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Halachic Illuminations Special Events Shiurim Announcements

ParashatParashat KiShemot Tisa

Caution Regarding Chametz Issues Parashat Ki Tissa is a continuation of the Mishkan parhsiot in the Torah and many commentaries in particular the Ramban, The Prohibition to Eat and Benefit From Chametz understand the to build a sanctuary to Hashem as con- The Torah ( 13) states regarding the holiday of Pesach: “Matzot shall be eaten for seven days; neither leaven nor sourdough shall be seen in your borders.” nected directly to our ancestors' terrible sin of the , Our Sages taught in Masechet (21b among other places) through ex- the Chet Ha-egel. How does a 'sanctuary' connect us to Ha- pounding certain verses that not only is Chametz prohibited for consumption on shem? Pesach, it is also forbidden to benefit from Chametz on Pesach, meaning that even if one does not actually eat Chametz on Pesach, he still may not sell it to a non-Jew and the like on Pesach for this would mean that he is benefitting from this Our Sages teach us that Hashem 'craved a dwelling in the lower sale. Consumption of Chametz on Pesach is punishable by Karet (severance of worlds'. This is in some way offered as an explanation of why one’s soul from the Jewish nation). we were commanded to build a structure to serve as a focal Chametz on Pesach Cannot Even be Nullified by a Ratio of One to One- point of our service to Hashem. Being that we often relate to Thousand The prohibition of Chametz on Pesach is so severe that if Chametz gets mixed as requiring us to follow 'spiritual pathways' it seems into other foods, it cannot be nullified even by a ratio of one to one thousand, somewhat unusual that a physical structure be required to en- which is not the case regarding other prohibitions. hance a spiritual proximity to Hashem. We know that Hashem For instance, regarding the prohibition of consuming blood, if one gram of blood falls into a pot of food, if there are sixty grams of food present against the one designed a world where there would be a connection of the gram of blood that fell into it, the blood is considered nullified and this food is per- physical alongside the spiritual - humans being the ultimate ex- mitted for consumption. Regarding Chametz on Pesach, however, even if the food ample of a joining of a body with a Neshama - but the way in present is one thousand times the amount of the Chametz that fell into it, for in- which the receiving of the Torah is described seems to suggest stance if a tiny crumb of Chametz falls into a large pot of food, the entire pot of food becomes prohibited for consumption because of the crumb of Chametz that that the highest mode for us is a spiritual one. The journey from became mixed into it. Egypt to Har Sinai - paralleled by our own annual 'journey' Therefore, one must be extremely careful regarding Chametz on Pesach to buy through the Omer - is punctuated by landmarks in Spiritual only food products that one is completely certain do not contain Chametz mixtures and are certified by a reliable Kashrut organization. Similarly, one should not rely growth. This highlights even more the seemingly strange fact on a non-Torah-observant Jew when he tells him that a certain food does not that we are required to reach a spiritual high point through the contain any Chametz, for instance if he says that a certain does not have medium of physically building something. any Chametz mixed into it, for it has already occurred that some people have transgressed the prohibition of Chametz because they had relied on a grocer with no believability. Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef Shlit”a writes that it is proper for one The Slonimer Rebbe in his famous work Netivot Shallom draws not to purchase any food product designated for Pesach use without a reliable our attention to a fundamental point on this topic. He explains Kosher for certification on every single item. The same applies even to that Hashem 'craving' a dwelling in the lower worlds is to be un- things that do not seem problematic such as liquor, Arack, and the like. Nowadays, even products that look “innocent” pose major Kashrut problems during the rest of derstood as underlining for us that the ideal form of service Ha- the year and especially during Pesach, as all products contain a multitude of ingre- shem wants from us is not when we transcend all that is around dients, as we all know. us and enter a meditative state of higher consciousness, as Dishes Which Have Absorbed Chametz much as it is for us to find a place for spirituality even within the One may not use the same dishes that he uses during the rest of the year on Pe- sach, for these dishes have Chametz absorbed in them since when a hot food is physical world. inside these dishes, the walls of these dishes absorb its Chametz flavor, just as they absorb dairy or meat flavor. Thus, one must either use dishes that are spe- The Har Sinai experience is introduced to us in the Torah in the cially designated for Pesach that have not been used for Chametz or kosher (make kosher for Pesach) his Chametz dishes. This will be better explained in following way: "In the third month from ...from Egypt, following Halachot. on this day they arrived at the wilderness of Sinai...Moshe as- The Words of the Saintly Ari z”land Maran zt”l cended to Hashem, and Hashem called to him from the moun- We have heard Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt”l quote the words of the saintly tain..." (Shemot 19:1-3). The Netivot Shallom explains that Ari z”l that one who is careful regarding Chametz on Pesach is guaranteed not to sin the entire year. Maran zt”l recounted that once, the mother of Hagaon Moshe had intended to pursue a service of Hashem which en- Rabbeinu Akiva Eiger questioned this, for we find many great Torah scholars who tailed 'ascending to Hashem' - transcending the physical world, are meticulous regarding the prohibitions of Chametz and they nevertheless trans- and yet 'Hashem called to Moshe from the mountain' - Hashem gress various sins. Hagaon Eiger answered that the words of the Ari z”l are similar to the words of our Sages in that one who is careful regarding demonstrated that the ideal was for us to be connected to Ha- Chametz is guaranteed not to transgress any eating related prohibitions through- shem without leaving the physical world behind, but rather to out the year but this does not mean one will not sin throughout the year at all. find Him within it, thus truly fulfilling the command in this week's Maran zt”l adds based on the words of Rabbeinu Nissim that when our Sages parasha: "They shall make a Sanctuary for me - so that I may promise that one will not sin, this only applies when the sinner is not at fault, i.e. Hashem only protects the righteous, those who are careful regarding Chametz, dwell among them" (Shemot 25:8). We should endeavour to etc. only from incidents that are not in the individual’s control. However, if the per- bring Hashem especially in to the mundane aspects of our lives, son is slightly at fault, such as if one enters a restaurant that is not under the best and spiritualize them. May we merit even to make our normal Kashrut supervision, one will not merit divine protection and it is possible that one will transgress even sins of forbidden food consumption. physical existence one which is fused with kedusha and provide Based on this, Rabbeinu Nissim explains that the reason why King Solomon failed the ultimate 'dwelling' for Hashem. at the end of his life and his wives were able to lead his heart astray was because he tried to outsmart the Torah’s commandment of a king not marrying too many Shabbat Shalom, wives, for he claimed, “I will marry many wives and my heart shall not stray from Hashem!” At the end, his wives did indeed lead his heart astray. However, regard- Rabbi Yehuda Moses ing matters about which one is not at fault at all and when one is careful with all his Rav HaKehillah/Senior Rabbi actions, such as the incident with Rabbi Chanina ben Gamliel, Hashem shall pro- tect the individual from all failure.