Welcome to the short, practical Lelamed Weekly Dvar (and Daily Aliya).
Please consider forwarding this to others, and I hope you enjoy... Shabbat
Shalom.
Dvar Torah for Maasei 7th Aliya
The elders of Tzlofchok’s tribe raised a concern that if the women married
someone from another tribe, their inheritance would flow to the male
heritage, and their tribe would lose that land (36:3-4). G-d’s response to
them is, “Let them marry whomever they please, but they shall marry only to
the family of their father’s tribe” (36:6). The Gemara (Baba Batra 120)
wonders how those two statements make sense. Can they marry as they please,
or can they marry only within their tribe? The Gemara answers that the
second statement was just a suggestion. And if it was merely a suggestion,
why does the Torah later say that Tzlofchok’s daughters did as they were
commanded (36:10)?
Rav Shimon Schwab proposes that although marrying within the tribe was only
a suggestion, Tzlofchok’s daughters viewed it as a commandment and acted on
it. Many commandments in the Torah can be circumvented, but there is
boundless beauty in carrying out the commandments rather than sidestepping
opportunities to serve G-d and therefore forfeiting the potential for
growth. This episode is a fitting bookend to Sefer Devarim, which enlists
us to find ways to participate in and connect with the Torah.
Shlomo Ressler
Quotation of the week:
"It's not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving."
Welcome to the short, practical Lelamed Weekly Dvar (and Daily Aliya).
Please consider forwarding this to others, and I hope you enjoy... Shabbat
Shalom.
_______________________________________________
Dvar Torah for Maasei 7th Aliya
The elders of Tzlofchok’s tribe raised a concern that if the women married
someone from another tribe, their inheritance would flow to the male
heritage, and their tribe would lose that land (36:3-4). G-d’s response to
them is, “Let them marry whomever they please, but they shall marry only to
the family of their father’s tribe” (36:6). The Gemara (Baba Batra 120)
wonders how those two statements make sense. Can they marry as they please,
or can they marry only within their tribe? The Gemara answers that the
second statement was just a suggestion. And if it was merely a suggestion,
why does the Torah later say that Tzlofchok’s daughters did as they were
commanded (36:10)?
Rav Shimon Schwab proposes that although marrying within the tribe was only
a suggestion, Tzlofchok’s daughters viewed it as a commandment and acted on
it. Many commandments in the Torah can be circumvented, but there is
boundless beauty in carrying out the commandments rather than sidestepping
opportunities to serve G-d and therefore forfeiting the potential for
growth. This episode is a fitting bookend to Sefer Devarim, which enlists
us to find ways to participate in and connect with the Torah.
Shlomo Ressler
_____________________________________________
Quotation of the week:
"It's not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving."