Avodah Mailing List

Volume 39: Number 57

Mon, 28 Jun 2021

• 1. Re: Vayisa m'shalo vayomar (Akiva Miller)
• 2. Vayisa m'shalo vayomar (Michael Poppers)
• 3. Showering and Swimming on Shiva Asar B'Tammuz (Prof. L. Levine)
• 4. Re: Vayisa m'shalo vayomar (Zev Sero)
• 5. May I purchase a new car during the Three Weeks? (Prof. L. Levine)
• 6. "Walking Modestly with Your G-d" (True Humility) (Prof. L. Levine)

.
R' Michael Poppers suggested:
> perhaps the ba'al-mashal (or, to use a term from Seifer B'reishis,
> the sar-hamosh'lim) is the one who can/does speak to rulers?

Etymologically, that is an interesting idea. But at best it is a very
partial explanation.

First off, Bil'am's mashal was not when he spoke TO Balak; it refers to the
cursing/blessing that he did FOR Balak. I could argue that Bereshis
42:14-20 is similar, when Yosef threatened his brothers in Paro's name. Yet
we don't find any mashal there. (Now that I think of it, I see an
interesting parallel between Yosef and Bil'am, who both wielded a great
deal of power and prestige, purely by the favor of their kingly employers.)

One doesn't need a degree in Literature to see that Bil'am had two distinct
styles of speech. There were times when he spoke with Balak about his terms
of employment, and he was very plain and clear about it. But when he is
actually on the job, the Torah tells us that "Vayisa m'shalo vayomar," and
Bil'am launches into his poetic oratory. Similarly, Moshe Rabenu was
plainspoken every time he spoke to Paro, and the poetry came afterward, but
in that case it was a Shir.

Perhaps my question might be rephrased: What is the difference between a
shir and a mashal? Neither is plain prose; in both, the ikar is between the
lines, and it needs to be parsed and darshened in order to be understood
properly.

Akiva Miller
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In Avodah V39n56, RAMiller asked for thoughts on the meaning of "mashal
(often translated as 'parable', not to be confused with the homonym
connoting rulership)."  Please forgive this reductionist thought: perhaps
the ba'al-mashal (or, to use a term from Seifer B'reishis, the
sar-hamosh'lim) is the one who can/does speak to rulers?

A gut'n Shabbes
and all the best from
*Michael Poppers* * Elizabeth, NJ, USA
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The following is from today's OU Kosher Halacha Yomis


Q. May I take a shower on Shiva Asar B?Tammuz? May I go swimming on Shiva Asar B?Tammuz? How about sunbathing?

A. All personal pleasures, other than eating and drinking, are permitted on
Shiva Asar B?Tammuz (Mechaber O.C. 550:2). However, a baal nefesh (a
religiously inspired individual) should avoid taking a hot shower or bath
on the fast day (Mishna Berura ibid. 6 and Shaar HaTziyun ibid. 8 citing
Pri Megadim). There are no restrictions on taking a cold shower or on
washing one?s face, hands and feet with hot water other than on Yom Kippur
and Tisha B?Av.

It is preferable not to go swimming on a fast day, such as Shiva Asar
B?Tammuz. However, swimming is permitted on the night before the fast
(Moadei Yeshurun p. 117:27 in the name of Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt?l).

One may sunbathe on a fast day. Rav Moshe, zt?l stated that although there
are opinions which restrict bathing for pleasure, such as swimming, on a
fast day, we do not add restrictions (ibid. p. 116:25). Of course, one
should exercise caution and not become dehydrated on a fast day.
YL
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On 25/6/21 6:29 am, Akiva Miller via Avodah wrote:
> 
> Perhaps my question might be rephrased: What is the difference between a 
> shir and a mashal? Neither is plain prose; in both, the ikar is between 
> the lines, and it needs to be parsed and darshened in order to be 
> understood properly.
> 

Maybe the Ibn Ezra was on to something, and mashal means specifically 
figurative speech.  Most of Bil'am's orations are in a poetic register 
but don't use figures.  The few times he uses figures are the ones 
called "meshalo".

-- 
Zev Sero            Wishing everyone a healthy summer
z...@sero.name

From today's OU Kosher Halacha Yomis


Q. May I purchase a new car during the Three Weeks?

A. Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt?l discusses this question in Igros Moshe OC 3:80. He distinguishes between three types of vehicles:

  1.  A car bought for personal use requires a Shehecheyanu and may
  therefore not be purchased during the Three Weeks. A Shehecheyanu should
  not be said during the Three Weeks.
  2.  A car bought for family use requires the beracha of HaTov V?Hameitiv,
  since Hashem has shown kindness to the family. This beracha may be
  recited during the Three Weeks (Shaarei Teshuva OC 551:18). A car may be
  purchased under such circumstances during the Three Weeks until Rosh
  Chodesh Av. It may not be purchased during the Nine Days, because it is
  similar to new construction, which is prohibited during the Nine Days
  because it brings joy.
  3.  A truck or a small car designated for business use may be purchased
  during the entire Three Weeks, since it is needed for work. The beracha
  of Shehecheyanu should be postponed until after the conclusion of the
  Three Weeks.

YL

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In the sefer Rav Schwab on Chumash there is what I consider a powerful
commentary on Michah 6:8.  Since it is somewhat long,  I am going to send
it out in 3 parts.

[Which I then put back into one long email. -micha]

?  ??????? ???? ?????, ???-?????; ?????-?????? ???????? ???????, ???? ???-??????? ????????? ????????? ?????, ?????????? ?????, ???-
???-???.

Haftarah for Balak: He has told you, 0 man, what is good, and what
Hashem seeks of you: only to do justice, to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your G-d. (Michah 6:8)

What is the meaning of "to walk humbly with your G-d?" How does it differ
from Hashem's directive to Avraham to "walk before Me"?

Hashem was telling Avraham Avinu that he should perfect himself
before Him as a Jew, starting with the mitzvah of bris milah. Michah, however, is
teaching us about the middah of modesty.

Michah is saying that we are to emulate Hashem by concealing our virtues and
good deeds from others. Hashem created everything and continues to keep all
things in existence; He is everywhere and does everything, yet He is concealed,
invisible, never to be seen. Only through His actions can we recognize His existence
and perceive some of His middos.

Michah implores us to cling to Hashem by walking along with Him, emulating
Him by concealing our good deeds and our essence, as Hashem does. By our modest
concealment, we become a partner with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Tznius, modesty,
requires not only the covering of one's body, but the concealing of one's maasim-his
deeds. This includes the level of holiness that one has attained.

The Ohel Moed was covered by layer upon layer of curtains. The wooden walls
were coated with gold, but neither they nor even the foundation sockets were visible
from the outside. Rashi states (Terumah 26:9) that the Mishkan looked like a kallah
tznuah, a modest bride, whose face is covered with a veil. The fact that the Mishkan
was so meticulously and completely covered teaches us that both physical and
spiritual beauty must be concealed from the public eye.

The Torah describes the intricacies and beauty of the Mishkan's vessels in great
detail, but these vessels were seen only by Aharon and his sons. The Aron, in the
Holy of Holies, was seen but once a year, on Yorn Kippur, and even then, only by
the kohen gadol. The rest of the nation saw only the outside curtains, made of black
goats' hair, that covered the Tabernacle. This highlights the paramount importance
of tznius, concealing physical beauty and spiritual beauty (holiness) "under wraps."


[Email #2. -micha]

More from Rav Schwab on Chumash on Michah 6:8

The more yiras Shamayim a person has, the less he shows it in public.
If a person brags about his yiras Shamayim, it is obviously flawed. This is
analogous to a thermos bottle which is warm on the outside-a sure sign
that it is broken on the inside. True yiras Shamayim is internal. The words
used by Yaakov Avinu in his final address to his son, Yosef Hatzaddik,
are: <https://www.chabad.org/library/bible
cdo/aid/8244/jewish/Chapter-49.htm#v24> ????????? ????????i
?????????-His bow was firmly emplaced (Bereishis 49:24). This
is explained by Targum: He kept the Torah privately.
This is the essence of yiras Shamayim. It is a very private and personal
relationship with Hakadosh Baruch Hu.


[Email #3. -micha]

Below is the final part of Rav Schwab on Chumash on Michah 6:8.

Tznius, generally thought of as a lack of ostentation in material
matters, is no less important in spiritual matters. How does one "walk
with Hashem" inconspicuously? Hatznea leches, Rav Schwab explained,
requires that one's yiras Shamayim be something one has no need to show
off. For a person who truly walks with G-d, being in the public eye is no
reason to manifest one's devoutness. ???????? ????? ????? ????? ????????? ????????? ??????????? -One
must always fear C-d, in private and in public. The question is obvious:
One who does not fear G-d in private does not fear G-d at all. What does
it mean to fear G-d in private? True yiras Shamayim is between you and
G-d, and the more yiras Shamayim one has, the less others should be
aware of it. The Gemara tells us that the !shah Hashunamis (Shunamite
woman) knew that Elisha the Prophet was a holy man because, among
other private indications, flies did not settle on him. Couldn't she tell that
he was a kadosh by just looking at him and watching his behavior? The
answer is no, she couldn't. True kedushah, true yiras Shamayim, is not
readily apparent to the casual observer. One sees nothing extraordinary
about the true tzaddik. The Rav learned this, he said, from the Chafetz
Chaim. If one was zocheh, one could see the Shechinah on his visage,
but otherwise, he looked like a plain man dressed in the clothes of a
simple laborer, an ordinary cap pulled low over his forehead. The greater
the gadol, the more simple his comportment. Real kedushah is within; as
soon as it becomes manifested outwardly, it is diminished.
The Rav personified this in his daily life and in his davening, which
was without noise or fuss. The first pesukim of Krias Shema took him an
inordinate amount of time to recite. Only his family knew that he began
davening at home, much before he came to shul; when the congregation
was at Barchu, he was already holding by the second brachah of Krias
Shema. In his later years, or when illness prevented him from davening
with a minyan in shul, his tefillos at home were wrenching in their
intensity-but never when anyone was watching.

The Jewish Observer, summer 1995
"The lsh Ha'emes," by Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Klugman


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