Parashat Mishpatim
A Meal With G!d –
the singular most
important meal in history.
We wonder all our lives: Why do we have to eat? What is
this, this absolute need to prey on other living things? And the joy we feel
when it is tasty, and satisfying?
Many of us may feel dismay, I for a very long time felt
powerless, at the mercy of this need. It was difficult for me. First I thought
of the poor animals. But then, with time (many years), I realized that the
difference to plants is not in principle. We, and with us many living things,
need living things for consumption, to some degree.
Until, finally, after 60 years, and after 28 years of
learning Torah and Mitzvot, I think I understand a little bit more. And I mean
only a little bit. I haven’t even scratched the surface of Shas and Halacha.
This is what I would like to share with you, based on Psukim
in this Parasha. And, for the ones who want to delve deeper into the topic of
why kashrut are of such extreme importance to us, I have a longer piece on blood,
Soul, Holyness and food, called – Le Chayim, To Life!
It is written in our Parasha (all text from https://mg.alhatorah.org/):
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Shemot 24:9 9) Moshe, Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the
elders of Israel went up.(the Mountain) (10) They saw the G!d of Israel, and under his feet was
like a brickwork of lapis lazuli, like the very heavens for purity. (11) And to the nobles of Israel He did not send forth His
hand; they contemplated G!d and they ate and they drank. (12) Hashem said to Moshe, "Come up to Me, to the
mountain, and be there, and I shall give you the tablets of stone and the
teaching and the commandments that I have written to instruct them. (13) Moshe and his servant Yehoshua rose, and Moshe went
up to the mountain of G!d. |
שמות כ"ד:ט' (ט) וַיַּ֥עַל מֹשֶׁ֖ה
וְאַהֲרֹ֑ן נָדָב֙ וַאֲבִיה֔וּא וְשִׁבְעִ֖ים מִזִּקְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (י) וַיִּרְא֕וּ
אֵ֖ת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְתַ֣חַת רַגְלָ֗יו כְּמַעֲשֵׂה֙ לִבְנַ֣ת הַסַּפִּ֔יר
וּכְעֶ֥צֶם הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם לָטֹֽהַר׃ (יא) וְאֶל־אֲצִילֵי֙
בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לֹ֥א שָׁלַ֖ח יָד֑וֹ וַֽיֶּחֱזוּ֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים וַיֹּאכְל֖וּ
וַיִּשְׁתּֽוּ׃ (יב) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה עֲלֵ֥ה אֵלַ֛י
הָהָ֖רָה וֶהְיֵה־שָׁ֑ם וְאֶתְּנָ֨ה לְךָ֜ אֶת־לֻחֹ֣ת הָאֶ֗בֶן וְהַתּוֹרָה֙ וְהַמִּצְוָ֔ה
אֲשֶׁ֥ר כָּתַ֖בְתִּי לְהוֹרֹתָֽם׃ (יג) וַיָּ֣קׇם מֹשֶׁ֔ה
וִיהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ מְשָׁרְת֑וֹ וַיַּ֥עַל מֹשֶׁ֖ה אֶל־הַ֥ר הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ |
First: How did they eat and drink? The Ramba´n of blessed
memory explains, that they ate the meat from the sacrificial bulls that Moshe
offered up earlier on the Altar he built under the mountain. Meaning, they ate
meat that was being blessed, and who´s blood was offered up to Heaven.
Secondly, it is described here a scene we can hardly
comprehend:
Moshe, Aharon, Nadav, Avihu and the 70 Elders ascend to a
certain degree on the mountain, which, for the rest of Bnei Yisroel is off
limits under the ominous threat of death upon touching. Why and what kind of
death that would be, we do not exactly understand.
[I have an idea it is
the same death that later on Nadav and Avihu experienced. According to some of
our sages, their Neshomois simply got so close to HaShem, they did not want to
return, and therefore, because their bodies could not take the amount of Love
they received, they “burned”, and the Neshomois exited the bodies to go
straight to Gan Eiden.
Naturally, there are many other opinions on this. Due to a
near-death experience, I can very much relate to this opinion. I did not want
to return so much, I needed some chizuk until I came back.. ]
Now, our Sages of blessed memory clearly state, that a lowly
maid was on a higher level of prophecy than Esekiel.
And what we read in the text, the description of what the
Elders of blessed memory saw and comprehended, is exactly what Esekiel in his
famous prophecy of the holy chariot describes.
So, these very holy men ascended the mountain up to a
certain delimited zone, where the Altar had been built, beheld a holy vision of
the most holy high seat of the Creator of the World - and then proceeded to
cook a meal. Just try to behold that Image. It is difficult to imagine, at
least for me. In the face of the Most Holy On High, they lit a fire and cooked
a meal of meat, and probably Mon, Manna, they had harvested from the desert
that morning.
So, this is how they celebrated the wedding of HaShem with
AmYisroel!
They sat down, ate and drank and were very, very glad, happy,
blissful, joyous. Certainly not merry, not light-headed.
At the same time, they were in constant fear of Heaven, for
if they, G!d forbid, made a mistake, who knows if they were to survive!
So the Ramba´n explains this. They ate holy meat and they
drank holy wine:
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Ramban Shemot 24:11 And they did eat and drink. This means that they ate there
the peace-offerings at the lower part of the mountain before G-d previous to
their returning to their tents, for peace-offerings have to be eaten within
an enclosure; in Jerusalem they were eaten within the wall of the city, in
Shiloh they could be eaten within sight of Shiloh, and here they were eaten
before the altar at the lower part of the mountain, and not in the camp. The meaning of the expression and they drank, is that they
made it an occasion for rejoicing and festival, for such is one's duty to
rejoice at the receiving of the Torah, just as He commanded when they
finished writing all the words of the Torah upon the stones, And thou shalt
sacrifice peace-offerings, and shalt eat there; and thou shalt rejoice before
the Eternal thy G-d. And with reference to Solomon it is written, Wisdom and
knowledge is granted unto thee etc., and immediately after that, he came to Jerusalem…
and made a feast for all his servants. "Said Rabbi Eleazar: From here
you learn that we make a feast at the finishing of the Torah." With
reference to David, Solomon's father, it is likewise said that when the
people gave of their free-will towards the building of the Sanctuary, And
they offered sacrifices unto the Eternal, and offered burnt-offerings unto
the Eternal etc., and they did eat and drink before the Eternal on that
day with great gladness. Similarly, here too on the day of the
"wedding" of the Torah, they did likewise. |
רמב"ן שמות כ"ד:י"א וטעם ויאכלו וישתו – שאכלו
שם השלמים בתחתית ההר לפני האלהים טרם שישובו אל אהליהם, כי השלמים טעונין מחיצה,
נאכלין בירושלם לפנים מן החומה (בבלי זבחים נ"ה:), ובשילה בכל הרואה (בבתי זבחים
קי"ב:), ובכאן היו נאכלין לפני המזבח תחת ההר, לא במחנה. וטעם וישתו – שעשו שמחה
ויום טוב, כי כן חובה לשמוח בקבלת התורה, כאשר צוה בכתבם את כל דברי התורה על האבנים:
וזבחת שלמים ואכלת שם ושמחת לפני י"י אלהיך (דברים כ"ז:ז'). וכתיב בשלמה:
החכמה והמדע נתון לך וגו' (דברי הימים ב א':י"ב), מיד ויבא ירושלם: ויעש משתה
לכל עבדיו (מלכים א ג':ט"ו). ואמר רבי אלעזר: מכאן שעושין משתה לגמרה של תורה
(שיר השירים רבה א':ט'). ואמר בדוד אביו בהתנדבם לבנין בית המקדש: ויזבחו לי"י
זבחים ויעלו עולות לי"י וגו' ויאכלו וישתו לפני י"י ביום ההוא בשמחה גדולה
(דברי הימים א כ"ט:כ"א-כ"ב), ואף כאן ביום חתונת התורה כן עשו. |
Now, what is our takeaway here? What does G!d want from us,
what is creation made for, why do we eat and drink, and what?
When the holiest people of the holy nation, in full view of
the maximum possible disclosure of what their Creator On High is able to
disclose of Himself to them without them dieing instanty from bliss, sit down,
eat, drink and joyously bless, then some things follow from it:
1)
HaShem wants us to live a
holy life, between Heaven and Earth, knowing what is good, and what is not
good.
2)
HaShem wants us to know
Him! And he is careful to only disclose as much to a single individual, as this
individual can, at any time, cope with. *not all of Yisroel were on the level
to be able to partake of this meal*
3)
Eating, drinking, and being
gratefully joyous to be alive are certainly the very things HaShem wants us to
do, several times a day, and on specially holy occasions all the more so.
4)
We eat creations that grow
on the earth, in the earth, with a nefesh and without one. HaShem grows them
for us, we just need to do our part in it.
5)
We do not eat bugs, nor artificially grown
stuff without life.
6)
As much as we can
understand, it is not only o.k. It is a fantastic thing! It is absolutely great
to do so! It is so great, we have to bless our Creator every time we eat and
drink, before and after the fact.
7)
Being holy does entail
being engaged with life, in all its forms. It means to be busy serving HaShem
the way HE prescribes, as opposed to our own whims.
8)
HaShem, Yitbarach Shemo,
wants us to live, thrive, love and grow. Therefore He gave us the holy Torah on
the mountain in this fashion, so we may strive to become like Moshe and the
Elders, so we may take example from this singular, holy meal, and hopefully
have many similar ones on Simchas Toire and many other occasions in the holy,
eternal 3rd Temple, speedily in our days.
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