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Re: Melachim II 011: Jewish worship of the Ba'al in the times of Izevel
David Goldman asked:
>>I cannot understand how it was possible for there to have been literally
several thousand neviim and kohanim of the baal within such a relatively
short time that Izevel was married to Achav. I mean, if the yetser harah
for avodah zarah was so strong, then it would not have required Izevel to
import her Baal religion from across the border a few miles away! On the
other hand, if prior to her the Jews were so loyal to Hashem despite the
yetser hara, then what does it mean that thousands were able to fall into
baalism within literally a few years (Achav married Izevel and was king for
only 22 years)??!! Did these Jews suddenly say, "Ah, this is just what I
was looking for all this time, and thanks to Izevel I found it." Or were
they already disloyal to Hashem even BEFORE the arrival of Izevel?<<
The Kollel replied:
>>1) The Sefer Chasidim #1159 describes how the Ba'al prophets managed to
gain such a hold over the people. They used to prepare an idol statue for a
Jew and practice magic on him. Then they would make something similar to a
wax image of their victim and afflict him with suffering. When the sick
person would come to the magician to be healed, the magician would tell the
patient that if he will go and worship Avodah Zarah, he will be recover.
Once the Jew bowed down to the idol the magician would break the image of
the victim and he would recover from his illness.
2) The Sefer Chasidim asks that it appears from the above description that
the victims of the Ba'al magic potions were not so much to blame for what
happened to them. It sounds like there must have been a "Gezeirah Min
ha'Shamayim," that the victim would be made to suffer by the Ba'al prophets
and it was only to alleviate his suffering that he started worshipping the
Ba'al. If so, the Sefer Chasidim asks, why were the people punished for
worshipping the Ba'al?
3) The Sefer Chasidim answers by explaining an important concept, that of
"Megalgelin Chovah Al Yedei Chayav" (see Bava Basra, beginning of 119b). If
a Gezeirah is decreed on someone, this suggests that there was a reason
that this happened to the sufferer. The Sefer Chasidim writes that if
someone possesses a perfect heart, such a Gezeirah would not be decreed
upon him. He cites the Gemara in Chulin 7a that says that Hashem does not
cause a disaster to happen even to animals that belong to Tzadikim. Such a
thing would certainly not happen to a Tzadik himself.
4) So the adoption of Ba'alism by so many people was speeded up by these
magic coercion techniques. The people who got swept up by it did not
usually want to do it in the first place, but on the other hand the
Heavenly decree that caused this process would not have happened had there
not been some kind of prior tendency to this way of life, even if
subconsciously.<<
---
The Kollel adds:
I would like now to come back to a passage in the Kuzari that sheds a lot
of light not only on the period of Achav, but also on the period of
Yeravam, and generally speaking on the entire phenomenon of idol worship in
the era of the first Beis ha'Mikdash.
1) The Kuzari (4:14) writes: "We must make a major distinction between the
followers of Yeravam and the followers of Achav. Those who worship the
Ba'al are total idol-worshippers. This is what Eliyahu ha'Navi said
(Melachim I 18:21), 'If Hashem is Elokim, then go after Him, but if it is
the Ba'al, then go after him.' It is only about the Ba'al worshippers that
our Sages (Chulin 4b) were in doubt concerning how Yehoshafat could have
eaten from the feast of Achav. Chazal did not say the same thing about the
followers of Yeravam. In addition, when Eliyahu said (Melachim I 19:10), 'I
have been zealous for Hashem Elokei Tzevakos,' he did speak out against the
calves that Yeravam set up. This is because all of the actions of the
followers of Yeravam were directed towards Hashem, Elokei Yisrael. The
prophets that they possessed were prophets of Hashem. On the other hand,
the prophets of Achav were prophets of the Ba'al. Yehu ben Nimshi rose up
to eradicate the deeds of Achav. He invested great efforts until he wiped
out any rememberance of the Ba'al. However, Yehu did not touch the calves
of Yeravam. The people who made the original Golden Calf (Bnei Yisrael in
the wilderness), the followers of Yeravam, the people who worshipped on the
High Places, the Bamos, and the statue of Michah, intended only to serve
the G-d of Yisrael except that they did this together with a transgression
for which one is culpable for the capital penalty."
2) We see in the Kuzari here a clear description of the difference between
the Avodah Zarah of Achav and the other straying forms of worship that had
been practiced before his time. Achav's way was 100% idol-worhsip. In
contrast, Yeravam and the other wayward break-off groups basically believed
in Hashem and in the Torah, but for different reasons went against certain
specific Mitzvos of the Torah, but they believed in the Torah as a whole.
3) In addition, David, this addresses a point which you raised a while
back: Why did the Nevi'im not give Tochechah against the calves of Yeravam?
It seems that the answer of the Kuzari is that the Nevi'im gave rebuke only
about the three cardinal sins, but not against other Aveiros, even Aveiros
for which the transgressor is Chayav Misah.
4) The Kuzari continues, "The intention of Yeravam etc. was entirely for
Hashem, but they did their service together with a transgression for which
the capital penalty applies. This can be compared to somebody who marries
his sister for a certain need, or out of lust, but aside from this he
carries out all the Mitzvos that are part of a marriage, exactly as Hashem
commanded. Alternatively, this can be compared to a Jew who eats pork but
is particular to slaughter the pig according to all the laws of Shechitah,
and is careful not to consume the blood of the pig."
5) I think that we could sumamrize this by saying that Achav did not
believe in the Torah or in the G-d of Yisrael, and his worhip was entirely
the way of the Nochrim who lived near Eretz Yisrael. Yeravam and the other
groups believed in Hashem of Yisrael and did not worship Avodah Zarah. They
transgressed frequently one of the Mitzvos of the Torah, but their basic
belief and practice of the Torah remined intact.
Kol Tuv,
Dovid Bloom
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