What It Means To Be A "Mentsch" (Parashat Emor)

"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not remove completely the corners of your field as you reap and you shall not gather the gleanings of your harvest; for the poor and the proselyte shall you leave them; I am Hashem, your G-d"

This week's parasha starts out discussing halachot of Kohanim.  It then quickly goes on to discuss sacrifices before eventually coming to talk about Three Festivals.  Crammed in the midst of all of this is the above quoted commandment to leave the corners of your field for the poor to eat.  At first glance, the juxtaposition of this commandment seems out of place.  After all, what does harvesting your field have to do with Kohanim, sacrifices and Festivals?

The answer: EVERYTHING!

The three topics covered in Emor - Kohanim, sacrifice and Festivals all share a common denomenator:  Holiness.  In fact, if you look deeper into the parasha, you will notice that it discusses how to regain a level of holiness if lost due to certain circumstances (i.e. - the daughter of a Kohain divorces and returns home).

Finally, as the parasha culminates with the mentioning of Shavuot we are given an additional commandment - that of leaving our field for the poor.  The Torah is giving us a profound message here - if you want to be holy, treat your brothers with love and compassion!  The fact that this commandment is mentioned among Kohanim, sacrifices and Festivals is not a mistake.  The contrary!!  It is a clear statement that one who cares for his brother is just as holy as the Kohain, the one who brings a sacrifice or the one who observes the Festivals.

I had the unfortunate privilege this week of paying a shiva call to the Ben-Zvi family.  While there, Dr. Ben-Zvi's daughter was describing a man of utmost love and compassion.  A man who's life was dedicated to helping others in any and every way he possibly could.  When I looked over this week's parasha, one particular story she told stood out:

She mentioned that while going through some of his things, the family found checks from patient's insurance companies for 11 cents and stated that, despite the obvious underpayment of these companies - Dr. Ben-Zvi still treated these patients because it wasn't about the money - it was about the person.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not remove completely the corners of your field.....for the poor and the proselyte shall you leave them.

Dr. Ben-Zvi seems to have emulated this pasuk completely!  He understood that just as important as the Kohanim and the Festivals are the poor and underprivileged.  Indeed, in understanding this, he attained a level of holiness.

Shabbat Shalom!

To Be Or Not To Be (Parashat Acharei Mot - Kedoshim)

I have always had major difficulty with the second pasuk in Parashat Kedoshim.  Hashem instructs Moshe to "Speak to the entire assembly of the Children of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for holy am I, Hashem, your G-d."  The specific phrasing of "speak to the entire assembly" is an indication to us that this particular commandment is one of great importance.  My issue, however, is that despite this commandment to be holy (which implies greatness within us) - Hashem then spends the rest of the parasha  listing commandments that should be obvious or natural to a "holy" nation such as ourselves.

We are told to revere our mother and father, not to steal, not to lie, not to gossip, etc.  Shouldn't all of this come naturally to us if we are so holy?  The answer, is no!

I must be honest, my question on this week's parasha is not entirely mine.  It is a question that is often presented to me by students ( I do, however, have the question myself this week).  They - very understandably - want to know why, if we are such a great nation, Hashem feels the need to tell us not to do certain things.  My answer to them is the answer to this week's parasha as well...

While we think it should come naturally to keep all of these commandments, the reality is that human nature is not to keep them!  Hashem created us with the potential to be holy, but He also created us as humans!!  That being the case, was is natural for us is to do what is best for us - not what is best.

For this reason, Hashem instructs Moshe this week to "speak to the entire assembly of the Children of Israel" - in other words, make sure everyone hears it - and to tell us that we must overcome our inclinations and be holy - because He, our G-d, is holy.

Shabbat Shalom!

Removing the Bad (Parashat Tazria-Metzora)

Six years ago on the morning of Shabbat Tazria-Metzora my wife and I were blessed with the birth of our oldest child.  This week's D'var Torah is in her honor.


In the beginning of this week's parasha we are commanded to circumcise every male when he reaches eight days old.  Medically speaking, the foreskin serves no beneficial purpose whatsoever.  In actuality, leaving the foreskin on can make a child more susceptible to infection.  With that said, I am left with two questions:
1 - If the foreskin is unnecessary (potentially detrimental) and Hashem was going to command us to cut it off, why not save everyone the headache (and cost of making a bris) by simply not creating us with it?
2 - Why the juxtaposition of Bris Milah in the midst of two parashiot that deal with purity and impurity?

As those who know me can confirm, I have a temper.  When I asked my students this morning if the appropriate response to my temper would be to live with it or overcome it, they chose the latter.  I then challenged them with the following argument "if Hashem created me with this temper, He obviously wants me to have it - why do I need to overcome it?" - they could not answer.

The answer to my question, is the answer to the parasha!  Hashem created us with a physical imperfection, a flaw - the foreskin.  He then commanded us to cut it off.  The reason He did this rather than simply not creating it was to teach us a lesson that just as He created us with physical flaws that we need to remove, so too He created us with character flaws that we need to remove - one should not simply claim "if this is how Hashem created me, it must be how He wants me to be."

Regarding the juxtaposition of Bris Milah in Tazria-Metzora, the answer is very similar.  At first, I couldn't understand why Hashem would place such a holy commandment among discussion of such impurity - until I started thinking about the purity!  Hashem teaches us in these parashiot that if a person sees a blemish on himself, he should not simply ignore it - rather, he should go to the Kohen and ask how to overcome it.  The same is true again for our flaws!

May Hashem bless us all with the siyata d'shemaya to recognize our flaws and the strength to overcome them.  In doing so, may we see the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash speedily in our days.

Shabbat Shalom!

Seeing the Good in the Bad (Parashat Shemini)

This weeks parasha starts out with a very strange schedule of events...

In the beginning of the parasha, Moshe instructs Aharon and B'nei Yisrael to bring an offering to Hashem - "for today Hashem appears to you."  The parasha then proceeds to list everything that Aharon does step-by-step inserting some variation of the phrase "as Hashem commanded him" several times along the way.

Finally, after completing the offering, Moshe and Aharon go to the entrance of the Ohel Moed, bless the people, and the glory of Hashem appeared to them.  "A fire went forth from before Hashem and consumed upon the Altar the burnt-offering and the fats; the people saw and sang glad song and fell upon their faces."

This was an extremely spiritual high-point for all of Klal Yisrael and everyone was immersed in celebration.  Suddenly, however, the mood changed...

In the midst of all the joy, two of Aharon's sons - Nadav and Avihu - each take a fire pan, put in them fire and incense, and bring before Hashem an "alien fire."  It is called this because, as the pasuk goes on to explain - Hashem had not commanded them to bring it.  In response, Hashem sends forth a fire which consumes them and they die.

Aharon, who is presumably devastated by the events, is given the following words of consolation from Moshe:

"Of this did Hashem speak, saying 'I will be sanctified through those who are nearest Me, thus I will be honored before the entire people'."

After hearing this, Aharon becomes silent.

Two questions stand out to me regarding all of this:
1- What did Nadav and Avihu do that was so bad?
2- Why was this pasuk consolation for Aharon?

The answer to the first question is a shorter one.  Though their intentions were just, Nadav and Avihu decided to take matters into their own hands and perform avodah that had not been commanded to them - that was wrong!  From here we can learn that, even if we mean well, it isn't our place create forms of serving Hashem that He did not give us.

The answer to the second question can be explained with the following story regarding a friend of mine who is a Rebbe in a Yeshiva and has been known to lovingly bully his students over the years:

A staff member was walking through the halls when he overheard a student crying in one of the classrooms.  He approached the student and asked why he was crying.  The student replied "Rabbi Ploni"
"Oh" chuckled the staff member.  "Let me guess, Rabbi Ploni beat you up (not literally)? 
"No", replied the student.  
"Did he make fun of you?"  
"No!"  
"Did he yell at you?"
"No!"
"I don't understand" said the staff member, "he didn't hit you, he didn't make fun of you, he didn't yell at you - what did he do that made you cry?"
"That's just it" replied the student.  "He didn't do any of that to me - he hates me!!"

You see, this student had observed that Rabbi Ploni  "picked on" the students whom he had a bond with.  When the Rabbi Ploni didn't pick on him, he assumed he lacked that bond and was terribly jealous.

This was Moshe's consolation to Aharon!!

He explained that Hashem had told him he would use those who were dearest to him as an example for Klal Yisrael.  Moshe told Aharon "don't be upset that Hashem punished your sons and took them - be proud!!".  Nadav and Avihu died as a tremendous Kiddush Hashem and upon hearing this explanation from Moshe, Aharon was no longer upset and fell silent.

May we all be zoche to receive punishements from Hashem - as receiving those punishments means He holds us dear to Him and may we all have the siyata d'shemaya to take a deeper look into our lives and - if we realize we are lacking punishments - let us strive to get closer to Hashem so that he will give them to us!!

Shabbat Shalom!

Giving Up The Glory (Parashat VaYikra)

If one were to take a closer look at the first word in this week's parasha, they would notice that the letter "aleph" at the end of the word VaYikra is written smaller than the rest of the letters.  This is the case in every Sefer Torah that has ever been written.

The mefarshim explain that, when Moshe was writing the word for the first time, he didn't want to write the aleph at all.  Moshe preferred that the pasuk read VaYikar Moshe - and he chanced upon Moshe.  His reasoning was that the lashon of "He called Moshe" indicates that Moshe was special - and Moshe wanted to avoid that.  Regardless, Hashem insisted that Moshe write the alpeh - but Moshe wrote it in a smaller font so as to indicate that he wasn't really worthy of the great honor being bestowed upon him.

There is an extremely profound lesson that Moshe is teaching us in this word.  So often we want to receive credit for the things that we do - we crave attention.  As an educator, I sometimes see students even doing bad things in order to get attention because they feel they aren't capable of getting positive attention and negative attention is better than no attention.  However, Moshe is showing us that we don't need the attention we are craving - life isn't about being in the spotlight.

Imagine if we didn't feel this need to be important.  We would never get angry because we felt that we weren't recognized for something we did.  That was how Moshe was - and it's who we should be!

My father, a"h was zoche in mastering this trait of humility.  In reality, he had plenty to brag about – he had worked his way from a tenement apartment on the Lower East Side to a superior education from Stuyvesant, NYU and Adelphi and had managed to build himself a loving family who did, and always will, adore him.  My father had ample reason to feel chashuv but, like Moshe, he preferred to keep it simple.

May we all be zoche to live a life of humility - may we desire only to be chanced upon and not need to be called.  In this z'chut, may we see the coming of Mashiach speedily in our days.  Amen.

Shabbat Shalom!

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall...(Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei)

"He made the Kiyyur (wash-basin for the Kohanim) and its pedestal of copper, with the mirrors of the women who congregated at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting"

Rashi comments on the above pasuk that the mirrors mentioned are those that the Jewish women would use when beautifying themselves.  He states that, initially, Moshe rejected the mirrors because he felt it was inappropriate to use an item meant for such purposes in as holy a place as the Mishkan.  Nonetheless, Hashem instructed Moshe to accept the mirrors saying they were "dearest to Him of all."  But why were they so dear to Him and, if they were, why specifically use them for this basin?

The midrash explains that one reason the Egyptians enslaved the Jewish men with such difficult labor was in an attempt to prevent them from procreating.  They had hoped that when the men got home they would be too exhausted to lay with their wives, thereby resulting in the ultimate extermination of the Jewish people.

The women, however, realized this and so - as Rashi explains - they would go out to the fields where the men were working and feed and wash their husbands.  They would then take out these copper mirrors and use them to entice their husbands by standing next to them and looking in the mirror saying "I am handsomer than you."  The men would become aroused and cohabit with their wives in that very place.  In essence, these mirrors helped save Klal Yisrael from extermination - that is why the are so dear to Hashem.

Rashi goes on to explain that the Kiyyur would also be used to provide the water that a woman accused of adultery by her husband (Sotah) would drink.  The reason it was made from these mirrors because the basin is meant to provide reassurance to the husband that his wife did not cheat on him - thereby resulting in a reaffirmed shalom bayit.

I must admit, Rashi's explanation of why the mirrors were used in the Kiyyur did not sit well with me.  Initially, I did not see the connection between the use of the mirrors in Egypt and the message they are supposed to carry in the Mishkan.  After giving it some thought, I came up with the following explanation:

When I teach Sotah to my students, I explain that - usually - a marriage that is "happy" doesn't result in an affair.  Rather, when a couple loses their flame is when one begins looking into other options.  That said, the Kiyyur is meant as a sign on how to not reach the point of adultery.  It is made with the mirrors to remind us of how they were used - in enticement and flirtation between the husband and wife.  The Kiyyur is telling us that as busy and exhausted as we may become, it is necessary to take the time to enjoy our spouses and their company or - Heaven Forbid - we may find ourselves needing to use its water for negative purposes instead.

Shabbat Shalom!

Follow the Leader (Parashat Ki Tisa)

"The people saw that Moshe delayed in descending the mountain, and the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, 'Rise up, make for us G-ds who will go before us, for this Moshe, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt - we do not know what became of him!'"

There are several troubling questions regarding the incident of the Golden Calf - many of which stem from the above pasuk.  One question, after all that B'nei Yisrael had witnessed from the time that Hashem lef them out of Egypt to this point - how could they turn their backs on Him and worship an idol??  The second question, what does Moshe's delay in descending the mountain have to do with their desire to worship said idol?  The answer to both questions is the same!

If we take a closer look at the pasuk, we see that there is no mention of Hashem in it - the people saw that Moshe delayed so they asked Aaron to make G-ds to represent them because Moshe seemed to have disappeared.  The pasuk didn't say that Hashem abandoned them, it said that Moshe abandoned them!

"Make G-ds who will go before us, for this Moshe...we do not know what became of him."  B'nei Yisrael wasn't looking for a G-d to "create" them - they were looking for a G-d to lead them - the way Moshe had been doing!

The commentaries explain that B'nei Yisrael didn't feel that they were capable of serving Hashem on their own - they needed a "go-between" to represent them.  That go-between was Moshe.  When they miscalculated his return and thought that Moshe had left them (the Satan presented them with an image of Moshe in heaven), they thought they had lost that go-between and would no longer be able to serve Hashem properly.  Therefore, they asked Aaron to make them "G-ds who would go before them" - who would represent them.

It's often hard for us to fathom the idea that we - as individuals - are capable of having our own relationship with Hashem.  Indeed, we don't need a go-between, we can speak to Him directly - and he will answer us!! B'nei Yisrael, too, could not fathom this relationship - that is why they panicked when Moshe didn't return and asked Aaron to build a G-d that would lead them.  You see, B'nei Yisrael wasn't turning their backs on Hashem.  The opposite, they wanted to serve Him!!  They just didn't think they could do it alone!!

May we all recognize the personal relationship we are fortunate to have with our creator and in doing so, may we come to serve Him properly!

Shabbat Shalom!