Vayikra Table of Contents Torah Wellsprings - Vayikra Everything is from Hashem ...........................................................................................4 Humility .............................................................................................................................4 Do the Best You Can ........................................................................................................6 Korbanos ............................................................................................................................8 Ketores ................................................................................................................................9 New Beginnings .............................................................................................................11 Bitachon ...........................................................................................................................12 Chesed ...............................................................................................................................14 Pesach Preparations .......................................................................................................14 Torah Wellsprings - Vayikra Everything is from Hashem succeed and come out safely. But when one does something that doesn’t seem dangerous, The Ropshitzer Rav zt'l once watched a he relies on himself, and doesn’t pray. But stuntman jump off the roof of a three-story we see that we always need Hashem's help. house and land safely on his feet. The I did something relatively easy, but fell and Ropshitzer Rav asked him how he managed hurt myself…" to accomplish such a feat. The stuntman showed him a very thin, transparent rope that hung from the roof to the ground. He Humility didn’t really jump off the roof. He slid down of ׳א The Baal HaTurim (1:1) writes, "The the rope, to the ground. is small. This is because Moshe wanted ויקרא as it said by Bilaam (see Bamidbar ,ויקר This story is a reminder that there are to write strings attached. Everything people do 23:16) so it would appear that Hashem came chance. Hakadosh Baruch ,מקרה below is caused by the strings that are being to Moshe by so he wrote , ׳א pulled from Above. Hu instructed him to add an it small." represents the idea that ׳א The letter is one of the allusions ׳א everything that happens in this world is Thus, the small directed and planned by Hashem from in the Torah to Moshe Rabbeinu's outstanding .is comprised of humility ׳א Above. This is because the below, and a יו״ד on top, a יו״ד three letters: a אשריכם ,(that connects them. The Baal HaTanya In contrast, it states (Devarim 33:19 וא״ו Fortunate are you, Yisrael" with a large" ישראל above alludes to יו״ד zt'l taught that the representing pride. Because there is a time ,׳א below is this world. The יו״ד Hashem, the .symbolizes that everything for humility and a time for pride וא״ו connecting that happens in this world is from Hashem One should be proud that he is Hashem's Above. servant. As Rebbe Tzaddok HaCohen taught, It "Just as one must believe in Hashem, one .ויקרא ,The first word of the parashah is Everything that happens must believe in himself – to believe that" ,׳ויקר א can be read as Hashem is interested in him." One must ׳א is from Hashem, the Alufo shel Olam." The is small and it hints that even the small believe that when he speaks to Hashem, things in life – that we think are trivial and Hashem listens. When he performs a unimportant – are from Hashem Above. mitzvah, Hashem rejoices. One must carry Everything, down to the smallest details, this pride and joy in his heart. comes from Hashem. In the town of Peshischa, there was a One wintry Friday night, Rebbe Yechiel tailor who enjoyed an excellent reputation. of Moosh zt'l came home and wanted to The clothing he sewed was slightly more warm his hands by the stove before saying expensive than those of the other tailors, but kiddush. He got up on a small stool near the people paid the extra money, to get his stove, but the stool fell and he broke his better-quality clothing. arm. For the rest of his life, he suffered from this accident. The poritz (landlord) heard everyone praising this Jewish tailor, so he asked him He said, "When people go to dangerous to sew him a suit. "I will pay you well. Just places, they pray to Hashem that they should make certain you do a good job." Torah Wellsprings - Vayikra 5 behold the skin of" ,והנה קרן עור פניו ,(Can I make something that isn't good?" (Shemos 24:30" the tailor replied. [Moshe's] face was radiating." A week later, the tailor brought the suit There's another Midrash (Devarim Rabba to the poritz, proudly holding it in his hands. 3:12) that says that Moshe's radiance came The poritz frowned. "This isn't what I had in from the extra ink that was in Hashem's quill. mind. I'll ask my wife." Because when Moshe was on Har Sinai, Hashem wrote a sefer Torah, so Moshe could The poritz's wife said, "I can't even look copy it. The Midrash describes the sefer at it. It simply doesn’t have any chein (charm)." Torah: People started saying, "The poritz "The parchment was made of white fire; understands quality. If he doesn’t like the the letters were written with black fire… tailor's work, it must be the garments aren’t and [Hashem] wiped the [extra ink left in as special as we thought they were." They His quill] onto Moshe's hair. This caused stopped coming to him. Moshe's face to shine." The tailor was losing business, and he felt So, we have two sources for the glow on humiliated. He told all of this to Rebbe Moshe's face. It was either from the leftover Bunim of Peshischa zy’a. The Rebbe advised ink in Moshe's quill, or from the leftover ink him, "Undo the seams of the suit, and sew it in Hashem's quill. up again – exactly as before. This time, the The Rebbe of Kotzk zt'l asks, why is there poritz and his wife will like it." ink left in the quill? This question is especially The tailor followed his Rebbe's counsel, difficult according to the Midrash that says though it didn’t make any sense. Why should that Hashem had extra ink in his quill. Why they like the suit this time, if they didn’t like should this be? A human scribe doesn’t it before? But he trusted his Rebbe and know how much ink he will need, so there followed his advice. is leftover ink in the quill. But Hashem knows from the onset how much ink is When the poritz saw the new suit, he said, needed. Why would there be extra ink in the "Now this is the type of suit I like." He quill? showed it to his wife, who was very happy with it as well. The Kotzker zt'l replies, that when Moshe with a ויקרא wrote his sefer Torah, he wrote Why did the poritz and his wife change small alef, and he also took out the letter משה (from the passuk (Bamidbar 12:3 [עניו their mind? yud [of Moshe was very humble." Hashem" ,ענו מאוד Rebbe Bunim explained to the tailor, "It wrote His Torah in the same manner. The Hashem gives extra ink in the quill was the ink that was' ,ולענוים יתן חן ,(states (Mishlei 3:34 יו״ד chein to the humble.' When you made the supposed to go to the alef and/or to the This extra ink was brushed into .עניו suit the first time, you were arrogant, in קרן ,therefore the poritz and his wife didn’t like Moshe's hair, and became the source of .the radiance on Moshe's face , עור פני משה it. The second suit was made after you suffered shame and humiliation. Something produced with humility contains chein." Similarly, the Or HaChaim (Shemos 34:29) writes, "The Midrash says that when Moshe wrote the Torah, he had a drop of ink left in ,ויכתב משה את התורה הזאת ,(It states (Devarim 31:9 "Moshe wrote this Torah…" The Midrash the quill and he put it on his head, and that radiance. This meaning of ,קרני הוד Shemos Rabba 47:6) says that after writing the caused his) Sefer Torah, there was a drop of ink leftover this Midrash is very concealed and hidden. in Moshe's quill. Moshe put it on his head. Perhaps the intention is…the Torah (Bamidbar the ,ענו מכל אדם This caused his face to shine. As it states 12:3) testifies that Moshe was 6 Torah Wellsprings - Vayikra humblest person. When Hashem told him to king, himself," he told the people next to write in the Torah that he is humble, he him. This was due to his .יו״ד without the ענו wrote They told him, "Apparently, this is your ,קרני הוד humility. In reward, he merited the the radiance of holiness that shone from first time here, so you aren't familiar with him. This is the intention of the Midrash. A the protocol. We give our presents to the drop of ink was left in the quill. That ink king's secretary. No one brings their gift "!but Moshe didn’t directly to the king …יו״ד was for the letter write it because of his great humility, and The poor man told them that he knows therefore he merited this [recognition].” about that, but he is certain that it will be Accordingly, Moshe's face radiated different for him. "When the secretary sees because of his humility. my ring, he will usher me right into the king." Do the Best You Can They looked at the simple ring and wondered why he thinks the king will be ונפש כי תקריב קרבן מנחה לה׳ סלת יהיה ,(It states (2:1 more interested in his present than all their And if a soul brings a minchah offering" ,קרבנו grand gifts. to Hashem, his sacrifice should be of flour…" The poor man was correct. When it was soul, by ,נפש Rashi writes, "It doesn’t state his turn in line, and the secretary saw the any of the korbanos, only by the minchah.