100 brachos

Menachos 43b:

 תניא היה רבי מאיר אומר חייב אדם לברך מאה ברכות בכל יום, שנאמר ועתה ישראל מה ה' אלקיך שואל מעמך

 

The Midrash writes (and this is quoted in the Tur OC 46 in the name of Geonim) that the source for reciting 100 brachos is a takana by David haMelech in response to the plague that afflicted Bn"Y after he counted them.  Somehow you have to square that with the gemara's derasha from our parsha.

 

In any event, someone recently asked me whether you start counting the 100 brachos from nighttime, or whether you start counting from the morning. 

 

B'pashtus, the rule in halacha in that day follows night, so off the cuff my guess was that you start from the night. 

 

However, Rambam in hil tefilah 7:14 writes:

 

חייב אדם לברך מאה ברכות בין היום והלילה ומה הן מאה ברכות אלו ך"ג ברכות שמנינו בפרק זה. ושבע ברכות של קריאת שמע של שחרית וערבית לפניה ולאחריה. וכשמתעטף בציצית מברך ברוך אתה ה׳ אלקינו מלך העולם אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו להתעטף בציצית. וכשלובש תפילין מברך ברוך אתה ה׳ אלקינו מלך העולם אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו להניח תפילין. ושלש תפלות שבכל תפלה מהן שמנה עשרה ברכות הרי שמונים ושש ברכות. וכשהוא אוכל שתי סעודות של יום והלילה מברך ארבע עשרה ברכות. שבע בכל סעודה. אחת כשיטול ידיו תחלה. ועל המזון אחת בתחלה ושלש בסוף ועל היין לפניו ולאחריו הרי שבע ברכות הרי מאה ברכות בין הכל:

 

The Rambam's expression of היום והלילה implies that night follows day.  Similarly, he talks about שבע ברכות של קריאת שמע של שחרית וערבית , putting shacharis first. אוכל שתי סעודות של יום והלילה, he puts the day meal first. 

 

So much for my off the cuff guess.  The MG"A made me feel a little better.  MG"A 46:8 discusses what to do on a taanis where you miss a meal and are thereby missing brachos, and claims that you still have 100:

 

כתב הרב״י אנן מברכין בכל יום ק״ה ברכות אך בתענית חסרו ח׳ ברכות נמצא יש צ״ח ברכות עכ״ל וטעות סופר הוא דאינן אלא צ״ז ולדידן שמברכין גם הנותן ליעף כח ועל תפילין ב׳ ברכות הרי צ״ט וגם ברכת יראו עינינו לא מנה הרב״י וא״כ הוי ק׳

 

However, when you start fasting from the night before, like Y"K or 9 Av, you have a problem:

 

אף ביום התענית ומי שמפסיק מבעוד יום התעני׳ חסר עוד ח׳ ברכות מסעוד׳ א׳

 

The problem only exists because the MG"A assumes that day follows night, and so you end up missing 2 meals in one period.  If night followed day, there would be no issue.

 

There is literature on this in shu"t.  I just wanted to setup the problem.

 

Achronim are bothered by what the connection is between the pasuk ועתה ישראל מה ה' אלקיך שואל מעמךand the din of 100 brachos.  There is another famous question on this pasuk that the Midrash already touches on.  עתה ישראל מה ה׳ אלקיך שאל מעמך כי אם ליראה את ה׳ אלקיך ללכת בכל דרכיו ולאהבה אתו ולעבד את ה׳ אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך.  The pasuk sounds like Hashem just wants one thing from us -- yiras Shamayim -- but then it gives a whole laundry list of other items.  Both questions can be knocked off in one shot.

 

What happens when we say a bracha?  A farmer, for example, plants an apple tree and works so hard to tend to it until it finally produces fruit.  Instead of celebrating his success, just before he takes a bite, he does an anti-Al Gore and says, "I didn't build that.  Hashem, you are the one who is borei pri ha'eitz."  All the hard work is just to allow Hashem the opportunity to do things through derech ha'teva and produce that apple.

 

Sefas Emes (5632) explains that all of the midos that the pasuk asks us to achieve are really given to us by Hashem on a silver platter.  For example, we don't have to create love for G-d yesh mei'ayin in our hearts and turn on an emotion that we lack.  We are born with a proclivity to ahavas Hashem; we just have to remove all the impediments in our heart and mind that block it from expressing itself.  We have to just allow ourselves to be who we truly are.  The catch is that the ball starts rolling with yiras Shamayim.  We are just like the farmer.  It seems like we are doing everything, but we are just taking that first step of yiras Shamayim, the step of acknowledging that Hashem is really the one in charge.  If we do that, then He will take care of the rest.  The din of 100 brachos is the explanation for מה ה׳ אלקיך שאל מעמך כי אם ליראה followed by that long list of demands.

 

Once 9 Av and T"u b'Av passed we already start looking toward Rosh haShana.  It's not by coincidence that we blow 100 shofar blasts, same number as 100 brachos (see Yismach Moshe).  Our year has to start by with the acknowledgment that everything that will happen over the next 12 months is all yad Hashem.  It may look like we are doing all the work, but He is really running the show.

there is something worse than getting punished

 (8:19) וְהָיָ֗ה אִם־שָׁכֹ֤חַ תִּשְׁכַּח֙ אֶת ה׳ אֱלֹקיךָ וְהָֽלַכְתָּ֗ אַֽחֲרֵי֙ אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים וַֽעֲבַדְתָּ֖ם וְהִשְׁתַּֽחֲוִ֣יתָ לָהֶ֑ם הַֽעִדֹ֤תִי בָכֶם֙ הַיּ֔וֹם כִּ֥י אָבֹ֖ד תֹּֽאבֵדֽוּן:

Chazal tell us אין וְהָיָ֗ה אלא לשׁון שׁל שׂמחה.  B'shlama the first pasuk in our sidra, וְהָיָ֣ה עֵ֣קֶב תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה,the word ְהָיָ֣ה is used to tell us, as the Ohr haChaim explains at length, that true simcha is when we manage to fulfill all the mitzvos top to bottom.  The Ishbitzer connects the simcha to the fact that the pasuk singles out mishpatim, not chukim or eidot:

אֵין וְהָיָה אֶלָּא לְשׁוֹן שִׂמְחָה כִּדְאִיתָא בַּגְּמָ' (בראשית רבה פרשה מ"ב,ד'), עֵקֶב הַיְינוּ לַסּוֹף, וְהוּא כִּי לֶעָתִיד יְגַלֶּה הַש"י לְעֵין כֹּל, וְכָל נֶפֶשׁ מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל יָבִין כִּי לֹא הָיָה שׁוּם חֻקָּה בְּלִי טַעַם... כִּי הַכֹּל הָיָה בְּמִשְׁפָּט

Meshech Chochma similarly notes that after 40 years in the desert learning Torah and experiencing overt miracles, even chukim seem like mishpatim.  Under those circumstances there is good reason for simcha.   How, however, does simcha make sense in the context of our pasuk?  What kind of simcha is there in אִם־שָׁכֹ֤חַ תִּשְׁכַּח֙ אֶת ה׳ אֱלֹקיךָ...הַֽעִדֹ֤תִי בָכֶם֙ הַיּ֔וֹם כִּ֥י אָבֹ֖ד תֹּֽאבֵדֽוּן?  We should be weeping, not celebrating! 

 

Just over a week ago before Tisha b'Av I posted the following Midrash ():

 

חֵ֤טְא חָֽטְאָה֙ יְר֣וּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם עַל־כֵּ֖ן לְנִידָ֣ה הָיָ֑תָה (Eicha 1:8)

 

The Midrash asks: ?אומות העולם אינן חוטאים  Do we have a monopoly on sin?

 

Chazal answer: אלא אע"פ שחוטאין אינן כלום, אבל ישראל חטאו ולקו

Is it fair that only we get punished and the umos get off scott free?

 

When a child gets punishment by his parent or his teacher, the child thinks that there is nothing worse than that.  However, the truth is there is something much worse than punishment, and that is indifference. 

 

The child in the moment may be happy to get away with his infraction, but in the bigger picture, he loses out.  He loses out on someone who can celebrate his successes, cry with him on his failures, guide him through difficulties, and someone who will always at least pretend : ) to share his interests.  That's the price of indifference.  In the long wrong, a little punishment now and then for wrongdoing is but a small price to pay for the benefits gained by having someone's attention and guidence.

 

By the rest of the world, אע"פ שחוטאין אינן כלום, Hashem's attitude is one of indifference.  Whether they do wrong or whether they do right, it's all the same. When it comes to us, אבל ישראל חטאו ולקו, because Hashem cares.

 

תנו רבנן הנעלבין ואינן עולבים שומעין חרפתן ואין משיבין עושין מאהבה ושמחין ביסורין עליהן הכתוב אומר ואוהביו כצאת השמש בגבורתו (Gittin 36b)  Chazal heap praise on the person who can rejoice amidst yisurim.  Why should someone rejoice when they are suffering when Chazal elsewhere (Shabbos 55a) tell us אין יסורין בלא עון?  The fact that Hashem brings suffering on a person is an indication that they are on the wrong track, which is not something to be happy about!

 

The Tiferes Banim answers that yisurim may be painful, but there is cause for rejoicing in that Hashem shows that He cares enough to put a person back on the right track.

 

Our pasuk is describing a painful situation of a person who leaves the fold and gets a smack, but we have to accept the smack in the spirit of וְהָיָ֗ה, a lashon of simcha, because indifference would be worse than punishment.

concealed plans

 Yalkut Shimoni 814:

 דָּבָר אַחֵר: אָמַר מֹשֶׁה לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, עַצְמוֹתָיו שֶׁל יוֹסֵף נִכְנָסִין לָאָרֶץ וַאֲנִי אֵינִי נִכְנָס. אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, מִי שֶׁהוֹדָה בְּאַרְצוֹ, אֲדוֹנָתוֹ אָמְרַת לוֹ (בראשית ל״ט:י״ד) ״רְאוּ הֵבִיא לָנוּ אִישׁ עִבְרִי״ וְאֵינוֹ כוֹפֵר אֶלָּא אָמַר (שם מ׳:ט״ו) ״כִּי גֻּנֹב גֻּנַבְתִּי מֵאֶרֶץ הָעִבְרִים״, אַתָּה שֶׁלֹּא הוֹדֵיתָ בְּאַרְצְךָ, בְּנוֹת יִתְרוֹ אוֹמְרוֹת (שמות ב׳:י״ט) ״אִישׁ מִצְרִי הִצִּילָנוּ״ וְאַתָּה שׁוֹמֵעַ וְשׁוֹתֵק, לְפִיכָךְ אֵין אַתָּה נִקְבָּר בְּאַרְצְךָ

 

אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אִם אַתָּה נִקְבָּר אֶצְלָן, בִּזְכוּתְךָ הֵן בָאִין עִמְּךָ. מָשָׁל לְמָה הַדָּבָר דּוֹמֶה לְאֶחָד שֶׁנִּתְפַּזְּרוּ מָעוֹתָיו בִּמְקוֹם אֲפֵלָה אָמַר אִם אֲנִי אוֹמֵר הָאִירוּ לִי שֶׁאֲלַקֵּט מָעוֹתַי אֵין כָּל בְּרִיָּה מַשְׁגַּחַת עָלַי, מֶה עָשָׂה, נָטַל זָהוּב אֶחָד וְהִשְׁלִיכוֹ בְּתוֹכָן וְהִתְחִיל צוֹוֵחַ וְאוֹמֵר בְּבַקָּשָׁה מִכֶּם, הָאִירוּ לִי, זָהוּב אֶחָד הָיָה לִי וְנָפַל מִמֶּנִּי, בָּאוּ וְהֵאִירוּ לוֹ, מֶה עָשָׂה, מִשֶּׁנָּטַל אֶת הַזָּהוּב לִקֵּט מָעוֹתָיו. כָּךְ אֲמַר לֵיהּ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אִם נִקְבָּר אַתָּה בַּמִּדְבָּר הֵן בָּאִים בִּזְכוּתְךָ וְאַתָּה בָּא בְרֹאשָׁן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ״וַיַּרְא רֵאשִׁית לוֹ כִּי שָׁם חֶלְקַת מְח(וֹ)קֵק סָפוּן וַיֵּתֶא רָאשֵׁי עָם״.

 

There is not a "davar achier..."  between the first half of the Midrash and the second.  It's all one pshat, one answer as to why Moshe's bones (Moshe himself could not enter Eretz Yisrael because of the cheir of Mei Meriva; his question was why he could not even be buried there) could not be brought into Eretz Yisrael for burial like Yosef's.  How do the two halves here connect?  It sounds like each statement could stand on its own as a reason.

 

Moshe began his prayer to Hashem  אַתָּ֤ה הַֽחִלּ֙וֹתָ֙ לְהַרְא֣וֹת אֶֽת־עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶ֨ת־גׇּדְלְךָ֔ וְאֶת־יָדְךָ֖ הַחֲזָקָ֑ה.  The Baal haTurim points out that the only other occurrence of the term  הַֽחִלּ֙וֹתָ֙ is in Megillas Esther, after Haman was forced to parade Mordechai around on the king's horse:

 

ויאמרו לו חכמיו וזרש אשתו אם מזרע היהודים מרדכי אשר החלות לנפל לפניו לא תוכל לו כי נפול תפול לפניו

 

Interestingly, the word לְהַרְא֣וֹת also appears only in Megillas Esther in two places:

 

להראות העמים והשרים את יפיה (1:11) when Vashti was ordered to appear

 

את פתשגן כתב הדת אשר נתן בשושן להשמידם נתן לו להראות את אסתר ולהגיד לה ולצוות עליה לבוא אל המלך להתחנן לו ולבקש מלפניו על עמה. (4:8) when Mordechai reveals to Esther what Haman is plotting and tells her that she must go and appeal to Achashveirosh.

 

How do the future events of the megillah connect to Moshe's tefillah in our parsha?

 

The Sanz Klausenberger in Shefa Chaim writes that had we been there to witness Esther being taken to the palace, we would have broken down in tears and called a kinus tefillah, a fast day, we would be singing "acheinu..." like for the hostages.  70 years seemed to have passed with no geulah, Achashveirosh's party was to celebrate our hopelessness, and now this happens for the icing on the cake.  Yet that was not Mordechai's reaction at all.  

 

וּבְכׇל יוֹם וָיוֹם מׇרְדֳּכַי מִתְהַלֵּךְ לִפְנֵי חֲצַר בֵּית הַנָּשִׁים לָדַעַת אֶת שְׁלוֹם אֶסְתֵּר וּמַה יֵּעָשֶׂה בָּהּ (2:11)

 

Mordechai every day visited the palace to check on what was going on and that's it.

 

Mordechai understood that as bad as things look, the midas ha'din always has rachamim couched within it.  Something is going to happen.  Something good is going to come out of this.  He may not have anticipated exactly how things would work out, but he trusted that things would work out and it would be through Esther.  What looks like the beginning of a tragedy is really the beginning of yeshu'a.

 

I think in the past I've quoted the Sefas Emes' comment on the pasuk ומרדכי ידע את כל אשר נעשה ויקרע מרדכי את בגדיו וילבש שק ואפר ויצא בתוך העיר ויזעק זעקה גדולה ומרה (4:1).  Says the Sefas Emes, ומרדכי ידע את כל אשר נעשה, he knew that in Shamayim everything that happens is l'tov, everything is part of the yeshu'a.  L'maaseh, the rest of us living on planet earth don't see it.  Therefore, despite knowing that at the end of the day things would somehow work out,  ויקרע מרדכי את בגדיו וילבש שק ואפר, Mordechai had to put on an act and behave like the rest of us and cry out in pain.

 

The gemara at the end of Makkos tells us that while everyone was crying, R' Akiva laughed when he saw foxes coming out of the makom mikdash.  R' Akiva was able to see how behind even the greatest tragedy there is rachamim, even when invisible to everyone else.

 

This is what Moshe was saying as well.  Hashem revealed Himself אֶ֨ת־גׇּדְלְךָ֔ וְאֶת־יָדְךָ֖ הַחֲזָקָ֑ה, with the midsa ha'din, but at the same time and in the very same action, it is את גדלך – זו מדת טובך, as Rashi explains.  On the one hand, Moshe is begging for mercy, for an "out" on the gzar din, yet on the other hand, as the Baal haTurim comments, ואתחנן – בגימטריא שירה, he is singing shirah because he knows that if the gzar din stands, it is l'tovah as well, just in a more concealed way.  Heads he wins, tails he wins.  It's just a matter of how it will play out.

 

Let's get back to the Yalkut Shimoni.  How can Moshe be blamed for the fact that the daughters of Yisro said to their father אִישׁ מִצְרִי הִצִּילָנו?  He wasn't even there when they were speaking! 

 

The Yismach Moshe quotes an amazing pshat from the Zohar on that pasuk of אִישׁ מִצְרִי הִצִּילָנו and even if you don't like anything else I wrote, you have to love this.  The אִישׁ מִצְרִי is not talking about Moshe at all.  The אִישׁ מִצְרִי is talking about the Mitzri in Egypt who raised his hand to strike a Jew, and as a result of that Moshe reacted and killed him with the Shem haMeforash, setting in motion the chain of events that would years later bring him to Yisro's house.  The daughters of Yisro of course didn't realize they were saying this, but a spark of ruach ha'kodesh came into their mouths and the right words came out.  It's that אִישׁ מִצְרִי who deserves the credit, because otherwise Moshe would not be there. 

 

The bnos Yisro didn't know what they were saying, but their words and the real meaning behind them was revealed to Moshe.  The significance of that Mitzri's actions would not be evident to an onlooker and is not even evident to us as we read it in chumash.  From Moshe's perspective at that moment, his life was ruined.  He was forced to leave the palace and become an outlaw.  But in the long run, look at how events unfolded.  Wow, if even this Mitzri who certainly had nothing of the sort in mind gets credit for saving the bnos Yisro, can you imagine the credit someone who goes into things trying to save people gets?

 

This is how the Yismach Moshe fits the two halves of the Yalkut together. For whatever reason, Hashem decided that the concealed rachamim of Moshe remaining outside Eretz Yisrael outweighs the benefit of the revealed rachamim he was requesting.  Although not immediately apparent, this was the greater benefit to Klal Yisrael.  Who are you, Moshe, to argue?  Didn't I reveal to you the true meaning of אִישׁ מִצְרִי הִצִּילָנוּ?  That Mitzri intended to harm, but nonetheless, he was the start of a chain of events that led to bnos Yisro being saved, and so he gets credit.  Kal v'chomer if you stay in chu"l so as to enable future generation to experience redemption, how great will your credit be. 

נַֽחֲמ֥וּ נַֽחֲמ֖וּ עַמִּ֑י יֹאמַ֖ר אֱלֹֽקיכֶֽם.  The ultimate nechama will come from אֱלֹֽקיכֶֽם, the midas ha'din, when we are zocheh to see just how all the events that we experience as tragedies will be revealed as having been l'tovah.