Transcript
Okay, בוקר טוב Boker tov and a good ערב שבת הגדול Erev Shabbos Hagadol. So this Shabbos we have פרשת צו Parshas Tzav, a greatly neglected פרשה parsha due to שבת הגדול Shabbos Hagadol. The great דרשנים darshanim of the world omit a דרשה drasha Shabbos morning because of שבת הגדול Shabbos Hagadol. Another time worth discussing, how did שבת הגדול Shabbos Hagadol get its name? What is so great and גדול gadol about this Shabbos? But uh, פרשת צו Parshas Tzav is often neglected, and I was tempted to neglect it myself and not have our פרשה parsha class today because there is so much to do in anticipation of the הייליגע פסח heilige Pesach. But we decided that how could we neglect the פרשה parsha? So what I would like to do is, um, rather than, the combination both because פרשת צו Parshas Tzav is a little difficult to go through the מפרשים meforshim, like last week's פרשה parsha is very, very technical: קרבנות korbanos, measurements, animals, places, sprinkling, slaughtering. It's very, very technical and complicated and difficult. Combination of that and the inability to really prepare, so instead what I did is I made a copy of an article, an essay in the נתיבות שלום Netziv HaShalom, and I thought we would go through it together. And it's on our פרשה parsha and hopefully we'll get something out of it.So נתיבות שלום Netziv HaShalom was written by רב שלום נח ברזובסקי Rav Shlomo Noach Berezovsky, זכר צדיק לברכה zecher tzaddik l'vracha. רב שלום נח ברזובסקי Rav Shlomo Noach Berezovsky was the סלונים רבי Slanimer Rebbe. סלונים Slonim is a form of חסידות chasidus, is a dynasty of חסידות chasidus. He was the previous סלונים Slonim, he was the previous סלונים רבי Slanimer Rebbe. He was נפטר niftar, he passed away not long ago within the last 10 years. And I used to go when I was in my years in Israel after high school, I used to go every now and then, I would spend Shabbos in ירושלים Yerushalayim, I would walk to מאה שערים Meah Shearim, גאולה Geulah Friday night to attend some of the חסידישע טישן chasidisha tishes. If you've never been to a טיש tish, you should. It's incredible. I direct that mostly towards the men, by the way. I don't know how incredible it is for the women. But the טיש tish is incredible. You walk into this huge בית מדרש beis medrash, there's, there's bleachers going up the walls. חסידים Chasidim are packed in arm and arm, and as the רבי rebbe has his meal, the whole, the whole origin of a טיש tish of שיריים shirayim is that when you finish דאווענען davening, everybody goes home and has their meal. When you wash, you have in mind not to bentsch at home. You finish your meal, you don't bentsch. You go to the בית מדרש beis medrash, you go to the shul where the רבי rebbe is just finished preparing to have his סעודת שבת seudas Shabbos, and then you listen to him, makes קידוש Kiddush, המוציא Hamotzi, eats his meal, and everything he eats he passes out because there is a concept that everything that the, a holy person has contact with, he elevates. So food, for us is mundane and base and animalistic, on a righteous person, a צדיק tzaddik interacts with food, they elevate that food to have a certain level of קדושה kedusha. That's the origin of, of שיריים shirayim, the concept of eating the remnants, the leftovers of a righteous person. So the רבי rebbe takes a slice of חלה challah, they cut up the rest of the חלה challah gets passed around, everybody tries to get a piece. The רבי rebbe has some fish, they, so when I used to go to the חסידישע טישן chasidisha tishes, everything, I don't want to begin to describe to you, you might lose your breakfast. Everything is passed hand by hand by hand by hand. Depending where you are positioned in the bleachers, you could be eating something that's gone through 400 pairs of hands. סלונים Slonim was the one טיש tish that I would go to that everything was put on a plate with a fork and it was passed around, the שיריים shirayim, in a very, very dignified way. So I've always always been very taken by, by סלונים Slonim. And then the סלונים רבי Slanimer Rebbe, they started printing his ספרים seforim, his דברי תורה divrei Torah, which really became very, very popular and really resonated with me and with many others as you'll see, because he takes Kabbalistic concepts, he takes חסידות chasidus, but he's able to capture it and communicate it in a way which makes it accessible to even those not familiar with the vocabulary of Kabbalah or of חסידות chasidus per se. So that's רב שלום נח ברזובסקי Rav Shlomo Noach Berezovsky, the, the סלונים רבי Slanimer Rebbe zatzal.So here in his ספר נתיבות שלום sefer Netziv HaShalom, which originally came out on the מועדים moadim and on מידות middos, and later they put it out volumes on, on the פרשיות parshiyos, now he has on, on all the different holidays and שובבים shovavim and being a בן איש חי ben ish chai and constantly, a lot of booklets have come out of his. So here I want to study his, his article within this ספר sefer, גדולה שלמים שעושים שלום בין ישראל לאביהם שבשמים Gedolah shlamim she'osim shalom bein Yisrael l'avihem shebashamayim. The concept of the קרבן שלמים korban shlamim. Right? Last week's פרשה parsha and this week's פרשה parsha goes through many different categories of קרבנות korbanos. There's a קרבן korban which is a חטאת chatas, a sin offering, an אשם osham, a guilt offering. There's the קרבן korban which is a קרבן מנחה korban mincha, a meal offering. There are so many different, the קרבן korban of the פר העלם דבר של ציבור par ha'elem davar shel tzibbur, a קרבן korban of the when the כהן kohen first comes to serve. There's, there's all different forms, all different categories of קרבנות korbanos. So one of the categories of קרבנות korbanos is what we call a קרבן שלמים korban shlamim. If you have the Artscroll, the Stone Chumash in front of you and you want to see it, it's page 574. In fact, we let's look at the pesukim before we even begin to look at the, at the נתיבות שלום Netziv HaShalom. So page 574, it's פרק ז' perek zayin, chapter seven, פסוק י\"א pasuk yud aleph. Says the Torah in introducing this קרבן korban: וזאת תורת זבח השלמים V'zos toras zevach hashlamim. This is the law of the feast of the, קרבן שלמים korban shlamim, the peace offering. שלמים Shlamim comes from שלום shalom, peace. אשר יקריב להשם Asher yakriv l'Hashem, which would be offered to God. אם על תודה יקריבנו Im al todah yakrivenu, if you're offering it as a thanksgiving offering. So here we have the קרבן שלמים korban shlamim, a peace offering, which is a voluntary sacrifice brought in order to promote the relationship, the connection one has to Hashem. A subcategory of the קרבן שלמים korban shlamim is the קרבן תודה korban todah. What's a קרבן תודה korban todah? A thanksgiving offering. Who brings a thanksgiving offering, a קרבן תודה korban todah? The משנה Mishna delineates there are four people who bring a קרבן תודה korban todah. Someone who passes over the sea, a successful journey, someone who's released from prison, somebody who's healed from illness, and someone who is released from captivity. Those are the four? Those are the four. What's the fourth? That's the קרבן korban... that's the קרבן תודה korban todah. They bring a special offering of thanksgiving. Today, by the way, we don't have a קרבן תודה korban todah. Today we don't have the sacrifice to give thanks. We've replaced the קרבן תודה korban todah, the sacrifice of thanks with a, with a בענטשן גומל bentsch gomel. The גומל gomel ברכה bracha which doesn't appear in the Gemara, is modeled after the קרבן תודה korban todah. And a סעודת הודאה seudas hoda'ah, having a meal of thanksgiving, a סעודת הודאה seudas hoda'ah is also modeled after the קרבן תודה korban todah. So what is this קרבן תודה korban todah? Says the Torah, אם על תודה יקריבנו im al todah yakrivenu, אם על תודה יקריבנו im al todah yakrivenu, if you're offering it as the gratitude, והקריב על זבח התודה חלות מצות בלולות בשמן ורקיקי מצות משוחים בשמן וסלת מורבכת חלות בלולות בשמן v'hikriv al zevach hatodah challos matzos blulos bashemen, u'rekikei matzos meshuchim bashemen v'soles murbeches challos blulos bashemen. So if you're offering it as a thanksgiving, you bring it with loaves mixed with oil, wafers with oil, loaves of scalded fine flour mixed with oil. על חלות לחם חמץ יקריב קרבנו על זבח תודת שלמיו Al challos lechem chametz yakriv korbano al zevach todah shlamav. With loaves of leaven bread shall you bring it, the feast, the קרבן תודה korban todah, the gratitude. והקריב ממנו אחד מכל קרבן תרומה להשם לכהן הזורק את דם השלמים לו יהיה V'hikriv mimenu echad mikol korban trumah l'Hashem l'kohen hazoreik es dam hashlamim lo yihyeh. You offer of each kind a portion to Hashem, it belongs to the kohen who throws the blood of the sacrifice. ובשר זבח תודת שלמיו ביום קרבנו יאכל לא יניח ממנו עד בקר U'vesar zevach todah shlamav b'yom korbano ye'achel, lo yaniach mimenu ad boker. And the meat of the קרבן korban has to be eaten on the day that it's offered. It cannot be left until the morning. And that's the קרבן תודה korban todah. Now, there's an unusual thing about the קרבן תודה korban todah. Normally, when it comes to a קרבן שלמים korban shlamim, what we're going to study in, in greater detail momentarily, normally when it comes to this peace offering, this bid for connection with Hashem, one has two days and one night to eat it. Most קרבנות korbanos are eaten by the כהן kohen. The כהן kohen exclusively gets the meat of the קרבן korban. The קרבן שלמים korban shlamim, the individual who brings it gets the meat. Understand there's a tremendous consequence because bringing an animal is not cheap. If you think buying a couple rib steaks is expensive, if you think buying a couple of uh, tenderloins is expensive, imagine bringing the whole cow, ram, sheep. It's expensive. So if you have to bring that animal and then you basically just fed a whole group of כהנים kohanim, versus bringing that animal and being able to host your own barbecue. So normally the קרבן שלמים korban shlamim, the קרבן שלמים korban shlamim is, is different in that it's eaten by the בעלים ba'alim, it's eaten by the individual who brings the קרבן korban. And normally the individual has a somewhat lengthy period of time to eat it, the day that it's brought, that night, and the next day. Two days and a night. And there's a lot, so it could be six meals. It can be six meals, four meals, eight meals, depending what diet you're on. But it's uh, it's a lot of meals to be able to eat it. The קרבן תודה korban todah is different. The קרבן תודה korban todah, we just saw the pasuk has to be eaten by the end of that day, a day and a night the קרבן תודה korban todah gets. Why does the קרבן תודה korban todah get almost half the time that a normal שלמים shlamim gets? So here there's an insight of the נציב Netziv. It's a famous insight. I've quoted it often. Rav Shechter is also fond of quoting it. The נציב Netziv says, רב נפתלי צבי יהודה ברלין Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, says the נציב Netziv, there's a brilliant insight into the concept of gratitude. When you're truly grateful for something, you don't keep it to yourself. When you've experienced a miracle, because what are the four things that precipitate this קרבן korban are essentially miracles, supernatural events. In the natural order, you didn't shouldn't have expected to survive crossing the sea. It's not today, although today some of these cruise liners also, you shouldn't necessarily expect to, to be able to make it home alive. But it's not today where there's a certain sense of luxury. You cross the sea, it was a, it was a life-threatening voyage. Illness could be life-threatening, captivity and so on. So when you experience a miracle, says the נציב Netziv, it's not meant if if you keep it to yourself, you're not truly grateful. That which you're grateful for, you want to scream from the rooftops. You want to take out an ad. You want to take out a billboard on 95. So says the נציב Netziv, by shortening the period of time that you have to eat the קרבן תודה korban todah, what does that automatically do? It means you have to invite others to participate. You have this whole animal which has to be eaten in such a short time. It's impossible, no matter what what kind of carnivore you are, it's impossible to eat that amount in that period of short time. So, by shortening the length of time you have to eat it, but requiring you to eat the whole thing, you are forced to invite other people. And says the נציב Netziv, that's the real way that gratitude is expressed. When you invite other people, when you surround yourself with friends, when you share your expression of gratitude, that's true gratitude. When you keep it to yourself and quietly, it's unclear if you're sincere. But when you want the world to know and to participate and to echo your sentiment of gratitude, that's the most authentic gratitude there is. And therefore, again the נציב Netziv alludes to that's the origin of the סעודת הודאה seudas hoda'ah. A person experiences one of those four things today. A person experiences some kind of miraculous redemption, a person experiences some form of, of salvation, of healing, they make a meal of thanksgiving, sponsor shaleshudes, make a meal in your home, bring people together and be able to publicly acknowledge Hashem, thank Hashem, publicly express that gratitude, modeled after the real way that the קרבן תודה korban todah was designed. Another anomaly or interesting thing about the קרבן שלמים korban shlamim, the Midrash Rabba teaches that when Mashiach comes, ימות המשיח yemos ha'Mashiach, there'll be no need for the קרבנות korbanos to achieve כפרה kapara. A חטאת chatas, a חטאת chatas which is a sin offering, which is brought when we make a mistake. Not when you do something on purpose. A person who does an עבירה בשוגג aveira b'shogeg, a person who does a, an עבירה aveira by accident, right, those who are learning the daf yomi spent a lot of time on how do you define שוגג shogeg. Beginning שוגג shogeg, at the end it's שוגג shogeg. What if in the middle you became aware that it's אסור aser and then in מסכת שבת Maseches Shabbos we dealt with at length. שוגג Shogeg could mean you didn't know today was Shabbos and therefore you did something prohibited, or you knew today was Shabbos but you didn't know that that act was prohibited. So what happens if you didn't know at the first but then you knew by the time you finished? What happens if you didn't know, then in between you found out, and then you did the same act again but you had forgotten so you didn't know again. There's a lot, a lot, a lot of discussion, those who did the daf yomi recall. So, what? bringing all these קרבנות korbanos, yeah it could be very expensive. Could be very expensive. So a קרבן חטאת korban chatas is brought when a person does a, an a, an עבירה aveira by accident. And there's a guilt offering. So these achieve atonement. These, these קרבנות korbanos achieve atonement. In ימות המשיח yemos ha'Mashiach, these will be unnecessary. They won't need to be brought. The only קרבן korban that will be brought will be the שלמים shlamim. This thanksgiving offering, this bid for connection, this desire for connecting with Hashem, that will endure and that will be brought during the time of ימות המשיח yemos ha'Mashiach, bechas Hashem. Okay, so with that background and introduction, let's take a look at this essay by the Slanimer Rebbe, which for purposes of disclosure I haven't really looked at yet, so I'm hoping it's interesting and that we understand it together. Yeah, sorry, you had a question? So if we are not going to do קרבנות korbanos when Mashiach comes, why do we Who says we're not going to do קרבנות korbanos when Mashiach comes? That's what I understood now. No, no, no, many קרבנות korbanos we will still do. The כפרה kapara קרבנות korbanos, the Midrash says you won't. People are not going to sin? So that's a good question. What will ימות המשיח yemos ha'Mashiach look like? That's a big machlokes between the Rambam and the Ramban. Is it going to look exactly as it does now, the only difference will be no Ahmadinejad, no Syria, no Jordan, no Egypt, no, in other words, we won't be threatened, we won't have to have a military, we won't have to worry about security, but other than that, you're still going to work and earn a parnassa and live life and learn Torah? That's the Rambam who paints a portrait of ימות המשיח yemos ha'Mashiach as essentially ordinary, the same as it is now, just eliminating the need for security. And the Ramban says, no, it's a redemptive era, it's a totally different spiritual time. So I don't know how the Rambam deals with this Midrash. It's a good question.Okay, so let's take a look at the Slanimer Rebbe. וזאת תורת זבח השלמים אשר יקריב להשם V'zos toras zevach hashlamim asher yakriv l'Hashem. He quotes the opening pasuk that we just read from פרק ז', פסוק י\"א perek zayin, pasuk yud aleph: זאת תורת זבח השלמים Zos toras zevach hashlamim. This is the law of the feast of the peace offering that's brought to Hashem. וכן אמר דבר אל בני ישראל לאמר המקריב את זבח שלמיו להשם V'holom davar el bnei Yisrael l'mor, hamakriv es zevach shlamav l'Hashem. And later when the parsha revisits the concept of the קרבן שלמים korban shlamim, again it says this is the law, המקריב hamakriv, if someone who offers זבח שלמיו zevach shlamav, the feast of their, of their thanksgiving, of their peace offering, להשם l'Hashem, יביא את קרבנו להשם מנזבח שלמיו yavie es korbano l'Hashem mizzevach shlamav. So the כלי יקר Kli Yakar asks a question. Slanimer Rebbe quotes the כלי יקר Kli Yakar. כלי יקר אמר Kli Yakar amar...does anyone need a, do you have? The Kli Yakar asks, Rav Luntschitz. בכל הקרבנות בפרשה נאמר רק תורת העולה או תורת החטאת B'kol hakorbanos b'parsha ne'emar rak toras ha'olah o toras ha'chatas. In the introduction to every other, you need also? In the introduction to every other section, it says these are the laws of the עולה olah, of the elevation offering. These are the laws of the חטאת chatas of the sin offering. וליכא כסב זאת תורת זבח השלמים אשר יקריב להשם V'likan kasav zos toras zevach hashlamim asher yakriv l'Hashem. Here there's an extra word. It doesn't just say to be parallel to the others, these are the laws of the peace offering. It says this is the law of the feast, זבח zevach of the peace offering. וכן המקריב את זבח שלמיו להשם V'chein hamakriv es zevach shlamav l'Hashem. נאמר רק בשלמים ne'emar rak b'shlamim. So why is the שלמים shlamim unique that it's introduced with the word זבח zevach, זאת תורת זבח השלמים zos toras zevach shlamav, where it just says זאת תורת העולה zos toras ha'olah and זאת תורת החטאת zos toras ha'chatas. Okay? Why the addition of the word זבח zevach? וגם V'gam, that's the Kli Yakar's question. וגם אמר עוד בשלמיו ידיו תביאינה את אישי השם V'gam amar od b'shlamav yadav tevi'ena es ishei Hashem. It also says ידיו תביאינה yadav tevi'ena, your hand should bring it to the fire of Hashem. Fire of Hashem is of course a reference to the מזבח mizbeach, the altar, where the fire burns, the fire burns by the way perpetually. Even through the night there's a mitzvah to keep the fire lit, the fire aflame. So היא מדרגה מיוחדת שלא נאמר כן בקרבנות אחרים hi madregah meyuchades shelo ne'emar kein b'korbanos acherim. This is a level where it describes ידיו yadav, your hands bringing the קרבן korban, which does not appear when it comes to the other קרבנות korbanos. So notes the Slanimer Rebbe to begin, two anomalies, two unusual, unique characteristics that apply to this sacrifice unlike the others. Number one, he says, it's introduced with the word זבח zevach, זאת תורת זבח שלמיו zos toras zevach shlamav, and number two, it says ידיו yadav, brought by your hands. עוד מצינו מדרגות מיוחדות בזבח שלמים V'od matzinu madregos meyuchados b'zevach shlamim. We find more anomalies, more unusual characteristics of this sacrifice. It says in the זוהר הקדוש Zohar HaKadosh, ומכל קרבנא לא חביבין קמי קודשא בריך הוא כשלמים u'mikol korbana lo chavivin kamai Kodsha Brich Hu k'shlamim, בגין דאשתכח שלמא בעילאי ובתתאי b'gin d'ishtakach shlama b'iloi u'v'tatoi. Of all the קרבנות korbana, says the heilige Zohar, of all of the קרבנות korbanos, of all of the sacrifices, לא חביבין קמי קודשא בריך הוא lo chavivin kamai Kodsha Brich Hu, none are as dear, as beloved to the Almighty as the שלמים shlamim, which we find bring peace in the upper realms and the lower ones. ובמדרש תנחומא כן איש אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא זו חביבה עלי מכל הקרבנות גדולה שלמים שעושים שלום בין ישראל לאביהם שבשמים U'v'Midrash Tanchuma kein ish amar Hakadosh Baruch Hu, zu chabiva alai mikol hakorbanos, gedolah shlamim she'osim shalom bein Yisrael l'avihem shebashamayim. This statement in the Zohar is similar to that in the Midrash Tanchuma which says that the קרבן שלמים korban shlamim is most beloved to Hashem. It is so great that it brings peace between God and between Jewish people and their father in heaven. ועוד בתנחומא ולא ראה זבח שלמים שעושה שלום במזבח ובין הכהנים ובין ישראל V'od b'Tanchuma v'lo ra zevach shlamim she'osa shalom bein mizbeach u'bein hakohanim u'bein Yisrael. היאך עולה היתה כולה כליל להשם Heyach ha'olah hayesa kula kalil l'Hashem. חטאת היתה דמה ואימוריה על המזבח ועורה ובשרה לכהנים V'chatas hayesa dama v'eimureha al hamizbeach v'orah u'vesara l'kohanim. So he says, another distinction. He says the קרבן עולה korban olah is entirely burnt on the altar. So when you bring an elevation offering, the meat, the fat, everything sits on the altar, burns, it is entirely consumed. The קרבן חטאת korban chatas, the blood and the fats are, and the meat, the blood and the fats are sprinkled on the mizbeach, and the hide and the meat go to the kohanim. כהנים אוכלים והבעלים מתכפרים Kohanim ochlim v'ba'alim miskaprim. The kohen eat the meat and the one who brought it achieves atonement. אבל שלמים ותודה היה דמה ואימוריה למזבח Aval shlamim v'todah hayah dama v'eimureha l'mizbeach. When it comes to the קרבן שלמים korban shlamim, we've been talking about, the peace offering, the blood and the fats go to the מזבח mizbeach, the altar. וחזה ושוק לכהנים V'chazeh v'shok l'kohanim. And certain parts of the animal which are the right, the entitlement of the go to the kohen, that's how they earn their living. ועורה ובשרה לישראל V'orah u'vesara l'Yisrael. And as I mentioned earlier, the one who brings this קרבן korban, they get to barbecue, they get to eat the meat. לפיכך נקרא זבח השלמים שעושה שלום לכל L'ficach nikra zevach hashlamim she'oseh shalom l'kol. So that's why it's called the feast of the שלמים shlamim. Because when it comes to every other קרבן korban, someone is left out. The עולה olah, entirely burnt on the altar. The חטאת chatas, some on the altar, some to the kohen. Only the שלמים shlamim does the altar get its part, the blood and the fats, the כהנים kohanim get their part, the חזה chazeh and the לחיים lechayayim, and the שוק shok, and the, and the meat goes to the person who brings it. So it's called the שלמים shlamim because it brings שלום לכל shalom l'kol, it makes everybody happy. It's a smorgasbord, everybody gets to eat what they want from the food court. ורואים לבאר ענין יחוד זבח השלמים שהוא עולה ומתאחד עם השם אשר יקריב להשם U'roim l'vaer inyan yichud zevach hashlamim shehu oleh u'misyached im Hashem, asher yakriv l'Hashem. שהוא חביב יותר מכל הקרבנות Shehu chaviv yoser mikol hakorbanos. ומה משמעו שעושה שלום בין ישראל לאביהם שבשמים U'mah mashma'o she'oseh shalom bein Yisrael l'avihem shebashamayim. So the Slanimer Rebbe winds up his questions. He asks five questions here. Right? Number one, why is it interesting the word זבח zevach? Number two, why does it say ידיו yadav, brought by his hands? Number three, why is it described as so beloved to God? Number four, why is it so great that it brings peace between Jewish people and their father in heaven? And number five, why specifically the שלמים, שלום לכל shalom l'kol, why is the שלמים shlamim specifically designed that everybody gets a piece of it? The altar gets its piece, the kohanim get their piece, and the Jewish people or the people who bring it get their piece. Okay? Follow those five questions? Good. ויש לומר בזה V'yesh lomar b'zeh, says the Slanimer Rebbe, the following. דהנה עבודת השם ישנה בשתי מדרגות D'hinei avodas Hashem yeshna b'shtei madregos. There are two metaphors, there are two levels, there are two attitudes or perspectives we bring to our service of the Almighty. כאבדים וכבנים Ka'avadim u'kevanim. On the one hand we serve God like slaves. On the one hand, we are in servitude. God is our master. God owns us. God determines our time, he dictates our actions. We are to serve the Almighty. On the other hand, כבנים k'vanim, he's our father. We're his children. Children don't serve their father. Sure, there's a mitzvah of כבוד kavod, of honor. There's a mitzvah of יראה yirah, of awe, but I don't think it's a healthy functional relationship to describe the relationship between parents and children as the children serving the parents. There's love, there's affection, there's loyalty, there's honor and awe, but it's predicated on love and affection. So, says the Slanimer Rebbe, we bring both to our relationship. There are two dimensions to our relationship with Hashem. At times we bring the attitude of עבדים avadim. We're slaves. We're in service of him. And at other times, we are כבנים k'vanim, we're like children. וכידוע בתפילת אבות Uk'dayisa b'tefilas avos, היום יעמיד במשפט כל יצורי עולמים, אם כבנים אם כעבדים hayom ya'amid bamishpat kol yetzurei olamim, im k'vanim im ka'avadim. Sounds familiar? Rosh Hashanah, after we blow the shofar three times, we say, היום יעמיד במשפט כל יצורי עולמים hayom ya'amid bamishpat kol yetzurei olamim, today stand in justice all of creations of the world. אם כבנים אם כעבדים Im k'vanim im ka'avadim, whether as sons, whether as children or whether as slaves. שהמשפט הזה גופא Shehamishpat hazeh gufa. Says the Slanimer Rebbe, if you've ever stopped to think about that paragraph after we blow shofar that we sing three times, what's the משפט mishpat? היום יעמיד במשפט כל יצורי עולמים Hayom ya'amid bamishpat kol yetzurei olamim. Today stand in judgment all of creation. אם כבנים אם כעבדים Im k'vanim im ka'avadim, that's the judgment. God looks at the one standing in front of him and decides, am I going to look at you like my son? Am I going to look at you like my servant? What kind of judge will I be? What is my attitude and approach towards you? העבד עובד לאדונו רק בדברים שמיצטווה עליהם בפירוש Ha'eved oved l'adono rak b'dvarim she'mitztaveh aleihem b'feirush. A servant serves his master only in those things which were explicitly commanded of him. מפני שאינו עובד מאהבה Mipnei she'eino oved me'ahava, אין לו ענין ורצון לעשות נחת רוח למלך de'eino inyan v'ratzon la'asos nachas ruach l'melech. The servant simply does what's asked of him or her. They're not looking to bring joy and satisfaction and go above and beyond to the master. They're not looking for a promotion. There is no promotion. When you're a servant, you're owned by your master, you do exactly as you're told, no more and no less, because it's served from fear and not from love. מפני היראה אינו עושה אלא את מה שמחוייב לעשות מציווי המלך Mipnei hayirah eino oseh elah es she'mechuyav la'asos mitzivuy hamelech. In fact, you don't seek to volunteer to do more than you're asked because you may be wrong. And you don't want to mess with the master who can cut off your head. So a servant does exactly what's asked of them, no less, because of their fear, and no more because of their fear. They do exactly. והילולי בן המלך כל תשוקתו לעשות נחת רוח לאביו V'eilu ben hamelech kol teshukaso la'asos nachas ruach l'aviv. But a child, a child doesn't just do what they're asked. A loving child anticipates, predicts, envisions what will bring joy and satisfaction and pleasure to the parent. והרי הוא עושה דברים המביאים קורת רוח לאביו אף שלא נצטווה על כך V'harei hu oseh dvarim hamevi'im koras ruach l'aviv af shelo nitztaveh al kach. A real loyal child will say, what will bring joy to my parent? They ask for this, if I do this plus that, if I do this in this way, if they didn't even ask for anything but I'm going to do it, boy will that bring satisfaction. וזה מעלתו המיוחדת של קרבן שלמים על פני כל הקרבנות V'zeh ma'alaso hameyuchades shel korban shlamim al pnei kol hakorbanos. Says the Slanimer Rebbe, that is the superiority, that's the greatness of this sacrifice of the קרבן שלמים korban shlamim over all the others. שכל הקרבנות שייכים לבחינת עבדים Shekol hakorbanos shayachim l'vchinas avadim, שהם באים לכפר על חטאיהם shehem ba'im l'chaper al chato'eiham. When it comes to all the other sacrifices, you're like a slave. God said, here's what you need to do. You did X, you need to bring Y. You made a mistake, חטא chet, קרבן חטאת korban chet. חטאת ואשם על חטאים של מעשה ועולה מכפרת על הרהור עבירה כעבד המקיים ציווי המלך Chatas v'osham al chato'eim shel ma'aseh v'olah mechaperes al hirhur aveira k'eved mekuyam tzivuy hamelech. The קרבן חטאת korban chatas and the קרבן אשם korban osham achieve one kind of כפרה kapara, one kind of atonement for mistakes, for guilt that you have. The קרבן עולה korban olah, the elevation sacrifice which is entirely consumed, that achieves atonement for הרהורי עבירה hirhurei aveira, the improper thoughts and fantasies and desires you had. אבל שלמים אינם באים על חטא Aval shlamim einam ba'im al chet. It's not brought in response to a mistake that you made. It's not brought out of a sense of obligation or duty. וכל עניינם ריח ניחוח להשם שיהודי רוצה לעשות נחת רוח להשם יתברך V'chol inyono rei'ach nichoach l'Hashem, she'Yehudi rotzeh la'asos nachas ruach l'Hashem Yisbarach. What precipitates a קרבן שלמים korban shlamim? A Jew sits and says, I want to feel close to Hashem. I want to volunteer. I want to connect. A bid for connection. A bid to feel close. וגם תודה היא בא מתוך הכרת הטוב שיהודי מכיר בחסד שעשה עמו הקדוש ברוך הוא כבן העושה מאהבה V'gam todah hi ba'ah mitoch hakaras hatov she'Yehudi makir b'chesed she'asah imo Hakadosh Baruch Hu k'ben ha'oseh me'ahava. And the קרבן תודה korban todah, which is a subcategory of the שלמים shlamim, is brought out of gratitude. Gratitude and thanksgiving is what a child feels for a parent. וזה פירוש גדולה שלמים שעושים שלום בין ישראל לאביהם שבשמים V'zeh peirush gedolah shlamim she'osim shalom bein Yisrael l'avihem shebashamayim. שקרבן שלמים בא מתוך אהבה בבחינת בנים העושים קורת רוח לאביהם She'korban shlamim ba mitoch ahava b'vchinas banim ha'osim koras ruach l'avihem. משום כך חביבין השלמים לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא יותר מכל הקרבנות הבאים בחובה Mishum kach chavivin hashlamim lifnei Hakadosh Baruch Hu yoser mikol hakorbanos haba'im b'chovah. Says the Slanimer Rebbe, that's the difference. I can approach God in my relationship with him like I'm a slave. I'm obligated. It's my duty. I have to just mail it in. I have to check off these boxes. This is what's commanded of me. This is what's expected of me. That's what I have to do. There's no real relationship. A slave and a master don't have a relationship. The slave wants to survive. In exchange for for a roof over his head and food in his mouth and clothing, the slave does what he has to do. So I could bring that attitude to my relationship with the Almighty. God gives me life. He gives me whatever health that I'm blessed to have. In exchange for the roof over my head and the ability to open my eyes or take two steps in the morning, okay, tzitzis, talleis, candles, Shabbos, yom tov, I do what he asks. Or I could connect to Hashem like a son to a parent, with love, relationship, seeking to understand, to connect, loyalty, to deepen a relationship, to feel affection, to anticipate the needs, to give נחת nachas. So the other קרבנות korbanos are like a slave. It's in response to what I have to do. The קרבן שלמים korban shlamim is the one קרבן korban which is not in response to what I have to do, but it is a voluntary bid for connection, a desire to get close. It's בבחינת b'vchinas, it's in the category of a child to a parent. וזה שנאמר בשלמים אשר יקריב להשם V'zeh she'ne'emar b'shlamim asher yakriv l'Hashem. והמקריב את זבח שלמיו להשם יביא את קרבנו להשם V'hamakriv es zevach shlamav l'Hashem yavi es korbano l'Hashem. כמו ששמענו ממרן הרב הקדוש מקוברין K'mo she'shama'anu m'maran ha'rav hakadosh mi'Kubrin, שפירש כשהיה עובד לפני התיבה במוסף של שבת, כשהיה מוד באומרו את מוסף יום השבת הזה נעשה ונקריב לפניך באהבה she'peireish k'she'hayah oved lifnei ha'teivah b'musaf shel Shabbos, k'she'hayah mod b'omro es musaf yom ha'Shabbos hazeh na'aseh v'nakriv l'fanecha b'ahava. ואחר כך פירש בשולחנו הקדוש V'achar kach peireish b'shulchano hakadosh, נעשה ונקריב לפניך את עצמנו נקריב לפניך na'aseh v'nakriv l'fanecha es atzmeinu nakriv l'fanecha. So he says the, the great heilige chasidisha Rebbe from Kubrin had the following insight. He's in shul Shabbos morning and in musaf he's davening, leading the davening of musaf, he's the chazan, and he says the words that we all say every single Shabbos, נעשה ונקריב לפניך באהבה na'aseh v'nakriv l'fanecha b'ahava. We will do and we will bring before you with love. מוסף יום השבת הזה Musaf yom ha'Shabbos hazeh, the קרבן מוסף korban musaf, which is the additional sacrifice for Shabbos and Yom Tov, the קרבן מוסף korban musaf, God we bring before you and sacrifice באהבה b'ahava, with love. The Rebbe has this epiphany, this insight. He goes home and at a Shabbos table he shares that when we say the words נעשה ונקריב לפניך na'aseh v'nakriv l'fanecha, we will bring and sacrifice before you, it's not the animal, את עצמנו נקריב לפניך es atzmeinu nakriv l'fanecha, it's ourselves, it's us. מדרגה זו היא בחינת קרבן שלמים אשר יקריב להשם Madregah zu hi b'chinas korban shlamim asher yakriv l'Hashem. שיהודי מקריב את עצמו להשם יתברך She'Yehudi makriv es atzmo l'Hashem Yisbarach. The קרבן שלמים korban shlamim is not I'm bringing the animal, some external, superficial, tangible item, but I'm bringing the animal as a symbol of I'm bringing myself. It's what's in me. אדם כי יקריב מכם Adam ki yakriv mikem. כיון שהוא קרבן הבא מתוך אהבה מפנימיות הנפש Keivan shehu korban haba mitoch ahava mipnimiyus hanefesh. ולכן גם נאמר בשלמים ידיו תביאינה את אשי השם לפי שהוא קרבן אהבה V'lachen gam ne'emar b'shlamim yadav tevi'ena es ishei Hashem l'fi shehu korban ahava. So here the Slanimer Rebbe has explained why does it describe ידיו yadav that you bring this קרבן korban with your own hands? It means because you're bringing yourself. You're not just going through the motions. You're not just doing an action. You're not just doing something that's demanded of you as a checklist. You're doing it out of love, something voluntary. You bring with your own hands. It's one thing in a relationship a spouse asks you, will you do A, B, and C. You do A, B, and C, you were asked. But imagine the relationship where you don't do A, B, and C because you were asked, but you think of D on your own. You go out and you buy it. You see something and it reminds you of your spouse so you get it for them. You know that while your spouse is out, if you clean the garage for Pesach, if you kasher the microwave, if you pack the suitcase, if you, you anticipate something that you know will bring them such joy and satisfaction and nachas. They come home and they find it. So that's described בידיו b'yadav, you did that with your own hands. If he said take out the garbage and you took out the garbage, it's not an act of love. It's not an act of affection. You took out the garbage because you were asked to take out the garbage. You don't say, I took out the garbage with my own hands. But if while your spouse was out, you cleaned the house for Pesach, you baked a cake, you took care of the shopping, you did without their asking, you anticipated something, you wrote them a most beautiful card, you brought home a dozen roses, a box of chocolates, then you describe that בידיו b'yadav, you did that with your own hands, because implicit within that action is a piece of yourself, what you really did was give a piece of yourself. So says the Slanimer Rebbe, what's true in the human relationship, in the human realm, is all the more true in our relationship with Hashem. When all we do is reactionary, when we fulfill that which God asks us, okay, it's nice, certainly it's the cornerstone, it's the foundation of a relationship, but the real depth of a relationship, the real romance of a relationship, the real love of a relationship is to anticipate and to do even that which is not asked of you, before it's asked of you. That's בבחינת בנים b'vchinas banim, that's like being a child, that's like being a spouse. [Error processing chunk 2]
