Transcript
Okay, good morning, בוקר טוב boker tov. It should be a good morning. Please God, we should hear בשורות טובות besoros tovos for כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, for עם ישראל Am Yisrael. Our hostages should be home, soldiers return to their family in a sweeping victory over our enemies. בעזרת השם B'ezras Hashem.I want to thank our generous series sponsors for the year. Parsha series is generally sponsored by Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of Becky's father, David Grossman, לזכר נשמת דוד בן מנחם מניש le'iluy nishmas David ben Menachem Manish, שהנשמה תהא לה עליה she'nishama she't'hiyeh lah aliyah. This morning's shiur is sponsored by Sandy Margolis in memory of her mother, מרים בת מרדכי Miriam bas Mordechai, whose יארצייט yahrtzeit is today. We're very grateful to her. And in memory of Sam and Ruth Shenker. Very grateful to those who have sponsored in memory of the Shenkers. And by Avi Miller in appreciation of BRS and the דברי תורה divrei Torah we have here. בעזרת השם B'ezras Hashem, next week is our annual fly-in. We go to New York for a few days, a whole חברה chevra of guys to meet with ראשי ישיבה Roshei Yeshiva, רב'ס rebbes, צדיקים tzaddikim, משפיעים mashpi'im, which means that I won't be here on Tuesday. So we're going to do the פרשה'ס שיעור Parsha's shiur Sunday night instead. Whoever can come, can come. 6:15 Sunday p.m. Coffee, decaf. We'll have decaf available. Sunday, 6:15 p.m. If you're in the, if you're in the Parsha WhatsApp group, we'll remind you there.We have the privilege of reading פרשת צו Parshas Tzav, page 568 in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash. וידבר ה' אל משה לאמר Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe leimor, God spoke to Mosheh. צו את אהרן ואת בניו לאמר Tzav es Aharon v'es banav leimor, command Aaron and his sons. זאת תורת העולה Zos toras ha'olah, this is the law of the קרבן עולה korban olah, the elevation offering. היא העולה על מוקדה על המזבח Hi ha'olah al mokda al hamizbei'ach, this is the elevation offering that stays on the flame on the altar, כל הלילה kol halailah, all night, עד הבקר ad haboker, until the morning, ואש המזבח תוקד בו v'eish hamizbei'ach tukad bo, and the fire, the flame of the altar should be a flame, should burn on it consistently. The simple understanding of this פסוק pasuk is it's referring to the קרבן עולה korban olah. The קרבן עולה korban olah, we have different types of קרבנות korbanos. Some were eaten, some were consumed entirely on the altar. The קרבן עולה korban olah was consumed, was all גבוה gavoah, was consumed entirely on the altar by השם Hashem. But I want to share with you an incredible אור החיים הקדוש Or HaChaim HaKadosh. רב חיים בן עטר Rav Chaim ben Attar, it's a very long אור החיים Or HaChaim. We won't read the whole thing inside, but I want to share with you because it's very much relevant. It feels very much relatable and it feels very much what we are going through in our time. We can relate to. In the אור החיים הקדוש Or HaChaim HaKadosh on this פסוק pasuk, פרק ו' פסוק ב' perek vav, pasuk beis, on this פסוק pasuk, זאת תורת העולה Zos toras ha'olah, this is the law, this is the Torah of the olah, says the following. בדרך רמז B'derech remez, תרמוז כל הפרשה הגלות האחרון tirmos kol ha'parsha a'galus ha'acharon. On a, on a level of a רמז remez, on the level of a hint and allusion, you can see this whole פרשה parsha, this introduction and this law of the קרבן עולה korban olah is referring to the גלות האחרון galus acharon. It's referring to our present and final exile. שאנו בונים לנחמנו מעצבון נפשנו She'anu bonim l'nachameinu me'itzvon nafsheinu. In this paragraph, this פסוק pasuk, this section of the Torah that is giving us encouragement, זאת תורת העולה zos toras ha'olah, this is the law, the Torah, this is our מסורה mesorah, our tradition and our law of the olah, is trying to comfort us, לנחמנו l'nachameinu. It's giving us נחמה nechama מעצבון נפשנו me'itzvon nafsheinu from the depressing condition our soul finds itself in. כי כל איש ישראל מענה נחם נפשו באורך הגלות Ki kol ish Yisrael me'anein nachem nafsho b'orech ha'galus. Because every soul, every Jew, when we think about for one moment, we reflect on how long this גלות galus had lasted. We refuse to be comforted when we see this exile as interminable. We're in need of comfort. We're in need of comfort. נירא למי דומה למצרים Nireh l'mi domeh l'Mitzrayim because how does it compare to the other גליות galuyos? How does it compare to the other exiles that we experienced? גלות מצרים Galus Mitzrayim, he says, was 400 years. בבל Bavel, 70 years. שניהם יחד Shneihem yachad, תשע עין שנים tes ayin shanim. והנה היום V'hinei hayom, and today, the אור החיים הקדוש Or HaChaim HaKadosh is writing, a couple hundred years ago, and he says already in his time, היה אלף תרע\"ב hayah elef taf reish ayin beis, מה יחל עוד ma yachel od. The time of the אור החיים הקדוש Or HaChaim HaKadosh, this גלות galus of אדום Edom, the גלות galus of Christendom, this גלות galus that we still find ourselves in, is 1,672 years. That was then. Now we're over 1900 years. Now we're over 1900 years. ולא גלות לבדה אלא עינוי מהאומות כי מי גוי וממלכה בני ישראל יעבדו V'lo galus l'vadah ela inui me'ha'umos ki mi goy u'mamlachah Bnei Yisrael ya'avodu. And it's not just the גלות galus, it's not just that we're exiled, dispersed across the world. And of course, in our time, we're living in the modern miracle of the ability to return home, to go back to our land. And all of us should be thinking about, as we wrote about recently, not if, but when we put our destiny and our lot in our homeland. But even there, of course, October 7th is a harsh reminder of the גלות galus that exists even within the land of Israel. How much longer do we have to wait? אשר זה יסובב חשוב לו טוב כי סוס אמת להופקר בחוצות וילך לשון שקר Asher zeh yisovev chashuv lo tov ki svus emes l'hufkar b'chutzos v'yalech leshon sheker. ובא הצופה מביט עד סוף כל הדורות U'va hatzofeh mabit ad sof kol hadoros, and a person is looking and longing until the end of all generations. קורא הדורות מראש ועד משה לזרע ישראל Korei hadoros me'rosh v'ad Moshe l'zera Yisrael. שהקדוש ברוך הוא Shehakadosh Baruch Hu was trying to encourage us. ורמז מן התורה סוף ספר כהנים אשר תוריו יבקשו מפיהו אהרן ובניו V'remez min haTorah sof sefer kohanim asher torav yevakshu m'pihu Aharon u'vanav. How did he do it? Through our leaders. And who are our leaders? אהרן הכהן Aharon haKohen and his children. להודיע לדורות את הדבר הזה זאת תורת העולה L'hodia ladoros es hadavar hazeh zos toras ha'olah. How is he encouraging us? That this is the law of the עולה olah. זאת למעט כל עליות שאין כמוה עולה Zos l'ma'et kol aliyos she'ein kamoah olah. The word זאת zos is an exclusion, that there is no other עולה olah like it. וחזר ופירש מי היא זאת V'chazar u'feiresh mi hi zos. So what's the זאת zos? היא עולה כבר דכתיב מי זאת עולה מן המדבר Hi olah k'var d'k'siv mi zos olah min hamidbar. He references a פסוק pasuk from שיר השירים Shir HaShirim. So the word זאת zos as an exclusion that people should be aware that there will not be an עליה aliyah, an עולה olah, an ascent comparable to the one mentioned in this פסוק pasuk, which is us. מי זאת עולה מן המדבר Mi zos olah min hamidbar? Who is it that ascends from the desert? על מוקדה על המזבח Al mokda al hamizbei'ach, the ones who were burnt on the site for burning on the altar, הם שני פרטים שאנו בהם hem shnei pratim she'anu bahem, says the אור החיים הקדוש Or HaChaim HaKadosh, this is two specific things. האחד שאנו בני תורה מה שאין בכל האומות Ha'echad she'anu bnei Torah ma she'ein b'chol ha'umos. We are knowledgeable in Torah, זאת עולת זאת תורת העולה zos olas zos toras ha'olah. We learn, we study Torah, it categorizes us, it distinguishes us, we are entirely different from the Gentile, from the nations of the world. We're guided by Torah, we have access to Hashem's blueprint, his instruction manual, his diary. We know and we are empowered how to navigate this world. But ב' beis, it means something else, says the אור החיים Or HaChaim. שאנו מיוסרים בגלות וייסורים ודלות She'anu me'yusarim b'galus v'yisurim v'dalus. We have endured many afflictions, both by being in exile and by being indigent, impoverished, poor. אמר על מוקדה שנמשלה התורה לאש Omar al mokda shenimshla haTorah l'eish. What does it mean על מוקדה al mokda? Torah is comparable to a fire. And he quotes here the גמרא תענית דף ד' Gemara Taanis daf daled. וכנגד הגלות וענפיו וכו' על המזבח U'k'neged ha'galus v'anafav v'chulu al hamizbei'ach, and corresponding with the גלות galus, the exile we find ourselves in, Torah describes on the altar, כי הייסורים יצלחם שם מזבח להיותם כפרה ki hayisurim yitzalcham shem mizbei'ach l'hiyosam kaparah, because the יסורים isurim, the terrible tragedy and calamity and crisis and suffering and catastrophes that the Jewish people go through, that is similar to on the מזבח mizbei'ach. On the מזבח mizbei'ach, our afflictions, our sacrifices on the altar. בלשון חכמים B'lashon chachamim, and we see this in the language of our חכמים chachamim. ועד מתי יהיו ישראל בגדר ב' דברים אלו V'ad masai yihyu Yisrael b'geder beis devarim eilu? And how long will we have this? So how does the פסוק pasuk continue? זאת תורת העולה Zos toras ha'olah, this is the law of those who are עולה olah, the Jewish people who rise up because we learn Torah. היא העולה על מוקדה על המזבח Hi ha'olah al mokda al hamizbei'ach, in the exile, the sacrifices on the altar of history, the martyrs, the קדושים kedoshim, the Jewish people, and the suffering. But how long will it go? כל הלילה Kol halailah, all night. שהוא זמן הגלות שנמשל ללילה שומר מה מלילה Shehu zman hagalus shenimshal l'lailah, shomer ma milailah. The אור החיים Or HaChaim says it goes the whole night, means, like the פסוק pasuk in ישעיהו Yeshayahu, שומר מה מלילה שומר מה מליל shomer ma milailah shomer ma milayil, watchmen, what of the night? watchmen, what of the night? It's a reference to the duration of the exile. עד בקר שהוא זמן שיאיר כבודו ויעשה בקר Ad boker shehu zman sheya'ir kevodo v'ya'aseh boker, and it will last until the morning. And then he calculates, when is this? הזמן הוא אחר עבור ת\"ק לאלף הששי Hazman hu achar avor taf-kuf l'elef hashishi. And he says this is, will take place, the first 500 years of that day are part of the night. עד בקר Ad boker, we cannot expect the ascent until sometime during the later 500 years of the sixth millennium that we find ourselves in. And here the אור החיים הקדוש Or HaChaim HaKadosh says basically, he says this exile has been overwhelming, has been unbearably painful. Everyone we face, just when we think that we're starting to see a glimpse of the light, the darkness descends upon us. And October 7th, a slaughter in their beds of men, women, children, of hostages that are taken, of wars and battles that we still fight. We're in the sixth millennium, the last millennium until Mashiach will come. כל הלילה Kol halailah, we're still being offered על מוקדה על המזבח al mokda al hamizbei'ach. The Jews are still being literally and figuratively burnt at the stake. Those who've seen בארי Be'eri, נחל עוז Nachal Oz, these other cities, you don't have to go to Poland anymore to see Jewish martyrdom and קדושים kedoshim. You see burnt homes. You see the remnants of murdered, burnt people. על מוקדה על המזבח Al mokda al hamizbei'ach, ואש כל הלילה v'eish kol halailah, throughout the night of this exile. עד הבקר Ad haboker, until we will עד שיאיר עליה ad sheya'ir aleha. ובקר זה איני יודע אם בקר של אלף הה' או בקר של אלף הו' U'boker zeh eineni yodea im boker shel elef ha'hey o boker shel elef ha'vav. I don't know exactly when it will be, he says. It's really going to be in the second half of the sixth millennium. He's writing a couple hundred years ago, but we're living it now. That dawn is about to rise. That עליה aliyah, זאת תורת העולה zos toras ha'olah, we're going to rise. שלא נגזר על ישראל גלות אלא יום אחד Shelo nigzar al Yisrael galus ela yom echad, because this גלות galus is meant to last this amount of time. And he goes on and he describes exactly what's going to be and how Hashem is going to take revenge and avenge us. He says, ואש המזבח תוקד בו v'eish hamizbei'ach tukad bo, the fire of the altar will be kept burning. Torah informs us when the dawn of that morning finally looms, when the עד בקר ad boker, when the בקר boker, when the dawn of the גאולה geulah and Mashiach will come, when we'll defeat our enemies, the dawn of that morning, Hashem's anger will burn and consume all those who have tortured us. And especially, writes the אור החיים Or HaChaim, the Western nations, the Christians and their inquisition who tortured Spanish Jewry, and the other Western nations, and the United Nations, and those who pass resolutions, and those who abstain from resolutions, the fire of the altar, אש המזבח תוקד בו eish hamizbei'ach tukad bo, that fire that consumed us through כל הלילה kol halailah, throughout the darkness and the night of the exile, אש המזבח תוקד בו eish hamizbei'ach tukad bo, that fire will turn, it will consume and it will destroy Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran. It will consume and it will destroy our enemies and those who distort justice and those who don't stand with the victim, and those who turn on Israel and the Jewish people, and those who don't have pity on us, Hashem will turn and will punish them. And the mystical dimension is included in תוקד tukad, which is related to עקידת יצחק Akeidas Yitzchak, עין קוף דלת ayin, kuf, daled, like עקידת יצחק Akeidas Yitzchak. It's a long, long comment of the אור החיים Or HaChaim. It's meant to give us some sense of a hope and an optimism and a faith in a brighter future. And the אור החיים Or HaChaim is writing a long time ago, but the אור החיים Or HaChaim is writing to all of us. He's writing to this גלות galus that we feel we're in. You know, we had a 75-year reprieve from this גלות galus because the Jewish, the nations of the world had a certain level of pity after the Holocaust. But it's returned, the anti-semitism that's raging around the world, the double standard, the duplicitousness, the abandonment of the Jewish people, it's all returned. And this isn't something new. We shouldn't be reacting to it incredulously, like we don't understand where is this anti-semitism coming from, and how could they behave this way? It's exactly the opposite, namely, this has been our 2,000-year history. And we had a little break. We had a little reprieve. And it's back to the way it's always been. We're back to that period. We thought we had the בקר boker, the אתחלתא דגאולה aschalta d'geulah, and we do, and we're grateful for it in many ways, which we don't take for granted. But even within that אתחלתא דגאולה aschalta d'geulah, what feels like the beginning of the בקר boker, we saw the light before the dawn, but the לילה lailah, we're back in the night. The אור החיים Or HaChaim lived 1696 to 1743. Livorno, Italy, and subsequently in, he was buried in Yerushalayim. 1696 to 1743, he's writing this. And here we are in now 2024, in תשפ\"ד Taf Shin Pey Daled, and it feels like we're deep back in the darkness of the לילה lailah, of the כל הלילה kol halailah, but we need to know that זאת תורת העולה zos toras ha'olah, that we will rise. We will rise. And when we do, then אש המזבח תוקד בו eish hamizbei'ach tukad bo, the light of that fire will turn on them, the very people who carried out and practiced these injustices against us, it will turn on them. So the אור החיים Or HaChaim is writing 250 years ago, but he's writing for us today, because unfortunately and tragically, this is the Jewish story, this is the Jewish condition, and this continues.Okay, ולבש הכהן מדו בד ומכנסי בד V'lavash haKohen mido vad u'michnesei vad. The Torah here is talking about the הלכה halachah of taking out the trash, the תרומת הדשן terumas hadeshen. And we've spoken about this many times before. I lost the cover of my microphone. Okay. Wherever it is. Sorry. Under the left foot. Ah, there it is. Okay, thank you. He's writing about the תרומת הדשן terumas hadeshen, the taking out of the garbage. We've discussed this at length in the past, so we won't elaborate. But the idea of taking out the holy garbage is a holy mission. He put on special and holy clothing. And that's where the להב\"ש L'havosh Eish. I got the new volume. Thank you, Rav Druck for sending it on וירא Vayikra. And here the להב\"ש L'havosh Eish says the following. Rav Druck in his new ספר sefer. רש\"י ופשט את בגדיו Rashi u'fashat es begadav. אין זו חובה אלא דרך ארץ Ein zu chovah ela derech eretz. The כהן kohen who takes out the ash, the trash of the previous קרבן korban before the new day, before the new עבודה avodah, and we talked about, you know, the trash is an unusual way of taking out trash. You didn't just take the garbage right to the curb. First, they put it next to the מזבח mizbei'ach and then removed it. Why? Because before you could offer the sacrifice of today, you have to pause and remember the sacrifice of yesterday. Before you could think about your trials and your travails and your tribulations, before you think about the sacrifices you're asked to make, we pause and we remember and we think about the sacrifices of all those who came before. It sits next to the מזבח mizbei'ach. We're not the first. Same as the אור החיים הקדוש Or HaChaim HaKadosh. We're not the first to experience a כל הלילה kol halailah, the darkness of an exile that lasts through the night. We remember. Says רש\"י אין זו חובה אלא דרך ארץ Rashi, ein zu chovah ela derech eretz. The idea that the כהן kohen changes his clothing to take out the trash, the ash, is not an obligation, it's basic דרך ארץ derech eretz. שלא יתלכלך בהוצאת הדשן בגדים שמשמש בהם תמיד Shelo yislachlech b'hotza'as hadeshen b'gadayim shemeshamish bahem tamid. The בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna, the clothing of the כהן kohen, this כבוד ולתפארת kavod u'l'sif'eres, this glorious clothing, the uniform the כהן's going to wear, he shouldn't soil it. He shouldn't get it dirty by taking the ash out in it. בגדים שבישל בהם קדירה לרבו, אל ימזוג בהם כוס לרבו Begadim shebishel bahem k'deirah l'rabo, al yimzog bahem kos l'rabo, because you cook, then you change your outfit to serve, to eat. כך ולבש בגדים אחרים פחותים מהם Kach v'lavash begadim acheirim pechusim meihem. So that's why the כהן kohen wore inferior clothing, it might get dirty taking the garbage out, and then change back for the עבודה avodah. Says Rav Druck. התורה אומרת שכאשר הכהן מקרב עולה HaTorah omeres sheka'asher haKohen makriv olah, Torah tells us when the כהן kohen brings the עולה olah, לאחר שהוא גומר להרים את הדשן l'achar shehu gomer l'harim es hadeshen, after he takes out the ash, he changes his clothing. And רש\"י Rashi tells us why, not an obligation, basic דרך ארץ derech eretz. רש\"י Rashi adds, a משל mashal, based on the גמרא יומא כ\"ג Gemara Yoma kaf gimmel. תנא דבי רבי ישמעאל בגדים שבישל בהם קדירה לרבו אל ימזוג בהם כוס לרבו Tanna d'bei Rebbi Yishmael, begadim shebishel bahem k'deirah l'rabo, al yimzog bahem kos l'rabo. And the גמרא Gemara, חז\"ל Chazal gave this משל mashal, this parable, when you cook, why do people wear an apron? Because when they cook, they get dirty. So if you're going to get dirty when you cook, don't wear that same thing when it's time to serve. אל ימזוג בהם לרבו Al yimzog bahem l'rabo, שתעשינה נסלחות בבישול קדירה sheta'asenah nislachos b'bishul k'deirah. אף כאן אין כבוד המלך שישרת לפניו עם בגד אחר Af kan, ein kavod hamelech sheyishares lefanav im beged acher. After your clothing's going to get dirty, don't wear it. However, פסוק זה טוען ביאור רב pasuk zeh to'ein bi'ur rav. Says Rav Druck, we really have to dive into this a little bit further. אם כל מטרת החלפת הבגדים כדי לשמור על הנקיון Im kol matras hachlafas habegadim kedei lishmor al hanikayon, if the whole reason the כהן's changing his clothing is in order to keep them clean, מדוע התורה מציע רעיונות כיצד לשמור על נקיון בגדיהם madua haTorah matzia ra'ayonois keitzad lishmor al nikyon bigdeihem. לכאורה היה ראוי לצוות שאסור לעבוד במקדש עם בגדים מלוכלכים L'chorah hayah ra'ui l'tzavos she'asur la'avod b'Mikdash im begadim meluchlachim. Why are we making a suggestion? ופשט את בגדיו ולבש בגדים אחרים U'fashat es begadav v'lavash begadim acheirim, don't want your clothing to get dirty for when you're going to bring the קרבנות korbanos, so change out of your clothing while you're taking out the garbage. Why give us suggestions? Why give a strategy? Why not just give a rule? You can't serve, don't do the עבודה avodah in soiled, dirty clothing. And then, it's not doesn't take such a super genius to realize, if you can't serve in dirty clothing, don't get your clothing dirty. So, היה ראוי לצוות hayah ra'ui l'tzavos, why not give us the command? Why not give us the command? עוד יש להזבונן בדברי רש\"י Od yesh l'hisbonen b'divrei Rashi. Moreover, שכתוב להוציא את הדשן בבגדים פחותים מהם shekasuv l'hotzi es hadeshen b'begadim pechusim meihem. רש\"י Rashi says, should take out the garbage in inferior clothing. יש להבין מה עניין הבגדים והקפידה שבגדים הם מוציאים את הדשן Yesh l'havin ma inyan ha'begadim v'hakpeidah she'begadim hem motzi'im es hadeshen. Why does the clothing that one takes the garbage out need to be פחותים pechusim, inferior? מה חסרון ילבש בגדים שווים לבגדים הרגילים Ma chisaron yilbash begadim shavim l'begadim ha'regilim? Why can't he wear equal clothing? You'll have equal clothing designated for taking out the ash the garbage, equal clothing that's clean for doing the עבודה avodah. Why can't the clothing be equal? You'll have many pair of the same clothing. Why does it have to be פחותים מהם pechusim meihem? It has to be inferior to take the ash out. So, ז\"ל של הרב דרוק zak\"l shel haRav Druck, להבין זאת יש להקדים l'havin zos yesh l'hakdim. In order to understand this, we have to understand the גמרא בשבת Gemara b'Shabbos. גמרא בשבת דף קי\"ט Gemara b'Shabbos daf kuf yud tes tells us the following. משל של בגדים שבישל בהם קדירה לרבו, אל ימזוג בהם כוס לרבו Mashal shel begadim shebishel bahem k'deirah l'rabo, al yimzog bahem kos l'rabo. גמרא Gemara there explains the אמוראים Amora'im would prepare for Shabbos. And the גמרא Gemara tells us, רב הונא לביש גונדא Rav Huna lavish gunda, טעם הדבר שלא ראוי שהעבד יגיש לאדונו כוס בבגדים שבישל לו קדירה ta'am hadavar shelo ra'ui sheha'eved yagish l'adono kos b'begadim shebishel lo k'deira. שרב הונא היה מקפיד ללבוש בגדים שחורים בערב שבת SheRav Huna hayah makpid lilbosh begadim shechorim b'erev Shabbos. והיה ממתים זאת בדברי הברייתא שבישל בהם קדירה לרבו V'hayah m'matim zos b'divrei ha'braisa shebishel bahem k'deirah l'rabo. He had special clothing to prepare, cook for Shabbos, black clothing. על ידי כך הוא לובש בגדים שחורים בערב שבת, כאשר בגדים אלו מתלכלכים, בעת הכנותיו לשבת, המלכה בזכות זה בגדים נקיים נשמרו לו לשבת Al yedei kach hu lovesh begadim shechorim b'erev Shabbos, ka'asher begadim eilu mislachlechim, b'eis hachanosav l'Shabbos, hamalka b'zchus zeh begadim neki'im nishmeru lo l'Shabbos. He saved his clean clothing for Shabbos to honor the Shabbos and he wore specifically dirty clothing to prepare for Shabbos. And the גמרא Gemara tells us this, רבי חנינא וכו' היה מתעטף בבגדים נאים Rebbe Chanina v'chulu hayah mis'atef b'begadim na'im, he would adorn himself with beautiful clothing, and goes through a long list of the great rabbis and how they prepared. So why do you need a גונדא gunda לכבוד שבת l'kavod Shabbos? Because if he didn't have it, his clothing would get dirty. נמצא אם כן שהלבישת הגונדא של רב הונא דומה לחריכת הראש אשר ספרא מליחת שיבוטא דרבא Nimtza im kein shehalivishas hagunda shel Rav Huna domeh lacharichas harosh, asher safra, melichas shibuta d'Rava. The other practices of the great rabbis, they prepared the fish, they cut the vegetables, they made the chicken soup, they mopped the floor. He wore dirty clothing. One was preparing for Shabbos and one was not getting Shabbos clothing dirty. How could you compare the two? How could you compare the two? So says Rav Druck, you know the comparison? You could understand the following. The whole idea of the גונדא gunda was הנהגה לכבוד שבת hanhagah l'kavod Shabbos. Just like cutting off the head of the fish, just like shopping, just like mopping the floor is all כבוד שבת kavod Shabbos, preserving clean clothing for Shabbos, making sure you go to the dry cleaner, getting ready and thinking about Shabbos on ערב שבת erev Shabbos, shining your shoes, all of that is also כבוד שבת kavod Shabbos. So similarly here, גם את ציווי התורה בעניין תרומת הדשן gam es tzivui haTorah b'inyan terumas hadeshen, אין איסור להתלכלך עם בגדי כהונה, עיקר העניין להראות שאין רצון הכהן שיתלכלכו בגדי עבודה שמשמש בהם ein issur l'hislachlech im bigdei kehuna, ikar ha'inyan l'haros she'ein retzon haKohen sheyislachlechu bigdei avodah shemeshamish bahem. The whole idea is not that your בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna don't get dirty, it's that you have clean בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna to honor and elevate the עבודה avodah. So if it weren't inferior clothing that you wore, then you wouldn't be creating the contrast in order to honor and elevate the עבודה avodah in clean clothing, and that is why Rav Druck says there is this notion of wearing this other clothing because part of the קיום לכבוד ולתפארת kiyem l'kavod u'l'sif'eres, part of the fulfillment of honoring by wearing the clean garment was to not only, not only not get it dirty, but preserve clean in order to do the עבודה avodah. There's an ערב erev turn Friday into ערב שבת erev Shabbos message here, which is it's not just a strategy on ערב שבת erev Shabbos, a person's already thinking about, are my shoes polished? Has anyone gone to the dry cleaner? Do I have clean clothing? Not just I don't want to get it dirty on ערב שבת erev Shabbos, what are we doing to preserve and protect and ensure that there is the most honorable clothing to honor Shabbos, which is Shabbos is in time what the מקדש Mikdash is in space. All of us are כהנים kohanim לגבי שבת l'gabe Shabbos like the כהנים kohanim who served in the, in the מקדש Mikdash. פרק ו' פסוק ו' Perek vav, pasuk vav, turn the page. אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה Eish tamid tukad al hamizbei'ach lo sichbeh. Here, in this context, we're told that the flame that burned on the מזבח mizbei'ach לא תכבה lo sichbeh, could never go out. It burned all the time. רש\"י Rashi says, שמכבה אש המזבח עובר בשני לאוין shemechabeh eish hamizbei'ach over b'shnei lavin. If a person extinguishes the flame in the מזבח mizbei'ach, they violate two prohibitions. You can't ever put out the flame on the מזבח mizbei'ach. The משנה בפרקי אבות Mishna b'Pirkei Avos teaches us that there were ten miracles that happened in the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash every day. Ten miracles. And one of them was, לא כיבו גשמים אש של עצי המערכה lo kibu g'shamim eish shel atzei hama'arachah, that the fire that burned on the top of the altar, there was no canopy, there was no covering, there was no roof, and yet, even though it would rain, the fire was never extinguished. Fire was never extinguished. That's one of the miracles. In order to fulfill the פסוק pasuk, אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה eish tamid tukad al hamizbei'ach lo sichbeh, that the fire continuously, consistently burns on the מזבח mizbei'ach. Now, wonders of Druck, we have to understand why was this miracle done in such a way that the rain didn't extinguish the fire? היה יכול הנס להיות באופן שלא ירדו גשמים כלל על מקום המזבח Hayah yachol hanes l'hiyos b'ofen shelo yerdu g'shamim klal al makom hamizbei'ach. Why didn't God make it that it never rained over the altar? Why was it a more overt miracle that it rained and yet, how peculiar? This fire and water, water usually extinguishes fire, and here it was raining and the fire never went out. Why didn't God instead make a different miracle, less discernible, that it not rain over the מזבח mizbei'ach? Not rain on the מזבח mizbei'ach. אם כן קשה אם כן קשה אם היה צורך בכך שירדו גשמים על מקום המזבח בכל זאת לא יכבוא, why did it have to rain there but it didn't go out? Just make it not rain there. You know, in Florida, on Toya Circle, you could sometimes be raining on one side of the circle and sunny on the other side of the circle. You're driving and you go from your windshield wipers being on to your sunglasses being on, because Hashem has it that it could rain in a distinct special in one place, in one backyard, on one house, over one pool. So why didn't Hashem make it that it never rained on the מזבח mizbei'ach? Why did he have to make it the miracle was it rained but the fire never went out? And he answers, התשובה לכך הוא שטמון כאן מסר עצום hateshuvah l'kach hu shetamun kan meser atzum. It's a powerful message. על האדם ללמוד מזה דרך חיים תוכחת מוסר Al ha'adam lilmod mizeh derech chaim tochachas musar. The fire in us, the fire of our passion, of our enthusiasm, of our energy, a fire of our heart, the fire of our soul, the fire of our עבודה avodah, the fire of our יראת שמים Yiddishkeit, אפילו אם יורדים עליו גשמים לכבותה afilu im yordim alav g'shamim l'chabosah, it could be raining on our fire, but we can't ever let it go out. Because the notion that our fire will never be rained on, it's rained on all the time. All the time. We meet the cynic, the sarcastic person, we spoke about last Shabbos, עמלק ספק Amalek, safek, who tries to insert doubt and uncertainty. אשר קרך בדרך לשון קר Asher karcha baderech lashon kar, they try to extinguish our fire. There are people that put out our fire. There are life circumstances that put out our fire. There are disappointments that try to rain on our fire. There are all kinds of things that rain on our fire. And the answer is not to live and hope that our fire will burn, we'll be excited, we'll be enthused, we'll be energized, and it will never run into any obstacles. That's unrealistic. It's going to rain on our fire, but our fire has to be so strong, the fuel has to burn so great that the fire has to never go out nonetheless. זה נס גדול עד למאד Zeh nes gadol ad l'me'od, writes of Druck. שהרי כן על האדם לחוש שמה שמים לא רוצים את עבודתי Sheharei ken al ha'adam lachush shema haShamayim lo rotzim es avodasi. Because what happens? You're on fire, you're going to the פרשה שיעור Parsha shiur, and then it rains on your fire. It rains on your fire. Person got stuck in traffic, got a flat tire, God forbid. You didn't make it. So it rains on your fire. You've got a string of making it to minyan. You're working hard on yourself and whatever area, and then it feels like לא רוצים את תורתי lo rotzim es Torasi. All of a sudden, you're on fire, and God forbid a person gets a bad cold, a person gets sick, a person is struggling to recover from Purim, and they think Hashem doesn't, hypothetically, Hashem doesn't want my Torah. He doesn't want my minyan attendance. He doesn't want my חסד chesed volunteering. He doesn't want my health and wellness that I've taken upon myself. It's raining. It's raining on my fire. הנה כה כה הרבה מפריעים Hinei kach kach harbeh mafri'im. There are so many obstacles and so many impediments. כך הרבה סיבות לכבות את האש Kach harbeh sibos l'chabos es ha'eish. So many things trying to put out my fire. אבל אף על פי כן הוא צריך ללמוד מאש המערכה Aval af al pi kein, hu tzarich lilmod me'eish hama'arachah. We have to learn from אש המזבח תוקד בו לא תכבה eish hamizbei'ach tukad bo lo sichbeh. הנס לא היה באופן שלא ירדו גשמים Ha'nes lo hayah b'ofen shelo yerdu g'shamim. The miracle wasn't that rain didn't fall, rain fell. ובכל זאת U'v'chol zos, nonetheless, לא כיבו את האש lo kibu es ha'eish, but the fire didn't go out. כך צריך לדעת שאין להתרגש מכל המפריעים Kach tzarich lada'as she'ein l'hisragesh mikol hamafri'im. That's how we have to respond and we have to feel every time we run into a wall, every time we hit an impediment or an obstacle and it's trying to stop us. We made a commitment, I'm going to take on the דף היומי Daf Yomi, the עמוד היומי Amud Yomi, the משנה Mishnah, the נ\"ך היומי Nach Yomi, I'm going to take on the שיעור shiur, I'm going to take on the חסד chesed, I'm going to take on the תפילין tefillin, I'm going to take on לשון הרע lashon hara, I'm going to take on being patient, I'm going to take on whatever it is we're going to work on. And then we run into that wall, it's raining on our parade, it's raining on our fire, just like in the משכן Mishkan, just like in the מקדש Mikdash, the fire has to be so strong, it never goes out. It can never be extinguished. Not that there's no fire, unrealistic, but the fire can never go out. I've shared many times we're learning and finishing soon, מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim, the רמח\"ל Ramchal, and his פרק perek on זריזות zrizus. The רמח\"ל Ramchal and his פרק perek on alacrity and zeal and enthusiasm says there are two types of alacrity, two types of enthusiasm and zeal. You need it at the beginning of a project. You want to clean your garage, you want to start cleaning for Pesach, you want to take on a new לימוד limud, a new learning, you want to take on a responsibility, at the very beginning of whatever pledge or promise we're doing, ah, you need that zeal, that enthusiasm, that burst of energy. You need זריזות zrizus, alacrity, and excitement, and ambition, and drive. And then the רמח\"ל Ramchal writes, everybody thinks that's the only time that you need it, and now you're off to the races. But inevitably and invariably, everybody and every project and every ambition, you're going to run into a wall. You're going to hit that ceiling. It's no longer going to feel fun. It's no longer fresh and new. It's no longer exciting. It's no longer internally rewarding. You say, \"Eh. Eh. Doesn't do it for me anymore. I don't really feel like it anymore. Everything's stacked against me. It's no longer easy.\" You're going to hit that wall. And then the רמח\"ל Ramchal writes, \"That's when you need the second burst of זריזות zrizus.\" Keep something in the tank because you're going to need that second burst of זריזות zrizus to run over or around or under and sometimes even through that wall. You're going to have to run through that wall. That fire's got to burn so bright that even when it starts to rain, that rain can't put out that fire. That rain can't put out that fire. He elaborates much more. He has long essays in this new ספר sefer, להב\"ש L'havosh Eish, but we'll leave this insight right there. Rav Wolbe has another insight. Rav Wolbe says the following. Rav Wolbe in עלי שור חלק ב' Alei Shur Chelek Beis. Rav Wolbe is writing the following. אש תוקד, אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה Eish tukad, eish tamid tukad al hamizbei'ach lo sichbeh. A permanent fire is to be lit on the מזבח mizbei'ach, it should not be extinguished. It can't ever go out. And he writes the following. הרוצה לזכות להשגחה עליונה Harotzeh lizkos l'hashgacha elyonah, this is in, in עלי שור חלק ב' Alei Shur Chelek Beis, page 594, ת\"ק צ\"ד taf kuf tzadi daled. It's long, the חלק שני chelek sheini, עלי שור Alei Shur. A person who wants to draw close to השגחה עליונה hashgacha elyonah, to God's divine providence, לחיות עמו להבחין בה lachyos imo l'havchin bah, to live with it, to deserve it, צריך להיות מן הצנועים tzarich l'hiyos min hatznu'im. A person has to be צנוע tzanua, modest. What does it mean to be צניעות tznius? Cover up? Is צניעות tznius just about dress, collarbone and elbows and knees and pants versus shorts, men, wear a shirt? כי השגחה צנועה היא Ki hashgacha tznuah hi. If you want to draw close to God, you've got to be like God. And God is צנוע tzanua. What does it mean that השם Hashem is צנוע tzanua? What does it mean for God to be modest? modest. הקדוש ברוך הוא נקרא אומן מוצנע Hakadosh Baruch Hu nikra uman mutzna. He brings in the ספר החינוך, מצוות קל\"ב Sefer HaChinuch, mitzvas kuf lamed beis. So Rav Volbe points us, the משגיח mashgiach points us to the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch. The ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch in מצוה 132 קל\"ב mitzva kuf lamed beis, writes the following. להיות אש על המזבח בכל יום תמיד, שנאמר אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה Lehios eish al hamizbeach bechol yom tamid, shenemar eish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh. Our פסוק pasuk. This mitzva. There's a mitzva, it's mitzva number 132 in the 613, the תרי\"ג taryag. Mitzva 132 is that the fire burns on the altar and never goes out. ובא פרוש התמיד כלומר לשים עצים בבקר ובין הערבים Uva perush hatamid klomar lasim eitzim baboker u'vein ha'arbaim. How do you ensure that the fire never goes out? You have to keep adding wood. So wood is added in the morning and wood is added in the afternoon. ובביאור אמרו ז\"ל אף על פי שאש יורד מן השמים מצוה להביא מן ההדיוט U've'biur amru zal af al pi she'eish yored min hashamayim mitzva lehavi min ha'hedyot. Now this is very peculiar, why? Because on the one hand, the חינוך Chinuch is now trying to reconcile. On the one hand, this is a heavenly fire. This is a divine fire. God lights this fire, God sustains this fire, God ignites the fire and God makes sure the fire never goes out. And yet, and yet, man is instructed, man is enjoined, you've got to go to the stockpile of wood and keep adding it to the מזבח mizbeach. So if it's a divine fire, if it's heavenly fire, if it's a fire from above, why do we have to go through the motions, the exercise of adding to the fire? And listen to what the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch writes. מצוה קל\"ב mitzva kuf lamed beis. משרשי המצוה Mishorshei hamitzva, the reason for this mitzva, ידוע הדבר בינינו כי עצם כוחו וניסיו הגדולים מה שיעשה על בני אדם טובה גדולה, לעולם יעשה דרך סתר yaduah hadavar beineinu ki etzem kochu v'nisav hagdolim ma sheya'aseh al bnei adam tova gedolah, le'olam ya'aseh derech seser. Because when God does miracles, you know how he does them? In a hidden fashion. In a hidden fashion. ונראה מעניין הנס כי היו הם בדרך הטבע ממש או קרוב לטבע V'nir'eh me'inyan hanes k'ilu heim b'derech hateva mamash o karov la'teva. God always tries to embed and hide his miracles under the cloak and the guise of nature. He wants even his miracles to be able to be described or mistaken for just nature. It's natural. גם כן בנס קריאת ים סוף שהנס המפורסם כתוב ויולך ה' את הים ברוח קדים עזה כל הלילה וישם את הים לחרבה ויבקעו המים Gam kein b'nes Krias Yam Suf she'hanes hamefursam kasuv vayolech Hashem es hayam b'ruach kadim aza kol halayla vayasem es hayam lecharava vayivaku hamayim. Even when it came to the splitting of the sea, הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu orchestrated the splitting of the sea in such a fashion that a person could mistakenly, I once read an article in New York Times many years ago, scientists conjectured that if the wind blew a certain velocity in a certain direction for a certain amount of time, it could split a sea. והמשכיל יבין כי הנס אלא מעשה שדנו משיפועי המקבל V'hamaskil yavin ki hanes ela ma'aseh sh'danu m'shifui hamikabel. ומזה עניין ציוונו להבעיר אש במזבח U'mizeh inyan tzivanu l'havir eish bamizbeach. So השם Hashem everything, everything, even the ten plagues, even the splitting of the sea, even the miracles that we believe in are explainable, you'd say it's a leap, it's unlikely, but they are explainable in nature. השם Hashem embedded, he hid his miracles in nature. Why? ומזה עניין U'mizeh inyan, similarly, he said, the fire, nothing to do with you. It's a divine fire, it's a heavenly fire, it comes from above. אף על פי ששם ירד אש מן השמים Af al pi she'shem yored eish min hashamayim, להסתיר הנס l'hastir hanes. But you know what? You add the wood nonetheless. Why? So someone watching will think where is this fire from? They keep adding wood. It has nothing to do with your wood. It's from השם Hashem, it's from the heavens, it's from above. לפי הדמיון שהאש יורדת כדרך בירידתה מן העשן השחור מימות השמיני של מילואים ושל גדעון ושל מנוח שהייתה נראית L'fi hadimyon she'ha'eish yoredes k'derech b'yiridasa min ha'ashan hashachor mi'yemos hashmini shel miluim v'shel Gidon v'shel Manoach she'hayta nir'eis. So here, that's all the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch. עד כאן הספר החינוך Ad kan ha'Sefer HaChinuch. The חינוך Chinuch writes that even the most awesome miracles performed by השם Hashem were done in a concealed manner. It looked like a manifestation of nature. A manifestation of nature. And similarly here, even though the fire descended from above, we added wood from below because even when השם Hashem reveals himself, he makes sure to hide behind the veil of nature. And רב וואלבה Rav Volbe continues. רב וואלבה Rav Volbe continues. And that's what he says when the נביא navi tells us הצנע לכת עם אלוקיך hatznei'a leches im Elokecha, walk modestly with השם Hashem, he's not just telling us to conceal our good deeds, rather than seek publicity. He's telling us to conceal our actions. Follow in the footsteps of השם Hashem. To be a צנועה tzanua is not just about dress. To be a צנועה tzanua is to not need to post and publicize and status and share everything happening in our lives. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu is a קל מסתתר Kel mistater. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu hides, הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu, הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu conceals. And we're supposed to hide and we're supposed to conceal. Not every accomplishment, not every achievement, not every action, not every decision, not every feeling, not every emotion, not every experience, not everything is meant to be posted and shared and streamed with the world. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu is a קל מסתתר Kel mistater. Even the miracles he does, he hides and embeds and conceals within nature. And for us to be הצנע לכת עם אלוקיך hatznei'a leches im Elokecha, the concept of צניעות tznius is not just about dress, but it means also to be like השם Hashem. That's the פסוק in משלי pasuk in Mishlei. The פסוק in משלי pasuk in Mishlei says וצנועים חכמה v'etznuim chachma. With modest comes wisdom. רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah writes צניעות גורמת חכמה לבעלה כי היא מידת החכמים שבה יחדיו עם החכמים tznius goremes chachma l'va'aleha ki hi midas chachamim sheba yachad im hachachamim. And the רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah writes, צניעות tznius is a virtue attributed to the wise. They hear and listen, they don't desire to reveal what lies in their hearts. Not everything has to be shared. This quality allows them to live a life, writes רב וואלבה Rav Volbe, of פנימיות pnimius. בזו מתוסף לאדם ממד חדש בקרבו, עשיר בתוך עצמו, וזהו עולמו של תלמיד חכם B'zeh misvasef l'adam mamad chadash b'kirbo, ashir b'toch v'shomer l'atzmo, v'zehu olamo shel talmid chacham. And this is the life of a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham. The תלמיד חכם talmid chacham is living a life of being צנועה tzanua, of being צנועה tzanua. And this is what רב וואלבה Rav Volbe writes. Had מרדכי Mordechai and אסתר Esther not written in the מגילה megillah in a manner of the highlights, the various milestones that occurred over that 12-year period, most people would have just thought that they were happenstance. ושתי Vashti happened to disobey אחשוורוש Achashveirosh. אסתר Esther happened to be chosen as the queen. מרדכי Mordechai happened to overhear the plot of בגתן ותרש Bigsan v'Seresh. It takes a wise person to connect the dots to see that picture. And we're living in a generation of a time, writes רב וואלבה Rav Volbe, where anything and everything is public. People boast and humble brag and share and publish and capture and stream everything that happens. But that's not Godly. If you want to be close to and merit השגחה עליונה hashgacha elyonah, השם's Hashem's divine protection, it means to be like God. God is a קל מסתתר Kel mistater. God is hidden, and we have to be able to live in a world of פנימיות pnimius, in a world where we do things for ourselves and experience things for ourselves and experience things without having to share them with the world. If we want חכמה, ואת צנועים חכמה chachma, v'es tznuim chachma. Through צניעות tznius comes חכמה chachma. All this is our parshaluk. אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה Eish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh. This fire came from heaven, but השם Hashem says add wood. 'Cause I don't want anyone to know it's me. The miracle is mine. But I want a person to be able to explain it as coming from the wood. Because why? Concealed, modest, humble, hidden. And that is a message for us to think through everything that we do, are we meeting, are we meeting that standard? רב חיים שמואלביץ Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz in a שיחות מוסר sichos musar also draws on the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch. In his שיחות מוסר sichos musar he writes based on the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch the following. יש לדעת שהחושך המסתיר מעיני אדם כבוד השם, והטבע המאורע בדבר השם, אף הם תכלית גדול להם Yesh lada'as she'hachoshech hamastir mei'einei adam k'vod Hashem, v'hateva hame'ora b'dvar Hashem, af heim tachlis gadol lahem. Nature has a תכלית tachlis. Nature, the natural world, the natural order, that which hides השם Hashem from us, has a purpose, has a mission. מצינו בספר החינוך קל\"ב, קל\"ג, שורש מצות אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה, כדי להסתיר הנס Matzinu b'Sefer HaChinuch kuf lamed beis, kuf lamed gimmel, shoresh mitzvas eish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh, k'dei l'hastir hanes. The ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch told us that the whole reason that we add wood to the altar to create the fire is to hide and conceal the miracle. To not have it be obvious that it comes from above, that it comes from השם Hashem. ונראה שהטעם בזה הוא כמו שביארנו V'nireh she'hataam b'zeh hu k'mo she'be'arnu. Writes רב חיים שמואלביץ Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, the reason for this is as we explained. כדי להניח לאדם מקום לטעות, שאילולי כן, הרי זה כאילו נטלה בחירה מן האדם. ויען אשר התורה באיסור לאו להכבות אש המזבח K'dei l'haniach l'adam makom litos, she'ilulei kein, harei zeh k'ilu nitlah bechira min ha'adam. V'ya'an asher haTorah b'isur lav l'hachvos eish hamizbeach. Why does השם Hashem want us to be able to explain it through nature? What would be the problem? What would be the problem? רב חיים שמואלביץ Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz is trying to elaborate on the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch. And if we knew that the fire came from above, if we knew that השם Hashem lit it, ignited it, sustained it, and it was able to even, even stay lit despite the rain, what would be the problem? If we knew that השם Hashem split the sea and brought the ten plagues and we knew these were miracles undeniably, what would be the problem? What would we be missing and lacking? What would be overturned? בחירה Bechira. We'd have no free will. Why would we have no free will? Because free will is predicated on the possibility that there's no God. If I really have no choice, then I'm not choosing. If there's only one alternative, there's no alternative. So what is בחירה bechira? Free will comes from my capacity to deny. I only have free will when there's a possibility it's not really him. But if it's undeniable, if it's revealed, if it's explicit, I have no free will. Now why is free will so important? Without free will there's no purpose to life. השם Hashem didn't create a world of robots who are pre-programmed to do everything he says. We sometimes think wouldn't it be great to have a spouse or children who are robots? Wouldn't it be amazing? Every Sunday I could just type in the plans for the week, homework, make dinner, go to bed on time, say what I want to hear, don't say what I don't want to hear. Wouldn't that be amazing? And the answer is, it would be miserable. In some ways it would be amazing, but in many ways it would be miserable. Because what gives relationships meaning and value and purpose? What creates love and loyalty and romance? What creates it is the fact that the other party didn't have to put me first. Didn't have to care about my needs. Didn't have to compromise or sacrifice. And they do. And that's what generates this bond, this connection, this love. That's what makes the relationship is the free will. That each party could lean in or lean out, opt in or opt out. And when they lean in, that creates a sense of love. And the same is true with השם Hashem. Same is true with השם Hashem. Had these miracles been revealed, undeniable, then would it mean anything to have a relationship with him? It'd be obvious. You'd be too afraid not to, too eager for the reward, so you'd run to. What makes life meaningful is free will. And what protects and preserves our free will? That you can't see him or hear him or speak to him. That one can mistakenly think everything is nature and deny that he's here. You know, if you're driving on the highway and there's a policeman in front of you, do you have free will to speed past him and around him or not? Now technically you could step on the gas pedal. Technically you could speed around him. But I would argue you don't have free will in that moment. Why? Because when you see him in front of you and you know what will happen, the result will be if you go around him, your free will for that time is suspended. And had we seen God explicitly, undeniably, our free will would be suspended. We wouldn't have it. True, physically we could choose, but we wouldn't really have equal opportunities, alternatives presenting themselves. So says רב חיים שמואלביץ, שיחות מוסר Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, Sichos Musar, אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה eish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo sichbeh, the fire is from above but השם Hashem says add the wood. Why? So you'll, you won't see the miracle. Why is it important that the miracle is not obvious and undeniable? Why is that important? Because only then do we have free will. And why is free will important? Because only then are we in a relationship. Only then does our life have meaning. אשר המשבונים ושומע קול השם בטרם יבוא היום אשר לא נאמר אין אני מפנים Ashrei hamisbonein v'shomea kol Hashem b'terem yavo hayom asher lo ne'emar ein ani mefanim. Then it's meaningful to lean in and say I believe it's a miracle. I... so why is that guy adding the wood? He's adding the wood, but he doesn't need the wood. Wood or no wood, the fire comes from above, it's from השם Hashem. Then it's meaningful when we opt in, even though we didn't have to, even when we could have opted, even when we could have opted out. פרק ו' פסוק ט' Perek vav pasuk tes. Moving on to the קרבן מנחה korban mincha. We went, we began with the זאת תורת העולה zos toras ha'olah. Orach Chaim Hakadosh told us כל הלילה kol halayla, even in the darkness of this גלות galus, of this night, we're going to be the עולה olah, we're going to rise when it will be בקר boker and אש תמיד eish tamid, and then that fire will turn on our enemies. And now we move over to the קרבן korban, the קרבן מנחה korban mincha. The Torah tells us here, פסוק ו' pasuk vav, sorry, פסוק ט' pasuk tes. והנותרת ממנה יאכלו אהרן ובניו מצות תאכל במקום קדוש בחצר אוהל מועד יאכלוה V'hanoseres mimena yochlu Aharon u'vanav matzos teiachel b'makom kadosh, b'chatzer ohel moed yochluha. Aaron and his sons will eat what is left of it. It should be eaten unleavened in a holy place, in the חצר chatzer, in the courtyard of the tent of the meeting, that's where they, that's where they eat it. The לקח וליבוב Lekach V'libuv. The great ר' אביש מ'שור Reb Avish mishor. תשע\"א Taf shin ayin aleph. He has many volumes of a לקח וליבוב Lekach v'Libuv. His תורות toros are from another world. Unbelievable. I got beautiful videos of his פורים and שושן פורים Purim and Shushan Purim. 20 hours straight he was teaching תורה Torah, living תורה Torah, learning תורה Torah, singing and dancing, unbelievable. He writes לקח וליבוב פרשת צו, שליט\"א Lekach v'Libuv Parshas Tzav, shlita. Aisa begemara Psachim tells us, שלשים יום קודם החג שואלים ודורשים בהלכות חג shloshim yom kodem hachag sho'alim v'dorshim b'hilchos chag. 30 days before a holiday, we already begin to learn about, ask, inquire about that holiday. השלושים יום יכונו להיות דורש ומבקש ולהכין להיות כלי ראוי לקבל אור החג הבא לקראתנו Hashloshim yom yichanu l'hiyos doresh u'mevakesh u'lehachin l'hiyos kli ra'ui l'kabel or hachag haba l'kraseinu. It takes 30 days to transform ourselves to be that vessel that could receive the light of that holiday. You cannot trip and stumble into Pesach. Now you'll say, of course you can't, takes a man to say that, because you got to clean, you got to come up with your shopping list, and your recipes, and your menus, and your invite, and your guests, and your... forget that. I'm assuming you're going away, being taken away. You're not cooking, you're going to your child, your child's hosting Pesach and cooking and cleaning. So you still say, but I have to pack, and depending if you have kids in שידוכים shidduchim, how many outfits per day you need to wear. I'm not talking about any of that. Forget all of that, all of that. It means spiritually, the פנימיות pnimius, the depth of the issue. If we're not beginning to inquire and learn and study and analyze and prepare, we won't be a vessel to receive that light. It takes 30 days. ויש להשבונן מה הוא דרישה הנדרשת V'yesh l'hisbonein ma hu hadrisha hanidreshes. It says in our פרשה parsha, so where did he get this from? So listen to this insight, listen to this teaching of ר' שור שליט\"א Rav Shor shlita. מצות תאכל במקום קדוש Matzos teiachel b'makom kadosh. The matza of the קרבן מנחה korban mincha was eaten in a holy place. בחצר אוהל מועד יאכלוה B'chatzer ohel moed yochluha. in the courtyard of the אוהל מועד ohel moed it's eaten. The הייליגע תפארת שלמה heilige Tiferes Shlomo who's the תפארת שלמה Tiferes Shlomo? ר' שלמה מרדומסק Reb Shlomo M'Radomsk. The הייליגע תפארת שלמה heilige Tiferes Shlomo writes שבכתוב רמז שיכין את עצמו קודם פסח לקדש ולטהר את עצמו she'b'kasuv remez sheyachin es atzmo kodem Pesach l'kadesh u'l'taher es atzmo. Here is an allusion to before Pesach. Here it's talking about the קרבן מנחה korban mincha. In the context of the קרבן מנחה korban mincha, where do you eat the matza that comes with the קרבן מנחה korban mincha? In the חצר chatzer of the אוהל מועד ohel moed. But it's really teaching us how to prepare for Pesach. להיות כלי מוכשר שיבא לתוך המצה לתוך מקום קדוש L'hiyos kli muchshar she'yavo l'soch hamatza, l'soch makom kadosh. You have to turn yourself into a courtyard of the אוהל מועד ohel moed, a holy place where the matza could be eaten. ואז בחצר אוהל מועד יאכלוה שמקום האכילה נתקדש בקדושה יתירה V'az b'chatzer ohel moed yochluha she'makom ha'achila niskadesh b'kedusha yesirah. The place where the matza is eaten has to be elevated with a high level of sanctity. כמו קדושת ארץ ישראל או מקום המקדש, שהיא מקום שהוא אתה פוקד בחצר אוהל מועד, והכוונה הוא שצריך האדם לקדש ולטהר הפה K'mo kedushas Eretz Yisrael o makom hamikdash, she'hi makom shehu ata pokeid b'chatzer ohel moed, v'hakavana hu she'tzarich ha'adam l'kadesh u'l'taher hapeh. Where is the חצר chatzer? Where is the courtyard of the holy place that is our heart? The mouth. For the, just like the matza is eaten in the חצר chatzer, the courtyard of the אוהל מועד ohel moed, so the matza on Pesach will be eaten in the פה peh, in the mouth, the חצר chatzer of the holy, of the מקדש mikdash of our heart. שהיא מקום שאוכל המצה, שהיא פה נקי, שהיד זה יהיה פה מקום קדוש. ואין הדבר רחוק כלל שהפה יחשב כמו מקום קדוש Shehu makom she'ochel hamatza, she'hi peh naki, sheyad zeh yihyeh peh makom kadosh. V'ein hadavar rachok klal she'hapeh yechashev k'mo makom kadosh. The idea that the mouth is a holy place, a holy space, the mouth is a holy vessel. The אור החיים הקדוש Or HaChaim Hakadosh says, quotes from רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah, כי פה של איש ישראל הוא קדוש בקדושת כלי שרת ki peh shel ish Yisrael hu kadosh b'kedushas kli shareis. The אור החיים הקדוש Or HaChaim Hakadosh quotes רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah that a person's mouth has the status of a vessel of the משכן Mishkan. It's like a vessel of the משכן Mishkan. כי התורה והתפילה הריווחים בתוך מקדש הפה Ki haTorah v'haTefila ha'revachim b'soch mekadesh hapeh. When we use our lips and our mouth to utter תורה and תפילה Torah and tefila, דוגמת כלי שרת נתקדש דדי שהכניס בתוך הדבר המקודש dugmas kli shareis niskadesh d'dei she'hichnis b'soch hadavar hamukdash. When you put inside the vessel something holy, it makes the vessel holy. When we put into our lips תפילה, תהילים, תורה tefila, tehilim, Torah, we transform, we elevate our mouth to be a כלי שרת kli shareis, a holy vessel. ועל כן הרי הפה הוא באמת מקום קדוש, ולכן בימים האלו קודם חג הפסח, מוטל עלינו להכין הפה שיהיה נקי מכל שיח ופגם V'al kein harei hapeh hu b'emes makom kadosh, v'lachen b'yamim ha'eilu kodem chag haPesach, mutal aleinu l'hachin hapeh sheyihyeh naki mikol siach v'pagam. For 30 days you know what the עבודה avodah, the work we're doing before Pesach? Is to turn our mouth into a holy vessel so that when it comes Pesach we can eat the matza in the חצר chatzer of the אוהל מועד, מקום קדוש ohel moed, makom kadosh. Our mouth will be a holy place. So you can't spend these 30 days before Pesach gossiping, slandering, cursing, using profanity, wasting words. We're transforming our mouth to the higher level of self-awareness about our mouth. And why is it specifically before Pesach we're transforming? He has a long essay, we're barely scratching the surface of reading the whole thing, but I'll just tell you one more example of this. Because בימי פסח זוכים לצאת מטומאת מצרים b'yemei Pesach zochim latzeis mi'tumas Mitzrayim. Pesach and the days leading up to it, we're getting ready to rise and climb out of that impure place called מצרים Mitzrayim. And פרעה, המגלה עמוקות Paroh, ha'Megaleh Amukos writes, פרעה Paroh, the king of Egypt, the letters פרעה Paroh are, פה רע peh ra. פרעה Paroh used his mouth for horrible, abusive, verbally abusive decrees. פרעה Paroh used his mouth to degrade. פרעה Paroh used his mouth for profanity. פרעה Paroh used his mouth for arrogance. פרעה Paroh was the paradigm of פה רע peh ra. And what are we going to do on Pesach? פה סח Peh sach. The mouth that speaks. In שיבוד מצרים shibud Mitzrayim, in that גלות galus, in that exile, the slave can't speak freely. The slave has no freedom of speech. The slave can't speak in an elevated fashion. The slave can't speak at all. They're silenced, they're a slave. And we're going to go from פרעה, הפה רע Paroh, ha'peh ra, to celebrate פסח, פה סח Pesach, peh sach, the mouth that speaks. פסח is בגמטריא מחיצה, צריכים לחזק החומות והמחיצות שנתן הקדוש ברוך הוא סביבותינו Pesach is b'gematria mechitza, tzrichim l'chazek ha'chomos v'ha'mechitzos she'nasan Hakadosh Baruch Hu svivoseinu, לשון lashon... He has a long elaboration as is כדרכה בקודש k'darka ba'kodesh. But that's our mission and mandate. But the דברי תורה about פסח *divrei Torah about Pesach*, פה סח *peh sach*, פרעה פה רע *Paroh peh ra*, they don't wait for Pesach. Don't wait for 30 days from now, less than 30 days from now. Don't wait for ערב פסח Erev Pesach to start scribbling your דברי תורה for the סדר *divrei Torah for the Seder*. When do we prepare? That's what this פסוק is saying. במקום קדוש, מצות תאכל *B'makom kadosh, matzos teiachel*. When it's ready to eat the matza, במקום קדוש *b'makom kadosh* it has to be in a holy place. Where? The mouth, which is similar to בחצר אוהל מועד יאכלוה *b'chatzer ohel moed yochluha*. The חצר *chatzer* of the אוהל מועד *ohel moed*, we are the אוהל מועד *ohel moed*, ובלבבי משכן אבנה *u'v'levavi mishkan evneh*. We are the אוהל מועד *ohel moed*. Where is the חצר *chatzer*, the courtyard? The mouth. מקום קדוש *makom kadosh*, turn the mouth into a holy place before you could eat the matza there. That's what we have to do to get ready. That's why he points out, the ר' בונם מפּשיסחא *Reb Bunim M'Peshischa* says just like מסדר הכוכבים השם *mesader hakochavim Hashem* lines up all the stars. But when you look up at the sky, you say, really he's organizing the stars? They look random, they look like they're everywhere, nothing looks organized to me, but we have faith. הקדוש ברוך הוא מסדר הכוכבים *Hakadosh Baruch Hu mesader hakochavim*. So too, the הייליגע ר' בונם מפּשיסחא *heilige Reb Bunim M'Peshischa* says, similarly, all מסכתות *masechtos* and all the אגדתות *agadatas* and everything that's organized throughout ש\"ס *Shas*, it's divinely inspired where it is and its place. So now, what's the first מסכת... first סוגיא of פסחים *sugya of Psachim*? קדושת הלשון *Kedushas halashon*. לשון נקי *Lashon naki*. אור לארבעה עשר *Or l'arba'asar*. The first משנה of פסחים *mishna of Psachim*. אור לארבעה עשר *Or l'arba'asar*, when בדיקת חמץ *bedikas chametz* happens. Why does it say אור לארבעה עשר *or l'arba'asar*? Why didn't we put it differently? Why didn't we phrase it differently? Why don't we say it differently? And what's the גמרא's *Gemara's* conclusion? Because לשון נקי *lashon naki*. We're preserving a proper way of speaking. Because what's the way to prepare for Pesach? The פה *peh*. To go from the פה רע *peh ra* to the פסח *Pesach*. So that's why the first סוגיא of מסכת פסחים *sugya of Maseches Psachim* is all about לשון נקי *lashon naki*. And that's why, מצות תאכל במקום קדוש *matzos teiachel b'makom kadosh*, before you can eat the matza, it's got to be in a holy place. And what's the holy place? Is the פה *peh*, is the mouth. You don't look as excited about this as I am, but it's such a beautiful, it's a deep, deep, beautiful idea, and it gives us homework, tells us what we're supposed to be working on over this, over this time. זאת תורת העולה *Zos toras ha'olah*, זאת תורת החטאת *zos toras hachatas* rather. We went from the קרבן עולה *korban olah* to the קרבן מנחה *korban mincha*, and then move on to the קרבן חטאת *korban chatas*. The קרבן חטאת *korban chatas*. פרק ו' פסוק כ\"ד. וידבר ה' אל משה לאמר דבר אל אהרן ואל בניו לאמר זאת תורת החטאת, במקום אשר תשחט העולה תשחט החטאת, *Vayidaber Hashem el Moshe leimor, daber el Aharon v'el banav leimor, zos toras hachatas. B'makom asher tishachet ha'olah, tishachet hachatas* where the עולה *olah* is offered, that's where you offer the חטאת *chatas*, לפני ה' קודש קדשים היא *lifnei Hashem kodesh kodashim hi*. Says רש\"י *Rashi*, מהי דכתיב זאת תורת החטאת *mai d'chsiv zos toras hachatas*? Why does it say this is the Torah, these are the laws of the חטאת *chatas*? ללמדך *L'lamedcha* to teach us, כל העוסק בתורת חטאת, הרי הוא כאילו הקריב חטאת *kol ha'osek b'toras chatas, harei hu k'ilu hikriv chatas*. If you occupy yourself with the laws of the חטאת *chatas*, it's as if you brought the חטאת *chatas*. Today we don't have a בית המקדש *Beis Hamikdash*. Today we don't have a מזבח *mizbeach*. So how do we achieve the atonement, the repair, the damage that led to having to bring a קרבן *korban*? So that's what the גמרא מנחות דף ק\"י *Gemara Menachos daf kuf yud* is teaching, that today, כל העוסק בתורת חטאת *kol ha'osek b'toras chatas*, if we dive in and we learn and we study, it's as if we offered the קרבן חטאת *korban chatas*. Why is this חידוש *chiddush* taught here in the קרבן חטאת *korban chatas* and not elsewhere? זאת תורת העולה, למנחה, לחטאת, לאשם, שכל העוסק בתורה אין צריך לא לעולה ולא לחטאת ולא למנחה ולא לאשם *Zos toras ha'olah, l'mincha, l'chatas, l'asham, she'kol ha'osek b'Torah ein tzarich lo l'olah v'lo l'chatas v'lo l'mincha v'lo l'asham*. Why here? It's a bigger חידוש *chiddush* here. Why? באמת דין הקרבן עולה אלא חידוש בחטאת גדול יותר כי בחטאת הרי הדין שהכהנים אוכלים והבעלים מתכפרים *B'emes din ha'korban olah ela chiddush b'chatas gadol yoser ki b'chatas harei hadin she'hakohanim ochlim v'habe'alim miskaprim*. When it comes to the חטאת *chatas*, the כהנים *kohanim* eat the sacrifice and the owner, the one who offered the sacrifice receives the atonement. שהכפרה תלוי באכילת כהנים *She'hakapara talui b'achilas kohanim*. It seems that the atonement depends on, is conditional on the כהנים *kohanim* who eat. Not just the offering. So maybe it shouldn't work to learn the תורת החטאת *Toras haChatas*. It's missing, it's absent, the כהנים *kohanim* are eating. I would think it doesn't work, but it does work even here nonetheless. But he goes even further רב דרוק *Rav Druk*. And he says the following, there's a... this is not only true with קרבנות *karbanos*. It's true for כל התורה כולה *kol haTorah kulah* and all תרי\"ג מצוות *taryag mitzvos*. That any מצוה *mitzva* that you learn about, it's as if you performed it. The רוח חיים *Ruach Chaim*, ר' חיים וולוז'ינר *Rav Chaim Volozhiner* writes this on the משנה in פרקי אבות *Mishna in Pirkei Avos*. כל העוסק בתורה לשמה זוכה לדברים הרבה *Kol ha'osek b'Torah lishmah zocheh l'dvarim harbeh*. Whoever learns תורה לשמה *Torah lishmah*, whoever learns תורה *Torah* for the right reasons, to draw close to הקדוש ברוך הוא *Hakadosh Baruch Hu*, merits many things. ולא עוד אלא שכל העולם כולו כדאי לו *V'lo od ela she'kol ha'olam kulo kdai lo*. And the whole world is worthy just for him. So מה זה זוכה לדברים הרבה *ma zeh zocheh l'dvarim harbeh*? What does it mean he's merits many things? So ר' חיים וולוז'ינר *Rav Chaim Volozhiner* says, he's זוכה לכל תרי\"ג מצוות *zocheh l'chol taryag mitzvos*. כי בדרך כלל אין לשום אדם אפשרות לקיים *Ki b'derech klal ein l'shum adam efsharus l'kayem*. You can't fulfill all תרי\"ג מצוות *taryag mitzvos*. No one person can fulfill all 613, why not? Because you're not a כהן, לוי, ישראל *kohen, levi, yisrael*, in Israel, out of Israel, a man, a woman, a חליצה *chalitza*, a גר *ger*, you can't fulfill all the מצוות *mitzvos*. So how can... you're not a כהן גדול *kohen gadol*, you're not a מלך המשיח *melech hamashiach*, you can't, you can't fulfill all the מצוות *mitzvos*. How can you fulfill all the מצוות *mitzvos*? The זוכה לדברים הרבה *zocheh l'dvarim harbeh* what you're זוכה *zocheh* to is if you learn all תרי\"ג *taryag*, it's as if you fulfilled all of תרי\"ג *taryag*. This is what יעקב *Yaakov* told לבן הארמי *Lavan ha'Arami*. When he went and he says, עם לבן גרתי ותרי\"ג מצוות שמרתי *im Lavan garti v'taryag mitzvos shamarti*. How could יעקב *Yaakov* so boldly and brazenly say I observed all of תרי\"ג מצוות *taryag mitzvos*? How could he? The answer is by learning and studying and caring about all of תרי\"ג *taryag*, it's as if he fulfilled them. It's as if he fulfilled them. You see this, the שערי תשובה *Sha'arei Teshuva*... אורח חיים סימן ש *Orach Chaim siman shin*. Quotes from the של\"ה הקדוש *Shlah Hakadosh*. מלווה מלכה על מוצאי שבת *Melaveh Malka al Motzaei Shabbos*. What are we talking about? Where are we going with this? So he writes, מי שאינו יכול לאכול *mi she'eino yachol le'echol*, a person who on מוצאי שבת *Motzaei Shabbos* is so full, ate too much over Shabbos, no room left, can't eat מלווה מלכה *Melaveh Malka*, לכל הפחות יטריח להכין סעודה זו לאחרים *l'chol hapachos yatrich l'hachin seudah zu l'acheirim*, should minimally prepare מלווה מלכה *Melaveh Malka* for someone else. וגם ילמד דיני המאמרים השייכים לסעודה זו *V'gam yilmad dinei hama'amarim hashayachim l'seudah zu*. And minimally, at least learn about מלווה מלכה *Melaveh Malka*. You're so full you can't eat מלווה מלכה *Melaveh Malka*? Learn about מלווה מלכה *Melaveh Malka*. Where'd the של\"ה הקדוש *Shlah Hakadosh* get this from? He got it from here. זאת תורת החטאת *Zos toras hachatas*. Anytime there's a מצוה *mitzva* that you want to do but can't do, learn about it and it's as if you did it. It's as if you did it just like over, just like over here. Okay. רב סולובייצ'יק *Rav Soloveitchik*. We gotta sneak in some רב סולובייצ'יק *Rav Soloveitchik*. רב סולובייצ'יק *Rav Soloveitchik* says the following. We'll end with two of רב סולובייצ'יק *Rav Soloveitchik's*. ויקח משה את הדם ויתן על קרנות המזבח *Vayikach Moshe es hadam v'yiten al karnos hamizbeach*. פרק ח' פסוק ט\"ו *Perek ches pasuk tes vav*. Skipping all the way to פרק ח' *perek ches*. פסוק ט\"ו *Pasuk tes vav*. Page 582. We're talking here about the consecration of the כהנים *kohanim*. And the כהנים *kohanim* were designated and elevated in their consecration. And when the taught, וישחט ויקח משה את הדם *vayishchat vayikach Moshe es hadam*, Moshe, the שחיטה *shechita* took place, Moshe took the blood, he put it on the corners of the מזבח *mizbeach* and so on. Says רב סולובייצ'יק *Rav Soloveitchik*, Moshe took the blood, put it on the corners of the altar. There's an additional reason for reading פרשת צו *Parshas Tzav* before Pesach. Like פרשת ויקרא *Parshas Vayikra*, פרשת צו *Parshas Tzav* contains many descriptions of sacrifices. Most of the time the Torah describes sacrifices offered by individuals. קרבן פסח *Korban Pesach* is the first communal offering, representing a shift. It thus serves both as a herald of and a key to the redemption of the Jewish people. It emphasizes the sense of community among כלל ישראל *Klal Yisrael*. There's only two positive commandments in the Torah that must be fulfilled on pain of כרת *kareis*. They are, קרבן פסח *korban Pesach* and ברית מילה *bris milah*. We can understand the penalty for not observing the ברית מילה *bris milah*. Circumcision is the mark of identification of male Jews. Sets them apart from all other nations. But one might ask why the failure to offer the קרבן פסח *korban Pesach* carries such a severe penalty. פסח מצרים *Pesach Mitzrayim* serves the identical function of ברית מילה *bris milah* throughout our history. It is more than a single positive commandment, it is the mark of our collective identity. We were slaves in Egypt and many Jews didn't want to leave Egypt. השם *Hashem* commanded Moshe to tell each household to offer the קרבן פסח *korban Pesach*. The only קרבן *korban* that needs no altar. We were commanded to place the lamb's blood on the doorposts and lentils, an act akin to sprinkling the sacrificial blood on the corners of the altar. This act which demonstrates complete obedience to God is a sign of faith. According to רש\"י *Rashi*, one, only one-fifth of the Jewish people left Egypt. Like the קרבן פסח *korban Pesach*, the journey required a leap of faith. Those who refused to offer the קרבן פסח *korban Pesach* showed contempt for השם's *Hashem's* commandments, a lack of faith in השם *Hashem*. These severe transgressions required a severe punishment, כרת *kareis*. The קרבנות *karbanos* are introduced in פרשת ויקרא *Parshas Vayikra* and completed in צו *Tzav*, coinciding with Pesach to emphasize this element of faith. Normally we read צו *Tzav* the same Shabbos as שבת הגדול *Shabbos Hagadol* right before Pesach. It's a leap year so we're off. We still have a little while till Pesach. But that is the connection between the two. And we'll end at the end of the פרשה *parsha*. Very end of the פרשה *parsha*. פרק ח' פסוק ל\"ג *Perek ches pasuk lamed gimmel*. Here, the Torah tells us, מפתח אוהל מועד לא תצאו שבעת ימים עד יום מלאת ימי מלואיכם, כי שבעת ימים ימלא את ידכם *Mipetach ohel moed lo seitzu shivas yamim ad yom melos yemei milu'eichem, ki shivas yamim yemalei es yedchem*. And don't leave the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days until the day when your days of inauguration are completed. כי שבעת ימים ימלא את ידכם *Ki shivas yamim yemalei es yedchem*. You have to be inaugurated for a seven-day, a seven-day period. Don't leave the entrance of the tent of the meeting. Here we have the proper preparation, the ימי מלואים *yemei miluim*, before we press go, before we started all the activity and action of the משכן *Mishkan*, there were days of inauguration, orientation, there was trial. Proper preparation is necessary condition for any encounter with holiness. Says רב סולובייצ'יק *Rav Soloveitchik*, אין קדושה בלי הכנה *ein kedusha b'li hachana*. You cannot experience anything holy without preparing for it. For example, in the prelude to receiving the Torah, Moshe warned the nation be ready for three days. Don't go near a woman. Similarly, Aaron has to submit to a seven-day preparation period prior to the dedication of the משכן *Mishkan*. The Torah at the end of the פרשה *parsha* is these שבעת ימי מלואים *shivas yemei miluim*. Before they could begin, seven days of preparation. Every כהן גדול *kohen gadol* subsequently went through a similar sequester prior to יום כיפור *Yom Kippur*. Both involved an encounter with holiness. The prohibition of מוקצה *muktzah* is centered on the need for preparation. Among the prohibitions of מוקצה *muktzah* is food that was not prepared prior to Shabbos. One does not merit nor is worthy of celebrating Shabbos unless one prepares for it. The רמב\"ם *Rambam* states that it's a מצוה *mitzva* to wash one's face, hands and feet in hot water every Shabbos due to honor Shabbos. one wraps himself in a טלית tallis and sits with his head covered, anxiously awaiting the reception of שבת Shabbos, as if you're going to greet a king. The mitzvah of ספירת העומר Sefiras HaOmer is preparing to receive the Torah. One similarly counts the years before שמיטה Shemitah and יובל Yovel as preparation. Holiness does not not arrive suddenly. It comes only by invitation, inherent in the act of preparation. So this, the ימי מלואים Yemei Miluim, the end of the פרשה parsha, the preparation that the כהנים Kohanim have to do before they can inaugurate the משכן Mishkan are a reminder to us that אין קדושה בלי הכנה ein kedusha beli hachana. There is no holiness without preparation.So don't think you're going to encounter holiness and sanctity, whether it's פורים Purim, the יום טוב yom tov of פסח Pesach, whether it's time with someone, whether it's דאווענען davening. You can't run in, you can't stumble in. A person has to prepare. אין קדושה בלי הכנה Ein kedusha beli hachana. A person has to prepare and be mindful and get ready. A person has to put in. There's no שבת Shabbos without ערב שבת Erev Shabbos. If you don't have an ערב שבת Erev Shabbos, if you're scrambling and running and using the last of your 18 minutes, and tripping and stumbling into שבת Shabbos, there's no holiness of שבת Shabbos. There has to be, we spoke about this, the bells, the the bells that were on the bottom of the מעיל me'il of the כהן kohen. בצאתו betzeiso, ונשמע קולו בבאו ובצאתו v'nishmah kolo bevo'o u'vetzeiso. And they were heard when he came into the קודש kodesh. When you're going into קודש kodesh, we have to ring a bell within ourselves to wake ourselves up, to prepare, to get ready. There's no such thing as שבת Shabbos without first experiencing an ערב שבת erev Shabbos. אין קדושה בלי הכנה Ein kedusha beli hachana. There's no holiness without preparation. מירצה השם M'irtzeh Hashem we should hear בשורות טובות besoros tovos today. Have a good day.
