Vaetchanan-tisha Bav

Parshat V’etchanan – Tisha B’Av 5759 “The Three Sins” Rabbi Ari Kahn (Unedited)

The major message of Parshat V’etchanan is the idea that there is one G-d. This idea is conveyed both in a positive and in a negative manner. On the one hand the exalted prayer, the Sh’ma is found in this Parsha. The Sh’ma may be seen as the pinnacle of man’s acceptance of One G-d. The Sh’ma however is not an isolated statement. The idea of one G-d is expressed in a number of places in the Parsha. To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is G-d; there is no other beside him. From heaven he made you hear his voice, that he might instruct you; and upon earth he showed you his great fire; and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. (4:35-36) Know therefore this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord is G-d in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath; there is no other. (4:39) Know therefore that the Lord your G-d, he is G-d, the faithful G-d, which keeps covenant and mercy with those who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations. (7:9) I am the Lord your G-d, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. (5:6) The last reference is of course the Ten Commandments which are repeated in V’etchanan. The entire Parsha is a testament of the importance in the belief in one G-d. On the other hand the Parsha also stresses the negative – the avoidance of idolatry. This law is stated clearly in the Ten Commandments, but the Ten Commandments are not an isolated statement, the polemic against idolatry is reiterated numerous times throughout the Parsha. (See 4:15-19,23,25,26-28, 6:12,14) The only action which is mentioned in the Parsha, aside from the speech of Moshe is the establishment of cites of Refuge. 1 Then Moses set apart three cities on this side of the Jordan toward the rising sun. That the slayer, who killed his neighbor unintentionally, and did not hate him in times past, might flee there; and that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live. Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the 1

See the comments of the Ramban, who understands the text as stated above, while the Ibn Ezra understands that the establishment of the cities of refuge had already taken place. 1

Manassites. And this is the Torah which Moses set before the people of Israel; 4:40-44 There is also a number of references to a particular place where scandalous behavior took place – Peor. So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-Peor.3:29, Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal-Peor, to all the men who followed Baal-Peor; the Lord your G-d has destroyed them from among you. (4:3) On this side of the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth-Peor…(4:46) While Peor was a place where idolatry was practiced, it was also a place where an outrage of a sexual variety was perpetrated. It would therefore be fair to state that the major topic of the Parsha is belief in G-d and avoidance of idolatry, while concern about bloodshed, and sexual licentiousness also make an appearance. These three offences could be called the cardinal offences in Judaism and are the only violations which are better to avoid even at the pain of death. R. Yochanan said in the name of R. Shimon b. Yehozadak: By a majority vote, it was resolved in the upper chambers of the house of Nithza in Lydda that in every [other] law of the Torah, if a man is commanded: ‘Transgress and suffer not death’ he may transgress and not suffer death, excepting idolatry, sexual licentiousness and murder. (Sanhedrin 74a) Furthermore, these are the three crimes which caused destruction of the first Temple:

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Why was the first Sanctuary destroyed? Because of three [evil] things which prevailed there: idolatry, immorality, bloodshed. (Yoma 9b) In order to understand why these crimes are stressed more than others we need to analyze some failures from the past, and understand the implications for the future. The first outrage to take place in the history of the world was the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. While technically one could call the sin thievery; they took and ate from something which did not belong to them. The objective of the repast was to become like G-d; this was the seductive description hissed by the serpent: For G-d knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.(Bereishit 3:5)

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The very thought than man could become like G-d assumes two major mistakes; one, in order for man to approximate G-d, one must be guilty of emasculating G-d, of cutting G-d down to a human size. On the other hand to equate man with G-d one must have an incredibly inflated perception of man. Therefore the core of the sin in the Garden was the sin of idolatry. This is the Jewish idea of “original sin”. Rav Yehuda also said in Rav's name: Adam was a heretic for it is written, And the Lord G-d called unto Adam and said unto him, Where art thou? i.e., whither has thine heart turned? … R. Nachman said: He denied G-d. (Sanhedrin 38b) The second sin in Bereishit is the fratricide committed by Cain. It is interesting that these two sins, those perpetrated by Adam, Eve and Cain both resulted in exile. The next sin came in the generation of the flood. Here a sexual breakdown is described: That the sons of the powerful people saw the daughters of men that they were pretty; and they took as wives all those whom they chose. There were Nefilim in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of the powerful people came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men of old, men of renown. And G-d saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Bereishit 6:3-5) The earth also was corrupt before G-d, and the earth was filled with violence. And G-d looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. (Bereishit 6:11,12) The Ibn Ezra explains these passages, the violence and corruption was based on the powerful men taking whichever woman they chose. Therefore we can state that three primordial sins committed in the early chapters of Bereishit were idolatry, bloodshed and sexual misbehavior. This cycle is then started again when an attempt to build a tower up to heaven in order to wage war on G-d is attempted: And they said, Come, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach to heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. (Bereishit 11:4) It is at this juncture that Avraham appears and begins his war on paganism. A new light shines brightly and new hope for the world is forged. 3

Years later Avraham’s descendants leave Egypt and begun their march toward destiny. They make a monumental stop at Sinai where the revelation transpires. Moshe then ascends the mountain, where he will remain for forty days and nights. The people wait below, theoretically in great anticipation awaiting the descent of the Torah with Moshe. Instead they begin to build a Calf of Gold. The tragedy is enormous, for the moment of accepting the Torah could have wiped out the negative stain left by the serpent of old. Instead a new chapter of idolatry is opened. Meanwhile Moshe on his way down the mount witnesses this great perfidy, the tablets of G-d then come falling out of his hands. However the building of the Golden Calf was not simply a question of idolatry. There were other facets to the debacle. When the idea of the Calf first arose, the people approached Hur, and asked him to oversee the building. Hur refused and was immediately murdered: Hur arose and rebuked them: ‘you brainless fools! Have you forgotten the miracles G-d performed for you?’ Whereupon they rose against him and slew him. (Midrash Rabba Sh’mot 41:7) When Aharon saw this he said: R. Benjamin b. Japhet says, reporting R. Eleazar: He saw Hur lying slain before him and said [to himself]: If I do not obey them, they will now do unto me as they did unto Hur, and so will be fulfilled [the fear of] the prophet, Shall the Priest and the Prophet be slain in the Sanctuary of G-d?2 (Sanhedrin 7a) The sin of the Golden Calf included a third element3. The Torah says: And the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to make merry (32:6) Rashi (Sh’mot 32:6) cites the Midrash Tanchuma, which explains the meaning of “making merry” as an expression of sexual activities. 2

The Talmud is referring to the verse from Aicha, which describes the destruction of the Temple: Aicha 2:20 Behold, O Lord, and consider to whom you have done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, their cherished babies? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? 3 The Midrash Rabba (Sh’mot 41:7) discerns only idolatry. AND THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND TO DRINK, AND ROSE UP TO MAKE MERRY (32:6)--that is, with their idolatry. Wherever you find the expression ‘to sit’ (yeshibah), you will find that some great delinquency occurred there. Thus of the generation of the Tower [of Babel] we read, And they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt (wayyeshebu) there (Gen. XI, 1). What delinquency was there there? And they said: Come, let us build us a city, and a tower (ib. 4). [Another example]: And they sat down to eat bread (ib. XXXVII, 25), after which we read: And they sold Joseph, etc. ib. 28). And Israel abode (wayyesheb) in Shittim (Num. XXV,1). What was the delinquency there? And the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moab (ib.). What was the ultimate result? And those that died by the plague were twenty and four thousand (ib. 9). Also here, the sitting down (yeshibah) refers to idolatry. 4

Therefore we see that the sin of the Golden Calf actually contained all three outrages, idolatry, murder and sexual licentiousness. The Talmud tells us the significance of this tragedy: R. Eleazar further stated: What is the purport of the Scriptural text: Graven upon the tables? If the first tables had not been broken the Torah would never have been forgotten in Israel. R. Aha b. Jacob said: No nation or tongue would have had any power over them; for it says: ‘Graven’ read not ‘graven’ but ‘freedom’. (Eruvin 54a) Now we may begin to understand the severity of this sin. Had the Jews not built a Golden Calf the Temple would never had been destroyed. All three sins which caused the destruction of the Temple were represented at the Golden Calf. The Mishna draws a direct connection between these events: Five misfortunes befell our fathers on the Seventeenth of Tammuz ... on the Seventeenth of Tammuz the tablets [of the law] were shattered, the daily offering was discontinued, a breach was made in the city and Apostomos burned the scroll of the law and placed an idol in the temple. (Ta'anith 26b) The Seventeenth of Tammuz is the beginning of the three weeks mourning which is undertaken in memory of the destroyed Temple. The negative spiritual power of the day was unleashed when the Jews worshipped the Golden Calf. At that moment the Luchot lost their holiness, and instead of being written with the hand of G-d, the letters floated back where they had come from – heaven. Now all that was left in Moshe’s hands was rocks. Rocks devoid of holiness. Now we understand how years later the walls of the holy city, Jerusalem could be breached on the same day. Once the people’s behavior caused the presence of G-d to be expelled, the city had lost its holiness. Now they were just stones – devoid of Shechina. The core of something losing its holiness is the shattered Luchot. Of the three offences, Judaism sees idolatry as certainly the worst and most destructive. The individual who has no belief may subjectively create his own worldview, justifying all his desires and peccadilloes.4 The linchpin of Judaism is belief in G-d. Therefore Moshe spends the majority of the Parsha discussing the problem of idolatry and the value of belief. If the Jews will somehow be able to remain in the land which they are about to enter they will need to avoid these three offences and work on their belief in G-d. Moshe repeats the Ten Commandments hoping to instill in the people deep 4

This idea is expressed in a Tosefta (Shavuot 3:6) which asks, "Who is the most dangerous man"? The Tosefta's answer is that the atheist, even if he is a moral man, is most dangerous because there is no basis for his morality. In the eyes of the Tosefta, today's moral atheist may be tomorrow’s murderer. See my discussion in Bichukotai 5758 5

profound faith awe and fear of G-d. For if the people retain G-d within them the Shechina will never be expelled and exiled. Today we stand thousands of years later; we have the advantage of the perspective of history. Today we grapple with the question how to imbue the rocks with their original holiness, and how to assure that the Shechina returns to the people and land, never to be exiled again. © 1999 Rabbi Ari Kahn, All Rights Reserved

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