Communicating Effectively

This week's Parsha begins with Hashem instructing Moshe Rabbeinu, "Say to the Kohanim the sons of Aaron and say to them ‘do not contaminate yourselves with the dead.'" The Kohanim are to exhibit a higher standard of sensitivity to holiness and sanctity. On the apparent redundancy of the word "say", Rashi comments, "This teaches us that the adult Kohanim must instruct the minor Kohanim to adhere to the laws of abstaining from contact with the dead." The first "say" therefore refers to the adults and the second "say" to the children. The Torah is also conveying another idea. There is an appropriate way to speak to adults and an appropriate way to speak to children. The first "say" illustrates the need for a unique educational approach for the adults and the second "say" a unique educational approach for the children.

I recall returning home from Shul one Shabbos morning with my esteemed father, HaRav Pinchas Stolper. We were accosted by an agitated young man who castigated my father for using the word "modern" to describe the Orthodox Union (At the time my father was the executive vice-president of the Orthodox Union). My father calmly replied, "We use the word modern not, Chas V'Shalom, to imply a compromise or alteration of Torah values and Halacha, rather it is a description of the way we present, in contemporary terms, the time-honored traditions of Torah." In order for people to be receptive, you must relate ideas in current nomenclature and idioms. Many Orthodox Jews need modern language and concepts to be attracted to unadulterated Torah. This was the faux pas of the Reform and Conservative movements that sought to "save" Judaism and make it more palatable to the masses. Instead of altering the educational approach, they tampered with the axioms and values of Torah. In sharp contrast, the Mussar and Chassidic movements succeeded because they each developed a unique approach with which to convey the age old values of Torah, without abrogating Halacha and tradition.

Following the holidays of Pesach and Succos, there is a set of elective fasts called BaHaB which is an acronym for Monday, Thursday and Monday. These specific days of the week were selected because they are days of good-will, as Moshe Rabbeinu ascended Har Sinai on a Thursday and descended on a Monday (Rama O.C. 134,1 ).

There are three divergent opinions as to why these fasts are observed.
1) Repentance and Catharsis - The Rosh tells us (Taanis 1,20) that the joyous festivity of the holidays can be a catalyst for frivolity and sin. A precedent for this is found in Eyov 1,5. "When each cycle of feast days ended, Eyov .... would rise early in the morning and bring burnt-offerings... for Eyov said, ‘Perhaps my children have sinned and blasphemed Hashem in their hearts.'" Similarly, the Gemarah in Kiddushin (81a) quotes Rav Avin as saying, "The most susceptible time of the year for sin is the holidays." Rashi explains because men and women gather to hear the drasha, creating an environment for sin.
2) Environmental Concerns - Rav Yehuda Hachasid writes (Sefer Chassidim 227) that we fast after Succos in order that the rains of MarCheshvan fall adequately and beneficially. We fast after Pesach in order that the heat of Iyar should not parch and decimate the wheat. This is also the opinion of the Raviyah (Mordechai, Taanis, 629).
3) Health Concern - The Mateh Moshe (716) is of the opinion that due to the change in seasons immediately following the Holidays, the body, in acclimating to the new conditions, is susceptible to illness. Therefore, we fast as a preventative measure to ward off sickness. The latter two reasons categorize these fasts as requests for salvation from trouble rather than a fast of Teshuvah.

Most people don't fast BaHab as they find fasting taxing and often counter-productive. It is advisable, however, to follow the unique fast of the Ravad z"tl, "Let one not refrain completely from eating meat or drinking wine, for what the Torah prohibited is enough! Rather, while one is eating and still desires to eat, let him, in honor of the Creator, set aside some of his desires and not eat according to his appetite. This method will prevent one from sinning..." (Foundation of Teshuvah Rabbeinu Yonah).

The custom in our Shul, as in many Kehillos, is to recite Selichos before davening. We therefore will begin 15 minutes earlier this coming Monday-Thursday-Monday to accommodate the extra Tefillos. May the Almighty respond to our sincere repentance and requests and shower us all with His blessing.