Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Misaseik - Part 1

לע"נ

הרב משה בן הרב מנחם רייניץ ז"ל
רבקה רחל בת ר' מרדכי רייניץ ז"ל
ר' אליהו שמואל בן ר' יוסף זאב קאלא ז"ל
עטל בת ר' שלמה אריה הלוי קאלא ז"ל
נשמתם יעלו מעלה מעלה על כנפי השכינה!

Tosfos [Sukah 30] asks why we need a pasuk to teach us that matza of tevel is pasul, we could instead learn this from the fact that is it a מצוה הבאה בעבירה??

The answer is that we need the pasuk for an instance where he has two pieces of matza before him, one that is tevel and one that is not. He means to take the non-tevel matza but instead takes the tevel matza. So as far as the aveirah is concerned he is מתעסק because he totally didn't mean to do the act of taking the tevel matza but as far as the mitzva is concerned he should be yotzei because he ate valid, kosher matza. That is why we need a special pasuk to teach that even in such an instance he has not fulfilled his obligation because tevel matza doesn't count as kosher matza.

But this should not be true because we have a rule that מתעסק is always patur except in instances of חלבים  and עריות [eating unkosher food and having relations] because he is נהנה. So too, in this instance where he is נהנה from the eating he should be chayav even without a special pasuk excluding tevel.

The explanation is as follows: What is the svara behind the statement [Krisus 19b] המתעסק בחלבים ועריות חייב שכן נהנה? He is נהנה - So what!!? He had no intention to do this act so why should he be culpable??

The rationale is that normally one is chayav for doing a מעשה עבירה. If he is מתעסק and had no intention of doing this act then he is patur because the מעשה doesn't relate to him. His mind is elsewhere and a person is where his mind is.  But when it comes to אכילה and ביאה then the aveirah is not the מעשה אכילה או ביאה but the הנאה. Thus - he is chayav for the אכילה או ביאה even if he is מתעסק. 

Now the need for a pasuk disqualifying matza of tevel is only according to Rebbi Shimon. He is also of the opinion that even איסורי אכילה are because of the מעשה אכילה and not because of the הנאה [see the sefer Baruch Taam page 47 in the newer edition] and therefore when a person unwittingly ate matza of tevel there is no עבירה when he is מתעסק. That is why we need a special additional pasuk to disqualify matza of tevel. 

Ahhhhh!!!!

A proof that the aveirah of ביאה is the הנאה is that one is חייב כרת for separating with an אבר חי even though there is no מעשה ביאה but mere הנאה [Shavuos 17]. 

Another proof is that a woman is חייבת for איסורי ביאה even though she is not the one doing the מעשה but is just passive. 

A proof that the aveirah of אכילה is because of the הנאה and not because of the מעשה is from the Mishna La-melech [Yesodei Hatorah 5/8] who asks why one who eats בשר בחלב isn't getting two sets of malkus - one for the אכילה and the other for the הנאה? He answers that the איסור אכילה is only because of the attendant הנאה and therefore only one set of malkus is warranted. 

[Based on the Asvan Di-oraisa of Rav Yosef Engel Klal 24] 

The lessons for our avoda:

1] If one is not present when performing an action - he didn't do it!!! So BE PRESENT. Don't live [as so many of us do] as a מתעסק. 

2] If the איסור of ביאה אסורה is the הנאה then what does that tell us about the mitzva? As the Maharal says often "ידיעת ההפכים אחת". See here

וידעת כי שלום אהליך!!!