LEAD TIDBIT:
A Poignant Type of Mitzva

We know of many types of mitzvot. There are MITZVOT ASEI - positive commands, and MITZVOT LO TA’ASEI, a.k.a. LAV (plural LAVIN) - prohibitions. There are mitzvot that are between the Jew and G-d only, and there are interpersonal mitzvot that are G-d’s commands, both positive and prohibitions, that deal with our interaction with our fellow Jews and fellow humans. There are mitzvot that are linked to Eretz Yisrael, MITZVOT HAT’LUYOT BA’ARETZ, and those that apply all over the world. There are mitzvot for all Jews, mitzvot that women are exempted from, mitzvot for kohanim, mitzvot for non-kohanim, mitzvot for kings of Israel, mitzvot for individuals, mitzvot for the community as a whole, mitzvot for Sanhedrin, mitzvot that apply only in the time of the Beit haMikdash, or only in the time when the majority of the Jews of the world live in Eretz Yisrael, mitzvot that apply in all times. There are mitzvot limited to specific times and those unbound by time. There are mitzvot of action, mitzvot of speech, mitzvot of thought. Mitzvot that defy our limited human logic and rationale and mitzvot that are considered to be so much in the realm of common sense that society would create them if they didn’t already exist. Many categories and types of mitzvot.

Ponder this type. Poignant is not only difficult to spell, it also has several definitions and shades of meaning. The one intended for this type of mitzva is: “Keenly distressing to the mind or feelings”.

B’chukotai has several mitzvot of this type; let’s take one pair of mitzvot as an example. They are the last mitzvot of the sedra and of the Book of Vayikra. MAASER B’HEIMA, the tithe of animals. The owner of cows, goats, and/or sheep is commanded to round up the new- borns of his flock or herd, then count them out as they pass one-by-one under his staff, and to declare the tenth one (and 20th, 30th, and so on) holy. It is forbidden to sell the animal that is MAASER. One has to bring it to Yerushalayim and offer it as a korban in the Beit HaMikdash. After certain blood and parts are “given to the Mizbei’ach”, the rest of the animal goes back to the owner to eat (forbidden to sell to anyone - both before and after slaughter) with his family and friends, with all the rules of eating sacred meat.

So this mitzva belongs to the category of those that apply only in the time of the Beit HaMikdash, right?

Wrong. Maaser B’heima applies in all times... But we don’t have a Beit HaMikdash to “carry this mitzva through” to its proper end?

Correct. That’s why our Sages forbid us to perform this mitzva in our time.
Maaser B’heima applies TODAY. If a person owns sheep, let’s say, and 27 lambs are born in a given year - if the owner gathers them together - as he is supposed to under ideal conditions, and they pass by him one at a time and he counts them, and he declares the 10th and the 20th ones sacred, then they are sacred. He has fulfilled a mitzva in the Torah. But he has violated a rabbinic command not to do that mitzva in our time. If the two lambs are blemish-free and fit for the Mizbei’ach, then it is forbidden to him to derive any benefit from them. He must take care of them. Raise them. When their wool becomes a burden for the lambs, he shears them and buries the wool. No sweaters or scarves. Not even Tzitzit. No benefit to him. And that is precisely why our Sages commanded us not to do this mitzva. But that is not the point. The point is that our Sages, whose role in Judaism is to encourage and enhance the observance of mitzvot, have to command us NOT to observe a whole category of mitzvot. How sad.

B’chukotai has an impressive sample of this category of mitzvot. If one pledges the value of himself or another person, or an animal to the Beit HaMikdash, the deed is done. But rather than fulfill a mitzva, the person has violated a serious rabbinic command against doing these mitzvot.

Consecrating an animal to the Mikdash. Wonderful mitzva in the time of the Beit HaMikdash. Violation (and maybe even a mockery) today. Shulchan Aruch has to teach us how to avoid the mitzva of B’chor (first born male of cow, goat, and sheep). They are supposed to teach us how to do the mitzva well. Not how to avoid it. (With B’chor, the method is to become a partner with a non-Jew in the ownership of the animal, before she gives birth. Then there is no sanctity to the first born. With Maaser B’heima, it is even easier to avoid the mitzva. Just don’t do it. A B’chor is sacred by virtue of its birth to an animal owned entirely be a Jew. Maaser doesn’t exist unless the owner performs the mitzva. And unlike produce, where not taking the required portions leave the produce in a forbidden state of TEVEL, the newborns are permitted regardless of whether Maaser B’heima was done or not.)

Poignant. Keenly distressing. It should hurt our hearts to realize how many mitzvot of the Torah are either not able to be performed today, or must not be performed, by the command of our Sages.

Every time we do a mitzva or minhag that is in commemoration of the Mikdash, or to remember the Churban (destruction), or in any way is less today than it would be in the time of the Beit HaMikdash, we should have a pang of sadness, regret, guilt for the lack of the Mikdash and the responsibility of Klal Yisrael for the lack. And a hopeful prayer, as well.

May we be privileged to the day that Eretz Yisrael will be filled with Jews from all over the world, that the Sanhedrin and Beit HaMikdash will be restored, and that all the mitzvot that are being held in abeyance will be reactivated, speedily in our time, AMEN.