Introduction: A New Direction in the Author's Words
The author of the Zera Shimshon frequently moves from topic to topic, and only through deep study can one discern the exact point he has arrived at and what he now seeks to explain. Here, at this juncture, he approaches an additional explanation of the verse, "This is the law of the animal... to distinguish between the unclean bird and the clean." He does not explicitly announce, "And there is yet another explanation," but continues straight away: "And most of the prohibitions found in the Torah" - from which we learn that a new explanation begins here.
Most Torah Prohibitions Involve Meat
The explanation begins with a simple premise: most of the prohibitions stated in the Torah revolve around eating meat. While there are prohibitions regarding tevel (untithed produce), Shevi'it (Sabbatical year produce), and orlah (fruit of the first three years), the vast majority of dietary prohibitions pertain to meat: chelev (forbidden fat) involves meat; blood involves meat; neveilah (carrion) and tereifah (mortally injured animal) involve meat; clean and unclean species - which animals are permitted and which are forbidden - involve meat; shechitah (ritual slaughter) and melichah (salting) - since improper slaughter renders it neveilah, and salting removes the blood - involve meat; the gid hanasheh (sciatic nerve) involves meat; "You shall not slaughter it and its offspring on the same day" involves meat. So too with the sacrificial offerings, whether the obligation to consume sacred meat or the prohibition against eating piggul (abominable sacrifice), notar (leftover sacrifice), or ritually impure meat - all of it revolves around meat.
An Am HaAretz Is Forbidden to Eat Meat
In the third chapter of Pesachim, Chazal state: an am ha'aretz (an unlearned person who does not observe Torah) is forbidden to eat meat. From where do we derive this? From the verse, "This is the Torah (law) of the animal," followed immediately by "to distinguish between the unclean bird and the clean." To whom was this law addressed, to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, to say what you may eat and what you may not eat? To "This is the Torah" - to one who engages in Torah study. Anyone who engages in Torah study is permitted to eat domestic animals, wild beasts, and fowl, but one who does not engage in Torah study is forbidden to do so.
It is worth noting in this regard that all those self-righteous organizations that hang banners in city squares and on buses urging people not to eat meat are actually right, though they do not realize how right they are: they are indeed forbidden to eat meat, for an am ha'aretz is forbidden to eat meat. Moreover, who knows the status of the meat they consume; who among them eats Glatt kosher? If they are forbidden even from properly kosher meat, how much more so from what they eat. It turns out that we agree with them - they should not eat meat.
Why Is It Forbidden? Meat Intensifies the Evil Inclination
The reason for this, as the Panim Masbirot writes, is that eating meat increases the power of the evil inclination within a person's body. The author himself cites in Parashat Beha'alotecha the rabbinic saying, "A lion roars only over a basket of meat," interpreting it homiletically: the lion represents the yetzer hara, which is like a predatory lion, and what rouses it? A basket of meat. When a person eats meat - physical, animal flesh - it stirs bodily desire.
For this reason, many great sages never ate meat. Rav Kaduri would eat meat only on the eve of Yom Kippur, when there is an explicit mitzvah to eat, but otherwise abstained completely. Similarly, as discussed in Mishnat HaGilgulim, several sages followed this custom because of the great difficulty in rectifying meat and elevating its spiritual sparks.
And in the words of the Panim Masbirot: for meat, being the animalistic body, draws several transgressions upon a person into his blood, body, and soul. A person becomes like what he eats. For this reason, the Kabbalists wrote that one should not eat MeLeCh - moach (brain), lev (heart), and kaved (liver) - since the core life-force of the animal or fowl resides there, and when one consumes them, he absorbs their base traits and nature. Therefore, an am ha'aretz is forbidden to eat meat, lest the power of his evil inclination overpower him.
If So, Why Is a Talmid Chacham Permitted?
Seemingly, even in the case of a Talmid Chacham, the yetzer hara should increase! The answer is that a Talmid Chacham engages in Torah, and the Torah serves as an antidote to the yetzer hara - it subdues it, acting as a healing remedy against it, and the yetzer hara has no mastery over one whose heart is filled with Torah. Yet on this very point, the verse comes to resolve a question: even though he possesses the antidote of Torah, why should he place himself into doubt? A person does not drink poison just because he has a remedy on hand; one should avoid both illnesses and remedies. If so, let him not eat meat at all and settle the matter!
To this the Rav answers: "This is why it is juxtaposed with 'to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.'" That is, a Talmid Chacham is obligated to issue halachic rulings in Israel and oversee all necessary laws with an open and discerning eye, "and one who does not eat meat lacks clarity of mind." Not only is it permissible for him - on the contrary, he needs to eat meat, since his role is to distinguish between the impure and the pure and to teach what is permitted and what is forbidden, and for this, clarity of mind is required. After all, the Gemara states that one who drinks a revi'is of wine must not issue halachic rulings, for there can be no halachic ruling without clarity of thought; and meat brings about clarity of mind.
The Proof: "Because I Had Not Eaten Beef"
As the Sages said in Perek Merubah in Bava Kamma (72b): "The Torah said 'five oxen' and not five halves of an ox," and "the reason I did not say this to you last evening is that I had not yet eaten ox-meat." And this is the incident that occurred: the law of fourfold and fivefold payments for a thief who slaughters or sells is a fine (k'nas), and if he confesses before witnesses testify in Beit Din, he is exempt from the fine and pays only the principal. They asked: what is the law in the case of one who steals an ox belonging to two partners, and confesses to one partner but does not confess to the other? The share of the partner he confessed to is exempt from the fine, leaving him to pay the second partner "five halves of an ox." Initially, Rav Nachman ruled: "The Torah said 'five oxen' and not five halves of an ox," exempting him entirely from the fine, requiring him to pay only the principal to both. The next morning, he reversed his ruling, stating that he is liable to pay five halves of an ox - on the contrary, that is how he now derived it from the verse, the exact opposite of what he had ruled the previous evening. He had to explain himself: "The reason I did not say this to you last evening is that I had not yet eaten ox-meat." Why did I not rule this way last night? Because I had not yet eaten ox-meat; now that I have eaten, my mind is clear, and I can determine the halachah properly.
Thus, explains the Rav, a Talmid Chacham's eating of meat is intended to weaken the power of the yetzer through the power of his Torah, and through this he comes to separate the aspect of impurity from the aspect of holiness - and this is the meaning of "to distinguish." Thus the verse is explained: "This is the Torah of the animal" - one who studies Torah is permitted, and indeed must, eat meat, for meat grants him strength to engage in Torah and understand it properly; and if you will say that meat strengthens his yetzer, the Torah he possesses weakens the yetzer. There is an additional advantage to eating meat: "To distinguish between the unclean and the clean," for through it his mind becomes clear, enabling him to distinguish and rule.
Why We Eat Meat on the Festival of Shavuot
"And it is known that the primary joy of Yom Tov is specifically through meat, and therefore all agree that on Atzeret (Shavuot) we also require 'for yourselves.'" Here the Rav comes to resolve the difficulty raised earlier: why is it that specifically on Atzeret all agree that we also need "for yourselves," meaning physical eating and drinking? The first reason was already stated: because it was through the argument of eating that Moshe defeated the angels, we therefore eat.
A second reason: because it is the day on which the Torah was given to Israel and not to the angels, since there was no yetzer hara among them, as Moshe said to them, "Is there an evil inclination among you?" And as we have learned, eating meat inflames the yetzer, while the Torah provides the strength to repel it. Thus, we received the Torah in order to repel the yetzer hara; whereas you, the angels, who have no yetzer hara to push away, have no need for the Torah. Thus, the very matter of eating meat is the reason why the Torah was given specifically to us.
A third reason: "And also as an allusion that one who studies Torah is obligated to eat meat... so that his mind will be clear." We learned that eating meat aids in the study of Torah, and therefore on the day of the receiving of the Torah we eat meat - for the way to learn Torah properly is with clarity of mind. And it is a fitting allusion: the day of Matan Torah is a day of "bisra detora" (ox-meat) - there is little difference between the word "Torah" and "tora" (ox).
A fourth reason: "And also to hint that we accepted it with a willing heart, so that people should not say it was because He overturned the mountain above us, and joy is demonstrated only with a full stomach; for this reason specifically, he prepared a third-born calf (egla tilta), which is a choice quality of meat." When a person accepts something out of duress or grief, he marks that anniversary as a day of fasting and mourning; but when something brings him joy, he celebrates it every year with a feast. Therefore, Rav Yosef would prepare a prime third-born calf on Atzeret to prove that the overturning of the mountain like a vat was not coercion without which we would not have accepted the Torah. On the contrary, the question is already asked: why was it necessary to overturn the mountain like a vat when they had already proclaimed "Na'aseh V'nishma"? We come to demonstrate that people should not say the Jewish people were coerced and had no choice - the proof is the joy and the eating of meat that we observe each year over receiving the Torah, and a person's joy is evidenced only by a full stomach.
The Words of Rabbeinu Bahya - and the Fifth Reason
And Rabbeinu Bahya wrote similarly in Parashat Bereishit: through eating and drinking, the physical faculties of the body are awakened, and when the bodily faculties are awakened, the faculties of the soul are likewise awakened and strengthened. This is because food and drink are major catalysts for joy of the heart and for dispelling sadness and worry, and as joy increases, the soul's intellectual faculty is strengthened, becoming far more receptive to comprehending intellectual concepts. Thus far are his words.
On one hand, this serves as proof for the fourth reason: we sought to prove joy, and food and drink are causes of gladness of heart and the banishment of sorrow. These matters are interrelated: when a person is sad and anxious, the first thing that happens is that he loses his appetite, having no desire to eat; whereas someone who is happy and cheerful partakes of whatever comes to hand. Someone once joked that the world is divided into the thin and the happy... To be sure, there is also eating born of depression, Heaven have mercy, where a person eats out of distress; but for the most part, depression suppresses appetite, whereas food and drink bring about joy.
On the other hand, there is a fifth reason here: "and he will be better prepared to grasp intellectual concepts." Today we received the Torah, and therefore we eat - for eating leads to joy, and joy prepares a person to grasp profound concepts, to understand deep and inner matters, and to attain wisdom. Here it is not a question of the mental clarity that meat provides, but rather the joy it brings, from which flows the power of comprehension.
"The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's" - The King to Whom Peace Belongs
שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים אֲשֶׁר לִשְׁלֹמֹה׃ (א, א) - The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's (1:1).
Here the Malbim writes, "And with this we shall come to the explanation of the verse." It should be prefaced that he does not mean, as is usually the case, that by virtue of everything discussed above we now come to explain the verse, for the upcoming explanation is not tied to what preceded it. Rather, his meaning is: and now we shall come to the explanation of the verse.
Our Sages of blessed memory explained regarding "which is Solomon's [li-Shlomo]" - the King to Whom peace belongs [she-hashalom shelo], namely the Holy One, blessed be He, as Shlomo is related to the word for peace (shalom). This raises a difficulty: Is not everything in His world His? Is only peace His, while wars are not His? Does Scripture not say, "He makes peace and creates evil," and is it not written, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof," and He is the Possessor of all - not that He purchased and paid anyone, but that everything is His acquisition?
Rather, the intention is as follows: peace belongs exclusively to Him; it is entirely on the side of holiness, and the Sitra Achra (the other side) has no share in it whatsoever. As the Midrash states in Devarim Rabbah: "Precious is peace, for the Holy One, blessed be He, did not give it to the wicked, as it is stated (Isaiah 57), 'There is no peace, says the Lord, for the wicked.'" Likewise, the holy Zohar says: In every place where the canopy of peace is found, the Sitra Achra is not found there.
This is also the deeper meaning concerning Esau and the "four hundred men with him," of which the Zohar says that this was "his troop" (gunda dileih), for Esau represents the Sitra Achra, and the Sitra Achra is called Alma dePeruda - the world of division. By contrast, the side of holiness is the world of unity: "The Lord our God, the Lord is One," where everything is unified. When people want to describe someone uttering words of heresy, they call him one who "chops down the saplings" - there is a sapling, from which a branch emerges, and everything is connected to the root, so there is no multiplicity; but he severs the branch, treating it as having an independent source of vitality unrelated to the root. That is multiplicity, and multiplicity is heresy, asserting that there are other independent powers in creation - yet there are no other powers, for everything stems from the same root. Holiness is the aspect of unity, and the Sitra Achra has no part or connection to peace.
"The Lord Will Bless His People with Peace" - This Is the Oral Torah
"And it is specifically with this that He blessed His people with peace, as it is written, 'The Lord will give strength to His people.'" "The Lord will give strength to His people" - this refers to the Written Torah; "the Lord will bless His people with peace" - this refers to the Oral Torah, which saved us from the disputes of the nations. For the nations claim that they are Israel: "Behold, the Torah is copied among us," they say; "behold, the Bible is in our hands, and we are the original Israel." Thus claimed Christianity, and thus it continues to claim to this day, as if God has forsaken us and they are the true successors.
Yet we say to them: Wait a moment; where is the explanation of everything written there to be found? With us. And if it is with you, why do you not hold the key? Come, unlock it and explain what is written here: "And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes" - what is bound? What is a "sign upon your hand"? Where is "between your eyes"? Where is "upon your hand"? There is not a single commandment in the Torah - as was already discussed when studying the Kuzari - that can be explained and defined in all its parameters without the Oral Torah. "You shall not murder" - what about a woman who aborts a pregnancy, is that murder? And if one pursues his fellow to kill him, and someone kills the pursuer, is that murder? Many questions can be raised to show that the Torah was given in an elliptical, concealed manner, and by necessity an accompanying work was given with it to explain what is written therein. Whoever holds the accompanying work holds the key, and whoever holds the key is the master of the house. Thus, the Oral Torah proves our authentic ownership of the Torah, demonstrating that we are the original People of Israel. And as was elaborated at length at the end of Parashat Ki Tisa regarding the Midrash in which Moses requested that the Mishnah also be written down, see there.
"Let Him Kiss Me with the Kisses of His Mouth" - From Mouth to Ear
יִשָּׁקֵנִי מִנְּשִׁיקוֹת פִּיהוּ כִּי־טוֹבִים דֹּדֶיךָ מִיָּיִן׃ (א, ב) - "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine." (1:2)
This is the meaning of "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth" - "His mouth" hints at the Oral Torah. The Written Torah was committed to writing, whereas the Oral Torah was not written down until the days of Rebbe (Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi), and everything was passed down orally, from mouth to ear. This is "the kisses of his mouth," for we received it directly, mouth to mouth, as Moshe Rabbeinu descended from Mount Sinai and transmitted the Oral Torah to us - and we who heard it from him are the original recipients.
That is to say, although the Written Torah is fundamentally greater than the Oral Torah and than all rabbinic enactments (Divrei Soferim), and we possess nothing equal to the Written Torah - nonetheless, Hashem magnified His kindness toward us by elevating the stature of the Oral Torah for our honor. We possess an advantage over all the nations in that the Oral Torah was entrusted specifically to us; and Hashem wished to elevate our stature, so He accorded the Oral Torah vastly greater weight. Not that it is intrinsically greater on its own, for that which emanated directly from His mouth, blessed be He, in the Written Torah is certainly of greater sanctity, but rather Hashem gave extra weight to the Oral Torah for our honor, and through it specifically did He seal the covenant with us. As the Sages taught in Gittin (60b): "The Holy One, blessed be He, made a covenant with Israel only for the sake of the Oral Torah." Indeed, the words of the Sages are even more beloved to Him than the words of the Torah itself.
And this is "for your love (dodecha) is better than wine" - the words of the beloved (dodim) are better than the wine of Torah, as it is written, "and drink of the wine I have mixed" (Mishlei 9:5). The "dodim" are the Sages, and the simple meaning of "dodecha" is your beloved ones, just as "dodi" means my beloved; and the Sages are the beloved of the Omnipresent. Their words are better than wine, which represents the foundation of the Torah, the Written Torah, as it is written, "and drink of the wine I have mixed" - the wine that the Holy One, blessed be He, mixed and poured.
"When Appeased by Their Wine"
Another explanation: "For your love is better than wine" - the words of the beloved Sages are pleasing when they are appeased by their wine, for they possess the mindset of their Creator and the mindset of the seventy elders of the Sanhedrin. That is, the words of Torah scholars are precious before the Omnipresent when they are mellowed by their wine and the inner secrets of Torah within them are revealed; and their being softened by wine is a praise for them.
So the Gemara states (Eruvin 65a): Rabbi Chanina said, whoever is appeased by his wine possesses the mindset of his Creator, as it is said, "And Hashem smelled the pleasing aroma" (Bereishit 8:21), and through this, as it were, His spirit was settled and He said, "I will not again curse the ground." And Rabbi Chiyya said: Whoever becomes settled in mind through his wine possesses the wisdom of the seventy elders - meaning the Sanhedrin - for yayin (wine) has the numerical value of seventy and sod (secret) has the numerical value of seventy; when wine enters, secrets emerge. Rashi explains that "appeased by his wine" means that people placate him and he becomes appeased when his heart is gladdened with wine. In the case of the Holy One, blessed be He, it was a pleasing aroma rather than wine, but "aroma is akin to drink," so it is regarded as though He were appeased by wine and placated.
It is told of the Steipler Gaon that on Purim he would drink to intoxication according to the halachah until he did not know (ad d'lo yada). When he became intoxicated, he turned into a flowing spring of Torah insights, and his mouth never ceased from study - even though the Chazon Ish advised him to refrain from this, feeling it was not fitting for his stature and dignity. From this we see how wine reveals one's inner essence: if an ordinary person drinks and begins to babble foolishness, it is the nonsense within him that has surfaced, as the wine brought it to the top. But for one whose inner essence is filled with words of Torah, the wine brings forth those words of Torah. This is the meaning of "when they are appeased by their wine," for through this they reveal the holy secrets stored within them.
"He Brought Me to the House of Wine" - Thirteen Vavin Turned to Love
הֱבִיאַנִי אֶל־בֵּית הַיָּיִן וְדִגְלוֹ עָלַי אַהֲבָה׃ (ב, ד) - "He brought me to the house of wine, and his banner over me was love." (2:4)
This is the deeper meaning of "He brought me to the house of wine, and his banner over me was love." In the eighth chapter of Sanhedrin (70a) we learn: Thirteen vavs (vavin) are stated in connection with wine, and all of them denote woe (vai). Where are they found? In Parashat Noach: "Vayachel Noach ish ha'adamah" (And Noach began, a man of the ground), "vayita kerem" (and planted a vineyard), "vayesht" (and drank), "vayishkar" (and became drunk), "vayitgal" (and uncovered himself), "vayar Cham avi Kena'an" (and Cham, the father of Canaan, saw), "vayaged lishnei echav" (and told his two brothers), "vayikach Shem vaYefet et hasimlah" (and Shem and Yefet took the garment), "vayassimu al shechem" (and placed it on their shoulders), "vayelechu achoranit" (and walked backward), "vayechassu" (and covered), "vayiketz" (and awoke), "vayeda" (and knew). This demonstrates that excessive drinking leads to woe, disgrace, and pain. Furthermore, the Sages taught (Yoma 76b): If one merits, it gladdens him; if he does not merit, it desolates him.
And what does it mean to "merit"? It means knowing how to drink in proper measure without losing one's mind; then, on the contrary, the wine sharpens the heart and mind, as the Gemara states, "Wine and fragrances made me wise" (Yoma 76b). Thus, all the negative consequences associated with wine drinkers are transformed into good when one drinks in the proper dosage and measure. Therefore, when Torah scholars are pleasantly uplifted by their wine and utter words of Torah, the thirteen vavs of woe are transformed for them into joy and love.
And this is "and his banner over me was love" (vediglo alai ahavah), for "love" (ahavah) has the numerical value of thirteen, corresponding to the thirteen cries of "woe" (vav): when I am enticed by my wine and reveal secrets of the Torah, it is a sign that "his banner over me was love" - that these words of the Sages are beloved, the exact opposite of the "woe" that follows improper drinking. One can also say that this is the dimension of "gladdens him" (mesammcho) - that those thirteen laments of woe are transformed into joy, love, and connection, instead of remaining in the category of "desolates him" (meshammo). An allusion to this can even be found within the word itself: "and his banner" (vediglo, ודגלו) - the letters vav, dalet, and gimel equal thirteen, the very thirteen that we saw earlier were so harmful, the thirteen cries of woe; while lo (לו, "to him"), for the one who is enticed by his wine for the good - "over me was love," for they are transformed into thirteen elements of joy and love.
When Are the Words of Love Pleasant?
The commentary concludes: When are the words of love pleasant? When they demonstrate within themselves the joy they feel in the Torah upon receiving it. This means that the essence of Torah study is when it is engaged in with joy. A person who learns with joy - first and foremost, he remembers what he learns. In contrast, it is said that "Doeg's Torah was only from the lips outward" (min hasafah velachutz). And it has been noted in jest: one who is worried (mud'ag, a play on Doeg) may read and recite, but if you ask him what he just said, he does not know, because his mind is preoccupied with falling stock prices. Doeg's Torah was from the lips outward; and it has likewise been observed: his Torah was merely from the mouth because he was stressed (lachutz, playing on velachutz) - he paid no attention to what he was saying, being anxious and troubled. It emerges, therefore, that specifically one who studies out of joy engages in study that is genuine and enduring.
In Summary:
Most of the Torah's dietary prohibitions pertain to meat, and from this it follows that an unlearned person (am ha'aretz) is forbidden to eat meat, since meat intensifies the force of the physical inclination; whereas a Torah scholar, for whom the Torah serves as an antidote to his inclination, is not only permitted but actually needs to eat meat, so that his mind will be clear to render halachic rulings and distinguish between the impure and the pure - "I have not eaten ox meat." From this emerge five reasons for eating meat on Shavuos: the victory over the angels through the argument of eating; the fact that the Torah was given to us specifically because we possess an evil inclination; the clarity of mind required for study on the day the Torah was given; the demonstration of joy that we accepted the Torah willingly - "there is no proof of joy except with a full belly"; and preparing the soul to comprehend intellectual concepts, as Rabbenu Bachya explains. From here we arrive at the explanation of the verses: "Which is Solomon's" (Asher liShlomo) - the King to Whom peace belongs, where all peace belongs entirely to the realm of holiness and the forces of impurity have no share in it, and with which He blessed His nation - this refers to the Oral Torah, which proves our ownership over the Torah against the claims of the nations; "May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth" - the Oral Torah, which was transmitted mouth to ear; "For your love is better than wine" - the words of the Sages, whose stature Hashem elevated and through which He sealed a covenant, and they are sweet and pleasant when one is enticed by his wine and reveals secrets of the Torah; and "and his banner over me was love" - the thirteen cries of woe that were transformed into thirteen elements of love and joy. And the foundation of it all: Torah is acquired through joy.