In Parashat Noach, Noach is informed that Hashem is going to destroy the entire world with a flood. Hashem commands him to build an ark and bring in his family, the animals and food. The Torah tells us that Noach obeyed "Kekol Asher Tzivah – as Hashem commanded" (Bereshit 6:22).
In Parashat Vayeira, Avraham is informed by Hashem that he should take his son Yitzchak -- for whom he waited so long -- and perform a bris on him. The Torah tells us that Avraham obeyed "Ka'asher Tzivah - as Hashem commanded" (Bereshit 21:4).
In Parashat Bo, the Jewish People is instructed by Hashem to fulfill all the detailed Halakhot of the Korban Pesach, the Passover sacrifice, before they leave Egypt. The Torah tells us that all of the Jewish People obeyed "Ka'asher Tzivah – as Hashem commanded" (Shemot 12:50).
This same language of "Ka'asher Tzivah" is used over and over again to indicate that the Jewish People obeyed the command of Hashem. It is used when the Jewish People completed the building of the Mishkan (Shemot 39:32), when they performed the Pesach offering in the year after the Exodus (Bemidbar 9:5), when they encamped around the Mishkan (Bamidbar 1:54) and when the Kohanim and the Levi'im were consecrated (Vayikra 8; Bemidbar 8:22). Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, in his commentary on the Torah, the Meshekh Hokhmah, says that every time a person or the Jewish People followed the instructions of Hashem, the Torah uses the same exact expression: that they obeyed, "Ka'asher Tzivah - as Hashem commanded." Every time that is, except once.
In this week's parashah, Parashat Naso, the Meshekh Hokhmah notices a change in this pattern. We read that Hashem tells Moshe to command the Jewish People to expel from the camp anyone who is impure -- whether they have Tzra'at, have an impure emission, or come in contact with a corpse. They must be removed from the camp, so they will not contaminate it. The Torah tells us that the Jewish People obeyed, but it does not say that they obeyed, "Ka'asher Tzivah - as Hashem commanded. Rather, it says that they obeyed "Ka'asher Diber - as Hashem said" (Bemidbar 5:4).
Why the sudden change? Rabbi Meir Simcha suggests that the word "Tzivah" does not simply mean that Hashem "commanded" the people to do something. It implies that Hashem had to urge them to perform the mitzvot. It implies that they needed an extra push to get them to obey Hashem's will. Sometimes it was because the mitzvah was expensive -- as in the case of bringing the Pesach sacrifice. Sometimes it was just difficult – like Avraham performing a bris on Yitzchak. In either case, it would not have been enough for Hashem to say that they should perform the mitzvah. He had to put on a little pressure. He had to command them. And the fact that they obeyed was a result of being commanded to do so. This is why the Torah tells us that they fulfilled the mitzvah "Ka'asher Tzivah."
When we begin reading about the mitzvah of "Shiluach Temei'im - sending the impure out of the camp," it looks like Hashem needed to use the same tactic. He tells Moshe, "Tzav Et Bnei Yisrael - Command the Jewish People..." But we soon see that in this case, the Jewish People didn't need an extra push. As the Meshekh Hokhmah explains, all of the Jewish People fulfilled Hashem's will. The community expelled the impure as instructed. Even more surprisingly, the impure individuals left the camp willingly, with great joy. There was no pushing, fighting or quarreling. Everyone performed this mitzvah not because Hashem had commanded, but "Ka'asher Diber - as Hashem said." All of this was done as if Hashem had simply told them to do it.
When we look at all the mitzvot which the Torah describes the Jewish People performing, what was it about expelling the impure that was so different? Why, of all the mitzvot, was this one alone performed "Ka'asher Diber - as Hashem said"? The answer may be found when we consider the spiritual state of those who had become impure. Being impure meant being separated from Hashem. When a person felt that distance, that spiritual emptiness, they were willing to do whatever it took to become pure again -- even if that meant leaving their community. And the rest of the Jewish People, for their part, were willing to do whatever it took to help their members begin their process of purification -- even if it meant expelling them from the camp. The mitzvah of Shiluach Temei'im needed both the individual and the community in order to be fulfilled. The spiritual well-being of every Jew depended upon it. It is no wonder that they did not need any extra encouragement. Being temporarily separated from the community was a small price to pay for being re-united with Hashem.
Good Shabbos!
Rabbi
Mordechai Friedfertig
Congregation B'nai Shalom
Williamsville,
New York
Email: mordechai at utj.org
Copyright 2000-2003 by Mordechai Friedfertig