MHA-FYOS Dean's Blog

In the second parasha , Kedoshim, of this week’s double parasha, the Torah teaches, “When you will come to the land and plant any food tree, you will treat its fruit as forbidden; for three years they will be forbidden to you; they may not be eaten. In the fourth year, all its fruit shall be sanctified to praise Hashem.” The final phrase of these verses, “all its fruit shall be sanctified to praise Hashem,” is understood by our Rabbis to be the source verse for the obligation to make a blessing prior to eating food – the obligation of bracha rishona . Based on this understanding, our Rabbis teach in Masechet Berachot that it is forbidden to eat food without first making the appropriate initial blessing. This Gemara in Berachot makes a further point. The Rabbis teach, “Anyone who benefits from this world without making a blessing first is like stealing from the holy things of heaven as the verse states, ‘To G-d is the land and everything that fills it’”. The Gemara further analyzes thi...

This week’s parasha , Kedoshim, presents many mitzvot (both positive and negative) dealing with a number of subjects, including justice, exclusive belief in Hashem and the prohibition of immorality. After detailing a number of mitzvot , the Torah concludes, “and you will observe ( shmira ) all of My statutes ( chukim ) and all of My ordinances ( mishpatim ) and you will do ( asiah ) them; I am Hashem.” The Italian commentator, Rabbi Ovadiah Seforno, is perplexed by the difference between observing and doing – shmira and asiah . Observing and doing seem to be very similar! Furthermore, this verse seems to be out of step with the well-known pronouncement of b'nei yisrael at Mount Sinai – na’aseh ve’nishma – we will do and we will listen. The commitment to “doing” precedes “listening”. Is “doing” the cause of “listening” and “observing” or the effect? When we consider this pronouncement more closely, we understand that “listening” cannot refer to learning about the mitzvot – how cou...