Discipline

The standard reason why a woman giving birth offers a sin offering is that she needs to atone for her vowing never to have a child. The כלי יקר says that this sacrifice is connected to the sin of Eve in the Garden of Eden.

The lesson to be learned was the need for discipline. Judaism is very much based on discipline and waiting. We wait three years before we can eat the fruit of a newly planted tree. We wait to pray before eating and we don’t eat until we make a Bracha.

Husband and wife wait for Mikva until they are reunited each month. The ability to wait not only teaches discipline but it is the very thing that brings about holiness. Judaism allows us to partake of physical pleasures of this world. It is the time and place when we partake that brings about Kedusha. Waiting and discipline are the ingredients that bring about holiness.

Leprosy and גאוה

Shavua Tov. Today’s Parshiot of תזריע-מצורע have צרעת, leprosy, as its theme. In addition to Lashon Hara, evil speech as the major cause of leprosy, Rabbi Soloveitchik mentions גאוה, haughtiness or conceit, as an additional reason.

He writes that גאוה is the trait of a tyrant. He includes such people as נבוכדנצר, המן, and ירבעם בן נבט as individuals who were full of גאוה.

He brings the Midrashic story where Hashem begs ירבעם to do תשובה ש and he says that if he does, Hashem, בן ישי (David), and him, will all walk together in גן עדן in Eternity. Yeravam asks who will be first. Hashem answers that David will be first and he will be second. Yeravam refuses.

This is how גאוה clouds the thinking of a person. The leper has to stay outside of the camp before he can be part of the עם.

Rules of Circumcision

In Israel, we read תזריע-מצורע this Shabbat. The Torah tells us that if a woman gives birth to a male, he must be circumcised on the eighth day. Many points are learned from this Pasuk.

The mentioning of the eighth day, teaches that one may violate Shabbat if the eighth day falls on Shabbat.

Another point is that the act of Brit Milah fulfills a positive commandment for which we make a Bracha, על המילה. Circumcision and קרבן פסח are the only two positive commandments where there is a punishment for non fulfillment. (The punishment for both is Karet.)

The third aspect of ברית מילה is that it makes the child a בן ברית, an official Jew. He is now qualified to offer a קרבן as a Jew. This is why there is a second Bracha at a Brit, להכניסו בבריתו של אברהם אבינו. Shabbat Shalom

Jealousy of Nadav and Avihu

The Gemara in מסכת סנהדרין 52a, gives its reason for the punishment to Nadav and Avihu.

The Gemara says the following: Moshe and Aharon were walking on the way with Nadav and Avihu behind them, and all of Israel were behind them. Nadav said to Avihu, “When will these two old men die so that you and I can lead the nation?” Hashem said to them, “We will see who will bury who!”

Many use this little story to emphasize that G-d is the ultimate One in charge. The plans we make, totally depend on Him and we must humbly accept what we are given.

However, the Maharsha uses very strong words to describe the effects of jealousy. Nadav and Avihu were guilty of being jealous of Moshe and Aharon and their Kavod. When the שר של גיהנום, the ministering angel of Gehennom, saw this and grit his teeth, and brought about their complete demise.

This explanation is a frightening warning of what awaits those who are consumed with jealousy. We must work extra hard to overcome this horrible negative trait of jealousy.

וידום אהרון

One of the truly impressive stories of the Torah, is the manner in which Aharon accepted the tragedy of the death of his two sons, Nadav and Avihu. The Torah simply tells us וידום אהרון, that Aharon was silent.

This became a future requirement for every כהן גדול. He was not allowed to become an אונן and mourn for the loss of his close relatives.

Aharon’s behavior also symbolized how a Jew is expected to accept Hashem’s decrees.We do not question Hashem’s judgement and we submit to whatever He sends our way-good or bad.

We are at that time of year when we painfully remember Jews who gave their lives defending the land of Israel, or perished simply because they were Jewish. There have been innumerable cases of וידום אהרון in the manner they accepted their fate.

Aharon set the example of how to accept tragedy. Let us hope and pray that such suffering is behind us, and joy and salvation await us.

Animal Sacrifices

Rabbi Joshua Berman defended the importance of offering sacrifices in previous Temples as well as in the future Beit Hamikdash.

This claim is based on a Pasuk in בראשית that says פרו ורבו, Be fruitful and multiply and rule over all of the animals. Man’s dominion over the world was part of the Divine plan. Man was also commanded to emulate the ways of Hashem. He did this by acting with kindness and compassion.

The offering of animal sacrifices to G-d was meant to drive home the point that although one can act in a G-d like manner, he was still subservient to Hashem. Thus, the animal that man had dominion over, became the vehicle to show G-d’s ultimate dominion.

Rabbi Berman claims that there is not a single source in biblical or Talmudic writings that advocate or praises vegetarians. He says that those who protest the use of animals for sacrifices, are animal rights activists.

Instead of emulating G-d and using the animal as a symbol to get closer to Him, the animal rights people glorify the animal because they themselves behave in a more animal-like manner than a G-d-like manner.

I realize all of this is debatable, but it does give us food for thought.

Yosef’s Adopted Father

Yosef’s Adopted Father

Rabbi Bin Nun has a novel explanation of the fiasco that led to the enslavement of the Jewish people in Egypt. He says that the reason Yosef never tried to make contact with his father in Egypt, was that Yosef believed that Yakov and the brothers agreed to disown Yosef after creating strife and jealousy in the family.

His being thrown into the pit and ultimately sold, was viewed as a clear sign of his rejection. Pharoah had Yosef removed from the pit and new clothes placed on him. The brothers removed his clothes and threw him into the pit.

Pharoah became like an adopted father to Yosef. When Yakov eventually came to Egypt, he was not sure where Yosef’s loyalty was. However, when he saw how his grandsons, Efraim and Menashe were raised, he was comforted.

That first Pharoah was so good to Yosef, that he allowed him to bury Yakov in Canaan. This was against Egyptian practices, as they embalmed their leaders.

The way the tables turned and how the Egypt experience became unbearable, was a lesson for future exiles. As good as things were for the Jews for extended periods of time, it never was permanent. It always ended in either expulsion, extermination, or assimilation.

שעבוד מלכיות

Shavua Tov. Another interesting point made by Joshua Berman in his book on The Temple, relates to the concept of שעבוד מלכיות.

This is a term used to describe our subservience to other kingdoms or governments. The Rambam was of the opinion that the only difference between this world and the next is שעבוד מלכיות. Some insist that we are already living in this period as Jews are free to practice their religion wherever they are.

Berman’s point is that our prayers and subservience is meant to be towards the King of Kings, Hashem. It has always been an obstacle while we were in the Exile, because we were forced to pay homage to the ruling king or leader. It was difficult to do this to both an earthly and Heavenly king.

We are to be grateful that we have Israel and we no longer have that obstacle. We can now devote ourselves to Hashem with no hindrances.

Yesterday was seven. ספירת העומר.

Beit Hamikdash-Unity, Education, Justice

The Beit Hamikdash does take center stage on the holiday of Pesach. This was the only one of the three pilgrimage festivals where the women also needed to appear. They also were commanded to partake of the קרבן פסח together with the men.

Many do not realize that the Beit Hamikdash had three other important functions aside from offering sacrifices. It was a place of Jewish unity, education and justice.

Despite the division of the land by tribes, the visit to Jerusalem brought about Jewish unity. If we consider that the מעשר שני or its monetary value needed to be consumed in Jerusalem, it certainly was shared by all of the pilgrims regardless of their tribe. This brought Jewish unity for sure.

The Levites fulfilled the role of educators. The Kohanim and Leviim only served two weeks out of the year. They were not given a portion of land in Israel. Their job was to educate and a large number of them served as judges.

Justice was served with the great Sanhedrin being located on the Temple Mount. The holiness of the place no doubt profoundly inspired the judges. They were certain to give correct judgement with such inspiration. Hence, the Temple united, educated, and helped bring about justice .

Mount Sinai and Temple Pilgrimage

In his book, “The temple: its symbolism and meaning then and now,” Joshua Berman makes a comparison between the revelation at Mount Sinai and the holiday pilgrimage to the Beit Hamikdash.

The experience at Sinai was not meant to be a one time experience. It was a very dramatic moment that showed the special bond between Hashem and the Jewish people. Just as Hashem appeared in the thickness of the clouds at Sinai, His Presence was also felt in the Temple.

Rabbi Berman described the Temple as the dwelling place of the Shechina, the Divine Presence. The act of worshipping on the pilgrimage festivals, is an attachment to G-d, similar to that of Sinai.

We are able to feel a taste of this holiness each time we visit the Kotel. If this is felt when coming in contact with a remnant of the Beit Hamikdash, we can only imagine the type of spiritual exhilaration felt on holidays like Pesach.

There was a clear fulfillment of “You will be My people and I will be your G-d,” as mentioned by the prophet.

This will felt at Sinai and it was also felt in the Beit Hamikdash on the holidays.

Why Ten Plagues

Rabbi David Fohrman in his book, “The Passover you almost passed over,” offers an interesting explanation for the ten plagues in Egypt.

Rabbi Fohrman explained that the world at that time was heavily involved in paganism. The Torah tells us that the purpose of the plagues was to make it clear that there was only one true G-d in the world.

The problem with paganism was that their believers attributed powers to specific gods. There was the god of the seas, the gods of the sun, perhaps the god of the animals, etc. They made offerings to these gods and were careful not to anger their respective deities.

Had there been only a few plagues, or one major plague, the pagan worshippers would not have been convinced that it was our G-d, but perhaps, theirs.

However, after ten very different plagues, it would have been difficult to come up with ten different gods. The only conclusion to be made was that it was one G-d, the G-d of Israel, who was showing that He is the only true G-d and all others were false. The ten plagues were a convincing way to make this emphatic statement.

Redemption then and Now

The Passover Hagadda asks the question as to why the Seder is held in the evening. The Tanna, Ben Zoma, explains that the extra word in the Torah , “Kol” teaches the Seder should be at night. The Rabbis disagree and say that “Kol” teaches that the exodus story will be told in this world and in the world to come.

The Talmud in Tractate Brachot 12b, refers to a verse in the Book of Jeremiah that states that in the future we will no longer praise G-d for the miracles in Egypt, but we will praise Him for taking us from the north and gathering our people from all of the lands that we were scattered. If this will be the case, the Talmud asks, then we will no longer mention Egypt in the world to come.

The Rabbis answer that while it is true that future miracles will surpass those witnessed in Egypt, we will, nevertheless, still praise G-d for taking us out of Egypt.

My good friend and study partner, Dr. Eli Passow, made a profound observation when this section of Talmud was studied recently. Dr. Passow observed that we have already witnessed miracles in our lifetimes that have surpassed those we enumerated at our Seder.

The plagues in Egypt lasted one year before we were driven out of Egypt. Compare those miracles with what we have seen in the last seventy years:

The Jewish population in Palestine in 1800 was 8,000 Jews. Today, we are blessed with over six and a half million Jews from the four corners of the earth.

The image of the Jew has dramatically changed. After suffering the tragic and horrifying Holocaust, Israel and the Jewish people have learned how to defend themselves. Israel is listed as the eighth superpower in the world! And the image of the defenseless, easy to pick on Jew, is over. Today, Jews fight back and they win.

A land that was bemoaned by our prophets as being desolate and non-productive, is filled with the most modern cities. The produce of Israel, is the envy of the world. Even our cows give more milk than any other cows in the world.

Israel has established diplomatic relations with 160 of the 193 nations of the world. They are seeking our guidance in matters of agriculture, technology, and medicine.

When looking at the bigger picture, not only is all of this miraculous of biblical proportions, but we are witnessing the fulfillment of prophecies made over two thousand years ago.

It is far from an exaggeration to say that indeed the miracles we have been privileged to see, if we’d only open our eyes, do surpass that which our ancestors witnessed in Egypt. Chag Sameach

Pesach, Shir Hashirim, and Redemption

Shavua Tov and Moadim Lesimcha. The theme of Pesach is clearly גאולה or Redemption. This idea is expressed in many different ways. Simply put, just as our exodus from Egypt represented our first גאולה, the future גאולה will also come on Pesach.

There is a subtle plot to שיר השירים that was read this morning. Two lovers express their undying love for another. They claim that theirs is the only true love in the world. They are mocked by those around them and they are separated from one another.

During their separation, they write love letters to one another, and pray for the day that they will be reunited. In the end, when they finally are again together, all acknowledge that indeed their love was true.

The analogy is the relationship between Hashem and the Jewish people. The separation represents the exile. The love letters are Torah and prayers. When they are reunited, Mashiach comes and the world acknowledges the truth of Hashem and the Torah. Pesach truly is חג הגאולה.

The Spiritual Request Accompanying בדיקת חמץ

Tonight we do בדיקת חמץ. It should be done at the beginning of the evening after צאת הכוכבים after 7:20. One makes a Bracha על ביעור חמץ, on the burning of Chametz and not על בדיקת חמץ, on searching, as the process is completed with the burning on Friday morning.

We do declarations of ביטול both in the evening and in the morning. We proclaim that any Chametz that we might have in our possession that we do not know about or we may have neglected, should be considered like the dust of the earth.

It is also a good idea to place close attention to the יהי רצון that follows this declaration. We ask Hashem to allow us to merit searching the blemishes of our souls, where we stumbled due to the influence of the יצר הרע. We ask that we be inspired to do a complete תשובה. We ask for Hashem’s mercy and His help in being certain that we distance ourselves from the prohibition of חמץ in any form.

We must not forget the spiritual message of Pesach along with all of the physical work that we do. Chag Kasher Vesameach to you and yours.

Standing Before the King

On Pesach, we must not forget the importance of prayer. We have תפילת טל, the prayer for dew, on the first day of Pesach. And we have a big emphasis on Hallel. We say Hallel as part of Maariv on Friday night and it is a major part of the Haggadah.

Rashi in מסכת ברכות makes an interesting distinction between שמע and שמונה עשרה. He says that שמונה עשרה is like standing before the King in conversation, with fear and trepidation. שמע is an affirmation of our faith in G-d but is not a conversation with G-d. Therefore, שמע can even be said while lying in bed, which is not the case by שמונה עשרה.

On Pesach, the entire nation went to the King’s house to converse with Him. We must not forget this aspect of the holiday. We are to be elevated by the prayers and connection with Hashem, similar to how we stand before the King each time we say שמונה עשרה.

Care With Chametz

The Rabbis try to encourage us to be careful with חמץ on Pesach. They say that one who takes such care, will be guaranteed a שנה טובה.

This explains the difficulty in deciding which חמץ one should dispose and which he should sell. One needs to be honest with what he can afford to throw out, and what he cannot.

This idea also applies to חמץ שעבר עליו הפסח. If one did not dispose of the חמץ and did not sell it, it is forbidden to have any benefit from it. This also requires honesty and fear of Heaven to do the right thing.

We should be careful to ask local store owners to produce a certificate showing that they sold their חמץ. This certificate titled, אישור מכירת חמץ should already be seen in stores today.

Among other things, Pesach is a holiday that requires a great deal of fear of Heaven.

חיסרון כיס

In Halacha, we often find the concept of חיסרון כיס, or loss of money. חז״ל take this into account to try to prevent a loss wherever possible. For example, one may work on חול המועד if he may miss out on a large profit from a business deal.

Similarly, we are not to buy new clothes during the nine days. However, if there is a major once a year sale that will be missed, one can make such purchases.

The same is true regarding selling חמץ. Originally, this was instituted because many Jews sold alcohol. This would have meant a major loss if they had to get rid of their alcohol.

We need to make similar decisions with our Pesach preparations. We are able to lock up and sell any of our Chametz if it represents an unaffordable loss. Generally, we dispose of ready to eat חמץ in already opened packages, such as cereal and cookies. However, we are allowed to make subjective decisions to avoid חיסרון כיס.

Chametz on Eighth Day

The topic of yesterday’s Shabbat Hagadol Drasha by the Chief Ashkenazi rabbi, Rabbi David Lau, was whether we are allowed to eat חמץ on the Shabbat after Pesach. For חוץ לארץ people, this is the eighth day of Pesach.

Regarding קטניות, there is no problem at all. One could even ask his Sephardi friends to cook קטניות for him on Friday and he can eat it on Shabbat. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach זצ״ל was quoted, who allows Kitniyot for Ashkenazim on that Shabbat.

Rav Lau paskened that, if necessary, one may eat even actual חמץ on that eighth day. He said that there is a special arrangement with the גוי that buys most of the country’s חמץ. He is told every year that in the event one of the thousands of people on the list needs his חמץ, it will not be considered a breach of contract. Therefore, if for some extenuating circumstance, one needs to eat חמץ on the eighth day, he is allowed to.

Sacrifices

Shavua Tov. There is a classic debate between the Rambam and Ramban regarding קרבנות. The Rambam felt that sacrifices were introduced in the Torah so that Jewish people would have something to relate to. This was because all kinds of strange sacrificial practices were prevalent around them.

The Ramban felt that there was קדושה in the offering of sacrifices, and it had nothing to do with pagan practices. The offering of קרבנות was a way to find atonement and closeness to G-d.

Today’s Parsha had the prohibition of eating blood. Rabbi Soloveitchik said that from this law, one can learn that killing a human or animal is forbidden. The only time killing an animal is permitted, is for a קרבן. In the desert, only meat that was part of a sacrifice.

Later, בשר תאוה, literally, meat of lust, was permitted outside of the Temple as long as ritually slaughtered. It sounds like the Rav saw the eating of meat not as an ideal thing to do.

However, the aspect of sacrifices do seem to be holy, even if you hold like the Rambam.

Shabbat Hagadol

This Shabbat is called שבת הגדול or some call it שבת הנס הגדול. The great miracle was that on that Shabbat in Egypt fell on the tenth of Nissan. The Jews took the Egyptian lambs that they worshipped as a deity, and tied it to their bedposts. The miracle was that the Egyptians said nothing when told that these animals would be offered as sacrifices.

The Haftarah from מלאכי also speaks of the יום הגדול, the great day when Mashiach will come. For these reasons, the Shabbat is called Shabbat Hagadol.

It is customary to read part of the Haggadah on Shabbat afternoon to get ready for the Seder.

Rabbis give Shabbat Hagadol Drashot in order to review Halachot and arouse the nation to get closer to Hashem.