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Words of Wisdom from Rabbi Yitzi — Shoftim 5781

Выпуск: Words of Wisdom from Rabbi Yitzi — Shoftim 5781. Темы: kashrut, family_education, chassidus_hashkafa, holidays, relationships_shalom_bayit, health_mind, parsha_commentary. Поисковые термины: кашрут, кошер, kosher, kashrut, כשרות, כשר, воспитание, дети, семья, chinuch, family, חינוך, ילדים, משפחה, хасидут, хасидский взгляд, chassidus, hashkafa, חסידות, השקפה. 13 ‫בס"ד‬ Learning and Leadership By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks The parsha of Shoftim is the classic source of the three types of leadership in Judaism, called by the Sages the “three crowns”: of priesthood, kingship and Torah.[1] This is the first statement in history of the principle, set out in the eighteenth century by Montesquieu in L’Esprit des Lois (The Spirit of Laws), and later made fundamental to the American constitution, of “the separation of powers.”[2] Power, in the human arena, is to be divided and distributed, not concentrated in a single person or office. The case of Solomon is particularly poignant because, for all his wisdom, he was not able to avoid the three temptations set out in our parsha: he did 18 ‫בס"ד‬ acquire great numbers of horses, he did take many wives and he did accumulate great wealth. The Rabbinic Commandments After diligently listing each of the 613 commandments, Maimonides adds: There are additional commandments that were created after the Giving of the Torah [at Sinai], which were established by the prophets and the sages 3 ‫בס"ד‬ and have spread among the entire Jewish People – such as reading the megillah [of Esther on Purim], [lighting] Chanukah candles, [fasting on] the Ninth of Av fast, [establishing] Eruvin, and hand washing [before meals]… We are obligated to accept and observe all these commandments that were later instituted, as the Torah1 teaches: do not deviate from the matter that they [the sages] instruct you.2 Oddly enough, Maimonides, who had a distinct predilection for listing, does not claim to list them all, nor does he state how many Rabbinical mitzvot there are. 4 ‫בס"ד‬ Beyond Number Noting Maimonides’ silence on this matter, the Rebbe draws a far-reaching conclusion – one that touches on a fundamental aspect of Judaism: The reason Maimonides does not list the number of Rabbinic commandments is because quintessentially there is no number. 7 ‫בס"ד‬ The accepted explanation is that the Torah does not mean “simple” in the sense of unintelligent,

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Words of Wisdom from Rabbi Yitzi

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27

Темы: kashrut, family_education, chassidus_hashkafa, holidays, relationships_shalom_bayit, health_mind, parsha_commentary