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Parshas Emor-פרשת אמור

April 29, 2010 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: ) |  No Comments

Towards the end of the parsha the Torah discusses the incident with the mekalel; the person who cursed Hashem. Such an atrocity had never happened before, so the Torah tells us you take him outside the camp and stone him. The parsha ends off ובני ישראל עשו כאשר צוה ה’ את משה, klal Yisroel did exactly as Hashem told Moshe. However, if you look a few pasukim earlier (pasuk 13) the pasuk says that Hashem spoke to Moshe and it detailed him exactly what to do to such a person……it seems this last pasuk in the parsha is redundant. What occurred that was so special that the Torah felt it worthy to tell us that the decree of Hashem was obeyed?

Rashi offers an explanation that the three actions one does to fulfill ’stoning’ a person. First they push him off a cliff, secondly stone him and thirdly hang him. The Ramban writes that the reason the Torah repeated it was to tell us that klal Yisroel did not harbor one ounce of hatred towards the mekalel. The reason they stoned him was only to do the will of Hashem. There was no nekamah involved and it was not personal.

The Meshech Chochma offers another answer which is somewhat relevant for each one of us.

The pasuk of כאשר צוה ה’ את משה is not going on klal Yisroel, but rather referring to the Lechem HaPanim. The pasuk says, ויצא בן אשה ישראלית, and the son of a Jewish lady went out. Rashi asks from where he went out?  Rashi offers numerous pshatim, one of which he says means לגלג-he made a mockery, made fun of the Lechem HaPanim. He reasoned ’should a king eat bread that is a week old? He should only eat fresh bread!” He scorned the Lechem HaPanim.  From this mockery, he led himself to curse Hashem. Says the Meshech Chochma, כאשר צוה ה’ את משה means that they did the mitzvah of Lechem HaPanim like Hashem commanded Moshe to do. They weren’t influenced by what this mekalel did and said. When a person sees or hears something, it makes a tremendous impact on them. The mind starts to wonder, maybe they’re right; they have a good point. However, here it’s such a chiddush that after all that klal Yisroel heard they were NOT affected. The Torah had to go out of its way to testify and praise the bnei Yisroel who weren’t affected by this laytzunis.

L’maaseh, why were they not affected?

One of the tactics of the yetzer hara is the concept of ‘aveira goreres aveira’. The yetzer hara works slowly to get someone to distance themselves from Hashem and from his Torah. But klal Yisroel just witnessed firsthand the whole turn of events. They were able to connect the dots; they saw everything unfold before their own eyes and weren’t affected. Everyone is affected by what they hear and what they see. If one thinks that it’s not so by them, then take a look at this week’s parsha how the Torah went out of its way to testify that only by this specific maaseh, was klal Yisroel not affected.

To combat the yetzer hara one has to take small steps towards improving themselves.  I know I mentioned this story before but I think it drives the point home and is worth repeating.

My Rosh Hayeshiva, Rav Chaim Zev Levitan Shlit“a, once told me that he was on the phone with his Rosh Hayeshiva, Reb Elya Svei zt”l, on erev Rosh Hashana and Reb Elya asked him ‘nu, what are you going to speak to your baal habatim about on yom tov?’ Rabbi Levitan answered ‘I have a few different ideas in mind; I’m not 100% sure yet on which nekudah I’m going to focus on’. Reb Elya answered him, ‘tell them “a bissel besser is oich besser”, a little better is also better. Combating the yetzer hara requires using his technique right back at him. Like Reb Elya says…a little better is also better; taking small steps in improving one’s self.

May we all be zoche to combat the yetzer hara through baby steps and bring ourselves closer to Hashem to prove to him we need the geulah b’karov.

(search by: parsha; chumash; emor; parshas emor; torah; meshech chochma; ramban; rav elya svei; mekalel; lechem hapanim; cursing Hashem; influenced by your surroundings; combating the yetzer hara)

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Parshas Achrei-Mos/Kedoshim-פרשת אחרי מות-קדושים

April 22, 2010 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: ) |  No Comments

In the beginning of parshas Achrei Mos the Torah discusses the avodah performed by the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur. The Torah first states in reference to the פר that the Kohen Gadol offers וכפר בעדו ובעד ביתו, loosely translated to mean that it atones for himself and all his fellow kohanim. The Torah continues and speaks about the שעיר בפנים which atones for klal Yisroel. The Torah goes even further and says that the ketores atones for the every single person in klal Yisroel.

The apparent question is, that if the Torah states that the שעיר בפנים and the ketores atone for all of klal Yisroel then why do the kohanim need their own special korban for their atonement? Why couldn’t the regular שעיר work as a kaparah for the kohanim as well? What was lacking, that they needed their own animal for the kaparah?

The Meshech Chochma answers with a beautiful explanation.

The purpose of the שעיר פנימי was to atone for the tumas kodesh u’mikdash. Says the Mesech Chochma, regarding the laws of hekdesh and mikdash the kohanim were the ones chosen and handed over the sacred task of ensuring that everything went in order. They were entrusted to be in charge that the level of kedusha was constantly maintained in the Bais HaMikdash. If they chas v’sholom failed with their responsibility, they would be held accountable and need an extra kaparah.

The gemarah in Yoma states that  Shaul HaMelech did one aveira and was stripped of his status (of malchus) and lost it for his future generations, while Dovid HaMelech did two aveiros and he was NOT stripped of his status as king. What was difference between the two? The Mesech Chochma quotes the Sefer Haikrim that says that the destroying Amalek can only be done through the king and while Shaul was king, he let this opportunity slip through his hands. Since HE had the responsibility to do so and he didn’t, he was stripped of the kingship. Dovid, on the other hand, did two aveiros but neither of them were dependant on the role of being king as the case was by Shaul.

We see from the Mesech Chochma and the gemarah that when someone who has a responsibility and fails, the aveira is much greater than if the responsibility was ONLY nogeah through them. That is why the kohanim need an extra atonement because their aveira is related to the special tafkid given to them.

All of us, the bnei Torah, have a responsibility to represent and sustain kavod HaTorah and our actions have to justify that. We have to act properly and remember not to act in a way that will be mechalel shem shumayim. The reason being that we are on a higher plateau, because of the achrayos given to us to represent proper kavod haTorah.

May we all be zoche to prolong this vital status which will only bring us closer to see Moshiach b’karov!

(search by: parsha; achrei mos; chumash; achrei mos-kedoshim; torah; parshas achrei mos kedoshuim; yoma; meshech chochma; sefer haikrim; kavod hatorah; living up to responsibilities; korbanos atoneing klal yisroel; special kapara for kohanim; responsibility of kohanim; kohanim preserving the kedusha of bais hamikdash; being held accountable for your responsibilities)

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Parshas Tazria/Metzorah-פרשת תזריע מצורע

April 16, 2010 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: ) |  No Comments

There’s a well known medrash that states the following story, there was once a peddler who arrived into a busy marketplace. He incited a commotion by yelling out, ‘who wants to purchase the סם החיים, the medicine of life?” Everyone came running over to see what this peddler had to offer.  As the crowd gathered around the peddler, he opened up his tehilim and read out loud the pasuk: מי האיש החפץ חיים אוהב ימים לראות טוב נצור לשונך מרע…… Loosely translated to mean which man wishes life and wants to see good old days? Watch your tongue from speaking evil……., Rav Yanai who was in the marketplace when this all occurred said that his whole life he didn’t understand pshat in this pasuk until this peddler came along and enlightened him!

The obvious question is what did this peddler teach Rav Yanai that he didn’t already know?

Rav Issur Zalman Meltzer, zt”l, answers beautifully.

Imagine yourself walking down the street and you see something that doesn’t belong to you. You are compelled to steal it but you don’t. True, you didn’t commit an aveira for not stealing it, but at the same time you didn’t collect a zechus. For a person to receive a zechus, to acquire nutrients for ones olam haba, you have to do a mitzvah properly. Rav Yanai understood from this peddler that if one is careful and watches what comes out of his mouth he is actually attaining zechusim for one’s self for NOT doing something. Zechusim that will give a person sustenance to live off in olam haba.

The pasuk says that someone who is inflicted with tzora’as has to sit outside of the camps and call out to anyone that passes by ‘I am tamei, I am tamei’. The Chofetz Chaim bring a gemarah that states not only does this person call out and let the people passing know that he is tamei but he also asks them to daven on his behalf. He asks why this person needs to ask others to daven for him. What do his teffilahs lack that others have? Answers the Chofetz Chaim because a mouth that was used to speak dvarim rah is now affected. The mouth is the conduit used to daven to Hashem, his lines of communications are now full of static.

The Pshat here is that it’s not just that we DON’T get an aveira, but in actuality we are accomplishing something great. What are we accomplishing? The fact that the torah and tefillah that comes out of our mouths is being connected on a crisp pure line.

We should all merit to watch our mouths and to keep them clean as to we can continue davening in a beautiful fashion for Hashem to bring Moshiach speedily in our days!

(search by: chumash; parshas; parshas tazria metzorah; tazria metzora; metzorah; rav issur zalman Meltzer; rav yanai; chofetz chaim; watching your mouth; refraining from speaking evil; receiving rewards for not doing omething; tzoraas; the medicine of life)

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Parshas Shemini-פרשת שמיני

April 8, 2010 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: ) |  No Comments

When the Vilna Goan was a young child, he was asked to find a connection between the end of parshas Shemini and the beginning of parshas Tazria. Parshas Shemini ends off ‘להבדיל בין הטמא ובין הטהור ובין החיה הנאכלת ובין החיה אשר לא תאכל’, to make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between animals that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.  Parshas Tazria starts off ‘כי תזריע וילדה זכר’. What connection is there between these two pasukim?

The Goan answered beautifully.

There’s a gemarah in yoma (82b) that says if a pregnant women has a very strong craving for a specific food, you must give it to her because in fact the baby is really the one who needs it. The gemarah goes on to say that if this pregnant woman smells something on Yom Kippur and gets a desire for a particular food, we whisper in her ear that it is Yom Kippur. If she calms down and the craving leaves her then fine but if not we feed it to her because it is pikuach nefesh. (For halacha l’maaseh please consult a competent rav). The gemarah continues and brings two different instances where both methods were actually applied. A lady that was pregnant and she had a strong desire for something on Yom Kippur and someone whispered in her ear that it was Yom Kippur and her desire stopped. Another woman had the identical situation happen to her, yet when someone whispered to her, the craving didn’t go away and they gave her to eat.  From the lady who’s craving left her was born R’ Yochanan. From the lady whose craving stayed and she ended up eating she gave birth to a rasha.

Says the Gra, the Torah in other places refers to a pregnant woman as a ‘chaya’. We can now use the gemarah in yoma to beautifully tie these two pasukim together.

When the Torah wrote ‘להבדיל בין הטמא ובין הטהור ובין החיה הנאכלת ובין החיה אשר לא תאכל’, it is referring to a pregnant woman, (referred by as the ‘chaya’) who either ate from her craving on Yom Kippur or did NOT eat from her craving on Yom Kippur! Depending on this one can know כי תזריע וילדה זכר’, what type of zachar she will give birth to!

A man once came to Rav Sampson Refoel Hirsch zt“l, and said Rebbi, I get a mazel tov we had our first child, a baby boy. How can I be mechanech him? Rav Hirsch answered him sharply ‘you’re nine months too late’. A person has to understand and realize that when the baby is in the mother’s stomach is when you start being mechanech it. You don’t listen or see anything inappropriate (especially when carrying a child).  There are many things one should be careful about when carrying a child that’s brought down in many places to minimize the chances of giving birth to a rasha.

We must keep in mind that it will be our children who will hopefully greet the face of Moshiach and it is up to us to instill that simcha of being a yid and the fear we must have to serve Hashem and to be mechanech them properly, so that they can pass it down to the next generation and the one after that too and hopefully Hashem can then see us doing that and help speed up the coming of Moshiach so WE can merit greeting him in our generation, Amen!

(Search by: parsha; chumash; torah; shemini; parshas shemini; gra; vilna goan; goan; connection between shemini and tazria; rav Sampson refoel Hirsch; bringing up your child; being mechanech a child; yoma; r yochanan; pregnant woman; craving; cravings)

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