21:17
– 18 (יז דַּבֵּר אֶל-אַהֲרֹן, לֵאמֹר: אִישׁ
מִזַּרְעֲךָ לְדֹרֹתָם, אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בוֹ מוּם--לֹא יִקְרַב, לְהַקְרִיב לֶחֶם
אֱלֹ קָיו יח כִּי כָל-אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר-בּוֹ מוּם, לֹא יִקְרָב: אִישׁ עִוֵּר
אוֹ פִסֵּחַ, אוֹ חָרֻם אוֹ שָׂרוּעַ)
We have the commandment and prohibition against
allowing a Bal Mum, a Jew who has some physical abnormality to do the Avoda in
the Bais Hamikdash. The language of the Posuk is somewhat striking. We are
commanded that a Jew who has a physical deformity is not permitted to do the
service of the Bais Hamikdash. The reason is because anyone who has a physical
deformity is not allowed to do the service of the Bais Hamikdash. That doesn’t
seem to make sense. (כִּי) is giving a reason, don’t do this because.
The Torah doesn’t always tell us reasons, however, sometimes it does. Here it says, (אִישׁ מִזַּרְעֲךָ לְדֹרֹתָם, אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בוֹ מוּם--לֹא
יִקְרַב, לְהַקְרִיב לֶחֶם אֱלֹ קָיו יח כִּי כָל-אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר-בּוֹ מוּם,
לֹא יִקְרָב). Because anyone
who has a Mum can’t do the Avodah. So it is saying that one cannot do the Avoda
because one cannot do the Avoda. It is a Pliya? That is not a reason, it is
just repeating the prohibition.
The
Tosafos Beracha interprets as follows. He says the Torah is telling us that
there are times that we have a Mitzvah to do and we ask why and there are times
that we are told accept the Mitzvah without knowing the reason and do it
because you were told to do it.
We find
such an expression in the Gemara in Maseches Shabbos 21a (22 lines from the
top) (א"ל אין מדליקין מאי טעמא לפי שאין
מדליקין). Certain types of
oils can’t be used to light Shabbos candles. Abaya asked why not? The Rebbi
said because we don’t. He said don’t think into the reason, accept it.
Similarly,
in Maseches Nidda 60a (9 lines from the bottom) (א"ל
אין תולין מה טעם לפי שאין תולין).
So we find that sometimes a Rebbi understood that you have to teach a Halacha
without teaching the reason. That is
what the Torah is saying here as well. (אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בוֹ מוּם--לֹא יִקְרַב, לְהַקְרִיב לֶחֶם אֱלֹ
קָיו יח כִּי כָל-אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר-בּוֹ מוּם, לֹא יִקְרָב). The reason is because someone who has a
Mum is not allowed to do it. Now this is what it says in Tosafos Beracha.
We can
add, why should the Torah do that only here, there are many Chukim in the
Torah. There are many Mitzvos Stumim, Mizvos whose meanings are not known to
us. There the Torah doesn’t use this expression. Only here by a Bal Mum do we
use this expression. Why is that so?
The
answer would seem to be as follows. There are many Mitzvos whose reasons are
not known to us, and we accept it. Any intelligent human being knows that he
will not understand everything. For example the Mitzva of Parah Aduma. We know that it is above our understanding to
figure out and appreciate why a red cow is used for that particular use. Or why
an Esrog is waved on Sukkos with a Lulav. It is a Chok. Don’t ask, because.
By a Bal
Mum, however, a human being who has feelings, would feel bad. Why should this
person not be able to do the Avodah, just because he has a physical deformity?
Is he any less of a Jew? Is he any less of a valuable person? Does that make
him any less of a human being?
It goes
against the usual grain of B’nei Yisrael, Rachmanim, Baishanim, Gomlei
Chasadim. We who care for people. When we hear that because someone is a Bal
Mum he is ineligible to do the Avodah, we would question it more harshly. You
would think why should that be? It is Dafka here that the Torah tells us why?
Because. Because I said that a Bal Mum should not be doing the Avodah.
I would
add that we are now learning Sefer Yehoshua in the Motzoei Shabbos Navi Shiur.
We will come to episodes in Yehoshua which involve a lot of killing and a lot
of death, and one wonders, certainly an American in the 21st
century, so much killing so much death?
Strikingly
the Rishonim don’t come to explain it, they don’t come to apologize for Sefer
Yehoshua. It is as if to say this was the command of Hashem and we have to
accept it. It is Dafka such an issue, an issue where our sense of fairness is
challenged that we have to understand the concept of Ein L’har’er Acharov.
