Proper כוונה

Shavua Tov-

A major theme of the Book of Vayikra, is not only the קרבנות, but the importance of the right כוונה, or intent.

We learn in the instance of sacrifices, that כוונה is as important as the offering itself. This is not an area where we are able to fool Hashem. He can see what our real

feelings are. A קרבן offered just for show, is not only meaningless, but also an abomination.

Having the proper כוונה in the observance of all Mitzvot, is equally important. This is why the Rabbis say, מחשבה כמעשה, even having the right thoughts, is as if we actually did the action.

Similarly, in our interaction with others, we should act sincerely and with good intentions. We should be there to help and do חסד, not for the purpose of future gains, but for the sake of the Mitzva alone.

Perhaps this is why רבן יוחנן בן זכאי told his students on his death bed, that they should fear G-d the same way that they fear man. Sincerity and proper כוונה is the key to our observance of Mitzvot, bearing fruit.

קרבנות

This week we begin the Book of ויקרא, which is also known as ספר הקרבנות, the Book of Sacrifices.

All of the details of the various sacrifices are brought in this book. The regulations and details must be followed to the letter. Only עבודה זרה and קרבנות are punishable with forbidden thoughts. In the case of sacrifices, having the wrong intention connected to the procedural order, causes פיגול, and can also nullify a sacrifice.

Certain קרבנות, like the קרבן פסח, can be eaten by the donor. This is in the category of קדשים קלים, a lesser level of holiness. However, there are other קרבנות eaten by the Kohanim only. There is an expression that says, הכהנים אוכלים והבעלים מתכפרים, the Kohanim eat, and the owners are atoned. Such sacrifices are in the category of קדשי קדשים, holy of Holies.

The Rabbis emphasize that although we do not have a Temple where we can actually offer sacrifices, there is great reward in studying its laws. Many educators even felt that this was the first section of חומש to teach children. When we study a subject purely for its knowledge, there is much greater reward in it.

Children at the Seder

The most important people at the Seder, are the children. We are to focus on them and be sure they are involved until the end.

Rav Aviner put out a pamphlet with questions and answers to be used at the Seder. There is one question that caught my eye.

“Which animals received a reward connected to the Pesach story?” The answer: The dogs, for staying quiet during the tenth plague. They were rewarded with having the טריפה, animals unfit for eating, given to them.

The donkeys were rewarded with פטר חמור, a special ceremony involving first born donkeys, and exchanging a lamb for them. Every Jew had eighty to ninety donkeys laden with all of the wealth of Egypt.

And we reward the birds with feeding them bread on שבת שירה. They ate the מן that Datan and Aviram put out on Shabbat, to try to make Moshe and Aharon look bad.

Part of our Pesach preparations should be to make our Seder especially enjoyable for the children.

ביטול

The word, ביטול, or nullification, has special significance regarding Pesach.

The Torah forbids us from having Chametz in our possession. A statement of ביטול is sufficient to remove this prohibition from upon us.

We are declaring that we have made ownerless or הפקר, any Chametz that we might have in our possession. The Rabbis added that ביטול alone is not sufficient and we must physically remove or sell to a non-Jew any Chametz that we may own.

We still do the ביטול declaration which would cover such forbidden foods that we have not taken into account.

Normally, we do ביטול at night after we search for Chametz, and again the following morning together with the burning.

This year is different because ערב פסח falls on Shabbat. We will do the burning on Friday and the ביטול on Shabbat when we are no longer permitted to eat Chametz. Yes, ביטול is a very important Pesach word.

Public Funds

We learn from ויקהל-פקודי several things about money management of public funds. When they made the collection to build the Mishkan, people were told to stop giving. This was most unusual that more funds were collected than needed.

We learn that the heads of tribes, the נשאים (purposely spelled without a second י׳) were reprimanded. They thought they would wait until everyone else had made their donation, and they would cover whatever was missing. As leaders, they should have set the example by giving first.

We also learn that when one is handling public funds, it is preferred that this be done by at least two people, to avoid accusations that they were pocketing some of the funds.

And the final point learned is that a public figure, like Moshe Rabbeinu should be extremely organized, to give an accounting of how public funds were used down to the last detail.

All of the above is sound advice to avoid any doubts or suspicions in the handling of public funds.

Thinking About Giving Charity

There is an interesting discussion in מסכת שבועות, regarding whether one is obligated to give צדקה if he only thought about giving. The question was whether he must verbalize his intention in order to be obligated, or was the intention enough.

This argument is based on the words of our Parsha that described the generous contributor as נדיב לב, “generous of heart.”

The ruling in יורה דעה is that if one makes a non-verbalized vow regarding הקדש, sanctified matters, he is certainly obligated. Even though there is some question as to whether funds designated for צדקה, have the same rule as designating an animal for הקדש, the conclusion is that if one merely intended in his mind to give charity, he should convert this intention into practice, and give that amount to charity.

The Month of Nissan

Shavua Tov, Chodesh Tov-

We have now begun the month of Nissan. This is a very happy month and is referred to as the חודש הרחמים, the month of Divine mercy.

Almost the entire month has special events taking place. From the first to the twelfth of Nissan, each head of a tribe, brought special sacrifices commemorating the dedication of the Mishkan. The thirteenth of Nissan was אסרו חג, an additional day of celebration.

The fourteenth of Nissan was technically, חג הפסח, as that was the day that the קרבן פסח was prepared. The next seven days from the fifteenth to the twenty-second, was חג המצות, the Holiday of Matzot.

In the future, there will be seven days of celebration right after Pesach, rejoicing the coming of Mashiach.

We see that the entire month is special. We, therefore, do not say תחנון the whole month, and fasting and eulogies, are forbidden. It is a most auspicious time to pray for the גאולה, redemption.

בנין אב

This Shabbat is special as we Bench Rosh Chodesh, finish the Book of Shemot, and read from a second Torah, פרשת החודש. We also have a double Parsha of ויקהל-פקודי.

Parshat ויקהל begins with an account of how Moshe gathered the entire congregation of Israel the day after Yom Kippur, and reiterated the importance of Shabbat.

The point that is most noticeable, is that Moshe instructs the people not to kindle a fire on Shabbat. Some want to learn the principle of בנין אב, from this instruction. The kindling of a fire is the precedent setting case for the other thirty-eight מלאכות of Shabbat.

We find this idea of בנין אב in many instances in the Torah. The precedent setting case, becomes the rule for all other cases that are in the same category.

This בנין אב concept is among the list of the thirteen methods of derivation presented by רבי ישמעאל, that we read every morning before פסוקי דזימרה.

Aharon’s Dilemma

During the turmoil of the sin of the Golden Calf, the Torah tells us that וירא אהרון, that Aharon saw. What exactly did Aharon see that made him decide to help create the Golden Calf?

The Gemara in סנהדרין says that he saw his nephew, חור, son of Miriam, murdered by the mob. Aharon was aware that the world would have no תקנתא לעולם, no eternal repair, if a future Pasuk in איכה, would be fulfilled.

The Pasuk said, אם יהרג במקדש כהן ונביא, “if a prophet and Kohein will be killed in the sanctuary. Now that the Prophet חור was dead, Aharon was afraid that he, the Kohein, would also be killed, and it would mean disaster for the world.

He, therefore, made the decision, which he later regretted, that he needed to help make the עגל, in order to save the world.

Isn’t it interesting how so much can be learned from the simple two words, וירא אהרון!

How to Achieve Forgiveness

We learn a great deal from the manner in which Moshe Rabbeinu prayed for Hashem’s forgiveness.

There were three major components to his approaching Hashem. The first is called זכות אבות. Moshe mentions the merits of the Patriarchs and the promise that their children would live forever. The second component is the idea of חילול ה׳. Moshe tells Hashem that if He punishes the Jewish people, His name will be desecrated and He will look weak in the eyes of the nations.

And the final important measure is the power of the י”ג מידות, the Thirteen Attributes of G-d. Hashem actually teaches Moshe that the recitation of these attributes, have the power to change harsh judgement into mercy.

So the combination of זכות אבות, קידוש ה׳, and the י”ג מידות, all have the power to bring about forgiveness.

Shabbat

A major theme of פרשת כי תשא is Shabbat. The subject comes up right in the middle of all of the instructions to build the Mishkan.

This teaches several Mitzvot. The building of the Mishkan does not take priority over Shabbat observance. The thirty-nine מלאכות are learned from the building of the Mishkan. And we learn that פיקוח נפש, danger to one’s life takes priority over Shabbat. We would violate Shabbat in order to save a life.

We are also taught that Shabbat is referred to as an אות, a sign of a bond ביני ובין בני ישראל, between Hashem and the Jewish people. Only ברית מילה and תפילין are referred to as אות.

This is the reason why we do not put on תפילין on Shabbat because we already have two אותות in place.

We learn from the words ביני וביניכם, that this special connection is limited to G-d and the Jewish people. This is why we say that a non-Jew who keeps Shabbat is חייב מיתה, deserves the death penalty.

Shabbat is clearly a major pillar of Judaism. It is largely responsible for the survival of the Jewish people during our long and bitter exile. It rejuvenated us and recharges the batteries. It helps give us a perspective on what is temporary and what is permanent, and what is truly important and what is not. Parshat כי תשא gives us pause to take a step and appreciate this sacred gift of Shabbat.

Wash Hands Before Prayer

Our Parsha gives us instructions as to how to make the copper כיור, wash basin. This was to be placed next to the entrance to the היכל, where Temple service was to take place.

The Kohanim needed to wash their hands and feet before engaging in their duties. The penalty for entering the sacred area unwashed, was מיתה בידי שמים, death by the Heavenly court,

The Gemara in ברכות tells us that we learn from here the obligation to wash our hands before prayer. The Rambam goes even a step further by saying that since prayer takes the place of sacrifices, we must wash our hands and FEET before praying שחרית.

The reason why he requires this only in the morning is because the Rambam believed that prayer once a day was a Torah commandment. The other prayers were rabbinically ordained.

Obviously, we do not hold like the Rambam concerning washing our feet, but it does show the reverence we are supposed to have before we engage in praying to Hashem.

מחצית השקל

Shavua Tov. Today’s Parsha, כי תשא, begins with the instructions to give the מחצית השקל, half shekel, to the Beit Hamikdash.

This served two purposes. One, was to have enough funds to pay for the operating costs of running the Temple. This included payment of public sacrifices, which allowed everyone to have a part in them. And two, the counting of the half shekel (26 shekels in today’s money), was a way of taking a census of the population.

The Torah tells us that if this Mitzva was observed properly, there would not be a נגף among בני ישראל.

The word נגף, comes from the מגיפה, meaning plague. (The Corona Pandemic is often referred to as a מגיפה.) One explanation of this protection from plague is that it is preferred to count items and not people to protect us from עין הרע.

But a more relevant explanation is to emphasize the power of Tzedaka, and connecting to Kedusha. Moshe Rabbeinu did not want the people to rely solely on him. He wanted the people to connect to Hashem and His sanctuary, by contributing towards its daily operation.

There is no doubt that we must realize that spiritual pursuits are what get us through difficulties and pandemics.

Sin of Golden Calf

This week we read of the tragic story of the חטא העגל, the sin of the Golden Calf. The description given by קול התורה and Rabbi Elie Munk is very striking.

He describes the atmosphere in the camp of Israel prior to the return of Moshe Rabbeinu from Mount Sinai. There were two distinct poles at that time. Because of the Eirav Rav, the mixed multitude, there was a strong pull towards evil. The demonic elements gave strength to these evil forces.

Those who trusted in Hashem, held fast to their beliefs. They would not allow these Satanic forces to influence them. In essence, the scene at חטא העגל, was a war between good and evil.

The sad part of the story is that the whole problem came about because of miscalculating Moshe’s return. And some worshipped the calf as an intermediary between them and Hashem. It was not outright idol worship as it was with the ערב רב.

The striking part of Rabbi Munk’s take of this incident, is that these forces of good and evil still exist in the world. We must learn to identify them and cleave to the good and distance ourselves from evil. We must follow the example of the Leviim and follow מי לה׳ אלי, whoever is for Hashem, be with me (Moshe).

Special Priestly Garments

The eight special garments worn by the כהן הגדול had magical qualities. Not only were they meant to atone for various sins, but they had a profound effect on the observer of these garments.

There is the famous meeting of Alexander the Great and Shimon Hatzaddik, which inspired the great conqueror to be kind to the Jews, (his dream of seeing the High Priest in his priestly garments came true). To this day, it is acceptable to give the name Alexander or Alexandra, in his memory.

But even for the common folk, seeing the ציץ, the headband that had the words קודש לה׳ on it, would cause a sinner to grow pale. It was a clash between holiness and purity against the impurity of a transgression.

The other garments did their share of atoning. The כתונת, the shirt like garment, atoned for bloodshed. The מכנסי בד, the trousers, atoned for sexual indiscretions. The אבנט, the hat, atoned for improper thoughts. The list continues so that each בגד had its corresponding atonement.

This helps us understand why one who was in a city of refuge, goes free upon the death of the כהן גדול. He was all about bringing forgiveness to the Jewish people. His death brought national forgiveness that allowed the accidental murderer to go free.

Touch Altar and Achieve Holiness

There is a Pasuk from פרשת תצוה that needs explanation. The Torah says, כל הנגע במזבח יקדש, that anything that touches the altar will be sanctified.

This refers to sacrifices that were disqualified because of a מום, blemish, that were no longer fit for a קרבן, but were offered on the מזבח inadvertently. These unfit sacrifices are nevertheless burned entirely on the מזבח and are considered sanctified.

This only applies to animals that would otherwise have been fit for a sacrifice. It does not apply to animals that are never fit for the altar such as those in the חיה (non-domesticated category such as deer and venison) category. Also included would be honey that is not permitted on the altar. These items would not be sanctified if offered on the מזבח. Hopefully, this clarifies an often misunderstood Pasuk in the Torah.

Psalm 22

Now that Purim is behind us with all of its unusual Halachot for this year, there is actually one item that was left out for those who observed פורים משולש, the three day Purim.

Normally, when Purim falls on a weekday, the Minhag in certain Ashkenazi synagogues, is to say Chapter 22 in תהילים instead of the שיר של יום, the regular psalm of the day. This custom is according to the גר״א, also known as the Vilna Gaon. If Purim falls on Shabbat, we read מזמור של ליום השבת as usual.

Psalm 22 speaks of איילת השחר, the darkness before the dawn. There is also the Pasuk, אנכי תולעת ולא איש, “I am a worm and not a man.” It teaches us both of our own human vulnerability. It also teaches that even when things so bleak and hopeless, as it did in the Purim story, salvation can always come. We must submit totally to G-d, and He can change things in a moment.

Hatred: A Dangerous Emotion

I have often said that hatred is a very negative emotion. It is true that we say in our Friday night prayers, אוהבי ה׳ שנאו רע, that those who love Hashem hate evil. However, we are certainly not supposed to obsess over how much we hate even our enemies. We celebrate Haman’s downfall on Purim, but nowhere is it written how much we hated him.

We destroy our enemies because we love our family and country. We do what must be done because it is right and necessary for our survival. It has nothing to do with hatred. (You can Google, “Hatred a wasted emotion,” and find an article I once wrote in the JPost.)

I was deeply disturbed by a discussion I had with a student I helped convert twenty years ago. He lives in America so I innocently asked him what kind of job he thought Biden was doing. He answered, “We need to put Donnie (Trump) in jail.” He went on to tell me that no Trump supporter is welcome in his home.

I told him that I guess this ends my twenty year relationship with him. I said that it’s sad that your vile hatred of Trump is more important than the Rebbe-Talmid relationship I thought we had. I also reminded him that such attitudes of intolerance and rage, were not the principles he learned from me. I made it clear that I regretted recommending him for Giyur.

I share this with you, because we must be so careful not to stray from Jewish principles. Loving every Jew is not always easy. It requires us to be accepting of every Jew even when they don’t share our own views. So much more is accomplished with love, much more than hatred.

Jewish Unity

Shavua Tov and Purim Sameach-

A major theme of Purim is Jewish unity. Haman convinced Achashveirosh that it was a good idea to annihilate the Jews because they were מפוזר ומפורד, “separated and scattered.”

To counteract this claim, the Jews needed to be united. The Gemara in מסכת מגילה claims that the placing of the royal signet ring on the finger of Haman, did more than the pleadings of forty eight male prophets and seven female prophets.

The Jewish people knew that they must repent and join together. Esther told Mordechai to כנוס את היהודים, to gather the Jews in prayer and repentance.

All of this explains why the Mitzvot of Purim include מתנות לאביונים, money for the poor, and משלוח מנות, the sending of gifts of food to one another.

We must never underestimate the power of Jewish Unity. When we have it, combined with faith in Hashem, no power on earth can harm us. Purim Sameach!

ונהפוך הוא

We are now beginning our extended Purim season. One of the messages of Purim is ישועת ה׳ כהרף עין, that Hashem’s salvation comes in a moment.

We see from the story in the Megillah how things can change so quickly.

Specifically, this is seen during the evening between Esther’s first and second party, when Achashveirosh was unable to sleep.

Haman came at exactly the right time when the king began to make sense of the situation at hand.

He suddenly realized that Mordechai and the Jews were his allies, and it was Haman who wanted to overthrow him.

The proof of his new suspicion was confirmed when he asked what should be done to one who wished to honor the king.

Haman, in his arrogance, asked for the king’s clothing and horse. That was all Achashveirosh needed to hear. And that was the moment of ונהפוך הוא, when everything changed.

This story should give us the strength to realize that we must never lose hope. If we put our trust in Hashem, we, too, can see His salvation in a moment.