AS OF DECEMBER 2013, NEW DIVREI TORAH WILL NOT BE POSTED HERE; THEY WILL BE POSTED AT MY OTHER WEBSITE, BEIS VAAD, beisvaad.blogspot.com Existing posts on this website will not be updated, and if there will be any new posts here, while they will be Torah-oriented, will not be yeshivish.
Sunday, December 01, 2013
Chanuka. Mizmor Shir Chanukas HaBayis- מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית לדוד
This post and the comments were moved to Beis Vaad.
The Sefas Emes says that 'lhaskicham torasecha u'leha'aviram...' is part of the hoda'ah part of al hanisim - sometimes it's only because you've sunken (or been pushed down) to a point where you can sink no further that triggers the yeshu'a, so we give thanks for being pushed down. I don't think you can say quite the same about Dovid haMelech, but maybe there is an idea that davka because he suffered so much he was zocheh to at least put in place the dream of binyan habayis. So the suffering and the chanukah go hand in hand.
Reb Moshe told me that in Russia, there was a sect that davka did as many aveiros as they could, because the Gemara says Mashiach will come either in kulo zakai or kulo chayav, and there's no hope for zakai.
I was just looking through the old Hamaors. Some friends of mine used to publish regularly. I never did.
Rav Wahrman was a regular contributor. I like his way of thinking and writing. Did you know him?
I sometimes prefer journal style over sefer style. In a sefer, people think they have to write perfect and weighty things that will stand up to the scrutiny of generations. In a journal, people are more relaxed. Some people will write speculative fluff, and they get it in because they're influential. But when you get a real talmid chacham who's writing in a more conversational style, that's a good combination.
No, I unfortunately never met him. His seforim were popular back in my days in YU / Morasha Kollel and I re-discovered them on hebrewbooks, much to my enjoyment.
Thank you SC. I put the new link into the post. I looked up what I assume is your pen name and found that it is a cartoon character. What a strange choice.
Wow. I, and most others, assume that it's very recent, more recent than the Kisvei Ha'ari's mizmor shir before pesuki d'zimra, even more than Ledavid during Ellul. I'm going to have to look into this.
In the events described in Shmuel II Perek 24, because of a sin, ultimately 70,000 Jews died. Medrash Shochar Tov (http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14050&st=&pgnum=255) says the sin was Klal Yisrael's delaying the building of the Bais HaMikdash. Indeed, the conclusion of the chapter is Dovid buying the makom haMikdash from Aravna and being makriv karbanos there to finally remove the charon af. While this was happening, Dovid davened "I am the one who sinned, what did the sheep do? Please strike me and my family instead." Immediately after, he was told by the navi Gad to buy the makom Hamikdash from Aravna.
So it was Hashem granting Dovid the inspiration to do his chanukas habayis (the consecration of the makom haMikdash) that saved him from hesped and death etc.
Thanks. That's a very nice pshat. I incorporated it into the post at my new site, beisvaad.blogspot.com
Two things: first, I changed your page link to the next page in the Medrash. Less confusing. Second, I'm not updating the Divrei Torah on this site. All updates will be at the new site.
Latin phrases will be deleted. If you can't find an equivalent in Hebrew, Aramaic, Yiddish, or English, go away. Posts are often edited to reflect or incorporate comments.
The pney yehoshua on nes pach Hashemen would fit nicely here
ReplyDeleteDone.
ReplyDeleteThe Sefas Emes says that 'lhaskicham torasecha u'leha'aviram...' is part of the hoda'ah part of al hanisim - sometimes it's only because you've sunken (or been pushed down) to a point where you can sink no further that triggers the yeshu'a, so we give thanks for being pushed down. I don't think you can say quite the same about Dovid haMelech, but maybe there is an idea that davka because he suffered so much he was zocheh to at least put in place the dream of binyan habayis. So the suffering and the chanukah go hand in hand.
ReplyDeletehow did you find r' wahrman's piece?
Reb Moshe told me that in Russia, there was a sect that davka did as many aveiros as they could, because the Gemara says Mashiach will come either in kulo zakai or kulo chayav, and there's no hope for zakai.
ReplyDeleteI was just looking through the old Hamaors. Some friends of mine used to publish regularly. I never did.
Rav Wahrman was a regular contributor. I like his way of thinking and writing. Did you know him?
ReplyDeleteI sometimes prefer journal style over sefer style. In a sefer, people think they have to write perfect and weighty things that will stand up to the scrutiny of generations. In a journal, people are more relaxed. Some people will write speculative fluff, and they get it in because they're influential. But when you get a real talmid chacham who's writing in a more conversational style, that's a good combination.
No, I unfortunately never met him. His seforim were popular back in my days in YU / Morasha Kollel and I re-discovered them on hebrewbooks, much to my enjoyment.
ReplyDeleteRav Wahrman reprinted his article in Shearis Yosef 4 siman 51.
ReplyDeletehttp://hebrewbooks.org/51884
What a gaon.
Thank you SC. I put the new link into the post.
ReplyDeleteI looked up what I assume is your pen name and found that it is a cartoon character. What a strange choice.
Yeah, we like to keep it leibedik...
ReplyDelete(just noticed the opening line) the minhag to say Mizmor Shir on chanuka is mentioned in Masekhet Sofrim (#18), so at least ~1300 years old.
ReplyDeleteWow. I, and most others, assume that it's very recent, more recent than the Kisvei Ha'ari's mizmor shir before pesuki d'zimra, even more than Ledavid during Ellul. I'm going to have to look into this.
ReplyDeleteHagahos R Eliezer Moshe Horowitz to Shabbos 30a says a pshat based on the Gemara there.
ReplyDeleteThe Gra'm Horwitz there says
ReplyDeleteנהפכו פני כל שונאי דוד כו' וע"ז יצדק כל מזמור של חנוכת בית ע"ש
That's exactly what the Radak says, the first pshat I brought in the post.
Thank you for your comment, though I can't understand why someone would want to remain anonymous on this website.
I heard the following pshat:
ReplyDeleteIn the events described in Shmuel II Perek 24, because of a sin, ultimately 70,000 Jews died. Medrash Shochar Tov (http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14050&st=&pgnum=255) says the sin was Klal Yisrael's delaying the building of the Bais HaMikdash. Indeed, the conclusion of the chapter is Dovid buying the makom haMikdash from Aravna and being makriv karbanos there to finally remove the charon af. While this was happening, Dovid davened "I am the one who sinned, what did the sheep do? Please strike me and my family instead." Immediately after, he was told by the navi Gad to buy the makom Hamikdash from Aravna.
So it was Hashem granting Dovid the inspiration to do his chanukas habayis (the consecration of the makom haMikdash) that saved him from hesped and death etc.
Thanks. That's a very nice pshat. I incorporated it into the post at my new site, beisvaad.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteTwo things: first, I changed your page link to the next page in the Medrash. Less confusing. Second, I'm not updating the Divrei Torah on this site. All updates will be at the new site.