Transcript
Okay, good morning. בוקר טוב Boker tov. Welcome back to Parsha perspectives for today, פרשת תצווה Parshas Tetzaveh. If you love תרומה Truma, you're going to love, if you like תרומה Truma, you're going to love תצווה Tetzaveh. I want to thank our generous Parsha series sponsors for the year, Rabbi and Aliza Katz and family in loving memory of David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנדל leilui nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Mendel. This morning's shiur is also sponsored by the Ashman family for the yahrtzeit of יוסף לייב בן קלונימוס הלוי Yosef Leib ben Klonimus Halevi, a. His נשמתו שתהא עליה nishmaso she't'hei aliyah by Suzie and Gerald Kershenbaum in memory of her mother, פייגא בת שלמה Fega bas Shlomo, whose seventh yahrtzeit is today and נשמתה שתהא עליה nishmasa she't'hei aliyah as well. We'll dive into the Parsha page 464 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash in a moment, but as was just mentioned, today we are live. And this is big. Every year we do the global campaign, but this is bigger than ever. Six million dollars in 36 hours. If that's not ambitious, I don't know what is. We need everybody's help. Our members are doing an incredible job.We are expanding our campus. Today is Tuesday, it's טוב מאד tov me'od, מאד me'od, it's double ברכה bracha. So we're doubling your money. We have mattress, three million of mattress challenging us to raise three million. We're going to broadcast more תורה Torah, more שיעורים shiurim, more panels, more discussions, more podcasts, more insight, more light, more repairing and redeeming this broken, broken world, but we need your help. So those who are here live in person, thank you to all those who are here. There is a page on your seat. If you are not a member, if you've not done your part, even if you have, you could do more. 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I want to get back to learning and teaching and helping. I didn't go into fundraising. I didn't go into fundraising. I'm not, my בר מצוה bar mitzvah, did they say, you'll grow up to be a fundraiser, successful, you'll give נחת nachas to your grandparents. I didn't go into fundraising, not at my ברית bris, not at my בר מצוה bar mitzvah, not in my סמיכה smicha, not when I took this job. You don't want to hear it. I don't want to say it. None of us want to be doing it. The sooner that we can meet our goal, these two days, we can get back to what we love doing, which is learning and listening and changing the world together. So thank you for bearing with me. If you're watching, if you're listening, wherever you are in the world, it's it's simple הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov. If you benefit, you don't go into the supermarket and take something without paying. You don't live life taking without paying. So do you want to be a taker or a giver? Do you want to just receive? Do you want to pay it back, pay it forward, make sure other people have. None of this money goes in my pocket, not in Talia's pocket. It is helping us promote, share, teach, spread תורה Torah. And so we need your help and we thank you in advance.פרשת תצווה Parshas Tetzaveh, page 464. ואתה Ve'atah. We're not going to get into it. We've discussed it in the past. ואתה Ve'atah, and you. Wow, what a way to start a sentence. And you. First of all, how many ways can we violate grammar in one word of an opening sentence? First of all, we start with the word and. You don't start a sentence with the word and. ו Ve, the ו' החיבור vav hachibur connecting this week's parsha with the last, we begin a פסוק pasuk with the word and, ו ve. אתה Atah, we also don't say you. I've got kids, grandkids, you do too. Those who are longing should merit to have them. And we try to teach our children, don't say you, hey you. People have a name, use their name. And yet here השם Hashem, the parsha begins, ו ve, and you. So far, two violations of grammar. Two things that we have to learn. תצווה Tetzaveh, command the בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael, ויקחו אליך שמן זית זך veyikchu eilecha shemen zayit zach, כתית למאור kasis lama'or. Take clear olive oil, crushed, for illumination to be used in the מנורה menorah, להעלות נר תמיד le'ha'alos ner tamid. To raise it, to kindle the מנורה menorah, the candelabra in the משכן Mishkan, later in the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, תמיד tamid, consistently, constantly and regularly. רש\"י Rashi already jumps in. תמיד tamid. What does it mean תמיד tamid? The word מתמיד matmid. Someone who's a מתמיד matmid. a מתמיד matmid. Someone who's a מתמיד matmid. Zevi Samet who won the game for YU, three point fadeaway shot, helped them win their conference title and to the dance floor NCAA, went from there to the בית מדרש Beis Medrash because he's a star athlete, but more than that he's a מתמיד matmid. He's a מתמיד matmid. Incredible. And he'll be on Behind the Bima this week, please God. So נר תמיד ner tamid is a מתמיד matmid. What does מתמיד matmid mean? Always? Is the מנורה menorah lit always in the משכן Mishkan? 24/7? So רש\"י Rashi quickly jumps in and says, תמיד tamid. תמיד Tamid doesn't always mean the same thing. כל לילה ולילה קרוי תמיד Kol layla v'layla korei tamid. Light it every night, that's also called תמיד tamid. תמיד Tamid doesn't have to be 24 hours. תמיד Tamid can mean consistently. So if you come to the כולל בוקר Kolel Boker every morning, you don't miss. If you learn the דף daf every day, you don't miss. If you volunteer for חסד chesed every day, you come to the אמונה שיעור Emunah shiur, the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur, you don't miss, that's also called תמיד tamid. תמיד Tamid doesn't mean all the time and always. תמיד Tamid means consistently and without missing. How do you read this פסוק pasuk? להעלות נר תמיד Le'ha'alos ner tamid, or להעלות נר תמיד le'ha'alos ner tamid. Two ways you can read it. להעלות le'ha'alos, what are you kindling? The נר תמיד ner tamid? The permanent candle or להעלות le'ha'alos, kindle נר תמיד ner tamid. Is it להעלות נר תמיד le'ha'alos ner tamid or להעלות נר תמיד le'ha'alos ner tamid? Two ways of reading it. A lot more to say but we're not getting into that. We'll start with the next paragraph. The פסוק א pasuk aleph, chapter 28 verse 1. ואתה Ve'atah, here we go again with ואתה ve'atah. Who's the ואתה ve'atah, the subject of our parsha? משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu. His name is not used, Baal HaTurim famously says, this is the week ז' אדר Zayin Adar, the special dinner for the חברה קדישא chevra kadisha, the date of משה רבינו's Moshe Rabbeinu's birth, the day of משה רבינו's Moshe Rabbeinu's death, the seventh of אדר Adar, which will take place on on Thursday, our Zayin Adar dinner Thursday night. Moshe's name is not mentioned in the parsha because this is the week day of his of his birth, of his of his loss. We've spoken about this as well. מחני נא מספרך mecheni na misifrecha, a fulfillment of Moshe's threat to השם Hashem with the חטא העגל cheit ha'egel, erase me from your book. השם Hashem takes him up on it. We're not getting into it. The whole name of אדר Adar, the month, the day the name of the month אדר Adar comes from אדיר adir, the strong one, the precious one because משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu was born in this month. ואתה Ve'atah, and you, משה Moshe. The Baal Shem Tov we've quoted has a famous insight that ואתה ve'atah is not diminishing Moshe's presence in our parsha, it's elevating it. When we're limited by our name and by our identity, that's a limiting factor. But who we are in our essence, who we are in the core of our identity, who we are in fulfilling our potential, that is the ultimate expression of our identity. That is the true ואתה ve'atah. So it's not diminishing or limiting Moshe by saying ואתה ve'atah, what we're saying is you. Not the you, your name, everybody knows what was your SAT score, what's your net worth, you know, what's your address, what's the, where do you sit in shul? That's that's that's the name. That's the name. How much did you give to the global campaign? Everybody's looking. I got a dashboard open on my laptop. I'm not following while I speak. I'm tempted, but I'm not. To know which one of you took out your phone for the QR code, for the link, who's listening or watching live and making sure we could pay it forward to spread. I'm not looking. I'm not looking, but I'd see your name, not the ואתה ve'atah. Let's see who will fulfill, who's going to donate under ואתה ve'atah. Don't put your name. So the Rebbe says the name is limiting. ואתה Ve'atah is our essence, that is even more, that's even broader. So ואתה משה הקרב אליך את אהרן אחיך ve'atah Moshe hakrev eilecha es Aharon achicha. Bring your brother close. את בניו אתו es banav ito, his children, מתוך בני ישראל mitoch Bnei Yisrael, לכהנו לי lekahano li. אהרן נדב ואביהוא אלעזר ואיתמר בני אהרן Aharon, Nadav v'Avihu, Elazar v'Isamar, Bnei Aharon. Bring them all, אהרן, נדב, אביהוא, אלעזר, איתמר Aharon, Nadav, Avihu, Elazar, Isamar. These are the sons of אהרן Aharon, and what's their purpose? לכהנו לי lekahano li. לכהנו לי lekahano li. Wonders רב שמואל ברנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum. צרך עיון Tzrich iyun, מה שכתוב ואתה הקרב אליך ma shekasuv ve'atah hakrev eilecha. משה Moshe is told to anoint, to elevate, to appoint, אהרן Aharon and his children, to assign them the status of כהנים kohanim. Where? Where is he supposed to bring them close? ואתה הקרב Ve'atah hakrev, where? אליך Eilecha. To you. Who's you? משה Moshe. Why משה Moshe? למה היה אהרן צריך להסקרב למשה כדי לזכות לעשות עבודת המקדש? Lama haya Aharon tzrich lehiskarev l'Moshe kedei lizkos la'asos avodas hamikdash? Why does אהרן Aharon have to come close to his brother משה Moshe in order to be able to, in order to be able to take on that role of serving in the Mikdash? What does משה Moshe have to do with it? There's משה Moshe, there's אהרן Aharon. השם Hashem is the one who's elevating and appointing אהרן Aharon, not משה Moshe. So why is משה Moshe told, bring him close to you? The אור החיים הקדוש Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh, רב חיים בן עטר Rav Chaim ben Attar explains, יבאר על דרך אמרם yizbachar al derech amram, a מדרש בשמות רבה medrash b'Shmos Rabbah, כי הכהונה למשה היתה ki hakehunah l'Moshe hayesa למעלה אלא לצד שאמן לחס בדבר השם אך כמה פעמים חרה השם בו והסירו מגבירת הכהונה l'me'ala ela l'tzad she'aman l'chas bidvar Hashem ach kama pa'amim charah Hashem bo v'hesiru migviras hakehunah. The Medrash tells us, who should have been the כהן kohein? This distinctive role, this prominent role, the featured central role of the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, doing all the עבודה avodah, the קרבנות korbanos, only coming into the קדש הקדשים kodesh hakodoshim, who is the centerpiece of יום כיפור Yom Kippur? Who should have been the כהן גדול kohein gadol? It would have been, should have been none other than משה Moshe. This very craved position was designated, should have gone to משה Moshe. אלא מה Elama, what happened? Why didn't משה Moshe serve it? What happened to משה Moshe? Because when הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu, when the Almighty came to משה Moshe and tried to recruit him, solicit him, appoint him and say, you are the savior, you're my ambassador, you represent me. What did משה Moshe say? Who, me? Global campaign? Others will give. There's big names, big hitters. Let others support, let others do. I see the growing list, you don't need me. משה Moshe says, someone else, more articulate, someone else, a greater orator, someone else, not me. Someone else, not from me. השם Hashem says, not for you, no problem. You know what else is not for you? No כהונה kehunah for you. No כהן גדול kohein gadol for you. השם Hashem says, oh, not for you? You resist, you demur, you reject, you don't want to take that role? I'll tell you what, the role you do want, you don't get that one either. So here משה Moshe is giving his brother the very role that he wanted but didn't get. באמרו הלא אהרן אחיך הלוי, פירוש הלוי ועכשיו נעשה כהן, עד כאן. B'omro halo Aharon achicha haLevi, peirush haLevi v'achshav na'aseh kohein, ad kan. Until now, אהרן Aharon was a לוי Levi. He's being elevated to be a כהן kohein. משה Moshe and his progeny, his children should have been the כהנים kohanim. משה Moshe should have been the original OG כהן גדול kohein gadol, but he's giving it to אהרן Aharon. ואתה פירוש לא לצד שאני מצוך לבד, אלא גם אתה מצד עצמך, הקרב את אהרן במקומך ותעשה הדבר כאלו אתה חפץ בו, כי זה לך מקום קרבן לכפרה על אשר העזת פניך. Ve'atah peirush lo l'tzad she'ani metzavcha l'avad, ela gam atah mitzad atzmecha, hakrev es Aharon bimkomecha v'ta'aseh hadavar k'ilu atah chafetz bo, ki zeh lecha makom korban l'kapara al asher he'azta panecha. השם Hashem is saying to משה Moshe, don't just do this because I asked. Don't elevate or appoint אהרן Aharon because I determined. You know why I want you to do it? ואתה ve'atah. This is an exercise you need to go through. This will be כפרה kapara, atonement, a repair, you need to do. And by your giving it to your brother and doing it with joy and with happiness and with satisfaction and with a whole heart, you will atone for the fact that originally you hesitated, you resisted your role. You can't run away from your mission in life. You know who tried to run away from his mission in life? יונה Yona. יונה Yona. I don't know if you saw this about a month ago, there was a, I think it was a surfer who was swallowed by a whale and rescued and came out alive. And every Jew who's learned ספר יונה Sefer Yona said, oh, wow. Every Rabbi said, I've got my יום כיפור דרשה Yom Kippur drasha. It happened in real life, swallowed by a whale. Unbelievable. יונה Yona tried to run away from his mission and השם Hashem said, your mission follows you, you can't resist it. Every person has a purpose and a mission in this world, why they were born. Mark Twain famously said, the two most important days in a person's life are the day they're born and the day they find out why. The day they figure out why. What's your why? What's your why? השם Hashem said to משה Moshe, this is your why. משה Moshe said, me, give it to someone else. השם Hashem said, no problem. And now when משה Moshe has to actually execute in elevating and appointing his brother, ואתה ve'atah, do it, and how? אליך eilecha. אליך לכפרתך, בהקריבך אהרן. eilecha l'kaparascha, b'hakrivas Aharon. When you elevate your brother, אליך eilecha, you're doing it not only for him, you're doing it not only to fulfill השם's Hashem's will, you're doing it for whom? For you. To receive a כפרה kapara. So if you've ever resisted, if you've ever tried to run away from your mission, your purpose, someone tried to tap you, chair this committee, lead this project, contribute to this cause, serve this role in your friends, among your families, be the חזן chazan, be the בעל קורא baal korei, give this speech, make the appeal, post on your status, be a global ambassador and help be able to the place that you gain from, help, and you said, no, no, no, not for me, somebody else, I'm not good, I don't know, yeah. You know what? There'll be another chance in life. Take advantage because אליך eilecha, that opportunity is given for a כפרה kapara to redeem and to repair that mistake and that shortcoming of not having run after it to begin with, to begin with. And that's what he continues. ויש לברר עוד V'yesh l'varer od, because רש\"י בשמות Rashi b'Shmos said, ביד תשלח, ביד מי שאתה רגיל לשלוח והוא אהרן b'yad tishlach, b'yad mi she'atah ragil lishloach v'hu Aharon. And רש\"י's Rashi's ויחר אף vayichar af. כל חרון אף שבתורה נאמר בו רושם, וזה לא נאמר בו רושם, ולא מצינו שבא עונש על ידי חרון אחרון, אמר רב יוסי אף בזו נאמר בו רושם. הלא אהרן אחיך הלוי, שהיה עתיד להיות לוי ולא כהן, והכהונה היתה יוצאת ממך Kol charon af shebatorah ne'emar bo roshem, v'zeh lo ne'emar bo roshem, v'lo matzinu she'ba onesh al yedei charon acharon, amar Rav Yosi af b'zu ne'emar bo roshem. Halo Aharon achicha haLevi, she'haya asid l'hiyos Levi v'lo Kohein, v'hakohuna hayesa yotzeis mimcha. מעתה לא יהיה כן, אלא הוא יהיה כהן ואתה לוי. me'atah lo yiheyeh kein, ela hu yiheyeh Kohein v'atah Levi. You see again, השם Hashem was disappointed, frustrated. משה Moshe, who's his loyal עבד השם Eved Hashem, but in this incident, he's disappointed when you have a role and a purpose and a mission, grab it, embrace it, run with it, fulfill it. There's nothing more gratifying or satisfying in life to feel I'm where I belong. I am fulfilling my purpose. I am in my place. This is what I was born and meant to do. And that can mean so many things, public or private, on stage or behind stage, in family or among friends, private or professional. We have roles and we have to fulfill them. And משה Moshe was assigned his when he hesitated it was given away and now he needed this כפרה kapara. And we too, we can't run away. It will pursue us, it will choose chase us. We have to figure out and find out why we are here and what we are meant to do, what we're meant to accomplish. So how does משה Moshe elevate his brother? He assigns him and his family, his progeny to be the כהנים kohanim, to be the priests, and to be the כהן גדול kohein gadol, the OG high priest. How does he do it? How does he elevate it? How does he designate it? What's the inauguration to get it going? So פרק כ\"ח, פסוק ב' Perek Chaf Ches, pasuk beis. ועשית בגדי קדש לאהרן אחיך V'asisah bigdei kodesh l'Aharon achicha. Make for him holy garments, לכבוד ולתפארת lechavod uletifares. Make him garments for glory and for splendor. For garments for glory and for splendor. What's that all about? All of a sudden we care about style and fashion? In this new Rabbi Sacks חומש Chumash that I've been quoting from for the last few weeks, the Koren Rabbi Sacks חומש Chumash, he asks this question, I think in a very compelling way. He says this seems to deviate from the normal Jewish approach. לכבוד ולתפארת L'chavod u'l'sifares. Wear clothing and garments for glory and for splendor. I can picture my daughters all building the credit card telling me, אבא Abba, just came from the mall for glory and for splendor. I'm trying to fulfill the תורה's Torah's mandate. I have to be dressed to the nines. I have to look fantastic. I have to have the latest styles and fashions. I'm simply trying to walk in the footsteps of those who came before of אהרן Aharon and the כהן kohein לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod u'l'sifares. So don't be frustrated by the credit card. It is for glory and for splendor. This is very strange. This is not who we are. This is what Rabbi Sacks writes. Given all we know of what has come before, אברהם יצחק ויעקב Avraham, Yitzchak v'Yaakov didn't wear special clothing, nor did משה Moshe. They were shepherds. They dressed simply. What they wore is utterly irrelevant to the תורה's Torah's message. So what's going on here? All of a sudden we shift from deemphasizing material, superficial, and now all of a sudden, oh no, the כהנים kohanim, custom made, highest fabric, Egyptian cotton, I don't even know if that's impressive. The the high. All of a sudden לכבוד ולתפארת lechavod u'l'sifares. What's happening over here? And he has a whole insight, fascinating insight that only Rabbi Sacks who could combine תורה Torah and philosophy and knowledge. As Eric Auerbach noted in his classic study, Odysseus's scar, classic, everybody has familiar, of course, with Odysseus's scar. The great difference between Homer and the תורה Torah is that Homer constantly describes appearances. The תורה Torah rarely does. Throughout בראשית Bereishis, whenever a garment is a key element of the story, it involves deception or betrayal. Whenever there's a mention of a garment, clothing, it's always on the wrong side. יעקב Yaakov dresses up like his brother in order to steal the ברכות brachos. We have the garment of, יוסף's Yosef's clothing is dipped in blood to pretend he's killed. In בראשית Bereishis, whenever you talk about clothing, it's for some nefarious, it's for betrayal, it's for deception. Why then does השם Hashem command משה Moshe to set in motion the making of special garments לכבוד ולתפארת lechavod u'l'sifares? So Rabbi Sacks, זכרונו לברכה zichrono livracha, he offers a suggestion. And he says, about leadership. What is it that gives some individuals authority over others? Certain rare figures have what is called charisma. Charismatic leaders by the force of their personality are able to exercise influence over others. Yet charisma begins to die almost as soon as it's born. Charismatic authority is personal. It is unique to the individual who wields it and it cannot be replicated over time. But a group in order to survive needs a form of leadership that is resistant to change. That is why after the appearance in its midst of a charismatic leader, the group must undergo the routinization of charisma, the process whereby a certain form of authority is vested not in an individual as an individual, but an individual as bearer of an office. Thus charisma is handed down from generation to generation in an orderly and predictable way. Parshas Tetzaveh describes exactly this in the process through which Moshe invests priestly authority in Aharon and his sons. The בגדי כהונה bigdei kehunah are its visible symbol. The priests, by virtue of birth and descent, not personal qualities, are the carriers of sacred office. Their work is holy, their domain is the משכן Mishkan, the physical embodiment of sacred space. They are charged with mediating between the people and השם Hashem. Their clothes mark their office and their role. In a famous phrase, the book of תהלים Tehillim proclaims, your priests are robed in righteousness. That appears in תהלים Tehillim קפיטל קל\"ב Kapitel Kuf Lamed Beis. It is clear then that the phrase in Tetzaveh, לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod u'l'sifares, does not mean for the glory and splendor of the priest. It means for the glory of God and the splendor of His presence. The task of the priest and the message of his clothes was to be a signal of transcendence, to point in himself to something beyond himself. Again, Rabbi Sacks's phrases are amazing. Let me read that again. The task of the כהן kohein and the message of his clothes was to be a signal of transcendence, to point in himself to something beyond himself, to be a living symbol of the divine presence in the midst of the nation. I find it fascinating that in the week that there was a blow up in the Oval Office about what someone was wearing or not wearing and respect or disrespect for the office, which I am not weighing into, and whether it was true about Zelensky or Elon Musk or others who come into that office, if you recall, several presidents ago, I won't even mention which name, it made a whole stir and to do because the minhag before had been, the president doesn't take his jacket off in the Oval Office. You could take it off in the residence, take it off in the Roosevelt room, but in the Oval Office, you don't take the jacket off. because the office, the office. And now do you even come in not in a suit and tie, without a jacket, in sneakers, put your feet up on the desk? What happened to the authority, the the what happened to the dignity of the office? So that's what Rabbi Sacks understands here, that the transfer from charisma to being able to ritualize charisma is you can't rely on the charisma of the particular leader. You have to create the significance of the office. And we have, lehavdil done that in America, or at least we used to, which is to say, it's not about whichever person holds the position. The position demands a certain level of respect and dignity. It's not the charisma or lack of it, the dignity or lack of it of the particular person, it is the position. And that's what the Torah here is trying to tell us, that what was true in Bereishis where clothing was about deception and betrayal is no longer true here where we're beginning to form a nation and a people and you have to have prominence and you have to have offices and you have to have positions of distinctions and of dignity. And he continues, Rabbi Sacks, he says, the aesthetic dimension does not always figure prominently in Judaism. The great empires, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Rome, built monumental palaces and temples. The royal courts were marked by magnificent robes, cloaks, crowns, and regalia. Judaism, by contrast, often seems almost puritanical in its avoidance of pomp and display. Worshipping the invisible השם Hashem, Judaism tended to devalue the visual in favor of the oral and the aural. See what he did there? o r a l and a u r a l. Words heard rather than appearances seen. Yet the service of the משכן Mishkan and the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash were different. Here, appearances, dignity, beauty made a difference. Why? So Rabbi Sacks quotes the Rambam. The Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim, the Rambam in his guide to the perplexed writes the following. I'll read it in English because the Rambam didn't write it in Hebrew. So anything is a translation of its original Arabic. In order to exalt the temple, those who ministered there received great honor. And the כהנים kohanim and לויים Leviim were therefore distinguished from the rest. It was commanded, the כהן kohein should be clothed properly with the most splendid and fine clothes, לכבוד ולתפארת lechavod u'l'sifares, for the multitude does not estimate man by his true form, but by the beauty of his garments. And the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash was beheld in great reverence by all. If you wanted to walk into that place and feel, wow, I am in a place, it's different than where I just came from. that the environment and that the the atmosphere and that the place and the people in it and the way they dress elevate the experience, then it needs to be elevated. That's what shul, the מקדש מעט mikdash me'at is meant to be. So when we talk about, don't come to shul with a t-shirt and shorts, don't wear open-toed shoes. A person gives thought, the way they come, and however they dress when they're not here. And of course, we have rules of צניעות tznius and we promote them and encourage them. But however one chooses to dress when they're not here, cover their hair, not cover their hair. But there's a long time custom which needs reinforcement that even those who don't cover their hair, married women, again, a subject for another time, but in shul they put something on their head, something that's being less observed but needs to be restored because the shul is a sacred space. It's a holy place and the attitude we bring. So therefore the Rambam suggests, those who really understand the religious life, appearance does not matter, but the multitude of masses are not like that. They're impressed by spectacle, the glare of gold, the jewels of the breastpiece, and the pristine purity of white linen robes. The Rambam writes, the fact that we embrace all of this is a concession. Sophisticated, great people don't care about appearance, but the masses, we are impacted. Go to London, stand outside the palace, everybody's waiting to get a glimpse. Why? Because they're so impressed. Royalty, the royal crown, the royal wardrobe. People are so blown away, they're impressed. Taking the Rambam a step further, writes Rabbi Sacks, we may note that this chimes with an immense body of recent research into neuroscience, evolutionary psychology and behavioral economics, which has established beyond doubt that we are not for the most part rational animals. It does not that we are it's not that we are incapable of reason, but that reason alone does not move us to action. We need emotion and emotion goes deeper than pre-prefrontal cortex, the brain center of conscious reflection. Art speaks to our emotion. It moves us in ways that go deeper than words. And that is why great art has a spirituality that applies to the visual beauty and pageantry of the service of the משכן Mishkan. We can now define, we can define now the nature of the aesthetic in יידישקייט Yiddishkeit. It is art devoted to the greater glory of השם Hashem. That is the implication of the fact that the word כבוד kavod, glory, is attributed in the תורה Torah only to God and to the priests officiating in the house of the house of השם Hashem. So that is the the glory. So similarly, what we're building, what we're expanding, what I hope you'll all partner and be builders with is an elevated place, is a place that we can come into, elevated ourselves in an atmosphere and an environment which will collectively elevate us to serve השם Hashem in the highest way. פרק כ\"ח פסוק י' Perek Chaf Ches, pasuk yud. Turn the page. So we begin to elaborate on all these garments and all these clothing. The eight clothing, the four clothing, the כהן גדול kohein gadol, the regular כהנים kohanim, יום כיפור Yom Kippur, not on יום כיפור Yom Kippur, all of these different garments and all these different articles of of clothing. And פרק כ\"ח perek chaf ches, sorry, פסוק י pasuk yud. חֵס י Ches yud. Where did I put that? Here it is. So the Torah says the following. Torah is now talking about the אפוד eifod. ועשו את האפוד V'osu es ha'eifod. How do you make the אפוד eifod? Gold, turquoise, purple, scarlet wool, twisted linen, weaver's craft, two shoulder straps to its ends. The belt, which is placed on it, the same workmanship, gold, turquoise, purple, scarlet, wool, twisted linen. Take two שוהם shoham stones and engrave upon them the names of the Jewish people. So it was this sort of vest garment that wrapped around. It had shoulder straps that came up and over. The אבני שוהם avnei shoham were on the straps that came up over the shoulder and the משבצות mishbetzos, the settings were on them, and they attached of course to the to the חושן choshen, to the חושן choshen. So here the Torah tells us, פסוק י pasuk yud, ששה משמתם על האבן האחת Shisha mishmosam al ha'even ha'echas, six names on one stone, ואת שמות הששה הנותרים על האבן השנית כתולדותם v'es shmos hashisha hanosarim al ha'even hasheinis k'toldosam. And the six of the remaining on the other. So these stones carried the names of all the sons of Yaakov, which happened to be also the names of all the tribes of Israel, of the Jewish people. Six on this shoulder strap and six on the stone on the other shoulder strap, and they connected them to the to the חושן choshen. And wonders רב שמואל ברנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum. How would you have formulated this? Six on this stone and six on the other. But that's not what the Torah says. What extra word is there? Six on this shoulder strap and six of the of those that remain on the other. Well, I know there's 12 and if there's six on one, there's six on the other, so just say six on this, six on the other. Why do we have to say the ששה הנותרים shisha hanosarim, the six that remain? צריך להבין לשון הששה הנותרים על האבן השנית, למה לא כתוב ששה משמותם על האבן השנית? Tzarich le'havin lashon hashisha hanosarim al ha'even hasheinis, lama lo kasuv shisha mishmosam al ha'even hasheinis? The פסוק pasuk could have read much more simply, six names on this stone and six names on the other stone, on the second stone. What does the word הנותרים hanosarim, of those that remain, what does that word add? And listen to this insight from רב שמואל ברנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, the great Mirrer ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva. יש לברר דהתורה באה ללמדנו שכל השבטים הם בעצם מאוחדים ביחד Yesh l'vayer da'Torah ba'ah l'lamdeinu shekol hashvatim heim b'etzem me'uchadim b'yachad. What the תורה Torah wants to communicate is all כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, the Jewish people, we are united. We are one, one organic whole, כמו בקבלת התורה k'mo b'kabbalas haTorah, and just like when we stood at סיני Sinai, this is the logo, the motto of Boca Raton synagogue on all of our literature. ויחן שם ישראל נגד ההר כאיש אחד בלב אחד Vayichan sham Yisrael neged hahar k'ish echad b'lev echad. Show me another shul with eight מנינים minyanim Shabbos morning, every נוסח nusach, every type, every Jew is welcome, every Jew is wanted. Show me the diversity of speakers who've come through, ראשי ישיבה Roshei Yeshiva and רבי'ס Rebbes, YU, ישיביש Yeshivish. men, women, political leaders, famous singers, all come through to inspire, to give us access, to elevate. כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, the Jewish people are כאיש אחד בלב אחד k'ish echad b'lev echad. We don't tolerate diversity. That word, I hate that word. You hear people talk about, what makes us special is we tolerate diversity. Tolerate? You tolerate slow Wi-Fi. You tolerate a bad rash. You tolerate the side effects of the medication. You never tolerate a fellow Jew. You love every Jew. You welcome every Jew. You see every Jew as a part and a piece of who you are. Tolerate side effects. Tolerate slow Wi-Fi. Tolerate the train is running late. Tolerate there's a red light. Never tolerate a Jew. A Jew, you love. A Jew you find commonality. A Jew you share a history and a destiny. A fellow Jew is a piece and a part of yourself. If you ever describe tolerating one of your children, there's a problem. You love. Some, it's difficult at times to love. They behave, they act out, they make choices that are hard to love, but we never tolerate. We love nonetheless. כאיש אחד בלב אחד K'ish echad b'lev echad means that we're not my left hand doesn't tolerate my right hand. My hands don't tolerate my legs. My legs, my my arms, my knees, my hips, they don't always cooperate. I don't tolerate my bad hip. I love it. It's part of who I am. I'm working on it, doing rehab. Thank God, my hips are working. I'm talking about others. But when something's not working right in your body, you don't tolerate it. You love it, you nurture it, you care for it, you support it, you try to fix it. We'd never disparage it. You love it. וכן וציבנו התורה לא תתגודדו V'chein tzivanu haTorah lo tisgodedu. פירש חז\"ל לא תעשו אגודות אגודות Peirush Chazal, lo sa'asu agudos agudos. Later in פרשת ראה Parshas Re'eh, the Torah will tell us, לא תתגודדו lo sisgodedu, which literally means that we don't carve our own skin, we don't overreact in the extreme of a loss of life, because בנים אתם להשם אלוקיכם banim atem l'Hashem Elokeichem, because we know that there's immortality and eternity, we're children of השם Hashem. But חז\"ל דורש in the גמרא יבמות דף י\"ג Chazal doresh in the Gemara Yevamos daf yud gimmel, lo sisgodedu means don't make אגודות אגודות agudos agudos. Don't divide the Jewish people. Don't become factions. Don't become divisions. Don't become competitors and adversaries. Don't judge. Don't marginalize. Don't reject. Don't become אגודות אגודות agudos agudos. And this has all kinds of הלכתית halachic implications.Can you have two different מנהגים minhagim in one city, in two different cities? How do we fulfill this today when you have eight מנינים minyanim? אשכנז ספרד נוסח ספרד Ashkenaz, Sefard, Nusach Sefard. How do you have תימני Teimani, this, that, the other, a million and one different types. Persian, Moroccan. ויהי בישרון מלך בהתאסף ראשי עם יחד שבטי ישראל Vayehi v'Yeshurun melech b'hisasef roshei am yachad shivtei Yisrael. רש\"י Rashi says דבר אחד בהתאסף בהתאסף יחד באגודה אחת ושלום ביניהם הוא מלכם davar echad b'hisasef, b'hisasef yachad b'agudah achat v'shalom beineihem hu malcam. What do you mean ויהי בישרון מלך vayehi b'Yeshurun melech? What elevates the king? בהתאסף ראשי עם יחד שבטי ישראל B'hisasef roshei am yachad shivtei Yisrael. When the subjects, when the people, when the citizens are united and are one, the king is at his strongest. That's why ברוב עם הדרת מלך b'rov am hadras melech. We don't break up into factions. We try to unite. And our strength is our unity. ממילא שכל השבטים צריכים להיות מאוחדים Memayla sh'kol hashvatim tzrichim l'hiyos me'uchadim. All of the tribes need to be united. Need to be united. As hostages have been released, and please God, by the end of this year, may all the hostages be home. Hostages have almost all shared that one of the things that broke them while they were still held hostage, and since their release, is seeing the infighting and the division in the Jewish people. The blame, and the criticism, and the fighting. Their tormentors would play them the news or share the news with them, particularly news of us going at each other. Demonstrations and rallies and accusations and blame. Nothing serves our enemies more. It's about to be Purim. When does Haman strike? When we are מפוזר ומפורד בין העמים mefuzar u'mefurad bein ha'amim. A פירוד perud, perud. There's division, there's strife, there's tension, there's hate, there's enmity, there's animosity. They're tolerating one another. Let's go get them. On October 6th, we were on the brink of civil war. And when did we begin to fight back? October 8th, because כאיש אחד בלב אחד k'ish echad b'lev echad. And that unity, it's fraying. The unity is fragile. We have to return to it. And that's what the כהן kohen who wore this garment was reminded. Not six names on this stone and six names on the other stone. כל השבטים צריכים להיות מאוחדים לא מחולקים לכמה חלקים Kol hashvatim tzrichim l'hiyos me'uchadim, lo me'chulakim l'kama chalakim. We're not divided. וכן כתוב ושמות ששה הנותרים U'lachein kasuv v'hashmos shisha hanosarim. Six on this and the remaining six on the other. Not six on this and six on the other. If you had to divide them among two stones, you needed to say a word that would unite them. It's not six separate מנינים minyanim, six communities, eight מנינים minyanim, eight communities. It's eight communities on one campus with one group of רבנים rabbanim, it's one community. One community that happens to have eight מנינים minyanim, not eight communities, not eight communities. It's six names on this stone and the remaining six names still connected to this on the other. To preserve the אחדות achdus, the unity that is our strength. Therefore it had to have the word הנותרים hanosarim. שבאמת היו צריכים השמות של כל השבטים להיות על אבן אחת Sheb'emes hayu tzrichim hashemos shel kol hashvatim l'hiyos al even achas. More ideally, all the names would have been listed on one stone. רק מפני הציווי שהיו אבנים על כתפו של כהן גדול Rak mipnei hatzivui shehayu avanim al kteifo shel kohen gadol, but he had two shoulders and two straps, and that was the design of the garment. So it had to be divided in two. ולכהן גדול יש שתי כתפים U'l'kohen gadol yesh shtei k'teifayim, he had two shoulders. ממילא בהכרח ששה שבטים היו על אבן השנית Memayla b'hechrech shisha shvatim hayu al even hasheinis. So you need to put six on the other, נקראים הנותרים nikra'im hanosarim, they had to be called the remaining. שהם באמת בחיבור אחד עם ששה השבטים על האבן הראשונה Shehem b'emes b'chibur echad im shisha hashvatim al ha'even harishona. והאינם כשני חיבורים ששה V'einam k'shnei chiburim shisha. It's not two groups of six and six. It's not two groups of six and six. It's one people, one family, one nation. אחדות Achdus was integral to the function of the משכן Mishkan, to the work and the success of the כהן גדול kohen gadol. And therefore, he couldn't see six and six, it had to be six, הנותרים hanosarim of the remaining, something that would unite. Unity, diversity, and unity. Not diversity, diversity, not divisiveness, unity, not uniformity. Why not just have one stone? Let all the Jewish people blend together? Why don't we just put one beautiful gem, one stone, just called one Jewish people? Why are there 12 tribes? Because we don't ask for uniformity. We don't have uniformity. We have different ways of seeing the world, different השקפות hashkafos, different נוסח תפילה nusach tefila, different ways of connecting to השם Hashem, different strengths. We have 12 different tribes who walked through 12 different lanes through the יום סוף Yam Suf. Divided by 12 walls of water that they could see through because they were united. They saw each other, they cared about each other, they connected with each other. They visit and have a passport that gets stamped, that we spend time, no matter what שבט shevet is my home address, I visit another. That's what we try to do in the פרשה שיעור Parsha shiur. If I can get my act together, we're going to see today from the ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir of Brooklyn, the Chief Rabbi of England, Rabbi Sacks. We're going to see from the Gerrer ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva. We're going to see Rabbi Soloveitchik, we're going to see the Meshech Chochma, we're going to see אחדות achdus, all of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael's here. There are many פרשה שיעור Parsha shiurim that you go to, if I get any feedback in our פרשה שיעור Parsha shiur, what people enjoy is you always hear only, you go to this yeshiva, all you hear is Rabbi Soloveitchik. You went to that yeshiva, all you hear is ר' יוחנן לויבוביץ and the ראש ישיבה חפץ חיים Rav Yitzchak Leibowitz and the Rosh Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim. You're Lubavitcher, all you ever hear is Torah of Lubavitch. You go here, all you ever hear... there's a beautiful, wide open, incredible, amazing tapestry of Torah. Why would we punish ourselves by depriving ourselves of this beautiful tapestry of Torah? It's magnificent, the diversity of Torah. So we grab here and here and here, and they don't contradict, they weave together to be the most beautiful, most beautiful picture of timeless and timely Torah that gives us a perspective on today. And that's where we draw, the רחמסטריווקא רבי Rachmastrivka Rebbe, and this רבי rebbe and another and from all over. Because הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu wants אחדות achdus. ששה הנותרים Shisha hanosarim. For the function of a holy place, it can't be a משכן Mishkan if they're not נותרים nosarim. If there's not a unity, if they're not being bound together, integrated together. If Jews are tolerating one another, השם Hashem wants no part. Could you imagine you go into your child for a שבת Shabbos, you're having a meal with your child and you say, 'Oh, their sibling, your other child, they're going to come too.' Fine. I'll tolerate them. I don't really want them. So you know what? I'm not coming either. If you're tolerating my other child, your sibling, then I don't want to be there with you. When does the parent want to be there? Absolutely. All are welcome. Bring any of the siblings, we're all together. Does anything give a parent a greater נחת nachas than when their children are together? When I get pictures from my kids who have gotten together without us being there. Went out for lunch, spending time, made the time, made the effort, made the trip, and they're together without us. First of all, we wonder what they're saying about us. But aside from that, it's all good. It's built in. But aside from that, is there a greater נחת nachas than seeing that harmony and that unity and that you're not the only common thread that they bring together, otherwise they have to tolerate one another, but they actually like each other and love each other even when you're not there. Is there a greater גישמאק geshmak? A greater feeling of satisfaction? Well guess who else feels that way. When הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu looks down. If he looks down at a community and he sees 10 shuls on one block, competing, separate fundraising, separate staff, separate campaigns, separate... or if he sees one shul that has all of them in one place. Where does he want to come? Which house has all the siblings in it together? Where does he want to be? הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu wants to see ששה הנותרים shisha hanosarim. Six and the remaining six. Should have really been on one stone. We don't have uniformity, we have unity. We don't have divisiveness, we have diversity and the way that they work together. פרק כח פסוק כח Perek kaf ches pasuk kaf ches. Keep going.Top of page 470, making our way through the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna through these garments of glory and of splendor. In case it wasn't clear to my kids if they're listening, Town Center Mall does not have clothing of of glory and splendor. Just to clarify that point earlier. That is not a reason or an excuse to buy. Unless you're a כהן kohen, if you marry a כהן kohen, go for it. The breastplate of the כהן kohen, חושן משפט choshen mishpat, the חושן choshen that would hook on to the איפוד eifod. So the straps came over, the stones with six names and six names, and then you had the חושן choshen with the 12 tribes were represented yet again. And here the פסוק pasuk says פרק כח פסוק כח perek kaf ches pasuk kaf ches. וירכסו את החשן מטבעתיו אל טבעת האפוד בפתיל תכלת להיות על חשו האפוד ולא יזח החשן מעל האפוד V'yirkesu es hachoshen m'tab'osav el taba'as ha'eifod bifsil tcheles l'hiyos al cheshev ha'eifod v'lo yizach hachoshen mei'al ha'eifod. They shall attach the breastplate from its rings to the rings of the איפוד eifod with the turquoise woolen cord, so it will remain above the belt of the איפוד eifod and the חושן choshen, the breastplate will not be loosened. It shouldn't shake, it shouldn't disconnect from the איפוד eifod. These clothing they click together, they hang together, they are put together and they come together to serve a certain purpose and they shouldn't disconnect. ולא יזח V'lo yizach. They shouldn't be loosened. ולא יזח V'lo yizach. Says the הייליגע דגל מחנה אפרים heilige Degel Machaneh Ephraim. Who is the דגל מחנה אפרים Degel Machaneh Ephraim? The אייניקל פון די בעל שם טוב einekel fun di Baal Shem Tov. Says the הייליגע דגל heilige Degel. ולא יזח החושן מעל האפוד, דיני המונה המצוות חשוב המצווה הזו מניין תרי\"ג V'lo yizach hachoshen mei'al ha'eifod, d'inei moneh hamitzvos choshev hamitzvah ha'zu minyan Taryag. This is one of the מצוות mitzvos. One of the מצוות mitzvos. Attach the חושן choshen to the איפוד eifod, the breastplate to the shoulder straps and the bigger איפוד eifod, and ensure they don't move around, they don't shake, they don't disconnect. One of the 613. ויש להבין הלא תרי\"ג מצוות צריך כל עם ישראל לקיים תמיד V'yesh l'havin, halo Taryag mitzvos tzarich kol am Yisrael l'kayem tamid. The 613 מצוות mitzvos are given for all the Jewish people in perpetuity. It's forever. This was temporary and only for the כהן גדול kohen gadol. איך אפשר אתה בגלות לקיים מצווה זו Eich efshar ata b'galus l'kayem mitzvah zu. How can we in Boca Raton, how can we even in Israel still in the state of גלות galus, we do not yet have a בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash and the כהנים kohanim and the כהן גדול kohen gadol serving again. So in this state of גלות galus, in this state of גלות galus, how do we fulfill this מצווה mitzva of ולא יזח החושן מעל האיפוד v'lo yizach hachoshen mei'al ha'eifod. So the דגל מחנה אפרים Degel Machaneh Ephraim has a חסידישע chasidische creative וורט vort. כתב לברר דרך רמז Kasuv l'varer derech remez. איפוד Eifod is בגימטריה b'gematria, you saw גימטריה gematria coming. איפוד Eifod is בגימטריה b'gematria, the numerical value of א' פ' ד' alef peh daled is פה peh. פה Peh. פה Peh means mouth. חושן Choshen, where was the חושן choshen placed? This breastplate sat, as its name suggests, over the heart. נמצא שהחושן מרמז על הלב איפוד על הפה Nimtza shehachoshen m'ramez al halev, eifod al hapeh. So the איפוד eifod was over the heart, sorry the חושן choshen was over the heart, and איפוד eifod, the גימטריה gematria of איפוד eifod is mouth, was the פה peh. מצווה זו בא ללמדנו שהאדם יזהר שלא יהיה אצלו פיו חלוק מליבו Mitzvah zu ba l'lamdeinu she'ha'adam yizaher shelo yihyeh etzlo piyu chaluk milibo. So this מצווה mitzva, don't let the חושן choshen and the איפוד eifod disconnect. Don't let there be a disconnect between the heart and the mouth. שלא יהיה אחד בפה ואחד בלב Shelo yihyeh echad b'peh v'echad b'lev. Don't think one thing in your heart and say another thing with your mouth. Such disingenuous people, hypocritical people, such people who are duplicitous. They feel one thing and they say something else. Says the Torah, ולא יזח החושן מעל האיפוד v'lo yizach hachoshen mei'al ha'eifod. Don't allow the חושן choshen to shift, to move, to disconnect from the איפוד eifod. I, how could that be one of the תרי\"ג מצוות Taryag mitzvos? How does that apply in perpetuity? Says the דגל מחנה אפרים Degel Machaneh Ephraim, you know how? איפוד Eifod is פה peh, mouth. חושן Choshen is the heart. Don't let there be a disconnect between the heart and the mouth. Always be honest. Always have integrity. Always be true. פיו וליבו שווים, שכמו שמדבר בפיו כן יחשב בליבו Piv v'libo shavim, shek'mo shemedaber b'piv kein yachshov b'libo. What you say with your mouth is what you should feel in your heart. ולא יזח החושן מעל האיפוד V'lo yizach hachoshen mei'al ha'eifod. לעולם לא יהיה הלב בחינת חושן חלוק ונפרד מן הפה L'olam lo yihyeh halev b'chinas choshen chaluk v'nifrad min hapeh. There should be a consistency to a person. That is what he says. פרק כח פסוק כט Perek kaf ches pasuk kaf tes, the next פסוק pasuk. ונשא אהרון את שמות בני ישראל בחושן המשפט. When Aaron the כהן גדול kohen gadol would put on this חושן choshen, this breastplate that had the 12 stones that lit up, each representing another tribe, על ליבו al libo, where did he wear it? On his heart. בבואו אל הקודש b'vo'o el hakodesh, when he came into this holy sacred place, לזיכרון לפני השם תמיד L'zikaron lifnei Hashem tamid, as a constant remembrance before השם Hashem. זיכרון לפני השם תמיד Zikaron lifnei Hashem tamid, as a constant remembrance before השם Hashem. Says the קדושת לוי Kedushas Levi, says the holy Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. למה נשא אהרן את שמות בני ישראל שמות י\"ב שבטי קודש על החושן הלא בכל מקום מצינו שמוזכר זכות אבות Lama nasa Aharon es shemos bnei Yisrael, shemos yud beis shivtei kodesh al hachoshen, halo b'chol makom matzinu shemuzkar zechus avos. אברהם יצחק ויעקב ולא השבטים Avraham Yitzchak v'Yaakov v'lo hashvatim. Okay, we're all biased now because we know the way it turns out. But if I were doing a poll, if you hadn't just read this פסוק pasuk, and I did an objective poll and I said to you, okay, we're designing the כהן גדול kohen gadol when he goes into the holiest place, will wear a special breastplate over his heart. What should be on his heart? Who should be on his heart? How many stones? And who should it represent? We would have and might have likely have said, well, I don't know, in our שמונה עשרה Shemoneh Esrei we invoke אלוקי אברהם, אלוקי יצחק ואלוקי יעקב Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak v'Elokei Yaakov. Throughout our דאווענען davening, we always talk about אברהם, יצחק ויעקב Avraham, Yitzchak, v'Yaakov. So why don't we have three stones and let's remember, let's invoke אברהם, יצחק ויעקב Avraham, Yitzchak v'Yaakov. If we're feeling particularly egalitarian, and also שרה, רבקה, רחל ולאה Sarah, Rivka, Rochel, v'Leah. But where where do we start coming up with the 12 שבטים shvatim? וגם שרבותינו אמרו שגם שמות האבות היו כתובים על החושן, and it's true the גמרא יומא דף עין גמאל Gemara Yoma daf ayin gimmel tells us that the אבות Avos were also engraved, were also written, carved onto the חושן choshen. מכל מקום אין זה מפורש בקרא לחידיא. That doesn't appear, that's a דרשה drasha. The text itself tells us who was represented? 12 stones, 12 tribes. Why did we abandon the ג' אבות gimmel avos, אברהם, יצחק ויעקב Avraham, Yitzchak v'Yaakov and instead invoke the image of the 12 שבטים shvatim? That's what's on the heart of אהרן Aharon when he goes into the קודש הקודשים Kodesh Hakodashim. Says the קדושת לוי Kedushas Levi. Says ר' לוי יצחק מברדיטשוב Rav Levi Yitzchak miBerditchev, כתב לברר כי הנה בכל מקום שבוחרים איש אחד מתוך החבורה לעשות לו איזה מינוי ושרארה kasuv l'varer ki hinei b'chol makom shebocharim ish echad mitoch hachabura la'asos lo eizeh minui v'srara. When one person is chosen out of a group for a position of distinction, for a particular appointment, who gets a certain title, נראה מזה כי האיש ההוא חשוב ונכבד יותר מכל שאר החבורה Nireh mizeh ki ha'ish hahu chashuv v'nichbad yoser mikol she'ar hachabura. One might mistakenly conclude that whoever was elevated, whoever got that title, whoever was appointed is more important. ואפשר לדמה שיש בזה איזה זלזול כלפי האחרים V'efshar l'damos sheyesh b'zeh eizeh zilzul klapei ha'acheirim. Oh, that guy got the עליה aliyah. Oh, he was asked to דאווען מוסף daven Mussaf. Oh, she got the אשת חיל eshes chayil award. She served as the chairwoman of the project. Whoever was elevated, whoever got the title, whoever was honored, they're better. That's not true. ואחרים אינם חשובים כמוהו, על כן לא בחרו בהם V'acheirim einam chashuvim k'mohu, al kein lo bachru bahem. They weren't chosen because they're not as worthy. לכן הנה בעת שבחר השם באהרן לשרת לפניו בכהונה, ולהוציא איש אחד מכל עדת ישראל, נראה איפה מזה שאהרן חשוב יותר מכל ישראל L'fichach hinei b'es shebachar Hashem b'Aharon l'shareis lefanav b'kehuna, v'hotzi ish echad mikol adas Yisrael, nireh efo mizeh she'Aharon chashuv yoser mikol Yisrael. אפשר לחשוב ששאר ישראל אינם חשובים כל כך ויאמרו אהרן Efshar lachshov she'she'ar Yisrael einam chashuvim kol kach v'yomru Aharon... Aharon is the best. על כן כדי להוציא מחשבה זו, ציווה הקדוש ברוך הוא לכתוב שמות כל השבטים על החושן Al kein k'dei l'hotzi machshava zo, tziva HaKadosh Baruch Hu lichtov shemos kol hashvatim al hachoshen. In that moment, it would seem that Aharon and his tribe of Levi are better than all others. No, no, no. You only serve at the pleasure and the privilege of the people you represent. And therefore the 12 שבטים shvatim, כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. You're not better, you're not greater, you're not superior. You serve at their pleasure, you represent them. להראות שכל ישראל חשובים ואהובים לפני המקום shekol Yisrael chashuvim v'ahuvim lifnei HaMakom. Everybody's beloved before השם Hashem. אלא כולם חשובים באופן שווה, רק מה שנבחר אהרן, מפני שהכרח צריך לבחור Ela kulam chashuvim b'ofen shaveh, rak ma shenivchar Aharon, mipnei shehechrech tzarich livchor. What could you do? You need somebody. One person's going to be the חזן chazzan. One person's given the דרשה drasha. You need somebody who's going to be the president. You need somebody who's going to be the chairwoman. Someone has to serve that role, but it doesn't mean they're better. And they should never think they're there because they're superior. They're never better, they're never greater. They're only there at the will and to work on behalf of the people they serve. And that's why the פסוק pasuk says כי אהרן was chosen כי בו בחר השם מתוך בני ישראל ki vo bachar Hashem mitoch bnei Yisrael. Back in the beginning of this פרק perek, פרק כח פסוק א perek kaf ches pasuk alef, the פסוק pasuk says מתוך mitoch. Aharon is appointed מתוך mitoch, שכולם היו ראויים להיות כהנים shekulam hayu re'uyim l'hiyos kohanim. Everyone was worthy. כהן גדול צריך להיות איש אחד בלבד, but you have to choose one. Alas, you have to choose one. But he's chosen מתוך mitoch. He's chosen מתוך mitoch. A person in a position of distinction should never ever let it go to his or her head. You're only there at the pleasure and for the purpose of the people, מתוך mitoch, you're chosen from among them. You're not better, you're not superior. It is a, it is a duty and an obligation, it is a privilege, it is not a right and entitlement and you're not due any glory or any honor from it at all. וזה יסוד הקדושת לוי V'zeh yesod haKedushas Levi, that is the insight of Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. פרק כח פסוק כט Perek kaf ches pasuk kaf tes. We just read. ושמח בלבו v'samach b'libo וראה ושמח בלבו v'ra'acha v'samach b'libo. Okay. Let's go right to the קטורת ketores. Because my dear friend Ben, who I love, my brother Ben Isaac, says I got to get to the קטורת ketores. פרק ל פסוק א Perek lamed pasuk alef. Skip all the way to the end of the פרשה parsha. He's my accountability partner. Apparently for the last three years, I said I want to talk about the קטורת ketores, but we never get to the end of the פרשה parsha. So we're skipping to the end of the פרשה parsha. Very end of the פרשה parsha. Page 482. The last page of the פרשה parsha. That's how much it is the end of the פרשה parsha. And this is the story of the קטורת ketores. ועשית מזבח מקטר קטרת עצי שיטים תעשה אותו V'asisa mizbeach miktas ketores, atzei shitim omdim, atzei shitim ta'aseh oso. Make an altar on which to bring the incense that you will light it and burn it up in smoke of acacia wood shall you make it, shall you make it. מזבח מקטר קטורת Mizbeach miktas ketores. And then we have the dimensions and then we have the description of the offering of the קטורת ketores here at the end of our at the end of our פרשה parsha. Fascinating. The significance of the קטורת ketores, of the קטורת ketores. We got a lot to say on it. So let's start. ועשית מזבח מקטר קטורת V'asisa mizbeach miktas ketores. The מדרש תנחומא Midrash Tanchuma writes about the קטורת ketores that השם Hashem appreciates the קטורת ketores more than any other קרבן korban that is brought. תודה, שלמים, קרבן עולה, קרבן חטאת, קרבן חגיגה Todah, shlamim, korban olah, korban chatas, korban chagiga, so many קרבנות korbanos, so many sacrifices were offered, and this is the most dear, the most precious to השם Hashem, the קטורת ketores, the קטורת ketores. It doesn't come for atonement, it comes for pure joy. The זהר Zohar in פרשת ויקהל Parshas Vayakhel writes, if there's a plague in town, the community should gather together and say פטום הקטורת pitum haketores. You know, we say at the end of דאווענען davening שבת Shabbos morning, נוסח ספרד Nusach Sefard, ספרדים Sefardim say it every day. The פטום הקטורת pitum haketores, all the ingredients that went into this incense, the קטורת ketores. So the זהר Zohar writes, if there's a plague or challenge, then a person should say this קטורת ketores with כוונה kavanah. אהרן Aharon stopped the plague by holding the burning קטורת ketores pan between the living and the dead, and we can stop a plague, a pandemic, by in a heartfelt way saying the קטורת ketores. What is it about the קטורת ketores? Why is the קטורת ketores so precious and dear and beloved to השם Hashem? Why is it that the קטורת ketores is the antidote? Why is it the vaccine that the Jewish people, when we're in a precarious position, we should say the פטום הקטורת pitum haketores with all of our heart? Why? Where does it come from? Where does it come from? The כל בו Kol Bo says פטום הקטורת pitum haketores brings health to a person, brings wealth to a person. The גמרא יומא דף כ\"ו עמוד א' Gemara Yoma daf kaf vov amud alef, a כהן kohen only got to be מקטיר maktir the קטורת ketores once in a lifetime. The כהן kohen could only offer the incense offering once in a lifetime. Why? Because it brought great wealth. And that's an honor one should share with others. The נודע ביהודה Noda B'Yehuda in a תשובה teshuva, in his תשובות נודע ביהודה Teshuvos Noda B'Yehuda, תנינא קמא, אורח חיים סימן י\"ד Tinyana Kama, Orach Chaim, siman yud daled points out that we say אין כא-לוקינו Ein K'Elokeinu before the קטורת ketores. אשכנזים Ashkenazim, on שבת Shabbos morning when we sing אין כא-לוקינו Ein K'Elokeinu before פטום הקטורת Pitum HaKetores, why? Because if the פטום הקטורת pitum haketores is going to bring great wealth, then we should remember, where does the wealth come from? אין כא-לוקינו, אין כאדונינו, אין כמלכנו, אין כמושיענו Ein k'Elokeinu, ein k'Adoneinu, ein k'Malkeinu, ein k'Moshieinu. It's all from השם Hashem. That's the reason. The נודע ביהודה Noda B'Yehuda there talks about only be a סנדק sandek once per family. The same way that a כהן kohen could only bring the קטורת ketores once, because that סגולה segulah for great wealth should only be given once, so each family should only designate someone as a סנדק sandek for one of their children. Don't be a סנדק sandek for multiple children in one family, because one should spread the wealth. Literally spread the wealth, give other people a chance, so much is it so מסוגל mesugal. That's why people line up after a ברית bris, they try to get a ברכה bracha from the סנדק sandek, because the סנדק sandek is this power, this energy. He's in this position, he's like the כהן kohen who was just מקטיר קטורת maktir ketores. He just brought the sacred special incense. Some have a practice every day to recite פטום הקטורת pitum haketores from a קלף klaf. רב עובדיה Rav Ovadia has a תשובה teshuva for ספרדים Sefardim, he's very against it. Because the גמרא Gemara, חז\"ל Chazal frowned upon writing only some random פסוקים pesukim from Torah on a parchment like a ספר תורה Sefer Torah. And so רב עובדיה Rav Ovadia in a תשובה teshuva frowns upon this practice. It is a סגולה לפרנסה segulah l'parnassah. The פרנסה parnassah of the people who have been selling the פטום הקטורת pitum haketores on a קלף klaf. It's a beautiful סגולה segulah for them, but if you read it, is it a סגולה segulah for you? רב עובדיה Rav Ovadia was against it. מורנו ורבנו רבי ירחמיאל שכטר Moreinu v'Rabeinu Rav Yechiel Schechter is against it. רב עובדיה Rav Ovadia says אשכנזים Ashkenazim can rely on the רי\"ף Rif that maybe it's okay, but it's a questionable practice. Whether you should buy one of those little leather bound פטום הקטורת pitum haketores on a קלף klaf, stick it in your תפילין tefillin bag. One thing I'll tell you is not, this is just an aside. One thing I'll tell you is absolutely not a סגולה לפרנסה segulah l'parnassah. If you came late to מנין minyan, you left early to מנין minyan, you talked all of מנין minyan, and you had no כוונה kavanah while you דאווענט davened, but you mumbled פטום הקטורת pitum haketores on a קלף klaf before you ran out, it's hard for me to picture a religion in which that did something for you. So if you have a choice between paying attention when you דאווען daven, coming on time, being vigilant not to talk, turning your phone off. You could do all those things and פטום הקטורת pitum haketores from a קלף klaf. But if it's a choice between either or, it's a much bigger סגולה segulah to actually pay attention and concentrate when you דאווען daven. But you see from all these things, all these things, that the קטורת ketores, oh, השם Hashem loves the קטורת ketores more than any other קרבן korban says the מדרש תנחומא Midrash Tanchuma. And if we want to be able to stop a war or enemy, maybe bring hostages home, let's say the קטורת ketores with כוונה kavanah. What is it about the קטורת ketores? Why is it so precious, beloved to השם Hashem? And what is it, what is its power to be able to offset the challenges that we have? But I'll begin, I'll answer this by asking in a very Jewish way, another question. The final topic in the פרשה parsha is this מזבח הקטורת mizbeach haketores, the golden altar of the קטורת ketores. Where did this belong? It's dropped here at the end of our פרשה parsha, תצוה Tetzaveh. The Torah here is giving us the dimensions of the... and the materials and the blueprint for one of the vessels of the משכן Mishkan, namely, the golden altar that the קטורת ketores was lit on, burnt on. Where did this belong? Back last week's פרשה parsha. תרומה Terumah. תרומה Terumah had the מנורה menorah and the שולחן shulchan and the מזבח mizbeiach, the משכן Mishkan. This one was about בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna. So why do we go through all the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna to get to the מזבח הקטורת mizbeiach haketores? It belonged earlier on. This is a discussion all the ראשונים Rishonim weigh in on. Everybody has an opinion about. It's an obvious question when you learn the פרשיות parshiyos in sequence that this section describing one of the vessels belongs with all the vessels, not after the garments, the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna.The משך חכמה Meshech Chochma has a unique approach. רב מאיר שמחה מדבינסק Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk. The הייליגע משך חכמה heilige Meshech Chochma says because this vessel had an unusual feature, an unusual factor. As a rule, the הלכה halacha, the law was, the vessel is incomplete, then the service that was practiced on it cannot happen. So, in the absence of the מנורה menorah, there can be no lighting, kindling of the lights. In the absence of the שולחן shulchan, there can be no לחם הפנים lechem hapanim. What happens if you don't have a golden מזבח mizbeiach? For whatever reason it became טמא tamei, you couldn't use it, you couldn't utilize it, you ran out of a gold, whatever reason you didn't have מזבח הקטורת mizbeiach haketores. Could you still bring the קטורת ketores? When it came to every other part of the עבודה avodah, every other part of the service of Hashem, if you didn't have the vessel proper, you couldn't do the service. When it came to the מזבח הקטורת mizbeiach haketores, the altar of the קטורת ketores, if you didn't have the מזבח הקטורת mizbeiach haketores, it's a גמרא בזבחים דף נ״ט Gemara in Zevachim daf nun tes, מזבח שנעקר מקטירין קטורת במקומו mizbeiach shene'ekar maktirin ketores bimkomo. If the מזבח mizbeiach has been removed, you can offer the קטורת ketores in its normal place, even though it's not there. The מצוה of קטורת mitzvah of ketores involves offering it on the golden מזבח mizbeiach, and if the golden מזבח mizbeiach isn't available, you can offer it anyway. Says the משך חכמה Meshech Chochma, that's why it's at the end. First we list all the vessels whose vessel is a necessary part of its עבודה avodah. Then we get to who does the עבודה avodah, what they wear. And then we list the thing that even if you don't have it, you can do its עבודה avodah nonetheless. That is the insight, אזוי זאגט דער משך חכמה azoy zugt der Meshech Chochma, that's what the משך חכמה Meshech Chochma says. The משך חכמה of רב מאיר שמחה Meshech Chochma of Rav Meir Simcha. And there are other interpretations, other answers to this question. But I want to suggest and offer you my own in ending our שיעור shiur this morning and before we block and barricade the doorway and the exit of the parking lot, because no one can leave without doing their part, not for us, for you. How do you come enjoy, listen, learn, grow, share דברי תורה divrei Torah, have a ווארט vort for your grandchild's שבע ברכות sheva brachos, and not just contribute something. It could be a dollar. Everybody could do a dollar. It could be $1800 and then we go out for dinner. It could be something. It could be something. But we're going to barricade. I'm just joking, somewhat. But we're going to barricade the doorway. So one last insight. So why? What's so special about the קטורת ketores? What's so special about it? It's most beloved to Hashem. And it has the ability to offset epidemics, pandemics, and crises. And its מזבח mizbeiach is listed in the wrong place. This is the vessel that even if it's, even if it's incomplete, even if it's impure, you could offer the קטורת ketores in its place nonetheless. What's going on over here? We know something very special. The קטורת ketores represents, the ingredients of the קטורת ketores represent the diversity of the Jewish people. And one of the ingredients of the קטורת ketores stinks, smells terrible. It's called the חלבנה chelbanah. The חלבנה chelbanah is a putrid odor. It stinks. It's horrible. You know when you're driving the Florida Turnpike and you pass the, where the garbage dump is? You know that smell? That's nothing compared to the חלבנה chelbanah. The חלבנה chelbanah is horrific. So why don't we leave it out? Why don't you not include it? Why would you have an ingredient that you need to overcome it with the positive, pleasant fragrances of the rest of the קטורת ketores? Says the גמרא כריתות דף ו׳ Gemara Krisus daf vav that any תפילה tefillah, any prayer, any שול shul that doesn't make room for every single type of Jew, even the one who stinks and smells, meaning, is not as observant, doesn't wear the יארמולקע yarmulke you want them to wear, isn't making the life choices you want them to make, and you exclude them, you marginalize them, you don't allow them and invite them, it's an incomplete תפילה tefillah. Hashem says, not interested. I don't want to hear. And wonders the גמרא כריתות Gemara Krisus, where do you learn that from? The קטורת ketores. The קטורת ketores had wonderful ingredients, fantastic fragrances, but it also had a חלבנה chelbanah. There has to be room for פושעי ישראל poshei Yisrael. Not only the Jews who smell good, not only the Jews who meet our standards, not only the Jews who live our lifestyles, but every single kind of Jew, they walked, they drove, they live this way, they live that way, they're at this level of observance or they're not. We have to build campuses and communities that welcome, that invite, that are accessible. That's where we want them, that's where they belong. That's the קטורת ketores, the imperfect, the broken, the struggling Jew, the Jew who's not yet where they want to be, who's trying to bounce back or recover from.Why should their תפילות tefillos be accepted? Why should our תפילות tefillos be accepted if we don't have everyone together? The חלבנה chelbanah is also part of the קטורת ketores. So now you can understand, if our, if the קטורת ketores represents the totality of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, our broken, our incomplete, our malodorous, our stinky smelly parts, our imperfect parts, so now we understand, if there's going to be any part of the עבודה avodah you can do even when your vessel is broken, which עבודה avodah will it be? The קטורת ketores. And what is the most beautiful, the most precious, the most beloved to Hashem? The קטורת ketores. Because we want all of our children there. We don't want to have a family reunion and our children have to have a vote, do we let that sibling come? We barely tolerate them. Should we let them come? Look at, they don't wear a יארמולקע yarmulke, they don't observe this way, they've made that lifestyle choice, they vote differently. I don't know if we should let them come. Can we tolerate their presence? You know what the parent says? Family reunion's off. No family reunion for you. Done, trip is canceled. Hashem loves the קטורת ketores. He loves when כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael say, those with the pleasant fragrance and the stinky smelly. This is a campus and a community. We build מקדשי מעט mikdashei me'at, שולן shuls, and our משכן Mishkan and מקדש Mikdash have room for every type of Jew. I, the קטורת ketores has no כפרה kapparah part of it. There's no atonement part of the קטורת ketores, of the קטורת ketores. So why is it so beloved to Hashem? סוכטשוב Sochatchover, the שם משמואל Shem MiShmuel says that if you want to be close to Hashem, the קטורת ketores is your way out, even when you're down in the dumps. It's like throwing a rope to somebody at the bottom of a pit. Grab onto it, it's what they'll be able to pull out with. It's the קטורת ketores. Why the קטורת ketores? The קטורת ketores is a fragrance. And the Torah describes that that fragrance elevates כביכול kivyachol, as if Hashem imbues the pleasant odor. And what does it mean that Hashem imbues that pleasant odor? Why the image of Hashem taking in through his nostrils? We'll end with this. If you're a speaker and you just keep saying we end with this, you can keep saying more things. So we end with this. We really, this is true, we're for real going to end with this. For real, we're going to end with this. How do you say Hashem gets angry? חרון אף charon af. Why do we describe God's anger as חרון אף charon af? אף Af means the nose. When a person gets angry, they flare their their nostrils. Hashem doesn't have nostrils, he doesn't have a nose. He doesn't get angry. What do we describe anger as? Flaring the nostrils. Why are the nostrils the place of God's anger? And also, the opposite, where can we appease God? Where can we find favor with God? What does God love? When we burn the קטורת ketores and the incense, the odor goes wonderfully right where? Into Hashem's nostrils. So the nostrils are the place of his anger and the nostrils are equally and opposite the place where we find favor, what he loves, what he's willing to overcome and overturn a decree. What's with Hashem's nostrils? The answer is, how did we first find life? When Hashem created us, how did he animate us and bring us to life? He blew... ויפח באפיו נשמת חיים Vayipach b'apav nishmas chayim. He breathed life into us through his nostrils into us. When a person blows something up, I learned this when we were in Italy and we went to see glass blowing, and you saw the glass blower takes in a deep breath and blows the breath in and makes the glass expand, and now there's a piece of themselves in it. The נפש החיים of רב חיים מוולוז'ין Nefesh HaChaim of Rav Chaim of Volozhin writes exactly that, and he gives the משל mashal of the glass blower. Hashem, the Almighty, took the צלם אלוקים tzelem Elokim, a piece of himself, he blew it into us, and that's what put godliness and a godly soul and a פინטעלע ייד pintele Yid inside each and every one of us, because he blew a piece of him into us. He took in a big a breath and he breathed life into us. He breathed life into us. How do we affirm that there's a godly soul in us? כל הנשמה תהלל קה Kol haneshama tehalel Kah. כל הנשמה תהלל קה Kol haneshama tehalel Kah, כל הנשימה תהלל קה kol haneshima tehalel Kah. חז״ל Chazal say, with every breath, I praise you. With every breath, when I do deep breathing, when I'm breathing deeply, Hashem, I am saying to you, you are still inside me. So when we fail to fulfill our purpose, when we are not living our potential of the צלם אלוקים tzelem Elokim in us, it angers God and where does he express that anger? His nostrils flare. We are failing the very reason that he blew life into us. And when we appease him, when we find favor in him, when we come together and show him how united we are, where does he find that favor? Through the aroma that goes where? Through his nostrils. It's not a coincidence that on שבת Shabbos, if you learn with me on Fridays, turn Friday into ערב שבת Erev Shabbos, you know that every Friday, the פסוק pasuk says וינפש vayinafash. חז״ל Chazal דרשן darshan, ווי אבד הנפש voy avad hanefesh, we get a נשמה יתירה neshama yeseirah. You say, ah, שבת Shabbos comes, ah, the potato קוגל kugel, the טשולענט cholent, family, friends, the זמירות zmiros, the שול shul, we get to turn off and disconnect from technology, to-do list, tasks, and what are we dealt with, what do we get? A נשמה יתירה neshama yeseirah. We get an extra soul. Our צלם אלוקים tzelem Elokim, our soul is on fire. It's a high-speed connection. It's broader. It's able to pick up a bigger signal. And then מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos, Hashem takes away the נשמה יתירה neshama yeseirah. We lose it. What do we do to comfort and console ourselves? At הבדלה havdalah, there's something we do. We do it only on מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos. We don't do it on יום טוב for הבדלה Yom Tov for havdalah. Only מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos, we take a בשמים besamim. Why? Because when you want to comfort yourself for losing the נשמה יתירה neshama yeseirah, where do we do it? The בשמים besamim. בורא מיני בשמים borei minei besamim. Through the nostrils, the בשמים besamim. This is a theme, there's a lot more to elaborate and share about. Alas, as always, we're out of time. But you're out of time from giving to brsonline.org/global. Help help me. This is a very personal appeal. I'm being very personal with you for a moment. What we're trying to do is build what is a dream of mine. And my dream is not my house, a bigger house, or a nicer car. My dream is a more beautiful campus from which we can host and teach and share and illuminate the world with Torah. And we can't do it without you. So in all sincerity, without joking, we're looking for partners and supporters and builders and investors. Make an investment, investment with a guaranteed return in this world and the next. You have forms in front of you. You can see Talia on your way out. You can go online, brsonline.org/global. Please give even more meaningfully than usual just for this year, for this particular campaign. And we look forward to Hashem lifting up our campus and placing it in Gaza, on the beach, along the ocean with all of the שולן shuls of the world in ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael.
