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Why did Rabbi Elazar ben Arach, the greatest mind in Israel, forget how to read Hebrew after indulging in physical pleasure? The shiur explores the Gemara (גמרא) in Shabbos (שבת) 147b, showing that excessive focus on bodily pleasure deadens one's capacity for change and growth. The monthly renewal of Rosh Chodesh represents the spiritual imperative of constant chiddush—Jews thrive on newness, not stagnant repetition.
The shiur opens with the pasuk "HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem Rosh Chodashim"—this month shall be for you the beginning of months—and immediately connects it to a remarkable Gemara (גמרא) in Masechta Shabbos (שבת) 147b. Rabbi Elazar ben Arach, described as the greatest mind in Israel who could outweigh all other Chachmei Yisrael, went to Dumistus, a city known for its fine water and bodily pleasures. After indulging in wine and bathing, he forgot his learning (eyaker talmudei). When he tried to read from the Torah (תורה), instead of reading "HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem," he mispronounced it as "HaCheresh Haya Libam"—switching the dalet to a reish, the zayin to a yud, and the chaf to a beis. The question is obvious: how could the greatest Torah scholar forget how to read Hebrew? And why specifically this pasuk? Rabbi Zweig explains that the answer lies in understanding what this pasuk represents. Citing the Ibn Ezra in Parshas Bo, the shiur distinguishes between the solar year (shanah, from the root meaning repetition) and the lunar month (chodesh, from the root chadash, meaning new). Gentile nations operate on repetition without newness (shanah without chodesh), while the Jewish people operate on constant renewal (chodesh without mere shanah). The lunar cycle represents the spiritual principle that Klal Yisrael thrives on change, growth, and chiddush—each month brings a new spiritual quality, a new revelation of Hashem (ה׳), a different configuration of the Divine Name.
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Shabbos 147b
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