VaYikra 5631 First Ma'amar

“וַיִּקְרָא אֶל־מֹשֶׁה .../God called Moshe …” This first pasuk of parshas VaYikra relates the first time that God spoke to Moshe from the Mishkan. It teaches us, according to Chazal, that each time God spoke to Moshe, he first called him. What is the significance of this?

The first Midrash on this week’s parsha cites a pasuk in Tehillim, “בָּֽרְכוּ ה' מַלְאָכָיו גִּבּ­ֹרֵי כֹחַ עֹשֵׂי דְבָרוֹ לִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקוֹל דְּבָרֽוֹ׃/Bless God, His angels, strong warriors doing His bidding to hear His word.” The word “מַלְאָךְ/angel” also means messenger. In fact, the word mal’ach refers to a human messenger in various places in Tanach. The Midrash explains that “מַלְאָכָיו/His angels” in this pasuk does not refer to angels but rather to human messengers. How are we God’s messengers? The Sfas Emes explains that every Jew is sent into this world to do the will of God. Essentially, we are God’s agents in this world. Angels are messengers because they, too, are sent to this world to do the will of God. The difference between angels and us is that we are able to choose whereas an angel has no choice but to do God’s will.

When we choose to fulfill God’s will with our actions we become, “עֹשֵׂי דְבָרוֹ לִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקוֹל דְּבָרֽו׃ֹ/doers of His bidding to hear His word.” This is a strange construct. Shouldn’t the pasuk state that we will listen to His word in order to do His bidding? How can we do His bidding before understanding what is required? The Sfas Emes explains that the pasuk is teaching us a deep concept. We don’t always know what God’s will is. In any given situation, what is it that God wants us to do? It is not always clear. The pasuk is teaching us the way to know God’s will. First we need to do His bidding. We do this by first resolving to satisfy His will with our action. Before acting we can think that we want our action to achieve God’s will. If we do this, we will merit understanding God’s will in those very activities.

This concept explains “גִּבּ­ֹרֵי כֹחַ/strong warriors” as well. In addition to strength, the word ko’ach means potential. God’s will is the potential of every action. We learn from this pasuk that a person who is determined to fulfill God’s will with his every action, who wants to be God’s emissary in this world, accomplishing that for which he was sent here, is someone who transforms the potential of God’s will into reality.

Moshe Rabbeinu was the archetypal emissary. Like an angel, he was so tuned in, as it were, that he was always ready to hear God and do His will. One who is looking to carry out God’s will with his every action, always hears God. The Torah emphasizes this the very first time God spoke to Moshe Rabbeinu after the construction of the Mishkan with the words, “וַיִּקְרָא אֶל־מֹשֶׁה .../God called Moshe.” This, then, is the significance of the first pasuk of this week’s parsha.

God is constantly calling us. The difference between us and Moshe Rabbeinu is that he always heard it because he was prepared to hear it, prepared to always achieve God’s will through his actions. Like Moshe, God sent all of us to this world to be His agents. He gave each of us the tools we need to do it. Moshe Rabbeinu was the quintessential agent of God but the Midrash is speaking to each and every Jew. May we each merit transforming God’s will into reality in all of our daily activities.

Pekudei 5632 First Ma'mar

The beginning of this week’s parsha is an accounting of all the materials that were brought to build the Mishkan. Ideally, Chazal teach us, it is better not to count material possessions because blessing rests only upon those things which are hidden from the eye – not counted. Why, then, were the materials of the Mishkan counted? The Zohar answers that since the counting was done by Moshe Rabbeinu, blessing nevertheless rested on the materials and the work. What is the meaning of this enigmatic Zohar?

To understand the Zohar we need to understand why blessing does not rest on things that are counted. The Sfas Emes explains. Everything in this world is connected to the spiritual and, in fact, derives its physical existence from the spiritual. The spiritual power that underlies the physical can be viewed as the root of the physical just as a tree’s branches derive their existence from the tree’s roots. Just as there is one root to a tree with many branches, so too, the more spiritual the less plurality there is. At the top of the hierarchy whose bottom is all the disparate components of the physical world is God Himself, the ultimate Unity and Root of everything. Things that are uncounted, are viewed from the perspective of the whole rather than the individual parts. The whole, because it represents less plurality, is closer to “oneness,” – to the spiritual – than its separate components. Accordingly, blessing rests on them.

This same concept applies whenever we recognize and acknowledge that the physical has spiritual roots. Moshe Rabbeinu understood this as he was the ultimate believer. Chazal teach us that the pasuk in Mishlei, “אִישׁ אֱמוּנֽוֹת רַב־בְּרָכוֹת .../A man of faith will increase blessings …” refers to Moshe Rabbeinu. Even though Moshe Rabbeinu was very involved with the physical world, since he internalized that God is in everything, that everything physical stems from spiritual roots, all his deeds were blessed.

The second part of this pasuk from Mishlei, “...וְאָץ לְהַֽעֲשִׁיר לֹא יִנָּקֶֽה/… but one impatient to become wealthy will not be exonerated,” is the exact opposite. Chazal teach us that this part of the pasuk refers to Korach who wanted the priesthood for himself even though it was not his. He did not recognize God in everything for if he did, he would have recognized the blessing in what was his and not have been tempted by what belonged to others.

This concept explains the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos, “אֵיזֶהוּ עָשִׁיר הַשָׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקוֹ/Who is wealthy? He who is happy with his lot.” According to the Sfas Emes, the Mishnah is teaching us that a person’s desire for his wealth needs to be because that is the portion that God granted him. He needs to know and recognize that no one can take away that which is his and he cannot take from another that which is not his. He is not “impatient to become wealthy” like Korach jealously regarding what others have because he desires only that which God designated for him. He recognizes God in his assets. As a result, there is blessing in them.

Chazal teach us this concept elsewhere as well. Chazal say that a person who wishes to protect his assets should plant a maple – אֶדֶר – tree as it says, “אַדִּיר בַּמָרוֹם ה'/God is strong on high.” What is the meaning of this enigmatic Chazal? Chazal relate planting a maple – אֶדֶר – tree to God being strong on high. The Chiddushei HaRim explains that by recognizing that God is the source of our assets, it is as if we are planting His strength in our assets.

We learn this same idea from the word for assets – נְכָסִים which, according to Chazal, imply being covered from others and revealed only to their owner (נְכָסִים/Assets has the same root as covered – כִּסוּי.) The Chiddushei HaRim explains the significance of this. A person’s assets are his – no one can take them from him – specifically because they are hidden from others. As we noted earlier, blessing rests on assets that are hidden from the eye – uncounted. And as the Sfas Emes explained, uncounted assets represents metaphorically closeness to “oneness” – to the spiritual – and ultimately, closeness to God.

With these concepts we can understand the difficult Zohar. Even though Moshe Rabbeinu counted the materials of the Mishkan, blessing rested on them because he recognized in the deepest way their spiritual roots.

For this same reason blessing rests in Shabbos. Shabbos is the day when the Creation became a single complete system, every disparate component performing its unique task but with the singular goal that the entire system “works.” Because of this, the entire Creation as a whole became “connected” to its spiritual root. Shabbos thus became a vessel to receive blessing.

We can ensure that blessing rests on our assets as well, by recognizing that they are our God-given portion and that they have spiritual roots. The very recognition affects the things we do with our assets. May we merit using them to fulfill the will of God. Amen.

VaYakhel 5635 First Ma'amar

Note: Today is the yartzeit of Rabbeinu, Reb Yitzchak Meir Alter, the Chiddushei HaRim, may we be protected in his merit.

The beginning of this week’s parsha describes the national campaign to gather all the materials needed to build the Mishkan and its accoutrements. In three pesukim the Torah describes how this campaign ended. The craftsmen came to Moshe and told him, “... מַרְבִּים הָעָם לְהָבִיא .../… The people are bringing more than enough …” Then the Torah relates that Moshe Rabeinu commanded the nation to stop bringing more materials. The pasuk tells us, “... וַיִּכָּלֵא הָעָם מֵֽהָבִֽיא/… So the nation stopped bringing.” What was the purpose of this lengthy description? Why was it necessary to describe it at all?

These pesukim are teaching us a basic principle in serving God. Many times we will we be inspired to do some worthy activity. Recognizing that the very inspiration did not originate in our own minds but rather is from God, brings us to a higher level of awe of Him. In fact, the Ba’al Shem Tov taught that this is actually the purpose of the inspiration. Thinking that we are the source of the inspiration leads to conceit and self-righteousness.

We find this idea in the service of the angels that prophet Yechezkel describes. Yechezkel tells us, “וְהַֽחַיוֹת רָצוֹא וָשׁוֹב .../The living creatures ran forward and returned …” The Sfas Emes, based on the kabbalistic literature understands that this is a metaphor for serving God. We run forward to serve Him but, in order not to be tempted towards arrogance in our service, we need to stop and back off to gain some perspective. We gain perspective by considering the true purpose of our worthwhile activity and that we are standing before God.

This is the reason the elders in the desert told Moshe Rabbeinu that the nation had brought too much. They were not only referring to physical quantities and quotas. They feared that there was too much “forward movement” with no stop to gain perspective in order to thwart the temptation towards self-righteousness. In response to Moshe Rabbeinu’s instructions, we stopped bringing, thus ensuring that our intent for all the materials of the Mishkan was pure.

This concept reappears in the very next pasuk, “וְהַמְּלָאכָה הָֽיְתָה דַיָם לְכָל־הַמְּלָאכָה לַֽעֲשׂוֹת אֹתָהּ וְהוֹתֵֽר/And the materials were enough to do the work and there was extra.” This pasuk contains an apparent contradiction. The beginning of the pasuk says that the materials were enough to do the work. The end of the pasuk says there was extra. The Or HaChaim explains that the pasuk is teaching us God’s love for the nation. Even though we brought more than was needed, He arranged it so that everything that was brought was used for the Mishkan. According to the Sfas Emes, the meaning is that even though there was too much activity of bringing with no stop for reflection, the fact that we stopped in response to Moshe Rabbeinu’s instruction, saved us and the materials that we brought from the corruption of self aggrandizement.

The Chiddushei HaRim teaches this idea on the pasuk in Shir HaShirim, “מַה־יָּפוּ פְעָמַיִךְ בַּנְּעָלִים בַּת־נָדִיב/How nice are your feet in sandals, O daughter of nobility.” The word for sandals – נְעָלִים, has the same root as the word for lock – מִנְעָל. The word for nobility – נְדִיב, has the same root as the word for charitableness – נְדִיבוּת. According to the Chiddushei HaRim, Shlomo HaMelech is teaching us through a metaphor that it is important to temper the will to be generous so that our good intentions to give do not become mixed with self importance.

This concept also explains a pasuk at the beginning of last week’s parsha. God commanded the nation to bring exactly a half shekel each, no more and no less, “הֶֽעָשִׁיר לֹֽא־יַרְבֶּה וְהַדַּל לֹא יַמְעִיט מִֽמַּחֲצִית הַשָּׁקֶל .../The prosperous may not exceed and the poor may not diminish from the half shekel.” While the need for a minimum amount may be clear, why did the Torah limit the wealthy from giving more? The Sfas Emes explains that this admonition against giving more is a hint to our concept. God wanted to protect the wealthy from the temptation towards self importance because of their ability to give more. He therefore equalized the wealthy and the poor. He, in effect, told the rich that even though they were able to give more, serving God in this instance meant limiting themselves to prevent any possibility of lording it over others who had less.

May we merit giving with the purest of intentions, Amen.

VaYakhel 5637 First Ma'amar

“וַיַּקְהֵל מֹשֶׁה אֶת־כָּל־עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁרצִוָּה ה' לַעֲשֹׂת אֹתָֽם/Moshe assembled the entire community of the children of Israel and said to them, ‘These are the things that God commanded to do them.” This first pasuk of our parsha is referring to the building of the Mishkan. However, immediately following this pasuk, before beginning to recount the building of the Mishkan, there are two p’sukim commanding us to keep Shabbos. Why is this? The answer to this question lies in the common theme that we find in the Mishkan and Shabbos. The goal of both the Mishkan and Shabbos is to bring an awareness of God into our lives.

When the nation of Israel stood at Mount Sinai to accept the Torah, Chazal tell us that we stood united. We were united and one with God. The sin of the golden calf separated us from God and divided the nation. This is the influence of the plurality of paganism which is diametrically opposed to the oneness of monotheism.

In order to rectify the sin of the golden calf and the results of the sin, the Midrash tells us that God gave us the Mishkan. How did the Mishkan rectify the sin? Building the Mishkan entailed many different activities. In fact, building the Mishkan entailed every major category of human activity. These are the thirty nine categories of work which are prohibited on Shabbos and are derived the Mishkan. Every activity in the Mishkan was dedicated towards the same goal – the manifestation of the Divine Presence. Building the Mishkan, then, united us and our actions in the service of God. Once the Mishkan was built the barrier between us and God caused by the sin of the golden calf was removed.

But before the Mishkan was built we were divided. In effect, we needed the unifying influence of the Mishkan in order to build it. How were we able to overcome this problem? The answer is through the mitzvah of Shabbos. God unified the nation by giving us the mitzvah of Shabbos first. Shabbos, the day on which creation was completed and God, the ultimate Unity was revealed was the day on which we could unite in serving God, the source of unity. This is also the reason the parsha starts with the word “וַיַּקְהֵל/He assembled.” No other mitzvah in the Torah begins with this word. Why does the mitzvah of building the Mishkan begin this way? The reason is that “וַיַּקְהֵל/He assembled” connotes a unified group. The noun associated with this verb is “קְהִילָה/community” which signifies a group of people having common interests. Once we were united in serving God and with God through the mitzvah of Shabbos we were ready to build the Mishkan to complete the rectification for the sin of the golden calf.

Shabbos unites the Creation under God, the source of unity. The Mishkan unites individual actions towards the goal of serving God. From the Mishkan we learn that all of our seemingly mundane activities during the course of the week can be consecrated in the service of God.

(Note: Parshas VaYakhel is usually ready together with parshas Pekudei. This was the case in 5637 (1877) when the Sfas Emes first said this ma'amar. The ma'amar therefore contains references to both parshiyos. This year VaYakhel and Pekudei are read on two separate Shabbosim.) We find this relationship of general unity (i.e. Shabbos) and unity in the details (i.e. Mishkan) in parshiyos VaYakhel and Pekudei. Parshas VaYakhel starts with Shabbos, the revelation of the Divine Presence, and proceeds to describe the building of the Mishkan. This is a top down approach. Parshas Pekudei lists every detail of the Mishkan. The end result is unity through revelation of the Divine Presence. This is a bottom up approach. As we’ve seen, the first approach leads directly to the second. First God reveals Himself through Shabbos showering blessing upon us from above and influencing our actions (i.e. top down). Then we build the Mishkan and God is revealed through our actions in this world (i.e. bottom up).

When contemplating the intricate detail in which the Torah describes the Mishkan and its vessels the following question comes to mind. Chazal tell us that blessing is found only in things which are not counted. Here we find a detailed list of every part of the Mishkan! How, then, is blessing found in the Mishkan? To answer this question the Midrash brings a pasuk in Mishlei which states, “אִישׁ אֱמוּנֽוֹת רַב־בְּרָכוֹת וְאָץ לְהַֽעֲשִׁיר לֹא יִנָּקֶֽה/A man of faith will abound in blessings but one who impatiently pursues wealth will not be exonerated.” The Midrash tells us that “אִישׁ אֱמוּנֽוֹת/A man of faith” refers to Moshe Rabbeinu. The Midrash explains that because Moshe Rabbeinu was a man of faith he abounded in blessings when he built the Mishkan. As a man of faith, Moshe Rabbeinu dedicated his every disparate action towards one common goal thus turning the many into one. This is why there was blessing in the Mishkan even though the details were listed.

This same idea applies to our daily activities. The Mishkan itself and the work we did in it can be viewed as a microcosm of our daily lives. The Mishkan experience enabled us to apply this focus on serving God to our daily activities. If I go about my daily activities with faith in God, I dedicate all my actions to the common goal of serving God. As a result, God showers blessing upon me and all my daily activities.

Ki Sisa 5631 Second Ma'amar

Chazal tell us that although every mitzvah was given to the nation of Israel publicly, Shabbos was given privately as the Torah tells us in this week’s parshah, “בֵּינִי וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹת הִוא .../It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel …” What do Chazal mean when they say that Shabbos was given to us privately? Obviously, the nations of the world know about Shabbos. In answer to this question, Chazal explain that although the nations of the world know about Shabbos, there are aspects of Shabbos that the nations of the world do not – cannot - know about. There is an aspect of Shabbos called, “נְשָׁמָה יְתֵרָה/additional soul,” which only Jews can experience. Only Jews can experience it because Shabbos was given only to the nation of Israel to experience.

The Torah alludes to the additional soul in the words, “... וּבַיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַֽשׁ/… and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.” In a play on the word “וַיִּנָּפַֽשׁ/He was refreshed,” Chazal say that it suggests, “וַוי אָבְדָה נֶפֶשׁ/Woe, the soul is lost.,” Chazal therefore translate the pasuk, “Since He rested, woe, the soul is lost.” This Chazal is difficult. The plain meaning of the Chazal is that the additional soul is lost as a result of His resting. How can this be? The additional soul is given specifically when He rests. It takes leave when Shabbos ends.

The Sfas Emes explains that Chazal’s hint derives specifically because we experience Shabbos. Since we experience the additional soul on Shabbos and feel its loss when Shabbos ends, we know that it exists. In the words of Chazal, “Since He rested, woe the soul is lost.” Only because we experience Shabbos can we experience the loss of the additional soul when Shabbos ends.

The Ba’al Shem Tov takes this idea a step further. The Ba’al Shem Tov says that the experiencing the additional soul can help us to serve God better. The allusion that the additional soul leaves when the day ends is given on Shabbos specifically, to encourage us to take advantage of it. The additional soul helps us experience a closeness to God that we would otherwise not be able to experience.

The Sfas Emes explains further, that cultivating a sensitivity towards experiencing the additional soul thereby being sensitive to its loss with the onset of the coming week, can lead us to repentance. After such an enlightening experience, who would not want to forsake his sins in its favor. The end result of this sensitivity is that the enlightenment spills over to the following week making it easier for us to experience and serve God during the weekdays as well. May we merit it!