Transcript
בוקר טוב Boker tov and good morning to all. Thank you for joining us for our weekly review and study of the פרשה parsha. We have the privilege of studying פרשת נשא Parshas Naso. ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, the Jews, our brothers and sisters in Israel and we, sorry, the microphone, are now a little bit off. We are a פרשה parsha behind again thanks to the holiday of שבועות Shavuos. I want to thank our generous sponsors, dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family, who sponsored the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur in memory of Becky's father David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת l'iluy nishmas דוד בן מנחם מנש David ben Menachem Manash, whose נשמה neshama should have an עליה aliyah through their amazing work, generosity and friendship. We got an action-packed פרשה parsha. נשא Naso has so much in it. We have the census and we have the story of the סוטה sota, and we have the story of the נזיר nazir, and we have the story of ברכת כהנים birchas kohanim, and we have מעילה me'ila, and we have so much in it. So we got a lot of ground to cover and stay with me for this ride. It's in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash, פרשת נשא Parshas Naso on page 748. And the פרשה parsha begins really where last פרשה parsha, I don't want to say left off, but last פרשה parsha began, namely with the question of a census, of a count, to determine the number of the Jewish people. And Rashi here says, כמו שציויתיך בני קהת לדעת כמה יבואו לכלל העבודה k'moshe tzivisicha b'nei kehas l'daas kama yavo'u l'chlal ha'avodah. The purpose of the census in last week's פרשה parsha was to determine the manpower to serve in the military, the army, the Jewish people were going to conquer the land. It was also an expression of חיבה chibah, of Hashem's love, of his affection for us. We know that we count what we are affectionate for, we count what we love and what we're affectionate about. And in our פרשה parsha, the count is not because of military preparation, the count is for the service in the משכן Mishkan, the service in the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. In order to perform the עבודה avodah, Hashem was taking a count. What did the staff look like? How many would be available? How many would serve? That is how our פרשה parsha begins. נשא את ראש בני גרשון גם הם Naso es rosh b'nei Gershon gam heim, בני מררי למשפחותם b'nei Merari l'mishpechosam and so on. Bring your attention to פרק ד Perek daled, פסוק כ\"ד pasuk chaf daled. פרק ד Perek daled, the beginning of our פרשה parsha, פסוק כ\"ד pasuk chaf daled. זאת עבודת משפחת הגרשוני לעבוד ולמשא zos avodas mishpechos ha'Gershuni la'avod u'l'masa. This is the work of the family of Gershon, to work and to carry. That was their mission, that was their mandate, to work and to carry. Rav Soloveitchik in the Rav חומש Chumash makes a very astute observation here. And he says, later in the פרשה parsha we're going to learn about the gifts of the נשיאים nesi'im. The end of our פרשה parsha is the repetitive, redundant, to a degree difficult to continue to read, we're familiar with it from חנוכה Chanukah reading, of the נשיאים nesi'im, the princes of the 12 tribes, each offered up the exact same קרבן korban to Hashem. The only thing different was רחמנא ליבא בעי Rachmana liba bo'i, their intent, their motivation, their mindfulness, their mentality while they brought it. So each of those gifts of the נשיאים nesi'im were brought, they included wagons. The פסוק pasuk says in פרק ז Perek zayin, פסוק ג pasuk gimmel. פרק ז Perek zayin, פסוק ג pasuk gimmel. ויביאו את קרבנם לפני השם שש עגלות צב ושני עשר בקר עגלה על שני הנשיאים ושור לאחד ויקריבו אותם לפני המשכן Va'yavi'u es korbanam lifnei Hashem, sheish eglos tzav ushnei asar bakar, agalah al shnei hanesi'im v'shor l'echad vayakrivu osam lifnei haMishkan. The פסוק pasuk says they brought their offerings before Hashem, six covered wagons, twelve oxen, a wagon for each two leaders. The wagons were part of that offering, the wagons were part of that עבודה avodah. Moshe gave the covered wagons and the oxen to גרשון Gershon and מררי Merari for transportation of the משכן Mishkan. However, he did not give wagons and oxen to the sons of קהת Kehas because the holy ark was to be borne upon their shoulders, not placed upon wagons. So the Rav notes in the beginning of our פרשה parsha that Gershon got wagons to make their job easier. They had to transport the משכן Mishkan, the curtains of the משכן Mishkan, and the planks of the walls of the משכן Mishkan, and the utensils of the משכן Mishkan, were all very heavy. So the most efficient way to be able to transport them and carry them through their journey in the desert in the מדבר midbar was on wagons. Gershon were given wagons. Kehas on the other hand were not given wagons. Why not? They too had a sacred task, a sacred service. They were carrying not the elements of the משכן Mishkan, they were carrying the ארון aron, the ark that held the broken tablets, the whole tablets, the מן mon, the first sefer Torah, the holy ark, the holy ארון aron. Why weren't they given a wagon? Because in fact, it was so holy that it was not carried on a wagon. It was not transported in the in the bed of a flatbed truck. Where was it transported? On their very shoulders. What's the significance? Why does Rav Soloveitchik draw our attention to this? Because back in ספר בראשית Sefer Bereishis, he tells us that יעקב's Yaakov's family was transported to Egypt how? In wagons, drawn by oxen, in the same way the משכן Mishkan was transported by the children of גרשון Gershon and מררי Merari. So, there's a parallel. How did יעקב's Yaakov's family descend? How did they come down to Egypt? They came down on wagons that were that were transported, that were dragged by, led by oxen. However, יעקב's Yaakov's wagon was carried directly by his children, not by oxen. Moving יעקב Yaakov was a holy service, akin to the bearing of the ark. No matter how sacred the tablets and the ark, they were nevertheless made of stone. יעקב Yaakov was a living sacred being. Hashem's word was part of יעקב's Yaakov's personality engraved not on a dead matter but on a living tissue. If the stone tablets were not to be carried by oxen, then the living tablets certainly must not be carried this way either. A very beautiful insight that the Rav has, that just like there was a difference in our פרשה parsha between the ארון aron which was carried on their shoulders to show the love, the respect, the affection, as opposed to the other elements of the משכן Mishkan, so to יעקב's Yaakov's children could be carried, transported by oxen leading wagons, but יעקב Yaakov himself was transported on a wagon that was carried by his family because יעקב Yaakov was a living ספר תורה sefer Torah. He was a living ארון Aron, living לוחות Luchos. The גמרא Gemara says how foolish, כמה טפשאי kama tipshai, those who stand for a ספר תורה sefer Torah, how foolish those who honor a קלף klaf and a דיו d'yo, the parchment and the ink, and yet mistreat a fellow Jew, fail to honor כבוד התורה kavod haTorah, צדיקים tzaddikim and צדקניות tzidkaniyos, תלמידי חכמים talmidei chachamim, תלמידות חכמות talmidos chachamos, who fail to respect and honor those who live and who embody and who represent the Torah. And that's one of the ideas evidenced here in the beginning of our פרשה parsha. Moving right along, the completion of the census, the פרשה parsha moves on. גרשון's Gershon's responsibility, מררי's Merari's responsibility, and then the totals that are given so that הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu knew, even though he knew without the census, but we would know, feel his love for the fact that he counted us and he made each one feel counted as we spoke about in last week's פרשה parsha. This is why ספר במדבר Sefer Bamidbar is called by our rabbis ספר הפקודים Sefer HaPikudim. ספר הפקודים Sefer HaPikudim, the book of countings, because we have these censuses throughout. We have the counting, we have the acknowledgment, the recognition, as we mentioned last week, the purpose of a census is not merely to arrive at a number. The ריבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam is omnipotent and infinite. He knew the number long before we started counting. We didn't, we weren't taking a demographic study. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the ultimate demographer. So what is the goal of the census? Each one would pass before משה Moshe and אהרן Aharon, the רמב\"ן Ramban says, and they would feel counted. They knew their role, they weren't invisible or inconsequential, they didn't blend in together, but everyone made a difference and everyone would matter. And that's the notion of פקודים pikudim. It's called not the book of, of מנינים minyanim, of countings, not the book of לספור lispor to count, it's called the book of פקודים pikudim. Why? Like the פסוק pasuk והשם פקד את שרה v'Hashem pakad es Sarah, Hashem remembered Sarah. The reason to count is to remember, is to acknowledge, is to review, is to be, is to be excited. So the פרשה parsha here begins, first we did the rest of the Jewish people and here we have לוי Levi, and why was לוי Levi separated out? We've spoken about previously a beautiful insight of רב חיים שמואלביץ Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz. I refer you to שיחות מוסר Sichos Mussar, why couldn't God include לוי Levi in the same census as the rest of the Jewish people and simply know which tribe had which number? Why did לוי Levi need to be sectioned out? I refer you, we've spoken about it in the past in the פרשה parsha cab, פרשה parsha class. We move over to the purification of the, of the camp. צו את בני ישראל וישלחו מן המחנה כל צרוע וכל זב וכל טמא לנפש tzav es bnei Yisrael v'yishalchu min ha'machaneh kol tzaru'a v'chol zav v'chol tamei l'nafesh, מזכר עד נקבה תשלחו אל מחוץ למחנה תשלחום ולא יטמאו את מחניהם אשר אני שוכן בתוכם Mi'zachar ad nekeivah teshalchu el michutz la'machaneh teshaleichum v'lo yitame'u es machaneihem asher ani shochein b'socham. Here our פרשה parsha gives us something unfortunately we've become too familiar with, the notion of quarantining, the notion of trying to prevent against contamination, trying to prevent against communal spread. Here it's not of virus or illness, here it is of not something physical but something metaphysical, a metavirus. Here it's trying to prevent the spread of טומאה tumah, of an impure contamination of values, of ideals, of behaviors, of actions that lead to a sense of טומאה tumah. Not necessarily that the tzav did anything wrong, but the צרוע tzaru'a, right, the individual who's struck with צרעת tzara'as is struck so because they were arrogant, envious. חז\"ל Chazal give us many reasons, the most popular among them, they gossiped, they abused and they failed to utilize and realize the gift of the power of speech. So here the Torah tells us that our camp has to be holy and therefore, while we don't discriminate, God forbid we don't discriminate, we love not only all Jews, we love all people who are created with צלם אלקים tzelem Elokim, we don't discriminate, but we have to strike the balance between loving and protecting and we have to protect against the spread not only of the physical virus, we have to protect against the spread of of טומאה tumah, of invisible virus, of metaphysical virus as well. In the next section, פסוק ה Pasuk hei moves us over to the story of the סוטה sota, the story of the wayward woman, the story of the woman who is warned against secluding, and then she violates that warning and secludes herself with a man not related to her, one of the people she's prohibited to seclude with. And then, she violates that seclusion, therefore she is accused. She is accused of infidelity. She denies she had any infidelity. She's brought to the kohen and she drinks from the מים המרים mayim ha'marim, and either she is rewarded with fertility or she is punished a graphic, gruesome death. That is the upshot, the quick review of the story of of the סוטה sota. And we've spoken about this every year פרשת נשא Parshas Naso, so different insights into it. איש או אשה כי יעשו מכל חטאות האדם למעול מעל בהשם ish o ishah ki ya'aseh mi'kol chatos ha'adam limol maal b'Hashem. איש Ish, או אשה o ishah, a man or a woman who violates, למעול מעל limol maal, performs מעילה me'ila, we'll come back to that in a moment. I'm sorry, I skipped ahead. Not up to the סוטה sota yet. First we have the story of theft from a Jew and a proselyte. איש או אשה כי יעשו מכל חטאות ish o ishah ki ya'asu mikol chatos. Somebody who performs a מעילה me'ila by stealing, by stealing from a a proselyte. והתוודו את חטאתם אשר עשו Hisvadu es chatasam asher asu, they have to confess their sin and they have to pay a fifth penalty on top of it. And if there's nobody to redeem it because this individual, this convert doesn't necessarily have family who could redeem it, then it goes to the כהן kohen, מלבד איל הכיפורים milvad el hakipurim and so on, that the פרשה parsha tells us. Here, theft from a Jew and theft from a proselyte. Rav Soloveitchik has a critically important insight here. And Rav says the following. The concept of ownership as it applies to man differs fundamentally from how it applies to God. If an object belongs to someone, he can grant permission for others to use it. In the case of items that belong to God, however, another factor comes in play. The object is consecrated, it's הקדש hekdesh. So what I own, or what I own in partnership, although a limited and junior partnership with Hashem, you could borrow my car, you could borrow my pencil, you could borrow even my תפילין tefillin, but that which belongs to הקדש hekdesh, that which belongs to the domain of the holy, to the משכן Mishkan or the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash has been consecrated towards God, I have no ownership stake in, I'm not entitled to lend. The use of a dative case in the phrase of להשם הארץ ומלואה la'Shem ha'aretz u'melo'ah, to God is the earth and its fullness, instead of the possessive, the earth and its fullness are God's, signifies that Hashem not only owns the world, but that the world is consecrated to him. Note the grammatical construction says the Rav, להשם הארץ ומלואה la'Shem ha'aretz u'melo'ah is similar to the standard formula for consecrating an animal, להשם חטאת la'Shem chatas. And here's the point, listen carefully. When one sins, when one makes a mistake, he violates the prohibition of מעילה me'ila, of illicit use of consecrated items. Hashem is not only the creator of the universe, he's the master of everything in it, including man. Thus, we say and we plead in סליחות Slichos, the soul is yours and the body your making, הנשמה לך והגוף פעלך ha'neshama lach v'haguf pa'alach. Everything in this world belongs to Hashem. Man's power are so to speak on loan, temporarily leased by him to God. God endowed man with life for a certain period of time, he allows man ownership over himself for the allotted period. The ownership of man by himself is utilized by the individual in a number of ways, through free choice, the exercise of intellectual powers, potential ability to create, and so on. By sinning, man loses the rights and privileges that were given to him. And the Rav goes on here, but briefly, the Rav says the reason we're giving this notion of חטא cheit, איש או אשה כי יעשו מכל חטאות ish o ishah ki ya'asu mikol chatos, מעילה me'ila. Making a mistake and violating Hashem's will is described with the language of מעילה me'ila. What is מעילה me'ila? When you have consecrated property, that which is sacred, that which has been dedicated and devoted to the משכן Mishkan or the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash and a person uses it. So you have a chair that was donated to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, and then you sit on it, it's not for you to sit on, you can't derive personal benefit from something consecrated to God. So Rav Soloveitchik points out that the Torah here in this formulation is teaching us that in fact our time and our energies, our talents and our blessings, all of that are gifts from God, they really belong to him, they are on loan to us, but really they're his, really they belong to him. And when we misdirect them and when we misuse them and when we abuse them, we are violating no less מעילה me'ila. So just as if I sit in a chair that was dedicated to the temple, I have violated something consecrated to God, so to my talents, my skills, my gifts, my blessings, my resources, my time, it is all a gift from God on loan to me, and if I misuse it, abuse it, if I channel it towards my own personal pleasure instead of using it in the fulfillment of God's mission for me here in the world, that too is a form of מעילה me'ila, that too is a violation of God. Okay, but let's go back to, as we started to talk about, the case of the סוטה sota, the wayward woman. דבר אל בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם איש איש כי תשטה אשתו ומעלה בו מעל Daber el bnei Yisrael v'amarta aleihem ish ish ki siste ishto u'ma'ala bo ma'al. We have the same language of מעילה me'ila, which we'll get to in a moment. But the story of the סוטה sota is introduced with the words, the redundancy, איש איש ish ish. A man whose wife will go astray, כי תשטה אשתו ki tisteh ishto, she will be distracted, she will go astray. איש איש Ish ish. Why does it have the word איש ish twice? Says רש\"י Rashi, ללמדך שמעלה באישה מלחמה למעלה ובאישה מלמטה l'lamedcha she'ma'alah b'ish milchama l'ma'ala u'v'ish milmata. Rashi tells us why איש איש ish ish, the redundancy, to teach us that a man of war above and the woman below. What does this mean? So commentators have explained, you know what drove this woman? Not that there's ever an excuse, not that it's ever defendable, not that it's ever okay, but what drove this woman is because he was איש איש ish ish, he dominated. He tried to minimize and marginalize her. She didn't have a role in her marriage and therefore she was driven, איש איש ish ish. He too is to blame. In a case where she wasn't respected and wasn't recognized. Again, it's intolerable, it's unacceptable, and one should never defend such behavior, but sometimes in a case like this, it reveals an inherent flaw or deficiency or challenge within the marriage that needs to be addressed and needs to be corrected. And some of the commentators say that is included, implicit in the words איש איש ish ish. Why the double language? Because he exerted himself, his power, his control too much in such a way that ultimately, not that it is okay, but drove her in that in that direction. We studied this section many times in the past, each year in the פרשה parsha, but I want to share with you a new insight this year and it's based on the teachings of רב הירש Rav Hirsch. My dear friend Rav Mendy who loves to send me ספרים sefarim, and I'm so grateful to him for that. And that's not a a hint for more. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, my bookcases are full and I got to learn what I've got. But sent me a beautiful ספר sefer, בעקבות פירוש הגאון רב שמשון רפאל הירש על התורה B'ikvos Peirush HaGaon Rav Shimshon Refael Hirsch al HaTorah. This took the commentary of Rav Hirsch on the Torah and tried to extract Rav Hirsch's beautiful gems on the פרשה parsha. And here he has an essay, קדושת הנישואין ורוממותם kedushas ha'nisuin v'romemusom, that the theme of Rav Hirsch's commentary on the part of the story of the סוטה sota, the theme that drives Rav Hirsch's commentary, and I want to summarize it for you from this beautiful ספר sefer, is the notion of the holiness and the sanctity of a Jewish marriage. The institution of Jewish marriage is not casual, we're not flippant, it's not something which is disposable or dispensable, but it's something which is sacred, it's something which is cherished, it's something which is the ultimate role and realm of holiness. It's not that holiness and righteousness are reserved for the shul, and in the home is a place that we're casual in our attitude and our conduct and the way we speak and the way we behave in our interactions. The home is the holiest place in the Jewish community. It's holier than the shul and then the beis medrash. We've been proving that these last three months when we've been transforming our homes into miniature shuls and miniature בתי מדרש batei medrash. The reason that the mikvah is the place of the community, that when you start a Jewish community or if you have limited resources in a Jewish community, they should be channeled first into building the מקווה mikvah before any other institution is because mikvah, טהרת המשפחה taharas hamishpacha, the משפחה mishpacha, the family unit, the health of a marriage is the greatest, is the most sacred, deserves the most attention, is critically important, and the theme of Rav Hirsch's commentary all throughout this section all reinforces that. Let me share it with you here. Number one, הפרשה מלמדת שהשכינה שורה בבית יהודי ha'parsha m'lamedes she'ha'shchina shora b'veis Yehudi. The פרשה parsha is teaching us that you want to find God, you know where he can be found? Yes, in shul, and yes in your tehillim, and yes in the beis medrash, and yes in your daf yomi and your shas and your nach yomi and your mishnah brurah yomi and every yomi you can think of. Of course, הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu, the Almighty, the שכינה shchina, the divine presence and countenance can be found there. But you know where he is found most intensely? In the kind of conversation a husband and wife have, the kind of respect, the kind of spirit of partnership that they have, the kind of mutual um connection that they have. שכינה שורה בבית יהודי Shchina shora b'bayis Yehudi. חיי האישה חיים קדושים הם chayei ha'ishah chaim kedoshim hem. The the the marriage ideal is holy. האיש והאישה חולקים את חייהם עם אביהם שבשמים ha'ish v'ha'ishah cholkim es chayeihem im havi'im she'bashamayim. There's a third partner who is present. We know איש ואשה, זכו, שכינה ביניהם ish v'ishah, zachu, shchina beineihem. When a man and a woman merit, Hashem's name, the א aleph and ש shin are the same, but the י yud and the ה hei change, that's Hashem's name. So when a husband and wife learn to speak respectfully, when a husband and wife share similar ideals, to build a home that is founded on Jewish values, a home that is all about caring about others and all about spreading the light of Torah and all about righteousness and justice, when they build such a home, הקדוש ברוך הוא Kadosh Baruch Hu is present, he's there, not only as much as he's in the shul in the beis medrash, even more. Of course, if they don't, if they fight and debate and compete and marginalize and bicker and don't reinforce the best in one another but draw out the worst, then אש אוכלם eish ochlam, then you have the א aleph and ש shin, there is no י yud and no ה hei and a fire consumes them. And says Rav Hirsch, you see this in פרק ה perek hei, פסוק י\"ב pasuk yud beis, we just read it. The introduction to the beginning of סוטה sota is דבר אל בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם איש איש כי תשטה אשתו ומעלה בו מעל daber el bnei Yisrael v'amarta aleihem ish ish ki siste ishto u'ma'ala bo ma'al. These words מעילה me'ila, what do they mean? We just said in the last section what they meant. מעילה Me'ila means a violation of something which is holy, sacred, or consecrated. What is מעילה me'ila? You dedicated that chair to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash or the משכן Mishkan, and now you sit on it. You made a donation to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash or משכן Mishkan, and then you derive personal selfish benefit from it. That is מעילה me'ila. Says רב הירש Rav Hirsch, that's why here the Torah describes that a violation of trust in marriage, be it the ultimate violation of infidelity, but it could be a violation of trust in marriage that says, I'm not giving you the access to the bank account. I'm not going to be transparent about our finances. I'm not going to show you trust or transparency in our relationship. I'm not going to communicate respectfully. In whatever way one violates, and one can violate in so many ways, not only the ultimate act of infidelity, but other acts, emotional infidelity, financial infidelity, web surfing infidelity, there are other forms of infidelity, they are all מעלה בו מעל ma'ala bo ma'al, says רב הירש Rav Hirsch. Just like if you violate and for your own personal selfish gain you utilize something that was dedicated to be sacred and consecrated, you've violated מעילה me'ila with a harsh penalty, so too, if you violate your marriage in any form, you have violated מעילה me'ila, you're violating something sacred, holy, and consecrated, and there is a harsh penalty. Number one. Number two, נישואין nisuin, Jewish marriage, what's it called? קידושין Kiddushin. When a husband and wife, when a bride and a groom stand under the חופה chuppah, it's called קידושין Kiddushin. What does that root of that word קידושין kiddushin? קדוש Kadosh. It is holy what they're about to enter. It's a holy matrimony, it's a holy bond, a holy union, a holy commitment. It is to lead a holy life, it is to achieve holy things. פרק ה Perek hei, פסוק כ\"ח pasuk chaf ches. Rav Hirsch points out in this context of the story of the סוטה sota, it says, ואם לא נטמאה האשה וטהרה היא ונקתה ונזרעה זרע v'im lo nitme'ah ha'ishah u'tehorah hi, v'niksah v'nizra'ah zara. What is she called if she violated the trust? If in fact, the testing waters prove that she practiced infidelity, she in fact violated her husband's trust, she's called טמאה teme'ah, she's impure. And if in fact she was reliable and truthful, if indeed she's true to her word, and though she shouldn't have secluded herself, she didn't misbehave or act out within that seclusion, the Torah testifies about her, וטהורה היא u'tehorah hi, she is טהורה tehorah. Says Rav Hirsch, you see in the very language the Torah uses, pure or impure, that the matter of marriage is not just a בין אדם לחברו bein adam l'chaveiro, it speaks to our own character, our own integrity, our own spirituality, our own spiritual identity. טמאה Teme'ah or טהורה tehorah is a function of how we behave. Do we flirt? Do we push the boundaries? Do we look at images? Do we violate the trust? Because the attitude we have towards our marriage determines whether it in fact is קדוש kadosh, is it holy, or is it profane? Are we holy or are we impure? פרק ה Perek hei, פסוק י\"ז pasuk yud zayin, says Rav Hirsch, the next manifestation of this philosophy, the next theme in his commentary, it says, ולקח הכהן מים קדושים בכלי חרס v'lakach ha'kohen mayim kedoshim b'chli cheres, the kohen takes sacred water in an earthenware vessel, ומן העפר אשר יהיה בקרקע המשכן u'min he'afar asher yihyeh b'karka ha'Mishkan, and what does he add to this concoction? No bartender knows how to mix this drink, I hope. But this is a very unusual recipe. What does he put in this vessel? An earthenware vessel, and he puts holy water that comes from the כיור kiyor, and he takes earth, nobody's asking for that from the bartender. Nobody puts that an ingredient in their mixed drink. He takes earth and where does he take the earth from? The floor of the משכן Mishkan, and he puts it in the water, shakes it up, puts it in a martini glass. No, not a martini glass, but he gives it to the woman to drink from. ונתן אל המים V'nasan el ha'mayim. Where does he take it from? The קרקע המשכן karka ha'Mishkan. Says Rav Hirsch, הכהן לוקח עפר מקרקע המשכן ונותן אל המים, פעולה זו מזכירה לאשה כי גופה הארצי אמנם מקורה מעפר ha'kohen lokei'ach afar mikarka ha'Mishkan v'nosen el ha'mayim, pe'ula zu maskirah la'ishah ki gufa ha'artzi umnam mekorah mei'afar. This exercise where the woman is watching the kohen mix her drink and take the water of the כיור kiyor and take the earth, the dirt, the soil from the floor of the משכן Mishkan and mix it together. And what is the message meant to be communicated to her? That she, the physical desire, the physical temptation, the physical appetite, the physical draw, the desire for physical pleasure, physical intimacy, it's natural. It's as natural as the earth and the ground, because where do we come from? What are we made up of? We are מן העפר min ha'afar. We were made from the earth of the ground. So there is a validation taking place. I know you had a legitimate appetite, temptation, desire. I understand where that comes from. But says the kohen, the same way I'm taking the earth and I'm elevating it, and I'm mixing it with this holy water, you have the capacity to elevate that physical desire. You have the capacity to overcome that temptation, to transform and to elevate the base physical animal part of who you are. That is the very definition of holiness. כחותיה הגופניים החושניים שאמנם טבעם כטבע העפר יוצרים רק את הצורה החיצונית זה נראה לעיניים שדמותה עליה למשול בכחותיה באמצעות פנימיותה ולרוממם kochoseha ha'gufniyim chushniyim she'umnam tevam k'tevah ha'afar yotzrim rak es ha'tzura ha'chitzonis zeh nir'eh l'einayim she'dmusah aleha limshol b'kochoseha b'emtza'us pnimiyuseha u'l'romemam. She's supposed to take that earth. We're all formed and fashioned from the ground. We're made from the same stuff that's going to go in the drink, but we're meant to transform it and to elevate it, not to be brought down or lowered by it. The גמרא Gemara in סוטה דף י\"ז Sotah daf yud zayin in fact teaches us, אמר רבא, מבני מה אומר התורה הוי עפר לסוטה Amar Rava, mi'b'nei ma omer ha'Torah havei afar l'sota? Why, why does the Torah say that the ingredient for this mixed drink, bring earth for the sota to see? זכתה יוצא ממנה בן כאברהם אבינו zachsa, yotzei mimeina ben k'Avraham Avinu. Because if in fact she was truthful, she will merit, she will have a son, she will have progeny like אברהם Avraham. Why אברהם Avraham? דכתיב ביה עפר ואפר dichsiv bei, afar v'efer. שכשם שאברהם אבינו הצליח לקדש ולרומם את עבדי יוצרו נברא מעפר she'k'shem she'Avraham Avinu hitzliach l'kadesh u'l'romem es avdei yotzro nivra mei'afar. אברהם Avraham is this says, אני עפר ואפר Ani afar v'efer. I'm ash and dust. And just like אברהם Avraham took the very physical part of who he was but elevated it through his mission-driven life, elevated through his quest for holiness, elevated through his spiritual ambition and aspiration, so too that was her mission, that's our job. That marriage is not a platform to pursue physical pleasure alone, there's nothing wrong with it, it's a מצוה mitzvah in the context of marriage, but marriage is a platform to achieve holy, noble, spiritual goals and aspirations. And therefore she violated that, she compromised that. And therefore the עפר afar, this earth is taken from the from the ground to remind her that her mission, though she's formed from the עפר afar, is to transform that. Next point Rav Hirsch makes is that where is it taken specifically from? The משכן Mishkan. It's not taken from outside the משכן Mishkan, it's taken from inside the משכן Mishkan. Why? Because maybe you'd say, why does the משכן Mishkan have earth at all? The משכן Mishkan is the holiest site in the world. It should be marble and granite and the most beautiful elements. Why is there lowly earth, dirt, soil in the משכן Mishkan that there was to take from it? Shouldn't the floor of the משכן Mishkan be something much more grandiose, must more ostentatious, much more impressive? The answer says Rav Hirsch is to realize that everybody has a place in the משכן Mishkan. Not only the lofty and the royal, but even the עפר afar and the אפר efer. She should never have seen herself as inconsequential, have thought so little of herself, have such low self-esteem, have believed that it so doesn't matter what she does because she doesn't matter. Know that even the משכן Mishkan has עפר afar, even the משכן Mishkan has this this dust on the ground, and there's no place that anyone is so low. Even the משכן Mishkan is a place for everybody that we matter, that we make a difference. The next point Rav Hirsch makes is, where is the water brought from? The כיור kiyor. The כיור kiyor, the the um laver, the place where the kohanim would wash their hands and feet when they entered to be able to perform the עבודה avodah. מים קדושים אלו שנלקחו מהכיור מורים לאישה שכמה דרך תורה שבכל מעשה וכל הלי של קדושה הם Mayim kedoshim eilu she'nilkichu mei'ha'kiyor morim la'ishah she'kame'a d'erech Torah she'ba'kol ma'aseh v'chol halichoseha kedoshim hem. The kohanim wash their hands and their feet. And it should tell her, you know what? We too, we are a ממלכת כהנים mamleches kohanim. We don't serve in the משכן Mishkan, but we serve Hashem in this world. And just as they washed their hands and feet, we too have to wash our hands and our feet. And it means not only physically to wash them, not only hygienically, and not only spiritually to wash them, to wash means to wash and to watch where we put our hands and where we put our feet. Where do our feet take us and where do our hands lead us? What kind of behavior do we do with them? Just like the כיור kiyor elevated and transformed the hands and the feet when a person came in to do the עבודה avodah, so too our mission is to do the עבודה avodah. Our work is to be able to inspire and teach and transform Hashem's world. And she takes this water from the כיור kiyor, and the mixture she will drink from has water from the כיור kiyor because she should be reminded of that message. And next, Rav Hirsch says, the כיור kiyor, what was it made from? The מראות הצובאות maros hatzov'os. It was made from the mirrors. We all know the story. The women donated the mirrors they had used to beautify themselves in the Egypt when the men had given up, when the men had said that we no longer believe, when the men had said this world is not worth bringing people into, the women beautified themselves and said, it's not true. This is yet a world which is worthwhile bringing people into. They beautified themselves in the mirrors and that attracted the men and that created a continuity and a faith and a future for the Jewish people. These are the mirrors in that כיור kiyor, and that is the כיור kiyor from which this water was drawn, because why? This woman, this סוטה sota needs to know that her job, her role was עליה ללמוד מתרומת הנשים שהצניעות בבית יהודי היא מקור ברכה aleha lilmod mitrumas ha'nashim, she'ha'tznius b'veis Yehudi hi mekor brachah. That modesty in a Jewish home, appropriateness in a Jewish home, integrity in a Jewish home, honesty in a Jewish home, is the source of ברכה brachah in our lives. That just like the women who preserved with a sense of modesty, they donated those mirrors, they knew how to attract their husbands, but they lived with a sense of modesty, and that became the ברכה brachah of our continuity, of our redemption and salvation. This woman should know that protecting modesty and protecting holiness is the source of blessing in a Jewish home. And lastly, Rav Hirsch draws us to the רמב\"ן Ramban. Listen to what the רמב\"ן Ramban writes here about the story of the סוטה sota. The רמב\"ן Ramban says, אין בכל משפטי התורה דבר תלוי בנס, זולתי הענין הזה. There's nothing in our entire sacred Torah that depends on a miracle like this story. Normally we're given מצוות mitzvos, and they're natural and they're normative and we can understand them and associate them in the natural world among the natural phenomena. Sit in the סוכה sukkah, shake a לולב lulav, blow a שופר shofar, light the חנוכה Chanukah candles, put on a תפילין tfilin, wear the ציצית tzitzis, and so on and so forth. And here we have a מצוה mitzva that says, rely on a miracle. This woman is accused, she secluded herself, let her drink this concoction, this mixture, and now sit back and here comes the miracle. If she's innocent, she's going to have a blessing of fertility. And if she's gilding, guilty, she's gonna die a gruesome, heinous death. And says the רמב\"ן Ramban, פלא ונס קבוע שיעשה בישראל pele v'nes kavua she'ya'aseh b'Yisrael. This is the only place that we have a miracle, that they could rely on a miracle, that God Himself, כביכול k'viyachol, would come down from the heavens and violate and supersede his rules of nature and intervene in this world and reveal Himself. This is the only place. The only place that we have it. בכל משפטי התורה ובחוקיה, רק כאן בפרשתנו, ההכרעה תלויה בנס. B'chol mishpatei haTorah u'v'chukeha, rak kan b'parshaseinu, ha'hachra'a t'luyah b'nes. Here the outcome depends on a miracle. בהתערבותה הישירה של השם. B'hisarvusa ha'yeshira shel Hashem. With השם Hashem mixing in directly. הדבר מורה על מעורבותו הגדולה של השם במתרחש בבית היהודי. Ha'davar moreh al me'oravuso ha'gedola shel Hashem b'misrachesh b'bais haYehudi. Why is this the only place, says הרב הירש Rav Hirsch, based on the רמב\"ן's Ramban's observation? Because this is the most sacred, this is the most valuable, this needs to be the most protected institution within the Jewish world is our home, our relationships. It's so critically, critically important. The happiness, the sanctity, the mutual respect, the integrity. It is the most sacred institution. It deserves divine protection. And therefore השם Hashem lets his name get erased. השם's Hashem's name is written on that scroll that goes in that mixed drink and on on on that parchment and השם's Hashem's name gets erased in that mixture. Why? There's a biblical prohibition. We know there's a very strict biblical prohibition to erase השם's Hashem's name, מחיקת השם mechikatas Hashem, what we call שמות sheimos. And yet, השם Hashem lets his name get erased. Why? All in the effort to protect שלום בית shlom bayis. So my friends, how critically important, and this has been a trying time for שלום בית shlom bayis. My wife and I each gave a talk, one for men, one for women, on the issue of שלום בית shlom bayis when you can't leave the בית bayis during this quarantine. It's a trying time, 24/7. I'm not sure anybody designed marriage, family life, parenting, children, education to be on top of one another for three months straight with an inability to get oxygen or come up for air. It's a trying time, but it's even more important this פרשה parsha reminds us of the sacred and sanctity the sanctity of this institution and how important it is to protect it, to preserve it, and to guard it, to take care of it. Okay, let's keep going. After the story of the סוטה sota, much more to talk about, but I wanted to share הרב הירש's Rav Hirsch's beautiful theme that permeates throughout his commentary and throughout the section. We move over to the story of פרק ו' perek vav, the נזיר nazir. דבר אל בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם איש או אשה כי יפליא לנדור נדר נזיר להזיר להשם. Daber el Bnei Yisrael v'amarta aleihem ish o isha ki yafli lindor neder nazir l'hazir l'Hashem. The story of the נזיר nazir. And of course, רש\"י Rashi quotes חז\"ל Chazal who tell us, למה נסמכה פרשת נזיר לפרשת סוטה? Lama nismicha parshas nazir l'parshas sota? Why do we have the story of the נזיר nazir adjacent? Why is it placed in the תורה Torah contrasted, juxtaposed directly to the story of the wayward woman, of the woman who secluded herself and is accused of acting out on that seclusion? רש\"י Rashi tells us to teach us, because, כל הרואה סוטה בקלקולה kol ha'roeh sota b'kilkulah, if you see a סוטה sota who in her shame, embarrassment, and guilt, יזיר עצמו מן היין. yazir atzmo min ha'yayin. If you see סוטה בקלקולה sota b'kilkulah, you should take a נדר neder. No more wine. No more wine. Look what happened to this lush סוטה sota who used to drink and party and go out and flirt and gossip and mix and socialize and didn't have boundaries in her life. Look what it led to. יזיר עצמו מן היין. yazir atzmo min ha'yayin. Such a person will recoil and say, you know what, I need boundaries. I need discipline. I need self-control. I need to place a protective fence and make sure that I am not going to be tempted by such behavior. רב Rav רב וולבה Rav Wolbe asks in his commentary on the פרשה parsha, in the שיעור על הפרשה shiur al ha'parsha, רב וולבה Rav Wolbe asks as do many others, really? You need to go to such an extreme? I don't understand. This individual, the future נזיר nazir, observed what happened with the סוטה sota. Oh, he's following it closely because everybody loves the latest gossip and tumult and matzav and raid. So what happens? Did you hear about the woman? Husband said don't seclude yourself. She secluded herself and two witnessed saw. And so she was brought to the כהן kohen and everybody's on the edge of their seat and checking out all the blogs and the internet and וס איז נייעס vos is nayes and Shiva World News. What's the latest? What's the update with that woman? She drank the drink. What happened? Did she die? Did she have it get become pregnant? What happened with her? So why would such a person, הרואה סוטה בקלקולה ha'roeh sota b'kilkulah, he reads the story and the story ends very tragically. In fact, she was guilty and she blew up, she exploded, she died this heinous, this really terrible graphic death. So doesn't he say, \"Ooh, I would never do that. Look what happened to her.\" Why does he have to go to an additional step? Why does he have to go to an additional extreme of at that point even taking a vow that he's not going to drink wine or grape products, not going to cut his hair, not going to have contact with טומאה tumah? Why does one have to go to that extreme? And רב וולבה Rav Wolbe says the following. It's true הרואה סוטה בקלקולה. ha'roeh sota b'kilkulah. You know, it's true, we see somebody who's brought down by their temptation. It's true, we see the consequence of their behavior. And in some sense that consequence of their behavior should inspire and motivate us not to follow in their footsteps because we too would have the same consequence. But that's not the psyche of man. That's not what happens. Instead, what happens to us is the opposite. What happens to us is we see that that person acted out. Until we know of somebody who's acted out, acting out in that way for us is foreign. It's an anathema. It's an impossibility. We don't know from someone who could do such a thing. It's not possible. We don't do that. We don't know anyone who did do that and therefore it's outside our realm of experience. It's outside our realm of possibility. But the moment we're introduced to the fact that someone who did something that we're not supposed to do, no matter what happened to them as a consequence or result, but nevertheless for us it continues to be, now it's part of our experience. Now it's an image that we're familiar with. Now it's the realm of our possibility and we have to contend with it. And therefore we have to take an additional step. We have to go to an additional extreme and we have to not just observe it and pledge that we're not going to do it. We have to go to an additional extreme that we're even going to take a step to prevent behaving ever in that way. We have to go to the additional extreme and the additional step of making ourself more holy, more sacred, placing a real value, a real value driven life. And that's why one has to go to the extreme of the of the of the of the נזיר nazir, of taking on this pledge and this promise and becoming a נזיר nazir. Okay, so what happens with the נזיר nazir? They're prevented and they are forbidden from doing these three things. The נזיר nazir can't benefit from a grape product. The נזיר nazir cannot have contact with טומאה tumah, even their own family. Unlike the כהן kohen, by the way, who is charged with a level of holiness but is allowed to become טמא tamei to his own family, his immediate seven relatives, the נזיר nazir is not. And lastly, the נזיר nazir does not cut his hair. I keep saying his. Can a woman be a נזיר nazir? It's a trick question. Can a woman be a נזיר nazir? The תורה Torah tells us explicitly, we just read it. איש או אשה כי יפליא לנדר נדר נזיר להזיר להשם. Ish o isha ki yafli lindor neder nazir l'hazir l'Hashem. A man or a woman who takes this vow to serve Hashem by living this spiritually ambitious life of becoming a נזיר nazir. Absolutely. A man or a woman can take on נזירות nezirus. סתם נזירות שלושים יום. Stam nezirus shloshim yom. If you don't explicitly say how long you're taking on the vow, סתם stam it lasts for 30 days, but of course it can be for longer or shorter as well. נזירות Nezirus is if you don't explicitly say 30 days, otherwise it can be for more or for less. פסוק י\"ב. Pasuk yud-beis. Skip in the story of the נזיר nazir. והזיר להשם את ימי נזרו והביא כבש בן שנתו לאשם והימים הראשונים יפלו כי טמא נזרו. V'hizir l'Hashem es yemei nizro v'heivi keves ben shnaso l'asham v'hayamim ha'rishonim yiplu ki tamei nizro. We're not going to get into this year, but previously we spoke about the status of this נזיר nazir. Is the נזיר nazir holy? Or is the נזיר nazir a cop out? Yes, the נזיר's nazir's result is holiness. By living this ascetic life, this life of abstinence, the נזיר nazir has elevated himself or herself. And yes, they achieve a certain level of holiness as a result on the one hand. However, however, they took a shortcut to get there. They didn't engage and embrace the physical world and elevate it. They instead tried to transcend it. They took a vow of abstinence from it. So the result is getting to a place of holiness, but they took a shortcut and a cop out to get there. And that's why on the one hand the Torah refers to the נזיר nazir as קדוש kadosh, but on the other hand, the נזיר nazir brings a קרבן חטאת korban chatas. They bring a sin offering. What was their sin if they're living a holy life? The sin was achieving holiness through a shortcut and a cop out rather than head-on, the way we were intended to, by engaging the world, transforming and elevating it. So in this context, the Torah tells us in פסוק י\"ב pasuk yud-beis, he should dedicate to Hashem the days of his abstinence, and then at the end brings a קרבן korban. What's the קרבן korban? A כבש בן שנתו לאשם. Keves ben shnaso l'asham. He brings an אשם asham, a guilt offering, a sheep. This guilt offering we're talking about. והימים הראשונים יפלו כי טמא נזרו. V'hayamim ha'rishonim yiplu ki tamei nizro. And the first day shall fall aside. This is in the context of a נזיר nazir who actually became טמא tamei and has to start the count again. So it has to bring a קרבן אשם korban asham, this sin offering of a sheep, and the first year and then resumes the count from the beginning. And in this context Rabbi Soloveitchik says the following in his חומש Chumash. Rabbi Soloveitchik says the following: The גמרא Gemara in נדרים Nedarim on דף ט daf tes relates that the renowned שמעון הצדיק Shimon HaTzadik never ate from the meat of a guilt אשם asham offering offered by a defiled נזיר nazir. The נזיר nazir came to the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash, to the משכן Mishkan, to the כהן kohen. And if the נזיר nazir became טמא tamei, had to offer this אשם asham. So the great שמעון הצדיק Shimon HaTzadik who was a כהן kohen, a כהן גדול kohen gadol, relates that he never ate from the meat of the guilt offering of a defiled נזיר nazir. He reasoned that that someone with a lofty personality as accepted the vows of a נזיר nazir would never become defiled even inadvertently. The fact that he became defiled betrayed his insincerity. However, שמעון הצדיק Shimon HaTzadik made one exception. So שמעון הצדיק Shimon HaTzadik never wanted to eat the meat of such a קרבן karban because someone who was so committed, who had such aspiration to live such a life of sanctity, should have been so mindful, so conscientious and so careful to have never become טמא tamei, even inadvertently. However, שמעון הצדיק Shimon HaTzadik made one exception. And here the גמרא Gemara in נדרים Nedarim tells us this story. He related that a very handsome נזיר nazir once came to the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash to offer the guilt אשם asham offering. The נזיר nazir came from Alexandria, a city where assimilation and secularism prevailed. He was dressed in contemporary clothing. שמעון הצדיק Shimon HaTzadik asked him why someone of obviously assimilated background would undertake נזירות nezirus and observe תורה Torah and מצוות mitzvos. Why would he exchange the amoral corrupt decadence of Alexandrian society for the rigidity and restrictions of a religious lifestyle? The נזיר nazir responded that he had not been raised in a religious home. He had never experienced purity and קדושה kedusha. He was unaware of the sanctity of ירושלים Yerushalayim. He was not interested in religious observance, but he had at times experienced a mysterious and inexplicable longing. He yearned for something more sublime, a noble existence with which he could identify. One day, he looked at his reflection in the stream. The pure and incorruptible water permitted him to see for the first time his spiritual soul radiating through his body. Inexplicably, he was moved to his core. He immediately recognized that Alexandria was not his home. He suddenly longed to immigrate to ירושלים Yerushalayim and to discover his spiritual roots. His evil inclination, the יצר הרע yetzer hara, immediately erupted and attempted to dissuade him from traveling to ירושלים Yerushalayim and adopting an alien logic defying religious lifestyle replete with paradoxes and restrictions. When שמעון הצדיק Shimon HaTzadik heard this, he kissed the young man on his forehead and willingly ate from his קרבן karban. Man's higher will motivates the sinner to recognize, hereto unknown strengths submerged in the depths of his personality. These resources enable the sinner to engage in תשובה teshuva. His inner personality is slowly reconstituted. Said the רב Rav, inside every one of us is that פיינטעלע ייד pintele Yid, inside every one of us is that נשמה neshama that longs for more. But it's covered by the גוף guf, by the body. The body that distracts us through temptation, through appetite, through desire. This young man who was assimilated, secularized, whose values were corrupted, but at one moment that he had breakthrough, he had clarity. He looked in the water, כמים הפנים לפנים k'mayim ha'panim l'panim, in that reflection, he saw something that made him want to, his soul long for תשובה teshuva. And that's what led him. So שמעון הצדיק Shimon HaTzadik who generally rejected anyone, a נזיר nazir who had become impure and had to bring that offering because he said how could you with that striving, that goal of holiness have allowed yourself to become impure, have lost a sense of consciousness and mindfulness? That קרבן karban he accepted because he saw the sincerity of that young man and his experience of looking in the water and being transformed. That is Rabbi Soloveitchik telling the story. But I want to share with you another insight and it comes from I I recorded it in my introduction to our latest Torah volume. The Dr. Yitzchak Gellis on Beis Midrash of our Boca Raton synagogue is now put out the third volume of ידרי\"ם Yadrim. ידרי\"ם Yadrim is our תורה Torah journal. We have incredible essays in Hebrew and in English by רבנים rabbonim, גדולי ישראל gedolei Yisrael, community members. You could find the whole thing online if you're living in בוקה Boca, you'll be able to pick up your copy of it for free. We're happy to be able to disseminate all three volumes of ידרים Yadrim are fantastic. So in this year's introduction to ידרים Yadrim, I wrote the following. I wrote the following. Uh, uh. The גמרא Gemara in נדרים Nedarim, I'm skipping the first part, relates a fascinating story. A כהן שמעון הצדיק Kohen Shimon HaTzadik related he once had to eat the קרבן חטאת korban chatas of an impure נזיר nazir who had accidentally contracted טומאה tumah. A נזיר nazir had come from the south needing a קרבן karban offered for him. שמעון הצדיק Shimon HaTzadik asked him why he had become a נזיר nazir. And he answered he had been a shepherd and when he went to draw water for his sheep from a stream, he saw his reflection. When he saw how handsome he was and what he could have done with his good looks, his יצר הרע yetzer hara was aroused. This impure נזיר nazir, the former shepherd continued, אמרתי לו, Amarti lo, I said to him, meaning he said to himself, רשע, rasha, wicked one. I swear I will cut off your beautiful hair for the sake of heaven. שמעון הצדיק Shimon HaTzadik said that when he heard this, he stood up and kissed him on his forehead and he said, my son, may there be many more such people in Israel who vow to take on נזירות nezirus for such noble, noble motives. So the גמרא Gemara records parts of the story that Rabbi Soloveitchik didn't refer to is that he came from the south. He was a shepherd. He looked in the water and he saw his good looks and he realized, I'm the most handsome man around. You know, I can go on any app and I can land any date that I want. And when he realized where his good looks could lead him, he cut his hair, he became טמא tamei, and he needed to bring this קרבן karban for having violated his נזירות nezirus. And and Rav Shimon's response, Rav Shimon HaTzadik's response was not to reject him as he did so many others, but to give him a kiss and say, wow, what a beautiful story. What an incredible recognition. הלואי Halvai there will be more like you. The מהרש\"א Maharsha, in his commentary on the back of that גמרא Gemara in נדרים Nedarim, Rav Shmuel Eidels' wonders, what do I care where he came from? Why does the גמרא Gemara specifically record that he came up to ירושלים Yerushalayim, he came up to the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash, he came up to שמעון הצדיק Shimon HaTzadik from where? From the south. The fact that he was a shepherd, the fact that he looked in the water, they're all important parts of the story. The fact that he was handsome. Where do we care? Why do I care where he came from? So the Rav, the מהרש\"א Maharsha answers as follows: The גמרא Gemara in בבא בתרא Bava Basra, דף כ\"ה daf kaf-hei, teaches הרוצה להחכים ידרים. ha'rotzeh l'hachkim yadrim. One who wants to become wise should face south. In the first two volumes of ידרים Yadrim I gave, quoted two explanations of what that means. Why is it that if you want to become wise, you need to face the south? The מהרש\"א Maharsha explains, the reason the נזיר nazir, whom שמעון הצדיק Shimon HaTzadik met was able to do so successfully combat his instinct and inclination, is because he came from the south. He had greater wisdom and understanding enabling him to anticipate the consequence of giving into his impulse. He saw his reflection in the water and wisely foresaw where his life was going, what was likely going to happen. He didn't like where it was headed, so he immediately became a נזיר nazir. He anticipated danger and being from the south had the wisdom and forethought to take the necessary precautions to protect himself. So the גמרא Gemara says הרוצה להחכים ha'rotzeh l'hachkim, you want to become wise, בוקה רטון Boca Raton, move to South Florida, move to ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael of course. But the גמרא Gemara always associates חכמים שבדרם chachamim sheb'darom, the wise who are in the south. What is it about being in the south that brings out a greater sense of wisdom? You gotta read the first two introductions to the first two volumes of ידרים Yadrim. But that's how the מהרש\"א Maharsha understands this גמרא Gemara that Rabbi Soloveitchik also refers to on our פרשה parsha. That why does this נזיר nazir, why did this young man come specifically from the south? Because הרוצה להחכים ידרים. ha'rotzeh l'hachkim yadrim. Because wisdom comes from those who dwell in the south and it was his wisdom, his forethought, his insight which all empowered and enabled him to recognize what was going to happen if he didn't take matters into his own hands and becomes this נזיר nazir. And that's why while Shimon HaTzadik had rejected so many others, Shimon HaTzadik accepted this young man's behavior. Okay, we continue the next section of our פרשה parsha is the story of ברכת כהנים birkas kohanim. Wow, ברכת כהנים birkas kohanim. We went from the סוטה sota to the נזיר nazir to the כהנים kohanim who offer their priestly blessing. And this too we've examined several times before. So important all these beautiful sections. כה תברכו את בני ישראל Ko s'vorachu es Bnei Yisrael, so shall you bless the Jewish people, אמור להם amor lahem. Here is what you need to tell them. כה Ko. So, it's a very unusual form, it's a very strange formulation. כה תברכו Ko s'vorachu. Thus, or this, or here is how you should you should bless the Jewish people. What is this word כה ko a reference to? We mentioned previously, beautiful insight. The כה ko here is a reference to, to ואני והנער נלכה עד כה. V'ani v'hanaar neilcha ad ko. When it came to the עקידה Akeida, אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu says to ישמעאל Yishmael and אליעזר Eliezer, you stay here. You stand here and, ואני והנער נלכה עד כה v'ani v'hanaar neilcha ad ko, and the, uh, the, uh, my son, יצחק Yitzchak and I are going, are walking עד כה ad ko, we're going to our destiny. כה Ko here is a reference to destiny. כה תברכו את בני ישראל Ko s'vorachu es Bnei Yisrael. כה Ko is a reference to destiny, the destiny of the Jewish people we're going to. The destiny of, of the Jewish people. What does this word כה ko? We have it when Avram tells them ואני והנער נלכה עד כה v'ani v'hanaar neilcha ad ko, that יצחק Yitzchak and I are marching to our destiny. We also have when Hashem tells Avram go outside and look up at the stars and he says, כה יהיה זרעך ko yihiyeh zar'echa, this is what your offspring, your progeny will be like the stars of the sky. So there are many places that we see this word כה ko, כ\"ה kaf-hey, and here כה תברכו את בני ישראל ko s'vorachu es Bnei Yisrael, perhaps is a reference and allusion to these other times and these other places, linking it all together. כה תברכו את בני ישראל Ko s'vorachu es Bnei Yisrael. What is the blessing the כהנים kohanim are giving the Jewish people? The very blessing they're giving is the blessing of marching to our destiny, the blessing of the fulfillment of the ברכה bracha that was given to אברהם Avram to be like the stars, to go look outside. This is the blessing that was given to the Jewish people. אמור להם Amor lahem. What do the words אמור להם amor lahem mean? So רבי לוי יצחק מברדיטשוב Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev says, go to ספר דברים Sefer Devarim and you'll figure out what the words אמור להם amor lahem. כה תברכו את בני ישראל אמור להם. Ko s'vorachu es Bnei Yisrael, amor lahem. Say to them. Speak to them. What does אמור להם amor lahem mean? So if you skip to the end of פרשת כי תבוא parshas Ki Savo, פרק כ\"ו perek kaf-vav, sorry, did I lose my place? Where is this? Skip to פרק כ\"ו perek kaf-vav in דברים Devarim. Yeah, that's the right place. It says, והשם האמירך היום להיות לו לעם סגולה כאשר דבר לך ולשמור כל מצוותיו. V'Hashem he'emircha hayom liyos lo l'am segula ka'asher diber lach v'lishmor kol mitzvosav. השם Hashem has distinguished you today to be for him a treasured people. And he spoke to you. What does it mean? השם האמירך היום. Hashem he'emircha hayom. So רבי לוי יצחק מברדיטשוב Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev in the קדושת לוי Kedushas Levi says the word האמירך he'emircha means to love. It means to love. So אמור להם amor lahem here also means to love. The כהנים kohanim are not just meant to give a ברכה bracha, to utter words. The כהנים kohanim are meant to shower their love on the Jewish people. באהבה B'ahava. That's why the ברכה bracha, they give their ברכה bracha באהבה b'ahava, with a sense of love. Only a כהן kohen with a mindset and a mentality, only a כהן kohen who's in a place that he can be give love should give the ברכה bracha. If they're not filled with love, if they're not ready to to give a blessing of love, then they are ineligible and disqualified from giving this from giving this ברכה bracha. What's going on here really in this in this section? Oh yeah, I have so much to say and so little time. So I'm going to start with, I wanted to pay tribute. I want to get through a bunch of commentaries, but I want to make sure that we don't miss this opportunity. The world, the Jewish world, the YU world is is mourning the loss of Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, זכרונו לברכה zichrono livracha, who was the great president of Yeshiva University, who passed away and made great contributions to our community. And one of them is a collection of his amazing sermons. He was a tremendous דרשן darshan in his time, and in perpetuity. They've collected those sermons and made them available. And I thought in his memory, specifically during this week of of his morning, I would share with you his insight, his sermon. It's from June 12th, 1976. June 12th, 1976. And here is what he and here is what he says. The priestly blessing concludes on the theme of peace. וישם לך שלום. V'yasem l'cha shalom. It's the theme of the blessing of peace, that Hashem should grant us a sense of peace. The rabbis cherished this blessing above all others. We know it's the כלי מחזיק ברכה kli machzik bracha, the vessel which contains all blessing. All the previous blessings require peace as the context in which they can be effective. יברכך השם Yevarechecha Hashem, Rashi says, יברכך השם בממון. Yevarechecha Hashem b'mamon. You need resources. אין קמח אין תורה. Ein kemach ein Torah. If you don't have money, you don't have a roof over your head, you don't have food to eat, you can't live a righteous, virtuous life. So the first ברכה bracha the כהנים kohanim give us is יברכך השם ממון yevarechecha Hashem mamon. Then, ישא השם פניו אליך, yisa Hashem panav eilecha, we should have תורה Torah, יכונך yechuneka. ישא השם פניו אליך Yisa Hashem panav eilecha is, פניו אליך panav eilecha is תורה Torah, the light of תורה Torah. We should have access to the light of תורה Torah. And then the third ברכה bracha is that they shouldn't be in conflict. Our resources and our spiritual ambitions should be in harmony. וישם לך שלום. V'yasem l'cha shalom. So Dr. Lamm says that the last ברכה bracha, וישם לך שלום, v'yasem l'cha shalom, שלום shalom, peace is the כלי מחזיק ברכה kli machzik bracha. And therefore all the ברכות brachos can only be חל chal if you have peace. If you have מחלוקת machlokes, I don't care how many resources you have. I don't care how much health you have. But if you have animosity and you have and you have conflict, if you lack שלום shalom, then you can't experience fully or even partially these other ברכות brachos. Exactly what does this mean peace refer to? The ספרי Sifri gives us two alternative definitions. רבי חנינא סגן הכהנים Rabbi Chanina Sgan HaKohanim says שלום בביתך shalom b'veisecha, peace in your home. And רבי נתן Rabbi Nassan says שלום מלכות בית דוד shalom malchus Beis David. It refers to the peace of the kingdom of the house of David. The difference is that רבי חנינא Rabbi Chanina defines peace as domestic tranquility. רבי נתן Rabbi Nassan gives it a political national definition, the peace of the realm. What is surprising, writes Dr. Lamm, is that of these two possible interpretations, it's Rabbi Chanina who teaches domestic peace. After all, it's the same רבי חנינא סגן הכהנים Rabbi Chanina Sgan HaKohanim who tells us in a celebrated passage in אבות Avos, הוי מתפלל בשלומה של מלכות hevei mispalel b'shloma shel malchus, daven for the peace of the government because if not for the fear of authority people would would swallow each other alive. This is a very timely insight. If not for the government interaction and maintaining the peace, if not for peace in government, if not for ability to maintain and preserve the peace, people would riot and loot and swallow one another alive. Why then in the blessings of the priests does he suddenly turn inward and interpret the conclusion concluding blessing as domestic peace? In other words, the same one who tells us in אבות Avos, הוי מתפלל בשלומה של מלכות hevei mispalel b'shloma shel malchus, that you have to care about the peace nationally, politically, all of a sudden now when we talk about this ברכה bracha of peace, says it's referring to domestic peace, peace in the home. Perhaps the answer is something we should all have to learn painfully though it is, says Dr. Lamm. Most of us have been reared on a noble vision. Peace for all the world and in our own times, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and every American president since, have preached the strive for this vision. It's one of the most beautiful and inspiring themes to capture for the imagination of mankind. Of course, it's not new. It stems from and it is a secularized version of the great visions of the prophets of Israel, of ישעיה Yeshaya and עמוס Amos and מיכה Micha. It is they who taught in the וגר זאב עם כבש v'gar ze'ev im keves and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and nations will not lift up sword and so on. The only difference is this, the prophets recognized that these are Messianic dreams that they'll be realized only with the advent of משיח Mashiach. ישעיה Yeshaya in chapter two introduces his vision of the words, והיה באחרית הימים. V'haya b'acharis ha'yamim. Only at the end of days. We must not expect the fulfillment of these uplifting visions until the days of משיח Mashiach. The secularized version, however, is not Messianic, but is utopian. It is a modern phenomenon, the painting of an ideal world which is within the grasp of man. It teaches that we can with the means available to us create the perfect society, one of universal peace and justice for all men. The Messianic version is one which sets an unrealizable goal and inspires us to approximate it as best we can, but it knows that we cannot do so fully right now. The utopian dream is one which inspires us with impatience and drives us to expect realization here and now. Most of us who are passionately devoted to the cause of peace have assumed without further reflection, it's indeed possible to achieve peace universally in our times. We are more utopian than Messianic. Since the advent of the Atomic age, it's become a working hypothesis of international relations, something which is acceptable beyond doubt. Indeed, consider the alternative. All of civilization reduced to a finite to a fine atomic ash. Hence, universal peace is not only a distant goal, but an immediate necessity. And yet, how frustrating, how many wars have been fought and how much blood has been shed since Hiroshima and Nagasaki. What of רבי חנינא סגן הכהנים Rabbi Chanina Sgan HaKohanim is telling us is this, dream the dreams of ישעיה Yeshaya, of nation not lifting up sword against nation, pray for the peace of the realm, but don't be unrealistic. Strive for these always but without illusions as to their viability and applicability and realizability in the present or immediate future. In so far as now, turn to the blessing of the priests. It is they who refer to that aspect of the good life which can be attained in our grasp. The blessing of peace in the priestly blessing speaks of a peace which is more realistic and attainable, שלום בביתך. shalom b'veisecha. First you have to strive for peace in your home between husband and wife, between parent and children, between brother and sister. Then you can strive for the larger aspects of peace, political, social, international, which will find their full realization at the end of days, the days of משיח Mashiach. Not only Jewish tradition but Jewish historical experience teaches us never to overanticipate the end of days, the eschatological age, the days of משיח Mashiach. Judaism teaches us to be aware of the fallacy of thinking the visions of the future are all at hand, just around the bend. This is the great utopian fallacy. There's a process of autosuggestion and self-hypnosis at work. The facile illusion that turns utopian dreams into supposed realities only to disappoint and frustrate us, to sow the seeds of disaster. And he goes on and on. But Dr. Lamm so beautifully describes that the reason he changes from הוי מתפלל בשלומה של מלכות hevei mispalel b'shloma shel malchus, which is true and we need to daven. If not for a government maintaining and preserving peace, we'd swallow man alive. And yet when he talks here about the ברכה bracha of the of the כהנים kohanim, the ברכה bracha of שלום shalom, the ברכה bracha of שלום shalom begins in our home. Essentially what he's saying is, if you want to bring peace to the world, begin in your own home. You want to solve the issues of racial discrimination, of racial injustice, which are so painful and wrong, that every human being is created בצלם אלוקים b'tzelem Elokim. I think it's the תפארת ישראל Tiferes Yisrael in his commentary on the משנה Mishna points out, the משנה Mishna doesn't say, חביב ישראל שנברא בצלם. chaviv Yisrael she'nivra b'tzelem. It doesn't say how sacred Jews are because they were created in the image of God. It says חביב אדם שנברא בצלם. Chaviv Adam she'nivra b'tzelem. Every human being, black, white, of every ethnicity, of every race, of every background, we're all created בצלם אלוקים b'tzelem Elokim. חביב אדם. Chaviv Adam. God loves every person and so should we. Everyone deserves. So if we want to solve what are these major problems and schisms that exist, it begins within our home. It begins within our home. It doesn't begin by not solving it, by mistreating and then longing for some Messianic vision, longing for something which is not right here around the corner, but rather שלום shalom, the כלי מחזיק ברכה kli machzik bracha that we're looking for that will transform the world with the ultimate שלום shalom of משיח Mashiach begins with שלום shalom where? In our בית bayis, the שלום בית shlom bayis that we practice, the messages that we teach, and the way that we treat other people. That is Dr. Lamm's message, that is his insight. That is his insight. It begins, peace must be built from the bottom up, not from the top down, he writes. We need visions, grand visions, holy visions, universal visions, and even if they cannot be realized at once, they still tell us in what direction we should be going, and they exercise a pull on us. We need not only visions but blessings and the greatest of all blessings is וישם לך שלום v'yasem l'cha shalom. May he bestow upon us peace, שלום בביתך shalom b'veisecha, peace in our homes. And it's peace that we wish for his נשמה neshama, Dr. Lamm's נשמה neshama should go בשלום b'shalom, it should go in peace. היא זכרו ברוך Y'hi zichro baruch, his memory should be a blessing. And that is the message that permeates our פרשה parsha. From the story of the of the סוטה sota and the story of מעל במעל mo'al b'ma'al to how we treat the property of others and we don't abuse it. It's the story of our longing for priests, peace, and the sanctity with our homes and far beyond. I had a lot more to talk about, but as tends to happen every single week, predictably at this point, we are out of time. So we're going to stop here, but wishing everyone a wonderful, wonderful day. If you're watching on YouTube, feel free to subscribe to the channel, even if you're not. Feel free to subscribe. Join us tomorrow morning, 8:15 for מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim, 8:45 for living with אמונה emunah, and 9:00 p.m. tomorrow night for מאחורי הבימה Behind the Bima and amazing guest for a really important and sensitive conversation. You'll find out more about it. Thanks for joining us and have a wonderful day.
