Fire: Holy and Unholy (10:1)
After what is undoubtedly the longest introduction in the Torah, the moment at which G-d’s presence would reside amongst the people finally arrived. The Sanctuary stood ready, the priests were consecrated, and the inaugural sacrifices had been offered. All that remained was for Moses and Aaron to enter into the Mishkan and bless the people. Subsequently, “G-d’s glory was then revealed.” ,
Just when we thought the narrative had reached closure, a terrifying scene takes place. Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, offer an unauthorized fire before G-d. Since playing with fire can be hazardous to your health, “Fire came forth from before G-d, and consumed them.”
Celebration turned to tragedy. The commentators offer many explanations for the harsh and exacting…
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Day or Night Person? (6:2)
Are you a day person or a night person? “That,” as Shakespeare would say, “is the question.” To be more exact, “That is the question in this week’s Biblical portion.”
At first glance, the portion does not seem to be talking about the human race at all, much less personalities. The entire focus of this week’s reading is on animals; be it bulls, sheep or goats. It is sacrifices, that the Torah is discussing, not people. However, in truth, G-d is less mindful of the animals than He is of the individuals who are bringing the creatures.
In fact, one of the major reasons for animal offerings, as expounded by the Ramban (12th century Spanish scholar), is that the person…
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Tzav/command (6:2)
Let me guess…you went Pesach shopping today…You hurt your back shlepping those 50 pound bags of potatoes…You met so many other Jews spending so much money, you’re wondering how much impact this will have on the U.S. economy….And you’re thinking, “No wonder matzoh is called the ‘Poor Man’s Bread’. By the time you finish acquiring the wine, meat, fruits and vegetables, you’re a poor man!” Without a doubt money fuels the economy. It also drives individuals. That explains why G-d forcefully commands that the oleh sacrfice be brought to the Temple. Unlike other offerings where the owners and/or the kohanim would receive a portion for their own personal consumption, the oleh was completely burnt on the altar. No edible portions…
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Chisaron Kis...no Cover (6:2)
The Midrash asks, “Why does the verse refer to the laws of the Olah (Burnt) offering as Torah? Perhaps one might say: When the Holy Temple stood, we were able to bring sacrifices and achieve atonement. But now when there is no Temple, how are we to achieve forgiveness? Says Hashem: If you will study the Torah (meaning the laws) of the Olah, I will consider it as if you had actually brought the sacrifice.”
The K’sav Sofer (son of the famous Chasam Sofer) explains that it is no coincidence that the Midrash chooses to derive this novelty - that learning the laws of an offering is equivalent to bringing one - specifically in regard to an Olah. Each korban…
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Personality Turnover :kabbalistic Lessons From Adar
A Jewish dog’s problem!
How do you break the kvetch syndrome?
“…the month that was reversed for them from grief to joy.” (Esther 9:22)
“When the month of Adar enters, we increase in joy.” (Talmud, Taanit 26b)
This year’s special offer: a 60-day program of outlook-modification.
Purim is a time when Jews had plenty to complain about. But they didn’t complain; they took four proactive steps.
1. They united; working together is critical.
2. They prayed for a miracle; appreciating Who’s really in charge.
3. They followed Mordechai; we need strong leadership.
4. Esther put a pragmatic plan in motion.
Each Adar, we’re offered that opportunity again. There’s much to complain about, but Adar is about joy. Joy means that…
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Dear Mr. Ehud Olmert (4:22)
Torah often conveys profound ideas by mere nuance. In describing the various sin offerings, brought for inadvertent wrongdoing, it lists different offenders; High Priest, Sanhedrin, (Supreme Court), Nasi (ruler), and an ordinary individual. While in three cases, the law is introduced by the Hebrew word (אם)“im-if,” for the ruler, Torah uses the word (אשר) “asher-when.” In other words, Torah perceives that a high priest, Sanhedrin, or an individual may err, but a Nasi probably will. Hence, the word “when he sins” and not “if”.
Nasi is the generic word for a ruler. It means the holder of political power. The nasi is not a priest serving in the Temple, nor is he a prophet, the mouthpiece of G-d. He is…
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Invest Right (pesach) (4:2)
“אשר לא תעשינה ’נפש כי תחטא בשגגה מכל מצות ה” The literal translation of this verse is, “If a person will inadvertently sin by doing any of the things that G-d commanded shall not be done… ” Although this straight-forward text is clean and unambiguous, that did not stop one of the great Chasidic masters of a century and a half ago to add another unique interpretation. According to him, the verse also means, “A person may sin when he does one of G-d’s commandments in a way that he should not have one it.”
While most people understand that one must atone for sins committed, this new perspective adds that one must sometimes ask forgiveness for mitzvot (good deeds)...
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The Beast Got S’micha (1:4)
Individuals have a way of creating their own lines of demarcation. A young man or woman might categorize their lives into two periods; “before leaving home for university versus after leaving home. ” For someone moving up the corporate ladder, the different stages could be, “The day one was an employee vs. the time one finally became the employer.”
In my personal scenario, B.C. has for a long time meant Before Coral Springs vs. C.E. standing for Coral Springs Engaged. / (Author’s note: It is my hope and belief that our new Synagogue will provide another milestone to be forever inscribed as B.C., Before Construction vs. C.E., Construction Ends.)
But to get back to my story: In the historic days…
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The Animal Within (1:2)
Does serving God mean that one has to sacrifice one’s life? And if not literally, is one obligated to obliterate their personality and become someone they’re not? With all this hoopla surrounding, for G-d’s sake, a movie, some Jews may be wondering if that is what it takes to really be passionate about religion. Thank G-d (according to the real One), NO! In fact, it’s anathema to the very fundamentals of Judaism. Don’t believe me? Check out the third book of the Bible called Vayikra (Leviticus) which provides the quintessential approach to how each of us can and should serve. At first, the Book hardly presents a serene picture of spiritual reverie. Indeed, its subject matter is more likely to…
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Actions Count (1:2)
The laws of sacrifices that dominate the early chapters of the book of Vayikra are among the hardest in the Torah to relate to - for it has been almost 2,000 years since the Temple was destroyed and the sacrificial system utilized. Still, Jewish thinkers have striven to understand the eternally relevant, spiritual significance of the animal offerings even if their physical use was no longer allowed.
Among the most profound insights is the one introduced by the first Rebbe of Lubavitch, which is based on an oddity in the second line of this week’s Torah section. If the verse were constructed according to the normal rules of grammar it would have read, “Adam mikem ki yakriv - When one…
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A ‘little’ Man? (1:1)
Several months ago I met a man. It was tragedy that brought us together. His wife had passed away and I conducted the funeral. Like so many encounters for a Rabbi in our society, this one proved to be painful and challenging. How does one eulogize an individual you’ve never met? How does one comfort the living if your lives have never crossed before?
After the Shiva, during which we gathered the required minyan each morning and night, I started to bring the husband to the synagogue. He had no transportation, but he did have to say Kaddish. Could I do less? It was my personal mitzvah and it made me proud. After all, did I venture to the spiritual…
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Lessons From Adar, Elephants and Monkeys:
Week #1 ,
1. Jews united; working together is critical.
2. They prayed for a miracle; appreciating Who’s really in charge.
3. They followed Mordechai; we need strong leadership.
4. Esther put a pragmatic plan in motion.
HINT #1: Joy comes from proactive participation, not armchair grumbling.
Talmud: On Purim a Jew is required to drink until one cannot distinguish between Cursed is Haman and Blessed is Mordechai.”
We must put our trust in G-d and avoid the anxiety that dominates the “in-between” state of the problem (Cursed is Haman) and the solution state (Blessed is Mordechai).
HINT #2: Joy comes from trust in G-d that in the end everything follows a plan and that He knows best.
All other…
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The Journey (40:38)
Textual nuances so slight, that they are easy to miss, should not contain fundamental clues as to the unique challenge of being a Jew. But this one does. First, the background: Exactly one year after the Jews had begun their preparations for the Exodus, the House of G-d was ready. There is an unmistakable parallel between Moses’ completion of the Mishkan (Sanctuary) and G-d finalizing His creation: “Moses finished (vayechal) the work (hamelachah)” vs. “G-d finished (vayechal) on the seventh day the work (melachto).”
The symbolism here expresses a revolution. In Genesis, G-d created a home for man. In Exodus, man created a home for G-d. This is G-d’s way of conferring dignity on mankind. Thus the entire narrative of…
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The New Tree of Life (40:34)
With the words, “And the glory of G-d filled the Tabernacle…throughout their journeys,” the building of the Sanctuary and the book of Exodus reach closure. In truth, the much larger narrative, the story of Adam’s fall from Grace in Genesis, is now also completed.
A key literary device in Torah is the chiasmus, a unit (verse, paragraph, or entire section) in which the second half is the mirror image of the first. The Biblical chiasmus should not be mistaken for mere creativity in storytelling. Instead, it is a supreme example of how substance dictates style. In this case, a chiasmus contains the basic principle of Biblical retributive justice: the rule of measure for measure (middah k’neged middah), or “As you…
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What’s New? and What’s News? (38:30)
Here’s some good news. If you happen to find that reading about the construction of the Tabernacle, an event that is more than 3300 years old just a trifle boring and irrelevant, you are perfectly normal. And if listing each and every single item in three dimensional detail along with the instructions on how to construct them makes you doze a little now and then, don’t rush off to see the Rabbi about scheduling those Bible Appreciation classes just yet. And if the exact repetition of all of the above is making you wonder not about your sanity, but the Divine Author’s…you’re still a good Jew…one that could use some more in-depth Jewish education, but a good Jew nonetheless.
In…
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Spiritual Accounting (38:24)
There are fifty chapters in the Book of Genesis. Of these, only one is devoted to the story of G-d creating the universe.
There are forty /chapters in the Book of Exodus. Only three of them deal with the Revelation at Sinai where a group of slaves metamorphosed into the Chosen Nation. In contrast, thirteen chapters, almost one third of the Torah’s second book, are dedicated to discussing the donations, design, and construction of the desert Sanctuary.
From the dimensions of the acacia wood to the specific colors of the tapestry, every detail is elaborated upon in full. Perhaps the reason is because the Sanctuary was more than a “House of worship,” it was the seat of G-d’s manifest presence…
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More Than a Faucet (38:22)
MORE THAN A FAUCET (38:22)
Once upon a time, there lived a people with no land, though their need for a home was no less than those of other nations. Thus it came to pass that their leader, Moses, received instructions from on High to build a Sanctuary that would accompany the Jews on their desert wanderings. The chief architect of this travelling Temple was amazingly enough a young lad named Betzalel Ben Uri, who himself had just become Bar Mitzvah. The Torah itself attests to the professional capability and integrity of this child/man when it states that the son of Uri, “did everything that Hashem commanded Moses.” Our Sages however wonder why the phrase commending the architect does not…
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Jewish Blood Is Vital (38:21)
All around the world, Jewish communities in Europe, South America, Australia and in our very own Sunshine State will be heading to their synagogues this Shabbat…and shake their heads in puzzlement about the situation in Israel. Questions such as, “What can we do?” to “What should we do?” are heard in between the Aliyos to the Torah.
Working together is not only pragmatic in order to accomplish a monumental task, it is a necessary state of mind if we are to achieve the purpose of why G-d placed us on this world. Responsibility is a basic human need, just like food or oxygen.
We may choose to ignore our inner call. Three or four generations ago, our grandparents could not…
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Counting and Accounting (38:21)
I know it seems like only yesterday that we were dancing the Hakafos on Simchas Torah and beginning afresh the story of Genesis. Nevertheless, here we are already completing the second book of Exodus. The opening two Biblical volumes differ in that the first deals with the creation of a universe, while the second charts the creation of a nation.
“Shmos,” as the second book is referred to by Jews, begins and ends with a counting. Concerning its opening passage, “These are the names…” the commentary Rashi states, “Even though G-d had already counted the Jews during their lifetime by their names, He counted them again to make known his love for them.”
Turning to the final pages of Exodus,...
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The Beauty in Holiness (35:30)
“The L-rd has chosen Betzalel…filled him with the spirit of G-d, with wisdom, understanding and knowledge in all kinds of crafts; to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship.” (Ex. 35: 30-33)
This is not the first time we’ve encountered the figure of Betzalel. When first introduced, we discovered he was but a thirteen year old lad. But his pedigree was unparalleled. His grandfather was none other than Chur, the fellow who gave up his life trying to stop the construction of the Golden Calf. His great-grandmother Miriam, another rebel, defied the murderous Pharaoh’s order of wholesale infanticide. True,...
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He Demands...effort (35:5)
The Midrash relates that the tribal princes, underestimating the people’s generosity, discovered the only items left to contribute were the precious gems needed for the High Priest’s breastplate. These gems, the Talmud explains, fell from Heaven along with the princes’ portion of Manna. Thus, the monetary value of the princes’ gifts may have surpassed the other offerings, yet they were still taken to task. It’s not the cost of the donation that counts, as G-d does not need our money, only our effort. Therefore, the princes’ offering, which was unearned, did not leave G-d very impressed.
It was for this reason that all the gifts had to be, “Asher yidvenu libo - according to a person’s generosity.” Had the people…
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