015 Letter 139 (3)

Good morning Rebbe, I hope you're well. Yesterday we were reading the letter, excerpts from the letter that Rav Hutner wrote to the convention, a gathering of alumni of the Yeshiva, and we saw the part of the letter where he has a very interesting historical insight. He says that traditionally semicha was not conferred institutionally by Yeshivas, but rather people would go to individually, individual widely recognized gedolim and would get a semicha from those gedolim. And we still have that to a degree today. People will go to someone like Rav Zalman Nechemia shlita and get a personal, personal semicha. And it's clear that he's explaining that what the basis, what underlined that or underlied that practice was to clearly telegraph the message that Torah isn't supposed to be professionalized or commercialized the way, again, the field of law is professionalized and commercialized lehavdil, or other, other professions. And to show that Talmud Torah doesn't have to serve any other purpose. Talmud Torah doesn't have to serve any practical purpose and again obviously this is not to the exclusion of לומד על מנת לעשות, לומד על מנת ללמד, all those are internal intrinsic demands that Talmud Torah makes. It's not Talmud Torah being subservient to anything else. So that's how that message was clearly telegraphed and safeguarded by having this division of responsibility as it were, that the Yeshiva taught Torah and semicha was conferred privately, individually. All that of course in no way diminished or understated or underestimated the crucial, vital, indispensable role that rabbonim have always played throughout our history. But to make sure that no one thinks that again, that Talmud Torah should be professionalized or commercialized in the sense that it's a stepping stone, in the sense that it's a professional training school. That's why there was this clear division. And then we began discussing at the end yesterday morning about does that I think indisputable historical fact, is that a kasha on the fact that our Yeshiva clearly is very much focused, has a focus amongst other foci on semicha? Our Yeshiva certainly not the only one, other Yeshivas as well have, have semicha programs. And the yesod that we began to discuss and it's very important and very much worth more, more time and let's at least give it a few more minutes now בעזרת השם בלי נדר. We always need to know what's the core, what's the essence and what's the tactic or strategy that we have adopted. When Hakadosh Baruch Hu adopts a tactic or strategy, so it's not for us to decide that well maybe, maybe we should change the tactic or change the strategy. A person can't say as chazal say about... A person is not, it's not given to a person to individually or to the Klal collectively to substitute Hakadosh Baruch Hu's mitzvos. And so in that sense, even if we think based on ta'amei mitzvos that the mitzvos are an instrument to an end, but Hakadosh Baruch Hu said, but these are absolute instruments. In the field what we're talking about here is there's no הלכה למשה מסיני. When Moshe Rabbeinu came down from Har Sinai, he did not transmit to us a הלכה למשה מסיני that Yeshivos shouldn't confer semicha. You should go to Rav Chaim Ozer, you should go to the Gedolei Hora'ah of that generation. There was no such הלכה למשה מסיני. That's a wise tactic and strategy that we developed. When the tactic or strategy is one that we developed, so then it's given to the Chachmei Yisrael to recognize when that tactic or strategy continues to best serve to preserve the essence and the core and when not. Because again, the essence and the core is not that a Yeshiva shouldn't grant semicha. The essence and the core is that we should recognize that Torah isn't supposed to be justified in terms of serving some other practical goal. That's the essence, that's the core, that's the eternal, that's what Moshe Rabbeinu came down from Har Sinai and told us. Like the famous drasha of the Beis Halevi that when we said Na'aseh V'Nishma we each got shnei kesarim, we each got two crowns. So the Beis Halevi explains that one crown was, both crowns were associated with talmud Torah. There's one chelek of talmud Torah that a person has to learn even if there wouldn't be a mitzvas talmud Torah. A person has to learn, if I have a chiyuv mezuza when I live in a house, I have to know enough hilchos mezuza to know where to put the mezuza, how to put the mezuza, etc. So talmud Torah is needed even if there wouldn't be a mitzvas talmud Torah, it's needed to facilitate ma'aseh. But then talmud Torah na'aseh, but then there's another crown of nishma. Then we say no, we're going to learn Torah even independent of any practical consideration. Even if I'm going to live my whole life in a tent, I'm going to learn hilchos mezuza. Talmud Torah again is not subservient to any practical application. That's the core, that's the din that Moshe Rabbeinu transmitted. Then לפי המקום לפי הזמן when the Torah, be it a din d'Oraisa, be it a din d'Rabanan that's made l'doros, or when a davar sheb'minyan, when the Torah or Chazal formulate and craft a strategy, so then that's takeh absolute and it's l'dorei doros. When we on our own craft a plan or a strategy, so then it's not given to every yachid, minhagei Yisrael. A person's not given to every yachid to chas v'shalom rachmana l'tzlan pass judgment or walk away from minhagei Yisrael, but it is given to the Chachmei Yisrael to constantly review, as it were, are these still the best tactics and strategies for what constitutes the din d'Oraisa or the din d'Rabanan. In the biography of Rav Nosson Tzvi they tell a very beautiful story. Rav Nosson Tzvi as you know, I think in this respect he was following in the footsteps of his father-in-law, had lots of incentives for learning where he promised there were monetary incentives for learning. So someone once asked him ha-yitachen ha-yitachen, we're supposed to be learning Torah lishmah, what's with all these all these... financial incentives. So he told the following story. When the first Hebrew speaking cheder opened, I don't know if it was in Bnei Brak or I don't know where it was. So some people came to the Chazon Ish and wanted the Chazon Ish to put an isur on that cheder. What do you mean? Our tradition from Eastern Europe, so the cheder were always conducted in Yiddish. What do you mean chadasha mi'karov bo? That now we're going to have the language of instruction is going to be modern Hebrew. Heich yitachen? Wanted the Chazon Ish to an isur, a cherem, whatever it is that they wanted. And the Chazon Ish said no. And he told them the following, he gave them the following mashal. There's a country. The country had the head of the army for decades after decades of service, he retired. A few years later, I don't know how many years later, five, 10 years later, the country faces an imminent attack from its neighbor. So the king instructs his people that they should go to the former head of the army who'd had such a successful, distinguished career and ask him to come out of retirement and lead and help craft the battle strategy to counteract this looming threat. So again, he's been removed from military matters for five, 10 years now. They go to him and they tell him, you know, the neighboring country seems to be amassing their forces on our border and what's the best way? And he starts telling them where they should put their cavalry and where they should put their cannons. And they realize that he's totally out of touch. He's devising a battle strategy where the weapons of war are cannons, and they need a strategy to counteract an air force flying overhead and drones and unmanned drones flying overhead and laser-directed missiles and tanks. So he's out of touch. So they realize that he's fighting yesterday's battle. They need someone who can be a general who'll fight today's battle. So the Chazon Ish said to them, the language of instruction is yesterday's battle. It's not today's battle. And that's what Rav Nosson Tzvi said when he was challenged. And that's exactly the same yesod. Moshe Rabbeinu didn't come down from Har Sinai speaking Yiddish. And Yiddish was for a long time a way of preserving the masoret. It was our language and it reflected a certain insularity. And because of that, it was an important tactic and strategy. The Chazon Ish recognized the point at which that wasn't the tactic or the strategy and that wasn't the battle and that the reality had sufficiently changed. And that's the yesod when we mentioned the story yesterday that the Rav said times are different, that's what the Rav was saying. That whenever the tactic or strategy is itself a mitzvah, so then it's absolute. But when the tactic or strategy is one that we have adopted, that we have crafted, so then a person has to, a person, but not individually, meaning the chachamei hasaf, the generation, the chachamei hador have to assess whether or not this is still the correct and most effective tactic or strategy and sometimes it can backfire. Sometimes what was most effective and most appropriate in לפי המקום ולפי הזמן in one tkufa, לפי המקום ולפי הזמן in another tkufa isn't. And it's a very big yesod in inyanei chinuch, in inyanei chinuch where the tactics and the strategies by and large they're not themselves intrinsic. intrinsically mitzvos but they're rather again things that על פי עצת חכמי המסורה במשך הדורות have emerged and because of that the chachmei hamesorah going forward also are the ones who have to make that make that determination. Okay beli neder im yirtzeh hashem we'll we'll resume later at 1:30 have a productive morning rabosai be well be safe. Rabbi I just had a question to ask. Please. So for today's seder what do you suggest we prepare for shiur?