This week's divrei Torah are being sponsored in thanks to Hashem for the birth of a

baby boy to Moshe and Chana Tzipora Raanan. In the merit of people learning the divrei
Torah of Zera Shimshon, Hashem should help the newborn to enter the bris of Avraham
Avinu in the right time and to become a ben Torah, go under the Chuppa and do many
righteous acts

Parshas Bamidbar
(‫א‬/‫ (במדבר א‬:‫ַו ְידַ בֵּ ר יְ ֹדוָד אֶ ל משֶ ה בְ ִמדְ בַ ר סִ ינַי בְ אֹ הֶ ל מֹו ֵּעד בְ אֶ חָ ד ַל ֹחדֶ ש הַ שֵּ ִני בַ שָ נָה הַ שֵּ נִ ית לְ צֵּ אתָ ם מֵּ אֶ ֶרץ ִמצְ ַריִ ם לֵּאמֹ ר‬
The Medrash comments on the opening possuk in our ancient nations that refused to accept the Torah were
parsha, "And Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Desert of punished for their refusal to accept the Torah or not.
Sinai...", "This possuk can be understood according to the According to Rav Chisda and Rabba the son of Rav
possuk in Tehillim, 'Your (Hashem's) judgement is Hunna, Hashem only looked down upon them, while
(harsh) like the deep waters'. according to Rebbi Avuha these nations were eventually
destroyed because of their refusal.
Zera Shimshon asks, firstly, what was bothering the
Medrash that the possuk, 'Your (Hashem's) judgement is Step two. Zera Shimshon suggests that this machlokes is
(harsh) like the deep waters' answered? And secondly, based on another machlokes if Bnei Yisroel accepted the
how does this possuk answer that question? Torah under duress or willingly. Tosfos in Shabbos (88a)
asks a question; On the one hand it is written in the
Zera Shimshon gives a two-step explanation.
Gemara that Hashem overturned Har Sinai and placed it
Step one: The dessert where the Torah was given is above the heads of Bnei Yisroel and threatened that if
sometimes called Sinai and sometimes it is called Chorev. they would not accept the Torah, Bnei Yisroel would die
The Gemara in Shabbos (89a-b) quotes a machlokes what and be buried in that place. However, it is also written
is its actual name. that the day before Bnei Yisroel received the Torah, on
Rav Chisda and Rabba the son of Rav Hunna maintain that the fifth of Sivan, Bnei Yisroel proclaimed "we will do
the actual name is Chorev. The Torah refers to the area as and will obey" (naaseh v'nishmah). If Bnei Yisroel agreed
Sinai because Hashem detested the ancient idolatrous to do all the mitzvos even before they heard them, why
nations of the world who refused to accept the Torah (the did Hashem have to force them to accept the Torah?
Hebrew word for detesting is sinna). Tosfos answers; although Bnei Yisroel initially accepted
Rebbi Avuha argues and maintains that its actual name is the Torah, Hashem was concerned that when Bnei
Sinai. The Torah refers to it as Chorev because the Yisroel will see the fire at the time of the actual giving of
ancient idolatrous nations of the world who did not the Torah they will become scared and will back down
accept the Torah were punished by eventually being from their decision. Hashem therefore forced them to
destroyed (the Hebrew word for "destroy" is chorov). accept the Torah. According to Tosfos, Bnei Yisroel did
not willingly accept the Torah until many years later at
The Ri'f (a commentary on Ain Yaakov) explains; the the time of Mordechai and Esther in Shushan Habirah.
difference between these two opinions is whether the
The Medrash Tanchuma answers this contradiction mountain that is there) in accordance with Rebbi Avuha's
differently. Bnei Yisroel accepted the Written Law position. The Medrash can only conclude from this possuk
willfully and they never changed their mind about this. that Sinai is the desert’s actual name but not from other
However, they only accepted the Written Law. It was the pesukim that speak about this Desert. The reason for this
Oral Law that Hashem forced them to accept. is because in those places the Torah is speaking about the
mitzvos. At the time of giving of the Torah this area is
Zera Shimshon explains that Rav Chisda and Rabbah the
referred to as Sinai even if it was not its actual name,
son of Rav Huna, hold like the Medrash Tanchuma- that
therefore the Torah calls the desert Sinai whenever the
Bnei Yisroel accepted the Torah and never changed their
Torah speaks about mitzvos.
mind. Since it was always in the possession of Bnei
Yisroel, the Nations of the World did not get a second However here, when the area is mentioned in connection
chance to receive it, so they do not deserve to be with the census, totally independent of any mitzvos, can
destroyed. However, Rebbi Avuha holds like Tosfos that the Medrash conclude that this is its actual name.
Bnei Yisroel reneged on their acceptance of the Torah so
Since Sinai is the desert’s actual name then, like we
it was "up for grabs" for many years. Since the Nations of
wrote above, it is also called Chorev since Hashem
the World did not try to accept the Torah during all of
judged the nations to be destroyed. The Medrash was
those years Hashem ruled that they must be destroyed.
therefore bothered why did Hashem judge the nations so
According to this the Zera Shimshon explains the harshly?
Medrash we opened with in the following way.
The Medrash answers this question by quoting the possuk
The Medrash understood by the fact that the Torah called 'Your (Hashem's) judgement is (severe) like the deep
this area the “Desert of Sinai” and not the “Desert of waters' which teaches that sometimes, Hashem's
Chorev” that this is the actual name of the area (and the punishment can be very severe.
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:‫וַיְ דַ בֵּ ר יְ ֹדוָד אֶ ל משֶ ה ְב ִמ ְדבַ ר ִסינַי ְבאֹ הֶ ל מֹועֵּ ד ְבאֶ חָ ד ַלחֹדֶ ש הַ שֵּ נִ י בַ שָ נָה הַ שֵּ נִ ית לְ צֵּ אתָ ם מֵּ אֶ ֶרץ ִמצְ ַריִ ם לֵּאמֹר‬
)‫י"ח‬,‫א‬/‫וְ אֵּ ת כָל הָ עֵּ דָ ה הִ קְ ִהילּו ְבאֶ חָ ד ַלחֹדֶ ש הַ שֵּ נִ י וַיִ ְתיַלְ דּו עַ ל ִמ ְשפְ ֹחתָ ם לְ בֵּ ית אֲ ֹבתָ ם ְב ִמ ְספַ ר שֵּ מֹות ִמבֶ ן עֶ ְש ִרים שָ נָה וָמַ עְ לָה לְ גֻלְ גְ ֹלתָ ם (במדבר א‬

Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Sinai Desert, in the Tent of Meeting on the first day of the second month, in the second year
after the exodus from the land of Mitzrayim, saying.... They assembled the entire community on the first day of the second
month and (all the people) were registered by ancestry according to their paternal families. (Bamidbar 1/1,18)

When Clal Yisroel received the Torah the nations of the Zera Shimshon asks, firstly, what is the difficulty that
world were full of envy and protested to Hashem, "What the Medrash comes to resolve? Secondly, the fact
right does Clal Yisroel have to receive the Torah more that Hashem silenced the Nations of the World and didn't
than the other nations?" Hashem silenced them and told just ignore their claim implies that there is some validity
them, "Bring Me your Book of Ancestry... just as My to their argument that Bnei Yisroel don't deserve to
children brought their Book of Ancestry and were receive the Torah. What fault did they see in Bnei
counted accordingly." It is for this reason that Bnei Yisroel that could be an obstacle to the receiving of
Yisroel were counted in the beginning of the Sefer the Torah?
Bamidbar immediately after the possuk "these are the
He explains that the Medrash was bothered by the fact
mitzvos that Hashem commanded" (the last possuk in
that it is mentioned in the possuk that the census took
Vayikra) because it is only through their pure ancestry
place in the "Sinai Desert". This seems to be superfluous.
that they received the Torah. (Yalkut Shimoni remez
Since the date of the counting is mentioned, we can
684)
easily calculate ourselves that at that time they were in
the Sinai Desert so why did the Torah mention it?
The Medrash answers that the mentioning of Sinai Desert
isn't something "by the way". It is alluding to the fact that
it was in the merit of the census and that Bnei
Yisroel brought proof of their ancestry did Hashem gave
the Torah at Sinai. How is this?
The Nations of the World came before Hashem with two
reasons why Bnei Yisroel don't deserve to receive
the Torah.
Firstly, Bnei Yisroel's declaration of "we will do and we
will listen", naaseh v'nishma, they claimed, was not pure
and it was not a sign of subjugation to Hashem but rather
they proclaimed it to give themselves a sense of self
worth! Yaakov was Eisav's younger brother and felt
alone and despised between the other nations. They
argued that Bnei Yisroel proclaimed "we will do and we
will listen", naaseh v'nishma, only to show that they are
significant. The Nations of the World argued that a
nation that accepted the Torah to build their own ego
don't deserve the Torah.
Their second argument was the fact that Bnei
Yisroel acted differently than the other nations and
accepted the Torah shows that they are bold and
arrogant. A nation with such a trait like chutzpah doesn't
deserve the Torah.
-----------------------------------------------------------------3-----------------------------------------------------------------
)‫מה‬/‫ (במדבר ג‬:‫קַ ח אֶ ת הַ לְ וִ ִים תַ חַ ת כָל בְ כֹור בִ בְ נֵּי יִ ְש ָראֵּ ל וְ אֶ ת בֶ הֱמַ ת הַ לְ וִ יִ ם תַ חַ ת בְ הֶ ְמתָ ם וְ הָ יּו לִ י הַ לְ וִ יִ ם ֲא ִני יְ ֹדוָד‬
It is written in Sefer Bamidbar (3/45) "Take the Leviim
in place of every firstborn of Bnei Yisroel..." The
Medrash Rabah (Bamidbar Rabah 4/6) asks; why did
Hashem command to redeem the holiness of the first
born Jewish boys by substituting the Leviim in their
place? The Medrash answers; in the earlier generations of
the world, the first born was the one who offered
sacrifices to Hashem. Adam Harishon offered sacrifices
since he was the first born of the world; he even wore the
special clothing of the Kohanim. When Adam was about
to die he passed this duty to Shais. Shais passed the duty
down to Misushelach, Misushelach to Noach and Noach
to Shaim.
Hashem immediatly silenced them because even though
on the surface they seem to be valid arguments, on a
deeper level they are wrong.
Hashem told them to bring their Book of Ancestry
because there it says that Eisav sold the birthright
to Yaakov and therefore HE become the older brother so
there is no reason for him to prove himself.
Secondly, in the Book of Ancestry we find why Bnei
Yisroel are perfectly fit to receive the Torah. In that Book
it is written that their ancestry is pure and pure ancestry
produces strong people. Strength is essential to learn and
to keep the Torah.
The purity of Bnei Yisroel's lineage is also the counter
argument to the claim that Bnei Yisroel's boldness doesn't
go "hand in hand" with the Torah.
Rebuking people who do things wrong is a vital part of
keeping Clal Yisroel on track. However it isn't so easy
because the wrong doer will try to deflect the criticism by
claiming that the one criticizing has tainted lineage (like
we find concerning Pinchus and Zimri).
Therefore, Bnei Yisroel who have the boldness to rebuke
plus they have pure lineage so the one doing wrong will
more easily accept the rebuke are the perfect nation to
receive the Torah!
Why did Noach pass this duty on to Shaim? Shaim was
not a first born, Yeffes was! The Medrash answers; the
duty to offer sacrifices was given to Shaim because our
forefathers (Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov) would be
his descendants.
From this Medrash we see that from the beginning of
mankind a first born already had a special holiness.
Zera Shimshon asks about a possuk that seemingly
contradicts this.
In Parshas Beha'aloscha (Bamidbar 8/17) it is written;
"For every firstborn of Bnei Yisroel, man as well as
animal, is Mine; I sanctified them to Myself on the day
that I struck every firstborn in the land of Mitzrayim".
This possuk implies that firstborns were sanctified in
Mitzrayim 2468 years after the creation of the world; at
the time when Hashem killed the Egyptian firstborns and
Bnei Yisroel were on their way out of Mitzrayim. The
question is, when did the firstborns become holy; at the
beginning of Creation or when Bnei Yisroel left
Mitzrayim?
his siblings. However, when Chava sinned and ate from
the fruit of the Eitz Hadaas (Tree of Wisdom) in Gan
Eden, she put many impurities into herself. At that time,
the firstborn lost their special status because at the time
of their births they would absorb these impurities of their
mother. From that time on, which was everyone born
after Adam Harishon, there was actually no difference
between the firstborn and a subsequent child born.

Zera Shimshon answers by first explaining another Things changed after the enslavement and affliction in
Medrash. Mitzrayim. The commentators explain that the pain and
suffering Bnei Yisroel experienced was the beginning of
In the beginning of Parshas Shemos, Hashem told
a cleansing process to rid mankind of the "poison" which
Moshe, return to Mitzrayim and tell Pharaoh to send Bnei
had entered Chava's body when she ate from the Eitz
Yisroel out of Mitzrayim. Hashem told Moshe (Shemos
Hadaas. The total purification process was completed
4/22), "You should tell Pharaoh, 'So said Hashem, My
when we received the Torah at Har Sinai.
firstborn son is the nation of Yisroel.' "
According to this we can understand the depth of why
The Medrash (Shemos Rabah 15/27) explains; the
Pharaoh did not want to free Bnei Yisroel from
message Hashem wanted Moshe to relay to Pharaoh was,
Mitzrayim. Pharaoh knew the descendants of Avraham,
"Don't you know how much I love the firstborn, as it is
Yitzchak and Yaakov were like the firstborn of Hashem.
written (Devarim 15/19), '...you shall not work with the
Pharaoh thought this was a defect and not a virtue; like it
firstborn of your ox nor shall you shear the firstborn of
had become from the time Chava sinned, and Yaakov
your flock' ". Moshe was supposed to convince Pharaoh
(who had bought the rights of the Bechor) was really
to free Bnei Yisroel because firstborns are very dear to
inferior to Eisav. Pharaoh thought for this reason he
Hashem, and Bnei Yisroel is like Hashem's first born.
could continue to tyrannize and oppress Bnei Yisroel.
Zera Shimshon asks, why did Pharaoh not answer back,
Hashem told Moshe to explain to Pharaoh that from now
"On the contrary! The Medrash in Bereishis explains;
on, since Bnei Yisroel had begun to be purified, it is now
Hashem orchestrated for Eisav to be born before Yaakov
a virtue to be the firstborn, like it was in the very
in order for him to absorb all the impurities of Rivka, so
beginning of creation and therefore Pharaoh should
Yaakov would be born pure! R' Avohu explains this can
immediately free Bnei Yisroel from bondage.
be compared to a bathhouse keeper who first cleans the
bath house and only after the bath house is clean does he This also explains the possuk in B’haaloscha that
wash the king's son. Not only is the first born inferior to attributes the holiness of the firstborns to the time Bnei
his siblings, but he is the one that causes their superiority, Yisroel left Mitzrayim. True, in the beginning of creation
by cleansing his mother of her impurities when he is the firstborns were holy but the holiness was immediately
born, so the subsequent children will be free of lost and it only returned to them when Bnei Yisroel left
impurities. Mitzrayim!

Zera Shimshon answers, Hakodosh Boruch Hu’s original .

plan was for the firstborn to be superior and holier than
HaRav Shimshon Nachmani, author of Zera Shimshon lived in Italy about 300 years ago in the time of the Or
HaChaim HaKodesh

The Chida writes that he was a great Mekubal and wrote many sefarim including sefarim about “practical kabbolo"
and asked that all of his sefarim be buried after he passes away except for Zera Shimshon and Niflaos Shimshon on
Avos.
HaRav Shimshon Nachmani had one child who died in his lifetime (hence the name "Zera Shimshon") and in the
preface he promises for people who learn his sefarim after he dies “... And your eyes will see children and
grandchildren like the offshoots of an olive tree around your tables, wise and understanding with houses filled with
all manner of good things... and wealth and honor...”

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