“The Light of the Torah”

Me’orah shel Torah (“The Light of the Torah”) is a collection of comments, thoughts, homilies and stories on the weekly portions of the Torah, culled from a large variety of Sefarim by early and later authors.

The editor, Rabbi Shmuel Yerushalmi, who added comments of his own, is a well-known Jerusalem Torah scholar.  He has published excellent editions of writings by early authorities as well as more popular works.  The latter include the translation from Ladino into Hebrew of Me’am Lo’ez and the compilation of similar anthologies on books of the Bible on which no Me’am Lo’ez had been composed.

R. Yerushalmi’s work also features selections of comments and observations on the Haftarot, the festivals, several of the five Megilloth and Pirkei Avoth.

Following are some pearls from this rich treasure trove.

During the days of repentance it is appropriate to mention a bon mot about teshuva.

The Alter of Novardok used to say that  Teshuva is the best business.  Even a loss is turned into profit.  Sins become merits (cited in the book before us in connection with Deut. 30:1)!

“Now write for yourselves this song” (Deut. 31:19).  The last commandment of the Torah—based on this verse—is to write a Torah for oneself.  The Torah’s first commandment is:  Be fruitful and multiply.  This teaches us that one is permitted to sell a Sefer Torah in order to be able to fulfil the first commandment; i.e. to take a wife.

“…and teach it to the children of Israel and put it into their mouth” (Deut., ibid.).

Rabbi Mordechai Gimpel Yaffe commented:  The song (Ha’azinu) is a warning to Israel to keep the commandments.  According to the law the person who is warned must acknowledge the warning.  If he just remains silent, he cannot be punished (T.B. Sanhedrin 81b).  For this reason the Israelites had to repeat the song.

R. Yerushalmi’s collection was first published in 1973.  A short time ago Moznaim publishers of Jerusalem put out a new, revised edition.  Unfortunately some typing mistakes have crept into the book.  They will be certainly be corrected in a new printing.

In the selections on Vezoth Haberakha it says that the last letters of the last three words of the Torah form the name Hillel, for Hillel’s soul was a spark of Moses.  He was also as modest as Moses and died at the age of 120 as did Moses.

 Instead of “the last letter of the last three words of the Torah” it should read “the last letters of the last four words…”

In the reflections on Ex. 14:8 we read: Ibn Ezra explains why the Israelites, who were armed, did not fight against Pharaoh and his men who pursued them.  They didn’t want to be ungrateful to the Egyptians in whose country they had found a haven during the years of the famine.

The mention of Ibn Ezra, probably, is a printing mistake, for this Biblical exegete offers in his commentary on Exodus an altogether different explanation:  The Israelites, though liberated from slavery, still had the mentality of slaves.  They could not and would not fight against their former masters!

New Reproductions of Rare Books

Leket Shmuel and Derush Shmuel

Rabbi Shmuel Faivish Kahana, a grandson of Rabbi Joshua b. Alexander Falk, the author of SMA on Shulhan Arukh, Choshen Mishpat, served as scribe of the Jewish community of Vienna before the expulsion of the Jews from the city in 1670.

In 1694 he published in Venice Leket Shmuel and Derush Shmuel.  The first is divided according to topics: Adam, Enosh, Avot, Elijah, Aaron, Ahava, Eretz Yisrael, etc., each entry featuring appropriate quotations from the Talmud, Midrashim, Zohar and other books.  The author called his work, “a might key to all divrei Torah.”

Derush Shmuel includes comments on the Torah which the author heard from contemporary rabbis.  Gedolei Yisrael cited in his book include the the Rebbe Reb Heshel, Reb Heshel’s father Rabbi Ya’akov of Lublin, Rabbi Yitzhak of Posen, Rabbi Yonah Teomim Fraenkel and many others.

Leket Shmuel and Derush Shmuel were never reprinted.  They have been reproduced in a limited edition by CopyCorner (Brothers Goldenberg & Y. Brach) of Brooklyn, NY.