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Cincinnati Torah הרות בס"ד • A PROJECT OF THE CINCINNATI COMMUNITY KOLLEL • CINCYKOLLEL.ORG תורה מסינסי Cincinnati Torah Vol. IX, No. XXII Vayikra A LESSON FROM THE PARASHA ASSOCIATE SCHOLAR Yidden RABBI YITZCHOK ZE’EV HEIGH When it came to Pesach, the Tolner Rav, bringing a korban with the plural form of THE RABBI WAS ASKED Rabbi Yochanan Twersky, would take endless the word, takrivu. Is the Torah talking about ON THE PARASHA precautions to stay away from chametz. One one person bringing a korban of many people of the precautions was that he did not eat bringing a korban? THIS WEEK WITH what is known as gebroktz, or any matzah that Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch explains this passuk came into contact with liquid even after it based on an idea found in the Midrash on this RABBI DOVID SPETNER was baked. This custom was something that week’s parasha. The Jewish nation is described Q) In this week’s parasha the had been passed down through the Chassidic by the prophet Yermiyah as a sheep. All of the dynasty of Chernobyl. Jews are like one sheep. Just as when a sheep Torah writes (5:8) that the head One year Rabbi Twersky was leading a tisch, gets hurt in one place, the whole sheep feels of a bird offering is severed a Friday night gathering, for his adherents the pain, so too the Jewish feel the “pain” mimool arpo opposite the oref. during the intermediate days of Pesach. On when one Jew sins. The Tanna Rabbi Shimon Rashi explains that oref means the the far end of the table was a Jew who had Bar Yochai compares this to a group of people back of the head and, therefore, come to enjoy the tisch but did not have a on a sea voyage. After a couple of days, one chasssidic background. The assembled people passenger starts drilling under his seat. When mimool arpo means the back of were brought soup and this Jew innocently the other passengers notice, they begin yelling the neck. According to this, why took some of his matzah and dipped it in the at him, “What in the world are you doing?!” do we commonly translate Am soup as was his custom. Those around him To which the man calmly answers, “What is it k’shei oref (Shmos 32:9) as “stiff- noticed and began to loudly protest, “What your business what I do under my seat? This are you doing! We don’t put matzah in soup is my seat after all, not yours.” Just as making necked people”? here!!” Rav Twersky went on with the tisch as a hole under your seat on a boat affects though nothing happened. A few minutes everyone on the boat, so too when one Jew A) On its face, it seems “stiff later Rav Twersky asked for a second bowl, but does something wrong, it affects all of us. We necked” is indeed a mistranslation. explained, “I don’t want a full bowl of soup, I are all in this together! When one extremity is See Rashi to Shmos (ibid.), who just want what is left in that Jew’s bowl.” The injured, the nervous system sends the signal to explains it to mean “they turn the rest of the body as well. chassidim did not know what to think. The the hardness of their head Rebbe was going to eat gebroktz on Pesach! This, explains Rabbi Shternbuch, is the Rav Twersky drank the soup, looked around, explanation for the aforementioned in opposition to those who and explained, “When this gentleman was inconsistency in the passuk. When one person reprove and refuse to listen.” embarrassed for putting matzah in his soup, all brings a korban to atone for his sin, it affects There are however some classic here assembled were judged severely and G-d the rest of the Jewish people as well. It is truly commentaries that seem to still intended to punish us. Therefore, I wanted to takrivu, brought for everyone. May Hashem understand kshei oref as “stiff eat the man’s soup to let him know he did bless all of us with many nationally shared nothing wrong, as not eating gebroktz is only times of good. necked.” I have some thoughts a stringency we have taken on, in order ease of how to resolve this, but it is his embarrassment and save us from heavenly beyond the scope of our parasha retribution.” Mazal Tov to sheet. We see that when the man was embarrassed, all assembled were held accountable. In our Daf Hashavua participants Q) I’ve heard that the reason why parasha, the Torah says, “When a person will on their recent completion the Kohanim were barefoot in the bring a korban to Hashem, from the cattle, of Maseches Ta’anis Beis Hamikdash was that there sheep, or goats, you shall bring your korban.” If you look closely, the wording is grammatically should be no separation between inconsistent. The beginning of the passuk Kollel on break starting the floor and theKohen . I imagine describes bringing a korban with the singular word takriv. The end of the passuk describes Sunday through Pesach L55 CONTINUES ON NEXT PAGE p Sponsorship & feedback: Sponsored by Cincinnati Torah [email protected] is distributed weekly Melach and Hadassah Mann to local shuls In Honor Of the Kollel and the community e-mail list. © 2020 CCK THE RABBI WAS ASKED A SHINING EXAMPLE A BA’AL HATURIM ON THE PARASHA Rav Gadola Eisner was a special man FOR YOU who had not only survived the holocaust CONTINUED Ba’al Haturim points out that the first but was known as one who had given passuk of this week’s parasha which that there could be a lot of many a word of encouragement to introduces the topic of korbanos, the blood on the floor, especially at keep up the spirits and keep the spark first passuk of the ten commandments, busy times. Was the blood not a of hope alive within those around him. and the passuk in Parshas Tzav that lists problem in this regard? One day after a day of backbreaking the full gamut of korbanos all have nine labor when the men in the barracks words. This hints to the idea that one A) The gemara (Pesachim 65b) were laying down on their bunks, Rav who learns Torah is considered to have brought all of the korbanos! asks this question specifically Gadola nudged the person next to him regarding the korban Pesach with his elbow. “What do you since the normal drainage want?” he was asked. “Pass system was purposely blocked it on,” Rav Gadola told him. so that the Kohanim WOULD “Huh?” was the surprised reply. walk in the blood of the korban “Go ahead. Pass it on.” Rav Pesach. The reason it was not Gadola’s neighbor complied considered an intervening and when he also wondered substance between their feet what was going on, he was given and the floor is because liquids the same reply until the whole like blood do not create a barrack had been nudged. chatzitza. Now everyone was wondering Something always bugged you about the what this was all about. “Rav upcoming parasha (or last week’s)? Ask! If you Gadola what do you want?” he would like to submit a question on the parasha, was asked. With a bit of tongue please email it to [email protected]. Questions will be selected to address at the in cheek he replied, “One day discretion of the Rabbi who is answering that we’ll be back at a Shabbos week. Questions may be edited for brevity/clarity. Tisch (where Chassidim gather with their Rebbe on Friday Erev Shabbos Torah Time night) and we will be squished and people’s elbows will be (for boys, grades 1-5) digging into your ribs. I don’t THIS WEEK AT 5:30 pm. want you to forget what it feels Zoom link zoom.us/j/5959486315 like, so I sent a nudge around Grand Raffle This Week! the room!” THE FALSE MESSIAHS OF JEWISH HISTORY RABBI NOSSON WIGGINS SAMUEL OPPENHEIM – THE COURT JEW TO THE HAPSBURG MONARCHY C. 1630 - 1703 As mentioned, Samuel (Shmuel) Oppenheim financed the voyage of Yehuda Chasid and his followers, enabling the cult to reach Eretz Yisrael. Let us examine Samuel Oppenheim’s background to discover how he came to be the philanthropist of a multitude of Jewish projects and campaigns, one of them being Chasid’s crypto-Sabbatean messianic movement. Born in the town of Heidelberg south of Frankfurt around 1630 to a well-to-do family, Samuel was trained as a banker and subsequently joined the elite social class of wealthy Jewish bankers called Court Jews. Essentially, Court Jews would secure loans for Christian nobility and finance imperial projects and wars. The need for Court Jews arose because the Christian faith prohibited usury (lending money at unethically high interest rates), and as a result, the wealthy Christian citizens were not interested in lending their money to the government. Jews, however, were exempt from this law, and the affluent ones discovered this niche and became moneylenders and financers. One who served the nobility of his kingdom earned a superior social status and was referred to as Court Jew or Court Factor (in German: Hofjude or Hoffaktor). According to one statistic there were nearly 1,200 Court Jews between 165 and 1750. Samuel Oppenheim was appointed Court Jew to the emperor of the Hapsburg monarchy in Vienna, where he resided in a stunning villa.
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