Rae'e 5780 - Pride

‫בס"ד‬ ‫לעילוי נשמת הרב שרגא טוביא בן רבי נתן הלוי‬ Re’ay 5780- Pride In this week’s parsha Hashem commands the Yidden not to consume blood. If you learn Rashi, (Devarim 12, 23-25), you will find that the Torah uses this Mitzva to teach us not one, but two ‫קל וחומר‬s.

The first is when the Torah adds "‫“ – "חזק‬Strengthen (yourself) not to eat blood.” Rashi, citing Chazal inquires why the Torah needs to add this encouragement, after all, it does not do this by other Mitzvos?

He quotes the opinion of Ben Azai who tells us that the Torah is teaching us that if by the prohibition of consuming blood, for which a person has nary a penchant we need to be told to strengthen ourselves, all the more so )‫ (קל וחומר‬by the prohibitions that we do desire to violate, we have to be strong and withstand temptation.

The second ‫ קל וחומר‬is found when the Torah promises those who keep this Mitzva, ‫"למען ייטב‬ "‫“– לך ולבניך אחריך‬In order that it will do good for you and for the children after you” (ibid verse 25). This teaches us that if, by staying away from the prohibition of consuming blood, something which one has nary a penchant, one shall receive a royal reward, all the more so one shall get said reward for Mitzvos which are a struggle to keep.

What we have here, is the Torah giving us valuable information towards our foray into the world of Mitzvos. One has to wonder, though, why the Torah chooses to teach us these fundamentals through the medium of ‫קל וחומר‬s from this prohibition, instead of teaching them to us outright?

Perhaps we can suggest the following by posing another question. Going back to the word ‫ חזק‬, Rashi offers another explanation for this word. He cites Rebbi Yehuda who says that consuming blood was all the rage in those days. Therefore, the Torah feels a need to give us extra encouragement by saying ‫ – חזק‬strengthen yourselves. But hold on a minute, didn’t Ben Azai say the exact opposite? Didn’t he tell us that one is not interested in consuming blood? It’s hard to argue about a truism. Either people did or did not have a desire for blood!

The answer must be, that indeed, the rest of the world loved to put their feet up after a long day’s work and have a cold cup of fresh blood. And that is to which Rebbi Yehuda is referring. Ben Azai, on the other hand is talking about Yidden. They had a different culture, they understood even without the Torah’s prohibition, that consuming blood was bizarre and not something a human being should be doing. As the Torah says ‫ – כי הדם הוא הנפש‬blood is the lifeforce of every creature. Consuming it, is in essence consuming the characteristics of the animal from whence that blood came. Yidden realized that it drags a human down a peg or two. And understanding that being a human is a precious gift, they innately steered clear away from blood.

Now we can understand why this Mitzva is used as a ‫ קל וחומר‬to others. This was something the Yidden were proud of. And Hashem, too, was proud of them. He was proud that they understood the importance of maintaining one’s level. To show His pleasure, He therefore deliberately used their abhorrence to consuming blood (via the medium of ‫ ) קל וחומר‬to teach fundamentals for all other Mitzvos.

Have a great Shabbos, Rabbi Nosson Greenberg Rav, Khal MAchzikei Torah, Far Rockaway NY