Transcript

Let's pick up from Halacha Daled and בלי נדר אם ירצה השם we'll come back yet again some more to what we were discussing last week in Halacha Gimmel, but let's begin with Halacha Daled.

ובענין זה שאלו הנביאים והצדיקים בתפלותיהם מאת ה' לעזרם על דרך האמת כמו שאמר דוד הורני ה' דרכך כלומר אל ימנעוני חטאי דרך האמת שממנה אדע דרכך ויחוד שמך וכן זה שאמר ורוח נדיבה תסמכני כלומר תניח רוחי לעשות חפצך ואל יגרמו לי חטאי למנעני התשובה אלא תהיה הרשות בידי עד שאחזור ואבין ואדע דרך האמת ועל דרך זו כל הדומה לפסוקים אלו.

Let's just do one general comment that the Rebbi Itzela has in M'lo HaRo'im. When we read Halacha Gimmel, okay, so Paroh, Sichon, okay, there are... the Rebbi Itzela just he doesn't add anything, he just shines a spotlight. David HaMelech was afraid that maybe he could fall into that category of having been chotei so egregiously that Rachmana l'tzlan the possibility of teshuva would be taken away.

מהו זה שאמר דוד טוב וישר ה' על כן יורה חטאים בדרך ידרך ענוים במשפט וילמד ענוים דרכו.

Meaning, doesn't this sound like sort of the opposite problem, that Hashem is doing the work for us?

זה ששלח להם נביאים מודיעים להם דרכי ה' ומחזירים אותם בתשובה.

So first of all, again, it doesn't mean that Hashem is being machzir us in teshuva, but it's rather that Hashem sends the nevi'im to arouse, but again, the bechira chofshis is there whether or not to respond and to respond to that hisoreros.

ועוד שנתן בהם כח ללמוד ולהבין שמדה זו בכל אדם שכל זמן שהוא נמשך בדרכי החכמה והצדק מתאוה להם ורודף אותם והוא שאמרו חכמים בא לטהר מסייעין אותו כלומר ימצא עצמו נעזר על הדבר.

The Rambam says something very fascinating here. When a person takes the first steps to be נמשך בדרכי החכמה והצדק, a person takes those first steps to be drawn along the paths of chochma and tzedek, so that exposure, that initial taste as it were, Hashem created us that that's... Something that a person responds to very, very strongly. And again, given the contrast between again the Maimar of the Rambam quoting here and the other half of it, הבא ליטהר מסייעין לו, הבא ליטמא פותחין לו, so it means that whatever whatever effect cheit has on a person, the effect of being nimshach בדרכי החכמה והצדק is greater. And that a person naturally, that there's a natural hunger which a person experiences once he begins to be exposed to darchei hachochma. Take a look at the famous Rambam in Perek Beis of Hilchos Yesodei Hatorah, Halacha Beis, which should probably be reread with this halacha in mind:

ואיך היא הדרך לאהבתו ויראתו בשעה שיתבונן אדם במעשיו וברואיו הנפלאים הגדולים ויראה מהם חכמתו שאין לה ערך ולא קץ מיד הוא אוהב ומשבח ומפאר ומתאוה תאוה גדולה לדעת השם הגדול כמו שאמר דוד צמאה נפשי לאלוקים לקל חי.

The exposure to chochma creates a tremendous taiva in a person for more. And it's that, it's that deepening and intensifying of the person's desire, which for the Rambam is this siyua that a person is given.

הלא כתוב בתורה ועבדום וענו אותם הרי גזר על המצרים לעשות רע וכתוב וקם העם הזה וזנה אחרי אלהי נכר הארץ הרי גזר על ישראל לעבוד עבודה זרה ולמה נפרע מהן לפי שלא גזר על איש פלוני הידוע שיהיה הוא הזונה אלא כל אחד ואחד מאותן הזונים שעבדו עבודה זרה אלו לא רצה לעבוד לא היה עובד ולא הודיעו הבורא אלא מנהגו של עולם הלא למה זה דומה לאומר העם הזה יהיה בהן צדיקים ורשעים לא מפני זה יאמר הרשע כבר נגזר עליו שיהיה רשע מפני שהודיע הקדוש ברוך הוא למשה שיהיה רשע בישראל כענין שנאמר כי לא יחדל אביון מקרב הארץ וכן המצרים כל אחד ואחד מאותן המצרים והמריעים לישראל אלו לא רצה להרע להן הרשות בידו שלא גזר על איש ידוע אלא הודיע שסוף זרעו להשתעבד בארץ לא להם וכבר אמרנו שאין כח באדם לידע היאך ידע הקדוש ברוך הוא דברים שעתידים להיות.

So doesn't the pasuk of veavadum veinu osam also imply that the gezeiras Hashem is overriding bechira? So the Rambam says no, because since it doesn't specify who's going to do it, so therefore it doesn't represent a gezeira on an individual. Take a look at the Lechem Mishneh. Lechem Mishneh says that be'emes the Rambam's kashya he's already farentfered at the end of Perek Hey:

זה מתורץ במה שתרץ למעלה שהקל יודע הדברים ואין ידיעתו מכרחת שאין ידיעתו כידיעתנו. אלא רצה כאן לתרץ תירוץ אחר יותר מספיק.

Why did he give us a second teretz?

ולמטה כתב וכבר אמרנו שאין כח באדם לדעת אפשר שכיון לזה כלומר מלבד תירוץ זה אני יכול לתרץ תירוץ אחר והוא התירוץ שתירץ למעלה.

So the way the Lechem Mishneh reads the Rambam, at the end of the day, so Perek Hey, lemayseh we don't have an understanding. The Rambam explains why we don't have a question, but lemayseh we don't have an understanding. So basically Lechem Mishneh presents that there's going to be more sippuk hanefesh from this answer the Rambam can give us in Perek Vav, but the emes is that the teretz in Perek Hey that the Rambam has said in Perek Hey really addresses the issue of how can it be that if ve'avadum ve'inu osam that they still have, they still have bechira. So לולי דברי של לחם משנה, lichora one would have said the pshat in the Rambam is as follows. Rav Meir Simcha has in Meshech Chochma at the end of Parshas Mishpatim. He's commenting on the pasuk, on the drashas Chazal on the pasuk

עלה אלי ההרה והיה שם ואתנה לך את לחת האבן והתורה והמצוה אשר כתבתי להורתם.

The end of Mishpatim. So Chazal darshen that אשר כתבתי זה נביאים וכתובים. So it's a little funny that asher kasavti... I mean Nevi'im u-Ksuvim certainly isn't more Torah she-b'ksav than the Chumash? Okay, so the Chumash has already been referred to, but af-al-pi-chen it's, it's... so Rav Meir Simcha says as follows:

והנה בברכות דף ה ע"א אשר כתבתי זה נביאים וכתובים פירוש ואמרו בנדרים פרק ג דף ל"ו ע"ב ברוב חכמה רוב כעס שאלמלא חטאו ישראל לא ניתן להם אלא חמשה חומשי תורה וספר יהושע בלבד.

If we hadn't sinned, we wouldn't have the rest of Tanakh. We'd have chamisha chumshei Torah and Yehoshua, but everything else, the rest of Nach, is all occasioned by cheit. So listen carefully to these next few lines here:

אם כן קודם שחטאו לא היה ביכולת הכתב להראות לשום נברא שידיעתו מכרחת הבחירה רק אשר כתבתי השם יתברך בעצמו שידיעתו אינה מכרחת לבחירה כדברי רבינו הרמב"ם שידיעת השם יתברך אינה כידיעת הנבראים שהיא עצמותו ואינה מתוספת עליו ודוק.

So what does Rav Meir Simcha say? Because of the fact that Hakadosh Baruch Hu's yedias doesn't work the way our yedias does, that's what allows Him to know the future without the future being predetermined. And that's how the Rambam basically is saying there is no question because the question of how can the future be known and there still be bechira is assuming our form of yedias. So says Rav Meir Simcha based on this, listen rabosai. Says Rav Meir Simcha based on this, the very minute Hakadosh Baruch Hu would share His knowledge of the future and would bring it down from the level of His yedias to our yedias, that would be machriach the future. And mimaila that's what asher kasavti means: that when Moshe Rabbeinu was on Har Sinai, so Hakadosh Baruch Hu showed him on the bookshelf, he showed him the kaf-daled seforim. but said, but you can't open them, but you can't open them. And that's what it means asher kasafiti that Torah and mitzvos I'm going to share with you, Moshe Rabbeinu. I'm going to share with you Torah and mitzvos, but nevi'im u-kesuvim I'm not going to share with you, I'm not going to tell you what Menashe is going to do, I'm not going to tell you what Achav is going to do. The very minute it goes from the techum of my yediya, capital M, to your yediya, so then the yediya would be machri'ach. And that's what it means va-esnah lecha, I'm going to give you, I'm going to share with you Torah and mitzvos, I'm going to tell you all about it. נביאים וכתובים אשר כספתי, I'll show you the closed, I'll show you the closed sefer. Kala l'chora that what the Rambam means here is the Rambam is saying Hakadosh Baruch Hu says to Avraham Avinu ve'avadum ve'inu osam. It goes from the realm of Hakadosh Baruch Hu's yediya, he shares it with Avraham Avinu. So now that yediya should be machri'ach. Now what I said at the end of Perek Heh doesn't ferenfer. What I said at the end of Perek Heh is what Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't share with anyone. But here Hakadosh Baruch Hu says to Avraham Avinu ve'avadum ve'inu osam. Moshe Rabbeinu is already privy, and then, and then all of Klal Yisrael is privy to וקם העם הזה וזנה אחרי אלהי נכר הארץ. So when it's when they have that yediya, so that's machri'ach? Answers the Rambam, no, that what was shared with them was not shared about individuals. Ma'an d'chanami, Hakadosh Baruch Hu takeh knows more than that. Okay, but that we already took care of, that we took care of at the end of Perek Heh. Lechora, that's the, that's the havana here.

הוא שכללנו ושנינו לכם משה בארנו ופירשנו לכם א ישתדל אדם לעשות תשובה ולנקות כפיו מחטאיו כדי שימות והוא בעל תשובה כדי שיזכה לחיי העולם הבא.

So when it means ישתדל אדם לעשות תשובה, if you read the Rambam anachronistically, so then the Rambam translates, a person should try. Sort of like saying, you know, it's almost, it's almost Sukkos, you should try to bentch lulav first day Sukkos. Give it a shot. Try, try to bentch. What do you mean try to bentch? It's a mitzvas asei. But the emes is that lechora the correct translation of yeshtadel, it means to exert oneself. That hishtadlus, it means to exert oneself. And the Rambam is anticipating what he's going to spell out in halacha gimmel, that elu ha-avonos, the avonos of de'os ra'os, of midos ra'os, the last four lines of halacha gimmel

קשים מאותן שיש בהן מעשה שבזמן שאדם נשקע באלו קשה הוא לפרוש.

Meaning the Rambam is now again, we mentioned the Rosh Ha'arah, how the Rambam is revisiting the chiyuv teshuvah, he's not talking anymore simply about abstaining from a concrete ma'aseh issur which a person has been guilty of until now, but he's talking about changing himself. Not just talking about not succumbing to the taiva, he's talking about uprooting the taiva. He's not just talking about not acting on the kaas, but he's talking about uprooting the kaas. So that, the Rambam says, is taka not going to come easily. A person can do it. The havana of bechira chofshis that's been presented in the last two prakim, the all-encompassing nature of the bechira chofshis. A person can do it but he's going to have to be mishtadel, he's going to have to exert himself. The Rav used to quote that Rav Chaim said to the Rav's father, Rav Chaim in Brisk was known differently than he was known throughout the world. He wasn't known as the gaon hagaonim of so many doros, but he was known as a baal chesed שאין לצייר אין להשיג. The descriptions of Rav Chaim's home, he didn't have a home, it was, we would describe it more as a train station overrun with homeless and destitute and nitzrachim of every sort. The chesed is just i efshar letzaier. So the Rav used to quote that Rav Chaim once said to his son, to the Rav's father, he said to him: don't think I was born this way. I had to work very hard to get there. That's why he says yeshtadel adam.

לעולם יראה אדם את עצמו כאילו נטה למות ושמא ימות בשעתו ונמצא עומד בחטאו. לפיכך ישוב מחטאו מיד ולא יאמר כשאזקין אשוב שמא ימות קודם שישוב. הוא ששלמה אמר בחכמתו בכל עת יהיו בגדיך לבנים ושמן על ראשך אל יחסר.

I don't know if the kasha I'm about to ask is such a kasha, but kidomeini the point is emes. So the Rambam is clearly giving us an exhortation. He's exhorting us not to procrastinate in doing teshuva. A person shouldn't leave it for the later. How does he know there's going to be a later? In terms of the halacha shebo is mashma as follows. When is a person guilty of being mevatel the chiyuv teshuvah? Again assuming, again in the Rambam of course it's the whole famous din in Perek Aleph, assuming that the teshuvah is a chiyuv. So when does a person, so Rabbeinu Yonah famously begins in the beginning of Shaarei Teshuvah about ראות המתאחר לעשות תשובה. But say we want to know formally when is a person guilty of being mevatel ba'erev tochal matzos? According to Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah of Chatzos kam, so Leil Tuv-Vav Nissan he didn't eat. According to Rabbi Akiva if amud hashachar kam and he hasn't eaten the kezayis, he's guilty of being mevatel ba'erev tochal matzos. What's the outer limit in terms of the chiyuv teshuvah? So Rambam Perek Beis, Halacha Zayin:

יום הכפורים הוא זמן תשובה לכל ליחיד ולרבים והוא קץ מחילה וסליחה לישראל לפיכך חייבין הכל לעשות תשובה ולהתוודות ביום הכפורים.

So there is a chiyuv to do teshuvah and say viduy on Yom Kippur. So how did, there's a lefichach. So what's the clause before the lefichach which explains, which accounts for that chiyuv teshuvah? So Rambam says first of all it's a zman teshuvah, second of all it's keitz mechila veslicha. Mistameh the emphasis is on the keitz mechila veslicha because in the previous halacha I think Rambam just recorded Aseres Yemei Teshuvah. The entire ten days are zman teshuvah. So the mashma'us in the Rambam is that when Hakadosh Baruch Hu provides a davar hamichaper so then that's the deadline for teshuvah. Taki if you take a look at the Chinuch in Parshas Naso, the halacha lema'aseh this he says mefurash. The Sefer HaChinuch in Parshas Naso in mitzvas viduy, again kedarko, avar al zeh. So the Sefer HaChinuch writes avar al zeh that Yom HaKippurim comes and goes. Again the pasuk in Parshas Naso there's no mention of Yom HaKippurim. Man dechashvei, ve-hisvadu es avonam, ve-hisvada asher chata. And the Sefer HaChinuch writes a person would be guilty of being mevatel this kam Yom Kippur. Comes Yom Kippur, Hakadosh Baruch Hu offers a davar mechaper so then that's the outer limit, that's the outer deadline for the chiyuv teshuvah.

אל תאמר שאין התשובה אלא מעבירות שיש בהן מעשה כגון זנות וגזל וגניבה כשם שצריך אדם לשוב מאלו כך הוא צריך לחפש בדעות רעות שיש לו ולשוב מהן מן הכעס מן האיבה מן הקנאה מן התחרות מן ההיתול ורדיפת הממון והכבוד ומרדיפת המאכלות וכיוצא בהן מן הכל צריך לחזור בתשובה. ואלו העוונות קשים מאותן שיש בהן מעשה שבזמן שאדם נשקע באלו קשה הוא לפרוש וכן הוא אומר יעזוב רשע דרכו ואיש און מחשבותיו.

Oh, the Rambam about teshuva

אל ידמה בעל תשובה שהוא מרוחק ממעלת הצדיקים מפני העוונות והחטאות שעשה אין הדבר כן אלא אהוב ונחמד הוא לפני הבורא כאילו לא חטא מעולם ולא עוד אלא ששכרו הרבה שהרי טעם טעם החטא ופירש ממנו וכבש יצרו אמרו חכמים מקום שבעלי תשובה עומדין בו אין צדיקים גמורים יכולין לעמוד בו כלומר מעלתן גדולה ממעלת אלו שלא חטאו מעולם מפני שהן כובשין יצרן יותר מהן.

So the the the world struggles with a kashe: how can it be that because a person was chotei, he's in a better position than if he had never been chotei? It just can't be. So there is in the ביאור הגר"א מסכת ברכות, so the the Gaon says that מקום שבעלי תשובה עומדין refers to someone who was a tzaddik gamur, and then Hakadosh Baruch Hu caused the person to sin to give him the challenge of doing teshuva. It doesn't mean that that he sinned of his own accord. It means that that Hakadosh Baruch Hu, as a chesed to the person, will be machshil him and then will he'll have earned that zchus that Hakadosh Baruch Hu was machshil him and then he will also have to overcome that that nisayon. And that's what it means. So they takeh are superior because the cheit wasn't the wasn't the their own fault. That's what the Gaon says. There's no indication that that's how the Rambam understood the the ma'amar at all. He certainly didn't understand it that way. Ella mai? It's very meduyak in the lashon HaRambam here. Just even if you contrast minei u'vei.

ולא עוד אלא ששכרו הרבה שהרי טעם טעם החטא ופירש ממנו וכבש יצרו אמרו חכמים מקום שבעלי תשובה עומדין בו אין צדיקים גמורים יכולין לעמוד בו כלומר מעלתן גדולה ממעלת אלו.

Rambam certainly doesn't—again, the just the contrast minei u'vei, he doesn't say that the schar of the ba'alei teshuva surpasses the schar of tzaddikim gemurim. It would have been a natural thing to say. No, he says the schar ba'alei teshuva is very great. He says that ein hachi nami, there's a certain maila, there's something which which the ba'al teshuva is accomplishing which the tzaddik gamur is never in a position to accomplish, but he's not saying that the he's not—again, the he's not saying that they're better off for it at the end of the day. That's what the Rambam is saying. No, schoro harbe me'od. He doesn't say that the schoram rav from the schar of the tzaddik gamur. Ein hachi nami, it can't be that the system is designed that that to be best off a person has to be chotei. What it's saying is that if a person was chotei, so alef, a person should know that the slate can be totally wiped clean, and be, that it can be schoro harbe me'od. But to say that he's going to be better off than the tzaddik gamur who was never chotei? The Rambam never said that. There's a certain maila. Yes, a certain maila. Be a certain maila that he'll have he'll have he'll have attained. I think in that same drasha, I think in Al HaTeshuva, let me just read part of Halacha Vav before we mention that:

גדולה תשובה שמקרבת את האדם לשכינה שנאמר שובה ישראל עד ה' אלקיך ונאמר ולא שבתם עדי נאום ה' ונאמר אם תשוב ישראל נאום ה' אלי תשוב כלומר אם תחזור בתשובה בי תדבק התשובה מקרבת את הרחוקים אמש היה זה שנוא לפני המקום. משוקץ ומרוחק ותועבה והיום הוא אהוב ונחמד קרוב וידיד.

Right, the Rav has the he'arah. Emesh hayah zeh. Nisht kein mentch. Hayom hu. After doing the teshuvah he is a hu. Before, before the teshuvah he was a zeh.

אמש היה זה שנוא לפני המקום משוקץ ומרוחק ותועבה והיום הוא אהוב ונחמד קרוב וידיד. וכן אתה מוצא שבלשון שהקדוש ברוך הוא מרחק את החטאים בו מקרב את השבים בין יחיד בין רבים

etc. So the Rav had the following amazing he'arah here. What does the Rambam mean that emesh hayah zeh? Is the Rambam engaging in hyperbole here? Last night he was sonu and היום הוא אהוב ונחמד קרוב וידיד. What happened to all the arba chilukei kaparah? What happened to he has to wait for Yom Kippur, he has to wait for yisurin? In case of chillul Hashem, rachmana litzlan, he has to wait for misah. What do you mean that overnight... and emesh is already in halacha daled? It sounds like that. Right, you say in halacha daled you make an ukimta that maybe it means that all these, all these have transpired. So the Rav said that he thinks that the Rambam learned pshat that the arba chilukei kaparah is only by teshuvah me-yirah. But if a person does a teshuvah me-ahavah, so then that transcends the dalet chilukei kaparah. And what perek zayin the Rambam is describing is teshuvah me-ahavah. Earlier the Rambam was describing in Hilchos Teshuvah, was describing even a teshuvah me-yirah. So the Rambam didn't have any of these descriptions. And the Rambam tells us the dalet chilukei kaparah. But by a teshuvah me-ahavah, so that transcends the arba chilukei kaparah. And lichora it is like that. Lichora it is like that. Teshuvah me-yirah is zedonos na’asu kishgagos. Not כאילו לא חטא מעולם. It's zedonos na’asu kishgagos. כאילו לא חטא מעולם is taka a teshuvah me-ahavah. That's what he's talking about, and that's what the Rambam says, so it can taka be emesh hayom. If a person does a teshuvah me-ahavah, so then that transcends even the chilukei kaparah. Just read halacha hey that we skipped.

כולם צוו על התשובה ואין ישראל נגאלין אלא בתשובה וכבר הבטיחה תורה שסוף ישראל לעשות תשובה בסוף גלותן ומיד הן נגאלין שנאמר והיה כי יבואו עליך כל הדברים האלה הברכה והקללה אשר נתתי לפניך והשבות אל לבבך בכל הגוים אשר הדיחך ה' אלהיך שמה ושבת עד ה' אלהיך ושמעת בקולו ככל אשר אנכי מצוך היום אתה ובניך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ושב ה' אלהיך את שבותך ורחמך ושב וקבצך מכל העמים אשר הפיצך ה' אלהיך שמה.

So ka-yadua the Ramban here on these psukim in Devarim understands that we're not talking about a havtacha or only about a havtacha, we're talking about the chiyuv teshuvah. And that's the Ramban's pasuk for chiyuv teshuvah. Vehashevosa veshavta is not simply betoras havtacha, but according to the Ramban that's the source for the chiyuv teshuvah. And that's what the Torah's referring back to in כי המצוה הזאת אשר אנכי מצוך היום. The Rambam understands it purely as a havtacha. So the Rav also has a comment that for a person to be maamin in the geulah, which is part of the yud gimmel ikkarim. So a person can't despair of Klal Yisrael. If אין ישראל נגאל אלא בתשובה and sof hageula lavo, so it means that Yisrael are going to do teshuva. So a person can't despair of Jews and genuinely retain any type of emunah in the geula asida.