It's All About Me

Shavua Tov. Today's Parsha, ויקרא, discusses the various sacrifices in the Beit Hamikdash with emphasis on שוגג, involuntary offenses. When a person violates an עבירה that carries with it כרת or death by the court, and he wasn't aware of his sin, he must offer a קרבן חטאת, a sin offering.

The idea here is that one must always strive towards getting closer to Hashem so that even a mistaken violation distanced him from G-d. The idea of the קרבן comes from the word קרוב, to get closer. The sacrifice again brings him back to where he should be.

In the case of the נשיא, who could be a head of tribe or even a king, the Torah says, אשר נשיא יחטא, WHEN a נשיא will sin and not If he will sin. Those three words first letters spell אני, which indicates selfishness and thinking that everything centers around him.

When a person is in a position of power the ego gives him a sense of entitlement that everything is coming to him. It's amazing how the Torah understood human nature.

תיקון האדם

This Shabbat is relatively quiet. We start the third book of the Torah, ויקרא. This book is also known as תורת כהנים as it deals with many of the laws connected with Kohanim and their service in the Beit Hamikdash.

This Parsha discusses the various sacrifices that were offered for various types of transgressions. The word קרבן has in it the word, קרוב, as the sacrifices were a means of getting closer to Hashem.

The של״ה הקודש says that the word אדם is used instead of איש. The אדם in the Parsha refers to אדם הראשון and the damage to the world because of his sin. In essence, the book of ויקרא emphasizes תיקון האדם, that man has a lifelong task of self improvement.

My seven year old grandson, Aaron David complained that everyone is always telling him to try to be better and work harder. He asked when he will be left alone and people like me will stop telling him to improve.

I told him that this will go on throughout his life. We have to continue to try harder and work on ourselves as long as there is breath within us. This is תיקון האדם. Shabbat Shalom

Rabbinic Bitter Herbs

The Rambam in ספר המצוות, addresses the question as to why מרור is not considered a Torah law but rabbinic. The question comes about because the Torah specifically says regarding the קרבן פסח, that it shall be eaten על מצות ומרורים יאכלוהו. This would seem to indicate a Torah commandment to eat the bitter herbs.

The Rambam explains that the מרור is really a supplement to the primary Mitzva of offering and eating the קרבן פסח. This is similar to other sacrifices where there is a primary commandment to offer a particular sacrifice. This is followed by the details connected with it. For example, frankincense and wine are included as items to supplement the specific sacrifice. There is no separate Mitzva regarding frankincense or the wine libation. Like the מרור they are details regarding the Mitzva, but not a Mitzva in themselves. Hence, the מרור is a rabbinic law at our Seder.

Pesach Torah Laws

When we approach the holiday of Pesach, we begin by separating the various Halachot of the Chag. We must first look at which laws are from the Torah.

On Seder night, there are two Torah laws. The first is the obligation to eat Matza. We are to eat a כזית of Matza which equals one slice on three occasions. The first is for the blessing over the Matza. The second כזית is when we make the Hillel "sandwich". And the third כזית is when we complete our meal with the eating of the Afikomen.

The second Torah law at the Seder, is to tell the Pesach story. This is learned from the words והגדת לבנך, "and you shall tell your children." We fulfill this Mitzva by focusing our Seder on the children. We devise all kinds of tricks to keep the children awake and involved throughout the night.

The climax of telling the story is when we quote Rabban Gamliel who said that minimally we must explain פסח מצה מרור. That is, we are to speak of the Pesach sacrifice, as well as the reason for eating Maror and Matza.

So we begin our Seder with fulfilling carefully the Torah laws and we then move on to the rabbinic laws.

Halacha

Pesach is definitely in the air with tonight being Rosh Chodesh Nissan. This is a holiday that tests one's commitment to Halacha. On the one hand, it is clearly a holiday of abundant Chumrot, stringencies, as it is only one week and people tend to be extra strict during the week of Pesach. Admittedly, some of these Chumrot are often exaggerated, but the actual Halacha must not be compromised.

Years ago, I remember young students taking home a flyer titled, "Do it right on Pesach night. It had all of the measurements necessary in order to fulfill the Mitzvot of the evening. This included the required size of our wine glasses for the four cups, the amount of Matza, Maror, Karpas, etc.

Pesach is really a test for all of us to see how seriously we take Halacha and how thoroughly we want to follow it. Ideally, we are to act like the wise son in the Hagaddah. He wanted to know everything about Pesach to the last detail. So should we.

A Time to be Frume

There is a time for everything according to Kohelet. This certainly applies to when it is appropriate to act in a very "holy" way and when it is not.

A case in point is a Halacha brought in the Rambam related to laws connected with when one is allowed to enter the Beit Hamikdash. We are aware that one is not allowed to go when in a state of impurity.

The Rambam brings a case where one inadvertently became טמא when he was already in the Beit Hamikdash. This could happen if someone died and he was under the same roof with the corpse. The Halacha is that this newly defiled individual must get off of Temple grounds immediately without pause.

If he stops for a moment to bow to Hashem, he is punishable with Karet for praying in the Temple in a state of impurity. This is an example where being "frume" at that moment is inappropriate. Interesting Halacha.

Shabbat

Shavua Tov. A major theme of today's Parsha, is the sanctity of Shabbat. We have a Mitzva at the beginning of ויקהל that tells us that we are to work for six days and rest on Shabbat. We are also not allowed to kindle a fire on Shabbat.

There are many interpretations as to why only this מלאכה out of all 39, is mentioned separately. An accepted explanation is that it actually refers to the high courts being forbidden to give the death penalty of "burning" on Shabbat. And if burning is forbidden, so are the other three methods of capital punishment.

The של״ה הקודש would like us to appreciate the special gift that is Shabbat. In our Shacharit prayers on Shabbat we say ישמח משה במתנת ידו, where Shabbat is referred to as a gift.

The joy felt on Shabbat with our נשמה יתירה, extra soul, is actually one sixtieth of the joy felt in עולם הבא. This explains why we feel sad as Shabbat ends and we no longer feel that bliss.

This is also why our sages say, שקטלה שבת כנגד כל המצוות, that Shabbat is equal to all of the Mitzvot of the Torah.

פרשת החודש

  This Shabbat is a double Parsha of ויקהל-פקודי and פרשת החודש. We finish the book of שמות and we "bench" Rosh Chodesh for the month of Nissan on Tuesday.

The idea in Parshat החודש is that the Jewish calendar begins with the month of Nissan that is to be viewed as the first month. We began as a nation in Egypt which makes sense that we begin with Nissan.

Another idea that is learned is that certain laws were given in Egypt even though it was a place of great impurity. The של״ה הקודש describes these Mitzvot as an engagement gift between Hashem and the Jewish people. The real gift, that is, the entire Torah, was given on Mount Sinai when we went from being engaged to being married to Hashem.

The third idea in פרשת החודש is that Moshe Rabbeinu was shown how to count the new month based on the new moon. On a mystical level, Eisav is compared to the sun, and Yakov, the moon. As long as Eisav's light shines, Yakov's light is not fully noticed.

Thank G-d we are living in a time where Eisav's light is weakening and Yakov's light is shining brighter and brighter. Shabbat Shalom

אך

There are two other examples of the word אך that have a special meaning related to Pesach. Both are found in the twelfth chapter of שמות. The first says אך אשר יאכל לכל נפש which means, "But, only that which is needed for food for the soul." This is the source for the allowance to cook on Yom Tov.

The second אך is much more interesting in that one certainly would not understand it without the Oral Law. The Pasuk says, אך ביום הראשון תשביתו שאור מבתיכם, "But on the first day, one needs to remove his Chametz from his home." The first day means Erev Pesach, the fourteenth of Nissan. Not only is this a novel ruling, but we say that the word אך is חלק, which means to divide. It is the only day of the year that half of the day we are permitted to eat Chametz and the other half we are not. ( The Rabbis added two hours before noon as a precaution.)

The above information is fascinating but it also demonstrates the need for the תורה שבעל פה to clarify matters for us.

39 מלאכות

In פרשת כי תשא, we have the source for the 39 מלאכות of Shabbat. These 39 are viewed so seriously that the intentional violation of any one of them with warning and witnesses, gives the violator the death penalty. If he knew it was forbidden but there were no witnesses, he would get כרת. And if he violated any of these 39 by mistake, he would need to bring a sin offering, קרבן חטאת.

The previous Parshiot of תרומה and תצוה and the first part of כי תשא, all discussed details involved in the construction of the Mishkan. Suddenly, we are presented with the Pasuk, אך את שבתותי תשמורו, "But, you shall observe My Shabbatot. The word אך has significant derivatives where it is a word that teaches a great deal. (More examples of אך tomorrow, G-d willing) In this case the אך teaches that the construction of the Mishkan cannot take place on Shabbat and even more importantly, those 39 acts done in order to construct the Mishkan, are the same 39 acts forbidden to be done on Shabbat.

Loyalty

The great Tzaddik, Rav Elazar Abuchatzeira, זצ״ל, was bothered by the severity of the חטא העגל. The sin of the "golden calf" is viewed as one of the worst sins committed by the Jewish people. It is on par with the spies and the selling of Joseph by his brothers.

It may even be worse as the Kabbalists claim that death would have been abolished had it not been for חטא העגל, as the Jewish people on Mount Sinai reached a level of purity equal to that of Adam before his sin.

Rav Elazar felt that perhaps the people were not to blame. They were only free men for seven weeks. And Satan confused them by suspending what looked like Moshe's casket, convincing the עם that Moshe died.

Despite all of this, the seriousness of the sin was the lack of loyalty to Moshe. Everything he promised, he fulfilled; the ten plagues, the splitting of the Red Sea, the great wealth, etc. And now after a six hour delay, the nation turns on him and worships a golden calf. Rav Elazar said that it was this lacking in basic loyalty that made this sin so severe. A very important lesson, indeed.

עם ה׳ אלה ומארצו יצאו

There is a Pasuk in yesterday's Haftarah that is very powerful. The prophet describes how we desecrated Hashem's name by our very presence in the Galut. The exact wording is עם ה׳ אלה ומארצו יצאו, "You're G-d's chosen people? What are you doing outside of His land?"

The Radak says that this is a Chilul Hashem because the nations of the world will mock Israel and say that how could it be that on the one hand they attained the name עם ה׳, or G-d's chosen people, and yet, they are not in His chosen land.

This indicates that even when one observes the Mitzvot outside of Israel, his very existence there, makes Hashem look weak. If there is any Pasuk in all of Tanach that motivated me to make Aliya, it's this one. This Pasuk gave me no peace of mind while living in Galut.

May all Jews have the courage to move to Israel and stop the desecration of Hashem's name.

More on Parshat Parah

Shavua Tov. The Haftarah for פרשת פרה may be the most inspiring Haftarah of the whole year. Just as the Red Heifer purified the people, the Prophet Yechezkel speaks of a time when Hashem Himself will purify the nation.

The prophecy seems to be speaking of the times we are living in today. Hashem will feel that it's time to bring about the redemption, not because we deserve it, but for the sake of His holy name that was desecrated among the nations.

Therefore, Hashem will bring His people home from all four corners of the world. He will once again allow the land to produce in abundance. And the desolate cities will once again be filled with people like the cattle before a pilgrimage festival.

Hashem tells us that "You will be my people and I will be your G-d." No longer will you suffer the shame of poverty among the nations. It is amazing that we have merited to live during these incredible times. We must never take this for granted.

Parshat Parah

This Shabbat is פרשת פרה in addition to פרשת כי תשא. Some say that it is a Torah commandment to hear the reading regarding the פרה אדומה, the Red Heifer.

The reason this Parsha is read is that all of the Jewish people needed to purify themselves before coming to Jerusalem for Pesach. Women also needed to come as they were obligated to eat from the Pesach sacrifice in a state of purity.

The ashes of the פרה אדומה were needed specifically to spiritually cleanse a person who had come in contact with a corpse. This is a חוק, which means that we are not to really understand the reason for this Mitzva.

The difficulty is that on the one hand, it purifies the impure. But on the other hand, those who handle the פרה, become impure.

We need a פרה אדומה in order to build the third Temple. There are rumors that such a cow is in waiting. May we need that cow very soon.

As one Chicago rabbi once said, in honor of פרשת פרה, we will daven Mooosaf! Shabbat Shalom

Waiting Six Hours

The idea of waiting after eating meat before enjoying dairy again, is rabbinic. The Torah does not give such instructions which is why there are different amounts of waiting time in different places.

The Dutch only wait an hour and the German Jews three hours. This is based on a Tosfot in חולין that says one must wait the average time between meals. It was assumed that the Dutch eat several small meals in the course of the day.

There is a מחלוקת ראשונים that is widely accepted as the reason to wait six hours. One opinion is based on a Pasuk והבשר עודנו בין השיניים that the meat was between their teeth ( referring to the quails). It takes six hours for food to get dislodged from between the teeth.

The other opinion was that it takes six hours for food to be digested. The difference between the two reasons applied to mothers who used to chew the food for their young children with no teeth to soften it. (Before Gerber's) According to the opinion of digestion, the mother would not be בשרי. According to the opinion of food between the teeth, she would have to wait six hours.

Milk and Meat

In this week's Parsha, כי תשא, we have the Pasuk that deals with בשר וחלב, milk and meat. Three times in the Torah we are told not to cook a "kid in its mother's milk." Because it's written three times, we learn that one prohibits cooking the two together, one prohibits eating, and one prohibits getting benefit from such a mixture.

The penalty for this violation is lashes as it falls under the category of a לאו, or negative commandment. In order to get lashes, one must eat "actual" milk and meat and not something that only has the taste of milk and meat.

This Mitzva is unique as it is the only situation where the two items by themselves are kosher, and it is the mixture that creates the problem. Therefore, if one cooked non-kosher meat together with milk, he has not violated the Issur of בשר וחלב. To be continued tomorrow בע״ה.

Megillah Details

If we paid close attention to the Megillah reading, we would notice the number of years it took for the whole Purim story to unfold.

Achashveirosh's party was in the third year of his reign. Esther became queen in the seventh year of his reign, and Haman was finally hanged in the twelfth year of his reign.

Many don't realize that the problems of the Jewish people did not end with the hanging of Haman. This took place on Pesach but there was still an edict that went out giving permission to kill all the Jews on the thirteenth of Adar.

Esther pleaded with Achashveirosh that something needed to be done to stop this decree. It was at the end Sivan, more than two months later that anew decree went out. In this executive order, it was the Jews who were given permission to take revenge against their enemies.

75,000 were killed in the rest of the kingdom on the thirteenth, and they celebrated on the fourteenth. Esther asked for an extra day in Shushan to eliminate the Jew haters there. In Shushan, they fought on the thirteenth and the fourteenth, and celebrated on the fifteenth. Hence, Shushan Purim.

Mazal

One of the interesting ideas brought in מסכת מגילה, is the question of Mazal. The Gemara describes Haman as he rose to power. The expression used was that המזל משחקת לו, that his good fortune was playing with him.

Haman was on a roll and everything was going his way for a while. His Mazal lasted for a while. According to the Megillah, it took five years until his luck (mazal) ran out.

The Talmud contends that every person has a period in his life where everything goes right for him. When this comes, we need to savor it and appreciate it. Life does have its challenges but we are told that we are given a respite at some point in our lives.

Rabbi Akiva was extremely poor when he began his studies. Later in his life, his Mazal gave him great wealth from six different sources according to מסכת כתובות.

Let us hope that our good fortune is still to come where we see all of our dreams fulfilled. Purim Sameach

Purim Notes

Shavua Tov and Purim Sameach. For those celebrating tonight outside of Jerusalem, the following applies now on the 14th of Adar and for Jerusalemites, this applies tomorrow evening.

We add על הניסים in Shmone Esrei and Birkat Hamazon. If one forgot to say it, he does not repeat the Benching or Davening.

The four Mitzvot of the day are to be observed by both men and women.

Megillah needs to be heard twice. It can be heard any time at night and all day during the day.

Matanot L'evyonim- Two different poor people should receive a cash gift to be received during Purim day. Local Shules usually take care of this.

Mishloach Manot-Two different foods to at least one person who can be related. A messenger should deliver it.

Seudat Purim-Should contain meat and wine and should begin before sunset on Purim day. The Rabbis say that there's no joy without wine and meat. Purim Sameach and wine is meant to be the primary alcoholic beverage.

פרשת זכור

This Shabbat is Parshat זכור and it is a Torah obligation to hear the Torah reading about Amalek. It can be made up on Purim day by hearing the Torah reading before the Megillah as that reading also speaks about Amalek.

The Haftarah for פרשת זכור discusses Shaul Hamelech and his inability to completely destroy Amalek, for which he lost his kingdom. The Amalekite king was named אגג and Haman is referred to as המן האגגי. Shaul made excuses for his behavior when, in reality, he was afraid of the people.

The lesson learned from this episode is that when one is kind to his enemies, he will be cruel to his friends. (Shaul showed such cruelty when he had the Kohanim of Nov put to death.)

This lesson of the connection between kindness and cruelty holds true on many levels. Simply put, when one is overly kind with one who doesn't deserve it, such as disciplining our children, we are really being cruel to them. Shabbat Shalom and Happy Purim!