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[email protected] OnegNorthShabbos West London's Weekly Torah and Opinion Sheets A Torah publication that enables local Rabbonim and Avreichim to share their insights and Divrei Torah on a variety of different levels, to provide something for everyone. פרשת ויקהל Children of 5th March 2016 Nishmas Yisroel – Hendon כ”ה אדר א’ תשע"ו For Questions on Divrei Torah or articles, to receive this via email or for sponsorship opportunities please email [email protected] Now in Yerushalayim, Antwerp, Baltimore, Bet Shemesh, Borehamwood, Chile, Cyprus, Edgware, Elstree, Gibraltar, Hale, Holland, Hong Kong, Ilford, Johannesburg, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Manchester, Melbourne, Miami, New York, Petach Tikva, Philadelphia, Radlett, Toronto, Vienna, Zurich הדלקת נרות מוצש’’ק שבת מברכין / פרשת שקלים LONDON: 6:38 PM LONDON: 5:31 PM KINDLY לעילוי נשמת הש"ץ שלמה בן אברהם משה ז"ל לעילוי נשמת חנה בת אלעזר ע"ה SPONSORED THE GOLD STANDARD Rabbi Jeremy Golker Head of Kodesh, Hasmonean High School PARSHAH What would happen if replacement keilim Over sixty year 12 students (vessels) were needed in the mishkan and gold from Hasmonean Girls’ was not available? Could silver be used? Or is School recently went on it gold or nothing? the school Poland trip. The Mechilta says that for all the other keilim This weeks One of the places they in the mishkan, it would be acceptable to make Oneg Shabbos visited was the famous replacements out of silver. This is not true for Publication the keruvim. The keruvim had to be made out is sponsored in yeshiva, Chachmei Lublin. of gold. Indeed, if they were fashioned out of memory of The girls learned and saw silver, the Mechilta shockingly equates it to לעילוי נשמת !how Rav Meir Shapiro making silver idols zt’’l tried to transform the Why? What is so special about the keruvim ר' שלום status of yeshiva bachurim that necessitates that they may only be made and limmud haTorah by out of gold? building a yeshiva where Rav Meir Shapiro explains that the keruvim בן שלמה represent chinuch, The child like angel sitting the imposing physical on top of the aron are symbols of youngsters ע“ה .edifice would match learning Torah That is why they have to be made out of נפטר ט' אדר the towering spiritual standards. gold. When it comes to chinuch, there is no תשס"ו room for “good enough”. Each lesson has to be Rav Meir Shapiro’s educational philosophy outstanding and of the highest quality. Even is beautifully expressed in an idea relating to silver is akin to idol worship! The late this week’s sedra. This is a powerful idea and serves as The Mechilta (Parshas Yisro, parsha yud) a responsibility and benchmark for those HANS makes an intriguing comment about the fortunate enough to be involved in chinuch, HOFFBAUER ’ keruvim, the child like angels standing at whether as parents or mechanchim. When 9 Adar 5766 each end of the aron, that feature again in this it comes to transmitting Torah to the next week’s sedra. generation, only a gold standard suffices. From Parshas Vayikra, For any questions on the Oneg will not be Divrei Torah please available in print due to contact the the lack of sponsors and advertisers. To continue Editor in Chief, the print version, Rabbi Yonasan advertise or sponsor a week for £500. Roodyn 2 weeks left Join the global mailing rabbiroodyn@ list by emailing for the printed version [email protected] jewishfuturestrust.com 2 “AS G-D COMMANDED MOSHE” Rabbi Yakov Haber PARSHAH Torah Web Their grievous error lay in the fact that only G-d determines what form of worship The recurrent phrase in this is appropriate and what kind of structure and vessels would be a correct form week’s parasha - “ka’asher tziva Hashem to “house” the Shechina. Klal Yisrael in constructing the mishkan atoned for their es Moshe” - is repeated no less than great sin by not diverging one iota from the Divine command and building it eighteen times1. The commentaries because of G-d's command, not based on their insights into its enormous spiritual significance. Creating alternate forms of worship based on the perceived reasons offer diverse explanations for this for mitzvos is sinful and can even lead, as it did in the case of the egel, to idolatry. phenomenon ranging from technical Perhaps we can connect all of the approaches given above as follows. Divine to halachic to hashkafic. service is itself a big mystery. How can finite man serve the infinite Creator? As the Midrash6 teaches, G-d is not affected by our service of Him. Nonetheless, Hashem Rav Meir Simcha Hakohen of Dvinsk zt’’l in his Meshech Chochma explains in His Infinite Wisdom provides for us a means with which to serve Him and elevate that the bigdei kehuna described in Pekudei contained sha’atnez - wool and linen - ourselves through that service. The unifying factor of all of these approaches is and therefore required special Divine dispensation to wear them. The mishkan, that only G-d can command how His creations should serve and thereby connect whose construction is mentioned in Vayakhel, by contrast, even though its to the Infinite One. curtains also contained sha’atnez, but no regular Torah prohibition was violated since they were not worn. Hence, the Torah indicates that the Jewish people acted When should one mitzva override another? Only the Torah itself can determine as G-d commanded concerning the bigdei kehuna. Concerning the mishkan, this that. This is Meshech Chochma’s teaching - the overriding of the law of shatnez is was obvious. only "as G-d commanded Moshe." What if we think we know the reason for a mitzva - Rav Hirsch comments that the building of the actual mishkan was not shouldn’t it be performed because of that reason? This is what Beis HaLevi teaches: considered complete until it was totally finished. By contrast, the garments our performance of mitzvos is in order to follow the Divine command. The reasons of kohanim were considered complete as each one was finished. Hence, in can enhance but should never motivate the “mitzva act”7What if we come up with our parasha, the above-mentioned phrase appears after the formation of each a new mode of service? This is the second teaching of Beis HaLevi: only G-d can garment indicating its completion and also concerning the completion of the determine the mode of service appropriate. 2 construction of the mishkan after all of its vessels, walls and curtains were formed . But G-d also commanded the chachmei hador to create safeguards to the Torah The Beis HaLevi, Rav Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik zt’’l, presents a penetrating and even add Rabbinic mitzvos8. The Ran9 teaches that these serve as expressions analysis of this recurring phrase in two places. In parshas Lech Lecha, he explains of ahavas Hashem and yiras Hashem demonstrating that we do not wish to suffice this phrase to indicate that even though an individual is highly intelligent and with just the minimum requirements and also wish to safeguard our precious thinks that he knows the reason why Hashem commanded the mitzva, he should heritage. However, since we cannot choose to serve the Almighty in a way he has perform it not because of his knowledge of the reason but because of the Divine not commanded, the chachmei hador must have enormous insight as to what kinds command itself. Performing the mitzva because of our understanding would not of Rabbinic safeguards and Rabbinic mitzvos would "blend in" with the rest of the be serving G-d but serving ourselves by following our understanding. A similar Torah and which would be foreign intrusions into the Torah system. Our sages duality appears in the Gemara3. After the Gemara questions why we blow teach us "kol d’tikkun rabbanan k’ein d’oraisa tikkun”. All Rabbinic enactments the shofar on Rosh Hashana, the Gemara challenges the question: Why do we blow shofar?! Hashem commanded us to blow! Even though ta’amei hamitzvos are follow Torah patterns. To do so properly requires absolute mastery of the Torah far often offered by Torah scholars as part of Torah study, the mechayev, that which beyond that which ordinary Torah scholars possess. obligates us to do the mitzva is certainly not the reason, but rather the Divine Recent controversies have erupted concerning what modes of avodas Hashem command itself. Whether one has an insight into a possible reason or not, he is are appropriate and which are not. Our parsha resonates again and again with equally bound by the mitzva because of the Divine commandment. the slogan - “ka’asher tziva Hashem es Moshe.” Make sure that everything is in In parshas Ki Sisa, he links this concept to the relationship between the Cheit accordance with this directive! But how are we to know Hashem’s Will in an era Ha’Eigel and the building of the mishkan. One opinion in the Midrash followed when we can no longer ask Moshe Rabbeinu to receive direct instructions from the by Rashi4 states that Hashem commanded Moshe concerning the mishkan only Almighty? The answer is contained in the Torah's directive "ki yipalei mim’cha after the cheit ha’egel. Thus, the construction of the mishkan atoned for the sin davar lamishpat...v’asisa k’chol asher yorucha”10 . Follow the interpretations and of the golden calf. The Beis HaLevi explains that each mitzva has enormous rulings of the Sanhedrin and in subsequent eras the gedolei chachmei hador11 who spiritual, inner depth and this is certainly so for the mishkan and mikdash which will be given Divine assistance to determine which mode blends in with the Torah “houses” the Divine Presence in some mysterious way.