We often talk about the history and the mitzwoth involved in Hannukah, but we rarely really look to see what Hannukah can teach us today.
I'd like to relate a very simple idea that can change our Hannukah experience forever.
The Beit HaMikdash, we are taught, is a model of the world. More importantly, it's also a model of a person. The Zohar and other Kabbalistic texts go into great detail explaining how each functioning part of the Mikdash represents an integral organ of the human body.
In light of this piece of knowledge, it behooves us to reexamine the miracle of Hannukah.
The Greeks devastated our culture, outlawed some of the most foundational mitzwoth and violated the most Holy place in all of creation, the Beit HaMikdash. Violated it utterly and wholly. Idols and everything else impure were so thoroughly invested in that Holy place that it seemed like it could never be returned to its Holy status. It could never be pure again.
The miracle of Hannukah was that we were able to remove all of that filth and light the menorah with a pure untainted light. Halachah says that it would have been permissible to light impure oil in the menorah, when the Mikdash was in such a state, but the Jewish people so wanted to be pure themselves, that they insisted on seeking out pure oil. Chazal teach that when one seeks to be Holy, Heaven opens its doors to them.
Hannukah is a special occasion like no other. On Hannukah, just watching the Hannukah candles burn and truly desiring to be pure will purify you.
Just as on Hannukah the Mikdash, a model of a person was made pure once more, so too you, no matter how thoroughly impure and filthy you may feel, will be made pure.
What a beautiful Chag HaShem gave us. This is why we say a full Hallel all eight days of Hannukah. This is why there is no outright mitzwah to eat a festive meal on Hannukah. It is only if we want to be pure, then we choose for ourselves to make a Holy seudah on Hannukah.
When we choose to be Holy, HaShem opens the door. That's why the Hannukah lights are first and foremost to be placed by the door.
Showing posts with label beit hamikdash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beit hamikdash. Show all posts
2.12.10
16.7.10
you have to visualize to realize
On Shabbat Chazon it's important to realize we can't see the world clearly. Rebbe Nachman explains that the sun shines with the same brightness all day, but during the night we can't see it because the world is hiding the sun from us. In the same way the light of the Torah is the brightest light in all of creation, but the world hides it from us.
How do we solve this problem? Simple, R' Nachman says if we look away from the world (wordliness) we can see the light of the Torah. This is the true light.
Elsewhere Rebbe Nachman explains that the light of the Shabbath is the light of the Beit HaMikdash, so it seems to me that it is on Shabbath Chazon that we can most clearly be aware of the painful loss of the Beit HaMikdash. We have all this light, but it has no place to dwell in this world. We want and miss the lack of a vessel in which to store this beautiful light of Shabbath.
Rebbe Nachman also explains that if we don't look to HaShem to provide for us in the right time, then our blessings will still come but not in the most opportune times, not when we really need it.
It would seem that Shabbat Chazon is the Shabbat where we can look beyond this world, hoping and expecting to receive the Beit HaMikdash once more. This is the meaning of Shabbath Chazon that we are granted a vision of the Beit HaMikdash. Not that it is a glimpse of the future, but that we are granted the ability to really look to HaShem to provide the Beit HaMikdash for us now.
May HaShem open our eyes, and may we see with all our longing the Beit HaMikdash sitting on Har HaBayit. Now. In our days. (In the world to come all our days will shine as one, rather than this world where each day takes its own individual time to shine.) In our "days" is now, when the Beit HaMikdash is revealed.
Furthermore it seems unusual that in our tefillot we always mention the Beit HaMikdash before mentioning Moshiah (Tishkon (ie. Mishkan) b'toch Yerushalayim..V'Kiseh David (Moshiah) l'Tocha Tachin.) even though we seem to have this expectation that Moshiah must come first and build the Holy Temple. Perhaps the explanation is this: In our prayers we reference the final Shabbat Chazon in which we see the Temple first, and then Moshiah comes, and builds it.
First we need to have the vision, the inspiration, the foresight to bring about the Beit HaMikdash, once we have the vision, then HaShem sends the Moshiah to realize that vision.
May HaShem open our eyes that we may visualize the goal.
Shabbat Chazon Shalom!
3.6.10
actions clothed in beauty
When you eat with at least two other men, it is proper to bench on a cup of wine. The cup should be rinsed out, and washed on the outside as well. The cup should be full but not in danger of spilling. Someone else should fill it and hand it to the leader of the meal with both hands. You should receive it in both hands, and then transfer it to your right hand. The right hand should then hold it for the remainder of benching, the left hand should not aid the right hand while holding it. Upon completion of benching, the blessing should be made and then one should drink the cup of wine. It is proper to save some of the wine for one's wife, even if she wasn't eating/benching with you. [Ben Ish Hai - parashath Shelach L'cha]It's so easy to see such a thoroughly proscribed ritual and think it is ridiculous or that it bears no relation to the modern day society in which we live. Regardless of the deep Kabbalistic meditations that are the basis for this action, many people would look at this ritual as outdated. It's easy in our post-modern mentality to say that, yes the mystical intentions are perhaps of value, but the proscribed actions are pedantic, outmoded, no longer in order. (We'll ignore for a minute that such thought is indifferentiable in any significant way from the cardiac Jew syndrome. eg. I'm a Jew in my heart.)
I think of myself as ascribing great importance to the Torah and the Halachah along with it. It is the basic foundation upon which all my other value judgements are made. It is the primary lens through which I see the world. Yet, when I read a description of ritual such as the one above, I, being a good sefaradi, file it away as the "theoretical ideal," but not necesarily the practicable version of Judaism which defines my daily life.
Today at lunch I was thinking about it. Why? Why can I take the halachah of what berachah to say when so seriously and spontaneously dismiss the ritualistic behavior brought right alongside it?
The answer is that I have it all wrong.
Look at all of the ritual in the Beit HaMikdash. (The best place to look is in the Rambam where all of the rituals are described in great detail. Hilchot Beit HaBechirah (english translation) (partial link)) Clearly, it isn't there for HaShem's sake. He doesn't need to eat, doesn't need our offerings. Yet, there is great intricacy in all of the performance of each of the offerings in the Temple. Why? Each offering involves two parties: The one who brings the offering, and God who receives the offering. If the offering isn't for HaShem's sake, then it's clearly there for ours. We get something out of offerings we bring to HaShem. All of that ritual is there for us.
[As an aside, according to the opinion that says animal offerings will not be practiced in the Third Temple our point is even more integral: If at one point animal offerings were relevant to us, we brought them. At another point in our history, when animal offerings may no longer be relevant (again to us) we no longer need to bring them. God doesn't change, we do. But, to return to our point, there is no opinion that there will not be a Third Temple, likewise there exists no opinion that ritual worship will not be part of the Third Temple. The ritual is still there (the grain offerings will still be brought) which means the ritual is still important to us, not only now, but even in that (hopefully near) future.]
Ritual is vitally crucial to our spiritual growth. It's pretty simple to understand when you think about it. Imagine you buy your wife a beautiful bouquet of flowers, but when you walk in the door you throw the bouquet on the table, head for the couch and switch on the lakers game. Contrast that with getting home before her, turning off the lights, lighting some candles, and leaving the flowers, bound in a nice ribbon, to be discovered with an envelope containing a short letter you wrote just for her. In short, its all in the delivery.
The flowers are just some flowers, they might have cost some money, but in the scheme of things that money is fairly insignificant. The few minutes it took to set the mood are also infinitesimal, but it sent a very different message. The planning and the thought invested in the act made every minute detail of the execution that much more meaningful. The ribbon, the few dollars on the flowers, the candles, the paper, the time, it's all transient, it all has little economic value, but suddenly it has been invested with something else, something that's harder to define, but something that touches on the infinite. The card or the ribbon might be saved for years and whenever it pops up, it brings back all the feelings evoked by that moment when she first discovered the flowers.
It isn't only special because you showed your wife that you love her. She knows you do. But, you had to consciously reawaken those feelings of love in order to show it. You reminded yourself how much you love her, and then you shared those feelings with her. That's what she appreciates most.
The ritual of our mitzwoth are the beauty, the hidur. The mitzwoth themselves require a particular outcome, an action. We're required to cause an effect in the physical world. But the ritual with which we surround that action, that's timeless, infinite. It enriches our lives. It makes the act more important for us. It brings us closer to HaShem by reminding us how central He is in our lives.
HaShem always loves us, is always giving to us, but we can only receive when we are open to HaShem. It's the ritual that awakens us to how we feel, that allows us to make room for HaShem in our lives.
22.3.10
the hunger after the afikomen
Pesah is coming. One of the most challenging things about Pesah for me is the unique feeling of being stuffed and unsatiated. On Pesah we eat almost nonstop, but without chametz, I'm left feeling hungry.
What can I learn from this about Pesah?
The Holiday of Pesah is a special time set aside to recognize the difference between living a physical existence, and living a spiritual existence clothed in physical experience. When we eat on Pesah we don't feel satiated to show us that physicality itself isn't enough. The Matzah gives us a taste of spirituality, makes us hungry even starving for the spiritual part of our existence.
That's why, at the end of the seder, after we've eaten the afikoman and will eat no more, we pray "Next year in Yerushalayim rebuilt." After our physical hunger should be completely satiated and yet we still feel hunger, we recognize that that hunger is for spiritual fulfillment, the kind only possible in Jerusalem, in the Beit HaMikdash, together with all of Am Yisrael.
לשנה הבא בירושלים הבנויה
What can I learn from this about Pesah?
The Holiday of Pesah is a special time set aside to recognize the difference between living a physical existence, and living a spiritual existence clothed in physical experience. When we eat on Pesah we don't feel satiated to show us that physicality itself isn't enough. The Matzah gives us a taste of spirituality, makes us hungry even starving for the spiritual part of our existence.
That's why, at the end of the seder, after we've eaten the afikoman and will eat no more, we pray "Next year in Yerushalayim rebuilt." After our physical hunger should be completely satiated and yet we still feel hunger, we recognize that that hunger is for spiritual fulfillment, the kind only possible in Jerusalem, in the Beit HaMikdash, together with all of Am Yisrael.
לשנה הבא בירושלים הבנויה
24.12.09
mitzwoth as smoke signals
[I gave this dvar Torah on Zot Hannukah 5770.]
Hannukah is to a year what Tikkun Hatzot is to a day. In the depths of the darkness we remember the deepest light of the world, the light of the Holy Temple, the revelation of the Highest in the lowest. (God in this world)
Rebbe Natan explains that the first mitzwah given to the Nation of Israel is the mitzwah of [seeking and] proclaiming the new moon is (Likkutei Halachot, very begining) because that is the essential purpose of the Jew, to seek out the spark of light in the darkness.
When we proclaim the new moon, the new month, Rosh Hodesh, the Mishnah [Rosh HaShanah 2:4] describes what that used to be like: They would light fires on the hilltops to signal to those far away that the new moon had been seen and the new month had begin. Rosh Hodesh is a very holy celebration we have each and every month.There were huge feasts and celebrations in the Temple each Rosh Hodesh.
When the signal fire reached the tallest hilltop visible to all those Jewish communities outside of the land of Israel they would wave the fire back and forth up and down until they saw answering fires throughout the exile. (throughout the rest of the surrounding countries) The words used are beautiful: They would wave the fire back and forth until the whole exile was alight like one giant bonfire. Think about that imagery: one little light, waving until the whole world seems to be filled with a roaring answering flame.
That's Hannukah.
One little candle waving until the whole world is alight with the revelation of Godliness.
That's every mitzwah, as we are taught, נר מצוה ותורה אור, a mitzwah is a candle.
That's what it means to be a Jew. To seek out that little bit of light, in every occasion, in every place, in every person and wave that little spark of a candle until the whole world is going up, alight in the flames of Godliness.
Hannukah is to a year what Tikkun Hatzot is to a day. In the depths of the darkness we remember the deepest light of the world, the light of the Holy Temple, the revelation of the Highest in the lowest. (God in this world)
Rebbe Natan explains that the first mitzwah given to the Nation of Israel is the mitzwah of [seeking and] proclaiming the new moon is (Likkutei Halachot, very begining) because that is the essential purpose of the Jew, to seek out the spark of light in the darkness.
When we proclaim the new moon, the new month, Rosh Hodesh, the Mishnah [Rosh HaShanah 2:4] describes what that used to be like: They would light fires on the hilltops to signal to those far away that the new moon had been seen and the new month had begin. Rosh Hodesh is a very holy celebration we have each and every month.There were huge feasts and celebrations in the Temple each Rosh Hodesh.
When the signal fire reached the tallest hilltop visible to all those Jewish communities outside of the land of Israel they would wave the fire back and forth up and down until they saw answering fires throughout the exile. (throughout the rest of the surrounding countries) The words used are beautiful: They would wave the fire back and forth until the whole exile was alight like one giant bonfire. Think about that imagery: one little light, waving until the whole world seems to be filled with a roaring answering flame.
That's Hannukah.
One little candle waving until the whole world is alight with the revelation of Godliness.
That's every mitzwah, as we are taught, נר מצוה ותורה אור, a mitzwah is a candle.
That's what it means to be a Jew. To seek out that little bit of light, in every occasion, in every place, in every person and wave that little spark of a candle until the whole world is going up, alight in the flames of Godliness.
21.12.09
back to front
When confronted with the challenge of providing for the nation of Israel, David HaMelech suggests they go to war and live off the spoils. (Berachot 3a)
This troubled me greatly, not the thought of going to war and living off the spoils, but that the Chachamim of David HaMelech's time were insistent that the nation could not adequately provide for itself.
One potential answer comes straight out of the Torah, [see: the nerve of some people] where HaShem promises that there will always be poor in the land of Israel. (Devarim 15:11)
But this is the answer I came up with, after a few weeks of thought: (I ran it by Rav Yehoshuah Kohen and he there may be something to it, so I thought I would share it here.)
In David HaMelech's time, we lived according to the natural order, or in Kabbalistic terms, the Achorayim, (hindpart) whereby the world functions more or less according to science in the sense that the system is a closed system and its (essentially) a zero-sum game. In such a setting, as today, growth requires an ever increasing amount of resources and so, naturally, a growing nation cannot suffice to provide for itself.
Later however, in the time of Shlomo HaMelech, once the Beit HaMikdash was standing, this was no longer the case, as the world achieved its more ideal spiritual status of Panim (forepart, or face to face relationship with God) which entirely defies the classical scientific phrasing of the world as a closed system. As long as the Temple stood, the whole world received abundant sustenance from Jerusalem.
There's even perhaps a hint in the words of the Chachamim who made their case before David HaMelech, they said the mouth of a well cannot suffice to fill the well. In other words, rain is gathered from a large area to fill a well, not just the surface area of the well-mouth. This is very much the opposite of the truth in the time of the Temple, when the Temple itself suffices to fill the whole world with blessing.
3.9.08
a holy remnant
Tikkunei Zohar (Tikkun 16) brings down something from the Midrash, that Rashi apparently quotes in his commentary on Bereishith: Man is the Challah of the world.
There is a mitzwah, whenever one makes dough, to take a portion of the dough and devote it to God. Were there a Beit HaMikdash at present, this dough would be given to the Kohanim, in our days we burn it till it is inedible so that no one else will benefit inappropriately from this Holy dough.
The Rabbis teach that Man's creation was HaShem separating Challah from the world. The earth and the water were mixed into a dough, and from that dough, Challah was taken, and into that Challah, HaShem blew a divine soul.
We are a portion of the world, set aside in Holiness by HaShem, since the time of its creation.
1.7.08
the lights of home
Rebbe Nachman explains (Likkutei Moharan II:67) that the eyes are enlightened by the intellect. This, he says, is the relationship between the Shabbath and the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple. Shabbath represents the intellect, and when we shine the light of Shabbath upon the world, the Beit HaMikdash, which represents the eyes, is illuminated.
Based on this idea he explains how our current state of exile is a state of crying, a loss of the light of our eyes. Furthermore, the Tzaddik, through kiddush HaShem, can inspire us and return the light of our to us, so that we might introspect and better ourselves. In this way, the Tzaddik is even responsible for the dwelling places of the Jewish people, for it is through him that the light is returned to their eyes and their dwelling places can then be properly filled with the revealed light of their intellect. (Like the relationship of Shabbath (another name for a Tzaddik) with the Beit HaMikdash (the universal home))
This was a rare experience for me, learning a Torah while living it at the same moment. The reason is, it is only through the direct intervention of Rav Mordehai Eliyahu (may he have a complete recovery speedily in our days!) that we live in our apartment. You see, the owners didn't want to rent, but they asked Rav Eliyahu whether they should or not, and he told them to rent it out; we were the first couple to see the apartment---and to top it off, Rav Eliyahu married us a month later.
Anyways, back to the point at hand. This is a very lofty Torah of Rebbe Nachman, and bringing it down into terms that are relevant to us on a daily level is not easy. Which is why we have to be thankful that Rav Natan (Rebbe Nachman's main disciple) fleshed out his ideas in Likkutei Halachoth. (Tefillin Halachah 5 (i think)) Rav Natan explains that the parshioth in our tefillin represent the intellect, the mochin, and that is why they fill the batim, the bayit, the house of the Tefillin. The house is illuminated by the intellect.
So, while we may not be able to fully grasp the depth of Rebbe Nachman's Torah, every time we put on tefillin, we can stop and think for a moment about how the light of parchments fill and give life to the housing of the tefillin, so that all may see us crowned with the name of HaShem.
[But what about Shabbath? On Shabbath we don't wear tefillin.. But Rebbe Nachman taught us above that it is the very light of Shabbath that illuminates the Beit HaMikdash. When we walk into a Jewish home on Shabbath, the illumination is 100% palpable---Shabbath is inseparable from the Jewish home.]
Based on this idea he explains how our current state of exile is a state of crying, a loss of the light of our eyes. Furthermore, the Tzaddik, through kiddush HaShem, can inspire us and return the light of our to us, so that we might introspect and better ourselves. In this way, the Tzaddik is even responsible for the dwelling places of the Jewish people, for it is through him that the light is returned to their eyes and their dwelling places can then be properly filled with the revealed light of their intellect. (Like the relationship of Shabbath (another name for a Tzaddik) with the Beit HaMikdash (the universal home))
This was a rare experience for me, learning a Torah while living it at the same moment. The reason is, it is only through the direct intervention of Rav Mordehai Eliyahu (may he have a complete recovery speedily in our days!) that we live in our apartment. You see, the owners didn't want to rent, but they asked Rav Eliyahu whether they should or not, and he told them to rent it out; we were the first couple to see the apartment---and to top it off, Rav Eliyahu married us a month later.
Anyways, back to the point at hand. This is a very lofty Torah of Rebbe Nachman, and bringing it down into terms that are relevant to us on a daily level is not easy. Which is why we have to be thankful that Rav Natan (Rebbe Nachman's main disciple) fleshed out his ideas in Likkutei Halachoth. (Tefillin Halachah 5 (i think)) Rav Natan explains that the parshioth in our tefillin represent the intellect, the mochin, and that is why they fill the batim, the bayit, the house of the Tefillin. The house is illuminated by the intellect.
So, while we may not be able to fully grasp the depth of Rebbe Nachman's Torah, every time we put on tefillin, we can stop and think for a moment about how the light of parchments fill and give life to the housing of the tefillin, so that all may see us crowned with the name of HaShem.
[But what about Shabbath? On Shabbath we don't wear tefillin.. But Rebbe Nachman taught us above that it is the very light of Shabbath that illuminates the Beit HaMikdash. When we walk into a Jewish home on Shabbath, the illumination is 100% palpable---Shabbath is inseparable from the Jewish home.]
22.5.08
survival basics
Lately I've been thinking a lot about Yaakov Avinu's neder that he made to HaShem before leaving the land of Israel for the first time:
But I wondered why it was that Yaakov Avinu asked for these two things (in addition to being returned to the house of his father) what about other things physical and spiritual? The first answer is that if you have those two, you can survive, and once you can survive you can dedicate the rest of your life to serving HaShem and developing a relationship with Him. But the deeper answer is that our Rabbis teach (As brought down in the Tanya) that in Gan Eden, we are clothed in our mitzwoth and nourished by our Torah. From this we can perhaps see what Yaakov Avinu was really talking about: He asked HaShem to bless him always with Torah study and mitzwoth, spiritual food and clothing. (It should be noted that Torah and mitzwoth are the bare minimum for spiritual survival. Just as food and clothes are the bare minimum for physical survival)
(Perhaps on an even deeper level Yaakov Avinu was hinting to Har Sinai and the Mishkan)
כ וַיִּדַּר יַעֲקֹב, נֶדֶר לֵאמֹר: אִם-יִהְיֶה אֱלֹהִים עִמָּדִי, וּשְׁמָרַנִי בַּדֶּרֶךְ הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ, וְנָתַן-לִי לֶחֶם לֶאֱכֹל, וּבֶגֶד לִלְבֹּשׁ. כא וְשַׁבְתִּי בְשָׁלוֹם, אֶל-בֵּית אָבִי; וְהָיָה יְהוָה לִי, לֵאלֹהִים. כב וְהָאֶבֶן הַזֹּאת, אֲשֶׁר-שַׂמְתִּי מַצֵּבָה--יִהְיֶה, בֵּית אֱלֹהִים; וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר תִּתֶּן-לִי, עַשֵּׂר אֲעַשְּׂרֶנּוּ לָךְ.
20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying: 'If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee.'There's a lot to be said and understood from these seemingly simple words. For me it is comforting to know that until the end of days (according to an informed reading) HaShem is basically responsible for our food and clothing, two things we apparently don't need to worry about.
But I wondered why it was that Yaakov Avinu asked for these two things (in addition to being returned to the house of his father) what about other things physical and spiritual? The first answer is that if you have those two, you can survive, and once you can survive you can dedicate the rest of your life to serving HaShem and developing a relationship with Him. But the deeper answer is that our Rabbis teach (As brought down in the Tanya) that in Gan Eden, we are clothed in our mitzwoth and nourished by our Torah. From this we can perhaps see what Yaakov Avinu was really talking about: He asked HaShem to bless him always with Torah study and mitzwoth, spiritual food and clothing. (It should be noted that Torah and mitzwoth are the bare minimum for spiritual survival. Just as food and clothes are the bare minimum for physical survival)
(Perhaps on an even deeper level Yaakov Avinu was hinting to Har Sinai and the Mishkan)
13.4.08
the completion of shabbos
The Bnei Yissachar (Nisan:3) humbly offers a chidush regarding why Shabbath HaGadol, the Shabbath before Pesah, ("The Great Shabbat") bears its name.
Since the time of our forefathers, they were practicing the Torah in all its nuances, but there was one area of halachah that remained undecided. They didn't know whether their practicing of the 613 mitzwoth exempted them from the 9 mitzwoth of the children of Noah. You might say that the 613 mitzwoth contain the 9 mitzwoth, true, but there are still very practical differences.
For example, he goes on to explain, once an animal has been slaughtered according to Jewish ritual law, the animal is now permissible for Jews to eat even if it is still kicking, whereas, since there is no concept of a proper way to slaughter animals for Bnei Noah, they must wait until the animal is dead, lest they transgress the prohibition of eating the limb of a living animal. (Whereas for Jews, the prohibition is only relevant before slaughter but not afterwards. Please note however that this is all a very technical example, but without the necesary information to derive practical halachah.) This safek, the doubt as to how to classify the children of Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov before Sinai, was actually at the root of the dispute between Yosef and his brothers. He told his father (Yaakov Avinu) that his brothers were transgressing the law of Bnei Noah by not waiting until the animal had died, whereas the brothers believed that since they kept all 613 mitzwoth of the Torah that they were exempt from the 9 mitzwoth of Bnei Noah.
This uncertainty created a major problem for our forefathers because it is clearly prohibited for a Bnei Noah to observe the Shabbath. Yet, if they wanted to properly keep the Torah, Shabbath observance is a major tenet of the 613 mitzwoth. What did they do as a result? They would observe the Shabbath flawlessly, except for a single transgression introduced in order to take into account this confounding uncertainty.
The Bnei Yissachar goes on to explain that the Rabbis all agree that according to the Torah, for a Bnei Noah there is only one valid way to purchase something. There is a disagreement as to what that one way is, but everyone agrees that there is only one way, it is either through meshicha pulling something into your possession, or through kesef, paying money for something. Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam disagree as to which way it is, but everyone agrees that one opinion is right and one wrong.
When HaShem commanded Bnei Yisrael to take the Pesah lamb, He tells Mosheh to tell them, "Pull and Take for you." The word used to Take here is a word that carries the connotation of purchasing with money. From the fact that HaShem, whose knowledge is without limit, commanded them to purchase the Pesah lamb both through pulling it into their possession, AND through paying money for it, Bnei Yisrael finally understood that they were no longer considered Bnei Noah. How so? Well, everyone agrees that Bnei Noah have only one way to purchase, meaning a second way would be irrelevant, and lest you say that they performed both kinds of purchasing just to be sure, there was no need 'to be sure' because HaShem doesn't have any 'doubt' about which kind of purchase is a valid purchase. (The Bnei Yissachar goes on to illustrate this chidush a little further, but this post is already complex enough.)
[To anyone who was brave enough to follow this far and hasn't gotten confused, I just wanted to reflect on this idea:] Stop and think about this. Their whole lives, for as many as five or six generations they had been guarding and keeping the Shabbath in every detail, except at one point each and every Shabbath, because of one uncertainty, they had to break the Shabbath somehow. No matter how small the transgression, it was an acknowledgement that they couldn't keep the Shabbath in its entirety. For more than four hundred years they ALMOST kept Shabbath. (that's more than 20,000 Shabbaths!)Can you imagine what it was like on Shabbath HaGadol, THE GREAT SHABBATH, that Bnei Yisrael kept Shabbath for the first time? Can you imagine the rejoicing and the singing?.. Can you imagine Seudah Shlishit, the third and final meal when they approached the end of Shabbath and they could hardly believe that this was it, this was their first Shabbath ever.
Shabbath is tantamount to the Beit HaMikdash. What Shabbath is to time, the Beit HaMikdash is to space. The Torah speaks about the completion of the Mishkan and the completion of the Beit HaMikdash, but for me this is the first time I ever heard about the completion of Shabbath. And we know, that while we don't have the Mishkan nor the Beit HaMikdash, we still have Shabbath. Shabbath and the Jewish people have celebrated thousands of years together. Wherever there is a Jew, that's where Shabbath will be. Shabbath and the Jewish people are inseparable. We can't begin to imagine the rejoicing of that first union.
That's why it's called The Great Shabbath.
May we all merit to experience A Great Shabbath this week, and may it uplift us into Pesah like we never experienced it before. (This year Shabbath HaGadol runs right into the first night of Pesah, when one ends the other begins.)
Since the time of our forefathers, they were practicing the Torah in all its nuances, but there was one area of halachah that remained undecided. They didn't know whether their practicing of the 613 mitzwoth exempted them from the 9 mitzwoth of the children of Noah. You might say that the 613 mitzwoth contain the 9 mitzwoth, true, but there are still very practical differences.
For example, he goes on to explain, once an animal has been slaughtered according to Jewish ritual law, the animal is now permissible for Jews to eat even if it is still kicking, whereas, since there is no concept of a proper way to slaughter animals for Bnei Noah, they must wait until the animal is dead, lest they transgress the prohibition of eating the limb of a living animal. (Whereas for Jews, the prohibition is only relevant before slaughter but not afterwards. Please note however that this is all a very technical example, but without the necesary information to derive practical halachah.) This safek, the doubt as to how to classify the children of Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov before Sinai, was actually at the root of the dispute between Yosef and his brothers. He told his father (Yaakov Avinu) that his brothers were transgressing the law of Bnei Noah by not waiting until the animal had died, whereas the brothers believed that since they kept all 613 mitzwoth of the Torah that they were exempt from the 9 mitzwoth of Bnei Noah.
This uncertainty created a major problem for our forefathers because it is clearly prohibited for a Bnei Noah to observe the Shabbath. Yet, if they wanted to properly keep the Torah, Shabbath observance is a major tenet of the 613 mitzwoth. What did they do as a result? They would observe the Shabbath flawlessly, except for a single transgression introduced in order to take into account this confounding uncertainty.
The Bnei Yissachar goes on to explain that the Rabbis all agree that according to the Torah, for a Bnei Noah there is only one valid way to purchase something. There is a disagreement as to what that one way is, but everyone agrees that there is only one way, it is either through meshicha pulling something into your possession, or through kesef, paying money for something. Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam disagree as to which way it is, but everyone agrees that one opinion is right and one wrong.
When HaShem commanded Bnei Yisrael to take the Pesah lamb, He tells Mosheh to tell them, "Pull and Take for you." The word used to Take here is a word that carries the connotation of purchasing with money. From the fact that HaShem, whose knowledge is without limit, commanded them to purchase the Pesah lamb both through pulling it into their possession, AND through paying money for it, Bnei Yisrael finally understood that they were no longer considered Bnei Noah. How so? Well, everyone agrees that Bnei Noah have only one way to purchase, meaning a second way would be irrelevant, and lest you say that they performed both kinds of purchasing just to be sure, there was no need 'to be sure' because HaShem doesn't have any 'doubt' about which kind of purchase is a valid purchase. (The Bnei Yissachar goes on to illustrate this chidush a little further, but this post is already complex enough.)
[To anyone who was brave enough to follow this far and hasn't gotten confused, I just wanted to reflect on this idea:] Stop and think about this. Their whole lives, for as many as five or six generations they had been guarding and keeping the Shabbath in every detail, except at one point each and every Shabbath, because of one uncertainty, they had to break the Shabbath somehow. No matter how small the transgression, it was an acknowledgement that they couldn't keep the Shabbath in its entirety. For more than four hundred years they ALMOST kept Shabbath. (that's more than 20,000 Shabbaths!)Can you imagine what it was like on Shabbath HaGadol, THE GREAT SHABBATH, that Bnei Yisrael kept Shabbath for the first time? Can you imagine the rejoicing and the singing?.. Can you imagine Seudah Shlishit, the third and final meal when they approached the end of Shabbath and they could hardly believe that this was it, this was their first Shabbath ever.
Shabbath is tantamount to the Beit HaMikdash. What Shabbath is to time, the Beit HaMikdash is to space. The Torah speaks about the completion of the Mishkan and the completion of the Beit HaMikdash, but for me this is the first time I ever heard about the completion of Shabbath. And we know, that while we don't have the Mishkan nor the Beit HaMikdash, we still have Shabbath. Shabbath and the Jewish people have celebrated thousands of years together. Wherever there is a Jew, that's where Shabbath will be. Shabbath and the Jewish people are inseparable. We can't begin to imagine the rejoicing of that first union.
That's why it's called The Great Shabbath.
May we all merit to experience A Great Shabbath this week, and may it uplift us into Pesah like we never experienced it before. (This year Shabbath HaGadol runs right into the first night of Pesah, when one ends the other begins.)
3.3.08
temporary service outage
I knew I'd heard it somewhere before, but wondered at how true it was, now the Komarna Rebbe confirmed it for me: In the future, the Leviim and the first-born will return to serve in the beit hamikdash. (Something that was taken away from them and given to the Kohanim in the midbar.)
Source: Ketem Ofir 2:18 (I believe he is referring to teachings of the Ariz"l)
Source: Ketem Ofir 2:18 (I believe he is referring to teachings of the Ariz"l)
19.12.07
the tenth of tevet: a fouling of letters
In Likkutei Halachoth (Hilchot Keriath Shema:5 (I think it's halachah 5)) Rebbe Natan explains a little bit about the nature of the three reasons we mourn today on the 10th of Tevet.
When the Torah was translated to Greek it was a very dark day for us because it was the exact opposite of what Ezra HaSofer had done. It was a formulation of the letters of the Torah such that all the darkest and lowest elements could also receive blessing from the letters and words of Torah. This gave them the ability to bring the darkness of their shallow and physicality-absorbed culture to the masses and to muddle the light of the true Torah of Bnei Yisrael. It also tainted Bnei Yisrael and tempted and involved and confused them with the darkness of the Greek culture.
Lastly, when the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, it was a further hiding and cutting off of the blessings of Shamayim.
- Ezra HaSofer died
- The Torah was translated to Greek
- The siege on Yerushalayim (that lead to the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash) began
When the Torah was translated to Greek it was a very dark day for us because it was the exact opposite of what Ezra HaSofer had done. It was a formulation of the letters of the Torah such that all the darkest and lowest elements could also receive blessing from the letters and words of Torah. This gave them the ability to bring the darkness of their shallow and physicality-absorbed culture to the masses and to muddle the light of the true Torah of Bnei Yisrael. It also tainted Bnei Yisrael and tempted and involved and confused them with the darkness of the Greek culture.
Lastly, when the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, it was a further hiding and cutting off of the blessings of Shamayim.
15.11.07
a prayer offering
Rav Avraham Azulai (Hesed L'Avraham 2:5) explains that the Karbanot in the Beit HaMikdash are able to unify and connect all the lower and upper worlds. The elevation of the Karban, the act itself, would unite and connect the three lower worlds, Beriyah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, and the intent of the Kohen would unite and connect them all back with the highest world, Atzilut. Without the intent of the Kohen, the light can't flow as it is meant to and the worlds cannot truly benefit from and enjoy the Karban. This is true of both the Ketoret, the incense offering, and the other animal offerings. The only other mitzwah that has this same power to unite and connect all the worlds is Tefillah, prayer, which was instated along the lines of the daily and special musaf offerings.
17.9.07
bundled candles
In Masechect Yoma (24b) we learn that lighting the Menorah (in the Beit HaMikdash) is something that even a Yisrael can do. (ie. Not just a Kohen, even though it was performed in the Beit Hamikdash.) We know that this was generally not done, in practice Kohanim always lit the Menorah. So what does it come to teach us?
The Noam Elimelech (parashath KiTavo) explains that the Tzaddik is full of all manner of good middot and these good middot get shared among all those who connect to that Tzaddik. The Tzaddik, he says, is called the "western candle" because the Menorah was lit from west to east, the light would spread through all the candles from west to east. The Tzaddik is the western candle because the light of HaShem spreads from the Tzaddik to all of the Jews.
So then why do we learn in Yoma that a Yisrael could light the menorah? Not to tell us just that were a Yisrael to light the menorah it would be kosher because in practice that never happened, but more to tell us that a Yisrael can be a Tzaddik too. Even though the Kohanim get to serve HaShem all day long in the Beit HaMikdash, a Yisrael who lives and works and eats outside of the Beit HaMikdash, in the world at large, can still develop a tremendous closeness with HaShem. For, as we know, HaShem fills the whole world. (ממלא כל העולם כולו)
Why do we learn this lesson from the Menorah? The Baal HaTanya tells us that a little light drives off a lot of darkness. And we know that a mitzwah is called by the name "candle." (כי נר מצוה ותורה אור) With each mitzwah we perform, we have the potential to grow closer to HaShem and draw more of His light into ourselves; to become a little bit more a western candle that shines light outward onto others.
The Noam Elimelech (parashath KiTavo) explains that the Tzaddik is full of all manner of good middot and these good middot get shared among all those who connect to that Tzaddik. The Tzaddik, he says, is called the "western candle" because the Menorah was lit from west to east, the light would spread through all the candles from west to east. The Tzaddik is the western candle because the light of HaShem spreads from the Tzaddik to all of the Jews.
So then why do we learn in Yoma that a Yisrael could light the menorah? Not to tell us just that were a Yisrael to light the menorah it would be kosher because in practice that never happened, but more to tell us that a Yisrael can be a Tzaddik too. Even though the Kohanim get to serve HaShem all day long in the Beit HaMikdash, a Yisrael who lives and works and eats outside of the Beit HaMikdash, in the world at large, can still develop a tremendous closeness with HaShem. For, as we know, HaShem fills the whole world. (ממלא כל העולם כולו)
Why do we learn this lesson from the Menorah? The Baal HaTanya tells us that a little light drives off a lot of darkness. And we know that a mitzwah is called by the name "candle." (כי נר מצוה ותורה אור) With each mitzwah we perform, we have the potential to grow closer to HaShem and draw more of His light into ourselves; to become a little bit more a western candle that shines light outward onto others.
the eyes within turbulence
In Masechet Yoma, while comparing and contrasting the two temples, they explain that even had all of Israel come back, the Divine presence would still not have rested in the Second Temple.
Why? Because the Temple was built by and at the behest of the Persians. The Talmud derives the teaching from this passuk[Bereishith 9:27]: יַפְתְּ אֱלֹהִים לְיֶפֶת, וְיִשְׁכֹּן בְּאָהֳלֵי-שֵׁם - Which they explain like so, even though the Persians were descendants of Yefet, since the Second Temple wasn't "Ohalei Shem," (the tent of Shem, ie. built by us, we being of the line of Shem) so then the Shechinah, the divine presence, wouldn't dwell (ישכון) there.
There is a tangentially related discussion in which the Amoraim determine that the Kohanim are messengers of HaShem as opposed to messengers of the nation.
Why? Because the kohanim perform duties forebidden to the nation, since when can a shaliah (messenger) perform a duty that is forebidden to the one who sends him on the shlichut? (the errand)
Both of these discussions relate the importance and centrality of HaShem's relationship with our people. It is a place where HaShem sends his messengers on his errands to perform special acts on our behalf. Acts that occur nowhere else in the world, acts that may be performed by no one. (The Kohen Gadol enters the Kodesh HaKedoshim on Yom Kippur, something that is forebidden to everyone without exception.) Similarly, HaShem is only willing to enter and dwell in this house if we build it for Him.
The relationship of HaShem and Knesset Yisrael is most clearly seen in this House. We can also learn from this how best to bring HaShem into our lives. (the root of all our prayers as we mentioned previously)
Only by intentially creating a sacred space in our own lives, is HaShem willing to dwell within our midst. This sacred space is called Shabbath, as it is the central eye of the storm that is our daily lives. Shabbath literally means to sit, to dwell. (הנה מה טוב ומה נעים שבת אחים גם יחד) Within our performance of each of the mitzwoth, we create a space within which HaShem may dwell. This space, this aspect of each mitzwah is the aspect of Shabbath.
From this we can see how when we perform our mitzwoth with the proper intentions we can awaken awareness of Shabbath at every moment. This is Shemirath Shabbath during the week.
This also answers our previous question from the end of the Notzer Hesed. When we experience insight and enlightenment without allowing for this shared space with HaShem, we take from Shabbath and give to the mundane week day. When we build that space, that mikdash m'at, in the performance of our mitzwoth and in (God-willing) our every act, we ensure that our moments of brilliance always take place within Shabbath.
Why? Because the Temple was built by and at the behest of the Persians. The Talmud derives the teaching from this passuk[Bereishith 9:27]: יַפְתְּ אֱלֹהִים לְיֶפֶת, וְיִשְׁכֹּן בְּאָהֳלֵי-שֵׁם - Which they explain like so, even though the Persians were descendants of Yefet, since the Second Temple wasn't "Ohalei Shem," (the tent of Shem, ie. built by us, we being of the line of Shem) so then the Shechinah, the divine presence, wouldn't dwell (ישכון) there.
There is a tangentially related discussion in which the Amoraim determine that the Kohanim are messengers of HaShem as opposed to messengers of the nation.
Why? Because the kohanim perform duties forebidden to the nation, since when can a shaliah (messenger) perform a duty that is forebidden to the one who sends him on the shlichut? (the errand)
Both of these discussions relate the importance and centrality of HaShem's relationship with our people. It is a place where HaShem sends his messengers on his errands to perform special acts on our behalf. Acts that occur nowhere else in the world, acts that may be performed by no one. (The Kohen Gadol enters the Kodesh HaKedoshim on Yom Kippur, something that is forebidden to everyone without exception.) Similarly, HaShem is only willing to enter and dwell in this house if we build it for Him.
The relationship of HaShem and Knesset Yisrael is most clearly seen in this House. We can also learn from this how best to bring HaShem into our lives. (the root of all our prayers as we mentioned previously)
Only by intentially creating a sacred space in our own lives, is HaShem willing to dwell within our midst. This sacred space is called Shabbath, as it is the central eye of the storm that is our daily lives. Shabbath literally means to sit, to dwell. (הנה מה טוב ומה נעים שבת אחים גם יחד) Within our performance of each of the mitzwoth, we create a space within which HaShem may dwell. This space, this aspect of each mitzwah is the aspect of Shabbath.
From this we can see how when we perform our mitzwoth with the proper intentions we can awaken awareness of Shabbath at every moment. This is Shemirath Shabbath during the week.
This also answers our previous question from the end of the Notzer Hesed. When we experience insight and enlightenment without allowing for this shared space with HaShem, we take from Shabbath and give to the mundane week day. When we build that space, that mikdash m'at, in the performance of our mitzwoth and in (God-willing) our every act, we ensure that our moments of brilliance always take place within Shabbath.
16.7.07
learning from the master
We mentioned in the past that the Ohr HaHayyim explains that HaShem created all of the "construction materials" in the very first expression of the word בראשית. (Bereishith) Then he set everything up on the following six days, leaving everything unfinished, so that we could play our part and finish it.
This morning I was thinking about David HaMelech, he wasn't given permission to build the Beit HaMikdash, but he was promised that his son, Shlomoh, would be the one to build it. This is interesting, because he apparently takes a lesson from HaShem's creation of the world. Even though David HaMelech couldn't build the Beit HaMikdash, he gathered the construction materials that would be necesary in its making, so that Shlomoh wouldn't waste any time in getting straight to the building of it.
[When I was younger and came on trips in the summer to Israel, I remember thinking the Machon HaMikdash (the foundation that prepares the vessels for the Third Temple) was a little off.. but apparently they're just taking their lead from David HaMelech who was copying the original act of creation. May they be blessed in this world and the next.]
This morning I was thinking about David HaMelech, he wasn't given permission to build the Beit HaMikdash, but he was promised that his son, Shlomoh, would be the one to build it. This is interesting, because he apparently takes a lesson from HaShem's creation of the world. Even though David HaMelech couldn't build the Beit HaMikdash, he gathered the construction materials that would be necesary in its making, so that Shlomoh wouldn't waste any time in getting straight to the building of it.
[When I was younger and came on trips in the summer to Israel, I remember thinking the Machon HaMikdash (the foundation that prepares the vessels for the Third Temple) was a little off.. but apparently they're just taking their lead from David HaMelech who was copying the original act of creation. May they be blessed in this world and the next.]
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