Can we do תפילות prayers for:
Beit Orot?
So that through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?
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The Irving Moskowitz Yeshiva & Campus
Yeshivat Beit Orot - The Hesder Yeshiva on Har Hazeitim in Yerushalayim
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OROT HAPARSHA
Parshat Vayikra
From the teachings of Rav Dani Isaac, Rosh Hayeshiva
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Yeshivat Beit Orot - The Hesder Yeshiva on Har Hazeitim in Yerushalayim
------------------------------
OROT HAPARSHA
Parshat Vayikra
From the teachings of Rav Dani Isaac, Rosh Hayeshiva
------------------------------
Chazal explain the pasukim regarding the creation of light on the first day as corresponding to the Five Books of the Torah. "And G-d said, Let there be light; and there was light. And G-d saw the light that it was good, and G-d divided between the light and the dark. And G-d called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And it was evening, and it was morning, one day" (Beraishit, i). "Said Rabbi Simon: Light is mentioned here five times, corresponding to the Five Books of the Torah. 'And G-d said, Let there be light' corresponds to the book of Beraishit, in which Hakadosh Baruch Hu was involved in creating His world; 'and there was light' corresponds to the book of Shemot in which Israel came out from gloom to light; 'And G-d saw the light that it was good' corresponds to the book of Vayikra which is full of many halakhot...'"(Beraishit Rabbah 3:5)
The midrash implies that the books of Beraishit and Shemot present the stages of creation, first the command and afterwards the performance, as the light is seen and revealed.
Only in the book of Vayikra does it become clear that the success does not only involve the technical performance, but is also an fundamental, qualitative one, as it says, "And G-d saw the light that it was good." The reason the midrash provides for this, that the book of Vayikra is called "that it was good," is because it is "full of halakhot," although from a superficial glance one would think the opposite is the case. The book of Shemot, in which we merited to leave Egypt, to receive the Torah, and to merit the appearance of the Shechina amongst us, seems to express the fundamental aspects of the world, while the book of Vayikra, which deals with halakhic details, appears to be a technical and practical arrangement of life.
The midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 7:3) states, "Why do we start [teaching] children from Torat Kohanim [Vayikra] rather than starting by [teaching] them Beraishit? Because the children are pure and the sacrifices are pure, [so] the pure ones should come and deal with purity. Chazal here seem to choose a surprising didactic approach, as children struggle to absorb Vayikra's many halakhot, whereas the stories that appear in the books of Beraishit and Shemot grab their attention, through which children can connect to Torah learning.
In order to understand Chazal's comments, we will try to clarify the meaning of purity (as this is the term used in the midrash). The Mesillat Yesharim explains (Ch. 16) "that purity involves the correction of the heart and thoughts, and this is the term used by David, who said, 'G-d, create for me a pure heart' (Tehillim, 51:12), and it means that a person should not leave a space in his actions for the evil inclination, but rather all his actions should be based on wisdom and teachings not on sin and lust...and he should perform his actions because of the mitzvah and service in the manner that Shlomo said, "Know Him in all your ways, and He will straighten your paths" (Mishlei iii). Just as we can offer on the lower altar only clean flour that has been sieved in thirteen sieves (see Menachot 76b), which has been purified from all sediment, so one cannot offer up on the higher altar anything that might be accepted as the true, established service of G-d, except the choicest of our actions, purified from all sediment."
A child (so long as he has not been corrupted) possesses a natural purity; he performs his actions out of innocence, and does not insert "extraneous" thoughts. A person who offers up a sacrifice must do so out of purity and innocence and in order to approach Hashem and cleave to Him. At times intellectual understanding leads to a narrowing of horizons, because it defines and thus limits. While a person must make use of his intelligence, and it is intelligence that sets the path for his life, yet intelligence must be based on inner innocence and purity, and only an innocent foundation upon which a level of intelligence is built can serve as the harmonious and perfect connection.
We have explained that in order to offer a sacrifice a person must be pure. At the same time, the sacrifice itself influences its bringer in a pure and holy fashion. Apart from the actual offering of them, learning about the sacrifices also provides this influence. The midrash says: "Rav Huna said, 'For from the rising of the sun until its setting, My name is great among the nations, and in every place offerings are sacrificed' (Malachi i, 11). Now is there a pure mincha, kemitza [separating part for offering], or sacrifice in Babylonia? But this means [learning it in] the Mishnah. Hakadosh Baruch Hu said: As you are occupying yourselves with the Mishnah, it is as though you had offered up a sacrifice" (Vayikra Rabbah 7:3). The comments of the midrash are surprising - why should one who learns about the sacrifices be considered as if he offered them? Do we say so regarding all halakhot? Do we say that someone who learns about tefillin is to be considered as if he had worn them? It can be suggested that thought is the major factor in an offering, both for good and for bad. When a person offers a sacrifice with the intention of eating it later than its appointed time, it is considered piggul, and is invalidated as a sacrifice even if it was in actuality eaten within the appointed time. This form of invalidation is unique to sacrifices; it is not found by other mitzvot. Through this the Torah teaches us about the special, inner value of an offering, by which even a crooked thought invalidates it. The more subtle and spiritual a thing is, the more we are in need of a general atmosphere of holiness. Therefore, when the option of offering a sacrifice is unavailable, in-depth and philosophical study also influences the learner in a similar manner to the sacrifice itself.
According to our approach, we can understands why we start learning with a child from the book of Vayikra, because we want him first of all to open up his inner personality from a state of purity, and learning about the sacrifices influences a person as though he offered up a sacrifice, and he is thus purified. From this he will develop his learning and intellectual abilities and will mature and grow as a whole person.
Today we find learning institutions whose main resource is knowledge, and the success of students is measured by their grades. This method damages the true foundation of education, which lies in the pure life of the soul. There are others who feel only the "atmosphere" and not the learning, and they are also in error, for learning with children centers on the book of Vayikra, which is "full of halakhot," meaning in-depth, intellectual learning. True education is built upon a combination of both factors and is therefore complex and complicated. In order to succeed one must reflect deeply on the "laws of education," and through this to merit the raising of an upright generation.
Now we can understand why the book of Vayikra is compared to the pasuk, "And G-d saw the light that it was good," for the sacrifices and their laws quicken the forces of life towards holiness, and this is the good revealed in the world.
The Torah introduces the subject of the sacrifices with the pasuk: "Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, a person [adam] amongst you, when he offers a sacrifice to Hashem..." (Vayikra i, 2). Chazal take note of the word "adam" (which appears superfluous) and teach us there is a hint here of Adam HaRishon. "Said Rav Berechia: Your sacrifice should be similar to the sacrifice of Adam HaRishon, where everything was in his possession and he did not offer up from stolen or violently seized [animals], so you should not offer up from stolen or violently seized [animals]" (Vayikra Rabbah 2:7). We can perhaps add to the midrash that the Torah is hinting to us about Adam HaRishon because he was created by Hakadosh Baruch Hu and possessed a perfect wholeness, and the offerer of a sacrifice must strive to reach this.
The first sacrifice taught to us by the Torah is the Olah [burnt offering], which was slaughtered in the north. "The Olah is holy of holies, which derives from the loftiest holy foundation and raises the entire nature of life to the upper spheres until everything loses its limited secular content and claims a place amongst the holy. And the slaughtering must be performed in the north, "where the lofty force resides, that can turn all evil to good and all darkness to light, and from the place whence evil sprouts ["from the north the evil shall sprout"] from there the light and the good sprout" (based on Orot Re'iyah I, p. 172).
The Olah corrects all the forces of life, both good and evil, and is capable of sanctifying secular life. It is therefore called holy of holies. When we understand and connect to the Olah, we will succeed in expressing the pure service of Hashem in other sacrifices as well, such as Shlamim [peace offerings] whose eating we enjoy. Therefore the Torah opened the chapter on sacrifices with the Olah.
Chapter ii deals with the mincha: "And a soul, when it offers up a mincha sacrifice to Hashem, its sacrifice shall be flour, and he shall pour oil over it, and place frankincense on it" (Beraishit ii, 1). Rashi explains (based on Gemara Menachot 104b): "'soul' was not mentioned by any of the freewill offerings apart from mincha. Who typically offers a mincha? - a pauper. Said Hakadosh Baruch Hu: I account it as if he had offered up his soul." There is another aspect to the mincha - it comes from the vegetable kingdom, which has no soul, and therefore expresses the transfer of all forces of existence to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and not merely the forces of the soul. The mincha, therefore, contains the overall expression of all the sacrifices. This is what Malachi means when he states: "And the mincha of Yehudah and Yerushalayim will be pleasing to Hashem, as in days of old, and as in ancient years" (iii, 4). Based on our approach, we can understand why the first sacrifice that appears in the Torah is called a mincha: "And Hashem turned to Hevel and his mincha, but to Kayin and his mincha he did not turn" (iii, 4). This is because sacrifices involve the sanctification of man with all his strengths, and the sanctification of the entire world with all its components, and this matter is felt most strongly by the mincha.
The more we educate ourselves and our children towards the sanctification of all life, and we learn to reflect on the reality of the secular and the holy, the good and the evil, from a Divine point of view, we will merit "and restore the service to the chamber of Your house."
Shabbat Shalom from Beit Orot in Yerushalayim
The midrash implies that the books of Beraishit and Shemot present the stages of creation, first the command and afterwards the performance, as the light is seen and revealed.
Only in the book of Vayikra does it become clear that the success does not only involve the technical performance, but is also an fundamental, qualitative one, as it says, "And G-d saw the light that it was good." The reason the midrash provides for this, that the book of Vayikra is called "that it was good," is because it is "full of halakhot," although from a superficial glance one would think the opposite is the case. The book of Shemot, in which we merited to leave Egypt, to receive the Torah, and to merit the appearance of the Shechina amongst us, seems to express the fundamental aspects of the world, while the book of Vayikra, which deals with halakhic details, appears to be a technical and practical arrangement of life.
The midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 7:3) states, "Why do we start [teaching] children from Torat Kohanim [Vayikra] rather than starting by [teaching] them Beraishit? Because the children are pure and the sacrifices are pure, [so] the pure ones should come and deal with purity. Chazal here seem to choose a surprising didactic approach, as children struggle to absorb Vayikra's many halakhot, whereas the stories that appear in the books of Beraishit and Shemot grab their attention, through which children can connect to Torah learning.
In order to understand Chazal's comments, we will try to clarify the meaning of purity (as this is the term used in the midrash). The Mesillat Yesharim explains (Ch. 16) "that purity involves the correction of the heart and thoughts, and this is the term used by David, who said, 'G-d, create for me a pure heart' (Tehillim, 51:12), and it means that a person should not leave a space in his actions for the evil inclination, but rather all his actions should be based on wisdom and teachings not on sin and lust...and he should perform his actions because of the mitzvah and service in the manner that Shlomo said, "Know Him in all your ways, and He will straighten your paths" (Mishlei iii). Just as we can offer on the lower altar only clean flour that has been sieved in thirteen sieves (see Menachot 76b), which has been purified from all sediment, so one cannot offer up on the higher altar anything that might be accepted as the true, established service of G-d, except the choicest of our actions, purified from all sediment."
A child (so long as he has not been corrupted) possesses a natural purity; he performs his actions out of innocence, and does not insert "extraneous" thoughts. A person who offers up a sacrifice must do so out of purity and innocence and in order to approach Hashem and cleave to Him. At times intellectual understanding leads to a narrowing of horizons, because it defines and thus limits. While a person must make use of his intelligence, and it is intelligence that sets the path for his life, yet intelligence must be based on inner innocence and purity, and only an innocent foundation upon which a level of intelligence is built can serve as the harmonious and perfect connection.
We have explained that in order to offer a sacrifice a person must be pure. At the same time, the sacrifice itself influences its bringer in a pure and holy fashion. Apart from the actual offering of them, learning about the sacrifices also provides this influence. The midrash says: "Rav Huna said, 'For from the rising of the sun until its setting, My name is great among the nations, and in every place offerings are sacrificed' (Malachi i, 11). Now is there a pure mincha, kemitza [separating part for offering], or sacrifice in Babylonia? But this means [learning it in] the Mishnah. Hakadosh Baruch Hu said: As you are occupying yourselves with the Mishnah, it is as though you had offered up a sacrifice" (Vayikra Rabbah 7:3). The comments of the midrash are surprising - why should one who learns about the sacrifices be considered as if he offered them? Do we say so regarding all halakhot? Do we say that someone who learns about tefillin is to be considered as if he had worn them? It can be suggested that thought is the major factor in an offering, both for good and for bad. When a person offers a sacrifice with the intention of eating it later than its appointed time, it is considered piggul, and is invalidated as a sacrifice even if it was in actuality eaten within the appointed time. This form of invalidation is unique to sacrifices; it is not found by other mitzvot. Through this the Torah teaches us about the special, inner value of an offering, by which even a crooked thought invalidates it. The more subtle and spiritual a thing is, the more we are in need of a general atmosphere of holiness. Therefore, when the option of offering a sacrifice is unavailable, in-depth and philosophical study also influences the learner in a similar manner to the sacrifice itself.
According to our approach, we can understands why we start learning with a child from the book of Vayikra, because we want him first of all to open up his inner personality from a state of purity, and learning about the sacrifices influences a person as though he offered up a sacrifice, and he is thus purified. From this he will develop his learning and intellectual abilities and will mature and grow as a whole person.
Today we find learning institutions whose main resource is knowledge, and the success of students is measured by their grades. This method damages the true foundation of education, which lies in the pure life of the soul. There are others who feel only the "atmosphere" and not the learning, and they are also in error, for learning with children centers on the book of Vayikra, which is "full of halakhot," meaning in-depth, intellectual learning. True education is built upon a combination of both factors and is therefore complex and complicated. In order to succeed one must reflect deeply on the "laws of education," and through this to merit the raising of an upright generation.
Now we can understand why the book of Vayikra is compared to the pasuk, "And G-d saw the light that it was good," for the sacrifices and their laws quicken the forces of life towards holiness, and this is the good revealed in the world.
The Torah introduces the subject of the sacrifices with the pasuk: "Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, a person [adam] amongst you, when he offers a sacrifice to Hashem..." (Vayikra i, 2). Chazal take note of the word "adam" (which appears superfluous) and teach us there is a hint here of Adam HaRishon. "Said Rav Berechia: Your sacrifice should be similar to the sacrifice of Adam HaRishon, where everything was in his possession and he did not offer up from stolen or violently seized [animals], so you should not offer up from stolen or violently seized [animals]" (Vayikra Rabbah 2:7). We can perhaps add to the midrash that the Torah is hinting to us about Adam HaRishon because he was created by Hakadosh Baruch Hu and possessed a perfect wholeness, and the offerer of a sacrifice must strive to reach this.
The first sacrifice taught to us by the Torah is the Olah [burnt offering], which was slaughtered in the north. "The Olah is holy of holies, which derives from the loftiest holy foundation and raises the entire nature of life to the upper spheres until everything loses its limited secular content and claims a place amongst the holy. And the slaughtering must be performed in the north, "where the lofty force resides, that can turn all evil to good and all darkness to light, and from the place whence evil sprouts ["from the north the evil shall sprout"] from there the light and the good sprout" (based on Orot Re'iyah I, p. 172).
The Olah corrects all the forces of life, both good and evil, and is capable of sanctifying secular life. It is therefore called holy of holies. When we understand and connect to the Olah, we will succeed in expressing the pure service of Hashem in other sacrifices as well, such as Shlamim [peace offerings] whose eating we enjoy. Therefore the Torah opened the chapter on sacrifices with the Olah.
Chapter ii deals with the mincha: "And a soul, when it offers up a mincha sacrifice to Hashem, its sacrifice shall be flour, and he shall pour oil over it, and place frankincense on it" (Beraishit ii, 1). Rashi explains (based on Gemara Menachot 104b): "'soul' was not mentioned by any of the freewill offerings apart from mincha. Who typically offers a mincha? - a pauper. Said Hakadosh Baruch Hu: I account it as if he had offered up his soul." There is another aspect to the mincha - it comes from the vegetable kingdom, which has no soul, and therefore expresses the transfer of all forces of existence to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and not merely the forces of the soul. The mincha, therefore, contains the overall expression of all the sacrifices. This is what Malachi means when he states: "And the mincha of Yehudah and Yerushalayim will be pleasing to Hashem, as in days of old, and as in ancient years" (iii, 4). Based on our approach, we can understand why the first sacrifice that appears in the Torah is called a mincha: "And Hashem turned to Hevel and his mincha, but to Kayin and his mincha he did not turn" (iii, 4). This is because sacrifices involve the sanctification of man with all his strengths, and the sanctification of the entire world with all its components, and this matter is felt most strongly by the mincha.
The more we educate ourselves and our children towards the sanctification of all life, and we learn to reflect on the reality of the secular and the holy, the good and the evil, from a Divine point of view, we will merit "and restore the service to the chamber of Your house."
Shabbat Shalom from Beit Orot in Yerushalayim
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Beit Orot
"Building & Reclaiming Yerushalayim"
------------------------------
On the Web:
www.beitorot.orgBeit Orot
"Building & Reclaiming Yerushalayim"
------------------------------
On the Web:
E-Mail: info@beitorot.org
------------------------------
In Israel:
The Irving Moskowitz Yeshiva & Campus
Beit Orot
1 Shmuel Ben Adaya Street
The Mount of Olives
Jerusalem 97400
Tel: 972-2-628-4155
Fax: 972-2-627-6673
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In the United States:
American Friends of Beit Orot
162 Cedar Lane
Teaneck, NJ 07666
Tel: 1-201-530-0210
Fax: 1-201-353-2335
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