Parshas Emor
1. On the verse in our parsha1, "דבר אל בני ישראל לאמר בחדש השביעי באחד לחדש יהיה לכם שבתון זכרון תרועה גו'" ("Speak to the Children of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a day of rest for you, a remembrance of the blowing…"), Rashi quotes the words "זכרון תרועה" ("a remembrance of the blowing") and explains: "זכרון2 — פסוקי זכרונות ופסוקי שופרות3, לזכור4 לכם עקידת יצחק שקרב תחתיו איל" ("Remembrance — verses of remembrance and verses of shofar, to recall for you the binding of Yitzchak, in whose place a ram was offered").
This must be clarified: the words "a remembrance of the blowing" are ordinary words in the Holy Tongue and do not need an explanation5?
Some commentators explain6 that Rashi has a difficulty with these words (which is why he explains them): later, in Parshas Pinchas7, it says "יום תרועה" ("a day of blowing"), while here the verse changed its wording and wrote "a remembrance of the blowing"8? Therefore Rashi explains that the verse's intent here is the verses of remembrance and the verses of shofar9.
However, it is difficult to explain it this way. For [besides the fact that, according to this, Rashi should have spelled out the difficulty in his commentary — "a remembrance of the blowing," whereas in Parshas Pinchas it says "a day of blowing," etc. — since we have not yet learned the verse of Parshas Pinchas,] as has been discussed many times, Rashi's way is to explain a difficulty that arises in learning the plain meaning of the verse at hand, or to resolve a contradiction that arises for the learner from a verse he has already learned earlier. In our case, if Rashi's intent is to answer a difficulty arising from what is said in Parshas Pinchas, he should have explained it there, for only then would the contradiction with what was said earlier (in our parsha) arise10.
On the other hand, it must be clarified: in the plain meaning of the verse, how does Rashi know that the "remembrance of the blowing" is by their saying11 verses of remembrance and of shofar, etc.?
2. Rashi's explanation itself also needs clarification:
The simple understanding of Rashi is that "remembrance" means "verses of remembrance," and "blowing" means "verses of shofar"12. But this is puzzling: a) The plain wording "זכרון תרועה" (the letter kaf is vocalized with a sheva — the construct form, joined to) "blowing" implies a "remembrance" of blowing, i.e., that "remembrance" is in construct with and belongs to "blowing," so that there is only one command here — to mention the "blowing," the verses of shofar. Yet Rashi explains that "remembrance" is a command on its own — "verses of remembrance" — and "blowing" is a command on its own — "verses of shofar."
b) After quoting the words "a remembrance of the blowing" from the verse, why does Rashi quote again (within his explanation) the word "remembrance," to explain that it is "verses of remembrance"? And if he quotes it to let us know that this is learned from the word "remembrance," he should then have quoted the word "blowing" afterward, to let us know that "verses of shofar" is learned from it?
c) Rashi continues and explains the reason13 for saying these verses: "to recall for you the binding of Yitzchak, in whose place a ram was offered." But seemingly, it is not Rashi's way, in the plain meaning of Scripture, to explain the reasons for the laws and commands of the Torah (for according to the plain meaning there is no necessity that a command of the Torah have a reason14)?
3. The explanation of all this: Rashi's main intent is not to explain the words "a remembrance of the blowing," but to explain and clarify the content and meaning of "there shall be for you… a remembrance of the blowing," which requires explanation:
The wording of the verse, "there shall be for you (a day of rest,) a remembrance of the blowing (a holy convocation)," implies that this is a command to the Jewish people that they should have "(a day of rest,) a remembrance of the blowing, etc." — that they should remember the blowing, etc. But plainly, this command is vague, for it does not explain what the content and substance of this remembering is1516?
Therefore Rashi explains: "remembrance" (verses of remembrance) and verses of shofar, etc. His intent is: this command is not a command of mere remembering, but a command concerning a specific matter — saying verses of (remembrance and) shofar — and this is alluded to in the words "a remembrance of the blowing." For "remembrance" connotes special attention, as Rashi explains on the verse17 "זכור את יום השבת" ("Remember the Shabbos day"): "תנו לב לזכור תמיד18 את יום השבת שאם נזדמן לך כו'" ("Pay attention to always remember the Shabbos day, so that if you come across, etc."). That is, it is not a command of mere remembering, that the memory of the Shabbos day be in one's heart, but a command to pay attention to remembering the Shabbos day in a way that is expressed in a specific matter, in a particular action — "if you come across, etc." Similarly in our case, "there shall be for you… a remembrance of the blowing…" means that there should be attention given to remembering the "blowing" — which should lead to an action: saying verses of shofar.
4. But it still needs explanation why the Torah wrote the command of saying verses of shofar in the language of remembering — "a remembrance of the blowing":
A command to "remember" is fitting where its opposite — forgetting — is relevant, and therefore a warning is needed that one pay attention to remember the matter.
Thus the command "Remember the Shabbos day" is necessary: since the content of this command is "to always remember (also on weekdays) the Shabbos day, so that if you come across a fine item, you should set it aside for Shabbos," it is possible that on weekdays a person will forget about this. Therefore the Torah warned, "Remember the Shabbos day" (and do not forget it) also on weekdays, "so that if you come across, etc."
[Similarly with Yosef's request to the chief butler (which the student has already learned)19: "כי אם זכרתני אתך גו'" ("But remember me when it is well with you…"). Since the request concerns a later time (after he leaves prison and when he has a suitable opportunity to speak with the king20), after a major event and change in his life21 — all of which preoccupies a person and causes him to forget — he must therefore be urged to remember, to give special attention: "But remember me."]
But in our case there is no need at all for remembrance and special attention, since the command is only for the span of one day ("in the seventh month, on the first of the month"). Accordingly, the verse should have written explicitly "saying [verses of] blowing"?
5. To answer this, Rashi explains that the precise wording of the verse, "a remembrance of the blowing," comes to emphasize and to include (in addition to the matter of shofar) also a matter of "remembrance" — "verses of remembrance." That is, "remembrance" (is not only a construct form and an explanation of the "blowing" that follows it; rather, the change from "saying" to "remembrance") contains a lesson of its own: that there must also be "remembrance" — "verses of remembrance"22.
But an explanation is still lacking: "remembrance" must be connected to a specific matter — that through the act of remembering one will remember the matter (as explained above regarding Shabbos). What, then, is the matter of the remembrance in saying "verses of remembrance"?
To this Rashi adds and explains: "in order to recall for you the binding of Yitzchak." That is, the remembrance (that comes about through the Jewish people's saying verses of remembrance) is not to arouse the remembrance and attention of the Jewish people; rather, it is to arouse the remembrance of the Holy One, blessed be He — "to recall for you (the merit of) the binding of Yitzchak."
6. Rashi writes "to recall for you the binding of Yitzchak" after "verses of shofar," even though it seemingly belongs to the verses of remembrance, because the saying of the verses of shofar is also meant to arouse the remembrance of the Holy One, blessed be He, of the merits of the Jewish people. This is why he concludes "to recall for you, etc., in whose place a ram was offered" — emphasizing the connection between the shofar and the binding of Yitzchak, "in whose place a ram was offered" (from whose horn a shofar is made)23.
The explanation of this: It was explained above that the vocalization of the word "remembrance" indicates that it is in construct with the word "blowing" that follows it (a remembrance of blowing). From this it is understood that although the word "remembrance" contains (also) a distinct matter and lesson of its own — the instruction to say verses of remembrance — it is nevertheless plain that it is "joined," connected (also) to what is said after it. That is, in the "blowing" (verses of shofar) too, there is a matter of "remembrance."
This is what compels Rashi to explain that the saying of the verses of shofar (too) is "to recall for you the binding of Yitzchak, in whose place a ram was offered" — and the "remembrance" (verses of remembrance) comes to arouse the remembrance of the Holy One, blessed be He, of the "blowing" (verses of shofar) — the remembrance of "the binding of Yitzchak, in whose place a ram was offered."
7. Based on the above, we can understand Rashi's reason for quoting again (within his explanation) the word "remembrance" and explaining "verses of remembrance, etc." Through this he teaches us that what compels the explanation that "remembrance" is a matter of its own, and does not merely refer to the "blowing" that follows it, is the precise wording of the verse — "remembrance" and not "saying" (as explained above in Section 4) — and therefore it must be explained as "verses of remembrance." [The verses of shofar, by contrast, are learned from the simple meaning of the word "(remembrance of the) blowing," and there is no need to quote it again in his explanation.]
Rashi continues: "(verses of remembrance) and verses of shofar, to recall for you, etc." Since it says "a remembrance of the blowing," it is evident that in the blowing too there is a matter of "remembrance" (as explained above in Section 6), and from this it is understood that both of them — the verses of remembrance and the verses of shofar — are said for one purpose: "to recall for you the binding of Yitzchak, in whose place a ram was offered."
Accordingly, one may offer an additional explanation of why Rashi prefaced his explanation with the word "remembrance" and continued "verses of remembrance and verses of shofar" without interrupting to quote the word "blowing" between them: in this way he emphasizes that the saying of the verses of shofar too is for the purpose of "remembrance" — "that He may recall for you the binding of Yitzchak, in whose place a ram was offered"24.
(From the sichos of Shabbos Parshas Behaaloscha, 5727)
Notes
1) 23:24.
2) In manuscript Rashi, in the second printing, and in the Rashi cited in the Ramban, Rashi's comment begins: "Verses of remembrance, etc." (without the word "remembrance"). But in most printings (including the first printing) it is as in the main text.
3) Rosh Hashanah 32a; Toras Kohanim on the verse. In several printings of Rashi (see Gur Aryeh and Divrei David) "Malchiyos" (verses of kingship) is also cited, but in most printings it is as in the main text. See Gur Aryeh: the reading "Malchiyos"… is impossible, for we do not learn Malchiyos from here (and see Rashi, Behaaloscha 10:10). The Ramban asked (on our reading): "The Rav should also have cited the verses of kingship, and [OCR unclear], for it is impossible that the verse would mention the verses of remembrance, etc., and not mention kingship." But in my humble opinion, Rashi is consistent with his own approach and this is no difficulty, for the purpose of Rashi's commentary on the Torah is not to teach laws but to explain the plain meaning of Scripture — see Re'em here and Gur Aryeh.
4) See Rosh Hashanah 16a. See also Re'em here.
5) Although this is the exposition of our Sages in the Gemara and in Toras Kohanim (cited above, note 3), it is not Rashi's purpose to cite the Sages' expositions of verses. Just as, on this very matter, he did not cite the Gemara's exposition (Rosh Hashanah 29b), "Here, regarding Yom Tov, etc." (see Re'em), and did not cite the Toras Kohanim's exposition of "a day of rest" and "a holy convocation" in this very verse.
6) Re'em, Devek Tov, and others. See also Gur Aryeh; Ramban in his Derashah for Rosh Hashanah (Kisvei HaRamban, ed. Chavel, p. 218).
7) 29:1.
8) (As the question of the Gemara, Rosh Hashanah 29b.)
9) The commentators (Ramban, Gur Aryeh, and others) asked that this exposition is only an asmachta (a supporting allusion), as is evident in Tractate Rosh Hashanah (32b), and the recitation of the verses is a Rabbinic enactment. See Gur Aryeh, who answered: "The verse means that through the blowing the Jewish people will be remembered; therefore it is written 'a remembrance of the blowing,' and because of this the Sages instituted the blessings… This is its meaning — not that the Baraisa explained 'a remembrance of the blowing' to mean that one should say verses, etc." But the plain wording of Rashi implies that he explains the verse (in its plain meaning) as an (explicit) command to say verses, etc. See Divrei David, who answered the question (also with regard to halachah): "Certainly, by Torah law one must mention at least some of these, but the Sages arranged them, etc."
10) One cannot explain that Rashi's difficulty was that the verse should have said "a day of blowing" (as in the wording in this very parsha (23:28): "On the tenth of this month is the Day of Atonement…") — for we have not yet learned the command of blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, and Rashi should have said so first.
11) Remembering is (also) in thought and in the heart — see Rashi, Yisro (20:8, cited below in the main text): "Pay attention to remember." On the halachic side, note the Rambam in Sefer HaMitzvos (Positive Commandment 169) on "Remember what [Amalek] did…": "Could it mean in your heart? When it says 'Do not forget,' etc."
12) See Ramban (in the Derashah, ibid.): "He mentioned verses of remembrance for 'remembrance' and verses of shofar for 'blowing.'"
13) See Re'em and Sifsei Chachamim here.
14) See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 1, pp. 91 and 95.
15) This is what compels Rashi to explain that it refers to the (verbal) recitation of the verses, and not as the Rashbam explains ("through the blowing you will remember the Omnipresent").
16) One cannot answer (at least not without strain) that the intent is that they should remember the merit of fulfilling the mitzvah of blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah — for they had not yet been commanded about this.
17) Yisro 20:8.
18) Rashi's word "always" is not an explanation of the concept of "remembering" in general — as if "remember" in general meant to remember always — but applies only to remembering Shabbos: since no time limit is stated here, one must remember always. But regarding the chief butler (discussed below in the main text) and in our parsha, there is a limited time: regarding the chief butler, "when it is well with you," and in our case, "in the seventh month, on the first of the month."
19) Vayeshev 40:14.
20) In Rashi (ibid.): "מאחר שייטב לך כפתרוני" ("Since it will be well with you, according to my interpretation"). Sifsei Chachamim: "The Rav added 'after,' etc., because it is not proper manners for him to remind him immediately when things go well for him, but only later, when he stands and serves before him." According to this, there is an explicit compulsion in the verse (from the words "when it is well with you") for what is explained in the main text, that the "remember me" is after some time. But this is not Rashi's intent as the Sifsei Chachamim explains it, for then Rashi should have written (not "מאחר" but) "לאחרי" ("after"); also, "according to my interpretation" would be superfluous.
Rather, Rashi's intent is to answer that seemingly the verse should have written "(but remember me) then," continuing what was said before it (in the previous verse), "when Pharaoh lifts up your head." To this Rashi answers that "when it is well with you" is the reason for Yosef's request: "since it will be well with you, according to my interpretation."
21) Even more so in our case: the chief butler presumably would not want to speak about this, since he would then have to mention his sin, as stated in the verse (Mikeitz 41:9): "I mention my sins today…"
22) Accordingly, one can also give an additional reason why Rashi did not explain as the Gemara does (Rosh Hashanah 29b), "Here, regarding a Yom Tov that falls on Shabbos, etc." — for that would not account for the precise word "remembrance," as explained in the main text.
23) See Re'em: "As for his concluding 'to recall, etc., in whose place a ram was offered' — which is taken from the first chapter of Rosh Hashanah, where Rabbi Abahu said: 'Why do we blow with a ram's horn?… So that I may recall for you the binding of Yitzchak' — he needed this because one could argue … why verses of shofar? Were it not for this reason, mentioned in the first chapter of Rosh Hashanah, this exposition would not be acceptable." (However, regarding the Re'em's words "because one could argue, etc.," see above, Section 2 and note 14, that this is not a difficulty in the plain meaning of Scripture; the explanation is as in the main text.)
24) Note the reading in Rashi (cited in Gur Aryeh): "Remembrance — verses of remembrance; and remembrance — verses of shofar." According to this, what is explained in the main text is emphasized: that the verses of shofar, too, serve the purpose of remembrance.
Key Lesson
"Remembrance" in the Torah is not a passive memory but focused attention that leads to a concrete action. On Rosh Hashanah, both the verses of remembrance and the verses of shofar serve one purpose: to arouse the Holy One, blessed be He, to recall the merit of the binding of Yitzchak, the self-sacrifice that stands as the merit of every Jew.