kabalas shabos insight
I would like to share with some of our friends an insight that came to me at kabalas shabos.
[All remember the big argument last week] I was thinking it can't be, that there is no remez in the Tora that dyo is different than the klaf that has to be mutar bficha?!
Then a flash of thought came to me: Don't you remember the midrash raba [shir hashirim] on the pasuk:
- "קווצותיו תלתלים שחורות כעורב"
קווצותיו תלתלים זה סרגול [שירטוט השיטה] בספר תורה
שחורות כעורב זה הכתב
The midrash raba says that "black as a raven" represents the letters of the sefer tora. This is a nice remez that the letters are resembled to a nonkosher foul, they may come from a non-kosher source.
[All remember the big argument last week] I was thinking it can't be, that there is no remez in the Tora that dyo is different than the klaf that has to be mutar bficha?!
Then a flash of thought came to me: Don't you remember the midrash raba [shir hashirim] on the pasuk:
- "קווצותיו תלתלים שחורות כעורב"
קווצותיו תלתלים זה סרגול [שירטוט השיטה] בספר תורה
שחורות כעורב זה הכתב
The midrash raba says that "black as a raven" represents the letters of the sefer tora. This is a nice remez that the letters are resembled to a nonkosher foul, they may come from a non-kosher source.
A raven is black, very black...However I don't see a re'ah from here at all.
ReplyDeleteChazal called the letters of the tora by the name of a davar tame! there might be some implication!
ReplyDeleteIn the begining of Pesahim how far chazal are careful not to call a dvar kedusha [especialy tora study] with name of davar tame. The gemara there relates that one student called the sugya learnt "davar acher" and was kicked out of the yeshiva!!
DeleteA raven is the only common animal I can think of that is always completely black. No other color variants. In this Midrash Raba we find additional support to the hallacha that ink must be black, always black, with no other color variants.
ReplyDeleteThe Rebbe many times said on the subject of Torah and science that some scientific theories are based on extrapolations. He warned against believing that we can learn something from extrapolations. Wouldn't it be prudent to also avoid extrapolations when learning Torah?
This is a nice remez .. remez .. remez
DeleteNo remez or raya - see Niddah 20a. LeHalacha, shachor keorev is not truly shachor. The Biur Halacha points this out - see first Biur to 32:3.
ReplyDeleteThe Biur Halacha also mentions this midrash and that the midrash is a stira to the Gemora. He concludes, b'feiresh,that we should not attempt to learn anything halachically from this midrash. He does, however, offer an answer to the stira, but he admits that it is very forced and leaves it a tzorech iyun.
I saw the Biur Halacha, the BH is talking about the color black. He never mentioned the issue of min hamutar.
DeleteBut you do see that this midrash was important enough to consider what chazal are meramez in their words
שחורות כעורב
I clearly wrote this as a remez. I basicaly explained myself last week - hallacha standing, I am not basing myself on a midrash, rather that chazal never mnetioned the law min hamutar for dyo. I thought to myself - but chazal did hint in the midrash a nice hint ...
Still can't be maskim - however, IF you are correct in your shitto, then it is a very nice remez!
Deleteoops - to be precise - shachor keorev is not the same blackness as that required for dyo - is it a min of shachor, however. Again - Nidda 20a.
ReplyDeleteI think it says somewhere that we are not allowed to invent our own Remazim. A גימטריא is known to be a very strong Remez to something else with the same גימטריא. Well,
ReplyDeletethe גימטריא of שחור כעורב is:
פורענות
רוסי שיכור
זוועות השואה
התקפי חרדה
I don't think we want to buy any of these.
The גימטריא of מותר בפיך is:
ונאספת אל עמך
מדינה פלסטינית
נוצרים חדשים
I don't think we want to buy any of these either.
Oh Gimatriya!??
ReplyDeleteHere is a nice one:
The exact spelling [Shir Hashirim, 5:11] שחרות כעורב
is 1212
exactly
דיו ממי עפצא בקנקנתום וקומא
check it
Tnats it, i'm sold
DeleteYasher koiach! I like it!
ReplyDeleteA little problem -
ReplyDeleteשחרות כעורב = 1212
דיו ממי עפצא בקנקנתום וקומא = 1252
However,
דיו ממי עפצים וקנקנתום וקומא = ואת בלעם בן בעור הרגו בחרב
דיו עפצים וקנקנתום = ודאי שמונה שרצים = נצור לשונך מרע
there might be a mistake and it is
ReplyDeleteדיו מי עפצא בקנקנתום וקומא
but the gimatriya is correct
R' Moshe, Ashrecha! It is a beautiful remez.
DeleteLet me get a bit inspired before Purim. As one progresses into the Midrash Rabbah the Hakhamim further expound that Shechorot KaOrev "refers to the texts of the Torah that at the surface seem to be too repulsive/black to be recited in public, but the Holy One says, they are pleasing ("arebot") to Me.
A little Midrashic licence can intimate the inclusion of what appears repulsive to us in the deyo (not muttar beficha ingredients in the letters) still remains pleasing to HaShem. Also, if they are in a Ta'arobet (mix) they are pleasing (arebot). As we read, "Then the offering of Yehudah and Yerushalayim be pleasant (ve-arebah) unto the Lord."
The Midrash Rabbah concludes its elucidation of Shechorot KaOrev with the statement of R. Shimon Ben Lakish: "The scroll which HaShem gave to Moshe was of white fire and it's writing of black fire...etc. It was itself FIRE and completely formed of FIRE, and given in FIRE... (i.e. it can never become TAME!)
This implies that there is a refining character to the inscribed words of Torah. They can transform a world that is TAME, and transform it into something TAHOR. However, in the process, the Torah shall forever remain PURE.