Rabbi Elyakim Krumbein
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The Image of the Jewish King According to the Torah
Rabbi Elyakim KrumbeinWhat is the purpose and function of the king?
Seeing God or Being Seen By God (Audio)
Rabbi Elyakim Krumbein | 7 minutesWho is being seen during the Temple pilgrimage sacrifices—God or the members of Bnei Yisrael? The grammar and vocalization of the phrasing is strange and unclear. This tension is explored by examining momentous instances in Tanakh where there is a phrase relating to "seeing God's face"—such as the place of the Akeida and where Yaakov wrestles with the mysterious figure.
The Image of the Jewish King (Audio)
Rabbi Elyakim Krumbein | 5 minutesThe image of the Israelite King as presented in Devarim emphasizes a command for him to write a Torah and study it constantly. Why do the laws upheld by the Sages insist that each king must write his own scroll? The laws pertaining to the king serve to underscore the importance of moral values—the primacy of ethical standards—not just for the king, but for the entire nation.
Seeing God or Being Seen By God
Rabbi Elyakim KrumbeinWho is being seen during the Temple pilgrimage sacrifices—God or the members of Bnei Yisrael? The grammar and vocalization of the phrasing is strange and unclear. This tension is explored by examining momentous instances in Tanakh where there is a phrase relating to "seeing God's face"—such as the place of the Akeida and where Yaakov wrestles with the mysterious figure.
You Comfort Me in Vain
A Clarification of the Connection Between Pesach and the 9th of Av
Rabbi Elyakim KrumbeinThe Midrash comments that Pessah and the 9th of Av always fall on the same day of the week.
The Pesach of Egypt was not an ideal sacrifice. The true festival lay ahead, in the future, in Eretz Yisrael. What was required of the nation in Egypt was a demonstration of faith in that future despite the difficult conditions that existed in Egypt. The combination of the maror and the Pesach declares that faith in the future is victorious over the depression of the present; it is indeed possible to taste the redemption in the very grains of the maror.
Eating maror in the Beit HaMikdash was meant to help us identify with the heroic faith of our forefathers in Egypt, which attained its justification and its realization in the celebration of the Pessah in the Mikdash. But after the Beit Hamikdah was destroyed, the grand celebration of Pessah appears to have been a passing euphoria; the Pessah of Egypt - observance of the mitzvot under difficult conditions - became the dominant situation for all generations. For the weary nation of Israel only absolute redemption can justify the old understanding of Pesach in Egypt - as a road-sign for the future. At this stage the Pesach of Egypt appears as nothing more than yet another example of the gloomy scenario which plays itself over and over - a perverted observance of the beautiful Torah which exists only in the dreams of seers. The maror was supposed to be the basis for the Pessah sacrifice, but Tish'a be-Av gives it a new perspective: the sacrifice has disappeared, but the maror remains.
Shavuot: Learning to Say No
Rabbi Elyakim KrumbeinWhen studying the Biblical text, one common tool used to uncover the intention of the verses is locating the “keyword” for a particular section. Can we identify a keyword for the Ten Commandments that stand at the heart of the Sinaitic covenant? It seems to me that the most striking candidate is the Hebrew word “Lo,” “You shall not.”
The message behind all these negative commandments – in the Torah in general and in the Ten Commandments in particular – may be found in the last Commandment, the strange prohibition of “You shall not covet,” which is so different from all the other nine Commandments. Why was this one included?
The Torah wishes to reveal its general understanding of the idea of “Lo,” “You shall not” or “No.” In addition to teaching us to accept authority, it expects us to try to emulate our Maker, and learn to say “No.”
The Battle between Good and Evil in the Yom Kippur Service
Rabbi Elyakim KrumbeinIn parashat Acharei-Mot (Vayikra 16), the Torah describes the special service performed by the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) – a service meant to atone for the sins of the Children of Israel. The means for achieving this atonement are quite unique, and the need for them demonstrates both the importance of this service, and its difficulty. The service is performed only "once a year" – on Yom Kippur, the day that stands out from all the rest of the year by its special sanctity. A fundamental question arises from a reading of this parasha on the literal level. This is not the first time that the Torah discusses a matter of atonement for sin through sacrifice. A lengthy elaboration of this precise subject is provided at the beginning of Sefer Vayikra. So we must ask: what is missing from Parshat Vayikra? What new principle appears in our parasha that we did not read about a few chapters earlier? Parshat Acharei-Mot’s additions allow us to understand that the atonement for sin is a matter more weighty and complicated than what we are able to understand from parashat Vayikra. However, the identification of these differences brings us closer to an understanding of the message that the Torah is trying to convey through them.