I have never succeeded in understanding this Midrash on Parshas Parah - maybe someone out there has an idea. The Midrash teaches that Moshe Rabeinu began learning the halachos of parah adumah with Hashem. Hashem kavyachol recited the Mishnayos b’shem omro, beginning with the first Mishna in Parah, “R’ Eliezer omeir…” that a parah refers to a cow that is 2 years old. When he heard that Mishna, Moshe was so impressed by R’ Eliezer’s statement that he said he hoped to have a son just like him. This, according to the Midrash, is why Moshe Rabeinu’s son is named Eliezer.
Maybe it bothers me because my son is also named Eliezer, but whatever the reason, I am baffled. There is a piece in the Piecezna’s sefer Aish Kodesh that explains how Moshe Rabeinu wanted to pass to his children davka the message of Parah Adumah, but this strikes me as missing the main point. The Midrash seems to be highlighting some aspect specifically of the words of Rabbi Eliezer which captivated Moshe Rabeinu. Why was Moshe captivated by Rabbi Eliezer and this halacha in particular more than any other Mishna or meimra in shas???
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I once heard a similar question regarding why HaShem was involved in b'davka this din when Moshe went up to shamayim - I believe it was in Kol Dodi by RDFeinstein. The answer given was regarding parah adumah being the archetypical chok, and thereby symbolizing the idea of following HaShem even when we don't understand the reasons (or, taking a bit of a different tack like RDF does, even during times of suffering in galus when we don't understand why such is befalling us), making it an especially precious mitzvah. The specific din in Parah may have just been chosen because it's the first din in the maseches.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't seen it already, you might be interested in my recent post on Parah Adumah and its deeper significance: http://vesomsechel.blogspot.com/2007/03/mystery-of-red-heifer.html
ReplyDeleteI think Josh M's explanation of the reason for an emphasis on R' Eliezer is a good one - the main point could be the fact that Hashem is focused on the subject altogether, and this just happens to be Moshe Rabbenu's introduction to it.
Josh M's approach is what the Aish Kodesh suggests. But it makes the choice of the name Eliezer completely arbitrary. Why not choose a name with more relavance like "parah" (OK, so it would have sounded a bit odd, but if you had never heard the name Eliezer used in the Torah you might think that is odd too. Maybe Efraim would have been better; I think the Ibn Ezra somewhere makes a pun on a Saducee interpreter with that name and compares him to a par).
ReplyDeleteRabbi Maroof, I saw your post (I'm a regular reader!), but doesn't your approach deepen the problem - why contemplate the mystery of death when naming a child just brought into the world?
The Ibn Ezra is on "V'einei Leah Rakot". Ben Ephraim said that the word "Rakot" is missing an Alef, and should read "Arukot". Ibn Ezra responds that Ben Ephraim is missing an Alef, leaving "Ben Parim!"
ReplyDeleteTo me, the Parah Adumah is the ultimate affirmation of life. It teaches us to steer clear of the hocus pocus and superstition of the Umot Haolam and to focus on perfecting ourselves and enjoying the beauty of Torah in this world.
Hence, it includes the famous derasha "Adam Kee Yamoot B'Ohel", which is homiletically intepreted as a reference to the person who devotes his energies completely to Talmud Torah.
It seems like naming his son after the tanna who taught a central din regarding Parah Adumah is more connected to the mitzvah than a mere reference to a common bovine.
ReplyDeleteMakes sense.
ReplyDeletedo you have a source for that midrash?
ReplyDeletethanks,
Josh
There's a similar midrash in Midrash Rabbah on Chukas, p. 7 - not sure if Chaim is thinking of a different version, though.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tsel.org/torah/midrashraba/hukat.html
Yes, that's the one i was thinking of.
ReplyDeletethanks. it's what i though it would be.
ReplyDeletehope to post on this soon.
How about "Eglon" instead?
ReplyDelete:)
Would you describe the inyan of being matamei tehorim and metaheir tmei'im as par-adoxical?
ReplyDelete(That was bad, wasn't it?)
I was thinking that the definition of what exactly is Para as opposed to Egla is decided by the Rabbis just like Shiurim are Halacha Lemoshe but the defintion of the size is up to the rabbis.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Eliezer is Mechalutzecha, reminds me of the gemara in Menachot where Moshe saw R. Akiva and Nitkarera da'ato when he heard Halacha Lemoshe Misinai.
david:
ReplyDeleteabsolutely!
here is my post on the matter.