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Why does the Torah (תורה) link flattery with murder in Parshas Masei? The shiur develops a chiddush that both flattery and murder are forms of destructive control over another person's soul. True chesed (חסד) means treating a friend's needs as your own, not as favors that create markers for manipulation.
This shiur explores a challenging passage in Parshas Masei (Bamidbar 35:31-33) that prohibits taking ransom money for murderers and warns against bringing "chanifa" (flattery) upon the land. The Ramban (רמב"ן), following the Sifre, translates "chanifa" as flattery rather than corruption, creating an apparent disconnect between the prohibition on ransom and the warning against flattery. Rabbi Zweig develops a profound connection through analyzing a Gemara (גמרא) in Kiddushin 49b about a prophetic vision from Zecharya involving two women with stork wings carrying flattery and arrogance to Babylon. Rashi (רש"י)'s explanation that the stork represents flattery because it "does chesed (חסד) with its friends" seems puzzling until properly understood. The key insight is that doing "favors" for friends is inherently problematic - true friendship means treating a friend's needs as your own needs, not as favors that create obligation.
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Parshas Masei - Bamidbar 35:31-33
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Why does the Torah separate Avrohom's eulogy for Sarah from his crying for her? The shiur shows that Sarah required a public eulogy focused on the communal loss of a leader, not Avrohom's private grief. This teaches that we must view Jewish tragedies through a national lens first, seeing attacks on Am Yisrael as collective losses that dwarf personal concerns.
