It is well known that the Haftoroh was established during
the years when the ruling government prohibited reading
the Torah in public. Our Chachomim were concerned that
the requirement to read the Torah on Shabbos may have
been forgotten in the wake of this edict. Therefore,
the Haftorohs were instituted in which the reading from
the Navi corresponded to the Torah portion that would
have been read that week. This would serve as a reminder
to the community as to which Torah portion was appropriate
for that Shabbos. Therefore, the Haftorah of Parshas
Noach has the words, “These are to me like the waters
of Noach,” where the allusion to Parshas Noach is clear.
In Parshas Vayetzeh, the Haftorah begins,”Yaakov fled
to the fields of Aram,” which is an allusion to the above
parsha.
One may ask, “What connection is there between Parshas Vayera
and its Haftorah, which deals with the Isha Shunamis?” I
heard from Rav Schwab, Zt”l, the following explanation.
In Parshas Vayera and in the Haftorah, we find a common
theme. The mother of a child finds her child in a life-threatening
situation, and there seems to be no viable solution to
her terrible problem. Hagar finds Yishmael dying
from thirst and there is no water in sight. The Shunamis
finds her son Chavakuk screaming that his head is hurting
tremendously. (There was no Tylenol or Ibuprofen available
to alleviate his pain).
The association between the Haftorah and the Parsha is clear;
both deal with a mother and her sick child.
Hagar put her child behind one of the bushes and sat out of
earshot from Yishmael. She could not bear to hear the
screams of her son. The Shunamis put her child on her
lap and tried to comfort him as best as she could until
he died. Here we see a key difference between Klal Yisroel
and Umos Haolam. Hagar tried to help her child as much
as possible. When it became clear that she could not
help him any longer, she became worried about her own
pain and saw how painful it was to hear the screams of
Yishmael. So, she distanced herself from Yishmael. The
Shunamis forgot about her own pain. She decided to do
whatever she could to minimize the discomfort of her
child. She could not cure her child or alleviate his
pain. Regardless, she placed her screaming child on her
lap and became oblivious to her own pain. The child's
needs took precedence over her needs.
May Hakadosh Baruch Huh give us the zechus to do chesed and
kindness under all types of circumstances. There are
times, such as when being mesameach Chasan V'Kallah,
when doing the chesed is enjoyable. Visiting the sick
in hospitals and nursing homes, or attending a funeral
are not pleasurable tasks, but we need to do those chasadim
as well. The Shunamis teaches us that we are to do chesed
even when the circumstances are very painful. May Hashem
help us to fulfill the pasuk “Ivdu Es Hashem B'Simcha
Bo'u Lifanav Birnana.”
Rabbi Ehrman is the Moreh D'asra of
Kehillas Beis Yitzchok and learns daily with the Kollel
Boker.
Halacha Encounters
Kohein's
Kedima – Allowing the Kohein to Go First
Rabbi Yisroel Langer
In Parshas Emor (Bamidbar (21:8) the Torah tells us in regards
to a Kohein “You shall sanctify him, for he offers the
food of your G-d; he shall remain holy to you etc.” The
Gemorah (Gittin 59b) derives from this posuk that there
is a mitzvah to honor a Kohein by allowing him precedence
in all matters of kedusha (sanctity). This includes allowing
the Kohein 1) to open an assemblage with the first address,
2) to recite the beracha first at a meal and 3)be given
his portion first. In the opinion of most Rishonim this
is a mitzvah D'Orysah.
When a group of people sits down together to eat a meal the “greatest” one
present recites the beracha for everyone there. Likewise,
when it comes to bentching, the “greatest” one leads
the others in bentching. When
it comes to determining who is the “greatest” one present,
the rules are as follows. If there is a talmid chacham
(a Torah scholar) and a Kohein who is not well versed
in Torah, the talmid chacham comes first. In fact, in
this case, it is forbidden for the talmid chacham to
allow the Kohein the honor of leading the others, as
this would be degrading to the Torah. If the Kohein is well versed
in Torah, but a Yisroel present is an even greater talmid
chacham, it is meritorious for the Yisroel to give over
the honors to the Kohein, though he is not obligated
to do so. If the Yisroel and the Kohein are are equal
in their Torah knowledge, the honors go to the Kohein.
All this is true when there is no host. However, when
there is a host present he should make the Hamotzi for
everybody, and he may lead everybody in bentching. If the host does not desire to take
the honors then it goes to the greatest one present (as
above). If the Kohein wants
to be mochel (forgive) his rights to lead in Birchas
Hamozon he may do so. Therefore, if a host would like to
give the honors of bentching to a Yisroel, he should
ask the kohanim at the table to be mochel.
When the food is being served at the table, the Kohein should
be served first. That means the host should instruct
those serving (e.g. his wife) to serve the Kohein first
(even before himself). If the host did not instruct his
wife to serve the Kohein first, then his wife must serve
her husband first (her obligation to her husband comes
before the Kohein). If a guest who is a Yisroel was served
before a guest who is a Kohein, the Yisroel does not
give his portion over to the Kohein. Honor can only be
afforded by the host and not by another guest.
If there is a line of people waiting at the cashier in a store
or waiting to wash “Netilas Yadayim,” there is a mitzvah
D'Orysah to allow the Kohein to go to the head of the
line. However the psak of Harav Yoseph Shalom Eliyashiv,
shlita is
that if one were to suffer a loss (of time or money)
then one is not obligated to afford honor to the Kohein.
Therefore, although there is certainly a mitzvah to let
the Kohein go first, one is not obligated to do so. That
being the case one would not be allowed to let a Kohein
go in front of him without the consent of the people
behind him in the line.
After reading all these halachos on how to honor a Kohein,
many of us may be bothered as to why we do not see this
being practiced in many circles. For example, at a wedding
or a bris the Kohein is not always given the honor of
bentching and is not asked to be mochel. (Saying “Birishus
Kohanim…”, without asking them permission is not sufficient).
The Magen Avraham and other Achronim were bothered by this
as well. The Magen Avraham wants to suggest in defense
of people who are not careful with this mitzvah, that
it is because we are uncertain of the lineage of kohanim
today. Others want to suggest that the mitzvah is
only applicable during the times when kohanim served
in the Beis Hamikdosh, as the posuk says “You shall sanctify
him, for he offers the food of your G-d…” Some want to
say that it is understood that kohanim are mochel on
their honors. Despite these reasons, the poskim say that lechatchilah one should be
careful and be scrupulous with these halachos. Im Yirtzeh
Hashem next week we will continue to discuss the laws
regarding proper conduct with regard to kohanim.
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