5 Bullet Fridays: Parshas Pinchas

❓Questions I am pondering: Rashi (27:23) points out that when Hashem told Moshe to “give semicha” to Yehoshua, the comment was to lean his hand (singular). However, the passuk later describes that Moshe leaned on Yehoshua with both his hands. How could Moshe add to the commandment of Hashem? 💡 Idea I am thinking about: Auto pilot vs Background. There is a poem attributed to Katherine Craster which has been titled “The Centipede’s Dilemma”. It goes like this: A centipede was happy – quite Until a toad in fun Said, “Pray, which leg moves after which?” This raised her doubts to such a pitch She fell exhausted in the ditch Not knowing how to run.” Once an action, words, or thoughts becomes automatic, thinking of it consciously makes it inefficient. For example, imagine needing to pay attention to the need to breathe while performing other activities. It would be super distracting. The difficult part is the balance, or more importantly, working on how to choose when should something remain on autopilot to be most efficient and when one should re-think if perhaps some “automatized tasks” should be shifted to a more manual mode in order to enhance it or give it the attention it deserves.  💢Concept I am considering: Chumrahs. A chumrah is an imposed stringency. In the context of halacha it could refer to something which chazal imposed in certain circumstances, however it could also refer to a matter that an individual decided to accept upon oneself. One example is the Mishna in Moed Kattan (2:5) which mentions that sellers of produce, clothing, or vessels may sell their items privately for the requirements of the Yom Tov. Rebbe Yossi qualifies that they were machmir on themselves. The Gemara discusses this statement of Rebbe Yossi and whether he was referring to them being machmir to sell only in private or whether they were even machmir to not sell at all. However, the concept in general is an interesting one. It is true that there is a need to set boundaries (example: “make for yourself a fence to the Torah”), but it is also true that we don’t add laws for no reason (most extreme being perhaps bal toseif, but even nazir, and other places as well we see a word of caution to not add more “rules”). So when is it appropriate to adopt a chumrah? What guidelines should be used when creating a chumrah? What tradeoffs must be considered and how are they weighed? 👑 Hashkafic idea I am reflecting on: Mesorah/Tradition. The Rambam in his introduction to the Mishnah Torah begins with going through the first 40 generations – links in the chain – of our mesorah. Starting with Moshe Rabbeinu receiving the Torah (Written and Oral Torah) from Hashem at Har Sinai all the way to the end of the period of the Amoraim who compiled the Gemara. The chain of course does not stop there. The Rambam – a rishon - himself knew the chain of his tradition; and even now we can easily connect back our mesorah all the way back to Har Sinai. It is so humbling to think that when we open a Torah, learn a Mishna, or delve into a Gemara, that we are connecting directly to Hashem. As the Rambam ends in this first section of his introduction, “…It comes out that all is from Hashem, the G-d of Yisroel.” 😀 Middah on my mind: Privilege and Responsibility. The quote goes “with great privilege comes great responsibility”. The biggest privilege that we certainly have is “Torah tzivah lanu Moshe morasha kehillas Yaakov”. The Torah is our inheritance and we are so fortunate to be born into a nation that has access to such a gift. The crown of Torah is available and awaits us, as the gemara says, “…The crown of Torah is there whoever wants it could take it”. The Mishna (Avos 2:12) however quotes Rebbe Yossi saying “…Make yourself fit to study Torah for it will not be yours by inheritance”. Indeed, there is a difference between having access (privilege) and maximizing the access we have (responsibility). Have a wonderful Shabbos!