Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב boker tov. Welcome back to our פרשה Parsha Perspectives for today. So glad that you are here as we have the privilege of studying פרשת צו Parshas Tzav as well as giving a few thoughts on the מגילה Megillah. First of all, as always, we begin with gratitude to our generous sponsors. The פרשה שיעור Parsha shiur series sponsored for the year, our dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family, in memory of Becky's father David Grossman, לעלוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מענדל leiluy nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Mendel. This morning's שיעור shiur is sponsored by Michael Goldman in memory of his in-laws, Cantor Mrs. Abraham Brun, formerly of Long Beach, New York. The נשמה שלה neshama shela should have an עלייה aliyah. Thank you very much for your generosity and your sponsorship. And this is the last week if you help us get to our goal. This is the last week of mentioning the BRS Global Campaign. If you're a member of BRS, thank you for your membership. 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Help us get to our goal, BRSonline.org/global, and there will be people in the lobby right after for those who are here live to be able to give.So I want to share two quick thoughts on פורים Purim and then we'll get into פרשת צו Parshas Tzav, and even if you're listening to this later, it's Thursday night or Friday, it is שושן פורים Shushan Purim, and these פורים Purim thoughts remain relevant and important. The first comes from Rav Avraham Schorr, the great Rav Avraham Schorr, the לקח וליבוב Lekach v'Halibuv, and he says the following. ידוע כי בפוסקים יש דיעות בדין משלוח מנות, אם בדווקא על ידי שליח או לאו Yadua ki b'poskim yesh deios b'din mishloach manos, im b'davka al yedei shliach o lo. We know there's a big discussion among הלכה halachic authorities, among פוסקים poskim, whether specifically one should give their משלוח מנות mishloach manos. The מגילה Megillah tells us that the way we commemorate, one of the ways that we celebrate, and we honor this miracle, we survived an extermination attempt. The Jews of שושן Shushan not only survived, but they thrived. And we have several different ways in which we express and reflect that miracle, express our gratitude, commemorate it. And one of them is משלוח מנות איש לרעהו mishloach manos ish lere'eihu. We deliver to a friend two food items, not now for the הלכה halachic analysis, how you define two separate food items, two food groups, raw versus cooked, solid versus liquid, all the הלכות halachos that go into the definition of משלוח מנות mishloach manos, but one of the ways that we commemorate and we re-experience, so to say, the miracle is משלוח מנות איש לרעהו mishloach manos ish lere'eihu. We give משלוח מנות mishloach manos. Don't spend too much money, don't spend too much time, don't be competitive with your neighbor about it, but משלוח מנות איש לרעהו mishloach manos ish lere'eihu. If you have limited resources and you can either put them into מתנות לאביונים matanos l'evyonim, you could give more money to help others or have fancier, more impressive, more competitive משלוח מנות mishloach manos, the רמב\"ם Rambam is clear, the הלכה halacha is clear, put more money into helping others than impressing others with your משלוח מנות mishloach manos. The רמב\"ם Rambam gives a fascinating reason, by the way. The רמב\"ם Rambam says, you know why? If I were giving that מוסר שמועס mussar shmuess, I'd say, you have underprivileged people, you have people suffering and struggling, you have those who are going to have mac and cheese for their פורים סעודה Purim seudah, they can't afford meat and wine. Of course, you have to help them. Helping them supersedes, comes before impressing others with your משלוח מנות mishloach manos, but that's not the reason the רמב\"ם Rambam gives. You know what the reason the רמב\"ם Rambam gives is? What's the essence of the holiday of פורים Purim? What are we trying to experience? I'll give you a hint. We're experiencing not only פורים Purim, we're experiencing it the entire month of אדר Adar. מי שנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה Mishenichnas Adar marbim b'simcha. מרבין בשמחה Marbim b'simcha, writes the רמב\"ם Rambam. You know what will give you more שמחה simcha? Nothing gives you more שמחה simcha than helping others. It's more joyful, it's more pleasant, it's more pleasurable to help others than it is to impress others. So if you have limited resources and you could put them into either מתנות לאביונים matanos l'evyonim or משלוח מנות mishloach manos, מתנות לאביונים matanos l'evyonim. You have to fulfill the basic מצוה mitzva of משלוח מנות mishloach manos, one has to fulfill the basic obligation, but the basic obligation doesn't include lucite personalized containers, doesn't include expensive over-the-top special-order, whatever. So מתנות לאביונים matanos l'evyonim. Okay, that's a personal pet peeve of mine. So in that context, there's a discussion, should you specifically deliver משלוח מנות mishloach manos על ידי שליח al yedei shliach? Rather than give directly, should you ask somebody to be your agent, your representative, and to give it on your behalf? There's a debate. Wonders Rav Avraham Schorr, what happens to the principle of מצוה בו יותר מבשלוחו mitzva bo yoser mibeshliucho? I thought the whole idea is, we do מצוות mitzvos, it's preferable not to delegate, it's preferable, it's preferable not to outsource. We show our love and our affection, that we cherish and value a מצוה mitzva, when we eagerly do it ourselves. When we outsource or delegate, we look like we're trying to simply unburden ourselves from it. So what happened? Why don't we apply that principle? The גמרא Gemara derives that principle, by the way, in the context of preparing for שבת Shabbos. Turn Friday into ערב שבת erev Shabbos. The גמרא Gemara talks about our great rabbis, they didn't hire help to wash the floor and set the table and chop and cook. They did it themselves. רב מחתך רישא Rav mechattech reisha, he would cut off the head of the fish, and this one would go clean the meat, and this one would go, we do it ourselves, we don't delegate it to others. So what happened to מצוה בו יותר מבשלוחו mitzva bo yoser mibeshliucho? So the פני מנחם Pnei Menachem, the גערער רבי Gerer Rebbe, Rav Schorr quotes, had a very beautiful idea. He says this is an unusual, unusual feature of פורים Purim. Ordinarily, every other מצוה mitzva, every other holiday, we say, מצוה בו יותר מבשלוחו mitzva bo yoser mibeshliucho, better to do it yourself than through an agent, but the exception to that rule is פורים Purim. And why is פורים Purim the exception to that rule? Why should it be על ידי שליח al yedei shliach? Why specifically should you do it through an agent to deliver the משלוח מנות mishloach manos rather than do it through yourself? And he says basically the following. Ordinarily there's a wall, there's a barrier, ordinarily there's a division between people. There's you and there's me. There's I and there's thou. We're different. We're all together different, independent, separate, and apart. But the מצוה mitzva of משלוח מנות mishloach manos is to create a sense of ואהבת לרעך כמוך ve'ahavta lere'acha kamocha. We're trying to generate a sense of that there's a camaraderie, companionship, a connection, that we're all in this together, that we focus on what we have in common, not what that divides us. So therefore on פורים Purim specifically, כל זמן שיש אנוכי באדם, יש נקודה שאני עושה המצוה Kol zman sheyesh anochi ba'adam, yesh nekudah she'ani oseh hamitzva. Whenever there's an ego, there's an I, there's an אנוכי anochi, so I'm the one doing the מצוה mitzva. I want the גישמאק geshmak, I want the thrill, I want the satisfaction, I want the fulfillment, I want the credit. אבל יש דרגה שאדם יודע שהוא אינו עושה, רק הוא שליח מהקדוש ברוך הוא Aval yesh dargah she'adam yodeia shehu eino oseh, rak hu shliach mei'Hakadosh Baruch Hu. But sometimes there's a point where we realize, you know what? Even all that I do, I'm not really doing. When the surgeon successfully heals the patient, they're just an agent for השם Hashem. When the lawyer successfully makes the argument to defend the person, they're an agent of השם Hashem. When a rabbi gives a speech or offers a פסק psak or comfort or counsel, they're an agent of השם Hashem. Every one of us in any capacity we're in, we realize that as much as we should be proud of the effort that we exert, but its success is not us. We are simply agents, we are messengers of השם Hashem. The שפת אמת Sfas Emes says in פרשת שלח Parshas Shlach, האינין כמו שנשתלח הנשמה בעולם הזה לעשות מצוות הבורא Ha'inyan kemo shenishtalcha haneshama ba'olam hazeh la'asos mitzvos ha'borei, the whole reason we're here is to represent him. We are here on this earth to be his angels, to hold that door, to say please and thank you, to call and check in, to show up and support, to heal and to help all the people around us. וכן אמר מרדכי, כי אדם בעולם הזה נקרא שליח מצוה V'chein omar Mordechai, ki adam ba'olam hazeh nikra shliach mitzva. In this world, one of our names, we're just defined, we're called a שליח מצוה shliach mitzva. It's why we're here. We're just agents. You know, to quote a certain great series, we serve at the pleasure of the king, not the president. We serve at the pleasure of the king. So if you serve, if you've been recruited to the cabinet of the most powerful person on earth, would you ever feel like it's me, it's I, I'm responsible? You say, I serve at the pleasure of the king. So we are his agents. That's our mission, that's our very definition, it's our very identity here on earth. אבל צריך אדם למסור נפשו על השליחות, לדעת ולזכור כי כל המידותיו כאן בעולם הזה לעשות השליחות, ואז מצליח Aval tzarich adam limsor nafsho al hashlichus, lada'as v'lizkor ki kol hamidosav kan ba'olam hazeh la'asos hashlichus, v'az matzliach. The secret of our success is to never take pride, is to never have it feed our ego, is to never think it's us or we're independent. But the more that we realize whatever capacity we serve, professionally and personally, that we are just agents of above, that we are ambassadors of השם Hashem, that we are here to advance his mission on earth, we'll be מצליח matzliach, we'll be successful. והכל עושים רק בכוחו של המשלח, ובכלל לא בכוח עצמו V'hakol osim rak b'kocho shel hamishaleach, u'vchlal lo b'koach atzmo. Any success we meet is only, is only because of the force and the will of השם המשלח Hashem hamishaleach, of the one who sends us, not because we are the שליח shliach. וכשאדם יודע זה, הרי אין חלק מיסוד המצוה הוא בשלוחו U'keshe'adam yodeia zeh, harei ein chelek miyesod hamitzva hu b'shliucho. So when you get to that point where you realize, I'm just an extension of, I'm no different from, I don't have an independent identity, then it doesn't make a difference, the משלח mishaleach or the שליח shliach. כי כאן לא הוא ולא אחר, אלא הכל רק השם יתברך Ki kan lo hu v'lo acher, ela hakol rak Hashem yisbarach. So really when you receive my משלוח מנות mishloach manos, it's not from me. Who and what enabled me to buy, to organize, to purchase, to put together, and to transmit to you this משלוח מנות mishloach manos? It's all from השם Hashem. So what's the difference whether you got it from me or you got it from another person? I don't need the pride, I don't need the ego, I don't need to impress you. I don't need to feel good about myself, I don't need the credit, because really all I am is an agent of השם Hashem. So specifically when it comes to the מצוות mitzvos of פורים Purim, where a person is supposed to live with such an acute awareness of השם Hashem, with such an ongoing faith in the presence of השם Hashem, there is no me, there is no you, all there is is us as an extension of him, of השם Hashem. So whether I deliver it or whether you deliver it for me, unlike other times where I'm focused on getting the credit or having the positive experience, all I care about is the result because equally we are agents of השם Hashem. וכן נראה זהו כוח של יום הפורים V'chein nireh zehu koach shel yom haPurim. And this is how Rav Schorr concludes. שיש ביטול המחיצות בין אדם לחברו Sheyesh bitul hamechitzos bein adam l'chaveiro. Those walls, those barriers, those divisions that normally divide us, they're erased. They're gone on פורים Purim. You know where they were gone? On the way to the gas chamber. You know they were gone in the moment of liberation from the camps. When the Jewish people are threatened and when we survive, we don't focus on, well you have a different יאמיקא yarmulke than I do, you send your kids to a different school than I do, you voted for a different party than I did, so therefore I can't stand next to you on the way into the gas chamber and I won't sing and dance with you on the way liberated out of the camp. No one said such a thing. When you're collectively threatened and you collectively survive, nobody says such a thing, nobody cares about the differences and the divisions. All we see is the commonality. All we see is the unity. So פורים Purim, we were threatened and פורים Purim we survived and פורים Purim we acknowledge that even when השם's Hashem's name is not in the מגילה Megillah, it's really all from him. We feel connected with him. So those artificial divisions, those man-made unnecessary, absolutely gratuitous divisions that normally break us apart, they're gone. And therefore, normally we say יוסר מבשלוחו yoser mibeshliucho, better for me to do it than for you to do it. Better for me to do it myself, better for me to show that love, that affection, that eagerness to do it myself. But פורים Purim is the exception. שיש ביטול מחיצות בין אדם לחברו, אין כאן לא אני ולא הוא Sheyesh bitul mechitzos bein adam l'chaveiro, ein kan lo ani v'lo hu. וממילא במצב כזה אין מצוה בו יוסר מבשלוחו U'memayla b'matzav kazeh ein mitzva bo yoser mibeshliucho. So in that מצב matzav, in that state, there is no me, there is no you, all there is is us as an extension of him, you deliver it, I deliver it, it doesn't really matter. This is the one מצוה mitzva we do על ידי שליח al yedei shliach. I think a second explanation, he doesn't mention this Rav Schorr, that you could suggest is, פורים Purim is all about ביטול bittul. פורים Purim is all about getting rid of our sense of דעת daas. All year round, I think I understand, I comprehend, I see, I predict. פורים Purim I realize that I have no idea. חייב איניש לבסומי בפוריא עד דלא ידע Chayav inish livsumei b'Purya ad d'lo yada, עד דלא ידע ad d'lo yada. And whether it's through a medium of a little extra לחיים l'chaims, or whether it's simply the mindfulness to say עד דלא ידע ad d'lo yada. I don't know anything. I don't understand anything. Everyone comes in a costume. I don't even know who everyone is. That's the origin of the costume. The world is ונהפוך הוא v'nahafoch hu, it's upside down. I think I could predict and anticipate, I think I understand, I think I control. פורים Purim I let it all go. I let go and I let God. I don't understand anything. I can't predict anything. Have these last two years not taught us anything? If they've not taught us anything, it's we can't predict, we shouldn't anticipate, and we shouldn't think we can control anything. Nothing. Nothing about this virus, nothing about the geopolitical war that's taking place and God forbid won't escalate. We don't know, we can't control, we don't anticipate anything. ונהפוך הוא V'nahafoch hu, the world is upside down. We world costumes to say we can't even understand on the surface, the superficial. We don't even know who one another is or how we appear is not really what is. Everything is upside down and backwards. So specifically on that holiday, it's not about me. There is no אנוכי anochi. I have no sense of I. I relinquish, I absolutely nullify my sense of I. I submit and surrender to השם Hashem in the ultimate way. That's פורים Purim and that's why I can do it על ידי שליח al yedei shliach. One other quick thought and then we dive into פרשת צו Parshas Tzav together. Dive in. And that is from מורי ורבי Mori v'Rabi Rav Asher Weiss, the מנחת אשר Minchas Asher, who says such a beautiful idea. You know, unlike normally the סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה Sefer Torah, the way we read the תורה Torah is it's rolled, it's a scroll. And when you're done with one column and you turn the column, you turn it over and you roll the תורה Torah to the next column that you're now going to read. If הפטרה Haftorah is ever read from a קלף klaf, Mr. Schaffner read it from a קלף klaf this past Shabbos, so he read it and it's rolled, it's a scroll, and you turn the scroll so you can read the column. The מגילה Megillah is the exception. The מגילה Megillah we don't read it in a scroll. How do we read it? We unfold it. And the reason given is the מגילה Megillah is called אגרת הזאת igeres hazos, it's called the אגרת igeres, a letter. A letter is not read in a scroll, so we open up the letter and we fold it. We keep turning the folds of it, but it's entirely open. Why? So מורי ורבי Mori v'Rabi Rav Asher Weiss says, I think a very, very beautiful and powerful idea. He says, rather than rolling up to the left side of the מגילה Megillah as it's read, the left side is folded over and over, so that when the מגילה Megillah is finally completed, the entire story is exposed at once. Each incident of the מגילה Megillah presents no proof of השם's Hashem's involvement. Only when you see the entire story from the beginning to the end, do you go, oh, that's why that happened that way. That wasn't a coincidence, that wasn't chance. השם Hashem wasn't hidden or missing or a mystery. Only when the whole thing is open, can you now see the entire picture from the beginning to the end. So normally we roll and we scroll and it goes and we cover up what we've just read, but when it comes to פורים Purim, we unfold it, and the whole thing's open, and we see it all at once, because it's only with that 30,000 foot perspective we can look down and now we see השם's Hashem's guiding hand and the entire story of פורים Purim as it unfolds. The אריז\"ל Arizal notes, the great Rav Yitzchak Luria, the great קבליסט kabbalist, the אריז\"ל Arizal notes that although השם's Hashem's name is never explicitly mentioned in the מגילה Megillah, it does appear as an acronym in several places. One, the beginning of the מגילה Megillah, יבוא המלך והמן היום Yavo hamelech v'Haman hayom. I'm sorry, the end. יבוא המלך והמן היום Yavo hamelech v'Haman hayom. When Esther says, \"Let the king and Haman come today,\" יוד of יבוא Yud of yavo, ה of המלך hei of hamelech, ו of והמן vav of v'Haman, ה of היום hei of hayom is י-ה-ו-ה. השם's Hashem's name are the acronym, the first letters of יבוא המלך והמן היום Yavo hamelech v'Haman hayom. Then the beginning of the מגילה Megillah, כי כלה אליו הרעה Ki chalsa eilav hara'ah, the harm against Haman was final. The last letters, כי יוד, כלה ה, אליו ו, הרעה ה Ki yud, kalsah hei, eilav vav, hara'ah hei, spell out השם's Hashem's name. So the פסוק pasuk with השם's Hashem's name in its first letters depicts Haman's rise to power and the threat of destruction that loomed over כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. The second פסוק pasuk in which השם's Hashem's name appears, in the last letters, is Haman's downfall. This highlights the central lesson of the מגילה Megillah, that השם's Hashem's name appears at the beginning to spell the words of destruction, and at the end, it reveals his name, really spells the words of salvation. That השם's Hashem's name is there from the beginning to the end. Even when it seems hopeless and helpless, doom and gloom, even when it sounds like destruction, השם's Hashem's name is embedded. And when it all works out and there's salvation, when there's reason, when we can make sense of it, השם's Hashem's name is again embedded from beginning to end, השם's Hashem's name is embedded at the start and at the finish, because השם Hashem is with us all along. So we don't read it rolling it like we do everything else. We read it where it is all open at once, so we see it all at once. פרשת צו Parshas Tzav, page 568 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. וידבר ה' אל משה לאמר Vayidaber Hashem el Moshe leimor. God spoke to Moshe saying, צו את אהרן ואת בניו לאמר, זאת תורת העולה, היא העולה על מוקדה על המזבח כל הלילה עד הבוקר ואש המזבח תוקד בו Tzav es Aharon v'es banav leimor, zos toras ha'olah, hi ha'olah al mokda al hamizbeiach kol halayla ad haboker v'eish hamizbeiach tukad bo. We're continuing with the laws of the sacrifices of the קרבנות korbanos. The goal of the קרבנות korbanos is to become קרוב karov, to breathe and to bring us close to השם Hashem. That is the essence, that is the goal, that is what they are about. So צו tzav, command Aaron and his sons. רש\"י Rashi already notes that this is a relatively harsh language. צו Tzav, command. It doesn't say אמור emor, speak to, say. It doesn't say דבר daber, communicate, transmit. What does it say? צו Tzav. צו Tzav means, צו Tzav means command. צו Tzav is a relatively harsh language, command. So אמר רב שמעון, רש\"י amar Rav Shimon, Rashi quotes: ביותר צריך הכתוב לזרז במקום שיש חסרון כיס B'yoser tzarich hakasuv l'zarez b'makom sheyesh chesron kis. Why does it need צו tzav? We've spoken about this years past. So if you're listening to multiple פרשה שיעור Parsha shiurim, I know we've spoken about this years past, but we're going to bring some new insights this year. So what does it need to say צו tzav, command? Why such a harsh way of communicating? רש\"י Rashi tells us, you know why? There's an expense involved. Costs money. So when I tell you to do something and it doesn't cost you anything, you're more likely to do it. But if you have to reach into your wallet, like for the global campaign, express gratitude, enable and help you to continue. Everyone, parsha class is amazing. Could you help us get it out there? It's not that amazing. I wish I could. I've already allocated everywhere. Ukraine, which of course is a priority, give to the Ukraine certainly before you give to the global campaign. So חסרון כיס chesron kis, the moment there's an expense, the moment we have to dig into our own pocket, maybe, I don't know, it's not that great. I don't love you that much. Is there any other way? Do we have to? I can't really afford. So Moshe has to come along and say צו tzav. Here we have the strong language of, because of the חסרון כיס chesron kis, we have the strong language of צו tzav. Now, we have to understand, asks Rav Yechezkel Levenstein, the משגיח mashgiach of פוניבז' Ponevezh. To whom is this command directed? To the cheapest, stingiest, least enthusiastic member of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael? No. To whom is this command directed? Aaron. צו את אהרן ואת בניו Tzav es Aharon v'es banav. הלא הכהן הגדול לא רק שהיה אדם ממורם מעם ביושר לדור, הוא אחד מהעשירים הגדולים בעם ישראל, מצוה לגללו בכסף Halo ha'kohen gadol lo rak shehaya adam memoram me'am b'yosher l'dor, hu echad me'ashirim hagdolim b'am Yisrael, mitzva l'gadlo b'kesef. It's not only that the כהן גדול kohen gadol is supposed to be distinguished in their righteousness and virtue so that one wouldn't think that the expense would hold them back. One wouldn't think they would need extra encouragement or cajoling. Not only are they supposed to be among the most righteous and virtuous, but they're also supposed to be independently wealthy. כמו שאומרת הגמרא ביומא, כהן גדול היה משל אחרים Kemo she'omeres hagemara b'Yoma, kohen gadol hayah mishel acherim. Maybe not independently, we're supposed to make him wealthy because you know, people respect and admire wealth. If the כהן גדול kohen gadol was a שלעפער schlepper with worn, tattered clothing, driving a jalopy, who didn't know where his next meal was coming from and couldn't pay his mortgage, how would anyone respect him? So our job is to bolster it, to hold him up. So you're talking about a כהן גדול kohen gadol who had money and you're talking about a כהן גדול kohen gadol who's supposed to be righteous. This is the individual that Moshe has to say צו tzav? This is the person that we're worried and afraid if they find out the cost of matzah, they're going to throw away Pesach? This is the person? This is the כהן גדול kohen gadol we're talking about. This is the highest level of the land. What are we talking about? What are we talking about? Moreover, we find at the end of the פרשה Parsha, ויעש אהרן ובניו כאשר צוה ה' ביד משה Vaya'as Aharon uvanav ka'asher tziva Hashem b'yad Moshe. רש\"י Rashi says: להגיד שבחן שלא שינו ימין ושמאל L'hagid shvachan shelo shinu yamin u'smol. Aaron didn't deviate right or left. Aaron didn't hesitate whatsoever. So here's the great Aaron who doesn't hesitate, who with alacrity and enthusiasm and zeal and passion. And this is the one that Moshe needs to say צו tzav because it's going to cost him a few shekel? Are you kidding me? Seriously? You know what Rav Yechezkel Levenstein says? ירדה התורה לעומק תכונות נפשו של אדם Yarda haTorah l'omek tchunos nafsho shel adam. And the answer is, yeah. There's a piece of all of us that doesn't want to spend. There's a piece of every one of us whose first instinct is, Hashem, isn't there a way for me and you to be close without it costing me? Isn't there a way to feel connected without digging into my wallet? Every one of us, including the great כהן גדול kohen gadol, no matter how wealthy and no matter how righteous, it's תכונות נפשו של אדם tchunos nafsho shel adam, the very human psyche, the very way we were designed, שגם אצל האדם הגדול ביותר מן העולם, שלכאורה אינו זקוק לזה, עדיין יש אצלו הבדל אם יש חסרון כיס או אין חסרון כיס Shegam eitzel ha'adam hagadol b'yoser min ha'olam, shelichora eino zakuk l'zeh, adain yesh etzlo hevdel im yesh chesron kis o ein chesron kis. You know, even somebody for whom the money won't make a difference, remains aware of whether there's a cost involved or not. Even the person for whom the money doesn't make a difference is aware, is this free or is there a cost? There's a book called Scorecasting, which is a very interesting book. Statisticians and economists did an analysis of sports, fascinating book. Can you freeze out the free-throw shooter if you call a timeout? Does it really work if all kinds of stats that we assume, you'll only appreciate this if you like sports, but it did the data analysis to to determine, is it true? Is it true that superstars always get the call from the ref? Is it true that all kinds of these things, if you're interested in that, it's fascinating. So one of the things it talks about in there is when athletes or celebrities or superstars are invited to make appearances. So they're offered $100,000 to come make an appearance at an event or compete in a tournament, let's say a PGA star. So the the book gives the data about how often those superstars say no, that money's not worth it to them. And then they say, I'll fly out your whole family. Now, if you're the superstar, what would you say? Fly out my whole family? I could fly out my whole family. I'm a millionaire or a billionaire plus the $100,000 you're offering me, I can allocate a little bit of it to fly out my family. How much money is that after all? If they were offered instead of $100,000, we'll offer you $105,000, they'd say thanks, but no thanks. I don't need the money. I don't want to go. But the moment they say, we'll fly out your family, they say, I'm in. There's some psyche, there's some mental switch that's flipped when you hear, oh, you fly my family, what a deal, what a bargain, what a saving, even though financially, mathematically, it doesn't add up. The wealthiest person in the world can have all the money in the world in which that cost won't impact their lives whatsoever. Yet, they remain very aware of the cost. So Rav Yechezkel Levenstein answers, you see from here something very powerful. Not negative about Aaron HaKohen. This is not a criticism of him, but rather it's a an observation, it's a reflection on the human psyche and the human condition that we were designed in such a way that the moment something costs us, we're aware of it and we hesitate because of it. And that's why צו tzav, we have to push through and we have to persevere, and we have to make sure what do we care about and what do we value? It's what I wrote about the weekly last week. Imagine if somebody found your credit card statement, what would it say about you? Do you pay more to stream entertainment or do you pay more to stream Torah? The global campaign. You're willing to pay to stream entertainment, what are you willing to pay to stream Torah? It's a simple question. But really, all of our all of our bills and finances all together, what do they say about us? חסרון כיס Chesron kis. What do we, what are we willing to spend on? What do we run eagerly to spend on? What do we hesitate and demur and argue and rationalize and justify to spend money? People do not like to part with their money. Rav Yisrael Salanter once visited a very wealthy person to collect צדקה tzedakah. And the man opened his safe to give the money and he was called out of the room for a moment. So Rav Yisrael Salanter sat there in shock, and he got up and he ran out of the room. So the גביר gvir, the wealthy individual, when he came back to give him the gift, said, \"Why'd you leave the room? You're Rav Yisrael Salanter, you're the founder of the father of the מוסר Mussar movement. If anyone could be trusted with an open safe filled with cash, it's you. Why'd you run out of the room?\" So listen to what Rav Yisrael said to him. גמרא מכות כג Gemara Makkos chaf gimmel tells us: גזל ועריות נפשו של אדם מתאוה להן ומחמדן Gezel v'arayos nafsho shel adam mis'aveh lahen u'mechamedan. There are two things that the human being is drawn to, desires, yearns, there is no אפוטרופוס apotropus for. And they are גזל gezel, we love money. And if it's easy to cut corners or bend the rules or misreport on our taxes, it's so tempting. Every human being is tempted by it. Not every human being gives into that temptation, but every human being is tempted. It's tempted by it, by גזל gezel and עריות arayos, promiscuity, licentiousness, sexuality, everyone struggles and is drawn to it. So which one is a greater, is a greater desire? So the גמרא Gemara there says that מיעוטן בעריות ורובן בגזל miutan b'arayos v'ruban b'gezel. מיעוטן בעריות Miutan b'arayos, very few people actually cross the line of promiscuity, but most people steal. At some point, at some point, they're using their business phone for personal reasons. They build an extra minute that they weren't working as hard as they could for that minute. They took a pencil home from work that did, רובם rubam, most people at some point struggled with being completely honest. So said Rav Yisrael Salanter, if fewer people violate the boundary of promiscuity than of גזל gezel, than of stealing, and yet when it comes to promiscuity, you have a prohibition called יחוד yichud, you're not allowed to be alone with someone with whom you're not allowed to be intimate because temptation would be too great. There's a prohibition of יחוד yichud. Vice President Pence observed that prohibition. You're not allowed to be alone. So if the violation of יחוד yichud applies to another person, and more people steal than cross the line of promiscuity, then there was an איסור יחוד issur yichud for me to be alone with the money in your safe. So when you left the room, I got up and ran out. I wasn't tempted, I wasn't going to steal, but if the human condition, the human psyche is programmed to be drawn, I didn't even want to be tempted. Just like if I were alone with a woman in a locked room, I wouldn't do anything, but I'm not allowed to be, so too I'm not allowed to be. So you see what a person values, what they care about, and we see this observation of in general, what we're tempted by by the need to have the לשון צו lashon tzav. Command, such a strong language, אהרן Aharon needed it. Why did אהרן Aharon need it? Even the great אהרן Aharon, he was wealthy and he was righteous. Why did he need it לשון צו lashon tzav? Because once there's a חסרון כיס chesron kis, once it costs money, everybody reacts differently. It changes the equation all together. Okay. Next, next insight on this. So we'll look at Rav Soloveitchik. So Rav Soloveitchik says in the רב Rav חומש Chumash, צו Tzav. The Torah often uses variants of the word צו tzav in discussing the service in the Mishkan. ואתה תצוה v'atah tetzaveh, פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh. רש\"י Rashi on this פסוק pasuk provides the following background: צו Tzav means זירוז מיד ולדורות zeiruz miyad u'ledoros. The word צו tzav means immediate moment for future generations and urgency. The Torah must have especially expressed urgency in a situation where there's a loss of money. Many מצוות mitzvos involve monetary loss. So why is צו tzav used specifically when it comes to קרבנות korbanos? You know what else includes monetary loss? פסח Pesach. Says seven days מצות matzos you should eat. It doesn't say צו tzav. Do you know what handmade שמורה מצות shmurah matzah is going to cost? צו Tzav! You know what else costs a lot of money? Jewish tuition. It doesn't say when you teach your children, צו tzav, dig deep, go in debt for years to come for tuition. You know what else costs a lot of money? Your לולב ואתרוג ד' מינים lulav v'esrog, dalet minim. It doesn't say dig deep, buy the deluxe set, four species, לולב ואתרוג lulav v'esrog. So why is it specifically here when it comes to קרבנות korbanos? That's the question of the רב Rav. The loss of money is intrinsic to certain מצוות mitzvos, such as the מצוה mitzva of giving charity. So the פסוק pasuk says צוה בני ישראל tzav b'nei Yisrael. The word צו tzav is used when a loss of assets is intrinsic to the מצוה mitzva. Offering a sacrifice similarly involves such a loss of assets. Rashi, right, so in other words, someone can gift you these other things, but then there are intrinsic. When you give צדקה tzedakah by definition, you're giving away money, it costs you, by definition. So to over here, the קרבן korban, you're giving away something that costs you. What are you giving away that costs you? Can't someone gift you the קרבן korban like they can gift you the ד' מינים dalet minim? Rashi uses the term זירוז zeiruz, urgency, in describing the מצוות mitzvos fulfilled. There's an urgency associated with מצוות mitzvos that involve monetary loss. What is the meaning of the word לדורות ledoros in this context? What does it mean blessed for generations? The מצוות mitzvos of מזוזה mezuzah, תפילין tefillin, and שבת Shabbos are clearly לדורות ledoros too. Thousands of years have gone by, and these מצוות mitzvos are observed as they have been when they were originally given. But in what way are the מצוות mitzvos of the משכן Mishkan practiced today? There has been no קרבן תמיד karbon tamid for almost 2,000 years. In what sense does this מצוה mitzvah לדורות ledoros? The word צו tzav here means urgency, זריזות zerizus. It means מיד miyad, immediately, and לדורות ledoros, do it for generations. But you don't do it for generations. This is about to spell out, our פרשה parsha is about to tell us all about the laws of sacrifices, which ended with the destruction of the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. So where is the fulfillment of the לדורות ledoros for generations?The גמרא Gemara in מגילה ל׳א Megillah lamed aleph recounts a conversation between השם Hashem and אברהם Avraham in the context of the ברית בין הבתרים Bris Bein HaBsarim. אברהם Avraham asked how he has, how he was to know that השם Hashem would not forsake the Jewish people if they sinned. השם Hashem answered in the merit of the קרבנות korbanos. אברהם Avraham persisted, the merit is fine when the קרבנות korbanos are in existence. What happens after the destruction, after the חורבן Churban? השם Hashem replied that if בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael learn the laws surrounding the קרבנות korbanos, he would consider their study as a virtual sacrificial offering. When we cannot offer sacrifices, we recite the הלכות halachos pertaining to them as a substitute. There's a מקדש Mikdash in our day as well, not physically, but where? In the study of הלכה halacha. This is the מסורה mesorah of תורה שבעל פה Torah Shebe'al Peh. Today we read פרשת שקלים Parshas Shkalim as if the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash was still standing. It's לדורות ledoros. פרשת פרה Parshas Parah reminds us to be ritually pure, could bring the קרבן פסח korban Pesach. Although we no longer offer a קרבן פסח korban Pesach, we read פרשת פרה Parshas Parah as if the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash still exists. Says the רב Rav, we don't have a בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash today, so where is the לדורות ledoros? Where is the message in perpetuity of the sacrifices? The answer is, when we study these laws, it is as if we have done them. The truth is in some ways it's even more. Because these laws only pertain to certain time times. The קרבנות korbanos could be offered only during certain distinct times, but you could learn about them anytime. So you could tap into the energy of the קרבן korban by learning about it in some ways that even surpasses the performance of them.So where do we find השם Hashem today? The גמרא Gemara says in ברכות Brachos that after the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, where can השם Hashem be found? ד' אמות של הלכה Dalet amos shel halacha. It can be found in the four cubits of הלכה halacha. Says מורינו ורבינו Moreinu V'Rabbeinu of Shechter, what does that mean? Once the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash is destroyed, where can השם Hashem be found? In the four cubits of הלכה halacha. What does that mean? It means one went to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash in order to have a rendezvous with השם Hashem. In the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, you felt an intense presence. The שכינה Shchinah is a שוכן shochein. He was available, he was accessible. There was a closeness, there was an intimacy, there was a connection. Where do we find that today? When we learn תורה Torah. ד' אמות של הלכה Dalet amos shel halacha. When we sit and we learn תורה Torah, השם Hashem is there. We transport ourselves into a virtual בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. That same feeling and that same result that came from being present in a בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash is what we can achieve when we immerse ourselves not in the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, but ד' אמות של הלכה dalet amos shel halacha. When we immerse ourselves in the study of תורה Torah and in הלכה halacha, we find השם Hashem in that place. רב נחמן Rav Nachman has another interpretation. We're going to get past this פסוק pasuk. I find myself saying this weekly, but we're going to get past the first פסוק pasuk. רב נחמן Rav Nachman of ברסלב Breslov has another beautiful insight here. Says the הייליגע heilige רב נחמן Rav Nachman. אין צו אלא לשון זרוז מיד ולדורות. אמר רבי שמעון, ביותר צריך לזרז במקום שיש חסרון כיס. Ein tzav ela leshon zeiruz miyad v'ledoros. Amar Rabbi Shimon, b'yoser tzarich l'zareiz b'makom sheyesh chesron kis. והכונה היא שלפעמים יכול להגרם לאדם הפסד אם קרבנו לא נעשה כראוי. V'hakavana hi she'lifamim yachol l'heegarem l'adam hefsed im korbano lo na'aseh k'raui. You could lose money. There was the cost of the קרבן korban. And if the קרבן korban was פסול pasul, let's say the קרבן korban was illegitimate, then you had to bring another קרבן korban. That cost money. You had to dig deep into your funds. So the תורה Torah says, because there's a cost associated, we need a little extra encouragement. Do it, even though it'll be expensive. Do it, even though it costs money. However, יש גם דברים נוספים שנשמרים בכיס. Yeish gam devarim nosafim shenishmarim b'kis. So now רב נחמן Rav Nachman, ליקוטי מוהר\"ן חלק א' Likkutei Moharan Chelek Aleph. Again, we're looking at this הלכה שולחן השם Halacha Shulchan Hashem of רב נחמן Rav Nachman. רב נחמן Rav Nachman doesn't explicitly say these ideas, they're based on his teachings in ליקוטי מוהר\"ן Likkutei Moharan and applied to our פרשה parsha. So רב נחמן Rav Nachman in ליקוטי מוהר\"ן Likkutei Moharan writes the following, חלק א' סימן כ\"א chelek aleph, siman chaf aleph. מי שרוצה לזכות לגילוי אלקות, יאיר לו באור רב מאוד. Mi she'rotzeh lizkos l'gilui Elokus, ya'ir lo b'or rav me'od. A person who wants to merit being lit up by the light of השם Hashem. We walk around and we're in darkness. A person who's down and downtrodden and depressed and despondent describes, \"I'm in a very dark place.\" I hear from people sadly too much, \"I'm in a very dark place.\" Dark place means I feel alone, I feel abandoned, I feel I'm struggling. A dark place means I'm struggling with faith, with connection. A dark place. So who doesn't want to break out into the light? Who doesn't want to become enlightened in the most positive sense? Who doesn't want to bask in the light of השם Hashem? So what do you need to do in order to achieve that? צריך לקדש ולטהר את כל שבעת הנרות. Tzarich l'kadesh u'l'taher es kol shivas ha'neiros. You need to sanctify and purify the seven candles. What are the seven candles? What are the seven prisms or windows into the light of השם Hashem? You ready? They are the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils. Six. ובמדה שיקדש פתחים אלו כן מאיר מוחו באור השם ולבו ישתלהב בעבודת יתברך. U'v'midah she'y'kadesh psachim elu kein meir mocho b'or Hashem v'libo yistalhev b'avodas Yisborach. So these are הם פתחים שברואש האדם. heim psachim she'b'rosh ha'adam. Two eyes, two ears, and two nostrils and the mouth. I'm sorry, I left out the mouth. So the seven entrances of the head are the seven candles, the seven windows through which we experience the light of השם Hashem. Meaning our senses. ובמידה שיקדש את פתחים אלו כך יאיר מוחו באור השם ולבו ישתלהב בעבודת יתברך. U'v'midah she'y'kadesh es psachim elu kach ya'ir mocho b'or Hashem v'libo yistalhev b'avodas Yisborach. The more that we sanctify, the more that we elevate what we look at, what we listen to, what we smell, what we speak, the more that we sanctify these entrances into who we are, these seven candles, these seven windows, these seven entrances, the more that we can experience and be lit up from the light of השם Hashem. Now, לרוב פתחים אלו נברא כיס, ששומר עליהם. L'rov psachim elu nivra kis, she'shomer aleihem. Most of them have a cover that protect them, ומונע מדברים רעים להשפיע עליהם. U'monea mi'devarim ra'im l'hashpia aleihem. And they protect negative things from infiltrating and compromising, corrupting. לעינים יש עפעפים. L'einayim yeish afapayim. Our eyes have eyelids. Our eyelids close. Our eyelids protect our eyes. Our eyelids create tears. שאדם מסוגל לזגור במהירות רבה, כהרף עין. She'adam mesugal lizgor b'mehirut rabbah, k'heref ayin. Something's coming at your eye and you have a good response time, your eyelid should close. Our eyelid is there to protect our eye. It snaps closed quickly. It responds to the threat in order to protect it. וכן הוא יכול לעצום את עיניו ברגע שמפיעים מולו מראות אסורים. V'chein hu yachol la'atzom es einav b'rega she'mofi'im mulo mar'os assuros. You know what else it can protect us from? If there is an image opposite us that we shouldn't be looking at, close your eyes. We have eyelids. We have the capacity to close our eyes, whether it's from a particle that's about to fly into our eye and threaten it, or whether it's from, or whether it's from an image which is about to infiltrate and invade our eye and threaten it. We have eyelids. גם לאזנים יש פקקים שיכולים לסתום אותם בנקרת הצורך. Gam l'oznayim yeish p'kakim she'y'cholim listom osam b'nikras ha'tzorech. With your ears. I go to weddings and I see people come now with, the music is so, I know I've reached that age. And now I'm complaining about how loud the music is. Then when you don't hear the music, that's the next stage. But I'm at the stage where you complain about how loud the music is. So now people come to weddings and שמחות simchas with earplugs. They put earplugs in their ears in order to protect their hearing. In the גמרא Gemara in כתובות Kesubos says, you know what earplugs are really for? כתובות דף ה'. Kesubos daf hei. אמרו חז\"ל, אצבעותיו של אדם דומות ליתדות. Amru chazal, etzba'oso shel adam domos l'yeseidos. Why are a person's fingers shaped like spades? כדי שמשומע דבר שאינו הגון, יוכל לסתום אזנו באצבעותיו. K'dei she'mishomea davar she'eino hagun, yuchal listom ozno b'etzba'osav. The reason our fingers look the way they do is you're supposed to plug. The fingers were designed by השם Hashem to fit perfectly in your ear. Why? That's disgusting. You don't pick your ear in public. Why are your fingers fitting in your ear? Because if something threatens to infiltrate, to invade your ears that will corrupt and compromise, i.e., לשון הרע lashon hara, profanity, vulgarity, gossip, slander, if they say a weapon of mass destruction is about to enter your earlobe, your eardrum, קדוש ברוך הוא Kadosh Baruch Hu designed the fingers to put into the ears to protect them. It's not my cute little דרוש drush. It's a גמרא כתובות דף ה' Gemara Kesubos daf hei. ולמה תנוך האוזן רך V'lamah t'nuch ha'ozen rach. The גמרא Gemara there says that's also why you have dangly ear earlobes. Your earlobe can fold up and fit right into your ear. Someone's talking לשון הרע lashon hara, you should fold up your earlobe, put it in your, I can't hear you. קדוש ברוך הוא Kadosh Baruch Hu created an opening, a window, but if you want the light of השם Hashem to come through, you have to protect that window. Keep that window clean. Keep that window open. And if there are poison, contaminating poison that enters, the images through the eye or the poor speech through the ears, we have the capacity to protect it. לפה יש לו לא רק חומה אחת, גם חומה ששומרת עליו כלפי חוץ וכלפי פנים. Lapeh yeish lo lo rak choma achas, gam choma she'shomeres alav klapei chutz u'klapei pnim. What about the mouth? The mouth has multiple protections and walls. חז\"ל Chazal say, הלושן מוקפת בשתי חומות, אחת של עצם ואחת של בשר, כדי לשמור עליה שלא תשתלח בחופשיות ותארס עולם בדברים רעים. Halashon mukefes b'shtei chomos, achas shel etzem v'achas shel basar, k'dei lishmor aleha shelo tishtale'ach b'chofshiyus v'tares olam b'dvarim raim. The גמרא Gemara in ערכין דף ט\"ו Arachin daf tes vav says, the mouth is such a weapon of mass destruction. If we say the wrong thing, we can murder and kill and destroy, that it needs to have two boundaries, two walls. What are the two walls? First we have the teeth, and then we have the lips. You could close your teeth, which will hold back your tongue, and then you can close your lips. So each of these entrances, the seven candles, the seven windows to the light of השם Hashem, two eyes, two ears, and a mouth have a covering, a כיס kis. A כיס kis is a covering. Which is the one that doesn't? היחיד מבין פתחי הפנים שאין לו כיסוי מיוחד הוא האף. Hayachid mibein pischei ha'panim she'ein lo kisui meyuchad hu ha'af. The nose doesn't. האף אינו צריך הגנה מריחות אסורים, אבל הוא מסמל את מידת הכעס. Ha'af eino tzarich hagana mei'reichos asurim, aval hu mesamel es midas ha'ka'as. The nose doesn't need to be protected from forbidden smells because there is no prohibition to imbibe a prohibited smell. So what is the nose a symbol of? כעס Kaas, anger. How do we describe anger? חרון אף Charon af. Anger is described in the תורה Torah as nostrils flaring. ובכך יש לדרוש את דברי רבי שמעון, ביותר צריך לזרז במקום שיש חסרון כיס. Uv'chach yesh lidrosh es divrei Rabbi Shimon, b'yoser tzarich l'zareiz b'makom sheyesh chesron kis. So now רב נחמן Rav Nachman, or based on רב נחמן Rav Nachman, we reinterpret this entire teaching. When do you need to encourage someone? When do they need לשון צו lashon tzav? When do they need the stronger language of encouragement of צו tzav? In a place of חסרון כיס chesron kis. So we interpret that until now to mean when do they need most encouragement? When there is an expense, a cost. But רב נחמן Rav Nachman says חסרון כיס chesron kis means when there's no covering. The eyes have a covering, the ears have a covering, the mouth has a covering, but anger has no covering. And it needs the greatest protection. The threat and the danger of losing ourselves to anger, that requires the greatest, the greatest protection. חסרון כיס Chesron kis is the thing that has no covering. It's a whole new interpretation. I guarantee you never heard this before. I never saw this before. What is the place that has no cover? Not חסרון כיס chesron kis that there's an expense or cost. חסרון כיס Chesron kis that the place that has no covering. What has no covering? כעס Kaas. צריך להזהר במיוחד בכל הקשור לכעס וחרון אף שאין כיס שעוצר אותו. אדם נוטה מטבעו להתרגז בכל קלות על כל מה שמפריע לו. Tzarich l'hizaher b'meyuchad b'chol ha'kashur l'ka'as v'charon af, she'ein kis she'otzer oso. Adam noteh m'tivo l'hitragez b'chol kalus al kol mah she'mafria lo. כל הכועס אפילו שכינה אינה חשובה כנגדו. Kol ha'ko'eis, afilu Shchinah einah chashuvah k'negdo. When you're angry, you lose your mind. When you're angry, it clouds your judgment. When you're angry, you make poor decisions. גמרא Gemara in נדרים Nedarim. לכן צריך זהירות וזריזות יתירה משמירה על כעס, שאין לו מעצור טבעי שיחסום אותו. Lachein tzarich zehirus u'zrizus yeseirah mishmirah al ka'as, she'ein lo ma'atzor tiv'i sheyachsom oso. When it comes to anger, there is no natural response. If a particle's flying at your eye without you're thinking about it, your eyelid shuts. Your ear, you can close it up. So loud, you stand at the wedding with your hand over your ears. If there's danger or damage, you instinctively cover up. But when it comes to anger, חרון אף charon af, we fly into a fit of rage and anger without even thinking about it. Doesn't have a כיס kis. It's a חסרון כיס chesron kis. It's missing its covering. And that's why it needs a לשון צו lashon tzav, because when it comes to moderating anger, we need an extra emphasis, extra enthusiasm, extra zeal. That is the teaching of the הייליגע heilige רבי נחמן Rebbi Nachman. Okay, let's go ווייטער vaiter. Let's go further. Let's go further. Let's see. Rav Reuven Feinstein.פרק ו', פסוק ג'. ולבש הכהן מדו בד ואת מכנסי בד ילבש על בשרו והרים את הדשן אשר תאכל האש את העולה על המזבח ושמו אצל המזבח. Perek Vav, pasuk gimmel. V'lavash ha'kohen mido vad u'michtesei vad yilbash al b'saro, v'heirim es ha'deshen asher tochal ha'eish es ha'olah al ha'mizbeach v'samo eitzel ha'mizbeach. So we now move to the opening service that's being described is what's called the תרומת הדשן trumas hadeshen. The תרומת הדשן trumas hadeshen is taking away the ash. Whatever burned on the altar overnight created a pile of ash. And the first service of the morning was taking out the garbage. We've spoken in years past that in Judaism, taking out the garbage is a dignified service. There's nothing, it's not beneath any of us. When you walk outside and you see a piece of garbage, it's not beneath anybody, it's not someone else's job. But taking out the garbage, removing the ash from the altar, removing the ash from the altar. So ר' ראובן פיינשטיין Rav Reuven Feinstein in his new ספר sefer in אור שלום Ohr Shalom asks, the very first service performed in the daily עבודה avodah was the תרומת הדשן trumas hadeshen. כהן Kohen taking some ash from the מזבח mizbeach, moving it to a spot near the eastern side of the ramp, where it miraculously sunk into its place. What exactly was the lesson of this service? Some people are of the impression it was simply an act of housekeeping. Right, the easy understanding is, if you're going to bring the next sacrifice, you need the מזבח mizbeach to be clear, so you got to remove the ash. If you're going to have more garbage to throw away, someone eventually has to empty the garbage. So that's the simple understanding, that's a simple purpose. However, this approach is incorrect. We must bear in mind, he writes, that there was room on the מזבח mizbeach for a fire that was 24 אמות amos square. There were offerings that were burnt upon it all day. The fats and limbs offered well into the night. The מצוה mitzvah of תרומת הדשן trumas hadeshen is to take a mere shovel full and place it on the side of the מזבח mizbeach. The rest of the ash they needed to be cleared was moved, but not part of the service. What then was the lesson of the עבודה avodah of the תרומת הדשן trumas hadeshen? Meaning, if it was to take out the garbage, it's kind of peculiar. You didn't take out the whole garbage. You only take out a little bit of the garbage. Rebbetzin says, \"It's garbage day tomorrow. Can you take out all the garbage?\" And then I take out one bag. And I leave two full garbage drums. I get into bed. \"You took out the garbage?\" \"I took out a bag.\" That won't bode well. I don't suggest trying that at home. If you're supposed to take out the garbage, you got to take out the garbage. So why is the כהן kohen not taking out the garbage? He's only taking out one bag. He's taking out one shovel full of ash. Clear out the top of the מזבח mizbeach. It's time for the new קרבנות korbanos. A. B, where does he put the ash? My wife says, \"Did you take out the garbage?\" \"Yeah, I put it by the front door.\" Front door? That doesn't help. The garbage men don't come to the front door. Bring it to the curb. Bring it to the edge of the driveway. What are you doing? So here too, the כהן kohen took the shovel full of ash and he put it next to the ramp. What do you mean? Take it to the dumpster. Take it out to the garbage. If you're doing the תרומת הדשן trumas hadeshen, if you're taking out the garbage, go all the way. Don't do half a job. Why didn't he keep going? Why didn't he keep going? So previously we've shared an insight of רב הירש Rav Hirsch, which I love. It's a יזכור Yizkor insight. I said it over at a יזכור Yizkor. The insight of רב הירש Rav Hirsch is, what are you doing on top of that מזבח mizbeach? What are you about to offer and bring? Not a trick question, people. קרבן Korban, sacrifice. Before I could bring today's sacrifice, I have to honor and remember that there was a sacrifice yesterday. What do I think? I'm the first big קנאקער k'nacker to bring a sacrifice? I'm the first person who has been asked to sacrifice? I'm the first person who had to be מוסר נפש moser nefesh? Before I make my sacrifice today, I remember there were those who came before me yesterday and made a sacrifice yesterday. And I honor their sacrifice by taking the ash and putting it next to the מזבח mizbeach. This is not functional. This is not simply to be able to take out the garbage. That is not the point of this, taking out the garbage. This is a service. The כהן kohen put on special clothing for this. The כהן kohen didn't put on a sweatpants and a torn t-shirt to take out the garbage. There was a special clothing, special wardrobe because this wasn't functional, pragmatic, taking out the garbage. This was a service. You honor the sacrifice of yesterday before you approach the מזבח mizbeach to bring your sacrifice of today. But ר' ראובן פיינשטיין Rav Reuven Feinstein brings a different answer. At עקידת יצחק akeidas Yitzchak, the תורה Torah recounts that אברהם Avraham offered the ram that was tangled in the bush as an עולה olah, תחת בנו tachas b'no, in place of his son. רש\"י Rashi there cites the exposition of the מדרש Medrash, that with each עבודה avodah that אברהם Avraham performed with that ram, he prayed השם Hashem should view the service as having been performed on יצחק Yitzchak instead. רש\"י Rashi writes, on each service that he performed with it, he would say, \"May it be the will of השם Hashem that this was done to my son, as if my son was slaughtered, as if my son was sprinkled, as if his skin was flayed, as if he was burned and became ashes.\" The significance of these prayers was great. We reference the ashes of יצחק Yitzchak, who of course was not touched, in the blessing of ובכן uv'chein in שחרית Shacharis on שמונה עשרה Shemoneh Esrei on the first day of ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah. In the פיוט piyut of טל אסו Tal asu, we mention the ashes of יצחק Yitzchak. It makes its way into the דאווענען davening of ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah. Additionally, the ירושלמי Yerushalmi in תענית Taanis cites one opinion that the reason ashes were placed on top of the ארון קודש Aron Kodesh at a public fast was to recall before השם Hashem the merit of יצחק Yitzchak, who is considered to have been consumed by the fire and turned to ash. What is the significance of ash in these statements of חז\"ל Chazal? We know that an offering is offered with its slaughter and that it affects atonement with the sprinkling of the blood. What is the symbolism of the offering being reduced to ash? Why such a focus and emphasis, let this ash be in the honor of יצחק Yitzchak? I understand when you say, \"Let the שחיטה shchitah, let the slaughter be in the honor as if I slaughtered יצחק Yitzchak. Let the sprinkling of the blood be like the sprinkling of the blood of יצחק Yitzchak. Let the skin be flayed like the skin of יצחק Yitzchak were flayed.\" Let each part of the sacrifice correspond as if it happened to יצחק Yitzchak. But the ash? Why the ash? The ash is the garbage. The ash is the גארנישט gornisht. The ash is the nothing. Why are we so focused on the ash? I believe the answer says ר' ראובן Rav Reuven is that the ash is the physical representation of the idea that we have taken a given commandment to its absolute completion. This is what אברהם Avraham prayed for with the ashes of יצחק Yitzchak. He wished that השם Hashem would keep performing the merit that אברהם Avraham attained by carrying out the instructions of השם Hashem through their final stage. When the כהן kohen removes some of the ash from the previous day's offering, he is ceremoniously capping off the service that took place the previous almost 24 hours with an action that demonstrates that השם's Hashem's service has been completely and optimally carried out to the last detail. Not only were the mandatory services performed, the שחיטה shchitah through the זריקה zrika, but even the fats and limbs that were offered were consumed and rendered ash, the way the מצוה mitzvah is supposed to be performed. With this declaration regarding the previous day's offering, the כהן kohen starts the new day with the same commitment to see to it that service of השם Hashem will be performed optimally and will reach the level of absolute completion. So the רב הירש Rav Hirsch said the ash represents the sacrifice of yesterday. We have to honor that before we move on to the sacrifice of today. ר' ראובן פיינשטיין שליט\"א Rav Reuven Feinstein shlita says something different. You know what this emphasis and focus on the ash represents? השם Hashem, yesterday, I didn't bail. I didn't leave in the middle. I didn't give up. I didn't mail it in. I didn't do half a job. I saw it all the way through. This ash represents the completion. You know what reminds me? We do this at the סדר Seder. When we finish the סדר Seder, what do we sing? חסל סידור פסח כהלכתו. Chasal siddur Pesach kehilchaso. There's no other מצוה mitzvah that you do. You know, you shake the לולב lulav and אתרוג esrog, put it down and say, \"השם Hashem, I did the ד' מינים dalet minim!\" I hear the hundredth קול kol of the שופר shofar. \"We did it, yay!\" חסל סידור פסח. Chasal siddur Pesach. The קרבן פסח korban Pesach. These קרבנות korbanos. So there's this notion, the ash, the תרומת הדשן trumas hadeshen. השם Hashem, I take a shovel of the ash and I put it next to the מזבח mizbeach because I want to show you and demonstrate to you and I want to demonstrate to myself that I completed what I started yesterday. I got it done. I made it to the finish line. I saw it all the way through. You know sadly, that's so unusual. How often do we start projects? How often are we excited at the beginning of a project, but then we abandon it, we bail on it, we run out of steam. I told you before that the רמח\"ל Ramchal writes in מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim in the chapter of זריזות zrizus. זריזות Zrizus, alacrity, zeal, enthusiasm. He says there are two types. You need זריזות zrizus to start a project, and you need זריזות zrizus when you're going to run into the wall on the project. Project at the beginning is easy to have זריזות zrizus. So excited. Going to finish all ש\"ס Shas with the דף יומי Daf Yomi. So excited I'm going to lose 100 pounds. So excited I'm going to train for a marathon. So excited I'm going to paint the garage. And then in the middle of the project, you run into that wall. It's not so exciting anymore. It's not so fun anymore. I'm not so motivated anymore. That, says the רמח\"ל Ramchal, is when you need the second burst of זריזות zrizus. So we take that shovel full of ash and we say, I didn't give up. Even when it wasn't so exciting anymore. Even when I ran out of steam, even when I ran out of time, I didn't give up. This ash represents seeing it all the way through, all the way until completion. פרק ו פסוק ד Perek Vav, Pasuk Daled. ברוך אתה ה' אלהינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו. Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha'olam shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro. אמן Amen.פסוק ד' Pasuk Daled. ופשט את בגדיו ולבש בגדים אחרים והוציא את הדשן אל מחוץ למחנה על מקום טהור. U'fashat es b'gadav v'lavash b'gadim acheirim v'hotzi es ha'deshen el michutz la'machaneh al makom tahor. He removes his clothing and he puts on other clothing and he removes the ash to the outside of the camp to a pure place. The כהן kohen puts on special taking out the garbage clothing. Put on your take out the garbage outfit. Why does one have a taking out the garbage outfit? What does that say? Says רב גיפטר Rav Gifter. In גמרא שבת Gemara Shabbos, בגדים שבישל בהם קדרה לרבו, אל ימזוג בהם כוס לרבו. B'gadim she'bishel bahem k'deirah l'rabo, al yimzog bahem kos l'rabo. You know why he changes his clothing? Because the clothing that you wore to cook in the kitchen is not the same uniform you wear when it's time to pour a cup of wine. You take off the apron, you change your clothing, and now you pour the cup of wine. Says רב גיפטר Rav Gifter, the רב דטעלז Rav of Tels, מכאן נלמד לקח נפלא שבנימוסי עולם האדם הממונה על הבישול אינו הממונה על מזיגת הכוס לשולחן המלך. mikan nilmad lekach nifla she'b'nimusei olam ha'adam ha'memuneh al ha'bishul eino ha'memuneh al mezigas ha'kos l'shulchan ha'melech. What do you mean you change the clothing? It's the same person. You know, you don't have the same person who's in the back who's cooking is not the same as the sous chef, is not the same as the dishwasher, is not the same as the maître d'. It's different positions of distinction. אבל לא כן בעבודת בורא העולם, כשימש בבגדים הפחותים והפחותים הרי זה כבוד למשמש, כאילו הוא משמש בשימושים הנעלים ביותר, היות שתכלית שימושו לכבוד שמים ומידת דרך ארץ, רק הזהירות מלכלך את עבודת הקודש והגנס. Aval lo chein b'avodas borei ha'olam, k'shimush b'bgadim ha'p'chutim v'ha'p'chutim harei zeh kavod la'm'shamesh, k'ilu hu m'shamesh b'shimushim ha'na'alim b'yoser, heyos she'tachlis shimush l'kvod Shamayim u'midas derech eretz, rak ha'zehirus milachlech es avodas ha'kodesh v'ha'gnas. When it comes to the service of השם Hashem, there is no hierarchy. There is no high and low. There is no prominent and there is no lowly. When it comes to the service of השם Hashem, everything is a privilege. Everything is a privilege. You're collecting the סידורים siddurim and חומשים chumashim, you're organizing the chairs, you're picking up the garbage outside the שול shul. Nothing is beneath anyone. It's all a privilege. And you learn that from this פסוק pasuk, from this רש\"י Rashi. Even though when it comes to others, there are different people who do different positions and they have different status, different title, different compensation, and we view them with different prominence, but not so in the world of עבודת השם Avodas Hashem. In the world of עבודת השם Avodas Hashem, there is no class system, there is no hierarchy. Anyone engaged and involved in the world of serving השם Hashem, anyone who's advancing the will of השם Hashem, anyone who is advancing the vision of השם Hashem, we're all equal in his eyes and we should all be equal in our eyes because we're all part of advancing that mission. Perek Vav, Pasuk Vav. Finally turn the page, page 570 in the Artscroll Chumash. אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח, לא תכבה. Eish tamid tukad al ha'mizbeach, lo sichbeh. אש תמיד. אש תמיד. Eish tamid. Eish tamid. In the name of Rav Drukman, אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח. Eish tamid tukad al ha'mizbeach. What does that mean? אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח. Eish tamid tukad al ha'mizbeach. A permanent fire should remain on the altar. A permanent fire. The של\"ה הקדוש Shlah Hakadosh, שני לוחות הברית Shnei Luchos HaBris, רב ישעיה הלוי הורוביץ Rav Yeshaya HaLevi Horowitz. The של\"ה הקדוש Shlah Hakadosh writes in the name of רב משה קורדובירו Rav Moshe Cordovero, מצאתי כתב יד. matzasi k'sav yad. He says, I found a manuscript. It says, למדני זקן אחד לבטל את המחשבה, יאמר פסוק זה הרבי פעמים, אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח, לא תכבה. ואין אי פשע דזקן ההוא היה אליהו הנביא. Limdeini zaken echad l'vatel es ha'machshavah, yomar pasuk zeh harbei pe'amim, eish tamid tukad al ha'mizbeach, lo sichbeh. V'ein efi she'd'zaken ha'hu haya Eliyahu ha'navi. The של\"ה Shlah quotes from Rav Moshe Cordovero, who says, \"I have a, I found a manuscript that a man taught him, and who was that man? Eliyahu HaNavi. And what was the teaching of Eliyahu HaNavi? That when a person's mind is wandering, when a person is feeling tempted, when a person is about to give up, what should they repeat? What should be their mantra over and over again? אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח. Eish tamid tukad al ha'mizbeach. A permanent fire must burn on the altar. לרוב אין מישהו שאין לו רע רסס לגלות כן היא נזכר בשם מי שנפל בליבו מחשבות עוון או מחשבות הבל. L'rov ein mishehu she'ein lo ra ra'ssos l'galos, ken hi nizkar b'shem mi she'nafal b'libo machshavos avon o machshavos hevel. A person who has frivolous thoughts, a person who has negative thoughts, a person who has thoughts of temptation, should say this pasuk over and over and over again. Why? So the answer is, the Ksav Sofer explains, כי יש בפסוק עצמו רמז לסגולה זו. ki yesh b'pasuk atzmo remez l'sgulah zu. כי מי שבליבו יוקד אש תמידית של השם יתברך, Ki mi she'b'libo yukad eish t'midis shel Hashem Yisborach, because if the fire is always burning inside you, if you're always on fire, then you'll be able to dispel these thoughts. Fire consumes what comes in its way. So if you're on fire, it will consume whatever temptation, whatever distraction comes in your way. The key is to be on fire. And this is the battle with Amalek. How often are we on fire? We're excited, we're exuberant, we're enthusiastic. And then our fire runs out. We fail to continue to fuel it, or someone else extinguished it. Cynics, cynicism, nothing extinguishes a fire like cynicism, or sarcasm. Eh, Amalek. Amalek. It's the battle with Amalek. It's the battle of Purim. That zechiras Amalek. אשר קרך בדרך. Asher karcha ba'derech. The pasuk says that Amalek attacked you, אשר קרך בדרך. asher karcha ba'derech. Karcha means lashon mikra, they happened upon you. Karcha means lashon kor. We were on fire. Talk to a kid who comes back from the year in Israel, a seminary girl. ...everything she does, everything she says... ...don't look at that, you can't have that, are you sure this is kosher? On fire. Trust me, they consume everything in their way. On fire. We were on fire. We came out of Mitzrayim, on fire. Ten plagues, splitting of a sea, Har Sinai, revelation, wow. Hashem, what a drasha. I'm on fire. Davening and mitzvos, my neshama, I'm on fire. And then Amalek comes, אשר קרך בדרך. asher karcha ba'derech. Mi'lashon kor. The ice bucket challenge. Amalek comes with a big ice bucket of ice water and they splash it right on our fire, right on our fire. There's an expression among kids, which I will not use. I will paraphrase that says, why do you have to put out my fire? Why do you have to put out my fire? You know, they get all excited about something and you say, \"Really, but I don't think that's true. Look at this.\" Or, \"Did you think of that?\" Or, \"That won't work out for this reason.\" I say, \"Why would you have to put out my fire?\" We put out each other's fire all the time when we ask that question, when we insert that doubt or that uncertainty or that cynicism or that sarcasm. We take a big bucket of ice water and we pour it right on the head of somebody who's on fire. You know why most often? Because we're threatened by it. When you see someone else is on fire, singing during davening or a long Shmoneh Esrei, refuses to engage in talking with you when you're trying to talk to them. \"Oh, now you're such a holy roller, now you're not talking? Last week you talked to me the whole davening.\" \"Such a holy roller, look what you're wearing, look at your kid, look at your thing.\" Why do you say that? They're on fire. For whatever reason, they don't want to talk right now, they're davening. For whatever reason, they have a long Shmoneh Esrei. For whatever reason, their eyes are closed during Kedusha, they're swaying and and singing. For whatever reason they're coming to Shalosh Seudos like a good Jew. At shul. And you're going to go and put out their fire? You're Amalek. That's Amalek. In our own head, the voice in our own head that says, \"Ah, who are you kidding? Your long Shmoneh Esrei, your shuckling. Who are you kidding? Five minutes from now what you're going to be doing and watching and saying. Who are you kidding?\" That's Amalek, it's the voice of Amalek. Put out our fire. So the Shlah Hakadosh has a tradition from Rav Moshe Cordovero, who has a tradition from Eliyahu HaNavi himself. That when you're sitting at home and you're tempted by a sin, when you're thinking about giving up on yourself and who you could be, simply say to yourself over and over again our pasuk, אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח, לא תכבה. Eish tamid tukad al ha'mizbeach, lo sichbeh. אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח, לא תכבה. Eish tamid tukad al ha'mizbeach, lo sichbeh. אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח, לא תכבה. Eish tamid tukad al ha'mizbeach, lo sichbeh. I have to have a permanent fire on this altar. I need to be... I have to stay on fire. I got to light my fire. I got to go figure out, who do I need to listen to that makes me feel lit on fire? What do I need to be around? What comes, what פארברענגען farbrengen, what טיש tisch, what person, what personality, what שיעור shiur do I have to turn on, what podcast, what song, what music do I have to play? Because אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח aish tamid tukad al hamizbeach. I'm not letting anything lower this flame. I'm not letting anything extinguish this fire. You know what we have to be like? Trick birthday candles. Anyone ever, have you ever see those trick birthday candles? Haha. Person blows out, they go back. Person blows them out, they're back on fire. I don't believe in blowing out candles or making wishes, that's a whole, I'm the Grinch who stole birthdays. But that's a whole separate conversation. But let's say you believe in blowing out candles, they have trick birthday candles. You keep trying to blow them out, they keep coming back. We have to be trick birthday candles. Try blowing me out. With your cynicism and your sarcasm and your skepticism. Try putting out my fire. I'm a trick birthday candle. I'm going to keep coming back at you. Because I'm on fire. I'm on fire because אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה aish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh. I'm here to be on fire. My life is about being on fire. I'm on fire בין אדם לחברו bein adam l'chaveiro. I'm not done talking about Ukraine and raising money for Ukraine and caring about the people in Ukraine. I'm gonna be בין אדם לחברו bein adam l'chaveiro to make sure the משלוח מנות mishloach manot I don't give to the most popular people. You know how I come up with, I try to think משלוח מנות mishloach manot. Not who's getting משלוח מנות mishloach manot from everyone, who's not getting it? Who's unable to go out and experience? Be on fire to care about other people. Be on fire to show up to that שיעור shiur. Be on fire to sing and let yourself go. Be on fire in your אמונה וביטחון emunah u'bitachon. אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה aish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh. Don't let anything put out that fire. Stay on fire, always. Always. Ay. Talia, what could we do? It's an hour. Time is up. Even though there's so much to talk about. But we have it for next year. There's a פסוק pasuk at the end of the פרשה parsha. פרק ח פסוק ל\"ה Perek ches pasuk lamed hei. Then we'll feel like we read the whole פרשה parsha. We'll feel good for one more second, 30 more seconds. ומפתח אהל מועד לא תצאו יומם ולילה שבעת ימים U'mipetach ohel moed lo seitzei'u yomam valailah shivas yamim, ושמרתם את משמרת ה' ולא תמותו כי כן צוויתי u'shmartem es mishmeres Hashem v'lo samusu ki chein tzuveisi. At the entrance of the אוהל מועד ohel moed shall you dwell day and night for a seven day period, and you shall protect Hashem's charge so that you shall not die. What is going on over here? תשבו יומם ולילה Teishvu yomam valailah. Sit day and night. Let's end with this. An insight of רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik. An insight of רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik. ומפתח אהל מועד לא תצאו שבעת ימים U'mipetach ohel moed lo seitzei'u shivas yamim. You shall not leave the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days. Proper preparation is a necessary condition for any encounter with holiness. For example, in the prelude to receiving the Torah, Moshe warned the nation, be ready for three days. Don't go near a woman. Similarly Aaron had to submit to a seven day preparation period prior to the dedication of the משכן mishkan. Every כהן גדול kohen gadol subsequently went through a similar sequester prior to יום כיפור Yom Kippur. The prohibition of מוקצה muktzeh centered on the need for preparation. You have to be, instead of being מוקצה muktzeh, because you didn't designate it, you have to designate it. Among the prohibitions of מוקצה muktzeh is food that was not prepared prior to שבת Shabbos. One does not merit nor is worthy of celebrating שבת Shabbos unless you prepared for it. The mitzvah of ספירת העומר Sefiras HaOmer is how we prepare for the receiving of the Torah. One counts the years before שמיטה ויובל shmitah v'yovel as preparation. Holiness does not arrive suddenly. It comes only by invitation inherent in the act of preparation. It's a beautiful insight. Let's turn Friday into ערב שבת erev Shabbos. אין קדושה בלי הכנה ein kedusha b'li hachanah. There is no holiness without preparing for it. Anyone who tells you they stumbled on holiness, it is a counterfeit holiness. Genuine, authentic, real holiness takes preparation. It takes work, it takes mindset, it takes effort. You don't stumble or trip on holiness. It takes work and that's what the end of the פרשה parsha is telling us. א פרייליכן פורים A freilichin Purim. Have a wonderful Purim. Everyone's invited to our home from 12:30 to 2:00 on פורים Purim. In front, we're having a big block party with french fries. Apparently, I will be dressed as a french fry. What you do for שלום בית shalom bayis. So everyone's invited 12:30 to 2:00. א פרייליכן פורים A freilichin Purim. Stay happy, stay healthy, stay holy. Pick it up בעזרת השם b'ezras Hashem next week.
