Last year my rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Elefant, put together a Shabbos reunion for his married talmidim. Rabbi Zevi Seidenfeld, my friend who helped organize the Shabbaton, spoke during Shabbos lunch and noted that the Rambam recorded the names of each rabbi and student starting with the transmission of the Torah to Moshe Rabbeinu until the time of the Rambam. There is another sefer that records the names of those who transmitted the Torah from the time of the Rambam until today. Rabbi Elefant learned under Rabbi Asher Arieli who learned from Harav Nachum Pertowitz, who learned from Rabbi Baruch Ber Lebovitz, who learned from Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik. Each person can trace his Torah learning from his rebbe all the way back to Ma’amad Har Sinai— the time when Hashem gave us the Torah. Rabbi Seidenfeld calculated that Rabbi Elefant is the 172nd generation traceable to Ma’amad Har Sinai. We as talmidim are thus the 173rd generation and our children and students are the 174th. This demonstrates just how close we are in the link to Moshe and to Ma’amad Har Sinai.
This week we will read Parshas Yisro which describes the events at Ma’amad Har Sinai. The Gemara notes that when Hashem dictated the first commandment, “I am Hashem,”’ the souls of the entire Jewish nation flew out of their bodies and they died. Hashem sent down a special dew, containing words of Torah, to effect techias hameisim and resurrected them. The same thing occurred with the second commandment.
The Midrash says that Hashem brought them back to life with the same words of Torah that made them die. Rabbi Eliyahu Boruch Finkel asks how it could be possible that the same words which caused them to die were able to resurrect them. The answer is that they weren’t really “killed,” as explained below.
The Gemara says there are 248 positive mitzvos which correspond to 248 limbs in the human body and 365 negative commandments which correspond to 365 tendons inside the human body.
Rabbi Reuven Shmeltzer brings a true story recorded by the Avnei Nezer, which happened in the time of the Vilna Gaon. Professors had dissected human bodies and discovered fewer than 365 sinews. They asked the local rabbis how they reconciled this scientific discovery with the Gemara. The Vilna Gaon responded that he should not explain the apparent discrepancy to them, since that would cause them to think that every time science seems to contradict the Torah, the Torah needs an explanation! In truth, the Torah is a fact and science is just a body of theories which changes with new discoveries.
Nonetheless, the Vilna Gaon agreed to reveal to the professors the reason why the individuals examined were missing certain tendons. He told them that the 365 tendons / sinews correspond to 365 negative commandments, and if a person is violating one of them, then that tendon is automatically blemished. One individual was missing a tendon because of his intense pursuit of adultery, while the other individual was an honor-seeker. The professors investigated, and found all that the Gaon said…was true!
Based on the above, Rabbi Finkel explained that the words of Torah which described “killing” the people, really meant that the Torah altered the physical element of their body parts and “killed it” from being just a physical element. The words of Torah gave the limbs a new sense of life. It imbued a true spiritual life force and energy into those limbs.
Another good friend of mine, Rabbi Avi Shulman, attended the same Shabbaton. He is a s’gan menahel (assistant principal). He mentioned to his principal that he was going to the Shabbaton and it was very costly. The principal asked if the yeshiva was subsidizing his trip. My friend replied that the Shabbaton was not listed on the list of seminars which are normally subsidized by the yeshiva. The principal replied, “A Shabbos with your rebbe! For sure it should be subsidized! What could be more beneficial for you as an associate menahel than spending an entire Shabbos with your rebbe and hearing him give hadracha, shiurim and hashkafa. You will come back supercharged! What could be better for you and the yeshiva? I am going to have the yeshiva help subsidize the Shabbaton for you.”
Our rabbeim connect us directly to Ma’amad Har Sinai which is not so far back from us— only 173 teachers. And the words of Torah we learn are literally giving life force to each one of our limbs and tendons. May our holy connection to Ma’amad Har Sinai inspire us in our learning and assist us in passing down our Torah learning to our children and grandchildren.
Rabbi Baruch Bodenheim is the Rosh Yeshiva of Passaic Torah Institute (PTI)/Yeshiva Ner Boruch. Rabbi Bodenheim can be reached at [email protected]. For more info about PTI and its Torah classes, visit www.pti.shulcloud.com
