The Soul from Within Taking a Closer Look
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Vayikra 5769 Volume XVI Number 26 Toras Aish Thoughts From Across the Torah Spectrum make for you a Sanctuary and I will dwell within it? Why RABBI MORDECHAI WEISS does it say that I will dwell "within them?" The Soul From Within Our Sages respond that the language brings hen analyzing the book of Vayikra, one is faced home the point that the sanctuary alone has no with perplexing and disturbing questions. meaning unless it dwells within each person. We must WBesides the obvious questions as to why the have the Proper Kavannah (intent and thoughts) and torah devotes so much space to describing these soul for the Sanctuary to have any meaning. It must be Karbanot (sacrifices) and yet for the past two thousand "betocham" within us! Often the prophets rebuke the years these laws have little application or meaning to a Jewish people by saying "Why do I need your sacrifices practicing Jew- there is also a question of priorities. saith the L-rd". For if there is no intent then one's One only needs to look at the pomp and beauty of the sacrifices are worthless! Mishkan (tabernacle) and later the Holy Temples built The Jewish home is also called a Sanctuary. by King Solomon and later by Ezra and beatified by On the outside it must appear beautiful and special. But King Herod, to ask the question; doesn't this gaudiness if there is no warmth and love, if there is no caring and and pageantry border on arrogance? Do we need a sensitivity on the inside, then it can be equated to an Mishkan made of gold and silver and fine linens to empty shell. serve G-d? Isn't this display the antitheses of the way a Interestingly, if we take the numerical value Jew is supposed to live his life? (gemmatriah) of the word "Mikdash"(sanctuary) we will In the portion of Tizaveh the name of our come to a value of 444 (Mem=40 + Kuf=100 + Daled=4 teacher Moses is not found. Our sages ask the + Shin=300). If we take the value of the letters in the obvious; why wasn't Moshe's name included in this word "Bayit" (house) we will come up to the numerical parsha? Many answers are presented. Some say that it value of 412 (Bet=2 + Yud=10 + Taf=400). The is because when praying to G-d for forgiveness for the difference between the two words is 32. Thirty two is Jewish people in building the golden calf, Moshe said to the numerical value of the word "Lev" heart (Lamed=30 G-d that if he won't forgive the Jewish people then G-d + Bet=2). It is also the first and last letters of our Torah should "erase my name from the Torah". Moshe's (Bet in Bereshit and Lamed in Yisrael). name is missing because G-d was contemplating these The message that perhaps is indicated is that remarks and temporarily deleted his name. our homes are also a sanctuary. However, it is of little I would like to posit that perhaps the reason value and importance unless we infuse it with heart and that Moshe's name did not appear in the portion of sensitivity (lev) and the words and the dictums of our Tizaveh was because for Moshe, the spectacle and the Holy Torah (the bet and the Lamed). Then we will be outward appearance of haughtiness demonstrated by successful in imparting to the next generation the the dress of the Kohanim (priests) was foreign and beauty of our traditions. distasteful to him. Moshe was always described as a The pageantry and the beauty of the Mishkan humble person, one who had no part in conceit or and the Temple were only effective if the hearts of the superiority. Perhaps this is why his name is not found. Jewish people were bound up in sincerity. And the For him all this was objectionable. pageantry and the beauty of our homes are only Obviously there is a reason for this showiness. meaningful if it reflects the depth and splendor of our Rashi states that it is not for our sake as much as it is hearts and souls. © Copyright 2009. Rabbi Mordechai Weiss is the Principal of the Bess and Paul Sigel Hebrew to glorify almighty G-d. "Zeh Keli Vanvehu"" This is my Academy of Greater Hartford. Any comments may be emailed G-d and I will extol him". to him at [email protected]. But gold and silver alone can never exalt the name of G-d. There must be longing and a love- a RABBI DOV KRAMER neshama -that is also part of the picture. When the Torah states "Vasu li Mikdash vshachanti bitocham," Taking a Closer Look "and I will make for you a sanctuary and I will dwell hen we last left Moshe, at the end of Parashas amongst you" our sages note the disparity in the WPekuday, he wasn't able to get into the Mishkan language. Grammatically it should have written "I will because G-d's divine presence had filled it 2 Toras Aish Moshe, G-d calls him in, telling him that it's now okay to TORAS AISH IS A WEEKLY PARSHA enter. Since Rashi had given a similar explanation as to NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTED VIA EMAIL AND THE why Moshe couldn't get in and how he was eventually WORLD WIDE WEB AT HTTP://AISHDAS.ORG. able to enter, we would have expected a similar FOR MORE INFO EMAIL [email protected] The material presented in this publication was collected from explanation for the transition as well. However, Rashi's publicly available electronic mail, computer archives and the comments on the first verse in Vayikra preclude that. UseNet. It is being presented with the permission of the respective For one thing, Rashi says that nobody but authors. Toras Aish is an independent publication, and does not Moshe heard G-d's voice, since it did not travel outside necessarily reflect the views of any given synagogue. the Mishkan. If so, Moshe must have already been TO DEDICATE THIS NEWSLETTER PLEASE CALL 973-472-0180 OR EMAIL [email protected] inside to have heard what G-d was saying, leaving us wondering how Moshe knew it was okay to enter. Also, (Shemos 40:35). As I discussed last week, there are Rashi had previously told us (Shemos 25:22), and will two basic approaches as to why Moshe was unable to tell us again later (Bamidbar 7:89), that the expression enter the Mishkan. Some Midrashim (e.g. Tanchuma "Tent of Meeting" (at least in regards to where Moshe Vayikra 1) and commentators (e.g. Rabbeinu Avraham heard G-d's voice) refers specifically to the "kodesh," ben HaRambam) explain that although Moshe was not the "kodesh hakadashim." If G-d spoke to Moshe physically able to enter the Mishkan even when G-d's "from the Tent of Meeting," His presence must have still presence was there, he was so full of awe that he was been there, making it impossible for Moshe to enter afraid to go in. Others (see Rashi and Rashbam, as (yet). How could G-d be telling Moshe that it was okay well as numerous others) maintain that it was physically to come in inside if (a) His voice didn't travel outside the impossible for Moshe to enter while the cloud that Mishkan and/or (b) G-d's divine presence was still contained G-d's divine presence was there. We know there? that Moshe eventually did get in (see Bamidbar 7:89), There is one more issue that must be either because he overcame his fear (after G-d's addressed before we try to understand the way Rashi cajoling) or because G-d vacated the part of the understood this verse. Besides telling us that not even Mishkan that Moshe entered. Parashas Vayikra begins Aharon was able to hear G-d when He spoke to Moshe with this transition from Moshe being unable to enter (even when we are told that G-d spoke to both Moshe the Mishkan to his being inside. "And He called to and Aharon, as in these instances too only Moshe Moshe, and G-d spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting heard it before telling it to Aharon in G-d's name), Rashi (a.k.a. the Mishkan), saying" (Vayikra 1:1). tells us that no one heard G-d call to Moshe, and then If Moshe's inability to enter was based on his tells us again that no one could hear G-d speak to fear of entering (and not that he was literally unable to), Moshe since His voice never left the Mishkan. Why did the transition is simple: G-d "calls" to Moshe, tells him Rashi need to tell us this twice? If G-d's voice never that it's okay for him to come in, and Moshe does. traveled outside the Mishkan, obviously nobody outside If the reason Moshe couldn't enter was the Mishkan could hear it. because he couldn't do so while G-d's divine presence Much has been written on Rashi's commentary was there, this "calling" could simply be G-d letting on the first verse in Vayikra, including trying to address Moshe know that it was okay to come in now, a sort of these issues. There would seem to be a very "all clear." As the Rashbam puts it, "because it is straightforward way to understand Rashi, and Baruch written above, at the end of the book (of Shemos), 'and Hashem several of the commentaries on Rashi either Moshe was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting,' say so explicitly (see Levush Ha'orah) or strongly imply therefore G-d called to him from inside the Tent of it (see Maskil Ledovid, Nachalas Yaakov and Tzaidah Meeting.