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Tetzaveh
" you stolen my gods? in :) , shows an identical manifestation of the concept introduced by the Baal HaTurim. Yaakov responds to Lavans question with: ,
The one with whom you find your gods shall not
live. Yaakov was unaware of the fact that Rachel had stolen Lavans idols; had he known, he would have never made such a harsh statement, lest he endanger the life of his beloved wife. Rachel, however, dies prematurely at the age of 36. As per the Baal HaTurims earlier statement regarding the nature of the words of the righteous, the curse of Yaakov was fulfilled. The Lubavitcher Rebbe makes an interesting analysis regarding the nature of the way Moshe is portrayed in . While his name does not appear in , Moshe plays a large role in the Parashah, as it consists entirely of G-ds words to him.
While this seems to contradict the notion expressed by the Baal HaTurim, it is necessary to realize that we can learn a great lesson from Moshes sacrifice; because he was prepared to forgo mention of his name in the Torah for the sake of the Jewish people, he merited that his quintessential self, which cannot fully be expressed in a name, be mentioned in the Torah. Ultimately, we can learn from the self-sacrifice of Moshe and apply such an attitude to our daily lives; while it may be difficult, the final outcome will be priceless.
" commandment even if the details are worked out later by the rabbis. The Ramban disagrees. He states that the verse cited above simply means that you shall be wholehearted in your service to God. If biblical figures like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob prayed, it was not because it was a biblical commandment, but rather, because they felt the desire to express their feelings to God. About what are the Rambam and Ramban really arguing, and why is it relevant to us, today? Rabbi Jonathan Sacks begins to answer this question by citing the Talmud in Brachot 26b in which there is an argument between Rabbi Yose and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi about the historical source for prayer. Rabbi Yose says the forefathers set the precedent, Abraham for Shacharit, Isaac for Mincha and Jacob for Maariv. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says the prayers were instituted to replace the sacrifices. What is the difference between these two positions? Rabbi Yose says that prayer is spontaneous. Abraham prayed for Sodom. Isaac prayed for a child. And Jacob prayed for continuity. They all prayed for something that they needed, and their prayers were not monotonous or organized. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says that prayer comes from the organized and formulaic use of the sacrifices. Each day, the same sacrifices were done and each day they were done in exactly the same way. For Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, prayer then, must be a formula said the same way each time. This argument echoes a similar argument between Rabban Gamliel and Rabbi Eliezer. Rabban Gamliel says you have to say 18 blessings in each prayer. Rabbi Eliezer says if you make your prayer keva, established, you havent truly prayed. Again, the difference is between organized prayer and spontaneous prayer. Perhaps this is also the difference between the Rambam and Ramban. For the Rambam, prayer is biblical. It was started by the Avot and continues to represent each persons connection with God. It is not a specific formula that can be said in any way, shape or form. For the Ramban, prayer is like the sacrifices. It has to be done in the same way each and every day. So we have two traditions about what tamid is all about. For those of us who favor the tried and the true, Ramban is there to back us up. But, for those of us who are looking for more spontaneity and meaning in our prayer and are looking to mix things up a bit more, weve got the Rambam himself, a pretty big player in the halachic universe.
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