56 68
AUGUST 26, 2021 | The Jewish Home
56
OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Delving into the Daf
Without Delay By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow
T
he Gemara (Sukkah 44a) relates an enigmatic episode: A wealthy man approached Rebbe Elazar Bar Tzadok and told him that he owns villages, vineyards, and olive orchards. During Shvi’is (Shemittah) the villagers till the soil in the vineyards and take
olives as payment. He asked Rebbe Elazar if this was proper since the villagers are taking the fruits of Shvi’is as payment for their services. (The fruits of Shvi’is are supposed to be ownerless and free for anyone to take.) Rebbe Elazar answered that it was improper. The wealthy man
departed, whereupon Rebbe Elazar commented: “I have lived here for 40 years, and I have never seen an individual follow the proper path like this man.” Later, the wealthy man returned and asked for specific guidance to establish a proper procedure for the future. Rav Yisrael Salanter wondered what Rebbe Elazar found so exceptional about this man. He simply asked a halachic question and complied with the answer. Although he acted nobly, surely others did similarly. Additionally, why did the wealthy man make an abrupt departure immediately after receiving his initial answer, only to be forced to return for more guidance later? He should have asked his follow-up question immediately! Rav Yisrael Salanter explained that the two questions answer each other. Once the man learned that his current practice was improper, he went at once to put a halt to it; he did not even wait to finish his conversation. He wanted the villagers to stop taking the olives immediately. It was this zealousness to act without the slightest delay that so impressed Rebbe Elazar. In Pirkei Avos, the Mishna says that, according to some, Avraham Avinu’s ram that was used as a substitute sacrifice in place of Yitzchak was created at the end of the Six Days of Creation. Such arichas yamim! The ram lived for around 2,000 years. What did it use for its arthritic joints? HaRav Ovadiah MiBartenura
says that the ram was not actually created then. Hashem just decreed that a ram should have its horns trapped in the thicket at the precise time after the Akeidah. The Meiri explains further: Hashem created the world to follow what we perceive as laws of nature. Hashem at the time of Creation stipulated that the world will not follow that pattern when a miracle is supposed to occur. So Hashem’s decree that the normal earthly pattern be altered regarding the ram’s entrapment took place during the Six Days of Creation; the fulfillment of that decree took place at the time of the Akeidah. This fits well with the S’forno (Parashas Vayeira), who explains that Avraham Avinu viewed the ram’s entrapment as a heavenly sign that he should offer it as a sacrifice. Rashi, however, explains differently: The entrapment of the ram was not meant to help Avraham; just the opposite! It was a hindrance! The ram was running toward Avraham, and the Satan caused it to be entrapped. The fact that the ram was caught in the thicket was meant to stop Avraham Avinu from offering it as a sacrifice. But this explanation is mystifying. The commentators explain that the 10 tests that Avraham faced were given in order of increasing difficulty. Avraham Avinu had just passed the final and most difficult test: he was ready to sacrifice the son whom he had waited and prayed for many years; the son who was supposed to be his heir. The Midrash tells us that
