Rashi in His Own Words
במדבר ל' ,ז"י :אֵ לֶּה הַ חֻקִּ ים אֲ שֶּ ר צִּ וָּה וָּה אֶּ ת משֶּ ה בֵ ין אִּ יש לְ אִּ שְ תּוֹ בֵ ין אָּ ב לְ בִּ תּוֹ בִּ נְ עֻרֶּ יהָּ בֵ ית אָּ בִּ יהָּ יְ הֹ :
Bamidbar 30:17: These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moshe concerning a man and his wife, a father, and his daughter, in her youth, while in her father's house.
Synopsis
This week's Torah portion, Matos-Massei, begins by telling us the laws of vows. The Torah then goes on to teach us various details about these laws. If a young girl makes a vow and her father hears about it on the same day, he can revoke her promise. Likewise, if a husband hears of an oath his wife made, he may cancel it on the same day. At the end of this section, the Torah says, "These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moshe concerning a man and his wife, a father and his daughter in her youth, while in her father's house."
According to the simple explanation, Rashi explains everything in the Torah, which would otherwise be difficult. By studying his commentary, even a beginner can understand the entire Torah. If Rashi does not address something in the Torah that seems problematic, it means one of two things. Either Rashi already explained it, or the answer is obvious. Yet something seems to be difficult here. The last verse in this section, quoted above, does not mention the law of making and fulfilling a vow. However, that sentence appears to summarize the entire section, which begins by discussing the laws of promises. Only later does it mention how her father or husband can revoke her vow. Why does the Torah seemingly "leave out" this relevant law?
The explanation is that the Torah does not need to teach us the laws of vows. Of course, one must keep his word, and the Torah already commanded us to "distance ourselves from falsehood." The Torah teaches these laws here to tell us the exception to the rule, i.e., the instances in which one can annul a vow.
- The meaning of a vow is that someone says that a certain object should be prohibited to him, i.e., that he will not eat a particular food or will not perform a certain act.
- Our Parshah, Bamidbar 30:17.
- Parshas Mishpotim, Shemos 23:7.
Rashi's Explanation
This week, we read the Torah portion of Matos-Massei. It begins by telling us about "Nedorim – נדרים," meaning vows. The Torah then tells us the law if a young, unmarried woman makes a vow. If her father hears of it on the day she made the vow and remains silent, the vow remains in full force. However, if her father rescinds her vow, it is null and void. Whatever she prohibited for herself is permitted to her.
If she is married, the law is almost the same. If she forbids something to herself that involves self-affliction, and her husband hears about it, he may revoke her vow. However, if he remains silent, her vow remains in effect.
The Torah concludes this section by saying, "These are the statutes which Hashem commanded Moshe concerning a man and his wife, a father, and his daughter, in her youth, while in her father's house." Rashi does not comment on this.
We know that Rashi explains every word of the Torah (which requires explanation) according to Peshat, which is the simple meaning of the verse. He explains everything a beginning student needs to know to understand the Chumash. Hence, when there is seemingly a question according to Peshat and Rashi does not address it, either Rashi has already answered it, or it can be answered so easily that there is no reason for him to say anything. This is reinforced by the numerous instances where Rashi says, "I do not know what this teaches us," or the like. However, many such instances have explanations according to various Midrashim, the Talmud, or other commentaries. This is because those explanations are not in line with the simple meaning of the verse; he, therefore, says that he "does not know," meaning that he does not know how to explain the seeming difficulty, according to Peshat. This makes it clear that Rashi explains every verse in the Torah wherever possible, according to Peshat.
Difficulties in Understanding Rashi
The verse, "These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moshe concerning a man and his wife, a father, and his daughter, in her youth, while in her father's house," summarizes the verses which precede it. Those preceding verses discuss the laws of vows. As such, one would think that, according to Peshat, the concluding verse should describe, or at least mention, the general laws of vows. Yet the Torah only mentions the laws of a father or a husband annulling the vows of his daughter or wife. Rashi does not explain this obvious question.
The question is even stronger. This verse begins with the words, "These are the statutes." The statute is the English translation of the Hebrew word "Chok – חוק," which refers to a Mitzvah with no rational reason. This sort of Mitzvah must be fulfilled because it is Hashem's decree. Once the Torah refers to the laws of vows as a "Chok," it implies that it does not include the general laws of vows. The reason that one must fulfill a vow is stated here explicitly. The Torah says here that "לא יחל דברו - he shall not violate his word." Rashi explains that these words mean "לא יחלל דברו - he shall not make his words mundane." Instead, the verse says, "According to whatever came out of his mouth, he shall do." The only part of this section of the Torah that can be categorized as "statutes" are the laws of revoking one's daughter's or wife's vow. The Torah seems to exclude the law of keeping one's vow.
The Explanation
The Torah does not need to specify that one must fulfill a vow because it is easily understood. It is included in what the Torah already said (although it is not identical to these laws) that "one must distance himself from falsehood." It is also quite clear from an oath and a covenant, previously discussed in the Torah several times, which is why vows were also mentioned earlier.
An example of this is that which is written: "And Yaakov uttered a vow, saying ... then this stone ... will be an abode of Hashem ..." Hashem responded to this "... where you pronounced a vow to me ..." Rashi cites those words and explains that "you must fulfill it."
From all of the above, it is understood that when the Torah says, "If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to prohibit himself, he shall not violate his word; according to whatever came out of his mouth, he shall do," it is not coming to teach us a new law. It is merely an introduction to the laws of revoking vows. Hence, it is simple to understand why there is no need to mention the laws of vows when the Torah sums this up. The Torah only needs to say the statutes, the "Chukim" of vows.
This also explains what Rashi writes at the beginning of the Torah portion. He comments on the verse, "Moshe spoke to the heads of the tribes of the Jewish people, saying, 'This is the thing the Lord has commanded.'" Citing the words "the heads of the tribes," he writes, "He honored the chieftains by teaching them first ... Why did the Torah see fit to mention it here? It is to teach us that a single expert may perform annulment of vows, and if no single expert is available, it may be annulled by three laymen." According to Peshat, there is a connection between the heads of the tribes and the laws of vows. However, how does Rashi know that the link regards the revocation of a vow?
Based on the above, we can understand this. When this topic was first taught to the heads of the tribes, it was not to teach them the laws of making and keeping a vow; instead, it is something we know already. It teaches us that a father or a husband may revoke a woman's vow. The verses regarding annulling a vow were first taught to the heads of the tribes. From this, we see that there is a connection between the two.
A Deeper Lesson from Rashi
We can better understand why the Torah emphasizes that Hashem first commanded the leaders of the tribes the laws of annulling a vow by looking at this law from a deeper perspective. The Talmud Yerushalmi says, "Is it not sufficient what the Torah prohibited you to do? Do you seek other prohibitions?" This is because our fulfillment of Torah and Mitzvos is to build a dwelling place for Hashem below, in a physical world whereby its nature G-dliness is not revealed. Therefore, we must work with and avoid dealing with the physical and material world.
However, we also find that the Sages counseled us that "Vows are a means of attaining abstinence," helping one fulfill the commandment to "sanctify one's self (even) with that which is permitted." How can we reconcile these two teachings of the Sages?
The explanation is that one who is righteous, a "leader of the tribes," is told that what the Torah prohibited is sufficient. On the contrary, it is not proper for him to make vows. By restricting something upon himself, he is losing an opportunity to elevate a physical object. However, one whose behavior is not (yet) perfect must avoid dealing with worldly things. There is a chance that rather than his elevating the object, the object would draw him down.
We see that the ultimate goal is for us to reach a spiritual level whereby vows are detrimental to our Divine service. Therefore, when Hashem addresses the tribes' leaders or a group of three who constitute a Torah court regarding vows, He discusses revoking vows rather than keeping them.
Based on this, we can also understand why these laws were taught close to the time we entered Israel. Throughout our time in the desert, we did not focus on material things; it was more of a preparation for what would come when we entered Israel. We ate food from heaven, our drink was supplied from Miriam's well, and we did not need to be concerned with clothing. For forty years, our clothing grew with us.
Therefore, the laws of revoking vows were taught to us shortly before entering Israel. Both concepts have the same content: working with the physical world to create a dwelling place for Hashem.
However, since the Torah also writes the laws of making vows, this contains a lesson for us. As mentioned above, the reason for keeping a vow is so that his words are not profane. We all must and, therefore, can sanctify everything we encounter rather than becoming affected by it. Since the Torah begins by speaking about fulfilling vows, we see that everyone can elevate this world without exception. That is true even if we have not yet reached the level of being able to revoke a vow. That is true because every one of us is, allegorically speaking, a daughter or a wife of the Almighty.
(Adapted from a talk given on Shabbos Parshas Matos-Massei, 5726)
I hope you gained as much by reading this as I did by translating and adapting it.
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