Parshat Tzav
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Parshat Tzav Shabbat HaGadol 8 Nissan 5778 / March 24, 2018 Daf Yomi: Avodah Zara 68; Nach Yomi: 2 Shmuel 11 Weekly Dvar Torah A project of the NATIONAL COUNCIL OF YOUNG ISRAEL SPONSORED BY THE HENRY, BERTHA AND EDWARD ROTHMAN FOUNDATION ROCHESTER, NY,CLEVELAND, OHIO, CIRCLEVILLE, OHIO Just One Speck Rabbi Shlomo Hochberg Mara D'atra, Young Israel of Jamaica Estates, NY In memory of my beloved father, Rabbi Dr. Hillel Hochberg, z”tl, HaRav Hillel ben Yeshayahu Eliyahu, who passed away Erev Pesach, 14 Nissan 5752. The poem, Chasal Siddur Pesach, popularly known to us as the Nirtzah component of the Hagaddah, actually comprises just the last four lines of a lengthy Halachic Piyyut composed by the Gaon, Rav Yosef Tuv Elem. It is to be said on the morning of Shabbat HaGadol. The Piyyut, Elokai Haruchos L’chol Basar, details the numerous regulations of Pesach preparation. Among the Halachot cited, are the laws of kashering utensils for Pesach, in which Rav Yosef Tuv Elem notes regarding “knives that were used with chometz meals, it is best to make them like new.” The Rav, Moreinu Verabeinu Harav Hagaon Rav Yosef Dov Haleivi Soloveitchik, zt”l, explained that this idea of making them like new is actually a special rule of kashering chometz utensils for Pesach (similar to utensils of Kedoshim, of ritual sacrifices) which does not apply to kashering utensils from traif to kosher. Codified by Maimonides, this rule mandates that, when kashering utensils by hag’alah (purging), the traif utensil becomes kosher as soon as it has been dipped into boiling water. When kashering for Pesach, however, the utensil must be placed into cold water immediately after it has been dipped in boiling water. This serves to forge the metal, making it “like new.” The Sh’lah Hakadosh explains this by referring to the Zohar which explains that the Halachic details of kashering for Pesach parallel the struggle of the neshama (soul) to purify itself from sin. The Zohar expounds upon the kabbalistic notion that the Yetzer Harah (evil inclination) is compared to the yeast that ferments the dough. The Halachah mandates that “Ein Biur Chometz Ela Sreifa” (the destruction of chometz) is only through burning. Purging utensils of chometz can be compared to ridding various types of sins from the soul. The degree to which the soul has been stained will determine what level of kashering is necessary to purify the soul. Utensils that were used with cool or tepid water may be kashered by rinsing the utensil in water from within and without. Utensils in which liquids were cooked upon fire must be purged with boiling water. Equipment that was used directly in the fire may be kashered only by libbun gammur (purging with fire until it becomes white-hot and sparks fly from the intensity of the fire). Similarly, a soul that has been slightly damaged by the Yetzer Harah only requires perfunctory cleansing by “rinsing.” Someone who has been more deeply involved in sin needs to “purge” his soul through teshuva chamura (deep and earnest repentance). Even one who has been totally immersed in the depths of depravity can re-ignite his neshama, but only by direct contact with the Aish HaTorah (Sinaitic Fire of Torah). The Sh’lah Hakadosh expounds further that the difference between chometz and matzah is minute. The words “chametz” and “matzah” both contain the same letters of the aleph bet, with the difference only in the substitution of the letter “chet” in chametz for the letter “heh” in matzah. The difference between these two letters is merely the dot that connects the left leg to the roof of the letter. The Sh’lah Hakadosh explains that the difference between complete and deficient faith in HaShem is but one speck. All human creativity is based upon the fundamental scientific principle that matter can neither be created nor destroyed ─ it can only be changed from one form to another. HaShem’s creativity, however, is that of yesh m’ayin (creating something from nothing), fabricating the first speck from which all other things are created. Haran who came from Charan clearly understood and accepted the principle of HaShem’s creation yesh m’ayin. When the angels came to Sodom on Pesach to save Lot (Avraham’s nephew and son of Haran), Lot served them matzah because, as a descendant of Haran, he understood that HaShem created the world yesh m’ayin. The people who lived in the land of Charan totally denied G-d’s role in the creation of the world. Although Haran did not share those doubts, he was uncertain as to HaShem’s continued role in supervising and controlling the world, and therefore was reluctant to enter Nimrod’s furnace with Avraham. (The Shalah Hakadosh notes that the same speck differentiates the “heh” from the “chet” in the names of Haran and Charan.) When we eat matzah, we affirm our belief in HaShem’s creation yesh m’ayin. At the same time, we affirm our belief that HaShem continues to control all of His creation. We enumerate the miracles of the ten plagues, as well as the numerous miracles at Yam Suf (the sea). We describe in great detail the numerous miracles G-d performed for our ancestors in Egypt and beyond, emphasizing His control of the forces of nature and His ability to contravene these forces at will. Our performance of biur chometz ─ of obliterating the speck of fermentation from the dough, as well as from our neshamot ─ is followed by eating matzah and reciting the Haggadah, through which we affirm our faith, both in HaShem’s continued Divine intervention in the world, as well as in our own ability to cleanse our neshamot and infuse our lives with pure and authentic ruchniut (spirituality). Chag Kasher V’ Samayach. The Korban Pesach Rabbi Dr. Chaim Wakslak Mara D'atra, Young Israel of Long Beach, NY The Shabbat preceding Pesach is called Shabbat HaGadol (the Great Sabbath). The reason for this title is that a great miracle was performed on that day – for the first time, HaShem saved the lives of the Israelites from the hand of the Egyptians. We were vulnerable and could have been easily defeated. We find that the tenth of Nissan was the Shabbat; each Jew took a lamb for the paschal sacrifice and tied it to his bedpost. When the Egyptians asked them ‘why are you doing this,’ they replied that it was to be slaughtered as a paschal sacrifice as G-d commanded us. This set the teeth of the Egyptians on edge because their gods were being slaughtered, but they could say nothing. In recognition of that miracle, we call that day the Great Sabbath (Tur, OC 430). Often, Shabbat HaGadol coincides with the reading of Parshat Tzav, which reviews the different categories of korbonot (sacrifices): 1. Olah – elevation offering; 2. Mincha – meal offering; 3. Shelamim -peace offering; 4.Chatas – Sin offering; and 5. Asham -guilt offering. We might ask: To which category does the Korban Pesach belong? To assist us in finding the proper classification, an understanding of what the sacrifice of the Korban Pesach was designed to accomplish is in order: 1 - According to Maimonides, (Guide for the Perplexed, Book 3, Chapter 46) G-d commanded the Israelites to slaughter lambs specifically because the Egyptians worshipped them. The purpose of the Paschal lamb is to rid the Israelites of these idolatrous beliefs. The sacrifice and blood spread on the doorpost communicates a message to the Israelites. When the Israelites see blood on their gates, they realize the connection between their salvation and prior slaughter of the lamb (the Egyptian god.) Only after rejecting idolatry do they merit being saved. 2 - A different approach is advanced by the Chizkuni. Rather than a message to the Israelites, as suggested by Maimonides, the blood is intended to give a message to the Egyptians. His understanding behind the Paschal lamb emerges from an analysis of the laws regarding its slaughter and consumption. On Shemot 12:6, the Chizkuni explains that it was necessary to take the lamb a full four days before its actual sacrifice, "So that the Egyptians would see their gods tied shamefully and disgracefully in the homes of the Israelites and would hear the sheep squealing with no one to save them." According to Chizkuni's interpretation, the purpose of the Paschal lamb in Egypt was primarily directed at the Egyptians, as part of G-d's war against Egyptian idolatry, "I will mete out punishments to all the gods of Egypt" (12:12). In contrast to Maimonides, it is not as much the Israelites as it is the Egyptians who must realize the uselessness of their gods and the absurdity of their beliefs. 3 - Rashi advances a third approach to understanding the Paschal lamb in Egypt. Repeating the question of Chizkuni, he asks: "For what reason did G-d command that the lamb be taken four days prior to its slaughtering, a requirement which does not pertain to the Paschal lamb of future generations?” He answers that “HaShem might have felt ‘the time has come to fulfill the oath which I [G-d] swore to Abraham that I will redeem his children, but they were not engaged in any commandments for which they could merit being redeemed as is stated, and you were naked and bare (Ezek. 16:7). Therefore He gave them two commandments, the blood of the Paschal lamb and the blood of circumcision." From this perspective, the purpose of the Paschal lamb is not to negate Egyptian idolatry; it is not aimed at rejecting heretical beliefs.