Transcript
Okay. בוקר טוב Boker tov. We have a limited amount of time so we'll see how far we get. We're doing the last piece in פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh in נתיבות שלום Netivei Shalom. And the סלונים רבה Slonimer Rebbe he deals with a question which is not his own, it's a question everybody asks when they learn פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh. ועשית מזבח מקטר קטרת ve'asisa mizbeach miktas ketores ונתתו לפני הפרכת אשר על ארן העדת ve'nasata oso lifnei ha'paroches asher al aron ha'eidus, לפני הכפרת אשר על העדת lifnei ha'kapores asher al ha'eidus, קדש קדשים הוא להשם kodesh kodoshim hu la'Hashem. בפרשה זו רבו הערות be'parsha zu rabu ha'aros. On this parsha there are many comments, many questions. רמב\"ן הקשה Ramban hiksheh. The Ramban asks, מדוע פרשה זו נאמרה רק כאן בסוף פרשת תצוה madua parsha zu ne'emra rak kan be'sof parshas tetzaveh? אחר ענין בגדי כהונה והקרבנות achar inyan bigdei kehuna ve'ha'korbanos. We know that in the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash and its precursor the משכן Mishkan, there were two altars. There was the מזבח mizbeach, the inner מזבח mizbeach in which the קרבנות korbanos, the sacrifices were offered. And then there was the smaller מזבח mizbeach which was used exclusively for the קטרת ketores, to offer the... the outer מזבח mizbeach. I'm sorry, the inner מזבח mizbeach for the קטרת ketores, for the for the incense. And the Ramban asks, why is the מזבח הקטרת mizbeach ha'ketores provided in פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh? פרשת תרומה Parshas Truma was the one that had the dimensions and the diagrams and the engineering of all the utensils. So פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh is about the בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna. So why at the end of פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh is this other smaller מזבח mizbeach provided? The instruction, the command for it should have come in פרשת תרומה Parshas Truma. שלכאורה היה ראוי לכתוב את ענין מזבח קטרת בפרשת תרומה יחד עם כלי המקדש הפנימיים, השולחן, המנורה, שהם בתוך אוהל מועד She'lichora haya ra'uy lichtov es inyan mizbeach ketores be'parshas Truma yachad im klei ha'mikdash ha'pnimiyim, ha'shulchan, ha'menorah, she'hem b'soch ohel moed. וככהו סדר הפרשה ve'kacho seder ha'parsha. It should have been among the inner utensils on the inner part of the אוהל מועד ohel moed. מקודם לכלי המקדש הפנימיים לאחר ארון שבמשכן וירותיו, ומזבח החיצון mikodem l'klei hamikdash ha'pnimiyim, l'achar ha'Aron she'ba'Mishkan v'yiriosav, v'mizbeach ha'chitzon. And the Ramban even provides exactly which would have been the most appropriate slot, exactly where in the parsha it should have appeared. ואחר כך בפרשת תצוה עניין בגדי כהונה וקרבנות ve'achar kach be'parshas tetzaveh inyan bigdei kehuna v'korbanos. And in our parsha we have the laws governing the detailed instructions of how to fashion the clothing of the כהנים kohanim and of the קרבנות korbanos. ואם כן, היה צריך שפרשת מזבח הקטרת תיכתב בסמך למנורה והשולחן ve'im kein, haya tzarich she'parshas mizbeach ha'ketores tikaseiv b'samach la'menorah ve'ha'shulchan. Really it belonged, since it's it belonged physically it appears next to the מנורה menorah and the שולחן shulchan, it should have appeared in the Torah also next to the מנורה menorah and the שולחן shulchan. That is the question of the Ramban. כן צריך ביאור מה שכתוב בפרשה, ויקטר עליו אהרן קטרת סמים, בבקר בבקר בהטיבו את הנרות יקטירנה ובהעלות אהרן את הנרות בין הערבים יקטירנה קטרת תמיד לפני השם Ken tzarich bi'ur ma she'kasuv ba'parsha v'hiktir alav Aharon ketores samim, ba'boker ba'boker be'heitivo es ha'neiros yaktirena, u've'ha'alos Aharon es ha'neiros bein ha'arbayim yaktirena ketores tamid lifnei Hashem. The parsha instructs us that when is the קטרת ketores brought by אהרן Aharon? In the morning when he kindles the lamps, the lantern, the מנורה menorah, and the evening... ומזה משמע שהקטרת, שהקטרת הקטרת, יש קשר מיוחד לעבודת המנורה u'mizeh mashma she'ha'ketores, she'haktaras ha'ketores, yesh kesher meyuchad l'avodas ha'menorah. The Torah seems to link or associate the offering of the incense with the smaller מזבח mizbeach with the lighting of the מנורה menorah. וכן אמר ונתתו לפני הפרכת אשר על ארן העדת לפני הכפרת אשר על העדת ve'chein omar v'nasato lifnei ha'paroches asher al aron ha'eidus lifnei ha'kapores asher al ha'eidus. ופירש רש\"י לפני הפרכת מחוון כנגד ארון בחוץ u'feireish Rashi lifnei ha'paroches mechuvan ke'neged Aron ba'chutz. ויש לומר ענין מדוע היה צריך מזבח הקטרת להיות מכוון כנגד ארון הקודש v'yesh lomar inyan madua haya tzarich mizbeach ha'ketores l'hiyos mechuvan ke'neged Aron ha'Kodesh. Why was it necessary for this small incense offering altar to be opposite or face the ארון Aron? כן יש לומר על לשון, יש להקשות על לשון לפני הפרכת שנאמר כאן Ken yesh lomar al lashon, yesh l'hakshos al lashon lifnei ha'paroches she'ne'emar kan, שלא כמו שנאמר במנורה, מחוץ לפרכת shelo k'mo she'ne'emar ba'menorah, mi'chutz la'paroches. Here it says לפני lifnei, before the פרכת paroches, whereas the מנורה menorah is described as appearing within the אוהל מועד ohel moed but outside the פרכת paroches. So why the discrepancy? They're both in the same place so why is one לפני lifnei and one מחוץ mi'chutz? וכן יש לומר מה המודגש בקטרת לשון קדש קדשים, קדש קדשים הוא להשם ve'chein yesh lomar mah ha'mudgash ba'ketores lashon kodesh kodoshim, kodesh kodoshim hu la'Hashem. וכן גם במעשה הקטרת בפרשת כי תשא נאמר קדש קדשים תהיה לכם v'chein gam b'ma'aseh ha'ketores b'parshas Ki Sisa ne'emar kodesh kodoshim tihiyeh lachem. The Slonimer Rebbe's final question is why is the קטרת ketores, the incense, given to us in the context or used with the words קדש קדשים kodesh kodoshim that it is a holy of holies. So to repeat, first he begins with the Ramban's question, why is the מזבח הפנימי mizbeach ha'pnimi, why is the מזבח הקטרת mizbeach ha'ketores the smaller מזבח mizbeach in which the incense was offered, why are we first learning about it now at the end of Parshas Tetzaveh? Really it belonged, its place is Parshas Truma. It appeared physically with the מנורה menorah and the שולחן shulchan, it should have appeared in the Torah with the מנורה menorah and the שולחן shulchan as well. Number two, why is it linked with the מנורה menorah? We're told that אהרן Aharon offers the incense in association with the lighting of the מנורה menorah. What do the two have, why are they connected together? Number three, why when it's describing its relationship to the ארון Aron, it's different than the case of the of the מנורה menorah. The מנורה menorah says מחוץ לפרכת mi'chutz la'paroches, and here it says לפני lifnei. And lastly, why קדש קדשים kodesh kodoshim.ויש לומר, ענין על פי מה שכתב הקלי יקר, לבאר ענין שני המזבחות, מזבח החיצון, מזבח הפנימי, שהם כנגד הגוף והנשמה V'yesh lomar, inyan al pi ma she'kasav ha'Kli Yakar, l'va'er inyan shnei ha'mizbechos, mizbeach ha'chitzon, mizbeach ha'pnimi, she'hem k'neged ha'guf ve'ha'neshama. The קלי יקר Kli Yakar throughout the second half of פרשת שמות Parshas Shmos is phenomenal. The קלי יקר Kli Yakar is always wonderful, but particularly the second half of שמות Shmos, the קלי יקר Kli Yakar gives us incredible symbolism. The deeper understanding of all the different כלים keilim, the dimensions, what it means, what it's alluding to. And the קלי יקר Kli Yakar makes all of from פרשת תרומה Parshas Truma to the end of שמות Shmos relevant and resonate for us. As opposed to being talking about a time we can't relate to, we don't identify with, it makes it all very, very real for the way we construct our homes, our lives, and the בלבבי משכן אבנה b'levavi mishkan evneh, the מזבח mizbeach that's in our hearts. So here he quotes and he says, the two מזבחות mizbechos, the two altars correspond with the גוף guf and the נשמה neshama, the body and the soul. מזבח עולה כיפר על חטאיו, מה שנוגע לגוף Mizbeach olah kiper al chatav, ma she'nogea la'guf. The מזבח mizbeach where you bring the sacrifices, atone for the sins, that has to do with the body. The body, bless you, is distracted, tempted. The body engages in things that are negative, toxic, self-destructive, and where do we atone for it? Where do we repair that damage? With the מזבח mizbeach where קרבנות korbanos are offered. כשאדם חוטא מביא בהמה לקרבן, שזה בדומה לגוף החומרי שחטא K'she'adam choteh meivi beheima l'korban, she'zeh b'domeh la'guf ha'chomri she'chata. In fact, what is the symbolism? קרבנות Korbanos are not archaic, they're not old, they're not unrelatable. They're very, very beautiful. What we're saying is, Rav Hirsch describes this also, that we have within us this constant battle, this tension that's raging all the time. On the one hand, we have an animal impulse, an animal instinct. We have the animal soul. Right, we describe it in our own vernacular. Your your room is a pigsty, you're eating like a pig, you're acting like an animal. We have the animal voice. The animal voice says, do what you want, follow your appetite, and indulge your temptation. Don't have any discipline, don't have any sovereignty, don't be godly, just you're hungry, stuff your face. You crave whatever, go pursue it. That's the animal instinct. The godly soul, which is the other dimension that we live in simultaneously, has the capacity for discipline, to be sovereign, to say no. This is right, this is wrong, this is good for me, this is bad for me. This is moral, this is immoral. So when a person brings a קרבן korban, says Rav Hirsch, and the סלונים רבה Slonimer Rebbe is alluding to it here, that the person's doing when they bring that animal is they're saying, I'm hereby sacrificing the animal instinct in me. השם Hashem, I fed, I listened to the animal voice. I ignored the godly voice in me, and I indulged in the animal voice in me. So in order to repair that damage, in order to atone for that mistake, I'm bringing this animal and I'm making a statement to myself more than even to השם Hashem, that I am slaughtering the animal in me. I'm absolutely killing the animal in me and that from now on I'm going to listen to the godly soul. Rav Hirsch describes this for all the קרבנות korbanos. He says whether it's flower, the קרבן מנחה korban mincha which represents our most basic needs, to the wine libations, the נסך היין nisuch ha'yayin which represents man's indulgences, whether it's the offering of the fats or the he goes through each of them and talks about the symbolism of the statement that the person bringing that קרבן korban would be making. I am hereby committed to X, Y, or Z through the symbolism of what we're bringing. So says the סלונים רבה Slonimer Rebbe based on the קלי יקר Kli Yakar, the מזבח mizbeach on which the sacrifices were offered, you'd bring an animal and you'd offer it to God, you're saying the animal in me. The animal, I pursued that animal voice, I gave into that animal instinct. I behaved like an animal. I acted like an animal. And so the antidote is to offer an animal, to make the statement that I'm purging the animal in me. כן אדם מביא בהמה לקרבן, נפש תחת נפש, ומתכפר לו Ken adam meivi beheima l'korban, nefesh tachas nefesh, u'miskaper lo. אך יש את פגם הנשמה שבכל חטא שאדם חוטא מגיע פגם על הנשמה והנשמה אין יכולה להתכפר בבהמה שאין לה רוח ונשמה Ach yesh es pgam ha'neshama she'bechol chet she'adam choteh magia pgam al ha'neshama, ve'ha'neshama ein yechola l'hiskaper b'beheima she'ein lah ruach u'neshama. So corresponding to the impact on the body, right? We've contaminated our body, we misused our body, we abused our body in the pursuit of something that was inappropriate, that was incorrect. But that poor choice also leaves a blemish, it leaves a stain on our נשמה neshama. So a נשמה neshama אין יכולה להתכפר בבהמה שאין לה רוח ונשמה ein yechola l'hiskaper b'beheima she'ein lah ruach u'neshama. The נשמה neshama, so you have to you have to purge the animal benefit, joy, pleasure that you got, but you also have to somehow cleanse the stain, the blemish that was left on the נשמה neshama. And the נשמה neshama doesn't, is not comparable to an animal. ויעלה כך ימכפר מזבח מקטר קטרת שהקטרת היא דבר רוחני V'alah kach yemachaper mizbeach miktas ketores she'ha'ketores hi davar ruchani. And that's why you needed the second altar. You needed a place to offer the incense. Incense is purely spiritual. The smoke, the fragrance, the aroma that you take in is not tangible. I don't mean scientifically, you know, at the atom level, but I mean it's not tangible that you can't grab the smoke with your hands, you can't grab the aroma and throw it into your nostrils. It doesn't work that way. It's something which is a דבר רוחני davar ruchani. ריח ניחוח כנגד הנשמה Reiach nichoach k'neged ha'neshama. המזבח הקטרת היה מכפר על פגם הנשמה, חלק אלוק ממעל, שניסה נפרדת מהקדוש ברוך הוא על ידי חטא Ha'mizbeach ha'ketores haya mechaper al pgam ha'neshama, chelek Eloka mi'maal, she'nisah nifredes mei'ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu al yedei chet. So the נשמה neshama was distanced, there was a a wedge that was placed between us and God through our misusing our גוף guf. We negatively impacted the נשמה neshama. How does the נשמה neshama draw close to השם Hashem again? It needs its own atonement, and its atonement comes through that which is intangible, not physical, something which is which is רוחני ruchni. And what's the דבר רוחני davar ruchani? It's the ריח ניחוח reiach nichoach. היינו ככלי המשכן יהיו דומים לטהר את כלל ישראל Haynu k'chelei ha'mishkan yihyu domim l'taher es klal Yisrael. כמו שבקודש הקדשים היו כרובים מעשה אומן כנגד מדרגות הגבוהות K'mo she'ba'kodesh ha'kodoshim hayu kruvim ma'aseh oman k'neged madregos ha'gvohos. ובהיכל, השולחן מטהר את הגוף, דמיון לשולחנו של אדם שיהיה בבחינת זה שולחן לפני השם, שכל עניני חולין שלו יהיו קדש קדשים U'va'heichal, ha'shulchan metaher es ha'guf, dimyon l'shulchano shel adam she'yihiyeh bi'vchinas zeh shulchan lifnei Hashem, she'kol inyanei chulin shelo yihyu kodesh kodoshim. So just like the כלי המשכן klei ha'mishkan, their purpose, their destiny was to cleanse כלל ישראל klal Yisrael. In the קודש הקדשים kodesh ha'kodoshim, on top of the ארון Aron, you had these childlike angelic כרובים cheruvim, these figurines, these כרובים kruvim, and the Torah says כנגד מדרגות הגבוהות ke'neged madregos ha'gvohos, they represent the higher levels. In the היכל heichal you had the שולחן shulchan which represented the body, that the table of a person, when we eat, it's not simply fressing, we're not stuffing our mouth, we transform the act of eating into a holy act. It's קדש קדשים kodesh kodoshim. The מנורה menorah הייתה להאיר באור אלוקי לכלל ישראל hayta l'ha'ir b'or Eloki l'klal Yisrael. The מנורה menorah illuminated with the light of השם Hashem. ומזבח הקטרת היה בבחינת לטהר את הנשמה דלא שייך לגוף u'mizbeach ha'ketores haya bi'vchinas l'taher es ha'neshama d'lo shayach la'guf. ולכך נאמר בלשון קדש קדשים v'lachach ne'emar b'lashon kodesh kodoshim. So the incense offering was to cleanse the נשמה neshama. It's the highest of the high. Meaning the other utensils were there in order to remind us the mission and the purpose of our body. But the מזבח הקטרת mizbeach ha'ketores, the offering, the incense altar, that was there not to correspond or relate or be an antidote to the body but for the נשמה neshama. And because it served the נשמה neshama, that's why it's the קדש קדשים kodesh kodoshim. ויש לומר עוד בזה, על פי מה שביארנו במקום אחר, שיש חטא ופגם בעיקר בגוף, ויש הפגם בנשמה V'yesh lomar od b'zeh, al pi ma she'be'arnu b'makom acher, she'yesh chet u'pgam b'ikar ba'guf, v'yesh ha'pgam ba'neshama. Sometimes we make a mistake where the core impact is felt on the body, and other times contamination of the soul. יש עבירות ממש כשהיצר הרע מתגבר על האדם וחוטא בגופו, עושה מעשה איסורים, ויש בזה פגם בגדי הנשמה Yesh aveiros mamash k'she'yeitzer ha'ra misgaber al ha'adam v'choteh b'gufo, oseh ma'aseh isurim, v'yesh b'zeh pgam bigdei ha'neshama. וקדש עצמך במותר לך v'kadesh atzmecha ba'mutar lach. דברים שהתורה לא אסרה אותם, אלא שהם בניגוד לתכלית של קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני השם אלוקיכם Dvarim she'ha'Torah lo asra osam, ela she'hem b'nigud la'tachlis shel kedoshim tihiyu ki kadosh ani Hashem Elokeichem. So sometimes we misuse our body, we eat the wrong thing, look at the wrong thing, touch the wrong thing, engage in the wrong thing, and then our body has absorbed the negativity of the misuse of the body, of the of of using it for a purpose that it was not created. But sometimes we do something which technically on the books is permissible, but it's not consistent with the spirit of what השם Hashem wants from us. And when that's the case, then we've violated the קדושים תהיו kedoshim tihiyu, our mission to be holy, our mission to go above and beyond. התורה אומרת שהתכלית של יהודי שיהיה דבוק בהשם יתברך Ha'Torah omeres she'ha'tachlis shel yehudi she'yihiyeh davuk b'Hashem yisbarach. The whole purpose of Torah is 613 ways, all of Torah is a platform for how to cling to God. And therefore קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני kedoshim tihiyu ki kadosh ani. מזבח הקטרת היה מיוחד לתכלית של קדושים תהיו Mizbeach ha'ketores haya meyuchad l'tachlis shel kedoshim tihiyu, שמכפר על הנשמה בפגם שעשה נגד רצון השם, להתקדש במותר She'mechaper al ha'neshama ba'pgam she'asah neged r'tzon Hashem, l'hiskadesh ba'mutar. That the incense offering corresponded with not when we violate a rule, but it's when we violate the spirit of the relationship. You know, imagine you do something that hurts your spouse, but you say, well technically I didn't and I didn't and didn't happen and technically it was permissible and within the rules and I didn't really and it's okay, I just looked, I didn't touch, I just this, I just that. So, yeah, but the spirit of the relationship is broken. So so too over here, קדש עצמך במותר לך kadesh atzmecha ba'mutar lach. Even when technically you can use a legal loophole, you could use your defense attorney to prove that it was permissible, but if it violates the relationship, it violates the integrity, it violates the spirit, that too needs atonement. And that atonement was achieved on the מזבח הקטרת mizbeach ha'ketores. צדיקים אומרים שזה חמור יותר מהעברה Tzadikim omrim she'zeh chamur yoser mei'ha'aveira, שבעברה היצר הרע תיסר אחריו, אבל סוף כל סוף יהודי מרגיש שחטא וליבו נשבר בקרבו She'ba'aveira ha'yeitzer ha'ra tisar acharov, aval sof kol sof yehudi margish she'chata v'libo nishbar b'kirbo. When you actually violate the rule, at least you have remorse, you feel broken, you feel bad. מה שאין כן בהתר, שאינו מרגיש כלל שעבר על רצון השם Ma she'ein ken b'heter, she'eino margish klal she'avar al r'tzon Hashem. But when you think what you did is technically permissible, so then you've convinced yourself that you've done nothing wrong. ענינים אלו הם בבחינת ריח רע שנשאר על האדם Inyanim eilu hem bi'vchinas reiach ra she'nish'ar al ha'adam. So that's a ריח רע reiach ra, it leaves a bad odor. וכדוגמת אדם שרוצה להיכנס אצל המלך u'k'dugmas adam she'rotzeh l'hikanes eitzel ha'melech, like a person who wants to enter the palace of the king, שמנודף מנו ריח רע אינו יכול להיכנס אצל המלך she'menudaf mimenu reiach ra eino yachol l'hikanes eitzel ha'melech. If you smell, if you have a bad odor, so the guards are not going to let you in, they're going to block you. You can't come and have an audience with the king. ויוכל להתקרב אליו גם עם גופו ומלבושו מצוחצחים כראוי v'yuchal l'hiskarev eilav gam im gufo u'malbusho metzuchtzachim k'ra'uy. אך הריח הוא דבר שאין בו ממש, ואי אפשר להעביר אותו בשער המלך, כי יעבור עם ריח רע Ach ha'reiach hu davar she'ein bo mamash, v'i efshar l'havir oso b'sha'ar ha'melech ki ya'avor im reiach ra. Like you'll make it through the metal detector when you stink. If you smell really bad, you can get through the metal detector, but the king's not going to want you in the palace nonetheless. וכן הדבר ברוחניות, ענין ההיתר, שאף שאינם חטא, אבל הם בבחינת ריח רע, שמחמת זה אינו יכול להתקרב אל השם יתברך בבחינת נגן מאפרי האלף V'chein ha'davar b'ruchniyus, inyan ha'heter, she'af she'einam chet, aval hem bi'vchinas reiach ra, she'machmas zeh eino yachol l'hiskarev el Hashem Yisbarach bi'vchinas negen me'afri ha'aluf. So even if we can technically get through the spiritual metal detector, namely we're not violating the rules, we don't have any weapon on us, but if we stink, if we have an odor, if we have the residue of of poor choices and bad behavior, then then we're still not welcome by the king. וזה ענינו של מזבח הקטרת, שמתוך כל כלי המשכן, שהם עשויים לטהר יהודי, שיוכל להיות דבוק בהשם, היה מזבח הקטרת לענין ריח ניחוח להשם V'zeh inyano shel mizbeach ha'ketores, she'mi'toch kol klei ha'mishkan, she'hem asuyim l'taher yehudi, she'yuchal l'hiyos davuk b'Hashem, haya mizbeach ha'ketores l'inyan reiach nichoach la'Hashem. The incense offering provided that pleasant smell. It masked, it covered up, it removed whatever bad smell you had. So you were able to purge the bad smell and replace it with a a wonderful fragrance through the mechanism of the מזבח הקטרת mizbeach ha'ketores. שהיא דבר רוחני, לכפר על הפגמים הדקים, פגמי הנשמה, ולטהר את הריח רע הנודף מן האדם. וכל יום היה מקטיר עליו בבוקר ובין הערביים, לכפר על נשמות ישראל שצריכים כפרה אף לא קשור לחטאים בפועל She'hi davar ruchani, l'chaper al ha'pgamim ha'dakim, pigmei ha'neshama, u'l'taher es ha'reiach ra ha'nodef min ha'adam. V'chol yom haya maktir alav ba'boker u'vein ha'arbayim, l'chaper al nishmos Yisrael she'tzrichim kapara af lo kashur l'chata'im b'fo'al. So even the person who didn't need the מזבח mizbeach for bringing an animal sacrifice, even the person who didn't make a terrible mistake with the גוף guf, but nevertheless, if with the נשמה neshama, a person had the wrong intent or a lack of intent, they violated the spirit of the relationship and they were therefore covered with a terrible odor, that needed to be purged, removed, covered up with the positive fragrance. ולכן רק מזבח הקטרת נאמר קדש קדשים V'lachen rak mizbeach ha'ketores ne'emar kodesh kodoshim. And that's why the language of קדש קדשים kodesh kodoshim is used for this because this spoke to the נשמה neshama. The other מזבח mizbeach correspond like the קלי יקר Kli Yakar said, the other מזבח mizbeach was the גוף guf. This מזבח mizbeach was the נשמה neshama. Next paragraph. לפי זה מבואר מדוע נאמר פרשה זו בסוף כל מעשה המשכן L'fi zeh mevo'ar madua ne'emra parsha zu b'sof kol ma'aseh ha'mishkan. So why does it appear at the end? כי ענין מזבח הקטרת הוא סוף דבר של הטהרה, שבתחילה יש לטהר את החיצונית ואחר כך את הפנימיות Ki inyan mizbeach ha'ketores hu sof davar shel ha'tahara, she'ba'tchila yesh l'taher es ha'chitzoniyus v'achar kach es ha'pnimiyus. Because you have to begin first with repairing the body and then you can get to the נשמה neshama. First it's the חיצוניות chitzoniyus, it's the outside and then you're able to repair, then you can fix the damage from the from the inside. I um, I once saw a beautiful interpretation about why the קטרת ketores is the answer to the מידת הדין midas ha'din. Because the Ramban's answer that he raises the question in the name of the Ramban, why does it appear here at the end of תצוה Tetzaveh? The מזבח הקטרת mizbeach ha'ketores should have been in תרומה Truma. So the Ramban's answer is that once השם Hashem is drawn down, once the משכן mishkan is complete and now he comes down and he takes a closer look at כלל ישראל klal Yisrael, now that he employs מידת הדין midas ha'din to evaluate the Jewish people, now we needed the מזבח הקטרת mizbeach ha'ketores in order to save us. The pleasant aroma of the קטרת ketores is what would stop the מידת הדין midas ha'din, השם Hashem's strict justice. But the question is how? How is the קטרת ketores the response to the מידת הדין midas ha'din? So the קטרת ketores produces a ריח ניחוח reiach nichoach. It's very interesting. ריח Reiach why does השם Hashem... we're bribing God with a pleasant fragrance. He has a spritz of perfume. Here's some positive smelling flowers. God can be bribed. We're unworthy, we've made a mistake. We say, השם Hashem, it's all good. I lit some scented candles. We're all good now. Smells good. How does that work? So it's interesting to note that when השם Hashem gets angry, the Torah describes his anger as appearing where? In the nostrils. חרון אף Charon af. And the opposite, right, he has when he's angry, ארך אפיים erech apayim, the expansion of the nostrils. So the opposite of חרון אף charon af is ארך אפיים erech apayim. We describe one of the attributes of השם Hashem's patience, his kindness, his forgiveness, is ארך אפיים erech apayim. So what's with this the nostrils? השם Hashem's got nostrils? We bribe him with a pleasant aroma. When he's angry, his nostrils, his anger flares in the nostrils. When we appease him, it's found where, ארך אפיים erech apayim, in the nostrils. How do we make those nostrils expand? How do we get to ארך אפיים erech apayim? Through the ריח ניחוח reiach nichoach. So by giving God a pleasant aroma through the nostrils, that's when השם Hashem overcomes the חרון אף charon af and stops getting angry at us. So what is the connection of all this? Why is it the ריח ניחוח reiach nichoach, the מזבח הקטרת mizbeach ha'ketores is what achieves stopping the מידת הדין midas ha'din? Why does God described as getting angry in the nostrils and why is God's appeasement happening in the nostrils? So maybe the answer is having to do with the very way that we were created. And it really fits beautifully with this קלי יקר Kli Yakar and the סלונים רבה Slonimer Rebbe. When השם Hashem makes אדם Adam, it says ויפח באפיו נשמת חיים vayipach be'apav nishmas chayim. That God באפיו be'apav, where did God place our נשמה neshama? When he breathed life into our nostrils. He so to say, the מקובלים mekubalim, the נפש החיים Nefesh HaChaim describes like a glass blower takes inhales, takes a deep breath, and then blows in the glass to make it expand. Or if we were to blow up a balloon, you can't blow up a balloon with the superficial air in your in your mouth, that won't make the balloon expand. You have to take a deep breath and push it forth. You take a piece of yourself and put it in the other. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu created us, ויפח באפיו vayipach be'apav, when he when he breathed into our nostrils, he blew a piece of himself into us. That's how we got the צלם אלוקים tzelem Elokim to begin with. So the צלם אלוקים tzelem Elokim, the the godliness within us that enables us to live a noble life, to be supreme over that animal instinct and that animal impulse, that piece of God comes specifically, it's described as how did we first get it? We became living, breathing, animated, soulful beings where? Specifically through the nostrils. It's not a coincidence on מוצאי שבת Motzaei Shabbos, when we lose the נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira, how do we comfort ourselves? Through בסמים besamim. We we smell the בסמים besamim because we've lost the נשמה יתירה neshama yeseira through the nostril, so we comfort through using the using the בסמים besamim. So perhaps we provide a ריח ניחוח reiach nichoach, we give this positive smell for השם Hashem and that brings רחמים rachamim, because what we're saying to השם Hashem is, remember when we were created. Remember you breathed life in through our nostrils? Remember you gave us a נשמה neshama? So I gave in to the גוף guf, the temptation of the גוף guf. I made a mistake, I indulged in the desire, the temptation of the body. But I am affirming through this ריח ניחוח reiach nichoach, I'm affirming that I still have that נשמה neshama you gave me through my through my nose. By appealing to your nose, כביכול kaviyachol השם Hashem doesn't have a nose, but by providing this positive fragrance which you will imbibe through your nose, I am reminding you and me, we're being nostalgic for the נשמה neshama that you gave me through my through my nose. So even though I was distracted for a little bit, don't carry out מידת הדין midas ha'din because of the behavior of my גוף guf, remember that I have the immortality of the נשמה neshama. And the ריח ניחוח reiach nichoach is the the clue, the hint, that's the symbol to השם Hashem of the affirmation of the נשמה neshama, of the ריח ניחוח reiach nichoach that's still inside me. The גמרא בחולין Gemara b'Chullin says, where's Mordechai found in the Torah? מרדכי Mordechai is מר דרור mar dror, one of the ingredients of the קטרת ketores. When there's a מידת הדין midas ha'din, השם Hashem is going to destroy the Jewish people, at least the Jews of Shushan, the antidote, the מידת הרחמים midas ha'rachamim is the מר דרור mar dror, the pleasant fragrance. When you're ready to give up on me השם Hashem, don't forget I have a נשמה neshama. Don't give up on me. I have a נשמה neshama, I have capacity, I have capability, just because you've seen me behave by indulging in the גוף guf, don't give up on me. I still have a נשמה neshama and I'm going to nourish that נשמה neshama. And I remind you of that נשמה neshama through the ריח ניחוח reiach nichoach which is the way that you first gave it.
