Date: September 7th 2017

This D’var Torah is being sponsored by Mr. Philippe Bloch of Brookline, Mass in memory of his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Jana Schupf a’h, whose Yahrzeit is Thursday, the 16th day of Elul.


PARSHAT KI TAVO – THE IMPERATIVE TO ENCOURAGE


Based on the teachings of Rabbi Alter Chanoch Henach Hakohen Liebowitz z”l (1918-2008)


Parshat Ki Tavo begins with a description of the Torah’s commandment of Bikurim. Briefly: when the very first fruits of certain species grown in Israel began to emerge, they were marked. When later harvested upon ripening, they were transported to Jerusalem and joyously brought in baskets to the Temple where they were placed alongside the Alter. The fruits then assumed an exalted level of sanctity and could only be eaten by a Kohain (priest) in a state of spiritual purity.


To digress for a moment: The Torah considers it supremely important to avoiding stealing - even very small amounts. In fact, the Talmud (Shabbat 31a) teaches that when one is judged in the next world, the first question asked will be, "Were you honest in your dealings with money?” In this spirit, the Talmud writes that when an employee is paid by the hour to work, there are few permissible excuses for doing anything other than the work during that time. Torah law considers it stealing to do something else for even a one minute (unless specifically sanctioned by the employer); the pennies received from the employer for that minute of work were not earned. Hence, they are stolen money.


Returning to our topic, the Mishnah (Bikurim 3:3-4) writes that when the people bringing Bikurim entered Jerusalem, people who were working for others would “rise before them, inquire about their well-being, and say to them: ‘Our brothers from such-and-such-a-place, come in peace!’ ”


The Torah obligates Jews to revere a Talmid Chacham (Torah scholar). To illustrate, the Talmud (Pesachim, 22b) relates that Rabbi Akiva taught that the verse in Devarim (6:13) exhorting Jews to fear Hashem your G-d, “Includes Torah scholars as well.” As Rashi (ibid.) explains, Rabbi Akiva was teaching that, on some level, people should fear Torah scholars as they fear Heaven. The Torah (Vayikrah 19:32) also contains a special commandment to rise before a Talmid Chacham. Nevertheless, in order to avoid the possible theft of a penny, Talmud (Kiddushin 33a) rules that a person working for someone should NOT pause from his labor to stand for a passing Talmid Chacham.

The Talmud (ibid.) therefore asks, why is it that one interrupts work to stand for the one bringing Bikurim but does not do the same for the Talmid Chacham?

One Talmudic answer is that the workers stood so as not to be held responsible for passersby not bringing Bikurim in future years. Rashi’s commentary explains that if Jerusalem’s workers did not interrupt their work to greet these people glowingly and with honor, they might not return with Bikurim in future years due to the effort involved.

At first glance, this answer of the Talmud seems hard to understand. The workers would have had good reason to sit and not greet them. To avoid stealing pennies from their employers, they didn’t even stand for a Talmid Chacham, the fear for whom is likened to the fear of Heaven, and before whom standing is obligatory by Torah Law. Similarly, the workers should have not been required to stand and bless those who brought Bikurim.

Yet, Jerusalem’s workers were required to interrupt their labors in order to rise and cheer and inspire those bringing Bikurim so that they would continue doing so in future years.

This text is making a statement on the requirement to encourage others to perform mitzvot. The Torah forbids interrupting work to rise for a Talmid Chacham. But the responsibility to encourage other Jews to continue performing mitzvot is deemed an even higher priority, Rising before those bringing Bikurim was therefore obligatory.


There is another “wrinkle” to this insight that deserves mention: Seemingly, the duty to encourage the good behavior of others applies mainly to cases where people are acting in an overtly improper manner. For example, consider the hypothetical case of two college roommates. One studies diligently, and the other is a slacker. Many would agree that the first one is duty-bound to encourage the second one to improve his behavior.

But what if the second already improved his character and began studying properly? Is the first one still responsible to continue showering him with compliments and respect? That is what the second person should have always been doing!

But there is another facet to this same scenario. People who manage to dramatically improve their bad habits often relapse and return to their old ways. As such, making sure to acknowledge and respect the newly acquired good behavior of the second student might buoy his spirit and help assure that he will continue to study in the future. Hence, a failure to offer this encouragement could render the first roommate morally responsible if the second student reverted to his old ways and therefore did not graduate.

Comparable scenarios crop up in almost any human relationship. This Torah Law about Bikurim is teaching that to avoid being held responsible for the transgressions of others, their good behavior must be openly encouraged and respected – especially in cases when the praiseworthy deeds might possibly not be continued.


This is a much-edited version of the Dvar that was previously emailed on September 6th 2012.




--
You are subscribed to Jewish Heritage Initiative using example@example.com

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list or change your subscription
by visiting http://www.jhicambridge.com/mail/mail.cgi/list/parsha

For more information, visit http://www.jhicambridge.com or send mail to jhi@jhicambridge.com
__________________________________

Mailing List Powered by Dada Mail
http://www.jhicambridge.com/mail/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/