Transcript
Good morning and בוקר טוב Boker Tov and welcome back to פרשה Parsha perspectives for today. Great to resume, great to be together, and hope everybody had a wonderful פסח Pesach and a גוטן זומר gutn zumer as they say. פרשה שיעור Parsha shiur series is sponsored generously by Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of Becky's father, David Grossman. Our learning is לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנדל le'ilui nishmat Dovid ben Menachem Mendel. The שיעור shiur this morning is also sponsored by our dear friend Myrna Hershorn on the occasion of the second יארצייט yahrzeit of Marvin Hershorn, משה נתן בן מנחם מנדל Moshe Natan ben Menachem Mendel. We miss Marvin, was a wonderful, wonderful member of our community. By Lisa Waxman, a רפואה שלמה refuah shleima for מרים בת צביה Miriam bat Tzivya and בתיה בת חוה Basya bat Chava, should have a רפואה שלמה refuah shleima as well as אסתר טילא בת אריה צפורה Esther Tila bas Aryeh Tzipora. We have the privilege this morning of learning פרשת אחרי מות parshas Acharei Mos, page 636 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. אחרי מות Acharei Mos, which by now you should have heard the opening of אחרי מות Acharei Mos. I think we read it like four or six times because of the way that יום טוב yom tov fell out this year, at least here in America, in the diaspora, in the גלות galus. We read it so many times, so you are familiar with the opening of it. אחרי מות Acharei Mos, וידבר ה' אל משה Vaydaber Hashem el Moshe, God spoke to Mosha, אחרי מות שני בני אהרן acharei mos shnei bnei Aharon. When was this communication, when was this conversation? After the death of the two sons of Aaron. Their tragic, premature, inexplicable death, בקרבתם לפני ה' b'karvasam lifnei Hashem, all they were trying to do is draw close to Hashem. They offered a sacrifice that wasn't asked or commanded of them. In fact, so enigmatic, so ambiguous is the text itself that we know that it's unclear what exactly happened, what went wrong, why were they held so accountable, why did they lose their lives. All we know is they crossed some boundary or line, בקרבתם לפני ה' b'karvasam lifnei Hashem, when they tried to draw close to Hashem, they did it in some inappropriate way, so much so that וימותו vayamusu. So much so that it was a capital punishment, a capital crime. They literally lost their lives in this spiritual quest.And we know now in the shadow of that death, we have the introduction of the יום כיפור Yom Kippur service. ויאמר ה' אל משה דבר אל אהרן אחיך ואל יבוא בכל עת אל הקודש Vayomer Hashem el Moshe, daber el Aharon achicha, v'al yavo b'chol eis el hakodesh, מבית לפרכת mibeis laparoches. Mosha is instructed to speak to his brother Aaron and to tell him, you cannot be casual in your relationship or attitude towards holiness. You cannot come in whenever you want. ולא יבוא בכל עת אל הקודש v'lo yavo b'chol eis el hakodesh. You can't simply enter. You can't enter out of habit or rote, על פני הכפרת אשר על הארן ולא ימות כי בענן אראה על הכפרת al pnei hakapores asher al ha'aron v'lo yamusu, ki b'anan eira'eh al hakapores. בזאת יבוא אהרן אל הקודש b'zos yavo Aharon el hakodesh, only with this can you enter, בפר בן בקר לחטאת ואיל לעלה b'par ben bakar l'chatas v'ayil l'olah, and so on. We've studied the opening of this פרשה parsha before, you can find it online. What was the concern? The beautiful insight of רב חיים שמואלביץ Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz we've analyzed previously that familiarity breeds contempt. Familiarity breeds contempt. You become too casual, too comfortable, too familiar, then you lose that sense of holiness. You lose the spontaneity, you lose the energy, you lose the romance, you lose the love, you lose the passion, you lose the mindfulness and the connection. Any behavior or activity that becomes a pattern or rote with which we are too familiar, it breeds contempt. לא יבוא בכל עת אל הקודש lo yavo b'chol eis el hakodesh. Familiarity breeds contempt, and the Torah says to Aaron, the holiest place you cannot be too familiar with. You have to pace yourself, and you have to protect and preserve the sense of excitement within yourself. And what's true here in the beginning of our פרשה parsha is true and is a great lesson for life about spontaneity and electricity and energy and excitement and having boundaries and being able to be disciplined in order to protect and preserve that sense of an excitement. Why is all of this being given now? Why is all of this being given here? And the answer is that this is the reaction or response, at least the Torah, to this premature death of the sons of of Aaron. The מדרש midrash says, בשביל כמה דברים מתו בני אהרן b'shvil kama dvarim meisu bnei Aharon. Now, we're invoking the death of the sons of Aaron. We know, again, I told you, there are countless explanations that are offered within חז\"ל Chazal themselves and within the commentaries that have followed since then, what did the sons of Aaron do wrong? Where exactly did they go wrong? What did they do wrong and why were they struck down in the prime of their life and what should have been Aaron's happiest day? Where did they go wrong? So the מדרש רבה Midrash Rabbah says, one of them is, בשביל כמה דברים מתו בני אהרן, ואחד מהם, שהורו הלכה לפני משה רבם b'shvil kama dvarim meisu bnei Aharon, v'echad meihem shehoru halacha lifnei Moshe rabban. They answered a הלכתית halachic response. They adjudicated a law in front of Mosha their teacher. And we know the גמרא בעירובין דף סג gemara in Eruvin daf samech gimmel tells us, מכאן mikan, we learn something here, שהמורה הלכה לפני רבו חייב מיתה shehamoreh halacha lifnei rabbo chayav misa. If you're in front of your רבי rebbe and a question is posed, and you should defer, you should submit, you should with modesty be quiet and allow the רבי rebbe, your own teacher or the greater authority to answer. But instead, you arrogantly insert yourself, you respond without any sense of context or acknowledgement, you're חייב מיתה chayav misa. You're חייב מיתה chayav misa.And asks רב ירוחם ליבוביץ Rav Yeruchom Levovitz, the great משגיח mashgiach of the Mir, צריך להבין לפי דברי חז\"ל שזה היה החטא tzarich l'havin l'fi divrei Chazal she'zeh haya hacheit, מה פשט בדברי הכתוב בקרבתם לפני ה' וימותו ma pshat b'divrei hakasuv b'karvasam lifnei Hashem vayamusu. If where they went wrong was that they answered a question in front of Mosha, if that was their mistake, which proved to be a fatal flaw, then why did the Torah describe it as בקרבתם לפני ה' b'karvasam lifnei Hashem? Torah says, אחרי מות שני בני אהרן acharei mos shnei bnei Aharon, after the two sons of Aaron die, and what precipitated their death? What was the cause of death on their death certificate? בקרבתם לפני ה' b'karvasam lifnei Hashem, they tried to go close to Hashem. Then why does the מדרש midrash fill in? No, the cause of death was, they answered a question in front of Mosha. They should have been silent, humble, modest, and deferred to Mosha. But they inserted themselves. They thought that they were an authority, even though of course they were much younger and much less in stature. So why, why then write the reason was בקרבתם b'karvasam? So said רב ירוחם Rav Yeruchom, it's in his דעת תורה Daas Torah, in his ספר דעת תורה sefer Daas Torah, the collected teachings of רב ירוחם Rav Yeruchom on חומש Chumash. He says, אדרבה ad'raba, בזה אנו למדים את איסור ענין של מורה הלכה לפני רבו b'zeh anu l'meidem es isur inyan shel moreh halacha lifnei rabbo, שלאדם להכיר את מקומו, ולדעת שכאשר הוא נמצא במחיצת רבו, עליו לשתוק shela'adam l'hakir es mekomo, v'ladaas she'ka'asher hu nimtza b'mechitzas rabbo, alav lishtok. A person needs to know in life, stay in your lane. Stay in your lane. I love that expression. But stay in your lane. Know who you are and be מכיר את מקומו makir es mekomo. Know your place. Know your place. This is an enormous challenge in our time and in our generation. Here's a פרשה parsha perspective for today, at the risk of sounding like an old, you know, in our day. But it's a big challenge in our time, young people, but it's seeped in not only to young people, who don't know how to stay in their place, who don't know how to stay in their lane, who think entitled to opinions when they have no knowledge, no life experience, no authority, and when they are in the presence of people who have so much more of all of that. And don't know their place and don't know how to stay in their lane. When you're meant to be heard from. You know, when I was growing up, my parents would always say, you know, not that children are meant to be seen but not heard or whatever the expression is, but if you happen to be around and adults are having a conversation, if you don't insert yourself or make your presence known, you'll get away with the fact that you're eavesdropping, that you're there. But the moment you feel to weigh in, the moment that you make your presence known by sharing your opinion or your thought, now you've alerted everyone to your presence and you're likely going to be excluded from the conversation. You have to know your place. You have to know when your opinion is welcome and invited and wanted, when you're entitled to an opinion and when not. But we're living in a time, a dangerous time, in which all opinions are equal. In which everyone's equal. So the 90-year-old with 90 years of life experience, 90 years of learning under their belt, and 90 years of learning in the school of hard knocks, and then you have the the 14-year-old who says, my opinion is just as valid, it's just as legitimate, it's just as meaningful, and I'm just as entitled to it. And who says you're right just because you're older? Now, of course, we recognize and respect the dignity of every person and the right to a thought and to an opinion, but we have to understand how to be מכיר את מקומו makir es mekomo. A person has to know how to recognize their place in life. And the principle, the importance of being quiet. We spoke about this recently. רב וואלבע Rav Volbe taught, we always reward the child when they begin to speak. We clap, yay, they said a word, they said a sentence. We go, it's so exciting when they learn to speak. But we forget to teach them the importance of how to be quiet. We don't reward them or clap. We don't have that same enthusiasm when it's time to be quiet. And you learn much more when you're quiet than when you speak. A person needs to know when to speak and when to be and when to be quiet. The פיאסצנה רבי Piaseczna Rebbe, ה' יקום דמו, זכר צדיק לברכה Hashem yikom damo, zecher tzaddik l'vracha, קלונימוס קלמן שפירא מפיאסצנה Kalonymus Kalman Shapira of Piaseczna, who was murdered by the Nazis in his introduction to חובת התלמידים Chovas HaTalmidim bemoans this thought. I always say when I share this, that when he wrote חובת התלמידים Chovas HaTalmidim in its introduction, he lived in a small town outside Warsaw, פיאסצנה Piaseczna, then he was in the Warsaw Ghetto. He's the רב Rav of Warsaw. But he led an educational system of חסידות chasidus. And when he, long before he knew the Holocaust was coming, the biggest danger he thought that loomed and threatened was the premature arrogance of young people. He's writing about this in the early 1900s, the 1920s, early 1930s. And he's writing that young people in our time think that they are entitled to opinions, they think they're more sophisticated, they think they have more knowledge than they really do. So how do you, if you just tell them, you're an immature, unsophisticated child, be quiet, you're not entitled to an opinion, that won't work. That won't engage them, that won't convince them, that won't persuade them. So his beautiful introduction of חובת התלמידים Chovas HaTalmidim is, how do you engage a generation that think that way? It's a brilliant, brilliant introduction. I highly recommend reading it. He was writing it already then, and all the more so now. You see it seeped in, I'm just getting this off my chest and then we'll go on. But you see it seeped in even to the vernacular of a younger generation. They use an expression we never would have used when we were young, which is guys. Guys, are you ready to go? What do you want, guys? Guys, did you guys is like, you be talking to the president of the United States. Again, apolitical, whatever you think of last, this president, next president, but they it doesn't matter who they're talking to. They say, guys, guys, two Holocaust survivors will speak at our יום השואה Yom HaShoah program tomorrow night. You guys ready to go? You guys, you guys did an amazing job tonight in the Holocaust. You guys? You guys? You hear that all the time from young people today. Nobody's corrected them. Nobody's taught them that you don't refer to everybody. Two גדולי הדור gedolei hador can be sitting there. You guys are amazing. And they mean it. You're amazing. But you're not you guys. You guys. So anyway, רב ירוחם Rav Yeruchom says that a person needs to be מכיר את מקומו makir es mekomo. You have to know with with within whose מחיצה mechitza you are, in whose presence you sit, when you should speak and when you should be silent. ואפילו בדברים שהוא סבר שהוא ראוי להם ויודעם היטב, כשהוא נמצא במחיצת רבו, עליו להרגיש שבטלה מציאותו למציאות רבו v'afilu b'dvarim she'hu savar she'hu ra'uy l'hem v'yodam heitev, k'shehu nimtza b'mechitzas rabbo, alav l'hargish she'batla metziuso l'metzius rabbo. When you're in the presence of greatness, of greater people, of your teacher, then even when you think you're entitled to an opinion, and even when טאקע takeh you are entitled, even when you studied it, when you're brilliant, when you're well-versed in it, but a person should condition themselves that when in the presence of someone greater, a greater authority, someone deserving of greater respect, it's as if I don't exist. I'm not an entity. I'm a non-entity. I don't exist, and I'm not waiting to express or exert who I am. I'm a כלי קיבול kli kibul. I'm receiving from others. And that's what it means בקרבתם לפני ה' b'karvasam lifnei Hashem. שורש הענין שהורו הלכה לפני רבם היה בגלל בקרבתם לפני ה' shoresh ha'inyan she'horu halacha lifnei rabam haya b'glal b'kirvasam lifnei Hashem, שנכנסו למחיצה שמעל מדרגתם הראויה להם she'nichnesu l'mechitza she'me'al madregosam har'uya lahem. This is the the connection between the two says רב ירוחם Rav Yeruchom. How do you שטײם shteim, how do you say? The Torah testifies what was the violation בקרבתם b'karvasam, they tried to draw close to God. חז\"ל Chazal come along and say, what does that mean? They were מורה הלכה לפני רבם moreh halacha lifnei rabbam. They answered even though Moshe was there. It means בקרבתם b'karvasam, you're trying to get too close to God? Do you know in whose מחיצה mechitza you sit? What, are you and God, is God now one of the guys also? Good job, guys. Good job, guy. Is God also now one of the guys? You have to know when to recoil with humility, with modesty. You have to know your place in comparison and in contrast. So it is a parallel to not know that vis-a-vis Hashem and to not know that vis-a-vis others. And that's therefore what the answer is. What does the Torah then continue with here in our פרשה parsha? What's the next אזהרה azhara, what's the next warning from Hashem? אל יבוא בכל עת אל הקודש al yavo b'chol eis el hakodesh. You can't approach whenever you want. This isn't a casual relationship. You don't walk in without knocking. You don't come without being invited. You don't access whenever you want. And you don't speak casually to God that he's one of the guys. אל יבוא בכל עת אל הקודש al yavo b'chol eis el hakodesh. There isn't a sense of casual, random, rote, familiar, familiarity. There has to be a sense of dignity and awe, and awe, a lost art today, awe. That which we get goosebumps over, not which we feel awe of. אל יבוא בכל עת al yavo b'chol eis, the antidote and the response to the behavior of the שני בני אהרן shnei bnei Aharon is אל יבוא בכל עת al yavo b'chol eis. They might have had noble intent, בקרבתם אל ה' b'karvasam el Hashem, they wanted to draw close. It was noble intent. But even with the most noble intent, you have to know where there are boundaries, and where there are lines, and where there are מחיצות mechitzos, and stay and operate within them, not run right through them. רב נחמן Rav Nachman, רב נחמן Rav Nachman has a great teaching on this opening of our פרשה parsha too. Says the הייליגע heilige רב נחמן Rav Nachman, this beautiful ספר sefer we've been going through, שולחן השבת Shulchan HaShabbos. It's not רב נחמן Rav Nachman on the פרשה parsha, but it's teachings of רב נחמן Rav Nachman adapted to the פרשה parsha, very beautiful. באמצע חנוכת המשכן נכנסו נדב ואביהוא בני אהרן להקטיר קטרת שלא נצטוו עליה b'emtza chanukas haMishkan nichnesu Nadav v'Avihu bnei Aharon l'haktir ketores shelo nistavu aleha. Another one of the opinions of why the two sons of Aaron were cut down in the prime of their life is, they were offering unsolicited sacrifices, namely the incense. ומתו באש שיצאה לפניהם v'meisu b'eish she'yatzah l'fneihem. A fire came out and the fire consumed them. פירושים רבים נאמרו על זה, ומה שגרם להם להיכשל בו pirushim rabbim nimru al zeh, v'ma she'garam lahem l'ikashel bo. There are countless commentaries on what did they do wrong and what caused them to do it. Where'd they go wrong? Noble, good boys, raised well, incredible role model, father, mother, uncle, family, aunt. Where did they go wrong? And what led them to go wrong? יש אומרים שנכנסו למשכן כשהם שתויי יין yesh omrim she'nichnesu l'mishkan k'shehem sh'suyei yayin. So one opinion is they were drunk. They came in intoxicated. The משכן Mishkan was a dry place. You weren't allowed to have alcohol in the משכן Mishkan. How do we know that that might be the reason? Because right after the two of them die, not in our פרשה parsha but the פרשה parsha when they die, in שמיני Shemini, what is the next instruction? יין ושכר אל תשת yayin v'sheichar al teis. You're not allowed to drink alcohol in the משכן Mishkan. Why would you insert that right there if it had no relevance? The answer is, where did they go wrong? They were inebriated, they were intoxicated. Some people think when you drink too much, oh, that's רוחניות ruchnius, that's spirituality. When you lose yourself and you get drunk, now you found Hashem. Torah tells us the exact opposite. That is a counterfeit high. The greatest, most authentic, most real high you can get is to get high on God. So when you're in God's presence and you have the ability to get high on him, to instead get high on a substance is the ultimate slap in his face. So it's a capital crime, it's a capital punishment for you to drink in the משכן Mishkan, in the מקדש Mikdash. What about outside the משכן Mishkan and the מקדש Mikdash? When you're not לפני ה' lifnei Hashem, when we don't have the privilege of getting high on God with the intense presence the way we do in the משכן Mishkan. So maybe then, I've shared with you before the insight of רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik, that's why Purim, חייב איניש לבסומי chayav inish l'ivsumei, because עכתי עבדי אחשורוש אנן akati avdei Achashverosh anan. When we don't have a מקדש Mikdash and we don't have access to God in that way, maybe it can loosen us up a little bit to feel a connection when we're struggling to find it because we're still in the גלות galus. But in the משכן Mishkan, in the מקדש Mikdash, don't substitute the authentic thing for the counterfeit thing. And therefore, according to some, that's what they were guilty of. או O, another opinion is, או שנאענשו על כך שחיכו שמשה ואהרן ימותו, והם ישאו את ההנהגה o, she'ne'enshu al kach she'chiku she'Moshe v'Aharon yamusu, v'hem yish'u es ha'hanhaga. Others say, you know what the problem was? They were waiting and eager in the wings. You know, when Moshe and Aaron croak, when they kick the bucket, we're going to step right in. We are in the on-deck circle. We are in the batter's box, we're ready to go. All we're waiting is for them to vacate. ואפילו יחס הדעת חטאם היה קשור בכך שלא נשאו נשים v'afilu yachas ha'daas chate'am haya kasher b'kach she'lo nas'u nashim. Another opinion tells us, you know what the problem was? They never got married. נדב ואביהוא Nadav v'Avihu never got. No, it doesn't mean that they were, you know, stuck in the שידוך shidduch system. They tried and they dated incessantly, but it never broke through. It means they told all the שדכנים shadchanim, we're in the freezer for life. We are frozen section for good. We're not coming out. We're not thawing. We are not dating. We're not in the פרשה parsha, we're not interested. Why? Why were they not in the פרשה parsha? Why did they tell all the שדכנים shadchanim, move on, take our name, face, and picture out of your file? Why? שהיתה בהם גאוה, וחשבו שאין אשה שראויה להם she'hay'sa bahem ga'avah, v'chashvu she'ein isha she'r'uya lahem. So I tell you the כתב סופר Ksav Sofer has a phenomenal interpretation. חתם סופר Ksam Sofer looks and he sees their cousins, Moshe's children. Can anyone here name Moshe's children? Were Moshe's children his successors? Did they take over? No. They look at their cousins and they say, you know, Uncle Moshe, this is חתם סופר Ksam Sofer, כתב סופר, חתם סופר Ksav Sofer, Ksam Sofer. Uncle Moshe was so dedicated and devoted to serving כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, he never saw his kids, and they paid a price. So you know what, we can't do that and we won't do that to children. We're going to inherit the place of Aaron and we're going to have to be devoted to the service of the people, we're not going to bring kids into this world who we will be absentee parents to. Even this, they didn't get married because they didn't want children, because they didn't want to neglect those children because they led lives of service to כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. And that was the wrong thinking. They were held accountable for it. That's what they say. But that's not what he says here. Here he says, you know what the problem was? They were arrogant. They said, you know why we're not getting married? There's no woman out there for us. There's nobody good enough. Have you read my profile, my resume? Have you called my references? Have you seen my picture? There's nobody out there for me. Don't bother writing a שידוך shidduch. Don't bother trying because there is no one. רב נתן Rav Nosson writes in ליקוטי הלכות Likkutei Halachos, the great student of רב נחמן Rav Nachman. What's the קשר בין ענין עובדה שלא נשאו נשים בין הקטרת שהקטירו kesher bein inyan ovda she'lo nas'u nashim bein ha'ketores she'hiktiru? What's the connection between the fact that they refused to marry, they remained outside the שידוך shidduch system, they stayed in the freezer, and the fact that they offered this unsolicited sacrifice of the קטרת ketores of the incense. עניינם של נישואין הוא חיבור inyanam shel nisu'in hu chibur. Listen to this teaching, beautiful teaching. רב נתן Rav Nosson quotes his master, his teacher, רב נחמן Rav Nachman. What is the essence of marriage? Connection, bond, חיבור chibur. קישור בין איש לאשה kishur bein ish l'isha, to integrate and to blend and והיו לבשר אחד v'hayu l'vasar echad to become one. בין עולמות העליונים והתחתונים bein olamos ha'elyonim v'hatachtonim, to bridge heaven and earth, to bridge and to transcend differences. גם ענין של קטרת הוא חיבור gam inyan shel ketores hu chibur. Incense is also all about unifying and unity and connection. How is that so? השורש, ק, ת, ר, בארמית פירושו שירא hashoresh, kuf, tes, reish, b'aramis peirusho shira. ק, ת, ר, קטרת, קטר kuf, tes, reish, ketores, keter is really שירא shira, it's to tie together, to tie the knot, to be connected. ולכן הקטרת בעצם נקראת כך משום שמקשרת את הכל להקדוש ברוך הוא v'lachen ha'ketores b'etzem nikreis kach m'sheim she'mekasher es kol HaKadosh Baruch Hu. It ties everything and everyone, it binds and bonds us to the Ribono Shel Olam. כוחו לחבר לה' גם את החלקים הנמוכים ביותר במציאות kocho l'chaber l'Hashem gam es ha'chalakim ha'nemuchim b'yoser b'metzius. Now here's the thing with the קטרת ketores is supposed to do. What's one of the ingredients of the קטרת ketores? The חלבנה chelbena. The קטרת ketores has very pleasant fragrances and aromas. It has this the cinnamon and the persimmon, what's it called? I don't even know, just cinnamon, that's all I got. That's it. It's got these pleasant smelling things, but it also has one other ingredient called חלבנה chelbena. חלבנה chelbena is putrid. It's disgusting, it's malodorous, and it has to be part of the קטרת ketores. It has to be part of the קטרת ketores. לכן מכיל הקטרת בנוסף לסממנים שבו, גם את החלבנה שריחה רע lachen m'chil ha'ketores b'nosaf l'sammanim she'bo, gam es ha'chelbena she'reicha ra. וגם היא מצטרפת ועולה לשמים על גבי המזבח בתוך הקטרת v'gam hi mitztarefes v'oleh l'shamayim al gabei mizbe'ach b'toch ha'ketores. ודרשו חז\"ל, הגמרא בכריתות דף ו v'darshu Chazal, the gemara in Kereisos daf vav teaches, כל תענית שאין בו מפושעי ישראל, אינה תענית kol taanis she'ein bo m'posh'ei Yisrael, eina taanis. Any Jewish fast day that in our prayers and among our congregation are not violators of our Torah, if we don't make room and space and we don't warmly welcome those who are imperfect, those who are broken, those who fail, then we don't, we don't really have a תענית taanis. גם הפושעים שבעם ישראל נמצאים בתחתית ובשפל המדרגה gam ha'poshim she'b'am Yisrael nimtza'im b'tachtis u'b'shefel ha'madrega, the פושעים poshim, those who can't find themselves, and those who consistently make mistakes, and those who fall and fall, they have a place. They're one of the ingredients in our mixture, in our recipe. Our recipe is incomplete, our recipe is a flop and a fail if it doesn't have the putrid, malodorous spice because everyone has a place. And I'll tell you a little secret, I said this in a drasha a couple months ago. Are you sure that you are not the חלבנה chelbena? Before you so higher than thou, holier than thou, don't make room and don't allow someone else in the community. Are you positive that you are not the חלבנה chelbena that other people are tolerating? We once had a very unusual circumstance before it was popular. Someone who underwent a transition in their gender, was a very complicated הלכה שאלה halachic shailah, spoke to one of the greatest פוסקים poskim of our generation, their ability to continue to daven in our community and the sensitivity that demanded. I tried to educate the community. Someone came to speak to me and said, can't have them. Can't be here. Disgusts me, it offends me, can't daven in the same shul. This person forgot that just a couple years earlier they used to drive to shul on Shabbos. And while they took the extraordinary step of becoming a בעל תשובה baal teshuva, and they now keep Shabbos to its fullest and they're inspiring, it's beautiful, did they read the Torah's punishment for the person who's violated Shabbos in public before they so self-righteously and sanctimoniously came and said, I can't be in the same room as that חלבנה chelbena? Two years ago they were the חלבנה chelbena other people were tolerating. How do we know when we're the חלבנה chelbena and we're being tolerated? And shouldn't we therefore be more tolerant of others who might be the חלבנה chelbena in that moment? Because the גמרא gemara concludes that the קטרת ketores is which is מקשר mekasher, a connection, it's binding. קטרת שאין בה חלבנה, פסולה להקרבה ketores she'ein ba chelbena, pesula l'hakrava. If it's missing that ingredient, it's ineligible. It's inadequate. אסור להעלות אותם על המזבח asur l'halos osam al ha'mizbe'ach. You can't put them on the mizbeach. לכן דוקא ביום הכיפורים מכריזים על כך lachen davka b'Yom HaKippurim makrizim al kach. And that's why, how do we begin יום כיפור Yom Kippur? The Torahs are out on the בימה bima. The הייליגע heilige president of the congregation is standing up there next to the חזן chazan. And what does the חזן chazan say כל נדרי Kol Nidre night? We're wearing white, we're aspiring for holiness, the holiest moment of the year. And how does the חזן chazan begin? אנו מתירין להתפלל עם העבריינים anu matirin l'hispallel im ha'avaryanim. חבר'ה Chevra, let's דאווען daven with the עבריינים avaryanim. The עבריינים avaryanim, we haven't filtered out all the people we think don't meet our standards. Everybody's welcome. There's room for everyone. Sometimes we're allowing the עבריינים avaryanim, sometimes we are the עבריינים avaryanim. לא בכל השנה אפשר להשתרף עליהם, ולא כל אחד מסוגל לעשות זאת lo b'chol ha'shana efshar l'shtaref aleihem, v'lo kol echad mesugal la'asos zos. Not all year is that easy, not in every moment. בדרך כלל חייב האדם להסיר את הרחוקים בשער b'derech klal chayav ha'adam l'hasir es ha'rachokim b'shar. Sometimes we have to distance ourselves, and sometimes we have to maintain an atmosphere, an environment that's aspirational to protect the environment. Not so simple. But the כהן גדול kohen gadol on Yom Kippur is surely to enter the קודש הקדשים kodesh hakodashim and להקטיר שם את הקטרת l'haktir shem es ha'ketores. The high priest on the holiest day of the year in the holiest place of the year brings this incense when he's connected to all כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. אבל אדם אחר, אפילו כהן גדול בזמן אחר but adam acher, afilu kohen gadol b'zman acher, even the כהן גדול kohen gadol not on Yom Kippur is not allowed to. Let's say the כהן גדול kohen gadol in the middle of of February says, you know, I feel moved by the unity of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, by מי כעמך ישראל mi k'amcha Yisrael. I want to go in the קודש הקדשים kodesh hakodashim and מקטיר maktir this קטרת ketores with the חלבנה chelbena because I feel it today. Nope, only on Yom Kippur. לכן חייב כהן גדול להיות נשוי lachen chayav kohen gadol l'hiyos nasui. So the כהן גדול kohen gadol has to be married. שכן הנישואין מסמן כמורת חיבור מן העולמות העליונים she'kein ha'nisuin mesamen k'mores chibur min ha'olamos ha'elyonim. Because marriage is all about connection. And you know what marriage is also all about? Marriage is about not only tolerating but loving the imperfections in the other, and loving that our imperfections are loved by the other. There is no perfect marriage of two perfect people. Marriage is all about, I don't want to say tolerating because that's such a low level. It's all about compensating and complementing and connecting, one with the other, with our imperfections. That is the essence of marriage. So says the הייליגע רב נתן heilige Rav Nosson, the תלמיד talmid of רב נחמן Rav Nachman, says רב נחמן Rav Nachman, what was the חטא cheit of שני בני אהרן shnei bnei Aharon? וימותו vayamusu, why they die? Because they refused to get married. They stayed in the freezer. And why they refused to get married? Because they thought they were above marriage. There's no one worthy of me. I'm perfect. And all the women out there are imperfect. So how could I get married? First of all, you're not perfect. You're not perfect. The fact that you think you're perfect is your greatest imperfection, evidence of your imperfection. The more perfect you think you are, the more flawed you are. So first of all, you're not perfect. But second of all, that is the essence of marriage. We grow, we become better, we improve ourselves, when we're married and connect and complement with imperfections of others and they with our imperfections. So that's the connection between that they were מקטיר maktir this קטרת ketores, but they didn't understand the חלבנה chelbena. So how could they be the כהן גדול kohen gadol? How could they inherit their father's place? How could they ever serve when they need to feel room and space for the imperfect, for the חלבנה chelbena? What a teaching of רב נחמן Rav Nachman. מקד יוסף Meked Yosef, מקד יוסף Meked Yosef who's been guest our community several times, sharing with you יוסף יודל לייב סורוצקין Yosef Yudel Leib Sorotzkin, writes, אחרי מות שני בני אהרן acharei mos shnei bnei Aharon. He tells another reason חז\"ל Chazal give us. The מדרש midrash in ויקרא רבה, כח Vayikra Rabbah, chaf ches, writes the following, בשביל ד' דברים מתו בניו של אהרן b'shvil daled dvarim meisu banav shel Aharon, for four reasons the sons of Aaron died, ועל שלא נטלו עצה זה מזה v'al she'lo natlu eitza zeh mi'zeh, one of the reasons is, they did not solicit advice one from the other. Wow, it's a capital crime now. When you act in life without getting advice, when you go out it on your own without seeking advice or guidance from others, now a capital crime. Aaron's sons died, they were struck down, why? They didn't consult. They didn't get advice. פסיקתא Psikta, the מדרש midrash adds, איש מעצמו עשה ish me'atzmo asa. Everyone came to their own conclusion. They came to their own conclusion. The great Nobel Prize winner, Professor Kahneman, Daniel Kahneman, was asked, if there's one word in the, one thing in the world he could change, what would it be that would make the world a better place? You know what his answer was? Overconfidence. Overconfidence. World wars, famines, crashing economies, people killing each other, all resulted from overconfidence. It's a fascinating answer, overconfidence. Says the מדרש midrash, the sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, had, they, they died from a classic case of overconfidence. They didn't consult one another. They each acted confidently on their own. תמוהים הדברים t'mu'im ha'dvarim, phrased the מקד יוסף Meked Yosef, he asks, כיוון ששניהם היו בדעה אחת שכך יש לעשות keivan she'shneihem hayu b'dei'ah achas she'kach yesh la'asos, what do you mean? They were aligned, they were partners, they came to the same conclusion, they were חברותות chavruses, brothers. They said, let's bring this sacrifice together. So what'd they do wrong? They needed to consult one another? They did better. They came to the conclusion together. מה היה מועיל שישאלו עצה זה את זה ma haya mo'il she'yish'alu eitza zeh es zeh? How would it have what do you think? What do you think? What do you mean what I think, what do I think? We're about to do this together. Isn't it clear what I think? So how could the מדרש midrash say? That's what they were held accountable for when they were overconfident and they did it on their own and they failed to consult. What do you mean? They did it together. Listen to what he says. Says Rav Sorotzkin, נירא לבאר בתרי אנפי neira l'vaer b'trei anpei. You could answer, you could understand this in one of two ways. I think this is a tremendous insight. הם פעלו מתוך פזיזות והתלהבות Heim pa'alu mitoch pzizus v'hisla'avus. ואילו התייעצו, היתה מאיטה את קצב ומאשרת להם לבחון מחדש את עניין המהלך V'ilu hisya'atsu, hayta mei'ita et ketzev, u'me'asheres lahem livchon mechadesh es inyan ha'mahalach. You know what happens in life sometimes? We're all gung-ho, we're geared up. You get excited and passionate about something. You're gonna start a new project, gonna start a new business. You fall in love, really in lust or longing, the very beginning of a relationship, without really thinking it through, without really realize, without really absorbing or analyzing, without really evaluating. So what happens? It wears off. And then what's left? What do you have? How many people come out of the gate with a business idea they thought was a great idea? A project they thought was a great idea. But they didn't go strategically and methodically and slowly. They didn't get guidance and speak to others. התלהבות Hisla'avus. There's a passion. There's a fire. But you know what happens sometimes when there's a fire and a passion? It blinds you, creates blind spots. You come out of the gate with an incredible business idea, so overconfident and arrogant, you don't run it by anybody, you don't get expert advice. You don't study the market. You don't understand your competition. Come out of the gate with incredible idea, passion, fire, full steam ahead, you sink your life savings in. And then you know what happens? Just a little bit into the new business, something sinks your ship that you would have seen coming if you'd only asked somebody. If only you had consulted, if only you had gotten advice. So number one is, you're right, they were on the same page. But what if they had stopped and said to one another, \"You know what? Talk to me like you're not doing it with me. What do you think of this? Have we thought it through entirely? Is it entirely a good idea?\" Number two, כל אחד פעל לפי שיקול דעתו, וממילא נהפך לנוגע בדבר, שכבר אינו רואה את השלילה שבפעולתו kol echad pa'al l'fi shikul da'ato, u'memayla nehepach l'noge'a badavar, shekvar eino ro'eh es ha'shlila she'b'pe'ulato. Because they were going to do it together, each was excited to do it, which meant they were biased about it, because they were already invested in doing it themselves. אבל אילו הם התייעצו זה עם זה Aval ilu heim hisya'atsu zeh im zeh, but if they'd give advice one to the other, from a position not of I'm your partner doing it with you, but, talk to me like you're an outsider who's not invested in doing it. Have we missed an angle? Have we thought it entirely through? Is this entirely a great idea? אז, לעשות עצה לאחר, הוא כבר לא נוגע, ויכול להגיע לאמת Az, la'asos eitza l'acher, hu kvar lo noge'a, v'yachol l'hagia la'emes. There's a reason. He doesn't quote this. The משנה באבות Mishnah b'Avos teaches, מרבה עצה, מרבה תבונה marbeh eitza, marbeh tvuna. Says the משנה באבות Mishnah b'Avos, מרבה עצה marbeh eitza. Seek a lot of advice. If you turn a lot for advice, you'll gain a lot of wisdom. The smartest, most successful, are not the people who go at it alone, who have an overconfidence and an arrogance, but they're the people who have the modesty and humility to get advice from everyone. You learn so much from other people's mistakes rather than your own. So חז\"ל Chazal say, one of their causes of death, one of the reasons that's offered is they didn't get advice one from the other. Overconfidence. And overconfidence can be a killer.Okay, moving right along. ויאמר ה' אל משה דבר אל אהרן אחיך Vayomer Hashem el Moshe, daber el Aharon achicha speak to your brother, אל יבוא בכל עת al yavo v'chol eis. I said we've spoken about this in the past, the great ר' חיים שמואלביץ Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, familiarity breeds contempt. You can't come in whenever you want. כי בענן אראה על הכפרת Ki b'anan era'eh al hakapores. אל יבוא בכל עת al yavo v'chol eis. Says ר' יחזקאל אברמסקי Rav Y'chezkel Abramsky, אל יבוא בכל עת al yavo v'chol eis. This special ציווי tzivui that came to the כהן גדול kohen gadol. He can't enter the קדש הקדשים kodesh hakodashim whenever he wants, or else he'll drop dead. However, on יום כיפור Yom Kippur he comes in, and why does he go in on יום כיפור Yom Kippur? What is he removing? What did he bring into the קדש הקדשים kodesh hakodashim? He brought in a shovel. The ingredients of the incense we just spoke about were left, they burned, and then he went to retrieve the empty shovel. צריך להבין Tzarich l'havin, asks ר' יחזקאל אברמסקי Rav Y'chezkel Abramsky, the great חזון יחזקאל Chazon Y'chezkel, מה היתה החשיבות הגדולה להוציאה משם? עד כדי לפשוט את בגדי זהב, ללבוש בגדי לבן, ולהיכנס במיוחד Ma hayta ha'chashivus ha'gedola l'hotziah misham? Ad k'dei lifshot es bigdei zahav, lilbosh bigdei lavan, u'l'hikanes b'meyuchad. כהן גדול Kohen gadol who's wearing his golden vestments, changes, wardrobe change, wardrobe change, takes off the golden vestments and puts on the white ones. All for what reason? To go get out the empty shovel. He's never allowed to go in the whole rest of the year. He's not allowed to go in casually for no reason אל יבוא בכל עת al yavo v'chol eis. And yet, this is so significant, it's worth going in and it's worth changing into other clothing. Wardrobe change. Why not leave it there till the next year? When you bring the next shovel in the next year, you'll bring out the empty one. What was so important or significant that it was worth going in for, a space that he was never allowed to go in? אל יבוא בכל עת Al yavo v'chol eis. It's a great question. Listen to the answer. Says ר' יחזקאל אברמסקי Rav Y'chezkel Abramsky, מכאן יסוד גדול. במקום קדוש, אין מקום לכלים ריקים Mikan yesod gadol. B'makom kadosh, ein makom l'keilim rekim. כי קדושה וריקנות הם שני הפכים Ki k'dusha v'reikanus hem shnei hafachim. לכן הוצאת הכלים מבית קדשי הקדשים, היא עבודה כל כך חשובה, עד שראוי להיכנס במיוחד עבורה Lachen hotza'as ha'keilim m'beis kodshei hakodashim, hi avodah kol kach chashuva, ad she'ra'ui l'hikanes b'meyuchad avurah. What is holiness? What is holiness? Holiness is realizing that there's meaning and purpose and sanctity that fills every space. Holiness permeates. Holiness spreads. It promulgates. Holiness is seeing the hand of ה' Hashem and the opportunity to come close to ה' Hashem and the sanctity and the significance that fills everything. So in the holiest place, there can't be emptiness. Where there's holiness, which is fullness, there can't be emptiness. And therefore, so incongruous and so inconsistent was having something empty in a holy place that it was worthy of going in to get something empty and bring it out. You're not nearly as excited about this thought as I am. Maybe the מצות matzos is still sitting in your stomach, I don't know what it is. You're still, you're still waking up. But it's a beautiful thought, it's a very deep thought. Holiness is fullness. And therefore emptiness, they can't go together.Okay, we'll move on. פסוק ג' Pasuk Gimmel. So you can't come in whenever you want. How can you go in? What is the prerequisite? What is the key? What is the cost? בזאת יבוא אהרן אל הקודש B'zos yavo Aharon el hakodesh. פר בחטאת ואיל לעולה par b'chatas v'ayil l'olah. Simple understanding is what's the בזאת b'zos? With this אהרן Aharon can come in, a young bull, he's got to bring a חטאת chatas, a ram for a קרבן עולה korban olah. What's the בזאת b'zos? You know, we say ממון, צום mamon, tzom, the גמטריא gematria, we've spoken about that in the past. What is the בזאת b'zos? What is the with this he can go in? Says רש\"י Rashi, אך בזאת, לא בכל עת, כי אם ביום הכיפורים Ach b'zos, lo b'chol eis, ki im b'Yom haKippurim. Even the בזאת b'zos, with this he can go in, we're not talking about whenever he wants. The בזאת b'zos that which allows and gives license for him to go in is still not casually whenever he wants, it's only on יום כיפור Yom Kippur. The מדרש רבה Midrash Rabbah expands. Before we get to the מדרש רבה Midrash Rabbah, בזאת b'zos. בזאת B'zos. How does it know it? This is what the מדרש Midrash says, I'm sorry. רש\"י Rashi says it has to be on יום כיפור Yom Kippur. בזאת B'zos, says the מדרש Midrash, בזכות התורה b'zchus haTorah. With what merit does he enter the Holy of Holies? In the merit of Torah. How do you know that? Can you think of another phrase that has the word זאת zos? I'll give you a hint. הגבה Hagbah. זאת התורה Zos haTorah. זאת התורה אשר שם משה Zos haTorah asher sam Moshe. Says the מדרש Midrash, בזאת יבוא אהרן b'zos yavo Aharon, what's the בזאת b'zos? What gives him the strength? What gives him the credibility? What gives him the credit? Why is he allowed to enter? בזאת, זאת התורה B'zos, zos haTorah. In the merit, the Torah he's learned, in the merit of the Torah he represents, בזאת התורה, בזאת יבוא b'zos haTorah, b'zos yavo. Writes the נצי\"ב Netziv on this, writes the נצי\"ב Netziv in his העמק דבר Ha'amek Davar. Says the נצי\"ב Netziv, הכתוב מודיענו שביום הכיפורים הוא יום מלחמה לישראל עם שרי מעלה, שמקטרגים הרבה על ישראל Ha'kasuv modi'einu she'b'Yom haKippurim hu yom milchama l'Yisrael im sarei ma'alah, she'mekatregim harbeh al Yisrael. This is a war. יום כיפור Yom Kippur there's a fight, there's a battle, there's a war. The adversaries, the enemies, the alter egos, the prosecutors of the Jewish people are fighting in heaven about our unworthiness. לדוד ה' אורי L'Dovid Hashem Ori, we say in לדוד L'Dovid, אם תקום עלי מלחמה im takum alai milchama, what do we say? בזאת אני בוטח B'zos ani bote'ach. אם תקום עלי מלחמה Im takum alai milchama, and they come against me in a war, when our enemies stand up against us to battle, be they physical enemies, חמאס Hamas, חזבאללה Hezbollah, Iran, anti-Semites, והיא שעמדה בכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותינו v'hi she'amda b'chol dor vador omdim aleinu l'chaloseinu, whoever they are in our generation, when they stand up against us, אם תקום עלי מלחמה im takum alai milchama, whether they're the prosecuting angels who are trying to convince the heavenly court of our unworthiness. How do we get through? How do we break through with what merit? בזאת אני בוטח B'zos ani bote'ach. What's the בזאת אני בוטח b'zos ani bote'ach? מה הכוונה? תורה Ma hakavanah? Torah. The נצי\"ב Netziv says, פלפולה של תורה. הודיענו הכתוב כאן שבזכות פלפולה של תורה, הוא חרב משל ישראל Pilpulah shel Torah. Hodi'einu ha'kasuv kan she'b'zchus pilpulah shel Torah, hu cherev mishel Yisrael. What is our weapon? Torah. The merit of learning Torah, in the merit of living Torah, in the merit of protecting the Torah values and Torah definitions and Torah principles and Torah way of life, בזאת אני בוטח b'zos ani bote'ach. אם תקום עלי מלחמה Im takum alai milchama, they rise against me in war, בזאת אני בוטח b'zos ani bote'ach. What's the זאת zos? In this I trust, the merit of Torah. What's the בזאת יבוא b'zos yavo with what merit does אהרן Aharon go in? In the merit of Torah. זאת התורה Zos haTorah. What is זאת zos? זאת התורה Zos haTorah. And that's when you see the word זאת zos, whenever you see the word זאת zos, בזאת יבוא אהרן b'zos yavo Aharon, בזאת אני בוטח b'zos ani bote'ach. The word זאת zos means, זאת zos is Torah, and how do you know that? Because of זאת התורה Zos haTorah.Okay. Moving along. Turn the page. Trying not to get carpal tunnel. ט\"ז, י\"ז Tes zayin, yud zayin. Turn a couple pages. Don't hurt yourself. Page 640 of the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. Made our way through the opening. I'll say one more word about the opening. Only because tomorrow night is יום השואה Yom HaShoah. We have our annual יום השואה Yom HaShoah program, and frankly, it's a scary time. I officiated a funeral Sunday of a woman who was a survivor. The mother of one of our members. She was a survivor. And I said in opening the funeral, I turned to the family for whom, of course, this is the most acutely painful loss, and they feel it the most personally. But make no mistake, in our time the loss of every survivor is not just a loss for that family. It is an enormous loss for our people. We're losing a generation. We're losing an era of heroes, of an unimagined, unimaginable resilience and faith and fortitude, who were role models that maybe we failed to appreciate enough in their lifetime, among our greatest heroes in history. We're losing that generation. יום השואה Yom HaShoah used to be packed with survivors for whom that day meant so much, and we honored the memory of who they lost and we honored and celebrated the lives and the rebuilding they did. We're losing it. It's tragic, it's painful. Anyway, I said at her funeral, אחרי מות שני בני אהרן acharei mos shnei bnei Aharon. The whole name of this פרשה parsha is, what did אהרן Aharon do, and that's what we're going to get to now. He lost two sons, inexplicably, unimaginably, prematurely, tragically. Was he debilitated? Did he stop? Did he become a hermit? אהרן Aharon mourns, he grieves, no doubt, no doubt there was a hole in his heart that was never filled, but he was strong and faithful and resilient, and he was committed to a continuity of this mission, and he carried himself with a joy for life, and he found the ability. And that's the name of the פרשה parsha, אחרי מות acharei mos. There is an אחרי מות acharei mos. So the way I eulogized that woman was to say there's an אחרי מות acharei mos. She lived her life with an אחרי acharei, she built a beautiful family, and she was committed to a Jewish continuity, and that's true for survivors. אחרי מות Acharei mos, after what they lost. We get that from אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu. Says when he lost שרה Sarah, who was not only his other half, he was she was his whole. אברהם Avraham lives another I think 37 or 38 years after he loses שרה Sarah, and we don't hear one word from him. The אב המון גוים av hamon goyim, the father of ethical monotheism, the creator of all nations, he's done. When שרה Sarah is gone, he's done, he's nothing without her, literally. What does he do after he buries her? ויקם מעל פני מתו Vayakom me'al pnei meiso. ויקם Vayakom. The Jewish way is we get up from שבעה shiva. That's what we say. We get up from שבעה shiva. That's the Jewish way. אחרי מות Acharei mos, ויקם מעל פני מתו vayakom me'al pnei meiso. We get up from שבעה shiva. Tomorrow night, we'll have the privilege of hosting two survivors who were only reunited recently after 70 years. You might have read about them, they've been in the news. They're going to be our guests and tell their story and be united together on this בימה bimah. And I hope everybody will show up to honor them and honor those who are no longer here and continue to to recognize what this means in our lives and how we can learn from them. So אחרי מות acharei mos, that was just the other last word I want to say on אחרי מות acharei mos.Page 640. The incense service, the קטורת ketores. פסוק ט\"ז Pasuk tes zayin. וכפר על הקדש מטמאת בני ישראל ומפשעיהם לכל חטאתם V'chiper al hakodesh mitum'os Bnei Yisrael u'mipish'eihem l'chol chatosam. וכן יעשה לאהל מועד השוכן אתם בתוך טומאתם V'chen ya'aseh l'ohel moed hashochen itam b'soch tum'osam. And so shall you do for the tent of meeting that dwells with them in their contamination. What does it mean וכן יעשה v'chen ya'aseh? וכן יעשה לאהל מועד השוכן אתם בתוך טומאתם V'chen ya'aseh l'ohel moed hashochen itam b'soch tum'osam. What does that mean? Says רש\"י Rashi, אף על פי שהם טמאים, שכינה ביניהם Af al pi she'hem t'meim, shchina beineihem. Even though they are impure, the שכינה Shchina dwells and is among them. The sin, the חטא chet, that you're bringing the bull and the goat is טומאת מקדש וקדשיו tum'as mikdash v'kodashav. That means, what's the case? Someone entered the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash when they were in a state of impurity, or they were pure but they ate something which is impure. That's what we're talking about over here. אף על פי שהם טמאים af al pi she'hem t'meim, שכינה ביניהם shchina beineihem. Even when one is impure, says רש\"י Rashi, ה' Hashem is still among them. The זוהר הקדוש Zohar HaKadosh writes, שבשעה שמדת הרחמים מסתלקת מן העולם, מתלבשת השכינה בדמות אמא she'b'sha'ah she'midas ha'rachamim mistalkes min ha'olam, mislabeshes ha'shchina b'dmus ima. Even when you sin, when you're low, the שכינה Shchina is still among you. And it comes cloaked, it presents itself, the שכינה Shchina, the presence of ה' Hashem, how? In the form of the feminine. אמא Ima. אמא Ima. As a זוהר Zohar says, this is a teaching of our mystical great work the זוהר Zohar. Why in אמא ima, why a mother? If we generally talk about God, God of course does not have a gender. God is not gender, God is not gender fluid. He doesn't have a gender. Never had, never will have. He's above a gender, he's outside a gender. He's God. We don't know what that means or what that looks like because we can't relate. But God is God. And yet we anthropomorphize God, we attribute attributes to God so that we can better connect or relate to him. And we normally think of God as a man, in the masculine. We talk about God בלהון זכר b'lashon zachar as a he. But says the זוהר Zohar here in this teaching, God here presents as a woman, as an אמא ima. אף על פי שהם טמאים, שכינה ביניהם Af al pi she'hem t'meim, shchina beineihem. That even when we are contaminated and impure, even when we are failed and we're low, the שכינה Shchina, God is still accessible and available to us. And when he is, then he's in his feminine form. Why? What does that mean? Says ר' חיים מוולוז'ין Rav Chaim Volozhiner. Says the הייליגע ר' חיים מוולוז'ין heilige Rav Chaim Volozhiner, אב ואם שניהם אוהבים את תינוקם Av v'em shneihem ohavim es tinokam. Both a father and a mother love their children. They hug, they kiss, they play, they get נחת nachas from their children. But when that child wakes up in the middle of the night with the fever, when the child has soiled their diaper, when the child needs to employ the patience and the selfless dedication, האם נוטלת אותו ומטפלת בו, רוחצתו ומנקה אותו. אף שהוא מטונף, אינה סרה ממנה Ha'em noteles oso u'metapeles bo, rochatzaso u'menake oso. Af she'hu metunaf, einah sarah mimena. When a father says, \"Mayday, mayday, I can't change this diaper.\" Who's he calling mayday for? The mother comes in and rescues the moment. There's nothing when it comes to her child that's too nasty or gross or disgusting. There's nothing that she won't engage in for the good of her child. השכינה השוכנת עם ישראל אף בטומאתם, השוכן אתם בתוך טומאתם Ha'shchina ha'shochenes im Yisrael af b'tum'asam, hashochen itam b'soch tum'asam. שכן גם בשעה שבני ישראל מתלכלכים בעבירות, ומלוכלכים ונודפים, ומגעילים ודוחים She'ken gam b'sha'ah she'Bnei Yisrael mislachlchim ba'aveiros, u'meluchlachim v'nodfim, u'mag'ilim v'dochim, the שכינה Shchina presents like a mother and comes down and says, \"I'm not too afraid to change you. I'm not too afraid to be with you. I'm not too afraid to protect you. I'm not too afraid, you have a stomach virus? You have thrown up the entire night, this is the 15th time? I'll be there for the 16th time too.\" The father long ago ran away, couldn't take it. He threw up three times just because he saw or smelled or heard about the throw up. I know I'm making stereotypes. I got it. Save the email. I got it. These are stereotypes. For the most part, probably true. And so the זוהר Zohar says, when God is showing up even when we are throwing up and need our diaper changed, when we're nasty and disgusting and repulsive, when God nevertheless never fails to show up because of that selfless devotion and dedication, then God takes that form of a mother, the feminine form, the loving feminine form of the mother. גילוי השכינה בדמות אמא המבקשת לרחוץ את בניה מעוונותיהם, ולטהרם ולשחררם משבי היצר הרע Gilui ha'shchina b'dmus ima ha'mevakeshes lirchotz es baneha me'avonoseihem, u'l'taharam u'l'shachreram mi'shvi ha'yetzer hara, and to free us and liberate us from that nasty stench that is the יצר הרע yetzer hara that surrounds us. That's ר' חיים Rav Chaim.Okay. פרק ט\"ז, פסוק ל' Perek tes zayin, pasuk lamed. Now we move over. Skip a couple more pages. We concluded the קטורת ketores service, and we move over to the commandment of holiest day of the year, יום כיפור Yom Kippur. פרק ט\"ז, פסוק ל' Perek tes zayin, pasuk lamed. כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם לטהר אתכם מכל חטאתיכם. לפני ה' תטהרו Ki v'yom ha'zeh yechaper aleichem l'taher eschem mikol chatoseichem. Lifnei Hashem tit'haru. I will spare you singing it. לפני ה' תטהרו Lifnei Hashem tit'haru. We say this פסוק pasuk over and over and over again on יום כיפור Yom Kippur. כי ביום הזה Ki v'yom ha'zeh, on this day, יכפר עליכם, לטהר אתכם, מכל חטאתיכם, לפני ה' תטהרו yechaper aleichem, l'taher eschem, mikol chatoseichem, lifnei Hashem tit'haru. Says the הייליגע קאצקער heilige Kotzker, the holy קאצקער _Kotzker_ in his אמת ואמונה _Emes V'Emunah_, אמת, כי היום כיפור מכפר. אמת, כי ביום הזה יכפר _Emes, ki hayom Kippur mechaper. Emes, ki v'yom ha'zeh yechaper_. It's true. On this day you achieve atonement. אבל דעו לכם, כי עליכם לטהר אתכם בעצמכם מכל חטאתיכם _Aval d'u lachem, ki aleichem l'taher eschem b'atzm'chem mikol chatoseichem_. The day has an incredible ability. עצומו של יום מכפר _Itzumo shel yom mechaper_. The גמרא _Gemara_ teaches, רבי עקיבא _Rabbi Akiva_ teaches, the day itself atones. It is a national clemency day. Every now and then you hear they announce, everyone who has an illegal gun, if you turn it in today, a great, a national clemency and pardon, no one's asking, no one's following up, just turn it in. Imagine a national clemency day. Everyone who's delinquent and owes taxes, everyone who's falling behind and never filed, this year we're wiping the slate clean. Everybody fresh start. National Day of Clemency. So it's true הקדוש ברוך הוא _HaKadosh Baruch Hu_ created יום כיפור _Yom Kippur_ as a עצומו של יום _itzumo shel yom_. It's true that יום כיפור _Yom Kippur_ is a day of national collective clemency, clean slate for everybody. The day itself, as long as you arrive at the day on the calendar, you tap into that clemency. However, says the קאצקער _Kotzker_, when is that? When is it כי ביום הזה יכפר _ki v'yom ha'zeh yechaper_? Only when עליכם לטהר אתכם בעצמכם מכל חטאתיכם _aleichem l'taher eschem b'atzm'chem mikol chatoseichem_. We have to first come in with an attitude that we are מוכנים ומוזמנים לטהר _muchanim u'muzmanim l'taher_. We're ready. The day can do the work when we have the want. We have to want to start again. We have to want to start anew. הקדוש ברוך הוא _HaKadosh Baruch Hu_ will meet us more than halfway. הקדוש ברוך הוא _HaKadosh Baruch Hu_ will make it easy. הקדוש ברוך הוא _HaKadosh Baruch Hu_ will make it accessible. הקדוש ברוך הוא _HaKadosh Baruch Hu_ will accelerate our success. But we have to want. That is the prerequisite. We have to want to start to begin.פרק י\"ז, פסוק ד' Perek yud zayin, pasuk daled. We move over יום כיפור Yom Kippur. ואל פתח אהל מועד לא הביאו להקריב קרבן לה' לפני משכן ה', דם יחשב לאיש ההוא, דם שפך, ונכרתה הנפש ההיא מקרב עמה V'el pesach ohel moed lo hevio l'hakriv korban la'Hashem lifnei mishkan Hashem, dam yechashev la'ish ha'hu, dam shafach, v'nichresa ha'nefesh ha'hi mikerev amah. פסוק ד' Pasuk daled. Torah tells us, and he has not brought it to the entrance of the tent of meaning to bring it as an offering to ה' Hashem before the Tabernacle, it shall be considered bloodshed. He shed blood, and that person נכרתה nichresa, that person is cut off. What are we talking about? We're talking about a person who's not permitted to kill an animal, a consecrated animal, outside of the משכן Mishkan. שחוטי חוץ Shchutei chutz. The act of slaughter reverts back to its status before נח Noach. Slaughtering an animal is a tantamount to bloodshed. The death penalty is only when you take a human life. So what's going on over here? What's happening in this פסוק pasuk? So, רש\"י Rashi says, דם יחשב dam yechashev. דם יחשב Dam yechashev. What's going on? Says רש\"י Rashi, כשופך דם האדם שמתחייב בנפשו k'shofech dam ha'adam she'mischayev b'nafsho. כשופך דם האדם שמתחייב בנפשו K'shofech dam ha'adam she'mischayev b'nafsho. It's like you killed somebody who was liable with their life. ר' גדליה אייזמן Rav Gedaliah Eisenman who was the משגיח mashgiach of קול תורה Kol Torah says, תפקיד הקרבנות לרומם את האדם, ולהעלותו ולקרוב אותו אל הקדוש ברוך הוא Tafkid ha'korbanos l'romem es ha'adam, u'l'haaloso u'l'karev oso el haKadosh Baruch Hu. The goal and the role of the sacrifices is to elevate us and to bring us and draw us close to ה' Hashem. כמובן, שאיתו ביחד הוא מעלה ומקרב את כל העולם החשוך, לשורשו העליון K'muvan, she'ito b'yachad hu ma'aleh u'mekarev es kol ha'olam ha'chashuch, l'shorsho ha'elyon. So when the human being is elevated, we elevate and we bring the whole world with us. When we are worthy and when we are elevated and when we're living our best selves, then we elevate the whole world. אדם שמקריב קרבן בחוץ, אבל אדם שמקריב קרבן בחוץ, אבל אדם שמקריב קרבן בחוץ, מחטיא את התכלית הזו של קירוב ועולם לבורא Adam she'makriv korban ba'chutz, aval adam she'makriv korban ba'chutz, aval adam she'makriv korban ba'chutz, machti es ha'tachlis ha'zo shel keiruv v'olam l'borei, you violated the essence and the goal which was to elevate the world to God. שהיא זו תכליתו She'hi zu tachliso. That's the essence, that's the goal. בבחינה זו, שופך את דם האדם B'vchina zo, shofech es dam ha'adam. In other words, who did you kill? פסוק Pasuk says דם יחשב dam yechashev, it's like murder. רש\"י Rashi says, you murdered somebody who was guilty of death. Who did you murder? Says ר' גדליה אייזמן Rav Gedaliah Eisenman, you murdered yourself. You were meant to elevate this world. The best version of you elevates this world. You're meant to transform yourself. And when we fail to meet our potential, there's the potential lost within ourselves. And when we fail to live and meet our potential, when we don't live our best selves, we've committed an act of murder. Who's the victim? Whom did we murder? Our potential selves. We murdered the best version of ourselves. You can kill time, and you can kill potential, and you can kill creativity, and you can kill certain skills and assets that we have. When we waste and we squander, when we don't take advantage, or when we use them for the wrong purposes, where the Torah calls שחוטי חוץ shchutei chutz, when you sacrifice something consecrated and holy and you do it in a mundane way, you've killed. Who did you kill? Yourself. So we have consecrated parts of ourselves. We have holy parts of ourselves. We have pieces and parts of ourselves that are meant to do holy things. And when we don't, we misdirect them, and we use them in mundane ways, we've killed a piece and a part of ourselves.פרק י\"ז, פסוק י\"ב Perek yud zayin, pasuk yud beis. על כן אמרתי לבני ישראל, כל נפש מכם לא תאכל דם, והגר הגר בתוככם לא יאכל דם Al kein amarti l'Vnei Yisrael, kol nefesh mikem lo sochal dam, v'hager ha'gar b'soch'chem lo yochal dam. Any person among you may not consume blood. Everyone who lives among you, you're not allowed to eat blood. Torah here cautions us, biblical prohibition, we know we're not allowed to eat blood. Not allowed. כל נפש מכם לא תאכל דם Kol nefesh mikem lo sochal dam. לא תאכל דם Lo sochal dam. Says the רש\"י Rashi, כל נפש מכם Kol nefesh mikem, any soul among you. Why not just say לא תאכל דם lo sochal dam, you can't eat blood? Did we think there were souls among us who could eat blood? Why does the Torah have to say this what seems to be extraneous language, כל נפש מכם kol nefesh mikem. Says רש\"י Rashi, להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים l'hazhir g'dolim al ha'ktanim. Adults need to be vigilant, work hard. When your child is begging, \"Please, can I have some blood? Please, can I drink more blood? Please, I want blood.\" להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים L'hazhir g'dolim al ha'ktanim, adults, parents need to be vigilant, no more blood for you, you've had enough blood. You're not allowed to have blood. Blood is prohibited, you can't eat any. Now you're looking at me like I'm crazy, which is exactly what the מג\"ד יוסף Meged Yosef asks. Asks רב סורוצקין Rav Sorotzkin, are your kids clamoring for blood? This is where the Torah needs to go out of its way to tell us, להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים l'hazhir g'dolim al ha'ktanim. This is where the Torah has to tell us, be careful, be vigilant. It's not candy, it's blood. More than other prohibitions? Where else do we see להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים l'hazhir g'dolim al ha'ktanim? One of the place in the Torah. Where? כהנים Kohanim are warned what? Be vigilant that the children can't become contaminated, just like you have to protect and preserve yourself and your purity, don't become impure, protect and preserve the children. And writes there רב סורוצקין's Rav Sorotzkin's grandfather, the מג\"ד יוסף's Meged Yosef's grandfather in his נעימות התורה Ne'imos haTorah writes, שבכל המצוות יכול אדם להזהיר את בניו בסיבות נכונות כדי לחנך את בנו. בעניין טומאת כהנים, הסיבה הזו אינה נראית בזה. לכן עבודת האב היא לחנך את בנו she'b'chol ha'mitzvos yachol adam l'hazhir es banav b'sibos n'chonos k'dei l'chanech es bno, b'inyan tum'as kohanim, ha'siba ha'zo einah nir'is b'zeh. Lachen avodas ha'av hi l'chanech es bno. Why? Why do the adult כהנים kohanim need to be vigilant that their little כהן kohen children are not contaminated? Why that מצוה mitzvah more than others? The answer of רב סורוצקין's Rav Sorotzkin's grandfather writes is because when it comes to other מצוות mitzvos we're all in it together. You put the child in a good environment, and everybody will do the right thing. But the little כהן kohen kids, the rest of their environment are not warned about this. The rest of their environment don't have to worry about this. So the little כהן kohen kids, the parents need to be vigilant, because their peers are not going to support their vigilance, because the כהן kohen stands out. Their peers are allowed to become contaminated. But near to, the same is true when it comes to eating blood. Says the grandson, the מג\"ד יוסף Meged Yosef, רב סורוצקין Rav Sorotzkin, the same is true when it comes to eating blood. When it comes to all the other foods, we can say, it's disgusting, we don't eat that, don't go near that, we don't value that, we don't care about that. But blood is different. There's more nuance when it comes to blood. Listen to this interpretation. Why is there more nuance when it comes to blood? There is no מצוה mitzvah when it comes to the pig or pork or bacon. So we can say we're יידן Yidden, we don't eat pig and pork and bacon, move on, disgusting, should be repulsive to us, we're not interested. But the father can't say that about blood. Why? Blood has מצוות mitzvos. Can you name a מצוה mitzvah with blood? A ברית bris. You have to expose the blood, but with an animal. What's a מצוה mitzvah with blood with an animal? כיסוי הדם Kisui hadam. It's a מצוה mitzvah to cover the blood. מצות כיסוי הדם Mitzvas kisui hadam. After you שוחט shecht and the blood spills, we cover it. מצות כיסוי הדם Mitzvas kisui hadam. What's another מצוה mitzvah with blood? It's one of the four parts of the עבודה avodah in the מקדש Mikdash, זריקת הדם zrikas hadam. You slaughter the sacrifice, and then זריקת הדם zrikas hadam. You have to sprinkle the blood on the altar. So you see, not only is blood have a role and a place, we're not supposed to be repulsed by blood. Where do you see that? Oh, he had so many more things to say. Where do you see that? We're just same as normal before פסח Pesach. Where do you see that? גמרא פסחים Gmar Psachim tells a story, דף נ\"ז Daf Nun Zain. There was a כהן cohen who served in the מקדש Mikdash with gloves. Why? Because he thought blood was disgusting. He wore gloves. He thought it was disgusting. So the גמרא Gmar says we threw him out of the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. צא מכאן Tzei mikan, הוא מחבב את עצמו ומחלל קדשי שמים hu mechabev es atzmo u'mechalel kodshei shamayim. You're so worried about touching a little blood? You know what you're doing? You're you're so worried more about yourself than honoring השם Hashem. He was thrown out for wearing gloves. We wear gloves, מוהלים mohelam should wear gloves. I'm not knocking wearing gloves. But that's the story in the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. So says רב סורוצקין Rav Sorotzkin, you see, you know why מוזהר גדולים על הקטנים muzhar gedolim al haktanim? Listen to this teaching. This is another פרשה parsha perspective for today. You know what we don't have today in our generation? You know what we don't have? Nuance. Nuance. We live in a perfect world of all or nothing, of binary, this or that, with me or against me, love it or hate it. תורה Torah says, you know what there is about blood? It's a little something called nuance. On the one hand, we do the מצוות mitzvos כיסוי הדם kisui hadam and זריקה zrika. It has a value and a role and a place, and don't be repulsed by it. On the other hand, you're not allowed to eat it. So how do you communicate and teach that nuance? להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים Le'hazhir gedolim al haktanim. The more something demands nuance, the more it takes maturity and sophistication of adults to be vigilant in teaching it to children. Anything that takes nuance takes more vigilance. We've lost that art of nuance today. It's so important to bring it back. Okay, I only had about 20 more things to tell you. Such good stuff. Good stuff. שמרתם את חוקותי Shmartem es chukosai, מולך Molech, שמרתם את משמרתי Shmartem es mishmarti. But we'll pick up with it again next year. Meanwhile, tomorrow we'll pick up on page 15 with 10 minutes of מסילת ישרים Mesillas Yesharim, 8:45 Living with אמונה Emunah. Tomorrow night Behind the בימה Bima is the interview that we'll do at 7:00 p.m., the special program with these two wonderful survivors. Till next time, stay happy, stay healthy.
