More on two head creatures, Rabbi P. this week +

Parshas Korach 5777

A Take of two Halacha Lectures

In a span of one week Yagdil Torah hosted two lectures by Rabbi Greenfield of Vaad Mishmeres Stam and Dayan Levi Raskin of London. The organization that has enhanced the community's Torah learning has brought these two giants in their respective fields in the past with glowing praise.

Rabbi Greenfield spoke about what a stam user needs to know. He spoke about issues plaguing the stam market. From what is not mehudar to products that are not usable. He let the crowd know that there are sifrei torah on the market that were written in Lithuania by non-believers, rendering them un-usable. Rabbi Greenfield gave some tips to be able to spot such Torahs.

He also brought up the need of a lamed being shaped a certain way as a source of chesed in the home. He mentioned that when buying from a sofer we should know that, as the pri megadim says, a sofer needs more yiras shomayim than a shochet.

Besides the tips about buying stam Rabbi Greenfield brought up a few halachos pertaining to checking stam. For example, exactly what kind of kid can be used to kasher a shala in stam.

Just a few days later Dayan Raskin spoke about the Halachos of Tefillah. He has written extensively on the subject in his book Siddur Admur Hazaken, and gave some of that knowledge to the participants.

He spoke about practical stuff. If a chazzan should say kedusha with the congregation or not. When 'kohanim' should not be announced by birchas kohanim. When to step back before chazaras hashatz. Just to name a few.

These courses are of the many arranged by Yagdil Torah with the goal of providing quality, interesting and practical Torah learning opportunities to all segments of our community.

Thanks to Empire Shtiebel for hosting these two lectures.

Make sure to sign up to our email list so that you don't miss the notice for next shiur!

Match Made in Heaven

Although the farmer, Yankel, was as wise as could be in the ways of farming, in the vast sea of Torah, he could not swim a stroke. For his sons, however, he wanted better. He sent them to a nearby town which had a good cheder and yeshiva and the two boys learned assiduously until they became known as the brightest students of the school.

One day they happened to hear the Baal Shem Tov speak and from that time they became great adherents of his and went to Mezibuzh whenever they could steal away. Their father couldn't understand what they found so interesting there. "We want to hear the words of the famous Baal Shem Tov," they would reply.

Once Yankel's curiosity was so great that he decided to visit Mezibuzh himself. When he arrived, he quizzed the tzadik on his knowledge of farming, and when he seemed to know all the correct answers, the farmer was satisfied that the Baal Shem Tov was, indeed, a wise man. Over the course of time, Yankel also became a great admirer of the Baal Shem Tov and he traveled to Mezibuzh to seek advice.

When years had passed and Yankel's daughter reached marriageable age, he decided to consult the Baal Shem Tov about finding an appropriate mate. "Send your sons to me and I will send them home with the proper husband for your daughter," the Baal Shem Tov advised the him.

The two sons arrived and traveled with the Baal Shem Tov to a distant town where the tzadik made inquiries about a certain young man named Shmerel. They remained in the town for several weeks, but the youth, Shmerel, was nowhere to be found. On the eve of the new month, when the townspeople had gathered at a festive banquet in honor of their distinguished guest, a wild-looking young man entered the hall. His manners were most uncouth, and he ran in and out just as quickly. This very youth was the one whom the Baal Shem Tov had been seeking, and although the two sons of the farmer Yankel couldn't understand what he could have possibly wanted with such a character, they duly informed him that they had found the boy.

The Baal Shem Tov was delighted and gave instruction that the boy be cleaned up and dressed properly and then brought before him. Shmerel was given the place of honor next to the Baal Shem Tov, and during the meal the Baal Shem Tov passed his handkerchief over the boy's face and commanded, "Give us a Torah discourse!" To the shock of all present, Shmerel began speaking and he expounded gems of Torah for the next few hours. The two brothers were very pleased with what they saw and heard and they set off for home with the yokel in tow.

The wedding was held immediately and throughout the entire week of celebration, the groom delivered marvelously impressive Torah discourses to the assembled guests. The brothers couldn't wait until the days of rejoicing were over and they could sit together with him and learn from his seemingly inexhaustible fountain of wisdom. However, they were to be profoundly disappointed.

The first week, when he failed to show up in the study hall, their sister replied only, "My husband is sleeping," or "My husband is very tired." The brothers then began to observe him closely and found that he didn't observe even the most basic Jewish laws and customs. They had to remind him to make a blessing when he ate, and he always forgot to wash his hands before partaking of bread. Something was very wrong.

They left for Mezibuzh and told the Baal Shem Tov what had transpired that week. "Let me explain," he said. "You see, there are celestial matchmakers as well as their earthly counterparts. It was determined in Heaven that Shmerel was to be your sisters husband, but it was a difficult match to arrange. How would a girl from a wealthy family with such scholarly brothers agree to marry a man like Shmerel? At first it was thought to make her deranged, but with her family fortune, she would still be able to make a good match in spite of the illness. Then it was suggested that the girl be deranged and her father die. It was then that I made my suggestion. I would take it upon myself to assure that the match be made. The only way to achieve my goal was to open the young man's mind to Torah wisdom, and in that way, endear him to you.

"If only Shmerel had been worthy of the knowledge, it would have remained with him forever, but alas, he was not. The Torah I put into him lasted only the seven days of blessing the marriage, then it was lost. But there is nothing to be done about it, for Shmerel is the mate who was destined for her from Above. Tell your sister to remain married to him and I will guarantee her fine children. As for you, continue to teach him and he will slowly improve and learn."

This story was often related by the Apta Rav, who would then add, that the descendants of this match are among his closest disciples.

Fascinating Torah Topics - Two Headed Creatures

Subterraneous Worlds Installment 3 of 5

In the last installment, we saw what Torah has to say about two-headed animals. Now let's see what Torah says about two-headed people.

The existence of people with two heads can be traced back to the first years of Creation, when Kayin sinned by murdering his brother Hevel.

The Zohar (I 253b-254a) tells us that there are seven lands, one above the next: Eretz, adamah, arka, gei, neshiyah, tziyah, and tevel. The outermost land, tevel, is where we dwell; all the others lie beneath us, with eretz being the lowest of them all. When Kayin sinned, he was sent to the lowermost land of eretz, and when he did teshuvah, he ascended to the land known as arka. While he was there, he gave birth to children with two heads, who grew up and had similar children of their own.

Elsewhere, the Zohar (III 10a) describes the creatures of these subterranean worlds as "some having four faces, some two, and others, one." Another source (Beraysa D'Maaseh Bereishis, cited in Chesed L'Avraham 2:4, 1996 ed.) describes the creatures of the land called tevel:¹ "There are 365 types of creatures in tevel....Some of them have two heads, four hands, one body, one stomach, and two feet....When they eat they argue with each other and say, 'You ate more than me! You drank more than me!'"

Although these creatures do not dwell in our world, there were times when they paid us a visit. One such instance is recorded in a Midrash (Beis Hamidrash [Yellinek] vol. 4, p. 151-152²), which relates that Ashemdai once withdrew a person with two heads³ from under the earth-a descendant of Kayin-and presented him to Shlomo Hamelech. The man married and had seven sons, six of whom had one head and one who had two. When the father died, the two-headed son claimed that he be given a double portion, as he was actually two people, while the other sons argued that he was a single person and deserved just one portion. Shlomo Hamelech instructed that one head be covered, and hot water be poured on the other. This was done, and both heads starting shouting from pain. "Since one head felt what happened to the other," Shlomo said, "it must be that you are a single person!"

Another instance is recorded in the Zohar (I 157a). Rebbi Chiya and Rebbi Yossi were once sitting on a mountain, when a person suddenly emerged from a crack in a nearby rock. "Who are you?" they asked. "I am from the land arka," he replied, "and I have ascended to find out the name of the land you dwell in." After a short conversation, the person re-entered the crack and disappeared.

[It should be noted that the famous mekubal R. Avraham Azulai proves from this episode that the inhabitants of these underground lands are not physical creatures, rather they are similar to demons. If they were physical creatures like us, they would not be allowed to ascend to our world, just as we may not descend to theirs (Chesed L'Avraham, ibid.).]

Let us now continue and see if there are any recorded instances in Chazal and other sefarim of two-headed people who lived in our world.

To be continued, bli neder...

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According to this source, tevel is also one of the lower worlds, unlike the Zohar cited above-see Chesed L'Avraham loc. cit.
A shortened version of the story is cited in Tosafos to Menachos 37a s.v. O kum and Shitah Mekubetzes ad loc.
According to one version, he possessed seven heads-see Pirush Sefer Yetzirah L'Rebbi Yehudah Bartzeloni (p. 228, new ed.).

Dedicated by Dovid Junik and Family

The Pisgam

Hashem's Tremendous Kindness

We are enjoined to express gratitude to Hashem whenever we learn Torah, thanking Him for the tremendous kindness He has done to us by giving us His Torah and teaching us the proper way to act so we will inherit the World to Come. Just as we are commanded to bless Hashem after eating [to thank Him for giving us sustenance], we are similarly commanded to bless Him before learning Torah [to thank Him for the Torah we are about to learn].

Hasagos of the Ramban on the Rambam's Sefer Hamitzvos, Shich'chas Ha'asin, Asei 15

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לעילוי נשמת מאיר אליעזר ע"ה בן חיים יהודה ע"ה
'נתנדב ע"י ולזכות מאיר אליעזר שי' בן חנה תחי
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הרה"ח הרה"ת ר' בצלאל בן הרה"ח הרה"ת ר' סימון ז"ל יעקבסאן נתנדב ע"י בנו הרה"ת ר' ירחמיאל ומשפחתו שיחיו
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לעילוי נשמת אריה לייב בן חיים מאניס
נתנדב ע"י משפחת קרעמער שיחיו

ננושאי תורה מרתקים - בעלי חיים עם שני ראשים

ארצות תת-קרקעיים

חלק 3 מתוך 5

בחלק הקודם של סדרה זו עסקנו בבעלי חיים בעלי שני ראשים. הבה נראה מה התורה אומרת על בני אדם בעלי שני ראשים.

המציאות של ברואים בעלי שני ראשים מתחילה כבר עם הסיפור של קין והבל.

בזהר (ח"א רנג, ב ואילך) מובא שכמו שישנם שבעה רקיעים, זה למעלה מזה, כמו כן ישנן שבע ארצות, זו למטה מזו. בסדר של מלמטה למעלה, השמות של הארצות האלו הם: ארץ, אדמה, ארקא, גיא, נשיה, ציה, ותבל. הארץ הנקרא תבל הוא העליון מכולם, והוא הארץ שבו אנחנו דרים, ומתחתינו נמצאות שאר הארצות. כשחטא קין, גרשו הקב"ה להארץ הכי תחתונה הנקרא "ארץ", וכשעשה תשובה, עלה להארץ הנקרא "ארקא". שם הוליד תולדות בעלי שני ראשים, והם גדלו והולידו תולדות כמוהם, וכן הלאה.

במקום אחר בזהר (ח"ג י, א) מתואר הברואים שבארצות האלו כך (הבא להלן הוא תרגום מארמית): "יש מהם עם שני פנים, ויש עם ארבע, ויש עם אחד". במקור אחר ('ברייתא דמעשה בראשית', הובא ב'חסד לאברהם' מעין ב נהר ד) מתואר הברואים שבהארץ הנקראת "תבל"¹: "שס"ה מיני בריות יש בתבל . . ויש מהם שיש להם ב' ראשים וד' ידים וגוף אחד וכרס אחד וב' רגלים . . וכשהם אוכלים עושים מריבה זה עם זה ואומרים זה לזה אתה אכלת יותר ממני ואתה שתית יותר ממני".

על אף העובדה שברואים אלו אינם נמצאים בהארץ שלנו, היו מקרים שעלו ממקומם ל"ביקור" להארץ שלנו.

על מקרה אחת מסופר במדרש. יום אחד נכנס אשמדאי אצל שלמה המלך ושאל אותו אם רוצה לראות משהו שלא ראה מימיו. שלמה המלך ענה בחיוב, ומיד הושיט אשמדאי ידו מתחת לארץ והוציא משם אדם בעל שני ראשים², מתולדותיו של קין. האיש ההוא נשא אשה והוליד שבעה בנים, ששה בעלי ראש אחד ואחד בעל שני ראשים. כשמת האב, באו הבנים לשלמה המלך לדין: הבן בעל שני הראשים טען שמגיע לו שני חלקים בנכסי אביהם כי הם שני בני אדם, ושאר הבנים טענו שאין מגיע לו אלא חלק אחד, כי הוא רק איש אחד. שלמה המלך ברוב חכמתו צוה לכסות הראש האחד ולשפוך מים חמים על הראש השני. כשעשו כך, מיד צעקו שני הראשים מכאב. שלמה המלך הסיק שמזה שהראש השני הרגיש מה שקרה עם הראש הראשון, מוכח שהם אדם אחד ולא שנים ('בית המדרש' [ילינק] ח"ד ע' 151 ואילך³).

בזהר (ח"א קנז, א) מסופר על עוד מקרה: פעם אחת ישבו ר' חייא ור' יוסי על הר מסויים אצל סלעים חזקים, ופתאום יצא איש אחד מבקע אחד שהיה בסלע. כששאלו אותו מי הוא, ענה שהוא מארץ ארקא, ועלה כדי לדעת מה השם של העולם הזה שאנחנו דרים בו. לאחר דו שיח קצר, נכנס האיש לתוך הבקע ונתעלם.

[יש לציין שהמקובל המפורסם ר' אברהם אזולאי מוכיח מסיפור זה "שאין אותן העומדים שם [בארקא] גשמיים כמונו בעוה"ז, שאילו היו גשמיים כמונו, כמו שאין לנו רשות לרדת שם אליהם, כן לא היה רשות להם לעלות אלינו". הוא מסיק שהם כמו "שדים וכיוצא בהם" ('חסד לאברהם' שם).]

עכשיו הבה נראה האם יש עדויות בחז"ל ובספרים לאנשים בעלי שני ראשים שנמצאו בתוך הארץ שלנו.

המשך יבוא בלי נדר...

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לפי מדרש זה, גם תבל הוא מהארצות שמתחת להארץ בה אנחנו דרים, ודלא כהזהר שהובא לעיל בפנים (ראה 'חסד לאברהם' שם).
בפירוש ספר יצירה לר' יהודה ברצלוני (ע' 228 בדפוס החדש) מביא גירסא אחרת, לפיו היו לו שבעה ראשים.
נמצא בקיצור בתוס' ד"ה או קום (מנחות לז, א), וההמשך בשיטה מקובצת שם.

לזכות הרה"ח דובער ז"ל בן הרה"ח נפתלי ז"ל יוניק
משב"ק קרוב לחמישים שנה
ולזכות תבדלחט"א מרת פרומא תחי' בת הרה"ח אברהם ברוך ז"ל

הפתגם

"הטובה הגדולה שעשה לנו"

שנצטוינו להודות לשמו ית' בכל עת שנקרא בתורה על הטובה הגדולה שעשה לנו בתתו תורתו אלינו והודיענו המעשים הרצויים לפניו שבהם ננחל חיי העולם הבא. וכאשר נצטוינו בברכה אחר כל האכילה כן נצטוינו בזו.

השגות הרמב"ן לספר המצוות להרמב"ם, שכחת העשין עשה טו