02_explanation of rashi vaetchanan

8/14/2019 02_Explanation of Rashi Vaetchanan

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In this weeks Torah Portionwe find what may be the most famous

Jewish prayer!

We find the Shema:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our

God; the Lord is one


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Rashi quotes three proofsthat students can be

called children.

You are children to the Lord your God (Deut. 14:1),and it says: The disciples [lit. sons] of the prophets

who were in Bethel (II Kings 2:3). So too, we find that

Hezekiah taught Torah to all Israel and called them

children, as it is said: My sons, now do not forget (II

Chron. 29:11). And just as disciples are called

children, as it is said You are children to the Lordyour God so too, the teacher is called father, as it is

said [that Elisha referred to his teacher Elijah by the

words] My father, my father, the chariot of Israel (II

Kings 2:12) (Sifrei 6:7).


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This itself posesa number of questions!

hy does Rashi need three proofs,when one would have sufficed?

. In the Torah portion of Bamidbar,it says

alls Aarons children the childrenof Moshe. Rashi states there

simply that this teaches us thatstudents are called children.

et there he doesnt find it


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The questions continue:

3. The proofs which Rashi does

quote are all from verses that the

child who is learning Chumash has

not yet learned. Why cant he use

the previously quoted verse as a

proof?

4. Rashi could have used the book

of Proverbs as a proof, where King

Solomon says my son and means


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Still more questions!

5. Hezekiah calls his studentschildren once in Chronicles, which is a

chronicle of history (albeit a book ofthe Bible). King Solomon calls his

students children over twenty times inProverbs which is a book whichteaches us important things, and

comes before Chronicles in the order ofthe Bible!


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We have one possible answer toall of our questions!

Previously, in Shemot 34, 32, Rashiexplained the order in which the Jews

would learn each thing Moshe heardfrom G-d. First he would teach it to

Aaron, then to the children of Aaron,

then to the Elders, then to the masses.According to this the people only heard

it once. However, that is not so,because each one repeated it, so

everyone heard it four times!


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The difficulty goes on!

he reason everyone had to learn the Torahfour times was in order to know it well.

Once was not enough! But why were theelders responsible to teach it to the

people? Without Rashi, one only needed toteach Torah to his children!

his is the reason that Rashi explains thatyour children means your students.


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This seems to present a difficulty!

he entire proof from the way that

the Jewish people learned Torah in

he wilderness, just means that there

is some commandment to learn Torah withothers. It does not prove that students are

called children! Aside

rom that, the order of study wasestablished at the beginning of the

orty years, and this commandment


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The Explanation!

n the end of the Book of Bereishit,

aakov our forefather gives his son

himon a blessing that he and his

escendants would earn their living by

being scribes and Torah teachers.

If every father is obligated to teach

is son Torah, the only ones they could

each would be orphans (G-d forbid).

side from that, the student knows that he is ina class in a school, and his father is not


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The Explanation!

owever, after everything is said and done,

t does say your children! Therefore Rashineeds to show that we find students

alled children throughout the Bible.

e begins with the verse You are

hildren to the Lord your G-d, because G-d

teaches us!

owever this does not suffice!

aybe it is a term of endearment!

nd even if it is not, maybe it refers

o the fact that we receive our life from


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The Explanation!

herefore, Rashi needs to quote a second

erse, telling about the Children

f the Prophets. Prophesy was not passed

rom father to son! The Children of the Prophets werepeople who were fit for prophesy, but needed to

know how to go about it. Hence we see that studentsare called children! There is, however, one problem

with this! The Hebrew word for child, Ben, or Barin Aramaic, also has the meaning of a person. We seethis from the fact that a Bar Mitzvah does not mean

the son of a commandment, but rather one who iscommanded to fulfill commandments!


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The Explanation!

herefore, Rashi needs a third proof

rom Hezekiah who taught all of the Jewishpeople Torah, and referred to

hem as his children!

here is a problem with this answer aswell, because the job of a king is to take

care of all of the needs of his nation.Perhaps that is why he called them

children? Therefore we need the other

proofs!


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The Explanation!

e are still left with a question! Whydoesnt Rashi quote from the

hildren of Moshe or the Book of Proverbs

as we asked before?

ashi wants to show that students

re referred to as children all over the

Bible. That is why he brings three

roofs. The fact is that it does not

call Aarons children the children

f Moshe, but the offspring of Moshe.


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The Deeper Explanation!

e seem to have taken care of all

f our questions. However, on

deeper level, we are responsible

o teach Torah to all of our students.

f Divine Providence placed us

ith a fellow Jew, we are obligated to teachhim. Remember that a poor person alsomust give Tzedakah. Poverty is relative.

There is always someone that

e have more than, and someone that

02_explanation of rashi vaetchanan

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