Shemini

The Mishna writes Rav Chananya ben Akashya teaches, “Hashem wanted to give Yisrael merit and therefore increased for them Torah and mitzvos, as the passuk states, ‘ה’ חפץ למען צדקו יגדיל תורה ויאדיר.’” Rashi explains Hashem wanted to give Yisrael reward by holding back from doing aveiros, therefore, He gave extra mitzvos such as not eating shekatzim and remasim. People are disgusted by these things so either way they would not eat them; these mitzvos were given in order to bring reward.

The Gaon Yaakov writes that a person naturally would not eat these things. If there would be no mitzvah and he won’t eat these things then he would remain the same; he would not gain anything. However, now that Hashem did give us the mitzvah of not eating bugs or flies, when one doesn’t eat them, he acquires a special holiness and thereby strengthens his nefesh. This is the zechus that Hashem wanted to give us by commanding us not to eat tamei things. Hashem wants to sanctify us, and although we wouldn’t eat it anyway, now we become uplifted and holy!

Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman asks: How is it possible to get reward for not eating something, if he wouldn’t eat it anyway since it is disgusting to him? He offers mashal to explain this. If one would have a cup of blood with poison in it in front of him, why wouldn’t he drink it? Obviously, he wouldn’t even think of drinking the liquid because of the poison; not because it is disgusting. So too, Hashem wanted to give us extra mitzvos and gave us the law of not eating blood. Now we need to view the blood as if it is poison and we should hold back from eating it because Hashem told us, as though it is poison, and not because we wouldn’t have eaten it anyway. This is as Chazal say: A person shouldn’t say “I don’t want to eat chazir” but rather “I want to, but Hashem my Father in Shamayim commanded me not to.” One needs to not eat things that are assur because of Hashem’s decree!

Tana D’bei Eliyahu writes: Hashem said if I would have only brought Yisrael up from Mitzrayim to keep the mitzvah of not being metamei to shratzim i.e. not eating them, it would be enough. This lav seems to be similar to other lavin. Rav Bergman explains that since Yisrael don’t eat these things only because Hashem said not to, not because it is disgusting either way, if so this is a special acceptance of ol malchus Shamayim!

May we accept upon ourselves all the mitzvos and become holier and more attached to Hashem!