Shemini: 5784 - Two questions on the end of the parsha: "To distinguish between the impure and the pure, and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not…

00:00 Speaker 1 Please.

00:01 Speaker 2 We’re at Shabbos Parshas Shemini, when we bless the month of Nissan, a month of Geulah. The parsha ends with the verse, “To distinguish between the impure and the pure, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.” There are two questions here that seem to need an explanation. Looking at the wording of the verse, since it first says “between the impure and the pure,” the second part should follow the same order: “between the animal that may not be eaten and the animal that may be eaten.” That’s the first question. And we’re also taught to end on a positive note. So it should have ended with the animal that may be eaten, which is something pure. Why does the Torah end the parsha with something negative, “that may not be eaten”? Both questions can be addressed through one teaching. The Gemara in tractate Yoma, about Yom Kippur, speaks of “a pregnant woman who smelled food.” In other words, a pregnant woman smells food—whether it’s kosher or even non-kosher food—and because she may be in danger, it’s a matter of saving a life, so it would seem she’s allowed to eat. But first, the Gemara says, they whisper in her ear that today is Yom Kippur. If she accepts that, good; if not, there’s a process: first they let her smell the food, then they give her a taste of the gravy, and if that doesn’t help, they let her eat. She’s even allowed to eat pork, because it’s a matter of saving a life. The Gemara relates that there was indeed a pregnant woman who smelled food, and they came to Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi and asked what to do. He said to whisper in her ear that today was Yom Kippur. They did, and she accepted it. She calmed down and didn’t eat on Yom Kippur. Then the Gemara tells another story: a pregnant woman smelled food, and they came to Rabbi Chanina and asked him what to do. Rabbi Chanina said to whisper in her ear that today was Yom Kippur, but she did not

02:40 Speaker 2 accept it, so they fed her on Yom Kippur, because it was a matter of saving a life. It’s explained that this is the meaning of the verse, “to distinguish between the impure and the pure.” What makes the distinction? The Gemara tells us that in the first case, brought before Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, when the woman accepted what she was told and didn’t eat, she later gave birth to Rabbi Yochanan, one of the great Amoraim.

03:10 Speaker 3 Pure.

03:11 Speaker 2 And in the second case, when she didn’t accept it and ate on Yom Kippur, the Gemara says that her child was Shabtai Otzar Peiri, who was a wicked person. This, it’s explained, is the meaning of the verse: “to distinguish between the impure and the pure.” What distinguishes whether someone will turn out impure or pure? “Between the one who eats and the one who does not eat.” The word for “animal” can also be understood as referring to a woman giving birth. “The one who eats” means the mother who doesn’t accept what she’s told and does eat on Yom Kippur; “the one who does not eat” is the mother who accepts it and indeed doesn’t eat on Yom Kippur. So this answers both questions. The order is exactly right, and the mother who doesn’t eat is something positive—so the parsha does end on a positive note. We see how much food affects a person’s soul. A large part of the parsha deals with kosher foods and the signs of purity. Even when it’s the mother who eats, whether she eats something forbidden or eats

04:20 Speaker 3 at a forbidden time—

04:21 Speaker 2 on Yom Kippur, when eating is forbidden—we see how much it affects even the unborn child. Have a good Shabbos, and may we hear good news.

04:27 Speaker 3 Chodesh tov.