.יד Moshe's Burial Location

[2015]

It is somewhat ironic that while in my car this day, one of the songs that popped up on my stereo was Tzadikim by Yaakov Shwekey. You can hear it here. From my research, it appears the words come from the עין יעקב on our very דף and go as follows:

(א"ר חמא בר חנינא) מפני מה נסתתר קברו של משה מעיני בשר ודם, מפני שגלוי וידוע לפני הקב"ה שעתיד בית המקדש ליחרב ולהגלות את ישראל מארצם שמא יבואו לקבורתו של משה כאותה שעה ויעמדו בבכיה ויתחננו למשה ויאמרו לו משה רבינו עמוד בתפלה בעדנו ועומד משה ומבטל את הגזרה, מפני שחביבין צדיקים במיתתם יותר מבחייהם.

I happen to think it's a very nice song and the words are most intriguing. There's certainly much to discuss regarding praying to intermediaries but ... not now.

The Egyptian Holocaust

The end of the first פרק goes into great detail in expounding upon the פסוקים in the beginning of שמות. It is therefore appropriate to point you to an essay written by my good friend and scholar, David Farkas, entitled The Egyptian Holocaust, detailing the many chilling correlations between the machinations of פרעה thousands of years ago and those of Hitler and the Nazis, ימח שמם וזכרם.

.ה In the Right Time

ואם חוזר בו נאסף בזמנו כאברהם אבינו שנאמר והומכו ככל יקפצון כאברהם יצחק ויעקב דכתיב בהו בכל מכל כל

I am somewhat puzzled as to the exact meaning of נאסף בזמנו. Does it mean they will die in their proper time? If so, that is slightly troubling per the well-known רש"י in next week's  פרשה (כ"ה:כ"ט) which states that אברהם passed 5 years before his time so as not to see his grandchild stray from the path. Regarding יעקב as well, we are told that years were taken off his life. What, then, is the meaning?

.ב Did you see that?

דתניא רבי אומר למה נסמכה פרשת נזיר לפרשת סוטה לומר לך שכל הרואה סוטה בקלקולה יזיר עצמו מן היין

רש"י ד"ה בקלקולה. בניוולה ובבשתה שמנוולין אותה כדקתני מתני' (לקמן דף ז:) קושר חבל למעלה מדדיה:

This is just a minor pet peeve but I have encountered a number of individuals who seem to misunderstand the גמרא to be referring to someone who has seen a סוטה who fails the test and all the frightening consequences that follow. According to רש"י, at least, that is clearly not the case. This suggestion applies even to someone who witnesses an innocent סוטה who successfully drinks the water and survives. The exposure and public humiliation she endures is enough to suggest that the onlooker should withdraw himself from drinking wine.

.ב Bashert

אמר רב יהודה אמר רב ארבעים יום קודם יצירת הולד בת קול יוצאת ואומרת בת פלוני לפלוני

רש"י ד"ה מזווגין אשה לפי מעשיו. צנועה לצדיק ופרוצה לרשע:
תוספות ד"ה קודם יצירת הולד. נראה לרבי קודם יצירת הזכר בין אם לא נולדה הנקיבה עדיין בין אם נולדה:

A number of interesting observations here. First, it is interesting that the בת קול does not say פלונית לפלוני but rather בת פלוני לפלוני. One might suggest that the male is predestined to marry into a specific family but the exact identity of the daughter is not predestined. I find that to be kind of a stretch. I had thought, perhaps this is an indication that the husband should be older than the wife. In other words, the female is not identified directly because she is not yet conceived. תוספות here would seem to indicate otherwise. It is also intriguing, especially considering תוספות's approach that this declaration seems to be tied to the male. In a biblical world where males may marry more than one woman, the idea of destiny would seem more applicable to the female.

רש"י's comment, in its subtlety, is also quite telling. He does not say צנועה לצנוע or צדקת לצדיק. This would seem to be prime fodder for a schmooze on the relative roles of men and women. I don't think any elaboration is necessary at this point.

.ל"א The reading for מחר חדש

חל להיות באחד בשבת מאתמול מפטירין ויאמר לו יהונתן מחר חדש

Yehonasan tells David that tomorrow is Rosh Chodesh and there will be a seudah. (For a discussion on how exactly Yehonasan knew it would be Rosh Chodesh since it was based on testimony, see AstroTorah.) They devise a whole plan to confirm whether Shaul still bears mortal enmity towards David. R' Shimon Schwab, in Maayan Beis HaShoeiva, is bothered, is it only because of the fact that Yehonasan mentions the words machar chodesh that we read this haftara? Surely there is a greater reason to push aside the regular haftara in favour of this one. 

Rav Schwab explains that Yehonasan's intentions in telling David not to escape until after the seudah of Rosh Chodesh were because Rosh Chodesh, as the moon enters a new cycle around the Earth, symbolizes a time of renewal, on opportunity for repentance and atonement. Yehonasan was telling David to wait and see if Rosh Chodesh will possibly have this positive effect on Shaul and he will change his mind. Therefore, we read this haftara to impress upon the masses this important aspect of Rosh Chodesh. Additionally, Rosh Chodesh is a time destined for geula which is why we recite in Mussaf, Mizbeach chadash b'Tzion tachin. And if Moshiach doesn't come, we are left wondering "why has ben Yishai not come, not yesterday and not today" (20:27, apasuk in the haftara.) The Navi remarks, vayipaked mekom David, David's place was vacant, an allusion to the fact that we, too, are lacking the presence of ben Yishai. And just as it was gratuitous hatred that caused David's absence from the party, it is exactly that that causes Moshiach to be absent today.

.ל"א What to read on חנוכה

בחנוכה בנשיאים ומפטירין בנרות דזכריה ואי מיקלעי שתי שבתות קמייתא בנרות דזכריה בתרייתא בנרות שלמה

If you had to choose which of these two הפטרות were more directly pertinent, which would you intuitively choose? Would it not be the מנורות of שלמה? After all, they do speak of actual מנורות in the בית המקדש whereas זכריה speaks only of a מנורה he saw in a dream. And wouldn't the "אחרונים" defer to the "ראשונים"? Why then is the הפטרה of זכריה given precedence and we only read that of שלמה if we have to שבתות חנוכה?

Perhaps there is more to the הפטרה of זכריה. On חנוכה we are not just celebrating the נס of the מנורה but also השם delivering us from the hands of the mighty Syrian Greeks who sought to completely destroy Judaism. The נבואה of זכריה foretells the eventual return to ירושלים and rebuilding of the second בית המקדש following the 70 bitter years of גלות בבל. Therein lies the message to never lose hope even in the darkest of days for השם's salvation is just around the corner, a pertinent theme indeed for חנוכה. 

.ט"ו Magic Number 48

ואמר ר"א אמר רבי חנינא כל האומר דבר בשם אומרו מביא גאולה לעולם שנאמר ותאמר אסתר למלך בשם מרדכי

This idea appears (anonymously, ironically) in פרקי אבות ו:ו as the very last of the 48 ways in which תורה is acquired. 48 - that should sound like a familiar number. Indeed, on .י"ד the גמרא declared that there were 48 נביאים. And according to רש"י's enumeration, #48 was none other than מרדכי!

.י"ד The Most Effective Rebuke

אמר רבי אבא בר כהנא גדולה הסרת טבעת יותר מארבעים ושמונה נביאים ושבע נביאות שנתנבאו להן לישראל שכולן לא החזירום למוטב ואילו הסרת טבעת החזירתן למוטב

This is one of my favourite shtikles. I usually just link back to the original but in this case I'll reinsert instead:

At first glance, this passage seems to be delivering a very simple message. Actions speak louder than words. בני ישראל were never able to internalize the messages of the prophets and act upon them accordingly. But when they saw their imminent extermination before their very eyes, they knew there was only one answer.

But there is a grave difficulty with this approach. The rebukes of the נביאים were indeed ignored, on the whole. But the destruction of בית המקדש did not happen overnight. There were many events that led to its destruction, many steps along the way where בני ישראל ought to have taken heed more so than they did to the mere words of the prophets. So one can understand why אחשורוש's actions sent a stronger message than the rebukes of the prophets. But what about the siege on ירושלים? What about the breeching of the walls? In what way were they less inspiring than the removal of the ring.

To establish a direction on this, we must consider the מהרש"א's commentary on the above passage. He asks why the removal of the ring is singled out by the גמרא. After all, it could simply have stated that the המן's evil decree was greater than the prophets. What is the true significance of the removal of the ring? He answers that when a purchase is made between two parties, it is common for the buyer to make a deposit to ensure the seller of his commitment to the transaction. In this case, the buyer would have been המן. He was "acquiring" the king's consent and approval for his evil plan. And yet, it was אחשורו who gave his ring to המן. This gesture showed אחשורוש's true feelings towards the Jews and המן's plan. It was more content than consent, as if he was now asking המן to carry it out, not allowing it. With the supreme ruler of the inhabited world against them, the Jews realized they were doomed.

With this important point, we can suggest an approach to answer our question above. The prophets' warnings and calls for repentance leading up to the destruction of the בית המקדש were all during a time when בני ישראל were an autonomous nation in their homeland. They were facing invasion and incursion from forces from the outside. Even when נבוכדנצר was banging down the doors and ירושלים was ready to fall, this position gave them the false hope to believe that somehow they could simply beat back the invading forces. They were therefore unable to appreciate the true urgency and necessity for תשובה.

The circumstances were vastly different during the era of אסתר. They were strangers in a strange land. They didn't have their own leaders, their own army or their own land. They were fully aware that they were at the whim of their rulers. When they saw that the supreme ruler was bent on their destruction, they knew there was simply nothing they could possibly do - except תשובה!

This is, of course, a very important and prevalent lesson today. We certainly need an army as any other country does. We even need to invest in the Iron Dome and pursue the protection of our nation in every normal way. We simply cannot rely on these institutions and believe that everything will be okay because they are in place. We must understand that is השם who grants triumph to these endeavours and it is our תפלה and תשובה that fuels their continued success.

.י"ג Weight a Minute

אם על המלך טוב יכתב לאבדם ועשרת אלפים ככר כסף וגו' אמר ריש לקיש גלוי וידוע לפני מי שאמר והיה העולם שעתיד המן לשקול שקלים על ישראל לפיכך הקדים שקליהן לשקליו והיינו דתנן באחד באדר משמיעין על השקלים ועל הכלאים

תוס' ט"ז. ד"ה דחי עשרה אלפי ככרי כספא. שמעתי שעשרה אלפי ככר כסף עולין חצי שקל לכל אחד מישראל שהיו שש מאות אלף כשיצאו ממצרים ואמר שיתן לאחשורוש כל פדיונם (ה) ודוק ותשכח:

A fascinating piece attempting to unlock the mystery of this תוספות.
(Get out your calculators.)

.י"ג Provincial Beauty II

ותהי אסתר נשאת חן [בעיני כל ראיה] אר"א מלמד שלכל אחד ואחד נדמתה לו כאומתו

What is the גמרא getting at here? From where do we see that the פסוק would insinuate such a miracle? Is it not possible that she simply found favour in everyone's eyes? The גמרא is conveying a very simple idea. אחשורוש ruled over the entire world. The capital was most certainly populated by people from all nationalities and walks of life, each with their own standards of beauty and pleasantness based on the culture of their homeland. It was therefore unfathomable that all of these individuals would each have a similarly favourable opinion of אסתר. Therefore, by means of a miracle, she appeared to each and every person as one of their own.

A woman recently explored this phenomenon in an intriguing 21^st century way. She took a simple picture of herself and then commissioned individuals from all walks of life all over the world to digitally beautify her. As expected, the results were staggeringly diverse each reflecting the artists own definition of beauty as influenced by their local society.

.י"ג Provisional Beauty

ר' יהושע בן קרחה אמר אסתר ירקרוקת היתה וחוט של חסד משוך עליה

So, אסתר was not the most beautiful woman in the land? What would compel ר' יהושע בן קרחה to say that? The גר"א brilliantly points out that in the discussion (:בבא בתרא ט"ו) of what era the character איוב lived (if at all) ר' יהושע בן קרחה's opinion is that he lived in the time of אחשורוש. And it says (איוב מ"ב:ט"ו) that איוב's daughters were the most beautiful in the entire land. Therefore, according to ר' יהושע בן קרחה it could not possibly be that אסתר was the most beautiful. Certainly, there was some special Divine Providence at play here.

.י"ב Delayed Response?

שאלו תלמידיו את רשב"י מפני מה נתחייבו שונאיהן של ישראל שבאותו הדור כליה... אמר להם מפני שהשתחוו לצלם

רש"י ד"ה שהשתחוו לצלם. בימי נבוכדנצר:

As I have previously written in a פורים shtikle, there are two difficulties with this, both of which stem fro the simple historical fact that Nevuchadnezzar's reign was many decades before the story of Purim. As we know from the previous דף, Nevuchadnezzar reigned approximately 26 years after the חורבן. If they deserved to be destroyed, why did it take so long for this punishment to (almost) be meted out? Furthermore, this generation was not the one that sinned in the days of Nevuchadnezzar. Why does the גמרא list this as the reason why the Jews of that generation deserved to be destroyed?

I do not have a definite, clear approach to this but perhaps part of the answer may lie in the ensuing exchange:

אמרו לו וכי משוא פנים יש בדבר אמר להם הם לא עשו אלא לפנים אף הקב"ה לא עשה עמהן אלא לפנים

While רש"י explains they were asking why they merited the miracle and being saved from the evil decree, perhaps they were also asking why the punishment was so delayed. Perhaps the Jews in the time of Nevuchadnezzar were excused due to the extreme duress and circumstances of their transgressions. As the story of the מגילה begins, the Jews were certainly enjoying more relaxed treatment and perhaps they were not showing an adequate desire to abandon the practices of the previous generation.

:י"א The Man Who's Been Through It All

אמר איהו מיטעא טעי אנא חשיבנא ולא טעינא מי כתיב למלכות בבל לבבל כתיב מאי לבבל לגלות בבל כמה בצירן תמני חשיב ועייל חילופייהו חדא דבלשצר וחמש דדריוש וכורש ותרתי דידיה הא שבעין כיון דחזי דמלו שבעין ולא איפרוק אמר השתא ודאי תו לא מיפרקי אפיק מאני דבי מקדשא ואשתמש בהו בא שטן וריקד ביניהן והרג את ושתי והא שפיר חשיב איהו נמי מיטעא טעי דאיבעי ליה למימני מחרבות ירושלים

As I was going through this I had a thought about a פסוק at the beginning of the מגילה.

אֲשֶׁר הָגְלָה מִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִם הַגֹּלָה אֲשֶׁר הָגְלְתָה עִם יְכָנְיָה מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה אֲשֶׁר הֶגְלָה נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל

One might ask why this extensive introduction is necessary? This does give us an insight into מרדכי's approximate age. And perhaps it is noteworthy that he went through the גלות of Nevuchadnezzar. But we are also told that he was with the גלות of יכניה. But after all the above calculations, we understand that the story begins 70 years after the first exile, that of יכניה. (Well, a little less than 70 years as we soon find out.) That's why it is significant that מרדכי was part of the first exile, not the second and this is what positions מרדכי to be the leader that he was. He had already endured almost 70 years of exile. He could sense that the end was near. His yearning for the impending redemption was one that could not be fully experienced or appreciated by a younger Jew from a later generation.

:כ"ז Similar Raffles

וחלקום והעמידום על עשרים וארבעה בללום ונתנום בקלפי בא ידעיה ונטל חלקו וחלק חבריו שש בא [חרים] ונטל חלקו וחלק חבריו שש וכן פשחור וכן אימר

How fitting that this גמרא falls out in פרשת פינחס. In an installment of על פי חשבון, I attempted to calculate the probability of the Divinely "rigged" גורל falling out exactly like it did. So, then, what would be the odds of this one coming out like it did without the obvious Divine intervention?

I have to admit, I'm not sure I fully understand the exact process and exactly who picked what. I also have not investigated the מפרשים sufficiently. So I will keep it as simple as possible. Therefore, we will assume that the one picked for each משמר did not have to pick the name of the משמר first. In other words, ידעיה picked first. He came up with 6 names, all of which belonged to the ידעיה family but one was actually named ידעיה. Let us assume that he picked all 6 at the same time*. Using simple nCr notation, there would be ₂₄C₆ different possible combinations for ידעיה. For the uninitiated, that is simply a fancy way of expressing the following: 24! / (24-6)! x 6! Simply put, the different possible combinations ar

24 x 23 x 22 x 21 x 20 x 19

6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1

The reason we have to divide by 6 x 5 x 4...  is because order doesn't matter, so there are that many different combination which are essentially one in the same.

I probably have not sufficiently explained the above concept for those who are not familiar but if we move on, I believe the probability can be expressed thusly:

1

24C6 x 18C6 x 12C6

The probability of the final group is essentially 1 since there are only those 6 tickets left so we really only need examine the probability of the first three groups. That computes to

1

134596 x 18564 x 924

Which is 1 in 2,308,743,493,056. Although both this and the גורל of פינחס both involved 24 tickets, since this one was drawn in groups of 6, the probability is in fact nearly 100,000 greater than that of פינחס. Nevertheless, as was discussed in my parallel calculation of פינחס, the odds would still be close those of getting fatally hit by lightning twice in one year! Again, this is a veritable testimony to the extent of the miracle that occurred and the Divinity of the raffle.

*Well I just looked a little deeper into this.:רש"י ערכין י"ב explains that the raffle happened exactly the way I just assumed that it didn't. So first the head of the משמר picked his own name and then the other 5. This complicated things slightly. The probability would therefore be:

1

24 x 23C5 x 18 x 17C5 x 12 x 11C5

Which - let's just skip to the end - is 1 in 498,688,594,500,096, or over 200 times less probable than originally thought.

You want to simplify all this? According to רש"ש, there was nothing particularly miraculous going on here at all. There were in fact 4 separate raffles of 6 whereby each of the 4 משמרות would draw to determine the order of their respective subdivisions.

.כ"ב Righteous Clowns

אתו הנך תרי אתי א"ל הנך נמי בני עלמא דאתי נינהו אזל לגבייהו אמר להו מאי עובדייכו אמרו ליה אינשי בדוחי אנן מבדחינן עציבי

For those who are not aware, there is actually a troupe of medical clowns in Israel. They are not simply trained as clowns, they are trained as clowning therapists and operate in most of the hospitals to help cheer people up. This גמרא leaves little doubt as to their portion in the World to Come.

Check them out

ירידת הדורות ט

The גמרא discusses the various reasons for the destruction of the משכן and בתי מקדש as well as the level of severity of each. It is interesting to note a nuance in this discussion which is not discussed explicitly. There is a definite progression in the "literal" nature of the critical offenses. 

Let me explain by starting with the בית שני. There we are told that שנאת חינם was the culprit. As we all know, it was pure, unadulterated שנאת חינם.

The בית ראשון was because of the ג' חמורות. But what exactly was the גילוי עריות? The גמרא explains that it refers to immodest conduct on the part of בנות ישראל. They conducted themselves in such a way as to incite the יצר הרע. It stops well short of stating that actual ג"ע was rampant.

The conduct of בני עלי in the time of the משכן is yet an even more far-fetched classification of גילוי עריות. What I believe this nuance is indicating is the degree to which הקב"ה is מדקדק throughout the generations. The generation of משכן שילה was on a much higher level and therefore judged with much greater scrutiny, ultimately being punished for something which only remotely resembled גילוי עריות. As the generations progressed, more explicit transgressions were needed to mete out justice. 

:ט Let the Building bear witness

שאלו את רבי אלעזר: ראשונים גדולים, או אחרונים גדולים? אמר להם: תנו עיניכם בבירה. איכא דאמרי, אמר להם: עידיכם בירה

I found this exchange most intriguing. The גמרא is comparing the merits of the generations that saw the destruction of each בית המקדש. The consensus seems to be that the fact the בית המקדש has not been rebuilt, in contrast to the relatively short initial exile of 70 years, is proof of the greater merit of the earlier generations.

We are taught (actually ירושלמי in this פרק)

כל דור שאינו נבנה בימיו מעלין עליו כאילו הוא החריבו

It would seem that the responsibility for bringing the בית המקדש back would lie in the hands of the subsequent generations in exile. Yet, the גמרא seems to tie it back to the generation in which it was destroyed. I suppose one support for this could be that the prophecy of the 70-year exile was already given to ירמיהו כ"ט:י. The גמרא must understand that it was due to the merit of the generation of the destruction that an expiry was put on the ensuing exile from the very beginning, whereas as no such favour was granted the second time.

:קמז Diumsis

רבי אלעזר בן ערך איקלע להתם אימשיך בתרייהו איעקר תלמודיה כי הדר אתא קם למיקרי בספרא בעא למיקרא החדש הזה לכם אמר החרש היה לבם בעו רבנן רחמי עליה והדר תלמודיה

I heard the following from my Zadie, R’ Chayim Yaakov Bulka, ז"ל:

In parshas Bo, (12:2) B'nei Yisrael are given their first mitzvah as a nation, the mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh. This mitzvah deals, in general, with the setting of our calendar. It vests in the Sanhedrin and those empowered by the Sanhedrin, the authority to intercalate months or years (i.e. determine the length of the month or the occurrence of a leap year). The complex calculations and procedures pertaining to intercalation are called "Sod haIbur." As the word "sod," secret, implies, this is part of the deeper realms of Torah.

The above gemara relates a story about the dangerously mystical powers of the wines of Prugaisa and waters of Diumsis. The great Rabbi Elazar ben Arach visited these wonders and was overcome and forgot his learning. When he returned, he got up to read the aforementioned pasuk. Instead of reading "HaChodesh hazeh lachem," this month shall be for you, he switched the dalet for a reish, the zayin for a yud, the chuf for a beis and misread, "hacheireish hayah libam," and their hearts were deafened and muted. The Rabbis prayed for him and he returned to his normal self. Nevertheless, it is quite shocking for such a notable sage to be overcome to such an extent. Is it possible that R' Elazar was so deeply influenced that he forgot how to read an elementary pasuk?

This mysterious performance of R' Elazar may, perhaps, be explained by referring to a beautiful explanation by the Gaon of Vilna. The pasuk (Yeshayah 6:10) says "Make the heart of the people fat, make their ears heavy and smear over their eyes; lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and return..." The pasuk, referring to the sealing off of the path of repentance, starts off with the heart, then the ears and then the eyes but continues backwards from the eyes, then the ears then the heart.

The GR"A explains that eyes, ears and heart correspond respectively to Torah ShebiChsav, the Written Tradition, Torah SheBa'al Peh, the Oral Tradition, and Sodos HaTorah, the deep secrets of the Torah . The study of Torah ShebiChsav and Torah SheBa'al Peh, will ultimately lead to understanding of Sodos HaTorah. The neglect of Torah study will first deprive an understanding of Sodos HaTorah, to be followed by forgeting of Torah SheBa’al Peh and finally, even Torah ShebiChsav will no longer be comprehensible. However, if diligent and continuous study is resumed again, first the eyes will begin the study of the Written Tradition, followed by careful and concentrated attention with the ears to the Oral Tradition and, eventually, by persistent study, the heart will regain the ability to penetrate and comprehend the deep secrets of Torah.

We can assume that R’ Elazar ben Arach, the "ma'ayan hamisgabeir," (Avos 2:8) did not forget the Written and Oral traditions. However, by reading "Their hearts were deafened," he made a personal statement, a cry for help. This pasuk, "HaChodesh hazeh lachem," which commands us to put into practice the Sodos HaTorah, was now beyond his reach. By allowing himself to be drawn to the wines of Prugaisa and waters of Diumsis, his heart became deafened and no longer had the capacity to comprehend Sodos HaTorah, including Sod HaIbur. The rabbis answered his outcry and prayed for him and his mastery of Sodos HaTorah was returned to him.

:קי"ב Angels and Donkeys and Everything in Between

אמר ר' זירא אמר רבא בר זימונא אם ראשונים בני מלאכים אנו בני אנשים ואם ראשונים בני אנשים אנו כחמורים ולא כחמורו של ר' חנינא בן דוסא ושל רבי פנחס בן יאיר אלא כשאר חמורים

The following is from a הספד delivered by R' Yaakov Weinberg, זצ"ל at the end of the שבעה for R' Ruderman, זצ"ל.

 R' Weinberg explains that we all appreciate that the previous generations were on a much higher spiritual level than we are. This is not the message the גמרא is trying to convey. The גמרא is not coming to give a comparison. Rather, the גמרא is teaching us that one who looks upon the ראשונים as sons of angels, he has the status of a בן אדם. This is the way a normal person should view the ראשונים.  However, if we look at the ראשונים  as simple בני אדם, we are lowering ourselves to donkeys. Why donkeys? The pasuk (ישעיה א:ג) states יָדַע שׁוֹר קֹנֵהוּ וַחֲמוֹר אֵבוּס בְּעָלָיו, The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master's trough. The ox is an animal that knows his owner and therefore appreciates where his food is coming from. The donkey, however, knows only his master's trough. He knows where to get the food, but he does not recognize its source. Therefore, one who views the ראשונים as mere בני אדם is cutting himself off from the previous generations and although he may be thoroughly well-versed in תורה, he has no appreciation of where it has come from and who has passed it down to him. Thus, he is like a donkey. [And not like the donkey of ר' פנחס בן יאיר who recognized his owner but like other donkeys.]