELAN MAZER, RABBI BARUCH WEINTRAUB
CHAVERIM DANIEL GEMARA, SHMUEL GIBLON, MEIR GRUNWALD, YOSEF HERZIG, BJ
KOROBKIN, RYAN JENAH, JOEL JESIN, SHIMMY JESIN, AVI KANNER, YISHAI KURTZ,
MITCHELL PERLMUTTER, ARYEH ROSEN, DANIEL SAFRAN, KOBY SPIEGEL, EFRON
STURMWIND, DAVID TOBIS

We are grateful to
Continental Press 905-660-0311

Book Review: Bnei Machshavah Tovah

Bnei Machshavah Tovah
Rabbi Klonymus Kalman Shapira
Feldheim Press, Heb. 1989, 59 pgs.
English ed. http://bit.ly/1Ad3WAE
Audio classes available for download:
http://bit.ly/1DdyNO6
http://bit.ly/1M7T2kD
The goal of this book
It is axiomatic within Judaism that the
individual Jew functions not as an
independent spiritual entity, but as part
of the community; so it is that Rambam
wr ote ( Mi sh ne h Tor a h , H i l ch ot
Teshuvah 3:11) that one who performs
his mitzvot in private, apart from the
community, is denied any portion in the
next world. Rabbi Klonymus Kalman
Shapira took this principle further,
though, designing a blueprint for a
group of Jews who would form a
community dedicated to mutual
spiritual growth. This blueprint is found
in the short book, Bnei Machshavah
Tovah (literally: Children of a Good
Thought).
As Rabbi Shapira wrote at the outset of
his book, his envisioned community
consists only of people who are
committed to Torah and who are
emotionally pained by their distance
from G-d. They must be self-aware, and
consistent in their commitment to
growth. They are to meet at least three
times each week, in a dedicated space,

to work on their spiritual development.

The book continues to describe ways
in which normal human beings, with
physical needs and material lives, can
draw closer to G-d as a group
although he warns that their bond
with each other must never lead them
to separate from their Jewish brethren.
About the author
Rabbi Klonymus Kalman Shapira was
born in Grodzisk, Poland in 1889. He
was part of a rabbinic family, and
could trace his lineage back to Rabbi
E l i m e l e c h o f Li z h e n s k ( N o am
Elimelech), the Chozeh of Lublin, and
the Maggid of Kozhnitz.
Orphaned at the age of three, Rabbi
Shapira nonetheless grew in Torah
scholarship from childhood, and was
appointed Rabbi of Piaseczno at the
age of twenty. He was interned in the
Warsaw Ghetto; a collection of the
stirring speeches he delivered in the
Ghetto has been published in the book
Eish Kodesh. He was murdered by the
Nazis in 1943.
Ra b bi S h ap ir a fe l t th at Bnei
Machshavah Tovah was a special work;
he sent the manuscript to his brother
in Jerusalem, so that the first copies
would be printed in that holy city.
Further, he prohibited all copying of
the book without his permission, a

613 Mitzvot
#426: Do not show them favour
In Devarim 9:5, Moshe informs the Jews that G-d is not
bringing the Jews into the Land of Israel because of our own
righteousness. Rather, as G-d told Avraham (Bereishit
15:16), we receive the Land of Israel in order to fulfill the
mission of removing idolatry from G-ds land. Therefore,
Devarim 7:2 instructs the Jews who will enter Israel, Do not
make a covenant with [the Canaanite nations] and do not
show them favour.
The prohibition against making a covenant comprises Mitzvot
93 and 425 in the count of Sefer haChinuch; we are
prohibited from entering into any agreement which will
permit the residents of the Land of Israel to retain idolatry.
[See the 613 Mitzvot column in Toronto Torah 2:34 for more
regarding these mitzvot.] The separate prohibition against
showing them favour is Mitzvah 426 in the count of Sefer
haChinuch.
The Talmud (Avodah Zarah 20a) understands this instruction
as establishing separation between the Jews and their new
Canaanite neighbours. [Tosafot (ibid.) explain it to apply to
any idolaters, though.] We are not to present them with gifts,
and we are not to praise any redeeming features they may
possess. As Sefer haChinuch explains the cycle of human
behaviour, The root of all human behaviour is in deeds and
speech which direct ones thoughts, and after thought and
speech, all actions will follow. If we were to praise them for
their virtues, we might be drawn into emphasizing their

Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner

decree which was only broken after his
death at the insistence of several
Chassidic rebbeim.
Why is this book important?
Bnei Machshavah Tovah is written for
normal people, dealing with the
normal which are part of life in every
generation. The books advice is
grounded in reality, even as it offers a
path to the stars and insists that the
reader is capable of reaching that
destination.
Examples of Rabbi Shapiras ideas are:
using physical activities as a means
of spiritual growth;
avoiding all cynicism and scorn;
using music as a means of bringing
to light the emotions of the soul;
treasuring special moments of
emotion in order to develop general
spiritual sensitivity; and
patiently taking small steps to
achieve great goals.
It is this authors belief that any
Jewish community would be improved
by the presence of a group of people
dedicated to the study and
implementation of this book.
torczyner@torontotorah.com

Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner

positive side to the extent of belittling the significance of
their idolatry and accepting it in our land.
Per Sefer haChinuch, this prohibition only applies so long as
these nations persist in their idolatry; once they accept the
Noachide laws, the prohibition is inapplicable. Also, this
prohibition does not apply to philanthropy; we are taught to
fund the needy of the nations along with our own needy.
(Gittin 61a; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Avodat Kochavim 10:5)
The Talmud (Avodah Zarah 20a) links this prohibition to an
additional commandment not to provide idolaters with a
territorial foothold in the Land of Israel. This prohibition is
of great relevance in Israel this year, as a Shemitah
(Sabbatical) year in which farming is greatly restricted.
Significant rabbinic authorities contend that land owned by
a non-Jew is not subject to the restrictions of the Shemitah
year, and so many Israeli farmers sell their land to nonJews for this period of time. This is called the heter
mechirah. Opponents of the heter mechirah contend that our
prohibition forbids us from presenting idolaters with a
foothold in the Land of Israel. Further, such a sale might be
not only prohibited but invalid, depending upon how it is
conducted. Supporters of the heter mechirah contend that
the prohibition does not apply, because it is only a
temporary sale. [For example, see Translation on Page 3.]
torczyner@torontotorah.com

Visit us at www.torontotorah.com

Biography

Torah and Translation

Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank

The Heter Mechirah

Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner

Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank, Har Tzvi Yoreh Deah 123

Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank was born in

1873, in Kovno, Lithuania, into a
rabbinic, Zionist family. He learned in
Slobodka and Telz, under Rabbi Yitzchak
Elchanan Spektor as well as Rabbi
Eliezer Gordon, until his family moved to
Hadera, in what was then Palestine, in
the early 1890s.
The young Rabbi Frank continued his
studies in Jerusalem, learning with
Rabbi Yechiel Michel Tukaczinski, whose
works include the classic Gesher
haChaim. He became close with the
giants of Torah in the land, growing
under the tutelage of Rabbi Shmuel
Salant, Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin and
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook; his
brother-in-law was Rabbi Aryeh Levin.
Rabbi Salant soon appointed Rabbi
Frank to positions of halachic authority
in Jerusalem, and in 1907 he became a
judge on the Beit Din of Jerusalem. In
1918 he became the Av Beit Din, and he
served in that capacity for the next forty
years. He also held positions of civic
leadership and communal service during
World War I. In the ensuing years he
aided the Haganah in defending the Jews
of Jerusalem; his home served as an
ammunition repository.
In his role as head of the Beit Din, Rabbi
Frank invited Rabbi Kook to become the
Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Jerusalem in
1919. Rabbi Kook served in that capacity
until his death in 1935, at which time
Rabbi Frank himself ascended to that
position.
Rabbi Frank was in the middle of every
major national issue during the early
years of the State. He vehemently
supported the formation of the State of
Israel, with the insistence that Torah be
primary in the governance of the nation.
He worked with religious kibbutzim to
preserve halachah as they managed their
farms, and he was in the middle of the
battles over the drafting of women into
the army. Rabbi Frank endorsed the
heter mechirah, but supported farmers
who chose not to rely on it.
Rabbi Frank passed away just before
Chanukah in 1960. He left behind many
published works, including several
volumes of responsa, commentary to
Chumash, Gemara, Rambam and
Shulchan Aruch, and specific works on
many areas of Judaism and Jewish
practice.

Translated by Rabbi Josh Gutenberg

, ,
.

One of the fundamental oppositions that

was raised by several great rabbis who
emerged against permitting the sale [of
land in Israel] to a non-Jew to remove
the shemitah prohibitions, is that is
clear that we may not sell them houses
and fields in the Land [of Israel]. This is
a law in the mishnah, and it is also an
explicit verse, Do not show them
favour (Devarim 7:2), from which the
rabbis derived, Do not give them
settlement in the land. (Avodah Zarah
20b)

,

...

Apparently, the main argument from

Do not show them favour is not
relevant to the whole issue, for the
prohibition of Do not show them
favour is upon the shoulders of the
fields owner, and only the seller would
violate this [prohibition], but not the
ones who acquire and benefit from the
fruit...

,

,
,

.


, ,


.

[A further point:] If there were to be a

sale or acquisition of land in Israel to a
non-Jew, but the acquisition would not
give him power or any possibility of
achieving permanent settlement in the
land, it is possible to suggest that in this
case the Jew who sold did not violate a
prohibition. The root of the prohibition
in the command Do not show them
favour is not dependent on a
transaction; only that which causes
settling in the land is the root of the
prohibition. Therefore, regarding the
leniency of the sale which they are
accustomed to practicing, which is
organized in a manner in which it is
certain that the sale will not lead to
them being entrenched in the land, it is
possible to suggest that even though the
sale takes effect, since the non-Jew will
not come through this to permanently
settle [in the land] it is not a prohibition
which the Torah forbade and it is not
included in Do not show them favour.

,
...

,
.

Regarding that which they questioned

regarding this that we do not interpret
Biblical law according to its
reason (Sanhedrin 21a), and no logic or
reason for a commandment can
introduce any leniency... The verse itself
states that only an action which leads to
a non-Jew permanently settling in the
land is prohibited. However, if there is
no settling then there is no prohibition.

torczyner@torontotorah.com

Visit us at www.torontotorah.com

This Week in Israeli History: 29 Shevat, 1977

Israel Defeats USSR, 91-79
29 Shevat is Wednesday
Upon Israels declaration of independence in 1948, the
USSR was one of the first countries to recognize the status
of the fledgling Jewish state. However, this positive reaction
was short-lived. With the onset of the Cold War, the USSR
boycotted Israel and typically referred to it as a terrorist
regime. It was in this political atmosphere that the 1977
European Cup basketball championship was held.
During the tournament, one of the two competing teams
would host each match. When it came time for Israels
Maccabee Tel Aviv and the USSRs CSKA Moscow, an official
military team, to compete on the 29th of Shevat (February
17), there was a significant problem. Israel was billed to
host, but the USSR refused to go to Israel. Further, they
denied the Israelis entry into the USSR. As such, the game
was hosted by neutral Belgium.

Yisroel Meir Rosenzweig

The game was viewed as a showdown between David and
Goliath, and so it is no surprise that Maccabee Tel Avivs
decisive 91-79 victory over CSKA Moscow was an enormous
upset. In the eyes of the Israeli public, the victory was not
limited to the basketball court. CSKA Moscows defeat at the
hands of Maccabee Tel Aviv was symbolic of the defeat of the
USSR at the hands of democracy. The victory was a powerful
unifier amongst Israelis and Maccabee Tel Aviv, the killers of
the bear, received a heros welcome upon their return to
Israel. The impact of the game was perhaps best expressed by
an American member of Maccabee Tel Aviv, Tal Brody: We are
on the map! And we are staying on the map not only in
sports, but in everything.
For more, see pg. 410-418: http://web.macam.ac.il/~galiliy/
JSH05.pdf
yrosenzweig@torontotorah.com

Weekly Highlights: Feb. 14 Feb. 20 / 25 Shevat 1 Adar

Time

Speaker

Topic

Location

Special Notes

R Josh Gutenberg

Parshah and Kugel

BAYT

After Hashkamah

R David Ely Grundland

Torah Temimah

Shaarei Shomayim

Derashah
after musaf

Yisroel Meir Rosenzweig

Derashah:
Bein Adam laChaveiro

Clanton Park

Before minchah

R Mordechai Torczyner

Daf Yomi

BAYT

4:35 PM

Yisroel Meir Rosenzweig

The Laws of Human Dignity

Clanton Park

After minchah

R Mordechai Torczyner

Gemara Avodah Zarah:

Idol No More

BAYT

7:00 PM

R David Ely Grundland

Parent-Child Learning

Shaarei Shomayim

8:45 AM

R Josh Gutenberg

Contemporary Halachah:
Gel-Cap Medication

BAYT

Third floor

9:15 AM

R Shalom Krell

Kuzari

Zichron Yisroel

with light breakfast

8:30 PM

R David Ely Grundland

Gemara: Mind, Body, Soul

Shaarei Shomayim

R Reuven Taragin,
Yeshivat haKotel

the Zaydies of our Children?

R Josh Gutenberg

Daf Yomi

BAYT

R Mordechai Torczyner

Book of Job: Tzofar Speaks

Shaarei Shomayim

R Josh Gutenberg

Daf Yomi

BAYT

12:30 PM

R Mordechai Torczyner

Business Ethics:
Dunning a Debtor

Thu. Feb. 19

Rosh Chodesh Adar

Feb. 13-14
5:15 PM

Rabbis Classroom

West Wing Library

Sun. Feb. 15

Mon. Feb. 16
9:30 AM

Who will be

Yeshivat Or Chaim

8:30 AM Shacharit
Light Breakfast

Tues. Feb. 17
6 AM & 8:20 AM
1:30 PM
Wed. Feb. 18
6 AM & 8:20 AM

1:30 PM
Fri. Feb. 20
10:30 AM

R Mordechai Torczyner

Zeifmans
Lunch and Learn
201 Bridgeland Ave RSVP rk@zeifmans.ca

The Book of Yehoshua:

Clean-Up Time

49 Michael Ct.
Thornhill

Advanced Shemitah

Yeshivat Or Chaim

Rosh Chodesh Adar

R Josh Gutenberg

For Women Only