by Zvi Akiva Fleisher
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OROH V'SIMCHOH - MESHECH CHOCHMOH ON PARSHAS VO'ES'CHANAN 5763 BS"DPerhaps another explanation can be offered along the lines of the MESHECH CHOCHMOH. In the desert when people did not comply with Hashem's mitzvos He furthered the manna from them and their portions required much preparation before being edible, as mentioned in the gemara Yoma 75a. However, Hashem always gave them manna even if they sinned greatly. However, upon entering Eretz Yisroel, the Torah says, "Hishomru lochem ...... v'sartem, v'otzar es hashomayim v'lo y'h'yeh mottor v'ho'adomoh lo si'tein es y'vuloh va'avadtem m'heiroh ......" (Dvorim 11:16,17). Hashem clearly tells us that when not complying in Eretz Yisroel He will force us to do the mitzvos under threat of otherwise being driven from the land through lack of sustenance. Ch. 5, v. 14,15: "V'shorcho vachamorcho v'chol b'hemtecho .., V'zocharto ki evved hoyiso b'eretz Mitzrayim" - In the version of the Ten Commandments in Shmos, when the command of remembering Shabbos is mentioned (20:10), there is no mention of refraining from having one's ox and donkey work. The MESHECH CHOCHMOH explains that in the earlier version the Torah gives the reason for keeping Shabbos as a remembrance of the creation of the world (verse 21). Since all animals were included in the creation, a ben Yisroel is commanded to have his animals refrain from working, and there is no reason to point out any particular species. However, in our verse the Torah gives a second reason for keeping Shabbos, as a remembrance of our having been enslaved to Egypt and being redeemed by Hashem. This is of such great importance that Hashem has given us the mitzvos of tefillin (Shmos 13:16) as a remembrance on one's body, tzitzis (Bmidbar 15:41) on one's garments, and Shabbos and the Yom Tov of Pesach in the realm of time, as continual, repetitive reminders of the central event of the exodus from Egypt. Since the first-born of an ox and of a donkey have been sanctified as a remembrance of what transpired in Egypt and upon the bnei Yisroel's exodus (Shmos 13:12,13), one might think that there is no further need to exemplify this with an ox or a donkey. Therefore there is a need to specifically mention these two species as still falling under the rule of refraining from work on Shabbos. I don't fully understand the words of the MESHECH CHOCHMOH. Although it is understood why the verse would not mention species whose first-born require no redemption, i.e. a horse, but there are others that do, such as a goat or a sheep. If so, why does the Torah specifically only mention an ox and not the others, as we find in Vayikroh 22:27, "Shor o chesev o eiz?" FEEDBACK AND SUBMISSIONS ARE APPRECIATED. SHOLOM613@AOL.COM See also Sedrah Selections and Chasidic Insights |
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