Transcript
Good morning and בוקר טוב Boker Tov. Welcome back to פרשה Parsha perspectives for today. I want to thank as always our generous פרשה Parsha series sponsors, Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנש le'ilui nishmas David ben Menachem Manesh. We say that every single week, not only when his daughter-in-law and grandson are here, but welcome, it's great to have you from ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. Thank you for being here. This morning שיעור shiur is also sponsored by Yonina and Gordon Hass in memory of Yonina's father, Hyman Leithman, whose יארצייט yahrzeit is tomorrow, ז' ניסן Zayin Nissan, לנשמה שתהיה לה עליה Le'neshama she'tihyeh lah aliyah. Thank you so much for your generosity. We have the privilege this שבת Shabbos, שבת הגדול Shabbos HaGadol, the great שבת Shabbos, of learning and reading פרשת צו Parshas Tzav, page 568 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. וידבר ה' אל משה לאמר Va'yedaber Hashem el Moshe leimor. צו את אהרן ואת בניו לאמר Tzav es Aharon v'es banav leimor, command Aharon and his sons saying, זאת תורת העולה zos toras ha'olah, this is the law of the קרבן עולה korban olah. היא העולה על מוקדה על המזבח כל הלילה עד הבקר, ואש המזבח תוקד בו Hi ha'olah al mokda al hamizbeach kol halaila ad haboker, v'eish hamizbeach tukad bo. This is the law of the elevation offering, the קרבן עולה korban olah, which is entirely consumed on the altar. It stays in the flame all night until the morning, until it's entirely burnt, until it is entirely consumed. We're not going to spend time we have previously, you could find it in previous שיעורים shiurim, the word צו tzav. צו את אהרן ואת בניו לאמר Tzav es Aharon v'es banav leimor, we don't find that word so often. רש\"י Rashi tells us, אין צו אלא לשון זריזות, מיד ולדורות ein tzav ela l'shon zrizus, miyad u'l'doros. When we see that word צו tzav employed, it is to remind us, it is an allusion, a hint, it evokes a sense of זריזות zrizus, alacrity, zeal, enthusiasm. Don't be lazy or lethargic, don't sit back and procrastinate, but trying to inspire the כהנים kohanim to embrace this מצוה mitzvah, to go run and to do it, מיד miyad, immediately, and לדורות l'doros in perpetuity, give it to generations to come. Why would I think the כהנים kohanim would hesitate? We're talking about the כהנים kohanim. We have a tradition, חז\"ל Chazal, the גמרא Gemara regularly refers to כהנים kohanim as זריזים zrizim. They're people who act with alacrity. So why do they need to be instructed צו tzav? Give an extra special command, light a fire under the כהנים kohanim. Why would they hesitate? Why would they be reluctant? So רש\"י Rashi tells us because חסרון כיס chesron kis, it cost them. Anytime you have to spend your own money, anytime you have to look in your wallet or bank account or see what it's going to cost you. How much is the מצה matzah? How much is the כשר לפסח kosher l'Pesach whatever? So you need a שטיקל צו shtickel tzav. You need a little bit of a of a little push. So why is that? What was the חסרון כיס chesron kis over here? קרבן עולה Korban olah was a קרבן ציבור korban tzibbur. כהנים Kohanim didn't pay for it. So how did it cost them? Why'd they have to look in their wallet? Where'd that cost come from? You could listen to previous שיעורים shiurim, we discussed that at length. I want to jump right over to the כלי יקר Kli Yakar. The כלי יקר Kli Yakar later in פרק ז' Perek Zayin, פסוק י\"א Pasuk Yud Aleph points back and says no less than five times, five times in our פרשה parsha we have this expression in introducing a phrase, זאת תורת zos toras, this is the תורה Torah, this is the law. Why does it appear five times? You don't have to be the כלי יקר Kli Yakar to play word association here. Five times it says זאת תורת zos toras, this is the תורה Torah, alluding to... Thank you, חמישה חומשי תורה Chameishei Chumshei Torah. Because five books of the תורה Torah, five times זאת תורת zos toras, this is the law. והם כנגד חמישה חומשי תורה V'hem k'neged Chameishei Chumshei Torah. העוסק בספר בראשית דומה כמי שהקריב עולה Hosek b'Sefer Breishis domeh k'mi she'hikriv olah. So the קרבן עולה korban olah is corresponds with the book of בראשית Breishis. I'm not going to do the work for you. I'm going to deposit the כלי יקר's Kli Yakar's idea and give you homework. What is the connection between a קרבן עולה korban olah, this elevation offering that's entirely consumed on the altar, and the book of בראשית Breishis? ספר שמות Sefer Shmos is like the קרבן מנחה korban mincha, the flower offering. העוסק בספר ויקרא Hosek b'Sefer Vayikra is like a חטאת chatas. Our book ספר ויקרא Sefer Vayikra is like a sin offering. ספר במדבר כאילו הקריב אשם Sefer Bamidbar k'ilu hikriv asham. העוסק בספר דברים כאילו הקריב שלמים Hosek b'Sefer Dvarim k'ilu hikriv shlamim. So why? What do each have to do with the other? What's the correlation, what is the deeper connection? Why would we say זאת תורת zos toras, the five חומשים chumashem, how the חומשים chumashem correspond with the קרבנות karbanos, that is homework for you to do on your own. But a fascinating, fascinating connection. The beautiful new ספר sefer, the אמרות טהרות Imros Teharos, the רחמסטריווקא רבי Rachmastrivka Rebbe. I'm going to get his name correct. I'm going to pronounce it eventually correctly. It's a tongue twister. But he quotes, he brings down from the... זהו שאמר הכתוב Zehu she'amar hakosuv, צו את אהרן tzav es Aharon, זאת תורת העולה zos toras ha'olah, אף לאחר חורבן בית המקדש af l'achar churban Beis Hamikdash, עדיין אפשר להביא קרבן עולה על ידי adayin efshar l'havia korban olah al yedei... What happens? בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, we don't have a מזבח mizbeach, we don't have קרבנות karbanos, but we seek the same closeness. The root of the word קרבן korban is קרוב karov. להיות קרוב Leos karov, we want to draw close to השם Hashem. We don't have the same means, we don't have the same mechanism. We don't have a בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. So how do we draw close? How do we achieve atonement or כפרה kapara? What do we do? עדיין אפשר להביא קרבן עולה Adayin efshar l'havia korban olah, we can still bring an עולה olah. How? על ידי העסק בתורה Al yedei heisek b'Torah. שנחשב כהקרבת עולה She'nechshav k'hakravas olah. וזהו שפירש רש\"י V'zehu she'peirish Rashi, אין צו אלא לשון זריזות, מיד ולדורות ein tzav ela l'shon zrizus, miyad u'l'doros. כלומר Klomar, ענין הקרבת העולה נוגע בין מיד ובין לדורות inyan hakravas ha'olah nogea bein miyad u'bein l'doros. The קרבן עולה korban olah was given not only immediately, so the Jewish people who received that command could fulfill it on the spot immediately. It wasn't only מיד miyad, it was also לדורות l'doros for generations to come. כלומר ענין הקרבת העולה נוגע בין מיד ובין לדורות. מיד על ידי הבאת קרבן עולה בפועל. ולדורות העתידין בזמן שאין בית המקדש קיים, באמצעות לימוד תורת העולה Klomar inyan hakravas ha'olah nogea bein miyad u'bein l'doros. Miyad al yedei havas korban olah b'poal. U'l'doros ha'asidin b'zman she'ein Beis Hamikdash kayam, b'emtzous limud Toras ha'olah. ונשלמה פרים שפתינו U'nishalma parim sefaseinu, the פסוק pasuk tells us that when we can no longer enact and behavior, when we can no longer bring the קרבנות karbanos, when we read them, when we recite them, when we learn them, it is as if we've done them. So learning תורה Torah, learning תורה Torah, when we learn these תורות Toros of the קרבנות karbanos, these תורות Toros of these פרשיות parshios, when we learn תורה בכלל Torah b'klal, when we learn תורה Torah in general, עולה olah, that's how we elevate ourselves. We transcend this physical world, we transcend that animal impulse and animal instinct, we transcend the here and now, and we make contact with the eternity and immortality when we study, when we learn תורה Torah. When we open these books and these words come alive and we access the ultimate truth, the blueprint of creation, the manual for meaningful living, when we engage the words of the divine, when we read השם's Hashem's diary, we transcend the physical, the here and now, it's a קרבן עולה korban olah, we elevate above the here and now. וזהו שכתב רש\"י, אמר רב שמעון V'zehu she'kosev Rashi, amar Rav Shimon, ביותר צריך הכתוב לזרז במקום שיש חסרון כיס b'yoser tzarech hakosuv l'zareiz b'makom she'yesh chesron kis. רש\"י Rashi quotes this חז\"ל Chazal, this teaching, when do the כהנים kohanim need a little extra alacrity, a little extra fire, a little extra push? When do they need it? In a place of חסרון כיס chesron kis, when there is an expense. היינו Hainu, who's the one who said that teaching? רבי שמעון Rabi Shimon. Who's רבי שמעון Rabi Shimon? The גמרא Gemara in ברכות ל\"ה Brachos Lamed Hey tells us a famous מחלוקת machlokes, a famous debate. רב שמעון לשיטתיה דסבירא ליה שצריכים להגות בתורה בלי הרף Rav Shimon l'shitaso d'svira leih she'tzrichim l'hagos b'Torah b'li heref. We have a מחלוקת machlokes over there, תורה Torah only or תורה Torah and? Should we sit and learn, live in poverty, be indigent, be supported by others, rely on others, but learning תורה Torah is the best זאך zach, learning תורה Torah is the only זאך zach, learning תורה Torah is the very definition of life, it is everything, it is the only thing. So there's no תורה Torah and, there's no תורה עם Torah im, no תורה ודרך ארץ Torah v'derech eretz, no תורה ומדע Torah u'Mada, no תורה ופרנסה Torah v'parnasa, no תורה Torah and, just תורה Torah, just תורה Torah. Or, or, should we do תורה Torah and פרנסה parnasa? תורה Torah and an education? תורה Torah and מלאכה melacha? So who's the one who says only תורה Torah? No תורה Torah and, no תורה עם Torah im, only תורה Torah? It's רב שמעון Rav Shimon. אפשר יש אדם חורש בשעת חרישה וזורע בשעת זריעה, אם כן תורה מה תהא עליה? Efshar yeish adam choresh b'shaas charisha v'zoreia b'shaas zria, im kein Torah ma tehei aleha? It's the great תנא Tanna רב שמעון Rav Shimon who said, you know, once you start getting occupied and preoccupied with earning a living, if you're plowing in the plowing season and you're planting in the planting season and you're harvesting in the harvesting season, and then it becomes the plowing season, תורה מה תהא עליה Torah ma tehei aleha, what's going to be? You always have the next deal, the next client, the next customer, the next business, the next פרנסה parnasa responsibility. תורה מה תהא עליה Torah ma tehei aleha. ואף בזמנים הקשים שבני אדם נמצאים בדוחק ואין הפרוטה מצויה בכיס, אף על פי כן אי אפשר להניח מלעסוק בתורה V'af b'zman ha'kashim she'bnei adam nimtzaim b'dochak v'ein ha'pruta metzuya b'kis, af al pi chein ee efshar l'haniach m'laasok b'Torah. So it doesn't matter that you're going to be poverty, you're going to be, you're going to be living with little. Still, תורה Torah is what there is. וזהו שאמר רב שמעון ביותר צריך הכתוב לזרז לעסוק בתורה במקום שיש חסרון כיס V'zehu she'amar Rav Shimon b'yoser tzarech hakosuv l'zareiz l'eisok b'Torah b'makom she'yesh chesron kis. Now we don't פוסק'ן pasken like רב שמעון Rav Shimon. The גמרא Gemara quotes a alternative opinion and we פוסק'ן pasken like not רב שמעון Rav Shimon, we פוסק'ן pasken... What? We פוסק'ן pasken that many tried and they failed, and that we have to combine תורה Torah learning with תורה Torah living and applying it in the world and providing for ourselves, and that's what השם Hashem wants us to do. But רב שמעון Rav Shimon is the same רב שמעון Rav Shimon who says over here that תורה מה תהא עליה Torah ma tehei aleha, a קרבן עולה korban olah, today when we have no בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, the equivalent to the קרבן עולה korban olah is by sitting and learning full-time. Sitting and learning full-time, you know what that's going to cost you? חסרון כיס Chesron kis. Now, if you have a father, or a father-in-law, a grandfather, a grandfather-in-law who's supporting you while you're learning full-time, it's their חסרון כיס chesron kis, not yours. But the truth is, long-time learners, full-time learners, so חסרון כיס chesron kis. You're giving up the possibility of פרנסה parnasa, the education, or the income that you could be. And that's the same רב שמעון Rav Shimon. He says, the same רב שמעון Rav Shimon is the one who's telling us that because there's a חסרון כיס chesron kis, it needs a little צו tzav, it needs לשון זריזות lashon zrizus, because you're going to be giving something up, giving something up. Okay, וייטער vaiter. פרק ו' פסוק ה' Perek Vov Pasuk Hey. והאש על המזבח תוקד בו לא תכבה, ובער עליה הכהן עצים בבקר בבקר, וערך עליה העלה והקטיר עליה חלבי השלמים V'ha'eish al hamizbeach tukad bo lo sichbeh, u'viar aleha hakohen eitzim baboker baboker, v'orach aleha ha'olah v'hiktir aleha cheilvei hashlomim. We speak about the מזבח mizbeach, the altar. And the altar in the משכן Mishkan, in the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, had an unusual feature. Even though the sacrifices were not being offered and burnt and elevated around the clock, nevertheless the fire, האש על המזבח תוקד בו לא תכבה ha'eish al hamizbeach tukad bo lo sichbeh. The eternal light. In שולס shuls we replicate this. We have a נר תמיד ner tamid that's burning regularly. The fire can't go out. לא תכבה Lo sichbeh. ובער עליה הכהן עצים בבקר בבקר U'viar aleha hakohen eitzim baboker baboker, the כהנים kohanim should kindle the wood upon it every morning, וערך עליה העולה v'orach aleha ha'olah and prepare the עולה olah, והקטיר עליה חלבי השלמים v'hiktir aleha cheilvei hashlomim, and burn the fats of the שלמים shlomim. We cannot allow it to go out. It must remain lit, it must remain lit all the time. It must remain lit all the time. רב וואלבע Rav Volbe points out something very interesting on this פסוק pasuk. We know that the human being is compared to a fire. כי נר ה' נשמת אדם Ki ner Hashem nishmas adam. We know that because when we think of a soul, when we think of a person who is no longer. This פסח Pesach, they'll be יזכור Yizkor on the eighth day, people will light a יזכור Yizkor candle. A person observes a יארצייט yahrzeit, they light a candle. חלילה Chalilah, a person sits שבעה shiva, they light a seven-day candle. Why? Because the נשמה neshama is captured in a flame. There are so many similarities we've shared so many times. The flame flickers, it always flickers up, no matter which direction you hold the candle, you can point the candle down, but the flame always rises up, just like the נשמה neshama. No matter which direction you hold the גוף guf, the body, is drawn to this world, the material, the physical pleasures of this world, the animal pleasures of this world, the base pleasures of this world, but the soul always flickers up, the soul always yearns, the soul is always climbing, it's flickering, it's always trying to rise to go higher and higher. Just like the flame of a candle, you can't grab it, you can't hold it, but you know it's there, it's undeniable because you feel its warmth and you benefit from its light. Similarly, the soul of a person once it's been extracted from the body, can't bottle, you can't grab on, it's not tangible, but you could feel the warmth and you can benefit from the illumination and the light. כי נר ה' נשמת אדם Ki ner Hashem nishmas adam, the soul of a person is like the flame, like the light of a candle. And just like the fire on the מזבח mizbeach can never go out, the fire in our lives can never go out. It must burn. אש על המזבח תוקד בו Eish al hamizbeach tukad bo. We have to be on fire. We have to remain on fire. We can never ever let that fire in us be extinguished. רב וואלבע Rav Volbe points out on this פסוק pasuk something very interesting. He said in all of the fields of study, science, mathematics, history, think of all of the fields of study, the question is what is it? What is it? Let's define our terms, let's offer a hypothesis and test it, let's prove a theory, what is it? But the תורה Torah doesn't answer the question what is it. The תורה Torah addresses the question what does it have to do with me. The תורה Torah is not only concerned theoretically and conceptually, academically and in the abstract, what is it? How do we define it? The תורה Torah in the here and now, in this world and in this life, the תורה Torah says what's my relationship? What does this mean for me? How do I connect to it? And that's so critically important. In many ways that is the very definition of what תורה Torah is. What תורה Torah is. תורה Torah is not academic, it doesn't remain in your head. They say about Aristotle who once acted terribly immorally and was confronted that he was contradicting his own, his own ethics and morality. And he responded, he said, I'm Aristotle from the neck up. My brain, my head, philosophically, from the neck up. Some years ago there was a professor in an Ivy League college who was a professor, one of the world's experts on the issue of the philosophy of morality, who engaged in absolute immoral behavior with his students and in the university. Because when something remains academic and conceptual and abstract and philosophical, when we say I am moral in my from the neck up, it doesn't filter, it's not absorbed, it doesn't inspire, it doesn't inform who I am, doesn't transform who I am, then what is it? That's not תורה Torah. That's not תורה Torah. That's why it says, תורה Torah, when it comes to תורה Torah, there's תורה Torah in the world. חכמה בגוים תאמין, תורה אל תאמין Chochma b'goyim ta'amin, Torah al ta'amin. חכמה Chochma means there's wisdom, there's tremendous wisdom, but the wisdom that transforms, that molds, that shapes, that is תורה Torah, is different. So says רב וואלבע Rav Volbe, if we were to ask a scientist what is fire, we'd get a detailed answer of fire's properties. It's gas. That's about all I know about fire. I've just exhausted my knowledge. I don't know, what's the temperature of fire and the fuel of fire, the gas of fire, what else? We've got some smart people actually in this room. That's all that we'd know. But the תורה Torah on the other hand says, regarding the relationship we have with fire. Fire is one of the ד' אבות נזיקין dalet avos nezikin. We have four meta-categories of damages and fire is one of them. A person has to watch over their coals, watch over their fire. We're responsible for the damage of fire, that fire travels, that damages elsewhere, but if I ignited or lit, the fire started under my watch, then I'm responsible, I have to compensate for that damage. There are מצוות mitzvos that are done with fire, such as our פרשה parsha, אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה eish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh. You have to have a fire burning on the מזבח mizbeach all the time. You have to light the candles for שבת Shabbos, you have to light the הבדלה Havdalah candle on מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos. Next week, אור לארבעה עשר or l'arba'asar, Tuesday night we're going to light a candle to search for the חמץ chametz. The other bookend, פסח Pesach begins and ends with fire. It begins with fire, we use a candle to search, and it ends with fire. We use a candle again to search for the memory and the souls of our loved ones through יזכור Yizkor who are no longer here. That was a little mini יזכור דרשה Yizkor drasha for you. So fire has many מצוות mitzvos, fire appears in many places in our ritual, in our תורה Torah. And what רב וואלבע Rav Volbe is pointing out is that the תורה Torah doesn't say what is fire. You won't find a section, a narrative in תורה Torah that says let's examine the properties of fire, let's define fire. What we say is what is the relationship with fire? Where does fire come into our lives? What is the symbolism of fire? How can fire inspire us to be on fire? And this also holds true with השם Hashem. The תורה Torah doesn't tell us, okay, we're going to define השם Hashem. Let's prove, let's bring evidence for the existence of השם Hashem. The תורה Torah says, what's your relationship with השם Hashem? Do you feel His presence? Do you talk to Him? Do you love Him? Do you invest in Him? Do you surrender to Him? That השם Hashem wrapped himself כביכול k'viyachol, מתעטף בטלית mis'ateif b'talis, חז\"ל Chazal said in the גמרא ראש השנה י\"ז Gemara Rosh Hashanah Yud Zayin, and he gave us the י\"ג מדות yud gimmel midos. So the של\"ה Shlah quotes the גאונים Gaonim explain, reciting the thirteen מדות midos, we don't simply say them, we emulate them, we imitate them. תורה Torah, the מהר\"ל Maharal, רב וואלבע Rav Volbe quotes, comes from the word הוראה hora'ah. הוראה Hora'ah means an instruction. We don't have a knowledge which is abstract and academic and conceptual, then we close the book and we leave it on the shelf and now we go live the lives that we want. תורה Torah is what informs our life. I've said this now several times, this phrase, and I still reserve the right to expand upon it somewhere, sometime. But I heard this great expression, that we don't read and learn and study for information, we read and learn and study for transformation. That's the difference. If you're learning תורה Torah for information, it's חכמה chochma not תורה Torah. It's just knowledge, it's just information, it's just facts, it's just data. תורה Torah has to by definition be studied not for information, but for transformation. In many ways that's what we're going to do next week. And maybe I'm foolishly giving away what could be a פסח דרשה Pesach drasha. So I'll stop there. But the סדר Seder night is not about transferring information. The סדר Seder night is about experiencing and creating a setting for transformation. And if the next morning you woke up with a lot of information, it was an unsuccessful סדר Seder. I don't care how thick your הגדה Haggadah is, how many גימטריאות gematrias and וורטלך vortlach and highfalutin למדנות lamdus and crazy questions or what time your סדר Seder finished early in the wee hours of the morning. If all it did was promote information, it was a failure. The entire סדר Seder is a platform for transformation. So רב וואלבע Rav Volbe just happens on this פסוק pasuk to offer this insight. אש על המזבח תוקד לא תכבה, תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה Eish al hamizbeach tukad lo sichbeh, tukad al mizbeach lo sichbeh, that we're not interested in defining fire. That's not what the תורה Torah is. תורה Torah is הוראה hora'ah. It's an instruction for not information, but transformation. And that has to inform our classroom and it has to inform the greatest classroom our children have, which is our homes. We're so busy today with trying to transfer information, memorize facts, names, dates, people in תנ\"ך Tanach, הלכה halacha, ל\"ט מלאכות lamed tes melachos, ידיעות כלליות yedios klaliyos, spit it back, spit it back, spit it back, spit it back. So we have zombies who can spit back incredible amounts of information. But do they feel it? Do they have a relationship with השם Hashem? They could tell you all these things about השם Hashem. Have they ever spoken to Him? Have they ever heard Him speaking to them? אש על המזבח Eish al mizbeach, where's the fire? We have to be on fire. We have to be on fire. רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik also has a comment here. זאגט רב סולובייצ'יק Zogt Rav Soloveitchik. אש על המזבח Eish al mizbeach. He points out just factually, the משנה Mishna in אבות Avos, the fifth פרק perek of אבות Avos says that one of the miracles associated with the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash was that rain never extinguished this fire. Because you'll say אש על המזבח תוקד לא תכבה eish al mizbeach tukad lo sichbeh. We've had so little water, rain. I came out last night, I was at an event and it was raining and I just forgot what that was like. I was like, what is this? What's happening? Oh yeah, sometimes water falls from the sky. We've, I don't know if you know, because we have indoor plumbing and we think we're, we never have a problem. But in Florida we have a major drought. We've barely had any rain this winter and we have a major problem. But it rains. So you'll ask, והאש על המזבח תוקד בו לא תכבה v'ha'eish al hamizbeach tukad bo lo sichbeh, how can I take responsibility for making sure the fire on the altar never goes out? What happens if it rains? What happens if it rains? So the משנה Mishna tells us among the miracles, the ten miracles that happened daily in the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. Now you understand why the destruction of a בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash is so destructive to us because a איד Yid, a Jew who woke up with doubt or uncertainty, made their way to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash and they saw miracles before their eyes. And they said, you know, whatever's going on in my life, whatever distance I'm feeling, whatever doubt I'm having, there's something bigger than me. There's something that makes more sense. The destruction of the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash meant not only no place to bring קרבנות karbanos to achieve כפרה kapara, it meant no place to witness and experience and feel those miracles empirically. So one of the miracles was the rain never extinguished the fire. Clearly says the Rav, there was no roof over the altar of the עזרה Azara, in the עזרה Azara. For otherwise this would not have been a miracle at all. The היכל Heichal was under a roof. קודש הקדשים Kodesh HaKodashim was under a roof, but not the מזבח mizbeach. It could not be under a roof because the smoke needed to rise upward. Since the מזבח mizbeach was not under a roof, was exposed to the elements, it was a miracle that the rain never extinguished the flame that burned on it. So the Rav points out, the very fact that it was considered a miracle that the rain never put it out means it was exposed to the elements and the fire continued to burn nonetheless. פרק ו' פסוק ו' Perek Vov Pasuk Vov, next פסוק pasuk. אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה Eish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh. It seems to be a very repetitive and redundant פסוק pasuk. A fire, a permanent fire should remain on the altar, it should never ever be extinguished. We have a tradition, I think I spoke about it last year, Matthew Miller, the wonderful, great friend, young man who helps me clip our דברי תורה divrei Torah, I think he put out a clip of this yesterday or today, that last year we mentioned the של\"ה Shlah already. We're going to repeat it and expand upon it. אוצר פלאות התורה Otzar P'los HaTorah. I remember last week I complained. The הייליגע מחבר Heilegeh Machaber, the incredible author of this ספר sefer, Rav Zucherman, sent me a copy. He didn't only send me a copy, he wrote the most beautiful inscription to the copy. So I want to publicly express my הכרת הטוב hakaras hatov. I love this ספר sefer. Many have mentioned that they purchased it. You see ויקרא Vayikra? You see how... It's not just that he sent me the ספר sefer, he paid the postage. I can't imagine what the postage was on this ספר sefer. אוצר פלאות התורה Otzar P'los HaTorah, it's an amazing amazing ספר sefer. I get no royalties. I did get the ויקרא Vayikra volume for free. כתוב השל\"ה הקדוש Kosuv haShlah haKadosh. The של\"ה Shlah writes the following: מצאתי כתוב ביד של אלוקינו מורינו הרב משה קורדובירו Matzasi kosuv b'yad shel Elokeinu Moreinu haRav Moshe Cordovero, Rav Moshe Cordovero, the great מקובל Mekubal, the רמ\"ק Ramak, writes, this is his language. אם ידמה לזקן אחד לבטל המחשבה יאמר פסוק זה הרבה פעמים Im yidmeh l'zaken echad l'vatel hamachshava yomar pasuk zeh harbei pa'amim. A person is feeling despondent, down, despair, distance from השם Hashem, person is feeling tempted to indulge the יצר הרע yetzer hara. You're tempted to watch or listen to or go or say or do something you shouldn't. You know what you have to say? Stop and repeat this mantra, this פסוק pasuk, over and over again. אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה Eish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh. אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה Eish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh. אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה Eish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh. Got to keep the fire lit. I'm not letting it go out. I'm not going off my diet. I'm not missing this day of exercise. I'm not breaking my streak of not getting angry. I'm not repeating this לשון הרע lashon hara or gossip. I'm not missing a מנין minyan. I'm not taking the lazy way out with קריאת שמע על המטה krias shema al hamita. No way. No way. Why? Because אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה eish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh. This fire ain't going out. There's no way I'm letting me be extinguished. ובעיני ובעיני פשוט שזה הזקן היה אליהו הנביא U'v'einei u'v'einai pashet she'zeh ha'zaken hayah Eliyahu haNavi. The של\"ה Shlah says, who is the one, who's the old man who told the רמ\"ק Ramak, Rav Moshe Cordovero, who's the old man who told him this tradition, this mantra, this meditation? It was none other than אליהו הנביא Eliyahu haNavi. ולרוב ענוותנותו של הרב לא רצה לגלות U'l'rov anvisuso shel ha'rav lo ratza l'galos. But אליהו הנביא Eliyahu haNavi is very modest, very humble, he didn't want to reveal. על כן יתעסק בזה למי שנופל בליבו מחשבה זו או מחשבה שבא Al kein yit'aseik b'zeh l'mi she'nofel b'libo machshava zo o machshava she'ba, a person with foolish ideas, a person who has foolish thoughts, a person who has fantasies, thoughts, distractions, temptations, יאמר הפסוק ויתקל אל הרבה פעמים yomar ha'pasuk v'niskal el harbei pa'amim. Repeat this פסוק pasuk over and over again. ונראה בעיני V'neira b'einai, says the של\"ה הקדוש Shlah haKadosh, יאמר גם כן הפסוק, סעפים שנאתי ותורתך אהבתי yomar gam kein ha'pasuk, seivim soneisi v'sorascha ahavti. ויאמר אותו בזעור כארי גדול ויגביה כארי V'yomar oso b'ze'or k'ari godol, v'yagbiha k'ari. You'll roar like a lion, you'll come roaring back. I love the image because the של\"ה הקדוש Shlah haKadosh, בשני לוחות הברית b'Shnei Luchos haBris, and even earlier than him, we're going back to the רמ\"ק Ramak and earlier, this notion, this new age idea that you sit and you meditate and you have mantras. There are million apps that you could download right now that give you these meditations, these mantras, and you can repeat them and you can bring calm and and quiet and comfort. We don't need that. If they're tools that help you, God bless, it's wonderful. I don't know if anyone has yet, but someone should create the Jewish meditation app where you sit and repeat אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה eish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh. אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה Eish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh. You breathe. These are our traditions. This is our תורה Torah. What happens is when we see it happening in the secular world, and the more that it's unfamiliar to us, we think it's Eastern religions or we think it's some new age idea, so we recoil and we say, ah, that's not us. That is us. Get to מנחה mincha five minutes early and sit and say אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה eish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh. Close your eyes and do some deep breathing and see before you this פסוק pasuk and repeat and picture the fire inside your נשמה neshama that's raging, that's burning. Sometimes it's dialed down and you barely have a spark, and other times it's roaring like a huge fire. But sit and have that image of the fire that is our נשמה neshama and repeat the mantra, and don't dismiss it because we weren't raised with it. Could you imagine if before you opened your חומש Chumash or your נביא Navi or your גמרא Gemara, imagine if in school, in ישיבה Yeshiva, before you opened the סידור Siddur and began דאווענען davening, they would train us to actually take some deep breaths, restore our נשמה neshama with נשימה neshima. כל הנשמה תהלל יה Kol ha'neshama tehallel Kah, כל נשימה kol neshima. Let's do a, we're going to spend 30 seconds and take a few breaths, and we're going to picture this image, and we're going to repeat this phrase. And now that we're grounded and centered and now that we've eliminated those distractions, now let's דאווענען daven. Now let's learn. Now, imagine, you're all looking at me like I just landed from another planet. But I'm on the planet של\"ה Shlah. I'm on the planet רמ\"ק Ramak, Rav Moshe Cordovero. And then he quotes, this we quoted last year, but אוצר פלאות התורה Otzar P'los HaTorah, as only he does, digs up from everywhere on the planet. ומינה ראיתי בענין זה, מה שכתב הרבי הקדוש רב אלימלך מליז'נסק U'mina roiti b'inyan zeh, ma she'kasuv haRebbe haKadosh Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk. The הייליגע רבי heilege Rebbe Rav Elimelech, he writes in his צעטל קטן Tzetel Katan, quote, כי שיבוא לך חס ושלום מחשבה רעה מניאוף, יאמר כמה פעמים ונשמרת מכל דבר רע ki she'yavo l'cha chas v'shalom machshava ra'ah min niuf, yomar kama pa'amim v'nishmarta mikol davar ra'. If a person has an immoral thought, they're about to breach a boundary of promiscuity or morality, stop and repeat over and over again, ונשמרת מכל דבר רע v'nishmarta mikol davar ra. ונשמרת מכל דבר רע V'nishmarta mikol davar ra. ונשמרת מכל דבר רע V'nishmarta mikol davar ra. השם Hashem protect me from anything bad, protect me from myself, protect me from this urge, protect me from distractions. You know what this is telling me? I spoke about it last שבת שובה Shabbos Shuva, I think. Two שבת שובה Shabbos Shuvas ago, I don't remember. But we spoke about the notion that there is a moment between the urge and the action. We make the mistake of thinking that when the urge rises, it immediately leads to the action. I have a urge to snack, and next thing you know I'm at the bottom of the bag of Cape Cod potato chips. And there was never a break, there was never a moment, there was never a pause between. And one of the methods that is highly suggested is to learn and to realize and to embrace the idea to sit on the urge. Now, if the urge remains a minute, five minutes later and you say, you know what, טאקע taka, it's a legitimate appetite. I'm hungry, I'm craving something, it's legitimate, and it's healthy and it's warranted and it's in the right amount of time, it's the right amount of volume at the right time, then eat. But if you sit on the urge for a moment and then you realize, you know it's not legitimate, it's not a craving that's legitimate, this is the wrong time and it's the wrong thing I crave and I don't need it and I don't need it on my way to bed. There is a pause, there is a moment between the urge and the action. And that's what the של\"ה Shlah and that's what the רבי רב אלימלך Rebbe Rav Elimelech are telling us. They're just telling it to us differently. How do you find that pause? Because imagine every time you had this craving, 12 o'clock at night, I'm speaking about asking for a friend. You had this craving 12 o'clock at night for the Cape Cod potato chips, for the Trader Joe's corn chips. But you said, you know, before I eat them, I'm going to say ונשמרת מכל דבר רע v'nishmarta mikol davar ra five times. And then you realized, you know, there was a moment between the craving and the being at the bottom of the bag of the chips. Because you said ונשמרת מכל דבר רע v'nishmarta mikol davar ra five times. The הייליגע רבי רב אלימלך heilege Rebbe Rav Elimelech told you to. And now at the end of saying it five times you realized כל דבר רע kol davar ra is talking about the chips. I don't need it, I don't need it right now, I don't need it at this time. So that pause, what what again, it all comes, הפוך בה והפוך בה דכולא בה hafoch ba v'hafoch ba d'kula ba. Look in our תורה Torah, it's all in there. We have wonderful wisdoms today that give us new language, modern vocabulary to communicate these ideas that are accessible to us, but always draw back, goes to our תורה Torah, our תורה Torah had it long before, it's all in the תורה Torah. And that's what the של\"ה הקדוש Shlah haKadosh, Rav Moshe Cordovero, the רבי רב אלימלך Rebbe Rav Elimelech, the חיד\"א Chida, they're saying between the urge and the action, say a פסוק pasuk. Find the פסוק pasuk, create a mantra, adopt a meditation, and if you adopt a meditation or a mantra, you thought you were coming for the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur, you didn't realize it was a motivational seminar. Neither did I until I started speaking. In between the urge and the action, adopt a mantra or meditation, you'll create that pause that'll change your life, much greater self-control in your life. A beautiful amazing idea. פרק ו' פסוק ט' Perek Vov, Pasuk Tes, back to the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur. פרק ו' פסוק ט' Perek Vov Pasuk Tes. והנותרת ממנה יאכלו אהרן ובניו, מצות תאכל במקום קדוש V'hanoseres mimena yochlu Aharon u'vanav, matzos tei'achel b'makom kadosh. בחצר אהל מועד יאכלוהו. b'chatzer ohel moed yochluhu. הנותר. hanosar. Aaron and his sons will eat what is left of it, eaten unlevened in a holy place in the courtyard in the tent of the meeting, shall they eat it. We're talking about which קרבן karban right now? זוס תורת zos toras המנחה. hamincha. The מנחה mincha was brought by Aaron. It was a very unusual way that they withdrew the flour, and they threw it in the fire, and what was left of it, they were allowed to eat. מצות תאכל, matzos te'achel, eat מצות matzos במקום קדוש b'makom kadosh in a holy place. Eat them as מצה matzah in a holy place.The ספר sefer back to the אמרות טהורות Imros Tehoros, he quotes from the הייליגע תפארת שלמה. heilige Tiferes Shlomo. He quotes on the הייליגע תפארת שלמה heilige Tiferes Shlomo of רדאמסק Radomsk. איכא לפרש רמז הפסוק. eicha l'faresh remez ha'pasuk. מצות תאכל במקום קדוש. matzos te'achel b'makom kadosh. We're talking not about the יום טוב of פסח yom tov of Pesach. We're talking about a קרבן מנחה korban mincha, which was brought with many loaves, most of which were מצה. matzah. The מצה matzah has to be eaten in a holy place. That's the פסוק. pasuk. מצות תאכל במקום קדוש. matzos te'achel b'makom kadosh. The חסידישע ספרים chassidishe sforim give a homiletical interpretation. Says the הייליגע תפארת שלמה, heilige Tiferes Shlomo, כי לפי שניגשים לאכול כזית מצה בליל פסח, צריכים לעשות הכנה להתקדש בקדושה הראויה, כדי שבשעת אכילת מצה תיכנס במקום קדוש. ki l'fei she'nigashim l'echol k'zayis matzah b'leil Pesach, tzrichim la'asos hachana l'hiskadesh b'kdusha ha're'uyah, k'dei she'b'sha'as achilas matzah tikanes b'makom kadosh. Before you can eat מצה matzah, you have to enter a holy place. Make sure that your home, that your life, that you are in a holy place before the מצה matzah enters. Before you go into פסח Pesach, before you eat the מצה matzah, the מצוה mitzvah of פסח Pesach, be a מקום קדוש makom kadosh. ועל ידי זה ממשיכים על עצמם קדושת ירושלים, קדושת אהל מועד, עד שבשעת אכילת המצה נחשב שבחצר אהל מועד יאכלוהו. v'al yedei zeh mamshichim al atzmam kedushas Yerushalayim, kedushas Ohel Moed, ad she'b'shaas achilas ha'matzah, nechshav she'b'chatzer Ohel Moed yochluhu. What does the פסוק pasuk say? Where must it be eaten? בחצר אהל מועד יאכלוהו. b'chatzer Ohel Moed yochluhu. How can we eat our מצה matzah? Again, this is talking about the קרבן מנחה, korban mincha, not פסח. Pesach. How can we eat our מצה matzah? Because if we transform our home to a מקום קדוש, makom kadosh, our home becomes the אהל מועד. Ohel Moed. Our home on פסח Pesach becomes ירושלים Yerushalayim. If you look at the first קרבן פסח korban Pesach in מצרים, Mitzrayim, all the laws of the קרבן פסח korban Pesach and eating it בחבורה b'chabura in the home, the same laws that the קרבנות korbanos had about the boundaries and you can't go out and eat it outside, were true of the home. The home took on the, took on the rules, the laws, the criteria of the temple of the בית המקדש. Beis HaMikdash. פסח Pesach our home is each one of us, our home becomes that place of holiness. That comes that place of holiness. The פסוק pasuk says that ואשא אתכם על כנפי נשרים. v'esa eschem al kanfei nesharim. The תרגום Targum says that while we were yet in מצרים, Mitzrayim, השם Hashem took us on the wings of eagles to ירושלים Yerushalayim. And what does that mean literally? He transported us to ירושלים Yerushalayim? The airport wasn't on strike? We were able to go? Says another תרגום Targum. What it means is, if a person, if a יוד Yid comes to the סדר seder table with the right preparation and the right mentality, no matter where you are geographically in the world, that סדר seder table, you are transported to ירושלים Yerushalayim. It has the status of ירושלים Yerushalayim for that meal and in that place. Now, all the עליה aliyah snobs don't have to all email me. I know it doesn't compare, it isn't ירושלים, Yerushalayim, that's where we belong, that's where we have to go. It's not if, it's when we all make עליה. aliyah. And I mean that seriously. But metaphysically, the mentality is that פסח Pesach night, סדר seder night, royal and regal סדר seder night, השם Hashem has lifted us on the wings of eagles, and all of us wherever we are, around that סדר seder table that is the status of ירושלים, אהל מועד, של החצר אהל מועד. Yerushalayim, Ohel Moed, shel ha'chatzer Ohel Moed. The תפארת שלמה Tiferes Shlomo then offers a second interpretation. אכילת המצה בליל פסח מקדש את האדם להיות גופו מקום קדוש, וזהו מצות תאכל במקום קדוש. אכילת המצה פועל להשרות קדושה על האדם שיהיה מקום קדוש. Achilas ha'matzah b'leil Pesach mekadesh es ha'adam l'hiyos gufo makom kadosh, v'zehu matzos te'achel b'makom kadosh. Achilas ha'matzah po'el l'hashros kedusha al ha'adam she'yihiyeh makom kadosh. When you eat the מצה, matzah, it turns you into a holy person, into a holy place. And the third interpretation is, you see that the prerequisite to eating the מצה, matzah, the מצה matzah has to be in a מקום קדוש. makom kadosh. You can't put the מצה matzah in your mouth if your mouth is unholy. If your mouth gossips and slanders, if your mouth uses ניבול פה, nivul peh, if your mouth uses inappropriate language, if your mouth is unholy, then how could you put the מצה matzah in an unholy place? In a home? מצות תאכל במקום קדוש. matzos te'achel b'makom kadosh. The מצה matzah you should eat in a holy place means the holy place your mouth should be a holy place where the מצה matzah is placed. פרק ו, פסוק טז. Perek vav, pasuk tes-vav. והכהן המשיח תחתיו מבניו יעשה אותה. V'hakohain ha'mashiach tachtav mi'banav ya'aseh osah. Here we have Hashem spoke and said the offering of Aaron and his sons, they had to offer on the day they were inaugurated. What happened on the day they were inaugurated? This is also in our פרשה, parsha, the smearing of the oil. The שמן. shemen. The consecrated and sanctified with oil. I just saw an article, Jerusalem Post. Charles, he's the king now or he's becoming the king? He is the king, but he didn't have yet his inauguration, his installation. Coronation. Thank you. So they apparently they use oil, the British monarchy, to coronate the king. And where do you think that oil's coming from? Jerusalem. They bring oil from Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives. Where do you think they got that from? To coronate with oil from the holy place, ירושלים. Yerushalayim. להבדיל אלף אלפי הבדלות. l'havdil elef alfei havdalos. That's where they get it from. להבדיל, l'havdil, our כהנים kohanim and our כלים keilim of the מקדש Mikdash were coronated similarly with a with a oil, with an oil. So Aaron and his sons are coronated, they're serving, they are inaugurating and they have to bring a special offering. ביום המשח אותו, עשירית האיפה סולת מנחה תמיד, מחציתה בבקר ומחציתה בערב. b'yom himashach oso, asiris ha'eifah soles mincha tamid, machatzisa ba'boker u'machatzisa ba'erev. A tenth עפה eifah of fine flour as a continual meal offering, half in the morning, half in the evening. על מחבת בשמן תעשה, מורבכת תביאנה. Al machavas ba'shemen te'aseh, murbeches tevi'ena. It's made on a pan with oil. It's fried. Delicious, like a מלאווח. malawach. תפיני מנחת פתים תקריב ריח ניחוח להשם. Tufinei minchas pitim takriv reiach nichoach l'Hashem. Repeatedly baked meal offering broken into pieces, offering a satisfying aroma for השם. Hashem. והכהן המשיח, V'hakohen ha'mashiach, and the kohen from his son who is anointed, in his place he performs it. חק עולם להשם כליל תוקטר. Chok olam l'Hashem kalil tuktar. וכל מנחת כהן כליל תהיה לא תאכל. V'chol minchas kohen kalil tihyeh lo se'achel. Every meal offering of a כהן kohen is to be entirely caused to go up in smoke, it shall not be eaten. Says רב משה פיינשטיין Rav Moshe Feinstein in his דרש משה. Drash Moshe. Says רב משה זצ״ל. Rav Moshe zatzal. הכהן המשיח תחתיו מבניו יעשה אותה, חק עולם. Ha'kohen ha'mashiach tachtav mi'banav ya'aseh osah, chok olam. This is a חק עולם. chok olam. צריך להבין מהו ענין זה שהכהן גדול מקריב בכל יום מנחת חביתין. Tzarich l'havin mahu inyan zeh she'ha'kohen gadol makriv b'chol yom minchas chavitin. The כהן גדול kohen gadol has to bring a daily personal unique individual sacrifice called the מנחת חביתין. minchas chavitin. We have a קרבן יחיד, korban yachid, the individual sacrifice. Person made a mistake, you bring a קרבן חטאת, korban chatas, sometimes a קרבן אשם. korban asham. Person has to under certain circumstances bring a שלמים, shlamim, bring an עולה. olah. We have קרבן ציבור korban tzibur that the community offers a communal sacrifice. Like the קרבן תמיד. korban tamid. This is the קרבן korban of a כהן גדול. kohen gadol. The כהן גדול kohen gadol brings his own קרבן korban daily, called the מנחת חביתין. minchas chavitin. Why? Why every day? It's enough, you're inaugurated, you're coronated, you celebrated. He was installed as the כהן גדול. kohen gadol. So bring a special קרבן korban to mark that occasion and to mark your position of distinction. Why does he bring a קרבן korban every day? זכרונו לברכה in דרש משה. הכהן הגדול צריך להשרש בעצמו, שלמרות שניתנה לו גדולה יותר מכל אחיו, אין זוז קיום המיוחד. רק כל יום, מתנה חדשה. Zachor l'ma'aseh in Drash Moshe. Ha'kohen ha'gadol tzarich l'hashresh b'atzmo, she'lamrot she'nitna lo gedula yoser mi'kol echav, ein zos kiyum ha'meyuchad. Rak kol yom, matanah chadasha. He brings a קרבן korban every day because his unique position of distinction is renewed each and every day. It's never owned, it's only borrowed. Whoever you think you are, whatever you think you've accomplished, whatever role you think you have, whatever recognition you think you receive, it could disappear in a moment. It is on loan from השם. Hashem. It is not permanent. Every day you wake up and you are privileged to be a leader in the Jewish people, it is a gift from above and bring a קרבן korban and say thank you. Thank you. Sometimes it's ברכת הגומל, birkas hagomel, but you say thank you. Say thank you every day. What a gift it is to be a leader, to be the כהן גדול. kohen gadol. So you don't make him the כהן גדול kohen gadol once, and now that the כהן גדול kohen gadol has been coronated on his throne, he is permanently in that position forever. So he brought a קרבן korban once and said thank you. נו שיין, nu, shoin, he's done. The כהן גדול kohen gadol brought a daily קרבן korban to wake up and remember every day, I'm not better, I'm not elevated, I'm not superior. It would maintain his humility to bring that daily קרבן korban and remember every day that I have the privilege to serve in this position is a gift from above and a responsibility from above. כל יום מתנה חדשה. רק כשיזכו לזה ואם לא יזכו יסולקו מזה, אם לא בהסתלקות משררתו על ידי בית דין, שזה דבר רחוק, יכול הקדוש ברוך הוא להרחיקו. Kol yom matana chadasha. Rak k'she'yizku l'zeh, v'im lo yizku, yisalku mi'zeh, im lo b'histalkus misruto al yedei beis din, she'zeh davar rachok, yachol ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu l'harchiko. He could be impeached and overturned by the people or the ריבונו של עולם, Ribbono shel Olam, פסול, passul, a מום, mum, something could arise within him that would make him ineligible. So every day you wake up and you say, I'm still eligible. I could still do this job. Wow, what a gift. You're a public speaker, you're a רב. rav. Every day you wake up and you say, my voice works. Say, what would happen? חלילה, chalila, God forbid. What would happen if a person was struck with an illness that they lost their voice? How could they continue to fulfill that profession or career that they loved? And that's true in every area of life. The gift we're given daily, never take it for granted, never ever, ever feel entitled, never feel it's assumed. It is always on loan from השם. Hashem. And that is the deeper meaning, says רב משה, Rav Moshe, of the מנחת חביתין. minchas chavitin. The daily sacrifice of the כהן גדול kohen gadol was, this isn't permanent. Any day you could wake up with a מום mum and it's all over. Any day they can impeach you and it's all over. Every day you wake up with the privilege to be the כהן גדול kohen gadol in the משכן, Mishkan, bring a קרבן korban and say thank you. Thank you. That's true not only for the כהן גדול, kohen gadol, that's true for anyone in their positions of distinctions in life. פרק ז, פסוק י״ב. Perek zayin, pasuk yud-beis. ז, י״ב. Zayin, yud-beis. Flying through the פרשה. parsha. זאת תורת זבח השלמים. zos toras zevach ha'shlamim. Now we're up to the שלמים. shlamim. Which ספר sefer did that correspond with? That was במדבר, Bamidbar, right? I think. שלמים אשר יקריב להשם. Shlamim asher yakriv l'Hashem. אם על תודה יקריבנו והקריב על זבח התודה. Im al todah yakrivenu v'hikriv al zevach ha'todah. We're up to the שלמים, shlamim, which is the קרבן, korban, one of the forms of a קרבן שלמים korban shlamim is a קרבן korban תודה. todah. אם על תודה יקריבנו, והקריב על זבח התודה חלות מצות בלולות בשמן ורקיקי מצות משוחים בשמן, וסולת מורבכת חלות בלולות בשמן. Im al todah yakrivenu, v'hikriv al zevach ha'todah chalos matzos blulos b'shemen, u'rekikei matzos meshuchim b'shemen, v'soles murbeches chalos blulos b'shemen. We're up to the קרבן תודה. korban todah. The sacrifice of thanksgiving. Thank you השם. Hashem. Long before it was a song, it was a קרבן. korban. יום הדין יום הרחמים, קרבן תודה. Yom HaDin Yom HaRachamim, korban todah. Thank you השם. Hashem. So, קרבן תודה. korban todah. When did you bring this קרבן תודה? korban todah? So the מדרש midrash tells us, the מדרש רבה, Midrash Rabbah, לעתיד לבא כל הקרבנות בטלים, וקרבן תודה אינו בטל. כל התפלות בטלות והודאה אינה בטלה. l'asid lavo kol ha'korbanos b'teilim, v'korban todah eino batel. Kol ha'tefillos b'teilos v'hoda'ah eina b'telah. All prayers will be will be nullified, but the thanksgiving prayer will still be recited. הוי דכתיב, קול ששון וקול שמחה, קול חתן וקול כלה, קול אומרים הודו את השם צבאות, זו הודאה. מביאים תודה בית השם, זה קרבן תודה. Hoi d'k'siv, kol sason v'kol simcha, kol chasan v'kol kalah, kol omrim hodu es Hashem tzva'os, zu hoda'ah. Mevi'im todah beis Hashem, zeh korban todah. The מדרש midrash brings that this is permanent. Gratitude, gratitude is forever. We'll never be done, we're never finished, it's never complete, we'll never be nullified. The מחבר mechaber in שולחן ערוך, אורח חיים סימן ר״יט. Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim, siman reish-yud-tes. מזמור לתודה mizmor l'sodah writes, we say we don't have the קרבן תודה korban todah today. Who brought the קרבן תודה? korban todah? There are four individuals who brought a קרבן תודה. korban todah. They were, who were the four individuals who brought the קרבן תודה? korban todah? We have an acronym for it. כל החיים יודוך סלה. Kol ha'chayim yoducha selah. כל החיים, כל החיים יודוך סלה. Kol ha'chayim, kol ha'chayim yoducha selah. So what's the acronym? Somebody who successfully crossed over the sea, someone who was released from prison, someone who healed from an illness, and someone who was released from prison. And the acronym is חיים. chayim. כל החיים יודוך סלה kol ha'chayim yoducha selah has to thank Hashem, they would bring this קרבן תודה. korban todah. It's קרבן תודה. korban todah. אם על דבר הודאה על נס שנעשה לו כיורדי הים והולכי מדברות וחבוש בבית האסורים וחולה שנתרפא שצריכים להודות, יודו להשם חסדו ונפלאותיו לבני אדם, ויזבחו זבחי תודה. im al dvar hoda'ah al nes she'na'aseh lo k'yordei ha'yam v'holchei midbaros v'chavush b'veis ha'asurim v'choleh she'nisrapeh she'tzrichim l'hodos, yodu l'Hashem chasdo v'nifla'osav livnei adam, v'yizbechu zivchei todah. So the מחבר mechaber says we don't have the קרבן תודה korban todah today, but we invoke it, we reference it every day, not on ערב פסח Erev Pesach because it wasn't offered on ערב פסח, Erev Pesach, it was חמץ. chametz. What is it? מזמור לתודה. mizmor l'sodah. We recite the little פרק, perek, the little קפיטל, kapitel, קפיטל ק. kapitel kuf. So the מחבר mechaber says something very interesting. He says מזמור לתודה mizmor l'sodah should not be said, it should be sung. אורח חיים סימן נ״א סעיף ט. Orach Chayim siman nun-alef se'if tes. מזמור לתודה יש לאומרה בניגונה, שכל השירות עתידות ליבטל חוץ ממזמור לתודה. Mizmor l'sodah yeish l'omrah b'nigunah, she'kol ha'shiros asidos l'hivatel chutz mi'mizmor l'sodah. All of the prayers, מזמור לתודה. mizmor l'sodah. All of the prayers and all of the songs will be canceled, but this is מזמור. mizmor. It's a song, it should be sung, it will never be canceled. I haven't seen it. Imagine tomorrow morning we give a קלאפ klap in שחרית. Shacharis. The חזן chazan sings like it's קדושה, kedusha, מזמור לתודה. mizmor l'sodah. Good luck. He'll have to בנץ' גומל bench gomel and bring a קרבן תודה korban todah if he survives. If he tries singing מזמור לתודה mizmor l'sodah in שול shul on a regular שחרית. Shacharis. So maybe the חזן's chazan's not gonna lead us in a קארליבך Carlebach singing of מזמור לתודה, mizmor l'sodah, but each of us, in an undertone, a little שטיקל ניגון, shtickel niggun, a little song. Wake up for מזמור לתודה. mizmor l'sodah. Wow, gratitude. Grateful to be alive. The לבוש Levush adds, הטעם מדוע לא יבטל מזמור לתודה. ha'taam madua lo yivatel mizmor l'sodah. Writes the לבוש Levush quote, כי חסדיו וטובותיו לא יפסקו לעולם, כמו שנאמר כי לעולם חסדו. ki chasadav v'tovosav lo yifseku l'olam, k'mo she'ne'emar ki l'olam chasdo. הקדוש ברוך הוא's HaKadosh Baruch Hu's goodness and kindness, it is forever, at last forever, it goes on forever. So we have these four. ארבע צריכים להודות: יורדי הים והולכי מדברות ומי שהיה חולה ונתרפא ומי שהיה חבוש בבית האסורים ויצא. Arba tzrichim l'hodos: yordei ha'yam, holchei midbaros, u'mi she'haya choleh v'nisrapeh, u'mi she'haya chavush b'veis ha'asurim v'yatza. It's a גמרא gemara in ברכות דף נ״ד. brachos daf nun-daled. The רבינו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya has a big חידוש. chiddush. You know who else has to bring a קרבן תודה? korban todah? A fifth category. גם בשמחת חתן וכלה צריך להביא קרבן תודה. Gam b'simchas chasan v'kallah tzarich l'havi korban todah. If you successfully paid for the wedding, no, just joking. That's also a קרבן תודה. korban todah. זה לשון רבינו בחיי Zeh l'shon Rabbeinu Bachya writes on our פרשה. parsha. פרק ו פסוק ב. Perek vav, pasuk beis. קרבן תודה בא על הנס, והוא לשון הודאה. אם היה חולה ונתרפא מביא קרבן תודה, או שאר שמחות כגון שמחת חתן וכלה. שנאמר קול ששון וקול שמחה, מביאים תודה בית השם. Korban todah ba al ha'nes, v'hu l'shon hoda'ah. Im haya choleh v'nisrapeh mevi korban todah, o she'ar smachos k'gon simchas chasan v'kallah. She'ne'emar kol sason v'kol simcha, mevi'im todah beis Hashem. That's the end of that פסוק. pasuk. So among those who bring a קרבן תודה korban todah are a חתן וכלה. chasan v'kallah. Wow. Look at the divorce rate. Look at the rate of broken engagements. Look how many dysfunctional, unhappy marriages. It's a miracle. קשה כקריעת ים סוף. kasha k'krias Yam Suf. We'll talk about what's celebrated over פסח, Pesach, the miracle of the healthy marriage. It's a miracle. So the רבינו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya in our פרשה, parsha, also the טור דורש Tur Doresh brings this up. Bring a קרבן תודה korban todah when you get married. When you get married. ונראה לבאר דבר בצד דרך דרוש על פי מה דאיסא בזוהר הקדוש. V'nireh l'va'er davar b'tzad derech drush al pi ma d'isa b'Zohar haKadosh. And he says maybe you can bring this דרך דרוש, derech drush, why? שמי שאינו נשוי אינו יכול להקריב קרבן. ונהי במשך ימי ענותו עד שנשא אדם אישה, בוודאי היה פעם חולה ונתרפא, אפילו תינוק שנולד בריא ספק אם בגלל חולי שיש בו סכנה, על פי רוב היה פעם מיורדי הים והולכי מדברות, כל זמן שהיה פרוש בלא אישה, לא יכול להביא קרבן תודה. She'mi she'eino nasui, eino yachol l'hakriv korban. V'nehei b'meshech yemei enuso ad she'nasa adam isha, b'vadai haya pa'am choleh v'nisrapeh, afilu tinok she'nolad bari safek im b'glal choli she'yesh bo sakana, al pi rov haya pa'am mi'yordei ha'yam v'holchei midbaros, kol zman she'haya parush b'lo isha, lo yachol l'havi korban todah. A single person can't bring a sacrifice. So he was ineligible to offer קרבנות korbanos until he's married. Once he got married, he has to retroactively bring a קרבן תודה. korban todah. Undoubtedly throughout all of his single years, he was once sick. He once went on vacation somewhere across the desert. על כן אתה כשנשא אישה בראוי להקריב קרבנות, Al kein atah k'she'nasa isha b'raui l'hakriv korbanos, now that he's married and eligible to bring a קרבן, korban, he brings a קרבן תודה korban todah on his entire life until that point. On his entire life until that point. The אמרי אמת Imrei Emes brings a different reason. The אמרי אמת Imrei Emes says maybe the רבינו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya says a חתן וכלה chasan v'kallah bring a קרבן תודה korban todah because what happens on their wedding day? חתן מוחלין לו כל עונותיו. Chasan mochalin lo kol avonosav. The משנה ברורה Mishnah Berurah tells us that a חתן וכלה, chasan v'kallah, they fast on their wedding day, they wear white. She wears a white gown, he wears a white קיטל, kittel, why? Because it's their יום כיפור. Yom Kippur. It's a reboot, a restart. They are forgiven. על כן מביא קרבן תודה כמו חולה שנתרפא. Al kein mevi korban todah k'mo choleh she'nisrapeh. They were like a sick person who was healed. They were a person with sins who it was erased. And they were like a person who was imprisoned, who was released. They're out of the world of שידוכים. shidduchim. They're released from prison. No more שדכנים, shadchanim, no more resumes, no more first dates. I would say no more first phone calls, but there are no such thing as first phone calls anymore. No more first dates. So it's like you're released from prison. You got to bring a קרבן תודה. korban todah. In other words, the אמרי, Imrei, זכרתי אמרי אמת z'karti Imrei Emes says, חתן וכלה chasan v'kallah is not a fifth category. חתן וכלה chasan v'kallah has elements of all four categories. It's like you're sick and you're healed, like you're in prison, and like you were released, like you successfully crossed this מדבר midbar of being single and looking for your significant other. You are all four categories and that's why a fifth category. Another category. ספר חסידים Sefer Chassidim writes, הלוואי שנזכה, halevai she'nizkeh, we should all merit. He brings another ספר חסידים Sefer Chassidim quote. מי שגילה לו הקדוש ברוך הוא דבר ואינו כותבו יכול לכתבו, הרי גוזל מי שגילה לו. Mi she'gila lo HaKadosh Baruch Hu davar v'eino kosvo, yachol l'kosvo, harei gozel mi she'gila lo. I quoted this in an article when I started my website, rabbiephraimgoldberg.org, I'll shamelessly plug, where we have all the articles we ever wrote, all the שיעורים shiurim we ever gave, you could find it all there, דרשה drasha digest of פסח שיעורים, Pesach shiurim, you can find it all there. So, I wrote an article to explain, why do that? First of all, to בבאר beva'er all the cynics and suspicious people who, \"Oh, the rabbi's leaving BRS because he's making his own website with his own name, or he's trying to monetize it for himself.\" וכולי וכולי. v'chulei v'chulei. So I wrote an article to explain how ridiculous that was and that none of those are the reasons. But why was I doing it? This ספר חסידים. Sefer Chassidim. It's not a ספר, sefer, הלוואי halevai one day. I have a lot of books written, just right now they're still all in my head. So the ספר חסידים Sefer Chassidim writes, ברוך אתה אדוני אלהינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו. Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu melech ha'olam she'hakol nihiyeh bidvaro. Amen. The הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave you insight. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu even just gave you the ability to organize other people's thoughts, which is all I do for a career. And you don't write it down and you could have, ooh, you're גוזל מי שגילה, gozel mi she'gila, you're stealing from השם. Hashem. He gave you the ability to collect and to integrate and to share. He gave you novel ideas. He gave you a vocabulary or the gift of communicating it in a meaningful way and you don't, you're stealing from him and you're stealing from others. כי לא גילה לו אלא לכתוב. ki lo gila lo ela l'chtov. סוד השם ליראיו ובריתו להודיעם. Sod Hashem l'rei'av u'vriso l'hodi'am. The גוזל בריתו עולם, gozel briso olam, he quotes from the לב אריה. Lev Aryeh. בזמן שבית המקדש היה קיים, כשהיה אדם מביא קרבן, מתכפר לו, אך שלא נכתוב בספר, מה שלא למד, איזה חידוש, הכתיבה זו עולה לו במקום קרבן. B'zman she'Beis Hamikdash haya kayam, k'she'haya adam mevi korban, miskaper lo, ach she'lo lichtov b'sefer, ma she'lo lamad, eizeh chidush, ha'ksiva zu olah lo b'makom korban. When you write down your חידוש, chiddush, it's like you offered a קרבן. korban. And therefore he says, anyone who publishes a ספר sefer they should bring a קרבן תודה. korban todah. You'd bring a קרבן תודה korban todah for having a novel Torah thought, for publishing a ספר. sefer. ובמרוצת הדורות היה הרבה גדולי ישראל שחיברו ספרים והוציאו לאור עולם, כקרבן תודה להשם יתברך על נס גדול שעשה להם. U'vimrutzas ha'doros haya harbeh gedolei Yisrael she'chibru sfarim v'hotziu l'or olam, k'korban todah l'Hashem yisbarach al nes gadol she'asa lahem. And there are many examples which we won't take the time. But he brings of great גדולם gedolim who experienced miracles and the result of the miracle they experienced was they promised and pledged to Hashem they would publish a ספר sefer to say thank you. The שמירת שבת כהלכתה. Shmiras Shabbos K'hilchasa. רב נויבירט Rav Neuwirth escaped Europe in flames. He had to get on a boat that was leaving on שבת. Shabbos. And he made a promise to Hashem, even though in that situation, of course, saving your life supersedes שבת, Shabbos, he said, \"I'm gonna study and promote and teach the laws of שבת.\" Shabbos.\" And he gave us the gift of שמירת שבת כהלכתה. Shmiras Shabbos K'hilchasa. And there are, and he only had, he was only able to חז\"ל שבת, chazar Shabbos, the whole story he writes in his introduction to שמירת שבת. Shmiras Shabbos. And there are other, he quotes many examples here of great individuals who wrote ספרים sfarim in response to surviving miracles, and that's their קרבן תודה. korban todah. Their קרבן תודה korban todah was to write a, to write a ספר. sefer. Today we don't have the קרבן תודה. korban todah. What do we do instead? We say מזמור לתודה, mizmor l'sodah, we sing it, a שטיקל ניגון. shtickel niggun. If you're in my מנין minyan tomorrow morning and you're sitting near me, I want to hear you singing it. מזמור לתודה. mizmor l'sodah. But what do we recite today? Someone who meets these four criteria, what do we recite? If you took a flight over the ocean, if you were released from prison, if you successfully healed from an illness which could be life-threatening, and what was the fourth? The desert. You בנץ' גומל. bench gomel. Today we בנץ' גומל. bench gomel. בזמן שבית המקדש אמרנו כל החולה שנתרפא, חבוש שנשתחרר, and so on, they would bring the קרבן תודה. korban todah. It was eaten one day and one night, עד חצות. ad chatzos. But מבני חטאינו גלינו מארצנו, mi'pnei chata'einu galinu me'artzeinu, we've been exiled from our land and we can't. So על כן תקנו, they established, חז\"ל established the ברכת הגומל, birkas ha'gomel, במקום קרבן תודה. b'makom korban todah. We בנץ' גומל. bench gomel. And that's the four people who בנץ' גומל. bench gomel. וכל החיים, v'chol ha'chayim, חיים chayim is ראשי תיבות, roshei teivos, חס חבוש, ches chovesh, the יוד yud is ים, yam, יוד yud is יסורים, yisurim, and the מם mem is מדבר. midbar. חיים, כל החיים יודוך, Chayim, kol ha'chayim yoducha, should thank. So these four recite ברכת הגומל. birkas ha'gomel. Who was the first one to בנץ' גומל? bench gomel? Who was the first one ever to בנץ' גומל? bench gomel? It's a גמרא gemara in סנהדרין. Sanhedrin. ויאמר יתרו ברוך השם אשר הציל אתכם. Vayomer Yisro baruch Hashem asher hitzil eschem. תנא משמיה דרבי פפיס, גנאי הוא למשה ושישים ריבוא שלא אמרו ברוך עד שבא יתרו ואמר ברוך השם. Tana mishmei d'Rebbi Pappias, g'nai hu l'Moshe v'shishim ribo she'lo amru baruch ad she'ba Yisro v'amar baruch Hashem. You remember we spoke about in פרשת יתרו. Parshas Yisro. How could he say יתרו Yisro was the first one to bless השם? Hashem? Not משה, Moshe, not אהרן, Aharon, not אברהם יצחק ויעקב, Avraham, Yitzchak v'Yaakov, no one before him, not אדם הראשון, Adam HaRishon, not שם ועבר? Shem v'Ever? Remember the answer we gave? Wasn't ours. I already forget who said it. יתרו Yisro was the first who thanked השם Hashem for something that happened to someone else, not himself. True, others said thank you for things that happened to them. יתרו Yisro was the first that heard the story about someone else and said, \"Wow, what a story. Thank you השם Hashem for saving him.\" And it was his son-in-law on top of it. בקסת הסופר כהן דרך נפלא. ויאמר יתרו ברוך השם, זו ברכה ראשונה שנזכר בתורה, והייתה על ידו של יתרו וברך ברכת הגומל. B'keses ha'sofer kohen derech nifla. Vayomer Yisro baruch Hashem, zu bracha rishona she'nizkar ba'Torah, v'haysa al yado shel Yisro u'veirach birkas ha'gomel. The סיפת כהן Sifsei Kohen writes that on פרשת יתרו, Parshas Yisro, what was the ברכה bracha that יתרו Yisro recited? ברוך השם אשר הציל אתכם. Baruch Hashem asher hitzil eschem. What ברכה bracha did he recite? ברכת הגומל. birkas ha'gomel. יתרו היה חייב לברך גומל, ובא יתרו ברך, והוציאם מידי חובתם. Yisro haya chayav l'varech gomel, u'va Yisro berach v'hotziam mi'yedei chovasam. He בנץ' גומל benched gomel on behalf of כלל ישראל. Klal Yisrael. יתרו Yisro was the first one to say ברכת הגומל. birkas ha'gomel. He בנץ' גומל benched gomel on behalf of כלל ישראל. Klal Yisrael. And then he has an אריכות arichus here, the אוצר פלאות התורה, Otzar P'laos HaTorah, the חבי\"ד Chida quotes the מרחיק ברכה, marchik bracha, did אברהם אבינו בנץ' גומל Avraham Avinu bench gomel when he was saved from אור כשדים? Ur Kasdim? רבי עקיבא Rabbi Akiva when he left the פרדס, pardes, did he בנץ' גומל? bench gomel? We have another form of saying thank you. Not only מזמור לתודה, mizmor l'sodah, we don't have a קרבן תודה korban todah today. Not only בנץ' גומל, benching gomel, we have another form and that is to sometimes we have a tradition. מן יום לימים ניסה את הציין בשכלה בדוקה מנוסה, להינצל מכל צרה וצוקה. min yom l'yamim nisa es ha'tzayin b'shklah bedukah u'menusa, l'hinatzel mi'kol tzara v'tzuka. A truly tested practice to be saved from catastrophes is that if anything ever goes bad or wrong in your life, יודע וישבח להשם על זה, yodeh v'yishabach l'Hashem al zeh, you should recite נשמת כל חי. nishmas kol chai. We make the mistake of thinking that נשמת nishmas is something that you only say שבת Shabbos morning. פזוקי דזמרה pesukei d'zimra part of דאווענען. davening. But נשמת nishmas is a holy compendium, it's a holy, holy תפילה, tefillah, נשמת. nishmas. נשמת כל חי, nishmas kol chai, it is a long ישתבח, yishtabach, it's a נשמת, nishmas, it's a long poetic, magnificent expression of gratitude. The בן איש חי Ben Ish Chai writes, שבח זה של נשמת כל חי הוא יקר ומעולה מאוד, וצריך לאומרה בנעימה. Shevach zeh shel nishmas kol chai hu yakar u'me'uleh me'od, v'tzarich l'omrah b'ne'ima. You have to say it with sweetness. והוא מסוגל על כל צרה שאדם עומד בה. v'hu mesugal al kol tzara she'adam omed bah. שידור נדר לומר אחר הצלתו מהצרה, שבח זה של נשמת כל חי. she'yidor neder lomar achar hatzalaso mei'ha'tzara, shevach zeh shel nishmas kol chai. You're going through a hard time, one of the things to do is pledge and promise to Hashem, \"Hashem, if when you get me out of this, I'm going to say נשמת nishmas slowly and sweetly and sing it to you and thank you for it.\" To say נשמת. nishmas. The ספר חסד לאלפים Sefer Chesed L'Alafim says it should be recited in front of 10. קבלה בידינו מרבי יהודה החסיד, ששבח נשמת כל חי מסוגל על כל צרה. ויקבל אדם על עצמו כשינצל ממנה. Kabbalah b'yadeinu m'Rabbi Yehuda HeChasid, she'shevach nishmas kol chai mesugal al kol tzara. V'yikabel adam al atzmo k'she'yinatzel mimena. That a person, when they're going through a hard time, you're waiting for that lab result to come back, the pathology to come back. You're waiting for the test to come back. You're waiting in the job interview to hear if you got the job. You're waiting, make a promise, \"If this goes well, Hashem, I'm going to sit and I'm going to sing נשמת nishmas to you.\" נשמת כל חי. nishmas kol chai. בדוקא מנוסה, badukah u'menusa, apparently it's been tried and tested. בדוקא מנוסה badukah u'menusa to say נשמת. nishmas. רב דסלר Rav Dessler has a beautiful insight. Says רב דסלר. Rav Dessler. Gratitude is a feeling. So why can't you just say to Hashem, \"Thank you\"? Why did it need a קרבן? korban? Why do you take an animal and sacrifice it? So, רב דסלר Rav Dessler says, because if gratitude remains only a thought and a feeling, if it remains only speech, it's incomplete. If a person really feels gratitude, they take action to show it. When a person really is grateful, they want to repay the debt. They want to express the gratitude. They need to do something to capture it, to display it, to demonstrate it. It's not enough to say it. It's not enough to think it or feel it. You have to do something with it. You have to perform, you have to express that gratitude. We mentioned that the קרבן תודה korban todah was unusual for a שלמים. shlamim. שלמים shlamim normally you have two nights and a day. Here, this you have less time. So the נצי\"ב Netziv makes a famous comment. We've quoted before. The נצי\"ב Netziv says something very beautiful. You know why you have less time? The נצי\"ב Netziv says, you have to have 40 loaves in one day and one night. You gotta get a lot of food fully consumed in a very short amount of time. What are you going to do in order to do that? You're going to invite other people. So the נצי\"ב Netziv says, why did הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu make the rules of a קרבן תודה korban todah such that they would lead you to ultimately eating it with many other people? Because you know what else is true about gratitude? If you feel it only in your heart and you don't express it to anyone, how grateful are you? When you're really grateful, someone did something for you, you tell the world, you shout from the rooftops. You won't believe what someone did. I'm so grateful I want the whole world to know. סעודת הודאה, se'udas hoda'ah, is the other modern day application demonstration of this. But a person who is grateful to Hashem, \"You got me through this illness, Hashem, I survived that car accident, Hashem, whatever you did for me, Hashem, I just want to tell the world about it.\" So implicit in the very definition of gratitude is something you don't keep to yourself. \"I feel it in my heart. I don't have to say anything.\" No, say something. Say something to many people. The more people you say it to, the more grateful you clearly feel. You want to shout it from the rooftops. And that's why the design of the קרבן תודה דוקא korban todah davka is to have many people. I saw on the ספר צדקת אליהו sefer Tzidkas Eliyahu he expands on this idea and he says, and he says, אדם שמקריב תודה להקדוש ברוך הוא על החסד שקיבל, איך ישארנו על זה מיד? Adam she'makriv todah la'Kadosh Baruch Hu al ha'chesed she'kibel, eich yisharnu al zeh miyad. והיא דבק מיד במידת חסדו של הקדוש ברוך הוא. v'hiy davak miyad b'midas chasdo shel HaKadosh Baruch Hu. What else are you doing by inviting other people to take part of all that food that you need to finish so quickly? You're paying it forward. You're being hospitable, you're being kind and generous, you're sharing. When you're grateful to Hashem, you pay it forward immediately. If after Hashem does something for you, you remain stingy and self-centered and an egomaniac, then are you really grateful? If the gratitude doesn't transform you to want to be more generous and kind and giving and doing, so expanding on the idea of the נצי\"ב Netziv is the idea that you have to invite others because you are sharing immediately Hashem's kindness and graciousness with us. קח את אהרן פרק ח פסוק ב. kach es Aharon perek ches pasuk beis. Page 580. This was I was alluding to earlier, the consecration of the כהנים, kohanim, the special oil. קח את אהרן ואת בניו איתו ואת הבגדים ואת שמן המשחה ואת פר החטאת ואת שני האילים ואת סל המצות, והקהל את כל העדה אל פתח אהל מועד. Kach es Aharon v'es banav ito, v'es ha'begadim v'es shemen ha'mishcha v'es par ha'chatas v'es shnei ha'eilim v'es sal ha'matzos, v'hakhel es kol ha'eidah el pesach ohel moed. Bring them all to the opening of the אהל מועד. ohel moed. We're not going to get into it here, has a whole אריכות arichus in אוצר פלאות התורה. Otzar Pla'os HaTorah. Did they all fit? 600,000 men from 20 and up, two to three million people, they all fit פתח אהל מועד? pesach ohel moed? So he goes into a long discussion, where do we find in our tradition examples where people miraculously fit where they shouldn't have? The בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash is one of them. This is one of them. He has a big discussion. But he quotes another fascinating thing here. רש\"י Rashi says קח את אהרן, kach es Aharon, קחנו בדברים ומשכהו. kachenu b'dvarim u'mashchehu. The פסוק ח ב. pasuk ches beis. קח את אהרן, kach es Aharon, take Aaron. What does that mean? Grab him by the collar? Pull him? Yank him? Put him on your shoulders? Lift him on a chair? What is קח אהרן? kach Aharon? Says רש\"י, Rashi, בדברים, b'dvarim, with words. Appoint him, anoint him, elevate him. Says the אוצר פלאות התורה Otzar Pla'os HaTorah he quotes the חבי\"ד, Chida, דבר נפלא בשם ספר נצח ישראל, davar nifla b'shem sefer Netzach Yisrael, קח את אהרן, סופי תיבות חתן. kach es Aharon, sofei teivos chasan. קחנו בתופים ומחולות בשמחה גדולה כמו שעושים לחסן. Kachenu b'tupim u'mecholos b'simcha gedolah k'mo she'osim l'chasan. קח את אהרן, kach es Aharon, the, the acronym, last letter, the ח' ches of קח, kach, the ת' tav of את, es, the נ' nun of אהרן Aharon spells חתן. chasan. The same way you sing and dance for a חתן, chasan, sing and dance for the appointment of אהרן. Aharon. So the ספר בית ישראל שלמה sefer Beis Yisrael Shlomo says, what was the חבי\"ד Chida getting at? This is the source for having a party and a ceremony when you install the new rabbi. You may wonder, where do you get that from? I was installed in 2005 here. I have a beautiful The community gave me a beautiful תפילה tefillah that hangs on my wall. I look at it and recite it when I need to, sometimes for חיזוק chizuk, a beautiful, beautiful תפילה tefillah. And we had a magnificent, Jonathan Marriott was the president at the time, now he's in England. He oversaw, there was no coronation, but it was a beautiful installation ceremony. Where is that? We made that up? That's a modern day invention? By the way, at the time, the שול shul called around to all these rabbinic organizations, what should that look like? What's done? How do you make it happen? We didn't have a lot of help. It's not done that often. It's more popular today. So what was that? Just a way of raising money for the שול shul? Making the Goldbergs feel good? Excuse to eat? Why do you have an installation?זאגט החיד״א Zagt HaChida, it's from our פרשה parsha. קח את אהרן Kach es Aharon, חתן chassan, סופי תיבות חתן sofei teivos chassan. And this is the מנהג minhag, that just like you sing and dance, מה שנהגו לעשות יום משתה ושמחה כשהרב מתקבל בקהילות קדושות בישראל ma shenahagu la'asos yom mishteh v'simcha k'she'ha'rav miskabel b'kehillos k'doshos b'Yisrael. You voted in a new rabbi, a new אב בית דין av beis din, you're installing. Says the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, הרב אב בית דין בעירו ככהן גדול Ha'rav av beis din b'iro k'kohen gadol. וכשם שהכהן גדול היו מקבלין בתופים ובמחולות, כדברי החיד״א, כן מקבלין מפני הרב ואב בית דין בשמחה ובריקודים של מצווה Uk'shem she'hakohen gadol hayu m'kablin b'tupim u'v'mecholos, k'divrei ha'Chida, ken m'kablin mipnei ha'rav v'av beis din b'simcha u'v'rikudim shel mitzvah. This is the source of an installation ceremony, an installation ceremony. And he goes on, he quotes more sources along this idea. רב Rav Bender, maybe we'll end with this. רב Rav Bender, I love רב Rav Bender. I saw him recently at a wedding. Such an inspiring person. Such an inspiring person. The פסוק pasuk says קח את אהרן ואת בניו kach es Aharon v'es banav. ויאמר משה אל העדה זה הדבר אשר צוה ה' לעשות Vayomer Moshe el ha'eidah zeh hadavar asher tziva Hashem la'asos. This is the thing Hashem commanded to be done. Rashi says on these words, זה הדבר אשר ציווה ה' לעשות zeh hadavar asher tziva Hashem la'asos.פרק ח' Perek ches. Skipped the פסוק pasuk ה' hei. Rashi says, זה הדבר, דברים שתראו שאני עושה לפניכם, ציווני הקדוש ברוך הוא לעשות Zeh hadavar, devarim she'tir'u she'ani oseh lifneichem, tzivani Hakadosh Baruch Hu la'asos. What you see me doing before you is what Hashem commanded me to do. ואל תאמרו לכבודי ולכבוד אחי אני עושה V'al tomru lichvodi u'lichvod achi ani oseh. Don't think I'm doing it for my own glory and honor or for the glory and honor of my brother. I'm doing it because Hashem said to do it. When Hashem says jump, I say, how high? From משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu's perspective, it might have been uncomfortable. He understood how the people would perceive his anointing Aaron, the cynicism and the scoffing it might engender. Oh, you know why you're having this big party, pomp and circumstance, this big installation? Because it's your brother.But it was not about him. It was about Hashem's will and nothing else. אשר ציוה ה' לעשות Asher tziva Hashem la'asos. The one and only gauge of what is right, gauge of what is right. A group of בחורים bachurim were on their way to Boston for the wedding of a friend. They had arranged to דאווען daven מנחה במנין mincha b'minyan along the way, but they miscalculated the time and realized if they would stop, they'd be late for the wedding. Unsure of how to proceed, they called their ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva, רב Rav Bender's brother-in-law, רב Rav Chaim Epstein. The ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva didn't hesitate. You're going to be משמח חתן mesameach chassan. How do you think he'll feel if he looks around before the חופה chuppah and his friends are not there? But ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva, one of the בחורים bachurim protested. I have a streak since my בר מצוה Bar Mitzvah. I haven't missed a מנין minyan in eight years. אידישקייט Yiddishkeit, he answered, is not about streaks. It's about what הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants and the right thing is to do the מצוה mitzvah you're traveling to do and to do it correctly. זה הדבר אשר ציוה ה' לעשות Zeh hadavar asher tziva Hashem la'asos. What does Hashem want you to do in that minute? הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't care about keeping your streak going. It's not about not breaking your streak. It's about זה הדבר אשר ציוה ה' לעשות zeh hadavar asher tziva Hashem la'asos. What does he want you to do in that moment? In any given moment, what should we be doing? What is the זה zeh, זה הדבר zeh hadavar? The מצוה mitzvah that's in front of us, the מצוה mitzvah that we're doing, that's what he wants us to be doing in that moment and not at other times. That's what he wants. זה הדבר Zeh hadavar. That is the moment.We're off next week because there's no פרשה parsha next שבת Shabbos. It's חול המועד Chol Hamoed. We'll resume. We won't make it for שמיני Shmini, because it'll be יום טוב yom tov. On Tuesday, יום טוב yom tov ends Thursday night. So we meet again the week after. But we'll have a write-up, אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem, of last year's פרשה parsha perspective on שמיני Shmini. Join us tomorrow night for Behind the Bima with Darryl Strawberry. Interesting. If you're a Met fan, he won three championships with the Yankees, we'll just point out, only one with the Mets. But he's known more with the Mets. He now loves the Jewish people and Israel, and fascinating individual. Tomorrow morning, Live with אמונה Emunah, 10 minutes of meaning. This שבת Shabbos, שבת הגדול דרשה Shabbos Hagadol Drasha. If you can walk, if you're local, we've got a great דרשה drasha we're working on, on מרור maror. Why are we introducing bitterness to the סדר Seder? Why would we want bitterness and pain invoked at the סדר Seder? What is the role of pain in life? We'll talk about that this שבת Shabbos. Until then, have a חג כשר ושמח chag kasher v'sameach. Stay happy, stay healthy.
