Thursday, March 27, 2014

Dvar Torah for Parshas Tazria/Hachodesh

       Parshas Tazria discusses the concept of tzaraas, poorly translated in English as leprosy. Tzaraas was the miracle disease that only appeared when a person spoke lashon hara. Tzaraas could appear on buildings, clothing, or a person’s skin. When someone thought they had tzaraas, they would go to the Kohen who would then determine if this spot was actually tzaraas or not. The fact that these lesions appeared on inanimate objects as well as people, and the fact that they appeared instantaneously was proof to the fact that they were not a common disease, but rather a direct sign from Hashem for this person to correct their speech habits.
       There is a famous Gemarah (Nedarim 64b) that says there are four living people who are comparable to dead people. One of those four is a metzorah, a person who has tzaraas. The Sichos Mussar explains that you might think the reason a metzorah is compared to a dead person is that because of all the pain and suffering he goes through, he would rather be dead. However, he proves that this is simply not true. The first proof is from the pasuk in Tehillim, “יסר יסרני יה ולמות לא נתנני“God has chastised me exceedingly, but He has not given me over for death” (Tehillim 118:18). We see clearly that with all the pain that Dovid HaMelech was put through, it was worth it for him as long as he remained alive.
       Another proof to this is the famous Gemarah (Sotah 11a) that says when Paroh asked his advisors if he should enslave the Jews, one of his advisors, Iyov (Job), did not say anything and was punished with all sorts of troubles, which are well documented in Sefer Iyov. Another of his advisors, Bilaam, told Paroh to enslave the Jews and was punished by Hashem by being killed later on. Obviously, Bilaam’s punishment had to be worse than Iyov’s, so we see clearly that death is a worse punishment than suffering.
       Therefore, says the Sichos Mussar, the reason why a metzorah is comparable to a dead person must be because of another law concerning people with tzaraas. When a person was confirmed to have tzaraas, he was forced to leave the camp (or city after Bnei Yisrael entered Eretz Yisrael) and live by himself for a week. The fact that this person was alone, kept away from people, is how he is most comparable to a dead person. This punishment comes מידה כנגד מידה, measure for measure of his crime. Tzaraas is the punishment for speaking lashon hara, which causes rifts between people. So too this person also develops a rift, and is kept away from the nation until he can do teshuvah.
       From the greatness of this punishment, we can see the greatness of the sin. The first person recorded in the Torah to have tzaraas was Miriam, as a result of her saying lashon hara about her brother, Moshe (See Bamidbar 12). The Rambam analyzes this story. Miriam spoke about her brother, whom she was greater than, whom she raised, whom she placed herself into danger in order to save, did not even say anything disparaging about him but rather equated him with all the other prophets who were around at the time, what she said it didn’t even bother Moshe, and still she got tzaraas! It is clear that lashon hara is a very serious sin that we must be careful to avoid.
       However, from the punishment, we also see how much Hashem loves us. The reason Hashem punishes measure for measure of the sin is in order for us to be able to make the connection between the sin and the punsihement easier and figure out what we did wrong. By tzaraas, first it appears on the person’s house, then on their clothing, and only then, if they still haven’t repented, does it appear on their skin. While tzaraas on the skin can be any number of medical conditions, tzaraas appearing on a house or a piece of clothing is obviously unnatural. Usually, Hashem does not like to take the world out of its normal order, He prefers to allow nature to operate by its’ own laws (under His supervision of course). The fact that He is willing to break the rules of nature in order to warn a person about their lashon hara, something that He does not do by every sin, is a sure sign of his desire for us, His children, to speak only good about each other. With such a show of affection, how can we refuse?


Shabbat Shalom!



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Thursday, March 20, 2014

Dvar Torah for Parshas Shemini

       During the first week the Mishkan was in use, Moshe performed all the work that was done. At the end of that week, Aharon and his sons, as the Kohanim, took over those duties for the rest of time. It was a time of tremendous celebration for the entire nation as everyone was excited about the Mishkan’s consecration. But amid all this, tragedy struck as Nadav and Avihu, the two eldest sons of Aharon and two of the greatest people alive in that generation, died while bringing an unauthorized korban. This was an enormous blow not just to Aharon and his family, but to the entire nation as well.    
       Understandably, Aharon was very upset at the death of his sons. The pesukim tell us how Moshe consoled him. “ויאמר משה אל אהרן הוא אשר דבר יהוה לאמר בקרבי אקדש ועל פני כל העם אכבד וידם אהרן “And Moshe said to Aharon, ‘This is what Hashem spoke, (when He said), ‘I will be sanctified through those near to me, and before all the people I will be glorified’. And Aharon was silent.” (Vayikra 10:3). Rashi explains that in Sefer Shemos (29:43), Hashem told Moshe that the sanctity of the Mishkan would shown to Bnei Yisrael through the death of a holy person. The idea was that the nation should realize that not everyone was on such a great level that they were worthy of entering and serving in the Mishkan. Through the death of a holy person in the Mishkan, the nation could infer that if such a holy person did not deserve to enter the Mishkan, then neither did they. Now that this event had occurred, it was a clear proof that Aharon’s sons were tzaddikim. With this idea, Aharon was consoled.
       This idea of tzaddikim needing to die to prove this point is discussed in the various commentaries. The question arises, if Nadav and Avihu were the ones selected to prove this point, does that mean they were even greater than Moshe and Aharon? How come Moshe and Aharon were not chosen to establish this idea?  
       The Ohr HaChaim explains that really Moshe and Aharon were on a much higher level than everyone, including Nadav and Avihu. However, the point Hashem was trying to make was to the nation as a whole, that they should realize there were certain boundaries set up between them and the holiness of the Mishkan. If Moshe or Aharon had been the “sacrifice”, Bnei Yisrael would not have connected this idea to themselves, instead they would have assumed that this had no connection to the Mishkan, but rather, on their otherworldly plane beyond our comprehension, Moshe and Aharon had messed up. However, on the level that the nation stood, they had nothing to fear. So Hashem chose Nadav and Avihu, two great people who were nonetheless closer to the level of the nation, to make his point.
       Rashi explains exactly the opposite. By choosing Nadav and Avihu, Hashem was showing that they were even greater than Moshe and Aharon! The Kli Yakar explains; in order to really impress upon Bnei Yisrael the severity of overstepping the bounds of His holiness, Hashem had to show how even the greatest people would be held accountable for this. Using an average or even an above-average person would not have had the same affect.
       Either way you slice it, the deaths of Nadav and Avihu were a tremendous Kiddush Hashem. Through their deaths, Bnei Yisrael were taught to treat holy places with reverence, thereby saving them from their own potential deaths as well as preventing many occurrences of tremendous desecrations of Hashem’s name. Chazal teach us how only the greatest people have the chance to give up their lives to make a Kiddush Hashem. The fact that Aharon’s sons were given this opportunity speaks to their greatness, regardless of what level they may have been on.


Shabbat Shalom!   

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Sunday, March 16, 2014

Dvar Torah for Purim

AIMeM would like to thank Shmuel Birnbaum for submitting this Dvar Torah.
      
       With all the traditions that we have on Purim, the one that is most discussed nowadays is the halacha of, “חייב אינש לבסומי בפוריא עד דלא ידע בין ארור המן לברוך מרדכי “A person is obligated to become intoxicated on Purim until he does not know the difference between ‘Blessed is Mordechai’ and “Cursed is Haman”. (Shulchan Aruch OC 695:2) This obligation seems very out of character for our upright, respectable Jewish religion. We are Jews, representatives of Hashem on this Earth, what explanation is there for requiring us to get drunk on Purim? Secondly, what is it about Purim that we are required to get drunk when no other holiday has this same obligation? Regardless of what your feelings may be about getting drunk, this obligation requires good discussion as it is the halacha.
       Reb Yisrael Salanter explains that the miracle of Purim is different than the miracles of other holidays. Take Chanukah as an example, the decree on Chanukah was that Jews were not allowed to learn Torah and do mitzvos, but there was no decree to actually kill the Jews. So we see the decree was specifically against the spiritual side of the Jewish People. Therefore, on Chanukah, we celebrate the spiritual aspect of the Jewish People. On Purim, however, Haman did not care about the Jews learning Torah, he simply wanted to eradicate the Jewish Nation from the face of the Earth. So on Purim, the miracle was that the physical side of the Jewish People was saved. Therefore, we have a specific mitzvah to celebrate the physical aspects of our lives that we do not have on any other holiday.
       As Jews, what is our purpose in this world? A simple answer to a very deep and complicated question is to increase spirituality in this world. We do this using both the physical and spiritual aspects of our existence. In the Purim story, the danger was only coming against the physical aspect of our existence, yet, Hashem saved us. We see from here that the physical body of a Jew by itself is enough to warrant salvation, even without any spiritual threat. When we say the physical aspect of our existence was in danger, we are separating our mental capacities from our physical bodies. Our mental capacities are what allow our spiritual side to take flight, so we cannot put them together with our physical capabilities. When we say the “physical aspect” of our existence, we mean the body by itself with nothing else, not even higher brain functions. Therefore, explains Reb Yisrael Salanter, we are obligated to get drunk on Purim and throw away our mental control of ourselves, to show how even just that side of us by itself is holy. We want to show Hashem how we recognize that all aspects of our existence are holy, even just this physical shell.
       This license to drink does not allow us to act crazily and go completely out of control. On the contrary, those of us who have seen tzaddikim get drunk on Purim would even call it a privilege to have seen how they act while drunk! When a person drinks the right way, they do not become a mindless shell, but rather they are stripped down to their core which is them putting complete trusting Hashem and realizing how everything is in Hashem’s hands. Drinking takes away their normal human feelings of self-control and makes them wake up to this reality. Without this accomplishment, the purpose in being drunk is extremely weak.
       There are many stories told how (for whatever reason,) the graves of great rabbis were opened many years after their deaths and their bodies were found to still be in good condition, not decomposed even after years in the grave. Based on what we have said, we can understand how this unnatural event can occur. Our spiritual self, our neshama, never decomposes. A spiritual “being” is everlasting. These great people worked on themselves until their physical bodies were spiritual as well, therefore, they did not decompose after many years. Spirituality does not rot! Even if we may not reach the level of these great people, it does give us the responsibility to realize that all parts of ourselves are holy and must be treated as such.
       Let us take this lesson for Purim, understand that both our physical and spiritual sides need to be cultivated. While we might think that it is only our spiritual side that can benefit from recognizing Hashem, what happens when a holiday like Purim comes and Hashem cannot be recognized? His role in the Purim miracle is hidden and cannot be seen at all! So today and tomorrow (for those in Yerushalayim, Shushan, and Teveria), let us focus on using our physical side to recognize Hashem. Since both sides of us come from Him, there is no reason why they cannot both be used to get close to Him.

A Freilechen Purim!


Shmuel Birnbaum lived in Chicago, Il. till making Aliyah with his family over fifteen years ago. He currently studies in Mirrer Yeshiva in Yerushalayim where he lives with his family. He is a first-time contributor to AIMeM.  


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Thursday, March 13, 2014

Dvar Torah for Parshas Zachor (Prep for Purim)

       In preparation for Purim, this Shabbos we read Parshas Zachor, which commands us to remember the story of how Amalek came to battle with Bnei Yisrael in the desert and how we must wipe out the nation of Amalek from the face of the Earth. The Haftorah also talks about a battle with Amalek, a story from Sefer Shmuel when Shaul nearly wiped out the entire nation of Amalek. Haman was a descendant of Amalek so before Purim we read passages that deal with the defeat of his people. However, there is another lesson that we learn from both these stories in how to deal with evil.
       The story in Sefer Shmuel when Shaul destroys Amalek does not have a happy ending. Shmuel told Shaul that Hashem had commanded him to completely wipe out the nation of Amalek. He also told him that Shaul should wait for him to come back after the war was concluded and that they would bring korbanos in thanks to Hashem together. Shaul, for reasons we will discuss, did not kill Agag, the king of Amalek, immediately. He instead waited to kill him later on. He also began bringing korbanos before Shmuel arrived. Because Shaul did not listen to what Shmuel told him, Hashem decided that Shaul could no longer be king, and Shmuel informs Shaul that his dynasty will end with him, his son will not be king. The Gemarah in Yoma (22b) asks, why was Shaul was punished for his sin while we see other figures, such as Dovid Hamelech--who ended up taking over for Shaul, also sin and not be punished in the same damaging way?
       “ויאמר שמואל הלוא אם קטן אתה בעיניך ראש שבטי ישראל אתה וימשחך יהוה למלך על ישראל  ולמה לא שמעת בקול יהוה“Shmuel said, ‘Is this not so?—Though you may be small in your own eyes, you are the head of the tribes of Yisrael; and Hashem has anointed you to be king over Yisrael…Why did you not obey the voice of Hashem?” (Shmuel I 15: 17, 19) Shmuel’s main complaint against Shaul was that he made himself “small”, meaning, unimportant. An earlier pasuk explains that Shaul allowed the nation to convince him to take pity on Agag and let him live for the time being. Even though humility is an extremely admirable trait (Moshe Rabbeinu was praised as being the most humble man to ever live), even a good trait in its wrong place can be a bad one.
      No trait is said to be either a bad or a good one in Judaism. For example, jealousy is mentioned in Pirkei Avos (4:21) as being one of three things that remove a person from this world. On the other hand, the Gemarah in Baba Basra (21a) says that jealousy among scholars will result in advances in knowledge. So it does not matter what the trait is, in Judaism we believe it is all about how the person uses that trait. If used properly, any trait can be a good one.       
        For a king, humility is a terrible trait. A king needs to be able to make decisions without worrying about what people will say. He cannot focus on trying to protect everyone’s feelings and not make a big deal out of himself, he’s the King! He’s the one responsible! Because of his misplaced humility, Shaul could not continue as king. This is different from someone like Dovid, that even though he sinned, they did not come as a result of his being a poor leader.
      
       The Sichos Mussar suggests that Shaul panicked which led him to using his trait of humility poorly and to his sinning. In both mistakes that he made, with Agag and the korbanos, Shaul did not think everything through, instead he reacted to what the crowd was telling him, and ended up going against the word of Hashem.  In the times of the Megillah, however, we see that Mordechai did not even tremble when Haman walked by at a time when everyone feared Haman. Apparently, all instances of Amalek can have that affect.
       Now to Parshas Zachor. Reb Levi Yitzchak Mi’Berditchev in his sefer, Kedushas Levi, explains that our obligation to destroy Amalek does not end with their physical destruction. Amalek is not only a people, but ‘Amalek’ is an idea. Each of us has a little bit of this ‘Amalek’ inside of us that influences us towards evil. Our job is to eradicate this piece from within us. The medrash (Bereishis Rabbah 65:20) explains that the strength of Am Yisrael is through our mouths, through learning Torah and davening to Hashem. As long as we hold onto this power, we can hope to destroy Amalek. If we were to let go of it though, there is no way to defeat this instinct.
       Even though physically Amalek is no longer around, conceptually, it still remains. Through this extended Purim weekend (Thursday through Monday), let us focus on eradicating Amalek from within us. All the mitzvos we perform, all the davening we do, it should all be with the focus of removing that piece of Amalek contained within us. Accomplishing this is the true purpose of Purim.


Shabbat Shalom and A Freilechen Purim!  





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Thursday, March 6, 2014

Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayikra

       Sefer Vayikra deals with the laws of korbanos and those who are obligated to bring them. As we don’t have the Mishkan or the Beis Hamikdash today, these halachos seem irrelevant and unnecessary for us to study. Why then do we continue to read these parshiyos and why do so many people spend so much time studying and reviewing these halachos? Perhaps if we understood better the reason for korbanos we could understand why these laws are still studied.
       The obvious question about korbanos is how does slaughtering an animal and burning it on the mizbe’ach help us? It’s not as if Hashem eats it, He doesn’t need food to “survive”. So why do we bring them? The Rosh explains that this is another example of how Hashem brings the cure before the disease hits. As it says in Koheles, “אין צדיק בארץ אשר יעשה טוב ולא יחטא“There is no righteous person in the land who does only good and does not sin” (Koheles 7:20). At some point or other in their life, a person will sin. And regardless of that person’s spiritual standing and the size of the sin they commit, their soul will be “damaged” in some way. If there were no way of repenting and erasing the record of that sin, a person would have no reason not to continue sinning since there would be no way to get back to a higher state.
       Hashem gave us this incredible gift of Teshuvah that allows us to cast off our sins and start again as if nothing happened. A parable is given that it’s like when a person gets a stain on their clothing. If there were no way of getting the stain out, the person would either throw out the garment or continue to get it dirty since it wouldn’t matter anyway to keep it clean. However, when a person has the ability to clean the garment, they will continue to watch over it so it does not get any harder to clean.
       This is the purpose of korbanos. Korbanos are the tool we use to personify our repentance; in place of sacrificing ourselves for our sins, we use animals instead. The exact reasons for and the background behind our method of korbanos and why this exact way is the way we do it is something we will discuss at a different time. (Perhaps onour Nation’s Wisdom blog.) The important thing to know is that we don’t bring korbanos for Hashem at all! They are for us, acting as our “cure” before the disease of sin.
       Perhaps now we can offer an answer for our original question, why do we spend so much time studying korbanos, a subject that is not even applicable today? First off all, it is important to note that any subject of Torah is important and warrants study in of itself simply because it comes from Hashem. A thorough study shows how even seemingly the most inapplicable topics contain knowledge that is important to know and help shape halacha even in modern times.
       The second answer is that we hope and pray that soon these halachos will be applicable once again. When Mashiach comes and the Beis Hamikdash is rebuilt, we will start bringing korbanos immediately, and what will we do if no one knows what to do! Therefore, we study these laws in anticipation of this day when the amazing opportunities of korbanos are again pertinent.   

Shabbat Shalom!



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