Monday, May 13, 2013

kabbalas haTorah as a mechapeir

An amazing Yerushalmi (Rosh haShana 4:8): By all the korbanos of the chagim it says "se'ir izim echad l'chatas," except for Shavuos, where there is no mention of cheit -- it just says "se'ir izim echad l'chapeir aleichem."  (Bamidbar 28:30)  The Yerushalmi explains that as a result of kabbalas haTorah Hashem wipes away all previous sins, so it is as if there was no cheit to speak of.

ר' משרשיא בשם ר' אידי בכל הקרבנות כתיב חטא ובעצרת אין כתיב חטא אמר להן הקב"ה מכיון שקיבלתם עליכם עול תורה מעלה אני עליכם כאילו לא חטאתם מימיכם:

12 comments:

  1. Please note that there is a difference between קבלת התורה and קבלת עול תורה.

    ReplyDelete
  2. At the very least, כנתינתן - באימה ביראה ברתת ובזיעה, פחד יצחק שבועות מאמר ט. Also מאמר י. And of course, מאמר כ"ה פרק ג. [He deals there with the question of what you need קבלת עול מצות from והיה אם שמע after you already were מקבל עול מלכות in שמע.] And I venture to suggest that that whole ma'amar is germane to this, as is, come to think of it, the whole sefer.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Please note too that while it's true that in Pinchas, Bamidbar 28:30 the word Chatas is not present, as the Yerushalmi says, in Emor, Vayikra 23:19 it says Se'ir Izim Echad Lechatas. So what's pshat in the Yerushalmi? And more importantly, why the change between Parshas Emor and Parshas Pinchas? The fact that Pinchas is talking about the Mussaf, and Emor is about the Korban Hayom with the Shtei Halechem, makes a difference. Rav Povarsky in his Bahd Kodesh wants to answer that the Mussaf was first, and since it addressed events the came before Yomtov, they can't be called chata'im, because Matan Torah is a mechaper. But the Korban Hayom is for Tumos that occurred on that day itself, which are on the new cheshbon, and can be called Chata'im. But I have a question.

    Bishlema the first Mattan Torah, of course there was Kapara. After all, that's one of the applications of Geirus being Ke'Katan She'Nolad, even if it didn't totally apply at Matan Torah (Bochin Le'Mishpechosav, and as you bring from the Maharal in your post here-http://divreichaim.blogspot.com/2006/05/were-avos-jewish-part-ii.html.) But what brings kapara in the Yomtov that is only a commemoration of Mattan Torah? We're certainly not Ke'Katan She'Nolad on the basis of Geirus, and as far as Kabbalas HaTorah, it's not a new Kabbala.

    So what's pshat in the Yerushalmi? Unless Rav Mesharshi'a is just doing homiletics, that it's a remez be'alma.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You don't really need geir she'nis'gayeir, because you also have Chassan mochlin lo. But the kashe still needs an answer.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This might be a dumb question, but according to the Yer. - if KHT ITSELF was Mechaper, why do we (also) need to bring a Seir Izim at all?! (KHT was already Mechaper - the Karban is redundant- ?!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. By the way I protest your saying it might be a dumb question. Every question even reb akiva eiger's is dumb and every question is smart because if yo u don't address it you are going to remain missing a yediah.

      Delete
  6. Since nobody is answering, I will suggest that the chiddush of the YErushalmi is far greater than you thought. The Yerushalmi indicates that a kabbalas hatorah NOW on Shavuos is also a mechapeir. Now that's a surprise. You could combine it with the Maharsha in RH 16 that says that Shavuos is the yom hadin on seichel and Torah, so even now there's an ongoing process of kabbalas hatorah and a gzeira of how much siyata dishmaya there'll be on that Torah.

    I wish I had thought of this before Yomtov. Would've made a great drasha for bnei torah.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jake- I think that it's like the mechusarei kapara korbanos, like yoledes and zav/zavah, that some korbanos that are associated with tuma, like this one, have to be brought even without any sin aspect.

    As for my teretz in the Yerushalmi, it's just wishful thinking. If it were really like the original Kabalas Hatorah, then all the cholim and cripples would be healed too. Why should it be like the original event as far as kapara but not as far as cures?

    ReplyDelete
  8. I didn't think the Y-lmi means the nature of the korban is changed. I think it is homiletic.

    >>>what brings kapara in the Yomtov that is only a commemoration of Mattan Torah?

    Someone e-mailed me that R' Moshe Shapiro spoke about this Ylmi and b'kitzur explained that matan torah is paska zuhamasan so it's like kodem hacheit. IOW, it's not b'geder kaparah, but it's like cheit ceased to exist, like a reversal of time.
    R' Zev Hoberman in his sefer writes based on the Rambam Hil Teshuvah that a true ba'al teshuvah becomes a different person. Kabbalas haTorah means being mevateil onself to the seichel haTorah, so one has become a different person than before in that way (acc to this, it seems it is a mechapeir).

    ReplyDelete
  9. I don't need a pshat in the ylmi. I'm happy with geir shenisgayeir or chosson. What's bothering me is that mattan torah was before the establishment of the yomtov and the korbonos of shavuos so how does it affect or effect kapara on the yomtov that is no more than a zeicher of the kaballa

    ReplyDelete
  10. I dont understand the difference between קבלת התורה and קבלת עול תורה? theres not just torah and yedia, its תורת ה'! So i would think they go hand in hand.

    A beautiful yerushalmi! It seems like the yerushalmi is working with the mishna of כל המקבל עול תורה, that you raised yourself above nature and your not the same person at all, like avraham avinu.

    ReplyDelete