Fwd: Parshas Shemini

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem, R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben Harav Zev Yehuda, Zev Yehuda ben R' Shmuel Mordechai, Avraham ben R' Yitzchok Zev, R' Dovid Meir ben R' Shmuel...

In perek tes posuk chaf gimmel the posuk says "Vayavo Moshe v'Ahron el ohel moed vayeitzu vayivarchu es ha'am vayeira kivod Hashem el kal ha'am" "Moshe and Ahron came to the Ohel Moed and they went out and blessed the nation, and the glory of Hashem appeared to the entire nation.

One of Rashi's pshatim on why Moshe and Ahron went into the Ohel Moed to daven at this point was because Ahron brought all the karbanos the Moshe told him to bring and did all the different things he was commanded, and the shechina did not appear. Ahron was in pain and said "I know why the Shechina didn't appear, it is because Hashem is upset with me and it is because of me that He did not come. Following this he turned to Moshe and said " Moshe my brother you did this to me! You told me to do all that I've done and now I've been embarrassed becuase the shechina didn't appear. Moshe immediately went with Ahron in to the Ohel Moed and they davened to Hashem and the Shechina appeared to all of Klal Yisroel.

 The Rosh Yeshiva explains that it seems from what Rashi is saying that had Ahron never had a taayna on Moshe, Moshe would not have gone with him into the Ohel Moed to daven and ask for Hashems's mercy. Even though Moshe was a tremendous baal chessed and probably did not want his brother to be in pain he would not have taken the time to go into the Ohel Moed to help ease Ahron's pain especially because he had so many important and holy things to take care of. Only after Ahron turned to him with blame did he immediately try to remove the embarrassment that he caused Ahron.

However, if we delve into the matter there seems to be something that is hard to understand. What was Ahron's taayna on Moshe? Moshe was giving over the commandment that Hashem had told him to give over. Its pashut that Ahron didn't think Moshe was making it up. Somehow his frustration and embarrassment made him have a taayna on Moshe but it was wrongly placed. The Rosh Yeshiva explains that it must be that even though Moshe was an ones and Ahron's pain truly was not his fault, however sof kal sof he casued the embarrassment and therefore he was michuyav to fix the problem. That is why he had to immediately drop everything and daven with Ahron.

We can see from here the tremendous achrayus we are taking upon ourselves when we cause pain on other people. Moshe was held accountable for the pain he caused accidentally to his brother. We see how far we should go to be careful not to pain people close to us and learn to be aware when we do casue pain so that we can help rectify the situation...
Good Shabbos          

Parshas Tzav

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem. R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben Harav Zev Yehuda, Zev Yehuda ben R' Shmuel Mordechai, Avraham ben R' Yitzchak Zev, R' Dovid Meir ben R' shmuel..

In perek ches posuk lamud vav the posuk says "Va'yaas Aharon uvanav eis kal hadvarim asher tziva Hashem b'yad Moshe" "And Ahron and his sons carried out all the matters that Hashem commanded through Moshe"

Rashi explains that the posuk is coming to give praise to Ahron and his sons that they did not change one iota of what they were commanded. The Gur Aryeh explains that the reason why this was such a praise was because there were so many different rules and parts to the avoda and they did not make not even one mistake.

However the Gur Aryeh also brings down the Toras Kohanim's pshat as he understood it. The Toras Kohanim explains that the praise to Ahron and his sons was the fact that they fulfilled all the various parts of the avoda with the same simcha after hearing it from Moshe as they would have had they heard it from Hashem. He explains that this a tremendous feat because the way of the world is to not do things so happily when someone else tells us to do it. Even when we were about to do something and then we are commanded to do it, we suddenly begin to have second thoughts. Yet Ahron was able to fulfill the avoda one hundred percent b'simcha as if Hashem had commanded him directly.

Rabbi Ringelheim explained that this can teach us a tremendous lesson. We are dealing with Moshe and Ahron, two tremendous human beings. Furthermore we are talking about the rules of the Kehuna, the job that was totally Ahrons. This was Ahron's own special job that Moshe had no hand it, yet it's a shvach for him that he could have total simcha even though Moshe told him what to do.

Many times we try to guide people in the direction that we believe they should be going. Sometimes we may not even realize that our loving push is actually causing harm and being detrimental. Obviously the correct approach is not to just allow the people we wish to guide to what they want. We should guide them but it shouldn't be forceful, as if they are being commanded and forced to do what we want them to.

On the other hand however when we are the recipients we should work on being able to reach the level where being told what to do does not cause us to have second thoughts just as Ahron Hakohen had no problem being commanded..
Good Shabbos and Affreilichin Purim!

   

Parshas Vayikra

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem, R' Boruch Moshe Aryeh ben R' Zev Yehuda, Zev Yehuda ben R' Shmuel Mordechai, Avraham ben R' Yitzchak Zev, R Dovid Meer ben Harav Shmuel....

In perek beis posuk yud gimmel the posuk says "V'chal karban minchascha bamelach timlach v'lo tashbis melach bris Elokecha mei'al minchasecha al kal karbancha takriv melach." "You shall salt all your mincha offerings with salt, you may not discontinue the salt of your God's covenant from upon your mincha; on all your karbanos you shall bring salt."

The Daas Zikeinim says that the reason why salt is brought with a karban is because it is something that lasts forever and it will teach the one bringing the karban that karbanos are forever. They are a means of getting a kapara for sins. Karbanos are for man and not for Hashem's needs because Hashem does not eat or drink.
The Daas Zikeinim continues that when a man sins and brings the salted Karban and it atones for his sin, he will understand that he is clean and it will help him stay away from dirtying himself with more aveiros. Normally when someone does an averia for the first time it may be difficult and uncomfortable but after time it becomes that its "na'ases lo kiheter" as if it was allowed, but bringing the karban cleans the slate.

The Daas Zikeinim brings down a mashal that a man wearing dirty clothing does not care when he gets a some more dirt on his clothing, however if he was dressed all fancy and was all clean he would be super careful not to get dirty.

My Rebbe Rabbi Kaufman explained, that if someone were to ask a fellow bringing a karban why he was bringing it, the response would most likely be as a kapara, and not because Hashem likes lamb. Yet the addition of the everlasting mineral,salt, somehow raises the level of understanding that Karbanos are around forever and are here to help us receive a kapara. However the chiddush is a lot greater. The Daas Zikeinim continued that bringing the karban with the salt will be the difference maker between doing the aveira again or holding back. If you understand that the karban was a kapara then you will feel that your "beged is clean" and you will be careful to try to keep it that way.

The power of a negative self image is tremendous not having the salt would be able to cause someone to feel " what's the point I'm already a bum why bother refraining from this aveira.

However the Daas Zikeinim ends off that the reason why Hashem gave so many Mitzvos was because Hashem wanted to give Klal Yisroel tons of zechusim. Hashem gave us all the mitzvos "gufa" to help us understand how full of zechusim we are. We are all walking around with clean bigadim.

The perception that we have of ourselves plays a tremendous role in the people we will be. Negative self image can cause unimaginable destruction. If we understand our gadlus and the fact that we are filled with so many zechusim from all the great things we do, we will be able to realize that our begadim are truly clean and we will be able to grow to even greater heights.....
Good Shabbos.

Parshas Pekudei

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem, R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben R' Zev Yehuda, Zev Yehuda ben R' Shmuel Mordechai, Avraham ben R' Yitzchak Zev, R' Dovid Meir ben R' Shmuel.....

In perek lamud tes posuk lamud gimmel the posuk says "Vayaviu es hamishkan el Moshe, es ha'ohel v'es kal keilav, k'rasav, k'rashav,b'richav v'amudav, va'adanav." "And they brought the Mishkan to Moshe, the tent and its keilim, its hooks, its beams, its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets."

Rashi explains that they brought the Mishkan to Moshe because they were unable to erect it. Moshe had done no other work in the construction of the Mishkan so Hashem left the actual building to him. The reason they could not erect it says Rashi is because the beams were too heavy for them to set upright.

The Medrash Tanchuma explains, that the reason why everyone else was unable to erect it was because Moshe Rabeinu was in pain that he did not partake in the construction of the Mishkan. Hashem saw that Moshe was in pain and said that because of his pain Hashem will make it that noone else can erect it and Moshe will have a part in the construction.

The Rosh Yeshiva ztl sheds some light on the  Medrash and the greatness of Moshe Rabeinu's feelings of pain. Most probably Moshe wasn't just busy hanging out when the Mishkan was being created, he wasn't just chilling. He was probably busy doing Mitzvos, and not just any mitzvos, mitzvos that could only be done by Moshe Rabeinu, by the manhig of Klal Yisroel. Yet with all that he was in pain that he could not partake in the tremendous Mitzva of building the Mishkan. His pain was so great that Hashem stepped in with nisim to make it that no man besides Moshe would be able to erect the Mishkan.

We see from here the tremendous love that Moshe Rabeinu had for Mitzvos, and how we can learn from him to appreciate the greatness of each and every Mitzva...
Good Shabbos