Transcript
Okay, בוקר טוב boker tov. It is Thursday morning. This is the last time that we are on our exception to have the class Thursday morning. We're gonna move back to Tuesday morning. Assuming we have class next week, I don't know yet. It depends how far I get in שבת הגדול Shabbos HaGadol between now and Tuesday. So if I'm far along, we we have class, if not, we don't. You should follow your email. We begin ספר ויקרא Sefer Vayikra, the third book of the Torah. We have the privilege of continuing on our way. And ספר ויקרא Sefer Vayikra, of course, deals primarily, so known as תורת כהנים Toras Kohanim within the מדרש Midrash and הלכה Halacha, because it's primarily directed at the laws of the כהנים Kohanim. This is the function in the משכן Mishkan. It's the laws of קרבנות korbanos. It's the hardest book to learn, arguably, because it seems the most esoteric, it seems the most antiquated, it seems like it's the most irrelevant to us in our daily lives. We unfortunately, tragically, no longer have a משכן Mishkan or a בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash, so we lack this opportunity for these קרבנות korbanos. So people dismiss learning this because, ah, I can't follow, I don't understand, it's not relevant. But the opposite is true, because though we don't have the קרבנות korbanos, first of all, we're told, the גמרא Gemara tells us that when we learn the קרבנות korbanos, when we study the קרבנות korbanos, when we recite these passages of the קרבנות korbanos, it is considered as if we offered them. So that we can't bring them in practice, when we are articulate and study them, then that is the closest we can come, and it is as if we've offered them. But moreover, there is deep, deep meaning and symbolism to each of the קרבנות korbanos. Each of the specific animals, how they're brought, do you consume them, do you burn them, the fats, the flour offering, the wine offering, all of it has deep, deep symbolism and relevance. We've discussed it at length in the past. Primarily, I am fond of quoting רב שמשון רפאל הירש Rav Shimshon Refael Hirsch's approach. The word קרבן korban comes from the word קרוב karov, to come close. The קרבן korban was a mechanism to come close to השם Hashem. It wasn't some, the רמב\"ם Rambam writes in מורה נבוכים Moreh Nevuchim that הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us קרבנות korbanos, it was a concession. Because the contemporaries of the Jews at this time had temples and sacrifices and the Jewish people yearned for a similar tangible way to get close. We discussed that at length. בית הלוי Beis HaLevi, the משך חכמה Meshech Chochma, and so on. So, the רמב\"ם Rambam writes in מורה נבוכים Moreh Nevuchim that the קרבנות korbanos were a concession by השם Hashem to the Jewish people, you can be like all the other nations of the world. You want sacrifices? Go say here, a sacrifice. Cut the throat, spill the blood, sprinkle. You can have sacrifices. That's what the רמב\"ם Rambam says. But רב שמשון רפאל הירש Rav Shimshon Refael Hirsch says it's much more than just a concession. And even that statement of the רמב\"ם Rambam is controversial. The רמב\"ם Rambam, you know, מורה נבוכים Moreh Nevuchim, it's controversial because did the רמב\"ם Rambam, there are scholars who suggest that the רמב\"ם Rambam did not mean everything he said in מורה נבוכים Moreh Nevuchim, he did not necessarily accept as objective truth. Some of what he said was cited in order because מורה נבוכים Moreh Nevuchim was the guide for the perplexed. It was those of his generation who were confused and who were going to stray. And in order to keep them close, he said what he thought they needed to hear. That's what some suggest, even if he didn't necessarily accept it as intellectually honest. Others, how dare, how could you say such a thing? The רמב\"ם Rambam, the bastion of intellectual honesty, to suggest that he said anything intellectually dishonest in order to sway and keep people close. How could it be? But so this is one of those statements that there is a debate about. So, but רב שמשון רפאל הירש Rav Shimshon Refael Hirsch says no, קרבן korban is קרוב karov. It's the mechanism through which to come close to השם Hashem. And how do you come close to השם Hashem, as we've shared in the past? Because a Jew, frankly a non-Jew also who could bring a קרבן korban in the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash, in the Jewish בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash, a difference between our religion and others. In other religions if a if a Jew tries to practice as a Jew in that religion, you don't get into heaven at best and you're slaughtered on the spot at worst. But a non-Jew, a שבע מצוות בני נח Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach, a a righteous gentile is invited as well to participate in the service in the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash in a much more limited fashion, but is able to. But a קרבן korban, so says רב הירש Rav Hirsch, every human being is made up of an animal instinct and a godly spirit. There's the animal impulse within us, and there's the godly spirit which helps us have a life of discipline and self-control. The process, the act of bringing a קרבן korban is to slaughter the animal instinct within us. That's the symbolism. God, you see this animal, this ram, this ox, this bird, this lamb, this sheep, you see this animal? This animal has a lot in common with me. We have a lot in common. We both give into temptation. We both desire to follow our instinct, our intuition, our animal impulse. God, I'm slaughtering the animal, I'm slaughtering the animal inside me. I want to be exclusively a godly spirit. And all, I don't want to take the time, but רב הירש Rav Hirsch develops, the blood libation represents man's passions, the wine represents man's indulgences, flower offerings or מנחה mincha represents man's most basic needs, the fats represents man's overindulgence. All the symbolism of the קרבנות korbanos is as relevant today as it ever was, says רב הירש Rav Hirsch, because it is symbolism through which we connect to the concept of of trying to draw close to השם Hashem, because the more we emphasize our godly spirit and de-emphasize our animal instinct, the closer we'll be to השם Hashem. And the more we nourish our our animal instinct and we suppress our godly spirit, the further we'll be from השם Hashem. So the process, the mechanism to be קרוב karov is the קרבן korban. is to sacrifice the animal instinct, is to express, to emphasize the godly spirit. That's how we get close to השם Hashem. So, that's, hold on one more second. That's the key to understanding the whole ספר sefer. It's the key to understanding certainly the פרשה parsha, because if you don't understand what we're doing here, it sounds antiquated, it sounds outdated, it sounds utterly irrelevant. And continuing, that's what the מפרשים meforshim, and we've covered this in the past, the אור החיים Or HaChaim, the כלי יקר Kli Yakar. אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן להשם Adam ki yakriv mikem korban l'Hashem, which is the second פסוק pasuk of the פרשה parsha. משה Moshe is instructed to tell the Jewish people, ואמרת אליהם v'amarta aleihem, tell them, אדם כי יקריב מכם Adam ki yakriv mikem. אדם Adam. You know when you're an אדם Adam? You know when you're a man, when you fulfill your purpose? כי יקריב מכם Ki yakriv mikem. Where's the קרבן korban supposed to come from? מכם Mikem. It's got to be a personal sacrifice. It's got to be personalized. It's got to be about you. It's not just as ישעיהו הנביא Yeshayahu HaNavi bemoans as we read in anticipation of תשעה באב Tisha B'Av, when ישעיהו הנביא Yeshayahu HaNavi says, למה לי רוב זבחיכם יאמר השם Lamah li rov zivcheichem yomar Hashem. God says, what do I need your sacrifices? They're empty. You can't just come to שול shul and mumble the words, but not have any personal connection, not be speaking from the heart. You can't just do the מצוות mitzvos and discharge them as physical obligations, done. לולב ואתרוג Lulav and esrog, check, טלית ותפילין tallis and tefillin, check, candle lighting, check. It's got to be כי יקריב מכם ki yakriv mikem. Where is the מכם mikem? The נשמה neshama, the personal. That's where it is. And that's what the קרבן korban was. If you went to the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash and you just offered the קרבן korban, it's an incredible thing. You have with קרבנות korbanos. You have the concept of פיגול piggul. You have you have prohibitions when it comes to קרבנות korbanos that depend purely on what you're thinking in your head. If you have the wrong thought, you can nullify the קרבן korban. It's פסול pasul. And you're and you're liable for the wrong thought. If I have the wrong thought when I take my לולב ואתרוג lulav and esrog, did I do the מצוה mitzvah? Yeah. We פסק'ן pasken that you don't need, מצוות mitzvos don't require כוונה kavana, you need כוונה kavana, Allah says. But if I'm not having כוונה kavana of what the לולב lulav is, I think the citrus, you know, the אתרוג esrog's a beautiful citrus fruit, I'm holding it because it smells great. And I'm not really thinking about what it represents, the heart or the good smelling, good tasting Jew or whatever all that symbolism is. But when it comes to the קרבן korban, I have to have the right intent because it's אדם כי יקריב מכם Adam ki yakriv mikem. It has to be something which comes from you, and all that is by way of introduction. That's what these פרשיות parshiyos are about. And if you understand that, you'll understand what קרבנות korbanos are. And if you don't, you will forever think that it is irrelevant, outdated, antiquated, and has no meaning or purpose for us. Yes, Dr. Siegel. Yes. Go back to Mr. Rabbi Jerry. Jerry's okay. Yes. The, when the רמב\"ם Rambam says it, perhaps he he means in the day when it was given, and you know, with subsequently, uh considering the idolatry around, that קרבנות korbanos, actual קרבנות korbanos was necessary as opposed to his day when, you know, we're already into תפילה tefillah and. Right. By the time the רמב\"ם Rambam was writing it, there was no בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash, there were no קרבנות korbanos. So that would lead him to believe that השם Hashem provided it when it was needed, except that we yearn for a third בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash which will have קרבנות korbanos again. Another question. Yeah, so we'll have קרבנות korbanos again in the third בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash. Yes. In fact, you know, I have a גיור geirus meeting today. I'm I sit on the בית דין beis din of South Florida for גיור geirus, we meet every month and you know, we we do conversions, maybe eight or 10 a year, 10, 12 a year. So we, every convert when they're in the מקווה mikvah right before they immerse, we remind them that when the third בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash will be rebuilt, there's a special קרבן korban, a special sacrifice that a גר ger, a convert has to bring. And one of the things we ask them is, are you prepared that when the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash will be rebuilt, you're going to have to spend money, get to ירושלים Yerushalayim, and bring the special קרבן korban of the גר ger? What is it? What is the special? For another time. But they say, I mean if they don't say yes, then they get out of the מקווה mikvah. That has not yet happened. But they all they all accept. So קרבנות korbanos will happen once again. Okay, let's get going. I want to offer two other introductions. We're not going to do our overview of the פרשה parsha today because it's very technical and detailed. Learn the פרשה parsha on your own. Each of the קרבנות korbanos, what the animals are, where they're brought, how they're brought, when they're brought, why they're brought. You could go through the the פרשה parsha itself. But I want to say two more words of introduction and then skip to the very end of the פרשה parsha and study those פסוקים psukim with you in our limited time today. The so the second piece of introduction I want to share is the small אלף aleph. If you look on page 544 in the Stone חומש Chumash, if you look in any חומש Chumash which is accurate, you'll see that in our ספר תורה sefer Torah, the אלף aleph of the word ויקרא Vayikra is an אלף זעירא aleph ze'ira, is known as a small אלף aleph, it's a miniature אלף aleph. It's not the same font size as the rest of the text. The סופר sofer writes the אלף aleph in a smaller size, and the question is why? So I don't want to develop it at length, I think we have in the past, but I will just refer you. The the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim says, you know why the אלף aleph is small? Because it represents משה Moshe's humility. ויקרא אל משה וידבר השם אליו Vayikra el Moshe vayidaber Hashem eilav. God called to משה Moshe, the אלף aleph is משה Moshe's a reflection of משה Moshe's humility. And this is in contrast to בלעם Bilam, who was a source of great arrogance. ויקר Vayikar sounds like happened. God happened on בלעם Bilam. But משה Moshe he called, to בלעם Bilam, the אלף aleph of of, I'm sorry, with with בלעם Bilam who was arrogant, the אלף aleph is משה Moshe who is humble. The beginning of ספר דברי הימים Sefer Divrei Hayamim, the אלף aleph of ויקרא Vayikra when it refers to אדם הראשון Adam HaRishon is large. The אלף aleph is large, I'm sorry, when in דברי הימים Divrei Hayamim. Why? Because אדם הראשון Adam HaRishon had an arrogance that led to his sin. Whereas משה Moshe was humble. The question of the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim, which I will leave for you to consider, the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer asks is, well, משה Moshe's humility, what are you waiting till the beginning of ויקרא Vayikra? משה Moshe's been humble since ספר שמות Sefer Shmos since we was we were introduced to him. משה Moshe was exceedingly humble. But the word ויקרא Vayikra has been used with משה Moshe earlier. So why wasn't the first time the word ויקרא Vayikra is used with משה Moshe, why don't we have a small אלף aleph there? Why do we wait till the beginning of the third book? What is significant about משה Moshe here? What is the connection to the theme of ויקרא Vayikra that now we choose to emphasize the humility of משה Moshe with the small אלף aleph? That's the question of the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer. I submit that for your careful consideration. The כלי יקר Kli Yakar quotes a different tradition. The כלי יקר Kli Yakar on this פסוק pasuk quotes a מדרש Midrash that is a tradition that the small אלף aleph is not about משה Moshe's humility. You know what the small אלף aleph represents? The קינדרלך kinderlach, our small children. Why our small children? Because says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar according to the מדרש Midrash, where do we begin to educate a Jewish child? Not from בראשית Breishis, not שמות Shmos, not במדבר Bamidbar, not דברים Dvarim. Excuse me, where do we begin to educate them? We begin to educate them with ויקרא Vayikra. The small אלף aleph represents the small children, חינוך chinuch. Here too, I submit to you a question for your careful consideration. If you were going to choose any passage, any narrative, any section to begin educating children, ויקרא Vayikra would likely be your last choice. What child, what six, seven, eight year old is going to connect to the themes of ויקרא Vayikra? The גמרא Gemara that they start with. Whatever, who's going to connect with ויקרא Vayikra? The stories of בראשית Breishis are wonderful, the משכן Mishkan, the significance in שמות Shmos is is wonderful. במדבר Bamidbar, the narratives are fantastic. דברים Dvarim, משה Moshe's soliloquy. ויקרא Vayikra of all places? Of course I have an answer, but I careful I I leave that for you to consider. Okay, so that's the small אלף aleph, you cannot begin with that. Oh, another time. You cannot begin ספר ויקרא Sefer Vayikra without that careful consideration. And the third and final introduction I want to share with you before we examine some פסוקים psukim specifically is another מדרש Midrash about the words ויקרא Vayikra. The מדרש Midrash here says, ויקרא Vayikra, look look at the opening words of the of the of the ספר ויקרא sefer Vayikra. ויקרא אל משה וידבר השם אליו מאהל מועד לאמר Vayikra el Moshe vayidaber Hashem eilav mei'Ohel Moed leimor. God called משה Moshe and he spoke to him from the אהל מועד Ohel Moed. God summons him from the אהל מועד Ohel Moed and calls him and tells him, משה Moshe, you're allowed to, you're allowed to enter. So says the מדרש Midrash something incredible. I'll read to you the מדרש Midrash. ויקרא אל משה וידבר השם Vayikra el Moshe vayidaber Hashem, מכאן אמרו mikan amru. From these words that God called משה Moshe and invited him into the אהל מועד Ohel Moed, מכאן אמרו mikan amru, from here we learn, you ready? כל תלמיד חכם שאין בו דעת, נבלה טובה הימנו Kol talmid chacham she'ein bo da'as, nevelah tovah heimenu. Any תלמיד חכם talmid chacham who lacks דעת da'as, which we'll translate in a moment, any תלמיד חכם talmid chacham who lacks דעת da'as, a נבלה nevelah is better. A נבלה nevelah, a corpse. A תלמיד חכם talmid chacham, you can be the greatest Torah scholar, but if you lack דעת da'as, you're worse than a than a carcass. תדע לך Teida lecha, how do you know that? שכן מצינו במשה אבי החכמה אבי הנביאים Shekein matzinu b'Moshe avi hachochmah avi han'vi'im. משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu, who is the father of wisdom, who is the greatest prophet, שהוציא ישראל ממצרים shehotzi Yisrael miMitzrayim, he took the Jewish people out of Egypt, ועל ידו נעשה כמה ניסים v'al yado na'aseh kamah nissim, he was the catalyst for countless miracles in Egypt, ונקרע הים סוף v'nikra haYam Suf, and split the sea, ועל השמי מרום v'al hashamayim marom, והוריד תורה מן השמים v'horid Torah min hashamayim. He was the messenger who brought back Torah. ונתעסק במלאכת המשכן V'nisasek b'meleches haMishkan, responsible for the construction of the משכן Mishkan. And yet, despite that incredible resume, לא נכנס לפני ולפנים עד שקרא לו lo nichnas lifnai v'lifnim ad shekara lo. He didn't enter the קודש הקדשים Kodesh HaKodashim or the משכן Mishkan until he was called, until he was invited. שנאמר She'ne'emar, ויקרא אל משה וידבר Vayikra el Moshe vayidaber. You see from the beginning that the משכן Mishkan is erected, the משכן Mishkan is complete, it's ready to go. But משה Moshe doesn't walk in until God says, 'Come in.' He knocks, but he doesn't enter until God says, 'Come in.' Now the מדרש Midrash is very perplexing. It's a powerful מדרש Midrash, but it's difficult to understand, because clearly משה Moshe is an excellent example of waiting patiently before entering, of not being rude and just walking in. משה Moshe is a role model, but of what? You'd say it's a role model of, if I had to describe what משה Moshe does here is, he practices respect, courtesy, דרך ארץ derech eretz. But the מדרש Midrash doesn't use the word דרך ארץ derech eretz. What does the מדרש Midrash say? שכל תלמיד חכם שאין בו דעת Shekol talmid chacham she'ein bo da'as. Why does it use the word דעת da'as instead of דרך ארץ derech eretz? משה Moshe's behavior could be characterized as דרך ארץ derech eretz, courtesy, not as דעת da'as. What does דעת da'as mean? What does it mean? Knowledge. It was משה Moshe's good manners, his etiquette, his decency that didn't permit him to enter without being called. Why does the מדרש Midrash refer to this as דעת da'as? So, I want to share with you, a first suggestion could be that the message מדרש Midrash is teaching us a great lesson, the centrality, the importance of דרך ארץ derech eretz in life. Why? Because by calling דרך ארץ derech eretz דעת da'as, דעת da'as can be understood to a certain degree as common sense. It's common sense. By calling דרך ארץ derech eretz דעת da'as, what it's saying is that דרך ארץ derech eretz, etiquette, is not something that should need to be learned. It doesn't need to be studied. It doesn't need to be taught. Being a kind, being an appropriate, being a courteous person, a decent person should be intuitive, should be instinctive, should be second nature, should be a result of common sense. דרך ארץ Derech eretz should be second nature, treating others with respect and dignity, sensitivity and kindness, should not be acquired traits, but should be instinctive. דרך ארץ Derech eretz, in fact, is קדמה לתורה kadma l'Torah. דרך ארץ Derech eretz takes precedence over Torah. We find דרך ארץ derech eretz preceded Torah by 26 generations. In other words, אדם Adam was commanded in דרך ארץ derech eretz 26 generations before the Torah was given. That means that as opposed to Torah which is a a body of knowledge that has to be studied and acquired and absorbed and attained and integrated, דרך ארץ derech eretz should be basic, it should be simple, it should be obvious, it's actionable. So maybe that's why it says כל תלמיד חכם שאין בו דעת, נבלה טובה kol talmid chacham she'ein bo da'as, nevelah tovah. If you're a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham but you're פרוסט prust, if you're a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham but you're rude, if you're a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham but you're discourteous, you're worse than a carcass, because how could you have all that knowledge and lack such common sense? Maybe that's the first understanding. Maybe that's the first understanding. And within that understanding, I'll tell you an incredible, there's an article by רב אהרן ליכטנשטיין Rav Aharon Lichtenstein. I'll tell you the second, which is really a corollary before I share with you the article by רב ליכטנשטיין Rav Lichtenstein. A second suggestion that that occurred to me came from an article that I read once. An article I read, it described the following. There was an extraordinary doctor, he was a surgeon in a teaching hospital. He had many students, many medical residents. He was known to be very challenging, very demanding, very difficult. His residents were very intimidated, it was daunting to work for him. He had very high standards and lofty expectations and and really was highly critical of them. So he worked hard, he worked hard to transmit the skills of being a surgeon of excellence, different procedures and processes and so on and so forth. So when the students concluded their residency, each and every one of them were invited to meet with this doctor, with their mentor, who would serve through this oral exam as their final exit exam. To complete their residency, they had to meet with him and they had to pass his oral exam. So the article described that when they arrived, they'd reviewed all the procedures of medicine and chemistry and physics and orgo and everything that they, parts of the anatomy, everything that they thought they needed to know. But each time there was only one piece of information, there was only one piece of information that he wanted in order to graduate them and consider them prepared to practice. They would come before him and he'd ask each of them the exact same question. Ready? He wanted to know, when you're done in the operating room, when you've finished after you cut open the patient, did whatever you needed to do, sutured them up, when you're done in the operating room and there's someone who comes in to clean up after you, to mop up and to throw out the garbage and to remove the bloody pieces of gauze, what's the name of the janitor? What's the name of the custodian who comes in to clean up after you? That was the exit exam. Not medicine. Do you know after two years of residency in this hospital, what's the name of the person who comes in to clean up after you? You see, there are three types of knowledge we talked about it last week: חכמה, בינה, ודעת chochmah, binah, v'da'as, חב\"ד Chabad. And the difference between the three. The doctor wasn't concerned with the חכמה chochmah. He wasn't concerned with the information the students had. He wanted to know the דעת da'as. Did the knowledge transform itself into practice? Does it make you a better person? Is it fully integrated to elevate and to enrich you? So maybe that's the message of the מדרש Midrash. משה Moshe's דרך ארץ derech eretz was not an exercise in etiquette. It was an outcome of his profound דעת da'as. The depth of his understanding of Torah, the assimilation of that knowledge into every fiber of his being caused him to be a better person. That's a big challenge that we have in our times, just as an aside. Google generation, the information age, computer, we have more knowledge than ever, but is the knowledge turning us into better people? כל תלמיד חכם שאין בו דעת Kol talmid chacham she'ein bo da'as. If if your knowledge, if all that information, if all those Google results, if all of that doesn't make you better, then then you're worse than a carcass, then you're worse than a נבלה nevelah. So רב ליכטנשטיין Rav Lichtenstein has a great article. רב ליכטנשטיין Rav Lichtenstein's article is called, 'If there is no דעת da'as, how can we have leadership? If there's no דעת da'as, how can we have leadership?' And the the question of רב ליכטנשטיין Rav Lichtenstein's article is about דעת תורה da'as Torah. דעת תורה Da'as Torah, which much has been written about, the concept of דעת תורה da'as Torah, which essentially is the infallibility of rabbinic leadership. You know, the Pope, להבדיל l'havdil, as of yesterday, there's a new man who's infallible in Catholic tradition. You know, the Pope Emeritus, regains his fallibility. Once he left, the Pope, the first Pope Emeritus in 600 years, you know, normally the Popes only replaced when he dies. But this Pope, Benedict, who left, is uh, he it's it's fascinating that fallibility can be, infallibility can be attained and lost. So the Pope Emeritus regains fallibility. He can be wrong again. You know, the Pope's not married. If if Pope were married, he would know that he was wrong, uh, he'd be fallible from day one. Someone here. The only, the infallibility is directly connected to the fact that he's not married. If you're married, he would know he was always wrong. Anyway, so the um, there's a Jewish tradition that that grew and frankly is only recent, only within the last hundred, 150 years of דעת תורה da'as Torah. The idea that you turn to rabbis for for not הלכה'יק halachic questions, but rabbis to tell you everything. Should I buy this house or that house? Should I do this or do that? Should uh, my son get married or not? Should I take this job or not take job? Do I do this business, not? דעת תורה Da'as Torah. What does דעת תורה da'as Torah say about this? What does דעת תורה da'as Torah say about that? So, there are three main approaches to the concept of דעת תורה da'as Torah. דעת תורה Da'as Torah is obligatory in every field of life, sacred or profane, not only in in realms of of trying to עבודת השם avodas Hashem, but even the profane. Should I invest in this piece of real estate or that piece of real estate? The second perspective of דעת תורה da'as Torah, that it's not relevant at all in material matters. דעת תורה Da'as Torah means I'm trying to grow religiously, should I go to this ישיבה yeshiva, that ישיבה yeshiva? Should I דאווענען daven in this שול shul or that שול shul? And the third approach is דעת תורה da'as Torah does not obligate us on a normative level, but it's worthwhile to rely on it. Meaning you're not bound by דעת תורה da'as Torah, but it's valuable to consult דעת תורה da'as Torah when you are absorbing information and opinions to form your own, דעת תורה da'as Torah should be one of them. So רב ליכטנשטיין Rav Lichtenstein has on page eight of this article, an fascinating digression. He says, any תלמיד חכם talmid chacham who lacks דעת da'as is worse than a putrid animal carcass. Quotes our מדרש Midrash, beginning of ספר ויקרא Sefer Vayikra of פרשת ויקרא Parshas Vayikra, our מדרש Midrash. And he writes the following, I'm reading directly from his article, which I don't think he wrote the article, it's a translated, uh he did write it, but it was translated, he wrote it in Hebrew. 'One of the most difficult questions in this field relates to and encompasses the topic of our discussion. If there is no דעת da'as, how can you have דעת תורה da'as Torah? Right? דעת תורה Da'as Torah, the idea of rabbinic leadership being more endowed with divine wisdom, predicates itself, דעת תורה da'as Torah predicates itself on דעת da'as.' So רב אהרן Rav Aharon writes, 'To illustrate this, I will relate a story.' Listen, it's an incredible story. 'Many years ago, I traveled to בני ברק Bnei Brak to console my rabbi and teacher רב יצחק הוטנר זצ\"ל Rav Yitzchak Hutner zatzal in his mourning when his wife passed away.' רב הוטנר Rav Hutner was the ראש ישיבה rosh yeshiva of חיים ברלין Chaim Berlin. רב ליכטנשטיין Rav Lichtenstein studied in חיים ברלין Chaim Berlin as a child, and רב Rav, uh, רב הוטנר Rav Hutner then opened a ישיבה yeshiva in Israel in הר נוף Har Nof, the פחד יצחק Pachad Yitzchak, the name of the ספר sefer that he wrote. And when רב הוטנר Rav Hutner's wife died, so רב ליכטנשטיין Rav Lichtenstein went to pay a שבעה shiva call. So he writes, 'When I went to see him, I found him sitting alone. We had a private conversation and this was conducted in a very open and honest fashion, from one heart to another. רב הוטנר Rav Hutner told me that one of the תלמידי חכמים talmidei chachamim who came to console him tried to convince him and to explain to him how his wife's passing was positive, inasmuch as she was now in the world of truth, a world which is entirely positive, and other such nonsense. And indeed, it is not uncommon to hear such things when one goes to console a mourner, especially when the deceased passed away while being involved in a מצוה mitzvah or has fallen in a battle in the sanctification of השם Hashem's name. It is superfluous to state that saying such things is totally unsuitable. I remember that when רב הוטנר Rav Hutner told me this, he raised his voice and he applied the following severe words of the מדרש Midrash to that תלמיד חכם talmid chacham. Any תלמיד חכם talmid chacham who lacks דעת da'as is worse than a putrid animal carcass. רב הוטנר Rav Hutner added in his thunderous voice, Did you hear this? Any תלמיד חכם talmid chacham who lacks דעת da'as! Consider this, said רב הוטנר Rav Hutner. We're not discussing an ignoramus who lacks דעת da'as, but specifically a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham, a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham who has filled his belly with תלמוד Talmud and responsa literature, who's an expert in קצות החושן Ketzos HaChoshen, נתיבות המשפט Nesivos HaMishpat, but he lacks דעת da'as which can direct and guide him so that he will act with understanding towards others and interact with them in a civil fashion, he is worse than a putrid animal carcass. Had I not heard these incisive comments with my own ears from my rabbi and teacher, I would be fearful of voicing such sentiments on my own, of my own accord, said רב ליכטנשטיין Rav Lichtenstein. So without getting too involved in the question of the correct balance between דעת da'as, wisdom, and understanding, in this context, it will suffice for us to note that one can certainly conclude from this מדרשי midrashic teaching that דעת da'as is not bestowed from on high as a free gift which is passed automatically into man's hands, even if he is a supreme תלמיד חכם talmid chacham. דעת Da'as does not necessarily accompany knowledge and analytical skill, is not necessarily bound up with them like fire with hemp fibers. We have learned from רב הוטנר Rav Hutner's incisive comments that there is a certain level of דעת da'as that is vital for a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham to possess, without which his wisdom is severely impaired. And so even if we adopt the approach which requires obeying גדולים gedolim, it would be logical to assume that this obligation applies only to a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham who possesses דעת da'as, not to a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham whose full of Torah knowledge like a pomegranate, but lacks דעת da'as. A תלמיד חכם talmid chacham according to the מדרש Midrash is worse than a putrid animal carcass. Would we approach this carcass, who according to our sages is better than a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham to ask it for advice on medical matters? Could a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham who lacks דעת da'as be relied upon? Can we accept the words of a Torah genius lacking human and emotional sensitivity, who possesses no psychological insight?' And he goes on and on and on. So the concept of דעת תורה da'as Torah, who is the arbiter, who decides, who is the authority of דעת תורה da'as Torah? So it wouldn't be someone who ranks as the greatest תלמיד חכם talmid chacham, because you see from רב הוטנר Rav Hutner's insight into our מדרש Midrash, you could be an unbelievable תלמיד חכם talmid chacham, but lack common sense. So you're going to go to someone for advice who lacks common sense, even though they're an incredible תלמיד חכם talmid chacham? In other words, before our מדרש Midrash, before רב הוטנר Rav Hutner's insight, you'd say, being a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham by definition gives you common sense. By definition gives authority to your opinions. Says רב הוטנר Rav Hutner, you could be a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham and an idiot, to paraphrase. You could be a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham and a moron. You could have incredible Torah knowledge but lack basic common sense. So when we seek leaders and teachers, when we seek guidance, it has to be from someone who couples both the חכמה chochmah, the wisdom, with the דעת da'as, with the common sense of a משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu who waited to enter the משכן Mishkan until השם Hashem invited him in. ויקרא אל משה וידבר השם מאהל מועד לאמר Vayikra el Moshe vayidaber Hashem mei'Ohel Moed leimor. Common sense also means sensitivity? Is that part of it? Yeah, courtesy, דרך ארץ derech eretz, common sense. Common sense doesn't necessarily mean... Correct. Correct. In this context, what I mean by common sense also is common courtesy, kindness, sensitivity, so on and so forth. Okay, let's look at a few פסוקים psukim from the end of the פרשה parsha. Is that what you're saying? To teach that in the ישיבות yeshivos. It's a good question. It's a good question. Okay, I'll avoid it. פרק ה, פסוק כ Perek hey, pasuk kaf. Skip to the very end of the פרשה parsha. Very end of the פרשה parsha. It's much harder to develop a curriculum for it. Yeah. It's easier to develop a curriculum for חכמה chochmah than for דעת da'as. It's harder. But arguably... Example is the best teacher, but arguably it's more important. Okay, page 566, 566 in the Stone חומש Chumash. We're going to skip to the very end of the פרשה parsha, פרק ה, פסוק כ perek hey, pasuk kaf, chapter 5 verse 20. And this is the conclusion of the list of all of the different קרבנות korbanos that are offered, or that are described, that are mandated in our פרשה parsha. וידבר השם אל משה לאמר Vayidaber Hashem el Moshe leimor. השם Hashem speaks to משה Moshe and he gives him one last קרבן korban for our פרשה parsha. What is it? נפש כי תחטא ומעלה מעל בהשם Nefesh ki secheta u'ma'alah ma'al b'Hashem, וכיחש בעמיתו בפיקדון ובתשומת יד או בגזל או עשק את עמיתו v'chichesh b'amiso b'fikadon u'visumas yad o v'gezel o ashak es amiso. This is the law of an individual, a נפש nefesh, an individual, כי תחטא ki secheta, who makes a mistake. ומעלה מעל בהשם U'ma'alah ma'al b'Hashem. And מעילה me'ilah is a form of, let's call, what does our call translate today, I think is treason. What does our article say? Treachery against השם Hashem. It means to violate השם Hashem. מעילה Me'ilah is when you steal something or use something of the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash for personal benefit or gain, to violate השם Hashem, to violate השם Hashem, treachery, treason against השם Hashem. So this is an individual who made a mistake, and the result of that mistake is treachery against השם Hashem. And what was the mistake? כיחש בעמיתו Chichesh b'amiso. They deny, they challenge someone having to do with these cases of money, monetary dispute, where a fellow man accuses them of having their money. Jerry says, Goldberg, you have my money. And I say, no, I don't. And what are the examples? בפיקדון B'fikadon. What's a פיקדון pikadon? Means a deposit. Jerry says I, I left you have my book. You have a hundred dollars, you have you have something of mine. או בתשומת יד O b'tesumes yad. Or the second example is a loan. Or בגזל b'gezel, a robbery. You stole something. או עשק את עמיתו O ashak es amiso. Or you worked for me and I didn't pay you. You were, I didn't pay you your wage that you deserved. So in any of these cases, you accused me of having your money. I say, no I don't. כחש kichesh. החש hachash means to confront, to challenge. I say, no I don't. By the way, notice the pasuk introduces this as a מעילה בשם me'ilah b'Shem. What does Hashem have to do with this? There's no religious violation here. It's a fight between me and Jerry. What does God have to do with this? We'll come back to that in a second. Oh, פסוק ב' pasuk bais, מצא אבידה matza avedah, I found a a lost item, וכיחש בה v'chichesh bah, ונשבע על שקר v'nishba al shaker. What happens? I discover a lost item, but I deny that it belongs to someone else. And ונשבע על שקר v'nishba al shaker, I swear falsely about it, על אחת מכל אשר יעשה האדם לחטא בהנה al achat mikol asher ya'aseh ha'adam lachato bahenah. I swear falsely about any of the things that a person can do and make the mistake. והיה כי יחטא ואשם v'hayah ki yechta v'ashem. So when I finally step forward and I'm willing to admit my guilt, והשיב את הגזלה אשר גזל v'heishiv et hagzeilah asher gazal, I got to give back what I've stolen, או את העשק אשר עשק o et ha'oshek asher ashak, I have to pay the wage that I've denied. או את הפקדון o et hapikadon, give back the item that I've been watching, אשר הופקד אתו asher hufkad ito, או את האבדה אשר מצא o et ha'aveidah asher matza, I have to give back the lost item to its rightful owner. So I have to restore any of this money, או מכל אשר ישבע עליו לשקר ושלם אותו בראשו וחמישתו יוסף עליו o mikol asher yishava alav lashaker v'shilam oso b'rosho vachamishiso yosef alav. I don't just return the principal of the item. I have to add a fifth, 20%. I've got to pay more. I'm penalized not just to have to pay back the principal of that which I stole, but I have to add a penalty of a fifth. ואת אשמו יביא להשם v'et ashamo yavi l'Hashem. And not only do I have to pay back the individual with a penalty, but I also have to pay back Hashem because part of my violation was to Hashem. How do I pay Hashem? את אשמו יביא להשם איל תמים מן הצאן בערכך לאשם אל הכהן et ashamo yavi l'Hashem, ayil tamim min hatzon b'erkecha l'asham el hakohen. פסוק כה Pasuk chaf hey. I bring a guilt offering to Hashem, an unblemished ram from the flock, has to be the right value, a guilt offering to the kohen. וכיפר עליו הכהן לפני השם ונסלח לו v'chiper alav hakohen lifnei Hashem v'nislach lo. It atones. It receives a, I receive atonement, I'm forgiven, על אחת מכל אשר יעשה לאשמה בה al achat mikol asher ya'aseh l'ashmah vah, any of these things for which I incur guilt. Okay? This is the end of the פרשה parsha. This is a קרבן אשם korban asham, a specific kind of קרבן אשם korban asham where I denied that I owed you money, I swore falsely about it, I later come and offer a confession, I have to pay a penalty of a fifth above the principal of that which I stole or owe, plus I have to bring this קרבן אשם korban asham. I have to bring a ram to Hashem.Let's go through some מפרשים mefarshim on this section. Says רש\"י Rashi, what does God have to do with this? I stole from Jerry. Either I deny that I have his book, I deny that the object I found really belongs to him. I didn't pay him even though we promised we were going to pay him for giving a lunch and learn. I, whatever the case may be, I owe him money, I lied, I swore falsely. Now I make a confession, I pay Jerry. Why does the Torah describe it as מעל מעל בשם maal maal b'Hashem? That I caused, I practiced treachery against Hashem. So much so that this is described as violating Hashem and that I have to atone from Hashem, I have to bring a קרבן korban. Says רש\"י Rashi, אמר רבי עקיבא מה תלמוד לומר ומעלה מעל בשם לפי שכל המלוה והלוה אינו עושה אלא בעדים ובשטר Amar Rabbi Akiva, mah talmud lomar u'ma'alah maal b'Hashem? L'fichach shekol hamalveh v'haloveh eino oseh elah b'eidim u'v'shtar. Normally when there's a transaction, how do we have outside accountability with the transaction? Witnesses. So normally if Jerry borrows $100 from me, or more likely I borrow from him, so we go to witnesses. We say to two people, will you be our witnesses? Either watch it, or will you sign a document, sign a שטר shtar, a loan document, so that there's third-party accountability if we ever get into a conflict later. אבל המפקיד אצל חברו אינו רוצה שתדע בו נשמה אלא שלישי שביניהם Aval hamafkid etzel chavero eino rotzeh sheteida bo neshama elah shlishi shebeineihem. לפיכך כשזה מכחיש מכחיש בשלישי שביניהם l'fichach k'shezeh machchish, machchish bashlishi shebeineihem. But if there's a private matter, if Jerry says, if I say, can I borrow your book? Or Jerry says, can you watch my book? We don't bring in witnesses, watch me take the book from him. There's trust. And what's the core of the trust? Because we believe even here there's a third party. And who's the third party watching? Not human witnesses, but that Hashem. We've invited Hashem to be the third party, accountability, honesty, integrity. לפיכך L'fichach, so therefore, when I say to Jerry, I don't have your book. I don't know what you're talking about. I don't owe you money, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not only violating Jerry, but I'm also violating that third party who we implicitly trusted, namely Hashem. A beautiful description of רש\"י Rashi, of רש\"י Rashi. The בעל הטורים Ba'al Haturim says similarly. Look at פסוק כה pasuk chaf hey in the בעל הטורים Ba'al Haturim. הוא וכיחש בין השם ובין עמיתו מכחיש בדבר שאין יודע בו אלא הקדוש ברוך הוא וחברו Hu v'chichesh bein Hashem u'vein amito, machchish b'davar she'ein yode'a bo elah Hakadosh Baruch Hu v'chavero. God is always watching. So when you lie about something that happened, you're not just hurting the your adversary, the other person, but Hashem is always watching. So when you lie, you're you're you're making a fool of Hashem. When you lie, you're challenging, you're violating Hashem as well. Okay. רש\"י Rashi continues, או בתשומת יד o b'tsumes yad. One of the things you could be lying about is a is a a loan. ששם בידו ממון לעסק בו או במלוה שלו shesam b'yado mamon l'isasek bo o b'milveh shelo. A question of a a financial loan. רש\"י Rashi continues, או בגזל שגזל מיד חברו o v'gezel shegazal miyad chabro, anything you stole. Oh, עושק oshek, שהוא שכר שכיר shehu schar sachir. The person worked for you and they deserve their wage. וכיחש וכפר אחת מכל אלו אשר יעשה האדם לחטא, ונשבע על שקר כפירי ממון v'chichesh v'chafar achat mikol eilu asher ya'aseh ha'adam lachato, v'nishba al sheker kfirei mamon. And you deny it. You say it's not true, never happened, and you swear falsely about it. So כי יחטא ואשם, כשיכיר בעצמו לשוב בתשובה ולדעת להודות כי חטא, ויודע כי יחטא ואשם ki yechta v'ashem, k'sheyakir b'atzmo lashuv b'tshuvah v'lada'at l'hodot ki chata, v'yode'a ki yechta v'ashem. This is true, this law of adding a fifth and of bringing this קרבן korban only when you admit, when you make a confession. But if in fact two witnesses come later and say, \"You thought no one was watching, we were watching,\" and you indeed give Jerry back his book. So, then these laws would not apply. These laws only apply in the context of a confession. Hold on one second, Bill. Okay, go ahead, yeah, what's your question? You mentioned the concept of making a fool of Hashem. I can make a fool of myself. How could you, how can I, I can't understand how Hashem, you, how can one make a fool of Hashem? You're making, I don't mean making a fool of Hashem. You're not making a fool of Hashem. Maybe that's a poor choice of words. What I mean to say is, if you and I witness the same thing, and then I'm with you while you're describing to other people a distorted version of what we witnessed, you're insulting me because I was there. What do you think, you're taking me for an idiot? I was there. And what you're describing doesn't correspond with reality. And you're as if you're you're implicitly challenging my basic integrity. So Hashem is always there watching. And when you deny something happened the way it really happened in reality, you're taking, you're taking Hashem for a fool. Maybe not making him a fool. You're offending, you're offending the basic integrity. Where's the trust in the relationship? You're defaming his name. You're defaming his name. Excellent. Okay. So continuing, look at the, look at the כלי יקר Kli Yakar. The כלי יקר Kli Yakar has a beautiful homiletic interpretation here. Says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, פסוק כא pasuk chaf aleph, נפש כי תחטא ומעלה מעל בשם, כאן הקדים חטא למעילה nefesh ki secheta u'ma'alah maal b'Hashem, kan hikdim chet l'me'ilah. ובגזל הקודש הקדים מעילה לחטא u'v'gezel hakodesh hikdim me'ilah l'chet. Here we describe the treachery against Hashem before we describe what happens to man. I'm sorry, the opposite. Here we describe the חטא chet, כי תחטא ki secheta, you made a mistake, ומעלה מעל u'ma'alah maal, and it resulted in treachery against Hashem. In the case of stealing from Hashem, we described it first as treachery against Hashem and only then the חטא chet. And the כלי יקר Kli Yakar explains why. But skip to the second paragraph. That's the part I want to emphasize. ועל דרך הרמז אמר v'al derech haremz amar, נפש כי תחטא ומעלה מעל בשם וכיחש בעמיתו בפקדון nefesh ki secheta u'ma'alah maal b'Hashem v'chichesh b'amito b'pikadon. The pasuk describes a person who made a mistake, they they challenged Hashem, they lied to a person about the פקדון pikadon. Says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, listen to this homiletic interpretation. כי בכל לילה האדם מפקיד רוחו ביד הקדוש ברוך הוא ki b'chol lailah ha'adam mafkid rucho b'yad Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Every night, we deposit our נשמה neshama to Hashem to safeguard. ואף על פי שהנשמה חייבת להקדוש ברוך הוא, כי על ידי עוונו עשינו נרדפת עד חובה v'af al pi shehaneshama chayavet l'Hakadosh Baruch Hu, ki al yedei avono asinu nirdefet ad chovah. The truth is, we owe God our נשמה neshama because we have made mistakes and we're liable and accountable and we really owe him our נשמה neshama. מכל מקום אין הקדוש ברוך הוא מעכב פקדונו ומחזירו לו כעין שנתנו לו Mikol makom ein Hakadosh Baruch Hu me'akev pikdono u'machziro lo k'ein shenatno lo. But God doesn't hold on to the פקדון pikadon of our נשמה neshama. When we wake up in the morning, if we're privileged to wake up in the morning, God has given us back. He has restored our נשמה neshama. וזה המכחיש בפקדון חברו אף על פי שאינו חייב לו, לא כגמול ידו עשה הקדוש ברוך הוא V'zeh hamachchish b'fikdon chavero af al pi she'eino chayav lo, lo kigmol yado asah Hakadosh Baruch Hu. ולפי זה הנפש החוטאת בפקדון חברו, מעל בשלישי הדן בשם אשר ציווה לו להשיב פקדונו U'l'fi zeh hanefesh hachotet b'fikdon chavero, maal b'shlishi hadan b'Shem asher tzivah lo l'hashiv pikdono. So you violate Hashem, 'cause Hashem gives you back your פקדון pikadon. You're not gonna give back the פקדון pikadon you have of someone else? Jerry gives you his book, and you're not gonna give Jerry back his book? You give God your נשמה neshama, he gladly restores it in the morning. So if you're awake that day, it's 'cause God gave you back the פקדון pikadon. That's the מעל מעל בשם maal maal b'Shem. Says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar homiletically, the מעילה me'ilah to Hashem, the violation of Hashem is, Hashem was kind enough to give you back the פקדון pikadon you gave him, namely your נשמה neshama. How could you not give the פקדון pikadon your friend gave your friend gave you? Okay.פסוק כג Pasuk chaf gimmel in the כלי יקר Kli Yakar. Look at the next כלי יקר Kli Yakar. פירש רש\"י כשיכיר בעצמו לשוב בתשובה, כי כוחות לא עולם לישים אשם נפשו Peirush Rashi k'sheyakir b'atzmo lashuv b'tshuvah, ki kochot lei olam l'yasem asham nafsho, בדרך איש ישר בעיניו, כי הוא מורה לעצמו היתר בכל דרך לאמור, שזה חייב לו ממקום אחר לפי דמיונו b'derech ish yashar b'einav, ki hu moreh l'atzmo heter b'chol derech l'eimor, shezeh chayav lo mimakom acher l'fi dimyono. ונתפעל לו כי עשה לו איזה אונס, על כן הוא מעכב פקדונו v'nitpa'el lo ki asah lo eizeh ones, al kein hu me'akev pikdono. It's very hard for a person in life to admit guilt. In general, we don't admit guilt easily. Often we actually instead manipulate the circumstance to defend our actions rather than admit guilt. So I have Jerry's book and I don't want to give it back to him. So I don't admit, you know, I've essentially stolen because I have his book. What I say is, you know what, Jerry once borrowed something from me and didn't give it back. You know what? Jerry is a, he's, he doesn't, he's not a good person. He doesn't deserve his book back. You know what? Whatever the case may be. He doesn't remember things easily. He doesn't remember things easily. He won't remember. So I could hold on to it. I'll do more with his book by spreading his book around than, whatever the case may be, it's hard to admit guilt. Instead, I justify and rationalize to defend my actions. So, לפיכך ביום שישים אשם בנפשו ויכיר טעותו כי לא טוב עשה בעם, וזהו שנאמר ואשם l'fichach b'yom sheyasim asham b'nafsho v'yakir ta'uto ki lo tov asah b'am, v'zehu she'ne'emar v'ashem. So therefore, the פסוק pasuk, what did it say? והיה כי יחטא ואשם V'hayah ki yechta v'ashem. What was the language? When you make a mistake, when you sin and you become guilty. שישים את עצמו אשם ומורה גם הוא יורד אצל עצמו על ידי שיכיר בחטאו, ואז ודאי יתן לבבו לשוב בתשובה וישיב את הגזלה אשר גזל Sheyasim et atzmo asham u'moreh gam hu yored etzel atzmo al yedei sheyakir b'cheto, v'az vadai yiten libo lashuv b'tshuvah v'heishiv et hagzeilah asher gazal. So, the first step to admitting guilt is to recognizing you're wrong, he says. You'll never admit guilt and achieve atonement. You can't do תשובה teshuvah if you're not willing to admit you're wrong. You have to be willing to admit you're wrong if you're going to. So when you apologize but you didn't have an admission of guilt, when you apologize but there's no admission of guilt, then you can't achieve atonement. לא שישלם דמי הגזלה אלא את אשר גזל בעינו, ושלם אותו בראשו, כי הקדוש ברוך הוא מבטל אשמו ואינו מקפיד על מה שאחר הזמן עשה עולה בשם Lo sheyishalem dmei hagzeilah elah et asher gazal b'eino, v'shilam oso b'rosho, ki Hakadosh Baruch Hu mevater ashemo v'eino makpid al mah she'achar zman asah avlah b'Shem. על כן ציווה לו להקדים תשלומין דאורייתא ליתן בראשו כשלם, ואחר כך יביא אשמו, שבועה וחמישיתו יוסף עליו אשר היה מעושת בתלם אצלו Al kein tzivah lo l'hakdim tashlumin d'oraita l'tein b'rosho k'shelo v'achar kach yavi ashamo, shvuah vachamishiso yosef alav asher hayah me'usat b'telem etzlo. What's the order? First you restore what you owe man, and then you bring the קרבן korban. God says, I can wait. But you can't try to be whole with me until you're whole with your fellow man. Look at the ספורנו Sforno who says similarly, שאין הקרבן מכפר אלא אם כן פייס את הניזק קודם הבאת הקרבן She'ein hakorban mechaper elah im kein piyes et hanizak kodem hava'at hakorban. The קרבן korban's not gonna work. Don't be all religious and righteous and go to שול shul and שאַקלען shuckle and דאַוונען daven and say, God, I failed you, and hold on to the money that you owe somebody. If you failed a human being, you hurt somebody, you said something insensitive, you owe them money, you did something wrong, don't be such a righteous צדיק tzaddik. God does not interested in your apologies if you don't first take care of the people that you've hurt. אלא אם כן פייס את הניזק קודם הבאת הקרבן elah im kein piyes et hanizak kodem hava'at hakorban. כאמרם הביא את אשמו עד שלא הביא גזלו לא יצא K'amram heivi et ashamo ad shelo heivi gezeilo, lo yatza. If you bring the קרבן korban before you pay back what you owe, you have not fulfilled the obligation of bringing the קרבן korban. Don't come to שול shul and שאַקלען shuckle till you've made your fellow man whole. God says, I'm not interested until you take care of fellow man first. And that's why the פסוקים psukim are in the order that they are. Okay, there's a lot more to talk about here, but we're going to end here. Yes. Is there a mechanism to exercise this penalty? To exercise what? The penalty? No. We have no ability to exercise in בבל Bavel. We cannot give out קנס knas. קנס Knas was dependent on the בתי דין batei din in ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. The גמרא Gemara says there were times when the בית דין beis din outside of ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael could do it. They saw that they functioned as an extension of the בית דין beis din of ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, but we lack the סנהדרין Sanhedrin today. We lack the authority today. So we no longer have the concept of קנס knas. We can only cause people to pay back קרן keren, the principal. Okay, have a fantastic שבת Shabbos. שול Shul dinner tonight. Come celebrate the.
