Libations, Adnus, Pregnant Divorcee, Convert Without Sacrifice, Civil War with Ephraim

21 Sivan 5784

Chumash Rashi

“According to the number that you make, so shall you make for each one, according to their number.” (Bamidbar 15:12)

Rashi explains, “‘According to the number’ of animals which you will bring as an offering, ‘so shall you make’ libations for each one of them. ‘According to their number,’ i.e., the number of animals shall their number of libations be.” On first glance the comment seems to be stating the obvious. What confusion is Rashi trying to prevent?

The verse might have been read, “According to the number of libations that you make, so shall you make for each one…” The verse would then have been saying that one who brings an offering of sheep or goats may bring multiple libations and meal-offerings with each animal, as long as each libation and meal-offering is made up of the quantities outlined in the preceding verses. However, this is not the case, so Rashi clarifies that “According to the number that you make,” refers to the animals which are brought as an offering. You must make one libation for each one of them.

Tanya

“Only concerning the attribute of [G-d’s] malchut is it possible to say that He is King ‘Above without end and below without limit’ and likewise in all four directions.” (Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah, Chapter 7)

Only one aspect of Hashem, that which rules over the world, malchus/Adnus, even has contact with it. The rest is wholly exalted. Even malchus is fully united with Hashem’s Essence, yet it lowers itself, so to speak, in order to allow for the existence of a world for Hashem to rule over. This descent ultimately only serves the purpose of making the Jewish people messengers to “reconnect” the world to G-dliness.

Rambam

“When a priest marries a divorcee who is pregnant - whether with his child or that of another man - and she gives birth after she became a challalah, the child is acceptable, for it was not conceived from forbidden seed.” (Sefer Kedushah, Hilchos Issurei Bi’ah 19:7)

How is this possible? Didn’t the Rambam just state, “When a priest who is nine years old engages in relations with a divorcee or with a zonah or a High Priest enters into relations with such women or with a widow, or marries a non-virgin and enters into relations with her, these women become challalot for all time. If they conceive a child from such relations, whether from relations with the priest who caused them to be deemed a challalah or whether with another priest, the offspring are challalim.” (Sefer Kedushah, Hilchos Issurei Bi’ah 19:3)

How can a priest have acceptable children from a divorcee? As soon as he engages in relations with her after she is divorced, the children they conceive are challalim. If she became pregnant before she was divorced, she was oviously still married to another man and the children would be mamzerim. It must be that the priest here is remarrying his own divorcee while she is pregnant from him and the children have the acceptable status of the relations before the divorce. I will double-check this and write a comment with the answer.

Comment: It is referring to a Kohen marrying his own pregnant divorcee.

Toras Menachem

“One rule applies to the assembly, for yourselves and for the proselyte who resides [with you]; one rule applies throughout your generations just as [it is] for you, so [it is] for the proselyte, before the L-rd.” (Bamidbar 15:15)

This verse clearly states that a convert has the same Jewish status as a native-born Jew.

The Rambam explains in Hilchos Issurei Bi’ah 13:1-5 that the process of conversion nowadays parallels that of the Jews entering into the covenant in the desert, “just as it is for you, so it is for the proselyte.” The process contains three steps: 1. circumsion, 2. immersion, 3. offering a sacrifice. In the current era in which offering a sacrifice is not possible, does a convert attain full Jewish status? This question is especially pertinent, seeing that the Rambam rules in Hilchos Mechussarey Kapparah 1:2 that “the absence of the sacrifice holds him back from becoming a complete convert.” So what is the status of a convert of the current era, is he a full Jew or is he “held back?”

The Rebbe explains that the language of the Rambam is very precise. The Rambam views step 1. and 2. as the active entry into the covenant. The offering of a sacrifice by the convert, however, is merely a step in removing an obstacle to the conversion, the absence of which “holds him back.” Since this last step is not possible in the current era, there is also no valid obstacle that need be removed, so the convert attains full Jewish status with only steps 1. and 2.

Tanakh

Shoftim Chapter 12: Ephraim starts up a controversy with Jephthah because they weren’t asked to participate in the Gileadites war against Ammon. Jephtah, unlike Gideon previously, fails to tactfully mollify them. A civil war breaks out. The Gileadites win. The Gileadites occupy the crossings of the Jordan and quiz every passerby by making them pronounce a “sh”, a sound which the Ephraimites cannot pronounce due to a tribal speech impediment. They kill every Ephraimite would-be passerby. Jepthah dies. Ibzan becomes the judge for seven years and dies. Elon the Zebulunite becomes the judge for ten years and dies. Abdon son of Hillel becomes the judge for eight years and dies.