Close To Torah

ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש שבת שבתון לה’ כל העשה בו מלאכה יומת – Kodesh is given to you. How do you get kedushah only by working six days and the seventh day shall be for you kodesh. It isn’t kodesh just by being sanctified itself, rather through the work of the week can you create the kedushah of Shabbos. Shabbos is not an absence of work but an active state of not working. There is a difference between not working and taking a break. Not working is when you are supposed to work and you choose not to. Taking a break is a time set aside for rejuvenation. Can you have a break if you don’t work? It isn’t only that you cannot have a break without working but the contrast between the two gives more meaning to each. That is kedushah. Kedushah is taking the mere mundane and elevating it by using it for a purpose beyond the ordinary. While we may seem to exist primarily in the mundane world, we are really well beyond a realm of constriction and boundaries. The vast plains of toil in the physical world comprise the corridor to a great existence. The usage of this world is in order that we may be able to do the will of the Almighty in its glory. The greater purpose of our lives is revealed through the lens of Shabbos. Shabbos is the gift that makes everything have a purpose. It is a glimpse to the future which had been the past.

Why is it that the desecration of Shabbos is punishable by death? Perhaps an understanding of this idea is because the purpose of the weekdays are to bring out the Shabbos. Their whole purpose is to create Shabbos. By desecrating the Shabbos you are undoing the reason for the week all together therefore you have taken away your life in that world. That is of course true in the positive as well. When you keep Shabbos it is as though you have given purpose to life once again.

Why is Shabbos the first aspect of this parshah which is specifically directed at the congregation of the Jewish people? The Rokaiach gives a very fundamental answer to this question which seems to be based on the midrash brought in the Yalkut Shimoni. He says for six days we work and are involved in our work, but on Shabbos we must only be involved in the learning of Torah. Shabbos is the time given to be fully immersed in the learning of Torah which will enable the overall observance of mitzvos. It seems from the yalkut that the role of the learning on Shabbos is in order to ensure that the people will keep the mitzvos.

The major subject of this parshah is the tabernacle therefore there must be a reason why the parshah begins with Shabbos. It is well known that the laws of Shabbos are derived from the building of the tabernacle. That means that there is an inherit connection between the building of the tabernacle and the sanctity of Shabbos. The Sages learn from the pasuk אלה הדברים the thirty-nine different labors prohibited on Shabbos. אלה is gematriah thirty-six, דברים which is plural adds another two and the ה adds another one resulting in thirty-nine. Therefore the prohibited acts on Shabbos are enumerated from the pasuk that begins our parshah.

Shabbos is an אות and a ברית. An ose means it is a sign, a bris means a binding relationship. Ose which also literally means a letter is the formation of the thought that is represented in that letter. There are twenty-two different ways of expressing thought in the Torah and each one of those letters contain every single thought. Shabbos is one of the few sets of laws that are learned from gematriah. Perhaps an explanation is because the idea of gematriah is that each letter contains a numerical value. That numerical value is not arbitrary rather it is an expression of the thought behind the letter itself. That is Shabbos. Shabbos represents the completion of the world. Shabbos is one of the things that binds us through a bris to Hashem that makes us unique from the nations. Shabbos contains the deep fundamental ideas that define the Jewish people which qualify to be called an ose. It is an ose because it goes back to the source of the world which is the six days of creation and the day of rest, Shabbos. The gematriah for Shabbos teaches us the amount of the activities done in the building of the tabernacle which also are the prohibitions on Shabbos. The actions that create a place for the divine presence to rest in this world are the same actions which also create a time that is special to Yisroel. Shabbos is the relationship with Hashem through time just as the Land of Yisroel is through place. The Land of Yisroel is of course given its kedushah due to the holy temple. The tabernacle is the first initiative for a place for such a relationship. The kedushah found in the tabernacle is like that which is found on Shabbos. The ose which is the letters of the Torah are what binds the Torah together. The letters of the Torah are the names of the Almighty. The divine presence rests upon anyone who mentions His name, this is through Torah. The Shabbos is the inner thought of the Torah, just as the Torah is just for Yisroel so is Shabbos. Torah is that which transcends time and place. It binds us to Hashem both in the evening and the morning.

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Parshas Vayakhel

Every year I struggle with the question of why the Torah found it necessary to dedicate four whole Parshiyos to describing the commandment, building and accounting of the Mishkan? The question always takes me by surprise… Then I search through the Commentators until I find a satisfying answer. This year, Rabbeinu Bechya was my saviour. He states the following interesting observation.

The Torah dedicates much space in describing the Mishkan in order that we should notice it and ask why?! The answer is because the Mishkan is a fundamental spiritual component which is so vital to Klal Yisrael. We should follow its lesson!

I understand Rabbeinu Bechya to mean that the Mishkan was the place on earth where we connect to Hashem. We use the physical world to invite Hashem to dwell with us. This is the foundation of the entire Torah. Our goal is to invite Hashem to be part of our daily life! The Mishkan is given much attention in order to ensure that we learn its paramount message. We too can build a “Mishkan” in our homes.

I like this explanation so much that I might even remember it next year when I am suddenly hit by the question, why does the Torah spend so much time on the Mishkan’s details?!

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Parshas Pekudei, Parshas Vayakhel

ויעש את הכיור נחשת ואת כנו נחשת במראֹת הצֹבאֹת… (לח:ח).

“He made the basin of copper and its base of copper out of the woman’s mirrors…” (38:8).

Rashi quotes the famous words of Chazal that the women brought their mirrors, which they had used in Egypt in order to beautify themselves for their husbands. Moshe was too disgusted to take them, feeling that objects used for the Yetzer Harah were inappropriate to be used in the Mishkan. Hashem set him straight by stating that on the contrary it is an honor to accept the mirrors used to build Klal Yisrael!

The Kiyor is to me a most fascinating vessel with many mysterious aspects. Why must the Sotah woman drink from its water? Why must every Kohen who serves  first wash his hands from it? Why does the verse stress repeatedly that it was made of copper? Why is it always mentioned together with its base?

The Ramban points out that the Kiyor is the only vessel which had no given  measurements. According to the amount of mirrors donated for its construction, that’s how many were used. What is the meaning of all this? I will answer only some of these questions directly, though I believe that one answer ties it all together….

When a person eats a meal, he can become lost in self-indulgence. Chazal say that food distracts one from service of Hashem. However, on the other hand, pleasure can be the strongest impetus for Avodas Hashem! When we make a beracha before and after eating we sanctify the eating experience into one of true thanking of Hashem. We use our bodies to sing praise to Hashem. We elevate the pleasure into spirituality.

The Kiyor represents this exact idea. It shows how mirrors were used to induce desire L’Shem Shamayim, for the sake of Hashem. A physical stimulation was elevated to the greatest heights.

The entire theme of Korbonos is precisely this as well. We slaughter an animal for forgiveness from our sins. We are supposed to imagine that this animal killed was us and that our blood was sprinkled and our body burned atop the Altar. What better introduction is there than to be required to wash one’s hands from the Kiyor to begin the Avodah!

The Shlah writes that on Yom Tov when one partakes of the delicious food, the purpose is for him to elevate the physical stimulation of his nerve endings into a deep and powerful expression of thanking and closeness to Hashem.

This physical gratification is the jump-start for the Neshama!

The Mishkan was a forgiveness for the sin of the Golden Calf. The sin represented a digression of the Jew’s use of the physical world. Hence, the atonement through the Mishkan took place specifically by utilizing the most physical and rich display of gold, to sanctify it for Hashem!

This explanation is very dear to me. As I developed it in my head last year in shul on Shabbos Parshas Vayakhel – Pikudei, I suddenly heard my named called to the Torah. In the course of my Aliyah to the Torah, the above quoted verse was read!

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Parshas Pekudei, Parshas Vayakhel

The Chazal ask why is it that we find in a parshah primarily containing the subject of the mishkan however we find that the parshah begins with details of Shabbos, why? The Chazal teach us that building the mishkan is not permitted on Shabbos. That is visible since the pasukim of Shabbos are put before the mishkan that the nature of their observance should correlate to the pasukim.

This idea teaches us a great deal about Shabbos and the mishkan and how they are connected. We can apply a very well known thought that the Ramban says in regards to the pushing off of a positive mitzvah when it conflicts with a negative mitzvah. The law is that the positive mitzvah pushes off the negative mitzvah. Says the Ramban this is the idea that ahavah (love) comes before yirah (fear). In our case this law is not applicable because Shabbos is not only a negative mitzvah but it also is a positive mitzvah, while the mishkan is only a positive mitzvah. It is a well known notion that we do not push off a mitzvah that is both positive and negative when we have a positive mitzvah at hand. If that is so why must the Torah order the pasukim in a way that we know that the worship of the mishkan is in fact secondary to Shabbos, shouldn’t that be simple? You can answer this question in two ways. We know that under normal circumstances the mitzvos that are only positive do not push off those which are both positive and negative, however since the actual worship of the mishkan is permitted on Shabbos we may think that its building is as well. The prohibitions on Shabbos consist of the actions used to build the mishkan not the actual worship that was performed on a daily basis. The other way to answer this question can teach us a great lesson. You may think that love (positive mitzvos) supersedes fear (negative mitzvos) but the combination of love and fear is superior to love alone. That means our relationship between Hashem consists of several attributes. The connection between us and Hashem through fear alone is comparable to a Master and his slave. The slave performs his duty due to fear of the wrath of the Master. While he may perform his duties perfectly he does it because he must do it. The connection between us and Hashem through love is comparable to a Father and his child. The child does what the father asks of him only because he loves to do all that he asks of him. While the child truly wants to do the action for the father he lacks the trepidation that would enable him to approach his father with proper respect. You may ask if the child always loves to carry out the will of his father then why would he need to fear his father? If he does something he loves he will come to appreciate his father and respect him accordingly. It is well known that true judgment is not revealed to us in this world. The world could not stand with pure judgment. This world limits our ability to see the totality of the events that take place therefore we cannot always express love whole heartedly since we cannot always express such a strong conviction in doing something we cannot understand. Those difficult times where the love of Hashem is harder to express is why we need to have fear. For the small fragments of light that is concealed from our eyes we must respond with acceptance to that which we cannot understand. Perhaps that is what Shabbos is. Shabbos is the complete revelation of the will of Hashem as it should be seen always. Shabbos is a glimpse to the future of what fruits await us in the World to Come. The presence of both the fear and love for Hashem is sewn together to grow together. Shabbos provides us with the ability to see the things we have missed and savor the precious jewels of closeness with Hashem. The mishkan is a place that provides the People of Yisroel with the ability to see the divine presence in a way that is not visible in any other place. Shabbos enables the whole world to be visible to us for one day. That is why the pasukim regarding Shabbos are put before the ones about the mishkan so that we may be able to learn this fundamental idea. We should all be merited with the ability to bind our love and fear together in our worship and see the day when Shabbos will last forever!

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Parshas Vayakhel Ahavas Hashem, Nitzchius, Shabbos, Yiras Hashem

וכל אשר נדבה רוחו אותו הביאו את תרומת ה’… (לה:כא).

“…everyone whose generosity of spirit moved him brought a portion for Hashem for the work of the Tent of Meeting…” (35:21).

I have one simple question on this verse. The word אותו, him, seems unnecessary, could it not have just as easily been omitted?

The K’sav Sofer reveals a fascinating point here. He explains that human nature dictates that before one gives his money away to charity, he looks first at the amount that someone richer than him gave. When he sees the rich man’s sum, he calculates and says to himself that I, not being as rich as him, can give less! This is the way people think, though it is certainly not the correct approach. Rather, when determining how much charity to give, we must decide for ourselves how strongly we feel for the cause and then calculate how much we are able to responsibly donate.

The verse here testifies that in the giving of donations for the Mishkan, the proper approach was followed. Each man calculated for himself the appropriate amount that he could give, without comparing himself to others. This is expressed by the extra word “him.” Each person gave according to what his own heart determined, and not what his friend’s heart established as the standard! A great lesson indeed. I would like to develop this point further.

Going through life, this principal is fundamental to remember. It is easy to look around at the degradation of the world around us and say, “wow, what an evil world we live in! But at least I am better than them, so I must be okay”. We can even look around within our own circles and point to many people whom our service of Hashem far exceeds theirs. This will make us feel good and complacent with ourselves. However, this is not productive. The only standard which we strive to live up to is that of our own. potential

R’ Paysach Krohn explains, Hashem says, “You shall be holy, because I, Hashem, your God, am Holy” (Vayikra 19:2). The verse is telling us, if you want to compare yourselves to anyone, then let Me, God, be your standard of perfection to strive for. Don’t look around and say, “I’m better than other humans, so I don’t need to improve myself!”

Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai says, “I have seen very few people who sincerely desire to grow! If there are only two in the entire world, then they are my son and I” (Succah 45b). Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai in effect was saying “I don’t care about the rest of the world. I strive to grow and bring out my own personal greatness.”

Those who achieve success in life do so by looking into their own selves to determine where to strive towards! Let us be the best that we can be!

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Parshas Vayakhel Our Best, Potential