Parshat Va’eira deals with seven out of the ten makkot that Hakadosh Baruch Hu inflicted upon the Egyptians in Egypt. We will continue, B’ezrat Hashem, the topic we started last week, related to Moshe Rabbeinu’s donkey, and just as we promised we will fulfill – and B’ezrat Hashem, we’ll conclude this topic next week with the mitzvah of פּ ֶ טֶ ר חֲמו ֹר (redemption of a firstborn donkey).
Before we proceed, let's refresh our memory with a few points discussed last week.
Recap of Previous Topics
וַיַּרְכִּבֵם עַל הַחֲמֹר – Rashi says, this was a special donkey that transported Moshe Rabbeinu to Egypt. It is the donkey that Avraham Avinu saddled for Akeidat Yitzchak, and the donkey upon which Melech HaMashiach will be revealed, as it is says: עָנִי וְרֹכֵב עַל חֲמוֹר – humble and riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
In Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (Chapter 31), it is stated that this donkey is the offspring of the original female donkey created בְּעֶרֶ ב שׁ ַבָּת בֵּין הַשְּׁ מָ שׁ וֹת – on the Erev Shabbat of Creation during twilight. This donkey gave birth to the donkey that Avraham Avinu rode, which was the same donkey Moshe Rabbeinu rode, and will be the same donkey Melech HaMashiach will ride as he ushers in the Geula. According to Chazal, this donkey is over 5,000 years old!
We also brought the words of the Maharal (Gevurot Hashem 29), who wonders why such an old donkey is needed for Melech HaMashiach – couldn't they give him something newer? Something more impressive?
We also said that the first place where Chazal refer to the nations of the world as donkeys was at Akeidat Yitzchak. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer says (31), on the third day, they arrived at Tzofim, where Avraham Avinu saw the glory of the Shechinah standing atop the mountain, as the Pasuk tells us: וַיִּשָּׂא אַבְרָהָם אֶת עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא אֶת הַמָּקוֹם מֵרָחֹק. He saw a pillar of fire stretching from the earth to the heavens, and he asked Yitzchak, "My son, do you see anything on one of these mountains?" Yitzchak replied affirmatively, and Avraham immediately understood that his son was desired as a Korban. He proceeded to then ask both Yishmael and Eliezer if they saw anything, but their answer was negative, and thus, he considered them as donkeys – just as the donkey sees nothing, so too they saw nothing. Avraham instructed them to stay put with the donkey – שׁ ְ בוּ לָכֶם פּ ֹה עִם הַחֲמוֹר – and from here the Gemara (Yevamot 62a; Kiddushin 68a) derives that the nations of the world are comparable to donkeys.
We also mentioned that when the brothers of Yosef returned to Egypt for the second time, and led to Yosef’s house, they feared for their safety. They feared they’d be taken as slaves along with their donkeys: וְלָקַחַת אֹתָנוּ לַעֲבָדִ ים וְאֶת חֲמֹרֵינוּ. We asked why the donkeys were even a consideration at this point. Why are they so afraid their donkeys will be taken?! They themselves are being taken as slaves in Egypt, and what concerns them is what will happen to their donkeys? From here we see that their donkeys, for some reason, are extremely important to them.
We also mentioned the goodness of Egypt – טּ וּב מִ צְ רָ יִ ם. After Yosef revealed himself to his brothers, he sent them back with a large delivery: וּלְאָבִיו שׁ ָלַח כְּזֹאת עֲשָׂרָה חֲמֹרִ ים נֹשְׂאִים מִטּוּב מִצְרָיִם וְעֶשֶׂר אֲתֹנֹת נֹשְׂאֹת בָּר וָלֶחֶם וּמָזוֹן לְאָבִיו לַדָּרֶךְ. To his father he sent the following: Ten male donkeys loaded with the best of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey.
We brought the words of the Gemara (Megillah 16b), that the goodness of Egypt is ‘old wine that the minds of the elderly are pleased with’ – and we asked why Yaakov Avinu needed so much wine. We brought the words of the commentators, that through these ten donkeys carrying old wine, Yosef was sending his father a hint related to חֲמוֹר עַל חֲמוֹר – donkey on donkey, as wine in Aramaic is חַ מְ רָ א. B’ezrat Hashem, we’ll uncover what exactly Yosef was hinting at.
We concluded the shiur with the mitzvah of Pidyon Chamor; there is no other mitzvah involving impure animals other than the donkey (although we do have another mitzvah involving the dog: וּבָשָׂר בַּשָּׂדֶה טְרֵפָה לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ לַכֶּלֶב תַּשְׁלִכוּן אֹתוֹ – And flesh in the field that is torn, you shall not eat; you shall throw it to the dog, but for some reason, it is not counted by those who enumerate the mitzvot). With regards to Pidyon Chamor, the firstborn donkey born to a female donkey is holy from the womb, and if its owner does not want to give it to the Kohen, he must redeem it with a lamb, and if he does not redeem it, he must break its neck.
Another topic we discussed last week is the song of the donkey in Perek Shira. We said that the donkey sings the Pasuk: ה' הַגְּדֻ לָּה וְהַגְּבוּרָ ה וְהַתִּ פְאֶרֶ ת וְהַנֵּצַח וְהַהוֹד ָ לְך – To You, Hashem, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. We brought the commentary Sha'ar Shimon, which explains why it sings this particular song.
More or less, I think we have covered all the topics discussed last week, and from here we’ll proceed.
The Donkey in Rabbinic Literature
The Gemara (Berachot 58a) recounts that Rabbi Sheila ordered that a man be given lashes for having relations with an Egyptian woman. The man reported Rabbi Sheila to the king's court, accusing him of judging without royal permission. Summoned to explain, Rabbi Sheila claimed the man had relations with a donkey; and when pressed for witnesses, Eliyahu HaNavi, appearing as a man, arrived to testify. The officials asked why he had not sentenced the man to death, to which he replied that Jews in exile lack such authority, but they could proceed as they saw fit. While they deliberated, Rabbi Sheila recited ה' הַ גְּ דֻ לּ ָ ה ָ לְ ך, the song of the donkey. Since he litigated a case that a man had relations with a donkey, and the king's officials accepted it, he sang the song of the donkey! Another idea brought by the mefarshim as to why he chose that song, is that this Gemara is found in the chapter of הָ רוֹאֶ ה, where the Gemara says: One who sees a donkey in a dream should anticipate salvation. Since salvation came to him by saying the man had relations with a donkey, he recited the Pasuk.
The Gemara continues: The king's officials noticed him mumbling and asked about it. He explained that he was blessing Hakadosh Baruch Hu for granting earthly kingdoms as a reflection of the heavenly kingdom and for granting the king a love for justice. Impressed, they gave him a special staff, authorizing him to judge and flog on the king's behalf. As Rabbi Sheila left, the convicted man protested, claiming G-d wouldn’t perform miracles to support falsehood, as he hadn’t married a donkey but an Egyptian woman. Rabbi Sheila replied, “Does the Torah not refer to Egyptians as donkeys?!” Realizing the man was set to accuse him before the king’s officials of calling them donkeys, Rabbi Sheila deemed him a רו ֹדֵ ף (pursuer) and struck him with the staff, killing him. He then said: “Since a miracle was performed for me through the Pasuk of ה׳ הַגְּדֻלָּה ָ לְך, I will now explain it,” interpreting it as referring to Creation and Yetziat Mitzrayim.
Hierarchy of Creation and the Donkey's Place
After this introduction, we can move on to the next stage. The Gemara says (Shabbat 112b):
אָמַר רַבִּי זֵירָא אָמַר רָבָא בַּר זִימּוּנָא: אִם רִאשׁ וֹנִים בְּנֵי מַלְאָכִים, אָ נוּ בְּנֵי אֲנָשִׁים. וְאִם רִ אשׁ וֹנִים בְּנֵי אֲנָשִׁים, אָנוּ כַּחֲמוֹרִים. וְלֹא כַּחֲמוֹרוֹ שׁ ֶל רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בֶּן דּוֹסָא וְשׁ ֶל רַבִּי פִּנְחָס בֶּן יָאִיר, אֶלָּא כִּשְׁאָר חֲמוֹרִים.
If the early generations are characterized as sons of angels, we are the sons of men. And if the early generations are characterized as the sons of men, we are akin to donkeys. And I do not mean that we are akin to either the donkey of Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa or the donkey of Rabbi Pincḥas ben Yair, who were both extraordinarily intelligent donkeys. Rather, we are akin to ordinary donkeys.
This Gemara gives us a hierarchy: Angel – Man – Donkey; If you consider the Avot, the Shevatim, the Tana’im, the Amoraim, etc., as angels, then we are men – a lower level than them. And if you compare them to men, then we are no longer men but a lower level – donkeys, and not even special ones! Seemingly, the Gemara could have said this in a much simpler way: If the earlier generations were like angels, we are like men; and if the earlier generations were like men, we are like animals! Why does the Gemara take the position that if you are not a man, you are a donkey?
A much more difficult question arises from the words of the Arizal (Etz Chaim, Shaar HaShabbat 24) who explains the idea of תּ ו ֹרַ ת הַ מְ מוּצ ָ ע – also called עו ֹלָ ם הָ אֶ מְ צַ ע. A middle, or intermediary, is found between the four categories, or strata, of life: דּוֹמֵ ם (inanimate), צוֹמֵ חַ (growing), חַ י (living), and מְ דַ בֵּ ר (speaking). Between the inanimate and the growing, there is the Almog (coral) – it is inanimate, but when it is in the sea, it is growing. Between the growing and the living, there is the Adnei HaSadeh, which is related to the plague of Arov in our Parsha. The intermediary between the living and the speaking (human) is the monkey. Therefore, when a person acts without thought, the Gemara calls it an act of a monkey. The Arizal adds one additional middle: the Luz. The human body is entirely physical, except for one bone, the Luz, which never decays – it is entirely spiritual. The Midrash says (Bereshit Rabbah 28 3): Hadrian asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah from where Hakadosh Baruch Hu will resurrect man in the future. He answered: “From the Luz bone of the spine.” Hadrian asked how he knew, and Rabbi Yehoshua replied: “Bring it to me and I’ll show you.” He ground it in a mill, yet it was not ground; he burned it in fire, yet it was not burned; he put it in water, yet it was not dissolved; he put it on an anvil and struck it with a hammer, yet the anvil split and the hammer broke, but the Luz bone did not diminish.
And behold, the Luz is the intermediary between the soul and the body, because it is part of the body yet eternal like the soul. And behold, from the meals of the weekdays, the body is nourished and enjoys. But from the meals of Shabbat, only the soul enjoys, as it is stated in the Zohar, this day is the day of souls, not the day of the body. And if so, the Luz bone, which is the intermediary between the body and the soul, is nourished only from an intermediary meal between Shabbat and the weekdays, which is the Melaveh Malka meal.
The piece we want to carry forward from these learnings is the intermediary between man and animals, according to the Arizal, is the monkey. If so, why do Chazal say if earlier generations were like men, we are like donkeys? Why demote us directly from men to donkeys? Why not lower us half a step and liken us to monkeys? To understand the yesod of these words, we need to examine the two special donkeys referred to in the Gemara. Chazal say (Avot DeRabbi Natan 8:8):
בְּהֶמְתָן הָיוּ חֲסִ ידוּת. Just as the early righteous ones were pious, so too their animals were pious. מַ עֲשֶׂה בַּחֲמוֹרוֹ שׁ ֶל רַ בִּ י חֲנִינָא בֶּן דּוֹסָא – There was an incident with the donkey of Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa that was stolen by thieves. They tied it up and provided it with straw, barley, and water, but the donkey refused to eat or drink. Frustrated, they feared it would die, and they said, “Why should we let it die and stink up the yard? If it dies here, dragging 150 kilos away
