Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker tov and welcome back to our פרשה Parsha perspectives for today. So grateful to be together again, learning our sacred Torah and our timely פרשה Parsha that each week has messages that are not coincidental, that are designed for us for that week to learn from based on what's going on in our lives. I want to thank our generous פרשה Parsha series sponsors for the year, our dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family in loving memory of Becky's father, David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת מנחם בן דוד מנחם מניש le'iluy nishmas Menachem ben David Menachem Manish. Also want to thank today's sponsor Rebecca Nawi in memory of her beloved mother Tamar Nawi, עליה השלום aleha hashalom. Tamar was one of the founders of our שול shul. and we were so deeply grateful, of course, to her and her husband for all that they did to build our community and today's learning is לעילוי נשמתה le'iluy nishmasa. And lastly by Reuven and Ronit, Yaakov and Shira in honor of grandpa Lou Miller's birthday. Lou, one of our beloved members, a very very happy birthday to Lou Miller who shares it with Aunt Aviva. A very happy birthday. עד מאה ועשרים Ad meah ve'esrim, in good health and happiness with tremendous נחת nachas from your whole family. Thank you to all of our sponsors. If you'd like to sponsor a שיעור shiur, this one or otherwise, please email lea@brsonline.org, l-e-a@brsonline.org.Okay, this week we have the privilege and pleasure of studying פרשת אמור Parshas Emor, page 672 in the ArtScroll חומש Chumash. Our פרשה Parsha is a continuation of the theme of last week. Last week the second of the two פרשיות parshiyos that we read began קדושים תהיו Kedoshim tihiyu, that we are charged, we are mandated, קדושים תהיו Kedoshim tihiyu, to live a life of קדושה kedusha, that we don't live for happiness, we live for holiness. Very important exercise to consider what is the difference between the two. How do you define happiness? How do you define holiness? What does it mean to live for holiness instead of happiness? קדושים תהיו Kedoshim tihiyu. Interestingly, when you live for holiness, you find happiness. When you live for happiness, you find often the opposite of holiness. So our פרשה Parsha is a continuation of that theme. קדושים תהיו Kedoshim tihiyu was a charge, a directive given to the totality of the Jewish people. קדושים תהיו Kedoshim tihiyu. All of us are to emulate and imitate השם Hashem by striving for sanctity, for holiness. We spoke last week from Rav Shimon Shkop that קדושה kedusha in this context is to be not selfish but selfless, not a taker but a giver, to repair and to change and to transform the world for the good. And now we move over from the general כלל ישראל קדושים תהיו Klal Yisrael Kedoshim tihiyu to the mission and the mandate to the charge to specifically the כהנים kohanim. The כהנים kohanim, the priests are the teachers, they are the role models, they are the example or they're meant to be at least for the community to be able to follow. And as such, they have certain instructions. כי קדשתו ki kidashto, they have certain rights and privileges. They get the first עליה aliyah. A person is not allowed to be משמש meshamish with a כהן kohen. You can't ask a כהן kohen to do something for you. A person has to treat the כהן kohen with greater honor and dignity, the first right in בענטשן bentching, they דוכנ'ן duchan. So being a כהן kohen has certain rights and privileges but mostly it's about duty and obligation. The כהן kohen has to live a certain life, the כהן kohen has to be a certain example. The boundaries within which the כהן kohen has to live is a life of sanctity and sacredness that they're an even greater example for the people. So I want to share with you a insight to begin with from the חלבן Chalban. The חלבן Chalban, זכרונו לברכה zichrono livracha, Rav Chaim Cohen was around ירושלים Yerushalayim, looked like a very simple milkman. He's known as the חלבן Chalban, a milkman, worked in a milk factory, but the truth is he was an extraordinary תלמיד חכם talmid chacham, a great kabbalist. And when he was discovered, when he was so to say, outed as a great kabbalist and תלמיד חכם talmid chacham, he began to teach, to write, and the wonderful ספרים sefarim טללי חיים Talilei Chaim and others that capture his ideas and lessons. And in there on פרשת אמור Parshas Emor he says the following. את היסוד הגדול הזה שקדושת הכהונה הוא ביטוי לקדושת עם ישראל Et hayesod hagadol hazeh she'kedushas hakehuna hu bitui le'kedushas am Yisrael. The role of the כהן kohen, the כהן kohen is not intrinsically or inherently superior to anyone. The fact that the כהן kohen has a position of distinction, the fact that we have a responsibility and obligation to honor the כהן kohen, is not because the כהן kohen is intrinsically holier than anyone else, but rather the כהן kohen is a דוגמא dugma, the כהן kohen is a model and example for כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. בשעה שעם ישראל מביט על כהני השם, כהני עליון B'sha'ah she'am Yisrael mabit al kohanei Hashem, kohanei elyon, writes the חלבן Chalban Rav Chaim Cohen, when the Jewish people look to the כהנים kohanim of השם Hashem, to these exalted, elevated כהנים kohanim, הוא צריך לדעת שאין מדובר בקדושה אחרת שאיננו שייך אליו hu tzarich ladaas she'ein medubar b'kedusha acheres she'einenu shayach eilav. The holiness of the כהן kohen, the כהן kohen is deemed so sacred, so holy, they cannot be contaminated. The כהן kohen cannot be in a room, in a building in which there is a corpse. The כהן kohen cannot make himself טמא tamei other than to immediate relatives. The כהן kohen has certain responsibility to live a sacred life, not because he's intrinsically superior or holier than anyone else. It's not a קדושה אחרת kedusha acheres. הכהן מגלה בחייו את הדרגה הפנימית שגנוזה בסך כל עם ישראל Ha'kohen megaleh b'chayav et hadarga ha'pnimit she'gnuza b'sach kol am Yisrael. The כהן kohen is living, the כהן kohen is realizing the potential holiness that is in every member of the Jewish people. הכהנים בעצם חייהם Ha'kohanim b'etzem chayeihem, the כהנים kohanim in their lifestyle, מהווים מעין חלון אל מה שגנוז במעמקי עם ישראל כולו mehavim me'ein chalon el ma she'ganuz b'ma'amakei am Yisrael kulo. The כהן kohen through the life they're living is an example of what we could achieve, of who we could be, of what our aspiration and ambition should be. קדושה עליונה שבבית המקדש והדבקות האלוקית השלמה והתדיריות Kedusha elyona she'b'Beis Hamikdash v'hadveikus ha'elokis ha'shleima v'ha'tdiris. The כהן kohen of course serves in the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, the כהן kohen has access to areas and parts and activities that non-כהנים kohanim don't. Again, not because the כהן kohen is intrinsically superior, better, or higher, but rather the כהן kohen is charged to say, look at me, look at my life and my lifestyle, look at the responsibilities I bear and know that I'm not different than you, you have this inside you. That doesn't mean that a ישראל Yisrael or a לוי Levi should volunteer the boundaries the כהן kohen is living by, that's not the aspiration, but the aspiration for a life of mindfulness and meaning in which we have a consciousness and awareness, a mission to strive for holiness that the כהן kohen has mandated and regulated upon him is something we could all strive for.מצד האמת Mitzad ha'emes writes the חלבן Chalban, הן נשמתו של כל אחד ואחד מישראל היא צדיק גמור hen nishmaso shel kol echad v'echad mi'Yisrael hi tzadik gamur. In other words, where do we begin? This is what the חלבן Chalban is addressing. A very important point, that's why I share it with you this morning. Do we begin and say that every person is a blank slate? Do we begin and say that every person is nothing? Every person is essentially empty, and now based on the decisions we make, based on the choices we make, we then determine and shape whether we become a צדיק tzaddik, a righteous person, or whether we become a רשע rasha, a wicked person? No. Says the חלבן Chalban, נשמה שנתת בי טהורה היא neshama shenasata bi tehora hi. The other way we're born is pure. Everyone is born a צדיק גדול tzaddik gadol. We strive for righteousness. We have a moral compass. We want to do what's right. כל אחד מישראל מצד נשמתו הוא מקובל אלוקי עליון נביא שבנביאים Kol echad mi'Yisrael mitzad nishmaso hu mekubal Elokai elyon navi she'b'nevi'im. In our core, at the core of who we are is someone who wants to do what's right. At the core of who we are is someone with a צלם אלוקים tzelem Elokim, a חלק אלוקה ממעל ממש chelek Eloka mimaal mamash. At the core of who we are is a manifestation, is a fulfillment, is an expression of God on this world. זה אור הגנוז במעמקי החיים של כל בני ישראל Zeh or ha'ganuz b'ma'amakei ha'chayim shel kol bnei Yisrael. כמו שנבאר מהר\"ל Kemo she'niv'ar Maharal. שכל אחד מישראל אפילו עם הארץ הוא בחינת תלמיד חכם בכח She'kol echad mi'Yisrael afilu am ha'aretz hu b'chinas talmid chacham b'koach. The מהר\"ל Maharal says, look at a totally ignorant Jew and don't see an ignorant Jew. See the potential for a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham. Don't see an עם הארץ am ha'aretz, don't see an ignoramus, see a future scholar. It sounds like it's simply semantics, but it's more than just words, it's a mindset, it's a paradigm, it's an attitude. Is what I see somebody who's either part of a blank nothing, but they're nothing, or do I see someone who's part of a blank as on their way to being a צדיק tzaddik? Is the ignoramus an עם הארץ am ha'aretz who I demean and diminish? Or is the עם הארץ am ha'aretz somebody who is a תלמיד חכם בכח talmid chacham b'koach? The potential not yet realized. שאמנם עדיין לא יצא אל הפועל, אך בפוטנציאל הפנימי הוא תלמיד חכם צדיק וקדוש She'amnam adain lo yatza el ha'poal, ach b'potenzial ha'pnimi hu talmid chacham tzaddik v'kadosh. This is the מהר\"ל Maharal in the סדר של עולם, סדר של תורה, פרק ט\"ז seder shel olam, seder shel Torah, perek tet-zayin. And the מהר\"ל Maharal says that every Jew is walking around, not just we don't know who they are and what they could be. Who they are is the צדיק tzaddik they're meant to be. Who they are is the righteous, who they are is the scholar, who they are is the kind, who they are is the spiritual. That's who we are. Now we just need to realize it. Now we just need to achieve it. והעובדה שכולנו משתוקקים להיות בקרבת צדיקים וקדושים נובעת בין השאר מכך שבקרבנו אנו מרגישים שייכות עמוקה מאוד לדרגות אלו V'ha'uvda shekulanu mishtokeikim lihyos b'kirvas tzaddikim u'kedoshim novaas bein ha'shar mikach she'bekirbeinu anu margishim shayachus amuka meod l'dargos eilu. And the more we hang around the people who have realized it, the better off we are. להבדיל Lehavdil, in comparison, if somebody is motivated, they want to be an Olympic athlete, they hang out with Olympians. Somebody wants to play in the NBA, they do their best to break into NBA practices and NBA Summer League, and they want to hang out and do training with NBA stars. You hang out with who you want to be, and you hope through osmosis, through contagion, that you pick up the habits and the skills and the learning and you follow in their way. And להבדיל lehavdil, that's the role of the כהנים kohanim. The כהנים kohanim live the life we are capable of. And then by holding them up as our example, by exposing ourselves to them, by connecting and attaching to them, we hope that they have an impact on us.But it's critical, not only in how we view them, it's a sort of the doctrine of the צדיק tzaddik in the doctrine of the רבי rebbe in חסידות chasidus, that someone is an example and we attach ourselves to them and we walk in their footsteps and their being on fire lights the spark in us. But equally or maybe more important, I think that the חלבן Chalban is saying, is how we view ourselves and how we view our children, grandchildren, the people in our life. Do we see only what appears immediately in front of us or do we see who they can and are meant to be? Do we relate to them in the here and now that's unrealized, that's simply latent, that's buried potential, or do we see in them who they can and are meant to be? Michelangelo, I quote this often, Michelangelo would say when he saw a block of marble, he didn't see the block of marble, he saw the sculpture. And his job was not to chip away at the marble in order to create a sculpture. His job was that he saw first the sculpture, and his job was to chip away at the marble to reveal what he already saw to the rest of the world. When I saw that quote from Michelangelo, it blew me away. That's our job as parents and as educators. Our job is not to see only what appears in front of us, our job is to see and envision and dream of the potential of who they or we can be, and then chip away not because we're curious what we'll find, but chip away in order to reveal and uncover the potential that's inside us all along. בשעה שנשמה שלנו נפגשת עם צדיקים וקדושים B'sha'ah she'ha'neshama shelanu nifgeshes im tzaddikim u'kedoshim, when that holy spark inside us, when that godliness inside us attaches itself and connects itself and has a meeting, a rendezvous, is exposed to righteous and holy, היא מתעוררת ומתמלאת חיים וכח hi mis'oreress u'mismales chayim v'koach. It becomes alive. Have we not all had that experience? Have we not been in the presence of great men and women, great people, kind, righteous, great, and it makes us feel alive, and it makes us feel driven and to want to realize that potential that we see in them that is inside us. כי הצדיקים הללו הם בני שיחה, הם נוגעים בנו באור הנשמה, וכך מפגש עם צדיק הוא בחינת חלון, ושנראה ליהלום הגנוז בקרבנו Ki ha'tzaddikim halalu hem bnei sicha, hem nog'im banu b'or ha'neshama, v'kach mifgash im tzaddik hu b'chinas chalon, v'shenir'eh la'yahalom ha'ganuz b'kirbeinu. They are a window and through them we see the jewels inside us. ואת הצדיק הטהור הקדוש השוכן יושב בחדרי הלב מבקש בכל לב לצאת אל הפועל ולהתגלות בחיים בצדקות וביושר לבב V'et ha'tzaddik ha'tahor ha'kadosh ha'shochen yoshev b'chadrei ha'lev mevakesh b'chol lev latzeis el ha'poal u'lehiskalos b'chayim b'tzidkus b'yosher levav and so on.So all of that was point number one I wanted to share with you from the חלבן Chalban. The role, this פרשה Parsha of אמור Emor, the continuation of קדושים Kedoshim that takes that mission that we all have to be holy but talks about it in the context of the כהנים kohanim. And we begin with these laws that are special and that are incumbent on the כהנים kohanim that the reason the כהנים kohanim have this distinction is not because intrinsically they are superior or better or different, but rather because they are the model, they are the example, they are the window into who we can be. And I close this thought by encouraging and by really pushing you, find the people that are inspirational in your life, in your world, and attach yourself to them. Men, women, כהנים, לויים, וישראלים kohanim, leviim, v'yisraelim and connect and attach to them. And connect and attach to them, and connect and attach to them because that's how we become inspired, that's how we become elevated, that's how we become enriched. That's what we are meant to do and that is our mission. So that's how our פרשה Parsha begins. ויאמר השם אל משה אמור אל הכהנים בני אהרן Vayomer Hashem el Moshe emor el hakohanim bnei Aharon, speak to the כהנים kohanim the children of Aaron, ואמרת אליהם v'amarta aleihem and say to them, לנפש לא יטמא בעמיו l'nefesh lo yitama b'amav. You cannot contaminate yourself to a dead person. You're not allowed to, it's a law of a כהן kohen. You're not allowed to become contaminated other than to the seven immediate relatives. כי אם לשארו הקרוב אליו Ki im lish'ero ha'karov eilav, except for the relative closest to you, לאמו ולאביו ולבנו ולבתו ולאחיו le'imo u'l'aviv u'l'vno u'l'bito u'l'achiv. To your mother, your father, son, daughter or brother, that's the ones you're allowed to become contaminated. That's the funeral you can attend. That's the burial that you can attend in the cemetery. But everybody else, you're absolutely not allowed to connect to, not allowed to become contaminated to. That is the warning, the caution, that is the responsibility of the כהן kohen. You know, Israel reopened. In certain conditions, you can apply even if you're not an Israeli citizen to come, if you have a first degree relative. So I was unclear, is a first degree relative the שבעה קרובים shiva krovim? Is it the same rule? Mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, spouse? Or is it only first degree relative means either parent or child? I'm still unclear on it as I think the whole world is, as they might be themselves on exactly what that rule means. So the כהן kohen is not allowed to contaminate to others. Now רש\"י Rashi here picks up on the double language. אמור אל הכהנים Emor el hakohanim, ואמרת אליהם v'amarta aleihem. Why is it redundant? If you're speaking to the כהנים kohanim, why is it ואמרת אליהם v'amarta aleihem and say to them? So says רש\"י Rashi, אמור אל הכהנים emor el hakohanim, אמור ואמרת להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים emor v'amarta le'hazhir gedolim al haketanim. So he quotes the גמרא Gemara in יבמות קי\"ד Yevamos kuf-yud-daled. That what the Torah here is doing is telling us and cautioning us, להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים le'hazhir gedolim al haketanim. To tell the adults that they need to preserve this law also for the children. That this law is not only when you're post בר מצוה bar mitzvah, this law applies even when you are a minor כהן kohen. Even a כהן kohen who's under בר מצוה bar mitzvah is cautioned, is precluded from exposing himself to טומאה tumah, to a dead body, to טומאת אוהל tumas ohel by being in the same room, in the same building, or טומאה tumah through contact and so on. In fact, there's a fascinating הלכתית halachic literature not for now about a pregnant אשת כהן eishes kohen, a woman married to a כהן kohen who's pregnant. Is she obligated to get a sonogram, is she obligated to do a gender reveal to know if it's a boy or girl fetus, to know whether she can go, is she allowed to do a hospital visit, she can go to a cemetery? Could she be in a building with a corpse? She herself is allowed, being married to a כהן kohen doesn't bring these laws upon you. And אשת כהן eishes kohen is allowed to be exposed to טומאה tumah, but if in fact she's carrying a male fetus כהן kohen, is it already apply in utero? There's הלכתית halachic literature, believe it or not, about this.We spoke last year, you can listen to last year's שיעור shiur about להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים le'hazhir gedolim al haketanim and we saw many interpretations of what it means, including the beautiful interpretations of the ויז'ניצר רבי Vizhnitzer Rebbe, the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, which I'll remind you, but then I want to see new ones, several new interpretations mostly from Rav Druk as we've been going through his magnificent ספרים sefarim this year of אש תמיד Eish Tamid. So the ויז'ניצר רבי Vizhnitzer Rebbe, the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim said, להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים le'hazhir gedolim al haketanim, על הגדולים להאיר את הקטנים בזהר אורם al ha'gedolim l'ha'ir es ha'ketanim b'zohar oram. The word להזהיר le'hazhir can mean like זהירות zehirus. The first מידה middah in מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim of the רמח\"ל Ramchal we study Wednesday mornings 8:15. The formula of רבי פנחס בן יאיר Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair is זהירות zehirus. זהירות zehirus means vigilance, caution, mindfulness. זהירות zehirus, תיזהר tizaher, be careful. Be careful. So להזהיר le'hazhir, the adults are obligated to be careful and to caution the קטנים ketanim, the minors. But says the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, להזהיר le'hazhir doesn't just mean caution, it means something else. And I refer you to Thursday night, Friday, it's gonna be ל\"ג בעומר Lag Ba'Omer, רבי שמעון בר יוחאי Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the author of the זוהר Zohar. At least that's our tradition that he's the author of the זוהר Zohar. In that context, in mysticism, in קבלה Kabbalah, זוהר Zohar doesn't mean caution. זוהר Zohar means light, to illuminate, to brighten. So therefore the ויז'ניצר Vizhnitzer says, perhaps that it means that's what it means. אמור ואמרת Emor v'amarta, להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים le'hazhir gedolim al haketanim, that the גדולים gedolim, that the adults need to live lifestyles that they're shining a light, that they are illuminating those who are קטנים ketanim to see the kind of life that they should live. Alternatively says the ויז'ניצר Vizhnitzer, צריך להזהיר אלו המחזיקים עצמם כגדולים שיקטינו עצמם tzarich le'hazhir eilu ha'machzikim atzmam k'gedolim she'yakitinu atzmam. להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים le'hazhir gedolim al haketanim. This should illuminate and lighten and inspire גדולים gedolim, arrogant people with inflated egos who think that they're so great that they're גדולים gedolim, להזהיר על הקטנים le'hazhir al haketanim. See themselves a little less great, live a little more humbly, live with a little more modesty. So those are the two interpretations of the הייליגע ויז'ניצר רבי heilige Vizhnitzer Rebbe, the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, who says להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים le'hazhir gedolim al haketanim can either mean להזהיר le'hazhir מלשון זוהר mi'lashon zohar, to light up, to illuminate, to brighten, to brighten the path for קטנים ketanim to see how to live or להזהיר גדולים le'hazhir gedolim, those with inflated egos who think they are גדולים gedolim to realize that in fact we are קטנים ketanim.The אזנים לתורה Oznaim LaTorah wondered, why specifically here? Why not anywhere else? This מצוה mitzvah and no other? להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים le'hazhir gedolim al haketanim? It doesn't say adults teach the children כשרות kashrus. Adults teach the children שבת Shabbos. Adults teach the children יום כיפור Yom Kippur. Adults teach the children כיבוד אב kibbud av. Adults teach the children to be careful with שעטנז shaatnez. Why specifically here and no other? So the אזנים לתורה Oznaim LaTorah says you know why here? Because חינוך הבנים chinuch habanim is so so important. Education and inspiration is so important. It's not enough to use our words, it's not enough to communicate verbally or orally, but we need to model. So here the adult כהנים kohanim are going to say, look, I'm not just teaching you don't be on the internet. I'm not just teaching you you need a filter. I'm not just demanding of you what you can watch or can't watch or read or not read, or what you can subscribe to or not subscribe to. I too am going to protect myself from that contamination. I too am going to be aware of purity and impurity and strive for purity. And I'm going to model it for you. I'm going to teach you. And that's why the fact that this is chosen and is chosen as the only example, להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים le'hazhir gedolim al haketanim, tells us just how pernicious, just how threatening, just how damaging it is to be exposed to טומאה tumah, and therefore here specifically the adults need to not only speak, but need to model what it means, our responsibility to avoid such טומאה tumah. That is the אזנים לתורה Oznaim LaTorah. So we saw the ויז'ניצר Vizhnitzer, the אזנים לתורה Oznaim LaTorah. Now let's move over to Rav Druk. And Rav Druk says the following. מובא שיש כאן ציווי מיוחד להזהיר גם את הקטן במצוות הכהונה Mevo she'yesh kan tzivui meyuchad le'hazhir gam es ha'katan b'mitzvas ha'kehuna. ויש לעיין v'yesh l'ayen, he asks the same question as the אזנים לתורה Oznaim LaTorah. מדוע דוקא לגבי מצוות הכהונה Madua davka l'gabai mitzvas ha'kehuna? Why specifically here? What happened שבת, כשרות, יום כיפור, כיבוד אב Shabbos, kashrus, Yom Kippur, kibbud av, and so on and so forth וכולי וכולי v'chulei v'chulei. So he says the following. ראשית יש לומר, כי עיקר יסוד חינוך הקטן תורה ומצוות, כבר ביארנו פעמים רבות, שאי אפשר להשיג את החינוך המושלם של הבנים על ידי צעקות ותוכחות Reishis yesh lomar, ki ikar yesod chinuch ha'katan Torah u'mitzvos, k'var biarnu pa'amim rabos, she'i efshar l'hasig es ha'chinuch ha'mushlam shel ha'banim al yidei tze'akos v'sochachos. You cannot transform or inspire or elevate children. We're not going to empower the next generation by the decibel level of our voice. It doesn't happen through yelling or screaming, it doesn't happen through words alone. החינוך הטוב והמועיל ביותר הוא על ידי דוגמא אישית Ha'chinuch ha'tov v'hamo'il b'yoser hu al yidei dugma ishis. But rather, the most powerful, the most powerful and penetrating form of education is personal example. We spoke about this last week with אחרי מות Acharei Mos. בדו ובד ביתו ובד כל העם b'ado u'vad beiso u'vad kol ha'am. You want to change the whole world? You want to change your community? You want to change your family? It begins by changing yourself. על ידי שרואה הבן את כל סביבו נוהגים כראוי ושומרים תורה ומצוות Al yidei sh'ro'eh ha'ben es kol svivo nohagim k'rauy v'shomrim Torah u'mitzvos. You're going to be on fire if you see parents on fire. We spoke last week הרגל בנים ha'regel banim. You want kids who learn, do they see you learning? You want kids who value דאווענען davening, what do they see you value about your דאווענען davening? You want kids who are striving for holiness? What sacrifices or efforts do they see you make for holiness? אשר על כן נראה לומר כי שונה הדבר לגבי מצוות הכהונה Asher al kein nir'eh lomar ki shoneh ha'davar l'gabai mitzvas ha'kehuna. כהן קטן זה נמצא ומסתובב בין אחיו הישראלים Kohen katan zeh nimtza u'mistovev bein achav ha'Yisraelim. But now we've got a problem says Rav Druk, and this is where he's adding to the insights we saw until now. Says Rav Druk you got a problem for כהן kohen junior, junior כהן kohen. Why? Because junior כהן kohen is hearing one thing at home, but then he's seeing another thing in school, and on play dates. You know why? Because junior כהן kohen goes to school or camp, junior כהן kohen has play dates with non-כהנים kohanim, with לויים וישראלים Leviim v'Yisraelim. So therefore, it's going to say how bad could it be? Because not only do I see my friends, לויים וישראלים Leviim v'Yisraelim, not being careful about this, but I see their parents as well. So yes, when my father and mother are personal examples for me, and when I go on a play date, my friend's parents are personal examples too, and everyone's working in sync and in synergy and it's all integrated as a system that reinforces what's right from wrong, then you're right, I learn from it. But what happens to this junior כהן kohen? What happens to this young כהן kohen? who has certain responsibilities at home because his father is a כהן kohen, but his friend is a ישראל Yisrael, so his friend's father is not living that way. ורואה כי הם אינם נשמרים מטומאה V'roeh ki hem einam nishmarim mi'tumah. עלול לראות בם מודל לחיקוי Alul lir'os bam model l'chikui. וישאל את עצמו מדוע דוקא לי אסור מה שלהם מותר V'yish'al es atzmo madua davka li asur ma she'lahem mutar. Why is my father telling me I have to do something that my friend and my friend's even parents don't have to do? לכן אומרת התורה כאן צריך הסברה מיוחדת Lachen omres haTorah kan tzarich hasbara meyuchedes. להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים le'hazhir gedolim al haketanim. And that's why this specific law needs extra reinforcement. This law needs extra effort. כי במצוה זו אין הקטן נמצא בסביבה שכולם כהנים Ki b'mitzvah zu ein ha'katan nimtza b'sviva she'kulam kohanim. because here young כהנים kohanim are not in an atmosphere where everybody are כהנים kohanim. כי במצוה זו Ki b'mitzvah zu, there's a mix. ועל כן צריך לחזקם ביותר בחיזוק מיוחד לכך V'al kein tzarich l'chazkam b'yoser b'chizuk meyuchad l'kach. And that's why you don't need the extra אמור ואמרת emor v'amarta when it comes to כשרות, שבת, יום כיפור, כיבוד אב ואם kashrus, Shabbos, Yom Kippur, kibbud av v'em, you know why? Because assuming that this child has good friends and a good environment, then whatever home this child goes to, they'll see that their friend and their parents are all living consistent and commensurate with what they hear at home. But when it comes to the caution of כהונה kehuna, that's not the case, because the kid's going to be friends with non-כהנים kohanim. That's why you need the extra emphasis. Number one.Number two says Rav Druk, עוד יש להוסיף ולבאר, שאין מטרת ההדגשה של גדולים רק כדי שהקטנים Od yesh lehosif u'l'va'er, she'ein mataras ha'hadgasha shel gedolim rak kedei she'ha'ketanim, we said, why is the adult need to be careful and vigilant themselves? That's what will inspire the children. Now we're going to say in the opposite direction. מה שישנהגו וישמרו את מצוותם בפני הקטנים הרי מכח זה גם ישורש אצלם גודל הענין Ma she'yisnahagu v'yishm'ru es mitzvosam bifnei ha'ketanim harei mi'koach zeh gam yishorash etzlam godel ha'inyan. The reason the adult should be vigilant is not because it will inspire the child, but the reason to do it in front of the child is because it will inspire the adult. In the beginning of פרשת בא Parshas Bo, when השם Hashem hardens Pharaoh's heart, it says, השם Hashem says to משה Moshe that the reason he's hardening Pharaoh's heart and bringing these plagues, שוס אותותי אלה shos ososai eileh, why? למען תספר באזני בנך ובן בנך את אשר התעללתי במצרים ואת אותותי אשר שמתי בם וידעתם כי אני השם lema'an tesaper b'oznei vincha u'ven bincha es asher his'alalti b'Mitzrayim v'es ososai asher samti bam, vi'da'atem ki ani Hashem. I'm doing this so you'll tell in the ears of your children and grandchildren what I did, the wondrous signs, the miracles, how I suspended nature, and then, וידעתם vi'da'atem, you will know because I am השם Hashem. What do you mean וידעתם vi'da'atem? How should that פסוק pasuk have ended? You listening carefully, this is an amazing insight. You got your first דבר תורה dvar Torah for next פסח Pesach. Why does it say וידעתם vi'da'atem? You're going to tell and recite and teach your children all that you have, all that happened to you, all that you experienced, all that you witnessed, and then you will know that I am השם Hashem. What do you mean you will know? Then they will know. וידעו כי אני השם v'ya'du ki ani Hashem. Then they will know I'm God. What do you mean וידעתם vi'da'atem and then you will know?Now, in the opposite direction. He says, we said, why is the adult need to be careful and vigilant themselves? That's what will inspire the children. Now we're going to say in the opposite direction. מה שישנהגו וישמרו את מצוותם בפני הקטנים הרי מכח זה גם ישורש אצלם גודל הענין Ma she'yisnahagu v'yishm'ru es mitzvosam bifnei ha'ketanim harei mi'koach zeh gam yishorash etzlam godel ha'inyan. The reason the adult should be vigilant is not because it will inspire the child, but the reason to do it in front of the child is because it will inspire the adult. In the beginning of פרשת בא Parshas Bo, when השם Hashem hardens Pharaoh's heart, it says, השם Hashem says to משה Moshe that the reason he's hardening Pharaoh's heart and bringing these plagues, שוס אותותי אלה shos ososai eileh, why? למען תספר באזני בנך ובן בנך את אשר התעללתי במצרים ואת אותותי אשר שמתי בם וידעתם כי אני השם lema'an tesaper b'oznei vincha u'ven bincha es asher his'alalti b'Mitzrayim v'es ososai asher samti bam, vi'da'atem ki ani Hashem. I'm doing this so you'll tell in the ears of your children and grandchildren what I did, the wondrous signs, the miracles, how I suspended nature, and then, וידעתם vi'da'atem, you will know because I am השם Hashem. What do you mean וידעתם vi'da'atem? How should that פסוק pasuk have ended? You listening carefully, this is an amazing insight. You got your first דבר תורה dvar Torah for next פסח Pesach. Why does it say וידעתם vi'da'atem? You're going to tell and recite and teach your children all that you have, all that happened to you, all that you experienced, all that you witnessed, and then you will know that I am השם Hashem. What do you mean you will know? Then they will know. וידעו כי אני השם v'ya'du ki ani Hashem. Then they will know I'm God. What do you mean וידעתם vi'da'atem and then you will know? So Rav Shwab and says Rav Druk, no, you're misunderstanding the conversation. What happened? Manoach said to himself, how is this child going to grow up a Nazir if I'm not a Nazir? If his mother's not a Nezira? How will this child grow and have expectations of him? How will this child have demands on him that we're not living? I want to see this angel again. How is that going to work out? How is that going to succeed? What kind of child will be able to sustain that? So the angel comes back, and here's what Rav Druk and Rav Shwab say. You know what the angel says? מכל אשר אמרתי אל האשה תשמר Mikol asher amarti el ha'isha tishamer. Everything I told your wife, guard, be careful, do. תשמר tishamer doesn't mean תשמר tishamer about the child. תשמר tishamer means you're right. You want the child to grow up this way? תשמר tishamer, you need to be this way. You live away from wine, you protect yourself from tumah. If you want the child to emerge that way, then you are right, you need to live that way. It's an entire reinterpretation of the conversation, the story of Manoach and Eishes Manoach, of Shimshon's parents with the angel. And it's a powerful, powerful lesson for us that if we want our children to meet expectations, if we have a picture in our mind's eye of the kind of Jewish pride and Jewish life and lifestyle and Jewish intensity and Torah life we want them to have, then we don't need to have it in our mind's eye, where we need to have it is in the mirror. We need to look in the mirror and see whether we're living what we expect and demand of those. That's אמור Emor, אמור ואמרת Emor v'amarta.Quickly, a couple more interpretations because we saw two in the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, we saw one from the Oznaim LaTorah, and now we saw one so far from Rav Druk. Here's another one from Rav Druk. It doesn't say adults, be casual, but make sure you're vigilant with the children. It says, be vigilant, adults, for the children. So Rav Druk's diuk in the words of Rashi, doesn't say הגדולים הם מזהיר את הקטנים ha'gedolim hem mazhir es ha'ketanim, it says להזהיר הגדולים על הקטנים le'hazhir ha'gedolim al ha'ketanim. You adults, you need to be vigilant, extremely careful, why? על הקטנים al ha'ketanim. And here Rav Druk answers a question. Happens to be that Rav Shwab in his sefer might be a yeshua says the same thing. He has the same insight. The angel comes and tells them, you're going to have a child. You're going to have a child and the child is going to be a Nazir. The child will take their vow, a Nazirite vow, and bear that responsibility to live that holy way from the womb. And concludes, ואתה השמרי נא v'ata hishamri na, therefore you, wife of Manoach, be careful, don't drink wine or beer, ואל תאכלי כל טמא v'al tochli kol tamei, and don't expose yourself to anything tamei. She goes and tells her husband Manoach everything. The Navi describes that she relates exactly what the angel told her, including the instruction, don't drink alcohol, don't drink wine, and don't be near, don't expose yourself to tumah, to impurity. What happens? מייד מתפלל מנוח להשם miyad mispalel Manoach la'Hashem. So Manoach says that's nice, great news, we're going to have a child, and good, child's going to be holy, child's going to strive to be a Nazir, but you know what Manoach davens for? Send the angel again, I want to hear it from the angel. And it's a very very difficult question. So what happens? מה נעשה לנער היולד Ma na'aseh la'naar ha'yulad? What should we do with this child? And the angel says מכל אשר אמרתי אל האשה תשמר mikol asher amarti el ha'isha tishamer. Everything I said to your wife, be careful. So, he didn't say anything. He just told Manoach, so why did Manoach want him to come back? And what did the angel clarify when he came back? All he said succinctly was, everything I told your wife, be careful. even know. Says Rav Druk, you know what the answer is? Even the people who lived through the miracles, even the דור דעה dor deah, even the generation who came out of מצרים Mitzrayim, the generation who themselves witnessed and observed and experienced firsthand the rescue, the salvation, the miracles, it could dissipate. It dissolves. It loses its steam, its specialness. So how do we get it back? How do we remember how remarkable and extraordinary it was? How do we remember to be able to thank השם Hashem? When we tell the קטנים ketanim, it inspires ourselves. So, in the experience of למען תספר באזני בנך ובן בנך l'maan tesaper b'oznei bincha u'ven bincha, וידעתם vi'yidatem, not וידעו v'yadu. Yeah, וידעו v'yadu. When you tell them, they'll know there's a God. You know who else will renew their knowledge there's a God? You know who else will reinvigorate and become re-excited that there's a God? So when we model for our children, not only are our children the beneficiaries, but in fact, by teaching the children, we are reminding, we're reinvigorating, we're re-exciting ourselves about it. Re-exciting. We live through some miraculous time. So we remember. We remember. When my parents tell me about the Six-Day War and the feelings of euphoria and the feeling that a Jew could walk down the street anywhere in the world and they look like they were 15 feet tall just because of Israel pulled off in that Six-Day War. So, okay, it's a different experience. A lot of יום ירושלים Yom Yerushalayim will be different for them after they've told their children and grandchildren what it was like the Six-Day War. What do you mean? But they were alive. They knew it. Maybe they lived through it in some way, those certainly who served in the, our heroes who served in the army. But when you tell the story to the other, not only do you inspire them, you become re-inspired. That's פשט pshat in the פסוק pasuk, the beginning of פרשת בא Parshas Bo. וידעתם Vi'yidatem. When you are למען תספר באזני l'maan tesaper b'oznei, then not only וידעו v'yadu, וידעתם vi'yidatem. So says Rav Druk, maybe that's the פשט pshat here as well. אמור ואמרת Emor v'amarta. להזהיר גדולים L'hazhir gedolim. Do you know how you're מזהיר את הגדולים mazhir et hagdolim? על הקטנים Al haketanim. So two beautiful insights. First, that it doesn't say the גדולים המזהירים את הקטנים gedolim hamazhirim et haketanim, but להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים l'hazhir gedolim al haketanim. If you want children to live a certain way, you need to learn it, live it. That's what the angel told מנוח ואשת מנוח Manoach v'eishes Manoach. And that's what the Torah is telling the כהנים kohanim. You want your young כהנים kohanim to meet your expectations, then you need to live it. But פשט pshat number two is להזהיר גדולים l'hazhir gedolim. The adults will come inspired. How? על הקטנים Al haketanim. Because when you tell the story, and when you set the expectation for the children, when you inspire them, you become inspired. You become inspired. Inspire yourself to inspire others, inspire others to inspire yourself. Both of them are true. Last one. We saw two Viznitzers, and עז וניסים לתורה Oz veNissim l'Torah, and so far two Rav Druk, a third Rav Druk, and then we'll move on because there's still a full פרשה parsha, and we're already somehow shockingly halfway through. The last one is the following, is the following.פירושים נוספים Peirushim nosafim, there are other, על דרך רמז יש לומר al derech remez yeish lomar, says Rav Druk, שדיבר כאן באופן כללי על כל המצוות she'diber kan b'ofen klali al kol hamitzvos, that we're not just talking about כהונה kehunah, and we're not just talking about טומאה וטהרה tumah v'taharah. We're talking about all of מצוות mitzvos. שצריך להזהר בדבר קטן כמו הדברים הגדולים She'tzarich l'hazhar b'davar katan k'mo had'varim hag'dolim. להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים L'hazhir gedolim al haketanim is not talking about adults or children, but rather להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים l'hazhir gedolim al haketanim is talking about our attitude towards מצוות mitzvos. There are the ones we think are big, significant, defining. For how long already has it been defined? Who is an observant Jew? שבת Shabbos, כשרות kashrus, טהרת המשפחה taharas hamishpacha. The big three. שבת Shabbos, כשרות kashrus, טהרת המשפחה taharas hamishpacha. Those are what we call the big three. Those are the גדולים gedolim. And the little things, you really care, do they really matter? Does God really care? That's what the Torah tells us. No, no, no, no, no. There's no such thing as big and little when it comes to מצוות ועבירות mitzvos v'aveiros. When it comes to the will of God, when it comes to what he's articulated for us, when it comes to the blueprint for his world, there are no גדולים או קטנים gedolim o ketanim, there's no big or small. But rather we are bound by it all. That's what the משנה בפרקי אבות Mishna in Pirkei Avos teaches us. הוי זהיר במצווה קלה כבחמורה Hevei zahir b'mitzva kala k'vachamurah. Be as careful, זהיר zahir, it's not a coincidence, says Rav Druk, the same word זהיר zahir, הוי זהיר במצווה קלה כבחמורה hevei zahir b'mitzva kala k'vachamurah. שאין אתה יודע מתן שכרן של מצוות She'ein ata yodea matan s'charan shel mitzvos. זהיר Zahir, be as cautious, careful, and vigilant when it comes to what you think is a smaller or insignificant, a light mitzvah as you do for a severe one because we don't really know. We have no idea the system of reward and punishment. We don't know the matrix in שמים shamayim about really which is more important, which is greater, which is smaller. So it's not a coincidence. להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים L'hazhir gedolim al haketanim, הוי זהיר במצווה קלה כבחמורה hevei zahir b'mitzva kala k'vachamurah, it's the same message, the third insight of Rav Druk, and our, uh, two, three, sixh insight of what it means אמור ואמרת emor v'amarta, six new insights over the ones that we saw last year. I think we've exhausted אמור ואמרת emor v'amarta. I share them with you not because I think they're only because they're fascinating interpretations of a famous רש\"י Rashi, but they're פרשה parsha perspectives for today. They're an inspiration about how to raise our children. They're an inspiration. What comes out of this is, you know, you want to become inspired again? Talk to your children about דאווענען davening, and you'll be excited about דאווענען davening. You know, have you ever like fallen off of your diet or your exercise routine, but then you start telling somebody all about what you used to do, the exercise routine you used to have, or the eating lifestyle you used to be careful with? By telling and preaching to others, you become inspired again yourself. So this insight is both the method of how to inspire our children, but also how to become inspired ourselves. Inspire yourself to inspire others. Inspire others, you'll become inspired yourself. So what is this instruction? ויאמר השם אל משה אמור אל הכהנים בני אהרן ואמרת אליהם לנפש לא יטמא בעמיו Vayomer Hashem el Moshe emor el hakohanim b'nei Aharon v'amarta aleihem, l'nefesh lo yitama b'amav. לנפש לא תטמאו L'nefesh lo titam'u. To another soul, you're not allowed to become טמא tamei. A כהן kohen is not allowed to become טמא tamei. A כהן kohen can't go to a hospital that has a morgue if the hospital is a majority Jewish. The כהן kohen can't go into a Jewish cemetery or a cemetery. A כהן kohen can't be exposed to טומאה tumah in an אהל ohel through a building, an edifice, or in direct as well, or directly as well. We don't have a בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash today. We're not going to do this piece. We'll do a different piece. That was the, uh, the כהן kohen is cautioned. So what does it mean לא יטמא בעמיו lo yitama b'amav? לא יטמא בעמיו Lo yitama b'amav. So, בקרוביו לשארו bekrovav l'she'eiro, to the rest of relatives they can. So listen to what Rav Druk says here. דרש נאה יש לדרוש בפסוק זה Drash na'eh yeish lidrosh b'pasuk zeh. It's a nice דרש drash. Listen to the דרש drash. The גמרא בנדה דף ל\"א עמוד א Gemara in Niddah daf lamed aleph amud aleph tells us, שלשה שותפין יש באדם shlosha shutfin yeish b'adam. There are three partners in every human being. Three partners. הקדוש ברוך הוא, אביו ואמו Hakadosh Baruch Hu, aviv v'imo. The mother, the father, we contribute the ingredients, the materials, but the one who inserts the soul, the one who determines the DNA, so to say is not the DNA we contribute, but spiritual DNA is the Almighty. There are three partners. That's why the גמרא Gemara concludes that if you honor your father or mother, you are honoring God. And if you disrespect and dishonor your father and mother, then you are disrespecting or dishonoring God. Why? Because it's a partnership and the attitude towards one of the partners reflects on your attitude towards all of the partners. So there are three partners. There are people who are mixing the ingredients constantly, but the third partner is not contributed and therefore there's no life. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu on the other hand wants a child to be born, but he needs a husband and wife. He needs the man and the woman to be able to conceive, to make the decision themselves, to contribute the genetic material. There are three partners, a father, mother, and השם Hashem. The גמרא Gemara there says, אביו מזריע הלובן שממנו עצמות וגידין וציפורניים aviv mazria haloven shemimenu atzamos v'gidin v'tzipornayim. The husband contributes the white element from which the bones and the sinews and the fingernails and the and the marrow in the head, the brain, and the white of the eye, it all forms from the white that the husband, that the father contributes. אמו Imo, the mother, מזרעת אודם mazra'as odem. She contributes the red element, שממנו עור ובשר ושערות shemimenu or u'vasar u'se'aros, the skin and the flesh and the hair, the dark part of the eye, and הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives the רוח ונשמה וקלסתר פנים, וראיית העין ושמיעת האוזן ודיבור פה, והילוך רגליים ובינה והשכל ruach v'neshama v'klaster panim, u'reiyas ha'ayin u'shmias ha'ozen v'dibur peh, v'hiluch raglayim v'vinah v'haskel. What does God do? He turns on this גולם golem. He makes this, this inanimate object come alive. So we give the materials, the husband, the white element, and the wife, the red element, and God turns it on. God makes it an animated living being. He makes the ears hear and the eyes see and the mouth speak and the legs work and so on. So from the father and mother, you see what you get is the physical being. From הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu what you get is the נשמה neshama. And now says Rav Druk, maybe על פי דרש al pi drash, this is an insight in the פסוק pasuk. What does it mean? It says, the פסוק pasuk says, לנפש לא יטמא בעמיו l'nefesh lo yitama b'amav means, מאין בא לו לאדם החטא me'ayin ba lo l'adam hachet? When we make a mistake, a miscalculation, when we violate an indiscretion, where does it come from? הרי זה רק מחלק הגוף והחומר המושכל לתאוות עולם הזה Harei zeh rak mechelek haguf v'hachomer hamushkal l'ta'avos olam hazeh. It's not the soul driving us. The soul is pure. The soul is godly. It is the body, the inclination, the instinct, the appetite, the temptation of the body that's drawing us to that pleasure, to that poor decision. אבל בחלק הנשמה Aval b'chelek haneshama, but the soul, the godliness in us, אין חטא פוגם ein chet pogem. אין הנשמה שהיא חלק אלוק ממעל מקבלת טומאה כלל Ein haneshama shehi chelek eloka mima'al mekabeles tumah klal. So the soul cannot be contaminated. The soul itself is pure like God. But when it's housed in the instrument, in the vehicle called the body, and the body struggles with appetite and temptation, now the soul's got, now, now the body makes mistakes. And that's what it means. לנפש לא יטמא בעמיו L'nefesh lo yitama b'amav. הנפש איננו נטמא לעולם Hanefesh einenu nitma l'olam. Your soul can never be contaminated. מאין בא לו לאדם החטא Me'ayin ba lo l'adam hachet? Where does it come from? לשארו הקרוב אליו לאביו ולאמו L'she'aro hakarov eilav l'aviv u'l'imo. It comes from the body element of who you are. And who gave you your body? Your father and your mother. That doesn't mean you should blame your father and mother for everything you do wrong and everything that goes wrong. But it means symbolically, the father and mother who contribute the physical. So when we make a mistake, the טומאה tumah in us is coming from the physical element of who we are, not from the soul. The טומאה tumah is coming from the physical element of who we are. The טומאה tumah is not coming from the soul. Okay, continuing in the פסוק pasuk. פרק כ\"א פסוק י\"ג Perek kaf aleph, pasuk yud gimmel. Continuing onto the next page. So this כהן kohen has all kinds of rules. אישה זונה וחללה לא יקחו Isha zonah v'chalalah lo yikachu. Rav Azulai, Azulai, אישה זונה וחללה לא יקחו Isha zonah v'chalalah lo yikachu. ואישה גרושה מאשה לא יקחו, כי קדוש הוא לאלוקיו V'isha gerusha me'isha lo yikachu, ki kadosh hu leilokav. וקדשתו כי את לחם אלוקיך הוא מקריב, קדוש יהיה לך, כי קדוש אני מקדשכם V'kidashto ki es lechem elokecha hu makriv, kadosh yihyeh lach, ki kadosh ani mekadeschem. Oh, where did I see this amazing example? I wanted to share you. So, the כהן kohen is cautioned for living this lifestyle. Now, skip to פסוק pasuk yud gimmel. והוא אישה בבתוליה יקח V'hu isha bivsuleha yikach. The כהן kohen has to, the כהן kohen cannot marry a divorcee, and the כהן גדול kohen gadol has to marry a woman who's not even a widow. The כהן גדול kohen gadol has to marry a woman who's not even a widow. Why? Why this extra layer on the כהן גדול kohen gadol? So, listen to this insight. Listen to this insight. It's an amazing insight. It's blew me away when I saw this this morning. Listen what he says. The דעת זקנים מבעלי התוספות daas zekeinim miba'alei hatosafos say the following: מדוע באמת נצטווה כהן גדול שיקח דווקא בתולה ולא אלמנה Madua be'emes nitztaveh kohen gadol sheyikach davka besulah v'lo almana? A regular ישראל או לוי Yisrael o Levi can marry any woman. Can marry any single woman. She could be a divorcee, she could be a convert, she could be a widow, any woman. A כהן kohen can marry a woman who is not a convert and not a divorcee, but can marry a widow. A כהן גדול kohen gadol cannot even marry a widow. Has to be a בתולה besulah, a woman who was never married. Why? Why? Wonders the דעת זקנים מבעלי התוספות daas zekeinim miba'alei hatosafos, why? Listen to this answer. ותירץ, כי לפי שהכהן גדול נכנס לבית קודש הקדשים ביום הכיפורים, ומזכיר את השם בסילודין, ויש לחוש שמא נתן עינו באשת איש, ובשעת הזכרת השם הגדול, יתפלל שימות בעלה בשביל שישאנה, לכך אמרה תורה שישא בתולה ולא אלמנה V'teireitz, ki l'fi shehakohen gadol nichnas l'beis kodesh hakodashim b'yom hakippurim, u'mazkir es hashem b'siludin, v'yeish lachush shema nasan eino b'eishes ish, u'vishas hazkaras hashem hagadol, yispaleil sheyamus ba'ala bishvil sheyisa'ena. L'chach amra Torah sheyisa besulah v'lo almana. It's amazing. Listen to this. You know why? The whole rule that the כהן גדול kohen gadol cannot marry a widow is because maybe the כהן גדול kohen gadol will meet a married woman. And he will be smitten. He will be attracted to her beauty inside and out. So when he gets into the קודש הקדשים Kodesh Hakodashim, when on the holiest day of the year, the holy person in the holiest place, you know what he's going to think about? Maybe for a moment his mind will wander, not to receiving atonement on behalf of all the people, not to the safety and security of the people of Israel, but maybe for a moment in that holiest place, the holiest person on the holiest day, you know where his mind is going to wander? That woman he's smitten by. And what will he take advantage of this special moment to דאווען daven for? For her husband to leave this world, to leave her available to him so he can marry her. Maybe he'll meet this woman, he'll be so smitten, so taken. He'll say she's my בשרט bashert, she's the one I'm meant to be with, not this guy. But he's an impediment, he's an obstacle, he's in the way. How do I get rid of him? I know. I get to go in the קודש הקדשים ביום כיפור Kodesh Hakodashim b'Yom Kippur. I go into the Holy of Holies on the holiest day of the year. This is the idea of the דעת זקנים מבעלי התוספות daas zekeinim miba'alei hatosafos. מביא הרעיון Mavi harayon, says Rav Druk, and this is the powerful message that I want to bring and share. חזק Chizuk to me and to you and to all of us. The בעלי התוספות ba'alei hatosafos, that's the פשט pshat you came up with? That's what you came up with? What does that פשט pshat presuppose? You know what that פשט pshat presupposes? That the כהן גדול kohen gadol is human. The כהן גדול kohen gadol is human. He has human needs and human attraction and that his mind might wander to that place. And in order to prevent him from דאווענען davening for that thing, we take it off the table. כהן גדול Kohen gadol, she's off the table. Even if her husband's out of the way, she's off the table because she would be an אלמנה almana. And therefore the כהן גדול kohen gadol concentrate, stay focused. A concession we make to the reality and humanity of the כהן גדול kohen gadol, to the fallibility of the כהן גדול kohen gadol, therefore we take it off the table. התורה חוששת שאדם הקדוש ביוצר בעם ישראל, בזמן הקדוש ביוצר, כשהוא מזכיר את השם הנכבד, יעברו בראשו מחשבות כאלו של נואף ורוצח Hatorah chosheses she'adam hakadosh b'yotzer b'am yisrael, b'zman hakadosh b'yotzer, kshe'hu mazkir es hashem hanichbad, ya'avru b'rosho machshavos k'eilu shel no'ef v'rotzei'ach. What thoughts could go through his mind? Adultery, murder. And therefore they prohibit an אלמנה almana to a כהן גדול kohen gadol. נורא נוראות Nora nora'os, writes Rav Druk. And now you met him when he sat next to me right here, the פרשה parsha class. You can hear Rav Druk saying these words. You met him, you saw him in real life. רואים בזה עד היכן עלול אדם להגיע Roim b'zeh ad heichan alul adam l'hagia. You see where a person can go אם לא יקדש עצמו בקדושה גבוהה ביותר im lo yikadesh atzmo b'kedusha gevoha b'yoser. If we don't work to sanctify and elevate ourselves, if we don't strive for holiness, you see what a person could even be thinking about in that moment. You see where a person can slide, how low we can go, how distracted we can be, how absolutely cloudy our judgment can get, how miscalculated and misguided we could become if we don't strive for holiness. בזה יש לפרש גם כן מה שאנו קוראים B'zeh yeish l'fareish gam kein ma she'anu korim. This explains, why do we read פרשת עריות Parshas Arayos at מנחה on יום כיפור Mincha on Yom Kippur? Again, last week we read פרשת אחרי מות Parshas Acharei Mos. Why do we read פרשת עריות Parshas Arayos at מנחה on יום כיפור Mincha on Yom Kippur? מנחה יום כיפור Mincha Yom Kippur we've already gone through כל נדרי Kol Nidrei, מעריב Maariv, שחרית Shacharis, מוסף Musaf, מנחה Mincha. We are almost all the way through יום כיפור Yom Kippur. We've been fasting. We see ourselves as angels. We have no need for leather shoes. We are angelic. We are angelic. And what do we read about when we think we're angelic? Promiscuity, licentiousness, lewdness, inappropriate relationships. Specifically then. Why? Because the Torah cautions us. Don't ever think that you're superhuman. Never think that you're beyond reproach. Never think that you are immune from the distraction, from the urge. Never think you're immune from the id. Never think you're immune. That's the יסוד yesod that we find in the פסוק pasuk קדושים יהיו לאלוקיהם ולא יחללו שם אלוקיהם kedoshim yihiyu leilokeihem v'lo yechalelu shem elokeihem. Here in our פרשה parsha for the כהנים kohanim. איך תם מזרישים ביחד ואינם סותרים זה את זה Keitzad mitztarfim b'yachad v'einam sotrim zeh es zeh? מצד אחד התורה אומרת Mitzad echad haTorah omeres, get to a high level of קדושים יהיו kedoshim yihiyu. מצד שני בלא שום הפסק Mitzad sheini b'lo shum hefsek, then it continues and says, שלא יחללו shelo yechalelu, which is a lower. So which is it? Am I only cautioned לא יחללו lo yechalelu? Or do I have to strive all the way to קדושים יהיו kedoshim yihiyu? Am I only cautioned don't desecrate, or do I have to meet the expectation and the demand, the level of קדושים יהיו kedoshim yihiyu? הביאור הזה של עולם אין דרך אמצעית Habi'ur hazeh she'olam ein derech emtza'is. The answer is there is no middle ground. You're either holy or you're desecrating. You're in a moment your mind is in a holy place or your mind is in a desecrating place. What I love about this insight of Rav Druk is what חזק chizuk, what validation to human beings and to humanity that we're human. We get distracted. The Torah doesn't have a utopian vision of the world and who we can be. The Torah is describing a reality of who we are and a reality of how far we can fall if we're not vigilant, if we're not careful, and if we don't have holy aspirations and holy ambitions. Going back, the בעל הטורים Baal Haturim says והוא אישה בבתוליה יקח v'hu isha bivsuleha yikach. The בעל הטורים Baal Haturim says, והוא v'hu, the word והוא v'hu is in גמטריא gematria, here's a גמטריא gematria for the גמטריא gematria lovers out there. והוא V'hu is in גמטריא gematria י\"ח yud ches. רמז בן י\"ח שנה לחופה Remez ben yud ches shana l'chuppah. The משנה Mishna in the fifth פרק perek of אבות Avos tells us that one should get married at 18 years old. So והוא v'hu is the numerical value 18, והוא אישה בבתוליה v'hu isha bivsuleha, which also we find in תהילים פרק י\"ט Tehillim perek yud tes. והוא כחתן יוצא מחופתו V'hu k'chasan yotzei meichupaso. והוא כחתן יוצא מחופתו V'hu k'chasan yotzei meichupaso. והוא v'hu is 18. Why is the חתן chasan, when is the חתן יוצא מחופתו chasan yotzei meichupaso? When he's 18 years old. בן שמונה עשרה לחופה Ben shmoneh esrei l'chuppah. And that is what we see. That is what we see here. By the way, allergies, not Corona. I'm vaccinated. But why do we see that, uh, בן שמונה עשרה לחופה ben shmoneh esrei l'chuppah? The משנה באבות Mishna in Avos is very difficult. We studied this several years ago in the afternoon כולל kollel when we learned מסכת קידושין Maseches Kiddushin together, and it's available online. בן שמונה עשרה לחופה Ben shmoneh esrei l'chuppah. I thought מצוות mitzvos apply when you're 13. From 13 to 18, this man who's obligated in Torah and מצוות mitzvos who we celebrated the בר מצווה Bar Mitzvah and coming of age. What other example do we have of a מצווה mitzva that is deferred? A מצווה mitzva that doesn't apply till later? From 13 to 18. And the גמרא Gemara gives a small window because the משנה Mishna says get married at 18, and if by 20 you're not married, your bones rot, which is not a judgment or statement about those who are want and are trying to get married. I was older than 20 when I got married. But it's a very small window, 18 to 20. It's very unusual. Only here in this מצווה mitzva. Why is that? You can go back to that shiur in מסכת קידושין Maseches Kiddushin for many, many more sources about why that is and about what that is about. Okay. Let's keep on going. פרק כ\"ב Perek kaf beis, פסוק ל\"ב pasuk lamed beis. Skip all the way to page 680. פסוק ל\"ב Pasuk lamed beis. ולא תחללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל אני השם מקדשכם V'lo sechalelu es shem kodshi v'nikdashti b'soch b'nei yisrael ani Hashem mekadeschem. We've spoken about this many times as well in the past. I don't want to review it, but I want to teach you new things. ולא תחללו V'lo sechalelu, the same רבנו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya that we just a moment ago saw, the same idea that where's the third option? ולא תחללו את שם קדשי V'lo sechalelu es shem kodshi, don't desecrate God's name, ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל v'nikdashti b'soch b'nei yisrael, make a קידוש השם kiddush Hashem. What if I'm not doing either? I'm not in the mood to either make a great קידוש השם kiddush Hashem, but I'm also not going to desecrate השם's Hashem's name. I'm just going to have lunch. I'm just going to eat lunch. I'm just going to take the bus. I'm just going to go to work. I'm just going to work out at the at the gym that's kosher to be at. So it's פראייר parve, neutral. I'm neither making a great קידוש השם kiddush Hashem nor a חילול השם chillul Hashem. Why isn't that okay? Where's the פראייר parve? Says רבנו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya and others, there is no neutral. And there is no פראייר parve. Everything we're doing is either holy and sacred or there's an absence and a void of God's name. Everything. Our life is one or the other. If we're doing what's right, what's just, what's correct, it doesn't have to be something which is so enormous and transformative, but it's a קידוש השם kiddush Hashem. Just doing what's right is a קידוש השם kiddush Hashem. And the opposite's also true. You didn't hold the door. You didn't say please or thank you. Your word wasn't your bond. Then it's a חילול השם chillul Hashem. Those are the two options. And in fact, and in fact, the לימודי ניסים limudei nissim of Rav Nissan Alpert zatzal says ונקדשתי v'nikdashti is לשון נפעל lashon nifal. In Hebrew grammar, it's the form of the verb which is נפעל nifal, which is passive. Why? Because קידוש השם kiddush Hashem doesn't happen when you give your life or in the most noble way where even though your factory burned down, you pay your workers. קידוש השם Kiddush Hashem is you held the door. נפעל Nifal, passively. Are you a mensch? Do you act justly and correctly and with integrity in a very passive way? That too is a קידוש השם kiddush Hashem. But listen to this insight of Rav Druk. I love this הלכה halacha. He says the following. He says the following. I know we're heavy on Rav Druk today, but it's all so good, what can I do? The משנה באבות Mishna in Avos, Rabbi Yochanan ben Broka omer: כל מחלל שם שמים בסתר נפרעים ממנו בגלוי Kol mechalel shem shamayim b'seser nifraim mimenu b'galui. אחד שוגג ואחד מזיד בחילול השם Echad shogeg v'echad meizid b'chillul Hashem. It's a משנה mishna in the fourth פרק perek of אבות Avos. So summertime, we're reading פרקי אבות Pirkei Avos. Second משנה mishna we're quoting from אבות Avos today. So the משנה mishna says in פרק ד' perek dalet that anyone who desecrates God's name even in private will pay for it in public. And one is liable and culpable and accountable for חילול השם chillul Hashem when you desecrate God's name, not only if you did it on purpose, but even if you did it by accident. And wonders Rav Druk, what? In הלכה halacha, generally, we have a major distinction between מזיד meizid and שוגג shogeg. The consequence is enormously different, categorically different when you do something intentionally with malice versus when you do something accidentally. So why with חילול השם chillul Hashem? It's a great question. אחד שוגג ואחד מזיד בחילול השם Echad shogeg v'echad meizid b'chillul Hashem. If you did it by accident, why are you accountable? What do you want from me? It was an accident. I didn't realize what I was doing or I didn't know what was wrong. What do you want from me? How do you hold me accountable? Why is it אחד שוגג בחילול השם echad shogeg b'chillul Hashem? Why is this different than all other מצוות mitzvos in the Torah? So in order to understand this, we have to look at another הלכה halacha, says Rav Druk. These are golden Rav Druks I'm giving you. Not me giving you. Rav Druk is giving us golden דברי תורה divrei Torah today. These are fantastic. All of them, not just Rav Druk, all the דברי תורה divrei Torah, ברוך השם baruch Hashem, we're זוכה zocheh to be the, uh, to be the inheritors of such a magnificent heritage of Torah. It's also wonderful and so informative, inspiring. It's also beautiful. So the גמרא בבבא קמא דף כ\"ו עמוד ב' Gemara in Bava Kamma daf kaf vav amud beis tells us, אדם מועד לעולם adam mu'ad l'olam. A person is מועד לעולם mu'ad l'olam. Unlike an animal who's untrained, unlike an animal that I don't know yet has a pattern for goring, for damaging, a human being is assumed to be dangerous and liable from birth, בין שוגג בין מזיד בין ער בין ישין bein shogeg bein meizid bein er bein yashein. Let's say I'm sleeping and I turn over in my sleep and I knock over your vase and I break it. Am I liable? Do I have to pay for your vase? Let's say I'm sleeping. I fall asleep, חס ושלום chas v'shalom a billion times over while driving. And therefore I rammed into someone else's car. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, nobody's hurt, but I damaged your brand new Tesla. Do I have to pay for your Tesla? I'll say, well, I was sleeping. It wasn't my fault. I fell asleep. So the הלכה halacha is אדם מועד לעולם adam mu'ad l'olam. When a human being damages, you're culpable and liable, whether you're awake or sleeping, whether it was intentional or whether it was by accident. When we break things by accident, you have to pay for it. לכן יש לתמוה, מדוע באמת אדם מועד לעולם L'choira yeish litmo'a, madua be'emes adam mu'ad l'olam? Why? Why? Isn't there such a thing as an accident? Why should I have to pay if it was by accident? I accidentally nicked your car, I accidentally broke your vase, I accidentally dropped your phone, I accidentally, it was an accident. Or I was asleep, I did something in my sleep. Why am I liable for that which I do in my sleep? So the answer is, אין זה אלא כי תשלום נזק שהמזיק משלם לניזק אינו בגדר עונש ונקמה כלל ועיקר ein zeh ela ki tashlum nezek she'hamazik meshalem l'nizak, einam b'geder onesh u'nekama klal v'ikar. When is it that if you do something by accident, you're exempt? When something is a punishment. We don't punish you if it was an accident. Intent matters in the world of reward and punishment. But you know when you make somebody whole because you damaged, that's not the world of reward and punishment. That's not the world of מצווה או עבירה mitzva o aveira. It's the world of תשלומים tashlumin. It's compensation. I damaged you, I have to compensate. Your Tesla doesn't care if it was an accident. Your bank account doesn't care if I was awake or asleep. If I damage, I must compensate. And here too, if I damage your car, your vase, your phone, sleeping or awake, on purpose or by accident, I have to compensate. So now says Rav Druk, we can understand this הלכה halacha. Listen to this. He says, now we understand the הלכה halacha that חילול השם chillul Hashem, בין שוגג בין מזיד bein shogeg bein meizid, you have to pay. You know why? חילול השם Chillul Hashem is נזק nezek to השם Hashem. Where do you put חילול השם chillul Hashem? Does חילול השם chillul Hashem go under the category of מצווה או עבירה mitzva o aveira? Does חילול השם chillul Hashem go under the category of שכר או עונש s'char o onesh? Neither. חילול השם Chillul Hashem goes under the category of תשלומים tashlumin. חילול השם Chillul Hashem goes under the category of תשלומים tashlumin. אם כן, חלל זה שהוחסר בעולם צריך למלא מחדש, והוא כתשלום נזקים שהמזיק צריך להשלים Im kein, chulal zeh she'huchsar ba'olam tzarich l'malei mechadesh, v'hu k'tashlum nezikin she'hamazik tzarich l'hashlim. Sleeping or awake, on purpose or by accident, you must compensate for damage you did. And when we make a חילול השם chillul Hashem, we have done damage to God in this world. We hurt his brand. We hurt the movement. We hurt the brand. Brand damage. And therefore, you have to compensate. And that's why we are accountable. אחד שוגג ואחד מזיד בחילול השם Echad shogeg v'echad meizid b'chillul Hashem is a continuation of the הלכה halacha that אדם מועד לעולם בין שוגג בין מזיד adam mu'ad l'olam bein shogeg bein meizid. חילול השם Chillul Hashem is not a function of מצווה או עבירה mitzva aveira. חילול השם Chillul Hashem is a function of, of damage, of נזק nezek. We damage God, we damage the, our mission in this world, we damage his vision for this world, if in fact, if in fact, we don't live up to who we're meant to be, we don't live up to the notion of the, of a, of a קידוש השם kiddush Hashem. I wanted to get to a beautiful Rav, a beautiful insight of Rav Volbe. Maybe we'll end with this quickly. The פסוק pasuk says towards the end of the פרשה parsha, על המנורה הטהורה יערך את הנרות לפני השם תמיד Al hamenora hatehora ya'aroch es haneros lifnei Hashem tamid. On the pure מנורה menorah, you arrange the lamps before השם Hashem תמיד tamid. What is the word תמיד tamid here mean? What does the word תמיד tamid mean? The מנורה menorah is arranged, it's lit, תמיד tamid. What is תמיד tamid? So רש\"י Rashi says תמיד tamid does not mean the מנורה menorah has to be lit 24 hours a day, all times. Rather, it means Aaron has to light the מנורה menorah every night. תמיד Tamid means every night. Not occasionally, not once a week, not once a month. תמיד Tamid, every night. The רמב\"ן Ramban says something else. Says the רמב\"ן Ramban, we learn from the word תמיד tamid that it has to be lit even on שבת Shabbos, even if the כהן kohen is in a state of טומאה tumah. תמיד Tamid means even the things that normally prevent us from doing other things, but תמיד tamid means you light the מנורה menorah. So רש\"י Rashi says תמיד tamid means every night. The רמב\"ן Ramban says תמיד tamid means even on שבת Shabbos, even in a state of טומאה tumah. But you could learn from this פסוק pasuk, says Rav Volbe, a definition of the word מתמיד masmid. When we talk about somebody as a מתמיד masmid, we praise this בחור bochur, this ישיבה בחור yeshiva bochur, that he's a מתמיד masmid. מתמיד Masmid usually translates as incredibly diligent in their study. Says Rav Volbe, you learn from this רש\"י Rashi and רמב\"ן Ramban that מתמיד masmid doesn't necessarily mean the one who learns day and night. מתמיד Masmid doesn't mean cumulatively the one who learns the most quantity of hours, but it means it's a person who sets aside time for learning. Just like Rashi says it means you light every night. The מתמיד masmid is the one who's קובע עתים kove'a itim, who makes time for learning. That's what it means to be a מתמיד masmid. To be a מתמיד masmid is not to learn the most hours, to be a מתמיד masmid is not to learn all hours, to be a מתמיד masmid is to fix hours for learning and to keep to them. To set aside time. And just like the רמב\"ן Ramban says even on שבת Shabbos. A מתמיד masmid does something not only during the week but even on שבת Shabbos. And the מתמיד masmid does it even in a state of טומאה tumah, even when you feel like don't feel like learning and even if you don't feel worthy of learning. It means you have a fixed time for דאווענען davening, a fixed time for learning, that's התמדה hasmada. התמדה Hasmada is not how much and התמדה hasmada is not how often. התמדה Hasmada is fixing times and then keeping to them. That's what it means to be a מתמיד masmid. A new definition and it's one we can live up to. To be the מתמיד masmid, to be the most diligent, to burn the midnight oil, to learn the most hours, not all of us have the זיצפלייש zitz fleish. It's hard to be that kind of a מתמיד masmid. But the מתמיד masmid who fixes times and then keeps to them, all of us can be that kind of a מתמיד masmid. A new definition of מתמיד masmid. מתמיד Masmid, and with all that I leave you. Until next time. Tomorrow morning 8:15. We are tomorrow morning 8:15. מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim, 10 minutes of meaning. Tomorrow 8:45, we are Living with אמונה Emunah. Tomorrow night, we're going behind the בימה bima 9:00 p.m. with another amazing episode. Take a moment if you're watching on YouTube to subscribe. Hit the subscribe button below, and you'll be notified every time we learn. And if you're listening on our podcast, please write and review. Until next time, stay happy, stay holy.
