Transcript
Good morning. בוקר טוב Boker Tov, it should be a good morning. We should hear בשורות טובות ישועות ונחמות Besoros Tovos, Yeshuos v'Nachamos. Please raise your hand if you are a member of Boca Raton synagogue. That means if you did not raise your hand, you're not a member of Boca Raton synagogue, and yet you're here and we're so excited to have you here. I'm excited you're here for the פרשה שיעור Parsha Shiur most weeks. I'm excited you come for 10 minutes of meaning living with אמונה Emunah, סידור Siddur Snippets, turn Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos, read our articles, join our efforts to support Israel. We're so glad you're part of our BRS family. And we hope that you're glad too and we hope that you show some appreciation. So yes, this is that time of year we are running our BRS Global campaign. Helping you help us, helping you show the appreciation for the value that you get by partnering with us to be able to do more. So please, take a moment. On your seat, you have a QR code. You can go on brsonline.org/global, brsonline.org/global. If you're a member, you're doing your part. Thank you. If you're not a member, please contribute. And this year we created an incentive, not that you needed one other than basic הכרת הטוב Hakaras Hatov, but we created an incentive to help us continue to promote and share and teach and inspire. And that is on April 7th, we are hosting ישי ריבו Yishai Ribo for a concert here at BRS. And if you give $180 or more to our global campaign, you are in a raffle to get two domestic flights so that if you're listening or watching from elsewhere, we want to fly you in, spend שבת Shabbos here at BRS with us, we'll host you, come to the ישי ריבו Yishai Ribo concert, two VIP tickets including a private reception with him. And to be entered into that raffle, all you have to do is give 180 to the BRS Global campaign. And if you give 360, you get three tickets. And 500 you get five tickets. So increase your chances of winning. And if you're sitting in front of me right now you say, what am I going to do with two domestic tickets? Well, first of all, you could fly your grandchildren in. They could come to the concert with you, spend שבת Shabbos with you. So anyway, I hope to not have to do this a lot over the two weeks. Hopefully we'll hit our goal today, just during the פרשה Parsha class, and you won't have to hear this again. So brsonline.org/global, please do your part. None of it goes to my pocket, our pocket. It's all helping us teach תורה Torah, share תורה Torah, inspire תורה Torah, stand with Israel, advocate and fight for Israel, all the things that BRS does. I want to thank our generous פרשה Parsha series sponsors Becky and Avi Katz and family for sponsoring the series in memory of Becky's father David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מניש l'ilui nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Manish. This morning is also sponsored by Sarah Margolies in memory of her husband, ישראל חיים Yisrael Chaim, Israel Margolies, our dear friend whose יארצייט yahrzeit is today. We miss him. He meant a lot. He loved to learn. By the Mann family in honor of their dear daughter Denise Mann's wedding to Saul Ben Dayan, מזל טוב Mazel Tov on that wonderful שמחה simcha. Please stay afterwards, we're going to complete all of ספר תהילים Sefer Tehillim as we always do.פרשת תצווה Parshas Tzav, page 464. ואתה תצוה את בני ישראל V'atah tetzaveh es bnei Yisrael. We've pivoted now in ספר שמות Sefer Shmos. We've turned from the storyline, the narrative of the Exodus, going from a family in ספר בראשית Sefer Bereishis to the birth of a nation in the book of שמות Shmos. And now a nation has a religious center, a religious capital, a religious home, and that is the משכן Mishkan. So last week we learned about, read about, we heard about the continuity of the הר סיני Har Sinai experience with the building of a משכן Mishkan, so that הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu could be our שכן Shachein, the שכינה Shechinah, he could dwell among us. We could feel his presence, we could have access to him, we could have that continued ongoing experience of revelation. We learned about the משכן Mishkan and the כלים Kelim, all the vessels that were in it. Now פרשת תצווה Parshas Tetzaveh we move over to a focus and an emphasis not on משה Moshe but on אהרן Aaron and the role of the כהנים Kohanim, the role of the priests, the role of the כהנים Kohanim, the בגדי Bigdei, the בגדי כהונה Bigdei Kehunah, the clothing of the כהנים Kohanim and so on. So ואתה תצוה את בני ישראל v'atah tetzaveh es bnei Yisrael, you, who's you? A pronoun. Who's the you? משה Moshe. And you, command בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael ויקחו אליך שמן זית זך כתית למאור v'yikchu eilecha shemen zayis zach kasis lama'or, take clear olive oil crushed for illumination to kindle a lamp continually. And where are you doing this? Where are you doing this? באהל מועד מחוץ לפרכת B'Ohel Moed, m'chutz la'paroches and so on and so forth. Now we know that whose name is not mentioned in this פרשה parsha? משה's Moshe's name is not mentioned in the פרשה parsha. Famously the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim, רב יעקב בן אשר Rav Yaakov ben Asher, the רא\"ש's Rosh's son, the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim, famously explains that when משה Moshe pleads with השם Hashem to forgive the people for the horrific mistake next week we'll read in כי תשא Ki Sisa of the חטא העגל cheit ha'eigel, the golden calf. He misleads or or משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu pleads to forgive the people. So he says, מחני נא מספרך אשר כתבת mecheini na misifrecha asher kasavta. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu, forgive them. כביכול Kivyachol, חז\"ל Chazal describe, he like grabbed השם Hashem by the lapels, threatened him. השם Hashem, forgive them. Be flexible, let it go. Atone. Let him move on. And if not, I want nothing to do with this. מחני נא מספרך אשר כתבת Mecheini na misifrecha asher kasavta, even though this has been my life work, even though I've sacrificed everything, including to a degree my family for it, says משה Moshe, erase me from your book that you have written. And השם Hashem takes משה Moshe up on the offer, indeed. And he says no problem, your name will be erased. Not from the whole book, but from the next פרשה parsha. As so says the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim. Famously inside of the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim, why פרשת תצווה parshas Tetzaveh does not have השם's Hashem's name? Why specifically this פרשה parsha? משה's Moshe's name. Good. I was checking whether you're listening. Now that you're listening, take out your phone and go on brsonline.org/global and make sure to do your part. Why this פרשה parsha? If it's next week's פרשה כי תשא parsha Ki Sisa, that's the חטא העגל cheit ha'eigel, we have several פרשיות parshios left in שמות Shmos, ויקרא Vayikra, במדבר Bamidbar, דברים Devarim. Of all the פרשיות parshios to eliminate or omit משה's Moshe's name from, why specifically this פרשה parsha? רב שלמה מוילנא Rav Shlomo MiVilna answers, משה Moshe said אשר כתבת asher kasavta, erase me from your book that you wrote, past tense. Therefore, his name was omitted in פרשת תצווה parshas Tetzaveh that comes before כי תשא Ki Sisa, which is when he's going to need forgiveness. So we went backwards to eliminate משה's Moshe's name from a פרשה parsha, אשר כתבת asher kasavta, that you wrote in past tense. That's why specifically it's a past פרשה parsha. רב עובדיה יוסף Rav Ovadia Yosef says, מחני נא מספרך mecheini na misifrecha which we should read as מחני נא מספר כ mecheini na mei'sefer chaf. Erase me from the 20th ספר sefer, the 20th פרשה parsha. What's the 20th פרשה parsha in the תורה Torah? Excellent. תצווה Tetzaveh. Therefore מחני נא מספרך mecheini na misifrecha, מספר mei'sefer, ספר כ sefer chaf, the 20th פרשה parsha is תצווה Tetzaveh, that's why. The לובביטשער רבי Lubavitcher Rebbe gives another interpretation. We've shared it, we won't repeat it. It's a beautiful insight of the לובביטשער רבי Lubavitcher Rebbe why דוקא dafka it is this פרשה parsha. But I want to share with you this morning an interpretation of the הייליגע רב צדוק הכהן Heilegeh Rav Tzadok HaKohen, the הייליגע רב צדוק מלובלין Heilegeh Rav Tzadok of Lublin. In his younger years רב צדוק Rav Tzadok was an opponent of חסידות Chasidus. He didn't buy into the movement. He wasn't a disciple or student of חסידות Chasidus, but he was exposed to the איז'ביצער רבי Ishbitzer Rebbe and he would turn this child prodigy into a חסידישע רבי Chasidic Rebbe. רב צדוק הכהן Rav Tzadok HaKohen became not only a great disciple and student of חסידות Chasidus, it became a great master and teacher of it, all he was converted, so to say, by the הייליגע איז'ביצער Heilegeh Ishbitzer, by the איז'ביצער רבי Ishbitzer Rebbe. And he says the following. This is brought down in my friend רב אהרן גולדשיידר's Rav Aharon Goldscheider's new book, Torah United, where he quotes on each פרשה parsha an insight from רב קוק Rav Kook, רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik and חסידיש Chasidic masters. And this is from the section of the חסידיש Chasidic masters of this week's פרשה parsha. It's a wonderful new book. I highly recommend it. The גמרא Gemara interprets the פסוק pasuk to mean that דוד המלך David HaMelech in the middle of a battle was faced with a complicated הלכתי halachic question, and he did not know the answer. Three soldiers risked their lives, says the גמרא Gemara, to bring the question to the חכמים Chachamim and to return with an answer. And although דוד המלך David HaMelech accepted the answer, he wouldn't credit any of them by name. These soldiers were the one who came up with the answer when דוד המלך David HaMelech couldn't, and yet David fails to credit them by name. Why? Based on a principle, based on a principle. And the principle is we do not attribute a הלכתי halachic statement to the one who is מוסר עצמו על דברי תורה moiser atzmo al divrei Torah. Somebody who risks their life for דברי תורה divrei Torah, מוסר עצמו על דברי תורה moiser atzmo al divrei Torah, we do not credit them. That sounds sort of bizarre. I would have thought exactly the opposite. It's counterintuitive. One risks their life for דברי תורה divrei Torah, they merit their name should be in lights. Their name should be in enormous font, hanging on the wall. They should get tremendous credit. Why do they get no credit? Says רב צדוק הכהן Rav Tzadok HaKohen. Says רב צדוק הכהן Rav Tzadok HaKohen, דוד המלך David HaMelech did not intend this as a condemnation of the courageous soldiers who in fact had the answer. דוד המלך David HaMelech offered this as a praise. What's the praise? Their names are not attached to the הלכתי halachic statement, to this הלכתי halachic ruling because through their total sacrifice, they became part of תורה Torah itself. You see, the moment you need or want or have your name prominent, promoted, stand out, is the moment that you exist independent, separate, apart from השם Hashem and his תורה Torah, is the moment that there's an I. But the moment that a person is willing to practice ביטול bittel, to nullify, to be absorbed and integrated into השם Hashem and into his תורה Torah, is the ultimate sense of devotion. It's the ultimate surrender. It's the ultimate losing any ego or sense of self, because the mission, the cause is the highest and the greatest. להבדיל Lehavdil, Jim Collins in his book which was famous when it came out, Good to Great, where he studied all these companies and he tracked them, what makes a company go from good to great, and he talks about five levels of leadership. And for Jim Collins, level five leadership, by the way, you have to buy at least five raffle tickets if your phone goes off in the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur. At least five, whether you're a member or non-member, you're in for at least five. What's level five leadership, says Jim Collins? Level five leadership is when the cause or the mission or the company is ahead of yourself. Is ahead of yourself. It's not about your name, your ego. The level five leader plans succession, who's going to take over after them, because it's not about they were indispensable to the company or the cause, it's about the mission. The mission is greater than the individual self. That's the highest level he describes, the the level level five leadership. I once gave a דרשה drasha. משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu was a level five leader. All the different five levels, משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu captured all of them. And this is the perfect example of that for רב צדוק Rav Tzadok. רב צדוק Rav Tzadok explains that גמרא Gemara, and this is similar to with the לובביטשער רבי's Lubavitcher Rebbe's explanation, but רב צדוק Rav Tzadok explains that גמרא Gemara, it's not that דוד המלך David HaMelech is criticizing, it's not that he's denying those students the opportunity to have their name when they in fact knew the answer, the reward was to not use their name. They were מוסר עצמו על דברי תורה moiser atzmo al divrei Torah. מוסר עצמו Moiser atzmo, עצמו atzmo means their self. They surrendered their sense of self. It wasn't about them, it was about the mission, it was about the cause, it was about accomplishing something. רב צדוק Rav Tzadok claimed in the same spirit you can understand why משה's Moshe's name is missing from the פרשה parsha. A name represents the essence of a person. So משה Moshe proposed a full negation of himself to save his people. מסירות נפש Mesirus Nefesh is a willingness to forfeit his place among the people because his name becomes synonymous enveloped in the תורה Torah itself. He becomes an inseparable link in the giving of the תורה Torah. Beautiful part about this ספר sefer is it has a beautiful essay and then it quotes the actual מקור makor. So here he has רב צדוק Rav Tzadok, it's in פרי צדיק פרשת תצווה אות ד Pri Tzadik parshas Tetzaveh os dalet. And he writes, quotes the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim, העניין ששמעתי מרבותינו הקדושים ha'inyan she'shamati me'raboseinu ha'kedoshim, based on the גמרא בבא קמא סא Gemara Bava Kama samech aleph, לא עבד דוד לשלשתם lo avad David l'shloshtam, quotes this גמרא Gemara. יש להבין Yesh lehavin, למה יענש מוסר עצמו lama ye'anash moiser atzmo, לומר lomar. Somebody who's מוסר עצמו moiser atzmo willing to die to transmit תורה Torah accurately, why is their name not used? And when and he answers. אין זה עונש רק כיוון שמוסר עצמו במסירות על דברי תורה הדברי תורה שלו כלולים במקור העליון ואין להם שייכות לנפשו בפרטות רק הם דבר השם ממש ועל כן אין אומרים דבר הלכה בשמו רק משמה דגמרא כמו שהלכה למשה מסיני Ein zeh onesh, rak keivan she'moiser atzmo b'mesirus al divrei Torah, hadivrei Torah shelo klulim b'makor ha'elyon, v'ein lahem shayachus l'nafsho b'pratus, rak heim dvar Hashem mamash. V'al kein ein omrim dvar halacha b'shmo, rak mi'shema d'Gemara k'mo she'halacha Moshe m'Sinai. וכן משה רבינו מוסר עצמו בשביל כלל ישראל בו אמר שמה שאמר מחני נא מספרך V'chein Moshe Rabbeinu mosar atzmo bishvil Klal Yisrael. Bo amar she'mah she'amar mecheini na misifrecha. And therefore, since he was מוסר נפש moser nefesh, was עושה ענין של מסירות נפש oseh inyan shemesirus nefesh, was מוסר עצמו moser atzmo, and therefore his name is omitted because it became entirely intertwined. And רב צדוק Rav Tzadok then goes on, we don't have the time so I won't read it to you inside, but רב צדוק Rav Tzadok then goes on to suggest a beautiful symbolic link between the absence of משה's Moshe's name in the פרשה parsha and the opening of the פרשה parsha. What's the first מצוה mitzvah at the beginning of the פרשה parsha? We do not begin תצווה Tetzaveh with the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah. We don't dive in and start with the different clothing of the כהונה kehunah. What do we start with? שמן זית זך Shemen zayis zach. We start with the obligation of pure olive oil. The מנורה menorah had to be lit with pure olive oil, the best quality oil that provides a stable flame and has no contaminants. And in the service of his brothers and השם Hashem, משה Moshe exhibited the same clarity and the same purity. Says רב צדוק Rav Tzadok, the פרשה parsha begins, ואתה v'atah. Who's ואתה v'atah? משה Moshe. Why don't we use his name? Because it is the ultimate statement of משה Moshe that he's מוסר עצמו moser atzmo. He surrenders a sense of self. He's the ultimate level five leader. It's not about his name, it's about a mission, it's about the cause, it's about accomplishing something. And that is like the שמן זית זך shemen zayis zach. To be for us to be the pure olive oil that brings the light into this world is for it to not be about us. To not be about us. It's a very complicated thing. I'll share with you, I'll confess to you, I struggle with this enormously. Enormously. Because if you want to have an impact in the world, in life, then to a degree you're trying to promote and share. Promote that there's a שיעור shiur, everybody come hear the שיעור shiur. Promote there's an opportunity online to listen, to read, to learn. So how do you find that balance? I've spoken to many גדולי ישראל Gedolei Yisrael who've published ספרים sforim, who have teams of people promoting their שיעורים shiurim and putting out a newsletter of their דברי תורה divrei Torah and inviting people to their טיש tish and their פארברענגען fabrengen and their... It's a tremendous balance between how do you make it about the cause and the mission and being מרבה כבוד שמים marbeh kvod Shamayim and דבר השם dvar Hashem, it's all about השם Hashem, that's the mission, that's the purpose, that's the cause, not about me, the ego, the I, the name, the brand. How do we make השם Hashem the brand and not us, and yet take advantage of all the tools at our disposal to be able to share and promote and hopefully inspire ourselves and as many people as possible. In the ideal world, and that's what the פרשה parsha is telling us. By the way, we go back in next week's פרשה parsha to using משה's Moshe's name again. משה's Moshe's name is not erased or omitted from the rest of the תורה הקדושה Torah HaKedoshah. משה's Moshe's name is used over and over and over again and he is in perpetuity משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu. And we have one of the י\"ג עיקרים Yud Gimmel Ikarim, one of the 13 principles of faith is to believe that משה Moshe is categorically different than all other human beings. משה Moshe is the אב הנביאים Av HaNevim. משה Moshe's categorically different, greater than every other. He's the אב הנביאים Av HaNevim. He didn't do a great job at surrendering himself. He didn't do a great job at erasing himself. He tried. We didn't let him. He did a great job. We did a great job of not letting him. Why? Because it's also important to have a רבינו Rabbeinu, to have a משה Moshe, to have a paradigm, to have a model of a leader. So that's this balance that's taking place between even when we're promoting and sharing and teaching, nevertheless it's all השם Hashem is the brand. השם Hashem is the message, השם Hashem is the mission. It's not about anybody's name or honor or influence or followers or friends or monetization. It's all the brand is השם Hashem. And that's the balance that's going on. So משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu, says רב צדוק Rav Tzadok, to be שמן זית זך shemen zayis zach, to be the purest olive oil, what's the oil being used for here? Not salad dressing, not to dip your bruschetta, is that what it's called? A little toasted bread? Not to sprinkle on your bruschetta. What's the olive oil being used for? Not to שמיר shmear on your on your skin, although also anointing the the priest. What's it being used for here? To light the מנורה menorah. What's the purpose of lighting the מנורה menorah? To illuminate and dispel the darkness of the world, to transform the world with light. How can you be the brightest source of light, the purest source of light? How can we be the parallel, the metaphor, the equivalent of the שמן זית זך shemen zayis zach? How can we be that non-contaminated, pure oil that holds a steady flame of spreading the message, the mission, the brand of השם Hashem, like משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu by being מוסר עצמו moser atzmo. It's not about us. It's not about us. Not about us. Not about us. I won't tell you the story that a seasoned rabbi once told me about how when he was a young rabbi, I guess I will tell you the story. When he was a young rabbi and someone had helped him work on the שול shul dinner, this woman had put in countless time, and she said to him over and over again, \"Whatever you do, Rabbi, at the dinner, don't acknowledge me. Don't say my name. Don't thank me. Whatever you do, please don't. Just leave me out.\" So a foolish, naive new rabbi, he didn't mention her. Afterwards he heard, oh how upset, how insulted, how furious, how pained, how hurt. And so he turned to, he was talking to a group of young rabbis, I was among them. I'm still a young rabbi, I was even younger then. And he said he learned from then that you have to understand there's a rabbinic vocabulary. When someone says, \"Whatever you do, please don't acknowledge me,\" it loosely translates to, \"Whatever you do, please don't forget to acknowledge me.\" And he taught that to us. Now, it doesn't mean that people don't deserve to be thanked and acknowledged. They deserve that. People deserve that, period, hard stop. They deserve that because also it encourages more people to get involved and to do and for that person to do further. הכרת הטוב Hakaras hatov is a basic תורה Torah attribute, of course we have to. But for all of us we should remember why we're doing what we do. And it's not about the name. And if משה Moshe could be ואתה v'atah, we could be the ואתה v'atah. It was about the חסד chesed or the צדקה tzedakah. It was about the food we cooked or the carpool or the committee we sat on or what we helped set up or what we did differently or how we contributed. And of course הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov, gratitude should be shown, but if it isn't, we should remember like משה Moshe, this רב צדוק Rav Tzadok, we have the opportunity, we should be grateful that they let us be a שמן זית זך shemen zayis zach. If in fact our name was not promoted or pronounced, if our name was not shared or celebrated, maybe it was a failure of הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov, but it was a gift of letting us be the שמן זית זך shemen zayis zach, the ואתה v'atah that משה Moshe merited, that משה Moshe merited to begin. It's not a coincidence the גאון מוילנא Gra of Vilna points out, as does the מאור עינים Me'or Einayim of מנחם נחום מצ'רנוביל Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl, they both point out we always read פרשת תצווה parshas Tetzaveh either right before or right after ז' אדר Zain Adar. What's ז' אדר Zain Adar? משה רבינו's Moshe Rabbeinu's יארצייט yahrzeit, his birthday and his יארצייט yahrzeit. The day the חברה קדישא Chevra Kadisha marks and celebrates. This year's two אדר's Adars, which אדר Adar, both אדר's Adars, one אדר Adar, but ז' אדר Zain Adar is משה רבינו's Moshe Rabbeinu's birthday and יארצייט yahrzeit. And his absence from פרשת תצווה parshas Tetzaveh, which is always either right after or right before, is commensurate, fits totally with with משה's Moshe's entire life. His יארצייט yahrzeit with the reading of תצווה Tetzaveh is that his most outstanding quality is that he was מוסר עצמו moser atzmo. He gave up on an עצמו atzmo. He gave up on a sense of עצמו atzmo in the greatest sense, because to a degree, he paid the highest price. That leadership role that he played and the mission that he served cost him aspects of his marriage, cost him the legacy of the mantle of passing it on to his children. He was מוסר moser not only עצמו atzmo, but the greatest sense of עצמו atzmo, which is our family and our continuity in a certain way that משה Moshe paid that incredible, incredible high, that incredible high price. So it's a beautiful רב צדוק Rav Tzadok. It's worth reading it inside, which we don't have time for today, but to look at the rest of it inside. Okay, moving right along.The זרע קודש Zera Kodesh, the ראפשיצער Ropshitzer is quoted by the אמרי טהרות Imrei Taharos by the רחמסטריווקא Rachmastrivka, and he says the following: ואתה תצוה את בני ישראל V'atah tetzaveh es Bnei Yisrael. You command בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael. He brings the זוהר הקדוש Zohar HaKadosh, דהטעם שלא נזכר שמו של משה רבינו בפרשה זו כיוון שאמר מחני נא מספרך dasam shelo nishkar shemo shel Moshe Rabbeinu b'parsha zu, keivan she'amar mecheini na misifrecha. That's where the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim got it from, the זוהר הקדוש Zohar HaKadosh, erase me from your book. So נתקיים דבורו niskayem diburo. We fulfilled his request a little bit. His name is not included. וקשה שנקיים בבקשת משה רבינו כיוון שמסר נפשו לטובת ישראל בזה V'kasha she'niskayem b'akashas Moshe Rabbeinu, keivan she'masar nafsho l'tovas Yisrael b'zeh. And why did he do this? Let's not forget. It wasn't just that he was the chairperson of the dinner and he wasn't thanked and he didn't mind because it wasn't about him. What was the reason that he was doing this? Why was he מוסר moser the עצמו atzmo? Why did משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu threaten, grab השם Hashem, מחני נא מספרך mecheini na misifrecha, if not erase me. What was he fighting for, advocating for? The forgiveness of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. He saved the Jewish people. השם Hashem was ready to wipe us out, another hard reset on the world. השם Hashem had had it with us. And משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu steps in, steps up on our behalf and he's מוסר נפש לטובת ישראל moser nefesh l'tovas Yisrael. וביאור ענין מסירות נפש דנשמת משה רבינו היה כלל כל נשמת ישראל U'viur inyan mesirus nefesh, d'nishmas Moshe Rabbeinu haya klol kol nishmas Yisrael. משה רבינו's Moshe Rabbeinu's נשמה neshama was so complete, was so whole, that it included, subsumed within it, all of נשמת ישראל nishmas Yisrael, all of the combination of the souls that were destined to exist. כמו שאמרו חז\"ל שיר השירים רבה K'mo she'amru Chazal in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, אשה אחת ילדה ששים רבוא בכרס אחד היינו משה רבינו שנכלל בנשמתו כל נשמת ישראל Isha achas yolda shishim ribo b'keres echad. Haynu Moshe Rabbeinu she'niklal b'nishmaso kol nishmas Yisrael. You know, if you think about for one moment, one, one egg or one seed of the man, and the potential that it has in them, because take one woman's egg, one egg of one woman has within it her daughter, whose daughter, whose daughter, whose daughter. Think about the potential of the future and how many. So אשה אחת ילדה ששים רבוא בכרס אחד isha achas yolda shishim ribo b'keres echad. One woman could give birth to 600,000. That that's a tough pregnancy, a tough labor. There's no epidural in the world that's going to help you for a birth of 600,000. But it doesn't mean you're giving birth to 600,000. It means trace back your ancestry and calculate how one person who gave birth to one and now when you compound it based on the amount of children and the generations to come. So that was משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu. If you go back to that original egg, the original seed, what it contained within it was everyone and everything that would come after and that's משה's Moshe's נשמה neshama. ועל כן כיוון שלא היה משה בגדר איש פרטי בפני עצמו V'al kein keivan shelo haya Moshe b'geder ish prati b'fnei atzmo, משה Moshe did not live life like he was some individual on his own. Rather he had a consciousness, a mindfulness always that he represented the totality of the נשמות neshamos that would come afterwards. זה הוא ענין שמסר נפשו על ישראל Zeh hu inyan she'masar nafsho al Yisrael. He was מוסר moser his independent identity על ישראל al Yisrael for the greater identity of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. וזה שאמר הזוהר הקדוש דהטעם למה לא נזכר שמו של משה בפרשה זו U'zeh she'amar ha'Zohar Kadosh, da'ta'am lama lo nishkar shemo shel Moshe b'parsha zu. And now we can understand why was משה's Moshe's name not mentioned. ואתה תצוה V'atah tetzaveh. The word תצוה tetzaveh, ציווי tzivui means מלשון חיבור mi'lashon chibur. A ציווי tzivui, צו tzav is a connection. The מצוות mitzvos are the way that we connect to השם Hashem. שתחבר עצמך את פירוש עם בני ישראל She'techaber atzmcha es perush im bnei Yisrael. ואתה V'atah, you, תצוה tetzaveh, make a חיבור chibur, את es with בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael. שתהיה כולך בהם She'tihyeh kulcha bohem, be with them. על כן לא נזכר שמו בפרשה זו Al kein lo nishkar shmo b'parsha zu, his name is not included. His name is not included. There are two ways that we can live in this world. We can live in this world that it's all about me and I and my ego, my need, my want, my happiness, my joy. It's about me. By the way, when volunteering for you makes me feel good, then I'm willing to do it. But really all in the end of the day, it's about me. Or a person can say it's really all about you. There's a mission, there's a purpose, there's a cause, there's a people. That's what I'm all about. And if it means risking or erasing the me, my interest, my need, my want, my happiness, my life, I'm willing to do it. This דבר תורה dvar Torah is relevant and important and meaningful anytime. It's particularly relevant right now when there are soldiers who are fulfilling ואתה תצוה v'atah tetzaveh. Every soldier has a name. We are not a people that just assign a number. But in the army, to a degree you're a number, the dog tag has a number not a name, because you're a soldier, fighting a fight, serving a unit, winning a war. And the soldiers, the incredible soldiers, the awesome soldiers, the heroic soldiers are ואתה v'atah, they are sacrificing and surrendering their name, their identity, their want, their need. Particularly reservists, saying goodbye to their spouse, to their children, and putting their life on the line, and some paying with the ultimate price. Why? מוסר נפשו נפשם על ישראל Moiser nafsho, nafsham al Yisrael. The ultimate מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh. They're literally surrendering and forfeiting their life על ישראל עם ישראל al Yisrael, im Yisrael, for the Jewish people, for this bigger picture. And I think they obligate us to ask ourselves how are we. We don't have a gun, we're not on a front line, we are not sacrificing in the same way, but this is a time of מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh for everybody, to figure out what we are doing and how we are influencing our condition in the world to make it to make it better. That is the beautiful ראפשיצער Ropshitzer on ואתה תצוה v'atah tetzaveh. רב דרוק Rav Druk, the his לבוש אש lavos eish, we've been going through his brand new ספר sefer that came out, לבוש אש Lavos Eish. He quotes the following. גמרא מנחות Gemara Menachos tells us on this פסוק pasuk ואתה תצוה את בני ישראל v'atah tetzaveh es bnei Yisrael. We're going to get past the first פסוק pasuk. אמר רב יוחנן למה נמשלו ישראל לזית Amar Rav Yochanan, lama nimshlu Yisrael l'zayis? Here, the first commandment to the כהנים Kohanim is, we didn't even get to the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah, is squeeze the olives and extract from them a pure olive oil to be able to illuminate the מנורה תמיד menorah tamid consistently, continually, ongoing. Where? In the אהל מועד Ohel Moed and so on. So the גמרא מנחות Gemara Menachos wonders, why are כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, why are the Jewish people, why are we likened to an olive? לומר לך Lomar lach. And the answer the גמרא מנחות Gemara Menachos says is to tell us, לומר לך lomar lach, מה זית אינו מוציא שמנו אלא על ידי כתיתה mah zayis eino motzi shmeno ela al yedei k'sisah. How do you get the olive oil out of the olive? See, \"Please Mr. Olive, would you mind dripping your oil?\" No, that will not work. What do you have to do? Squeeze it. You have to more than squeeze it, כתיתה k'sisah, it gets crushed. It's not called an olive squeeze, it's an olive crush. It gets crushed. אף ישראל אינם חוזרים למוטב אלא על ידי יסורים Af Yisrael einam chozrim l'mutav ela al yedei yisurin. The Jewish people, the best of us only comes out when we are squeezed, when we are squeezed, when we are stepped on, what comes out is better than what it was before. There are two substances like that, olives and grapes. Not coincidentally, both at one point had their own, had their own ברכה bracha but have their own status, a separate status. What comes out of an olive is not called olive juice. What you squeeze out of the apple is called apple juice. What you squeeze out of the orange is orange juice, what you squeeze out of the grapefruit is grapefruit juice. Mango is mango juice וכולי v'chulei. And yet what you squeeze out of the olive is oil. And what you squeeze out of the grape is wine. Because what comes out is better than what it was before. כדברי גמרא מנחות Kedivrei Gemara Menachos says רב דרוק Rav Druk, אנו מוצאים גם מדרש anu motz'im gam Medrash on our פרשה ואתה תצוה הדא הוא דכתיב parsha v'atah tetzaveh hadahu d'chsiv, זית רענן יפה פרי תאר קרא השם שמך וכי לא נקראו ישראל אלא כזית הזה בלבד Zayis ra'anan yafeh pri to'ar kara Hashem shmecha v'ki lo nikru Yisrael ela k'zayis hazeh b'lvad. Jewish people are likened to an olive. והלא כל תומים אילנות נאים שבהם נשבחים נקראו ישראל V'halo kol tominim ilanos noim she'behem nishbachim nikru Yisrael. But we're also likened to a גפן gefen and to a תאנה te'einah, we're also like a grape and like a fig. The פסוקים psukim in תהלים Tehillim and in הושע Hoshea and שיר השירים Shir HaShirim, we're like תמר Tamar, we're like a date, we're like an אגוז egoz, we're like all these other fruit and nuts as well. רימונים Rimonim, we're like a pomegranate. So why specifically here like an olive? So says רב דרוק Rav Druk, בא ירמיהו לומר מה זית הזה עד שהוא באילנו מגרגרין אותו ואחר כך מורידין אותו מן זית ונחבט, ומשחופסין אותו מולין אותו לגת ונותנין אותו במתחן ואחר כך טוחנין אותם ואחר כך מקיפין אותם בחבלים ומביאין אבנים ואחר כך נותן שמנו Bo Yirmiyahu lomar, mah zayis hazeh ad shehu b'ilano m'gargin oso, v'achar kach moridin oso m'zayis v'nichbas, u'mish'chofsin oso, molin oso l'gas v'nosnin oso b'mitchan, v'achar kach tochnin osam, v'achar kach makifin osam b'chavalim, um'vi'in avanim v'achar kach nosen shmano. There's a whole process from when we grow the olive to we pick the olive to we crush the olive to we filter the olive. כך ישראל באים עובדי כוכבים וחופשין אותם ממקום למקום Kach Yisrael ba'im ovdei kochavim v'chofsin osam m'makom l'makom. The olive is thrown from, strewn from place to place until you have the oil. So to the Jewish people were thrown and were strewn from place to place. וחובשין אותם וקושרין אותם בקולרין ומקיפין אותם טרטיות ואחר כך עושין תשובה והקדוש ברוך הוא עונה להם V'chovshim osam v'kosrin osam b'kolrin, umakifin osam tirtiyos, v'achar kach osin tshuvah v'Hakadosh Baruch Hu oneh lahem. So we're thrown from place to place and we're gathered and we're smushed and we're crushed and we're stepped on and only then what comes out is תשובה tshuva, we're improved and we're better. ומצד שני בהמשך דברי המדרש משל אחר שבו נמשלו ישראל כשמן זית U'mitzadeini b'hemshech divrei ha'Medrash mashal acher she'bo nishlu Yisrael k'shemen zayis and there's another משל mashal of how we come out. The other משל mashal, why are we compared to an olive? כל משקין מתערבין זה בזה Kol mashkin misarvin zeh b'zeh. All other mixtures. If you mix apple juice with water, what do you have? Diluted apple juice. If you mix every other liquid with water, what do you have? The diluted version of that liquid. When you mix olive oil with water, what do you have? It separates. Which one floats to the top? The oil floats to the top. כך ישראל אינם מתערבין עם עובדי כוכבים Kach Yisrael einam misarvin im ovdei kochavim. Similarly, the Jewish people don't mix with those around us. They don't mix with those around us. שנאמר ולא תתחתן בם Shenemar v'lo sis'chasnu bam. We have a prohibition of intermarriage. We have a mission, we have a purpose, not because by the way we're superior or better. We're not some biased, racist people who look down on others. You know why we don't mix? Because we have a responsibility. We're the honor society. We're maintaining a certain grade and we have to model certain behavior to the world. And by the way, the evidence we don't think we're superior or better inherently or intrinsically than anyone else is, if you're willing to make the grade and maintain the behavior, you're more than welcome to join the honor society. By the way, people want to kill the honor society. So if you want to join, just know that you have that target on your back. The world is increasingly hating on the honor society and are systematically trying to eliminate the honor society and practice total corrupt justice against the honor society. Oh, you still want to join? You still think that we think we're better than anyone else? Such a wonderful club to be part of that we've been exterminated and in exile and all through our history. history. We don't think we're better. We're more obligated to live and model a certain life. And if you want to join, we have a beautiful process called conversion. You're more than welcome. You can't join by name only. You're going to have to make the grade, you're going to have to maintain the behavior. If you're willing to adopt the lifestyle, you're more than welcome to join, but know with it. And, you know, for many years now I've been involved in conversions, and we ask both in the process and again when the candidate is standing in the מקוה mikvah, among the many questions we ask is, are you aware that there's something called antisemitism, and there are people who don't like Jews. And now you will emerge a full member of the Jewish people and you too will be the target of it. And for for 20 years I've been doing this, like we just went through the, yeah, and you too, and okay, fine, and I'll come out like, ha ha, in Boca Raton, it's going to be so hard in Manhattan, yeah, no problem. Now we say, are you aware? Are you aware? You are endangering your life with this decision. You could walk around a non-Jew, be a בן נח ben Noach, keep the שבע מצוות בני נח Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach. Nobody's ever climbed out of the מקוה mikvah and said, you know what, you're right, I'm out of here. I've never had that happen. By the time we get there, we're pretty sure we pretty confident we know what people are going to answer. It's extraordinary. So the מדרש Midrash tells us why are we likened to the olive? Because when you crush us, what comes out will never mix with you. It doesn't mix. It's separate and it's a part, לא תתערב בם lo sitarev bam, not because we're superior or better, not because we're the chosen people, but we are the choosing people. Our ancestors chose השם Hashem and he chose us to model for the world through תורה ומצוות Torah u'Mitzvos the way we're meant to live. כל המשקים אם אתה מערב בהם ואינו יודע איזה תחת ואיזה עליון, אבל השמן אפילו אתה מערב בו בכל משקה הוא נושא למעלה מהם Kol hamashkim im atah me'arev bahem v'eino yode'a eizeh tachat v'eizeh elyon, aval hashemen afilu atah me'arev bo b'chol mashkeh hu nosei l'ma'alah meihem. You could shake up that salad dressing, shake up that Italian dressing before you put it on your salad, because if you don't, if you don't, the olive oil will be on top, all the other ingredients beneath it, they're not going to mix, and the oil will rise to the top. ככה עושין רצונו של מקום נמצאים למעלה מן אומות הכוכבים Kachah osin retzono shel makom nimtza'im l'ma'alah min umos hakochavim. When we fulfill Hashem's word, we rise to the top. So, which is it? Is the image of the מדרש Midrash that we're crushed, we're thrown and strewn from place to place, we're crushed and we're squeezed and what comes out is better? So we're thrown and thrown from place to place and when we do תשובה teshuvah, when we're crushed, what comes out, we're more righteous? Or that we're separate and apart and we rise to the top. Which one? So it says Rav Druk, he believes the answer is both. They go together. How do they go together? They go together as when we understand that we're separate and apart, we don't need to be crushed and strewn and thrown from place to place. And when we forget, we assimilate, we integrate, we totally abandon what makes us special and different and apart, we're thrown from place to place and we remember who we are and that we rise to the top. That's what we're seeing happen right now. Even among, although not enough, and I think we all have a lot of work to do, but among those who are unaffiliated, our holy brothers and sisters, our precious brothers and sisters who don't have the privilege of the education and the background and the example that many of us do, who have forgotten what it means to be a Jew in Jewish practice and Jewish observance and Jewish principles and Jewish life. And in fact, they replaced their Judaism with other isms and called it Judaism. So they thought that environmentalism or social justice or feminism or liberalism or progressivism was their Judaism and October 7th happened. And the movements that they had replaced Judaism with abandoned them, stabbed us in the back. And now there's a crisis, an identity crisis. Well, then, who am I? And there's a spiritual awakening. And we need to encourage it, and we need to educate it, and we need to support it, and we need to love it, with no judgment or triumphalism or superiority, and say that's fantastic. You're looking into what your Judaism is. Turns out it wasn't those other things, the people you marched with who then sided with חמאס Hamas, the movements that you supported who then walked away when it was Jewish women being raped. Well, then what is our Judaism? Who are we? What are we made of? Who is it? There's a huge gap waiting to be filled with a new definition of what one's Judaism is. And by the way, I am concerned for all the people wearing the dog tags, יוכבד Yocheved's wearing around her neck. It's beautiful, they're available, you can get in the shul office as well. Incredible, we advocate, it's on our minds constantly. But what happens אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem today when all the hostages will be brought home and people will take that from around their neck? Will they put instead a מגן דוד Magen David? What will we wear? Our Judaism also can't just be right now hostages and victimhood and martyrdom and death and sadness and fighting. That's also not Judaism. We know that from all the studies of the younger generation for whom the Holocaust was not what they wanted to be their Jewish identity. They're not interested. That can't just be who we are. So there's a huge appetite right now. Some know it, and some don't even realize how hungry and or starving and malnourished they are to to redefine their Judaism, and for us to redefine our Judaism. Who are we? And what is it? And why is it important? Why don't we hand the keys to חמאס Hamas and move to Uganda? Why don't we hand the keys to חמאס Hamas and come assimilate into America, welcoming us with open arms? Why is the Jewish story important? Why is Israel important? Why is תורה Torah important? Why do we have to do all this? And when we remember and when we live this way, then השם Hashem doesn't have to throw us around and crush us and squeeze us to bring us out of us. Right now, there's a spiritual awakening. We've been crushed and hammered and stepped on, and and the יידישקייט Yiddishkeit is oozing out like fine olive oil. But when we remember that we're salad dressing, and we don't mix, and we rise to the top and we have to live a certain lifestyle, then we don't need to be stepped on and crushed. That's how Rav Druk understands and sees the two as going as going together. Lot more to say about that, but back to the פרשה parsha. It is after all, a פרשה שיעור parsha shiur. The second Rav Druk on this פסוק pasuk. You know what, actually, we'll move on. Yeah, let's move on. להעלות נר תמיד L'haalos ner tamid. What's the purpose? להעלות נר תמיד L'haalos ner tamid. What are we doing with this olive oil? To light the מנורה menorah. So the ספרים sfarim say, it's in the נועם אלימלך מליז'ענסק Noam Elimelech m'Lizensk, it's in many others. The רמז remez כתיש למאור kasis l'maor. What are the words? We're squeezing these olives to get the olive oil and it's שמן זית זך shemen zayis zach, כתיש למאור kasis l'maor, clear olive oil crushed, למאור l'maor, for the purpose of illumination. כי אדם צריך Ki adam tzarich, this is from the אמרות טהרות Amros Tehoros, the רחמסטריווקא Rachmastrivka is quoting from all the חסידישע ספרים Chassidishe sfarim. כי אדם צריך לכתת ולשבר עצמו, וגם מרמז על ענוה ושפלות רוח, כי כסיס היא מלשון ענוה, שצריך האדם להכניע עצמו בענוה ושפלות Ki adam tzarich l'chases v'lishaber atzmo, v'gam meramez al anava v'shiflus ruach, ki kasis hi milashon anava, shetzarich ha'adam l'haknia atzmo b'anava v'shiflus. This goes hand in hand with what we said before. Paradoxically, paradoxically, when do you shine the brightest? When do you shine the brightest? When you're the most arrogant, egotistical, self-promoting? No. When you're arrogant, egotistical, and self-promoting, then in fact, there's a dark cloud that hangs over whatever you're doing. But when you're humble and modest, and it's not about you, that's when it shines the brightest. And that's what it means. כתיש Kasis, crush the ego, למאור l'maor. You want to shine bright? Then sublimate, crush the ego in us. למאור שיוכל להאיר ולהזריח אור על עצמו L'maor sheyuchal l'ha'ir u'l'hazriach or al atzmo. When can our best self, our truest self, the sense of mission within ourself, the difference maker of ourselves, when it can it manifest in this world? When we are כתיש kasis, when we crush the ego and the self-promotion, למאור l'maor, then the greatest light will shine. And when it's all ego and arrogance, then there's a dark cloud hanging over whatever we're doing. The באר משה Be'er Moshe adds, he says further, כתיש למאור, ולא כתיש למנחות kasis l'maor, v'lo kasis l'minchos. רש\"י Rashi, Rashi on this pasuk says, why are we crushing this oil? למאור L'maor, for its light, but not because we're mixing it with the קרבן מנחה korban mincha. קרבן מנחה Korban mincha was made out of flour. כי אף אם באמת צריך האדם לכתת ולשבר עצמו להיות שפל בעיניו, הנה התכלית היוצא מכל זה צריך להיות רק למאור, שיחזק עצמו להעיר אורה גדולה בעבודת השם יתברך, אבל לא כסיס כזה שיגרום למנחות, ליפול לעצבות ולשכב בלי חיות וחשק לעבודת השם יתברך חס ושלום Ki af im be'emes tzarich ha'adam l'chases v'lishaber atzmo l'hiyos shafal b'einav, hinei hatachlis hayotzei mikol zeh tzarich l'hiyos rak l'maor, she'yichazek atzmo l'ha'ir orah gedolah b'avodas Hashem Yisbarach, aval lo kasis kazeh she'yigrom l'minchos, lipol l'atzvus v'lishkav bli chiyus v'cheshek l'avodas Hashem Yisbarach chas v'shalom. So חז\"ל Chazal understand why are we crushing these olives? To be using the oil for light, not for מנחות minchos. מנחות Minchos, the word מנחה mincha, מנחה menucha, the word it means a gift, it can mean rest, but it could also mean to fall into a place of sadness, of sadness, of despondency. So we don't sublimate or sub, we don't get rid of the ego in order to be down and out or depressed or not even realize that we have a healthy sense of self. We're not getting rid of a healthy sense of self. A person has to know their gifts, their talents, their skills, their blessings, what they can bring to the world, מה חובת אדם בעולמו mah chovas adam b'olamo, it's למאור l'maor, כתיש למאור kasis l'maor, crush the ego so you can shine bright, not כתיש למנחות kasis l'minchos, crush the ego so you sit in a corner doing nothing, contributing nothing, thinking you're a nothing. As we've said many times, it's not my original thought, that humility, the Torah definition of humility is not thinking less of ourselves, it's thinking of ourselves less often. It's not thinking less of ourselves, it's thinking of ourselves less often. And that's why it's כתיש למאור kasis l'maor, and not כתיש למנחות kasis l'minchos. Moving right along, פרק כ\"ח Perek Chaf Ches, we now go on to the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah. And the purpose of the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah are, ועשית בגדי קדש לאהרן אחיך לכבוד ולתפארת v'asisa bigdei kodesh l'Aharon achicha l'chavod u'l'sifares. The כהנים kohanim had these uniforms לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod u'l'sifares. They were vestments of glory and of splendor. How did it achieve that? We said in last year's פרשה שיעור parsha shiur or previous years, we went into it in depth there. But if you look at פרק כ\"ח פסוק ה' Perek Chaf Ches, Pasuk Hei, I promised we turned the page. Ah, there it is. The great sound of a page turning at the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur. Very infrequent heard. Page 466. והם יקחו את הזהב ואת התכלת ואת הארגמן ואת תולעת השני ואת השש V'hem yikchu es hazahav v'es hatcheiles v'es ha'argaman v'es tola'as hashani v'es hashesh. They should take the gold, the turquoise, the purple, the scarlet wool, and the linen. And there's an anomaly, there's a very peculiar thing that is happening here. And what is the peculiar thing that is happening here? The peculiar thing that is happening here is for each separate item, we're going to go back and collecting the ingredients again and again and again, which is an incredibly inefficient way of building. We are doing a building campaign. We'll talk to you about that another time. We're doing a building campaign. So let's say, let's say, we got a lot going on, ברוך השם Baruch Hashem. Could you imagine that we would only order the steel and the wood and the door for each room as we're making that room? Call Home Depot or wherever, I'm clearly not in charge of this. Wherever one gets the materials, for each room piecemeal as we go. That would be a horrifilly inefficient and unnecessarily expensive way of doing it. Instead, we look at the total project, we see all the materials we're going to need, we order all of them, and we use them as we need them in the separate locations. So why didn't they run a campaign? Here's all the materials that we're going to need. We've got a lot of vestments, a lot of a lot of wardrobe going on over here, and here are all the materials and fabrics we're going to need and dyes and colors we're going to need. Bring it all and then as we go, we'll use it up. Instead, for each one separately and apart, they run a campaign. הרמב\"ן פירש Haramban peirush, this is from the מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef of Yosef Sroshkin, הרמב\"ן Haramban says, היו יכולים לקח בלא חשבון כי נאמנים הם hayu yecholim likach b'lo cheshbon ki ne'emanim hem. אבל רש\"י כפשוטו פירש והם יקחו את הזהב והתכלת מן התורמים בגדים Aval Rashi k'pshuto peirush v'hem yikchu es hazahav v'es hatcheiles min hatormim l'bigadim. What is והם יקחו v'hem yikchu? They should take reminiscent of last week's פרשה parsha, which was ויקחו לי תרומה v'yikchu li trumah. Where here we go again using that word יקחו yikchu when it should be ייתנו yitnu. So Rashi, the Ramban, they both weigh in. But he says, with the Maggid Yosef, שהיא התרומה הכללית לכל עניני המשכן נכלל כבר הבגדי כהונה she'hi hatrumah haklalis l'chol inyanei ha'Mishkan, nichlal kvar bigdei kehunah. We already included the ingredients that would we already included the measurements that would include the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah. למה לכן ציוה מיוחד להתרים בשביל עשיית הבגדים Lamah l'chen tzivah meyuchad l'hatrim bishvil asiyas habigadim? So why do I need a separate campaign, a separate cause match, a separate a separate donation? ונראה משום שבגדים משמשים לשימושם האישי של הכהנים ומסתבר שהם ממון כהנים או ממון כהן כעסי V'nireh mishum she'bigadim meshameshim l'shimusham ha'ishi shel hakohanim u'mistaber she'hem mimon kohanim o mimon kohen ka'asi. Because it seems that the wardrobe of the כהנים kohanim is for their independent personal use. Maybe they should pay for it with their own money. וזה בא התורה בצווי מיוחד שצריך להתרים ישראל גם לצורך בגדי כהונה V'zeh ba haTorah b'tzivui meyuchad shetzarich l'hatrim Yisrael gam l'tzorech bigdei kehunah. No, this too has to come from the collective. This too has to come from ממון mamon why ממון גבוה הוא mamon gevoha hu. וגם כן נראה ממה שמבואר ברמב\"ם שבגדי כהונה באים מתרומת הלשכה אבל עוד שאר כלי המקדש באים מבקע הבית V'gam ken nireh mima she'mevuar b'Rambam she'bigdei kehunah ba'im m'trumas halishkah, aval od she'ar klei ha'mikdash ba'im m'bedek habayis. So let's say the cynical, you know they always relate סנהדרין Sanhedrin, the great cynics at the time of the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash. I can just picture it. The כהנים kohanim come and they show up for duty and they're given their uniform what they wear, and it's paid for from the communal funds. And every community has its cynics and I could picture the cynics of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael say, why do we have to give so much money for the כהנים kohanim to have this custom-made, fancy, turquoise. What are we paying for their uniform? Let them pay. They're wearing it, keeping them warm, protecting them from the elements. They need it for their service. What do we have to pay for it? Let them pay for it. Can you picture it? Is it what some of you are even thinking? Can you picture yourself thinking it? So the Torah goes out of its way to say, no, they're serving you, they're serving us. They're not making it about them. And sort of the reward, they're not making it about them is it's not about them. It doesn't come out of their fund. You have to support and provide and enable them to play the role and to do the work that they do. Step up, that's your job and that's your mission. That's how the מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef from Yosef Sroshkin understands. The אלתר מקלם Alter m'Kelm understands a little bit differently. The אלתר מקלם Alter m'Kelm is bothered by the same question. We have also in our פרשה parsha, את הזהב ואת התכלת es hazahav v'es hatcheiles we just read it with the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah. And we're going to see when it comes to each and every article of clothing through the פרשה parsha, pay attention when you when you do your שניים מקרא shnayim mikra, when you're listening to the פרשה parsha this שבת Shabbos. ועשו את האיפוד זהב תכלת וארגמן תולעת שני ושש משזר מעשה חושב V'asu es ha'eifod zahav tcheiles v'argaman tolaas shani v'shesh mashzar ma'aseh choshev. Each separate element of the wardrobe is introduced with a list of the ingredients that we need to collect for it. Terribly inefficient. Just collect all the materials, all the ingredients, and then use them up as we go. So the אלתר מקלם Alter m'Kelm says the Alter, that the Torah is teaching us that the materials needed to be collected with the specific and particular כוונה kavanah that they'd be used for the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah. The intent that we have, the mindfulness that we bring, transforms whatever we're doing. And we don't just pile things together, even if it will be more efficient. Even if it will be more efficient. אין עושין מצוות חבילות חבילות Ein osin mitzvos chavilos chavilos. חז\"ל Chazal have a principle that we don't bundle mitzvos together. Ah, it'll be much more efficient to bundle them together. אין עושין מצוות חבילות חבילות Ein osin mitzvos chavilos chavilos. We don't bundle. Maximum efficiency may be what you're looking for in business because it helps the profit and the bottom line. Maximum efficiency is not what we look for in רוחניות ruchniyus. We look for maximum mindfulness, maximum presence, maximum consciousness, maximum כוונה kavanah, maximum experience with each and every thing that we're doing, even if it's at the cost of efficiency. אין מערבין שמחה בשמחה Ein me'arvin simcha b'simcha. Ah, we'll save money, we'll do two weddings, the same חופה chuppah, we'll make a שמחה simcha with the שמחה simcha, we'll make the wedding on on חול המועד Chol HaMoed. No, חז\"ל Chazal say, אין מערבין שמחה בשמחה ein me'arvin simcha b'simcha. Yes, that would be much more efficient. Yes, you'll save a lot of money, but it's not about efficiency and money. It's about being fully immersed and present in each and every experience and moment of life. What a powerful message of the אלתר מקלם Alter m'Kelm. And therefore, even if we sacrifice efficiency, we keep referencing the materials because the כוונה kavanah we're going to bring to the materials for each and every separate garment. My friend Rav Elia Dabach brought this down at סמיכת חבר smichas chaver. We quoted it this week. We find a similar idea in the גמרא כתובות דף ק\"ג Gemara Kesubos daf kuf gimel. רבי חייא Rebbi Chiya says to ensure the Torah will not be forgotten from כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. So he says, רבי חייא Rebbi Chiya is going to plant flax, wait for it to grow, and from it make traps that'll hunt deer. He'll shecht them, and from their leather, he'll make a ספרי תורה sifrei Torah, teach each ספר sefer to one child, and then have five of them teach each other, שישה סדרי משנה ש\"ס משניות shisha sidrei mishna, shas mishnayos, to six children, and that's how Torah will not be forgotten from כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. That's how it'll continue. And the בעלי מוסר, the בעלי מחשבה Ba'alei Mussar, the Ba'alei Machshava wonder, hey רבי חייא Rebbi Chiya, you belong in the בית מדרש Beis Midrash. What do you mean that you're going to plant flax and take care of it and harvest it and make traps and catch the animal and shecht them and make from them the hide, the parchment. That is terribly inefficient use of your time. You know what you should do? Go on amazon.com and buy parchment. Go order קלף klaf from, I don't know, sofer.net. Go go online and order some קלף klaf or go and even order ספרים sfarim, finish ספרי תורה sifrei Torah and teach them to the children. Why are you going all the way back? Ah, said רבי חייא Rebbi Chiya, to make sure the Torah is not forgotten at a time and a danger and a threat of Torah being forgotten. No, no, no, I'm going to go all the way back. And I'm going to plant flax, and I'm going to grow it, and I'm going to nurture it, and I'm going to harvest it, I'm going to. Why? Why? So the בעלי מוסר Ba'alei Mussar explain, the answer is that רבי חייא Rebbi Chiya said, for that Torah to be pure, for that Torah to sustain and endure, for that Torah to transform those children, the כוונה kavanah, the intent, the mindfulness to every step of the process. Ah, it's inefficient, skip right to the end, go online, buy the sefer, teach the child. No, no, no, no, that will be a totally different experience than if the כוונה kavanah were injected and implanted into the whole process, every step from the very beginning, from the very beginning. When you work, you have כוונה kavanah that the money that you earn will go buy the sefer that you'll learn with your child. Think about the difference. Even even that, there's nothing wrong with our אבות ובנים Avos U'banim, beautiful program, learning programs we have at our shul, the שיננתם אבות ובנים, mother-daughter learning, and they end with raffles. And the child learns a sefer at the raffle and then the parent learns the child. That's one level of learning and it's beautiful learning. But imagine the parent is working. He says, you know what, I'm going to do one more shift so that I can get a little bonus so that I can buy my child a set of משניות Mishnayos so that we can sit and learn them together. And as they're as they're sweating through that extra shift in whatever work that they're doing, staying on a few more hours when they wish they could go home, and now the כוונה kavanah as they're earning that extra money is going into the ספרים sfarim they're going to order, they're going to sit and they're going to learn with that child. Don't tell me that'll be the same experience as if you won the ספר sefer at a raffle. When the כוונה kavanah goes in, the כוונה kavanah goes in. We see this as well in שבת Shabbos. You know, the Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz says when it talks about Rivka went into the tent of Sarah and Yitzchak knew she was the one when the dough, when the חלה challah turned out like his mother. What does that mean the חלה challah turned out like his mother? The fancy braid? It rose the right amount? She maintained the sour dough. Is that what it's called? Sour dough? I've been hearing the Torah of a sour dough, what it takes, a starter, you have to maintain the starter, the חכמה chachmah, the wisdom, the love, the passion. Sometimes you wish you were as loved as the sour dough, the amount of מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh that's going into that sour dough. So is that what it means Sarah had a sour dough? Ah, Rifka kept the sour dough going. Ah, is that what it means? Says Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz, no. It means the כוונה kavanah you bring into your חלה challah impacts the חלה challah. So if you're on the phone talking נארעשקייט narishkeit while you're making the the חלה challah, then the people who eat your חלה challah have eaten נארעשקייט narishkeit. And if while you're making the חלה challah, you're listening to the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur, you're saying תהלים Tehillim, you're making a phone call to somebody you could use a little love and a little uh support, so all of a sudden your חלה challah is this it's not חלה challah. Your חלה challah is a חפצא של חסד cheftza shel chessed, of תלמוד תורה Talmud Torah, of אהבת ישראל ahavas Yisrael. And anyone who eats that חלה challah is getting that into their system. The כוונה kavanah we bring from the extra work we do, to the money we earn, to the food that we make, to the carpool that we drive. It's not, oh, another day carpool, now I'm fighting, I bring my kid, I'm giving them this is the future of the Jewish people. I am driving this carpool. It's miserable and I don't want to. And we're in Florida where you don't have to de-ice or shovel out of the snow. I don't even want to complain, although there you don't have to do that because you have bussing, but you have state income tax. Whatever, it's still better to live here. Still better to live down here. But if the כוונה kavanah while you're driving that carpool is, it's not it's miserable and school and I wish I didn't have to and where's my husband and why does he have to give that shiur and he can never drive. If the כוונה kavanah is, I am creating Jewish continuity. I'm taking my children, this child, they're going to sit at the feet of this Rebbe. He's going to open a sefer and learn Torah. He's going to be a ben Torah for life and his children and children after him. And that's my כוונה kavanah when I fill the car with gas. Filling the car with gas so I could drive it to carpool because that's how I get my child to go learn Torah. Wow. It's absolutely transformed everything that we do. It's Sanzer Rav once left his house escorted by his Chassidim to go daven in shul and halfway to shul he abruptly stopped. He turned around and went back home. He went back into his house and then he left and continued his journey to shul. When they got to shul, the Chassidim couldn't take it. He said, Rebbe, what happened? You didn't forget anything, you didn't go get anything, you didn't do anything differently. Why did you go home to turn around and go again? And he said, because when I left my house the first time, I was thinking about something else. I was mindless. I was thinking about something else and we just started walking and we walked to shul. And I realized I have to go back to leave the house with the כוונה kavanah that we're leaving now to go to shul. The whole walk is different if when I begin the walk, I know I'm walking because we're walking, we're going to shul. It's a whole totally different type of a walk. We're walking to shul right now. So it says the אלתר מקלם Alter m'Kelm, that's why these psukim are being repeated. They're being repeated, the מגיד יוסף, Yosef Sroshkin said, why they being repeated in order to tell us it doesn't come from the כהנים kohanim. They're wearing it, but you got to pay for it because they're representing and serving for you. That's the מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef. But the אלתר מקלם Alter m'Kelm says, you know why it repeats it over and over again? Because you need that כוונה kavanah each and every separate and distinct garment needs its כוונה kavanah. פרק כ\"ח פסוק כ\"א Perek Chaf Ches, Pasuk Chaf Alef. Turn the page yet again. והאבנים תהיין V'ha'avanim tihyena, now we're on the breastplate, חשן choshen, the חשן choshen of judgment, the חשן המשפט choshen hamishpat. What did it have on it, the חשן המשפט choshen hamishpat? Pasuk Chaf Alef. והאבנים תהיין על שמות בני ישראל שתים עשרה על שמותם פתוחי חותם איש על שמו תהיין לשני עשר שבט V'ha'avanim tihyena al shmos Bnei Yisrael shtaim esrei al shmosam, pituchei chosem ish al shmo tihyena lishnei asar shavet. What was on the breastplate? The stones shall be according to the names of the sons of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, twelve according to their names, engraved like a signet ring, each according to its name shall they be for the twelve tribes. Says Rav Soloveitchik, let's bring in a Rav Soloveitchik. Says Rav Soloveitchik on this pasuk, והאבנים תהיין v'ha'avanim tihyena, who are the twelve names? The twelve tribes. Yosef's children Ephraim and Menashe each took a portion in the division of the land. Why then is only Yosef's name written upon the חושן choshen? When it came to dividing the land, Yosef doesn't get a portion. Yosef's children, Ephraim and Menashe, כראובן ושמעון יהיו לי k'Reuven v'Shimon yihyu li, Yaakov already said that Ephraim and Menashe are elevated to the status of son like Reuven and Shimon. So Yosef as a שבט shevet, as a son, doesn't get a portion in the land. Ephraim and Menashe do. So if that was good enough for when we divide the land, why isn't that allocation also the most accurate when it comes to the חושן choshen? Asks the Rav, asks Rav Soloveitchik. According to Rashi, the appelation חשן משפט choshen mishpat indicates it comes to atone for mistakes in judgment. The גמרא מנחות כ\"ג Gemara Menachos Chaf Gimmel, each of the vestments that the kohanim wore came to atone for mistakes, for things that we did. The פעמון ורימון pa'amon v'rimon, I hope we're going to get to it, the bell on the bottom of the מעיל me'il, that would ring and chirp for לשון הרע lashon hara, that we ring and that we and that we chirp. Each of the different garments came to atone for different things. The ציצית tzitzis for the thoughts that we shouldn't have had. So what was the חושן choshen? The חושן choshen was called the חשן המשפט choshen hamishpat to atone for the poor judgment. The poor judgment. Now poor judgment doesn't just mean that you were only supposed to have one of the corn chips from Trader Joe's and you ate the entire bag. That's one poor judgment. Poor judgment doesn't just mean that you walked out without joining the BRS Global campaign, even though you benefit, you enjoy, you're elevated, and the money you spend on a movie and theater and dinner far out ways a little something to show appreciation for the. That's also poor judgment. That's also what it's talking about, but it's not what it's talking about. What is it talking about, the mistakes in judgment? Means we all judge and we judge others. Do we judge others favorably? Do we judge them negatively? Citi-Snippets, we just finished the 11th bracha of the עמידה Amidah, השיבה שופטינו כבראשונה hashiva shofteinu k'varishona, מלך אוהב צדקה ומשפט melech ohev tzedakah u'mishpat. Hashem wants us to have צדקה ומשפט tzedakah u'mishpat. It's a משפט mishpat, a judgment that is laced with צדקה tzedakah, that we're we give צדקה tzedakah in the משפט mishpat. You judge favorably. I mentioned last night in the Citi-Snippet the example. You're at the supermarket, someone you know comes in, they walk right by, they didn't say hello. So משפט mishpat, strict justice would say, I'm done. I'm not saying hello to them. In fact, I'm going to try to find them so I could walk right by them and not say hello to them. Because משפט mishpat, our friendship is over. They walked by me and they didn't say hello. מלך אוהב Melech ohev, Hashem doesn't love that kind of a משפט mishpat. He loves, מלך אוהב צדקה ומשפט melech ohev tzedakah u'mishpat. What's צדקה tzedakah? Be generous and gracious with your משפט mishpat and say to yourself, you know, I wonder if someone in their home has the flu or COVID or RSV virus, and they're running into the supermarket to pick up medicine for them. Maybe they're the ones who are sick and picking up the medicine, they can't see or notice anybody and it's not about me right now. צדקה ומשפט Tzedakah u'mishpat. It's a משפט mishpat, I'm judging with צדקה tzedakah by using the מידה של צדקה middah of tzedakah. I'm being generous and gracious in the משפט mishpat, in the judgment that I show. מלך אוהב צדקה ומשפט Melech ohev tzedakah u'mishpat. That's a little bonus Citi-Snippet. If you enjoyed it, you could sign up for the Citi-Snippet. Six minutes every day. So that's the משפט mishpat, the אבנים, the חשן המשפט choshen hamishpat is coming, the כהן kohen is wearing the חשן המשפט choshen hamishpat to atone for the poor משפט mishpat, the poor judgment, people judging without צדקה tzedakah. The כלי יקר Kli Yakar asks why the איפוד eifod and the חושן choshen were specified to be the products of a master weaver, מעשה חושב ma'aseh choshev. The term alludes to these sins for which thought is considered equivalent to deed. The איפוד eifod provides atonement for the worship of false gods, while the חושן choshen comes to atone for mistakes in judgment. Judgment is a product of the heart. In a broader sense, the חושן choshen atones for the tendencies and thoughts of the heart. Now, there are people, says Rav Soloveitchik, with good values and fine attributes, but the moment they find themselves in a different environment, they change their conduct. In contrast, Yosef never forgot the days of his youth. Although he was rich and honored, his values did not vary and he continued to act with the fine attributes to which he was always accustomed. So Yosef was pure of heart and did not change his outlook, therefore had to have his name written on the חושן choshen. Yosef, whose judgment and his view never changed no matter where he was, what status of life, so Yosef had to have his name, even though when it came to the the conquering and division of the land, it was Ephraim and Menashe, but here on the choshen it had to be it had to be Yosef himself. פרק כ\"ח פסוק ל\"ג Perek Chaf Ches, Pasuk Lamed Gimmel. The robe, the מעיל me'il of the איפוד eifod was made out of תכלת tcheiles, turquoise, והיה פי ראשו בתוכו שפה יהיה לפיו סביב מעשה אורג v'hayah fi rosho b'socho, safah yihyeh l'fiv saviv ma'aseh oreg. Its head opening was folded over within it, its opening shall have a border all around of weaver's work. In other words, there's a what they call, what's that called, a hem? Not a hem. What's no, what's the edge? What do you make on the edge? A hem. You have a hem on the edge. Why do you have a hem? So it won't unravel. The כלי יקר Kli Yakar, all the מפרשים mefarshim on these פרשיות parshiyos, if you think they're not relevant to us, the magnificent symbolism and the messages, if the מעיל me'il and the איפוד eifod are atoning, the מעיל me'il is atoning for לשון הרע lashon hara, we'll see that now with the פעמון ורימון pa'amon v'rimon. So שפה safah, it means lips. It needs a hem. Your mouth, what you're going to speak, needs lips. Why do you need lips? Know when to close them. Know when to keep them shut. Know how to filter what you say. Not every thought you have to share. Not everything comes to your mind, you have to say. So your tongue and your voice box and your mouth has lips. Why? So you can close them. And that's the שפה safah. שפה יהיה לפיו Safah yihyeh l'fiv is not just a description of how this garment is made. שפה יהיה לפיו Safah yihyeh l'fiv, a lips, a mouth there should be, lips to the mouth. It it's a description of how to protect us from from לשון הרע lashon hara. So, but adding on to it, going further, ועשית על שוליו רמוני תכלת וארגמן ותולעת שני על שוליו סביב v'asisah al shulav rimonei tcheiles v'argaman v'tola'as shani al shulav saviv. You shall make on its hem pomegranates of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool on its hem all around, and gold bells between them all around. Gold bell and a pomegranate, a gold bell and a pomegranate on the hem of the robe, all around the base. And they shared with you in previous years, you can Google it and find it online in the excavations done at עיר דוד Ir David, the pilgrimage road underneath it, which was where the water drained and they hid when they were hiding in the destruction of the second בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash, they hid under the pilgrimage road with the sewer was, and you can walk that. It's not yet, I don't think open to the public. It will be, it's magnificent. You you'll be able to walk from עיר דוד Ir David all the way down in the valley, you'll be able to walk that pilgrimage road where the עולי רגל olei regel walked until you find yourself at the כותל Kotel Tunnels tours underneath the כותל Kotel at הר הבית Har HaBayis. It's magnificent. And you can still, you can still wipe your finger on the wall underneath and you will take off the black soot, the ash from the burning of the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash. You can still. touch the burning, burn marks, the ash of the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash. What they're discovering is unbelievable. And what did they find there? One of these bells. One of the bells that was on the מעיל me'il of a כהן kohen. Absolutely extraordinary.Says Rav Druck, says Rav Druck. Rashi says רימוני, עגולים וחלולים היו, כמראין רימונים עשויים כבית תרנגולס rimonei, agulim v'chalulim hayu, k'mar'in rimonim asuyim k'beis tarnagolas. These bells were round and hollow, like the egg of a chicken. ופעמוני זהב, זגים מנבלם שהיו בתוכם U'pa'amonei zahav, zagin menablam shehayu b'tocham. So some were hollow, they look like a bell but with no, what's that called, an anvil? A clapper? Okay. Ruined my streak there. But a clapper. Some of them had the clapper, some of them did not. בתוכם סביב B'tocham saviv, all around, Rashi describes. הפעמונים היו משמיעים קול Hapa'amonim hayu mashmi'im kol, the ones with the clapper rang out and made a sound. אבל הרימונים שהיו מצויים בין הפעמונים, לא היו בתוכם זגים Aval harimonim shehayu metzuyim bein hapa'amonim, lo hayu b'tocham zagin, did not. והם לא היו משמיעים קול מצד עצמם V'hem lo hayu mashmi'im kol mitzad atzmam, and they did not make a sound on their own.One of the Brisker Rav's students said about him שפעם אחת ישב בשיעור של הגרי\"ז, וכשיצא מהשיעור אמר שהוא ראה כי הבריסקער רב שתק she'pa'am achat yashav b'shiur shel haGriz, v'kesheyatza me'hashiur amar she'hu ra'ah ki haBrisker Rav shatak. He saw the Brisker Rav was silent. כולם שמעו את השתיקה Kulam shamu es hashtikah. When the Brisker Rav was quiet, everyone could hear that silence. When he was thinking in a שיעור shiur, before he began or after he finished, or when he sat in solitude or quiet, it was a quiet that was incredibly loud. You could have a silence and a quiet that is incredibly loud. וכעין זה נראה לפרש ענין זה הנאמר כאן בפסוק U'k'ein zeh nir'eh lefaresh inyan zeh ha'ne'emar kan b'pasuk. And now we understand, suggests Rav Druck, why on the מעיל me'il had alternating the bell with the clapper and the bell without. If the purpose is to atone for the לשון הרע lashon hara, it means use the power of speech more positively, say the right thing, not the wrong thing. Why why the bell without the clapper? Because sometimes silence speaks louder than words. Sometimes being silent is the loudest thing that we can say.Rav Volbe points out, I've shared this before, Rav Volbe writes that when a child learns to speak, we're so excited. We teach them to speak. I have ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, בלי עין הרע bli ayin hara, grandchildren of different ages and my highly competitive streak makes me try to train each of them to say their first word to be זיידע zeide. זיידע Zeide. The consequence has been, those who speak started out by saying calling me דא da. Instead of זיידע zeide, because I say זיי דא, זיי דא zei da, zei da. I want them to speak. We get so excited. Ooh, their first word. Ooh, they said זיידע zeide, they said באבי babi. Oh, it's incredible, they speak. And then we clap and then we encourage it and then we give a lollipop and then we say speak, speak, speak. We teach them to speak. Rav Volbe writes, we teach and we celebrate when a child speaks. We never teach them to stop speaking. We don't teach them that there's a time, just sit quietly. You don't always have to, sometimes be seen but not heard. I'm going to give you a lollipop because you, you were at the table but you didn't feel a need to interject. So here's a lollipop. We don't teach, we teach and we celebrate and we applaud and we see the milestone in speaking, but also in שתיקה shtikah, in being quiet, in being quiet, there's a a big milestone. So that was the גרי\"ז Griz, his silence, the Brisker Rav's silence, ooh, it was incredibly, incredibly loud. And that's maybe says Rav Druck, the alternating sound is a reminder to us that we atone for our speech by making sure that we have the correct speech, and sometimes by having no speech at all. Silence sometimes speaks much louder than anything that we have to say.So for next year, פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh, אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem we'll all be in ירושלים Yerushalayim. But somebody remind me to start with the end of the פרשה, the קטורת ketores. If you have in your טלית tallis bag a פטום הקטורת pitum haketores written on a קלף klaf, and you think that is some סגולה segulah for your פרנסה parnassah, is that a beautiful thing? Does it have a מקור makor in הלכה halacha? Is it maybe even כנגד הלכה k'neged halacha, a violation of הלכה halacha? Where does that come from? And what is the קטורת, a מזבח הקטורת mizbeach haketores? Why is the altar where the קטורת ketores was offered in our פרשה parsha? Where did it belong? תרומה Terumah. Last week were the vessels of the משכן Mishkan, this week are the garments of the כהנים kohanim. So why is it in the end of our פרשה parsha? It's in the wrong place. How did it get here? אם ירצה השם Im yirtzeh Hashem we'll start with that next week. If you'd like, next year, if you'd like, we've made it easy for you. Just take a credit card and on your way out you can actually tap it or swipe it. And again, this time, there's an incredible advantage. Two two domestic airline tickets to Florida. Two VIP tickets to Ishay Ribo here at BRS. And, because you have הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov for what you get out of it, BRSonline.org/global. Should be a great day for כלל klal.
