parsha bit: Nitzavim-Vayeilech

[cellio]

Our parsha tells us "this mitzvah is not far away from you [...] it is very close to you, in your mouths and hearts to fulfill". To what mitzvah does the passage refer? Rashi says it refers to torah study. A lazy person, he says, claims that the torah is far away, beyond reach, and thus does not try to study. However, Rashi says, it is close by and thus easily available.

(I don't know where this comes from, but there is a tradition that says that an angel teaches the child in the womb all of torah, but it is forgotten at birth until later re-learned.)

Comments

[zevabe.livejournal.com]

There is an Artscroll book, What the Angel Taught You. I have to imagine it would mention this in the introduction & hopefully cite the source. Looking at this book in your local Jewish bookstore or library/beit midrash may be of help.

Last night, the mashgiach gave a very interesting talk on nearby pasukim of it not being in the Heavens or across the sea, interpretted about Torah study. He then brought in the 2 stories of "Lo B'shamayim hi"; the famous one from Bava Metzia about Rabbi Eliezer's machloket with Chachamim over the oven of Aknai and the other being that a prophet (after Moses) can't give psak from prophecy. He talked about the contrast between these ideas that now Torah is in the human domain to learn & interpret as opposed to other sugyot suggesting from the same verses that it is Divine wisdom which can not be understood by a person too haughty to have a rabbi or chevruta. If this sounds unclear, it is because I am condensing a 20 minute talk into a paragraph.

[cellio]

Sounds like an interesting talk! Thanks for the summary.

(If anyone else reading this needs a translation of any of those terms, just ask. zevabe knows he doesn't have to translate for me, but if others are still reading and need it, please don't be shy.)

[zevabe.livejournal.com]

Honestly, it was more an oversight on my part. I've been in yeshiva a lot lately & quickly pick up the lingo. So forgive me for slipping into yeshivish inappropriately.

Mashgiach- Director of Student Affairs/a rabbi
Pasukim- verses
Lo B'shamayim hi- It is not in the heavens, a quote from a verse in the Torah portion under discussion.
Machloket-Dispute
Chachamim-Sages
If you want to hear the story in question, ask. A lot of people do know it.
Psak-decision of Jewish law
Sugyot-short one-topic sections of Talmud (likely most akin to a paragraph if there were paragraph breaks in a Talmud)
Chevruta-Learning Partner

[cellio]

No problem -- as I said, I understood and you were writing for me. It was not my intent to impose a translation burden on you. I just know that some of my readers have commented that they don't always know the terms I use when I'm talking about this stuff, so I offered to translate for anyone else if relevant. You have no such obligation.