Shekalim 5631 First Ma'amar

The Significance of Being Happy During the Month of Adar

The shekel is a silver coin that was in use at the time of the giving of the Torah.  It is a mitzvah[1] for every man to donate a half shekel (or at least its value) to the Beis HaMikdash once a year.  The money is used for public sacrifices.  Sacrifices must be brought during the year in which they were purchased.  For this purpose, the year is considered to start on Rosh Chodesh Nissan.  Therefore, even though the half shekel was given during Adar, the sacrifices were first purchased during Nissan.  This being the case, why was the money given during Adar?

The Sfas Emes explains that the month of Adar, being the end of the year with respect to the counting of the months[2] (Nissan = month #1, Iyar = month #2 … Adar = month #12) is a time of repentance similar to Elul, the end of the year with respect to the counting of years.  The difference between Elul and Adar is in the type of repentance that is required.  In Elul, we repent out of awe.  In Adar we repent out of love of God.

The mitzvah of Shekalim helps us to love God.  This is because giving to a cause is a great way to develop an affinity for that cause.  When we give to benefit the Beis HaMikdash, our natural inclination towards God is stimulated and brought out.  This is also why Chazal[3] teach us to be particularly happy during the month of Adar.  What can make a person happier than returning to God out of love.

This idea helps us to understand why Chazal[4] teach us that giving the half shekel was a rectification for the transgression of the golden calf.  Once that natural inner desire to be close to God is stimulated and comes to the fore, every barrier falls away.  Chazal[5] allude to this idea when they say that even an iron barrier cannot come between us and God.  Similarly, God's beloved said, "שימני כחותם על לבך .../[For the sake of my love,] place me like a seal upon Your heart …" (Shir HaShirim 8:6) – with no barrier separating us.

The mitzvah of Shekalim applies only when the Beis HaMikdash stands[6].  Nowadays, we are still stimulated to love God when we hear Parshas Shekalim read on the Shabbos before Rosh Chodesh Adar, maybe even more so since our desire to give to God is not bounded by the mitzvah of giving the half shekel.  Since we do not have the Beis HaMikdash our desire to return can be even more intense.  As a result, we are inspired to love God and to return to Him out of happiness.  After all, God is interested in our return to Him, not in the half shekel.  Giving the half shekel is only a tool to help us come close to God.

Why are we encouraged to prepare for the month of Nissan specifically by cultivating love of God and happiness?  Elsewhere[7], the Sfas Emes teaches that every Rosh Chodesh is a time of renewal.  The moon's cycle of waning and waxing is an obvious metaphor for renewal.  The aspect of renewal is particularly strong in the month of Nissan since it is the first of all the months.  This is the renewal which comes specifically through happiness and love of God.  Hence we accent happiness and returning to God out of love specifically during the month that precedes Nissan, the month of Adar. 

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[1]Viz Yad HaChazaka Shekalim 1:1, 4:1, 4:11

[2]Rosh HaShana 1:1

[3] Taanis 29a

[4]Tanchuma Ki Sisa 2

[5]Pesachim 85b – ma'amar of Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi

[6]Viz Yad HaChazaka Shekalim 1:8

[7]Sfas Emes Mikeitz 5631 Second Ma'amar and other places

[8]Ibid.

Tetzaveh 5631 First Ma'amar

The Month of Adar

An Auspicious Month for Drawing God’s Light into the World

“וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל .../And you will command the children of Israel…” (Shmos 27:20)  In the first pasuk of this week’s parsha, God instructs Moshe Rabbeinu to command the children of Israel regarding the mitzvah of lighting the menorah.  Usually when God instructs Moshe to tell the people a commandment, He says, “... דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל/… speak to the children of Israel.”  Why does God say here, “וְאַתּה תְּצַוֶּה .../And you will command …” when instructing Moshe about this particular mitzvah?

The Sfas Emes teaches us that the lamps of the menorah allude to the mitzvos.  In Mishlei (6:23) we find, “... נֵר מִצְוָה וְתוֹרָה אוֹר .../… a commandment is a lamp and Torah is light …”  Just as light needs a lamp to hold it, so too, the light of the Torah needs a vessel to contain it.  As physical light, so too, the light of the Torah is ephemeral.  It needs a mechanism for being drawn into and influencing the physical world.  That mechanism is the mitzvos.  The vessel that holds the light of the Torah in this world is the mitzvos.

When we perform mitzvos we bring the light of the Torah into the world.  In fact, the Zohar says that our 248 limbs parallel the 248 positive commandments.[1]  Our very limbs become the conduits through which the light of the Torah is drawn down into this world.  When we understand that we are merely conduits, that there is nothing inherent in our actions or in us that brings spiritual light into the world, that it is the will of God that the specific actions of the mitzvos have this effect, we accomplish the will of God.  That is why this specific mitzvah of preparing the menorah starts with, “וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה .../And you will command …”  Only because God commanded us to do the specific activities that are called mitzvos do they have this quality of drawing the Torah’s light into the physical world. 

The Midrash[2], explaining the first few words of this week’s parsha says that the poor of Israel are equal to Eliyahu HaNavi and Daniel.  How does the Midrash arrive at this conclusion from, “וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה .../And you will command…”?  According to the Sfas Emes, however, it is clear.  A Jew, regardless of his spiritual level, who performs a mitzvah with the understanding that the light of that mitzvah comes through him from God, is on the level of our greatest prophets.  This is because when a person does a mitzvah he connects to God.  In fact, the root of the word mitzvah is the same as that of the Aramaic “צַוְותָּא/connection”.  It is encouraging to know that regardless of our backgrounds and spiritual state, each of us can do the will of God and bring the Torah’s light into this world by being aware of this when performing the mitzvos.

The Chiddushei HaRim understands this concept from the brachah we make before doing a mitzvah.  We say “... אֲשֶּׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ .../… that He made us holy with His mitzvos and commanded us …”  We are able to do the will of God and bring the light of the Torah into the world through the mitzvos, only because this is the way God structured the world.  He commanded us to do the mitzvos.  Therefore, we are able to be His conduits to bring His light into the world.

The Chiddushei HaRim explains that this is the intent of Chazal[3] when they taught that a person who wants to protect his assets should plant a maple/אֶדֶר tree as we find in Tehillim (93:4), “אַדִּיר בַּמָרוֹם ה'/God is strong on high.”  A play on the similarity between the words for maple – אדר – and on high – אדיר, planting a maple/אֶדֶר tree is a metaphor for knowing that our assets and strength, everything really, comes from God.  Chazal are teaching us that the awareness itself is protective and strengthening.  This concept and metaphor applies to the month of Adar as well.  The word Adar in Hebrew – אדר  – is also similar to the Hebrew words for maple and on high.  The month of Adar, then, is an especially appropriate time to work on our awareness that when we perform the mitzvos we are conduits for drawing God’s light, the light of the Torah into the physical world.

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[1]Zohar 1:170b

[2]Tanchuma Tetzaveh 6

[3]Beitzah 15b

Tetzaveh (Parshas Zachor) 5631 First Ma'amar

“ואתה תצוה את בני ישראל .../And you will command the children of Israel…” In the first pasuk of this week’s parsha, God instructs Moshe Rabeinu to command the children of Israel regarding the mitzvah of lighting the menorah. Usually when God instructs Moshe to tell the people a commandment, He says, “... דבר אל בני ישראל/… speak to the children of Israel.” Why does God say here, “ואתה תצוה .../And you will command …” when instructing Moshe about this particular mitzvah?

The Sfas Emes teaches us that the נרות/lamps of the menorah allude to the mitzvos. In Mishlei we find, “... נר מצוה ותורה אור .../… a commandment is a lamp and Torah is light …” Just as light needs a lamp to hold it, so too, the light of the Torah needs a vessel to contain it. The vessel that holds the light of the Torah in this world is the mitzvos. The light of the Torah is ephemeral. It needs a mechanism for being drawn into and influencing the physical world. That mechanism is the mitzvos.

When we perform mitzvos we bring the light of the Torah into the world. In fact, the Zohar says that our 248 limbs parallel the 248 positive commandments. Our very limbs become the conduits through which the light of the Torah is drawn down into this world. When we understand that we are merely conduits, that there is nothing inherent in our actions or in us that brings spiritual light into the world, that it is the will of God that the specific actions of the mitzvos have this effect, we accomplish the will of God. That is why this specific mitzvah of preparing the menorah starts with, “ואתה תצוה .../And you will command …” It is only because God commanded us to do the mitzvos that they have this quality.

The Midrash, explaining the first few words of this week’s parsha says that the poor of Israel are equal to Eliyahu HaNavi and Daniel. How does the Midrash arrive at this conclusion from, “ואתה תצוה .../And you will command…”? According to the Sfas Emes, however, it is clear. A Jew, regardless of his spiritual level, who performs a mitzvah with the understanding that the light of that mitzvah comes through him from God, is on the level of our greatest prophets. This is because when a person does a mitzvah he connects to God. In fact, the root of the word mitzvah is the same as that of the Aramaic “צוותא/connection”. It is encouraging to know that regardless of our backgrounds and spiritual state, each of us can do the will of God and bring the Torah’s light into this world by being aware of this when performing the mitzvos.

The Chidushei HaRim understands this concept from the brachah we make before doing a mitzvah. We say “... אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו .../… that He made us holy with His mitzvos and commanded us …” We are able to do the will of God and bring the light of the Torah into the world through the mitzvos, only because this is the way God structured the world. He commanded us to do the mitzvos. Therefore, we are able to be His conduits to bring His light into the world.

The Chidushei HaRim explains that this is the intent of Chazal when they said that a person who wants to protect his assets should plant an adar tree as we find in Tehillim, “אדיר במרום ה'/God is strong on high.” Planting an adar tree is a metaphor for knowing that our assets and strength, everything really, comes from God. Chazal are teaching us that the awareness itself is protective and strengthening. This concept and metaphor applies to the month of Adar as well. The month of Adar, then, is an especially appropriate time to work on our awareness that when we perform the mitzvos we are conduits for drawing God’s light, the light of the Torah into the physical world.

Terumah 5631 First Ma'amar

A recurring theme throughout the Torah is that God reveals Himself to us according to our level of belief in Him. A person, who believes that God gives existence every moment to every thing and every action, will experience God’s presence in every thing and every action.

We see this idea regarding learning and understanding Torah, particularly תורה שבעל פה/the Oral Law. The Torah can be understood on many levels. Each person understands it according to the intensity of his desire to understand it. The reason this idea applies to learning Torah is because the Torah itself is a revelation of God. Explaining this, the first Midrash in the parsha, expounding on the pasuk, “ ... ויקחו לי תרומה .../… take for Me a contribution …”, says that after a sale, the seller no longer has any ties to the object he sold. The Torah is different. God, as it were, sold us the Torah and Himself with it. So, the more a person wants to understand, the more God reveals Himself to that person through the Torah.

The same motif clearly applies to serving God. The pasuk in Tehillim states, “בטח בה' ועשה טוב שכן בארץ ורעה אמונה/Trust in God and do good so that you may dwell in the land and nourish yourself with belief.” Chazal tell us that according to the strength of our belief, God reveals Himself to us by helping us to be successful in serving Him. Trusting in God means being sure that He will help us succeed in our service towards Him. Many times, a person thinks regarding giving tzedakah, “If I give now, what will I have tomorrow?” Chazal tell us that believers give knowing that God will give them more. It is specifically because they give today, that they are blessed with more.

The Chiddushei HaRim explains the pasuk, “ברוך הגבר אשר יבטח בה' והיה ה' מבטחו/Blessed is the man who trusts in God, then God will be his security,” along the same lines. According to the level of man’s trust in God, God will be his security.

We find this same idea in this week’s parsha. “ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם/Make me a sanctuary so that I may dwell amongst them.” The Hebrew root of the word “מקדש/sanctuary, is the same as the Hebrew word for holy – קדוש. קדוש/holy also connotes separated. When we say that God is holy, we are saying that he is separate, hidden. According to the level of our belief that He is hidden in every thing and every action, He will dwell amongst us. We will merit an awareness of God in every thing and every action. In this sense, God’s revelation is dependent on us.

Chazal hint at this when they say, “במידה שאדם מודד מודדין לו/A man is measured according to his own measurement.” God is infinite and everywhere. But He is hidden. He is revealed in this world in measured doses. According to the measure of a person belief in God’s providence, he is granted an equal measure of awareness of God’s presence. God’s revelation is Truth. Truth becomes revealed based on our belief. Then the revealed Truth nourishes and helps our belief in a cycle.

This is also the meaning of the pasuk in Tehillim, “ה' רֹעי לא אחסר/God is my shepherd I shall not lack.” Proportionate to my belief that God is my shepherd, I will merit an awareness of His providence and I shall not lack. Similarly, according to the Rav of Neschiz, David HaMelech is praying that he not lack saying that God is his shepherd.

We find the same concept regarding Shabbos. God is more revealed on Shabbos and more hidden during the week. According to how much we work on our belief during the week, the workdays, we will experience God’s presence on Shabbos. Shabbos then nourishes and supports our belief. That’s why the Zohar calls the Shabbos meals, “סעודתא דמהימנותא/meals of belief. The Shabbos experience affects how we believe during the coming week.

In the Midrash we find that God says, “…make me a room that I can dwell among you.” The word for “I will dwell” in Hebrew is “אדור.” The Chidushei HaRim notes that אדור/I will dwell, has the same root as the word for strength (as in, “אדיר במרום ה'/God is strong on high.) It is encouraging, it gives us strength to know that everything in a person’s life comes from God. This is the key behind the month of Adar which also has the same root as the Hebrew word for “strength” and “dwell.” It is appropriate during this month to submit ourselves to God’s will, understand and work on our belief that everything that happens to us comes from Him and that He is the power behind everything including our own actions. The Sfas Emes is teaching us that we can be secure in the knowledge that when we “do good” by serving Him, by giving tzedakah and by putting ourselves out for Him, He is there for us and will help us succeed.