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    Achrei Mos-Torah Sheba'al Peh

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    The document discusses the teachings of the Beis Halevi regarding Yom Kippur being the day of the giving of the Oral Torah. The Beis Halevi explains that the first set of tablets contained the entire Written and Oral Torahs, but with the second set only the Written Torah was inscribed, establishing the split between the two. Rabbi Soloveitchik notes that the passage describing the Kohen Gadol's Yom Kippur service clearly implies three immersions but the Oral Tradition states five, demonstrating the strength of the mesorah even when it differs from the simple reading of the text. This emphasizes that Yom Kippur is the day of the

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    Achrei Mos-Torah Sheba'al Peh

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    The document discusses the teachings of the Beis Halevi regarding Yom Kippur being the day of the giving of the Oral Torah. The Beis Halevi explains that the first set of tablets contained the entire Written and Oral Torahs, but with the second set only the Written Torah was inscribed, establishing the split between the two. Rabbi Soloveitchik notes that the passage describing the Kohen Gadol's Yom Kippur service clearly implies three immersions but the Oral Tradition states five, demonstrating the strength of the mesorah even when it differs from the simple reading of the text. This emphasizes that Yom Kippur is the day of the

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    The document discusses the teachings of the Beis Halevi regarding Yom Kippur being the day of the giving of the Oral Torah. The Beis Halevi explains that the first set of tablets contained the entire Written and Oral Torahs, but with the second set only the Written Torah was inscribed, establishing the split between the two. Rabbi Soloveitchik notes that the passage describing the Kohen Gadol's Yom Kippur service clearly implies three immersions but the Oral Tradition states five, demonstrating the strength of the mesorah even when it differs from the simple reading of the text. This emphasizes that Yom Kippur is the day of the

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    253 views4 pages

    Achrei Mos-Torah Sheba'al Peh

    Uploaded by

    outdash2
    The document discusses the teachings of the Beis Halevi regarding Yom Kippur being the day of the giving of the Oral Torah. The Beis Halevi explains that the first set of tablets contained the entire Written and Oral Torahs, but with the second set only the Written Torah was inscribed, establishing the split between the two. Rabbi Soloveitchik notes that the passage describing the Kohen Gadol's Yom Kippur service clearly implies three immersions but the Oral Tradition states five, demonstrating the strength of the mesorah even when it differs from the simple reading of the text. This emphasizes that Yom Kippur is the day of the

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    Achrei Mos- Torah Sheba'al Peh

    Yom Kippur is a day of Matan Torah (Taanis 30); it is the day on

    which Moshe Rabeinu brought down the second Luchos. The Beis Halevi

    (Drasha 18) explains that Yom Kippur is more precisely the day of Matan

    Torah of Torah Sheba'al Peh. The Beis Halevi maintains that on the first

    Luchos, Hashem had written down the entire body of Torah Sheba'al Peh.

    Torah Sheba'al Peh as we know it wouldn't have existed with the first

    Luchos; it was all written down. The only part of Torah Sheba'al Peh that

    would have been necessary was the "lehavin davar mitoch davar", to

    compare a new case to that which is already written in the Torah. This is

    .the Beis Halevi's approach

    The Beis Halevi uses this idea to explain many Pesukim and

    Midrashim. He says this is the pshat of the Gemara (Eruvin 54) which says

    regarding the first Luchos that there would have been no "shichecha", no

    forgetting of the Torah. Why? Because it was all written down and

    .therefore impossible to forget

    However, by the second Luchos, Hashem changed things. By the

    second Luchos the Torah Sheba'al Peh wasn’t written down on the Luchos;

    rather, it was literally Ba'al Peh. Only the Torah Shebichtav was written on

    the Luchos themselves. So, according to the Beis Halevi, the concept of

    the split of Torah Shebichtav and Torah Sheba'al Peh came into existence

    .for us on Yom Kippur


    Rabbi Soloveitchik zt"l, the Rav, thinksi that one can explain an idea in

    Parshas Achrei Mos based on this yesod of the Beis Halevi, his great-

    grandfather. The Torah describes the special Avodas Yom Kippur of the

    Kohen Gadol at great length with many details. If one reads the Chumash

    according to the simple pshat, then the Pesukim indicate that the Kohen

    Gadol went to the Mikvah three times during the Avodah. However, Chazal

    have a mesorah that the Kohen Gadol went to the Mikvah five timesii. So

    this parsha is one of the many examples where the Torah Sheba'al Peh

    presents a different picture than the simple Torah Shebichtav. The Rav

    points out, however, that what is happening here is actually uncommon.

    Generally what happens is that the Torah Shebichtav is not fully clear, and

    the Torah Sheba'al Peh clarifies what the Torah Shebichtav means. Or, the

    Torah Shebichtav is brief, and the Torah Sheba'al Peh elaborates on the

    text. But here in Parshas Achrei Mos, the Torah Shebichtav is quite

    detailed and elaborate. The Torah is quite clear; there are three tevilot in

    the Mikvah for the Kohen Gadol. Yet, this clear impression is actually

    incorrectiii; based on the Torah Sheba'al Peh, there are actually five tevilot.

    So we see here an example which emphasizes the strength of Torah

    Sheba'al Peh, that what Chazal say becomes our mesorah even if it seems

    to go against the simple explanation of the Chumash

    So, the Rav explains that is why specifically by the Avodas Yom Kippur we

    find this example where the Torah Shebichtav is so elaborate and detailed,

    and still the Torah Sheba'al Peh presents a different picture. This answer

    is that Yom Kippur is the Yom Tov of Matan Torah of Torah Sheba'al Peh,

    and Hashem wants to emphasize the strength of Torah Sheba'al Peh


    specifically on Yom Kippur. So the parsha of the Avodas Yom Kippur

    becomes a declaration of the koach of Chazal and the koach of the

    mesorah. It becomes a declaration that we follow the mesorah even if it is

    against the simple reading of the Chumash. We always accept the Torah

    Sheba'al Peh. We should all use this week's Parsha as an opportunity to

    .strengthen our Emunah in, and commitment to, Mesoras Chazal

    ,Good Shabbos

    B. Ginsburg
    i
    Nefesh Harav p.293
    ii
    See Rashi in Perek 16- Pesukim 4,23, and 24

    The implication of the Pesukim is incorrect specifically regarding the Avodah of the Kohen iii
    Gadol in the Beis Hamikdash on Yom Kippur. However, there is a concept found in many
    Sefarim that even when Chazal have a different Mesorah regarding pshat in the Chumash, the
    simple, literal meaning has significance as well. The Gr"a has a pshat regarding the literal
    meaning of the Pesukim in Achrei Mos. The Gr"a explains that there were times during the year
    when the Kohen Gadol would do the Avodah according to the pshat of the Pesukim. The Gr"a's
    approach is quoted at the end of the Chochmas Adam, and the Meshech Chochmah (Vayikra
    .16,3) discusses the Gr"a's approach as well

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