Parashas Parah (Shemini) 5646 First Ma'amar

Chazal[1] established reading four special sections of the Torah during the Purim season.  The first, Shekalim[2], is read on the Shabbos preceding Rosh Chodesh Adar.  Zachor[3] is read on the Shabbos preceding Purim.  We read HaChodesh[4] on the Shabbos preceding Rosh Chodesh Nissan.  Parah[5] is read on the Shabbos before Parshas HaChodesh.

 

Each of the parshiyos commemorates an activity which occurs during this time.  Shekalim commemorates the proclamation on Rosh Chodesh Adar to bring shekalim (a denomination of coin) to the Beis HaMikdash.  When we read Zachor we fulfill the mitzvah of remembering what Amalek did to us.  Appropriately, we read this parsha on the Shabbos before Purim since Haman descended from Amalek.  Parshas Parah which describes the mitzvah of the red heifer, is a reminder to become pure before Pesach so that we can bring the korban Pesach.  Finally, HaChodesh describes the mitzvah of bringing the korban Pesach.

The Torah relates that the Mishkan was built and activated on Rosh Chodesh Nissan.[6]  The first red heifer was brought only after the Mishkan was built, after Rosh Chodesh Nissan.  It could not have been brought earlier because it needed the Mishkan.  Since the red heifer could not have been brought beforehand, it would make more sense to read parshas Parah during the month of Nissan, when the red heifer was actually brought.  Why, then, do we read Parah before parshas HaChodesh rather than following it? 

The Sfas Emes explains that two critical things happened between the first Rosh Chodesh Nissan two weeks before the Exodus and the second one, a year later, when the Mishkan was built.  First, at the time of the Exodus, God chose us as His nation.  This is described in parshas HaChodesh which relates the Korban Pesach, the first mitzvah we were given as a nation.  Second, a year later, on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the Mishkan was activated.  This second Rosh Chodesh Nissan was the eighth and final day of the initiation sacrifices of the Mishkan.[7]  With the building and activation of the Mishkan the sin of the golden calf was rectified, God’s presenced was revealed and we came close to Him, as we find in the first pasuk of this week's parsha, “וַֽיְהִי בַּיוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי ... וַֽיִּקְרְבוּ כָּל־הָעֵדָה וַיַּעַמְדוּ לִפְנֵי ה'׃/It was on the eighth day … the entire community came close and stood before God.” (VaYikra 9:1-5)  These two events, being chosen and coming close to God are the two key things that differentiate us as a nation, as we say in the prayers of Yom Tov, “אַתָּה בְחַרְתָּנוּ מִכָּל הָעַמִים ... וְקֵרַבְתָּנוּ ... לַעַבוֹדָתֶךָ/You chose us from all the nations … and drew us near … to your service.”

At the time of the Exodus, God first chose us and then we drew near to Him.  At that time, we were immersed in slavery and the decadence of Egypt.  We needed an external catalyst to start the process which culminated in the redemption.  Now, however, to reach a level of being chosen we need to first come close to God through repentance.  When we show God that we desire to be close to Him, He reciprocates and chooses us.  For this reason, parshas Parah, which represents what we do to purify ourselves in order to come close to God, precedes parshas HaChodesh which, as we’ve said, represents God’s choosing us. 

Chazal allude to this at the end of last week’s parsha following the description of the initiation services and sacrifices during the eight days culminating on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, “כַּֽאֲשֶּר עָשָׂה בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה צִוָּה ה' לַֽעֲשֹׂת לְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם׃/As he (Moshe) had done on this day, so God commanded to do in order to atone for you.” (VaYikra 8:34)  Chazal teach us that לַעֲשֹׂת/to do, refers to the red heifer [8]  Why do Chazal find a hint to the red heifer specifically here, before Rosh Chodesh and the activation of the Mishkan?  The Sfas Emes explains that Chazal are teaching this very concept.  To merit being chosen by God, we must first show him that we desire to be close to Him by purifying ourselves through repentance.

The Sfas Emes says that it is very possible that Chazal are hinting to another important idea, as well.  Apparently the period immediately preceding Rosh Chodesh Nissan was designated from the time of the initiation of the Mishkan for atonement and purification.  In fact, the Sfas Emes says further, that for those of us who desire and anticipate purification, an aspect of purification enters our souls before Rosh Chodesh Nissan.  For this reason Chazal established reading Parah specifically prior to Rosh Chodesh Nissan.  This is the time when we are given the opportunity to merit purification and coming close to God.

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[1] Mishnayos Megila 3:4

[2] Shmos 30:11-16

[3] Devarim 24:17-19

[4] Shmos 12:1-20

[5] Bamidbar 18:1-22

[6] Shmos 40:17

[7] Sifra Shemini Mechilta deMiluim 1

[8] Yoma 2a

Purim 5634 Third Ma'amar

Chazal established four mitzvos on Purim.  They are the reading of the Megillah, the Purim meal, Mishloach Manos/Sending gifts of food, and Matanos LaEvyonim/Giving money to the poor.  The first two are self-explanatory.  We read the Megilla to recount the story of Purim and our salvation.  We have a festive meal because parties were the venue of most of the Purim story.  Our redemption and the progress toward redemption occurred either during or as a result of a party.

However, the last two mitzvos need explanation.  Why did Chazal establish giving gifts to friends and money to the poor specifically on Purim?  What is the connection between these mitzvos and Purim?

In order to answer this we need to understand the Purim story on a deeper level.  The Purim story is not simply a wicked plot to destroy us and the miracle of our deliverance.  The wicked Haman descended from Amalek, the nemesis of the Jewish people throughout history.  The Purim story was essentially a plot by Amalek destroy the nation of Israel.  Instead we destroyed Haman, the scion of Amalek together with his cohorts and followers.

What power does Amalek have over the nation of Israel?  The Sfas Emes explains elsewhere that Amalek’s power derives from our disunity.  When we were in the desert after the Exodus, Amalek attacked the stragglers.  Chazal teach that we were not unified at that time. 

Our power to defeat Amalek derives from our unity as we find in the Megilla, ... נקהלו ועמוד על נפשם .../… they assembled and defended themselves …”  Chazal as well teach us that Ya’akov was saved from Eisav because he assembled together with his children.

When there is unity among the nation of Israel, God’s reputation, represented by His name becomes sanctified and spreads in the world.  This is why God said that His name will not be complete until Amalek is destroyed.  Amalek will only be destroyed when we are unified.  Our unification also represents the completeness of God’s Name.  It follows that God’s Name will only be  complete when Amalek is destroyed.

When Esther told Mordechai, “לך כנוס את כל היהודים .../Go and gather together all the Jews …” her purpose was not only for them to cry out to God.  It was also to unite them.

Chazal ask why Mordechai is referred to as איש יהודי/a man of the tribe of Yehuda (or a Jewish man).  Mordechai came from the tribe of Binyamin.  They explain that יהודי/Judean alludes to יחידי/alone or only.  Mordechai unified the entire nation.  He was called יהודי/Judean or Jew because he identified with all the יהודים/Jews.

Therein lies our power.  When we are united we have the power to destroy Amalek.  When we are not united, we are liable to be attacked from without.  May we merit working towards harmony!

VaYikra 5635 First Ma'amar

This week we begin reading Sefer VaYikra most of which is about sacrifices and their laws.  The Torah teaches that we can get absolution for our sins by sacrificing an animal to God.    Why should bringing an animal sacrifice gain us penance?

The Sfas Emes explains that the life force of animals comes to them through us.  We are the conduit.  We see this in the following pasuk, “... כל שתה תחת רגליו/… You placed everything under his feet.” (Tehillim 8:7)  The entire Creation is under Man.  The Sfas Emes teaches that this pasuk is not referring only to the physical aspect of the world.  It is referring to the spiritual aspect as well.  All spirituality comes into the world through Man including the life force of the animals.

When we bring an animal sacrifice we are exchanging our own life force for that of the animal.  Our life deserves to be taken.  We are saying to God, please take the life force of the animal instead of ours.

With this idea we can explain a difficulty in a Midrash that Rashi brings on the pasuk, “... אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן לה' .../… When a man from among you brings a sacrifice to God …” (VaYikra 1:2)  The word, man/אדם/Adam in this pasuk is an uncommon usage.  Generally, the Torah prefaces a commandment with the word, man/איש or sometimes, man or woman/איש או אשה.  Why does the Torah introduce the topic of sacrifices with the word, man/אדם/Adam?  Rashi answers, quoting Chazal, that the Torah is referencing Adam, the first man.  Just as Adam did not bring sacrifices from that which was stolen since he owned everything, so too, may we not bring sacrifices from that which is stolen.

This Midrash is difficult to understand for two reasons.  Firstly, without the Midrash would we have thought that it is permitted to bring sacrifices from stolen animals?  Why do Chazal need to teach us this?  Secondly, assuming that Chazal are not teaching us this but maybe they are teaching us that sacrifices from stolen animals are ineffective, what is the proof from Adam?  He had no stolen animals!

The Sfas Emes therefore explains this Midrash homiletically.  Chazal are teaching us about the nature of sacrifice.  As we have said, the reason we can bring an animal sacrifice and be absolved is because animals derive their life force from us.  We tell God, “Please take the life of the animal which derives from me in lieu of my own.”  This only applies to a person on the level of Adam in the sense of the hierarchy we find in the Creation – דומם – inanimate, צומח – plant, חי –living, מדבר – speaking. מדבר/speaking, also means, “leading”.  The Sfas Emes understands that the first man Adam, was on a level of leading and influencing the animals and the rest of Creation.  He was the conduit through which life came to the entire Creation.  Because of this he was able to sacrifice animals. 

What of a person who is not on this level?  About such a person Chazal[1] say that even an insect was created before him; even an insect is on a higher level than he.  How can he give God an animal in lieu of himself?  The animal does not derive its life through him.  It is as if he is sacrificing something that was stolen.  It is ineffective. 

What can we do to reach a higher level, a level on which life comes into the world through us?  We learn from the pasuk quoted earlier, “... כי יקריב מכם .../… When he brings from among you …”  The words, “from among you” seem to be extraneous.  What do they add to this pasuk?  The Sfas Emes teaches that we are able to raise our level by identifying with and subordinating ourselves to the nation.  The nation as a whole is always on a higher level.  The nation as a whole is always the conduit through which life and spirituality flow into this world.  When we identify totally with the nation and become one with it, we come “from among you”, we can bring an effective animal sacrifice.  May we merit it.  Amen!

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[1] Sanhedrin 38a

Pekudei 5632 First Ma'amar

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.[1]  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.[2]  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 (28:20), “אִישׁ אֱמוּנֽוֹת רַב־בְּרָכוֹת .../A man of faith will increase blessings …” refers to Moshe Rabbeinu.[3]  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 (4:1), “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.” (Tehillim 93:4)[4]  Is this just a play on words or are Chazal teaching us something deeper?  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 cover – כִּסוּי.)[5]  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 represent 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 vehicle for receiving 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.

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[1] Taanis 8b

[2] Zohar 2:221b

[3] Shmos R. 51:1

[4] Beitza 15b

[5] Tanchuma Matos 6

Tisa 5631 First Ma'amar

In this week's parsha God commands us to keep the Shabbos, "אך את שבתותי תשמורו ... לדעת כי אני ה' מקדשכם/Only keep My Shabbosim … to know that I am God Who sanctifies you." (Shmos 31:13) and a few pesukim later, "ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת לעשות את השבת לדורותם ברית עולם/The children of Israel will keep the Shabbos to make the Shabbos throughout their generations an eternal covenant." (Shmos 31:16)  The word שמור/keep connotes guarding.  What does the Torah mean when it tells us to "keep/guard" the Shabbos?  It cannot be understood literally because it is the Shabbos that "keeps/guards" us, not the other way around.  

In order to understand how we "guard" Shabbos, the Sfas Emes teaches us a deeper understanding of what Shabbos is.  The Sfas Emes explains elsewhere[1] that Shabbos can be defined as a state of Godly revelation.  This state occurs naturally on the seventh day of the week, the day we call Shabbos.  However, it is not bound only to that day.  In fact, Godliness permeates the Creation.  So, we can say that an aspect of Shabbos permeates the Creation.  We are not generally aware of this because it is hidden.  On Shabbos it is more revealed.

This hidden Godliness is alluded to by the word את in the pasuk, "את שבתותי תשמורו/Keep My Shabbosim."  This is because Chazal in many places understand the word את to include things that are subordinate to the main object of the pasuk.[2]  The main object of this pasuk is Shabbos.  The word את includes that aspect of Shabbos that is hidden in the Creation.  

It is this hidden holiness that the Torah enjoins us to guard.  How?  Our mission is to recognize and reveal the Godliness that is in everything.  Not only is this Godliness inherent in everything, it is the motive force within our very actions.  Our activities, although physical, have a spiritual component.  In fact, the spiritual component of our actions is really the main thing.  What is this spiritual component?  Everything that we do either brings us closer to God or distances us from Him.  Many times an action is neutral and it is our intent that makes all the difference.  Do we eat solely for the physical pleasure or do we eat to live in order to perform God's mitzvos?  The former hides the spiritual.  The latter reveals it.

The Sfas Emes teaches that when the purpose of our actions is to satisfy the will of God, we are acting for the sake of Shabbos which is the same as saying for the sake of revealing the hidden Godliness within our actions.  This is the meaning of the pasuk, "לעשות את השבת/to make the Shabbos."  Everything we do should be for the purpose of reaching that state of revelation that is called Shabbos.  In this way we "guard" Shabbos, keeping it vibrant within the Creation.

We learn this concept also from the word אך in the pasuk, "אך את שבתותי תשמורו/Only keep My Shabbosim."  Chazal[3] teach us that אך/Only connotes exclusion.  For example we find, the word אַךְ/only regarding purifying vessels that we receive from non-Jews, “אַךְ אֶת־הַזָּהָב וְאֶת־הַכָּסֶף .../only the gold and silver …” (Bamidbar 31:22)  From the word אַךְ/only we learn that the gold must be pure.  It must not have any rust on it.  אַךְ/Only tells us that only unsoiled gold can be purified.

So too, "אך/only" in "אך את שבתותי תשמורו/Only keep My Shabbosim" teaches us that we should see through the physical that hides the spiritual that is inherent in our actions and in everything.  We should see through to the pure Shabbos that is essentially spiritual.  When we do this, we will see holiness everywhere.

Chazal[4] teach us that God considers Shabbos His gift to us.  What is the gift?  If Shabbos is simply a cessation from work, then there is nothing that is being given.  The Sfas Emes explains that the gift is the ability to connect to the aspect of Shabbos that is within everything.  This connection is alluded to by the words at the end of the pasuk, "... לדעת כי אני ה' .../… to know that I am God …"  דעת/Knowledge, in the Torah connotes attachment, connection.  May we merit connecting to the spiritual, to the Godliness in the Creation. Amen!

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[1] Teitzei 5631 First Ma'amar

[2] Viz. Pesachim 22b, Rebbi Akiva teaches us that that we should be in awe of Torah scholars.  He learns this from the word את in the pasuk, "את ה' א-להיך תירא/Fear God, your Lord."

[3] Yalkut Shimoni 1:785

[4] Shabbos 10b